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Author: Jedione Story: Feelings and Fizzy Drinks Rating: Young Teens Setting: Pre-HBP Status: Completed Reviews: 18 Words: 5,122 Harry sighed as he watched Ginny laugh with Neville. Will she ever realize how much she's come to mean to me? Have I ever made her laugh like that? he thought to himself. Aw, what's the use? Her crush on me is long over. Besides, I'm The-Boy-Who-Lived. Trouble will always find me. Still, I wonder if she has any feelings left for me at all? Harry sighed again and went for a walk. He found his shoes to be rather interesting as he walked. The hollow sounds of his echoing footsteps through the empty corridors served to remind him of how truly alone he was. He didn't know how long he walked, but as he snapped out of his zombie-like trance he realized he was in a part of the castle he'd never been in. He remembered walking up at least two flights of stairs; Merlin knows where they'd taken him. He walked down a dimly lit hallway; few torches burned here and the shadows flickered from the ever-changing light. The shadows seemed to reach for him, threatening to pull him into a tide of darkness. Then, from out of the deepest shadows, a tiny yellow light seemed to grow as it approached. The light drew closer and soon it was directly in front of him. It hovered in front of him and as his eyes adjusted the light took shape. It was serpentine with a draconic head. It was smiling, displaying many needle-sharp teeth. Its eyes were large, ice-blue, and slit like a cat's. The creature's length was about a foot, and it was covered with fine, downy, silvery fur. It flew by means of a couple of white-feathered wings. The furry serpent sniffed the air in front of Harry with its forked tongue. It paused a moment and hissed excitedly at Harry. Harry was unsure whether to smile or run. What manner of creature is this? he thought. I don't remember ever hearing about a furry winged snake in Hagrid's class, and I've never read anything about it. Is it going to attack? He felt uneasy. What am I thinking? I'll ask it -- it's a snake right? Harry started to speak but was interrupted by a high-pitched, child-like voice, not in Parseltongue but in regular speech. "Hello! Hello! My friendly!" It sucked in a breath, "You is very big." It flew towards Harry and circled around his head, sampling the air around him with its tongue. "You is also sad and scared. You feels alone. You not alone any more! You need Celina! Celina come with you, be friend! She likes big human, though you not as big as some." Okay it speaks in English -- I wonder if it does in Parseltongue also? Harry thought. The little creature wrapped its tail around Harry's neck and lay on his shoulders where it began purring. "See! Celina hug big friend, Celina stay with you, let's go home." "What are you?" Harry asked in flawless Parseltongue. I wonder if it's safe -- it wants to come with me, and it certainly seems friendly enough. "Celina is Joy Dragon. Celina's family sent me away to find friend. All Joy Dragons find friends, though it takes long time sometime." Celina...hmmm, I guess it's a female. "How long have you been looking for a friend?" Harry asked, with a somehow lighter spirit. "Long time, two turns of the seasons, but me finds you! Who's name are you?" "Who's name...oh, I'm sorry Celina, I'm Harry," he answered. "You not hairy, not like Celina! You only have little hair, only here." The little dragon affectionately nipped at a few locks of Harry's hair and giggled. Harry grinned and turned to walk back the way he came. "Harry is my name." Celina giggled again. "I know, big friendly Harry! Celina make funny to make Harry smile. Harry is happy now and Celina is happy, we go home now?" "Yes Celina, we're going home," Harry answered. I guess it'll be safe enough, and she's such a cute little thing. "Celina, are you a female?" "Yes, Celina is girl Joy Dragon, and you is a boy human right?" "Yes, I'm a boy. Where's your family, Celina?" Harry asked. "Family far away. I miss family, but you is family now. Celina's family will come to see Celina sometime, to make sure I has friendly. Once every five turns of the seasons we check on each other. It is Celina's turn next time." Harry looked forward to that visit. For now I have a new friend and that's good enough for now. Harry walked on, enjoying the closeness of his new friend. He soon began to recognize his surroundings and made his way towards his dormitory. He felt Celina still around his neck, but when he looked he didn't see her anymore. "Celina, you can turn invisible?" Harry asked. "Oh yes. Joy Dragons don't like many humans, only our friend. Some humans bad and try to hurt Joy Dragons. We only like friend and friend's close friends, so we hide, but we always around friend." "Celina, can you move your tail a bit? It's poking me!" Harry exclaimed. "Sorry Harry, Celina didn't know, Celina wouldn't hurt friend, Celina loves Harry," she said apologetically. "It's okay, but we'd better stop talking for now. I hear people ahead," Harry stated. "Harry, where'd you go off to mate?" asked Ron as he approached. "Just for a walk. Where's Hermione?" Harry asked. "Oh, she and Ginny said they were going to work on a Potions project together," answered Ron. "Wanna have a game of wizard chess?" "Sure, Ron, let's go," responded Harry. With that the two of them went to the common room to play their game. ***** Hermione and Ginny had a plan. It would be Valentine's Day tomorrow and Ron and Harry never even acknowledged it. True, they weren't couples -- Hermione wanted to get together with Ron, but as far as she knew Ron had no interest in her. Ginny felt the same about Harry. The two of them had teamed up to make a potion that would show them how the boys felt. It was an Empathy Potion; when it was taken it showed the potion makers what emotions the imbibers felt by showing an aura only the makers could see. The aura changed color to reveal the emotion. Red = Anger White = Friendship Purple = Indifference Green = Jealousy Orange = Passion Brown = Pain Black = Despair Yellow = Joy Pink = Infatuation Blue = Sorrow Silver = Peace Gold = Love It was not uncommon to see a blending of these colors in some instances. They each blended a potion and they grinned as they added their final ingredient; they had to add one of their own hairs so they and only they could see the results. "Ginny, how are we going to get them to take these?" Hermione asked. "I thought of that, so I pinched a couple of Cokes from Muggle Studies," she said, producing two cans from her bag. "We've been looking at Muggle foods and drinks. They actually taste pretty good, and I figured Harry would have had it before. If Harry drinks one Ron will, too. The potion can be added to the soda," Ginny explained. "That should work, but we'd better cool them off; soda is best if served cold." Hermione pulled out her wand and placed a cooling charm over the cans. "We'd better dump some out so we have room for the potion." They opened the cans and dumped some of the soda down a drain, adding potion to the cans to replace what was dumped. The soda fizzed as the potion was added but not so much that it spilled out. The girls left to find the boys, carrying the sodas carefully so as not to spill any. They made their way to the Common Room to find Ron and Harry playing chess. "Hey, Harry," Ginny said as she approached the table. "Do you want one?" she asked, holding out a Coke. "It was left over from Muggle Studies." "I don't understand – how did it get there?" Harry asked. "We've been studying foods and drinks in Muggle Studies -- it was just left over. We brought one for Ron, too," she added. "Here you are, Ron; it's a Coke -- it's really good," said Hermione as she handed it to Ron. "I've only had this once, and I loved it!" said Harry excitedly. "We had to open them, because Hermione put a cooling charm on each can and she was afraid it would cool it too quickly," Ginny lied. Harry accepted the cool drink and drank it down. A belch escaped from Harry's mouth when it was drained. He flushed a little from embarrassment. "Excuse me," he said. It was little flat and it tasted a bit odd, but Harry assumed it was Hogwarts' influence. The only other time he had drunk a Coke had been because he'd snuck down late at night and took it from the refrigerator before Dudley had a chance to drink them all. "Go ahead, Ron, I think you'll like it," said Harry to Ron, as another, louder belch escaped from his lips. "I'm sorry, excuse me," he said. Ron shrugged and followed Harry's lead downing the drink every bit as fast as Harry. Then Ron, too, let out a large belch. "Bloody brilliant!" Ron said grinning. "Honestly, Ron!" Hermione exclaimed. The girls began to blush with excitement as each boy began glowing brighter and brighter pink, confirming their infatuation with the girls. They also had some mixed white glows for friendship, and Ron glowed gold as he looked with brotherly love at his sister. Of course, the boys assumed the blushing was the girls' approval of the belching, so despite Harry's embarrassment, they belched louder. Ron and Harry rendered another belch at the same time and they grinned, though Harry flushed once again at his embarrassment. "CheckmAAAAAAAAAte!!!!!! Ron belched. Harry started laughing only to have it interrupted mid-laugh with a belch that made the chess pieces cover their ears, and a couple of pawns actually fell over. The girls went red when they saw other students in the common area staring at them. "Well. we'll talk to you later Harry, Ron," said Hermione as she lead Ginny away. ***** The girls retreated to their dormitory. "Ginny, did you notice the aura?" she began. "I saw Ron's and it showed love for you, infatuation with me and friendship with Harry!" "Harry showed friendship for all of us and infatuation with me," said Ginny excitedly. "Um, Hermione, was the belching normal for the Cokes?" she added. "Well, considering the way they drank them," Hermione responded, "I'd say it is." "So, now that we know, how do I tell him what I want?" asked Ginny. "Well, we convince them to let us know," she said determinedly. "I'm not sure how to do that, exactly, but we'll figure it out." ***** After the girls left, Ron's and Harry's stomachs calmed down quite a bit, for which they were grateful. Harry was rather embarrassed by the belching and so was Ron, though not as much as Harry. Finally, Harry slid his chair back and stood up. "Well, Ron, I'm going to bed. I'll talk to you later," Harry said. "I'll come too," Ron responded. Harry was hoping to get a chance to talk with Celina a bit more and he was disappointed that Ron would be around for once, but just then a voice filled his head. "Celina will meet your big friendly; flame boy is close friend to Harry. It okay to meet him and big friendly girls too, they all close to Harry, but flame hair girl REALLY LIKE YOU. Celina like her too so want to meet her soon and give her hug, because she REALLY LIKE HARRY! Harry REALLY LIKE FLAME HAIR GIRL TOO!" Celina giggled and tightened around Harry's neck. "We go home now?" It suddenly struck Harry that she'd talked to him in his head, so he tried to respond in kind. He thought for a moment and found a tenuous bond forming, getting stronger by the minute. "Er...Celina? Can you hear me?" Harry thought. "Yes Celina can hear you. Joy Dragons can talk and listen in chosen friendly's head, but only special chosen friendly can talk back. Joy Dragons can only talk to chosen friendly in head though, can talk to other friendly's friendlies with mouth," Celina thought back. "This is one of the oddest conversations I have ever had," Harry thought. "Are we thinking in Parseltongue?" he wondered. "Yes and no. All Joy Dragons can talk and think in snake words and human words too, but there are not many humans who talk snake words," Celina responded. "Will you always hear what I'm thinking?" Harry thought. "Yes, but Celina will love you anyway, and Harry is good so Celina knows Harry loves Celina. Celina can feel it and Celina always will. Celina can feel other feelings too, not just from chosen friendly. That is why Celina know flame hair girl REALLY LIKES CHOSEN FRIENDLY!" "Harry! Harry! You all right, mate? Is it your scar again?" Ron's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Oh...erm...yeah. Ron I need to talk to you away from here. Come on." Harry motioned Ron to the dormitory. As the two walked up, it finally hit Harry that Celina had said "flame hair girl", meaning Ginny, really liked him and he really liked her too. Once the two were in their room Harry looked around to make sure none of their dorm mates were about. Then he turned towards Ron. "Ron, I need to show you something, but you'd better sit down," Harry said. He waited until Ron sat, then said aloud, "Okay, Celina, come meet Ron." "What are you on about Harry... who's Celin – uh?" At that moment Ron saw a furry winged snake materialize around Harry's neck. "What the..." Ron said. Celina uncurled from Harry's neck and flew over to Ron, circling his head. "Don't be scared flame hair boy, Celina won't hurt friendly's friendly," she said, giggling. She wrapped around his neck and gave him a gentle squeeze. "See, Celina give you hug!" The little dragon flew back to sit on Harry's shoulder and smiled at Ron. Harry was glad that Celina accepted Ron so easily, and as he looked at Ron he saw a ghost of a smile there, but there was also a tinge of jealousy if he read his friend right. "Well, maybe in time that would fade," he thought. "She found me earlier tonight when I went for a walk. It was in a part of the castle that I've never seen. She's a Joy Dragon." "It talks!" was all Ron was able to say. "She, Ron. Celina is a she," said Harry. "She said I needed her, and I think maybe I did. Evidently Joy Dragons have to find a friend at some point in their lives. I'm not real sure why, but sometimes it takes years. Celina said she's been searching for two years," said Harry. "The only ones that can see her are those she chooses to let see her. She said she would stay invisible most of the time, but you, Hermione, and Ginny she wants to let know about her since we're close friends." Celina suddenly disappeared. "Others come, Celina will hide now and will not talk more tonight." Ron and Harry heard someone at the door, and Neville, Dean and Seamus entered. "Hello Harry, Ron," said Neville. "Neville, Dean, Seamus," Harry nodded. "You turning in too?" "I'm tired; see you guys in the morning," said Seamus. "G'night all," said Dean. The five boys went to their dressers, dressed for bed, and climbed under their covers. "Sleep well, Harry," Celina thought. "'Night Celina," Harry responded. Harry heard Ron mumble something like, "Why always you?" "Don't worry, Celina is Ron's friend too," was the last thing Harry heard before sleep claimed him. ***** The next morning Harry awoke to a purring near his ear. Thinking that Crookshanks had somehow gotten in bed with him, he prepared to shoo him away when he heard a groggy voice in his head. "Kneazle-cat not here Harry, only Celina," she said. "Sorry, Celina, I thought you were a dream, but I'm glad you're not," Harry thought. Harry climbed out of bed, and his stomach rumbled a little. "Celina hungry too Harry." "What do you eat?" Harry asked. "Celina eats anything, but Celina REALLY LIKES SWEETS!" "How will I feed you without someone seeing you?" Harry questioned. "Celina will make others not notice. Joy Dragons use spells as good as any human, but Joy Dragons don't need sticks. Don't worry," she replied. "So you use wandless magic," Harry thought. "Joy Dragons have much magic, no flame, so use spells and other magic." Harry wondered what other magic they had, but he assumed, at least in part, it was empathic magic. "Yes that is part, but not all. Celina done talking about magic. Are you going to go swim Harry?" "Swim! It's cold out, why would I want to swim?" Harry thought. "To get clean, so you don't smell. You smell like limburger! Well, at least your mouth does," Celina giggled. "Limburger? Where did you learn that word?" Harry asked, flushing a little. "Your sleep words. Harry yell at moldy wart – called him foul, evil lump of limburger. Dark snake-man tried to listen but Celina stopped him. Then Harry's sleep words changed and became sleep words of flame hair girl, Ron and big hair girl sitting by a hat, then they heard a very loud voice announce, "Snape was caught with Trelawney! They were kissing under the Whomping Willow!" Humans have very strange sleep words. You swim now?" Harry stifled a laugh. Then, as her words sank in a bit, he realized that his mind was not his alone anymore. He also realized that Voldemort may well have heard his words, but Celina stopped him if he did. This gave him comfort and also irritated him a bit that she could hear his thoughts any time she wanted. "Celina, do you have to listen to my thoughts all of the time?" he thought, a trifle angry. "Sorry, Celina will try not to listen so much," she nipped his ear affectionately. "You swim now?" Harry grinned, "Okay, you win. I'll go take a bath and brush my teeth." "Harry let Celina swim too?" "I'd like to bathe alone, but I'll fill the sink for you if you want to swim," Harry responded. He blushed at the idea of anyone, even her, seeing him starkers. "Celina would like that, Celina will be near if friendly needs her, and Celina will let you change alone also." Ron awoke soon after Harry had cleaned up and dressed. "I'm going to get breakfast, Ron, I'll see you down there," Harry said. ***** At breakfast Harry sat waiting for his friends. Celina had already eaten from his plate and was now lounging invisibly around his shoulders. Ron joined Harry whose plate had filled up once more with sausage, eggs and toast. "Is Celina still around?" Ron asked in a hushed voice. Harry just pointed to his shoulders and Ron nodded. A few minutes later Hermione and Ginny came to join them. Ron and Harry suddenly belched very loudly; they both blushed at their outburst. The girls sat down, and suddenly the boys rendered another belch, flushing redder. They looked apologetically at the girls. Hermione and Ginny were blushing now, too. The boys ripped out another belch and the girls moved about five chairs down, glancing at the boys as if to say they were sorry. The girls could tell the potion was still in effect, as the auras on the boys were still visible. The boys belched again, and by now all the students and Professors in the Hall were looking at Ron and Harry. Professor Snape walked over to the boys and said,"Ten points each from Gryffindor for rudeness." Harry grinned when he thought about the dream he'd had. "Ten more from Gryffindor for your impertinence, Mr. Potter," Snape sneered. Ron and Harry each grabbed some toast and walked out of the Hall before they lost anymore House points. They sat on the floor and, leaning against a wall, ate their meager breakfast. ***** Ginny and Hermione leaned close to each other to talk. "Hermione, I still see the auras. How long does that potion last?" Ginny asked. "Twenty-four hours, and I don't think we should have put the potion in Coke. The boys belch whenever they see us. I think the Coke gave them a side effect," Hermione said. "Hermione, we see them all the time -- in and between classes! We need to give them an antidote before they lose all of our House points," Ginny said. "We have to tell them so they'll go to Madame Pomfrey. Besides, we want them to know how we feel anyway. I think at this point honesty is the best policy. I mean, its Valentine's Day, and it will be over before we know it," Hermione answered. "You're right, Hermione, let's go tell them. This Valentine's Day hasn't gone well so far; maybe we can still save it," Ginny conceded. The girls got up and went out of the hall. Harry heard the hall door open and looked up. He saw Ginny and Hermione coming out and he belched. This, of course, got Ron's attention and he looked up as well, and then it was his turn. Harry belched once more and motioned them to a nearby closet. The boys entered first and waited till the girls arrived. Their arrival was heralded by another round of belching by the boys. Peeves had obviously been attracted by the loud belching because above them they saw his head sticking out of a wall. "Boys and girls on a broom closet mission. How did they get in that position?" he chanted in his gruff sing-song voice. Moments later they all stood staring at the frozen form of Peeves floating on the ceiling above them. Harry started to speak, but only belched instead. Hermione put a silencing charm around the closet. "Which one of you did that?" she asked, pointing to the still form of Peeves. Her question was answered by blank looks and two more rumbling belches. "Celina stopped polterghostie! Celina need meet girls now." "Good idea, Celina, give me just a moment. Can you do something about the belches so I can talk?" Harry thought. "Celina can stop belch spell. Harry ready?" "Spell? What spell?" Harry asked. "Girls put spell in fizzy drinks. Harry didn't know?" "No I didn't!" Harry could feel heat rising in his cheeks from anger. "Why didn't you tell me before now?" "Harry didn't ask. Spell couldn't hurt Harry so Celina didn't stop it. Harry want spell gone?" "Yes I do!" he said. "Harry? Are you alright?" Ginny asked. It was then Harry realized he'd been talking, not thinking. "Harry mad at Celina?" "I'm sorry, it's not you I'm angry with Celina. Will you please remove the spell?" Harry thought. "Celina did already. Can Celina meet girls now?" "Sure, just give me a moment," Harry answered. "Hermione! Ginny! Why did you put a spell on Ron and me? What did it do?" Harry asked. Hermione and Ginny both turned bright red. "Erm, well, we wanted to see how you felt about us, so we made an Empathy Potion, and put it in your Cokes, and we saw that you liked us and we got excited, but we didn't know it would cause --you know-- a side effect, and you drank it so fast we thought it was because of the fizz so we didn't think anything about it, it wasn't until this morning that we realized what was happening so we wanted to tell you so you could get an antidote so you didn't lose anymore house points for us, and so that we could have a nice Valentine's Day, we wanted you to know about what we thought of you as well so we came out of the hall and now here we are... Gahhhh!" Hermione had run out of air and then sucked in another breath. "Whew! I'm sorry Ron, Harry." "YOU DID WHAT!!!!!????" Ron yelled. "Ronald Weasley! Don't you dare yell at us! If you two weren't so thick that you didn't realize that we liked you, none of this would ever have happened!!! On top of that it's Valentine's Day today! The two of you didn't even know that! So I don't want to hear it!" Ginny sucked in a deep breath and let her ire ebb. Ron had the good sense to be silent lest Ginny's wrath really be unleashed. Ginny in this state had been known to unleash her famous bat bogie hex on anyone within fifty feet. She had their mum's fiery temper, and that was always a force to be reckoned with. "Ginny, I'm sorry too. Calm down, I have something to show you. Celina, come meet Ginny and Hermione." Harry said. At these words the little Joy Dragon revealed herself and smiled warmly at the two girls. She circled Ginny first, tasting the air around her, before wrapping around her neck for her famous hug. "Hi Ginny, Celina happy to meet special friendly to Harry. Celina give you hug, now Celina must see Herminny." The furry dragon flew to Hermione and tasted the air around her as well, once again giving out her hug. The tension noticeably dropped after this. "Herminny, Celina hug you too, you special friendly to Harry's Ron. Now we all be friendlies together." "Harry, what is she?" Ginny asked fondly. "She's a Joy Dragon. We met yesterday. She said I needed her and she's been with me since," Harry answered. "A Joy Dragon? I've never heard of a Joy Dragon." Hermione said. "It would surprise me if you did. Celina said they stay invisible to all but a select few, and those few must be close friends to their chosen friendly... er, person" Harry answered. "Celina," Hermione began, "did you do that?" She pointed to the dormant form of Peeves floating overhead. "Celina stopped polterghostie with magic. Joy Dragons use magic to help friendlies and protect us," the little creature answered. "Celina also stopped emotion spell on Harry and Ron. Joy Dragons good with magic," she said proudly. "Harry, you deserve a reward for showing me that," Ginny said. She hugged him close and whispered, "I really like you, Harry Potter." She brushed her lips across his ear. "Ginny, my ear... it's a very sensitive part of the anatomy," he said, flushing brightly. "Yuck! Please don't do that kind of thing around me; it makes me ill," Ron said with disgust. Hermione took advantage of the moment and leaned in, brushing her own lips over Ron's ear. Ron's face heated deeply and his knees buckled, but he recovered. "You know what, Ginny?" asked Hermione still wanting to make Ron squirm. "What, Hermione?" she responded curiously. Hermione reached into her bag and produced a radish. "I heard that radishes are part of a potion that is a powerful aphrodisiac," she grinned mischievously. Ron's knees buckled again, only this time he couldn't save himself. His knee slammed hard onto Hermione's foot. "Bloody hell, Ron!" yelped Hermione. Her face showed complete horror at what she'd just screamed. She sat down and took off her shoe and sock to look at the damage. Her big toe was already swelling. She rocked back and forth kneading her foot in pain. Celina flew down to Hermione and circled her aching foot. "Herminny be better now, Celina fixed talon." "Talon? I knew I had ugly toes; now it is confirmed," Hermione blushed in embarrassment. "I happen to think you have very cute toes," said Ron, grinning at his chance to give as good as he'd got. "Now then, where did you get a radish, and why were you carrying it with you, Hermione?" "Oh! The radish was sent to her yesterday by owl post. It also had a piece of parchment attached with the title of a book written on it called Romantic Charms and Potions to Please Your Man," Ginny answered for her. "Who would've sent it to her?" Ron asked. "Why, our dear brothers Gred and Forge, of course; who else would think to prank her like that. If it was a prank; the only person who didn't know how you felt about Hermione was you. They may have been trying to help you two get together," Ginny grinned. They all laughed; maybe Valentine's Day could be saved after all. "You big friendlies should kiss each other now," Celina urged, showing her toothy smile. "Maybe we should or we'll end up like him," Harry said pointing to Peeves. His friends put on a feigned look of shock and took her advice. Harry leaned in toward Ginny to attempt a chaste kiss on her cheek, but Ginny quickly turned her head to receive the peck on her lips. Harry blushed brightly but smiled warmly at her. Ron looked at Ginny and Harry with disgust, but Hermione tapped him on his shoulder to distract him. When he turned toward her she placed a kiss on his lips; Ron went weak in the knees and his face reddened so much it was impossible to tell where his hair ended and his face began. The two couples smiled warmly at Celina who grinned back at them and executed a speedy flying maneuver that created a pink heart to frame the two new couples. "Celina's friendlies all happy now?" she asked seriously. "I think were all fine little one, thanks to you," said Harry grinning; and we still have most of the day to prove it. ***** Special thanks to my wonderful Pre-betas and to my wonderful Beta. I hope you enjoy the story, it is mostly fluff with a smattering of comedy and it is rated PG. As an additional note it has been brought to my attention that Celina reminded some people of Falcor the Luck Dragon in the movie The Never-Ending Story. It was not my intent to borrow from the creators of that movie so let me just give credit where credit is due. It has also been brought to my attention that Celina resembles a Quatl from Gary Gygax's Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Role-Playing Game. This also was not my intent, but as always let me give credit where it is due just in case. |