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
VII
Later that evening, Harry and Hermione made their way down to the Great Hall for dinner.
"So how long are you staying?" Harry asked as they passed through the corridors.
"I suppose I'll leave either tonight or tomorrow."
"Oh," Harry responded, a bit dejectedly.
"Coming here was kind of a spur of the moment thing. I didn't even bring a change of clothes with me."
"Well, I suppose you have to go back home anyways, spend time with your parents and all that."
"Would you rather I stayed?" Hermione questioned.
"Well, err… I mean, it has been a bit lonely around here, what with everyone gone. Dumbledore and McGonagall are around, but I don't really fancy hanging around with them too much. I've spent a lot of time with Hagrid and Sir Firecam, but, well, I have to admit, it would be nice to have a friend around."
Hermione smiled at him.
"Well, I'll at least have to go home to get some things, and I suppose I'll need permission from Professor McGonagall, but I think I could manage to pay you a visit."
"But don't you want to stay with your parents?" Harry asked a bit confusedly. He couldn't really fathom that anybody who actually had parents wouldn't want to see them all the time.
Hermione looked away.
"Don't worry, they'll be fine."
They arrived at the Great Hall and entered. They passed by the long, empty house tables and made their way to the staff table. With so few people currently in the castle, everyone was invited to sit together during meals at the same table. Professor McGonagall and Sir Firecam were already present, but Dumbledore's chair was conspicuously empty.
The old knight rose from his seat and politely bowed his head as the two students approached.
"Good evening, my lady," he said, addressing Hermione.
"Good evening, Sir Firecam, Professor McGonagall. I'm sorry that I didn't give you a proper hello earlier, but I was a bit preoccupied," Hermione said with a quick, sideways glance at Harry.
"I trust that everything is settled in that regard then?" McGonagall asked, her eyes skipping back and forth between the two Gryffindors as everyone took their seats.
"Err… yes," answered Harry, "everything's fine now."
"Ha!" laughed Sir Firecam, "I should hope so. After the walloping that this young lady gave you earlier, I would fear for your sanity if you didn't mend things right quick. Even the most dimwitted of fools knows to keep his skull intact."
Harry and Hermione both flushed crimson while McGonagall raised an eyebrow in question. They were saved from further embarrassment in front of their Head of House by the arrival of Hagrid.
"Evenin' you lot," He greeted as he pulled his massive chair up to the table. He then spotted Hermione at the table and broke into a smile. "Hermione! What're yeh doin' back here at the castle so soon?"
"Oh you know," the young witch replied, "someone has to keep Harry out of trouble."
"Ain't tha' the truth. Right, Keldorn?"
"I would have to agree," replied the old knight as he returned to his meal. Harry merely grumbled under his breath as he filled his plate.
"Professor McGonagall," began Hermione, "I was wondering, would it be alright for me to come and stay at the castle this summer?"
"And just why, Miss Granger, would you want to do that?" countered the Deputy Headmistress.
"Well, we do have N.E.W.T.-level courses starting this fall and I figured I could use the library to get a head start. I could also start my research into the enchantment project that we talked about last year. Besides, Harry mentioned that it's a bit lonely here with everyone gone. I figured we could keep each other company."
McGonagall looked back and forth between the two teenagers.
"I trust nothing untoward would be taking place in Gryffindor Tower during your stay?"
Harry was a bit confused by that statement, but Hermione seemed to recognize what the professor meant as she turned a bright shade of red.
"I… of course not!" replied Hermione, "I mean, we're not…" Hermione gestured back and forth between herself and Harry while trying to find the right words. "We're just friends."
Oh! thought Harry as he finally cottoned on to what McGonagall was referring to. Now it was his turn to do his tomato impersonation.
"Very well. You'll need permission from your parents of course. And I'll have to speak with the Headmaster before making a final decision. But I have no reason to believe that he would object. Students have stayed over the summer before in order to work on special assignments. You'll also have to abide by all the normal rules, including curfew, and will require permission as well as an escort should you wish to leave the grounds.
"And just so we're clear, Miss Granger and Mr. Potter, if I detect anything going on that I would deem to be improper, you can kiss your chances of being Head Girl or Quidditch Captain goodbye. Am I understood?"
"Yes, professor," the two embarrassed teens responded in unison.
Great, thought Harry, I hadn't even thought of Hermione that way before. Good luck getting that out of your head now. And we'll be staying in the tower by ourselves too. Bloody hell!
Dinner went on in silence for a while. The two students were too embarrassed to really say much, while Hagrid and Sir Firecam seemed highly amused by the situation and were content to watch the teenagers squirm in their seats. Eventually, Hermione had had enough and decided to move the conversation onward.
"Sir Firecam," she addressed the old man, "when you introduced yourself to me, you mentioned that you were a paladin and a knight. What exactly did you meant by that?"
The question caught Harry's attention and he looked up and over to the old man. Harry hadn't really given Sir Firecam's status much thought. To Harry, being a knight either meant you were a Muggle who had been honored by the Queen for some kind of achievement, or you were a soldier that wore armor and carried a sword. It probably had something to do with horses as well, but it didn't seem all that important. Harry had no clue what a paladin was.
"Well, Miss Hermione, a paladin is a warrior who has been consecrated in the Light."
"What do you mean by 'consecrated'?" the young witch asked.
"Someone who is consecrated is set apart; they are entrusted with special blessings and graces by the Light. The actual consecration of a paladin takes place during a ritual wherein the Light is invoked and called down upon the candidate, filling him or her, and transforming him into an instrument and servant of the Light."
"'Transforming?' Is there an actual change that takes place?" Hermione continued her interrogation.
"Yes," replied the knight. "The Light grants its paladins special blessings, abilities and benefits unknown to others. There are of course duties and requirements that go along with consecration as well."
Hermione looked ready to ask another question but Harry beat her to it.
"What is the 'light' that you keep talking about? I've heard you mentioned it before, several times, in fact," he asked.
"The Light is the source of all life, of all creation, of everything that is good. But it is more than just a source; it is alive, it is truth and mercy and faithfulness and above all, it is charity and love."
"So it's some sort of divinity then?" questioned Hermione.
"Well, I don't know if I would use that word. Where I come from, the false gods, demons who are really slaves of the Darkness, are sometimes referred to as the 'divine ones' by their subjects. We tend to avoid that word due to its associations."
"And what is the Darkness, then?" McGonagall interjected into the conversation. "Is it the opposite of the Light? Two forces holding each other in balance?"
"No," Sir Firecam answered definitively. "The Darkness is not equal to the Light. It is not a balance. The Light is the creator; the Darkness is a part of creation that has become warped, twisted and perverted into evil. You see, the Light created a whole hierarchy of beings, we men and women fall somewhere in the middle of that order. Above us are the luminous guardians of the heavens, beings of radiant power who live closest to the Light. Long ago, the highest, the greatest of these rebelled against the Light. He was not content to serve his brethren as the Light intended, and so he and those he had seduced were cast out of the Light to forever after dwell in Darkness. The demons now live only to destroy, to sow hatred, lies and evil. They cannot harm the Light itself, so instead they try to corrupt or destroy those who are of the Light."
"So, yeh're some sorta holy warrior, fightin' this Darkness, then?" asked Hagrid.
"I believe that sums it up nicely, Hagrid."
"That sounds a lot like some of the religious creation myths that exist here in this world," Hermione observed. "How do you know that the Light really exists? And if it does, do you think it exists in this world too?" It seemed to Harry that Hermione's inherent curiosity had found a new specimen to examine during her stay at the castle for the summer.
"Well," replied the knight with a smile, "I should think it obvious; after all, I was able to heal your injuries through the grace of the Light."
"Right, but perhaps what you would call 'the Light' in your world is just what we would call 'magic' here," Hermione argued.
"That could very well be the case, Miss Granger," said Albus Dumbledore. Everyone was startled by the voice of the newcomer and turned to see him standing a few feet away from the table.
"Please forgive my eavesdropping, but this is a fascinating topic, and I did not wish to disturb the conversation. I would like to note, however, that in our own investigations of the multiverse, it seems that what we might call magic is treated and can even work differently in other universes. I think it likely that our magic is related to Sir Firecam's Light."
"But magic isn't alive," countered Harry.
"Isn't it?" responded Dumbledore as he took his seat at the table. "In truth, what is more magical than life itself?"
"Indeed," continued Keldorn, "Further evidence would be that I have felt the presence of the Darkness here as well. Your so-called Dark Lord reeked of it during our brief battle. Some of the spells that he cast were like dark holes opening into the void."
"We do speak of the difference between everyday magic and the dark arts for a reason after all," Dumbledore said. "It is not just the intent of the spell that matters, as some would have you believe; some magics are dark in themselves. Using them twists your soul, deforming you and binding you to evil."
"In any event," said Keldorn, "we paladins vow to defend the good people of the world from the encroachment of the Darkness and its slaves who, because of their hatred, constantly try to tear down whatever is good. Most paladins operate on their own. Those who recognize that they are called to serve seek out a master who forms them and when and if he deems them ready, consecrates them. However, in my homeland, there is a special order of paladins: the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart. Over three thousand years ago, the founders of our Order, seven paladins who were so immersed in the Light that their hearts were said to shine from within their bodies, banded together to fight the Darkness as one. Those of us who are found worthy to be admitted to this Order are known as the Knights of the Radiant Heart."
"Fascinating," commented Hermione with a gleam in her eyes. "Imagine, three thousand years of history…"
"Ha!" laughed Harry. "Sorry everyone, but Hermione was eyeing Sir Firecam like she would a first edition of Hogwarts: A History."
"I was not!" protested the witch while she took on a shade of red.
"Don't worry, my girl," said the knight, "I'll look through my things later on. Perhaps I can find something interesting for you to read."
"Now you've done it," laughed Harry as Hermione turned back to the knight, her brief indignation forgotten, "Hermione and a book that no one in the world has ever read before. Well, it was nice knowing you for a little while, Hermione!"
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Hermione stayed the night in Gryffindor Tower and left the following morning. She promised Harry that she would return soon, probably the day after next with permission from her parents to remain at the castle for the summer.
Harry spent the morning doing sword work with Sir Firecam. He refused to call it 'sword fighting' as there wasn't any actually fighting. The old knight seemed content to have Harry practice his footwork for what must have been at least an hour before moving on to poking the dummy with his wooden sword. Actually learning how to use a sword seemed to have little to do with the swashbuckling seen in the movies.
That evening he wrote letters to Ron, Neville, Luna and Ginny, apologizing for avoiding them during the last week of school and letting them know that he was staying at Hogwarts for the summer. He kept the letters short, merely wishing them a pleasant summer holiday, and sent Hedwig off to make a round of deliveries.
Hermione returned to the castle as she promised with her school trunk in tow. Harry went down to meet her at the gates so that he could help her carry the trunk up the pathway to the castle. Hermione smirked when he moved to pick up the heavy container and pulled out her wand.
"We're at Hogwarts, Harry," she said as she levitated her trunk. "We can do magic here, remember? Although the thought was very sweet of you."
They quickly fell into a routine over the next few days and weeks. Harry would spend the mornings with Keldorn doing sword work. Harry was surprised and amazed when his teacher changed things up a bit a few days in and had him begin to whack the dummy with the edge of the wooden sword instead of merely stabbing it all the time. Harry thought he was doing rather well, but the old knight was always able to find something wrong with his technique.
After a while, Harry's thighs stopped burning from constantly being in his on-guard stance, and his arms got used to bearing the weight of the sword and shield. He figured that he was probably in better shape than he'd ever been before, not that that was really saying much. Hogwarts did provide a first-class magical education, but it left a lot to be desired on the physical side of things. Casting spells could be physically demanding as it took up a lot of energy, but it didn't exactly help build muscle tone or endurance. And riding a magical broom for Quidditch didn't exactly require physical fitness either.
Hermione spent her mornings reading either in the library, or if she felt like it, out on the grounds while Harry practiced what she teasingly referred to as "poking the wooden dummy with his overgrown stick." Harry had tried to get her to join him in the sword lessons, but she had categorically refused, citing her need to prepare for N.E.W.T.s or the reading that had to be done.
"Harry, if you want to spend your time learning to sword fight, that's fine, just leave me out of it. I'd rather read a good book during my time off. After all, Harry, I'm a lover, not a fighter."
Harry wasn't really sure what to make of that statement.
Hermione did tell him that she found the book that Keldorn had loaned her to be absolutely fascinating. The Codex Luminis, as it was called, was part history, part moral code of conduct, and part theological treatise. Hermione was enthralled by the strange and foreign culture that she found within its pages, and often had to be cajoled by Harry into taking a break for lunch.
The two friends spent their afternoons out on the grounds, either visiting with Hagrid or wandering about. After everything that had happened at the end of the previous school year, including their frenzied revision for O.W.L.s, even Hermione was happy to have a bit of time to relax.
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About half-way through July, Harry approached the Headmaster after dinner one night with his desire to hold a memorial service for Sirius. Dumbledore agreed and so late one night down by the lake, Harry gathered along with Hermione, Dumbledore, Hagrid, McGonagall and Keldorn to remember his godfather. Hagrid had built a sizable bonfire that burned brightly and reflected off the glassy surface of the water.
They decided not to invite anyone else in order to keep word of the gathering from getting out. Sirius' status as a wanted criminal was never overturned and they didn't want anyone to start asking any unwanted legal questions.
Dumbledore, McGonagall and Hagrid all took a moment to say a few things in memory of Sirius. McGonagall surprised Harry with the fondness with which she spoke of one of the Marauders' infamous pranks.
"I never told him, but I thought that it was simply marvelous when Sirius and his friends charmed all of the suits of armor in the castle into Gryffindor red and gold after we won the Quidditch Cup during his sixth year," the normally stern Deputy Headmistress said wistfully. "And for the week that followed, whenever someone tried to return one of them to normal, all of them would merely start to sing the Gryffindor fight song."
After they had all finished speaking, Harry cleared his voice.
"Sirius was my godfather, and even though I barely got to know him and hardly spent any time with him, he was the closest thing to a real family that I've ever had. Sirius, I hope you're in a better place now. I'm going to miss you. And I'm sorry."
With those simple words, Harry waved his wand and a small envelop address to Sirius Black floated over to the bonfire and was consumed by the flames.
"Eternal rest, grant unto him, we pray," began Sir Firecam, "and let perpetual Light shine upon him. May his soul rest in peace. Amen."
Hermione simply held Harry's hand through it all.
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Harry awoke bright and early on the morning of July thirty-first. He was excited for the day, not only because it was his sixteenth birthday, but also because a few of his friends were coming to Hogwarts to celebrate with him. They would be arriving for lunch and then staying for a few hours in the afternoon.
Harry rose from bed and quickly went through his morning routine. Bounding down the stairs, he was met by an excited Hermione Granger.
"Happy birthday, Harry!" she exclaimed as she practically jumped onto him to give him a hug. "How does it feel to be sixteen?"
Harry laughed. "You should know, you've been sixteen for almost a year now."
"Yes, well… are you excited to see everyone?"
It seemed to Harry that Hermione was more excited for his birthday than he was.
"Sure, it should be fun."
The two Gryffindors went down to breakfast and then made their way outside for Harry's daily appointment with Sir Firecam. All the while, Hermione kept up her happier than usual demeanor.
"What's got you so cheerful today?" Harry asked as he set up the wooden dummy for his training session.
"Can't a girl just be happy that it's her best friend's birthday?" Hermione responded with a smile.
"I suppose."
"Besides, I guess I'm just looking forward to seeing everyone. Not to say that I haven't enjoyed the last few weeks just you and me, because I have, but I think it will be nice to catch up with the others. You may or may not know this, but I am a girl, and you, Mr. Potter, are sorely lacking when it comes to girl-talk."
"I'm well aware that you're a girl, Hermione. And besides, isn't it a good thing that I can't do girl-talk?"
"Maybe."
Hermione seemed to drop the conversation, so Harry let it slide. Keldorn showed up a few moments later, but instead of his normal clothing and scattered pieces or armor, he was wearing what looked like a thick, quilted jacket as well as a padded glove on his right hand.
"Good morning, Harry, Miss Hermione, I trust you are well rested?" said the old knight in greeting.
"Good morning, sir," responded Harry while Hermione simply waved.
"I thought we might progress a bit further today, if you can manage not to trip over your own two feet too much during the footwork, that is."
"Sounds good to me," responded Harry.
Hermione conjured herself a simple, wooden stool as Harry picked up his sword and shield and took his guard position. He noticed, however, that the witch hadn't yet produced a book to read.
"Erm… aren't you going to read or something?" Harry questioned her.
"Oh, I thought I would just watch this morning. See if there's anything worth-while to observe," replied Hermione.
"Alright then."
Harry managed to make it through the round of footwork drills with minimal correction needed. Keldorn eventually halted the exercise and instructed Harry to put down his weapons. Harry did so carefully, having learned his lesson about not taking proper care of his equipment.
The old man then reached into a small pouch on his belt and pulled out another thick, quilted jacket like the one he was wearing.
"Oh my!" exclaimed Hermione, "do you have an Undetectable Extension Charm on that pouch?" she asked in a moment of unrestrained academic curiosity.
"Well, I'm not sure what you would call it here," responded the knight, "but where I am from, we simply call this a 'Belt of Many Things.' Its pouches are enchanted to have many times more the carrying capacity of normal belt pouches. Most paladins use them due to our itinerant nature. If you are simple enough in your lifestyle, you can carry everything you own on your very person this way."
"That's amazing!" the young witch replied, "would you mind if I took a look at it while the two of you are practicing?"
In response, the knight simply detached one of his other pouches and tossed it to Hermione.
He then handed the jacket to Harry and instructed him to put it on. It was a bit of a struggle for Harry as the jacket was fastened by a series of straps that went up the center of his back. In the end he had to divert Hermione's attention from the magical pouch for a moment and get her assistance. Meanwhile, Keldorn retrieved two padded, wicker helmets from his belt along with another padded glove.
"Be sure to thank Professor McGonagall the next time you see her for making this equipment for us. She is quite good at transforming one thing into another."
He then put on one of the helmets and instructed Harry to do likewise, also handing Harry the protective glove.
"Right," began the knight. "I think you've spent enough time working on your fine control of the blade to move on. Today you will start learning to parry your opponent's attacks. Obviously, using your shield is the best option, but it is necessary to use the sword for defense as well. There are several different parries that you must learn, just as you've learned several different ways to strike your opponent.
"Which parry you use is dependant on where and how your opponent attacks. If he attacks in-line, you need only deflect his blade enough so that the point will miss. Wildly swinging your sword or shield to batter his out of the way merely wastes your energy and leaves you open to attack…"
Keldorn spent the next twenty minutes or so explaining and then demonstrating different ways to move and position the shield and then the sword in order to parry an opponent's attacks. The parries each had a particular, odd name like 'Sixte,' 'Quarte,' and 'Tierce.' Keldorn would attack Harry and then call out the proper parry for Harry to use in response. They started off rather slowly, but after about half an hour, they gradually began moving faster.
Harry was often too slow with his parries, which he learned meant that the knight would follow through with his attack and hit him. He was grateful for the protective clothing and for the fact that the knight was clearly holding himself back, but the hits still stung a bit. As always, Keldorn demanded that Harry's form and technique were perfect and gave a constant stream of corrections. Harry also found that he needed to remember to keep his feet in position and not give in to the temptation of letting his legs straighten.
Hermione split her attention between watching Harry and examining the knight's magically extended pouch.
"Right, that's enough for today," said the knight as the sun moved toward midday. "Take the sword and shield with you and practice your footwork, blade control and parries as often as you can. The only way to learn is through repetition. Now go clean yourself up and get ready for your party."
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A short while later, Hermione and a freshly showered Harry made their way down to Hagrid's hut since the Gamekeeper had graciously offered to host the small birthday party. The kind half-giant had two long picnic tables set up outside, one for the guests to sit and eat at, with the other serving as a buffet and was covered with a wide selection of different foods. There was fried chicken, hamburgers, sausages, potato salad, pasta, several bowls of different types of crisps and baked beans, to name a few of the dishes available as well as several different types of beverages. Harry guessed that Hagrid had once again talked the House Elves into cooking for the gathering.
They arrived just in time to see several heads of red hair come around from the other side of the hut.
"Harry!" exclaimed Ginny, who then ran over to give him a quick hug. "Happy birthday!"
"Alright, Gin, let the man breathe," said Ron as he approached. Once Ginny had relinquished her hold, the youngest male Weasley slapped Harry on the back and said, "Happy birthday, Mate!"
Harry was also treated to a suffocating hug from Mrs. Weasley as well as a handshake from the Weasley patriarch before he was ambushed by the twins.
"Harry!"
"The little brother we never had," began the twins, taking turns speaking,
"Sixteen years old,"
"My, my, time goes by so fast, can you believe it Fred?"
"Wait a minute, I thought I was Fred."
"No you're George, I'm Fred."
"No, I was George yesterday, that means today I get to be Fred."
"But I want to be Fred; everyone knows he's the handsome one."
"Boys, behave," interrupted Molly Weasley, "don't make me regret bringing you two along."
"So how's the summer going at Hogwarts, Harry? Hermione keeping you locked in the library all day?" Ron asked with a smile. That question earned him a glare from Hermione and a smack to the back of the head from Ginny.
"Don't mind him," said Ginny, "he's been even more of an idiot since he decided 'Accio brain!' was a stellar decision."
"Oh har har, Gin-Gin."
Neither of the youngest Weasleys noticed the sober expression that Harry took on at the mention of the Battle. Hermione, however, reclaimed his attention from his memories by grabbing his arm and pointing to the pathway.
"Harry, look!" exclaimed the brunette, "Neville and Luna are here."
The two newcomers walked up to the party together. Neville shook Harry's hand while Luna merely stopped in front of him and stared at him with her large, silvery, grey eyes.
"Hello Harry Potter," she said in her usual melodious tone, "Happy Birthday. I've never been to a birthday party at Hogwarts before. Do you think we'll play any party games? I hope so. I've been practicing my caber tossing just incase. I hope there's pudding too."
Dumbledore and Sir Firecam also arrived and eventually everyone sat down to eat. Lunch finished with Hagrid producing a large cake topped by sixteen candles.
"Made it meself," he told Harry with pride, "happy birthday!"
Everyone ate dessert while Harry opened a few gifts, mostly sweets from his friends and a few pranks from the twins.
"You need to stop by the new shop in Diagon Ally," said Fred.
"You'll have a blast," added George.
Hermione surprised him with a book on fencing.
"I thought it was appropriate, what with your new hobby."
"Wha obby id at?" Ron asked around a mouthful of cake. Hermione rolled her eyes, but it was ultimately Keldorn who answered.
"I've been teaching young Harry here a bit of swordsmanship this summer."
Neville seemed to perk up with interest at that, but Ron commented before anyone else could get a word in.
"Blimey!" he said after he'd swallowed his cake. "What d'ya need to know how to sword fight for?"
"Well, there hasn't really been all that much fighting involved," Harry answered with a smile and a glance at Sir Firecam, "more like learning how to move my feet and poking at a dummy with a wooden sword. It's not quite as glamorous as you would imagine."
"I think it sounds interesting," said Neville.
"Me too," said Ginny.
"It really is quite fascinating," interjected Hermione. "Not that I've participated myself, but I have watched a bit. It seems to have a lot of history attached to it and it takes a lot of concentration and precision. Harry's been quite disciplined in his efforts, I would say."
After dessert was finished, Dumbledore bid everyone farewell and departed to take care of some business. The boys were discussing the possibility of putting together a quick pick-up Quidditch match and the girls were beginning to talk amongst themselves when Hagrid interrupted by clearing his throat.
"Err, pardon me, everyone, but there's summat I'd like to show Harry here. You lot can come to if you'd like."
The Gamekeeper led the group a little ways away to the series of barns and outbuildings that were usually used to house different magical creatures at Hogwarts. There, in one of the fenced in pens was a familiar grey hippogriff.
"Ooo, he's very pretty," said Luna.
"Buckbeak!" exclaimed Harry as he quickened his stride and entered the enclosed space. He bowed to the large creature, which bowed back in return. Harry then walked up to the hippogriff and began to pat it on the neck.
"How'd you get here?" Harry asked the creature who seemed to be rather enjoying Harry's attention.
It was Hagrid that answered, "Well we couldn' jus' let him stay at headquarters all alone anymore, an' Dumbledore thought no one would really recognized him anymore 'round here. So, here he is, our Beaky's back ter stay!"
"A magnificent animal," said Keldorn as he ran his hand over the hippogriff's flank. Harry was a bit surprised that the knight was able to approach the creature without going through the bowing ritual first, but he supposed that Keldorn knew what he was doing.
"I've known knights that have rode hippogriffs like this one into battle. A fearsome sight they were too, swooping down out of the sun to terrorize the enemy. Very noble and intelligent creatures, hippogriffs."
Buckbeak seemed to stand up a bit straighter at the knight's words. It almost looked like he was trying to present himself as the noble warrior that Keldorn described other hippogriffs to be.
Unlike Keldorn, Hermione was careful to bow to the hippogriff before approaching. Once she was acknowledged, she came forward to stand next to Harry and hesitantly placed a hand on the creature.
"It's been a while, Buckbeak," she said, "no offense, but I hope you don't have any flights in store for me any time soon."
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Sometime later, after they had all caught up with Buckbeak, the teenagers left Hagrid and Keldorn with the animal and headed as a group toward the Quidditch pitch, while Molly and Arthur went for a walk around the lake. The girls sat in the stands and talked while the boys started a half pitch Quidditch match. Ron played keeper while Harry teemed up with Fred to take on Neville and George. They tried to get the girls to play as well, citing the need for more players for a better game, but the ladies were having none of it.
"Hermione has been cooped up here with no female companionship for quite some time. We have some important things to discuss," Ginny authoritatively stated. "Now go away before I start to get annoyed."
As the sun lowered toward the horizon, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley reappeared and summoned everyone to them. It was getting late and it was time to return home. So with a few hugs and final 'happy birthdays,' the visitors departed and Harry and Hermione made their way to dinner.
Later that night in the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry sat down next to Hermione on the couch in front of the fire.
"Thanks again for the fencing book, Hermione. The first chapter's pretty interesting. Fencing is pretty different from what I'm learning, but there's some similarities too."
"You're welcome, Harry," the young witch said in reply. "I'm glad you're enjoying it."
They chatted for a few minutes before Harry stood up from the couch.
"Well," he announced, "I'm off to bed. Thanks again for the book."
Hermione stood as well.
"You're welcome, Harry."
Then she did something she had never done before, she walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek.
"Happy birthday, Harry."
And before the stunned wizard could form a reply, Hermione escaped up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.
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AN: Well, this chapter simply took forever to write. My muse just wasn't working. I think I need to get some action going once again. What do you think? I know that the chapter isn't very exciting, but I needed to set up a few things for later. It's also quite a bit longer than normal, over shooting the mark by almost 2,000 words. But there just isn't anywhere to naturally break it up.
Oh well.
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