“i told you he was goiuesday! give me five sikles!” gee is howling, and r, grudgingly shoves a hand dow of his pants.
there is a flurry of red hair and he finds his arms filled with ginny and his bak roughly patted by arthur.
at the bak of the rowd, molly wipes at her eyes surreptitiously using her apron, and harry fshes her a shy grin.
molly huffs, wipes at her eyes again, bef a dle iion. “well, ome on, then, harry, you’re just in time for lunh.”
&able, after gee tells him through a mouthful of food at how bad ron is at gambling, harry tells molly that drao liked her blueberry pie, e din for breakfast again the day.
molly dabs at her eyes ron again. and again. and again. until arthur just ughs, pulls her in f, as her ry on his shoulder.
august omes to a lose, and the upoming shool year has everyone busy, so muh that the invitations for whatever funtioopped. he thinks that that’s why narissa has stopped asking him to ome to the manh she has told him that he’s welome ao.
harry doesh, beause hermione’s bak and he’s been spending a lot of his time in the burrow again, doing st minute house repairs and st minute shopping in diagohey dmours, of ourse, and harry wonders if drao’s well enough tooo.
&hat molly and narissa keep in onstant orrespondene, however, and molly doesion anything out of the ordinary, and so harry doesn’t ask.
&ember 1 is just around the orner.
ptform 9 ? is full aiime harry pushes his art through the wall. it is as kingsley warned him: on folk and paparazzi alike are goiing tooth and a glimpse of him.
he pulls his hat dowo over his eyes, even though he’s o his dirty bly heeks won’t attrat aer. he’s not even wearing his gsses, and only hermione’s small hand on his bak is keeping him from pushing his art dowrak.
ron, alsmour, had already boarded ahead of them, as pnned. people will be expetio ome troup of three, hermione had expined. any group of three students will automatially be a target of srutiny, nmours were.
there were reporters shouting “there!” and pointing to various diretiohe orret one. harry resolutely ighe vend pins and balloons with his fae pstered o isering piture of him.
“look, it’s drao malfoy!”
harry immediately looks up, searhih’s blurred. he looks for where one person is pointiher pe, as, willing his vision to fous, ahey’re looking at him.
aher person says, “naw, that’s not malfoy. malfoy’s a thin d. do yer job properly, why don’t ya?”
from behind him, harry hears someood. i do to see death eater sum today.”
harry almost turns arou hermioens her grip oer on his bak.
“zah,” hermioered into a high-pithed squeak, sounds from beside him, auro him, a smile pstered ohik lips. “i rekon we should hurry it up, don’t you? we don’t want to miss the train.”
harry grumbles, but allows her to lead him away.
as soohe ompartment where ron’s waitihey olpse on the benh aake mours. they sigh loudly as they sag os.
“it’s razy,” ginny says in disbelief, peelihe losed urtain away from the wihe mess of people outside.
“they’re bo’s what they are.” ron shakes his head, a striken look ohey were selling ginger quills! ‘show your love for ron weasley’ and all that shite! ginger quills!”
brushing her hair away from her fae, hermione says seriously, “their ually really omfortable to use.”
ron turns his horrified expression her way. “you bought a ginger quill?”
hermione smiles, her eyes twinkling. “i passed by a shop selling them in diagon alley. show your love for ron weasley and all that shite.”
and ginny bursts into ughter and harry ughs along with her as rourns as red as his hair, aely his dynami among them.
he and gino an uanding that they weren’t ready for a retionship, with both of them still m all they’ve lost. ron and hermione had bravely taken on the hallenge, and harry had been autious at first, thinking that it was that had to ha the end of the day, he loves his friends, is immensely proud of them aionship, and—tely—have been thinking that maybe it won’t be so differeween all of them after all.
&s express this year is, as predited, sparsely oupied.
&s would t their hildren bak, after everything that’s happehe carrows,” ginny says quietly, frowning at her hands on her p as she realls the things that happe shool year. as the train’s horn sounds and it lurhes into a start, she looks at harry with a worried expression. “and, i overheard some people talking in diagon alley. wotten around that malfoy’s also oming bak.”
harry’s lips press together thinly. he ahers whisperiher, oher heir sons ao hogwarts beause of aer. he an’t really bme them, but it still sours his mood.
“it’s just us an