Here's the first chapter -
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"Potter! If you're not going to send us an articulate work-up of the team's players, we may as well send a house-elf to do your job!"
Harry read the note over again in incredulity. It did indeed imply that his latest piece had been less than satisfactory.
Well, shit.
How was it that he was expected to properly report on the events of the team when the events in his own life were rapidly becoming infinitely more interesting?
To say that he was shocked to find himself together with Hermione and Ron again would have been a gross understatement. He had deliberately distanced himself following Hogwarts. He had "issues," as his next-door neighbor, the psycho-analyst, would put it. With his destruction of Voldemort in seventh year came a rush of feelings. Feelings of relief and feelings of guilt that he hadn't been able to do it sooner. When the Prophet offer came, he jumped at the chance to throw himself into something new. Something separate from all the memories he had of school. Turns out he had a knack for it (but really all Harry did was think about how Rita Skeeter would cover something and do the exact opposite).
It was fulfilling, but he was lonely. He still had Sirius (and he'd even been able to pen the article on his name-clearing himself, the most rewarding article he'd written to date), but it wasn't the same. He wasn't in love with Sirius. And he was absolutely horrible at wizard's chess.
He missed Ron and Hermione more than he'd admit to anyone. He was working through his "issues" and now sported some emotional scars to match the physical one on his forehead, but he was better. He wanted his friends back. As far as he was concerned this new assignment was a blessing.
He'd immediately owled Ron and they'd arranged to share a flat as they'd both be in need of a place to live in the new city. Harry's next thought was to owl Hermione, but he hesitated. She would no doubt be cross with him for his absence in her life following Hogwarts, but how exactly to respond to that. . ? "I'm sorry Hermione, I was and am still madly in love with you, but I had a lot of grief I had to deal with and it's still there, only mitigated, and I just didn't want to burden you with it, but god it's so good to see you and do you want to make out?" Somehow he didn't think that'd go over well.
Ron was fantastic though, when they'd moved in yesterday he'd clapped Harry on the back and spoke to him like he'd seen him yesterday. They hadn't been able to talk for long about trivial things (Harry had to get down to interviewing the team's newest player for his 11:30 deadline), but he'd gleaned that Ron was playing the get-together/break-up/get-together again game with the same girl for about a year, that Fred and George's joke shop was expanding to a second location (Harry knew this of course, having been receiving statements as the company's financial backer since fifth year), and that he was now Uncle Ron to Charlie's newborn twins.
Having woken up late this morning (deadlines were almost as bad as potions exams), Harry realized Ron had gone off to practice and that he was left with an empty day. He briefly wondered if Ron had told Hermione about Harry's re-location. He knew that she'd know about Ron as he had put the article in the paper himself, but she could still be in the dark about him. He decided showing up at one of her lectures would be a good way of finding out. After contacting the university (it's amazing what people will tell a reporter) and finding out Hermione's schedule, he set off to sit in on "Wizard Foreign Policy."
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Standing at the back of the lecture hall, Harry noticed Hermione's bushy hair immediately and what luck- she had an open seat next to her. He figured Hermione being who she is, wouldn't just start scolding him in the middle of a class, he'd have almost 45 minutes to calm her down before it was over. Brushing his hair over his scar so as to not attract any undue attention, Harry padded softly down the aisle and slid in next to her.
She barely looked up and continued to frantically scribble in her notebook, cocking her head after a few seconds, she appeared to sniff the air. Her eyes widened and she turned her head to look Harry right in the face and gasped.
Harry then saw Hermione do something he'd never thought she'd do. She grabbed his arm, hauled him out of his seat and out the back door of the lecture hall.
"Hermione! You're skipping class!"
"Harry! You're HERE!"
She shoved him, HARD, and then went after him to grab him in a hug.
"I, I, d-don't understand. . .what are you doing here, Harry?"
"I'm here with the Prophet covering Ron's team, I'll be here all season."
He was practically beaming as he said it.
"I just can't believe this! Where have you been, Harry Potter?!" Ah, there it was, that stammering, hugging Hermione was too good to be true, now he was in for it.
"I've been. . . around. I had a lot of stuff on my mind after school and I didn't want to burden you with it."
"Harry!" It's amazing how that was the exact tone of voice he imagined his mother would take should she have been able to scold him, "How could you possibly think that? You were never a burden, Harry. An annoyance sometimes," said with a grin, "but never a burden."
He laughed softly at her joke and said, "It doesn't matter now, I'm here, and I'm sorry. Things will be better now." He realized as he spoke that he was right, things WOULD be better now. Hermione was with him again. Not in the sense Harry felt she rightfully should be, but there was time for that. He had a whole quidditch season!
"And of course you know Ron's here as well! This will be fantastic!"
"Yes, Ron and I are actually sharing a flat, we live about 11 blocks over from where we are now."
"Oh, Harry! I just can't get over this! Say you two will come over to dinner tonight, we have so much to catch up on! And I'm not done reprimanding you!"
"Of course we'll be there, Hermione, just give me a time and a place, and I'll make sure to get us there."
Hermione wrote down her address and seemed to realize for the first time that there was a class in session and that she was missing it. She bid Harry farewell, kissing him on the cheek and squeezing him in a tight hug, as if she just couldn't believe he was actually there. She slipped back into the lecture hall, muttering "Burden? Ha! Oh, Harry…"
Well, Harry thought, dinner should be. . .interesting.
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Well, that's what I've got so far, let me know what you think.