A/N: Hello again. This chapter isn't the longest i have ever written and i think it will be a while before i break the 15k word marker again but my chapters should all be at least 10k words. I hope you enjoy.
When Harry woke on Saturday he found his brother still sound asleep and decided to get dressed and go down to the common room to wait. When he reached the common room he noticed that a new flier on the notice board.
Attention Students beginning this week flying lessons will be offered to all students please check below to find the times for your year and house.
Harry didn't need flying lessons as he has now been flying for a while now, and to be honest neither did Merlyn even though he had no where near Harry's talent he still wasn't a bad flier. But then it would be nice to fly again, he would tell Merlyn about it once he joined him in the common room. He heard someone coming down the stairs and turned expecting his brother but to his surprise it was Hermione lugging her school bag which looked to be filled to the brim with books. "Hermione what are you doing? I thought you had finished all your homework already."
"I did but you promised to help tutor me. Remember?" Hermione asked. Harry let out a small chuckle, he had yet to meet anyone who liked to learn more than Hermione.
"That's true but it's the weekend Hermione. You know time to have fun."
"But learning is fun!" Hermione said trying to figure out how Harry couldn't think it was fun.
"Hermione why don't you go get changed and join us outside for a bit." came Merlyn's voice from the boy's dormitory stairs. "We are going to spar for a bit. You should join us."
"Spar? As in fight? No thank you I don't like fighting." Hermione replied. After all who actually liked fighting. "You two shouldn't be fighting you could get hurt."
"We aren't fighting, we're sparing." Harry told her. "Besides the fact that it is fun, we promised our mom that we would keep up with it."
"Why on earth would your mother want you to fight!?" Hermione asked taken aback. Why would any parent for that matter?
"Our mom was in SO-19, and says that everyone should know how to defend themselves so she teaches us self defense. Honestly she would probably have a fit if she found out we hadn't done any training for over a week." A shiver ran down the brothers spines at the memory of what happened the last time they didn't practice. They were spending a week with their aunt and uncle, when their parents returned from their vacation on the continent and found out that they didn't practice at all while they were away their mom went ballistic. She took them into the back yard and told them that if they could beat her then she would forgive them. The two got ready and while they knew there was no way they could win they still tried their best. Apparently their best wasn't up to their mom's standards, she knocked them around as if they were nothing. The following week their mom worked them to the bone and at the end simply said that she wouldn't have to do this if they had just practiced. Never again did the boys skip their training. Turning to Merlyn he added, "Now that I think about it we should probably train longer to make up the time just in case mom finds out." Merlyn quickly nodded in agreement. "Hermione you really should join us, it really is a lot of fun once you get the basics down. Think of it as another form of learning." Harry said trying to appeal to her inquisitive nature.
Hermione had to give it some thought. They weren't going to tutor her until after they finished anyway, and truth be told she didn't feel like studying alone as she had come to enjoy being around her friends. Finally she decided that she would go and watch just to see what it was all about, after all what they said did make sense everyone probably should know how to defend themselves. But she would take a book along just in case. "Alright, I'll come but just to watch. Let me go change real quick." with that Hermione headed back upstairs leaving the two boys alone in the common room. She soon came back down dressed in some more comfortable clothing with a book under her arm. "I'm ready." and with that the three made their way down to the lake. When they made it down to the lake the group began stretching.
Harry soon noticed that Hermione was stretching incorrectly and if he didn't do anything she could hurt herself. "Hermione stop." Hermione stood up wondering what was wrong. "If you keep trying to stretch like that you will hurt yourself. You need to relax and let gravity do the work. Now lean over again and don't force it. Go slowly." Hermione once again leaned forward to touch her toes. She couldn't reach she just wasn't very flexible. Seeming to read her thoughts Harry put his hand on her back. Making Hermione glad that she was leaning over so Harry couldn't see her blush. "Now don't bounce just relax. If you can't touch your toes don't worry about it you will be able to soon enough if you keep stretching regularly. Don't hold your breath, breathe Hermione." She did as she was told and took a deep breath, "Don't force it just breathe normally and remember let gravity do the work. Good, now hold this position for thirty seconds. She did it was really uncomfortable but Hermione focused on her breathing. That also had the added bonus of taking her mind off of the hand that was resting on her back. "Do you feel alright?" Harry asked at her silence.
"It is a bit uncomfortable." Hermione said a bit of strain in her voice.
"And now slowly stand back up. How does it feel?" Harry asked.
"I feel a little sore actually." Hermione responded. She noticed that Harry kept his hand on her back and her blush started creeping back up her face.
"Good that is how it should feel. The soreness will go away in time and eventually you will simply feel loose and relaxed after you stretch. Alright we will do it a few more times. Now just like before go slowly and let gravity do the work. Listen to your body it will tell you everything you need to know like when you are about to go to far. While it is always good to push yourself to go farther when you exercise you need to know your limit's so that you don't hurt yourself." Harry advised as they continued.
Merlyn was watching Harry and Hermione and noticed Hermione's blush. He simply shook his head and continued his stretching as he thought about just how clueless his brother was. He hadn't heard from Ginny since Kasper's last flight but he wasn't worried he knew that Kasper would probably be enjoying getting pampered by Ginny for a while longer and he thought that his owl deserved some pampering after the two days of almost nonstop flying. His thoughts then wondered to the picture of the girl on his bedside table who was doing all the pampering. He didn't even notice that a smile had appeared on his face.
"Way to go Hermione." Harry told her after she finished all of her stretches. "I know that it is a little tiring at first but once you get used to it the feeling becomes very enjoyable." Hermione just nodded as she breathed deeply. She was sweating profusely and this wasn't even the warm up. This was the bloody warm up for the warm up. "Alright now that we are all done stretching we can start the warm up. We will be running around the lake." Hermione looked at him as if he had gone mad.
"What there is no way we can run that!"
"It is a bit long but I think we can do it. Don't worry if you can't make it the whole way. We will stay with you, won't we Lynn?"
"Absolutely, we won't leave you behind." Merlyn answered while finishing up his stretches. That made Hermione smile. The group made their way around the lake but didn't even get halfway before Hermione started breathing hard. Harry motioned to Merlyn so that he would slow down. "Breathe Hermione." Merlyn told her. "Deep breathes, in...out...in...out. There you go we will be doing this slow jog for the rest of the way. Don't talk just listen to the sound of my voice and focus on it. We are almost a quarter of the way done. Come on." Merlyn kept talking and he knew that she would push herself and early on he found that if he kept telling himself he had only done half of what he had actually accomplished he would push harder. And by the time his brain cut through all of his internal propaganda he would have already finished. He only hoped it worked just as well with Hermione. Hermione's eyes glazed over and she started pushing harder she would not be beaten by only a quarter of a lap. Halfway that was her goal. Merlyn kept up a constant stream of speech as the passed the three quarter mark. Hermione was breathing incredibly hard by this point. "Alright we are almost half way done. Once we get halfway we will take a break keep pushing Hermione. And we are done!"
Hermione fell on the ground panting. Harry hurriedly picked her back up. "Put your hands on your head. Don't fall." Harry told her as he wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her standing. Hermione looked as though she were in pain but she complied and raised her arms. It took a good five minutes before she could stand on her own and looked around. They were back where they had started! "Wait we are back where we started!" Merlyn gave a quick chuckle.
"Yep, you did great Hermione!"
"But you said we were only halfway!" Hermione shouted in astonishment.
"It is a little trick I picked up when I was having trouble making the distance. Basically you trick yourself into continuing." Hermione was awed that was amazing she had no idea she could make it all the way around. Now the pain hit her and she fell on her but rubbing her legs.
"I know you are probably hurting from the run but you can't sit yet you need to walk. Trust me no more tricks." Harry said as he placed her arm around her shoulder and helped her up. "Lynn we will take a cool down lap. Why don't you get started on your forms." Harry suggested. Merlyn simply nodded and got down into one of his stances as Harry started walking with a half limping Hermione. "Lynn is a bit of a task master but you can't argue with his results." Hermione could only nod as they began to make their way around the lake yet again. "Feeling any better?" Harry asked after a bit of walking.
"A little but I have a feeling that this will stick with me for a few days." Hermione answered keeping her feet moving one after another.
"It probably will and don't worry that is normal at least until you get used to the exorcise then the feeling goes away altogether."
"Ouch!" Hermione exclaimed clutching her leg. "Harry it hurts so much!"
"Shit! You've got a cramp. Relax sit down." Hermione didn't need telling twice as she plopped on her butt still clutching her calf. Harry moved quickly and kneeled down in front of her. "Let go I can help it." He ordered Hermione quickly complied. Harry grabbed her calf and started massaging it. The moment Harry started to work her calf responded by loosening up a bit and Hermione gave a sigh of relief. "There we go just relax." Harry said softly as if trying to guide a spooked animal. "You're doing great. So have you decided where you want to start your tutoring?" He asked trying to distract her.
"Um, I was thinking transfiguration, then charms. It's feeling better thank you." Hermione said. She soon realized that she really liked this feeling and blushed bright red when she looked up and saw Harry's brilliant green eyes staring right back at her. She thanked god that her face was already very red from the run.
"Don't worry you should take a break for tomorrow and we can pick up again on Monday." Hermione looked horrified when she heard this. "I promise it gets better. Besides I didn't take you for a girl who gives up." He said trying to light a fire in her.
"I'm not!" Hermione shouted. She then began thinking about how Harry and Merlyn weren't even breathing hard. Plus this massage felt really good. "Alright Monday it is. But um…Harry?"
"Yes?"
"Would you um… help me like this after our runs?" Hermione asked.
"Sure, anything for a friend, Hermione." Harry told her with a smile. Hermione was happy he would, but for some reason her stomach tightened when he said friend. She quickly shook her head to clear it.
"Thanks Harry."
It took a little while for them to make their way around the rest of the lake. After the massage Hermione was able to walk on her own but Harry was right there ready to help her should she need it. Hermione was very happy by the time they made it back. "You two have a good stroll?" Merlyn asked when he saw them.
"Yeah, it was nice and relaxing." Harry told his brother as Hermione blushed which was now visible since she had cooled down during the walk. Merlyn just shook his head while thinking about how hopelessly clueless his brother was. "Hermione I think you have had enough for today. Why don't you just watch today and we will start you off on Monday." Hermione nodded happy that she was done for the day. She went over to where she left her book and took a seat. The book however never even crossed her mind as she watched the two boys go at it. She had to admit that they looked like they were having fun even if they took a few hits. It was an hour later when they were heading back to the castle for breakfast, they were all starving. Hermione even forgot her book and Harry had to push it into her arms before she even remembered she had brought it. When they made it to the Great Hall it was entirely deserted, apparently the rest of the school took the weekend as a chance to sleep in. Normally when they ate together Hermione would simply sit with the brothers but today for some reason she really wanted to sit next to Harry.
Harry and Merlyn had laden their plates quite heavily and began eating slowly they knew it was a bad idea to eat to fast after a workout. Hermione merely picked a few eggs and some bacon. "Hermione you need to eat more or your body won't have the energy it needs." Harry admonished.
Hermione looked down at her plate before glancing at Harry, "But I don't want to get fat." She may not have put too much stock in her looks as she wasn't pretty anyway but she really didn't want to get fat and add more things people could make fun of her for.
"Don't be silly you won't get fat. Doing these exercises every morning takes a lot out of you. You need to replace all the nutrients that you lost. Trust me Hermione you don't need to worry about your looks." Harry told her with a smile. Hermione however felt as though she had just been slapped. Tears began forming as she pushed herself up and ran from the Great Hall. "What happened!?"
"Harry you idiot! She thinks you just called her ugly!" Merlyn yelled at his brother. "Get your arse up and go after her!" Harry didn't waste a second before he leapt to his feet and ran after her. Merlyn had never been happier that he had taken after his uncle Sirius when it came to girls. Girls may chase after him but at least he never made girls cry and he was working on finding out what he was doing wrong. The only problem was he could swear he talked to girls just like his uncle. In any case Harry had better fix this.
Harry was busy running after Hermione. He was far behind her but he was able to catch a glimpse of her before she rounded the corner. He was very grateful everyone else was still asleep as the only reason he even had an idea of where Hermione went was from the sounds of her footsteps. He heard a door slam just before he turned the last corner. 'Shit. Where did she go?' Harry did the only thing he could think of. He went door to door and checked every room for any sign of Hermione. Eventually the only door left was to the girls restroom. He took a deep breath before he slowly opened the door. The sounds of sobbing made him feel horrible. "Hermione? Hermione, it's me."
"Go away! You're just like everyone else! Just leave me alone!"Hermione screamed at him from inside one of the stalls before throwing the door open. She was angrier than she had ever been. She built up walls to make sure this never happened. But Harry had blown them all apart over the past week and today out by the lake he shattered the final one. "No in fact you're worse! You made me think I actually had friends! Actually had people who cared for me!" And with that she slapped him as hard as she could. Harry took the slap and a bright red hand print appeared on his cheek. "Why are you even here?" She asked her anger almost gone with that slap and now only sadness remained.
"Hermione I wasn't calling you ugly! I swear!" Harry wasn't sure what else to say.
"I know I'm not pretty like the other girls! I have bushy hair, and big teeth! I already knew I wasn't pretty but you were supposed to be my friend!" Hermione shouted as she fell to her knees and broke down crying. "Please just go." She begged.
"Hermione please listen to me I am so sorry that I made you cry." Harry said kneeling down in front of her and grabbing her shoulders. "Hermione you're not ugly at all!" Harry was speaking as fast as he could trying to tell Hermione that it was all just a misunderstanding. "Hermione please think about what happened down by the lake! Would I have apologized on the train for turning you pink if I didn't care? Would I agree to tutor you if I didn't care? How about down by the lake? I care about you Hermione! And besides all that you're really pretty! I meant what I said you don't have to worry about your looks because you are pretty just the way you are!" Harry didn't know what else he could say so he did the only thing he could think of and pulled her into a tight hug.
Hermione was speechless. How could she have forgotten about the lake? It was only a few hours ago. And then on top of it he said that he thought she was pretty. Her! She didn't believe him at all until she looked up and into his eyes that screamed of his honesty. 'He really does care and thinks I'm p-p-pretty.' Hermione thought as she found herself being pulled into a tight embrace. Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry while she buried her face in the crook of Harry's neck. She felt safe in his arms as a warmth started spreading from her gut eventually encompassing her entire body.
It had been ten minutes and still no sign of either Harry or Hermione. Merlyn was becoming worried. Maybe Hermione cursed Harry and ran back to her dorm. He really hoped not, Harry didn't really deserve to be cursed for being a clueless idiot. He was about to go searching for them himself when he saw the two enter the Great Hall side by side. The fact that both of them were smiling was a good sign. At least his brother could apologize well. "So is everything settled?" he asked the two when they had reached him.
"Yes everything is fine." Hermione answered.
"Good, I was about to go look for you myself. Now come on and lets eat. I'm starved and I will be making sure you eat enough." He added to Hermione with a smile on his face.
Hermione giggled at that. "Don't worry I will eat enough to make you two wonder if I am related to Ron." The three got a good laugh out of that one. They ate their meal with a good bit of laughter as Harry and Merlyn regaled Hermione with stories of some of their more spectacular potion brewing mishaps. Afterwards they went to find an unused classroom so that they could start tutoring Hermione.
"Hermione do you still want to work on transfiguration today?" Harry asked and with a confirming nod for Hermione continued. "Well then allow me to introduce your instructor for today please welcome the great and powerful Professor Ashwood!" Harry said giving his brother a flashy introduction.
"Please hold your applause till the end of the class." Merlyn's voice rang out as if he was indeed teaching an entire class and not just Hermione. Hermione let out a giggle at his display. "Now to begin I will tell you the flaw of most wizards who practice this art." Merlyn was walking around the teacher's desk at the front of the class being as grandiose as possible before walking up to Hermione and taking the seat directly across from her. Hermione tried her best to stop giggling but she just couldn't. "They only use their magic to transfigure. Well that is not the way. You should treat your magic as a conduit for your will and imagination. Most wizards believe that they supply the power and that the magic itself does all the work which is true in a way, but if wizards knew this little secret casting transfiguration spells would become far easier."
"So how did you figure this out Professor?" Hermione asked. After all how could all of the wizards who have ever lived not picked up on this.
"Well to be honest, I didn't. My dad did. You see dad loves magic and, even though he is a muggle, is a genius. So when he found out about the magical world he bought a lot of books to learn as much as he could. So when our uncle Sirius first started teaching us transfiguration he explained everything to us almost exactly like our aunt Minerva did in our first class. And just like in our first class we were given matchsticks to turn into needles. I was able to do it after a few tries but Harry was having a bit of a hard time so our dad went over to him and gave him the exact same advice that Harry gave you and he was able to do it on his next try. The look on our uncles face was priceless." Harry and Merlyn both laughed at the memory. "And when he asked dad how he had thought of that he said it was like a construction site. You see our magic is like the construction workers who are moving the materials around and actually building the building. And if you tell a bunch of workers to build you a house they will but it will take longer and cost more to fix mistakes than if they had a foreman directing them. He reasoned that we were the foreman so we should have the blueprints ready and then when he directs the workers the job gets done faster and more efficiently." Hermione was stunned. Out of all the books she read never once had she read anything like that, and whats more is that it made perfect sense. "You see wizards have been doing things the same way for millennia and just thought that the way they did things was the only way. He figured that some of the more powerful wizards through the ages had figured out the secret but either they didn't realize that they were doing it differently then everyone else or they knew and simply didn't want to share the knowledge for some reason." By this time Hermione's mouth was hanging open.
"That...That's brilliant! But why hasn't he told anyone? That is a major discovery!"
"Well he said that we needed to keep it secret for some reason. He didn't tell us why just that it was very important. Besides according to our uncle the wizarding world wouldn't believe him anyway, since he is a muggle." Harry explained. "So that means that you can't tell anyone either."
Hermione nodded solemnly. She believed all knowledge should be shared but after all they were entrusting this to her. "So why tell me then?"
"Because you are our friend and we trust you." Harry said not missing a beat.
"And so for the rest of this tutoring session you will be practicing. It actually sounds a lot easier than it is." Merlyn told her as he pulled out a box of matches. "Our uncle still has a lot of trouble with it since he has been transfiguring the traditional way all his life. It's kind of like learning to ride a bike. If you learned how to ride a bike by riding it backwards and had been doing it all your life trying to ride it the correct way would be uncomfortable and difficult. Now lets get started. They spent the rest of the day watching Hermione transfigure matches into needles and back again. By the time they were done Hermione had a splitting headache and she still hadn't even gotten close to having it down yet.
"See it sounds a lot easier then it is. Just remember that not everything you read or are taught is necessarily the best way to do something. Neither books or people are infallible after all." Harry told her as they were walking down to the Great Hall for dinner. They had missed lunch due to the fact that Hermione didn't want to stop. "Oh by the way I almost forgot, flying lessons start this week. Now I know we don't really need them but since we weren't allowed to bring our brooms it would be a good chance to get back in the air."
"Yea, sounds good to me." Merlyn said.
"How about you Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Um well I am kind of afraid of heights." She admitted.
"Hermione you have nothing to worry about." Harry reassured her. "Besides we will be there to catch you if you fall." Hermione lit up at this and agreed to at least give it a try. After dinner they returned to the common room and played a game of exploding snap until it was almost midnight. At first Hermione wanted to spend her time working on her transfiguration some more but Harry talked her out of it saying that her brain like all of her other muscles needed to rest and relax. That plus the fact that her head was still pounding is what got her to agree to the game. When they eventually looked up they found a deserted common room.
"Well I think I'm going to turn in don't stay up too late you two." Merlyn yawned before heading up stairs.
Harry was about to do the same when he saw Hermione rub her temples again. "Is your head still hurting?"
"Yes, it wouldn't be so bad if my legs didn't hurt as well." Hermione grimaced.
"Hermione." Harry breathed out in sympathy. "Here put your legs up on the couch and lean against the armrest." She did not knowing what was going on until Harry sat in front of her and started rubbing one of her calves. She let out an involuntary sigh of relief the moment he started. His massages were like magic. The massage was not only helping her leg as the second he began the pounding in her head lessened considerably. Hermione was in heaven as she let the feeling of Harry's massage flow over her. She was brought out of her euphoria when she heard Harry speak to her. "Hermione I don't want you to do any studying tomorrow." Hermione was scandalized no studying.
"But I don't want to fall behind and I still need to work on my transfiguration!"
"Hermione listen to me. You won't fall behind, you are probably the smartest witch at Hogwarts and you have already finished all of your homework. Your head is hurting because you overworked it. You need to let it relax. I promise you won't fall behind and not even Merlyn or I ever worked as hard as you did today. We only worked on transfiguration for about an hour a day. You will get it and it will get easier but you need to give it time. Please I'm worried about you." When Hermione looked him in his green eyes she saw so much caring and concern she just couldn't bring herself to say no.
"Alright." She said a little dejectedly. Causing Harry to give her a relieved smile. He knew she loved to read and study so he wasn't quite sure how she would take this or if she would even agree to it. Hermione leaned back against the armrest and let Harry's magical fingers do their work. She was disappointed when she felt his hands leave her legs but suddenly looked up as she felt Harry remove her shoes and socks and started to give her feet a massage. If she thought she was in heaven before she was horribly mistaken this was heaven. She felt as if every ache and pain she had were melting away. Every now and then a moan of pleasure would escape her lips. She wasn't sure how long he continued, as far as Hermione was concerned an eternity of this wouldn't be enough. But he eventually did put her feet back down on the sofa. She sat up and slowly swung her legs down off the sofa as she scooted closer to Harry. She felt her cheeks heat up when she met his brilliant green eyes.
"How are you feeling?" Harry asked.
"I feel better than I ever have. Thank you Harry." Her pulse quickened and her cheeks reddened even more when Harry met her eyes and gave her that roguish grin at her answer. She bent down and picked up her shoes her eyes never leaving his. Before she could think about what she was about to do she quickly bent over and gave Harry a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight Harry." She said before taking off to the girls dormitory. When she closed the door behind her she turned around and leaned against it. She was mortified, 'What did I just do?' she bit her lip and couldn't stop the smile appearing on her face. It was official she liked Harry Potter. She quietly made her way over to her bed and got changed, her last thoughts before sleep claimed her were of the cutest, sweetest, and kindest boy she had ever met.
Harry couldn't bring himself to move. What had just happened? Why would she kiss him? 'She must have just been thankful for the massage. She was in a lot of pain after all.' Harry thought to himself as he made his way up to join his brother.
"What took you so long?" His brother asked when he walked into the dorm room.
"Well Hermione's legs were hurting her so I gave her a massage." Merlyn's eyes widened at this. "Then for some reason she kissed me." Oh this was getting to good Merlyn was fighting with all his might not to smile.
"Oh well why do you think she kissed you?"
"She was obviously thankful that she wasn't in pain anymore. That's all." Harry answered. Merlyn fell back into his bed with one word screaming in his mind, 'CLUELESS!'
The days seemed to fly by, every morning the trio would wake up extra early to go exercising. Hermione would exercise but still wouldn't take part in the sparing preferring to rest and watch the two boys fight. She still couldn't understand how they found this fun but the smile on Harry's face always made her happy. True to his word Harry would give her legs a rub down to help with the pain. In fact she found herself pushing harder and harder each day simply for those massages. And true to her word she cut back on her studying although this being Hermione she still studied more than anyone else. She also found that even though the two brothers were better than her with magic she simply outshone them when it came to their homework. She thought it only fair that since they were tutoring her she should tutor them when it came to writing essays. They loved their classes and it was safe to say that the three quickly became the top students in their year. Well they didn't love all of their classes Potions was always a terrible experience what with both Snape strutting around and taking points off for breathing wrong. Even Hermione who adored the teachers thought he was being a grumpy git. It was a good thing that Harry and Merlyn had already done these potions with their father because with the way Snape taught they would not have learned a thing. And then there was Defense against the Dark Arts, it was a joke of a class. Professor Quirrell always stuttered and smelled of garlic. Finally the day for their first flying lesson arrived. The three friends were currently down in the Great Hall for breakfast. Hermione was a bundle of nerves. She didn't think she eat a single bite. Harry and Merlyn had quite a time getting her to take a few bites. Just as they had finally gotten Hermione to start eating they were interrupted by Kasper landing in front of them. Merlyn was ecstatic to have his owl back and only noticed the letter when Kasper hooted and offered Merlyn his leg. Quick as a flash Merlyn untied the letter and began reading.
Dear Merlyn,
Thank you so much for letting Kasper stay with me. He is the most handsome owl I have ever seen. I wish the last week was as exciting for me as your first day was for you. I'm afraid that the most exciting thing that I get to do is de-gnoming the garden. It was so nice having Kasper here, he would even dance with me when the Weird Sisters would play a song on the wireless. Mom has been trying to teach me to knit again. I can't tell you how much I hate knitting. She always knits jumpers for us for Christmas and as there are seven of us she needs to start early. Every year she tries to get me to help and like clockwork every year I end up jabbing myself with the knitting needles. At least during the summer I could go out to the shed and grab one of my brother's brooms and go for a flight, but they took them to Hogwarts so I am stuck with spending my time with Kasper, which isn't a bad way to spend my time, or learning to cook from my mom. Hopefully this year I won't jab myself too much more before she lets me off the hook. I am already looking forward to your next letter please write soon. I'll be waiting.
Your friend,
Ginny
"So how's Ginny?" Harry asked. Harry had told Hermione all about Merlyn's crush much to Merlyn's annoyance.
"She's having knitting troubles." Merlyn responded with a slight chuckle.
After some good natured ribbing the three were soon heading to their first flying lesson, well Hermione's first flying lesson. When they arrived they found two rows of brooms and found three free brooms that were next to each other. Soon everyone had arrived and chosen a broom.
"Welcome everyone to your first flying lesson." Came the voice of their instructor Madam Hooch. "Well what are you waiting for? Everyone step up to the left side of your broom. Now stick your right hand over it and say 'Up'." There was a collective cry of "Up" but only a few brooms seemed to react. Harry and Merlyn's brooms immediately jumped into their hands. So did Draco Malfoy's, a prick from Slytherin, and Ron Weasleys. Everyone else continued to shout at their brooms. Hermione wasn't having much luck. Harry moved over a bit took her hand and gave it a slight squeeze.
"Remember relax." Harry whispered before letting go of her hand and moving back to his position not noticing the blush on her face. But just because he didn't notice doesn't mean that Merlyn didn't. He had also noticed that Hermione seemed to be a bit down of late although she always hid it when Harry was around. He would need to talk to her at some point. At her next 'Up' the broom jumped right into her hand and she beamed at Harry who gave her his signature roguish grin which did nothing to stop the reddening blush on her cheeks. It wasn't too much longer before everyone had their broom in their hands. "Now everyone mount your brooms and when I tell you push off against the ground hard. Hover for a few seconds then lean forward slightly and touch back down. Ready? On my whistle three...two..." Unfortunately Neville Longbottom jumped the gun and began zooming off towards the sky. When he had gone about thirty meters up he slipped off his broom and fell to the ground with a loud 'thump'. "Everyone out of the way!" Madame Hooch shouted as she ran over to Neville. "Oh dear it looks like a broken wrist. Everyone is to keep their feet firmly on the ground as I take Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing. Understand? If I see a single broom in the air the one riding it will find themselves out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch'.
While everyone was watching the pair leave Draco picked up a clear glass orb from the grass. "That stupid oaf. Maybe if the fat lump had given this a squeeze he would have remembered to fall on his fat arse." Draco said while laughing.
Harry never liked the jerk and he wasn't going to let him take that glass orb from Neville. "Give it here Malfoy."
"No I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find. How about up in a tree?" He said as he kicked off the ground. He had been bragging about how well he could fly all week. The trio had just written it off as one of his meaningless stories. He could indeed fly.
Harry mounted his broom but paused when he heard someone call his name. He turned around to find Hermione looking very nervous. "Don't worry I'll be fine just stay here okay?" When she nodded he turned to Merlyn who by this time was already on his broom. True he wasn't as good as Harry but he would be damned if he let his brother go into a fight alone. Then as one the two brothers kicked off of the ground. Merlyn began trying to distract the prick as Harry snuck up on him from behind. Unfortunately some Slytherin yelled out to him at the last second and he sped away.
By now Draco knew he was outclassed so the only thing to do was cut his losses. "You want it so bad? Then go get it!" He yelled as he threw the glass orb into the forbidden forest. Both boys began racing to get to Neville's orb. Harry went into a steep dive. The ground was getting closer and closer. Then a meter off the ground Harry plucked the orb out of the air and pulled up as hard as he could so he wouldn't crash.
"Whew, you had me worried there for a little bit. I know your good but damn!" Merlyn yelled as he gave Harry a high five while they were flying back to the rest of the stunned class. When they landed Hermione caught them both up in a hug as the rest of the class surrounded them. They were convincing Hermione that they were fine when a shrill voice called out, "Harry James Potter!" uh oh, it was their aunt Minerva. They were screwed and while they knew she wouldn't expel them it was never good when she used full names.
"Yes, Professor?" Harry answered, soon the Gryffindors were trying to explain what happened but it seemed as though Professor McGonagall was hearing none of it.
"Mr. Potter please come with me." Together the two walked back to the castle.
"Aunt Minerva I'm sorry that I flew but I couldn't just let Malfoy take Neville's ball!" Harry pleaded. He knew that he wouldn't be expelled since it was his aunt Minerva but she could still be pretty harsh. Minerva for her part didn't say a word. They ended up at a large wooden door, Harry had not been paying attention to where they were going only focusing on trying to lighten his punishment.
Minerva opened the door to Professor Quirrell's Defense Against the Dark Arts class. "Professor Quirrell may I borrow Wood for a moment please." Minerva asked. This was his punishment? Being beaten with a piece of wood? Wood however turned out to be a person. Minerva then led her two students to an empty classroom. "Harry this is Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team. Wood I have found you a seeker!"
Wood's face immediately changed from puzzled to look as though both his birthday and Christmas had come early. "Are you serious Professor!?" Wood asked in glee. He then began going off on how Harry was perfect for the position but that he would need a broom and a good one.
"I'm sure I can arrange something and we can send for Mr. Potters broom of course. Train hard Harry or I might just change my mind about punishing you." His aunt Minerva said as she was leaving the room.
Hermione and Merlyn had just watched Harry be led away by Professor McGonagall. Hermione was about to go after them and explain everything to the Professor they couldn't expel him. They just couldn't! But Merlyn stopped her after her first step. "Hermione stop."
"But we need to tell the Professor what happened! We can't let them expel Harry! We have to do something!" Hermione went on in a whisper so as not to draw the attention of the other students who were gazing off in Harry's direction.
"Hermione, don't you think I would be at least a little worried if I thought Harry even had the chance of being expelled?" Hermione fidgeted as she thought about it. "Trust me our aunt Minerva would never expel Harry." And looking in his deep brown eyes she did. That thought calmed her down as Merlyn continued on. "So about that kiss?" 'Oh my God, Harry told him about the kiss! Of course he did he is his brother after all! But oh dear!' Hermione thought as her blush reached new levels from both the memory and embarrassment. 'Did Merlyn not approve? What should I say?' Hermione bit her lip giving Merlyn a shy glance. Merlyn saw the look and could take a guess at just what she was thinking. "Calm down. I think it's great." Hermione's eyes widened.
"You...you do?"
"Yes. He needs someone to ground him, I mean did you see him fly. You know when we first met I was the risk taker and had to practically beg Harry to pull a prank. Over the last few years however he has far surpassed me when it comes to taking risks. But you should know something. I've seen the way you are when Harry isn't looking. You shouldn't be worried about anything. My brother is as clueless as they come. Hell he thinks you just gave him that kiss to thank him for giving your legs a rub down." Merlyn told her with a sad chuckle. 'Did Merlyn, the definition of clueless, really just call his brother clueless?' Hermione thought followed soon after by the phrase 'Takes one to know one.' she supposed. "Just don't give up alright. The only problem I can think of is that he might come to see you more as a sister than, well, a pretty girl who likes him." Hermione had never thought of that. She really liked Harry and didn't want to be thought of as just a sister figure. "Now I'll do my best to make sure that doesn't happen, but I would ask that you don't tell him your feelings yet. You see apart from you Harry has only ever had one friend, me. I don't think he is ready to have a girlfriend. And if he takes too long to realize how you feel well I think I might just give him a nudge or two." he said giving her his heart melting grin. For some reason it didn't have the same effect on her that it did on the train. Well not as profound an effect anyway.
When Madame hooch returned and told everyone to get back in their lines Merlyn leaned over and whispered, "I know I'm not Harry but I promise I won't let you fall either." Hermione gave him a grateful smile as she mounted her broom.
The two met back up with Harry at lunch. "Hey you two won't believe this!" Harry said in a conspiratorially. "Aunt Minerva didn't punish me at all. In fact you are looking at the new seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team!" The two next to him were stunned. They were sure that he wouldn't be expelled but to be put on the quidditch team was a privilege not a punishment. "But keep it a secret Wood, the captain, wants me to be the secret weapon in the first match." Harry said with a grin that nearly split his face.
"Wow and you get to bring your broom to school! That's fantastic. I might have to borrow it every once in a while. Oh, I just thought of something, you know how Hermione is afraid of heights?" Harry nodded as Hermione's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "Well maybe if you took her flying it might help her with it." Merlyn suggested taking this opportunity to give Hermione some Harry time.
Harry turned to Hermione. "Sure. Would you want to give it a try?" Hermione only nodded not trusting her voice and feeling rather grateful to Merlyn.
"Oh and I think I have figured out our next prank. What do you think about brewing a sticking solution?" Merlyn asked while knocking on the bench he was sitting on. Harry got a mischievous glint in his eyes. Hermione however didn't look to comfortable with this. "Hermione don't worry it will wear off after about half an hour. Just long enough for everyone to be stuck until classes start." Hermione looked a little less uncomfortable at the admission. After all if they were included in the prank then she didn't think they would be found out to get in trouble. "There is one more thing I don't think we can brew all the potion we need in just our cauldrons. I was thinking that maybe we should enlist some help from those twins who painted us on the train. It seemed like they enjoyed a good laugh. Hell after the shock of being turned into clowns wore off I heard that they were dancing up and down the train honking each others noses."
"Sure, but we won't have anywhere near enough solution for at least a month, even with their help. I've heard people talking about the Halloween feast. Now we don't want to mess with anyone's celebration so I think we should aim for Halloween morning." Harry said. "Hermione you'll help right?" Harry asked turning towards her. "Please, I promise it will be hilarious."
"I suppose. Promise we won't get caught?"
"There is no way we will be caught! We actually did this before on our parents. And they only punish us if they catch us."
Hermione could hardly believe her ears. "You mean your parents actually encourage you to pull pranks?"
"Yea but only with magic. They say that it is great practical experience." Merlyn answered. Hermione still wasn't sure but she couldn't argue with that logic. And she saw just how good Harry and Merlyn were with magic. Maybe this could actually help her. "Good, now I think we should talk to the twins after dinner tonight. The sooner we get started brewing the better."
That night they found the twins huddled in a corner in the common room. "So what are you two up to?" Harry asked startling the twins. "Planning another prank?"
"No of-"
"Course not!" The twins said a little too quickly. Merlyn decided to play along.
"Well that's to bad your last one was great!" Merlyn told them. Shocking the twins even more. "But since you are free we could use your help." Merlyn then proceeds to tell them their plan. The twins jaws slowly dropped with each sentence Merlyn uttered. "So what do you think? Will you give us a hand?"
"In pranking the whole-"
"School? We're in!"
"I don't think we have been properly introduced." One of the twins said offering his hand. "I'm Fred Weasley."
"And I'm George Weasley." The other twin said offering his hand as well.
"I'm Merlyn Ashwood." Merlyn said grabbing Fred's hand.
"And I'm his brother Harry Potter." This bit of news shocked the twins as Harry took George's hand. "And this is our friend Hermione Granger." And everyone shook everyone's hands. The twins were almost certain after what Harry had told them on the train about pranking a Marauder, that He and Merlyn were who did the fireworks at the sorting feast. They certainly weren't going to pass up the chance to find out if they were correct.
After they went to bed Merlyn sat at his desk writing a letter to Ginny before turning in. Harry was also writing a couple of letters. One was to his parents and the other was to his aunt and uncle. Once the letters were flying off with Kasper and Hedwig the two boys went to bed.
The next morning at the Ashwood residence Sirius and Emily had come over for breakfast. Maria was currently examining the beautiful ring on her best friend's hand. "Well it's about time isn't it?"
"Long overdue if you ask me. But I will say that my fiance most definitely made it up to me with the proposal he gave. He took me to France supposedly for a little vacation at the beach. Then right there as the sun was setting he knelt down and proposed in his swimsuit. The entire proposal wreaked of Sirius and it was the most romantic sight." Emily said with a blissful sigh. "The only thing is now I don't have a reason to not retire. I mean Sirius has more than enough money and the house is paid off. But I think I will put off my retirement as much as possible."
Meanwhile in the kitchen Sirius was giving his rendition of his proposal to John. "So have you heard anything from your friend Remus?"
Sirius shook his head. "I would have thought he would have replied by now I mean he hasn't responded to one of my letters. Even if he hadn't read them he should of at least read about my trial in the prophet. I know sometimes people need to sort things out and I've tried to give it to him but two years? If I don't hear from him soon I will track him down myself and find out exactly what is going on. We have been friends for too long for him not to at least give me an explanation."
Their conversation was interrupted by a white snowy owl flying in through the kitchen window. And landing in front of the pair. "Hedwig did you bring us some news from Harry?" John asked as a great grey owl flapped to the island from the top of the fridge to join Hedwig. Bones hadn't seen his friend in a few weeks and was happy she was back. John untied the two letters and let Hedwig go off and play with the family owl, Bones. He handed Sirius his letter and began reading his.
Dad,
The last two weeks have been amazing! We made a new friend named Hermione Granger. She has even been joining us on our morning runs but for some reason she doesn't want to join our sparing. Anyway I promise to write you a longer letter and tell you about everything that has happened but today something amazing happened. While we were at our first flying lesson a prat named Draco Malfoy took something that belonged to a guy named Neville. Neville is a good guy but really shy. Anyway Draco threw the ball into the forbidden forest and I dived after it and caught it only a meter off the ground! Well Aunt Minerva saw me and came to take me away. I thought I was going to be punished because we weren't supposed to be flying, but instead I became the new Gryffindor SEEKER! Can you believe it? Anyway I need you to send me my broom as practices are going to start soon.
Love,
Harry
P.S Merlyn sends his love too.
Both men finished reading their letters, which were almost the exact same except Harry asked Sirius for a favor in his, at the same time. "Holly shit!" Sirius shouted. "He has got to be the youngest quidditch player in at least a century! Just like his dad he is a natural on a broom. I knew the kid had talent but damn!" John was smiling wide. He was so proud of his son. "Hey John I think this deserves a reward. Why don't you let me get him a new broom in honor of the occasion?"
"Sure but we will split the cost. I can't wait to tell Maria and Emily."
That same morning at the Burrow Ginny was sitting at the table with her mother and father having a quiet breakfast. That is it was quiet until a now familiar eagle owl swooped in and landed in front of Ginny. Arthur Weasley was a little surprised. For the past two weeks he had been working almost twenty hour days at the office to clear a recent spike in muggle baiting. Last night he had finally finished and returned home at almost midnight to find that yet again his beautiful daughter and wife were sound asleep. He was so happy that he could finally share a meal with them again. Now he was gazing at this owl that he was sure he had never seen before. He noticed the letter as the owl flew in and out of habit reached for it, and was rewarded with a bite on the back of his hand. Arthur immediately withdrew his hand and was about to ask his wife if she knew who's owl this was when surprisingly all of a sudden he was being scolded by his daughter.
"Dad, you can't just go reaching for other peoples mail! It's rude." Ginny scolded before turning back to the owl. "Oh poor Kasper did the big bad man scare you?" Kasper puffed out his chest and hooted menacingly. "Of course how could anything scare such a brave and handsome owl?" Kasper was now entering, what Ginny had coined, his peacock personality. Arthur was watching on in stunned silence as, what he thought was an irritated nasty owl was now preening and playing with his daughter. "Did you bring me a letter from Merlyn?" Kasper hopped at the mention of his human's name before holding out his leg so that Ginny could easily remove the letter. "Mom can please be excused?"
"Yes honey, you may." Her mom answered. Ginny then popped up and kissed her mom on the cheek before running upstairs to read the letter. Kasper flying right on her tail. Ginny shut her door and jumped on her bed and looked at the picture that Merlyn had sent her of him covered in paint. Every time she looked at his picture her heart would beat a little faster and a blush would creep up her cheeks. Over the past two weeks she would read Merlyn's letters every night before she went to sleep. She made her way to her bed and laid down as she opened her newest letter from her friend. Ginny got butterflies in her stomach when ever she would read one of his letters. This time it was no different. With a deep breath and a big smile she opened the letter.
Dear Ginny,
I was happy to receive your letter and of course to see Kasper again. Though I have a sneaking suspicion that he likes you more than me. I hope that you were able to get out of knitting class with your mom. Anyway let me tell you what's happening at Hogwarts. First you're not going to believe this but do you remember Hermione. I wrote told you about her in one of my other letters. Well guess what, she has a crush on Harry and whats more is that he has no idea, even after she kissed him! Can you believe how clueless he is?
Ginny stopped right there. 'Did Merlyn, the clueless king, just call his brother clueless!?' Ginny thought to herself. Slowly she began to giggle and little by little it got louder and louder until it transformed into a full blown laughing fit. Merlyn the boy who, judging by what happened on the train, could have his pick of any girl he wanted and didn't even realize it just called his brother clueless. That stopped her laughing fit instantly, 'If Merlyn could be with any girl he wanted then why would he ever look twice at plain old me?' Ginny thought sadly. Wait, what? Where had that thought come from. Ginny had decided long ago that there was only one boy for her. The hero Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived. Now that she thought about it Merlyn's brother shared his first name with the hero. That is quite the coincidence. She let her thoughts die down as she went back to Merlyn's letter. A smile creeping right back onto her face as warm feeling in the pit of her stomach began coming back.
Now enough of my brother's plight. We had our first flying lesson today and that was an experience. Well everything was going alright until a boy named Neville Longbottom took off early. He shot up to the sky but unfortunately his grip slipped when he was about ten meters up and fell. Don't worry he only broke his wrist and is all better now. But when our teacher Madame Hooch took him off to the hospital wing a vile piece of trash named Draco Malfoy found his glass orb, Hermione told us later that it was called a remembrall, and took off on his broom looking for a place to hide it. Well Harry and I weren't going to let that happen and flew after him. Malfoy didn't seem to like his chances with both of us after him and threw the remembrall into the forbidden forest. Harry dived after it with me following behind him. I swear my brother was born on a broom. He came out of what had to be a twenty meter dive and caught it barely a meter from the ground! We made it back to the rest of the class, who were speechless. But Professor McGonagall had seen him flying and came out and took him away. You see we weren't supposed to fly without Madame Hooch present. Hermione and I didn't see him until lunch when he told us what happened. Apparently Professor McGonagall was so impressed with his flying that she made him the Gryffindor quidditch team's seeker! He said that the captain told him he was the youngest quidditch player in a century! How about that?
Ginny was impressed. Her brothers, Fred and George, were on the team as beaters. They had always told her that it was very difficult to get on a house team and that normally only third years and above were ever allowed on the house teams. Harry must be an amazing flier.
Well while we were talking all about Harry and quidditch my mind soon went to that brat Malfoy. I thought of a prank that would keep him in his place literally but then realized that the idea was just too good to keep only to Malfoy so decided that we would prank the entire school on Halloween! Unfortunately the amount of sticking solution that we would need would take too long to brew on our own so we enlisted the help of, guess who, that's right, Fred and George! But don't worry I will get Malfoy with something else even if he, sadly, might have to wait until after Halloween. I will make sure to send you pictures. Our classes are rather boring unfortunately. I even fell asleep once in History of Magic. Professor Binns really should work on his teaching ability. Potions is a fun subject but the teacher, Professor Snape, makes it a miserable experience for everyone except the Slytherins. He seems to really hate Harry, Snape even took points from Gryffindor because Harry was apparently breathing wrong. Unbelievable! I wish I could prank him in retaliation but pranking a teacher is a really bad idea. But I will find someway to make him pay for picking on my brother. I wish I had more to tell you but alas I do not. I hope that you are enjoying yourself, apart from the knitting lessons I mean. I can't wait for your next letter.
Your friend,
Merlyn
He wished he could tell her more? What he had written was almost two rolls of parchment. Ginny was beginning to feel guilty that her letters to him weren't even near half that. That warm feeling in the pit of her stomach started spreading as she decided that she would give him the letters he deserved. She was also amazed that he was able to get the twins to help him with a prank. They never let anyone in on theirs. They were always so secretive and as far as she knew never pranked with anyone other than each other. Merlyn's idea must have been amazing. She wasn't sure what it was but got the feeling that there was a clue somewhere in the letter. As for Draco Malfoy, she had never heard of the boy but he sounded like a jerk. Of course she had heard plenty of stories about the potions master but nothing like what Merlyn had told her. She hoped that Malfoy would get what's coming to him, and that Merlyn would find a way to get back at Snape. He seemed really protective of his brother and that just made the warmth she felt grow. Well she had a letter to write and she would not let Merlyn down.
Sitting at the kitchen table Arthur Weasley had just watched his daughter run up stairs. "What was that all about?" He asked his wife.
"Oh she has been writing to her crush." Molly told him before taking a sip of her tea.
"Don't tell me that Harry Potter is writing her?" Arthur knew that his daughter had only ever had one crush and that had been ever since she was six.
"Oh no, this was a boy she met at Kings Cross. The boy had overturned his cart and Ginny went over to help. By the time I noticed she was gone the rest of us were already on platform 9 ¾. When they arrived I was so worried and started yelling at Ginny, but the boy stepped in front of her and claimed that it was entirely his fault." Arthur was impressed not many people would stand up to an angry Molly Weasley. "Well he had apparently asked if he could write her and, well, I do believe that this is letter three. He seems like a very nice boy. I am afraid that I was a little harsh with him on the platform."
"So does this mean she is finally over Harry Potter?" Arthur asked hoping she was. After all it was a little girls crush and should be harmless but Ginny had been holding onto it for far too long in his opinion.
"Oh I don't think so. In fact I am not even certain she realizes that she likes this boy. But I can tell. She even tried to lie to me so that she could keep a picture of him. Trust me she really likes this boy, Merlyn." Arthur wasn't sure what to think about this. Ginny was his little girl after all and a harmless crush on a boy she would probably never meet was one thing but this... well he would just have to wait and see what happened.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. With the responses to the last chapter i just couldn't wait to get this one out and so i worked overtime on it.
Please leave a review and let me know what you think.
Thank you. Until next time.
