5 am confusion featuring Nico and Will
Harry awoke at five the next morning as abruptly and completely as if somebody had yelled in his ear. For a few moments he lay immobile as the prospect of the hearing filled every tiny particle of his brain, then, unable to bear it, he leapt out of bed and put on his glasses. Mrs. Weasley had laid out his freshly laundered jeans and T-shirt at the foot of his bed. Harry scrambled into them. The blank picture on the wall sniggered again.
Ron was lying sprawled on his back with his mouth wide open, fast asleep. He did not stir as Harry crossed the room, stepped out onto the landing, and closed the door softly behind him. Trying not to think of the next time he would see Ron, when they might no longer be fellow students at Hogwarts, Harry walked quietly down the stairs, past the heads of Kreacher’s ancestors, and into the kitchen.
He had expected it to be empty, but it was not. When he reached the door he heard the soft rumble of voices on the other side and when he pushed it open he saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, Lupin, and Tonks sitting there almost as though they were waiting for him.
He then noticed the two strangers, whispering quietly to each other with tired looks on their faces. They were two complete opposites. One seemed to embody the power of the sun with his golden blonde hair, bright and energetic eyes despite the sleepiness, and tanned skin while the other embodied death, with dark and curly hair, pale as snow skin, and pitch black eyes sunken in deep shadows. The death kid looked over to him and waved a little with a small smile before scooting closer to the blonde and resting his head on his shoulder.
He felt unnerved.
Mrs. Weasley jumped to her feet when she saw him. “Breakfast!” she said as she pulled out her wand and hurried over to the fire.
“M-m-morning, Harry,” yawned Tonks. Her hair was blonde and curly this morning. “Sleep all right?”
“Yeah,” said Harry.
“I’ve b-b-been up all night,” she said, with another shuddering yawn. “Come and sit down. . . .” She drew out a chair, knocking over the one beside it in the process.
“What do you want, Harry?” Mrs. Weasley called. “Porridge? Muffins? Kippers? Bacon and eggs? Toast?”
“Just — just toast, thanks,” said Harry. Lupin then noticed his gaze kept moving warily back to the strange duo.
“Ah yes. Harry, this is Nico di Angelo and Will Solace. They’re transfer students from America that will be joining you in Hogwarts this year. It seemed to have slipped our mind in the midst of this mess.” He chuckled lightly before taking a sip of his tea. “You’ll have time to get more acquainted later on after you’re cleared.” Lupin glanced back to Harry, then said to Tonks, “What were you saying about Scrimgeour?”
“Oh . . . yeah . . . well, we need to be a bit more careful, he’s been asking Kingsley and me funny questions. . . .”
Harry felt vaguely grateful that he was not required to join in the conversation. His insides were squirming for two reasons. The obvious was his hearing but the other were the two sitting at the table with him and the other Order members . Mrs. Weasley placed a couple of pieces of toast and marmalade in front of him; he tried to eat, but it was like chewing carpet. Mrs. Weasley sat down on his other side and started fussing with his T-shirt, tucking in the label and smoothing out creases across the shoulders. He wished she wouldn’t.
He watched Mrs. Weasley hand one plate of some toast and bacon to the two. The death kid, Nico, nibbled on the edge of a piece of bacon while the blonde, Will, seemed to have stacked some bacon on top of his toast and was eating it like a sandwich. He reluctantly ate his own toast with marmalade, stomach still doing summersaults.
He watched almost too intently as Nico finished his piece of bacon and decided to go back to resting his head on his companion’s shoulder, arms draping loosely around Will. The two were clearly very intimate with each other.
“. . . and I’ll have to tell Dumbledore I can’t do night duty tomor- row, I’m just t-t-too tired,” Tonks finished, yawning hugely again which caused Harry to pull out of his observation of the two .
“I’ll cover for you,” said Mr. Weasley. “I’m okay, I’ve got a report to finish anyway. . . .” Mr. Weasley was not wearing wizard’s robes but a pair of pin- striped trousers and an old bomber jacket. He turned from Tonks to Harry.
“How are you feeling?” Harry shrugged. “It’ll all be over soon,” Mr. Weasley said bracingly. “In a few hours’ time you’ll be cleared.”
Harry said nothing.
“The hearing’s on my floor, in Amelia Bones’s office. She’s Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and she’s the one who’ll be questioning you.”
“Amelia Bones is okay, Harry,” said Tonks earnestly. “She’s fair, she’ll hear you out.”
Harry nodded, still unable to think of anything to say.
“Don’t lose your temper,” said Sirius abruptly. “Be polite and stick to the facts.”
Harry nodded again.
“The law’s on your side,” said Lupin quietly. “Even underage wiz- ards are allowed to use magic in life-threatening situations.”
Something very cold trickled down the back of Harry’s neck; for a moment he thought someone was putting a Disillusionment Charm on him again, then he realized that Mrs. Weasley was attacking his hair with a wet comb. She pressed hard on the top of his head.
“Doesn’t it ever lie flat?” she said desperately.
Harry shook his head.
Mr. Weasley checked his watch and looked up at Harry.
“I think we’ll go now,” he said. “We’re a bit early, but I think you’ll be better off there than hanging around here.”
“Okay,” said Harry automatically, dropping his toast and getting to his feet.
“You’ll be all right, Harry,” said Tonks, patting him on the arm. “Good luck,” said Lupin. “I’m sure it will be fine.”
“And if it’s not,” said Sirius grimly, “I’ll see to Amelia Bones for you. . . .”
Harry smiled weakly. Mrs. Weasley hugged him. “We’ve all got our fingers crossed,” she said.
“Right,” said Harry. “Well . . . see you later then.” He followed Mr. Weasley upstairs.