After listening to the twins explain Arthur's entire plan, Harry felt a swell of gratitude toward him.
When the four of them returned to the Weasley home, the car hadn't even stopped before Mrs. Weasley burst out of the house.
She had gotten up early only to discover three of her sons missing, along with her husband's enchanted car.
Of course she knew who the culprits were—her two most mischievous boys must have been up to no good again.
What made her furious was that this time they had dragged the youngest along with them.
The thought of her troublemaking duo expanding into a trio gave her a pounding headache.
Hearing the commotion at the door, she stormed out in a rage.
"George! Fred! You've got some nerve! Sneaking out in the middle of the night with your father's car, gallivanting around—and dragging Ron with you! You're getting more and more outrageous!"
The twins were completely unfazed by her roar.
Instead, they calmly stepped aside to reveal Harry behind them.
"Mum, don't be angry just yet. Look who we brought back!"
As a confidant of Dumbledore—and a member of the Order of the Phoenix alongside Harry's parents—Mrs. Weasley instantly recognized him.
"You're—Harry! Oh, Merlin's beard! Why didn't you say you were coming sooner? I didn't prepare a thing!" she exclaimed.
"Sorry for the trouble, Mrs. Weasley. I was hoping to stay at your house for a while, if that's alright?" Harry said politely.
"Stay? Of course you can stay! And call me Aunt Molly." She smiled warmly at him, before her face darkened again as she turned to her sons.
"And you lot—why are you standing there? Help Harry carry his luggage inside!"
With that, she took Harry by the hand and led him into the house, leaving the twins staring at each other.
George and Fred exchanged a look, shrugged, and went to haul Harry's luggage out of the trunk—though they deliberately left the heaviest for Ron.
Ron: Seriously, do you two even know the meaning of courtesy?
In the sitting room, the twins gave a rough account of last night's adventure.
They didn't mention the trinkets that could block Tracking Charms—something that fun was not for Mum's ears.
After all, even though they lived in a wizarding village where the Ministry didn't monitor magic, the charms were still valuable gifts from their boss.
If Mum confiscated them, that would be far too humiliating.
When Mrs. Weasley heard the whole story, she was furious at the Dursleys' behavior.
"Harry, don't worry. You'll live here until term starts. Treat this as your own home.
As for you two," she glanced at the twins, "since things went smoothly this time, I won't punish you.
But Ron! Why did you have to tag along and stir up trouble? What if you ruined everything? You're grounded to house chores for the whole week!"
Her three sentences left the four boys with very different feelings.
Harry was relieved to be welcomed as a guest.
The twins were secretly grateful and impressed with Arthur's foresight.
Before, they hadn't understood why his plan included bringing Harry to their home even after the main problem was solved.
Now it was obvious—having Harry here diverted their mother's scolding.
But Ron… Ron's emotions were a tangled mess.
It was like sneaking out to an internet café all night with your brothers, only for them to bring Mum breakfast on the way home.
Mum, touched, forgives them—but then turns around and beats you for "not studying hard enough."
A world where only Ron gets hurt—achievement unlocked!
For a moment, Ron wanted to slap himself.
Why did he have to tag along last night? Wouldn't it have been better to just stay home, sleep, and wake up to welcome Harry?
He looked at his brothers desperately, hoping they'd plead for him.
George and Fred noticed his expression and shared a mischievous grin.
"Mum, we're going to catch up on some sleep."
"Yeah, after driving all night we're exhausted."
The two stood up and headed for their room.
Ron's eyes followed them, full of bitterness.
As if! Don't think I don't know—the car drives itself. There aren't even obstacles in the sky. You just set the direction and let it go. All four of us slept soundly in that car. And now you say you're 'exhausted'? Just admit you want to watch your little brother suffer!
Back in their room, the twins reported the results of their mission to Arthur.
(Ron: So I don't even deserve a name anymore, huh?)
Upon hearing that Harry had broken free from the Dursleys, Arthur dropped the matter.
But Harry's "Ai-pai-de" (iPad) still needed returning. He sent Errol to deliver it.
That fat bird needed the exercise anyway—it was getting so round it could barely fly.
Arthur had even considered tossing it into the Zen Garden to help it slim down, but the bird waddled straight into the fruit patch and came out fatter than before.
When Harry received his iPad, he thanked Arthur profusely and invited him to join their weekend trip to Diagon Alley for new textbooks.
Since Arthur also needed to pick up Ranni's wand, he agreed.
Speaking of Ranni, something amusing happened recently.
Hermione noticed Ranni constantly buried in history tomes and suggested she review Hogwarts textbooks instead—since she'd be joining them as a transfer student in second year.
Hermione even said Ranni could ask her for help anytime, generously lending her first-year notes.
But Ranni spent one afternoon reading through all the first-year books and then pointed out over a dozen mistakes in Hermione's notes.
The mistakes weren't major, just the kind of small errors young wizards often make and naturally outgrow as they learn more.
But with Ranni laying them all out, it was as if she were saying Hermione's "vision wasn't broad enough" and she needed more study.
Of course, that was just Hermione's own interpretation. Ranni hadn't meant anything so deep—she had only corrected the mistakes.
Still, Hermione, who had been eager to show off her superiority, was crushed.
She turned her frustration into motivation, burying herself in textbooks from later years at Hogwarts.
Just days ago, she'd been happily reading Gilderoy Lockhart's adventure tales.
Now?
Don't. Disturb. Her. Studying!
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