Drifted off to take a bath.

“The Trace’ll break on the thirty-first,” said Harry. “That means I only need to

stay here four days. Then I can –“

“Five days,” Ron corrected him firmly. “We’ve got to stay for the wedding.

They’ll kill us if we miss it.”

Harry understood “they” to mean Fleur and Mrs. Weasley.

“It’s one extra day,” said Ron, when Harry looked mutinous.

“Don’t they realize how important –?”

“’Course they don’t,” said Ron. “They haven’t got a clue. And now you mention

it, I wanted to talk to you about that.”

Ron glanced toward the door into the hall to check that Mrs. Weasley was not

Returning yet, then leaned in closer to Harry.

“Mum’s been trying to get it out of Hermione and me. What we’re off to do.

She’ll try you next, so brace yourself. Dad and Lupin’ve both asked as well, but when we

Said Dumbledore told you not to tell anyone except us, they dropped it. Not Mum, though.

She’s determined.”

Ron’s prediction came true within hours. Shortly before lunch, Mrs. Weasley

detached Harry from the others by asking him to help identify a lone man’s sock that she

Thought might have come out of his rucksack. Once she had him cornered in the tiny

Scullery off the kitchen, she started.

“Ron and Hermione seem to think that the three of you are dropping out of

Hogwarts,” she began in a light, casual tone.

“Oh,” said Harry. “Well, yeah. We are.”

The mangle turned of its own accord in a corner, wringing out what looked like

one of Mr. Weasley’s vests.

“May I ask why you are abandoning your education?” said Mrs. Weasley.

“Well, Dumbledore left me . . . stuff to do,” mumbled Harry. “Ron and Hermione

know about it, and they want to come too.”

“What sort of ‘stuff’?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t –“

“Well, frankly, I think Arthur and I have a right to know, and I’m sure Mr. And

Mrs. Granger would agree!” said Mrs. Weasley. Harry had been afraid of the “concerned

parent” attack. He forced himself to look directly into her eyes, noticing as he did so that

they were precisely the same shade of brown as Ginny’s. This did not help.

“Dumbledore didn’t want anyone else to know, Mrs. Weasley. I’m sorry. Ron and

Hermione don’t have to come, it’s their choice –“

“I don’t see that you have to go either!” she snapped, dropping all pretense now.

“You’re barely of age, any of you! It’s utter nonsense, if Dumbledore needed work doing,

he had the whole Order at his command! Harry, you must have misunderstood him.

Probably he was telling you something he wanted done, and you took it to mean that he

wanted you–“

“I didn’t misunderstand,” said Harry flatly. “It’s got to be me.”

He handed her back the single sock he was supposed to be identifying, which was

Patterned with golden bulrushes.

“And that’s not mine. I don’t support Puddlemere United.”

“Oh, of course not,” said Mrs. Weasley with a sudden and rather unnerving return

to her casual tone. “I should have realized. Well, Harry, while we’ve still got you here,

you won’t mind helping with the preparations for Bill and Fleur’s wedding, will you?

There’s still so much to do.”

“No – I – of course not,” said Harry, disconcerted by this sudden change of

Subject.

“Sweet of you,” she replied, and she smiled as she left the scullery.

From that moment on, Mrs. Weasley kept Harry, Ron and Hermione so busy with

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 625