A/n: wonderful reviews, all!  Thanks so much for giving up a bit of your time to read and review my work.  Hope this next chapter is to your liking, because it all gets better from here!

C H A P T E R  F O U R

            It was scorching.  Harry realized this as soon as he woke up the next day; a wave of heat slapped him full in the face.  He sat up in bed to run his hands through his hair, only to feel droplets of sweat clinging to his fingers.  Ron walked by, shirtless and fanning himself with a piece of the Daily Prophet. 
            "What's happened?" Harry asked. 
            "Dunno," said Ron, yawning, "but it's hotter than blazes…"
            A fine sheen of sweat coated Harry's throat and neck, and firmly molded his shirt and back into one.  He tugged it off and reached for a piece of Ron's newspaper. 
            "Where'd you get this?  The funnies don't come out until Sunday." 
            "Ha ha," replied Ron, making a face.  "Hermione brought it over and told me to look on page six."  Harry flipped to the page and immediately spotted what he was looking for, Ron reading over his shoulder:

                                                                        Apparation Explanation

            Three young men— Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle, were found attempting to Apparate without license.  It is said they were headed for the tiny island that quarters Azkaban, the wizard prison.  Rumor has it they would break out their fathers, Lucius Malfoy among them, in order to aid the Dark Lord.
            Needless to say, had they succeeded, the three boys would have met with trained Ministry Hit Wizards.  They have each been fined heavily, and are denied permissions to test for their licenses until the end of their winter term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
           
            Ron let out a great whoop of laughter, seized the paper, and kissed it.  Harry smirked in pleasure.  Malfoy finally had gotten a taste of fame—but certainly not the way he would have preferred.  Just as the two boys were plotting the best way to confront Malfoy about it all—that is to say, how to make his life a living hell—Mrs. Weasley came in through the open door. 
            "Harry, dear, it seems part of the boiler…" she faltered off, her face flushing.  Harry quickly seized a button-up flannel shirt and threw it on.
            "Sorry about that, Mrs. Weasley.  What were you saying about the boiler?"
            "Remus would very much like it if you would assist him in patching it up," she finished, face and hair matching. 
            "Sure thing," Harry replied lazily, and walked down to the basement kitchen.  Lupin was in a plain white t-shirt and Muggle blue jeans, doubled over in the boiler piping. 
            "What can I do, Professor?"  Harry asked, coming over to him.  He peeked around Lupin's legs, looking for signs of Kreacher's den.  The house-elf had not been here when Harry arrived at Grimmauld Place, and he could only hope Dumbledore had something to do with it. 
            "Ah, Harry.  Good morning," greeted Lupin, disentangling himself. "As you can see, I'm not the best with home improvement. I've been fiddling with this…infernal contraption—" Lupin wiped his brow and stepped out of the way, "—for over half an hour.  If you could have a look and point me in the right direction…" 
            Harry poked his head every which way and took a good look.  It was like stepping into an oven.  After a minute or two Harry discovered that one of the pipes had disconnected from its fellows.  Retreating back into the lesser heat of the kitchen, Harry turned to Lupin, who had a glass of sweet lemonade in his hand. 
            Harry removed his shirt to mop the sweat from himself.  At that same time, Ginny Weasley was tiptoeing out of the kitchen, clutching a pitcher of the same lemonade. 
            Harry caught her eye, and she nearly dropped the pitcher.  He nearly dropped his shirt.  Ginny was dressed in a very skimpy but tasteful sort of way, to ward off the heat as much as possible.  Every curve of her slender figure was clearly defined beneath the fabric.  The messy bun near the base of her neck drew attention to the beads of sweat on her shoulders.  Ginny blinked in a rapid sort of way and quickly made pace out of the kitchen. 
            "Have some lemonade, Harry," offered Lupin, smiling more than the temperature permitted.  Harry sat down next to him and grasped the drink in front of him.  "What's the verdict, then?"
            "One of the pipes is disconnected from the others.  I suggest a Sealing Charm, and even a Bonding Charm, if there is one." 
            "Of course," Lupin nodded.  He drained his glass and headed back to the boiler.  "There's the little bugger," he said cheerfully.  A few well-chosen words and wand waves later, Lupin proclaimed the job complete. 
            "Thanks very much, Harry." 
            "Erm, Professor…" Harry began; already the temperature was returning to a comfortable level, "Can you tell me how people pass their Apparition tests?  I know there's a testing site down at the Ministry, but—"
            "It's quite simple, really," Lupin explained.  "You have to study for it, and usually it's best if you have a personal trainer.  They teach you the rules and regulations and how to control it.  Needless to say, Draco Malfoy should have remembered that." He grinned a bit. 
            Harry was suddenly struck by a very brilliant idea.  "D'you think I can start preparing for it now? I mean, I'm only about to be sixteen." 
            "I don't see why not.  It's never too early to learn." 
            "Could you teach me?  Or do you know someone who could?"  Harry knew Lupin was quite busy with the Order, and was hoping he would suggest another teacher—preferably one who was still at Hogwarts. 
            "Well, you know my schedule around here is rather demanding, but I believe Professor McGonagall is a certified trainer.  She's currently preparing for the start of term at Hogwarts next year, because after these next few weeks she will also be short on time.  I could ask her for you, if you like."
            "Yeah, that'd be great!" Harry replied.  Lupin eyed him closely.  "This isn't just about Apparation, is it?" Harry looked at the floor. 
            "Come on, out with it.  Why are you so keen to go back to school?"
            Harry found himself telling Lupin everything:  how being Best Man to Hagrid required dancing ability, how he had struck up a deal with Ginny in secret, and how they needed to find a place to practice to avoid being found out. 
            Lupin marveled inwardly at the scheme Harry had devised.  The fact that he was stuck in Grimmauld Place, moreover, without Sirius, motivated Lupin more. 
            "Tell you what.  I'll run you and Ginny's cover stories by McGonagall, and send you an owl by next week to see if she buys it."  He looked down at his watch and sighed.  "But now I have to go meet with Severus.  How time flies when one is hatching lies, eh?"  Harry laughed and shook Lupin's hand.  The man Disapparated with a quiet pop. 
 ---
            A few hours later, Hagrid and Maxime dropped by to make a few critical wedding decisions with Mrs. Weasley.  With topics such as the amount of frilling on Maxime's dress and the exact sculpting of the ice-hippogriff's beak, Hagrid sought shelter in Ron and Harry's room. 
            But even there he could not escape the wedding talk. 
            "Oh, Hagrid, please!  Tell us how it happened," begged Hermione.  She seemed to be having another streak of girly-ness. 
            "Please!" chimed Ginny, pouting up at him.  Ron and Harry rolled their eyes. 
            "Just tell them so they'll shut up already," Harry demanded, grinning a bit.  Truth be told, he was rather curious on how one proposes to a woman. 
            "Fine, fine, I'll tell yeh," Hagrid grunted, pretending to look cross but enjoying the attention.  "Well, I knew I fancied her first time I saw 'er.  She was bloody beaut'ful.  Even when we weren' speakin' I couldn' deny she was stunnin'.
            "I think she felt more warmly towards me when we got together doin' Order business durin' the summer.  There was summat about 'er that changed durin' that time, and after we split I knew I couldn' be without 'er.  So I owled her, asked if she'd like ter meet up again after term, and we agreed to meet in 'Ogsmeade.  That night's when I asked 'er.
            He took a breath.  Hermione and Ginny looked whisked away by his story. 
            "Got down on me knee in a private room o' the Three Broomsticks an' said 'Olympe, you're the most beaut'ful woman I've e'er had the honor ter be with.  I know I don' 'ave much ter offer yeh, but I gotta take me chances, because I know I just can' let yeh leave me tonigh'.  Will yeh marry me?" 
            "Awww," sighed the two girls happily, tears brimming.  Even Ron looked a bit misty-eyed. 
            "It was totally on the spur o' the momen'.  Didn' have a ring or nothin'.  But she said yes anyway.  Jus' bent right down an' kissed me…" Hagrid finished in a reminiscing tone. 
            "That's great, Hagrid.  I'm really happy for you."  Harry said wholeheartedly.  "But why are you doing it so soon?  Don't most people wait at least six months?" 
            "Yeah, well, we're not most people, ar' we?" Hagrid replied, smiling.  "Nah, me an' Olympe, we just wanted a simple ceremony.  Besides, there's a lot o' stuff goin' on, an' we don' wanna be takin' up too much o' people's time." 
            There was a small silence as the five of them reflected on the upcoming war. 
            "Oh, Hermione, been meanin' to ask yeh.  Seems one o' Olympe's Muggle relatives 'as broken 'er leg, an' as she can't dance in a cast, she can't be one o' the bridesmaids.  So Olympe was wonderin' if yeh'd be int'rested in takin' 'er place." 
            "Oh, Hagrid!  I would love to!" cried Hermione excitedly. 
            "Great!  Jus' find yerself a partner an' we're all set." 
            "Oh, 'Agrid!" interjected a French-accented voice. 
            "Got ter go!  Good ter see yeh all," Hagrid said, giving a wave as he practically flew down the staircase. 
            "It's odd to see Hagrid in love, isn't it?" Ron asked.  Hermione smirked and stood up.  "I'm surprised you've caught on." 
            "What's that supposed to mean, eh?" Ron said obnoxiously.  His eyes widened.  "You don't think I know about love, do you?" 
            "Of course you don't!" Hermione replied bluntly.  She made way to the door. 
            "Now listen here, Hermione, I know about love…" Ron's voice faded away as he followed Hermione down the hallway.  Ginny giggled. 
            "Do you think those two will ever figure it out?"
            "Figure what out?" Harry asked, flummoxed.  He shook off the question. 
            "Hey, Ginny, guess what.  We don't need to meet tonight after all.  I think I've got our plan all worked out…"

A/n:  yes, yes, a very long chapter.  But don't tell me you didn't love it!  Hope I didn't butcher Hagrid's accent too much, and I really dunno squat about boilers.  Oh, and don't worry, Ginny's not going to die like that girl on "A Walk to Remember".  I love her too much!  cuddles Ginny plush doll 

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