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The Mystery in the Attic | ||||||
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Category: SIYE Challenges new Characters:Harry/Ginny, Ron Weasley Genres: General, Humor, Romance Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 9 Summary: Harry is spending the summer at the Burrow after the tragic events at the Ministry in OotP. His late-night foray into the kitchen for a snack is interrupted by a sound from the attic. Is it the ghoul or is there something more mysterious at work? Written for the SIYE "Summer at the Burrow" challenge. Hitcount: Story Total: 9404; Chapter Total: 1542 Awards: View Trophy Room |
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If Harry hadn’t already known that Ginny was up to something, he never would have guessed based on her demeanor. He took every opportunity to watch her interactions, but she never gave any indication that there was anything amiss. At breakfast, he noticed that she didn’t look especially exhausted despite her late-night escapades. Then again, she hadn’t gone overboard in trying to present herself as awake and perky. Having spent as much time at the Burrow as Harry had, he knew that she wasn’t exactly a morning person. Still, she maintained just the right amount of grogginess to seem reasonable without allowing herself to become as surly as early-morning Ron. When Mrs. Weasley assigned chores and informed them that she would be visiting Diagon Alley to pick up some supplies, Harry wondered if Ginny would try to join her mother to procure more ingredients for whatever she was brewing in the attic. Instead, she huffed about being asked to help make lunch while the boys got the “more fun” job of finishing the de-gnoming of the garden. (Several gnome bites later, Harry felt quite certain that he would have preferred to switch tasks with Ginny. Or at least had her alongside him and Ron as they made a game of who could launch the little blighters furthest.) He kept a sharp eye out to see if Ginny slipped away into the Burrow or headed up the stairs at odd times, but he could never catch her doing anything that seemed suspicious. His attempts did result in a few instances when she caught him staring at her, which led to him awkwardly averting his eyes. Harry felt determined to catch her in the act, but couldn’t bring himself to loop Ron into the task. It didn’t feel right to blab to him about what Ginny was doing, especially since Harry didn’t know what kind of potion she was brewing. The question of what was bubbling in the attic cauldron simmered in the back of Harry’s mind all day. Several ridiculous possibilities occurred to him before being quickly rejected. It was a frustrating enough mystery that he almost wished he’d paid better attention in Snape’s class. In the late afternoon, Ron, Ginny, and Harry were tossing stones into the pond together. The sploosh of the rocks interrupted the droning of insects and the warbling of birds in the trees. Conversation was sporadic, as the simple joy of throwing stones was more than enough to keep the quiet from becoming awkward. Harry stole occasional glances at Ginny for any indication of guilt about her clandestine potioneering, but her warm, easy smile gave away none of her secrets. He had just about decided to simply ask her about it when Ron accidentally put a new possibility into his head. “So what’s all this about you and Dean?” asked Ron, flinging a rock high into the air before it landed with a splash near the opposite bank, causing a startled frog to leap into the water. “Didn’t you just break things off with that Corner bloke?” Ginny let out an exasperated snort and threw her stone clear across the pond. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I broke things off with Michael after the last quidditch match. Dean asked me out a few weeks before the term ended.” Harry thought that Dean had always been a decent type, but something about the speed with which he’d swooped in after Ginny rubbed him wrong. Not that Harry had much experience in those kinds of matters, but it seemed almost disrespectful to jump in so quickly after her previous relationship had ended. Harry hadn’t even been aware that she and Michael were over before Dean had already made his move. He wasn’t sure why the timing rankled him, but it somehow felt wrong to Harry. “I’m just a little concerned, is all,” said Ron defensively. “He’s older than you and I know how older guys think sometimes…” Harry tossed his stone into the water as he watched the beginnings of an argument unfold. Ginny’s bright eyes flashed dangerously as she turned on Ron, who had the decency to look sheepish about under her glare. “Unless I’m misremembering, I think I proved that I could handle myself fairly well while we were all at the Ministry. I’m not at all worried about dealing with my boyfriend, especially since he’s not nearly as dense as some people I know.” She threw her stone with such ferocity that Harry heard it collide with the far bank and sink several inches into the soft, wet earth. “Sorry, sorry! I’m just trying to be a decent brother. Looking out for you and whatnot. No need to get your knickers in a twist!” The spat continued, but Harry’s mind was flooded with thoughts that hadn’t occurred to him before: What if Ginny was brewing a potion in secret because it had something to do with Dean? Sirius had given Harry a brief yet mortifying talk about romance the previous summer which had covered many subjects, including contraception. What his godfather had simply referred to as “the potion” was the most reliable method, and it was readily available. Madam Pomfrey kept a supply in the hospital wing and many apothecaries and potion shops carried it. Sirius had been adamant that it was challenging to brew correctly and that it was far safer to get it from someone who knew what they were doing instead of trying to make it on your own. Not that Ron had gone into details, as both boys were too embarrassed to discuss it much, but Harry knew that Mr. Weasley had given him a similar talk around the same time. Ginny was threatening to use a Bat Bogey Hex on her brother as Harry attempted to get a read on her. Maybe Mrs. Weasley hadn’t yet given her a version of that uncomfortable talk, so she didn’t know the dangers of attempting to brew the potion. Without meaning to, Harry considered the size of the Weasley clan and briefly questioned whether they had heard of contraception, before shaking his head furiously to dispel any such thoughts. Judging by the heated argument between the two youngest Weasley siblings about the basic premise of Ginny’s romantic life, Harry held no illusions about how bringing up a sensitive subject like the potion would go. He pictured himself as a smoldering mass of liquified limbs and charred hair before resolving not to broach the topic. Still, the thought that Ginny could be in over her head unsettled Harry. He took more chances to look over at her until she finally stormed away from her brother, leaving him in a blustering huff. “Girls… Am I right?” asked Ron, leaning back in frustration and flinging another stone at the pond. He accepted Harry’s inarticulate grunt as answer enough. The two of them remained at the pond for several more minutes before returning to the Burrow, where Harry noticed Ginny’s conspicuous absence. While Ron was showering, Harry quietly crept to Ginny’s closed door and knocked twice. He told himself that he only intended to check to make sure she wasn’t upset, but nagging curiosity about whether she had snuck up to the attic was the more likely cause. Only silence greeted his knocks. Harry didn’t consciously decide to check for Ginny in the attic, but soon found his feet climbing the stairs to the topmost door in the Burrow. It, too, was closed. Before he could convince himself to do otherwise, Harry’s hand was on the knob. He was surprised to find it unlocked, stepping quickly inside and shutting the door behind him. The attic was humid and dusty. Dim sunlight peeked through the shingles and a few cracks in the boards, allowing Harry just enough visibility to find the string to pull to turn on the lone lightbulb. The room was stuffed full of various boxes, many of which were overflowing with odds and ends. One corner seemed dedicated to holiday decorations, while another contained a pile of what looked like old school things. There was a loud thump to Harry’s left that caused him to jump. Staring at him from a nest made of old blankets and worn-out clothes was what he could only assume was the Weasley’s ghoul. It was greyish-brown in color and had exceedingly large eyes that looked at Harry with consternation. “Oh, hullo there,” stammered Harry, very much unsure what to say to a ghoul. “I just came up here to see if Ginny was around. Have you seen her?” The ghoul glared at him and made a small grunt, which Harry had no idea how to interpret. “Right then… I’ll just look around a bit then get out of your hair.” Harry took a few cautious steps away from the completely hairless ghoul before returning to surveying the rest of the attic. It took him a moment to realize what was off about the room. Despite what he’d seen the night before, there was no cauldron full of secret potion visible. He cocked his head to the side before noticing a large cardboard box that was turned upside down. It wasn’t covered with the same layer of dust as the rest of the items. Careful not to knock anything over, Harry lifted the box to reveal the bubbling cauldron. Swirling steam emanated from the liquid, but it dissipated quickly into the air after escaping the potion. He thought it looked rather complicated compared to the more basic remedies he’d seen Mrs. Weasley brewing or the concoctions he’d created for Professor Snape. It didn’t resemble the Polyjuice Potion in the way it looked, but it did give the impression of something similarly complex. He replaced the cardboard box where he had found it. His intrigue about what the potion might be was piqued, but he knew that his lack of potion proficiency made identifying the brew unassisted nearly impossible. Harry had begun to resign himself to never finding out what secrets bubbled within the cauldron when he spied a slender book nestled beneath a worn pair of pants. The title was emblazoned across its spine in red block letters: Potions of the Heart. Before Harry had time to register the book’s meaning, the ghoul stomped its thick foot upon the wooden floor. A resounding thump echoed through the attic and surely throughout the entire Burrow. He spared one final glimpse at the book before bolting for the door. He had taken three steps down the stairs before he realized his mistake of leaving the light on, but Mrs. Weasley’s frustrated yell for Ron to quiet the ghoul stymied any thought of returning to the attic to cover his tracks. With any luck, he thought, maybe Ginny would assume that Ron had left the light on. “I’m in the shower, Mum!” called Ron irritably. “Make Ginny do it!” Harry felt a shot of panic course through him as light footsteps indicated Ginny was quickly making her way up the stairs. He was still too far away from Ron’s room to make it there before her, so he ducked into Bill and Charlie’s old room as quietly as he could, hoping against hope that she didn’t find him. She rushed past and hurried up the stairs toward the attic. When Harry heard the door click behind her, he snuck back down to Ron’s room as quietly as possible. His stomach clenched each time a stair creaked, but he was safely on the other side of the door by the time Ginny’s footsteps made their way back down. |
| Reviews 9 |
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