A/n: This is the third story in my trilogy. Please read Harry Potter and the Deatheater's Daughter and Harry Potter and the Year of Darkness before it.
Disclaimer: All characters that were presented in the 4 Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling belong to her. All the others are produces of my own imagination.
Part One: The Birthday Surprise
"Explain to me again why we have to do homework at this hour of the night," Gretchen moaned. Harry looked up at her, partly because he needed to roll his eye at her and partly because he still couldn't believe she was there.
"It's a curtsy to the Dursleys," Harry explained. "I mean, they've been so nice letting you stay and everything..."
"Harry, they only let me stay become that pig in a wig son of theirs' thinks I'm cute." Gretchen sighed. "I swear," she said in a non threatening tone, "if he flirts with me one more time I'll-Oh, Harry! Look, it's your birthday!" Harry turned and looked at the clock behind him. He grinned.
"It is my birthday," he said. "I'm seventeen." He raised his eyebrows and Gretchen a silly smile. She laughed and threw a pillow at him.
"Stop being such a dope," she scolded between giggles. A sly look appeared in Harry's eyes. He threw the pillow back at Gretchen. Before he knew it they were throwing pillows and jumping on his bed like five year olds.
"I'm gonna get you Harry Potter," Gretchen teased.
"No I'm gonna get you Gretchen Locus," Harry teased back. They jumped on the bed. Gretchen slipped on a sheet and grabbed Harry as she fell. She landed on the bed, Harry on top of her. There was an awkward pause as Harry got up.
"I'm tired," Harry announced. "I think I'll be going to bed."
"Yeah," Gretchen said. "Me, too." She jumped off of Harry's bed and retrieved a sleeping bag that had been stored underneath the bed. She then when over to her trunk and grabbed a white night dress. "I have to change," she muttered as she walked into Harry's closet. As Gretchen changed in the closet, Harry changed in the bedroom.
"I'm done," he called softly as soon as he had changed. Gretchen emerged from the closet. She got into the sleeping bag. Harry reached from his bed to turn out the lights, and then he went to bed. He lay there, still, for several minuets.
"'Night, Harry," Gretchen said softly.
"Good Night, Gretchen," Harry responded softly. He closed his eyes, but didn't fall asleep. After several minuets he opened them agien and looked down at Gretchen. She was asleep, lying on her left side. She was curled up like a small child, elbows drawn to her chest, knees next to her elbows. She looked peaceful, but she also seemed a bit scared. Harry wasn't surprised. They had much to fear.
Since the night Gretchen's mother had died, much had happened. Voldemort had started his attacks agien, this time killing a family of muggles in Hermione's hometown. The next day the Ministry of Magic officials came and relocated all wizard families in the area, including hers. She had written Harry and told him about it. She said that she knew the people who died. They had lived across the street, she said. Amber had been in her grade, and she had helped Alli with homework.
Anyway, Hermione was in Italy, now, for the summer. She said it was really difficult because she didn't know how to speak Italian, so Gretchen sent her a book she had learned before coming to hogwarts. Gretchen spoke Italian, but only rarely.
Ron had written Harry earlier that week. He said that the summer was really boring, and that he was really lonely, since Fred and George were at work and he had only Ginny to talk to. He said he even found himself missing Percy's dumb conversations about homework.
As for Harry and Gretchen, their summer was going all right. They'd wake up and join the Dursleys for breakfast. Dudley would spend the whole meal hitting on Gretchen.
Sometimes, she'd flirt with him, just to satisfy him enough to keep him from throwing her out of the house. Harry and the elder Dursleys watched in horror as this happed. Uncle Vermon and Aunt Petunia didn't want their son getting involved with witch trash. Harry didn't want Dudley to touch Gretchen. She was too good to be touched buy someone who was more wide then he was tall.
After breakfast was over, Harry and Gretchen would usually leave the house, sometimes staying together, sometimes going different places. Gretchen was fond of jogging three miles to a 'local' coffee shop where she would hit on collage boys. Harry would often catch her making out with some boy in the back of the room while he got drinks. That's why he didn't go with her most of the time. Harry didn't like seeing her with other boys. He did love her after all. Or at least, he thought he did.
Harry looked over the edge of the bed agien to watch Gretchen sleep. He loved her. How else could a moment like this-Gretchen curled up into a ball with her hair all over, drooling on her pillow-seem beautiful.
Harry rolled over and closed his eyes. He fell asleep. He had the same odd dream he had been having all summer. He would be going about his day, sitting in Charms, practicing at Quiddich, or just hanging out in the Gryffindor common room. Then, towards the end of the dream, he would feel suddenly warm, as if eyes from heaven were gazing upon him. Then he would wake up and climb out of bed. Gretchen would reenter the room after having used the bathroom, wrapped in a towel from her shower, and Harry would leave so that she could change and Harry could take his shower. On one hand, everything was going well. On the other hand, everything was getting boring.
As much as Harry hated to admit it, he was finding it hard to appreciate such a normal life after all he had been through. A day wasn't a day if her hadn't broken at least one school rule, or insulted Draco Malfoy in the hall. Harry wondered what he would do at the end of the school year. Then end of his seventh and final school year, and he didn't want to think about it. The thought of not being a student at hogwarts was just too weird for him to deal with.
"Happy Birthday!" Gretchen shouted, wakening Harry up with a start. He jumped out of bed and put on his glasses. His room didn't look like his room any more, not at all. There were red streamers all over the walls, and yellow balloons that sang "Happy birthday to you..." constantly. At the corners of his room, Gretchen had hung sparklers that shimmer and glowed. Harry saw that his dresser was piled with presents and, standing next to Gretchen, fully dressed and warring party hats, were Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny.
"Happy Birthday, Harry," Ron said. Harry jumped out of bed and gave Ron a brotherly hug.
"I can't believe it," he said after shaking everybody's hand and giving Hermione a kiss on the cheek. "How did you ever manage to pull this off?"
"Weeks and weeks of planning and participation," Gretchen said. "We all pitched in a bit. I sent Hermione an invitation in the book I sent her, which she forwarded to Ron and the others. She was also kind enough to give them a note with some money asking them to get the decorations from Diagon Ally."
"So of course I got them," Ron finished. "We came over on a muggle train last night and set these all up this morning. And of course we brought presents and everything. Mum even baked a cake for you." Harry beamed at everyone in the room. Never before in his life had Harry been given a birthday party. Now, for the first time, in the smallest bedroom, in the Dursleys house on Privet drive, he was having one. Then, Harry suddenly remembered.
"The Dursleys," he questions, "what about them? They're bound to notice something!"
"Oh, about that..." Gretchen said. Her lips curved into a devilish smile. "They decided that they needed to go on holiday this morning.... they went to London for the day." Hermione burst out laughing. Harry gave them a serious look.
"Oh," Hermione, "you should have been here Harry. It was sooo funny. Fred and George, they're all grown now and can use magic, hypnotized them, and told them they needed to go to London for the day to look for...." Hermione could barely contain her laughter, "a purple fish stand. They went off smiling and talking about sushi. I've never seen anything so silly, Harry. Put don't worry about them, they'll be back by nightfall." Harry found that by the end of Hermione's story, he was laughing, too.
The rest of the day was fun and carefree. They ate cake for breakfast, played party games ("I always did love pin the tale on the Hippogriff," said Ron), ate cake for lunch, watched a fire works display ("All these products and more available at Weasleys Wizard Wheezing"), and then ate cake fir dinner ("Did I mention that my mum made a huge cake?"). After dinner Hermione started to tell everyone about her summer in Italy.
"It's been wonderful, so far. We're staying in Rome. I go see the church almost everyday..."
"Church? You go to a muggle church?" Ron said, surprised.
"Yes," Hermione said. Ron blinked. "It's not because I believe in God, it's because I like to look at the ceiling. It was painted by a rather famous muggle named Michelangelo."
"Oh," Ron said. "You had me worried there for a second."
"Why?" Hermione said. "Don't wizards believe in God? I always assumed they did, because we never talk about religion at all in Hogwarts, so I assumed that they believed in that, because most muggle do." Ron shook his head, but said nothing.
"You learn about religion in your seventh year," Fred said. "It's a tradition. No one is exposed to the religion before the seventh year. It's a tradition."
"Oh," said Hermione. She looked at her watch. "I better be going," she announced. "The Night Bus will be coming around, and I intend to be on it."
"Yes, we should leave, too," George, said. "Father's riding the muggle train over here. He's really excited about it, and we're suppose to meat him there." Harry exchanged his good byes with Hermione and the Weasleys. Soon, he was alone with Gretchen once more.
The next few weeks passed quickly. Harry met up with Ron at Diagon Ally when buying his new books which included A standard Book of Spells, grade seven; Advanced Transfiguration; Battle Charms; Advance Defense Against Dark Arts; and The Hermetic Books, which was actually a set of ten books.
"Do they really expect us to read all of this in a year?" Ron complained. "All of then are at least a thousand pages long!" Harry hoped that they didn't expect them all to be read. Reading all of them would be hard, even for someone like Hermione.
Before Harry knew it, and much to his relief, the summer was over, and he was once agien with Ron, Hermione, Gretchen, and Ginny, boarding the Hogwarts Express. After saying good-bye to Mr. and Mrs.Weasley, the five headed for their usual compartment, only to find that six strangers, and two familiar faces already occupied it.
"'Arry!" Fluer Delacour shouted upon his entrance. She ran up and kissed him on both cheeks. "'Ello 'Arry! It's me, Fleur! And my sister, Gabrielle, and my littlest sister, Helen." Gabrielle, who Harry had rescued from the bottom on the lake during his forth year, wave. She looked exactly like her sister. Next to her was a small girl, around fifteen, with curly red hair and blue eyes. Harry guessed that she was Helen.
"I gets a job at 'Ogwarts thiz year, 'elping with Transfiguration!" Fluer explained. That left five people Harry had never seen before. One of them stood up and walked over to Harry.
"Hullo," he said. "My name iz Ixion White. Thiz iz my sister, Rhita, and my freinds, Bellona, Calchas, and Ajax. We are transferring from Drumstrug. Vho are you?"
"I'm Harry," Harry said. "This is Ron, Hermione, Gretchen, and Ginny. It's nice to meet you." Seeing as the compartment was quite full, Harry, Rom, Hermione, and Gretchen moved into a different compartment, leaving Ginny to talk with Helen, who she seemed to be getting along with.
"I wonder if any of them will be in Gryffindor," Hermione asked at once. Her cheeks went red. "They do seem rather nice."
"Probably not," said Ron defensively. He and Hermione had been going out for almost half a year, but he still got jealous when Hermione thought another boy was cute. "Drumstrung kids tend to be a lot like good for nothing Slytherins."
"Now that's a rude thing to say!" Hermione proclaimed.
"Sorry," Ron said. "It's just that their headmaster was a death eater and all...."
"Gretchen's mother was a death eater, and you wouldn't say that about her would you!" Hermione shouted.
"Could we leave me out of this..." Gretchen said softly. Ron's voice over powered her.
"I'm sorry Hermione! I didn't mean it."
"But you said it!"
"Those were just words!"
"But you...."
"And action speak louder then words, Hermione, and I promise to be nice to them, I promise." Hermione took a deep breath.
"Alright," she said. "I forgive you."
"Thanks," said Ron. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, and then looked to Gretchen, who looked at him. They hated watching Ron and Hermione fight. But at least they were happy most of the time while they were together. Harry knew that when you were in love, fights didn't seem to matter much. After all, he wouldn't mind fighting with Gretchen everyday, if that meant that she would love him, and kiss him, and be his girlfriend. But she wasn't his girlfriend. They hadn't talked about love all summer. Or the kiss they shared, or anything like that. Harry had tried to talk with her about it several times, but Gretchen always managed to avoid the subject.
After the fight, things were quiet aboard the Hogwarts Express. They had a safe ride all the way to Hogwarts.
Disclaimer: All characters that were presented in the 4 Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling belong to her. All the others are produces of my own imagination.
Part One: The Birthday Surprise
"Explain to me again why we have to do homework at this hour of the night," Gretchen moaned. Harry looked up at her, partly because he needed to roll his eye at her and partly because he still couldn't believe she was there.
"It's a curtsy to the Dursleys," Harry explained. "I mean, they've been so nice letting you stay and everything..."
"Harry, they only let me stay become that pig in a wig son of theirs' thinks I'm cute." Gretchen sighed. "I swear," she said in a non threatening tone, "if he flirts with me one more time I'll-Oh, Harry! Look, it's your birthday!" Harry turned and looked at the clock behind him. He grinned.
"It is my birthday," he said. "I'm seventeen." He raised his eyebrows and Gretchen a silly smile. She laughed and threw a pillow at him.
"Stop being such a dope," she scolded between giggles. A sly look appeared in Harry's eyes. He threw the pillow back at Gretchen. Before he knew it they were throwing pillows and jumping on his bed like five year olds.
"I'm gonna get you Harry Potter," Gretchen teased.
"No I'm gonna get you Gretchen Locus," Harry teased back. They jumped on the bed. Gretchen slipped on a sheet and grabbed Harry as she fell. She landed on the bed, Harry on top of her. There was an awkward pause as Harry got up.
"I'm tired," Harry announced. "I think I'll be going to bed."
"Yeah," Gretchen said. "Me, too." She jumped off of Harry's bed and retrieved a sleeping bag that had been stored underneath the bed. She then when over to her trunk and grabbed a white night dress. "I have to change," she muttered as she walked into Harry's closet. As Gretchen changed in the closet, Harry changed in the bedroom.
"I'm done," he called softly as soon as he had changed. Gretchen emerged from the closet. She got into the sleeping bag. Harry reached from his bed to turn out the lights, and then he went to bed. He lay there, still, for several minuets.
"'Night, Harry," Gretchen said softly.
"Good Night, Gretchen," Harry responded softly. He closed his eyes, but didn't fall asleep. After several minuets he opened them agien and looked down at Gretchen. She was asleep, lying on her left side. She was curled up like a small child, elbows drawn to her chest, knees next to her elbows. She looked peaceful, but she also seemed a bit scared. Harry wasn't surprised. They had much to fear.
Since the night Gretchen's mother had died, much had happened. Voldemort had started his attacks agien, this time killing a family of muggles in Hermione's hometown. The next day the Ministry of Magic officials came and relocated all wizard families in the area, including hers. She had written Harry and told him about it. She said that she knew the people who died. They had lived across the street, she said. Amber had been in her grade, and she had helped Alli with homework.
Anyway, Hermione was in Italy, now, for the summer. She said it was really difficult because she didn't know how to speak Italian, so Gretchen sent her a book she had learned before coming to hogwarts. Gretchen spoke Italian, but only rarely.
Ron had written Harry earlier that week. He said that the summer was really boring, and that he was really lonely, since Fred and George were at work and he had only Ginny to talk to. He said he even found himself missing Percy's dumb conversations about homework.
As for Harry and Gretchen, their summer was going all right. They'd wake up and join the Dursleys for breakfast. Dudley would spend the whole meal hitting on Gretchen.
Sometimes, she'd flirt with him, just to satisfy him enough to keep him from throwing her out of the house. Harry and the elder Dursleys watched in horror as this happed. Uncle Vermon and Aunt Petunia didn't want their son getting involved with witch trash. Harry didn't want Dudley to touch Gretchen. She was too good to be touched buy someone who was more wide then he was tall.
After breakfast was over, Harry and Gretchen would usually leave the house, sometimes staying together, sometimes going different places. Gretchen was fond of jogging three miles to a 'local' coffee shop where she would hit on collage boys. Harry would often catch her making out with some boy in the back of the room while he got drinks. That's why he didn't go with her most of the time. Harry didn't like seeing her with other boys. He did love her after all. Or at least, he thought he did.
Harry looked over the edge of the bed agien to watch Gretchen sleep. He loved her. How else could a moment like this-Gretchen curled up into a ball with her hair all over, drooling on her pillow-seem beautiful.
Harry rolled over and closed his eyes. He fell asleep. He had the same odd dream he had been having all summer. He would be going about his day, sitting in Charms, practicing at Quiddich, or just hanging out in the Gryffindor common room. Then, towards the end of the dream, he would feel suddenly warm, as if eyes from heaven were gazing upon him. Then he would wake up and climb out of bed. Gretchen would reenter the room after having used the bathroom, wrapped in a towel from her shower, and Harry would leave so that she could change and Harry could take his shower. On one hand, everything was going well. On the other hand, everything was getting boring.
As much as Harry hated to admit it, he was finding it hard to appreciate such a normal life after all he had been through. A day wasn't a day if her hadn't broken at least one school rule, or insulted Draco Malfoy in the hall. Harry wondered what he would do at the end of the school year. Then end of his seventh and final school year, and he didn't want to think about it. The thought of not being a student at hogwarts was just too weird for him to deal with.
"Happy Birthday!" Gretchen shouted, wakening Harry up with a start. He jumped out of bed and put on his glasses. His room didn't look like his room any more, not at all. There were red streamers all over the walls, and yellow balloons that sang "Happy birthday to you..." constantly. At the corners of his room, Gretchen had hung sparklers that shimmer and glowed. Harry saw that his dresser was piled with presents and, standing next to Gretchen, fully dressed and warring party hats, were Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny.
"Happy Birthday, Harry," Ron said. Harry jumped out of bed and gave Ron a brotherly hug.
"I can't believe it," he said after shaking everybody's hand and giving Hermione a kiss on the cheek. "How did you ever manage to pull this off?"
"Weeks and weeks of planning and participation," Gretchen said. "We all pitched in a bit. I sent Hermione an invitation in the book I sent her, which she forwarded to Ron and the others. She was also kind enough to give them a note with some money asking them to get the decorations from Diagon Ally."
"So of course I got them," Ron finished. "We came over on a muggle train last night and set these all up this morning. And of course we brought presents and everything. Mum even baked a cake for you." Harry beamed at everyone in the room. Never before in his life had Harry been given a birthday party. Now, for the first time, in the smallest bedroom, in the Dursleys house on Privet drive, he was having one. Then, Harry suddenly remembered.
"The Dursleys," he questions, "what about them? They're bound to notice something!"
"Oh, about that..." Gretchen said. Her lips curved into a devilish smile. "They decided that they needed to go on holiday this morning.... they went to London for the day." Hermione burst out laughing. Harry gave them a serious look.
"Oh," Hermione, "you should have been here Harry. It was sooo funny. Fred and George, they're all grown now and can use magic, hypnotized them, and told them they needed to go to London for the day to look for...." Hermione could barely contain her laughter, "a purple fish stand. They went off smiling and talking about sushi. I've never seen anything so silly, Harry. Put don't worry about them, they'll be back by nightfall." Harry found that by the end of Hermione's story, he was laughing, too.
The rest of the day was fun and carefree. They ate cake for breakfast, played party games ("I always did love pin the tale on the Hippogriff," said Ron), ate cake for lunch, watched a fire works display ("All these products and more available at Weasleys Wizard Wheezing"), and then ate cake fir dinner ("Did I mention that my mum made a huge cake?"). After dinner Hermione started to tell everyone about her summer in Italy.
"It's been wonderful, so far. We're staying in Rome. I go see the church almost everyday..."
"Church? You go to a muggle church?" Ron said, surprised.
"Yes," Hermione said. Ron blinked. "It's not because I believe in God, it's because I like to look at the ceiling. It was painted by a rather famous muggle named Michelangelo."
"Oh," Ron said. "You had me worried there for a second."
"Why?" Hermione said. "Don't wizards believe in God? I always assumed they did, because we never talk about religion at all in Hogwarts, so I assumed that they believed in that, because most muggle do." Ron shook his head, but said nothing.
"You learn about religion in your seventh year," Fred said. "It's a tradition. No one is exposed to the religion before the seventh year. It's a tradition."
"Oh," said Hermione. She looked at her watch. "I better be going," she announced. "The Night Bus will be coming around, and I intend to be on it."
"Yes, we should leave, too," George, said. "Father's riding the muggle train over here. He's really excited about it, and we're suppose to meat him there." Harry exchanged his good byes with Hermione and the Weasleys. Soon, he was alone with Gretchen once more.
The next few weeks passed quickly. Harry met up with Ron at Diagon Ally when buying his new books which included A standard Book of Spells, grade seven; Advanced Transfiguration; Battle Charms; Advance Defense Against Dark Arts; and The Hermetic Books, which was actually a set of ten books.
"Do they really expect us to read all of this in a year?" Ron complained. "All of then are at least a thousand pages long!" Harry hoped that they didn't expect them all to be read. Reading all of them would be hard, even for someone like Hermione.
Before Harry knew it, and much to his relief, the summer was over, and he was once agien with Ron, Hermione, Gretchen, and Ginny, boarding the Hogwarts Express. After saying good-bye to Mr. and Mrs.Weasley, the five headed for their usual compartment, only to find that six strangers, and two familiar faces already occupied it.
"'Arry!" Fluer Delacour shouted upon his entrance. She ran up and kissed him on both cheeks. "'Ello 'Arry! It's me, Fleur! And my sister, Gabrielle, and my littlest sister, Helen." Gabrielle, who Harry had rescued from the bottom on the lake during his forth year, wave. She looked exactly like her sister. Next to her was a small girl, around fifteen, with curly red hair and blue eyes. Harry guessed that she was Helen.
"I gets a job at 'Ogwarts thiz year, 'elping with Transfiguration!" Fluer explained. That left five people Harry had never seen before. One of them stood up and walked over to Harry.
"Hullo," he said. "My name iz Ixion White. Thiz iz my sister, Rhita, and my freinds, Bellona, Calchas, and Ajax. We are transferring from Drumstrug. Vho are you?"
"I'm Harry," Harry said. "This is Ron, Hermione, Gretchen, and Ginny. It's nice to meet you." Seeing as the compartment was quite full, Harry, Rom, Hermione, and Gretchen moved into a different compartment, leaving Ginny to talk with Helen, who she seemed to be getting along with.
"I wonder if any of them will be in Gryffindor," Hermione asked at once. Her cheeks went red. "They do seem rather nice."
"Probably not," said Ron defensively. He and Hermione had been going out for almost half a year, but he still got jealous when Hermione thought another boy was cute. "Drumstrung kids tend to be a lot like good for nothing Slytherins."
"Now that's a rude thing to say!" Hermione proclaimed.
"Sorry," Ron said. "It's just that their headmaster was a death eater and all...."
"Gretchen's mother was a death eater, and you wouldn't say that about her would you!" Hermione shouted.
"Could we leave me out of this..." Gretchen said softly. Ron's voice over powered her.
"I'm sorry Hermione! I didn't mean it."
"But you said it!"
"Those were just words!"
"But you...."
"And action speak louder then words, Hermione, and I promise to be nice to them, I promise." Hermione took a deep breath.
"Alright," she said. "I forgive you."
"Thanks," said Ron. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, and then looked to Gretchen, who looked at him. They hated watching Ron and Hermione fight. But at least they were happy most of the time while they were together. Harry knew that when you were in love, fights didn't seem to matter much. After all, he wouldn't mind fighting with Gretchen everyday, if that meant that she would love him, and kiss him, and be his girlfriend. But she wasn't his girlfriend. They hadn't talked about love all summer. Or the kiss they shared, or anything like that. Harry had tried to talk with her about it several times, but Gretchen always managed to avoid the subject.
After the fight, things were quiet aboard the Hogwarts Express. They had a safe ride all the way to Hogwarts.