The Lost One: Harry Potter x Fem!reader

32

Harry, Y/n and Dumbledore approached the back door of The Burrow, which was surrounded by the (for Harry) familiar litter of old wellington boots and rusty cauldrons; Harry could hear the soft clucking of sleepy chickens coming from a distant shed. Dumbledore knocked three times and Harry saw sudden movement behind the kitchen window.

'Who's there?' said a nervous voice that he recognised as Mrs Weasley's. 'Declare yourself!'

'It is I, Dumbledore, bringing Harry and Y/n.'

The door opened at once. There stood Mrs Weasley, short, plump and wearing an old green dressing-gown.

'Harry, dear! Gracious, Albus, you gave me a fright, you said not to expect you before morning! And Y/n! Oh, my sweetheart. I haven't seen you since...' Mrs Weasley didn't have the word to finish the sentence as she saw Y/n look down. 'I'm sorry... how are you, my dear?'

Before Y/n could even say anything about her feelings she was caught off.

'We were lucky,' said Dumbledore, ushering Harry over the threshold, Y/n trailing closely behind. 'Slughorn proved much more persuadable than I had expected. Harry and Y/n's doing, of course. Ah, hello, Nymphadora!'

Harry looked around and saw that Mrs Weasley was not alone, despite the lateness of the hour. A young witch with a pale, heart-shaped face and mousy-brown hair was sitting at the table clutching a large mug between her hands.

'Hello, Professor,' she said. 'Wotcher, Harry.'

'Hi, Tonks.'

Harry thought she looked drawn, even ill, and there was something forced in her smile. Certainly her appearance was less colourful than usual without her customary shade of bubblegum-pink hair.

'I'd better be off,' she said quickly, standing up and pulling her cloak around her shoulders. 'Thanks for the tea and sympathy, Molly.'

'Please don't leave on my account,' said Dumbledore courteously. 'I cannot stay, I have urgent matters to discuss with Rufus Scrimgeour.'

'No, no, I need to get going,' said Tonks, not meeting Dumbledore's eyes. ''Night –'

'Dear, why not come to dinner at the weekend, Remus, Adelpha and Mad-Eye are coming –?'

'No, really, Molly ... thanks anyway ... goodnight, everyone.'

Tonks hurried past Dumbledore, Y/n and Harry into the yard; a few paces beyond the doorstep, she turned on the spot and vanished into thin air. Harry noticed that Mrs Weasley looked troubled.

'Well, I shall see you at Hogwarts, Harry, Y/n,' said Dumbledore. 'Take care of yourself. Molly, your servant.'

He made Mrs Weasley a bow and followed Tonks, vanishing at precisely the same spot. Mrs Weasley closed the door on the empty yard and then steered Harry and Y/n by the shoulders into the full glow of the lantern on the table to examine their appearance.

'You're like Ron,' she sighed, looking him up and down. 'Both of you look as though you've had Stretching Jinxes put on you. I swear Ron's grown four inches since I last bought him school robes. Are you hungry, Y/n, Harry?'

'Yeah, I am,' said Harry, suddenly realising just how hungry he was.

'Sit down, dear, I'll knock something up. And you?'

'Er, no thanks... I'm not hungry,' Y/n looked down at her feet.

'My dear, we should really talk later on,' Mrs Weasley gave Y/n a sympathetic look and placed her hand on Y/n's bony face before walking over to the kitchen.

Harry hadn't noticed until now how thin Y/n had gotten over the summer. Her face that was once full of life was now slightly fallen and her ribs could be seen through her dress. The once very, very attractive girl now looked like an attractive girl close to death. Her eyes had big bags and dark circles underneath them. Her once nicely kept nails were now bitten off. How hadn't he noticed earlier?