Hello everyone! I'm so so sorry for the late update.

My work schedule got crazy busy the last 2 weeks. Unfortunately, it looks like it'll be that way until May but luckily once June rolls around, I'm going to have so much more free time which means more time to write! I was hoping to put out a new chapter once a week, but that may be a bit difficult with work right now so for the next month it'll most likely be every two weeks, but we'll just have to see! This chapter is more of a filler chapter but I just wanted to explore some new time with Triss, Harry, the Weasley so I had fun writing this. Let me know if you guys like it and leave a review! In the next one we get to Diagon alley and get to meet Lockhart.

Thank you to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed this story! You guys are awesome :)

I do not own the Harry Potter series and all characters are the property of JK Rowling with the exception of my own OCs

Chapter 3

A week had passed by since Harry arrived at the Burrow and Triss could easily say it had been the best week of summer so far. They spent their days helping Mrs. Weasley, playing Quidditch, and lounging out in the summer sun. Harry seemed to be fully at ease with life at the Burrow and Triss could see a happiness in him that practically made him glow. They all secretly decided to make Harry feel really welcome, so both her dad and Mrs. Weasley made a point to keep him entertained, well fed, and just feel like a part of their families.

Mrs. Weasley fussed over the state of his clothes and always piled his plate with as much food as he could stomach. He had been looking far too thin for her liking and every time the subject came up her dad would mutter under his breath "What kind of muggles are they?" to no one particular.

Her dad had been delighted to have Harry around, and he loved having him over for mealtimes so he could regale him with stories of Triss and Finn and his work as an auror. Triss would merely roll her eyes at hearing the same stories her dad would always tell, but Mathalus took delight in making Harry smile and feel at home.

Triss was happy to have Harry around so that she could have an extra person to play Quidditch with. Since the return of her broomstick, Triss had been practicing every afternoon with the boys and Harry, in particular, was more than happy to play. The pair would race each other from the Burrow to the House on the Hill each day and Harry helped Triss with some maneuvers that he had seen Oliver Wood teach the other chasers on the team.

In was a Friday afternoon, and the sun had been terribly hot that day. Triss, Ron, and Harry had attempted to play a round of Quidditch, but the heat had made it unbearable, so they plopped down in the grass and drank cold glasses of pumpkin juice that Mrs. Weasley gave to them.

"I can't take this heat anymore," Ron said, wiping his sweaty and red face. The heat was making his fair skin turn as red as his hair.

"I know, even Quidditch isn't fun when it's this hot. Is your family eating supper at our place tonight?" Triss asked while attempting to shield her eyes from the sun.

"Yeah, we'll all be around," Ron responded.

"Your dad's cooking tonight?" Harry asked with a surprised tone.

"Don't sound so shocked," Triss said with a laugh, sitting up. "He happens to be a decent cook. He learned it all from Mrs. Weasley, so it'd be impossible not to. We all eat supper together every Friday. Last week it was here at the Burrow and tonight it's dad's turn."

Triss was especially looking forward to tonight's meal because she decided to turn it into a belated birthday party for Harry. She felt horrible that he wasn't able to celebrate properly, and she was afraid to send him any gifts because he hadn't been responding to her letters. Last night she and Mrs. Weasley baked a delicious looking chocolate cake and Triss felt pride at decorating it herself (even if George said it looked as if the cake read Hatpy Dirlday Tarry).

Triss said her goodbyes to the boys and flew across the field that separated her house and the Burrow to help her dad with the cooking and decorate. Her and Finn helped chop, stir, and clean up the house to her dad's liking.

Triss even put up a 'Happy Birthday' banner that her and Ginny had made the previous day to surprise Harry. Ginny was blushing throughout the entire process and she took extra care in her assigned letters and even added a pinch of glitter for good measure. Triss found it rather sweet that Ginny had such a big crush on Harry, and she could understand why for someone her age. They had grown up hearing and reading about Harry, and how he was the reason He-Must-Not-Be-Named was vanquished. It was like seeing a figure of history sitting at your table eating breakfast.

Soon it was evening and time for everyone to arrive. Triss put on one of her nicer outfits and even managed to get a comb through her blonde curls. Triss set the table and soon they heard a knock at the door.

HPOV

Harry and the Weasley walked over to the House on the Hill with various plates of food that Mrs. Weasley insisted on making and Fred lugged a strange looking bag filled with wrapped parcels. Harry didn't think anything of it as Mr. Weasley asked him questions about why muggles decided to put trains underground.

They knocked on the door and Finn greeted them with a big smile. They walked through the Selwyn living room, into the kitchen, and suddenly, voices yelling "SURPRISE" filled his ears. Triss was standing on a chair under a banner that read "Happy Birthday Harry!" with red and gold paint and even some glitter on the letters of his name.

Harry felt incredibly touched and even a bit confused. "I don't even know what to say," he said breathless. "You know my birthday was last week though right?"

Triss rolled her eyes and brought him in for a hug which he was more than happy to return.

"Obviously but we couldn't very well celebrate last week when you weren't here," she said ruffling his already messy hair. "I — well we — all figured you don't really get proper birthdays, being with muggles during the summer, so tonight's family meal is an impromptu birthday celebration."

Mr. Selwyn pulled out a mouthwatering Shepard's pie from the oven and set it on the table along with several other scrumptious looking foods.

"In this house we take birthdays very seriously, so it was only natural that we do a little something for the Boy-Who-Lived," Mr. Selwyn said with a teasing, but warm smile while taking off a pair of floral oven mitts.

"Happy birthday dear," Mrs. Weasley said pulling him into a hug. The twins and Finn, all clapped him on the back, Percy gave him a formal handshake, and Ron gave him a brotherly nudge while muttering "Happy belated birthday mate".

"Alright all, time to eat!" Mr. Selwyn said while waving his wand causing several jugs of pumpkin juice to come flying to the table. They placed Harry at the head of the table, just under the banner and everyone else found a place around the magnificent feast that Mr. Selwyn and Mrs. Weasley put together.

The food was absolutely delicious, and Harry couldn't deny the warm happiness he felt inside, not only from the food, but from the thought of his friends putting this together for him. He looked around at every one laughing at a funny impersonation of a Gnome that Triss was doing and for a moment it was like he was a part of a real family.

Soon after dinner a chocolate cake with twelve lit candles was brought out by Triss.

"Mrs. Weasley made the cake, but I decorated it myself," she said with confidence. Harry didn't have the heart to tell her that the red frosted words on the cake looked like they spelled out "Haffy Birthbay Larry", so he just smiled, said thanks, and she let out a breath of relief.

"What's that white lump at the bottom?" Finnick asked squinting.

"It's Hedwig of course," Triss said getting defensive. Harry cocked his head at the white blob in the center and noticed that it resembled Mr. Weasley's balding head.

"If I was Hedwig, I would take offense," Fred whispered in his ear a bit too loudly. Mrs. Weasley must've heard because pinched him in return, while Triss's back was to them. Harry blew out the candles and soon Triss brought over a big stack of presents.

"You guys got me presents?" Harry asked surprised.

"Of course we did. We have to make up for the years you didn't get any presents at all," Triss said, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

Harry reached for the present that was on top which was from Mrs. Weasley. Harry tore it open, and it included new knitted socks and a tin of homemade cookies which he helped himself too. Ron got him some more chocolate frogs, and Finnick and the twins gave him a box of pranks and joke items from a shoppe called Zonko's in the village of Hogsmeade that third year students were allowed to visit on weekends. Mr. Selwyn surprised him with a big bag of new clothes (whispering in his ear that it wouldn't be the worst event in the world if Dudley's hand-me-downs accidently ended up in the fire), a new set of dragonhide gloves and a Dragon figurine that would spit out fire when you said an incantation. Harry even got a hand-made card from Ginny, who muttered out a quick 'Happy Birthday' while blushing furiously. Finally, Triss came bouncing in front of him with excitement and an eccentrically wrapped gift.

"This one is from me," she said handing him the gift.

"It's no mystery with your wrapping," Finn said with a snort. Triss only glared in response.

Harry tore open the gift to find a very nice black and silver cloak that even had his initials embroidered on the front in silver thread (albeit a tad crooked).

"Thanks Triss, it's great," he said trying it on.

"I sewed your initials myself," she said with pride. "I just figured you can't exactly use your umm — other cloak as often," Triss said with a wink.

Harry felt like his face could've been alight with how happy he was that night. Soon after cake and tea, they all sat around the table exchanging stories and fanning their faces from the August heat.

"This heat has to let up some time soon I hope," Mrs. Weasley said, while wiping some sweat from her neck.

"Supposed to be a scorcher tomorrow. Well, I don't know about you all, but I could use a day to cool off," Mr. Selwyn said with a wink. Harry felt confused as Ron's and Triss's mouths dropped open.

"Oh dad do you mean it? Can we please go?" Triss said with a pleading look.

"Go where?" Harry asked.

"Our family has a lakeside cottage. It was passed down to my dad and we go during the summers," Triss said smiling.

"What do you say Arthur? Think you can get off this weekend and have a little mini holiday?" Mr. Selwyn asked.

Mr. Weasley looked thoughtful for a moment while his children waited with bated breath.

"I think with all this extra overtime, I could use a day off by the lake," Mr. Weasley said back, cracking a grin. That earned a cheer from all the kids at the table. So, they decided the next morning they would all wake up and spend the weekend at the lakeside cottage in Newcastle.

Harry said his goodbye's to Finnick and Mr. Selwyn and pulled Triss to the side.

"I'm assumed this was all your doing?" he asked.

She gave him a mischievous smirk in return. "Quite possibly. Were you surprised?"

"Completely. Thank you by the way. This was the best birthday I've ever had," he said with genuine happiness. And after all it was the truth… besides finding out he was a wizard; this really was the best birthday he has ever had.

Harry pulled Triss in for a hug, hoping to convey the thanks he truly felt.

Triss let go with a blush and tucked a lock of her curly blonde hair behind her ear.

"Well don't get all sappy on me every year. I have to make up for all the birthdays you haven't gotten to celebrate before. I'll have to find a way to surprise you even more next year," she said with a grin.

Harry smiled back. "I'll be looking forward to it. Goodnight Triss."

"Night Harry and happy belated birthday."

Harry and Ron made their way back to the Burrow with the rest of the Weasleys in tow, all yawning with their stomachs full of food and soon Harry found himself in bed, Ron's snores filling the air.

Harry lay awake in bed, not only his stomach full, but his heart as well.

He didn't know why, but he thought he felt his heart flutter for a fleeting moment at the thought of the hug he shared with Triss.

TPOV

"Triss time to get up!" her father's voice shouted, waking her up from a food-induced slumber.

Triss let out a groan of being woken up so early and cracked open her eyes to see it was still early morning. She loved the lake, but boy did she hate waking up early to get there.

She closed her eyes and thought "just five more minutes…"

She must've slept more than five minutes because the next thing she knew; Finn was dumping a cold glass of water on her face. Triss sprang up and sputtered, the shock of the water making her wide awake.

"Get up runt! We're flooing to the lake in 10 minutes with or without you," Finn said walking out of her room.

Triss raced out of bed and quickly packed up her rucksack, threw on some clean clothes, and ran down the steps to find the Weasleys, Harry, her dad, and Finn all gathered around the fireplace.

"Nice of you to join us," her father said with a stern look.

"What happened to you?" Ron asked with a snort. Triss got a glance of herself in the mirror and let out a groan at seeing her hair look like a bird's nest and her shirt on backwards.

"Just be happy she even made it all," Fred muttered out with a grin.

"I think I saw her sleep through an earthquake once," George responded.

"Very funny all. Let's get on with it shall we?" She still felt a twinge of grumpiness at how her brother woke her up.

"Right, well guests first! After you, Harry m'boy," her dad said handing him a tin of floo powder.

Harry stared at them all watching him.

"W-what am I supposed to do?" he stammered.

Triss completely forgot he had never flooed before!

"He's never traveled by Floo powder," said Ron suddenly. "Sorry, Harry, I forgot."

"Never?" said Mr. Weasley. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"

"I went on the Underground —"

"Really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "Were there escapators? How exactly —"

"Not now, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Floo powder's a lot quicker, dear, but goodness me, if you've never used it before —"

"He'll be all right, Mrs. Weasley," said Finn. "Harry, watch us first."

He took a pinch of glittering powder out of the silver tin, stepped up to the fire, and threw the powder into the flames.

With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Finn, who stepped right into it, shouted, "Newcastle Cottage!" and vanished.

"You must speak clearly, dear," her dad told Harry as George dipped his hand into the tin. "And be sure to get out at the right grate. . . ."

"The right what?" said Harry nervously as the fire roared and whipped George out of sight, with Fred right after.

"Well, there are an awful lot of wizard fires to choose from, you know, but as long as you've spoken clearly —" Mrs. Weasley said.

"He'll be fine, Molly, don't fuss," said Mr. Weasley, helping himself to Floo powder, too.

"But, dear, if he got lost, how would we ever explain to his aunt and uncle?"

"They wouldn't mind," Harry reassured her. "Dudley would think it was a brilliant joke if I got lost up a chimney, don't worry about that —"

"Well . . . all right . . . you go after Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Now, when you get into the fire, say where you're going —"

"And keep your elbows tucked in," Ron advised.

"And your eyes shut," said Mrs. Weasley. "The soot —"

"Don't fidget," said Triss. "Or you might well fall out of the wrong fireplace —"

"But don't panic and get out too early; wait until you see Finn, Fred, and George."

Looking a bit nervous, Harry took a pinch of Floo powder and walked to the edge of the fire.

"You'll be fine," Triss reassured him. "worst case, you end up on the other side of England."

"Thanks Triss," Harry responded back while rolling his eyes and somehow looking even more nervous.

He took a deep breath, scattered the powder into the flames, stepped forward, and shouted "Newcastle Cottage!".

The emerald flames engulfed him, and he was off.

"I better go next to make sure he got there alright," her dad said stepping in next.

Soon Mrs. Weasley went next, followed by Ron and then Percy pushed her forward saying "Got to make sure you all get there safely. I am a prefect you know."

Triss rolled her eyes. "We know Percy!"

Triss took a pinch of floo powder, shouted "Newcastle Cottage!" and then felt the warm breeze of the emerald flames. She spun very fast and felt the deafening roars of various fireplaces filled her ears. She glimpsed at rooms beyond and tightly shut her eyes when she felt like she would never stop spinning. Floo wasn't exactly her favourite method of travel. Finally, she felt her feet hit solid ground and saw a familiar pair of hazel eyes.

"Alright Bean?" her dad asked, magicking away the soot on her clothes.

Triss let out a cough. "I'm alright, thanks dad." Triss rubbed her eyes and couldn't help but smile at the sight of the cottage. The word Cottage was a bit of an understatement for their family lake home, because it was easily bigger than the entirety of the Burrow. Sea foam walls and old-fashioned cream coloured furniture greeted her eyes, and she felt immediate peace filling her body. The house had been in her dad's family for generations, and it was one of the few things he kept with him when he left Selwyn Manor behind. He always said his summers here were some of his only happy childhood memories. The great, stone cottage was nestled deep in the countryside and sat right along a crystal-clear lake. It had a wraparound porch, a small dock that led out onto the water, and even a rope swing hanging from one of the trees.

Triss spotted Harry looking around in awe.

"I can see why you wanted to come here so badly," he said with amusement. Triss giggled.

"Come on, I'll show you where you'll be staying," she said grabbing his hand and pulling him up the stairs. On the second floor were the kids' bedrooms which included one at the end of the hall where her and Ginny would bunk, one that would usually hold Charlie and Bill that was now assigned to Percy — who quickly shut himself in his room, muttering something about needing to send a letter — one room for Finn, George and Fred that had old fireworks littering the floor, and finally the room where Ron would usually bunk with Percy, but now Harry.

"Your eyes can take a break from orange for a night at least," Triss said with a smirk pointed to Ron.

"What's wrong with orange?" he asked defensively.

"Oh nothing, nothing at all," she said innocently, but still with a cheeky smirk planted on her face.

"Change into a swim trunks. We're going swimming!" Triss said with excitement. Harry's smile fell.

"I don't really have any," he said sheepishly. Her dad was walking down the hall making sure everyone was getting unpacked alright when he must've overheard.

"Not to worry Harry. You can use a pair of Finnick's. The boy keeps outgrowing everything I buy for him so he has plenty," her dad said.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

Soon Triss and the boys were out on the dock taking turns jumping into the cool water of the lake. Ginny, who wasn't a very good swimmer, sat on the edge and gave out points to whoever had the best jump. The adults sat on rocking chairs and watched with amusement.

Triss helped Harry use the rope swing and felt her body clench when he landed right on his stomach, practically feeling the sting of a belly flop herself. He came to the surface sputtering up water and wincing in pain at the sting.

"Better luck next time Potter!" Triss shouted to him, giggling as he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Alright boys, catch a load at this!" Triss said getting up onto the highest rock to swing into the water. Just as she was about to swing in, she was suddenly hit with a terrible feeling. It was as if her body was dunked ice and she felt like her stomach hit the ground. She felt her head begin pounding and a rushing sound filled her ears. She dropped to her knees feeling lightheaded and suddenly her dad was at her side.

"Bean? What's going on? Talk to me?" he asked with panic.

Triss could barely open her eyes and felt very faint.

"I think I'm getting a premonition," she muttered out.

Her dad put his hands on her shoulders. "Alright, listen to my voice Triss. You have to focus for a moment. Take deep breaths with me and focus.

"Dad's what's happening to her? Do something!" her brother said, panic evident in his voice.

"She needs to do this on her own, Finn. The only way to learn control over this, is with practice. Triss you to need to grab ahold of whatever you're feeling before you pass out. Breath darling."

Her stomach was doing backflips and she could feel her brain going fuzzy, but she tried to do what he said. She took a deep breath in and out.

"Good, very good darling. Now, you need to clear out everything around you. Let the world fade away and focus on what you're feeling. Your gift is telling you something and you need to listen to it. Are you get flashes of anything?"

Triss listened to what her dad said and suddenly saw a flash of red.

"Yes."

"Good, keeping breathing and focus on those flashes. It's most likely blurs but try to put it together. Connect them, like you would connect the dots and keeping breathing. Forget everything around you, including me…"

She took another deep breath and did what her dad told her. With each breath, she let the world fade away around her. She saw more flashes pass by in her mind. She saw another flash of red and thought she saw a pair of brown eyes. Then she felt like she was falling, deeper, deeper into water. She couldn't breathe! She was getting cold… red hair was all around her floating in the water… it felt as if she was struck by lightning. It was Ginny!

Triss's eyes burst open and searched around. Everyone was gathered around her, staring with concerned looks. Triss searched around wildly and she spotted Ginny throwing stones along the edge of the dock. Suddenly, Triss felt her stomach do a flip and, she didn't know why, but she somehow knew she had to get to her. Triss started running towards the girl and heard her brother and Ron call Triss's name. She felt another flip in her stomach and she ran faster. Suddenly one of the boards of the dock broke, causing Ginny to fall in the water with a yelp. Triss ran to the dock and dove in without a second thought. She swam deeper and saw Ginny, thrashing wilding, trying hard to kick her feet to no avail. Triss grabbed the young girl's hand and swam to the surface, taking a deep breath while Ginny gasped for air. Triss held her close and brought her to the dock and Mr. Weasley pulled her out of the water and into his arms.

"Thank you Triss," Mr. Weasley said gratefully, his hand running circles over Ginny's back who was trying her best to calm down from the ordeal.

Triss felt her body deflate from it all and collapsed on the deck, her dad sitting down next to her.

"Good job Bean," he said putting his arm around her.

Triss let out a deep breath, feeling her body finally calm down. "Thanks dad."

"Blimey, I thought you were weird before," Fred said with a whistle.

"Who would've known our little Trissella here was a Seer!" George said.

"I'm not a Seer" Triss said with a smirk. "just have good senses is all."

Her dad smiled with approval. "That was excellent darling. You're much better than I ever was at your age. It took me years to get ahold of images like you did. Who knows, maybe one day you'll be just as good as any seer is."

"Please, the last thing we all need is for her to be a fortune teller. She'll take away all the fun of betting on Quidditch," Finnick said ruffling her wet hair. She let out a much-needed laugh at that. Her dad went to go repair the deck and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley took Ginny inside to make sure she wasn't hurt and console her. Ron and Harry took a seat next to Triss who felt her heart finally slowing down.

"Well, at least I'm never bored with you," Harry said nudging her shoulder.

"I'll say," Ron replied. "She's right scary. And here I thought Harry was the reason we always ended up into something life-threatening."

The trio laughed at that. The rest of the weekend luckily went by with no more incidents. They spent the remainder of their time swimming, laughing and eating plenty of foods her dad grilled outside for them. Soon the weekend drew to a close and it was time to head home.

They entered the House on the Hill with sunburns and good laughs at the fun they all had together. Triss was happy to see Harry enjoying himself with her family and the Weasley's and hoped they could do this again next summer. Hopefully with less drowning incidents next time…

What did you all think? Favourite, Follow and Review this story for more! :) See you guys in the next chapter

Guest: I love writing from Harry's POV so it's been fun to write those parts. I wish I was that innovative when it came to the name "The House on the Hill" but that's just a happy coincidence! I just have this image of a sloping hill up from the the Burrow with a cute English country house nestled on top so that's why I named it that :) Hope you like the new chapter!