Disclaimer: I own nothing. Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling and Frozen belongs to Disney
Ch.3: The Companions
As Draco became more accustomed to living in his palace, Harry was riding his horse through the now snow-covered forest in the biting cold.
"Draco!" Harry shouted. "Draco, its me, Harry! Your brother that didn't mean to make you freeze the summer!" Harry had spent all night serving for his brother. Unfortunately, he had no idea how to find Draco or even where he himself was, and it really didn't help that it seemed to get colder by the hour.
"I'm sorry! This is all my f-f-fault!" He shivered as the temperature dropped another twenty or thirty degrees."Course it wouldn't have happened if he just told me his secret," Harry thought. Suddenly, snow fell in front of him and spooked his horse, causing it to buck him off. Harry landed with a soft thud under a tree that appeared to be weighed down by pounds of snow. Harry sat up just in time to see his horse running away.
"No! No! Wait, come back!" He frantically called. "Great. Just great," he muttered, his voice laced with sarcasm, as he attempted to stand but ended up getting buried in half the snow. "Snow! It had to be snow!" he complained to himself as he dug himself out, and trudged through the snow and to the top of a small snowy hill. "He couldn't have had tropical magic that covered every thing in white sand and warm,"- Harry stopped as he saw wisps of smoke in the distance, just over the nearest tree tops. "Fire!" Harry exclaimed, relief and happiness overtaking him. Harry's relief came to an abrupt halt when he found himself sliding down the hill and landed in a stream at the bottom.
As he stood up, the river water froze over his legs, forcing him to waddle. The situation would look quite humorous to any onlooker, especially when he had to get up the steps of the shop. Harry reached the front door, knocked the snow off the sign and read "Wandering Hagrid's trading post and sauna,"
Harry opened the door, sighing as the warm air thawed his legs, and walked inside. He turned to see a teenaged girl, about Harry's age, with brown, bushy hair sitting behind the counter, reading a big, leather-bound book, unaware of his presence.
Harry cleared his throat to get her attention, but she didn't seem to hear him."Hello," no response. Harry tried again, "Hello?" still no response. "Excuse me!" Harry said loudly, snapping his fingers in her face.
"Huh?" She exclaimed as her head snapped up to meet his gaze. "Oh, sorry. How may I help you,Sir?"
"Well I,"- Harry began but was interrupted by a giant of a man peeking through the back door.
"Ermione! Say the line!" He ordered.
"Grandpa!" she whined.
"Say it!"
"But,"-
"Say. It,"
She sighed in exasperation as she closed her eyes and squeezed the bridge of her nose between her thumb and pointer finger and said "Welcome to our Big summer blow out. Half off swimsuits, clogs, and a special sunbom invented by our very own Hagrid," the tone of her voice revealed how ridiculous she believed she sounded.
"Um...Okay," Harry hesitated. "How about boots. Winter boots and cloths?"
"That's in the winter department," she pointed to a corner with a small stack of cloths, a pair of boots, some rope, and a pick axe.
"I was just wondering, has another young man-the king perhaps-pass through here?" Harry asked he as retrieved the boots and cloths and placed them on the counter.
"Sorry," she said, "The only one mad enough to be out in this weather is you."
Just then a tall man wearing a frost-covered fury snow suit, with point he'd boots and a dark bobble-hat, walked in. Harry couldn't see his face because it wrapped in a thick, fury scarf.. The man stomped the snow out of his boots and brushed some off his chest.
"You and this guy," she amended.
She glanced back at her grandfather, sighed, and said, "Big summer blowout," unenthusiastically. The man walked up to the counter as Harry awkwardly stood in front of it. The man gave Hermione an odd look
"Crrots," the man said, but his votive was too muffled by the scarf for Harry to under stand. Though he did sound about Harry's age.
"What?"
"Behind you," he clarified. He reached under the counter, pulled out a wad of carrots, flopped it carelessly on the counter, and retrieved the rope and pick axe from the corner.
"Real howler in July, huh?" Hermione said, "I wonder where it's coming from?"
"The North Mountain," the man answered.
"The North Mountain?" Harry whispered.
"That'll be forty gallions," she told the man.
"Forty? No, ten," he argued.
"I'm sorry," she said with sincerity, " But these are from our winter department and supply and demand have big problem,"
"You want to talk about a supply and demand problem? I sell ice for a living,"
Harry looked out the window to see a sled full of large ice cubes. "That a rough business to be in, right now!-I mean that's-that's unfortunate," Harry finished lamely.
"Sorry, still forty," Hermione said, "but you can try out the sauna,"
"Ten's all I have, help me out," he begged.
"Ten will get you the carrots, and no more," she said shuffling them forward.
The man grunted.
"Well, I'm sorry but I can't help you!" she said, clearly irritated.
"Just tell me one thing," Harry began, "What was happening on the North Mountain? Did it seem...magical?"
"Yes," the man said as he pulled his scarf off, revealing a pale freckled face. "Now back up while I deal with this crook, here," he said, tactlessly.
"Excuse me!?" she almost screamed. Hermione stood up, rounded the counter and marched up to him with a furious look on her face. The man put his hands up in defense as Hermione backed him into the door.
Hermione pulled her fist back and-
BAMM!
She punched him in the jaw so hard he stumbled out the door and landed face first in the snow.
"Now stay out!" she said and returned to her post.
Meanwhile, outside the shop, the mans pet reindeer sniffed him excitedly. "No, I didn't get your carrots, Pig," he told the reindeer, causing it to moan and pout in disappointment.
A girl, who looked about his age, give or take,with the same red hair walked over to him, and asked, "Did you, at-least, get the equipment?"
"No,"
She groaned and face-palmed.
"But I found us a place to sleep," he finished, looking towards the snow-covered shed.
Back at the shop, Hermione asked, "So your going to the the north mountain?"
Harry was taken aback by her bluntness, "How did you know?"
"Oh please!" she scoffed, "The way you were asking about it? The only way it would have been more obvious was if you screamed it out loud!"
Harry blushed in embarrassment. He supposed he should have been more subtle.
"Anyway," she continued, "Why do you wanna go to the North Mountain?"
"I'm going to get the king to bring back summer,"
Hermione just stared at him like he was crazy. After a while, she managed to snap out of it. "Why would you want to do that!?" she asked, incredulously.
Harry, not wanting to explain the entire story at the moment, just said, "It's complicated,"
"Can I come with you?"
"Huh?"
"I want to come with you," she said.
"Why?"
"Something tells me you need all the help you can get. Besides I read all about the North Mountain," she said.
"Your probably right but I don't really know how to get to the mountain,"
She grinned, "I've got an idea,"
Meanwhile, the red-headed siblings where lying down in the shed against their pet reindeer. The man was strumming away at his lute, presumably to start a song, as the girl hummed along.
"Reindeer are better then people. Pig, don't you think that's true?"
"Yeah, people will beat you and curse you and cheat you. Every one of them's bad 'cept you two!"
"Aww, thanks mate," the man said, and continued the song.
"But people smell better then reindeer. Pig, don't you think we're right?"
"That's once again true, for all except you,"
"You got us! Let's call is a night,"
"Don't let the frostbite bite,"
"Nice song." The pair shot up at the sound of the new voice. Harry and Hermione opened the door to the shed.
"You two?" The man asked.
"Who are they?"
"Never mind," he said as he turned to Harry and Hermione and asked, "What do you want?"
"We need your help,"Harry said, "we need to get to the North Mountain,"
"We don't take people places," he said as he layed down on Pig's stomach?
Harry threw a burlap sack, hitting him in the face in the process. "Let me rephrase that," Harry began, "Take us to the North Mountain."
The girl, who was now rolling around on the floor and clutching her stomach in laughter, got to her feet and said, " I like you. What's your name?"
"Harry,"
"Hermione,"
"I'm Ginny, this here's my brother, Ron," Ginny jerked her thumb at the red haired man.
Ron opened the sack and pulled out a length of rope and a pick-axe. He looked at Harry and sighed. "Fine, we leave tomorrow," he paused then said, "And you forgot the carrots," as he lied back down.
Harry threw a smaller sack at Ro, which hit him in the stomach. "We leave now!" he said. It was clear by his tone that he would not take 'No' for an answer.
They loaded up the sled, hooked up Pig to the sledge and rode through the dark, snow-covered forest. After a while Ginny asked, "So, tell us: What made the King go all ice crazy?"
"That was my fault," Harry told her.
"How?"
"Well I got engaged and he freaked out because I had just met her- you know- that day. So he wouldn't bless the marriage,"-
"Wait," Ron interrupted, "You got engaged to someone you just met that day?"
"Yeah, anyway, I got mad and he got and I grabbed his glove,"-
"You mean to say that you got engaged to someone you just met that day!" Hermione said in disbelief.
"Yes! Now pay attention!" Harry ordered, irritated with the interruptions,"But he always wore the gloves! I mean all the time! I just thought he was scared of dirt."
"Didn't your parents ever warn you about strangers?" Ron asked.
"Yes...they did," he said as he scooted away from his companions, as they were technically strangers, "But Cho is not a stranger,"
"Really? What's her last name?" Ginny challenged.
"Change," Harry told them.
"What her favorite food?"
"Sandwiches,"
"Best friend's name?"
"Probably Marietta,"
"Eye color?"
"Beautiful,"
"Foot size?"
"Foot size doesn't matter,"
"Have you eaten with her yet?" Ginny asked, "What if she gets all fussy? What if she flirts with other guys?"
"Flirts?"
"Right in front of you,"
"She's a princess, she wouldn't do that!"
"Sure, sure," please note the sarcasm.
"It doesn't matter, alright!" Harry argued, "It's true love," he said quietly.
"Doesn't sound like true love," Ron said.
"They have a point, Harry," Hermione reasoned, "you can't marry someone you just met,"
"Oh, and I suppose your all love experts or something?!" Harry asked, sarcastically.
"No," Ginny said, then stuttered for a moment, "we have friends who are," she continued, referring to Ron and herself.
"You two have friends who are love experts?" Harry asked with skepticism, "I'm not buying it,"
"Stop talking," Ron told him.
"No, I'd like to meet these,"-
Ron slapped his mitten-covered hand over Harry's mouth to shut him up. Ron stopped the sled and climbed out of it. He held his lantern out to see what was out in the dark when he saw the gleaming yellow eyes of wolves. "Pig, go. Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!" Ron said, urgently as he climbed back in the sled.
Pig resumed pulling the sled at running pace.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, worried.
"Wolves," Ron said.
"What do we do?" Harry asked.
"We are not doing anything," Ron told them. "I will handle this while you will do nothing but stay alive," as he pulled out a flaming torch.
"Ron, now is not the time for you to go all macho!" Ginny told him, her voice laced with irritation.
"But we can help!" Hermione protested.
"No!"
"Why no?"
"I don't trust his judgement,"
"Oi! What do you mean by that!?" Harry asked, indignantly.
"Who marries someone they just met!?" Ron said as he kicked a wolf off the slede.
"For the last time, it's true love!" Harry yelled as he hit a wolf in the head with Ron's lute as it was about to grab Ginny.
"Thanks," she said.
"No problem,"
Suddenly a wolf jumped up pulled Ron off the sled by the arm, knocking the torch from his hand to Harry's and causing him to fall off the sled, but managed to grab a rope off the sled is being drag behind the sled on his stomach as the wolves bit his legs.
Hermione took the torch from Harry and used it to light a rolled up leather tarp on fire. "Duck!" she yelled as she threw the flaming tarp at the wolves biting Ron's legs.
"You almost set me on fire!" Ron said as he climbed the rope back on the sled.
"But I didn't," Hermione reasoned as she helped him on board.
"Look!" Ginny said and pointed ahead.
Everyone looked ahead to see they were heading for a cliff.
"Get ready to Jump, Pig!" Harry yelled to Pig.
"You don't tell him what to do!" Ron shouted as he threw a sack of carrots in Ginny's lap, "I do!" He picked Ginny up bridal style, and threw her on Pigs back. He did the same with Hermione, almost fell off if Ginny hadn't caught her.
Just as the were about to go over the edge, Ron used a hunting knife to cut Pig from the sled.
Pig, Ginny, and Hermione made it safely to the other side.
Ron and Harry jumped off the sled as it plummeted to the dark trench
Harry landed next to Ginny, but Ron landed on his stomach, too close to the edge and could see the sled at the bottom of the trench burst into flames.
"But I just paid it off," Ron whined to himself, quietly. He started to slip over the edge. He panicked and flailed when a pick axe tied to a rope landed in front of him, hooking itself into the ground.
"Grab on!" Harry's voice yelled.
Ron obeyed.
"Pull, Pig, Pull!" Ginny ordered as she,Harry, and Hermione helped pull the rope.
Once Ron was safe he flipped over on his back and panted heavily.
Harry and Ginny looked over to see the flaming sled. "I'll replace your sled, and everything in it," Harry promised then paused, seeing many reason for them to change their mind's, "I also understand if any you don't want to help me, anymore," he began to wonder aimlessly through the woods.
"Of course I don't want to help him!" He said as Ginny gave him a fierce death-glare.
"We have to help him!" She told him, furiously,"He'll die on his own!"
"He won't be on his own!"
"If Hermione knew her way around the mountains, he wouldn't have asked us too help!"
"So what! We barely know him!"
"You do realize that he can't buy you a new sled if he dies, right?"
Ron sighed in defeat, "I hate it when your right," he looked out to see Harry and Hermione heading in the completely wrong direction.
"Hold up!" he called, "Were coming with you,"
"Really?" Hermione asked.
They nodded, Ron some-what reluctantly.
"Okey," Ron said, "It's been a long day and I think we should make camp for the night,"
"Where?"
"There's a tent on the sled,"
Ginny face palmed. "Yes, Ron! There's been a tent on the sled this whole time! Especially when it fell off the cliff and burst into flames!" she really couldn't believe how much of an idiot her brother could be.
"Never mind, we'll find a cave or something," Harry reasoned.
The group wandered around for miles and miles, Ron leading Pig, and eventually found a cave big enough to house them for the night. It was cold and hard and covered in ice but it was the only cave for miles and everyone was too exhausted to walk any farther.
Harry collapsed against the caves hard, icy wall, very much missing his comfy, warm bed.
Ginny collapsed next to him and fell asleep almost immediately.
Harry stained at her sleeping form for a bit. He couldn't help but noticed how at peace she seemed. She was very beautiful, he wouldn't deny it. Her red hair contrasting very much to Cho's dark hair. He also had to admit he found himself drawn to her feisty attitude as well as impressed that she didn't complain once about having to sleep in a cave, when he knew full well how submissive and stuck up women from nobility and aristocrats can be. She also seemed to more personality then other girls. Other girls would only care about looking pretty and marring for money and power. Ginny didn't seem to really care about that stuff.
Oh what was he thinking? He only just met her!
"You mean just like how you only met Cho?" said a sly voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Hermione.
"Cho is different!" Harry argued in his head.
"How?" Hermione's voice argued.
Harry failed to answer. Wait-why was he arguing with Hermione's voice? In fact, why was he even still awake? With that Harry closed his eyes and drifted into an uneasy sleep.
An: Hello readers! I just want to politely plead for mercy as you are all no doubt very angry for the extreme delay in posting this chapter! Also I apologize if I didn't get Ron, Hermione, and Ginny right. And I just want to inform you that I reported the prologue with a few changes. Nothing major, just grammar and structure corrections and a few changes to the beginning. You can reread it if you want but you really don't have too. Also I've changed the summery too. I wanted to list Hermione as a characters but I reached the limit. Anyway, you know the gist: Please review, no flames, constructive criticism welcome. Ta Ta! :)