A/N
Okay, first off, it has taken me forever how to figure out how to get this fic here, so the story is already on chapter 17. Because of this, I'll be posting three chapters at a time until the story here at portkey is caught up.
Okay, the characters start off pretty close to cannon, but I kind of drift away as the story goes along. Sorry!
Sorry if the text is sort of weird, I'm still trying to figure everything out.
Alright! Finally, all characters, places, etc. belong to JKR and warner bros.
R/R!
******
Chapter 1
A young man laid flat on his aching back - due to numerous hours of forced physical labor - and stared at the yellow-stained ceiling of the smallest bedroom in #4 Pivet Drive. This was a boy that was either loathed or feared by every person in his town of Little Whining. They all believed him to go to St. Brutus' - a school for incurable criminal boys. Oh how wrong they were.
The six-foot, green eyed young man did not in fact, attend St. Brutus' like the population of Little Whining believed. This was a lie told by the young man's Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, whom despised the boy with every essence of their being.
They hated him because if anyone ever found out what he really was, their blissful 'normalcy' would be vanquished. Harry Potter was probably the most un-normal boy in the world. He was a wizard, and a famous one at that. Everyone in the wizarding world knew of his story, how he was the boy who defeated he-who-must-not-be-named.
Harry snorted at the thought of that alias. The man's given name at birth was Tom Marvolo Riddle - a fact Harry learned while saving one of his best friends' - Ron Weasley, a tall, lanky freckled boy with fiery red hair - sister in his second year. Riddle had nearly killed him that night, but Harry had prevailed.
Before he learned this Harry knew of the man only as Lord Voldemort, the most evil wizard to ever live. He had murdered Harry's parents when he was just one year-old, but then something extraordinary had happened. Voldemort had turned his wand on Harry and muttered the incantation 'Avada Kedavra' and for the first time in the history of the wizarding world - it had not worked. The spell rebounded upon the caster, and Voldemort fled, merely a shadow of what he had been before.
No one knew how or why Harry had survived, save two people. One, Harry's Divination Professor Sibbyl Trelawney, did not remember the event, even though she had made the prophecy that predicted it. The other was the man the prophecy had been told to - Albus Dumbledore, the greatest sorcerer in the world.
And now Harry knew as well. The prophecy had explained it all. When Harry's mother, Lily Potter, had given her own life to save him, it (in Harry's mind) somewhat fulfilled the prophecy. The prophecy told of a young man born in the dying days of July, (Harry's birthday was July the thirty first) whose parents had defied the dark lord thrice times, would be the only one who could defeat him.
Lily's sacrifice gave Harry the time he needed to become an able enough wizard to defeat the dark lord. As a child there was no way he could have ever vanquished the man for good, but he was able to put Voldemort into hiding for ten years.
Since then, Voldemort had done everything possible to rid the world of one Harry Potter, but his plans had never quite worked. Except for one - in Harry's fourth year (he would soon be entering his sixth) the dark lord successfully recovered his body. This was due to a potion including parts of Harry and Voldemort's dead father (Voldemort had killed him) and also a piece of the traitor, Wormtail.
Harry sighed. Wormtail had been one of his father's - James Potter - best friends at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, the school that Harry now attended. But for a year before his parents died the rat had been feeding information to Voldemort, ultimately resulting in his parents deaths.
Another marauder - the name the four best friends, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail), Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin - had died just a month before.
Sirius Black, or Padfoot, had died at the hands of his own cousin Bellatrix Lestrange in the Department of Mysteries battle the year before. It was after that that Harry learned of the prophecy.
Harry had told no one that he would die either a murderer or the victim of murder, not even his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
Harry winced when thinking of the latter. Because of him she had nearly died the year before, in the Department of Mysteries. Hermione was a beautiful (although she didn't believe that herself), intelligent, nice, and caring young witch. Harry didn't know what he would do if he ever lost her.
Harry's thoughts were interrupted by a booming voice from downstairs. "BOY! GET DOWN HERE NOW AND TRIM THOSE BLOODY HEDGES!"
Harry groaned and slowly rose from the bed, an interesting chorus of mattress squeaks and back cracking following him. He stretched once again before leaving his room and walking down the stairs to the kitchen.
As he entered the spotless room (his aunt Petunia was very neat and orderly) he received a sneer from his cousin Dudley. He was perhaps the largest boy Harry had ever seen, he was gulfing down his bacon while sitting on two polyester chairs - his bottom was too large for just one.
"Hey Potty," The whale-like boy said to him. "You better bring a few towels, it's a scorcher out there. Better learn how to swim too, we wouldn't want you to drown in your own sweat!" He laughed gleefully at what he thought was a great insult towards the fifteen (sixteen in a week) year-old wizard.
Harry rolled his eyes as he stalked past him into the backyard. "Then maybe you should do it Dudley, you obviously have loads of practice swimming." He grinned at his slight towards his cousin, laughing aloud at Dudley's confused face - the boy was to dense to even register that Harry had insulted him.
Whistling in tune with the wind, Harry grabbed the hedge-clippers from the garden shed and got to work. After nearly an hour of hard work, Harry collapsed onto a bench in the garden, sweat glistening and trickling all over his six foot frame.
Harry had bulked up somewhat over the summer, realizing that he needed to be strong physically as well as magically and mentally to defeat Voldemort.
Harry's relaxation was interrupted by Dudley asking him a surprising question. "Who's Sirius?" Harry's eyes snapped open violently and he sprung to his feet, wand already in hand and pointed at Dudley's face, which was now contorted in fear.
"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! NOW GET THE BLOODY HELL AWAY FROM ME BEFORE I HEX YOU BACK TO GRADE SCHOOL!" Harry was fuming. He didn't care that Dudley was asking an innocent question, Sirius' death was still to fresh and painful for Harry to ponder upon.
"O-okay," Dudley said in a squeaky voice not unlike Colin and Dennis Creevey and started back towards the house, still shaking in fear. Harry, even though his cousin had always been mean to him, felt bad.
"Dudley, wait." He said, and the lad spun around, surprise now mixed with fear in his facial expression. Harry decided that he had to tell some one. Even if he didn't like Dudley, it was like having a mountain troll on his chest, and he had to remove it. "Sirius, Sirius was my godfather."
And so Harry told him everything, the pain in his chest recessing with each passing minute. He told Dudley everything. About Cedric's death in fourth year, Voldemort returning to his body, all the troubles he had had in his fifth year at Hogwarts, the Department of Mysteries battle, everything.
After that he told Dudley - who was listening and staring at Harry in awe, obviously intrigued by the information - all about Ron and Hermione, his other friends, his horrid date and kiss with Cho Chang (a very pretty Ravenclaw the year above Harry that he had had a crush on ever since his third year but finally realized the year before that it definitely wasn't meant to be), and pretty much everything in his life.
It was almost two hours later when he finished, the weight finally lifted from his chest. "Wow," Dudley stuttered, suddenly in awe of his cousin. "I had no idea, I just thought you were a freak." Harry grinned at him. "Well I'm not that bad, really."
For the first time in their sixteen years together, Dudley gave Harry a genuine smile. "So," He said with a strange tone and cocked head. "How long have you been dating that Hermoninny girl?" Harry looked at him dumbfounded. "Huh, Hermione's my best friend. We've never dated. What makes you think we have?"
Dudley laughed, the first true one Harry had ever heard from him, and walked away, but not before replying, "You're the smart one. You figure it out." Harry stared at his retreating backside with a frown. 'What the hell is he talking about? I don't feel that way about Hermione, do I?' Harry shook his head to clear the thoughts. 'You aren't following that trail Mr. Potter.' Harry walked back to the house without another thought.
A week later Harry was awoken by a soft knock on his door. "Hey Dudley, come on in." Harry mumbled, knowing exactly who it was. Dudley came in with a smile, hands behind his back. Harry smiled back at him. Over the last week he and Dudley had become closer than he had ever thought possible. Harry now thought of him as a brother.
Even though he felt this way, he was still surprised when Dudley pulled a present out from behind his back and handed it to Harry. "Here you go. Sorry it's not wrapped, but I hope you like it. Maybe you can read it with someone else?" He raised his eyebrows twice with a smirk on his face. Harry through the nearest pillow at him. Dudley just wouldn't leave the fact that Harry only thought of Hermione as a friend alone.
Harry looked at the slightly heavy book. An Advanced Study of the Theories of Physics. Harry rose his eyebrows in confusion, ignoring the three owls that had just flown into his window.
"I thought you would like this," Dudley explained. "Because it's all about why magic shouldn't work, but obviously it does, and I thought maybe you could use it to I don't know, like link the two together or something." He shrugged and Harry smiled. "That's actually a great idea Duds," (that was Harry's nickname for his cousin) "I think this could actually be kinda cool." Dudley grinned and Harry turned to the owls that had flown into the room. One, a tiny, energetic owl that zoomed all over the room, was no doubt Pigwedgeon, Ron's owl. Another was a dark shade of red, and was nipping affectionately at Hedwig's feathers. Harry was slightly amused at this, Hermione's new owl had never acted like that before.
The third was a simple brown barn owl, the type that most muggles (non-magic folk) saw in the forests and such. Harry figured it must be from the ministry. He froze. That meant it had his O.W.L. results. O.W.L.'s, or Ordinary Wizarding Levels, were the culmination of all that Harry had learned in his first five years at Hogwarts. He gulped and decided to open that one last.
Harry took the letter from Pigwedgeon and read (well, tried at least) Ron's letter.
Dear Harry,
Hey, how's it hanging! I hope you like your present - they're Chudley Cannon tickets! We got special permission from Dumbledore and just the two of us are gonna go to the first home game of the season on September 14! I hope you're as excited as I am!
Anyways, Bill finally proposed to Fleur. They've been dating for so long that it really wasn't a surprise. Oh guess what? Charlie is going to be co-teaching Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid this year! It's gonna be great! But why are they bringing in a dragon expert? Gulp.
The twins are the newest sensation in Diagon Alley, they're pulling in about a thousand galleons a week now, and they've been having twenty percent forwarded to your vault, since you were their financer and all.
Harry paused. What? He couldn't complain but he still didn't think he deserved all that money. Cedric won that tournament, not him. He went back to the letter.
Oh yeah, and guess who lives like ten minutes away from here? Luna Lovegood! She's actually pretty cool now that I've gotten to know her, but she's still pretty weird most of the time.
Ginny's been seeing a lot of Dean this summer, but its not so bad. Dean's cool, so I guess I don't really mind him dating my sister. It took me a while to realize that though.
Harry chuckled before continuing. Ron was more overprotective of Ginny than any one else he knew.
Oh yeah, and dad got a promotion! Now he's a Senior Secretary to the minister! Second most powerful wizard in England! That Umbridge hag was tossed in Azkaban after everyone found out about what she did at Hogwarts, and dad got moved straight into her position. He still has to deal with my prat brother Percy though.
Harry sighed. Percy had always seemed so nice, but ever since last year his ambition had seemed to get the better of him. Harry didn't know if the Weasley's would ever forgive him.
Alright, well I've gotta go, we're leaving for Romania now, we're gonna spend Charlie's last month there with him. I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express!
Cheers!
Ron
Harry happily put the letter and the ticket aside. "Who was that from?" Dudley asked. "Ron, he gave me a quidditch ticket for the Chudley Cannons." "Oh." Was Dudley's response. He knew all about quidditch now, but he was a little sore that he would never be able to play it.
Harry picked up the next piece of parchment, covered in Hermione's untidy scrawl. "Who's that one from?" "Hermione." Harry ignored Dudley's cat-calling and whistling then read the letter.
Dearest Harry.
How are you! I hope your summer hasn't been to horrible. Ron said he was going to Romania, so I talked to my parents and Dumbledore, and they agreed that you can spend the rest of your summer at my house! We'll pick you up tomorrow at noon. Don't worry! My dad's driving the Porsche, so we won't make the Dursley's mad.
I expect you've seen my present by now,
Harry rolled his eyes at Hogwarts, A History, Revised Edition on his bed. Only Hermione.
Stop rolling your eyes Harry!
He grinned. She knew him to well.
I should have made you and Ron read this a long time ago. Now maybe you'll finally understand what I'm always pestering you two about.
Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then. Be ready at twelve o'clock sharp!
Love from Hermione.
"I told you!" Dudley yelled gleefully. Harry glared at him. "That's a platonic love, Duds." After all, that's all it was, Hermione didn't like him in that way, right?
Dudley sighed and exited the room muttering something about being blind under his breath.
Harry took a deep breath and reached for his O.W.L. results. The worn brown envelope scared him more than even Voldemort ever had. What if he failed all of his subjects? What if he had failed out of Hogwarts? Would he ever see Ron or Hermione again?
'Don't be stupid,' Came Hermione's voice from in his own head. 'You know that you did good. You can face Voldemort and not this? Honestly Harry!'
He exhaled slowly and picked up the envelope. With trembling hands he pulled apart the seal and started to open his future.
Chapter 2
Mr. Harry Potter, below are the results of the O.W.L. exams you took last June. We hope that you did well, good luck!
Arthur Weasley, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister
Transfiguration - Written: E
Practical: E
Overall: E
Astronomy - Written: E
Practical: D
Overall: A
Charms - Written: E
Practical: O
Overall: O
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Written: O
Practical: O
Overall: O
History of Magic - Written: D
Overall: D
Potions - Written: E
Practical: E
Overall: E
Herbology - Written: O
Practical: A
Overall: E
Care of Magical Creatures - Written: O
Practical: O
Overall: O
Divination - Written: A
Practical: P
Overall: A
The O.W.L. scoring is as thus;
1 O.W.L. for a score of average or exceeds expectations, 2 O.W.L.'s for a score of outstanding. No O.W.L.'s are given for a score of dreadful or poor. Your scores are;
3 'Outstanding' - 6 O.W.L.'s
3 'Exceeds Expectations' - 3 O.W.L.'s
2 'Average' - 2 O.W.L.'s
1 'Dreadful' - 0 O.W.L.'s
Total - 11 O.W.L.'s
Congratulations Mr. Potter, you passed as #12 in your class. Below is a list of classes you may take next semester, please send return O.W.L. immediately;
N.E.W.T. Transfiguration
N.E.W.T. Charms
N.E.W.T. Defense Against the Dark Arts
N.E.W.T. Care of Magical Creatures
N.E.W.T. Herbology
N.E.W.T. Divination
Advanced Weapons Training
Advanced Physical Conditioning
Please choose six of the above classes for your next year at Hogwarts. Special circumstances may be made after arriving. We hope that you have a good summer and that you enjoy the upcoming year at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft.
Sincerely,
Minerva McGonogall, Deputy Headmistress
Harry stared at the list for a long time. 10 O.W.L.'s? That was awesome! But what classes would he take the next year. He could only take six.
Harry realized that without Potions he would now never become an auror. That left him somewhat put out at first, until he thought about it. 'I've been battling a dark wizard - the darkest there ever was - for the last five years. I hate every minute of my time with Voldemort, so why on Merlin's beard would I want to do that as a career? No, after Voldemort I'll be done with dark wizards.'
So Harry looked at his list and checked off the obvious ones first;
Defense Against the Dark Arts
Care of Magical Creatures
Transfiguration
Now he had three more to choose. Realizing that he would never be able to defeat Voldemort with his wand, he decided to put down;
Advanced Weapons Training
That way he could maybe learn how to fight with a weapon and beat Voldemort that way.
He stared intently at the withered parchment, chewing on the end of his quill, trying to decide what else to take. 'Well I get plenty of physical training from quidditch, so I can rule that out, I'm definitely dropping Divination, I never really liked Herbology, so that leaves…
Harry scribbled;
Charms
As his fifth class, and sent the owl back. He knew there would be no trouble with only taking five classes, he would probably be having Occlumency and Legillmency lessons anyway, combined with quidditch and Voldemort Harry believed that to be enough for one year.
He laid back on his bed, wincing at the spark of pain that traveled from the small of his back up to his neck, and once again stared at the moth-eaten ceiling.
In less than twenty-four hours he'd be at Hermione's, and although he may miss Dudley a bit, he was still nothing compared to Harry's best friend. Slowly, thoughts of Hermione still lingering, Harry fell into a deep slumber and slept for the next twelve hours.
He was awakened by a loud rapping at his door. "POTTER! GET OUT HERE AND CUT THE GRASS BEFORE YOU LEAVE! AND WHEN YOU'RE DONE WITH THAT HELP YOUR AUNT IN THE KITCHEN! AND THAT MEANS NOW!"
The boy-who-lived groaned and walked down the stairs and once again out to the garden to do his uncle's bidding. He was relieved that his Aunt Petunia had finished the dishes before he had come in, so he dragged himself upstairs and took a well-needed long, cold shower.
By the time he got out of the bathroom it was already 11:37. He hurriedly packed all of his things; the spell books, his Firebolt (the best broom in the world), his father's invisibility cloak, the Maurader's Map (a map of Hogwarts created by Harry's father and his friends that displayed the entire grounds and labeled every person (living or dead) by miniscule dots with their names by them), and other items that he felt were essential for his coming school year.
After packing, he lugged his trunk downstairs and waited for Hermione, while his Uncle Vernon dressed in his best (trying to intimidate) and his Aunt Petunia cleaned every nook and cranny of the house. Dudley rather, was very excited.
"I'll get it!" Dudley squealed when the doorbell signaled Hermione's arrival. Harry got there just as Dudley opened the door.
"Um, hi." Hermione said nervously. She didn't know that Harry and Dudley had smoothed things over. "Is Harry ready?" Dudley gave her an evil grin and nodded. "Yes, you must be Hermione. You're just as beautiful as Harry said you were."
Harry groaned at Dudley's comment as he entered the doorway, but couldn't help but notice Hermione's reaction. Was it hope? No, most likely just surprise.
All that disappeared when she saw Harry. "HARRY!" She screeched, throwing her arms around him in a bone-crunching hug that Harry did mind one bit. "Hey there 'Mione. This is Dudley, my cousin. We're cool now, he's like a brother to me."
Hermione smiled widely and shook Dudley's hand. "Nice to meet you." She turned her attention back at Harry, bearing him down with her deep, chocolate eyes. Harry couldn't help but notice how much Hermione had changed. She had obviously been tanning, and she wore very short shorts (they hardly covered her thighs) and a t-shirt that was probably made for toddlers, giving everyone a very nice view of her bellybutton and showing off her upper body, which was also a nice sight.
"Er, yeah." He responded, tearing his eyes away from Hermione's figure. Just then Vernon came to the door. "Well off you go then. You are staying over there for Christmas and Easter, yes?" Harry nodded, trying to hold back a laugh at his uncle's obvious gawking at the Granger's bright red 1996 Porsche. It was easily the most impressive car Harry had ever seen.
"Well okay then, I'll see you next summer. Later!" He gave them a polite wave and walked to the car, Hermione helping him with his trunk. His hand brushed briefly up against hers, making them both blush and Dudley howl in laughter. Hermione shot Harry a quizzical look as they settled into the back seat. "What was that all about?"
Harry sighed in exasperation. "Dudley has this idea that we're dating or that at least I want to go out with you. He just doesn't understand that you're my best friend. It would be like dating Ron!" He finished the sentence strongly, trying to hide whatever his voice may give away about something that he didn't believe in, so then he frowned at himself, wondering why he felt the need to cover up his voice.
"Oh," Hermione replied, her voice catching in her throat. Harry figured it was because she had just eaten a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean. He also caught her parents exchange a knowing glance, but dismissed it. Hermione broke the awkward silence with a question.
"So, how did you and Dudley patch things up? I though you hated each other?" Harry shrugged. "I had a huge weight hanging over me, so I told him everything. About my parents, Cedric, Sirius, the battles, basically my entire life since I found out I was a wizard."
Hermione grinned at him and threw her arms around him again. "Hermione, what-" It's not that he didn't mind, but Harry wondered why she was hugging him. She pulled away, blushing slightly. "Sorry Harry, I was just afraid that you were still upset about him, I'm just so happy that you got over it!"
Harry smiled at his best friend. "So, Hermione, how many O.W.L.'s did you get? I got ten. O's in DADA, Charms, and Creatures, E's in Transfiguration, Potions, and Herbology, A's in Astronomy and Divination, and a D in History of Magic."
Hermione beamed at him, obviously happy for Harry. "That's really great Harry! I got O's in everything but Potions and Runes, and I got E's in those. So I got 18 O.W.L.'s." She said this matter-of-factly, like it meant nothing. Harry gaped at her. "18 O.W.L.'s? Hermione that's unbelievable! I've never heard of anyone scoring even remotely that high before!"
Now she blushed a little. "Well actually, my letter said that it was the highest score ever. But please don't tell anyone okay?" She asked pleadingly. "I don't want people gawking at me all year just because I did good on the O.W.L.'s. But anyways, what subjects did you sign up for? I've got Transfiguration, Arithmancy, DADA, Creatures, Charms, and that new advanced weapons training class." Harry beamed at her. "I have all those minus Arithmancy. I figured I would just take five classes."
Hermione's eyes lit up and Harry spoke again before she could go off on him. "Look Hermione, between quidditch, classes, and Voldemort, I don't really have time for anything else. Not to mention Dumbledore probably still wants me to take Occlumency with Snape. So I'll still have a full plate." Harry was glad to see that Hermione's eyes had softened, and she smiled at him.
"Okay, so what do you want to do this summer?" Hermione smiled, pulling a piece of parchment out of her pocket, and unwrinkled it, handing it to Harry. "This is called the 'Unsolvable Arithmantic Riddle'. I've been trying to crack it for months. Professor Vector says that it can't be done, but I'm so sure it can. Maybe you can help?" Harry smiled and eyed the parchment.
0 0 G H 1 2
7 S 5 1 0 1
3 D D 2 0 9
1 G G S 3 3
1 V T M R 8
9 G H S 9 1
8 F B 1 A 0
0 P 1 R B 6
1 3 R M M 2
0 S V 1 2 1
D 1 V H P 1
M M 9 G H 9
T M R 9 P 9
S V B M 8 5
He frowned horribly. "Absolutely no idea. Sorry Hermione, I'm just no good at Arithmancy." She sighed. "Oh well, I was hoping you could help because this riddle came about less than a week after you beat Voldemort as a baby."
He just shrugged, not even noticing that she had used Voldemort's name. She did it with ease now, having started saying the name last year. "Well, maybe you can teach me some Arithmancy, and we can crack it together!" He was trying to brighten her up, seeing in her eyes that she was disappointed. "Hey," He said softly, looking deep into her eyes. "You're the cleverest person I've ever had the pleasure to meet. If anyone can crack this, you can."
She smiled at his words, and Harry couldn't notice how soft her eyes had gone, as if longing something. He shook the thought away and turned back towards the front. "So what else are we gonna do? Duds gave me a physics book that explains why magic can't exist, so I thought we would go through that and maybe come to a few realizations or something. How does that sound?"
Hermione looked thoughtful, the same look she always had when she was about to rush off to the library and solve the latest riddle. She smiled at him. "That'd be great! Then we can do all kinds of muggle stuff to, you know, like ride bikes, go to the pool, watch movies, that kind of stuff."
Harry was about to reply when Mr. Granger spoke up for the first time. "But before all of that, we're giving you a present from me and my wife. That's where we're going now." "Oh, Mr. Granger, you don't have to-" "No! I won't here it my boy! I understand that you haven't been allowed any fun at all in that household, so now, it's off to Old Trafford!"
Chapter 3
"Er, what's an old trafford?" Harry asked stupidly. Mr. Granger looked like he was in shock but Hermione held her hand up to signal him not to say anything.
"Old Trafford is a football stadium. It's where Manchester United plays, they're our family's favorite football team, kinda like how West Ham is Dean's favorite ream. It's funny actually, since today they are playing West Ham, but it's not like they have a chance. Manchester United are one of the best teams in the world, and West Ham's nowhere near their level."
Harry stared goggle-eyed at her. "Why didn't you ever tell us this before? Dean would have been thrilled to know that someone at Hogwarts loved football as much as he does!" She shrugged. "I don't know. I expect that it was mainly because I didn't want to get in a row with him over Man U vs. West Ham, so I never brought it up. I actually play football myself, in the summers. I was fairly decent in grade school, but I never was able to continue after I got my Hogwarts letter, but I don't regret it. If I had to choose you or football, I'd pick you in an instant."
Harry choked on the Bertie Bott's Bean he was eating. "You, you mean the wizarding world, not just me right?" Hermione blushed crimson and turned away. "Um, yes, that's exactly what I meant, I'm sorry."
Harry chuckled. "There's nothing to be sorry about Mione. It was just a slip of tongue." "Yes, I suppose." Was her dreamy response, reminding Harry of Luna Lovegood.
Not much was said the rest of the way to the football stadium, and nothing more until they walked to their seats (first row behind the visitors bench, just off center from midfield) when they saw a familiar face.
"DEAN!?"
Dean Thomas, a tall black boy that was in Harry's house and year at Hogwarts spun around, obviously surprised to see them. He wasn't as surprised as Harry and Hermione were though, for he was not only at the game, but he was dressed in West Ham warm-ups and looked ready to play.
Dean smiled at them and waved. "Hey guys! Guess what? I made the reserve team for West Ham this summer! I might even get to play today! Not as a starter obviously, but as a substitute! You guys will be rooting for West Ham of course-" He broke off, suddenly noticing Hermione's #7 Manchester United jersey (David Beckham). "NO!"
Hermione smiled guiltily, motioning to her parents. "It was their fault Dean, they raised me as a Man U fan, sorry." Dean scowled mockingly at the Grangers, who laughed heartily. Harry spoke up. "Hey Dean, if you've got an extra West Ham jersey, I'll put it on and root for you!"
Dean's face brightened immediately and he ran to his bag to pull out a jersey. Meanwhile Mr. Granger was clutching his chest with a hand, mocking a heart attack. "Hermione dear, now you know I could never have a son-in-law that was against Manchester United!" He and his wife laughed when Hermione flushed a deep shade of red, and it was even worse when Dean spoke up, after chucking Harry one of his extra jerseys. "Did I hear that right? So Harry, Hermione, you finally hooked up did you? We all knew it would happen, Seamus (a sandy-haired boy also in Harry's year in Gryffindor) said that if you two weren't together by the end of the year we would lock you two up in the Room of Requirement and throw away the key until you two finally hooked up. Have you told Ron yet?"
Hermione's face seemed to be doing a great impersonation of Ron's hair before Harry answered, "We're not together Dean, we're just friends, I don't understand why everyone thinks differently, don't you agree Hermione?" Hermione, unable to speak, simply nodded.
Dean shrugged. "Well whatever, I've got to get back to warm-ups though, so I'll see you at school!" They both nodded and waved good-bye, no one mentioning Dean's words for the rest of the time until the game started.
"And Nicky Butt with the ball in midfield, he lets fly a deep pass into the corner, and Beckham is there! Beckham, the Manchester captain, with a one time cross, will it find a red jersey? Yes, Ruuuuud Von Nistelrooy scores on after a brilliant set-up down the sideline, it all started back in goal with French International Fabian Barthez. He makes a brilliant save there on Jemaine Defoe, then gives a quick outlet to Paul Neville on the left side, he centered the football to Butt, whom put a beautiful ball over the defense and into the corner for Becks, and then a one-time cross to the head of the most prolific goal-scorer in the premiership Nistelrooy, and it is now one to nil Manchester United in the fifty-seventh minute of play!"
While West Ham had stayed with the champions in the first half, three quick goals put the game out of reach, but with ten minutes to play…
"Oh, and it seems that West Ham is going to make a substitution now, yes, it is the newcomer Dean Thomas, on for Jermain Defoe for his debut in the premiership. Thomas is a strange acquisition by West Ham, he will finish only the summer, and then play again around Christmas time for the club, while the rest of the year he attends an undisclosed boarding school, where we are sure he is the star of his football team."
Harry and Hermione grinned at each other, Hogwarts didn't even have a football team. Harry noticed that the breeze in the stadium was starting to get to Hermione, so he - without a thought about it - wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in tight, trying to warm her up a bit. She looked up at him and gave him one of her beautiful smiles (she didn't need to say thank you, Harry could read it in her eyes) and snuggled her head into his chest while continuing to watch the game.
Harry loved the feel of her on his chest, her shoulders cuddled inside of his arm, but he dismissed it as being only because he was slightly cold as well, and her body warmed him up a bit.
Then Dean got the ball and Harry jumped up in his seat. "Come on Dean…" He muttered, wishing the best for his friend. "And Thomas on the ball now, he really has impressed these last few minutes. He's looking for a man, NO! He beats one man, OH! And he split's the Neville brothers, cuts By Silvestre, only the keeper to beat, he shoots!"
Harry held his breath as he watched the ball pound away from Dean's foot and pelt the back of the net.
"And he scores! A brilliant goal for the youngster! West Ham's top office has got to happy with that!"
"YEAH DEAN! WHOOHOO! THAT'LL SHOW'M! YOU'RE THE MAN! IF ONLY YOU COULD PLAY QUIDDITCH LIKE THAT, GRYFFINDOR WOULD BE UNBEATABLE! YEAH! Huh?"
Hermione had tugged on his jersey while chuckling softly into her hand. It was just then that Harry realized that the stadium was filled with 75,000+ Manchester United fans. In fact, it seemed he had been the only one cheering for Dean.
He just shrugged at Hermione, not caring, and yelled, "Yeah Dean! That's my roommate!" Hermione burst into a fit of giggles while her parents tried to distance themselves from Harry, pretending not to be associated with him. It was then that he noticed the less-than-excited looks on the fans surrounding him.
He decided now was a good time to leave. "Er, maybe we should, um, you know, leave. Try to beat the traffic you know." Hermione, holding her gut from laughing, nodded and took his hand, leading him out of the stadium with her parents in tow.
As they reached the gates a group of men, all wearing Man U jerseys, approached Harry. Harry realized at this moment that Hermione and her parents had taken off their jerseys so that it appeared they were all West Ham fans.
The biggest of the lot - obviously drunk - spoke up. "You better get out of here with that trash," He motioned at Hermione. "Better go have your way with her, everyone else has."
Out of instinct Harry whipped out his wand and pointed it straight at the man's heart. "What the F*** did you just say!?" Hermione was pulling on his arm, trying to beckon him to leave the men alone, but he just brushed her arm away and stared the man down, who was laughing with his friends.
"What are you gonna do boy? Poke my eye out?" That statement created an uproar of laughter from the group, and Harry - ignoring Hermione's protests - took another step towards the man. "If you don't take that back I can say two simple words and you'll be dead where you stand." His voice was trembling with anger, the men just laughed harder.
Hermione, realizing Harry was on the verge of losing it, jumped in front of him. "Harry NO! You'd go to Azkaban! Just leave them alone! I don't care, ley's go NOW!"
Harry finally relented and slowly lowered his wand and started to walk away.
"That's right kid, better go f*** that b**** before I do right here."
Harry lost all sense of control and spun around, whipping his wand out. "MAXIMUS REDUCTO!"
"NO!"
Hermione's scream was cut off by an explosion erupting under the men's feet, hurling them all fifty feet into the air.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Hermione screamed frantically, raising a slab of concrete to catch the men before they could plummet to their deaths. She succeeded in catching them before they hit the ground, all of the falling only a few meters before thumping against the concrete with sickening thuds. Hermione gently lowered the concrete to the ground and whirled on Harry.
SLAP!
Hermione's hand came across Harry's cheek with such force that he fell to one knee. "Harry how could you! They could have died! If I hadn't intervened they would have! The ministry will be here any second! You could be expelled! I can't believe I could have ever liked someone who is as reckless and stupid as you! You're worse than Ron!"
Harry stared at her, flabbergasted. "Hermione, you, you like me? Like as more than a friend?"
She slapped him again as ministry wizards appeared on the scene. "LIKED! AS IN PAST TENSE! I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN EVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS HARRY! YOU ARE SO INFURIATING!"
With that she spun on her heel and stormed off with her parents nervously following in her wake. Harry just watched, unable to move.
'She liked me? No liked. I really screwed up. What if she never wants to see me again? Damn it! I can't lose her as a friend, it would kill me!'
"Mr. Potter!" Came a stern voice from behind him. He knew that voice. He grimaced and turned to face the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, who wore a triumphant smile on his face.
"Dumbledore can't get you out of this one Potter! I have eight counts of attempted murder, along with use of magic by an underage wizard! Not to mention the fact that we'll have to put a memory charm on at least a few thousand muggles who heard the explosion. Oh yeah, and there's destruction of public property as well! I'll have you in Azkaban for this Potter, mark my words!"
Harry fell back to his knees, unbelieving. It was all over. He would never go back to Hogwarts. He would spend the rest of his life in Azkaban. Hermione would hate him for the rest of his life. The boy-who-lived had just become the boy-who-died. He wouldn't get the kiss, but he would never truly live again either.
Harry didn't struggle against the wizards who took his wand and shot him looks of utmost sympathy. He recounted the entire story countless times, then sat down on a bench while ministry wizards flooded the scene, trying to restore peace.
He needed something to get his mind off of what he was about to face.
He could probably escape, just grab a wand and turn the nearest trashcan into a portkey, then live as an outlaw in Grimmauld Place for the rest of his life.
He shook his head. No, he couldn't do that. He would be found eventually, and he didn't want to live that way anyways.
No, he had gone through all of this last summer, when he had been attacked by the dementors. But that was different. He had been innocent then. He wasn't this time. There was no way to get out of this. He would go to Azkaban for sure.
Harry cursed, running his hands through his hair. Because he lost his temper the wizarding world was doomed. Voldemort would have free reign of the world with Harry gone. He was the only one that could beat him, and now he was going to be gone. The wizarding world's last hope was gone.
Harry angrily thrust his hands into his pockets, feeling a ruffled parchment in his hands. He pulled it out. It was the arithmancy riddle. He studied it, needing something to take his mind off things.
It had come out just a little while after his defeat of Voldemort, so maybe it had something to do with him? He sighed, looking it over. It made zero sense to him.
Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, symbol of the wizarding world, was going to Azkaban the day after his birthday. He snorted at the though, then gasped in recognition. He had just noticed something in the riddle. His birth date!
0 0 G H 1 2
7 S 5 1 0 1
3 D D 2 0 9
1 G G S 3 3
1 V T M R 8
9 G H S 9 1
8 F B 1 A 0
0 P 1 R B 6
1 3 R M M 2
0 S V 1 2 1
D 1 V H P 1
M M 9 G H 9
T M R 9 P 9
S V B M 8 5
Harry couldn't believe it. His birth date was in the first column of the riddle! It had to be about him then! But what could it mean? Could it help him destroy Voldemort?
His thoughts were interrupted by a soft but stern voice from behind him.
"Harry."
He spun around to see Dumbledore, shoving the parchment back in his pocket. He didn't want to share the information with anyone other than Hermione.
Harry hung his head in shame. "I-I'm sorry Professor. I screwed up, I let the guy get to me. I don't know what came over me. He was insulting Hermione and I-I, just couldn't stop myself." He saw a look of understanding flash in Dumbledore's eyes as he continued. "I used the maximus reducto curse. They would have died if not for Hermione. I, I've totally messed up. Everyone will hate me now. Not that it matters, I'll be spending the rest of my life in Azkaban anyways."
He wept as he finished speaking. It was too much to handle. Dumbledore put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Do not worry Harry, Lupin is preparing your defense with Miss Granger as we speak."
Harry shot his head up. "Hermione doesn't hate me?" Dumbledore chuckled. "Far from it, in fact Harry. But that is not our concern now. Now I am sure that we can get you cleared of most charges, and I promise you that after your trial - which will be held tomorrow - that you will be allowed to return to Hogwarts. Although you may receive many punishments and be stripped of privileges while there."
Harry sighed in relief. He trusted Hermione and Lupin with his life. If anyone could get him out of this, they would.
Dumbledore's tone became mush sadder and subdued. "But Harry, I am afraid that there is nothing that we can do about tonight. I am afraid that you will have to sleep at Azkaban tonight."