Authors notes:
I want to thank everyone who has reviewed my story. It makes me thrilled and humbled that so many people have read it. I looked on the Chapter stats and in counts into the thousands. Completely overwhelming. I appreciate all your advice-even the ones that are hard to take. This is my very first fanfic and I am having a blast.
Also, general disclaimer…I own nothing Harry Potter.
Chapter 11
A time for everything
Ron awoke with a start as Harry threw himself in a backwards slam onto his friend's bed yelling with a loud, "Get UP!"
Harry had come from the showers and had already dressed for the day. The young man was really enjoying his new wardrobe and he had already been picked on that morning by Neville and Seamus for preening. Nothing could be done about his hair, though, no matter what he tried. The more he messed with it, the worse it got. Ron threw a lumpy pillow vaguely toward his best mate and burrowed back down into the warm comforter like a rabbit going to ground for winter. Neville jauntily saluted Harry and with a grin he grabbed one end of the sheets as Harry took the other. Heaving with a forced grunt, they pulled the sleeping boy off the bed and dragged him flailing helplessly to the showers. No one seemed particularly surprised by this occurrence as this happened at least twice a week. Ron sputtered as cold water sprayed heartlessly in his face and on his sheets as he yelled loudly and incoherently.
Eventually, Ron staggered mostly dressed down the stairs to the clapping of several Gryffindors who had congregated in the common room to go down to breakfast together. Ron bowed, and nearly tripped himself as everyone filed out into a sprint down the corridor to the delightful smell of cooking bacon.
The girls usually were there before the boys. The boys could be counted on to prank each other so much on the weekends that the girls knew to get out of the way or be a target themselves. Lavender and Parvati had circled Hermione at the table like Raptors before a kill. They had been harassing the young woman by asking her question after question about her date with Harry. The Prefect girl had perfected the expression of polite disinterest with her nose in the air as she pointedly ignored the two gossip-mongers. Harry ruined her composure however when he swooped down beside her and gave her a loud bussing kiss on the cheek. Lavender and Parvati squealed and clapped as Hermione blushed crimson in response.
The boys grinned at her blushes as they loaded their plates full of toast and eggs. Harry had gone through his first plate and felt he could pleasantly enjoy his second while reading the letter he had crumpled in his pocket from Fawkes early this summer.
"Better late than never," he thought while stuffing a sausage in his mouth.
The letter was from Dumbledore and it was about his Godfather, Sirius. The boy blanched and swallowed hard. The crumpled letter went on to ask Harry to meet with the Headmaster when he felt up to hearing about Sirius's last Will and Testament. The idea of the finality of a will and truly knowing his beloved Godfather was really gone hit him stiffly in the stomach. Everything he ate felt cold and leaden inside him. Hermione noticed how subdued he was and she raised her eyebrows in query.
Harry sighed and paused a moment before handing the letter over to her. She read it quickly then hugged him softly before folding it back up and placing next to his plate.
Today was Sunday, and was actually a good day to meet with the School Headmaster, he thought. He had found it was better to just get it over with instead of dwelling on it like he had about telling him about the Dursley incident. He could get both done at once and finally off his mind.
Overhead, the owl post swooped in dropping packages and mail haphazardly across the Great Hall. A Hufflepuff third year had apparently received a bad mark on an exam and his father had sent a howler that made everyone in the hall laugh to the recipient's chagrin. Harry had a letter from Remus politely asking about his health which he read quickly and asked his owl, Hedwig to take a note to Dumbledore asking for a time to meet. He used the back side of Dumbledore's message and rolled it up for the bird to carry. She hopped back into flight with a nip at his breakfast sausage and headed out the door to the upper stairs.
"Would you like to go for a walk around the lake today, `Mione?" Harry asked softly.
She looked at his sad eyes and then leaned her head softly on his shoulder.
"That would be lovely." She slipped her hand into his for a quick squeeze then picked up her newspaper that had been delivered just a moment ago.
"I have a letter to write to my folks, but that won't take an hour. Let's say ten o'clock?"
He nodded at her as he shoved the unfinished plate out of his way and leaned his forehead thoughtfully in his hands.
Harry left the Great Hall without anyone really noticing. Ron was talking animatedly to Seamus about Quidditch and didn't see Harry slip out. The young man had a few minutes to kill before the meeting with Dumbledore. He wandered aimlessly until he reached the Trophy Room. The glass cases glittered with stacked gold trophies and hanging ribbons of past achievers. Apparently someone had received detention recently with Filch as the awards looked freshly polished and gleaming with new rubbing.
He leaned with his shoulder pressed against Phinias Widdlebumble's award for Excellent Hex Removal, 1697, and shoved his chilled hands into the pockets of his robes.
Glinting brightly, a flash of his father's Quidditch trophy caught his eye. He couldn't touch it, but just knowing it was there was a bit of a comfort. Such things made the presence of his father seem so much more real. Even having the Maurader's Map gave him a thrill as he imagined a boy that looked quite a bit like him sneaking around the castle getting into who knew what kind of trouble. Time passed slowly as he walked quietly past the cases examining each prize until he suddenly stopped.
Tom Marvolo Riddle, he read.
"Why in Merlin's name is HIS trophy still here?" Harry gritted out his teeth as his fingers gripped the case whitely.
"It is there to remind me that every student starts out with a fresh beginning, Harry."
"At the time he received this trophy, he was already on the path he had chosen, but he could have been led back to appreciate what was good even then if I had only been more aware. That award is for my personal remembrance."
Dumbledore had appeared suddenly behind the angry boy startling him enough to have Harry whip around with his wand defensively raised.
"Headmaster! I didn't see you come in." Harry was breathing fast and caught himself quickly slipping his wand into his back pocket.
"Not in your back pocket, Harry. Moody tells me he lost a buttock once that way." Dumbledore murmured wryly as he swept past the grinning boy who promptly moved his wand to his front.
"That explains a lot." Harry mumbled.
"I thought I'd catch you down here rather than in my stuffy office. I spend much too much time in there and I like to wander a bit once in a while."
"Yeah." Harry agreed. "You tend to pace a lot."
Dumbledore paused and raised his left eyebrow at Harry as if questioning how Harry could know such a thing. Harry had noticed the Headmaster often paced his quarters when the boy was using the Maurader's map. The map showed where every person was in the castle with a little dot showing their movements. Harry and Ron and the Weasley twins before them had used the very instructive diagram to sneak about the castle without being caught out by snooping prefects or teachers.
Harry winced slightly, and tried to change the subject.
"Well, ah…right. Um…" his faculties for changing the subject had fled him and he stood there in consternation.
Dumbledore laughed a low chuckle and waved his hand dismissively.
"I don't want to know, my boy. Believe me, I did a few things that my headmaster would have dreaded to know as well." His eyes twinkled merrily and he moved to examine the numerous awards on the bottom of the case for Most Impressive Disfiguring Hexes.
"I'm glad you are no longer so angry with me, son. It disturbed me greatly to know that one of my favourite pupils held me in such disregard."
"Yeah. Well. I was angry with you. I still am, a little. But, I was more angry at myself, really." He muttered low casting his eyes back at the floor.
"You aren't hiding anything from me now are you?" He raised his eyes and connected piercingly with the older wizard.
"I have many secrets, Harry. But I have truly told you all that I know in regards to the prophesy and your Godfather. Alas, I should have trusted you more and I lay much of the failures of the past year at my own doorstep." Dumbledore sighed and his robes rustled as he turned away.
Harry paused then put his hand on the old man's shoulder, "No. I take the responsibility of my own actions, Sir. I realize the foolhardiness of so much I did. I am taking precautions now to be more vigilant and aware in this war. Hermione told me something very important. We are no longer children in this war and we must become the warriors that are necessary to win this fight. Not that we were given much of a childhood to begin with."
Dumbledore looked down with regret at that sad statement.
"Don't let Voldemort take your joy, Harry. That is much of what we are fighting for. There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time for war and a time for peace. (1)"
Harry looked up thoughtfully. "We deserve a time for peace, but Riddle is making us fight this war to get there. Since we out of necessity must have war, I am prepared to fight-and not just defensively. We must be ready to strike and win. Do you understand that?" Harry looked fierce as the idea of fighting made his body tight and muscles tense.
Dumbledore took the young man by the shoulders and with a moment's hesitation, pulled him into a strong hug. Harry stood there stiffly until after a second he relaxed and breathed deeply. He had never been comfortable with anyone touching him, and it took him a moment to allow it to happen. Too many years of his childhood had been cheerless and without love. Harry had received rough slaps and beatings in the place of hugs and soft touches. More than anything, the life he led without gentle contact at all was worse than any casual whipping he received. He felt his breath catch and he was embarrassed to feel wetness on his cheeks.
"I'll meet you in my office when you are ready to go over Mr. Black's Will. Take your time, son. This will be here when you get back from your walk. Right now it is a time to enjoy the pleasures of life. I believe Ms. Granger is waiting?" The wise older man stood back and witnessed with pleasure the glad open face of the often troubled boy.
"How did you know I was going to go on a walk? I didn't tell…"
Dumbledore rumbled a laugh. "There are some secrets I won't tell you."
He swirled his flickering star decorated robes as he exited the room laughing in amusement at the boy's confused face.
After he left, Harry smiled at the reflection in the plate glass of a boy who probably looked a lot like his father. He brushed his hands in front where the trophy of his parent was placed, then turned with a deep breath to walk out the door to find the girl that waited patiently for him.
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Hermione finished her letter to her mum and handed it to the school owl that she had collected from the owlery. With a nip of owl treats, the brown owl swooped out the window into the fresh air.
The girl sighed softly and shook herself. She was tired. It had been a night of nightmares again. Since coming back to Hogwarts, the nightly terrors had abated until the evening following the last Death Eater attack. The images of the vicious fight and the horror she felt seemed to swallow her whole when she tried to close her eyes. Her whole body ached from lack of sleep and her face was pale and wan.
I just need to get some fresh air and I'll feel much better. A few hours outside studying will do just the trick.
She gathered up her writing things and put them away in the pretty writing box her father had made for her when they found out she'd be away at school for nine months out of the year. The box was painted a delicate yellow color and detailed by her mother in soft spring roses. It always made her think of home and the smell of summer as she'd open the back door to the yard full of rose bushes. She touched it with a smile and sent a thought of love to her mother and father. She paused a moment to wonder how her parents would see her now. She was no longer a little girl, but becoming a young woman, and she hoped, resilient and strong.
Taking only three school books, she placed them in her shoulder bag and tripped down the stairs to the common room which was filled with Gryffindors of all shapes and sizes.
Ginny was seated on the loveseat cuddled in with a trashy novel and Crookshanks who knew an easy target when he saw one. The red-haired girl was absently petting the cat as he slowly shredded the couch arm. The couch repaired itself magically as a spell had been cast upon it many years ago by a former headmaster who had despaired of all the animals and hard-living students ever treating the furniture well. After a while all spells fade, and the furniture and hangings were taking on a decided shabby appearance after several decades of use. The couch, a favorite spot for late night assignations and group meetings, had seen the worse of wear and was currently losing the battle to a certain ginger-furred cat.
Hermione leaned over the top of the couch and roughly scruffled her cat's fur so that he looked like he had just come from the clothes dryer. She laughed when he looked up at her with a very disdainful cat-like expression and he flicked his tail and bounded away expressing his opinion in a low grumbling meow.
Ginny grinned up at her friend as Hermione sat lightly beside her.
"You look a little tired, are you alright?" Ginny noticed the circles under her eyes that Hermione had tried very hard to hide under makeup.
"Just a sleepless night, Gin. I'm sure I am not the only one." She could see several yawning faces around the room.
Hermione leaned back into the couch and absently rubbed her wrist where the slight burn still hadn't healed. She had thought about seeing Madame Pomfrey about it, but dismissed the idea after seeing the infirmary filled with students still recovering from the attack. It will heal on it's own. It's one of the good things about being muggleborn, you don't expect everything to have a magical fix. She grinned as she thought of Ron and his shock and dismay when she told him how she did her laundry at home.
A loud yawn erupted from behind the couch startling Ginny and Hermione, both. Neville leaned between the girls and ducked his head into the pillows of the couch with a moan.
"Not getting enough sleep, Neville?" Hermione said wryly to the top of his head.
"Murrfff." He replied succinctly.
Ginny laughed as she got up and stretched leaving Neville room to push himself over the top of the couch to take up the position left by the girl. He ran his fingers through his hair and moaned.
"I am so tired. I have twelve inches of parchment for Potions class that I've put off for four days. Just thinking about Professor Snape makes me turn into a gibbering idiot. I couldn't sleep last night so I tried to do a little. When I read what I had written this morning, I could imagine the grade I would get. It's not going to be pretty."
Hermione laughed at his expression and shook her finger at him.
"Work done first, beats doing your worst!"
Neville groaned again and threw a pillow at the prim and studious face of his friend.
"Actually, I had some bad nightmares last night. It was worse than this summer. I really thought I was over them but last night they came back as horrible as ever." He shuddered remembering the dreams of Death Eaters and the visions of his friends falling in pain and possible death.
Hermione's face fell in commiseration. She knew exactly what he was feeling. She leaned over and gave him a hug.
"I understand, Nev. I almost didn't want to come back to school. This summer was the hardest thing. I knew everyone was alright, but the dreams kept telling me you had all died or were hurt horribly. Every night was terror after terror. I was so afraid."
He looked at her with concern and returned the hug. They sat there for a moment both caught up in the memories that haunted them.
At that moment Harry entered the Portrait-hole and stopped suddenly when he saw Hermione and Neville in each other's arms.
Neville was the first to catch sight of Harry's slowly angering eyes and he snatched himself away from the girl's arms as if she was on fire. With a stumbling, "Uh, potions. Gotta go. Twelve inches, you know. Uh. Bye."
His sudden flurry of movement nearly knocked her off the couch and it took a second for her to register Harry's appearance.
"Oh! Harry. I didn't see you there. What did the Headmaster say?"
Harry merely stared at her before crossing his arms in anger.
"What were you and Neville doing?"
"What are you talking about?" She was gathering up her book bag so they could go to the lake.
"You were hugging Neville."
She stared at him as if he had grown a second head.
"Yes. I was." Hermione stood up and draped the bag over her head and arm so it rested on her hip.
"Oh." Harry seemed to crumble in place. He blinked a few times then turned to walk up the stairs to his room.
"Harry, don't be an idiot. Neville has been having nightmares just like me and he needed a little comfort from a friend. A FRIEND. Do you understand me?" She glared at him and rolled her eyes in frustration with the boy.
"Oh…OH. A friend. Got it." He took a deep breath and with a wry grin ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head at his crazy behavior.
"Sorry. This boyfriend-girlfriend thing is a little new to me. I apologize now for all the stupid mistakes I am going to make." He grinned at her as he reached for her hand.
"I'm your girlfriend?" She asked softly looking up at him through her eyelashes.
He pulled her in closer and brushing her soft hair off her shoulders, he put both of his hands to the sides of her face and whispered closely.
"If you want to be." His deep green eyes were bright with promise and he held his breath in anticipation of her answer.
"I want to be." Her lips curled up and he noticed she had a dimple on her left cheek. He had never looked at her so hard and so close before. She was so beautiful. The girl's chocolate brown eyes were wide and ringed with dusky lashes that made him catch his breath.
They stood there for a moment looking deep into each other's eyes when they were nearly bowled over by Ron who came into the common room going faster than his legs could carry him.
"OOmmpffh!" Ron collided with Harry and knocked himself onto the floor as Hermione grabbed her boyfriend to keep him upright.
"Sorry! Sorry! I didn't see…" Ron trailed off when he looked up to see his two best friends locked in a tight embrace as they peered down at him.
"Oh." Ron grimaced.
"Sorry." He mumbled and then scrambled away before either one could say anything to him.
"What was that about?" Harry asked her in confusion. Hermione lowered her head and worriedly watched her other best friend run away rather than talk. She sighed softly then turned back to Harry.
"Don't worry about it, Harry. We'll talk to him at dinner. What books are you bringing to the lake?" She redirected him as she patted the heavy bookbag at her hip.
"Books? What books?" He smiled at her as he showed her his Defense Against the Dark Arts book on the couch where he had placed it.
She grinned back at him and kissed the tip of his nose.
"You know the way to my heart, Harry Potter."
"Yeah. Through the library." He laughed.
Smacking his shoulder playfully with his DADA book, she shoved the book into her bookbag and turned to go when he pulled the heavy sack over her head.
"Hey!" She turned in surprise.
"Boyfriend's privilege." He smiled sweetly at her as he placed the bag over his own shoulder.
"Well. That's going to make classes so much easier!" She rubbed her hands together as if she was concocting an evil plan.
He shrugged and with a grin wrapped his arm around her as they walked out the door.
Ron watched them leave together and sighed softly to himself. Without a word to anyone, he walked slowly up the stairs and into his room.
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