Even his iron control was insufficient to the task, and Snape had to claim a sudden, serious cold to explain his watery eyes and runny nose to the worried brat. Then of course, Harry promptly summoned both Madame Pomfrey and the house elves who forced him to consume disgusting potions and numerous hot drinks. "It's really bad," Harry anxiously informed Poppy. "He needed like two handkerchiefs before he felt better!"
Poppy studied her scans and gave the glaring Potion Master a sharp look. "Hmmmm. Yes, well, I think he'll get better quickly now, Mr Potter. Perhaps some quiet time would be best, however. I'll tell the Headmaster not to expect either of you in the Great Hall until dinnertime."
That news brightened Snape's spirits considerably, and Harry was reassured by the prompt "recovery". Snape was even able to convince the brat to spend the afternoon building animated snowmen with Hagrid and the other students, thus providing him with privacy in which to reread the essay over and over. The picture he placed in his bedroom тАУ it wouldn't do for Albus to spot it and think he was getting all soft тАУ but he placed the essay next to Lily's sweater for safekeeping. They were his two most prized possessions, even if he had no intention of revealing that fact to anyone. Ever.
TBCтАж
*Chapter 42*: Chapter 42
Harry greatly enjoyed his visit with the Weasleys, though from time to time he found himself missing his father and the quiet of their quarters. Such brooding didn't last long, however, as one or another of the redheaded clan would quickly interrupt him with offers of various activities. Harry began to realize that being in the middle of a large family made it hard to be bored for long, though sometimes his ears rang from all the noise.
Having Bill and Charlie at home was great fun, and Harry grew to adore both young men, but his first few days at the Burrow were a bit challenging. All the roughhousing that occurred, seemingly without end, was at first a little too reminiscent of Dudley's Harry-hunting or Vernon's angry shouts, but Harry quickly realized that none of the Weasleys were actually being hurt. Of course, his initial confusion was understandable, given the yells and shrieks that usually accompanied such activities. When Bill - still shedding yellow feathers from one of the twins' latest pranks - grabbed each one by an arm and dragged them, still in pajamas and bare feet, outside out to scrub their faces with snow, the windows trembled with the force of their howls. When Molly realized what had occurred, her own shouts made it clear that such healthy lungs were a maternal inheritance.
Even after it became clear that the tussles were nothing more than good fun and noisy play, Harry still hung back, uncertain of both his welcome in such activities and his willingness to risk Molly's wrath. That lasted all of 48 hours, when a monster snowball fight spilled into the house and even Arthur and Molly forgot their adult dignity and joined in. No one was spared and Harry - and even Percy - were swept up in the battle. Harry's speed and agility made him a difficult target, but Charlie finally eschewed all subtlety and simply engulfed him in a surprisingly gentle tackle. Ginny promptly leapt to his rescue, her hero worship of The Boy Who Lived having long since transformed into a more realistic and genuine affection for her brother's friend, and stuffed several handfuls of snow down Charlie's back before he could grab her in turn. Now with one squirming, kicking, pinching child tucked under each arm, Charlie rose and - with a gleam in his eye - headed for a particularly deep snow drift.
"Nooooo! Charlie, don't!" Ginny shrieked, seeing their doom approach. Harry looked around frantically for allies, but Ron and Percy were blitzing Arthur's position with snowballs while the twins desperately tried to wreak vengeance on Bill for their earlier snowy face washing.
Charlie gave an evil chuckle as he stopped, swinging from side to side as he worked up momentum to toss his two unwilling passengers into the snowbank ahead of him. Harry and Ginny tried to wiggle free of his grip, but Charlie was used to wrestling baby dragons and was oblivious to the children's efforts. Just as Harry knew they were about to be airborne, Molly sweetly called, "Oh, Charlie, dear!"
All three heads turned in surprise to see Molly smiling at them from a few yards away. She pointed upwards and they followed her gaze to discover an enormous clump of snow hovering just above Charlie's head. The instant their eyes widened, Molly canceled her hover charm and had the great satisfaction of seeing all three disappear underneath a mountain of snow.
It took them a moment to dig themselves out - spitting snow and with eyes newly shining in glee - and then all previous hostilities were forgotten as the three turned on their mutual foe. "Get her!" Charlie roared, and Ginny and Harry let out shrill war whoops as they chased after the big redhead and the fleeing, laughing Molly.
That more or less removed the last of Harry's inhibitions and he slowly relaxed and enjoyed all the mayhem as it swirled around him, occasionally breaking over his head as well. He still tensed a bit when one of the older boys took off after the twins - who were, as usual, using the holidays as an excuse to test their latest gags and driving everyone mad in the process - but he could be confident the resulting screams were due to a tickling hex and not a brutal beating. Even when Charlie or, more often, Bill finally lost his temper and held the two teens down for a few resounding whacks on the rear, it was clear the twins' loud yelps and dancing about clutching their bums owed more to their love of attention than any real distress. Harry also noticed their antics tended to mollify their older brothers, and he grinned at this further evidence that the twins were rather more Slytherin than anyone realized.
What Harry didn't notice was how carefully all of the Weasley children avoided pouncing on him from behind or doing anything that might take him by surprise. Though only Ron had been privvy to Harry's confidences, Snape had made it clear to Molly and Arthur that Harry was still struggling to overcome his time with the Dursleys, and they had, in turn, shared enough with their older children to make it clear that Harry was not to be ambushed or forced into anything. Even the twins understood that Harry was off limits, and though they didn't know all the details, they knew enough to realize that (a) they could seriously upset the boy with unthinking pranks and (b) their parents would murder them if they did. Arthur's pointed reference to the aftermath of their attempt to get a young Ronnie to make an Unbreakable Vow had been more than enough to convince them that this was one parental stricture to be obeyed without question.
Only Ron and Ginny had been spared the parental briefing, but Ron had - unbeknownst to the adults - told his sister that Harry's home life had hardly been the idyllic fairy tale of The Boy Who Lived and that if she insisted on treating him like an icon, she'd embarrass both herself and Harry. Ginny was bright enough to fill in the gaps of what Ron didn't say, and her awe and shyness was transformed into a fierce protectiveness that at first startled both her brothers and Harry. As a result, between Molly and Arthur's stern directives and Ginny's eagle eyed vigilance, the Weasley boys took great care not to alarm Harry with their exuberance.
The object of all this solicitude was blissfully unaware of it, and Harry slipped happily into life among the Weasleys, experiencing for the first time the chaos and joy of a large, happy family.
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Though Harry managed to avoid any major trouble during his time at the Weasleys, he did not escape completely scot-free. Towards the end of his visit, he demonstrated his comfort at the Burrow by joining Ron and Ginny in a heated battle with the twins, prompted by the twins attempting to prank Ron with a rather realistic-looking toy spider. Fred and George found to their dismay that their youngest brother now had formidable allies in both Harry and Ginny (who had been privately tutored by Bill in some particularly nasty hexes). The living room was reduced to rubble in the ensuing hostilities, and all five children were banished to bed right after supper.