Unofficial Portkey Archive

Sixth Year Begins-Chapter 6

Harry felt like he'd just gotten back to sleep when he heard Ron yell, "Rise and shine there mate. The bloody hell with women." Ron was up and dressed. He had his trunk packed and most of other belongings stacked at the foot of his bed ready for transport. "What are you going to do, sulk all day? So we got had."

With one comment, Harry got up and started for the loo. "Ron, can you keep it to a low roar for a while?"

"Hey, mate, where'd you get that bruise on your arm?" Harry looked at his arm. It probably was where Hermione had been pounding on his arm when he first caught her.

"Must've banged it in my sleep with one of those dreams, I guess." It hadn't hurt earlier this morning. Now it stung a little since he knew it was there. Absent-mindedly, he walked into the hallway with just his boxer shorts open slightly in the front from the excitement of his dreams.

"Harry!" Hermione screamed as she saw him. `I'm glad there was nothing to see, but I wonder what…,' she thought. Ginny was behind her, so Hermione winked.

"Sorry." Harry looked clueless at first until he looked down at his boxers. He stepped back into the room put on his robe and meandered back into the hallway trying his best to ignore Hermione and Ginny.

"Have you no modesty," Hermione said with mock disgust. She was laughing so hard on the inside she was afraid she'd start laughing out loud in front of Ginny. Ginny wouldn't keep the secret long if she found out.

Harry showered and got ready as quickly as he could. He was the last in the loo and the last one with his trunk down to Charlie's car. As was usual practice, Charlie had bewitched the trunk to hold three times its capacity to accommodate the belongings of the two girls (one-half of the trunk), the two boys (one-quarter of the trunk) and his things for his return to Romania. It was full. The passenger compartment was tight too with three owls, a cat and his four charges. Harry sat up front with Charlie.

"Mum and Dad will meet us there just before you leave, Ron and Ginny. They're going to some function in Diagon Alley until 10 AM." Charlie began the journey to Platform nine and three-quarters at precisely 8 AM. As they started driving, Charlie looked at Harry and said, "You look like hell, Harry. What happened to you?" He looked back at Hermione in the rearview mirror and saw the horror in her eyes. Harry just looked at him with half-closed eyes, "I feel like I got mauled by a tiger." He put his head over to the window and fell asleep. Charlie smiled. Ron was oblivious. Hermione's heart felt jubilant; she'd tuckered the poor boy out.

The trip took about an hour and forty-five minutes which suited Harry just fine. He'd slept about an hour and had spent the rest of the time looking out the window. The traffic around the Kings Cross Station was its normal hustle and bustle the day everyone left for Hogwarts. Of course, none of the muggles could ever figure out why the first of September was so much busier every year.

"Well, Mum and Dad should meet you shortly. Love you guys. Charlie hugged his brother and sister. Take care, Harry. You too, Hermione. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Charlie was sad to see them leave. He had another year on the contract in Romania. He envied Harry having someone as special as Hermione. He drove off.

"Well, guys, we have an hour until The Express leaves and fifteen minutes until Mum and Dad arrive or there `bouts. Should we go sneak an ice cream before we go?" Ron asked enthusiastically. He looked at Hermione with a slight glare, but Ginny and Harry were there so it passed quickly.

"Sure. Right over there." They walked over to the ice cream parlor and they each ordered their favorite. They were about finished when Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked in through the window and caught them.

"The four of you, out here, right now. You're going to make yourselves sick before you're even on the train. Besides, you'll spend all your money before you get to school." Mrs. Weasley looked at all of them and sensed something had changed among the children by the expression on Mrs. Weasley's face, but chose not to ask.

"Off you go," Mr. Weasley said. Each of them in-turn ran for the separation brick stanchion between Platforms nine and ten.

The hour passed quickly with Mrs. Weasley giving each of them a kiss and her last best recommendation. "Write soon. You two can write me too."

The whistle for the Hogwarts Express sounded. In spite of their current agitation with one another, Harry, Hermione, and Ron decided to ride together as always. Ron figured it was habit for Hermione. "So, your new boyfriend or whatever you call him… is special and doesn't meet you for the train ride. So, you go slumming with your mates, huh?" Ron said venomously. Harry held back as he watched Hermione react.

"Ron, please don't be mad at me. Harry's already angry and I don't need both my best friends mad at me for something that may not even work out." Hermione pleaded.

Harry was amazed at her acting. Then he realized it was her acting that had nearly ripped his heart out over the last two weeks.

"Women!" Ron said with disgust. "…the worst thing that ever happened to a man."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Ron." Hermione retorted as Ron just slumped on his side of the car and looked out the window, exasperated.

Harry remained silent. He was impressed with the way Hermione had deftly deflected the wrath she expected from Ron. They rode silently, but still together all the way to the station where the carriages and their thestrals would lead them to Hogwarts.

The little rift between the three of them worked out perfect for Harry and Hermione at the feast that night. Ginny sat closer to her fifth year classmates. Ron sat across from Harry. Harry appeared…to Ron anyway…to force himself to sit next to Hermione. Occasionally and without fanfare, Harry and Hermione's bare hands would touch in the tangle of robes as they sat listening to the sorting: they'd clap, move their hands closer, and clap again. Finally, when Dumbledore began speaking their hands were interlaced nonchalantly amongst the flowing robes.

The feast finished and fortunately with no horrible announcement about Aurors in the hallways or Dementors on the loose on the grounds. Hagrid was their teacher again for Magical Creatures, Firenze remained as their teacher for Defense against the Dark Arts, and, once more to their delight, Snape was the Potions teacher. Of course, Professor Flitwick, Professor Trelawney, Professor McGonagall as well as Madam Pomfrey and Professors Sprout and Binns were still on staff. There had been few changes since the end of last year.

The moment the feast ended, Harry and Ron took off for the Gryffindor common room leaving Hermione behind. At first, she felt abandoned. Then she realized Harry was going to talk to Ron tonight. He'd passed a note to her during the raucous clapping at the sorting. She hoped that it went well or at least didn't turn violent. She was uneasy about this.

Ron and Harry took off after Seamus and Neville. Neville had a pocket sewn into his robe now to keep Trevor with him at all times. `His grandma must have thought of it and made it during the summer,' thought Harry. They gathered in their dorm as was their custom. Seamus spoke first, "So Ron, how'd it go with Hermione? Things can't have gone too well. Harry sat with her tonight."

"Yeah, she told me she has a secret crush here at Hogwarts. Someone she's writing to during the summer." She'd written at least one letter to all of her Gryffindor housemates out of kindness.

"Well, she wrote to me," Neville said. "Wow, how lucky would I be?" he laughed.

"She wrote to me to, but it was just to say she'd returned to England from the trip to Italy and her family would return some of the camera stuff they'd borrowed." Seamus looked slightly disappointed that it hadn't been personal to and about him. "Well, anyway. It couldn't be one of you two gits, because it would have been all over school already," he continued.

"Knock it off guys, she's got a right to privacy and to be left alone," Harry said trying not to make a big deal out of it.

"What is it to you anyway, Potter? She's with you two night and day. One of you two must know who it is." Seamus wouldn't let it go. "I saw her tonight too. She's become a real hotty that one has. There'd be more than one bloke at this school wanting to get a look under her robes." Seamus shook his hand with palm down with the familiar, `whoa look at her, she's hot' gesture seen throughout most of the muggle world.

Harry was having a hard time not jumping in saying, `Yeah, she's got the softest and cutest bum of any girl at Hogwarts, I've felt it and she's mine, you lame arseholes.' He bit his tongue. He owed Ron an explanation, but not here in front of them.

They shot the bull for an hour or so and then started unpacking. Harry looked at Ron as he put the last of his things away. Harry had been thinking the whole evening on how to break it to him. Harry pulled out the Marauder's Map and whispered to Ron. "Let's go nick some more of the pie. The coast is clear." They put on their slippers, dashed down the steps to the common room, and through the portrait.

They started back with full bellies. They'd found Dobby down in the kitchen and he freely gave them as much as they could eat. The time of truth for Harry had come; they were on the empty staircase two levels below the Fat Lady's portrait when Harry finished with the story. He'd left out stolen kisses in the attic and last night, but otherwise had told the entire story.

Ron had walked with him silently to this point. His face reddened to scarlet and looked at Harry with the most disgusted and betrayed look Harry had ever seen. He raised his voice, "You bastard. You let me think all along that it was someone else here….at Hogwarts." His voice got louder as he spoke. "Why couldn't you just start shagging my little sister or something too? I let you in my house." Ron grabbed Harry and pushed him to the railing. "Why shouldn't I just push you off right here?"

This was something Harry hadn't expected. Ron punched him in the stomach as hard as he could and then in the right side of his face. Harry felt the blood from his nose and felt a shooting pain in his right eye. He felt as if he might fall over the side. Ron raised his fist again when Filch arrived at the bottom of the stairs. "The two of you, stop right there." Snape was right behind him. Thankfully the map had been cleared and stuffed well inside Harry's robes.

Snape said, "Expelliarmus," the disarming charm. Harry could barely focus. Ron hit him much harder than Harry had ever bargained for. The curse was usually used to take the wand out of the hand of an opponent; tonight, to Harry's delight, it made Ron's arm go limp and fall to his side.

Fifteen minutes later after seeing Madame Pomfrey, Harry was sitting in Dumbledore's chambers with an icepack on his now black eye with cotton in his nose. He looked around with his good eye and noticed the Professor McGonagall was there too.

"Mr. Potter, what were you doing out of the dorm, pray tell?" asked McGonagall with obvious interest.

Harry wasn't sure he wanted to go into great detail, but he told them the immediate situation about himself and Hermione. He told them about the summer and Pappy.

"So, you told Mr. Weasley that you and Ms. Granger fancied each other? There must be more to this?" Dumbledore asked with an unreadable expression.

"Yes." Harry's eye and nose hurt. Harry told them about the plan he and Hermione started with and how they didn't know how the other felt until last night. He told them everything.

"Harry, what about this antique shop owner, Pappy?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Well, I was going to ask you about him anyway." Harry told the rest of the story to Dumbledore and McGonagall. They seemed to react rather uncharacteristically cool when he mentioned Voldemort and the house in Godric's Hollow.

"The reports have no account of woman found in the rubble. And no one saw another man around the house. He sounds like he heard a story and inserted himself in it. Otherwise he sounds like a very interesting old fellow, Harry, not to mention very generous and wise." Dumbledore replied at the end of the story. "You can write him if you like. Have Hedwig put the letters in the muggle post. I have some muggle stamps you can purchase if needs be."

Harry was slightly shocked that with all that was going on that there wasn't more than a passing interest in Pappy. Dumbledore explained away Pappy too easily. Harry wasn't convinced. "He's not one of your squibs or a member of the Order sent to watch me, is he? It just seems to raise alarms. It just doesn't seem right."

"Harry, we have no agents fitting that description located in Little Whinging--at least none who've hidden as a muggle in an antique store." Dumbledore sounded positive of that. Yet Harry got the feeling that that was Dumbledore's story and he was sticking to it. He knew there was more from the look on McGonagall's face.

"What do we do with you and Mr. Weasley? I have decided not to notify his parents immediately, but I don't want one of you dead before I do. You will stay in the Common Room tonight while we put Dobby there to watch over you. He has at least some part in this mischief by giving you the pie." McGonagall said with a half smile.

"We'll deal with this more in the morning. Dismissed." Dumbledore let Harry out and McGonagall followed.

Before he'd arrived Dobby had one of the sofas made up like a bed with his robes and books for the next day set in a chair nearby. Dobby spoke, "Dobby is sorry that Harry and Ron is angry with one another about the pie. I never meant for you to get into trouble." Harry smiled even though the pain shot through his eye when his face moved.

"Dobby, don't worry about it? Things like this happen to me all the time." Harry said realizing the truth in the statement.

He fell asleep quickly. And just as quickly got dressed the next morning without a shower but he'd been able to use the loo in the common room. He waited for Hermione.

"Harry, you look terrible! What happened? Did you and Ron fight?" Hermione walked up and kissed him lightly placing her hand along the side of his bruised face. "This is my fault. I should have just told him myself."

"Don't be ridiculous. You think he wouldn't have come looking for me then too?" Harry said. "It's not your fault."

Seconds later Seamus, Ron and Neville came down the stairs from their dorm. Ron took a couple of steps toward both of them. "Ron, knock it off," said Seamus. "You'll get expelled."

"Did you snuggle with your boyfriend, Hermione? Did she nurse you back to health? I'd have finished you if I could have. You two make me sick. You deceived me for a whole summer." Ron was still red and beside himself.

"Traitor," Seamus said. Neville remained quiet with a sympathetic look on his face.

"Ron, are you crazy? I tried everything to break it to you. Harry and I didn't start out trying to deceive you at all." Hermione said in anger. "You'd better grow up!"

Ron pushed Seamus and Neville toward them again. This time Hermione had her wand out. "Go ahead, Ron. Remember Malfoy as a ferret?"

"So, Harry you fought like a girl last night and now, she's fighting like a man? Having an identity crisis? We know who wears the pants there." They walked out laughing at Harry and Hermione.

By the time the bruised Harry and a defiant Hermione arrived in the Great Hall, the word had spread. They'd known it would cause a lot of talk, but they'd not had a chance to talk about it. From the first year's they heard them chant, "Harry and Hermione, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Hermione with a baby carriage." Ron had finally been convinced to see the error in physical violence or even threatening language. If anything happened to them now, he'd be blamed.

Hogwarts' most embarrassed and famous couple sat down at the Gryffindor table near Ginny hoping for some relief. "So, you two get together and don't tell me a thing. Some kind of friend you are Hermione." Ginny turned away too. Hermione looked at Harry with a slightly sad look, but took his hand and gave him a kiss on his un-bruised cheek in front of the whole school. Most students at the Gryffindor table applauded Hermione and Harry after she kissed him; some just sat in stunned silence.

A moment later, a malevolent teenage voice cracked, "So you'll just be making more dirty mudbloods, but now we'll have you doing it here on the grounds of Hogwarts." Malfoy spit venom with his words.

Harry looked at Malfoy triumphantly, "No doubt your father will be out of Azkaban shortly, but how does it feel to be the son of the most notorious of the Death Eaters? You don't even have the courage your father has. You're all talk. Go sit down Malfoy. Ron sucker punched me and I didn't want to fight him. You I'd gladly knock into next week. Maybe I'll let Hermione do it again." The entire Great Hall became still as Harry looked with malice at Malfoy and vice-versa.

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