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Author: Hank Story: Harry Potter and the Sword of Gryffindor Rating: Teens Setting: AU Status: WIP Reviews: 23 Words: 126,113
A/N: To everyone who has been following this story – please accept my apologies for the long delay in posting. Real life has been running me over like a Mack truck! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, especially those of you who have been requesting a new update. Reviews are such an encouragement, especially when RL isn’t very encouraging! Once again, I would like to thank my intrepid betas, Dale, Nancy, and Promethean Alchemist for all their hard work. ***** Harry was mad. He fumed as he walked down the hall with Ron and Hermione, headed to Double Defence Against the Dark Arts. It had been a bad day. It had started well enough, he thought to himself, as he remembered Ginny’s smile at breakfast. It had gone from good to bad sometime during Divination. Trelawney had hysterically reminded him of the need to be strong once again, beginning the moment she had entered the classroom and continuing off and on for the entire lesson. He thought she might be drunk but couldn’t tell. Then, Charms had bored him out of his mind. He had missed sitting with Ginny during lunch. And now, he had a whole afternoon of dueling with Pansy Parkinson to look forward to. Finally, seeing Dumbledore further down the corridor, obviously wanting to talk to him, made him even angrier. “Bugger it all,” muttered Harry. He quickly turned into a side passage he knew would get him close to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom without having to go past Dumbledore. Hermione and Ron looked at each other and then followed after Harry. “Erm, Harry, I think Professor Dumbledore wanted to talk to you,” said Hermione with a hint of trepidation in her voice. “If he wanted to talk to me so much, he could have bloody well done it over the summer,” replied Harry. Hermione looked nervously at Ron, who just shrugged his shoulders. Neither of them said another word as they quickly made their way down the small, dark corridor. In a few moments they ended up in one of the larger halls, just outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. They were running a bit late due to their detour, and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Moody wasn’t in the classroom yet. Harry slammed his books down onto the desk without comment and took his seat. “What are you waiting for?” said Moody as he entered the class and saw everyone seated. “Pair off and let’s get started. There’s no reason to wait for me. You know what we’re doing until the end of the term.” He waved his wand and banished the desks to the sides of the classroom. A couple of the Slytherins, who had been slow getting up, managed to move along with their desks. Harry pulled his wand out of his pocket and made his way over to where Pansy stood. He thought she looked about as pleased with the situation as he was, but it didn’t matter. Moody expected them to duel and he might as well practice with Pansy as anyone else. At least this way he didn’t have to feel bad about jinxing or hexing a friend. Pansy was slow getting warmed up and found herself knocked back into the wall a few more times than necessary. She was still reluctant follow Harry’s advice and as a result, he had worked extra hard to impress upon her what her weaknesses were. Too hard it seemed, judging by the look he was getting from Moody. “Potter, come here,” said Moody. Harry reluctantly stopped dueling with Pansy and went over to Moody, who promptly put his arm around Harry and drew him aside. “Potter, take a break. Okay? I think you might be pushing Miss Parkinson a bit too hard. Let me talk to her and see if I can get her to be more cooperative.” Moody let Harry go and quickly turned his attention to Pansy. “Miss Parkinson, I need to talk to you.” Harry heard Moody as he left the class to make use of the loo and take a break from Pansy’s continual complaints. “What do you think you’re doing, young lady?” said Moody. “Here I pair you with the finest pupil in my class…” Harry heard no more as he went out the door. He tried to push Pansy’s whinging out of his mind as he went to the lavatory, practicing clearing his mind as Snape had ordered. He relieved himself quickly and then started as he turned around, coming face to face with a very smug looking Moaning Myrtle. “Hello, Harry.” “Myrtle, what are you doing in here?” said Harry as the blood rushed to his cheeks. Myrtle sighed contentedly and smiled at him. “You never come to see me anymore,” she complained. Harry swallowed. “I’m sorry, Myrtle. Last year wasn’t exactly a good year.” “Ah,” said Myrtle as she drifted closer, “you’re becoming so handsome, Harry; just like your father. I always did like his hair.” Harry flinched as he felt Myrtle’s hand pass through his hair and the top of his scalp. The cold feeling sent a shiver down his spine. “It’s just too bad he decided to move on; he would have made such a lively addition. And of course you’ve got your mother’s eyes,” she added as she took a moment to look into Harry’s eyes. “Such beautiful eyes…” “Erm, Myrtle, listen, I’ve got to get back to class.” Myrtle began to cry. “Professor Moody said I only had fifteen minutes.” “Nobody ever wants to see poor, miserable, moaning Myrtle,” she whined. “Why should her feelings matter? After all, she’s DEAD!” Without any notice, she shot up and dove straight back down into one of the commodes in the stalls. Harry covered his glasses against the shower of water that sprayed out everywhere. He shook his head, wondering who was worse, Moaning Myrtle or Pansy Parkinson, as he made his way out of the loo and back into the classroom. He made a mental note not to use that lavatory again. Upon his return, Pansy began to follow Harry’s instructions, somewhat sullenly at first, but then appeared to perk up toward the end of class as she began to see the results of what he was showing her. “You’re doing much better, you know,” said Harry. “Thanks,” replied Pansy self-consciously. “Listen Harry, I’m sorry about earlier,” she said as they wrapped up practice. “You were right. I should have been listening to you.” Harry smiled a bit. “No worries, Pansy. We’ll start over again next week.” “See you tomorrow.” Pansy gave Harry a brief smile and then headed over to where the rest of the Slytherins were congregating. “What was that all about?” asked Ron as he came over to Harry, Hermione right behind him. “Pansy just wanted a word, that’s all,” said Harry. “You know, I wonder if she might come around,” said Hermione thoughtfully. “What? That cow? I wouldn’t bet on it,” said Ron. “Now Ron, after all that’s happened to her father, you never know,” said Hermione. “Yeah, well the bloody Parkinsons have been dark wizards for generations. I’ll believe it when I see it. Let’s get some dinner; I’m starving.” The trio headed to the Great Hall in silence; the rapid pace Ron was setting prevented any conversation. On reaching the entrance, Harry came to an abrupt halt. “Erm, I think I’ll skip dinner,” said Harry after seeing Dumbledore seated at the head table. “Where are you going?” asked Ron, as Harry headed away from him and Hermione. “I’ll be on the Quidditch pitch,” said Harry. “Tell the rest of the team to meet me there after dinner, okay?” “Yeah,” said Ron. “We’ll meet you there.” Ron and Hermione went in and sat at the far end of the Gryffindor table, as far away from the head table as they could. “Where’s Harry?” asked Ginny as she sat down with them. “Quidditch pitch,” said Ron, his mouth full of shepherd’s pie. “How come he’s not eating?” “He took one look at Dumbledore and decided to skip dinner,” said Hermione. Ginny frowned, wondering what was wrong. “I think he’s still upset at Dumbledore,” said Ron after finally swallowing his food. “Is it any wonder?” said Ginny. Ron and Hermione both shook their heads and turned back to their food. “Are we still going to have practice tonight?” asked Ginny. “Yeah,” said Ron. “Harry wants us to meet him on the pitch after we’re done eating. Ginny shoved another bite of food into her mouth and rose from the table, grabbing her book sack and throwing it over her back. “Hey, what’s the rush?” asked Ron, as Ginny made ready to leave. “I just want to give Harry some company,” said Ginny. “Besides, maybe we can get a little Seeker practice in before the rest of you come out.” Ron shook his head, shoved another bite of shepherd’s pie into his mouth and turned to look at Hermione. He was surprised to see a smile on her face, but before he could ask her about it, it disappeared and she began eating again. After dinner, Ron rounded up the rest of the team and, along with Hermione, they made their way to the Quidditch pitch. As they approached, Ron noticed Harry and Ginny racing through the clouds. Harry had an ear-to-ear grin on his face and appeared to be chasing Ginny, who was driving her broom with one hand while she clutched something tightly in the other. “Oi! I think you two are having a bit too much fun!” shouted Ron, sounding like the team’s captain. “This is supposed to be Quidditch practice, right?” Ginny veered around quickly, making a beeline for Ron and the rest of the team. Harry followed suit a moment later. Ginny giggled mischievously as she touched down next to Ron, the Snitch in her hand. “No fair,” complained Harry, who was right behind her. He laughed as Ginny gave him an innocent look. “Okay, what did my sister do now?” “She hexed me to get the Snitch,” said Harry. Ginny stuck her tongue out at Harry. “That sounds like my sister all right,” said Ron. Ginny stuck her tongue out again, this time at Ron. “What say we get practice started,” Ron said as he shook his head at Ginny’s antics. “No wands this time,” said Harry as he looked at Ginny. He tried to look serious, but found himself unable to remove the grin from his face. Ginny smiled cheekily at Harry before going over to the trunk with the other Quidditch balls. She put the Snitch back carefully and grabbed one of the Quaffles. She tossed it to Harry without any warning and smiled again as he caught it and looked at her. “Come practice with Katie and me,” she said. “We need a third person and I think you might be up to it – Hagrid tells me you’re a wicked Chaser.” Harry grinned, remembering his one on one game with Ron. “All right,” he replied and took off. Ginny and Katie took off immediately and followed Harry. “I hope Harry doesn’t go nutters on me again,” muttered Ron as he watched the three of them race to the hoops at a blistering pace. “What did you say, Ron?” asked Hermione. Ron sighed. “Nothing.” “Erm, Ron, what are we supposed to do?” asked Kirke nervously. Ron looked at the two Gryffindor Beaters for a moment. They reminded him of a pair of lost puppy dogs. “Erm, why don’t you go to the opposite end of the pitch and practice batting the Bludger back and forth again?” “All right,” said Kirke, obviously disappointed. Ron lifted off and quickly took his place in front of the hoops. Once there, he watched carefully as Harry, Ginny and Katie tossed the Quaffle back and forth to warm up. After a few minutes, Harry grabbed the Quaffle and turned toward Ron. “Ready to start?” asked Harry. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” said Ron, who soon had misgivings as he saw a wicked grin spread across Harry’s face. “Bloody hell. Here we go again.” He flew out a bit from the hoops, bracing himself for the impact he knew was coming. A smile that he couldn’t help broke out as he contemplated the idiocy that he and Harry were about to commit. Harry’s grin got larger as he sped toward Ron, never veering as he flew closer and closer. “Harry!” screamed three female voices as he collided with Ron, wrestling briefly to get the Quaffle past him. This time, Harry succeeded in getting past Ron, who had not been able to maintain his grip on either Harry or the Quaffle. “Yes!” shouted Harry as he threw the Quaffle through the hoop to score. He immediately dove after it; deftly catching the ball just before it hit the ground. Tucking it underneath his arm, he arced around quickly and made his way back up to the area in front of the hoops where Ron, Ginny and Katie had parked their brooms. The broad grin on his face retreated as he saw the look Katie was giving him. “Harry, what the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?” said Katie, sounding very much like Mrs. Weasley. “This is practice, for Merlin’s sake!” Harry’s grin returned as he saw the laughter in Ginny’s eyes. “Just having some ruddy fun,” he replied innocently. “Yeah, well you’d better tone it down or you and Ron aren’t going to survive practice,” said Katie, who continued to scowl at him. “Yeah, Harry,” echoed Ron. Harry turned around to see Ron sticking his tongue out at him. “All right,” said Harry as he tossed the Quaffle to Ginny, determined to let one of the girls have a go at Ron this time around. As he turned back to face Ron, he noticed his friend motioning for him to come closer. He quickly moved forward so he could talk to Ron. “Say, Harry, isn’t that Cho down there?” asked Ron, who had seen the raven-haired figure during his ill-fated attempt to keep Harry from scoring. “Hmm,” said Harry. “It looks like her.” As he watched, the figure began waving at him. “At least it’s not Dumbledore,” he muttered underneath his breath. “I guess I’d better go see what she wants.” Ron watched Harry drop down into the stands as Ginny pulled up next to him. “Where’s Harry going?” she asked. “Someone down in the stands wants to talk to him,” said Ron. “Looks like Cho.” Ginny pulled a face. “Come on,” said Ron, “let’s keep practicing.” Ginny tossed the Quaffle to Katie and flew away from the goal, watching Harry the entire time. As Harry flew down to the Ravenclaw box seats he noticed that Cho was alone and had a stack of books by her side. He was instantly reminded of Hermione, who was sitting over in the Gryffindor box seats looking somewhat like Cho’s twin. He wondered for a moment where Cho’s usual gaggle of friends was. “Spying on us?” asked Harry as his broom coasted to a stop next to Cho. “No, Harry,” she said, smiling nervously as she looked up from her book. “I...I just wanted to apologize for last year. I was kind of a moody prat....” “It’s all right, Cho,” replied Harry quickly and warmly. “There’s no need to apologize.” He paused for a moment and sighed before speaking again. “I guess I should have been a bit more comforting, eh? I’m sorry. Growing up with my aunt and uncle hasn’t exactly prepared me for that.” Harry was surprised to get a hug and a kiss on the cheek from Cho for his answer. “Thanks for understanding,” she said. “So…how was your summer?” asked Cho, who seemed to Harry to be searching for a way to begin a conversation. He got off his broom and sat down next to her. “Miserable,” he replied, grinning wryly. “I was stuck at my aunt and uncle’s all bloody summer long. And you? How did your summer go?” “I spent the summer with my parents,” she said. “It was nice and peaceful and I got a chance to talk things out with my mother.” Harry spent the next few minutes listening as Cho continued to describe her summer. He felt a twinge of envy at the support Cho had received from her parents, wishing he could have received the same. “Oi, Harry!” thundered Ron from the far side of the pitch, breaking into Harry and Cho’s conversation. “Are you going to join us or what?” “I think I’d better get back to practice,” said Harry. Cho smiled and laughed at him. “Yeah, I guess so. See you, Harry.” Harry took off and headed back to the hoops. Ron, Ginny and Katie stopped practicing as he approached. “So what did she want?” asked Ginny coolly as Harry approached. Harry could tell by the tone of her voice that something was wrong. She launched the Quaffle at him a bit harder than necessary. He caught it deftly and closed the distance between them. Mindful of this, he replied, “She just wanted to apologize for last year.” “So, does that mean the two of you are going to get together again?” asked Ginny, who became immediately upset at herself for allowing that to slip out. I really am going to have to learn to keep my temper in check, she thought to herself as she awaited Harry’s answer. “No,” said Harry after a moment’s careful thought. After all, it wasn’t like he was interested in her anymore. “I just thought I should be nice to her. I mean, it’s not like I want her to start crying again, you know?” Harry was surprised to see that Ginny didn’t laugh at his joke and wondered what was going on. “Hey, this is supposed to be Quidditch practice, not a hen party,” said Ron. “Let’s get cracking!” Harry smiled as he saw the look Ginny gave Ron. As upset as Ginny appeared to be, Harry was grateful for the distraction Ron’s comments provided. He dove quickly underneath Ginny, then powered up, arced around and flew toward the hoops. He flung the Quaffle past Ron, who had moved forward from the hoops to meet him, gripping his broom tightly, expecting an impact rather than a Quaffle flying past. “Bloody hell,” muttered Ron as he heard the scoring bell ring. He shook his head as Harry flew past, smiling. Harry dove down after the Quaffle, but Ginny had beaten him to it. He flew to her and together, they headed back up to where Katie waited. Ginny threw the Quaffle to Katie as they passed by. Katie waited for the two of them to turn around and catch up with her and then all three of them advanced toward the hoops. As they approached Ron, Katie dove after him and quickly passed the Quaffle back to Ginny, who flew up and right, launching the Quaffle just as she and Harry got past Ron. The ringing of the scoring bell and Ron’s muted cursing confirmed another goal. Harry dove down, retrieved the Quaffle and quickly rejoined Ginny and Katie. Instead of seeing the expected smile on Ginny’s face, Harry saw a determined scowl. As the practice progressed, he noticed a decided change in her attitude. She seemed to be a bit angry and appeared to be taking out her frustrations on the pitch. She was taking risks she wouldn’t ordinarily take; risks Harry thought were unnecessary during the course of a normal practice, himself and Ron excepted of course. The Seeker practice that followed wasn’t much better. It was apparent to Harry that Ginny was trying not to be upset, but whatever it was that was bothering her wouldn’t let her be. As they journeyed in silence back to the castle, Harry wondered if he should talk to Hermione about it. ***** At breakfast, Harry was relieved to see that Ginny had settled down a bit and was actually smiling again. She even managed to tease him a bit about having double Potions that morning. Things seemed back to normal until Cho passed by, smiling shyly. “Good morning, Harry,” she said brightly. “Morning, Cho,” replied Harry, becoming annoyed at the muted giggling coming from the gaggle of friends accompanying Cho. He shook his head and looked back to Ginny, who seemed to be upset again, and smiled nervously at her, hoping she would be okay. “So how are you doing in Potions, Ginny?” asked Harry. “Has Hermione made a revising schedule for you yet?” Ginny snorted with laughter. Harry smiled at the dirty look Hermione shot him. “Our revision schedules came in very handy last year,” said Hermione. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” said Harry. “Of course she has,” replied Ginny. “Should come in handy, too, once the O.W.L.s get closer. I may need some help with Potions, though.” “Hermione can help you there,” said Harry. “We’ll see,” replied Ginny with a thoughtful look on her face. The rest of the day went quickly for Harry. Double Potions passed by in a blur of work as the class continued preparations for the Polyjuice Potion and worked on an additional potion as well. Snape scowled and lurked as he usually did, but today he seemed distant and preoccupied. Harry was relieved to have escaped the class without receiving an additional detention, something he was extremely grateful for as he took off on his broom and began to enjoy the perfect weather high above the Quidditch pitch. “Harry, it looks like you-know-who’s back again,” said Ron, breaking into Harry’s reverie. He nodded in the general direction of the Ravenclaw box seats. “I wonder why she’s back,” said Harry, a pensive look coming across his features. “You do know she’s been made captain of the Ravenclaw team, don’t you?” asked Ron. “Yeah,” said Harry. “McGonagall told me during lunch.” He sighed. “I guess I should go down and see what’s up.” “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” asked Ron, who looked in what Harry supposed was Ginny’s direction. “I don’t think I have any choice,” replied Harry. “Go ahead and have everyone start practice. I’ll join up after I find out what Cho wants.” Harry drifted down to the Ravenclaw box seats, pulling to a stop just beside Cho. “Hello, Harry,” Cho said brightly. “Come to apologise again?” asked Harry, a smug look of disbelief on his face. “All right,” said Cho, “this time I’m spying.” She smiled and laughed at him, the sound seeming almost musical to Harry. “You’re team is beginning to shape up rather well. It would appear they have a rather formidable captain.” “Thanks,” replied Harry modestly, “but I think most of the credit goes to my dedicated Keeper who is working on our strategy and encouraging us to practice ever harder. By the way, I’ve been told that you’re the new captain of the Ravenclaw team. Congratulations.” “Thank you.” “So when do your practices start?” Cho smiled mischievously at Harry. “In about two weeks. Why, are you planning to spy on us?” she asked innocently. “No,” replied Harry laughing. “Although now that you mention it, that’s not be such a bad idea. Why are you waiting so long to start practicing?” “Oh, we Ravenclaws have different priorities. We’ve got to figure out our study schedules first and then plan practice around that. Some of us are sitting for our N.E.W.T.s this year, you know.” “Priorities,” he said, reminded of McGonagall, whose penchant for Quidditch he was suddenly much more grateful for. “Speaking of which, I’d better get back to practice. I’ll see you around.” Harry took off and quickly rejoined his teammates. Quidditch was proving to be a welcome distraction after a long day of classes, the least enjoyable of which was double Potions. For better or for worse, Snape had not seen fit to sentence him to another detention, which likely meant he was once again off on some mission for the Order. Harry wondered about Snape for a moment and then pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked over his team, which had already started practicing. He frowned as he watched Ginny put far too much effort into a dangerous dive to retrieve the Quaffle, a dive that in his estimation was unnecessary. He started as he watched her slam into the ground. “Ginny!” he shouted and kicked his Firebolt so that he was by her side in an instant. “Ginny, are you all right?” asked Harry as he touched down beside her. “Yeah,” said Ginny as she sat up slowly, rubbing aching back muscles in the process. Harry sighed, grateful that she was okay, but upset that she was taking too many risks in practice. “Ginny,” said Harry softly, “you’ve got to slow things down a bit. After all, this is just practice. I can’t afford to have you get hurt and miss a game.” “All right,” grumbled Ginny. She scowled as she got up and quickly remounted her broom. Without another word, she grabbed the Quaffle and took off. Harry watched her and shook his head, knowing something was wrong, but not sure what it was. He kept an eye on her for the rest of practice while he, Ginny, and Katie squared off against Ron. As Harry practiced with Ginny and Katie, he found himself enjoying the position of Chaser more and more. It was fun working as a team, especially with Ginny and Katie, both of whom he found to be extremely proficient. Instead of the solitude of the Seeker’s position, Harry was in constant contact with his teammates, enjoying the continuous chaotic action as they played against Ron. Normal practice ended all too soon for Harry, who was having the time of his life. He would have been disappointed except that he had additional Seeker practice with Ginny again. He noticed that Seeker practice was much more fun when there were two people instead of one, especially when that additional person was Ginny. He smiled for a moment as he remembered Wednesday afternoon – Ginny had been so mad at him with his ‘smug smile and his Firebolt’ that she had finally hexed him to catch the Snitch for the last time. Fortunately for him, his Firebolt had been able to outrun Ginny’s bat bogeys. Tonight was altogether a different story, he thought as his smile turned into a frown. He felt Ginny was concentrating too hard and putting too much effort into something that in his opinion should be easy and fun. Harry had bested her during the entire practice, once snagging the Snitch right out from under her nose. Needless to say, this had not improved Ginny’s mood. Harry tried to talk to her on the way back to the castle, but she was sullen and silent. Realizing something was badly amiss, Harry decided to talk to Hermione the first chance he got. He got his wish almost immediately as Ron and Hermione were coming out the Gryffindor portal at the same time as he and Ginny were going in. Harry let Ginny go first and then waited outside while Ron and Hermione came through. “What’s wrong with her?” said Ron as he turned to watch Ginny stomp off to her dorm. “Hermione, can I talk to you?” asked Harry. “Sure, Harry,” said Hermione. “Just keep it short – I’ve got a Prefect’s meeting to go to.” “Erm…” “What’s wrong?” asked Hermione, noticing the worried look on Harry’s face. “It’s about Ginny,” Harry began hesitantly. “Oh,” said Hermione quickly. “Ron, you go ahead. I’ll catch up with you in a bit.” Ron screwed his features in disbelief. “Go on,” whispered Hermione forcefully. “All right,” replied Ron, not too happy about attending what in his opinion would be an incredibly boring meeting without her. She gave him a quick smile. “I’ll be along as soon as I can.” “So, what’s up with Ginny?” asked Hermione innocently as she re-entered the portal and led Harry over to the fireplace. “She’s been acting rather strange ever since Cho showed up at Quidditch practice Wednesday,” said Harry as he sat down across from Hermione. “How so?” asked Hermione, realizing that Cho’s presence was likely angering Ginny. “Well, she’s become sullen and way, way too intense about practice.” “Like you and Ron were last weekend?” asked Hermione, a smile playing on her lips. Harry laughed for a moment as he remembered their game. “No, not like that; that was fun. Ginny’s angry about something.” “Perhaps she’s mad about Cho,” replied Hermione sweetly. “Cho? Why would she be mad about Cho?” “Perhaps because she likes you,” hinted Hermione as she carefully watched Harry’s face for his reaction. “Nah,” replied Harry after a moment of consideration, “couldn’t be. It’s just a crush, or whatever it was. Didn’t you say she was over me?” “Harry, in case you haven’t noticed,” said Hermione, “and I don’t think you have, Ginny isn’t eleven anymore.” Harry looked at Hermione in surprise. “She’s growing up, Harry. You really need to take a look at her and see her for who she truly is. She isn’t just Ron’s ickle sister anymore. She’s growing up and becoming a young woman. Have you noticed that, Harry?” Harry was stunned. He hadn’t noticed. He had just always thought of Ginny as Ron’s somewhat annoying little sister, although the more he thought on it, annoying in a cute sort of way. Actually, better make that ‘lovely sort of way’, he thought as he remembered her red hair flying in the wind during Seeker practice. “Erm ...” muttered Harry, not certain what to say, but certain he should be saying something. He felt the butterflies returning to his stomach as Hermione smiled benevolently at him. “Just try to see her for who she is, okay?” Hermione nearly laughed as she watched Harry nodding at her. It was almost charming to see how thick he was when it came to girls; he was almost as bad as Ron. “Harry, there’s a Hogsmeade weekend coming up in two weeks. Ask her out, okay?” “There hasn’t been anything posted about a Hogsmeade weekend, yet,” said Harry weakly. “The staff always informs the Prefects about everything first,” replied Hermione. She eyed Harry for a moment. “Harry, you are going to ask her out, right?” demanded Hermione gently. “Yeah, okay,” he replied. Hermione grinned. “Good. I’ve got to go now; otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it from Ron. See you later, Harry.” “Bye, Hermione,” said Harry. He absentmindedly watched her as she exited the Gryffindor common room and wondered when he should ask Ginny out. ***** Harry woke with a start. Something didn’t feel right. He had been up half the night trying to decide how to ask Ginny out to Hogsmeade. He had finally fallen asleep after deciding to ask her out at breakfast, if for no other reason than he would get it over with first thing in the morning. “Better hurry up, Harry,” said Ron. “Breakfast ends in twenty minutes.” “What?!” said Harry. “You heard me.” “Ron, how come you didn’t wake me earlier?” asked Harry, upset to find he had overslept and that Ron had not bothered to wake him – or at least succeed in waking him. “I tried to. Twice. You threatened to hex me both times, so I decided to let you be.” “Bloody hell,” muttered Harry as he jumped out of bed and quickly changed into his robes. “Wait for me.” Ron obliged and quietly waited for Harry. A few minutes later, they both made their way into the Great Hall for breakfast. Much to Harry’s consternation, he arrived just in time to see Ginny get up and leave, although not before flashing him a smile and telling him ‘good morning’. Hermione left shortly after Ginny, but it didn’t register with Harry. Only too late, he realized that Ron didn’t have an early morning class and now he was late to Divination. “Bloody hell,” said Harry as he jumped up, grabbed his books and raced out of the Great Hall. He sprinted the entire way to the North Tower, stopping only when he saw the silver ladder. He swallowed as he looked up to the trap door, wondering what Trelawney had in store for him today. Realizing worrying about it was getting him nowhere Harry began climbing up the ladder. As he reached the trapdoor, he opened it slowly, grateful that someone had bothered to oil the hinges. He peeked in and froze as he saw the desperate look on Trelawney’s face. “Harry – there you are!” said Professor Trelawney. “I was so worried. I have seen what is coming and you must be strong! Please be strong, Harry,” she finished, almost begging. Harry would have laughed it off if it hadn’t been for the look of fear on her face and the tears streaming down her cheeks. “I will, professor,” he said quietly as he finished climbing into the classroom, well aware that every eye in the class was on him. “Ahem,” sniffled Professor Trelawney, finally drawing the stares away from Harry. “Let us proceed with today’s lecture. Who can tell me which Seer predicted the rise of the dark wizard Grindelwald?” “Bloody hell,” Harry muttered as closed the trap door carefully. He proceeded to his normal seat, taking care to crack the window open before sitting down and putting his bag on the table. He hastily pulled out his self-inking quill and some parchment and began taking notes, sincerely hoping that the rest of the day would not be as bad as the morning had been. The rest of Divination and Charms passed without incident, although shortly into lunch Harry realized the bad start to his day was continuing as Ginny failed to show up for lunch. “Hermione, where’s Ginny?” asked Harry, trying to sound nonchalant. From the look Hermione gave him, he could tell that he had failed. “She’s in the library. Her Ancient Runes class has a major group project due this term and her group is meeting in the library to get started.” “Great,” said Harry, his attention wandering back to his food. He ate half-heartedly until it was time to leave for Care of Magical Creatures. At the sound of the bell he grabbed his bag and followed Ron and Hermione out of the castle. The bright sunshine and the short walk lifted Harry’s spirits. He smiled as the approached the paddock, noting Hagrid’s obvious enthusiasm. He looked around at the gathered students and breathed a sigh of relief at seeing none of the Slytherins among their number. “Ahem, now that yer all here,” began Hagrid proudly, “I’ve got a special surprise fer ye. Ye might ‘ave already heard abou’ ‘em from some of the other years seein’ as yer tha’ last ta see ‘em, although I did ask the others ta keep quiet abou’ it. Miss Lovegood, if ye would be so kind, please bring out the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.” “See, I told you…” Harry heard snatches of conversations coming from the class. He smiled as he noticed the frown on Hermione’s face and then turned his attention back to the paddock. Luna walked out of a small barn clutching a leather bound notebook in one hand and leashes for the two Snorkacks in the other. The little male followed her like a puppy while the female walked aloofly at the end of her leash. On reaching the front of the class, Luna handed off the leash for the female to Hagrid and removed the leash from the male Snorkack, carefully folding it and stowing it into one of the pockets in her robe. From another pocket she removed a handful of feed and offered it to the little male. “Miss Lovegood and ‘er father went on a expedition this past summer ta search fer the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Well, they did manage ta find the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and not only one, either, but a whole herd of ‘em. And not only that, but they managed ta bring two of the little buggers back and were kind enough ta donate ‘em ta Hogwarts. An’ seeing as how Miss Lovegood is one of the very few people ta have observed ‘em in the wild, I’m gonna turn over today’s lecture to ‘er an’ allow ‘er to speak on ‘em. Miss Lovegood,” said Hagrid. “Thank you, Hagrid,” said Luna as she smiled a dreamy smile and appeared to collect her thoughts. After a moment, she cleared her throat and began to lecture even as the little male Snorkack still fed from her hand. “It is thought that the Crumple-Horned Snorkack is extremely long-lived with a lifespan of multiple millennia. Based on what we’ve managed to gleam from ancient texts regarding historical disappearances and reappearances of the Snorkack, it would appear that they migrate in order to breed once every thousand years. The reason they’ve all disappeared from their former ranges is that they’ve migrated up into the Scandanavian countries and are currently breeding, although we cannot tell which part of the cycle they are on – whether they have already bred or have yet to breed. During the two weeks we spent studying them in the wild, my father and I couldn’t locate any young. All of the creatures which we managed to observe appeared to be adults…” Harry found himself laughing silently as he watched Hermione’s reaction. She had folded her hands across her chest and was listening to Luna’s lecture with a decided scowl on her face, which was becoming deeper and deeper the more Luna lectured. As he turned his attention back to the lecture, Harry found himself further amused as he noticed the little male Snorkack behaving very affectionately toward Luna, taking the last of the feed from her hand and then licking her fingers gently with his long tongue. Sensing the food was gone, the beast nuzzled Luna’s side, rubbing itself up and down on her robes. Luna petted him absentmindedly as she continued her lecture. “Ah, there they are,” an enthusiastic aged voice said. Harry turned away from Luna and found himself staring at a pair of misty eyes that he remembered well. “Mr. Ollivander, what are you doing at Hogwarts?” asked Hermione. Ollivander smiled at Hermione. “I’ve come to get some hair samples from the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks,” he replied. “The legends surrounding the Snorkacks suggest that they are a very powerful magical beast, but the extent and capabilities of that magic are unknown. I would like to core some experimental wands with Snorkack hair and try them out. I contacted Hagrid about my request and he has graciously agreed to my obtaining a few samples. With any luck, I’ll have a wand or two to experiment with by tomorrow afternoon. Beautiful creatures, aren’t they?” he said, admiring the two beasts that were standing next to Luna.” “Erm, yes,” replied Hermione hesitantly. “Mr. Ollivander, it’s good ta see ye agin,” said Hagrid as he approached. “Likewise, Hagrid,” replied Ollivander. “Do you have the samples?” he asked excitedly. “Got ‘em right ‘ere,” said Hagrid as he handed a small, sealed brown envelope to Ollivander. “Ah, thank you Hagrid,” said Ollivander as he eagerly accepted the envelope. “This should be most interesting. I haven’t had new wand core material to try in quite a long time.” “Let me know ‘ow it turns out,” said Hagrid. “I will, Hagrid.” “Would ye care fer a spot o’ tea afore you leave?” “No, no,” replied Ollivander. “I’ve got to get going. It doesn’t do to be out late these days. Too many attacks and my bones aren’t moving as fast as they used to. The walk to the Hogwarts apparition point never seemed to be long when I was young, but now,” Ollivander paused and smiled, “it takes much more time that it used to. Besides,” he added with a grin, “I want to get at least one wand cored tonight. Take care Hagrid. You, too, Hermione.” As Ollivander turned to leave, Harry’s attention drifted back to the paddock, where Luna had finally finished lecturing. “All right, you lot,” said Hagrid as he strode back to the paddock. “I want ever’one ta take a bit o’ feed and in’erduce yourself ta the Snorkacks. You boys ta' the female and you ladies ta' the male. You, too, Hermione,” added Hagrid as he noticed Hermione backing away from the line that began forming at the feed sack. Hermione sulked, but did as Hagrid requested, taking her place at the end of the line. “I just don’ un’erstand,” muttered Hagrid about a half an hour later as he tried to figure out why the beast was giving Hermione the eye and not taking her food. “Maybe he’s already eaten enough,” continued Hagrid, scratching his beard. “Let me see,” said Luna, who took the food from Hermione and offered it to the little male Snorkack. The Snorkack came to Luna immediately and began once again to eat right out of her hand. He nuzzled her gently after the food ran out, trying to coax her to give him more. Luna got another handful from Hagrid, which placated the beast. On finishing, he nuzzled Luna again and glared at Hermione. “Hmm, this is strange,” said Luna as she noticed the Snorkack’s odd reaction to Hermione. “He doesn’t seem to like you.” She tucked her wand behind her ear, put her hands on her hips, and gazed at the male Snorkack thoughtfully. “Snorkacks aren’t known for their judgemental powers.” She snorted with laughter all of a sudden. “After all, how good could they be if he doesn’t like you? You’re a wonderful person, Hermione.” Luna smiled dreamily at Hermione, patted the Snorkack and gently led him back to the barn. “Too right,” added Hagrid, who winked at Hermione and then took the female Snorkack back to the barn. Hermione all of a sudden felt very small. After all of the ribbing she had given Luna about the Snorkacks she was surprised to learn that Luna still held her in high esteem. She also noted that Luna hadn’t lorded it over anyone that she and her father had re-discovered the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. “Hermione, is everything all right?” asked Harry as he and Ron re-joined her. “Yes,” said Hermione as she broke out of her thoughts and smiled at the boys. “Are you ready to head back to the castle?” asked Ron. “Yes,” replied Hermione absentmindedly, but then she appeared to think the better of it. “Wait a minute, Ron. Let’s wait for Luna.” “All right,” replied Ron, not quite believing what he had heard. Seeing that Hermione had no further comment, Ron shrugged his shoulders and began discussing plans for the evening’s Quidditch practice with Harry. Hermione listened to Ron and Harry only half-heartedly as she watched for Luna. After a few minutes, Luna reappeared, smiling as she caught sight of the trio. Together, the four of them headed back up to the castle. Ron and Harry continued discussing Quidditch while Luna talked further on the Snorkacks and Hermione listened. About halfway up the hill Luna caught herself staring dreamily at Ron and stopped talking all of a sudden. She slowed down, causing herself and Hermione to drop back behind the boys a bit. “I suppose I should stop doing that,” said Luna. “Doing what?” said Hermione. “Desiring Ron,” replied Luna. “After all, it’s pretty obvious that he loves you, Hermione.” She sighed. “You’re such a lucky woman, you know. Ron has one of the most loyal auras about him that I’ve ever seen. It’s wonder the Sorting Hat didn’t put him in Hufflepuff.” Luna smiled at Hermione. “I’d give anything for a boyfriend like that. The only one who even comes close to him is Harry. Take good care of him; he needs you, you know. You complete him as he does you.” Hermione walked on, not knowing how to answer Luna. “Thanks for waiting, Hermione,” said Luna, who stopped as they came into the entrance hall. “I enjoyed walking with you.” “You’re welcome, Luna,” replied Hermione, smiling tentatively. “I’ll see you later,” she added and then ran to catch up with Ron and Harry who heading in the direction of the Great Hall and dinner. Hermione sat down next to Harry, across from Ron. She nudged Harry as she caught him eyeing Ginny, who was seated a bit further down the table talking animatedly with Neville and Colin Creevey. “You’re going to ask her out, right?” she whispered. “Yeah,” replied Harry, “after practice.” Harry felt his stomach do another summersault as he looked back in Ginny’s direction. He turned his attention back to his food and half-heartedly shoved a fork full of shepherd’s pie into his mouth, forcing himself to chew and swallow it. For the first time in his life he wished Quidditch practice would hurry up and be finished. Fortunately, his stomach stopped bothering him as soon as he took to the air and the joy of flying and the fun of playing with Katie and Ginny soon pushed his worries far from his mind. Harry felt his heart lightening as he realized practice was almost over. Finally he would have time alone with Ginny and the opportunity to ask her out. As he scored the last goal of practice, he could tell that the frown on Ron’s face was from something other than the disappointment from having missed saving another goal. Harry’s stomach somersaulted again as Ron hurriedly motioned him over. “Cho’s back,” stated Ron as he nodded in the direction of the Ravenclaw box seats once again. “Bloody hell,” muttered Harry, not only irritated that Cho had shown up once again, but also that he had yet to ask Ginny out on a date for the approaching Hogsmeade weekend. He had been hoping to do it during their usual evening Seeker practice. “Are you going to talk to her?” asked Ron. “I guess I’d better get it over with,” replied Harry, worried that Ginny might get upset again. “Ron, tell Ginny to wait for me. We’ll start Seeker practice as soon as I’m finished with Cho.” Harry wondered what Cho wanted as he flew down to the Ravenclaw box seats. She looked up from her studies and smiled at him as he approached. He smiled back politely, thinking that if she had smiled like that two years ago his heart might have stopped, but now he just hoped this wouldn’t interfere with his promise to Hermione that he would ask Ginny out. “Hello, Harry,” said Cho self-consciously. “Hi, Cho,” replied Harry as he brought his broom to a halt beside Cho. “What brings you back this time?” “I’m not spying, if that’s what you think,” answered Cho. “I promise; cross my heart and hope to die.” Harry laughed and Cho quickly joined in. “So what is it then?” asked Harry in a slightly better mood due to Cho’s joke. “Well, erm, there’s a Hogsmeade weekend coming up in a few weeks and I was wondering if you would care to join me?” “Erm, I’m already planning to go with someone else,” replied Harry. “Sorry.” A look of obvious disappointment came over Cho’s face. “Well, maybe next time.” she said, smiling weakly. “Yeah, well, I’ve got to get back to practice,” said Harry. “I’ll see you.” “Bye, Harry,” replied Cho. Harry took off, chancing a backward glance only after he had put some distance between himself and Cho. He was relieved to see she had gathered all of her books and was making her way down the stands. He quickly brought his attention back to what he was doing as he flew up to meet Ginny. “What did Cho want this time?” asked Ginny as Harry flew over to her side and quickly brought his broom to a halt. “She asked me for a date,” replied Harry a bit nervously. “Hogsmeade weekend’s coming up, you know,” he added, seeing a surprised look on Ginny’s face. “So, what did you tell her?” asked Ginny coolly. “I told her I was planning to go with someone else,” replied Harry. “And… Who’s the lucky girl?” she asked, once again in that cool tone of hers. Harry picked up on Ginny’s tone and realized she was struggling to remain indifferent. For a moment, he decided to play along. “Well, to be truthful, I haven’t asked her yet,” he replied. Ginny stopped for a moment. “Out with it, Harry,” said Ginny, struggling to play the role of the playful team mate. “Who is she?” Harry smiled at her. “I was hoping it would be you,” he answered. Ginny started. Harry’s answer caught her totally off-guard and that smile of his wasn’t helping matters either. “Erm, yeah, Harry, I’d…I’d love to go with you,” she replied, desperately trying to keep her voice cool and indifferent. Harry smiled at her again. “I was hoping you’d say yes. So are you up to some Seeker practice or would you like to call it a night?” “Let’s call it a night,” replied Ginny. “My homework is starting to pile up. If I don’t get caught up, I’ll be spending the Hogsmeade weekend in the library. By the way, Harry, could you help me with my Potions homework?” Harry was surprised by Ginny’s request. “Wouldn’t Hermione be a better choice?” he asked. “Well, erm, yes,” said Ginny, hoping her answer wouldn’t hurt Harry’s feelings, but also not wanting to be too obvious about wanting to spend as much time close to him as she could, “but she has a meeting tonight.” Harry shrugged, appearing not to have taken any insult from Ginny’s reply. “Sure, I just hope I don’t lead you down the wrong path.” Harry looked into Ginny’s eyes and smiled as he saw them sparkle. “You won’t,” replied Ginny reassuringly. “So what would you like to do in Hogsmeade?” asked Harry as they strolled back to the castle. They walked back to the castle side by side, chatting pleasantly about the various things they wanted to do in Hogsmeade. All of a sudden, Harry was very glad Fred had made him keep all of the extra galleons he had given him when they set off to purchase Neville’s wand. On reaching the Gryffindor common room, Harry settled into one of the squishy armchairs by the fire while Ginny went upstairs to her dorm to retrieve her books and assignments. “Fancy a game of chess, mate?” asked Ron as he saw Harry settle into the chair next to him. “Yeah,” replied Harry, thinking all of his work could wait until later. Ron got up and headed to his and Harry’s dorm to retrieve his chess set. Harry smiled as he watched Ginny descend the stairs from the girls dorm with a stack of books that was nearly as tall as she was, grateful that he didn’t have the O.W.L.s to worry about this year. She settled into the chair Ron had vacated and began looking over all of her books, her nose wrinkling with a slight scowl as she sorted through it all. In the meantime, Ron had come back down and sat across from Harry, dropping two boxes of chess figures onto a gaming table, which he quickly put between himself and Harry. As Ginny looked over her homework, she decided that she wanted to leave Potions until tomorrow. There was no way she could get a twelve inch long essay on the uses of moonstone in potions completed before she had to go to bed and there were other things she could complete in the meantime. Also, that would give her an excuse to spend at least part of Saturday with Harry after tryouts. She sighed loudly, then smiled noticing she had captured Harry’s attention. “Tell you what, Harry, I don’t want to think about Potions tonight. I’ve got too much other work. Why don’t we look at it after tryouts tomorrow? What do you say?” “Harry help you with Potions homework?” asked Ron incredulously as he made his opening move. “Sure,” replied Harry, ignoring Ron’s comment. “Thanks,” said Ginny, smiling shyly. Ginny’s smile captured Harry’s attention and a grin quickly spread itself across his face. “You’re welcome, Ginny.” “Your move,” said Ron, anxious to get Harry’s attention back to their game. “Okay, okay,” replied Harry as he half-heartedly turned his eyes back to the chess pieces, unable to get the image of Ginny smiling out of his head.
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