Every time Harry thought about what Seb had said, the more confused he felt. He wasn't in love with Bella. Alright, maybe he found her attractive, but at the moment, they were just good friends. But there wasn't much time to give it much thought.
Salek, after reading the medical report from St. Mungo's, had initiated a sort of training program. He wanted them all in perfect physical health. Between Vulcan Martial Arts, weight training, track, football training and working in the hay barn, Harry flopped into bed each night exhausted. Harry had been made a quarterback on the team, and the coach was working him extra hard. When he wasn't busy with these or homework, in was in the barn with Scorpius and Sebastian, working on the bike. The youngest Malfoy showed a real knack for mechanics. Once he got over his initial unease about being in the muggle world, he reminded Harry of Colin Creevy, and Harry found himself developing a big brother/little brother relationship with him.
It was during one of their late night mechanic sessions that Harry confronted his feelings about Bella. Seb had gone into town for a "tutoring session" with a pretty girl named Maria, a cheerleader. Harry was about to ask Scorpius to hand him a wrench when he heard soft snoring. Scorpius was curled up on a bale, fast asleep. Harry smiled at the younger boy, and lay down his tools. The bike could be finished tomorrow. Harry knew that trying to wake Scorpius would be worse than trying to wake Seb. He picked Scorpius up and cradled him in one arm as he turned off the light. Scorpius automatically wrapped his arms and legs around Harry. God, the kid had put on some weight since they had been falling through the air over London. He was staggering onto the darkened porch when Bella spoke from a chair in the shadows.
"You are really good with him," she said, flicking on the porch light. She grinned at the sight, coming over to ruffle Scorpius' hair.
"He's a good kid," Harry smiled back, shifting the weight from one arm to the other. Bella took his free hand, and Harry felt butterfly's in his stomach, as cliched as it sounds. It was something he had never felt with Cho and had only briefly felt with Ginny.
"Thank you," Bella said.
"For what?" Harry asked. Bella looked away for a second.
"For being the kindest person I know. For putting up with all the... well, the weird stuff that goes with the three of us. The need for contact, Seb's thunderous snoring, my moping," she trailed off.
Harry gave her hand a light squeeze.
"I think you earned the right to a little moping, all things considered," Harry stated.
Bella chuckled lightly.
"For such a nice guy, it's a wonder you never had a girlfriend in your own time," Bella whispered, leaning in. Harry moved Scorpius slightly so Bella could move closer. Their lips met for a brief moment before Bella pulled away, letting Harrys hand fall.
"I'll see you in Defense tomorrow, Professor," Bella smiled, a hint of teasing in her voice.
Harry stood dumbfounded for a moment, until Scorpius started laughing.
"Bella and Harry, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," he sang.
The little punk walked the rest of the way.
OOO
When Seb got in that night, he flopped down beside Harry.
"I was having a talk with Scorpis," he yawned.
"And?" Harry asked.
There was a quick smile and a hug.
"Ah, young love."
Harry playfully pushed a laughing Seb off the bed.
OOO
Harry put the finishing touches to the report he was writing. It was a brief summary on Defence Against the Dark Arts- at least, what he could remember from school. While the library in the trunk was adequate for school work, it didn't provide near as much information as Starfleet required. Take werewolves for example. There was a whole chapter on them, with a brief description of the more common type, and a brief, tantalising mention of a second. The first type was the "full shift" werewolf, like Professor Lupin. The second type stayed more human like, with the only tell tale signs been longer cainine teeth, glowing eyes and sideburns with more animalistic tendencies. Rather brief, school stuff. They needed more. Professor Dumbledore reluctantly agreed that, yes, there was more advanced stuff in the Hogwarts library.
Admirals Pike and Weasley agreed that an "exploratory mission" to Hogwarts was needed. Harry and co were to use Fawkes to enter Hogwarts, gather enough information from the library for Starfleet to identify werewolves and offer assistance if needed as well as gather potions remedies for ailments modern medicine had not found a cure for. Under no circumstances were they to approach Voldemort or alert him to their presence.
Personally, Harry didn't think the werewolf community needed any help. If they had managed to avoid any major incidents, or hadn't killed any innocent people, they seemed to be regulating themselves pretty well. But Harry didn't want to get on the bad side of the authorities.
They assembled in the barn as Fawkes glided overhead.
"Will Fawkes be able to handle the five of us?" Salek asked, raising and eyebrow.
Fawkes whistled that seemed to say 'Of course I will.'
"How are we going to orientate ourselves for transport? It seems unlikely that we will all be able to touch the bird, let alone grasp a talon," Salek said.
They milled over that one for a minute or two. It was Scorpius who came up with the solution. With a cry of 'Piggyback,' he hopped onto Harry's back, to everyone's amusement. (Hay would bet everything he had that even Salek grinned, momentarily). With Bella on Sebs back, Scorpius holding onto Harry, and a slightly amused Salek, Fawkes flashed them to Hogwarts.
