Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, so there!
A/N: Hello everyone. Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. R/L reared its ugly nose there for a short while, and combined with Thanksgiving, I lost several prime writing days. But, I trust that I will be able to make up for it... with this... a double update! Well, not exactly, since the second chapter will be posted a couple days after this one. But hey, at least it's not two weeks! Heh heh heh. Monday, at the absolute latest... I PROMISE!
Thanks go out, as always, to my beta, MapleMountain, who braved a snowstorm to edit my story. Well, that and he had to return to his family... but hey, details!
And speaking of details, yes, I know the scientific name for snowy owls here is "now" incorrect. But since this is set several years ago, and since the wizarding world tends to be behind the times a bit, I decided to use the older one.
Chapter 16. Of Owls and Elves.
When he finally could see her properly, Harry could see that Hermione too had been watching Ron and Luna. She looked at him and smiled again. Harry immediately felt all of the fear washed away by that same bubbly, giddy feeling he felt earlier. He was so overwhelmed by it, he was tempted to start giggling. Fortunately, his self control was strong enough to at least keep him from doing that.
In a daze, Harry grinned dumbly back.
Oh, I am in trouble now, Harry thought to himself.
Harry stood there, staring at Hermione in complete shock... and bliss. He had to say it (okay, fine, think it) just one more time, just to be sure he wasn't imagining it. I fancy Hermione. He didn't believe it, and yet, it felt absolutely right. It was true.
Before he had much of a chance to decide what to do next, Hermione turned to him again, looking very excited. "Harry, she's going over there!"
"What?" he asked numbly, snapping out of his reverie.
"Professor McGonagall just walked over to Ron," she said. "Aren't you paying attention?"
Yeah, to you, he thought. "Erm, no," he answered.
"I bet she's going to offer him the captaincy now. That means you'll be prefect soon!"
"Oh no!" Harry suddenly whispered. Before she could ask what he meant, he grabbed her by the arms and turned the two of them so that he was directly between Ron and Hermione, and so his back was to Ron.
"I can't let Ron see me," Harry explained. "If he looks over at me, I'll probably start grinning like an idiot. He'll know that I know. Like McGonagall said, I don't want him to do it because I'll be prefect. I want him to do it because he wants to. The only way he'll be a good captain is if he wants to be. Tell me what happens... but don't be obvious that you're watching him!"
Hermione laughed at Harry for just a second. "Okay. She's talking to Luna. Luna's walking away. She actually looks annoyed at being interrupted with Ron. Wow! Okay. McGonagall's talking to Ron now. Quietly, it looks like." Hermione suddenly pulled her head back in so she couldn't see Ron.
"Ron just started to look over here. Only saw his face for a fraction of a second, but he looked to be in shock. I think she just told him." Hermione peeked her head back out. "Okay, he's looking at her again. Heh heh, she probably told him to not look at you, that she was asking him, not you."
"Well, she did..." Harry whispered.
"But does Ron need to know that? Besides, as I recall, you never did say that she asked you to be the captain. She just asked you if you knew of anyone willing to be the captain. Right? You can't be one hundred percent certain she wanted you to be captain, can you?"
Harry caught on. "I guess I can't," he agreed, smiling.
"Okay, Ron just ran out, nearly knocked Ginny over. Probably going to get his prefect badge," Hermione said, smirking.
"Okay, I think it's safe to turn around now," Harry decided, though he had been perfectly happy to stay there all day, watching Hermione, and her lips, speak. Ron returned a minute later, nearly knocking Luna over this time (though he did stop to apologize). He quickly strode over to Professor McGonagall and surreptitiously put something in her hand. She then pulled something out of her own pocket.
Professor McGonagall turned to face the crowd. "Your attention, everyone. Your attention, please. As Head of Gryffindor House, I have several announcements to make. First, I am proud to announce that Gryffindor has a new Quidditch Captain this year." Harry noticed everyone in the room-other than Hermione, Ron, and Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore-look in his direction. He had to bite his lip to keep from smiling too much.
"Mr. Ronald Weasley," McGonagall finally announced as she handed him the Quidditch Captain badge. The awkward silence that should have followed would have been deafening if it weren't filled with the enthusiastic cheers and applause from the four who already knew.
After a moment for it to sink in, and once everyone realized that Harry seemed genuinely happy to "again miss out" on what was a highly coveted position, everyone else joined in congratulating Ron. Molly rushed forward to envelope her youngest son in a death grip of a hug. Harry noticed Luna staring dreamily at Ron as usual.
"One more announcement, please," Professor McGonagall spoke above the hubbub. "Being captain is a tremendous responsibility. I therefore cannot allow him to be both captain and prefect at the same time. So, with Mr. Weasley's rather enthusiastic permission, I am pleased to announce our new sixth year prefect: Mr. Harry Potter."
This time, it was Ron and Hermione's cheers, along with his professors' applause, that filled the stunned silence. But then everyone else began to applaud energetically as Professor McGonagall came over and handed him Ron's prefect badge. Harry saw Molly come barreling toward him. As he mentally and physically prepared himself for his fate, he was surprised to find a pair of arms wrap around him... arms that did not belong to Mrs. Weasley.
Hermione, to Harry's ecstatic surprise, had captured him in another one of her death grip hugs. It certainly was worthy of the one he received on his first day at her house. As he felt her warmth against him, he could feel his mind washing away as the pleasant floral scent of her shampoo once again invaded his senses.
Only a burning sensation on his cheek snapped him out of it. Hermione had kissed him on the cheek.
"Oh shush, you two," Hermione scolded Fred and George after she let go of Harry and they began to whistle suggestively. "I'm just congratulating him," Hermione said exasperatedly, though she did look a little self-conscious. "If you two made prefect or captain, you'd get one too."
"Hey," Ron called out from across the room in a mock-offended voice, "I'm captain. How come I didn't get one?"
"Because, Ronald," she explained, "I am on this side of the room, and Harry is on this side of the room. You are on that side of the room." Hermione then smiled. "But if you insist..." she added, holding out her arms as if inviting him for a hug.
A voice suddenly spoke up. "That's okay. I'll do it." Before anyone realized it, Luna went up to Ron and gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek and then walked back to where she'd been standing as if it were an everyday occurrence.
Fred and George looked pleadingly at Harry; he nodded. They then turned and started whistling at Ron and clapping. Ron turned bright red and then touched his cheek where Luna had kissed him. A few minutes later, everyone had made it around the room to congratulate the new prefect and captain.
About an hour later, Harry was talking to Tonks about the Auror training program when something white caught his attention at the window behind her. Harry focused his attention and saw that it was Metis. After excusing himself for moment, he started to head to the window.
Hermione however must have seen Metis before he did, for she beat him to the window and opened it, allowing her owl to hop into the room. A moment later, Metis was sitting contentedly on Hermione's shoulder. Harry looked to the window. If Metis was here, Hedwig would not be far behind. He strained his eyes and saw off in the distance, a small white speck.
Eagerly waiting for Hedwig to arrive, Harry looked over at Hermione and nodded slightly, ready to play his role again in their little owl game.
As he turned to look back out the window, Harry heard Ron come up to them. "Whose owl is that?" he asked curiously.
Harry turned back to Ron. He couldn't... "What do you mean?" Harry asked innocently.
"I mean, whose owl is that?" Ron said as if it was the most obvious question in the world, which, really, it was. "I mean, I've seen Hedwig for five years now, so I know that's not her. And I don't know anyone else with an owl like her, so... whose owl is that?"
Harry and Hermione looked at each other; they knew this wasn't going to work. So, Hermione decided to fess up.
"Well, now you do know someone with an owl like Hedwig. This, Ron, is my new owl, Metis. Isn't she beautiful?" The fondness in her voice strongly reminded Harry of Hagrid looking at some illegal, dangerous creature.
An envious, but not jealous, look appeared on Ron's face. "No way!" Ron shouted in excitement. Most everyone in the room turned to look and see what he was shouting at. With perfect timing, Hedwig flew in the open window and landed on the ledge. Harry held out his arm, to which she flew. He then set her on his shoulder.
With the arrival of this new snowy owl, everyone rushed over to hear Hermione's story of how she got Metis. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Tonks smirking at him. She obviously remembered the extended version that included a broken door.
A short while later, Ron brought down Hermes' and Errol's perches (Hermes was in his cage in Percy's room). After some water and leftover chicken, Hedwig and Metis were soon perched contentedly, watching the goings on of the party.
Luna soon came up to Harry and Hermione. "Such a beautiful Nyctea scandiaca," she said in her usual dreamy voice.
"A what?" Hermione asked a little surprised.
"A snowy owl," Luna replied. "Didn't you know their Latin name? My father is an avid bird watcher. We have all sorts of books on different species of birds. I could loan you one, if you'd like, since it seems you might like to learn more about them," Luna said rather straightforward.
Hermione seemed rather wrong-footed, though Harry suspected it was more from the fact that Luna knew something that she didn't, rather than her rather abrupt way of saying it.
"No thanks," Hermione said politely, but tersely.
"Okay," Luna replied airily as if she didn't notice anything about Hermione's tone. She then walked away.
Harry looked at Hermione for a moment. "It really bothers you that she knows more about owls than you do?" he asked gently.
"No, of course not," she said quickly. Seeing Harry look disbelievingly at her, she softened slightly. "Maybe a little," she admitted.
"Well, she IS a Ravenclaw, after all." Harry said. "It was bound to happen sooner or later that one of them would know something that you didn't. But at least she didn't hold it over you... at least I don't think she did." Harry shook his head slightly. It was hard to read Luna sometimes. He then smirked. "Can you imagine if it had been Cho?"
"Don't remind me," Hermione said, rolling her eyes, then smiling. "I know all about Post Owls and their magic... but I've never really gotten around to studying the individual species themselves. I probably know about as much as you do about regular owls themselves."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" he teased. "Fine, if it makes you feel better, I'll find you the ultimate guide to birds for your birthday, okay?"
"Thanks," she said half-heartedly, and then smiled.
About half an hour later, Pig returned after delivering a work-related letter to Gringott's for Bill. No one paid any attention to him until a loud, almost barking sound was heard. Everyone turned to see Pig fluttering madly around Hedwig and Metis. Both of the larger owls' feathers were ruffled and they were flapping their wings, as if to shoo Pig away. Metis kept trying to snap at Pig as he flew by.
Hermione turned to Ron and called across the room. "Ron, I don't think my owl likes your owl."
Ron turned and looked annoyedly at Pig twittering around. "Yeah, what else is new? Bird's bloody annoying," he said, shaking his head. Luna slowly walked over to near where Pig was zooming around, watching him fly with fascination. Hedwig and Metis, in the meantime, flew up to the top of one of the bookcases where there wasn't room for Pig to fly around above them.
To everyone's immense surprise, Luna suddenly reached out and literally snatched Ron's tiny Scops owl from the air, mid-flight. She did it so quickly, even Harry was surprised, and impressed.
"Maybe he just wants a little attention," Luna said simply. "A bird like this is probably always feeling overshadowed by the larger owls." Luna began stoking Pig's head, just as Harry often did to Hedwig. Pig immediately seemed to calm down.
"You should probably go put him away for now," Luna said as she brought Pig over to Ron, holding him out for Ron to take. Looking at her in shock, Ron simply nodded dumbly and started to head to his room. Luna followed, still holding Pig.
Right at the last moment, Ron must've snapped out of it, for he turned to Luna as they walked out the room, "Hey, Luna, you ever play Seeker in Quidditch?"
Watching Ron and Luna walk out, Harry let out a slight laugh. He turned around to Hermione. Before he could comment of what had just happened, several things happened in very rapid succession.
First, Harry heard a loud cracking noise that was vaguely familiar. He realized he was stepping on something. He heard a loud yelp, then felt his feet leave the floor... then darkness consumed everything.
Harry awoke a minute later lying on the floor, with a splitting headache and a very warm hand. Owww... he thought to himself. While his head throbbed, his hand felt very nice. He opened his eyes to find Hermione kneeling over him, looking down at him, very worried. The warmth he felt was her hand in his.
He struggled to sit upright. "What happened?" he asked weakly. Before anyone could answer him, he saw an unconscious Dobby lying on the floor. Professor Dumbledore then stepped forward.
"It seems, Harry, that in his excitement to get here, Dobby appeared literally underfoot... your foot to be exact. I'm afraid you discovered the hard way a house-elf's defensive magic. He reacted, knocking you away when you accidentally stepped on his foot. He seemed intent on beating his head against the wall when he realized what he did to you, so I had to stun him for a moment."
"Are you all right, Harry?" Hermione asked, helping him stand up, still holding his hand.
"Yeah, I'm okay," he said once he was sure his legs wouldn't fall out from under him. He gave her hand a squeeze in reassurance. She finally let go of it.
"Well, we should probably wake him up, now that I'm up," Harry said, trying to smile.
"Ennervate!" Dumbledore said, waking the elf.
Dobby opened his eyes, blinking. When he saw Harry standing over him, he immediately jumped up and then fell to his knees, sobbing.
"Dobby is most sorry, Harry Potter, sir. Dobby is not meaning to hurt him. Dobby reacted when he is stepped on... Dobby is most sorry!" he wailed.
"Dobby!" Harry shouted firmly, to get his attention. Dobby looked up with his large, tear-filled green eyes. "Did you mean to hurt me?"
"NO, SIR!"
"Was it an accident?"
"YES, SIR. Dobby is MOST sorry!"
"Then I forgive you, Dobby. You don't need to punish yourself any more."
Dobby's face lit up. "Oh, thank you, Harry Potter, sir. Dobby is feeling most better. Dobby wanted to bring you his gift, sir. Harry's Wheezy said master would be liking them. Dobby is most happy to give them. Dobby paid for them with his pay from Hogwarts."
Dobby handed Harry a box which had obviously been wrapped by someone at Quality Quidditch Supplies. Harry looked over at Ron. His ears had turned slightly red and he was looking away, trying to appear interested watching Hedwig and Metis watch him.
Harry opened the box to find a pair of red boxers with tiny gold snitches all over them. He heard a squeak of an "Oh!" right next to him. Turning, he saw Hermione walk quickly away and join Ron watching the owls. Harry felt like his face was on fire.
"Th-Thank you, Dobby," Harry said through his embarrassment. "I'll... erm... try them later."
"Dobby is having one more present for sir. Dobby is wanting to clean up for sir after the party!"
"Oh! Thank you. I'm sure that can be arranged," Harry said as he looked around the room for Molly. His eyes landed on Hermione instead. He turned back to the elf. "But only if I can pay you." Before Dobby could reply, Harry added in a whisper, "But I'll let you tell me how much to pay you. Deal?"
The diminutive house-elf considered it for a moment. "Deal," he finally agreed. "Dobby must be paid... one Sickle, sir." Harry reached down to shake Dobby's hand; his tennis ball-sized eyes began to water as he shook Harry's hand.
Harry could hear him muttering to himself as he walked away towards the staircase to the kitchen. "Sir is offering to shake Dobby's hand..."
Harry went over to join Ron and Hermione to see what was so interesting about Hedwig and Metis. He put a hand on each of their shoulders as he came up to them; both jumped.
When he turned around, Ron was snickering slightly; Hermione was still a little pink in the cheeks.
"So... did sir like Dobby's present?" Ron asked, trying not to laugh.
"Thanks, Ron," Harry said in good humor. "I'll be sure to have him give you the same thing in front of Luna at your party."
"Hey," Ron defended, "I never told him to give it to you then. I just made an innocent suggestion to him of what to give you when he stopped by earlier."
"What? He was here earlier? When was this?" Harry asked curiously.
"Oh," Ron said as if he just remembered something. "Soon after we moved in, we found Kreacher dead in his little den." Hermione gasped suddenly.
Ron looked like he wanted to say something about Kreacher or S.P.E.W. just then, but he wisely decided against it after a hard stare from Harry.
"Anyway, we couldn't get him out. Anytime anyone tried to reach in to get him, they would get shocked. Professor Dumbledore brought Dobby here to... fix... it," Ron said, not knowing how else to phrase it. He then closed his eyes as he tried to remember what he'd heard earlier.
"Dobby said that when the last member of a family died, the house-elf bound to that family died a short while later. Long enough to... put the family affairs into order?" Ron said uncertainly, still trying to remember everything. "Afterwards, all of its leftover magic sort of hovers over its body protecting it... or something like that.
"Professor Dumbledore said that was one of the reasons he brought Winky to Hogwarts," Ron explained. "Since she is now bound to the school, she wouldn't die after the Crouches did."
"But what about Malfoy's mum?" Harry chose not to mention the other female Black.
"'The family dies with the name'" Ron quoted. "Mum said that even though she was born a Black, she's now a Malfoy. And you just know that families like that would never get married without binding magical contracts... so, now... in a magical sense, she's a Malfoy and not a Black."
Hermione smirked. "So much for the sanctity of pure blood lineage."
"Yeah," both Harry and Ron agreed.
"So, what happened with Kreacher?" Harry asked.
"Oh," Ron replied, beginning to look a little uncomfortable. "Dobby asked us to give him a large knife. He then asked us to leave the room. Said it was private house-elf business. A few moments later, all of the elf heads on the wall disappeared.
"When he said we could go back in, Dobby said it was done," Ron explained. "Kreacher was gone. He then asked Dumbledore to take him back to school. He didn't want to talk for a while after that," Ron said quietly.
As the afternoon drew on, the number of guests began to dwindle. Hagrid was the first to leave, saying, "I's feedin' time, Harry. Got ter go an' feed'm befer they eat me outta house'n home." Harry, Hermione, and Ron all looked at each other, not wanting to know. The Headmaster and Professor McGonagall accompanied him, saying that they had plenty of start of term business to attend. Before leaving, Professor Dumbledore promised to return promptly at five o'clock to see them back to Wandsworth.
The six oldest Weasleys, plus Fleur but minus Molly, all decided to pay a visit to Fred and George's shop. The twins said they had some brand new items they wanted to show off before unveiling. Tonks said she had a bunch of paperwork waiting back at the Ministry with her name on it. Remus, who had nothing else do to, offered to go with her. Ginny and Luna headed to her room to talk about whatever they talked about when they talked.
With the departure of most of the guests, the drawing room once again had enough room for furniture. Molly carried all of the shrunken furniture in from the other room, then returned it all to normal size. When she said that she would head down to start cleaning up, Harry quickly pulled her aside.
"Mrs. Weasley? Do you have a second?"
"Of course, dear. Anything for you."
"I was wondering... would you prevent someone from giving me a present because you wanted to do the same thing?"
Molly looked aghast. "Of course not! Why would you think that?"
Harry was slightly embarrassed. That hadn't come out the way he intended. "That's not what I meant. What I meant is that Dobby is downstairs. He wants to clean up the house as part of his present to me. You will let him give me his present, won't you? By himself... unless he asks you for help?"
Molly looked like she wanted to object, but after a moment, she finally realized what he was trying to get at earlier. She finally relented. "Yes, Harry, dear. I will let Dobby give you his present... but only because it's your birthday." She smiled slightly.
"But I'm still making dinner for my family tonight. His present was only to clean the house. I'll fight him if I have to, to get to my pots and pans," she added with a wink. "By the way, I do hope you like your present. I've never made treacle tart before, so please let me know how it is.
"I must confess, it wasn't easy to find out what your favorite dessert was. I asked Ron, and he didn't know. I asked Ginny, and she didn't know. Fred and George didn't know either. Finally, I asked Ginny to ask Hermione. She knew, of course, so it all worked out in the end. Well, I should probably get down there and tell Dobby of our agreement." She then headed downstairs.
Harry turned around to find both Hermione and Ron come up to him at the exact same moment and begin speaking simultaneously.
"Harry, do you want-?"
"Harry, could I-?"
The two of them stared at each other, waiting to see who would back down first. Harry immediately began to laugh. "All right, who was first?" he asked, just for the fun of it.
Both Hermione and Ron again looked at each other. Amused by the stalemate, Harry decided to intervene by putting on a very annoyed face. "What do you two want?" he whined even as a smile threatened to break through.
Ron quickly turned to gaze longingly at Harry's new chess set; Hermione's focus, while just as longing, was directed at Harry's new book (well, slightly used, but Harry didn't care... it was new to him). They both then looked pleadingly at Harry.
"Yes, and yes," he answered them both. Excited, Hermione grabbed Compendium and got settled in on the old fashioned davenport while Ron eagerly opened the chess set, pulling out the pieces. He then levitated one of the medium sized tables and set it next to the davenport. Dragging a squashy armchair over from the corner, he set it on the other side of the table.
After setting up the board and taking the black pieces, Ron settled in the armchair. "Ready, Harry?" he asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Harry replied in good humor as he moved one of his quartz pawns. He jokingly wondered what it would be like to ever win a game against Ron. After Ron's first move, Luna returned from Ginny's room. She went and stood directly behind Ron's chair, watching the game intently. After two moves, he'd obviously become very aware of her presence directly behind him, and seemed to be slightly unnerved by it.
"Would you like to sit down?" he asked her uncertainly after making his move.
"Oh, why thank you, Ronald," Luna said rather dreamily. She grabbed a wooden chair from next to the writing desk that once contained a boggart and set it beside Ron's armchair.
"You know, I've never actually ever watched anyone play chess," Luna suddenly explained as she sat down. "It's quite popular in Ravenclaw, if you can believe that. I've never played myself, or even watched, but then again, I've never kissed anyone before today either, so it's been a day full of new experiences."
Harry and Ron looked up at each other, and then back down at the board. "Do you mind if I watch?" Luna asked. Harry shook his head; Ron did as well.
A few minutes later, Hermione must have found a particularly interesting chapter, for she asked Harry if he minded if she stretched her legs out to get more comfortable.
"No, I don't mind," he squeaked, and then promptly cleared his throat to resolve whatever non-existent impediment he hoped everyone else thought caused that.
Ten minutes into the game, Harry knew he was going down in defeat in record time, but it was still fun to watch and listen to the pieces shatter as they attacked and counterattacked. He never had so much fun losing. Suddenly, Hermione's voice interrupted his fun.
"Was there something you wanted, Ginny?" she asked. Harry quickly looked at Hermione and saw she was looking towards the door. He turned and saw Ginny in the doorway, looking in on the four of them.
"What? Oh. Oh, I was just wondering where all of you were," Ginny said without much energy. Harry noticed she looked a little tired.
"Hey, Ginny. Want to play some chess?" Harry offered. "I'm about six moves away from being checkmated-"
"Four," Ron corrected with a grin.
"Four moves," Harry agreed. "It'd be nice if I actually had a chance for once. What do you say?" Harry asked, smiling.
Ginny seemed to consider it for a moment. "Okay," she finally agreed, looking a little happier right away. Four moves later, Harry's king knelt in surrender to Ron's queen and Ron stood up, looking very satisfied.
"Wicked board, Harry!" Ron said in awe, casting one last, envious gaze at the quartz and obsidian pieces. "If you don't bring that with you to school, I will kill you," Ron warned.
"Oh, I'm so scared," Harry laughed back.
"Well... time to check out the leftovers," Ron decided before heading downstairs.
"You just ate two hours ago," Hermione called out incredulously, looking up from the book as Ron descended the staircase.
"Now, now, Hermione," Harry said as he turned to look at her fondly, patting her left shin, "it has been at least an hour. You know, everyone waits an hour after eating before going swimming. Ron waits an hour after eating... before eating again."
Hermione shook her head in amusement before looking back at Harry. "I just hope no one else was planning on having any leftovers tomorrow," she replied, grinning. She then ever-so-quickly glanced down at her left leg where Harry had patted it, before returning to the book.
Harry suddenly felt very guilty. I need to pay more attention to what I'm doing, he chastised himself. He'd done that simply on instinct, without even thinking. That's a good way to get my face hexed off.
Harry quickly turned away, back to Ginny, whom he found wearing an expression he couldn't quite decipher. Deciding that now was as good a time as any for a bathroom break, he asked Ginny if she'd reset the board and said that he'd be back in a minute.
After answering the call of nature and washing up, Harry left the bathroom and found Ginny standing against the wall halfway down the hall. As he started walking towards the drawing room (and by default her), she approached him. They met halfway.
"Harry?" she asked quietly, almost in a whisper. "Can I ask you something?"
Having been down this road once before with another Weasley, Harry knew how to answer. "Yeah," he said in a friendly voice.
"Well... um... I was just wondering..." Hearing the nervousness in her voice, Harry was pretty sure he knew what she was about to ask.
"Do... do you... like me?" she finally said after a deep breath. Harry stood there, feeling like a deer frozen in headlights. "Do you... think of me as more than just a friend?"
"Ginny..." Harry stuttered. He knew what to say. He just didn't know how to say it... the way he wanted to. She put her hand on his shoulder and smiled, as if hoping it would help make him more relaxed. He knew that if Hermione had done that, he'd be so relaxed his knees would probably buckle. But when Ginny did it... it didn't make things worse, but it didn't make them any easier.
"Ginny... you're my best mate's sister. You are very important to me," Harry said truthfully. Ginny held her breath for a moment. "But..." he started. Ginny's face immediately fell.
"I'm sorry, Ginny," Harry whispered after taking a calming breath of his own. "The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But I know I'd hurt you even more if I lied, or tried to ignore it, and led you on in the process."
Harry put a hand on her arm. Ginny's eyes immediately closed and she smiled wistfully. "I'm really sorry," he repeated as he gave her arm a comforting squeeze. She brought her other hand up to his and held onto it tightly. After a few moments, she opened her eyes and let go of his hand.
Harry could see her smile was genuine, even though there was pain in her eyes. "Is there anyone you're interested in right now?" she asked.
Harry hadn't been expecting that. How did he answer that? He couldn't just blurt out "Yeah, your best friend." But he was also pretty sure he couldn't lie about it either. The last thing he wanted was for Hermione to think he didn't fancy her. But, he also wasn't sure he wanted her to know that he did fancy her... at least not yet. It had only been about two hours since he himself figured it out. This is bloody confusing!
"Ginny... I... I..." Harry stuttered, trying to figure out what to say.
"No, no, you're right," Ginny interrupted. "It isn't my place to ask." Harry smiled and nodded; it was a nod of gratitude, not of agreement.
"Well..." Ginny started uncertainly, "I think I'll go downstairs and help Mum finish up putting away whatever Ron hasn't eaten," she said, putting on a labored smile. Harry smiled back.
"Ginny?"
"Yeah?"
"I really did like your present. I was just a little surprised when I saw it. It seemed pretty personal."
Ginny smiled embarrassedly. "That kind of was the idea," she admitted, turning slightly pink. She then turned to head to the staircase. At the last second, she turned back.
"Harry?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks," Ginny said, and then stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek, allowing it to linger for several seconds longer than was necessary; since he hoped it meant she was letting go, Harry didn't object.
Harry returned to the drawing room in somewhat of a daze over what just happened. Ginny had, for all intents and purposes, just asked him out, and he'd told her no. Now that he knew she wasn't his sister, he had to admit... she was quite pretty... and there was just something about her long red hair he found appealing (and Susan Bones too, now that he thought about it...).
But, just because he admitted a girl was pretty, it didn't mean he had to fancy her. And as he'd told himself earlier, there were lots of pretty girls in the world... and plenty at Hogwarts too. But none of them caused his breathing to hitch like a certain brown-haired girl did. None of them could turn his insides to goo with a simple smile, like a certain bookworm could.
It was with that exact thought Harry walked back into the drawing room and found a certain brown-haired bookworm sitting on the davenport, looking entirely too comfortable reading his birthday present... well as much as he could see of her, at least. She was now sitting with her knees up, the book resting on them; her face was hidden behind it.
Harry sat down in Ron's armchair and stared at the still-unreset board.
"So, did Ginny find you?" Hermione asked coolly from behind the book.
"Huh?" Harry asked, recovering from his goo-like state. "Oh yeah, she did. Wait. How did you know she was looking for me?"
Hermione lowered Compendium enough to look over it at him. "After you left, she said she was going to get something to eat." Hermione explained. Harry wasn't following. "When she left the room, she turned right, towards the bathroom. The staircase downstairs is to the left, Harry."
Harry smiled. "Oh yeah," he said, grinning. He couldn't see the rest of her face, but Harry thought that her eyes seemed to be missing the sparkle he had become accustomed to seeing in the last few weeks. Oh sure, now I notice that.
"What did she want?" Hermione asked in a very business-like tone, still watching from behind the book.
Harry smiled; he could not help it. It had gone so well. He'd turned her down, and she accepted it... at least she seemed to... only time would tell for sure.
Still smiling, Harry finally answered. "She... erm... she pretty much asked me out." Hermione blinked once.
"And?" she asked briskly, and then looked back down at the book. Harry smiled again and looked down at the chess board. It had gone a lot better than he'd expected. He looked back up to see that Hermione had tilted the book down slightly and was staring at him intently.
Harry smiled once again. "And... I told her... that I was sorry but I didn't feel that way about her."
Hermione quickly went back behind the book. "How did she take it?" she asked. Her voice suddenly seemed a lot brighter than it had since he'd returned from the bathroom.
"About as good as could be expected, I guess," Harry decided. "We'll just have to wait and see."
"Did she-?"
"Hermione," Harry interrupted, "do we really have to discuss this any further? I mean it just feels inconsiderate to talk about her like this."
Harry could see Hermione's grip on the book tighten for a moment, then he heard her sigh. "I'm sorry. You're right, Harry. I just got a little carried away there for a moment." She stretched her legs back out, set the book down in her lap, and looked at him. "Forgive me?"
Harry found himself getting lost in her beautiful eyes... the way they were watching him hopefully, awaiting his reply. "Always," he answered easily. The slight look of apprehension on her face immediately cleared and was replaced with a brilliant smile. Her whole face seemed to glow, though he figured that was probably just because of his new found feelings.
Harry could feel that giddy, bubbly feeling begin to return. If he wasn't careful, it would overwhelm him. It wasn't that he really cared if it overwhelmed him; he just worried about doing or saying something completely mental. He tore his longing gaze away from her and turned it to the chess board in front of him. Smiling, he looked back up.
"Want to play a game?" he asked, wagging his eyebrows and looking back at the board. Hermione looked at him for a moment, and then suddenly snapped the book shut. She set it down and moved to sit in front of the table.
"Prepare to lose, Potter," she challenged him.
"Bring it on, Granger," he replied. Hermione started the game by moving her white knight first.
A half hour later, Harry finally admitted defeat; Hermione had his king surrounded in one corner. It was the first time she'd ever beat him. Harry would like to have complained that it wasn't fair, that he'd been distracted, but that most likely would've involved explaining what (or was that who?) had distracted him.
Harry certainly wasn't ready to admit that in front of everyone yet. During the game, Ron, Luna (Merlin! I didn't even notice she was gone!), and Ginny all returned from the kitchen. Upon his return and seeing a game in progress, Ron immediately sat down in the chair next to Harry and cheered him on. Ginny and Luna, right behind Ron, went and joined Hermione on the davenport to watch the game.
As promised, Professor Dumbledore returned precisely at five o'clock. After gathering up all of Harry's presents, he placed them all in a horribly ugly, brown hard-plastic Muggle suitcase that he'd conjured. He shrunk the suitcase to literally wallet-sized, and placed an unbreakable charm on it.
"Just in case of any more landing difficulties," he explained about the unbreakable charm with a twinkle.
Hermione looked up at Metis and Hedwig, who were napping contentedly on top of one of the bookcases in the room. Pig had not made a reappearance since the earlier... incident; then again, Ron probably shut him up in his room.
"Oh," Hermione complained. "I feel bad for making them fly all the way here, only to have them fly all the way back home a few hours later. But I did want everyone to meet her."
Dumbledore turned back from Harry. "Not to worry, Miss Granger. Not to worry," he said with a smile. "It's in their nature. Flying is what they do. Well, that and other things too, of course," he added with a chuckle.
"But, as long as they're not making heavy deliveries, I'm sure they'd thank you for the chance to get out and stretch their wings," he said with absolute confidence. "A couple of owl treats, a nice mouse or two, and they'll both be right as rain."
Hermione nodded in acceptance and then walked over to the bookcase.
"Metis. Hedwig. Time to go," she called up to them gently. Neither owl seemed interested in waking up. She reached out and knocked on the side of the case, hoping they'd feel it. Evidently they must have, for the pair of them slowly opened their eyes and stared down at Hermione.
"Time to go home," she repeated. The two owls went through the motions of waking up, blinking a few more times, clicking their beaks, and flexing their wings. Hedwig was the first to be ready, for she soon hopped up to the edge of the bookcase and flew down to the table upon which they'd been playing chess earlier.
Hedwig made her way over to a dish of water that Harry conjured and took a few drinks before taking flight out the window. Metis followed her out a minute later.
"I forgot about that," Hermione admitted somewhat embarrassed. "That we can do magic now." Harry just rolled his eyes at her.
"Don't you roll your eyes at me, Harry," she warned, as she proceeded to roll her eyes at him. Harry just smiled and walked over to the Headmaster.
"Sir, if you don't mind, I did have a question for you," Harry asked.
"Just one moment, Harry," Dumbledore said, turning back to the scrap of wrapping paper he'd summoned from one of the bins.
"Portus," Dumbledore said, pointing his wand at the scrap of paper, which glowed momentarily. "Yes now, Harry. What can I do for you?"
"I was just wondering about the Statute of Secrecy, sir," Harry explained. "On how it applies to performing magic in front of Muggles who already know about our world."
The Headmaster looked over his glasses at Harry for a moment. "If you're thinking about an unannounced visit to Privet-"
"No sir!" Harry interrupted. He then had the decency to look slightly abashed for interrupting the Headmaster. "You couldn't drag me back there!" Harry assured him. "Well... maybe you could drag me back, next summer, only because I have to go..." Dumbledore smiled.
"Actually I was thinking about Dan and Emma... erm... Mr. and Mrs. Granger, I mean, sir. Would we get in trouble if we did magic in front of them, sir? After all, they already know about our world. How does the Statute apply there?"
"Ah, a very good question, Harry," Dumbledore replied. "And I have a very good answer. Since Mr. and Mrs. Granger... Dan and Emma... already have full knowledge of our world, you would not be in violation of the Statute of Secrecy by performing magic in front of them. I would advise against doing it outside the house, however, or even in their back yard, just to be safe.
"If the two of you were to, say, conjure up dinner in the kitchen... or practice your Patronuses in the living room, you would be fine. But if you two decided to use a color-changing charm to skip repainting the house... then we might have a problem," the Headmaster said with a chuckle.
"But what about at my trial?" Harry asked suddenly, confused. "They said I was in trouble for casting my Patronus in front of Dudley."
"Harry, we could sit here all day discussing the merits of the charges Cornelius had brought against you last year, and not have much to say at all." Both Harry and Dumbledore shared a smile.
"So, if there's nothing else... I think it's time we got you two on your way. Miss Granger, are you ready?" the Headmaster called over Harry's shoulder. Harry turned quickly to see her walk up to him, smiling as usual. Harry felt his stomach swoop as she walked up to him.
He turned back to Dumbledore. "Say goodbye to Dobby for me, sir, if you would, please."
"Goodbye, Harry Potter, sir," Dobby said suddenly behind Harry, causing both Harry and Hermione to jump in surprise. "Dobby is seeing you at Hogwarts. And Harry's Her... Herminony... Hernimony... Harry's girl friend too."
Hermione suddenly swallowed wrong and started coughing. As Harry tried patting her back to help settle her, Dobby began to look fearful.
"Is Miss hurting? Can Dobby help?" Harry looked back at Hermione to see her shake her head slightly.
"What did you say?" Harry fearfully asked Dobby. Honestly, he quite enjoyed hearing the sound of that, until he realized Hermione and Professor Dumbledore were standing right next to him. Harry looked over at the Headmaster. He seemed to be quite fascinated by the switch for the old fashioned gas lamps in the room, and appeared oblivious to everything else in the room.
"Dobby is sorry, sir, but he is having problems with Miss's name. So since Miss is a girl and is sir's friend, Dobby calls her Harry's girl friend."
Harry didn't dare look at Hermione. "Oh..." he said, realizing what exactly the little elf said. "It's just that that sounds like something else that means something entirely different. You should be careful saying things like that. The same would probably apply to 'boy friend' also."
Dobby looked confused. "But Dobby must show respect for Harry Potter and his friends. Sir freed Dobby. And he cannot saying her name," Dobby looked like he was about to start crying.
"Dobby," Hermione interrupted. "If you cannot pronounce my name, you may call me Miss. Is that acceptable to you?"
Dobby's bat-like ears immediately perked up. "Oh yes, that is most agreeable. Dobby will always be nice to Harry's Miss. Thank you."
"Goodbye, Dobby," Harry and Hermione both said, as the overjoyed house-elf disappeared with a crack.
With Dobby gone, Hermione turned to Harry and smiled slightly and sighed. "Well, better than him calling me Harry's Grangey," she said. Professor Dumbledore then suddenly reappeared, holding out the scrap of wrapping paper for them to take.
"On the count of three..." he started, as they took the paper out of his hand.
"One."
As he stood there, surreptitiously watching Hermione out of the corner of his eye, Harry suddenly realized he never even asked Ron about his O.W.L.s. He wanted to know how his other friend did as well, to see what classes they would or wouldn't have together.
He groaned to himself. He even forgot to talk to Professor McGonagall about his timetable. They wouldn't be able to do their school shopping tomorrow. Well, at least he wouldn't. He vaguely wondered how he could've forgotten to do all of that. In his peripheral vision, he could see Hermione standing beside him. Oh yeah. That's how, he thought, smirking to himself.
"Two."
Harry closed his eyes in preparation. He was amazed at how easily he could feel Hermione's presence standing right next to him, even though his eyes were closed. Or maybe it was because his eyes were closed. Either way...
"Three," Harry heard the Headmaster say as he felt the familiar tugging sensation behind his navel.