Author's note: I just simply want to thank everyone again for their wonderful reviews. They certainly mean a lot to me. Again, thanks to Jessica for reading this long chapter for me. Don't know what I'd do without her.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
SWEET SIXTEEN
Flying lessons were posted for the first years the following week. Ron immediately pointed this out to Harry and told him that he had better get moving on drafting up a Quidditch tryouts announcement.
"This Saturday," Ron insisted.
"Fine," Harry said. "I'll start on writing it the moment I get back from class."
"Good."
"Say, Ron, what are you getting Hermione for her birthday?" Harry asked quietly.
"Hermione's birthday? It's this week?" Ron looked quite panicked. "I've got to get to the Owlery and ask Mum and Dad for some…" he trailed off, eyeing Harry.
"Better hurry then," Harry said.
"What are you getting her?" Ron asked.
"I don't know, but I have an idea," he replied with a sigh.
Ron frowned. "Okay. See you later," he said and bolted out through the portrait hole.
Harry watched him go and felt as horrible as he usually did when it came to the Weasley family and their financial situation. Ron was very sensitive on the subject. Harry wanted to offer to pay for Ron's gift too, but he knew that Ron had too much pride and would never let Harry do such a thing. The whole thing made Harry feel quite helpless.
After breakfast and Transfiguration class, Harry himself went up to the Owlery, knowing that his idea for a birthday gift for his bushy haired friend would be a good idea. When Hedwig saw him enter the drafty tower filled with owls, she swooped down and hooted at him cheerfully.
"Hello Hedwig," he said and patted her head. "I've got an errand for you to run."
Taking out some parchment, a quill, and an ink bottle, Harry settled himself onto the Owlery's floor and began writing a request. When he was done, he took a small bag filled with Galleons out of his pocket, folded the note, and attached both to Hedwig's leg.
"Go as fast as you can," Harry instructed after he told Hedwig where to go. "This present has to be here on Thursday."
Hedwig hooted once more, nipped his fingers affectionately, and took flight. Harry had faith in her; she would make it in time. After all, she had never failed before.
He headed down to the Great Hall, where Ron and Hermione were already sitting. Ron was chatting with Seamus and Neville while Hermione had her nose in a book, reading intently. He sighed as he sat down.
Hermione glanced up from her book. "Are you okay, Harry?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, giving her a smile to prove it. "What's for lunch?"
"Fish and chips, it looks like," Hermione said, going back to her book.
"What are you reading?" he asked her, grabbing a plate and dishing up some food.
"My Ancient Runes homework. It's fascinating," she said, her eyes glazing over. Although Harry couldn't understand how anything in Ancient Runes could be fascinating, he grinned anyway.
"Well it's about time you got down here," said Ron from across the table, eyeing Harry with amusement.
"Sorry. I had some errands to run," he said and started to eat. Hermione gave Harry a quizzical look, as did Ron, but Harry just shook his head. "Nothing too important." This seemed to satisfy them both. Hermione went back to her book and Ron started chatting about the Quidditch tryouts.
"Would you like me to go talk to Madam Hooch about reserving the pitch for Saturday afternoon?" Ron asked.
"No, I'll do it," Harry said.
"I'm thinking noon. You?"
"After lunch," Harry said.
"Okay, fine. After lunch," Ron agreed.
"Great. I'll go talk to Madam Hooch after Defense Against the Dark Arts and then start working on the announcement," Harry said and shoved some food in his mouth.
*****
And after Defense Against the Dark Arts class, that's exactly what he did. He walked down to Madam Hooch's office and knocked on the door three times. He waited patiently until she opened the door.
"Mr. Potter," she greeted. "What can I do for you?"
"I was wondering if I could book the pitch for Saturday at one o'clock and get the equipment," he told her. "I'm planning on having Gryffindor tryouts for that day."
She nodded. "Okay. I'm assuming you'll need plenty of the school brooms, too?"
"Yes, please," Harry said.
"Very well then. Come and pick everything up at twelve forty-five. Oh, and Potter, perhaps you could help me. Do you have any free time on Thursday?" she asked.
"Well, you could say I do seeing as my last class of the day is Astronomy, so I have the last class period off until midnight. Why?" he asked.
"Perfect. That's when the Gryffindor first years are having their flying lessons. Perhaps you could come help me out," Madam Hooch said. "I'm sure they would all love to meet the Seeker and captain of their House team."
Harry knew he would have several misgivings about doing this, but he nodded his head anyway. "Sure."
"Good. I'll see you Thursday afternoon then, Potter. Good-bye," Madam Hooch said.
"Yeah. 'Bye," he muttered and left, heading back towards Gryffindor Tower to inform Ron and Katie Bell of the tryouts and then to draft up an announcement.
When he reached the common room, he found Ron and Ginny playing Exploding Snap. "So how did it go?" Ron asked.
"Fine, although I'm going to be helping with the first years on Thursday," Harry said and sat down near them.
"The midgets? Rotten luck, mate," Ron said. "So, are you going to start up that Quidditch announcement?"
"Yeah, right now, in fact," Harry replied. He searched around until he found a blank piece of parchment, an ink bottle, and a quill. "Do you think Dean would mind drawing a lion on the top of this for me?" he asked.
"Who cares?" Ginny snapped suddenly and jumped to her feet.
Harry gaped at her for a moment until realization dawned in his head. "Oh Ginny, I'm sorry."
"Yeah, sure, whatever," she scowled and marched out of the common room.
"Still touchy I see," Harry said when he heard the portrait slam shut.
"I'm glad I don't have to live with her anymore," Ron murmured. "I feel sorry for her dorm mates though." Harry chuckled as Ron muttered, "Girls: nothing but a cluster of horrendous hormones."
"And I should remind you that testosterone, that vulgar thing that makes boys think they're men, is nothing more than a 'horrendous hormone,' so it would be quite hypocritical for you to say anything about us, Ronald," said a fiery voice from the spot Ginny had just ran through. Turning around, Harry and Ron came eye to eye with a livid Hermione.
"Oh, hello Hermione," Ron said cheerfully.
"Don't 'hello Hermione' me, Ron," Hermione said menacingly.
Ron's eyebrows flew up and behind his bangs while Harry took a tentative step towards the angry witch. "Hermione," he began cautiously, "are you okay?"
"An 'A!'" she glowered. "I got an 'A' on my first quiz in Arithmancy!" Ron snorted in laughter, to which Hermione glared at him. "But that's not all! I just saw Ginny. Which one of you was so utterly tactless as to mention Dean in her presence? Isn't it enough that she must see him everyday? You two don't have to keep shoving him in her face!"
"Calm down, Hermione," Ron said with a grin on his face. "An 'A' in Arithmancy-"
"This is not about the bloody 'A!'" Hermione yelled.
"Hermione, please, it's all my fault," Harry said pleadingly. "I'm the one who mentioned Dean and I apologized for it, but Ginny ran out anyway."
Hermione cast her angry eyes upon Harry and slowly, all of the anger melted away. "Why?" she asked.
"Why did I mention Dean?" She nodded. "I wanted to know if I could possibly get him to draw a lion on the top of my flyer for tryouts. You're right, I was being tactless. I totally forgot about Ginny-"
"It's okay, Harry. You have so many other things on your mind. Ginny's just a little emotional right now. She'll get over it," Hermione said and sat down.
From the corner of Harry's eye, he could see Ron's jaw drop. Sitting down next to Hermione, he asked, "Do you want to talk about Arithmancy?"
Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know…I'm just angry at myself, that's all. I know I could have done better. I don't know where my head was when I was taking that quiz. Professor Vector was disappointed in me, I could tell."
Harry frowned. "So you had an off day, who doesn't?"
"Yeah, Harry and I get those type of marks all the time," Ron piped in.
Hermione glared at him. "You'll get an 'O' on your next quiz, I'm sure," Harry said quickly.
"You really think so?" she asked.
"Of course," Ron said, finally copping on. "You're the smartest witch in the whole bloody school!"
Hermione grinned. "Besides," Harry said. "An 'A' is a good grade. If I were to take Arithmancy, I know I'd probably get a 'P' in there."
Hermione laughed. "Oh, I doubt you'd be that terrible, Harry. You're quite brilliant when you want to be."
"Yeah, sure," Harry murmured. "So, could you put your brilliant mind to work and help me come up with a decent announcement for Quidditch tryouts?"
"Well, when you put it that way…" Hermione said with a laugh.
"I'll just sit back and let you two work," Ron said with a grin.
A half an hour later, Harry was staring down at a very decent announcement. Dean had entered the common room while Harry and Hermione were working and in ten minutes flat had drawn a spectacular lion on top of the announcement.
"I think it's ready to be posted," Harry said, admiring the work.
"Great. Post it up," Ron said eagerly.
Just as Harry tacked the flyer onto the bulletin board, Katie Bell entered the common room. "Hello Harry, hello Ron," she said.
"Hey Katie," Harry greeted. "Quidditch tryouts will be this Saturday. Meet me at Madam Hooch's office at twelve forty-five."
"Okay. Just tell me one thing: we're not going to keep Kirke and Sloper, are we?" she asked.
"Not unless they've improved greatly," Harry murmured.
Katie breathed out a sigh of relief. "Good. That's one less thing for me to worry about."
"Yeah, how is it being Head Girl?" Ron asked with an bemused grin.
"Hard work. But at least I get to boss around you prefects," she said with a sly smile. "Speaking of which, Ron, you've got patrolling duty tonight."
"I do?" he asked, horrified. "But I have homework that's due tomorrow!"
"Better do it now," she advised. "See you two around," she added before heading up to the girls' dormitories.
Ron groaned. "I've got to patrol tonight? Isn't that what those bloody Aurors are here for?"
"See," Harry said, "this is exactly why I'm happy I'm not a prefect."
Ron scowled at Harry just as Ginny finally came back to the common room. She marched straight over to Harry and Ron and said in a low voice, "So, have you two gotten anything for Hermione yet?"
"I'm working on it," Ron said indignantly.
Ginny rolled her eyes and turned to Harry expectantly. "Well?"
"Don't worry, I've already made arrangements," he assured her.
"So what are we doing exactly?" she asked them both. "This is her sixteenth birthday, after all. I was thinking about a little party-close friends only. We all know Hermione wouldn't want a big bash in her honor."
"Where should we hold a party?" Harry asked.
"Well that's easy enough," Ginny replied. "I've already talked to Hagrid. He's more than happy to have the party in his hut."
Ron nodded. "I'll go down to the kitchens and nick some food for us all."
"I'll go down beforehand and tell Dobby that we'll need a cake whipped up. When, exactly?" Harry asked.
"Right after classes are all over," Ginny told him.
"Is this going to be a surprise party?" Ron asked.
"I don't know," Harry said. "Hermione doesn't exactly like surprises."
"It would be best to tell her," Ginny agreed. "We can do so at dinner."
"So now all we have to do is invite the guests," Ron said.
"Right. Hagrid already knows he's invited," Ginny said.
"Neville, definitely," Ron said. "I mean, he came to the Department of Mysteries with us."
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "What about Luna?"
"She and Hermione aren't the greatest of friends," Ginny said.
"But she was with us," Harry said.
"We could invite the whole D.A.," Ron suggested.
Both Harry and Ginny scoffed. "No!" they replied in unison.
"I won't have Dean there, or Michael," Ginny said angrily.
"And the last thing I need is Cho there either," Harry murmured. "What about Lavender and the Parvati Patil? They are her dorm mates."
Ginny snorted. "The followers of Professor Trelawney? Think about that one, Harry," she advised.
Ron grunted. "She's right, mate."
"Any of the other prefects?" Harry asked.
Ron shook his head. "The Creevey brothers?"
Harry glared at him. "This is Hermione's party, not mine."
"Point taken."
"Right," said Ginny. "I think we have it settled then. We're going to invite Neville and Luna."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Ron asked. "Let's get started!"
*****
Neville and Luna agreed immediately to attend Hermione's party, something Hermione herself wasn't too pleased about. ("Thursday is our most hectic day!" she exclaimed. "I couldn't possibly have a party!") But after much cajoling, she finally gave in. ("I just hope that I'll be able to concentrate in Astrology later on," she muttered.)
Harry awoke bright and early on Thursday morning, ready for the day's activities. He trusted Hedwig to return today with his gift and he knew the party would be successful, not to mention the flying lesson that afternoon with the first years.
He took out his Quidditch robes and smoothed them out before pulling on his school robes for the day. Many people had expressed an interest in joining the Quidditch team and Harry was eager to see what talent his fellow Gryffindors brought to the game. It would only be a matter of time.
When he walked into the common room he noticed Hunter Farrell sitting in an armchair near the fire. Harry and Hunter had not spoken since the night Harry was chosen to be the boy's mentor and Harry was inclined to keep it that way.
Not far away from Hunter was the person Harry was looking for. Smiling brightly, he took out his wand, and whispered, "Orchideous!" before walking up to Hermione and saying, "Happy birthday."
Hermione looked up from the book she was reading, startled. Crookshanks, who was lying in her lap, looked up grouchily when his owner stopped scratching him. She saw the flowers and laughed. "Oh my, Harry. Thank you!" she said, accepting the bouquet.
"You're welcome," he said, sitting down next to her. "All ready for a gruesome day of school and then a nice, relaxing party?"
"Oh, I suppose, although when am I not ready for a gruesome day of school?" she asked, grinning.
He have her a lopsided grin. "Fell right into that one, didn't I?" She nodded and laughed.
"What are you two on about?" asked a sleepy Ron from behind them.
"'Morning Ron," Harry said.
"Good morning, Ron," Hermione said.
"'Morning Harry, Hermione. Happy birthday," he said and stifled a yawn. "Bit early, isn't it?"
"You could say that," Hermione said. "And thank you."
The door to the girls' dormitory opened and Ginny came out, wide awake with a sparkle in her eye. "Good morning all!" she said brightly. "Happy birthday, Hermione."
"Thanks, Ginny," Hermione said.
Ginny eyed Ron as he was stretching. She cleared her throat once and he stopped, mid-stretch. "Oh!" he said and rushed forward. "Here Hermione." He held out a brown paper-wrapped parcel.
"What's this?" she asked, accepting the parcel.
"A present from Ginny and me," he said as she ripped open the brown paper to reveal a fine set of luxury quills and ink.
"Oh wow!" she exclaimed. "Thank you!" She jumped up and hugged first Ginny and then Ron. "They're wonderful."
Ginny smiled and Ron's ears turned red. "Y-you're welcome, Hermione," he stammered.
"Ooh, where'd you get the flowers?" Ginny asked.
"Harry," Hermione replied.
Crookshanks jumped down off of the couch and rubbed up next to Hermione's leg as Ginny gave Harry a slightly reproachful look.
"Who's hungry?" Ron asked.
"You are," Hermione replied. "Let's go eat."
"That wasn't my present," Harry whispered to Ginny as Ron and Hermione led the way out of the common room. "But it should be arriving shortly."
"Arriving shortly?" Ginny looked horrified. "Talk about cutting it close, Harry." But Harry only grinned.
In the Great Hall, while they were all eating their share of eggs and toast, Hedwig returned with a note for Harry. Turning away from the table and the discussion Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were having, he opened it up to read that his gift would arrive shortly. But what he didn't expect was for her gift to arrive only a minute later.
"What's this?" Hermione asked when a handsome brown owl landed in front of her, a note attached to its leg. She slipped the note off, read it quickly, and turned to Harry in awe.
"Happy birthday!" he said, grinning.
She gaped at him. "You didn't!"
He laughed. "I did."
"What's the note say, Hermione?" Ron asked curiously.
Hermione turned to Ron and then read aloud: "Dear Miss Granger, Eeylops Owl Emporium is pleased to send you one male brown owl, sent by Mr. H. Potter. Thank you for choosing an Eeylops owl! Mr. H. Potter also sends along this message: 'Happy birthday, Hermione. You once mentioned that you wanted an owl, so here it is-Harry.' Once again, thank you. Sincerely, Eeylops Owl Emporium."
"Wow Harry," Ginny said, obviously impressed.
"Yeah. That must have cost a pretty Sickle," Ron said, eyeing the brown owl.
"What are you going to call him?" Ginny asked Hermione.
"I-er-I'm going to have to think about it," she said, still completely stunned.
Ron chuckled. "For once, she doesn't know the answer."
Hermione snapped herself out of her reverie and rolled her eyes. "Come on Harry," she said. "We have to go to Potions and finish up the antidote for the Nocturnal Poison. Snape's going to make us test both the poison and the antidote on each other next Tuesday. I don't know about you, but I don't want to die."
"Ron," Harry said as he got up to join Hermione, "go check on Dobby when you're done eating. See you later."
"Yeah, sure," Ron said. "Good luck in Potions!"
*****
Harry had very little luck in Potions. But, with Hermione's help, they were able to finish the antidote. By the time Harry was finished with his classes for the day, he was in no mood to help the first years and their flying lesson.
"It will be fun, Harry," Hermione assured him when they climbed through the portrait hole. "It will be a good warm-up for Saturday. Now go get your Quidditch robes on and meet Madam Hooch!"
He gave her a mock salute, rushed up to his dormitory, changed, grabbed his Firebolt, and was out on the grounds within ten minutes.
"Ah, Mr. Potter," Madam Hooch greeted when he reached her. She already had several broomsticks laid out and ready. "The Gryffindor first years will be here shortly, as will the Slytherin first years."
Harry frowned. He had forgotten that the Gryffindors and Slytherins learned how to fly together. That's the last thing he wanted. The Slytherins were sure to try to do things to the Gryffindors and they would make themselves difficult just for Harry, he was sure.
Within no time, he spotted the first of many first years heading his way, all of then talking excitedly except for one, he noticed. As they drew nearer, he noticed the one was none other that the brown haired and gray eyed boy he was suppose to mentor, Hunter Farrell.
The first years gathered around the broomsticks, many of them eyeing Harry and whispering. Ally Warrick waved as she stood next to two other girls. A boy, who Harry recognized as Lavender Brown's younger brother, strode over and held out his hand.
"Hello!" he said cheerfully. "Dylan Brown. It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Harry."
Harry shook his hand, taken aback. "Hello," he mumbled and noticed several Slytherins scowl.
"My sister, Lavender, told me a bit about you this summer," Dylan said. "The Seeker of the House team, captain too, and she told me about you fought You-Know-Who a little more than a year ago."
"Yeah," Harry murmured, surprised at how anybody could be so outgoing. He was nearly as bad as Colin Creevey.
Dylan's attention then focused on Harry's Firebolt. "Wow! A real Firebolt. Wicked!"
At that moment, Madam Hooch blew her whistle. "Alright everyone, enough chit-chat. Welcome to your first flying lesson. Now, everyone choose a broom and step up to the left side of it."
Everyone did so and waited for Madam Hooch's next instruction. Harry noticed that a few Slytherins, and even Hunter, looked rather bored.
"Before we begin today's lesson, I would like to introduce the young man standing over there," she said, gesturing towards Harry. "Harry Potter, the captain and Seeker of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He will be helping with today's lesson."
Harry, feeling foolish, gave a small wave.
"Right. Okay everyone, stick your right hand over your broom and say 'Up!'" Madam Hooch told them.
"UP!" the first years shouted. Harry took particular interest in this part. The brooms immediately jumped into only two people's hands; a Slytherin boy with auburn hair and, to Harry's great surprise, Hunter. Then slowly, little by little, the brooms rose to the first years' calls.
Madam Hooch quickly showed them how to mount their brooms without falling off. Hunter looked extremely bored at this point.
"Potter, if you don't mind," Madam Hooch called from between two first years, "could you please fly a couple of laps around us all, so that the first years may see what an expert flyer such as yourself does?"
Harry nodded and mounted his Firebolt. He then kicked off from the ground and rose like a rocket, feeling the wind blow both his hair and his robes. The incredible feeling of freedom that he so loved returned to him.
He sped around the first years quickly, added a loop just for kicks, and landed exactly where he started as many excited murmurs broke out.
"Thank you, Potter," Madam Hooch said. "Now, when I blow my whistle, you're going to kick off from the ground hard, just like Potter did. Steady your broom, rise about a meter, and then lean forward slightly to come back down. Everyone ready? On my whistle then-three-two-one-" And she blew her whistle.
The first years all rose up a good meter and then hovered. After a few moments, they leaned forward on their broomsticks and touched back down.
"Excellent!" Madam Hooch said approvingly. "Mr. Potter, will you please fly up a good eight meters into the air?"
"Yes, ma'am," Harry said and mounted his broom once more. Kicking off hard, he soared up a good eight and a half meters before settling back down to eight.
"Do you see Mr. Potter up there?" he could hear Madam Hooch ask the first years. "You are about to fly and practice maneuvering. Do not, I repeat, do not go any higher than where Mr. Potter is. The more uncomfortable you feel on your broom, the lower I suggest that you fly. Whenever you are ready, mount your brooms and take off."
It didn't take long for the first years to all join Harry in the air. He noticed most of them stayed below where he was at, circling around as though he were doing laps around the Quidditch pitch. Very few went as high as he was. Three Slytherin boys, one Gryffindor girl, Hunter and another Gryffindor boy that Harry did not know were about even with him, and Harry noticed that only Hunter and the auburn-haired Slytherin seemed the most at ease on a broom.
"Psst! Kyle!" one of the Slytherin boys called loudly to the auburn-haired boy. "Watch this."
Just as Harry turned around to see what was up, the third Slytherin boy hurtled a large rock towards the Gryffindor girl, who was hovering and watching somebody below her. Harry dashed off, hoping against hope that he could catch the rock before it hit her and possibly knocked her off her broom. It was falling in a graceful arc right towards her head. Harry put on an extra burst of speed when suddenly a hand reached up and knocked it aside.
Harry pulled up on his Firebolt gently and stopped right next to the girl. A meter below them was Hunter Farrell, the rock in his hand. He was glaring at the Slytherins malevolently. "Learn to play nice," he spat at the Slytherins and then launched the rock just barely over their heads.
"You missed," Harry said to Hunter. By this time the girl had swung around and was watching everything, a look of surprise etched on her face, not that Harry could blame her. He was in fact surprised that Hunter pulled off such an amazing catch and near miss.
"No I didn't," Hunter snapped. "Three centimeters above Bowman's head, just where I was aiming."
By this time, Madam Hooch was on a broom and was level with them. "What's going on here?" she demanded.
"Those Slytherin boys over there thought it would be funny to throw a rock at her," Harry explained, nodding towards the girl.
"And what exactly was Mr. Farrell doing?" she asked.
"He caught the rock," Harry told her, "and got rid of it."
"Nearly hitting those boys in the process!" Madam Hooch shrieked.
"No, ma'am. I don't know about your angle, but from ours it went right over their heads. Never got close," Harry said.
Madam Hooch frowned. "Very well. All of you, back to the ground." With that, she blew her whistle. "Everyone land now!" she shouted. Once everyone landed, she beckoned the three Slytherins. "Class dismissed! You three, follow me. We are going to have a talk with Professor Snape." Scowling, the three boys followed her back towards the castle.
As the rest of the class was leaving, Harry called out, "Hey, Hunter!"
Hunter turned and, scowling, walked back towards Harry. "What?" he demanded.
"You fly pretty well," Harry said. "Did you mean what you said though? That you missed them on purpose?"
"Why do you care?" the boy spat.
Harry let out a frustrated growl. "Look, I just saved your ass from a detention up there. The least you could do is drop the attitude for a moment, okay?"
Hunter shifted uncomfortably for a few seconds, then muttered, "Fine."
"Okay," Harry said and relaxed somewhat. "Did you really miss them on purpose?"
"Yes," Hunter replied.
"That was a pretty accurate shot," Harry commented. "Ever play Quidditch?"
"With my D…" he trailed off.
"Your dad?" Harry asked.
Hunter nodded. "I'd play Chaser and he'd play Keeper."
"Did something happen to your dad?"
Hunter looked up at Harry furiously. "I don't want to talk about it," he said flatly.
Harry frowned. "Okay. Tell you what, meet me down on the Quidditch pitch at twelve-fifty Saturday, okay?"
"What for?"
"I want to run you against Ron and Katie," Harry said. "Gryffindor needs a new Chaser."
Hunter looked up at Harry incredulously. "I'm a first year."
Damn! Harry thought to himself. That's right! The First Year rule. He had avoided it when Professor McGonagall asked Professor Dumbledore for special permission, and Professor McGonagall was sure to try to do anything to help the Gryffindor team. "I'll talk to Professor McGonagall," Harry told him.
Hunter blinked. "Really?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah, unless you don't want to play Quidditch."
"No! No, I want to play. For my birthday my dad…" he trailed off again.
"Your dad what?" Harry asked.
Hunter looked incredibly sad. "He bought me a Nimbus Two Thousand."
"A Nimbus Two Thousand?" Harry asked. "I used to ride one of those before it got smashed up by the Whomping Willow during a match." The memory was still painful.
Hunter gave him a puzzled look. "How-"
"Long story," Harry said shortly. "But that was really wicked of your dad to buy you one. It's a good broom." Hunter shuffled his feet and didn't say anything. Harry frowned. "Look, I know you don't want a mentor, but will you settle for a friend?"
He looked up, startled. "A friend?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah."
"With you?"
"Yeah. Is that a bad thing?"
And for the first time since Harry had met him, Hunter grinned. "Well, no. I guess not."
Harry grinned too. "Well okay then." He held out his hand. "Friends?"
Hunter shook it with his own. "Friends."
*****
That evening, Hermione's little party was in full swing inside Hagrid's hut. Hermione herself was talking to Hagrid, Ginny, Neville, and Luna at Hagrid's table, while Harry and Ron were in discussing what happened earlier during the flying lesson.
"So, you mean he-"
"Yeah."
"And then he-"
"Uh-huh."
"And it just barely-"
"Yep."
"But that's exactly where he-"
"That's right."
"Wow."
Harry laughed. "So he's going to come to pitch ten minutes before the tryouts begin on Saturday, so you and Katie can see what I think."
Ron grinned. "Poor Ginny. She may not make the Quidditch team this year. She's going to try out for Chaser."
"There's still a chance," Harry reminded him. "We need two new Chasers, not one."
"Okay, okay. I reckon we should get back to the party," Ron said.
Harry laughed and headed back to the table with Ron. He noted that the chocolate cake that Dobby had made for the occasion was now completely gone and that most of the tea cups were empty.
"Hermione," Ginny said, "you never told us what you named your new owl."
"Oh, I decided to name him Giles," Hermione said.
"Giles?" Ron asked, grabbing the tea pot and pouring himself a cup. Hermione nodded.
"A saint," Luna said simply.
Again, Hermione nodded. "It was either that or Hermod."
"I like Giles better," Luna said. "Hermod was a Viking god."
"And it sounds too close to Hermes," Ginny said.
"Yeah. That owl is as pompous as Percy," Ron muttered. Hermes was, indeed, Percy's owl.
Hermione grinned while the others laughed, although Harry noticed it did not reach her eyes. Suddenly, she got up. "Excuse me," she said. "I could do with some fresh air."
Harry watched her go, concern etched on his face. He looked back and saw the same expression mirrored on Ginny's face. When their eyes made contact, she jerked her head slightly towards the door.
"You know," Harry said, getting the hint, "I could use from fresh air too. Excuse me."
He got up quickly and walked out the door, searching around for Hermione. Edging around Hagrid's hut, he found her in Hagrid's pumpkin patch, looking off to the west at the fading sunlight. "Hey," he said when he reached her. "You needed fresh air?"
"Yes…well, no," she said with a sigh.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's stupid really," Hermione said, turning away from the sunset and facing Harry. "I shouldn't be moping about it."
"What is it?"
"Well…it's Viktor. I haven't received a letter from him in over two months and he said that he would make sure he'd send me a letter on or before my birthday," she said sadly.
"Viktor Krum? You know, I've been always meaning to ask you, and I hope you don't mind…what happened between you two forth year?"
Hermione looked quite surprised. "I'm astonished you asked me that, Harry. The truth is, nothing happened. Nothing at all."
"Nothing? He didn't even peck you on the cheek?"
She shook her head. "No. I don't like Viktor like that. He's a friend, or at least, I thought he was."
Harry frowned. "Maybe he's a little busy. I mean, he'd be crazy to lose you as a friend."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure."
"I'm serious. Do I look like I'm joking?" Harry asked.
Hermione looked up at him and frowned. "No."
"See. You're the best friend anybody could ever have Hermione. Krum's an idiot if he doesn't see that. Now, let's get back inside before everyone else starts to worry, okay?"
Hermione gave a small smile. "Okay. Thanks, Harry."
He only shrugged as he led her back to Hagrid's hut. "It's the truth," he said and held the door open for her. After she walked back inside, he followed her, rejoining the party.
A/N: If any of you were wondering, Giles really is a saint. He is the patron saint of Edinburgh, Scotland.