In the afternoon, the fireplace in Roy's house, which had stood empty for several months, suddenly burst into roaring green flames without warning.
The crackling magical fire shattered the silence of the secluded cottage. The next second, four children tumbled out of the fireplace in a heap.
"Ow!"
Mia and the others seemed to be paying tribute to the scene when Roy and Fred had tumbled out at the start-of-term feast. They rolled out of the fireplace in a tangled mess and crashed heavily onto the floor.
After quite a while, the four, dizzy from the Floo Network, slowly climbed to their feet.
"Hermione, you were way too nervous."
Harry fumbled around on the floor for a long time before finding his glasses. Once he put them back on, his world became clear again. He had not come here since August. The familiar sight entered his eyes once more, and whenever he thought of how every brick and tile in this house had been built by Roy himself, Harry felt nothing but admiration for him.
Roy was only two years older than him, yet the gap between their abilities made Harry feel as though Roy were more than a decade older. Sometimes, Harry wondered what Roy would have done if he had met such vicious relatives as Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. Harry was certain Roy would never have been as pathetic as he was.
"So this is your home?"
Of everyone present, Hermione was the only one visiting Roy's house for the first time. The moment she got up, she began looking around like a curious child, wanting to see the magical furniture in a wizarding household.
Unfortunately, Roy's house was still furnished mostly with Muggle furniture. Hermione searched the entire living room but found nothing strange or unusual.