Chapter 021
"Why?" Bill was starting to feel like he was having a conversation with the twins for as much sense as this was making.
"Like I said, I got blamed for the magic. Apparently I get a freebie but I want whatever the elf did off my record so I can still keep my freebie in case I actually need to use it," Harry said gesturing with his fork like it made perfect sense.
"Err, we can ask my dad. He works in the Ministry so he should at least be able to get a letter to the right people if not take you in to talk to them…"
"Sweet! I love you guys!" Harry dived back into his meal completely ignoring Bill's facepalm.
"Now I see why you get along with Fred and George and not Ron."
"Well that's easy," Harry chuckled, "the twins are funny and as long as you can get them to keep to some limits, very nice. Ron's a prat who can't seem to understand why I get annoyed with people treating me like a celebrity for something I didn't even do."
"I'll…talk to my brother," Bill said with a sigh. "I'm not looking to take sides in this thing. I'm not home nearly enough to deal with that sort of drama."
"George said you worked with Gringotts in Egypt right?"
"Yeah. I had a job in the area for an old friend and figured I'd stick around for an extra day or two for you to show up so I could talk to you."
Harry frowned at that. "Why did you want to talk to me?"
"Well," Bill shrugged, "my friend mentioned you had a talent for runes so I just wanted to see for myself how far that extended. I'm a cursebreaker, we deal with runes a lot in that job."
Harry started to speak before stopping and laughing. "Let me guess, Shiva?"
Bill chuckled too. "Got it in one. The girl was a year behind me but she knew her stuff almost better than I did! Said you were a bit of a savant with runes." Harry nodded. "Sweet! Would you mind taking a look at this etching? My team in Egypt ran across it a few days ago and while I'm pretty sure we've got the dangerous stuff figured out I wanted a second opinion was I was here."
"You do know I just turned 12?" Harry said raising his eyebrows.
"Harry, I grew up with Fred and George. They were making better potions than Mum at 12 and she's studied it for years. And you come highly recommended," he winked. "Like I said, just a second opinion."
"You're scouting me…" Harry said with a bit of pride creeping into his voice.
Bill laughed. "Maybe a little."
Harry just shrugged, pushed his plate to the side and held out his hand. The twins walked into the kitchen and sat down as he took the paper from their brother. "Fair warning, I'm probably going to end up opening a shop at some point."
Fred and George shared a look and silent grin while Bill just shrugged. "I don't doubt it. Can't blame a guy for trying though."
Molly ambled into the kitchen with a huff. "Bill, stop bothering, Harry. He's a guest." Bill rolled his eyes at his mother.
"Hmm," Harry muttered staring at the rune scheme. "This is nasty. That's some sort of explosion trigger, this part looks like it would turn the target inside out before cooking them, this section is a super powered cutting charm – way more than necessary for even an entrenched target really, and oh, this one…" Harry's mouth dropped open. "Seriously? Soul absorption? I didn't even think that was possible!"
"Man, Shiva did not oversell you at all," Bill whistled. Molly behind him was gaping like a fish. "That was the part we were worried about too. That specific cluster doesn't look like it worked quite as designed thankfully. If it had, Edgar wouldn't be around to buy us all drinks, but it's right nasty that's for sure. Thanks for the read, Harry."
"Harry, you put that down this instant!" Molly had finally regained her power of speech. "Children have no business reading horrid things like that! Bill! What were you thinking bringing that into this house! I raised you better than that!"
"Mum…" Bill sighed as the twins snickered beside him.
Before Molly could say anything else, a young redheaded girl came in from off the stairs. She yawned and stretched before glancing around. The girl started towards Bill with a big smile on her face before she caught sight of Harry and froze. Her mouth snapped closed and with a squeak the girl took off like a shot back up the stairs, nightdress flaring behind her.
"Uhh…" Harry uttered staring in confusion at the blank space where the girl had retreated.
"Honestly, that girl!" Molly snorted. "Harry, why don't you grab your things and take them upstairs. You'll be sharing with Ron."
Harry, Fred and George all frowned immediately at that. "Mum, that's not such a good idea," Fred said.
"No offense, Mrs. Weasley, but I would really prefer not to. Ron and I…don't exactly get along," Harry sighed.
"Nonsense, Ron is a sweet boy. There's no reason you two can't get along perfectly well." Molly turned back to the counter obviously considering the discussion over.
"No reason beyond his jealousy and tendency to insult practically everything Harry likes," George muttered.
"Ma'am, I really – " the rest of Harry's statement was cut off as the boy in question came into the room and plopped down grabbing a handful of biscuit and throwing it into his mouth.
Ron was halfway through his bite when he noticed Harry sitting at the table and his visage darkened immediately. "What the hell is he doing here?"
"The twins," Molly glared at the two for a moment, "decided not to wait for your father and myself and left last night to bring Harry back."
"Rescue," Fred said with a scowl. "Rescue, not bring."
"Boys, please – "
"There were bars on the window, Mum. And locks on his door and trunk. And apparently the cupboard was – "
"Thanks for the support, Fred," Harry said cutting him off. "I appreciate the jailbreak." Fred and George turned to each other then Harry and nodded slightly before falling quiet. "Anyway, Mrs. Weasley, Bill said your husband could take me to talk to someone in the Ministry? I need to get an Underage Magic Warning off my record."
"Oh, so the Boy-Who-Lived is going to throw around his fame like usual," Ron drawled around a bite of bacon.
Bill facepalmed again. "It is far too early to deal with this. I'm going to go say goodbye to Ginny and head out. Fred, George, try not to burn down the house. Ron, stop talking with your mouth full. Mum, stop arguing with me about work. Someone tell Perce I said hi and Dad that I love him." He walked up the stairs leaving Molly shaking her head, the twins with a grin and Ron glaring.
"Harry, dear, Arthur can take you into work with him tomorrow morning if you want," Harry nodded at Molly's reply. It was better than nothing and much more than he had expected from the woman the way the previous conversation had been going. "I still think you should sleep with Ron…" Ron's snarl answered that comment well enough, "but I suppose if Percy is alright with it you can share his room instead."
It ended up being almost a week before Harry could get to the Ministry to speak with Mafalda Hopkirk. It was also a supremely unhelpful meeting. Harry argued with the annoying woman for nearly an hour repeatedly stating that he had done no magic over the summer and that if he had it would have been a hell of a lot flashier than a simple hover charm. Hopkirk then brought out her records proving that there had been a hover charm performed at Number 4 Privet Drive. Harry had repeatedly stated that a house elf had been the one performing the charm. Hopkirk replied that such an excuse was ridiculous since no wizards lived nearby so obviously no house elf would be near Privet Drive either. Harry offered to take a test or give an oath or drink a potion to prove it hadn't been him and Hopkirk had scoffed, saying that there was no way she could get authorization for something like that with such a simple clear-cut case. Things quickly descended into a shouting match from there. After Harry demanded to see her boss, Hopkirk threw him out in a huff saying that Director Bones was far too busy to be bothered by a foolish boy's temper tantrum.
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