Two weeks into the summer holidays and the boy called Harry Potter was led
face down on his bed. The bed in his small room in the perfectly normal
suburban
house on Privet Drive which he now resigned himself to calling home. The
fact
that he now knew why it was so important that he called the place home and
spent
his holidays here, didn't make his time with the Dursleys any easier.
Especially
as the one true hope he had ever had of a new home had disappeared not much
more
than a month previously, along with his godfather.
Harry quickly tried to divert his thoughts, the loss of Sirius still burnt him up inside. His feelings of grief and guilt had not even started to fade, he doubted they ever would. Sirius had been the nearest thing to a parent Harry had known, well, the nearest thing to his real type of parent. Mr and Mrs Weasley were great, but a very different type of parent to what Harry expected his own mother and father were. He felt a pang of grief for the parents he could not even remember, and the godfather whose discovery almost made up for his 13 parentless years. Harry had yet to come to terms with the reality that he was gone, at least as Luna Lovegood had said, it was not as far as he had previously thought.
Luckily, there was much to occupy Harry's mind, for the moment at least, and this was definitely not a bad thing. Memories of the summer term came flooding back as Harry thought with dread about the imminent OWL results which would be arriving sometime in the next fortnight. At the time, they had seemed of little importance, and although he had tried to revise as best he could, Harry now wished he had put a lot more effort in. The events of 'That Night' had brought it home to Harry that the only job he wanted was that of an aurorer, in the back of his mind he knew that this was because he wanted to avenge Sirius, but still, he couldn't imagine ever doing anything else. Still, to become an aurorer you need to achieve top grades, and now, all Harry could do was wait, and hope that he had done enough. A letter from Mrs Weasley a few days earlier had helped, Harry had heard about the letter from Ron, though he wasn't expecting to receive one himself. Apparently, Mrs Weasley had sent one to each of her sons in the past, before they were sent their results. It was a nice surprise for Harry to get the letter, but he was even more touched when he read it and realised Mrs Weasley had not made any alterations, the first line still read "My darling son, I love you very much....." He supposed she would have to change it next year, or face the wrath of Ginny, the thought amused him. By the end of the letter though, silent tears trickled down his face, he realised that however his mother would have brought him up, she couldn't have wished for a better person to take over the job. The letter was not emphasising results or academic achievement, but qualities that she knew each of her sons had in endless supply like honesty and goodness, bravery and kindness, patience and trust, and she was proud of each of them, whatever the outcome of exams. It was a new emotion for Harry, to feel valued for his qualities rather than events in has past or anything else and he felt such a wave of love for Mrs Weasley that he almost wrote asking if she would consider adopting him. Luckily the feeling ran out in time to save his embarrassment, although he did write to thank her.
Apart from the dread of results, Harry had another matter to think about. Unusually, it was not the Dursleys, they had managed to be surprisingly civil since the holidays began. This may have had something to do with the fact that Harry had only ever ventured out of his room to use the toilet. Unlike last summer, he had no need to try and catch snippets of muggle news programmes. The Daily Prophet was no longer in denial of Voldemorts return, and he received his copy every morning, courtesy of a brown post-owl who had become increasingly friendly with Hedwig. The sight of them flying together made Harry laugh, he had never really thought about owls and relationships before.
No, the new problem had come in the form of a long letter from Ron earlier that day. Harry couldn't believe what he read, indeed, if it weren't for the fact that Ron would be incapable of making it up, he was sure he wouldn't believe it at all, it just didn't add up. Ginny had a boyfriend didn't she? Harry couldn't remember much about the train journey home, but he was sure Ginny mentioned something about her and Dean Thomas. The thought of Ginny and Hermione was just too bizarre, yet Ron insisted that when he walked into their shared bedroom this morning they were kissing. Understandably Harry supposed, Ron just didn't know what to think about the situation. He didn't like the idea of Ginny being with boys, or at least he hadn't liked that Michael or whatever he was called, but kissing Hermione? Obviously he had been mortified at the time, and ran straight back out of the room, but now, on reflection, he was too confused to know how to feel, Harry sympathised. As friends, indeed best friends, to them both, he was a little unsettled, he doubted it was anything serious, but what if it was? The matter had been pondered on since he read the letter, and now, at eight o'clock in the evening, his thoughts were no clearer.
Interrupted by a sharp rapping on the window, Harry started, then rose to let Ginny's owl Minalope in, he had wondered how long this would take. The address had been written by Ginny, but the letter was so obviously Hermione's hand. Definitely not as neat as usual, Harry had the feeling this was not the first draft of the letter, he wondered how many screwn up pieces of parchment lay in the bin in their room.
"Harry, look,I don't know what Ron said in his letter, we (that's me and Ginny) just wanted to make sure that you understand the situation. When he walked in this morning it wasn't what it looked like. Me and Ginny, we were just having a laugh, yes it went a bit too far but it's nothing really .It was only a kiss,and we don't really know how it happened. Just please don't mention anything to anyone, Ginny's terrified Deans going to find out, and she really likes him, please persuade Ron not to say anything, not to anyone, do you understand? Its just you can't even tell Fred or George, I probably should have told you earlier, but me and Fred, we've been seeing each other for a couple of months now"
Harry couldn't believe it. "Can you imagine how mortified you'd be if you found out your girlfriend had kissed your sister while you were together! Please, you can't tell anyone. I've written to Ron as well, I know were in the same house, but honestly, neither me or Ginny can face him at the moment."
Harry didn't suppose he would be able to either. "I can't impress upon you how important it is that you keep this to yourselves, Me and Ginny are so embarrassed. We'll probably be seeing you quite soon. Give our love to your aunt and uncle.
Mione & Gin xx"
Harry supposed the last line was a joke, but he couldn't find much else in the letter to laugh at. At least it proved Ron wasn't having hallucinations. The major shock was the whole Hermione and Fred thing, it seemed so unlikely, but now he thought about it, Hermione had loosened up a bit recently, he wondered whether they had been together when hermione had had her change of heart concerning the skiving snackboxes. The day she laughed when Seamus vomited all over the greenhouse floor, he and Ron had sent her to bed, thinking she must have been ill. Well, its a better match than her and Ginny in any case thought Harry in conclusion. He supposed he ought to write to Ron
Another rap at the window made him look up, and pigwidgeon flew in the open window where Minalope had left. Harry was not expecting the contents of the letter. He thought he had already had enough revelation to last the entire summer, but the contents of Ron's second letter were perhaps the most surprising. The writing was smudged with tears and Harry felt angry for not realising before. It's not like it wasn't obvious. Harry had never known Ron let out his feelings like this before, he usually kept them bottled up, but the events of the day were obviously too much for even Ron to take. ".....All I've ever wanted was to kiss her, I just wanted her to be mine, you know like you wanted Cho, well I wanted Hermione, in fact, I didn't even mind if I didn't have her, as long as no-one else did. But i did want to kiss her, I almost did you know, under the mistletoe, but I couldn't, she would have laughed, or been sick. And then she kisses my own sister, that was bizarre, but even worse, her and Fred, he's not good enough for her. Not only my sister, but my bloody brother as well......"
It went on, and on, Harry's heart dropped with empathy for him. It must be awful, he remembered when he saw Cho and Cedric together, he was over her now of course, but at the time, it was hell, he couldn't imagine what it would be like if it was your brother. He had to get out of Privet Drive and over to the burrow ASAP. Things were going a little astray and he had to talk to Ron now.
Harry quickly tried to divert his thoughts, the loss of Sirius still burnt him up inside. His feelings of grief and guilt had not even started to fade, he doubted they ever would. Sirius had been the nearest thing to a parent Harry had known, well, the nearest thing to his real type of parent. Mr and Mrs Weasley were great, but a very different type of parent to what Harry expected his own mother and father were. He felt a pang of grief for the parents he could not even remember, and the godfather whose discovery almost made up for his 13 parentless years. Harry had yet to come to terms with the reality that he was gone, at least as Luna Lovegood had said, it was not as far as he had previously thought.
Luckily, there was much to occupy Harry's mind, for the moment at least, and this was definitely not a bad thing. Memories of the summer term came flooding back as Harry thought with dread about the imminent OWL results which would be arriving sometime in the next fortnight. At the time, they had seemed of little importance, and although he had tried to revise as best he could, Harry now wished he had put a lot more effort in. The events of 'That Night' had brought it home to Harry that the only job he wanted was that of an aurorer, in the back of his mind he knew that this was because he wanted to avenge Sirius, but still, he couldn't imagine ever doing anything else. Still, to become an aurorer you need to achieve top grades, and now, all Harry could do was wait, and hope that he had done enough. A letter from Mrs Weasley a few days earlier had helped, Harry had heard about the letter from Ron, though he wasn't expecting to receive one himself. Apparently, Mrs Weasley had sent one to each of her sons in the past, before they were sent their results. It was a nice surprise for Harry to get the letter, but he was even more touched when he read it and realised Mrs Weasley had not made any alterations, the first line still read "My darling son, I love you very much....." He supposed she would have to change it next year, or face the wrath of Ginny, the thought amused him. By the end of the letter though, silent tears trickled down his face, he realised that however his mother would have brought him up, she couldn't have wished for a better person to take over the job. The letter was not emphasising results or academic achievement, but qualities that she knew each of her sons had in endless supply like honesty and goodness, bravery and kindness, patience and trust, and she was proud of each of them, whatever the outcome of exams. It was a new emotion for Harry, to feel valued for his qualities rather than events in has past or anything else and he felt such a wave of love for Mrs Weasley that he almost wrote asking if she would consider adopting him. Luckily the feeling ran out in time to save his embarrassment, although he did write to thank her.
Apart from the dread of results, Harry had another matter to think about. Unusually, it was not the Dursleys, they had managed to be surprisingly civil since the holidays began. This may have had something to do with the fact that Harry had only ever ventured out of his room to use the toilet. Unlike last summer, he had no need to try and catch snippets of muggle news programmes. The Daily Prophet was no longer in denial of Voldemorts return, and he received his copy every morning, courtesy of a brown post-owl who had become increasingly friendly with Hedwig. The sight of them flying together made Harry laugh, he had never really thought about owls and relationships before.
No, the new problem had come in the form of a long letter from Ron earlier that day. Harry couldn't believe what he read, indeed, if it weren't for the fact that Ron would be incapable of making it up, he was sure he wouldn't believe it at all, it just didn't add up. Ginny had a boyfriend didn't she? Harry couldn't remember much about the train journey home, but he was sure Ginny mentioned something about her and Dean Thomas. The thought of Ginny and Hermione was just too bizarre, yet Ron insisted that when he walked into their shared bedroom this morning they were kissing. Understandably Harry supposed, Ron just didn't know what to think about the situation. He didn't like the idea of Ginny being with boys, or at least he hadn't liked that Michael or whatever he was called, but kissing Hermione? Obviously he had been mortified at the time, and ran straight back out of the room, but now, on reflection, he was too confused to know how to feel, Harry sympathised. As friends, indeed best friends, to them both, he was a little unsettled, he doubted it was anything serious, but what if it was? The matter had been pondered on since he read the letter, and now, at eight o'clock in the evening, his thoughts were no clearer.
Interrupted by a sharp rapping on the window, Harry started, then rose to let Ginny's owl Minalope in, he had wondered how long this would take. The address had been written by Ginny, but the letter was so obviously Hermione's hand. Definitely not as neat as usual, Harry had the feeling this was not the first draft of the letter, he wondered how many screwn up pieces of parchment lay in the bin in their room.
"Harry, look,I don't know what Ron said in his letter, we (that's me and Ginny) just wanted to make sure that you understand the situation. When he walked in this morning it wasn't what it looked like. Me and Ginny, we were just having a laugh, yes it went a bit too far but it's nothing really .It was only a kiss,and we don't really know how it happened. Just please don't mention anything to anyone, Ginny's terrified Deans going to find out, and she really likes him, please persuade Ron not to say anything, not to anyone, do you understand? Its just you can't even tell Fred or George, I probably should have told you earlier, but me and Fred, we've been seeing each other for a couple of months now"
Harry couldn't believe it. "Can you imagine how mortified you'd be if you found out your girlfriend had kissed your sister while you were together! Please, you can't tell anyone. I've written to Ron as well, I know were in the same house, but honestly, neither me or Ginny can face him at the moment."
Harry didn't suppose he would be able to either. "I can't impress upon you how important it is that you keep this to yourselves, Me and Ginny are so embarrassed. We'll probably be seeing you quite soon. Give our love to your aunt and uncle.
Mione & Gin xx"
Harry supposed the last line was a joke, but he couldn't find much else in the letter to laugh at. At least it proved Ron wasn't having hallucinations. The major shock was the whole Hermione and Fred thing, it seemed so unlikely, but now he thought about it, Hermione had loosened up a bit recently, he wondered whether they had been together when hermione had had her change of heart concerning the skiving snackboxes. The day she laughed when Seamus vomited all over the greenhouse floor, he and Ron had sent her to bed, thinking she must have been ill. Well, its a better match than her and Ginny in any case thought Harry in conclusion. He supposed he ought to write to Ron
Another rap at the window made him look up, and pigwidgeon flew in the open window where Minalope had left. Harry was not expecting the contents of the letter. He thought he had already had enough revelation to last the entire summer, but the contents of Ron's second letter were perhaps the most surprising. The writing was smudged with tears and Harry felt angry for not realising before. It's not like it wasn't obvious. Harry had never known Ron let out his feelings like this before, he usually kept them bottled up, but the events of the day were obviously too much for even Ron to take. ".....All I've ever wanted was to kiss her, I just wanted her to be mine, you know like you wanted Cho, well I wanted Hermione, in fact, I didn't even mind if I didn't have her, as long as no-one else did. But i did want to kiss her, I almost did you know, under the mistletoe, but I couldn't, she would have laughed, or been sick. And then she kisses my own sister, that was bizarre, but even worse, her and Fred, he's not good enough for her. Not only my sister, but my bloody brother as well......"
It went on, and on, Harry's heart dropped with empathy for him. It must be awful, he remembered when he saw Cho and Cedric together, he was over her now of course, but at the time, it was hell, he couldn't imagine what it would be like if it was your brother. He had to get out of Privet Drive and over to the burrow ASAP. Things were going a little astray and he had to talk to Ron now.