We bring you the 'premiere' of our new fic! It's always interesting to write something out of the DDverse, but we really enjoyed doing this one!
There are some twists and turns in this one and some chapters you'll probably be over the moon about and others you'll probably want to strangle us over.
But we do think you guys will enjoy it- it'll be updated every Thursday! Please review and let us know what you think!!
Padma Patil loved being a Prefect. In addition to having the right to walk around the school at all hours, she loved having that bit of power to hold over some of her fellow students.
That night alone she had already come upon three couples in dark classrooms and sent them back to their respective houses with a warning.
She wasn't even above deducting points from her twin sister Parvati's house. It didn't matter that Parvati was her sister. She had been breaking the rules and for that she had to be punished. The sooner her sister realised that there were more important things than books and makeup, the better off she'd be.
She turned the corner on the third floor and rolled her eyes when she found yet another couple snogging for all they were worth. "Miss Brown, Mr. Weasley," Padma said clearing her throat loudly.
Ron broke apart from Lavender Brown and glared at her. "Padma--"
"Its twenty minutes past curfew," Padma reminded them. "You both should be in bed."
Lavender rolled her eyes. She was best friends with Parvati but didn't always get along with Padma.
"Ten points from Gryffindor," Padma said primly.
"What?" Ron asked, outraged. "Bloody hell, come on Lav. I bet we can find somewhere else."
"Would you like 10 more?" Padma asked folding her arms. "Because I could do it, you know..."
"FINE," Ron snapped. "We'll go back to the common room..."
"Come on, Won-Won," Lavender cooed taking Ron's hand. "She can't bother us in the common room."
"Right," Ron grinned goofily at her. "And we can pick up... right where we left off..."
Padma rolled her eyes as she watched Ron practically pant after his girlfriend. She'd have to make sure Hermione Granger knew what sort of conduct her fellow Gryffindors were up to. But then again, Hermione Granger wasn't as dedicated to her prefect duties as I am, Padma thought smugly.
"You'd better head right for the common room," Padma called after them. "Or I WILL be deducting more points."
"Can I tell her where I'd like her to shove her points?" Ron whispered to Lavender.
"Long as you tell me where I can put mine," Lavender replied coquettishly, making them both laugh before scurrying off.
Padma continued on her rounds and started to mentally prepare her day tomorrow. She had double Potions in the morning followed by Charms and then Ancient Runes.
She spied a figure in the corridor ahead of her. "Hey!" she called out. "It's after curfew. You should be in your dormitory!"
Whoever it was apparently didn't hear her or decided to ignore her as they turned the corner.
"Stop!" Padma called out.
She huffed impatiently as she followed the slim figure. "I SAID stop!"
The figure abruptly stopped and Padma tapped them on the shoulder. "What house are you in?"
The figure hunched up and slowly began to turn around.
Padma couldn't see the person's face and she rolled her eyes. "Please pull off your hood..."
"You don't want me to do that," the figure said in a raspy, dark tone.
Something about that voice sent shivers up and down her spine. "Uh..."
Padma felt something was very, very wrong in her gut. She began to slowly back away from the shrouded figure. "Just go back to your house, okay? I won't take any um... points off this time."
"What if I were to take something from you instead?" the voice said grabbing her arm.
"What?" Padma tried to pull away. "Stop it!"
"It's easier if you don't fight it," the figure said in a tight voice.
"Who are you?" Padma struggled. "Let GO of me!"
In the struggle, the figure's hood fell and Padma gasped when she saw who it was. "No! No!"
"It's easier if you don't fight it," the person said again in the same raspy tone.
"Please," Padma pleaded. "Let me go!"
"You have seen me," the figure's eyes glowed coldly. "I cannot let you go..."
Tears prickled at the edges of Padma's eyelids as she felt the figure's cold, hard gaze on her. They leaned in as if they were going to kiss her and then everything went completely black.
*** *** ***
If there was one thing Sirius Black knew about his godson it was when he was angry. One of Harry's weaknesses was that he wasn't very good at hiding his emotions. When he was angry, he showed it by stalking around or, as he was today, completely taking out his frustrations on a punching bag in the makeshift gym.
Sirius had stayed away from him for the past hour letting him let off some steam, but it was long past time to talk about this. Regardless of how he felt, Harry had to do this. There was no one else.
"You plan on stopping anytime soon?" Sirius asked from the doorway.
Harry ignored him and pummelled the bag even harder.
"We could go into Diagon Alley this afternoon and pick up your supplies," Sirius suggested. "McGonagall sent over a list..."
"Fuck that," Harry snapped. "I'm not doing this."
Sirius sighed. "So you don't care that there have been seven attacks since the start of the school year?"
"Why can't they just send someone else in?" Harry asked, punching the bag again. "I don't want to go to school- you've already taught me everything I need to know!"
"Yes, well I'm starting to wonder if perhaps you shouldn't have been there all along," Sirius said thoughtfully. "You have no friends your own age..."
"Who needs that?" Harry grumbled.
"You, for a start," Sirius said throwing a towel at him. "Lily always wanted you to go to Hogwarts, Harry."
"Don't guilt me into this Sirius," Harry warned his godfather.
Sirius sat down on a bench and looked thoughtfully at his godson, who he'd raised and trained since Harry was 11 years old. He would have had him sooner, if the entire wizarding world hadn't believed he was a murderer. But with the help of Dumbledore and Harry, Sirius had cleared his name and became Harry's legal guardian and best of all, took him away from the horrible Dursleys.
Harry wiped the sweat off his face before pushing his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose. "I'm just not a school type of guy," he complained. "Why do I have to go to classes? Why can't I just go there and find out what's going on then leave?"
"Because Remus feels that you'd have better luck if you went in there as a student," Sirius explained. "If you go in there as another Auror, no one's going to tell you anything, are they?"
Harry didn't want to admit that Sirius was right.
"You're the best person for the job, Harry," Sirius said. "And I've taught you everything I can. It's time for you to go out on your own."
"This just feels beneath me," Harry muttered.
Sirius chortled. "Beneath you? Harry..."
"Come on Sirius," Harry said. "Back me up on this. You and I work best together, not apart."
"We do, but on this, we're going to disagree," Sirius said. "I agree with Remus, Harry."
Harry glared at him wordlessly.
"Seven students have been attacked in less than two months time, Harry," Sirius said gravely. "If you could do something to stop that, wouldn't you?"
Harry sighed. "You know I would."
"Then, what's the problem?" Sirius asked. "Hmm? You're not a coward, Harry. And you've never been one to back away from a challenge."
The younger man paced across the room. "You know I'd never admit this to anyone else..."
Sirius nodded.
"I'm scared shitless," Harry confessed. "I've never worked alone before."
Sirius had a feeling that this was what it was. He also knew how hard it was for Harry to admit something like that. "You know they wouldn't have offered you the assignment if they didn't think you could do it. You're the youngest Auror ever, Harry."
"I guess," Harry ran his hands through his hair, making the strands stand up on end.
"And with any luck, you'll have the case wrapped up in no time," Sirius said realising that he was finally breaking through. "And you never know, you might meet a girl or two..."
Harry finally cracked a smile.
"Ah-ha," Sirius said. "There's that ever illusive smile. I had nearly forgotten that you had teeth."
"Sod off," Harry said, but his tone was lighter.
"So, you're in?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah I'm in," Harry replied. "Why'd you have to bring up girls, Sirius?"
"I knew that would be your Achilles' heel," Sirius said with a grin.
"It's all your fault you know," Harry returned.
"My fault?" Sirius asked. "How do you figure that?"
"You're the one who taught me the finer points of the female anatomy," Harry grinned.
"Who better to learn from than me on that?" Sirius asked. "I taught your father and it's only right that I should pass that on to you."
"Remus said my dad taught you," Harry said with a straight face.
"Bollocks," Sirius scoffed.
"I think I believe him," Harry said, forcing his lips not to twitch.
Sirius shook his head. "James always took his side, too."
"Just promise me you'll be around if I need you," Harry said, turning to his godfather.
"Dumbledore has promised that you'll have Floo access," Sirius said. "And I'll be around whenever you need me."
"What about Snuffles?" Harry asked with a grin.
"No, he's retired for awhile," Sirius said glaring at him.
"I like that dog," Harry said, grabbing a bottle of ice cold water. He gulped it down quickly and got another bottle.
Sirius again shook his head. "Get cleaned up and we'll get your supplies. You're scheduled to arrive at Hogwarts tomorrow morning."
Harry nodded, still a bit grudgingly. "I'm still a bit nervous about working alone."
"You won't be completely alone," Sirius said. "The Ministry's contacted another student there. She's supposed to contact you once you arrive."
"She?" Harry's ears perked up in interest.
Sirius nodded. "She."
"Do you know who it is?" Harry asked. "Is she cute?"
"All I know is her name and surprisingly, they didn't give her measurements or her likes and dislikes," Sirius said dryly. "But, her name is Hermione Granger. She's Muggle born and very bright according to Remus."
"Hm," Harry said noncommittally.
"And I imagine you'll find out all you need to know tomorrow morning," Sirius said before leaving the room.
"Just great," Harry pulled off his sweaty shirt and tossed it into the corner. He quickly showered before pulling on some clean jeans and pulling his old trunk out of the closet.
He wondered how this was going to work. Wouldn't his fellow students think it a bit strange that Harry Potter was just now attending school? He supposed it would all be cleared up tomorrow when he met with Dumbledore.
He was still wondering this the next afternoon when he was sitting in Dumbledore's office with Sirius and the legendary Headmaster.
"It's good to see you again, Harry," Dumbledore said peering at him over his half-rimmed glasses. "I feel as if I'm welcoming you home."
"Thank you sir," Harry replied, sitting up straight.
The Sorting Hat had already sorted Harry into Gryffindor which would make his job a lot easier considering his partner in this case was also a Gryffindor.
"You'll be moving into the Seventh Year boys' dorm with Ron Weasley, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas and Neville Longbottom," Dumbledore explained.
"I just have a question," Harry replied. "How am I supposed to explain the fact that I'm just now joining them?"
"We've taken care of that," Dumbledore replied. "As far as your fellow students are concerned, you'll always been here..."
"I beg your pardon?" Harry asked raising an eyebrow.
"A simple memory charm," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Placed on all the students, modifying their memories. To them, you've been a student all their years here."
"Except for Miss Granger?" Harry asked.
"You'll have to talk to her," Sirius told him. "Her memory hasn't been modified, for obvious reasons."
"I just hope she realises that I'm in charge," Harry said leaning back in his chair.
Sirius suppressed a grin and Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, his eyes still twinkling.
"Where is she?" Harry asked.
"In classes right now," Dumbledore answered. "You'll start yours tomorrow. Today you can get acquainted with the castle."
Harry nodded, relieved that he wouldn't be cooped up in some classroom.
"I'll be around anytime you need me," Sirius told his godson.
"Thanks, Sirius," Harry said shaking his godfather's hand.
"Good luck Harry," Sirius said. "I know you'll figure this out."
"Including the girls?" Harry whispered with a grin.
"There's hope," Sirius said clapping him on the back.
"Come Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said once Sirius had gone. "I'll take you to your dormitory. I think you'll like it very much."
Harry nodded and followed the headmaster down the spiral staircase. He'd heard stories over the years from Remus and Sirius about Hogwarts. It was a bit surreal to think that he was now actually here in the place where his parents had met.
"This is the Great Hall," Dumbledore said. "You'll be having all your meals here."
Harry followed him inside where a handful of students were seated at the four long tables. Some were studying and others were just chatting with friends. As Harry walked by, someone grabbed his arm.
"Harry, mate," a tall red-haired boy said. "If you see Lavender, you don't know where I am."
"What?" Harry looked at him in confusion.
"She's gone completely mental on me," Ron explained looking over his shoulder to make sure his girlfriend was nowhere around. "She...she gave me a necklace."
"She gave you a necklace?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "You wear necklaces?"
Ron reached into his pocket and pulled out the golden necklace that Lavender had given him last night. "Don't take the piss, Harry. I can't wear this and she got all mad when I told her so..."
"My Sweetheart?" Harry snorted.
Ron glared at him. "Some best mate you are. I covered for you with Susan that time..."
"Susan?" Harry asked, his eyebrows going up. "Oh uh... yeah. Don't worry, I won't tell um... Lavender that I saw you."
"Excuse us, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said. "But I have something I need to discuss with Mr. Potter. And you really should be getting to your Charms lesson. You know how I feel about skiving."
Ron turned red all the way to the tips of his ears. "Right Professor," he said, hastily stuffing the necklace back in his pocket and gathering his books.
"Ronald Weasley," Dumbledore explained to Harry as they continued their walk. "As far as he's concerned, you've been best mates since the first day on the Hogwarts Express. His younger sister Ginny is a Gryffindor, too. And though the romantic entanglements at this school can be a bit confusing, the Lavender he was referring to is his girlfriend, Lavender Brown, also in Gryffindor."
"Maybe I should write this down," Harry commented dryly.
Dumbledore chuckled. "You'll pick it up on your own, Harry. Of that, I have no doubt."
"I hope so," Harry kept his eyes peeled for anyone who might be Hermione Granger.
Dumbledore led the way down the corridor and pointed out certain rooms and passageways as they went. "And this is the Charms class...I see Mr. Weasley finally made it..."
Harry peered through the crack in the door and saw Ron sitting in between two girls who were about as different as night and day. One girl had long blonde hair and kept gazing dreamily at Ron. The other was a brunette with bushy hair and a serious look on her face as she furiously scribbled down her notes.
"That would be Miss Granger on his left," Dumbledore told him quietly.
Harry groaned inwardly. Didn't she look like a barrel of laughs, he thought as her hand shot up in response to a question from the professor.
"And that would be Miss Brown on his right," Dumbledore continued.
Harry didn't think he'd mind getting a "My Sweetheart" necklace from her. She was gorgeous.
"Come with me," Dumbledore said. "I'll take you to the Gryffindor House."
Harry nodded and took one last look at Lavender Brown before following Dumbledore.
"The entrance to the tower is behind this portrait," Dumbledore indicated the picture of a rather large woman on the wall. "You'll give her the password, which for this month, is Lemon Drop."
"Lemon Drop," Harry repeated.
"Thank you dear!" the woman in the portrait trilled and it swung forward.
Dumbledore stood back to allow Harry to go through first. "Thank you, my dear lady."
"Thanks," Harry echoed, his eyes opening wide as he looked around the common room.
The common room contained a lot of comfortable arm chairs, a fireplace and tables.
"You'll be the only student to have access to the Floo Network," Dumbledore told Harry. "Please do not let any of the other students know about this, Harry."
"Okay," Harry agreed.
"Let me show you to the boys' dormitory," Dumbledore said.
"Great," Harry followed the headmaster up the stairs.
Dumbledore explained that the staircase leading to the girls' dormitory was under a spell. "If you try to step on it, the staircase transfigures itself into a slide...."
"Whatever happened to trust?" Harry asked jokingly.
Dumbledore smiled as well. "Unfortunately not all the students are so trustworthy."
"My father ever get caught on that slide?" Harry asked.
"More often than not," Dumbledore revealed.
Harry imagined his dad and Sirius trying to find some way around it. He followed Dumbledore up the staircase to the boys' dormitory and into the room that would be his.
"A bit messy," Dumbledore said with a grin.
"Yeah," Harry looked around and shook his head. "That my bed over there?"
Dumbledore nodded. "As you can see, your things were already brought up."
"Cool," Harry unlocked his trunk.
"I'll leave you to it," Dumbledore said. "I'm sure Miss Granger will help answer any questions you have."
Harry's mouth turned down a bit as he thought about the bushy haired girl in the classroom.
The least Remus and Sirius could have done was set him up with someone who would be worthwhile to be around.
"I'll leave you be," Dumbledore patted his shoulder. "Welcome to Hogwarts, Harry."
"Thank you, sir," Harry said quietly.
Once the headmaster had gone, Harry flopped back onto the bed. "This is just bloody great," he said sarcastically, looking up at the canopy that covered his bed.
He didn't know how long he lay there, but a few minutes later, he heard footsteps approaching and then the sound of voices.
"Yes, yes," Ron was saying to someone who was just outside the door. "I'll tell him. But I don't see why he'd want to see you..."
Harry sat up as the redhead came inside. "Hi... Ron." he remembered.
"Hermione wants to see you," Ron told him throwing his books down on the bed.
"Tell her I've got a headache," Harry replied. "I'll talk to her later."
"That's what I told her," Ron said with a grin.
"You...you shouldn't give Hermione such a hard time," another boy said.
Harry looked at the slightly overweight boy with brown hair who lingered in the doorway. "Why not?" he asked.
"Yeah, why not, Nev?" Ron asked.
"You've always been mean to her," Neville replied. "After you two saved her from that troll in the first year, she tried so hard to be friends with you both."
"She's mental," Ron said dismissively.
Neville shook his head. "It's not worth my time to try and convince you that she's really not so bad."
"I'm going to see if Ginny wants to take a walk," another boy said.
"That's my sister," Ron called out to him. "Dean, you better not do anything!"
"Ron I've been seeing her for a month now," Dean replied.
Harry noticed Neville seemed to not be that happy with this news. Neville sat down on his bed and drew back the curtains.
"So..." Harry got off his bed. "What are you going to do with that necklace?"
"I guess I'll wear it when I'm with her and hide it when I'm not," Ron said.
"Tell him what happened on the way back from class!" a boy with an Irish accent said to Ron.
Ron groaned. "I dropped the bloody thing and Loony Lovegood picked it up for me. She said that she thought it was...all wrong for me..."
"Loony Lovegood?" Harry asked.
"Don't give me that," Ron said defensively. "She said she didn't mind me calling her that so..."
"She fancies Ron," the same boy said with a grin.
"Shut it, Seamus," Ron said glaring at him.
Harry wished he'd at least been given some time to figure out who each student was. He had no idea who most of these people were.
Harry stood up, eager to get a feel for the castle on his own. "I'll--I'll catch up with you lot later."
"Where are you going?" Ron asked. "If you hit up the kitchens, grab me some cream puffs."
Harry wasn't sure how to get to the kitchens, but he nodded as if he knew. "Right, see you."
He ambled around the castle for the next hour or so, just taking it all in. He passed many a student that seemed to know him and he wished he knew all their names.
He was heading down another corridor when a strong pair of hands pulled him back.
"What part of I needed to see you did you not get?" a female voice said as she pushed him against the wall.
"Hey," Harry grabbed her wrists. "I don't take orders."
"Let me guess, you give them?" Hermione asked trying to break free from his grasp.
"That's right," Harry clasped both her wrists in his. "You'd better get used to it."
"So I suppose you don't need any help?" Hermione asked her brown eyes boring into his. "Look, I'm not all that crazy about you being here either, you know. I was doing just fine without you."
"I'm so sure you were," Harry said, finally releasing her. "Which is why they had to send me in."
"Oh please," Hermione hissed. "You need to get over yourself."
Harry sent her a patronizing smile. "Jealous that you couldn't do it on your own?" he asked.
Hermione glared at him. He really had some nerve. She was doing just fine on her own. She was still new to all of this, but she was very capable of handling this on her own. And she had a number of leads. Finding out that she was going to get help had pissed her off, but she'd tried to tell herself that she'd have the chance to meet the great Harry Potter and find out about the boy behind the name in all those books. Clearly, he wasn't someone worth getting to know. "At least I'm not lost," Hermione countered.
"Oh that one hurt," Harry clutched his chest mockingly.
"Do you know where you are?" Hermione asked folding her arms. "Hmm?"
"I'm in a corridor," Harry said with a smirk. "It's my first bloody day here. Get off my arse."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Fine. Have it your way. I'm late for a prefect meeting as it is."
"A nerd meeting more like," Harry said. "We'll need to meet up later and you'll fill me in on what you've found out."
"Yes, well tonight is a bit difficult," Hermione said ignoring his insult. "I have plans."
"Too bad," Harry answered. "The sooner you realise I'm in charge here, the better off things will be. We'll meet up after dinner."
"No," Hermione said through clenched teeth. "We won't. I told you I have plans at The Three Broomsticks."
"Little Miss Perfect is going to sneak out of the castle to go to a pub?" Harry asked.
"I don't have to answer to you," Hermione glared at him.
"I'll meet you there tonight after dinner," Harry said glaring right back at her. He hoped that Neville bloke didn't fancy this girl. She'd eat him alive.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Fine," she huffed.
"Fine," Harry said turning to walk away.
"You do realise that you're heading toward the broom cupboard," Hermione called out to him .
"Maybe I'm meeting a girl in there," Harry retorted.
Hermione rolled her eyes again at him before walking away.
Harry certainly wasn't looking forward to working with her over the next few months. But hopefully, if she was as smart as everyone said she was, that they would solve it and he could leave as soon as possible.
*** *** ***
"You told me you liked the necklace," Lavender Brown pouted at her boyfriend. "You promised me you'd wear it everywhere and NEVER take it off. And I always have to remind you to put it on!"
"Lav," Ron said exasperatedly. "Guys don't... wear necklaces, okay?"
"They do if they LOVE their girlfriends," Lavender hissed at him. "Which you obviously don't!"
Ron rolled his eyes and pulled the necklace out of his pocket.
Lavender smiled sweetly at him, her anger melting away. "You're going to wear it then?"
"Yes," Ron said shortly, fumbling with the clasp. He hoped he'd break it.
Lavender kissed him with such force, she nearly knocked him out of the chair.
Despite his misgivings about the stupid necklace, Ron did have to admit that Lavender Brown was one hell of a kisser.
Lavender breathlessly pulled away from him. "I have to go. I promised Parvati I'd go with her to visit Padma. Waste of time, really, since she's just lying there in a coma, but oh well..."
"I feel kind of bad for her," Ron said. "I mean, we were sort of mean to her that night she--"
"I know," Lavender said with a frown. "But we weren't to know, Ron."
"Yeah," he answered. "I'll catch you later in the common room."
Lavender gave him one last kiss before she left, which earned her a warning glare from Madam Pince.
Ron stuffed the necklace back into his pocket and pulled a book towards him, hoping the librarian wouldn't come over and lecture him.
Luna Lovegood had unwittingly overheard his argument with Lavender Brown and she was currently debating whether or not to go over and talk to him. The truth was Ronald Weasley had always fascinated her.
Ron had only been reading for a few minutes when he felt someone staring at him. He looked up and saw Loony Lovegood gazing at him from a few tables over. "What?" he frowned.
She stared at him a few more moments before she answered. "What are you reading?"
"A book," he deadpanned.
Luna giggled as if it was the funniest joke she'd ever heard. "I'm reading about Nifflers."
"That's great," Ron looked back down at the tome he was paging through. "I'm sure it's very interesting."
Luna didn't catch his sarcasm. She stood up and gathered her belongings. Ron looked on in horror as she settled down across from him. "You can borrow it when I'm finished, if you want."
"No thanks," Ron looked around nervously, not wanting to get spotted with her. "I'm really not interested in Nifflers."
Luna smiled. "You know they are strongly attracted to anything shiny, so I'd keep them away from your necklace."
Ron glared at her. "Don't talk about that stupid thing."
"If you don't like it, you should just be honest with her," Luna said softly.
"I don't need relationship advice," Ron closed his book.
Luna looked down at her book. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," he replied, feeling somewhat bad at being so snappish with her. "It's just... weird with Lav. You can't explain things to her."
"You two don't do much talking though," Luna said boldly.
Ron had to smile at that. "It's probably a good thing."
Luna smiled back at him. "But sometimes it's good to have someone to talk to about your dreams...how you feel..."
"Yeah..." Ron said, starting to feel uncomfortable again- he hated it when Luna got all dreamy and weird. "I have to go. Curfew's coming up."
"Me too," Luna said closing her book and placing it in her bag. "We could walk part of the way together..."
"I... err..." Ron searched his mind desperately for an excuse but couldn't think of one. And Dumbledore had warned the students to walk in groups as much as possible. "Fine..."
"Thank you, Ronald," Luna said softly.
"Sure," Ron said, stuffing his books in his bag. He hoped she wouldn't start spouting off about some other weird creature where anyone else could hear.
They didn't say much as they began their walk out of the library. To Ron's relief, he didn't see any of his friends along the way.
"Have you any idea what you want to do when you get out of Hogwarts?" Luna asked conversationally.
"Not really," he replied.
"Quidditch?" Luna suggested.
"Sure," Ron nodded. "Playing Quidditch could be fun. You did a good job when you called matches last year."
Luna beamed at him. "I had such fun doing that. I hope that I'll have the chance to do it again this year."
Ron nodded. "That'd be nice."
"I have a confession to make," Luna said. "I didn't know that much about the game when I first started."
"Really?" he asked. "It's not really a tough game to understand, but you've got people that badmouth it like Hermione Granger does and then other people think it's stupid and don't bother."
"I find it fascinating!" Luna said enthusiastically.
Maybe she wasn't so bad after all. Ron chanced a smile at her. "I'm glad you like it."
"I especially love watching you play because I can tell how much you enjoy being up there," Luna said.
"I really do," Ron said eagerly. "I know at first I was rubbish, but I practised a lot over summer hols and I think I've gotten really good."
"Well, I look forward to seeing you play," Luna said smiling at him. They'd reached the stairway that led to the Ravenclaw tower.
"Cool," Ron said. "Well um... guess I'll see you Loo- Luna."
Luna nodded. "Thanks for walking with me. You have a good night, Ronald."
"You too," Ron watched her go for a moment before heading for the Gryffindor Common Room.
He had just made it through the portrait hole when he nearly collided with someone. "Hey---Harry? Where are you going?"
"What?" Harry asked. "I'm just... going out for a bit. Why?"
"Its curfew," Ron reminded him. "And unless you want to be on the business end of Hermione's hissy fit..."
"I couldn't care less what Hermione says," Harry interrupted. "And I can handle myself, thanks."
Ron shook his head. "Okay, it's your funeral."
Harry turned without another word and disappeared into the darkening corridor. Once he was a somewhat safe distance away from the tower, he pulled his invisibility cloak on- a gift from his father- and headed towards the statue Sirius said would lead him into the village through a secret passage.
He'd been in The Three Broomsticks before with Sirius and Remus, but this was the first time he'd ever been here on his own and he wondered if perhaps he should have done something to make himself look older.
"Too late now," he said, pulling the cloak off as he left the Honeydukes basement.
The village was quite crowded and it took him longer than he would have liked to manoeuvre his way toward the pub.
Once inside, he scanned the large dimly lit room for Hermione. His eyes narrowed when he didn't see her right away. "She was probably lying," Harry said to himself.
He moved over to the bar thinking he'd wait for her there. Harry motioned for the bartender, but his hand froze in midair as he caught sight of the hottest woman he'd ever seen.
"Damn..." his eyes opened wide as he moved them over her curvaceous figure. This one made Lavender Brown look like a hag.
Her long, lustrous brown tresses hung loose down her back and Harry stared transfixed as she stood up and looked his way. She had on a black dress that seemed to hug every curve and thigh high boots that made her legs seem like they went on for days. To his utter amazement, she was walking in his direction.
"So you came after all," she gave him a dark look.
Harry looked over his shoulder to make sure she wasn't talking to someone else. There was no one behind him and he couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face. "I'd have been here sooner, if I'd known you were going to be here."
She rolled her eyes. "I told you I'd be here when we talked earlier today. Why am I not surprised you already forgot our conversation?"
Harry gaped at her. No, he thought, this wasn't...it couldn't be....
"Hermione?" Harry asked.