Considering portability, Aiven didn't buy too many things, but he placed a lot of orders, spending all the Galleons in his pocket. These items would be delivered to Hogwarts in batches by owls when the new term started.
By the time they returned to the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron, it was almost evening. After saying goodbye to his parents, Aiven, Harry, and the Weasleys used Floo powder to return to the Burrow. The Masons and the Grangers were going back to the Muggle street in the city. It was clear that Mr. Weasley was very eager to go out with them to see what a bus station looked like, but seeing Mrs. Weasley's expression, he had to abandon the idea.
As it was his first time using Floo powder, Aiven was choked by the ash. After a dizzying spin, he arrived at the Burrow. Harry was in front of him, and Aiven could tell from his face that he felt as unwell as he did.
Climbing out of the fireplace, Aiven curiously looked around. It was his first time in a wizard's house. The kitchen was small and quite cramped. In the middle was a spotless wooden table and a few chairs. On the opposite wall, a clock had only one hand and no numbers, with phrases like "Time to make tea," "Feed the chickens," and "You're late" written on its face. Next to the fireplace was a large mirror. As Aiven walked past it, the mirror suddenly shrieked, "Tuck in your shirt, you slob!" Above the mirror was a bookshelf with three layers of books, including "Magical Cheese," "Magical Bread," and "Conjuring a Feast," all household magic books. Near the sink, there was an old-fashioned radio.
"Alright, children, go to your rooms and put away your new things." Mrs. Weasley emerged from the fireplace and continued, looking at Fred and George, "Especially you two, don't cause trouble while I'm making dinner."
"Got it, Mum!" Fred said, "We'll stay quiet in our rooms."
"Not a sound, like house-elves," George added.
The twins giggled and ran out of the kitchen, followed by Percy and Ginny with their belongings.
"Come on, I'll show you my bedroom." Seeing Harry and Aiven still standing foolishly, Ron nudged them.
The three walked through a narrow corridor to a crooked staircase. The stairs wound upwards. A door on the first-floor landing was ajar, and Percy was sitting at his desk, writing a letter with his new quill. Not far from him was a very beautiful brown owl.
"That's the new owl Mum and Dad bought him after he became a Prefect," Ron said. "But he won't let me borrow it. In fact, he's been very strange this summer, always cooped up in his room, sending lots of letters."
"There's nothing strange about it. Your brother has a new girlfriend."
"Oh, my goodness!" Ron exclaimed, surprised and a little incoherent, upon hearing Aiven's words. "But that's Percy! Who would be interested in him? I mean… of course, he's ambitious, he's got it all planned out, he wants to be Minister for Magic, but… I have to tell Fred and George about this and see what they say."
"Calm down, it's just my guess." Aiven was speechless at Ron's slow reaction.
As the three climbed to the second floor, Aiven just caught a glimpse of a pair of bright brown eyes staring at them before the door clicked shut.
"It's Ginny!" Ron said. "That's incredible, you don't know, she never closes her door usually!"
"Clearly, your sister is just a little shy seeing Harry."
Aiven looked at the door, thinking about how to get Tom Riddle's diary from Ginny.
"Yeah, she's been talking about you all summer." Ron looked at Harry uncertainly. "Fred said she wanted your autograph, maybe you should give her one."
"Don't be silly, Ron," Aiven said as he walked. "That's not simple admiration. Your sister likes Harry; she wants to be his girlfriend."
"Aiven!" Ron looked terrified, and Harry next to him was also very uncomfortable, his face as red as a ripe apple, pretending not to hear Aiven and Ron's conversation.
"Uh, I was just making things up." Aiven covered his forehead with his hand. These two were equally slow-witted, such innocent little boys. No wonder they almost couldn't find dance partners at the Yule Ball in fourth year.
They climbed another floor and stood outside the twins' room. The door was tightly shut, and it was indeed quiet inside, not a sound. He wondered what they were doing.
When the three reached the top floor, they came to a peeling door with a small sign that read "Ron's Room."
Aiven and Harry walked in, the sloping ceiling almost touching their heads. It was like walking into a large furnace; everything in Ron's room seemed to be a dazzling orange-yellow: the bedspread, the walls, even the ceiling. Then Aiven realised that Ron had covered almost every inch of the worn wallpaper with posters. All the posters featured the same seven witches and wizards, wearing bright orange-yellow robes, carrying broomsticks, and waving cheerfully.
"Your Quidditch team?" Harry asked.
"Chudley Cannons, ranked ninth in the club!" Ron pointed to the orange-yellow bedspread, which was vividly printed with two large letters C and a speeding cannonball.
Their conversation continued to revolve around Quidditch, while Aiven curiously observed Scabbers, the fat grey rat, sleeping in the corner of the room. Ignoring Aiven's gaze, Scabbers continued to snore. Aiven observed it carefully for a while but found nothing different. If he hadn't known it was an Animagus, he would have truly believed Scabbers was just a small, balding, toe-missing, constantly sluggish little rat.
"Clang, clang!" A sound of pipes being knocked suddenly came from above, startling Aiven.
"Don't worry, that's the ghoul in the attic, always banging on the pipes and groaning," Ron explained. "I want to get rid of it, but Dad won't let me. He thinks it's interesting."
As Ron said, life at the Burrow was very interesting. Over the next month, Aiven and Harry followed Fred, George, and Ron to the backyard to clear out gnomes. The boys also frequently went to the back hill to ride broomsticks and practise Quidditch.
In the evenings, Harry and Ron were busy with their summer homework, while Aiven habitually went to Percy to ask for knowledge. Percy excelled in almost every subject, especially having unique insights in History of Magic and Charms. As for Fred and George, Aiven found an opportunity to talk to them and discovered that the twins' inventions were still in their nascent stages. After he gave them a few suggestions based on his memories, they would lock themselves in their room every night to conduct research, often making various noises.
After a month, Harry and Aiven became extremely familiar with the Weasley family. Mrs. Weasley mended their socks and forced them to have four servings at every meal. Mr. Weasley kept asking them about Muggle life.
Except for Ginny, everyone else quickly adapted to Harry and Aiven integrating into their family life. To be precise, it seemed that whenever Harry was present, Ginny would always nervously knock something over, but when she was alone with Aiven, she behaved very normally.
Due to their similar age, Aiven and Ginny got along very well, but even until the last day of summer, Aiven still hadn't managed to get Tom Riddle's diary from Ginny. Aiven hinted several times, but Ginny didn't react. He couldn't explicitly ask, nor could he really go into Ginny's room to search. Aiven wasn't even sure if she had found the diary or if she had found it but hadn't told him.
However, he wasn't in a hurry; there was still time. The worst-case scenario would be to follow the plot, and then poor Ginny might suffer a bit. But having the chance to be heroically rescued by Harry didn't seem like a bad thing for this little girl who had a crush on Harry.