Jody laid on her bed, bored. She had no one to talk to as Mother was still asleep. She missed Harry so much that she began dreaming about him every night.
Wonder what Harry's doing now, Jody thought. Did he miss her as much as she missed him? Were the Dursleys being so mean to him that he was knocked out in his bed?
Just then Jody heard a soft tap on the window. She opened it and Hedwig flew in.
"Oh hello, Hedwig," Jody said, "what have you got for me?"
The snowy owl gave a soft hoot and held out her leg. Jody took the letter off the owl, who took flight at once. Sitting on her bed, Jody opened the letter and was relieved to see Harry's handwriting on it. Jody read the letter.
Dear Jody, God I miss you. The Dursleys are still mad about what your mother said to them. They have me locked in my room right now. But its okay. I can deal with it. Can't wait to see my beautiful girl again. Write me back soon. - Harry PS: I think Dudley fancy's you.
Jody shivered at the PS. She quickly wrote Harry back. It took her about ten minutes to finish the letter. She read it over.
Dear Harry, I miss you, too. Don't worry about me. I can't wait to have you in my arms again. I've been bored since I got home from school. And thanks for telling me you think Dudley fancy's me. That is truly disgusting. I haven't heard from Hermione, Ron, or Ginny all summer, have you? Cho keeps writing though. Has she written to you? Can't wait to have my sweet boy back. - Love, Jody. PS: I love you.
Jody then folded the letter up, put it in an envelope, and sent it to Harry with her mother's tawny owl. Then she stretched out on her bed, thinking of him. About fifteen minutes after she'd sent the letter to Harry, Mother called her down for breakfast.
At the Dursleys, Harry had gotten Jody's letter. He was laying in bed reading it. He laughed out loud when he read a part in the letter.
Harry got off the bed and sat down at his desk. He was at the point of writing a letter, when an owl swooped into his bedroom through the open window. Harry took the letter off the owl, who'd landed on his bed. He opened it just as the owl took flight out the window again. He read the letter.
Harry, Mom said you can come and stay with us over the summer if the muggles will let you. She also said you can bring Jody if she wants to come. - Ron.
Harry wrote Ron back as quickly as possible. The letter he had just written said:
Ron, thanks for the offer. But I'm going over to Jody's tomorrow. She already asked me. Keep writing to me. See you at school. - Harry.
Harry sent the letter off to Ron and went to use the restroom. Then went downstairs to see what Uncle Vernon wanted, for he had just called for Harry.
At the Weasley's, Ron had gotten Harry's letter. He sat down at the table in the kitchen, feeling disappointed and left out. Just as he was feeling lonely, his mother walked in holding a letter.
"Ron, Hermione wrote to you," she said, handing the letter to him.
"Thanks, Mom," said Ron.
He opened the letter. Mrs. Weasley left. The letter read:
Dear Ron, I am coming over to your house for the rest of the summer. Let me know when and if Jody and Harry will be there, too. - Love from, Hermione.
Ron put the letter down, got up, and found parchment, ink, a crumpled quill. He wrote back to Hermione.
Hermione, Harry's spending the summer with Jody. Mom said you can come around noon tomorrow. She isn't expecting Harry or Jody. She'll be very happy to see you. So will Ginny. See you tomorrow. - Ron.
Ron sent the letter to Hermione. Then he went outside to play Quidditch with Fred and George.
Hermione was sitting on her bed reading a book when she heard a soft tap on her window. She looked up and saw Pig, Ron's miniature owl. She got up, opened the window, and brought the happy little owl inside. She sat back down on the bed, took the letter off the excited owl's leg. She read the letter.
Hermione finished reading Ron's letter just as another letter came zooming in. This owl Hermione had never seen before. She took the letter off the owl and read it just as Pig left.
Dear Hermione, I needed to write to someone since Cedric isn't here anymore. I used to write to him. I miss him so much. See you at school. - Cho. Ps: We are friends, right?
Hermione wrote back to Cho. She had been hoping the letter was from Krum, who'd promised to write. When she finished the letter, it said:
Dear Cho, I miss Cedric, too. I know how hard it is for you at the moment. Don't worry. We are friends. - Love from, Hermione.
She sent the letter off with Cho's owl.
Cho had been crying in her room. She had just gotten Hermione's letter and felt a bit better after reading it. She also had gotten a letter from Draco, which read:
Chang, If you need anyone to go out with, don't hesitate to ask me. I now know Jody won't stay with me. She loves Potter too much. - Draco Malfoy.
Cho had crumpled up this letter and threw it into the trash. Then she'd burst into tears. Draco's letter was freaking insensitive. Didn't he care how much pain she was currently in? Didn't he care that she had lost the love of her life?
Cho wrote a letter to Jody.
Back at Jody's, she had just walked into her room, having watched a comedy movie with her mother. On her bed were three owls. She knew immediately whose owls they belonged to: Cho, Harry, and Ron. She took the letters off all three owls and all, expect Hedwig, departed at once. Jody opened Cho's letter first.
Dear Jody, Draco Malfoy just sent me a letter asking me out. I still love Cedric. He was my everything. I dream about him every night. He is constantly in my thoughts during the day. I spend loads of time in my room crying for hours. Please help me deal with this unbearable pain. - Cho.
Jody wrote her back.
Dear Cho, I can sort of relate. I felt almost the same way when my dad died. It took me three years to stop feeling so miserable. I'm sure Cedric wouldn't want you to be sad all of the time. I'm here if you need me. Don't hesitate to send me a letter. It'll be okay. - Your friend, Jody.
She put that letter aside and opened the letter from Ron. But was surprised to find Ginny's handwriting, not Ron's.
Dear Jody, My mom just told me that you and Harry aren't coming over this summer? Why? Please tell me this is not true. Write back now. - Ginny. PS: Cho has written me four letters this summer. Amethyst has written me once. Have they been writing to you?
Jody wrote Ginny back.
Dear Ginny, It's true. Harry and I aren't going to the Weasleys this summer. We just want to spend the summer with just us two. My mother and her new boyfriend are going to Florida for the rest of the summer. - Love, Jody. PS: Cho wrote to me once. Amethyst hasn't written to me yet, not that I'm expecting a letter from her.
She also put this letter aside. Then she opened Harry's.
Jody, By the time you write back to me, I'll already be at your house. I can't stand the Dursleys. They are making me go mental! I'll be at your place in a while. - Harry.
Jody put the letter down and looked out the window. Just then, from behind her, a voice said, "I told you, Jody."
Whirling around, Jody saw...
"Harry!"
She leapt off the bed and hugged him fiercely. He let out a gasp of pain.
"Harry, are you alright?" Jody asked concernedly, "did the Dursleys hurt you?"
"I can't lie to you, Jody," said Harry as he walked over to the bed and sat down, "when I told them that I was leaving, my Aunt Marge was there and she sort of beat me."
Jody gasped. "Let me see."
Harry pulled off his shirt. Jody saw huge bruises covering his back and a long cut going across his chest that was still bleeding, as well as numerous small cuts and welts covering the rest of his exposed flesh. It was a horrible, shocking sight.
"Mom!" Jody yelled, "Mom, come here! Quick!"
Mother came running into Jody's bedroom. She came to a halt in the doorway, a baseball bat in her hand as opposed to her much more useful wand.
"What's wrong?! Is there an intruder!" she said, "is that him!? Get away from my daughter, you fiend!"
She moved toward Harry, who moved away, clearly thinking she was insane. She had a look on her face like she was actually going to cause harm to poor Harry.
"No, mom, Harry isn't an intruder," Jody said (her mother sagged with disappointment and set the bat down) "look what they did to him." Jody's eyes slowly filled with tears.
Mother examined Harry's wounds and asked what happened. Harry explained to her. Jody sank onto her bed, her legs no longer able to support her, feeling sick. Her handsome boyfriend was injured because of those stupid, freaking muggles. How dare they! They had to pay for what they had done.
Three weeks later Jody's mother was gone. It was just her and Harry, alone. They were in the living room eating popcorn and watching a corny romance/comedy movie, while speaking ill about the Dursleys.
"What was your childhood like living with those muggles?" Jody asked. She had always wondered this but was too afraid to ask in case it brought back unwanted memories for Harry.
Harry had just finished telling the enthralling story of meeting Hagrid years after he was rescued as an infant from the ruined house on Godric's Hallow.
"Horrible," Harry said bluntly.
"Oh, how horrible?"
"I don't want to go into detail, Jody," Harry said, and Jody nodded because she could totally respect that, "but they did have this one rule. It was a stupid rule, really. I wasn't allowed to ask questions. Every time I let it slip I was punished. But really who could not ask questions? I also got into trouble for things that Dudley did. One time he broke Aunt Petunia's favorite decorative vase and I was blamed for it."
"Are you serious?" asked Jody.
"Yes."
"That's awful. If I had a family like that, I'd be rebellious. I wouldn't be able to take something like that."
Harry smiled and snuggled her closer to him.
"Were you friends with Cedric?" She shouldn't have asked, but she was curious to know. The smile on Harry's face faded. He didn't look at her when he answered.
"Sort of."
Jody didn't press this any further. Instead she said, "Cho keeps writing to me." This was only partially true, of course. Cho had only written a few times, telling Jody her feelings, looking for support through this difficult time in her life. Jody helped as best she could, giving Cho advise that she thought Cho needed.
Harry nodded. "Didn't someone close to you die years ago?"
"Yeah," Jody said, "thirteen years ago. It was the worst birthday of my life." A single tear trickled down her cheek as she remembered. "And mom is seeing this guy who I barely know and wants to be a part of my life and she doesn't care how I feel about it. She can't even pretend because she is so in love with this guy."
Wrapping his arms around her, Harry said, "I know it's hard, Jody, but be happy for your mom. She's finally found someone who loves her as much as she loves him. But maybe have a talk with her about it when she gets home, but try not to spoil this moment for her. It may never happen again."
"But it's very hard," said Jody, her voice quivered, "I don't want to ruin this for her. But I can't pretend to like this guy for her. It isn't fair to me. It isn't fair to my dad's memories."
Harry wiped away Jody's tears with the pad of his thumbs.
"My parents died was I was a baby," he whispered, "I've never known them. And it's Wormtail's fault for betraying them. At least you got to know your mother, who cares and loves you so much." And he kissed Jody.
She knew this. She felt guilty for saying anything.
"I love you, Harry," she whispered as he kissed her on top of her head.
"Jody, do you want to see what my parents looked like?" Harry asked.
"Sure."
Harry got up off the sofa and went upstairs. Jody noticed he had a slight limp. A few minutes later he came back to the living room, where he sat down.
"Harry, why were you limping?" Jody asked.
Harry seemed startled, opening the photo album, he said unconcernedly, "it's nothing. I fell down the stairs last night on the way to the bathroom and must have twisted my ankle. Really, Jody, it's nothing. I'll be fine."
Even though Jody didn't believe him, she still nodded and let it go. She had slept in late yesterday morning.
"Is that your mother?" she asked, pointing at a photo of a young woman holding a newborn baby.
"Yep," said Harry, "and that's me she's holding."
"She was very beautiful," said Jody, "she even has your eyes. Oh, and your father was a handsome man. I see where you got your looks from, haha."
Harry chuckled as he turned the page.
"Who's that?" Jody was pointing at a man in the Potter's wedding photo.
"Sirius Black," said Harry.
"Isn't he your godfather or something?" she asked.
"Yes, and he was my dad's best mate."
"My mom went to your parents' wedding and was best friends with your mother," Jody said, "at least that's what she says."
Outside, night had fallen. But Jody and Harry were cozy on the sofa, looking at the album, and hadn't noticed. Harry told her some of the things he had learned about his parents to which Dumbledore, Sirius, Lupin, Snape, and Hagrid had told him. Jody listened intently as Harry told her these stories, not a thought drifted through her mind.
Harry truly was meant for her and no one else. Not even Cho or Amethyst. Especially Amethyst. Jody smiled and leaned closer to Harry, who kissed her on top of the head. She was quite sure that if Harry's folks were still alive and her father, they would have been happy for them. Her mother sure was happy for them. She couldn't stop gushing over the thought of Harry and Jody getting married and bearing grandchildren for her. It was all very embarrassing, especially when she told the neighbors who clearly didn't care. But Jody loved her mother. She loved Harry. She couldn't imagine not having either in her life. Things would have surly been different.
And that's why she loved Harry so much. The end.
(A/N: Abrupt ending, I know. I couldn't think of how best to end this without it being too long. I'm sure none of you want to sit through this anymore than I want to write it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little story of mine. If you want, leave a comment and tell me what you think.)