Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and her various corporate partners. Keldorn Firecam is owned by BioWare, Atari, or whoever it is that owns the rights to Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn these days, although I have taken several liberties with his character. I own nothing, and I am making no profit by my little ventures into the shadowy realms of fanfiction. I do so purely for enjoyment. I would, however, like to thank JKR for allowing us all to play in her sandbox.
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Harry Potter and the Knight of the Radiant Heart
XIII
The next few weeks passed by without incident. Quidditch practices generally went well except for when Ron became too self-conscious and would then go off his game, which made Harry a little worried about how his best mate would fare in front of the entire school during a real match. Hermione stayed on in her role as assistant to the team captain, taking notes during practice and generally helping Harry run things. He was quite sure that having her help kept him from overdoing things and demanding too much from his players like Oliver Wood used to do.
Neville joined the swordsmanship lessons and was doing rather well. Keldorn treated the newcomer much like he had initially treated Harry; making him do nothing but footwork before eventually letting him have a go at the target dummy. Neville didn't argue, but instead followed the old knight's orders as best he could. Harry was slightly disappointed that he hadn't yet had a chance to spar with Neville, but he supposed they would do so when Keldorn deemed them ready.
Professor Slughorn held an invitation-only party for several students near the beginning of October, a gathering which the students quickly began referring to as "the Slug Club." Apparently the portly professor liked spending his time rubbing elbows with influential people and helping to create connections between them. The students that were invited to the gathering either had prominent parents or other family members, or Slughorn expected them to grow into rather important members of society themselves. Harry, Hermione and Ginny all received an invitation to the first party. Ron didn't.
Initially Harry flat out rejected the idea of going to a party so that he could be fawned over by his Potions professor for Merlin only knew how long. But Hermione saw the party differently and really wanted to go.
"Just think, Harry," Hermione had argued, "we might meet some really interesting people there."
"No thanks," Harry responded.
"Oh, come on, you might enjoy yourself."
"Not interested."
"But I won't have nearly as much fun if you're not there," she said, switching tactics.
"I'm sure you've had fun without me around before."
"Maybe. But I'm certain I'll be all sad and lonely without you there next to me."
Harry hesitated a bit at the pleading look that Hermione was giving him.
"But…"
"Please?"
"Oh alright!"
"Thank you, Harry!" Hermione said with a smile as she leaned up to give him a quick kiss on the check.
And so it was that Harry had a smile on his face when he agreed to go to the Slug Club.
The gathering itself wasn't nearly as bad as Harry feared. Professor Slughorn only spent a few minutes fawning over Harry when he arrived before switching to fawning over Hermione and generally giving each of the students in attendance much the same treatment. Harry had to admit that the meal was very good; roasted pheasant and potatoes, along with rice and mushrooms served with elf wine. Harry had never really had wine before, but he found the drink provided by Professor Slughorn to be rather good.
As he sat down for dinner, Harry was surprised to see Keldorn taking his seat right next to him.
"Sir Firecam?"
"Good evening, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger," replied the knight in greeting.
"Good evening, Sir Firecam," responded a smiling Hermione.
"What are you doing here?" Harry continued his questioning, unable to fathom that the old knight would want to attend something like a Slug Club party.
"Well, I suppose I'm preparing to dine with those present. Is there something odd about my being here?"
"Well, I guess not," answered Harry, "but I just didn't take you for the type to go to dinner parties."
Keldorn smiled and let out a short chuckle.
"Believe it or not, Mr. Potter," the knight replied, "but my status as a paladin and even more so as a knight has seen me at quite a few 'dinner parties' as you call them. Although, back in Athkatla, we more often called them 'banquets.'"
"Really?" asked Hermione, "tell us about them."
"Well, very often some lord or nobleman or another would find a reason for hosting a banquet in his palace. He would of course invite his friends and family, but etiquette demands that he should also invite the rest of the nobility, as well as the leading members of society. I might not have told you before, but the Order of the Radiant Heart is quite prestigious, and as such my fellow knights and I regularly received invitations to the banquets held in Athkatla and the surrounding countryside. Professor Slughorn's gathering this evening is a lot like the banquets of my homeland, but on a much smaller scale of course."
"But why would you want to go to a party with a bunch of stuffy noblemen?" asked Harry, still at a loss to understand why a warrior would be spending his time rubbing elbows with simpering politicians.
"Why wouldn't I, Mr. Potter? Just as etiquette demands that certain people are invited to a banquet, so too does it demand the acceptance of such invitations unless there is a good reason not to. And besides, accepting someone's graciously offered hospitality is the right and good thing to do. Accepting a gift or an offered place at table gives honor to the giver. Rejecting an offer, on the other hand, can be seen as a dire insult, something that you should not do lightly or without due cause. Remember that, Mr. Potter."
This was something that Harry had never really thought about before. Why did life have to be so complicated? If he didn't want to go to a party, why couldn't he just say he wasn't going without everyone getting offended?
"It is important, however," continued the knight, "to treat all such invitations in the same manner. I would accept invitations from rich and poor, nobleman and peasant alike. As a paladin and a servant of the Light, I would not want to give the impression that the wealthy are worthy of my attention while the common folk are not. I can truly say that some of the more gracious and hospitable hosts I have met have been very poor, and yet they still invited me to their table in thanks for some service."
"But wouldn't your time as a paladin be better spent out in the world, fighting the Darkness?" asked Harry.
"There are more ways to fight the Darkness than swinging a sword," answered Keldorn. "A kind word or a small act of charity can sometimes do more to drive back the Darkness than an entire legion of soldiers. The true battleground is within," Keldorn said as he tapped his chest above his heart. "Helping the Light to shine within a man or woman's heart is a greater victory than any deed that can be accomplished with the force of arms. Sometimes the mere presence of a truly good person at a banquet or a dinner party can be enough to turn the tide."
Harry sat in pensive silence and thought about the old knight's words while Hermione went on to interrogate Sir Firecam about the different customs of his homeland. Harry supposed there was a lot about life that he just didn't know. He never realized how important things like going to the Slug Club could be. He looked around the table to see that everyone was having a good time for the most part. Ginny was laughing with a Ravenclaw witch that Harry didn't know; Cormac McLaggen had his head bent, whispering with a seventh year Hufflepuff, and Professor Slughorn himself had the rapt attention of the students seated nearest to him as he told some boisterous story.
When he thought about it, Harry had to admit that he was having an alright time. The food was good and he did get to meet Gwenog Jones before they were seated. Slughorn did gush over him being the Boy Who Lived, but it wasn't too much, and in general the Potions Professor found something to gush over everyone about. Besides, he was with Hermione who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself and Harry found her feelings to be infectious. Perhaps if he didn't start out looking at the party as something to be avoided he would have been having an even better time.
Sometime later, Slughorn skillfully grabbed everyone's attention and began a single conversation for the entire group by addressing Keldorn from across the table.
"Sir Firecam," began the portly Potions professor, "I was wondering if you might tell us all a bit about your homeland?"
"Tell us what it's like to be a knight," added Ginny.
"I'm afraid, Miss Weasley, that most of what makes up being a knight is not all that exciting, and the moments that are exciting would not make for very pleasant dinner conversation," replied Keldorn.
"Have you ever slain any dragons?" asked a Ravenclaw that Harry didn't know.
"Perhaps," Keldorn answered with a small smile.
"Come now," said Slughorn, "there must be something you can tell us."
"Well, I suppose I could tell you a story," responded the knight who now had every face at the table turned in his direction. "Several years ago, my squire Ajantis and I were in a small village a few days' journey west of Athkatla in the Umar Hills called Imnesvalle. We were there to seek out the cause of a few mysterious disappearances that had plagued the townspeople. The mayor of the sleepy little place thought that the blame could be laid at the feet of a band of Ogres that had taken up residence in the caves just north of the village. It was a natural assumption since Ogres are, for the most part, quite bloodthirsty creatures. So we set out to find them.
"It wasn't very difficult, as Ogres do not tend to be very subtle. Ajantis wanted to attack on sight and slay the beasts for their obvious crimes. I however, insisted that we speak with them first, for while Ogres are very dimwitted creatures, they are able to converse. It was a good thing we did so too. As it turns out, the Ogre clan had experienced the same type of mysterious disappearances that were plaguing the town.
"In the end, after the mystery was solved, that particular clan of Ogres turned out to be a peaceful bunch, and I was even able to help them establish a trade agreement with the town. To this day they are the only clan of Ogres in all of Amn that openly trades with humans. I believe that the moral of such a story would be to always try for a peaceful solution before resorting to violence."
"So what was making people disappear then?" asked Cormac McLaggen.
Keldorn hesitated for a moment before answering.
"The culprit turned out to be a Shade Lord, a type of undead spirit that was preying upon the living in an attempt to gain power. Ajantis and I sent it back whence it came."
Harry shivered at the memory of another undead spirit inhabiting the body of his Defense Against the Dark Arts professor during his first year.
"Where is your squire Ajantis now?" asked Hermione.
Keldorn smiled sadly.
"He now rests in the Light, having died some years ago. He was a good man, and became a fine paladin. He fought valiantly, but ultimately fell in battle. But I do not think that is a tale to tell here."
Talk of death effectively put a damper on the conversation for a moment until Slughorn was able to skillfully change the subject. All in all, once Harry moved past his initial negative reaction to being part of the Slug Club, Harry found that he had an enjoyable evening.
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The days slipped by as Harry fell into a routine of classes, Quidditch practice, swordsmanship lessons with Keldorn and Neville, and spending the little free time had had left over with his friends. However, that time was increasingly spent with just Hermione as Ron seemed to always be hanging around with Lavender.
The last weekend in October saw Gryffindor playing against Slytherin in a rather brutal Quidditch match. The Lions were flying well for the most part, the sole exception being one Ronald Weasley. Ron had started off alright, but once the Slytherins launched into their chorus of "Weasley Is Our King" his confidence and subsequently his concentration began to fall. Soon nearly every shot taken by the Slytherin Chasers was making it through the goals. It was only Harry's desperate dive for the Snitch that managed to save the game for Gryffindor, and just barely at that, the final score being 320 points for Gryffindor over Slytherin's 300.
As the Gryffindor team made their way back to the tower, Harry lagged behind alongside a dejected Ron. The red haired wizard hadn't said a word since the end of the match and Harry was worried for his best mate. They had just entered the common room when Ron finally turned to Harry.
"Harry, mate," began Ron, "I think I…"
However, whatever he was going to say was cut off by the shout of an enthusiastic Lavender Brown.
"Ronny!" the blonde witch screamed as she threw herself at the young wizard, her arms clasping around his neck. Ron in turn had to wrap her around the waist to keep her from falling to the ground.
"You did wonderfully!" said Lavender.
"Are you daft?" asked Ron. "Did you actually see the game? I was pathetic!"
"Nonsense," replied Lavender. "You just need some more confidence. And I know just the thing to give it to you."
"What's that?" asked a confused Ron.
"This."
Lavender then proceeded to fuse her lips to Ron's. The hoots and cheers from the rest of the house seemed to have no impact upon the two sixth years that were apparently trying to see how far down each other's throats they could reach.
Harry turned away from the sight to look around the common room. His eyes fell upon Hermione only to catch her staring at him. Her face became bright red as she quickly looked away from him. Harry made his way over to her, pushing his way through his housemates who were loudly encouraging Ron and Lavender.
"Hey," Harry said when he finally made it to Hermione's side.
"Hi," Hermione somewhat shyly greeted him in return, her face still bright red. Harry was confused by Hermione's suddenly timid manner; that wasn't really like the girl he knew so well.
"Er… so, Ron and Lavender, huh?" said Harry in an attempt to break the awkwardness.
Hermione looked over at the energetically snogging couple before glancing back at Harry; her face became even redder if that was possible. She cleared her throat before speaking.
"I told you those two were going to get together," Hermione replied. "You should listen to me more often."
"I always listen to you," said Harry.
"Pfft," Hermione huffed with a roll of her eyes, "sure you do."
Ginny chose that moment to come bounding over to them with a grin plastered on her face.
"Oh Hermione! Isn't this great?" the short redhead asked. She looked at Harry somewhat playfully for a moment before turning back to Hermione, "so far, Operation Quidditch is proceeding according to plan."
"Ginny!" growled Hermione through clenched teeth.
Ginny, however, was unfazed.
"Something the matter, Hermione?" replied the younger witch.
"What plan is this?" Harry asked in confusion.
Hermione once again reddened and inspected her shoes while Ginny smiled mysteriously.
"Oh nothing. We girls have merely been in collusion about getting certain wizards to open their eyes."
"Ginevra…" Hermione once again growled, albeit this time with much more danger laced in her voice.
"What?" Ginny asked innocently. "I was just going to tell dear Harry here that we, the lovely and beautiful witches of Gryffindor, have been plotting to get Ron and Lavender together, which seems to have worked rather spectacularly. Wouldn't you agree, Harry?"
"Err, yeah, I guess so," replied Harry. "They certainly seem to be out to prove that they're quite the couple."
"No, not about Ron and Lav," said Ginny who then threw her arm around Hermione's shoulders. "Don't you agree that Hermione and I are lovely and beautiful witches?"
Harry sputtered and choked before answering.
"Err… I mean, yeah, err, yes," Harry said as his face started to heat up.
"Yes what?" asked Ginny with predatory smile on her face.
Harry shook his head and gathered his bearings before saying what he knew Ginny wanted to hear.
"Yes, Hermione and you are very lovely and beautiful witches."
"Hear that, Hermione?" Ginny asked as she turned her devious grin to the witch next to her. "I might have to snag this one up before someone else takes him. Oh wait, I already have a boyfriend."
Hermione didn't respond, but instead took on a crimson complexion once again.
"Seeing Ron and Lavender go at it like that makes me wonder where Dean is," continued Ginny. "I could use a good snog myself. How about you, Hermione?"
Hermione simply pushed the redhead away from her before lifting her nose into the air.
"I think I've had just enough of this," she announced. "Harry, I'll see you later." With that, Hermione turned and made her way up to the girls' dormitory.
"Alright, Gin, what was that all about?" asked Harry.
"Oh noting," she responded. "Sorry, Harry, I've got to go find Dean. Bye!"
Girls. Harry thought as he shook his head. He had no idea what Ginny was up to, but it probably wasn't going to end up in his favor. As the redhead went off to find her boyfriend, and as the cheering in the common room became louder as Ron and Lavender continued their show, Harry's eyes wandered over to the empty girls' staircase.
Girls.
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The first Saturday in November was set for a visit to Hogsmeade, which found Harry and Hermione in the Entrance Hall waiting for the remaining member of their trio before setting off for the village. After waiting for a few minutes, they finally spied the tall wizard running over to them with his now constant goofy grin on his face.
"Hey Harry, Hermione," Ron said by way of greeting.
"Ron," said Hermione.
"Right then," said Harry. "Let's go."
"Err… about that," replied Ron, "sorry, but I can't go with you two today."
"What?" Harry asked, dumbfounded.
"Sorry, but Lav and I've decided that this would be our first date," answered Ron.
"You mean Lavender decided," responded Harry.
"Well…"
"Fine," interrupted Hermione with a roll of her eyes. "Go on. Shoo. Lav Lav's lips might be getting cold without you."
"Oi! There's no call for that now," said Ron. "Besides, maybe you should find yourself a bloke for a snog or two. Do you some good, it would."
"Oh would it?!" Hermione asked with a glare as she drew her wand. "Do you have any other advice for me, Ronny?"
"Err… nope," said the young wizard as he backed away before turning to Harry. "Have fun today!"
Ron then turned tail and ran before Hermione decided that she wanted to put her wand to good use.
"You going to use that on me?" Harry asked while gesturing to the wand that was still clenched in Hermione's hand.
"Oh don't be ridiculous," she responded as she put her wand away and turned to face Harry. "I guess it's just the two of us then."
"Looks like."
They rode in comfortable silence and arrived to see the small wizarding village overrun with students.
"Well, I guess you'll want to go to Scrivenshaft's," said Harry.
"Actually," began Hermione with a bit of color coming to her face, "I was thinking of going to Gladrags."
"Oh. Right then, let's go."
The two arrived at the clothing store and entered. Harry was a bit confused because Hermione had never really wanted to go clothes shopping before, at least as far as he could remember. She normally only wanted to check out the stationary shop and the bookstore.
"So, err, what were you looking for in here?" asked Harry.
"Well," Hermione answered without looking at her companion, "Ginny told me that since the riding class started, Gladrags has started carrying some different outfits to wear for horseback riding. I thought I'd check them out."
"Oh."
They separated and Harry wandered about the store for a little while. A few minutes later Harry was looking at a pair of boots when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and his eyes widened when he saw Hermione dressed in a short, white jacket along with a pair of tight, red, riding breeches. She turned to the side to let him get a good look at her profile before she looked at him over her shoulder.
"Well, what do you think?"
Harry coughed and it took him a moment to calm down to the point where he could speak.
"Err… what?"
Hermione smirked at him.
"I said, what do you think? Do you like the red breeches?" she asked as she slowly spun in a circle. "I wanted something that was, you know, 'Gryffindor.'"
Harry was finding it hard to concentrate, especially with the way that the tight breeches accentuated Hermione's behind.
"Err… I think you look great. I mean, they look great."
Hermione continued to smirk at him.
"Thank you. Now wait here," she said as she slowly walked away from him with what Harry thought was a bit of extra wiggle in her step. "I want to know what you think of the yellow breeches too."
Harry's mouth went dry at that. In the end, after she modeled both the yellow and the red pair of breeches for him once again, Harry told Hermione that she should take both. He also insisted on paying for them, a gesture to which Hermione only put up a token resistance.
They left the clothing shop and Hermione threaded her arm through Harry's as they made their way down the street.
"What do you say we get something to drink?" Hermione asked.
"Sounds good."
Thus they made their way into the Three Broomsticks, which was as crowded as ever. They found an empty table for two and ordered two butterbeers when Madam Rosemerta came over.
"Thank you for shopping with me today, Harry," Hermione said once they had sipped their drinks.
"My pleasure," Harry responded.
Hermione smirked at him once again.
"I bet it was," she said softly.
Harry didn't know how to respond to that, so he just stayed silent. After a moment, He spoke up to change the topic.
"I wonder what Ron and Lavender are up to. You think they ever made it down to Hogsmeade or are they taking advantage of the empty common room?"
"For the sake of the first and second years, I would hope not," responded Hermione.
Harry grinned.
"Yeah, no need to scandalize the munchkins."
Hermione grinned back at him.
"Don't worry; I'm sure Lavender has him well in hand."
Harry laughed out loud at that.
"I can't believe you said that!" replied Harry.
Hermione blushed.
"I didn't mean it that way…"
"But still…"
"Let's not talk about Ron and Lavender," Hermione said.
"Why not?"
"Because. What's wrong with that? Don't you like spending time just with me without worrying about Ron?" Hermione asked while pouting at him.
Since when did Hermione start pouting?
"Of course I like spending time with you."
"Good."
They lapsed into silence once again. A moment later, Harry felt something nudging against his foot. When he saw the coy smile on Hermione's face, he realized that it was her. So he nudged her back, and with full blown smiles they both started a little game under the table. It was fun.
Sometime later, just after Harry had ordered a second round of butterbeers, he noticed Keldorn sitting at the bar, laughing alongside Hagrid. He nodded in their direction.
"Look. Hagrid's over at the bar with Sir Firecam."
Hermione glanced over before turning back to Harry.
"Those two do seem to spend a lot of time together," she replied.
"Yeah, looks like the old knight's found a friend."
Hermione smiled, "I'm happy for him. It must be difficult being so far from home."
"Yeah," said Harry, "just think about it. Being pulled into a different world, where no one knows you or anything about you. I'd never even heard of a paladin before he showed up."
A look of surprised realization appeared on Hermione's face as Harry was speaking.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Harry!" began Hermione in the hurried, excited voice that she often used when she had finally figured something out. "Oh my! No one knows anything about Sir Firecam! Could that be it? Come on, we've got to go see Professor Dumbledore!" she exclaimed as she jumped to her feet and pulled Harry out of his chair.
"Right now?" Harry asked in confusion. "Why does no one knowing Sir Firecam mean that we have to run off to Dumbledore? I was kinda having fun here…"
"Oh I know. I was having fun too, Harry. Don't worry, we'll do this again. But this is important."
"Alright," Harry acquiesced as he threw some coins onto the table. Hermione then latched onto his arm and pulled him across the room, out the door and up the road toward the castle.
"This had better be worth it," grumbled Harry as they trekked back to the castle.
"Don't worry, Harry," Hermione replied, "it is. I promise you'll understand when we see the Headmaster."
"Oh alright."
Harry was a bit disappointed that his day in Hogsmeade with Hermione was being cut short, but he supposed it could be worse. He did get to watch her try on those tight breeches after all.
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AN: No real remarks to make this time. Thank you all for the comments. Please leave a review on your way out. And thanks for reading!