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Post by Harry Potter on Feb 10, 2011 8:37:23 GMT -5
Harry had spent the morning cleaning out Percy's old bedroom. No one else really wanted that chore so Harry had volunteered even though he, like the rest of the Burrow's residents, was not too happy with the third eldest Weasley child. Still, the room needed to be clean because Bill and Charlie were going to be sharing it once more people showed up and needed Bill and Charlie's actual rooms.
So Harry had been ankle deep in notebooks with tons of technical things scrawled over them and other smart-looking things, one of which Harry recognized as the report on cauldrons that had gotten Percy promoted three years ago. It was slow work due to his guaze wrapped wrist and newly healed but still slightly bruised ribs that Ted Tonks had ministered on the night of the move. But soon enough it was completely clean.
With this task out of the way, Harry trudged back to the room he shared with Ron, which was also a mess and would probably be on the docket for another day's chores, and flopped down tiredly onto his cot. Seconds later, he lept to his feet with a guilty expression as footsteps neared the door, thinking it was Mrs. Weasley but then a bushy ginger-haired cat scurried in and he sat back down with a relieved sigh. Without even looking up, he greeted the cat's owner. "Hey Hermione."
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Post by Hermione Granger on Feb 10, 2011 9:03:44 GMT -5
Soon after finishing breakfast, Mrs Weasley started assigning the chores. As usual Hermione, Ron and Harry were separated. Hermione had the feeling that Mrs Weasley was keeping them busy and apart on purpose. Probably hoping they would not have the time make their plans. Hermione had spent the entire morning sorting out the laundry into whites and darks of all the occupants of the Burrow. When she was finally done, Mrs Weasley started the washing up and Hermione could finally have a break. She went straight to the room she was sharing with Ginny and started playing with Crookshanks. Hermione heard a pair of feet shuffle outside the room and the door to Harry and Ron's room open. Hermione jumped off the bed and stepped outside the room. Her cat hurried after her and proceeded before her in the bedroom. She smiled at his greeting and said, "Hi." Hermione picked her cat and cradled it fondly in her arms before sitting down beside Harry. She started scratching the cat's head and Crookshanks purred loudly. Hermione looked at Harry and asked, "How are you?"
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Post by Harry Potter on Feb 10, 2011 9:20:57 GMT -5
Harry glanced sideways at her for a moment and then away again. "Just peachy." For some reason, though he had waited most of the summer to see his best friends, longing to be with them and included, he now found himself wishing they would stop asking that question and staring at him with so much concern. Granted, on the night of the move he had probably scared them all a little bit when he announced he had to leave but they had talked (more like bullied) him out of that idea fast and he hadn't mentioned it again.
He got up and crossed to stare out the tiny window. It was growing darker out at earlier times in the day recently. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was causing it. "He's getting stronger, Hermione." Not trying to be dramatic or anything, he rubbed his scar, which of course added the dramatic effect he had been trying to avoid. His scar had been constantly prickling since the start of the summer with a sharp pain thrown in every now and then.
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Post by Hermione Granger on Feb 10, 2011 9:35:19 GMT -5
She watched him closely waited for his response and when he eventually replied, Hermione sighed softly. As Harry stood up and moved towards the window, she stared down at Crookshanks and tried not to feel abandoned. Harry appeared to be constantly annoyed at them, and the smallest of words triggered his anger. Crookshanks jumped off her bed and scurried out of the room. She stood up and slowly approached Harry. He was right, Voldemort was indeed growing stronger each day; not only in strength but also in power. His gesture did not go unnoticed and Hermione's forehead crinkled in worry. She placed her hand on his shoulder and pleaded, "Close your mind to him Harry. Please."
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Post by glacialmai on Feb 10, 2011 9:40:31 GMT -5
Ron scowled at the chicken cage he had just finished cleaning. Of course his mother would stick him with clearing out their dung heaps. More importantly, Ron was now sure that his mum was keeping him, Hermione, and Harry separated for a reason. Ever since (unsuccessfully) cornering Harry, she was trying to keep them here in whatever way she knew how.
A chicken clucked as Ron took a couple steps back and decided it was satisfactory enough that he wouldn't have to do it again. He had used magic, now that he was seventeen, but there had still been the actual process of getting the bloody chickens out. And it wasn't as though the Dealcours would be sleeping in the chicken coop or sticking their noses in it, trying to judge if it was nice enough. Giving another glare at the chickens, he trudged back into the house.
Excluding a narrow instance where he had to wait in a broom cupboard to hide from his mum, he made it up to the room he and Harry were sharing fine. Ron snuck inside the room, closing the door quietly, just in case. Seeing Harry and Hermione, he sighed. "Bloody hell. Just gotten away from her," he said with a cautionary glance at the door. "What'd she make you guys do?" Ron asked, sitting down on the floor and leaning against the frame of his bed.
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Post by Harry Potter on Feb 10, 2011 9:58:18 GMT -5
Harry opened his mouth, feeling badgered again when Hermione begged him to close his mind, but Ron entered and took a seat on the ground, completely changing the subject to Harry's overwhelming relief. "Clean out-" He stopped himself from saying Percy's name just in time and instead went with, "one of the bedrooms so that Bill and Charlie have a place to sleep when the extra guests start arriving. What about you?" He gave Hermione a pleading look to just go with the flow and not cling to her desire for Harry to learn a skill he had never been very good at.
He went and sat next to Ron on the ground, resting his head against the wall and closing his eyes briefly. When he opened them again he had the strangest feeling that Ron and Hermione had been having a silent conversation about him...but maybe he was being paranoid. He cleared his throat. "So I think we should figure out where we want to go after the wedding."
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Post by Hermione Granger on Feb 10, 2011 10:26:47 GMT -5
Hermione jumped at the sound of Ron's voice and withdrew her hand from Harry's shoulder. She folded her arms over her chest, her eyes still focused on Harry but her body inclined in Ron's direction. Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly and sighed. She gave Harry a small nod and said, "I had to sort out the clothes for laundry." She paused and grinned in Ron's direction before teasing, "I would have never guessed you were the dragon-boxers type." She hid her mouth behind her hand and stifled a giggle. Harry soon joined Ron on the ground, and Hermione remained standing by the window. She exchanged a knowing look with Ron before replying, "I have made a list of possible locations."
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Post by glacialmai on Feb 10, 2011 11:06:38 GMT -5
He looked from Harry to Hermione again, his eyes narrowing in thought. He sent Hermione a questioning look, thinking for a moment about what the pair had been talking about before Ron walked in. However, he was drawn out of thought by Harry's question. "Better than me, mate. I was cleaning out the chicken coops. Not exactly what I'd call fun, y'know," he said, grimacing.
As Hermione finished explaining what her chore had been, Ron made an odd choking sound as his ears turning a brilliant scarlet, his eyes wide as he struggled to find words. "That's...that's private, that is! You could've...I don't go...Completely mental," he said, stumbling over words as his throat had just become very dry. He mumbled a few things, just as clipped off as the rest. After a quick moment he hastily cleared his throat, ears still scarlet. "Completely unture," he mumbled.
As Harry asked the question that Ron himself had been thinking about a fair bit, he glanced at Hermione. " 'Course you've made a list." "Well, we still have the fake locket, right? What if we used it as bait or something?" he suggested, shrugging. Although that didn't really answer the question, Ron knew. Not that could see You-Know-Who being tricked like that.
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Post by Harry Potter on Feb 10, 2011 11:13:57 GMT -5
Harry shook off the paranoid feeling with a broad grin at Hermione's underwear comment that promptly had Ron choking and sputtering, turning redder than his hair. "You should have told me; I would have gotten you some for your birthday instead of those quidditch gloves" he teased, giving the still scarlet Ron a friendly clap on the shoulder closest to him.
The cheery atmosphere died down a bit as their conversation circled back around to his original question about places to go after the wedding. "I was thinking Godric's Hollow..." he piped up, hoping it was on Hermione's list but doubting it was. He avoided eye contact with her when he suggested it. Instead he looked to Ron. "Yeah, we still have it...dunno what kind of trap we could lay that wouldn't have the possibility of it being stolen though."
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Post by Hermione Granger on Feb 16, 2011 5:55:04 GMT -5
Hermione burst out laughing when Ron stumbled for words. She sat down beside them and said sarcastically but in a playful manner, "Of course it's untrue. I am sure they belong to Fred or George, even though they had your name sewed on them." Hermione started giggling again, however she soon grew serious when they started discussing their plans. She raised one finger to silence them, reached for her wand and cast the Muffiliato charm.
"What?" she demanded. Hermione shrugged and added, "Don't look at me like that." She had originally disapproved of the charm created by Snape, however, she came to realise it would be useful for them. She turned to Harry disapprovingly and said firmly, "Definitely not. He will expect you to go there Harry. He has probably Death Eaters patrolling the streets, waiting for our arrival." Hermione raised her brow at Ron's suggested.
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Post by glacialmai on Feb 17, 2011 0:03:10 GMT -5
Ron muttered something darkly under his breath, though he cleared his throat again after a few seconds. He looked up as Harry suggested their first location and he tried not to share another glance with Hermione. While it wasn't number one on the places they absolutely shouldn't go at all, Ron had to admit that he didn't find the idea completely safe. "In all honestly, I don't know if I want another run-in You-Know-Who himself," he admitted, his heart dropping at the thought of such a thing. He barely stopped himself from mentioning the skirmish while rescuing Harry -- he didn't want to think about it all that much.
This time, however, he couldn't help himself as Hermione pulled out her wand. Ron was giving her a look as he was trying really very not to smile. Hermione was really the one who had had the most problem with the Half-Blood Prince -- before they found out who it was, the slimy git -- although now she certainly wasn't objecting to using the spells. As Hermione retorted to the unsaid comment Ron had etched along his face, he grinned. Looking down to fiddle with a shoelace that was fraying at the end, he looked up, the air much more serious as they discussed where exactly they'd be going.
"Well," said Ron, slowly, frowning at his shoelace as he tried to remember anything about Godric's Hallow besides the obvious. "They're probably not in the full "open" open. It's not a full Wizarding village, like Hogsmeade. There's Muggles and everything they have to hide from," he continued, shrugging a bit as he looked up and at each of them. "They could still hide though, mate," he admitted to Harry. "May not be the best place to start off on."
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Post by Harry Potter on Feb 17, 2011 6:22:05 GMT -5
Harry also raised an eyebrow when she put a hold on their conversation to use the spell she had highly dissaproved of but his reaction wasn't as comical as Ron's so it was no surprise that she directed her comeback to him.
Then they were ganging up on him about his choice of Godric's Hollow and he sighed, defeated. "Fine, so not there then. I still reckon there's got to be a horcrux in Hogwarts" he added hopefully.
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Post by Hermione Granger on Feb 17, 2011 13:42:49 GMT -5
Hermione rested her elbows on her knees and leaned forwards with narrowed eyes, listening to Ron. She shook her head and asked with a sigh, "Since when did the Death Eaters worry about other wizards and witches or muggles." She pursed her lips and shrugged. "I am actually surprised there haven't been so many reported deaths in that area." Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment. She was glad that Harry had given in, yet again that look on his face was too familiar and heartbreaking. She nodded at his words and said, "I agree. The problem will be to actually get in the castle and figuring out where it is hidden." She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and asked uncertainly, "Perhaps the Chamber of Secrets?" Hermione directed her gaze to Harry and added, "Do you remember seeing anything out of the ordinary?"
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Post by glacialmai on Feb 18, 2011 3:17:58 GMT -5
"That could be why the Death Eaters aren't killing a bunch of Muggles. All that publicity doesn't exactly give a good place for You-Know-Who to keep an eye on," said Ron, with a glance at Hermione. He shifted, sitting up and giving a small chuckle. "I'm sure it'll be fine if all of us just walk in, right?" he asked, grinning.
The question made sense though, although he wasn't sure Harry would've had much time to look around what with Tom Riddle nearly killing Ginny. Nevertheless, he looked at Harry curiously, as he did have a bit of a knack for noticing certain things at odd points. Ron hadn't gone past the huge wall of rock that was in the Chamber of Secrets after Lockhart's Memory Charm had nearly collapsed the tunnel.
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Post by Harry Potter on Feb 18, 2011 6:45:19 GMT -5
Harry, thrilled that they didn't immediately throw out his Hogwarts idea, was a little dishearted at the Chamber comments. "No" he muttered. "There wasn't really anything in there to be made into a horcrux." He opened his mouth to continue theorizing but the bedroom door slammed open with the force of a hurricaine and there stood a disheveled and somewhat angry looking Mrs. Weasley. Harry scrambled to his feet.
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