I'm Back! Yes I know, it took me a long time to get this out to you guys. (Dodges curses of any remaining readers) On a good note, chapter seven is almost done, and with my fabulous new beta, it should get out to you sooner than you probably expect. Thanks to all of you who stayed with me and for those who besides reading, review as well. Keep those comments coming, good or bad, they're always welcome. - Mike
Chapter 6 - Growing Pains and Reconciliation's
Lupin walked into the kitchen to find Harry glancing out the open window. Fearing Harry might fall back into the depressive state that he was in at the beginning of the summer, Lupin decided to raise Harry from his stupor.
"Harry," Lupin began cautiously, "you alright?"
Harry turned slowly towards Lupin and nodded slightly. He was still very confused about everything that had just happened with Tiani, but he couldn't tell Lupin about it. He decided to get a glasss of water to avoid the silence.
"Harry, I know that you're angry," Lupin began again, "but you shouldn't have run off like that. You should have at least allowed Dumbledore to explain …"
"Explain what?" Harry interrupted rudely, staring out the window again, "I should have let him explain how I'm still an idiotic child that doesn't have the mental capacity to make decisions that affect my own life?"
"You know Harry," Lupin responded, "you do have a lot of enemies that are coming after you. Do you think its wise to push yourself away from your allies as well?" Lupin walked towards Harry and forced him to look at him. "Yes, Dumbledore made a mistake last year. The thing is Harry, that we all like to think of Dumbledore as an all-knowing deity of some sort, and guess what, he's not. You have to understand that as a man, he will make mistakes, just like the rest of us."
Harry calmed down a little after this. He walked over to the table and sat down, placing his hands over his face. After a few minutes he sighed loudly and withdrew his face from his hands to look at Lupin.
"Why won't he let me be a part of the Order?" Harry asked, "I mean, the prophecy confirms my involvement. I'm the only one who can kill him."
"I don't know for sure Harry," Lupin answered, taking a seat in front of him. "If I had to guess, I would say that he doesn't want you worrying about more than you need to."
"Like what?" Harry asked, sighing in frustration.
"Come on Harry, think about it," Lupin stated, as if they were back in class working a problem, "we, that is to say the Order, deal with every aspect that has to deal with Voldermort and his Death Eaters. Do you really want to know about every attack, every murder, every senseless, gruesome and violent act that those vile beings do?" He paused for a moment to allow Harry to think about it, but continued before he answered, "None of us want to know any of it, but most importantly, we don't think you should worry about it."
"Figures," Harry spat angrily.
"Damn it, Harry," Lupin yelled, slamming his hands on the table, "not every decision we make is done to spite you. Why would you want to know about how some poor bastard got slaughtered just because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time? Do you want to know that his blood and guts are now the new coating on the wall where we found him? Why would you want to know about a family of muggles who got rounded up and tortured, one by one, witnessing their loved ones die before their eyes? Do you want to know that after they were dead, they severed their heads and used them for target practice? Why is it that you want to know these things? You know what Voldemort and his Death Eaters are capable of, why should knowing the details make things any better? Do you want to continue to have nightmares? Yes, you're in this fight to the end, but that doesn't mean that we're going to add to the burden you already carry."
Lupin got up and took a deep breath and looked down at Harry.
"You've got a lot to learn Harry," he said, a bit more calmly, "Dumbledore, the Order, and everyone else that knows you wants to help you. As such, we can never guarantee that we will be flawless in everything we do. Learning that is part of growing up. You've had a horrible childhood that forced you to grow up a lot quicker than anyone else your age. You shouldn't get mad at us because we are trying to salvage what's left of it."
Lupin reached into his cloak and took out a handful of letters.
"These arrived for you just after you left this morning," he said, lobbing the letters onto the table, "and Bill and Ron will be here for dinner. I sent Dobby to get his things from Hogwarts, he should be back shortly. I'll be upstairs if you need anything."
Harry sat there looking from the letters in front of him, to the now empty corridor before him. Lupin had never yelled at him before, he had always been calm and understanding. He kept thinking about the questions Lupin had asked him. Did he really want to know all the gruesome details? He found himself wondering why it was that he wanted to join the Order in the first place. His answer before had been because he wanted to be involved with all the choices that involved him. This answer now seemed extremely childish. He knew well enough that he couldn't be a member halfway. He had been so focused on what he wanted that he refused to look at what it really meant to be a full fledged member of the Order. Lupin had asked him to think about this before, and even though he had, it now appeared to be extremely one-sided. Harry had never felt like a selfish spoiled brat until now, and the feeling made him nauseous. He had completely approached everything the wrong way.
He needed something to clear his mind, and the answer was right in front of him. He reached and grabbed Hermione's letter from the pile.
Dearest Harry,
I'm going out of my mind here. I want to see you so much that I can't even read anything or do my homework because you're constantly invading my thoughts. Who would have known you would be such a distraction? I'm just kidding Harry, but I am missing you terribly. I wrote my phone number below, please call me as soon as you can.
I love you, and I can't wait to see you.
- Hermione
Hermione's thoughts on everything that had happened today seemed to be just what the doctored ordered. He quickly ran upstairs and into Dudley's room and picked up the phone. He quickly punched in Hermione's number and waited nervously as the phone rang.
"Hello?" a female voice answered. Harry knew this wasn't Hermione but somebody older.
"Oh, um, good evening," he began nervously, "may I please speak with Hermione?"
"and who may I say is calling," said the female voice, sounding a bit amused.
"Harry Potter," Harry answered.
"One moment please," the amused voiced said.
Harry was now sweating slightly. He could hear the voice calling out on the other end.
"Hermione, dear, it's for you," the voice now confirmed to belonging to Mrs. Granger.
In less than a second, Hermione had picked up the phone.
"Thanks, mum," Hermione yelled, telling her mom in code that she could hang up now, "Harry?" she asked excitedly.
"Yeah, it's me. Expecting someone else?"
"Well, yes Harry, as a matter of fact, Draco Malfoy was supposed to call me because he has renounced the wizarding world and wanted my help to find a muggle job mopping floors," she answered.
They both had a good laugh at this. Just listening to Hermione's voice lifted his spirits.
"It's so good to hear from you Harry. I wish you were right here with me so I could give you a great big hug. My dad and I are still not talking to each other, but oh well his loss really," she said all of this very quickly.
Harry couldn't help but laugh at Hermione's rushed voice.
"Hermione, calm down," Harry said gently, "I wish I was there with you too. There are so many things that I have to tell you, but they best wait until we talk in person."
Hermione was a little worried at this announcement.
"Harry, is anything wrong?" She asked timidly. She couldn't help herself. At Harry's mention of needing to talk to her in person, her insecurities started getting the best of her. Harry sensed this immediately.
"No, Hermione," Harry answered quickly, "It has nothing to with `us'. I wouldn't let you go for anything in the world, except your telling me to do so." Hermione calmed down after hearing him mention them as "us". "I've just learned a few new things about myself and about my family."
"Okay, Harry," Hermione said, "Just a favour, please?"
"Anything for you," Harry answered.
"Don't tell me something like this again. I hate it when someone tells me the beginning of something and then says they'll tell me the rest later. It's like reading a book you really like and you're halfway through and then somebody comes and takes it from you."
"Um."
"Okay, let me put this in terms you can understand. It's like giving you a taste of butterbeer and then not allowing you to drink it."
"Oh, okay. Sorry about that."
"It's okay, it's just something that I hate people doing to me."
After an awkward pause, Hermione decided to change the subject.
"So, is there anything else you'd care to share?" She asked.
"Lot's," Harry answered, "just not by phone. There's so much to tell you, but I'd rather wait until I see you so I can look at those adorable faces you make when you're thinking."
"I don't make faces," Hermione responded loudly.
"Of course you do."
"No, I don't!"
"Have I also told you how cute you look when you're angry?" Harry asked.
"Argh," Hermione breathed loudly, "How am I supposed to get angry at you when you say things like that?"
"You're not," Harry answered with a laugh. "So, you can tell me already, did you get O's in all of your O.W.L.'s? Did you get the record for most O.W.L.'s in Hogwarts History?"
"Ha, ha," Hermione responded, but sounded pleased, "Yes, I got an O.W.L. for each exam I took, but no they weren't all O's. I got an E in History of Magic because there was this student sitting in the back who fell out of his chair. I guess I couldn't quite concentrate after that."
"Yeah, wonder what that guys problem was. So were you really that worried about me?"
"Of course, Harry. Although, worrying about you has become a kind of second nature to me through the years."
"You shouldn't worry about me that much," Harry said quietly.
"Harry…"
"Maybe you're father was right about…"
"Okay, STOP!," Hermione scolded into the phone, "don't you dare say something like that to me! Don't you even think that you are a distraction of any kind for me. If anything, you're a good and extremely welcome distraction."
"It's just that you have so many things going on in school, I don't want to add worrying about me to your already crazy schedule."
"Nobody is making me worry about you. I want to worry about you, and there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it."
"Okay, Hermione, you win," he said. "Is it me or are you getting to win a lot more now?"
"You'll get used to it," Hermione said laughing.
"What classes are you taking next year?" He asked.
"Well let's see, I'm taking N.E.W.T. Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and Arithmancy. I'm also taking Basic Medicine. I'm still a prefect, so that will be fun."
"Hermione," Harry began cautiously, "you haven't asked McGonagall for another Time Turner, have you?"
"Of course not!" Hermione retorted, "I just want to keep my options open."
"If you say so," Harry said, unconvinced, "So, any room for a boyfriend in that busy schedule?"
"Well, yes, of course. I mean I chose my classes before we started going out, but still, I'm sure…" Hermione paused as she realized Harry was having a go at her, "Very funny Harry."
"What?" Harry asked in his best innocent voice, but failed miserably by laughing slightly, "I just wanted to know if you had scheduled any time for us."
She smiled and got all flustered at hearing him mention the word "us" again.
"We'll spend loads of time together Harry. I'll make sure of that."
"Well, alright then. Write it in you homework planner so you don't forget," Harry finished cheekily.
"My, my, don't we feel like a comedian today," Hermione said.
They laughed heartily for a while, both enjoying being able to talk to each other, yet wishing they were together.
"Do you think I would get splintched if I tried to apparate?" Harry asked.
"Probably, you don't even know how," Hermione answered, "why? Where do you want to apparate to?"
"Turn to look at your right," Harry said, "right there."
"Oh, Harry…" Hermione said lovingly.
"Just imagine, Hermione, I could be there in your room in a matter of seconds."
"Well Harry, while I would like nothing more than to have you here beside me, I don't think it would be appropiate for you to be in my room," Hermione mentioned cautiously.
"Hey, no fair. You've been in my room. Besides, I've already seen you in your pyjamas," Harry finished.
"Yes, you have seen me in some of my pyjamas," Hermione conceded, "but you haven't seen me in these pyjamas."
"Really, so are they like sexy pj's or something?" Harry asked
"My wardrobe has been accused of many things, Harry," she answered, "but sexy, isn't one of them."
"Well they're just jealous, Hermione," he said, "you could be wearing Dobby's old pillowcase and still look incredibly sexy."
"Thanks," she said timidly.
There was an awkward pause that lasted several minutes.
"Harry…" she began, but was interrupted by Harry.
"We've been through this Hermione," Harry said tenderly, "and while there's nothing more that I would like than to experience all those types of things with you, I'll happily wait. You set the pace, remember? You're worth the wait."
She stayed quiet for a while, just thinking how lucky she was to have Harry. Since she told him that night in his room her feelings for him, she had always questioned if she had done the right thing. She always had a small voice nagging at the back of her head that told her that the only reason he was with her was out of guilt. Hearing him the past few minutes made her realize for once and for all that he truly loved her.
"Tell me Harry," she began, "on a scale from one to ten, how much do you love me?"
"On a scale from one to ten?" he asked back.
"Yep, just to keep things simple," she answered.
"Hmm," Harry said, faking to have to think of the answer, and knowing full well how impatient Hermione was getting.
"Well," she demanded after a few minutes.
Harry laughed, enjoying the torment that his delay was causing for Hermione.
"Let's see," Harry started, adopting his best professor voice, "On a scale from one to ten, my love for you ranks around, well, let's say…"
"Harry!" Hermione scolded.
Harry had another small laugh.
"Alright, my love for you ranks at about a thousand," he answered seriously, leaving all joking aside.
They both remained quiet for a moment.
"Harry," Hermione finally began, " the scale was from one to ten."
"I know," Harry replied, "and I answered truthfully. In all honesty Hermione, I know that number will only continue to grow day after day. All you have to do is be by my side, and I swear I'll love you more each day."
"Oh, Harry," Hermione whispered, shedding a small tear from her face.
"Your kisses help out a lot too, you know?" Harry said, lightening the mood a bit.
"Don't worry Harry, we'll see each other soon."
They both stayed quiet for a while, thinking, imagining themselves in each others arms.
Lupin walked up to Dudleys room and knocked on the open door to get Harry's attention. Harry quickly turned around to look at Lupin. He seemed a lot calmer than he was a while ago.
"Sorry to interrupt you, Harry," he began, "but I wanted to ask you something."
"Sure, just give me a sec," Harry said, "Hermione, I've got to go. I really don't want to hang up, but I've got to talk to Lupin about a few things that happened earlier."
"It's fine, Harry," Hermione said, "I understand. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"
"Tomorrow?" Harry asked back.
"Well," Hermione said, stammering slightly, "aren't you going to call me tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I'll call you tomorrow," Harry said, shaking his head out of minor confusion, "I love you, Hermione."
"I love you to Harry," she said, and hung up.
Harry turned to look at Lupin, only to find an empty doorway. Harry questioned himself were he was. He shrugged it of and walked downstairs to find Lupin sitting in the living room.
"I didn't mean to intrude on your conversation, Harry," Lupin began, answering Harry question.
"That's okay," Harry said.
"There's been a small change of plans," Lupin began, "I was asked by Molly to see if you would like to go over to the Burrow this evening for dinner and perhaps spend the night. I took the liberty of accepting the offer for dinner, but left the decision whether to stay overnight or not up to you."
Harry thought for a minute about going to the Burrow. Normally, he would always look forward to a trip to the Burrow. There was never a dull moment in that house. Now, however, things were a bit different. He hadn't talked to Ron all summer, and it was something that he needed to do. He let that last thought be his deciding factor.
"Alright then, let's go. I'm still don't know about staying the night, though. Going to have to wait and see how the evening goes, you know?"
Lupin nodded his head, understanding exactly what Harry meant.
"We're going to have to go over to Arabella Figg's house," Lupin said, getting up and receiving a questioning look from Harry, "Arthur had her fireplace connected to the floo network, he didn't want another incident at the Dursley's house."
"Where's Dobby?" Harry asked, making sure his wand was still in his jeans pocket.
"I asked him to go the Burrow ahead of us," Lupin said cautiously, "I hope you don't mind."
Before, Harry would have probably gotten upset about Lupin ordering his house-elf around instead of him. Now, he knew that was just the way the spoiled and ignorant acted. He smiled to himself thinking how that course of action was best suited for Malfoy.
"No, that's fine," Harry answered.
They locked up and walked over to Mrs. Figg's house. The sun was beginning to set, so they would be arriving just in time. The street felt quiet, a silence that for some unknown reason made Harry's hair stand on end. There were usually people walking about, or some sort of commotion outside. It made him very uneasy to be walking on such an empty street, with the only sound being that of their own feet beating against the ground.
The arrived soon enough to Mrs. Figg's, where she ushered them quickly inside.
"It's through there," Mrs. Figg said pointing towards here living room, "I'll get the floo powder."
They watched her leave to get the powder.
"That's odd," Harry said, "she didn't even say hello."
"Yes," Lupin said looking around, "she's been acting rather odd lately. There's always been something magical about Arabella. Somehow, she has always been able to sense danger. Like an animal who flees far before his hunter arrives. Let's hope this is just the fact that she hasn't had to feel like this in a while now."
Mrs. Figg came back with a small pot.
"Off you go now, no sense dilly dallying, now is there," she said.
"You go first, Harry," Lupin said.
Harry got a pinch of powder and stepped into the fireplace. He looked at the nervous expression on Mrs. Figg's face.
"Mrs. Figg," Harry began, "are you alright?"
"As good as I can be, under the circumstances," she answered, "now off you go."
Harry looked around the house from the fireplace. There was something going on that made him feel uneasy. He looked straight into Mrs. Figg's eyes, looking for the source of his uncomforting feeling. She stared right back, although cowering slightly. Harry couldn't find anything.
"The Burrow!" he said, thrusting the powder into the fireplace.
------------------------------------------
Harry slid into the Weasley's living room covered in ash.
"Still haven't gotten used to it, have you?"
Harry turned to look at the grinning face of Fred who walked over to help him get up.
"I hate travelling like this," Harry answered.
"Yeah, well, only a year left until you're old enough to apparate, so don't worry about it," Fred said reassuringly.
He helped Harry brush off some of the ash.
"Where is everyone?" Harry asked.
"Oh, well mum and Dobby are in the kitchen preparing dinner," Fred said, motioning Harry towards the door.
Fred saw Harry look towards the kitchen.
"No can do, Harry," Fred said, shaking his head, "Mum said nobody is allowed into the kitchen, especially you, so she hired me as your distraction slash entertainer till then" he added grinning.
"You're not going to prank me are you?" Harry asked.
"No way!" Fred said with a mock-scandalized expression, "George and I agreed never to prank our financier. Besides, it's because of you that we've got the shop."
"Me?" Harry asked incredulously, "your ideas got you the shop. I just gave you that extra nudge you needed to really make it happen. You would have done it on your own sooner or later."
"Yeah well, if it's all the same to you, we're glad it was sooner rather than later," he said, grinning at Harry while rubbing a hand on his fine dragon skin jacket.
"So, where is everyone again?"
"Right, where was I, oh yeah, George is closing up the shop, which the three of us will talk about later. Bill and Ron went off flying, so they shouldn't be long, Ginny is over at the Lovegood's finishing up some homework, and dad's still at the ministry," Fred said, counting each of them of with a finger.
At that moment George appeared with a small pop! He looked around and walked quickly over to Harry and Fred. Harry saw that he was also wearing his new jacket.
"Hello, Harry," George said, "you alright?"
Harry had anticipated these kind of questions.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"Good to hear," George said. He took out a small bag from his pocket and enlarged it with his wand. Harry found it to be a small muggle cooler from which George was extracting three butterbeer's. "You mind if we sit down and talk business Harry?" George asked, in his best Percy-mocking voice.
Harry laughed at the question but found them to be talking seriously. Harry had never seen Fred or George act so seriously before. Harry figured everyone had to grow up sometime. Perhaps the twins had learned that there was a time and place for everything.
They walked over to the garage where the Weasley's flying car had been kept once. Inside, Fred waved his wand to light the place up. Harry saw a square table sitting in the middle of the room. There was a workbench on the far right covered in muggle equipment from irons to an old-fashioned telephone. The walls were covered with plugs of all shapes and sizes, looking like some bizarre attempt at an artistic design.
"You two still living here?" Harry asked, as he sat down with his back towards the door.
"Yep," George answered, "for now at least. We live here, but with some changes."
"Besides, no sense in spending needlessly," Fred added, adjusting the collar of his jacket.
"What changes?" Harry asked.
"Chores," the twins echoed together.
"When we started working, we wanted to get our own place in Diagon Alley," Fred began to explain.
"Bet your mum wasn't too keen on that idea," Harry said.
"That's an understatement, Harry," George continued. "So after a long discussion we made a deal with mum. We would stay, in exchange for less chores. Seeing as how we're now two hard working stiffs, she agreed."
"So you're giving your mum more things to do?" Harry asked incredulously.
"No, you see that's the best part, those chores now belong to little Ronniekins," Fred said laughing.
"I bet Ron wasn't too pleased about that," Harry said seriously.
"Not pleased?" George asked with amazement, "he was furious."
"Honestly, though, he had to have seen it coming," George put in.
"Yeah, I guess I was just to thick to figure it out!"
The three of them turned to see Ron standing by the opened door, looking furiously at Harry.
"Glad to know my best friend and my brothers love making fun of me behind my back," Ron said, turning around and stalking out.
Bill walked inside, looking mad. He walked up to the twins and smacked them behind the head.
"Oy! What was that for? He didn't even know what we were talking about," George grumbled, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yeah!" Fred continued, "he should wear a bell around his neck to let us know he's here instead of sneaking in like that."
Bill turned to look Harry. Harry thought for a moment that he was going to get smacked as well, but Bill simply spoke.
"I left my broom outside, Harry," Bill said calmly, "Ron's probably headed south."
Harry nodded understandingly and quickly stepped outside finding the broom resting against the wall. He looked around to get his bearings and shot up into the air. Harry found it exhilarating to be back in the air, but he had more important things to worry about. He used his skills as a seeker to try to find a trace of Ron, while he went over the last bits of the conversation that had happened in the shed. With Harry's luck and Ron's timing, Ron had heard just enough to think they were all making fun of him. He caught a shadow of something heading down towards the tree line ahead of him. He followed quickly and hovered down towards the same spot, finding Ron sitting on a tree branch. They stared at each other for a moment. Harry had a concerned look on his face, while Ron had a look that resembled something between anger and disappointment.
"Come to rub it in my face some more, have you?" Ron asked angrily.
"Ron," Harry started but stopped himself.
He knew that he had to keep his cool. If he got angry as well all that would happen would be a big row leaving things worse than they already were.
"Ron," Harry started again, "back there, we weren't, well I wasn't making fun of you. I'm not here to fight with you. I'm here to talk to you."
"Talk to me about what, Harry?" Ron asked, still angry, "Talk to me about ignoring me all summer, or about you and Hermione getting together?"
"Both," Harry answered.
"Congratulations," Ron said dryly.
"Ron, I, that is to say Hermione and I, never meant to keep this from you. We surely weren't expecting it. It all just kind of happened. We wanted you to be the first to know, but…"
"Don't worry," Ron interrupted, "I knew the moment it happened."
"How? What do you mean?" Harry asked, not expecting that from Ron.
"Don't know, really" Ron answered, "I just knew."
"I want to know what you think about all this?"
"What do I think about all this?" Ron asked back, "Did you know I fancied Hermione?"
"Well, sometimes I thought I did," Harry answered truthfully, "like that time last year when you gave her that perfume for her birthday."
"Glad to see someone noticed," Ron said wryly.
"She did notice, Ron, she just didn't feel the same way," Harry said.
"Yeah, well how could she stop to think about the poor and stupid Ron, when the great Harry Potter is standing right beside me."
"Ron," Harry cautioned.
"I'm sorry Harry," Ron said honestly, "I just don't understand why she chose you instead of me."
"I don't either, Ron," Harry said, "but you know that those things you just said have nothing to do with it."
"Yeah, I know."
"Look," Harry began encouragingly, "I'm no expert on this or anything, but sometimes, there are no real reasons. Things just happen."
"I guess arguing with her all the time to get her to talk to me doesn't help," Ron said, smiling at Harry.
"No, I guess it doesn't," Harry agreed, joining in the small laughter. "So, you think you'll be okay with this?"
"Yeah," Ron answered, nodding his head, "just me give me some time to get used to it."
They got on their brooms and started to fly back to the burrow.
"Promise me one thing, Harry," Ron said.
"What's that?"
"Well, I know you're dating and all, but please, no snogging in front of me okay?"
Harry laughed at the request.
"Tell you what," Harry answered between laughs, "we'll do our best to keep ourselves from snogging in front of you."
"Alright then, I guess it will have to do," Ron agreed. "By the way…"
Ron flew close to Harry and punched him hard in the arm.
"Hey, what was that for?" Harry asked angrily, massaging his arm where Ron's fist had made contact.
"That," Ron answered with a smile, "is for making me worry about you this summer. You have no idea what I went through."
As they neared the Burrow, Ron told Harry all about his summer thoughts. He even told him about that split second where he wondered if he was gay, at which point Harry burst out laughing. Afterwards, he told Harry how, thanks to Ginny, Bill had come to help him straighten things out.
"You know, I was thinking that this was a lot easier than I expected," Harry said.
"Yeah well, thank Bill for that," Ron said.
Harry nodded thinking that he was really going to thank Bill sometime afterwards.
They touched down just outside the Burrow and walked up towards the house.
"You know that if you hurt her, I'll kill you, right?" Ron said simply.
"If I hurt her, I think I'd kill myself," Harry answered, "but yes, I know you'd find a way to revive me only to kill me again yourself."
"Good," Ron said.
They were almost at the door when Ginny came out to meet them.
"Hello, Harry, Ron," she greeted.
"Hello Ginny, how are you?" Harry asked.
"Are we late or something?" Ron interrupted Harry's question.
"No, you're right on time," she answered. "Where were you?"
"Just getting some things settled, Gin," Ron answered.
"Glad to see no blood, bumps, or bruises. Everything alright in the world?" Ginny asked, looking at Harry for the answer.
"Yeah, we're good," Harry answered.
Ginny nodded, knowing full well what their talk had been about and turned to guide them towards the garden on the other side of the house.
"We're eating outside tonight?" Harry asked curiously.
"Yeah, Dobby knows lots of new tricks that he learned at Hogwarts. Dinner will be outside like it was two years ago, but a lot better," Ginny explained.
"Well, I'm glad he could help, as I'm sure he is," Harry said.
"Oh, you won't believe the row he and mum had," Ron said grinning.
"Dobby argued with your mum?" Harry asked, concerned about Dobby's behaviour.
"Not like that, Harry." Ron said, beginning to explain, "Dobby told mum that she should go rest and that he would take care of everything. Mum didn't take that well. She told him that in her house, she did the cooking, and if he wanted, he could help her. Well you know how insistent Dobby is so they went at it several times. They kept arguing until mum threatened to send him back to your house. Dobby almost cried at the suggestion, so he let mum play head chef, while doing lots of things without her noticing."
Harry smiled to himself, thinking about how comical that scene must have been.
"Are we allowed to go sit yet?" Ron asked Ginny.
"Yes, I was sent to find you," she answered.
"Good cause I'm starving," Ron said, rubbing his stomach.
As they neared the back garden, they were greeted with the delicious smells of a savoury meal, easily rivalling those at Hogwarts. Harry looked over at Ron who had his eyes closed, taking in the smell.
"I guess Dobby is using a little of his Hogwarts magic, eh?" Harry asked Ron, nudging him in the ribs.
"Yeah," Ron answered dreamily, practically drooling on the grass.
"Come on you two," Ginny said, "they're waiting for you."
Harry looked at her questioningly, but followed anyway. As they reached the garden, Harry saw a large rectangular table sitting perfectly before them. It had a Gryffindor red table cloth, dishes and silverware all set up. Harry counted sixteen table settings and wondered who else was coming to dinner. He had expected dinner to be just Lupin, himself and the Weasley's but apparently more people were coming. Mr. Weasley was seated at one of the heads of the table with Mrs. Weasley at his left. Lupin was sitting to Mr. Weasley's right, reading a letter close to the middle of the table. Ginny walked over to sit next to her father. As they walked over, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley got up to greet them.
"Hello, Harry," Mrs. Weasley greeted him with her usual bone-crushing hug, "It's good to see you again dear."
"You too Mrs. Weasley," Harry responded. "Who else is coming to dinner?" he asked Mr. Weasley.
"Just a couple members of the Order," he answered simply, "you don't mind, do you Harry?" he asked, holding his breath for his answer.
"No, of course not," Harry answered, questioning to himself why it seemed to matter to Mr. Weasley if he minded or not.
Harry heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Fred and George walking towards the table. Bill followed suit after the twins talking quietly to Kingsley Shacklebolt. Charlie brought the rear of the group with non other than Hagrid.
They all greeted Harry first and then followed to greet the rest. They all seemed to know why they were there, which made Harry a little uneasy.
"Alright there, Harry?" Hagrid asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay," he answered.
"No yer not, not yet anyways yer not," Hagrid said, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder, "you'll be feelin' better as time gets on," Hagrid said encouragingly.
Harry knew Hagrid was referring to Sirius' passing. He nodded to Hagrid who walked over to greet the others. There were two small pops which revealed a disgruntled looking Mad-Eye Moody followed by the slightly subdued Mundungus Fletcher. Harry greeted them and wondered why he was the only one standing up and greeting everyone. He looked over at Ron, who motioned for him to take a seat between him and Lupin. Harry sat there and looked around the table. Mr. Weasley was still sitting at one end of the table, with Ginny and Mrs. Weasley at his side. Bill had taken a seat next to Ginny, having Ron, Harry, Lupin, Tonks and Moody seated to his right. Seated to Mrs. Weasley's left were Charlie, Hagrid Fred, George, Dung and Kingsley. It was an odd bunch anyway Harry chose to see it.
"Alright," Harry said, pulling Lupin's arm, whispering in his ear, "I give up, what's the occasion?"
"Occasion?" Lupin asked innocently, "It's just dinner, Harry. It's not like we were required to wear dress robes or anything?"
Harry eyed him, unconvinced, but decided to drop it anyway.
Dinner magically appeared before them, providing an array of all of Harry's favourite dishes. They all dug in heartily and ate their fill, which in Ron's case constituted of a little over three full plates. When they were all done, the table was magically cleared by what Harry assumed to be Dobby's house elf magic.
As he looked around the table again, he noticed that several people were looking quite frequently at their watches. As he wondered why many of them were doing this, he saw a huge cake floating towards him. As Fred and George made way for the cake to reach Harry, he finally realized why everyone had acted oddly around him today. The moment the cake touched down in front of him, everyone around Harry chorused a Happy Birthday to him.
Harry blushed a bit as everyone cheered for him as the song ended.
"No occasion, huh?" Harry said smiling at Lupin who simply smiled back and clapped with the rest.
"Go on, Harry," Ginny encouraged, "make a wish."
Harry thought for a second and neared the cake. Just as he was about to blow out the candles, he caught a look at the twins expectant faces. Normally he would have stopped there but he felt in the mood for a joke. Ron had been their guinea pig for a while now, so Harry decided to take one for him.
He blew out the candles easily. The smoke from the candles rose together, taking the shape of an open hand. Without warning the hand split into two, identical smaller hands. The hands swooped behind Harry's head and pushed him down on the cake. Harry's face emerged from the confines of the cake, covered in pudding. Everyone was holding their breath for Harry's reaction. Harry stuck out his tongue and sampled a piece stuck close to his face.
"Chocolate," Harry said brightly, "my favourite."
Everyone burst into laughter at his comment.
"Fred, George!" Mrs. Weasley scoded.
"What?" Fred asked innocently, "it didn't blow up."
Everyone laughed louder at this. Harry grabbed a handful of cake in each hand and looked at the twins menacingly.
"You wouldn't?" George asked, pretending to be scared.
"Me?" Harry asked, "never."
Harry extended his hands to his sides slapping Ron and Lupin with a handful of cake. Harry and the rest laughed at their shocked expressions.
"That," Harry said, answering their unasked question, "is for not telling me anything about today. I was starting to go crazy with how odd everyone was acting around me."
"Well, Harry," Ron said wiping some of the cake off his face with a finger and then eating it, "you're not supposed to tell someone about their SURPRISE birthday party, now are you?"
Dobby appeared suddenly, handing each of them a clean towel to clean up with.
"You knew about this?" Harry asked Dobby.
"I is sorry, sir," Dobby began, bowing his head, "I is told not to tell Harry Potter, sir."
"That's okay, Dobby," Harry reassured him, "I'm happy you could help them."
Dobby bowed his head and disappeared to bring a fresh, clean cake from the kitchen. They all ate a piece, and then followed to give Harry a present, which Harry decided to open later.
As Harry looked around the people who were assembled around him, he couldn't help noticing the people that were missing. Dumbledore would have probably attended had Harry not been so rude to him. Sirius was now gone, and although the thought saddened him, he knew he had enjoyed the twins joke immensely, alongside his parents. He closed his eyes and remembered the wish he had made just moments ago. He had wished that Hermione were there, sitting beside him, holding his hand, and laughing or scolding the twins for their joke. He would have wanted her to be a part of his first real birthday party. He felt a hand gently squeeze his shoulder.
"The night isn't over yet," Harry heard Lupin's voice whispering in his ear.
Harry opened his eyes and looked at Lupin curiously. Lupin simply smiled at him and pointed to a spot behind Harry.
"Thank me later," Lupin mouthed to him.
Harry turned around to see Hermione standing shyly a few feet away from him. He got up and raced to her, wrapping her in tight hug.
"Happy Birthday, Harry," she whispered in his ear.
"Now, it definitely is the happiest birthday I've ever had," Harry said to her, planting a big kiss on her cheek, dangerously close to her lips.
They let go and turned to around to go back to the others at the table. When they arrived, they saw that Tonks, Lupin, Moody, Kingsley and Hagrid were getting ready to leave. Mundungus and the twins were talking quietly out of Mrs. Weasley's sight. The remaining Weasley's were still seated talking amongst themselves. As they arrived at the table, Moody turned to look at Harry.
"Enjoy your last meal, Potter?" Moody asked.
"Last meal?" Hermione asked with worry.
Harry squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"Yeah, at what time are we leaving?"
"I'll come get you tomorrow morning," Moody answered, "I'll tell your elf to pack some things you'll need."
"Where will we be going?" Harry asked.
"Discretion Potter," Moody answered wisely, "the enemy has eyes and ears everywhere. Just because there aren't any Death Eaters blasting us, doesn't mean that they're not here. Stay the night, Potter, it'll be easier that way."
"Okay," Harry agreed, "tomorrow it is."
"Let's see if you're as cheerful tomorrow," Moody growled menacingly, as he took his leave and disaparated.
------------------------------
Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Harry were all sitting in Ron's room talking about their summer and catching up. They had all hauled Harry's gifts up to Ron's room and were now waiting for Harry to open them. Harry was only thinking about spending time with Hermione, but one look from her told him it wasn't the best idea. It was the first time Ron would see them together, so acting like a couple of horny teenagers was probably not the best idea.
Harry grabbed a random gift from the pile and saw that it was a rather large package from Tonks and Kingsley. He tore the brown wrapping that was around it and saw it was a large leather pack that had a golden seal of two snakes intertwined around a staff. A note had fallen out the bottom of the package, so Harry read it out loud.
Harry,
Kingsley and I have been through several of Mad-Eye's so called "courses" or extreme vigilant trainings, so we have a bit of an idea of what's in store for you. We thought it best for you to be prepared. Just remember, try your best, and never give up. We know you're not a quitter Harry, but take some words of advice from one who have experienced some of Moody's wrath, he will push your limits farther than they've ever been pushed. He truly believes that the only way to never be surprised is to have experienced everything. So, seeing as how you'll only get a month with him, be prepared, it's going to be brutal, but helpful, in a Mad-Eye sort of way. Remember, Constant Vigilance!
Not wanting to be in your shoes during that time, but more than willing to stand at your side from this day forth.
Your friends,
Tonks and Kingsley
"What's in store for you?" Ron echoed, "what're they talking about Harry?"
"Yes, Harry," Hermione added, "Moody talked earlier about your last meal. What's going on?"
"Well that was just Moody, setting the mood," Harry said, trying to make a joke of it. None of them laughed. "Okay, bad joke. Well after everything that happened last year, Moody and Dumbledore thought that I should get some extra training, and I agreed. So, I start training tomorrow."
"Hang on," Ron said, "we were all there, how come only you get to have additional training?"
Harry thought about telling them about the prophecy. He had still kept that detail to himself, and wasn't sure if he wanted to share it yet.
"Duh," Ginny said, giving Ron a look, "You-Know-Who is after Harry, not to mention Merlin knows how many Death Eaters."
Harry sighed softly as Ginny provided an escape for him.
"Oh, yeah," Ron said.
Hermione opened the kit to inspect its contents and read out the labels of the potions inside.
"Pepperup Potion, Sleeping Draft, Burn-healing paste, Mandrake Restorative Draft, Skele-Gro, Wound-cleaning potion, Blood-Replenishing Potion…"
"Blood replenishing potion?" Ginny asked, with a bit of fear in her voice, "Tonks wasn't kidding, was she?" she said, looking over Tonks' letter again.
"No," Hermione said seriously, "They even included a Wit-sharpening Potion for you Harry."
"Well, gee, that was nice of them," Ron said sarcastically. "Sucks to be you, mate. Although, I reckon we could do with a bit of training ourselves."
"Hey," Harry said, trying to lighten the mood, while rubbing Hermione's back softly, "what's all the sulking about? It's not like I'm dying or anything. I'm just going to get trained, and while it will be far worse than a double period with Snape…"
"Well, I don't know about that," Ron interrupted cheekily.
"…its not like I'm not coming back. Besides, I'll have loads of new stuff to teach at the D.A. meetings."
"We still doing that then?" Ron asked.
"I think now," Harry said in a solemn voice, "more than ever, it will be necessary. Before, it was just to be ready for O.W.L.'s but now, well, I guess we all got a taste of what we may come to face."
They were all quiet for a few minutes as they each remembered what happened.
"I still can't believe that out of the six of us, only Neville was there to fight with you to the end," Ron said, causing all of them to laugh a bit.
"Hey, laugh all you want," Harry said, "but thanks to him we're all still here. He's really come along, and I have a feeling that being put under the Cruciatus curse by Bellatrix Lestrange will only have fuelled his desire to get better. She's the reason his parents are the way they are. I think there's a lot more to Neville than we've seen. Before his gran, Snape, and Malfoy all put him down, but he didn't care because he only cared about his parents. Now, he has seen the person that put them there, and as any of us, I think he's going to want to get some revenge."
"I don't know if it's wise to encourage his revenge Harry," Hermione said softly.
"I know, Hermione, but I saw his face when he saw her in the Department of Mysteries."
"Can't blame the bloke, can you?" Ron said.
"No, you can't, you can only try and help." Harry answered.
They all remained quiet for a moment thinking about the fight in the Department of Mysteries. Harry wanted something to get his mind off things so he began to open more of his presents. He got a pair of professional dragon-hide gloves from Charlie, who had written in a letter that these could even block minor spells. Bill gave him a book on Egypt. The note that came with it said the book was more of like a journal of a very successful curse-breaker who spoke of his adventures in detail. Unlike Lockhart, Bill had written, this guy had actually done everything he wrote about. Harry handed the book quickly to Hermione who anxiously wanted to read through it. Hagrid had given him his usual supply of rock cakes, which everyone refused, and asked Harry to come by his hut when he got to Hogwarts. Fred and George had provided him with an array of "experimental" sweets with the hope that Harry might try them on first years when he got to Hogwarts. While Hermione was scandalized at the twins proposal, she laughed at Ron's suggestion to try them on Malfoy.
Ron and Ginny blushed a bit when Harry got their present. The package was rather tall and heavy.
"We both pitched in," Ron said uncomfortably, "it should keep you on your toes, though."
Harry knew that what Ron had meant was that this was rather expensive. He opened it and looked quizzically at the gift. It was a small, golden, hand-sized book that was chained to a small anvil.
"It's called `Seek It and Keep It, The Guide to Seeker Excellence'," Ginny explained quickly, "It came out last week. It's supposedly designed to keep a seeker on his toes."
"This is brilliant," Harry said excitedly, causing Ron to smile brightly "I'm going to be a bit rusty after a year off."
"If you get a spot on the team, that is," Ginny said cheekily. "You're going to have to suck up to the new captain if you want your spot back."
"And who might that be?" Hermione asked, looking over at Ron who was studying a spot on the ceiling.
"I'm guessing it must be some prat," Harry began, looking over at Ron, "who is absolutely obsessed with Quidditch."
"Hey!" Ron spat, taking the bait.
Harry, Hermione and Ginny laughed at Ron, who shrugged and joined them.
"Congratulations, Ron," Harry said.
"Thanks. I mean, you would have probably gotten it, if you'd played last year," Ron said, trying to contain his excitement.
"I don't think I would have," Harry said thoughtfully. "Besides, we both know I don't know much about Quidditch, other than being a seeker really."
"Yeah," Ron said smiling, "you are a bit ignorant when it comes to that."
"Hey!" Harry yelled.
They all had another laugh.
"Well that's all of them," Ginny said looking around the room under shreds of wrapping paper.
"No, we haven't seen what Hermione got Harry," Ron told Ginny.
"I think that she might give it to him, later, Ron," Ginny said with a strong hinting tone.
"Later? Why? I mean she…" Ron stopped himself as he looked from Harry to Hermione, "right, never mind. Still getting used to it."
"So, want to go for a walk with me?" Harry asked Hermione.
"Yes, I would love to, Harry," Hermione said lovingly, "but…"
Harry knew automatically where this was going. Hermione was going into her mothering mode, and while she looked very cute while she did it, it certainly killed the mood.
"…but you want me to get a good night's sleep before I start my training, right?" Harry finished for her.
Hermione blushed at hearing Harry finish her thoughts. She never thought Harry had paid that much attention to her. Ginny felt she might as well be the first as she got up and said her goodnight, walking towards her room. Harry followed Hermione to the stairs, turning her around for her to see him. With a quick look back, Harry saw Ron was "busy" getting ready for bed. He moved in quickly and gave Hermione a fast, soft kiss on the lips.
"Goodnight, Hermione," He said giving her a hug.
"Goodnight, Harry," she answered giving him a soft kiss on his cheek.
Hermione turned and went to Ginny's room. As she disappeared beyond the door, Harry turned back to Ron. Ron was already in his bed, so Harry followed suit and got into his.
"Hey, Ron," Harry began.
"Yeah, Harry," Ron asked back.
"Thanks for everything tonight," He said genuinely.
"Don't worry about it Harry," Ron said, burying himself into his pillow, "That's what friends are for."
Harry looked around at the ceiling, and thanked the sky for allowing him to have that night. Things had never gone well for Harry in his life, and they were surely about to get much worse. Still, he was extremely thankful for having that night of peace amongst friends. As he drifted off to sleep, he wished he could have more nights like this.
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