Chapter 19 - More Surprises
(A/N -Now to some "unfinished business" from Chapter 18 that came out of some of the original reviews…1. How did A.D. end up neutralizing the diary? 2. (a less important one) was concerning the parchment that Harry found in the chamber. What would have happened to it in the canon timeline? Here are the answers that I had as part of my "back-story" thinking: 1) - My assumption was that Albus had access through his connections to other sources of basilisk venom, so he basically duplicated Harry's solution although without the risk of getting bitten while he was doing it. Remember, he said to Harmony in Chapter 11 - "Yes, I agree, I'd prefer to come up with a solution that isn't quite so…risky, at that."
That does remind me of another little plot issue that may not be clear to some readers: 1A) Why did Fawkes come to help Harry? Answer - Read Chapter 11 again - Dumbledore was told by Harmony about what had happened originally, so Albus had instructed Fawkes to "keep an eye" on Harry in case he was needed and Harmony was aware of this. As Harmony said to Harry in Chapter 18 - "Just think about it, Harry, and I'm sure what you need will come to you."
2) My idea on the parchment was that if this were part of COS canon, Tom would have had Ginny dispose of the parchment since it wasn't needed under the circumstances. That leads me to one more reminder that came out of some apparent confusion as to whether Dobby was freed in Ch 18. Yes, he was! As I stated in a previous author note, I do not intend to type in LONG sections of canon materials where the basic facts are no different in this timeline, except to show where things synch up and where they are different. I will try to do a better job of identifying where things are the same in my story as in canon [with the ***** marks] - so you just need to re-read the appropriate section in canon to see what happened. Enough Author notes - on with the story!)
After completing his late-night essay work, Harry stood up, stretched, and checked the time on the luminous alarm clock on his bedside table. It was one o'clock in the morning. Harry's stomach gave a funny jolt. He had been thirteen years old, without realizing it, for a whole hour. <Well,> he thought to himself as he looked out the window, <I wonder what strange thing is going to happen on my birthday this year? Two years ago, I met Hagrid, last year I met Dobby and got locked in my bedroom for a while…Hmm, what's that?>
Silhouetted against the golden moon and growing larger every moment, was one, no two owls flapping towards him, both carrying packages. <Hey, that's Hedwig! Wonder where she's been for so long? And, a Hogwarts owl, from the looks of that letter. Oh, yeah, it's time for the third year letter! Why would they be sending me a package, though?>
As the school owl, relieved of its letter and package, left through the window, Harry picked up the parcel Hedwig had brought. Inside this there was a wrapped present, a card, and a letter, from Hermione? <Wonder why she's sending me a birthday present? I've never sent her anything - in fact, I'm not really sure when her birthday is?> But, as he read, he realized he would have to do something about that soon.
Dear Harry,
Since Miss Puckle 'stole' my birthday present idea with her Christmas present to you last year, I thought I would try something a little different. Now, before you say "I shouldn't have" or some such rot, listen up, Potter - This is a thank-you present for helping save my life and Ginny's, not to mention getting rid of that basilisk and making Hogwarts safer for those of us "lower-class" students. So, don't you dare try to return it! Also, please don't let any of my housemates know who gave it to you - I might be accused of 'fraternizing with the enemy' or some such nonsense!
Just to let you know, I'm on holiday in France at the moment and I didn't know how I was going to send this to you - what if they opened it at customs? - but then, your owl Hedwig turned up! I think she wanted to make sure you got something for your birthday for a change. I bought your present by owl-order; there was an advertisement in the Daily Prophet (I've been getting it delivered; it's so good to keep up with what's going on in the wizarding world). Since I doubt you are getting the news, I thought you might be interested to know that the Weasleys won the annual Daily Prophet draw for 700 galleons, and they went to Egypt on vacation with the winnings. I hope that Ron is paying attention to the fascinating history of the Egyptian wizards, but, knowing him, he's probably more concerned with taking the mickey out of his brothers. I'll ask Ginny when she gets back if she took good notes, at least!
There's some interesting local history of witchcraft here, too. I've rewritten my whole History of Magic essay to include some of the things I've found out. I hope it's not too long - it's two rolls of parchment more than Professor Binns asked for.
I am planning on being back in London the last week of the holidays to purchase my school supplies for this year. Can you make it to Diagon Alley then? I'm sure there will be lots of Hogwarts students and teachers there - might be fun to get together with a few of them. If your aunt and uncle will let you come, I'll see you there. If not, I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express on September first! (Don't be late this time, Potter! I doubt if Snape will be as forgiving as last year!)
Love from
Hermione
P.S. Ginny told me that her brother Percy will be Head Boy this year - I'll bet Percy's really pleased, but Ginny says that Ron and the twins don't seem to be too happy about it.
Harry laughed as he put Hermione's letter aside and picked up her present. It was very heavy. Knowing Hermione, he was sure it would be a large book of very difficult spells - but it wasn't. His heart gave a huge bound as he ripped back the paper and saw a sleek black leather case, with silver words stamped across it, reading Broomstick Servicing Kit.
"Wow, Hermione!" Harry whispered, unzipping the case to look inside. After he put her marvelous present aside <Return that? Not on your life, Granger!>, he opened the last parcel.
******
Harry clamped the struggling book tightly in his arms, hurried to his chest of drawers, and pulled out a belt, which he buckled tightly around it. The Monster Book shuddered angrily, but could no longer flap and snap, so Harry threw it down on the bed and reached for Hagrid's card.
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! I know I didn't send you anything for your last birthday, but after what you did for me at the end of the year I thought I might send you a little something.
Think you might find this useful for next year.
Won't say no more here. You'll find out soon enough.
Hope the Muggles are treating you right.
All the best,
Hagrid
******
After finishing his breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron early in his "Dursley-free" time, Harry was still not quite sure that he could believe the ups and downs in his fortune since his birthday. <I was sure I was going to get expelled for blowing up Aunt Marge. Good thing that Knight Bus came along when it did! And now, I find out from Minister Fudge that I have a murderer after me - well, at least I know - I'd hate to find out the hard way, with a knife to my throat or something!>
So, Harry spent the rest of the summer holidays exploring the shops and eating under the brightly colored umbrellas outside cafes…
****
As the days slipped by, Harry became a bit restless, and he couldn't figure out why. He had started to notice more and more Hogwarts students, from Slytherin and the other houses, coming to do their shopping. Then, one morning, he realized why he was restless. <Hey, there's Hermione! I guess I must have been keeping an eye out for her all this time. But, who's that she's with? That's not…Ron Weasley, is it? Oh, great…just what I need - someone to make rude comments about me!>
"Harry! HARRY!"
There they were, both of them, sitting outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor - Ron looking taller and incredibly freckly, Hermione very brown <Hmm, she must have spent some time on the beach in France - not bad, Granger!> Hermione was waving frantically at him, but Ron seemed to be rethinking whether he wanted to even be there.
"Oh, hello, Granger!" Harry said, "Weasley…" he nodded slightly in Ron's direction. Ron stood, obviously uncomfortable at the situation he found himself in.
Finally, he cleared his throat and acknowledged that Harry had spoken to him. "Potter… good to…well, how has your summer…" and than, flustered, he shut up; since he realized he didn't much care about Harry's summer, and it really wasn't all that good to see him.
"Honestly, Ron!" Hermione turned to him, with determination in her eyes. "You're almost as bad as your sister was when I introduced Harry to her last term! She was mostly scared, and here you are being mostly rude. Am I going to have to use the same tactics on you that I did on her, since I KNOW you too have met already? All right then - shake hands and start acting civilly towards each other!"
"Yes, Mum!" Ron said, automatically, extending his hand towards Harry. As he realized what he had said, his ears turned quite red with embarrassment. "Sorry, Hermione, but you sounded just like my mum then, and I…well, I just forgot for a second." Hermione and Harry just stood there, and then all three of them burst into laughter. Harry took Ron's proffered hand and shook it once again, smiling as he felt a sense of …rightness…about it.
*****
After Ron showed Harry and Hermione his new wand ("Charlie's old one finally wore out, so Mum and Dad used the last of their winnings to buy me this one- fourteen inches, willow, containing one unicorn hair!) and they completed their excursion into the Magical Menagerie, where Hermione purchased Crookshanks for an early birthday present (<At least I know her birthday month, now I just need to find out the day!> Harry thought as he planned what he would get for her to thank her for the Broomstick kit), they set off towards the Leaky Cauldron. Ron was still not too happy about having been nearly scalped by Crookshanks as he went chasing after Ron's rat, Scabbers. Neither Harry nor Hermione, however, were too fussed. "That rat's seen its better days, isn't that what the witch said just now? Might be a kindness to snuff it quickly, you know. Besides, that's what cats do, isn't it? Eat rats and all?" Harry said, very unsympathetically.
Hermione glared at Harry for this, but she didn't provide Ron with too much more comfort. "Oh, stop worrying, Ron. Crookshanks will be sleeping in my dormitory and Scabbers in yours, what's the problem? Poor Crookshanks, that witch said he'd been in there for ages; no one wanted him."
Ron snarled at Harry. "Potter, just shut it… you just don't understand how it is with wizarding family pets…And you, Hermione, just make sure you don't let him anywhere near my rat." By this time, they had entered the pub, and found an older, red-headed wizard wearing glasses sitting in the bar, reading the Daily Prophet. "Dad, there's someone here I'd like you to meet…" Ron said, with some hesitation. "This…is Harry Potter, you know, from school."
"Harry!" he said, smiling as he looked up. "Oh, yes! You look so much like your father! But, you definitely have your mother's eyes! What a pleasure to meet you! Harry, my wife and I just wanted to thank you for what you did for our daughter this last year. After hearing what happened from Dumbledore, I'm glad that it wasn't any more serious than it was. But, if we can ever do you a favor one day, be sure and let us know. By the way, there is something you'll need to know about your travel arrangements to King's Cross this year. Remind me to tell you later."
Mr. Weasley had put down his paper, and Harry saw the now familiar picture of Sirius Black staring up at him.
******
Dinner that night was a very enjoyable affair. Mrs. Weasley had insisted that Harry and Hermione join the family that night, so Tom the innkeeper had put three tables together in the parlor. The seven Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione were stuffed after they ate their way through five delicious courses. Molly seemed to fuss over Harry a lot more than he would expect, considering he just met her, but he realized that the Weasleys must have known his parents so he figured it must have had something to do with that.
"What was this you were telling Harry, just now, about going to the station tomorrow, Dad?" asked Fred (or was it George?) Weasley as they dug into their dessert pudding.
"The Ministry is providing a couple of cars," said Mr. Weasley.
Everyone looked up at him.
"Why?" said Percy curiously.
"It's because of you, Perce," said George seriously. "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them -"
"-for Humongous Bighead," said Fred.
Everyone except Percy and Mrs. Weasley snorted into their pudding.
"Why are the Ministry providing cars, Father?" Percy asked again, in a dignified voice.
"Well, as I was trying to explain to Harry just now, some in the Ministry are concerned about his security until he returns to Hogwarts. And, since the Weasley's create a large crowd wherever they go, I was told that we could serve as an escort in exchange for the use of the ministry cars. How about it, Harry? You too, Miss Granger? You up to joining our little excursion? Ginny would really enjoy some 'girl' company for once! It's rough on her being surrounded by all these boys!" he said with a chuckle.
"Sure, Mr. Weasley!" Hermione said with a grin. I'd love to tag along. I was planning on hiring a cab, but this would be easier."
Harry didn't mind, either, although he wasn't sure why he was a security problem until later that evening, when he overheard a heated conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.
****
As he looked up at the dark ceiling from his bed that evening, he scowled. Did they really think he was in that much danger, and that he couldn't look after himself? He'd escaped Lord Voldemort once already, and a basilisk is surely more dangerous than Sirius Black, wasn't it?
Unbidden, the image of the beast in the shadows of Magnolia Crescent crossed his mind. What to do when you know the worst is coming…
"I'm not going to be murdered," Harry said out loud.
"That's the spirit, dear,' said his mirror, sleepily.
******
After boarding the train the next morning at King's Cross Station and settling in the compartment with a sleeping Professor Lupin, Harry wanted to get Hermione alone to talk to her about what he had heard from the Weasleys. He wasn't too sure that he knew Ron well enough to trust him. Ginny, fortunately, had met up with some of her friends, and had long since disappeared into another part of the train. As he was sitting there in the compartment, trying to decide what to do, Hermione spoke up. "What is it, Harry? You seem like you want to say something. Go ahead, Ron's okay, for a boy, that is!"
Ron couldn't let that go unchallenged. "Yeah, I'm a boy! What of it? I guarantee you I keep my mouth shut more than most of those girls at school! Always gossiping about everything. Can't leave a bloke in peace if he even wants to say hi to a girl - all of a sudden, everyone thinks you're going to get married next week! I promise, all I did was carry Lavender's books for her one time!"
Hermione nodded, ruefully. "You're right, Ron. I found that out this last year - you'd think it was a guaranteed engagement announcement to be seen in the library studying with someone more than once, especially if they are from another house!"
Harry realized what Hermione was referring to right away. "You mean, people thought… you and me were…dating or something last year? How come I never heard that before? That's about the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! You and me, Granger? What a joke!" From Hermione's slightly hurt expression, Harry thought maybe he had gone a bit too far. "Oh, sorry, Hermione, I didn't mean that to sound that way. It's just that we were so busy last year working on our…project that I never even thought that anyone would think that we were…well, you know…" Harry decided that his foot was far enough in his mouth, thank you, so he shut up. Hermione continued to look at him with an expression of…well, not anger, but something he couldn't put his finger on.
"Hmmph…well, Potter, are you saying you don't think of me that way? Oh, shut it, Ron, I KNOW that you don't think too much of me, the 'bossy bushy brown-haired bookworm', isn't that how you refer to me when you think I'm not around?" Ron immediately stopped the snicker that had started to come out. "I enjoy the alliteration, but I'm just another 'ugly girl', is that it? Is that what you think, too, Potter?"
He could detect a little bit of pain in that last, so he thought he'd better say something nice. "But, I don't think you're ugly," said Harry, bemused. And then, for the first time since he had told Dumbledore about them the previous school year, he had another memory flash.
<…Hermione laughed.
"Harry, you're worse than Ron…well, no, you're not," she sighed, as Ron himself came stumping into the Hall splattered with mud and looking grumpy.>
In his mind, he could tell that Hermione and Ron were definitely older, and Ron was wearing Gryffindor Quidditch robes. "But, Ron's not on the Gryffindor team…"
Obviously Harry said this out loud, because Ron sputtered, "Me, on the Gryffindor team? Why would you say something like that? Are you CRAZY, Potter? My brothers would never let me try out; besides, there's no openings until next year when Wood graduates. Although, we could always use a better seeker than we've had these last two years. Honestly, if I thought I had a chance on my old broom, I'd give it a go…but, what does that have to do with Hermione being ugly?"
"RONALD WEASLEY! Did you just call me ugly?" Hermione's voice was definitely on edge.
"No, of course not, Hermione! I'd never say something like that, especially to your face!" Ron said with a smirk.
Hermione started playing along as she saw that he was kidding. "Ah, you may not say it, but you think it, is that it? Honestly!"
Harry held up both hands. "Now, you two, stop it. You can continue this fight later - you seem to be enjoying yourself way too much! Remember, I started to try to say something to you when we got off-track a little. Do you want to hear this or not?" As they both shut up and nodded, Harry explained all about Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's argument and the warning Mr. Weasley had just given him.
******
The door in the Great Hall stood open at the right; Harry followed the crowd toward it, but had barely glimpsed the enchanted ceiling, which was black and cloudy tonight, when he heard a familiar voice, and a not so familiar one.
"Potter!" said Snape, his head of house. "Granger, you too!" said Professor McGonagall. "The two of you, come over here. We need to talk to you, in my office, if you don't mind, Severus?"
Professor Snape nodded in agreement. "Yes, of course, Professor. That will be fine."
Once they were in her office, Professor McGonagall motioned Harry and Hermione to sit down while she settled herself in behind her desk, with Snape standing beside her. He said, abruptly, with a decidedly unpleasant tone, "Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead that you were taken ill on the train, Potter." Harry could have sworn that Snape didn't think that Lupin deserved to be considered a professor for some reason.
Before Harry could reply, there was a soft knock on the door and Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, came bustling in. "Oh, it's you, is it? What is it with you, Mr. Potter, and the simple act of trying to get back to school without incident? I mean, thousands of students have made the trip from King's Cross for many years with no difficulties, yet I'm seeing you TWO YEARS in a row!"
"It was a dementor, Poppy," said Professor McGonagall. Snape seemed rather upset that Minerva seemed to be assuming responsibility for his student, but, since she was his superior, he decided to let it go.
Eventually, Harry convinced the three adults that he was fine, and that the chocolate had done its job.
"Very well, Potter," Professor Snape said. "Off to the Great Hall with you, then." As Hermione started to rise with Harry, not quite sure why she had been brought in to the meeting.
McGonagall interrupted her. "Just a minute, Miss Granger! I need to have a quick word with you about your course schedule - you didn't think I brought you here just to hear about Harry's incident, did you?"
****
Harry was already seated next to Blaise Zabini when he noticed Hermione come into the hall, looking quite pleased with whatever news she had been given. He followed her progress as she walked to the Gryffindor table, and watched as she sat down between Ginny and Lavender Brown, who was seated next to Ron. But then, Dumbledore stood up and started to speak, so Harry listened attentively to the Headmaster, commenting to himself as the speech progressed.
<Great, I have to deal with those dementors all year? Well, that's one good reason not to go to Hogsmeade with everyone else. If I don't have to go past them, I guess it's okay that I don't have permission to go…Hmm, so, Hermione was right - Lupin is the new DADA professor. Wonder why Professor Snape doesn't like him…What, Hagrid is the new Care of Magical Creatures professor? Why are the Gryffs so excited? Was Hagrid a Gryff, too? I guess I never knew that. Well, that explains the biting book, I guess! Hagrid always seems to like the more vicious things, from what I've seen! I mean, I wouldn't want to come across that boarhound I've seen him with either at night or in the day!> And then, it was time to eat.
At long last, when the last morsels of pumpkin tart had melted from the golden platters, Dumbledore gave the word that it was time for them all to go to bed. As Harry headed towards the Slytherin common room, he felt a large hand tap him on the shoulder, almost knocking him off his feet.
"Oh, hello, Hagrid! I suppose congratulations are in order! Care of Magical Creatures, eh?" Harry said, trying to stand up straight.
"All thanks to you, you know, Harry," said Hagrid, wiping his shining face on his napkins as he looked up at him. "Can' believe it…great man, Dumbledore...came straight down to me hut after Professor Kettleburn said he'd had enough…It's what I always wanted… but, until I was cleared, I couldn't even be considered. But, you fixed that for me, eh, Harry?"
Harry smiled at him, and then headed for his dormitory room, which now said THIRD YEARS on the door. "Oh yeah, that's right. I have to go face the Gruesome Threesome again, and now they're going to be on me all term about the dementor thing. Maybe I should go see if Dumbledore's offer is still good? Naah, I'm sure it's too late to change now, besides, how bad can it be?"