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Harry entered Privet Drive to find his aunt and uncle sitting stone-faced in the parlor. Vernon Dursley looked close to an aneurysm and Petunia's already pale features were washed out even farther. Harry looked nervously at them.

"What?" Harry asked.

Vernon looked like he wanted to leap from his chair at Harry's throat and, if not for the fact that he was incapable of leaping in any way, he might have done so. Instead he settled for speaking in an angry hiss.

"There's some of your kind in the kitchen waiting to speak to you." Vernon's mustache bristled like a hedgehog at the words your kind. "I want them out of my house as quickly as possible, understood?"

Harry tried desperately not to smile, and failed miserably. "Of course, Uncle Vernon."

"Well, go on," Vernon hissed through clenched teeth.

Harry bounded into the kitchen to find not just Professor Lupin, whom he had been expecting, but also Tonks and Bill Weasley. Lupin looked more rumpled and care worn than Harry had ever seen him. Harry knew he was not the only one suffering from the passing of Sirius Black. Tonks currently sported chin-length purple hair and seemed to be sitting dangerously close to Lupin. Their body language struck Harry as important, but he could not quite put his finger on why. Bill Weasley, sporting pony tale and earring, seemed to be uncomfortable about something. It was then that Harry noticed his fourth visitor.

A small calico cat stood on the kitchen table, whiskers deep in a saucer of cream. The tiny cat looked up at Harry with deeply curious eyes as it cleaned its whiskers with its tongue. The sight of the cat threw Harry off his game for an instant, but only an instant.

"Um, hello everyone," Harry said.

Remus Lupin smiled, both externally at Harry and internally for Harry. He had not been terribly sure what kind of condition they would find Harry in and so had steeled himself for the worst, but Harry appeared to be in decent condition, everything considering.

"Harry," Lupin said. "It's good to see you."

Harry offered them a small smile. "It's good to see you lot."

Bill Weasley stood from his chair and scooped up the tiny calico cat, which looked up at him indignantly. That seemed to be the cue Lupin and Tonks were waiting for, and they too stood.

"Why don't we go up to your room?" Lupin said. "We need someplace private to talk, and there's a thing I want to do that your family might disapprove of."

"Um, sure," Harry said, turning to led the way upstairs. He was desperately trying to remember what kind of state his room was in. He had only been back at Privet Drive for a little over a week, so he thought it could not be too bad. He opened the door and breathed a sigh of relief. No underwear on the bed, everything basically in its place.

"Welcome to my home," Harry said, just a slight note of bitterness in his voice, "such as it is."

Lupin took note of the bitterness. "We'll get you out of here as soon as it's safe, Harry."

Harry nodded his understanding. "I hate this place professor." Harry suddenly had another thought. "Will I have to go to Grimmauld Place?" Harry swallowed nervously. He was not ready to face the House of Black and all the memories it held.

"That's part of why we've come, Harry," Tonks spoke up for the first time.

Remus Lupin conjured up a pair of comfortable looking chairs, one of which Bill quickly sat in. He held the cat in his lap, and unconsciously stroked its fur. Tonks rumbled around in her handbag and pulled out a miniature picnic basket, which became a full size basket with a quick tap of her wand.

Harry cleared his throat and looked at the three adults, who seemed to be getting comfortable. "If this going to be a long visit would be okay if I showered first?"

Tonks wrinkled her nose at him. "Well, you do smell a bit."

Harry tried to act indignant. "That's the smell of honest labor," he said, his spirits greatly lifted by their presence.

"Really?" Tonks countered. "I thought it was the smell of stinky teenage boy."

Lupin and Bill chuckled at their exchange. "Go ahead Harry," Lupin said as he reached inside his robes for his wand. "We have a few things we need to do in here anyway."

Harry grabbed a change of clothes from his dresser, which groaned and tilted precariously when Harry opened the drawer, then fled for the shower.

He showered quickly, not wanting to waste any more of the precious time he would get to spend with his visitors than necessary. He was scalded once when someone flushed the downstairs loo and hot water poured down on him. As he left the shower, he heard Uncle Vernon's car start up and pull out of the drive.

When he re-entered the room, Professor Lupin and Bill Weasley were sitting comfortably in the chairs while Tonks sat cross-legged on the floor near Lupin's feet. The calico cat was curled up in a tiny ball on Harry's bed.

Tonks stood and made Harry a plate of food from the picnic basket. She turned toward him with it, but tripped over a dust mite and started to fall toward Harry. Only some quick wand work from Bill kept Harry from wearing his picnic dinner. Bill floated the rescued plate over to Harry, who sat on the edge of his bed.

"So, what news," Harry said after his third bite.

"First of all," Lupin began, "we don't expect to be in Grimmauld Place much longer. With -- with, ah--"

"Sirius' death," Harry said bluntly.

"Yes, well." Remus Lupin cleared his throat uncomfortably. "With Sirius's passing it throws ownership of Grimmauld Place into question."

"Mother and I are trying to take control of the house, but Narcissa has as good a claim as mother," Tonks supplied.

"So we're preparing to move," Bill finished.

"Can you say where?" Harry asked.

"The Burrow," Bill told him immediately. "It's pretty ancient and already has some strong protections on it. I'll be working with Dumbledore and Moody to add more over the next few weeks."

Harry nodded, satisfied with the answer. "What about Voldemort?"

"Quiet," Lupin said softly. "Dumbledore thinks it's just the calm before the storm. We expect them to strike hard in the next few days, we just don't know where."

"I'd appreciate being kept up to date," Harry said, looking squarely at Lupin.

"Harry, please understand that there are things--"

Harry held up his hand to forestall any more of Lupin's explanation. "I realize there are things you simply can't tell me for security reasons, but I'm not going to be left in the dark like last year. And you can tell Dumbledore I said that."

Lupin looked deeply into Harry's eyes and came to a decision. "I'll do what I can Harry."

"That's all I'm asking," Harry answered. He was about to ask his next question when the calico cat suddenly yawned and stretched. The cat looked at Harry, then gracefully climbed into his lap and started purring. Harry reached down and gently stroked the cat.

"Um, guys, why do you have a cat with you?" Harry asked.

"Well, that's the reason I'm here," Bill said. "The Weasley clan has a small favor to ask."

Harry looked up, curious. Bill still did not look terribly happy about something. "I'd be glad to do anything for your family, Bill. I owe you guys so much."

Bill blinked, struck momentarily dumb by the force of feeling Harry put behind his words, then recovered. "Well, it's a simple request. We need you to cat-sit Ginger here until we're done setting up the new wards at the Burrow. We can't have her wandering around while we're working."

"I'd love to, but ah -- what about the Dursleys? I don't thing they'd be very happy with me keeping a pet. I mean, I'm sure they'd notice a litter box and food bowl."

Tonks giggled. "We've taken care of that, Harry. We've set up spells to hide her presence from the muggles, and there's a spell on your window that will allow her to move about as she pleases outside. The only thing you need to worry about is food, and we'll leave some stuff for you. If you could manage to sneak some stuff from the table, that would be great."

Ginger turned up the purr a solid three notches and looked at Harry with wide, innocent eyes. Harry sighed. He knew he was beaten from the start. He could hardly deny the Weasleys anything within reason after everything they had done for him since his first year.

"Okay, I'll do it," Harry said. Ginger purred even louder and curled up in his lap. She closed her eyes in contentment as Harry kept gently petting her.

"Thank you, Harry," Bill said simply.

Harry nodded. "No problem. Now, I want to know what's going on with my friends."

Lupin nodded, "Ron's doing fine. He's been very useful in helping Hermione deal with being at Grimmauld Place and separated from her parents."

"Wait a minute," Harry broke in. "I thought Hermione went home with her parents for the summer."

"That was the original plan," Bill took up the narrative from Lupin. "But we received word that the Death Eaters would be targeting the six of you who went to the Department of Mysteries. Dumbledore thought it best to keep Hermione at Grimmauld place, and he placed her parents under the Fidelius Charm."

Harry nodded his understanding. "They have the least protection from attack of anyone involved."

Lupin smiled grimly. "Right, so Hermione's with Ron at Grimmauld place. As for Neville, his grandmother is a formidable witch and his home is well defended. Luna and her father are abroad, so we believe them safe for now."

"And Ginny," Harry asked pointedly. He wanted to get to the bottom of her disappearance for Ron. Ginger raised her head and looked at Harry curiously.

"Ginny's been sent into hiding," Lupin said simply.

"What was wrong with her staying at Grimmauld? It seems safe enough for everyone else?" Harry's voice dropped in volume.

"Don't worry Harry, she's well hidden," Bill said.

"So were my parents."

Silence descended on the room. Harry sat looking at the three older people across from him, hoping his body posture was sufficient to let them know he was not at all satisfied with their answers. Just as the tension started to seem unbearable, Ginger stood and butted her head against Harry's chest. The little cat then stood in his lap and rubbed her head against his chin, purring softly. Harry looked down at the cat. The cat looked steadily back at him.

"I promise you Harry, Ginny is in good hands," Tonks said with a slightly odd lilt to her voice.

Bill cleared his throat after giving Tonks a dark look. "And she'll be able to return to the Burrow once the wards are set up. It should be about the same time you can come also."

"This isn't finished," Harry told them. "Now, anything else?"

"Yes, actually," Remus Lupin sat straighter in his chair.

Here it comes, Harry thought, a command from on high by Dumbledore, I can just feel it.

"There is more to Ginger than meets the eye," Lupin continued. "First of all, Ginger is a magical cat, so she is several times smarter than an ordinary housecat. Second, the pendant on her collar is a portkey."

Harry studied the pendant. It was a small version of the Gryffindor House Seal. "How does it work?"

"If you need escape, simply touch it and say 'The Burrow,' and you will be instantly transported there. If you need to use it before we get settled into the Burrow, we have an alarm to warn us if anyone enters the house before the wards are set up."

Harry nodded again. "Good, I'll keep that in mind. Would someone pass me another meatpie?"

Tonks started to get up, but Bill, with a flick of his wand, floated one from the basket to Harry's plate.

"Harry, there's one more little thing," Remus Lupin continued.

Harry looked up at him. His old professor seemed almost embarrassed by something. "Yes?" Harry said, setting aside the meat pie.

"The next time you see Ron and Hermione you might notice things are a bit – ah – different," Lupin said.

Harry blinked. "Different how?"

"Well, there's, you see--"

"What the scaredy werewolf is trying to tell you is that my little brother and Hermione have become a bit of an item in the last week," Bill finished.

Harry sat and looked at his lap for a minute. "Ron and Hermione?" he whispered.

"Well, yeah," Tonks replied. "Is that so hard to--"

Tonks never got to finish her statement because suddenly Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived and savior apparent of the Wizarding World, burst out in laughter.

"About bloody time," he said after regaining his composure.

That set the mood for the rest of the evening, and four humans and one cat spent a companionable two hours talking and eating, before the Order members left Privet Drive.

It was, Harry thought that night as he turned out the light, one of the best days of his life.