Coup de Foudre [Fred Weasley] [6]

⚡️ Chapter 3 ⚡️

Vega and Harry were quiet as they made their way up the stairs and right over to where his bedroom was located. He opened the door and allowed her to step inside first and then followed behind her, closing the door while Vega took in the sight of the room, absolutely offended by the mess that he had made in his room over two weeks.

"Harry, you're..." Vega trailed off, trying to find words to say but unable to. She sighed and just shook her head. "So, uh, were you really doubtful that Dumbledore would come by? I mean, if he hadn't, I would've taken you with me to the Burrow,"

"I wasn't sure if my owl would reach him," Harry admitted as he started to chuck his stuff into his open, dishevelled trunk. "How have you been, Vega?"

"Just okay," Vega admitted. "I, uh, got to meet Fred the previous weekend – he came over and we went to his flat... and Dora's been busy with her work a lot... especially since the new Minister is asking a lot from the Aurors – you know, since he was previously the Head of Auror Office,"

"is he like Fudge or...?" Harry asked, and Vega knew that he was asking that because the pair of them were more likely to run into Ministers than not.

"Well, I don't know Scrimgeour personally," Vega told him. "But from what I have heard, he is quite strict and goal-oriented. His personality is a complete opposite to Fudge as well – Dora says that he can be impulsive at times but a strong Auror. But none of us can say for sure, not even him, because people often change when they are given so much power,"

It was silent between the two of them as they gathered Harry's stuff – Vega used her swift hands to fold Harry's clothes quickly, not quite happy with how they were jumbled up and he felt like she was a bit fussy like a mother when it came to cleanliness and tidiness.

And Harry almost mentioned it to her – jokingly, of course – until he realised that Vega didn't have a mother, and it would only bring up Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Doesn't it look better like this?" Vega asked, gesturing to the neatly packed trunk before confirming herself, "It looks way better!" She noticed that she hadn't found the Invisibility Cloak. "Hey, where's your Invisibility Cloak, Harry?"

They looked around the room up-and-down until they finally found the Invisibility Cloak lying under his bed, and Vega gave him a look as she put it in the trunk.

"You have to start being more responsible with your belongings, Harry," Vega warned him. "You're almost sixteen now – and you cannot afford to misplace your Cloak,"

Vega put the cauldron and other equipment into the trunk and closed the lid with four clicks on the locks. She set it up with Harry's help and he heaved it down the stairs while Vega took to picking up Hedwig's cage, cooing at her and rubbing her head with her finger.

"Did you miss me, Hedwig?" Vega asked and smiled when the owl hooted. "Oh, I missed you so much too, love – I'll give you treats when we get to the Burrow, okay? Aquila missed you, too,"

When they arrived back down stairs and into the living room, there was an ambience of complete and persistent silence in the room – nobody was talking. Dumbledore was humming quietly, apparently quite at his ease, but the atmosphere was thicker than cold custard. Vega tried to avoid looking at the Dursleys and turned to Dumbledore.

"Um, Professor, Harry's finished packing and we're ready to leave," Vega informed, and Harry stopped next to her, himself not looking to his maternal family.

"Good," Dumbledore said. "Just one last thing, then," And he turned to speak to the Dursleys once more. "As you will no doubt be aware, Harry comes of age in a year's time –"