A/N: Hi. This is short, but I'm leaving at 6 a.m. on Thursday morning to an
academic game trip, and I won't be back until 9 p.m. on Monday night. So, I
figured I'd make a chapter so that I'd have something out before I left for
a few days. Hope this tides you over. And hey, I put up chapter seven, I
think, of Even Heroes Have the Right to Bleed after foreverness!!! So yay
me. Lol. Well, thanks everybody.
Gez, I'm hurting. I received a review for "You, Me, and DADA" that was, to say the least, scathing. I try to be mature about my reviews and look for the points that the review made, but gosh that was hurtful. They asked me if I even read Harry Potter. Now that was aiming to hurt. Oh well… *deep breaths*
Disclaimer: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! (only Draco put how I want to express my annoyance about insisting that JK owns HP correctly)
"Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we? Are we? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we—?"
"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" Draco groaned, thumping his head against the side of the car. "Ouch," he frowned, then rubbing his head. "Ron, would you tell your sister to shut up!?"
"Ginny, shut up," Ron said half-heartedly, nodding forward and then jerking up as if he was about to fall asleep.
"What?" Draco teased. "Did my scary story keep you up, Ron?"
"No!" Ron insisted furiously, dragging the comforter over him. "It wasn't scary, anyway."
"Sure," Draco grinned, pleased with his victory. "Hey, what's that?"
Harry almost swerved the car off the road as he turned the car with the rest of his body to look towards where Draco was pointing. A black billboard had "AMAZING ITEMS OF THE UNIVERSE! ONCE IN A LIFETIME! Your second exit on the left!" in white drippy letters.
"I want to go!" Ginny pleased, jumping out of her seat. "Please! Oh, can we?" The others looked very hostile to the idea, so Ginny decided to focus on Ron. "Ronnnnnnnie, please? Please? Oh pleeeeeeeeease, Ron? Please?"
"Fine," Ron grumbled through bloodshot eyes. In a way, Ginny was taking the advantage of Ron in the fact that he was too tired to be aware of any decision he was making. But, Ginny had learning the craft of deception from being the youngest child in a large family and didn't plan to abandon her trade now.
Harry made a sharp turn (to the shrieks of the other passengers) into the designated exit. For a few minutes it appeared to be a wasteland and Harry was harried (no pun intended) by the other passengers. Just when it was about to turn ugly, a small, shoddy shack-looking construction appeared to their right.
"Is… THAT… it?" Cho seemed appalled, and then griped as she chipped her pink toenail polish.
"Seemingly so," Draco snickered, reclining further into the upholstery of the backseat.
"I don't see anything funny about it," Hermione said distantly. Draco silently mimicked her mockingly when she turned away, but he got the feeling that she knew what he was doing.
"Well, we didn't go out of our way for nothing," Harry said, slowing the car to a halt on the side of the road. He smoothed his shorts and stepped out, the others tentatively following his lead. They marched somewhat uphill until they once again spotted the dilapidated shack, which could not have been larger than a bedroom, sitting lonesome at the top of the grassy (weeds!) hill.
The door breezed back simply from the application of Harry's knuckles knocking on it, and a foul smell seeped outside. Hermione almost gagged, and it did wonders to wake Ron up—for a moment anyway. Harry braced himself as he led the way into the hut.
The air was as musty as the smell, and after a long coughing session the six adjusted their eyes to the scenery. A slipshod wooden table was placed in the middle of the room, and a long, skinny man slept on a chair beside it. But the peculiar thing was what was mounted on top of the poorly crafted table: an enormous, shiny bowl-like object.
This object easily took up half of the room's space, its shiny luster covered with brown rusty splotches. A long, dulled handle intruded from its side, as would a ladle. The bowl, which had not much in depth, was easily shallow enough to look inside. However, that was not the best idea. All that inhabited it was a few gum wrappers and what looked to be vomit.
"What is that?" Hermione stepped back and gaped, appalled. She didn't think she really wanted an answer to her question.
"It looks like a plate gone wrong," Cho whispered, making a horrified face as she caught a whiff of the vomit substance. She jumped back and stood, protected, behind Ron. Ron himself looked ready to gag (but more ready to sleep). Draco's face showed minimal emotion but his lack of sarcastic comments showed that he, too, was cringing on the inside. Ginny had paled to the color of a ghost.
Harry was standing to the side, seemingly squeamish. "I think it's a—"
"World's largest frying pan."
All six jumped. They had forgotten that the thin man with the overgrown moustache had been in the room; up until now, he had been latent with the exception of heavy snores. Now, he was pacing around in automatic mode, talking smooth and petting his greasy moustache.
"My brother Jayce and I made this little baby out of ten pounds of aluminum, bound with welding and secured with screws. Made it into the Guinness in 1989. Behold, my young friends, for you are looking at a wonder."
No one said anything. They all eyed each other, wondering what to do or say and hoping someone would lead by example. Ginny couldn't stifle it anymore. She broke into a fit of giggles.
"Ginny, quit!" Cho hissed, blushing faintly.
"I—hic—can't—hic—stop—hic!" Ginny was convulsing in laughs now interrupted by short hiccups.
"Gez," Ron groaned. Suddenly, he snapped his eyes open and looked around wildly. "Where are we? What's going on?"
He was basically ignored, so Ron shrugged and fell back into his half- sleep mode while the others tried to look their best to be impressed by the obscure… frying pan.
"World's largest frying pan, eh?" Harry shifted awkwardly. He looked desperately for help, but no one chimed in. "That's, erm, something."
"Yup," was the man's simple reply.
"Okay, well, we have to go now," Harry smiled through the awful stench that was making his eyes water and started to back away. At this, the other five were already half out the door.
"That's fine," nodded the man, "once you pay."
Harry audibly choked in disbelief, and then focused his widened eye on the slimeball of a human. "I beg your pardon?"
"Pay," the man repeated, as if Harry was the imbecile and not himself. "There's six of you, ten dollars per person, so that'd be sixty dollars. Tax on the house," he winked.
"You've got to be kidding!" Cho asserted. The rest were flabbergasted as well. "Sixty dollars! No way!"
"Look, missy." The man clenched his teeth. "You saw my show, you pay up. Now did you see this here?" He beckoned towards the frying pan.
"Yes," she answered promptly.
"Well then you pay." The man smirked satisfactorily with his reasoning.
"Sixty dollars," Draco repeated coolly. "Really, sir. If you need money to put your kids through college just say so. If they get the education that you got, it should only be 30 per each head. But you look the type to have much more than two, am I right?"
The man turned a red unmatched by Ginny and Ron's equally vibrant hair. "Fine, forty."
"Ten."
"Forty."
"Nine."
"Forty."
"Eight."
"Forty."
"Seven."
"Fine, ten dollars!" the man cried, throwing up his arms in defeat. If he considered Draco a superior barterer, he obviously didn't get out too much.
Draco smirked pompously, much to the disdain of the other five who were otherwise grateful. "You heard the man, Harry. Pay him."
Harry grumbled as he dished out ten dollars and shoved it into the man's open palm. They stormed out before any further remarks could be made, but Cho did make a rude gesture involving a certain finger on her hand.
"Are we almost there yet? I'm as antsy as Ginny," Hermione groaned, letting her head droop onto her left shoulder.
"Sure," Ginny grinned, still bouncing around in her seat between Ron and Harry. "Oh, I see it! I SEE IT!"
"See what? See what?"
"IT! Disney Land!"
"So do I!"
"Keep your pants on, Harry," Draco chuckled, but he too leaned up to get a better view. "It looks like… a castle?" He cupped his right hand over his brow and squinted. "I'm sure that the United States is a democracy, right, Cho?"
Cho was confused too, however. All she knew was that there was plainly a large French—and perhaps Bavarian—castle looming ahead, from the center of the upcoming park. "We're here," she said weakly, but the others seem perturbed that she rendered no answer for the castle.
"Why is that guy waving flags at us?" Harry asked as they pulled into the parking lot. A short man with tanned skin and thick sunglasses was frowning towards them and waving a large yellow flag, while pointing to the left.
"Should we follow the direction he's waving in?" said Hermione,
"That would be the logical thing to do."
"Shutup, Draco," Hermione hissed, then blushed and turned away.
The man began ranting in a language that was definitely not English, so Harry simply shrugged and followed the curb left. After a poor parking job between a crooked mini-van (with a bright red bicycle attached to the back and luggage racks nailed on the roof) and a 2002 Lexus ES with a large dent in the back mirror and a bumper sticker reading, "You're kid may be an honor student but you're still an IDIOT."
Ginny began cracking up at this, but Ron just frowned and made a subtle stamp of the foot. "I don't get it!" he whined impatiently, walking closer. He re-read it, and visually pouted once more.
"Note: Ron, proximity will not improve your ability to take a joke," Hermione drawled, pleased with herself. She smiled at the joke, too.
Ron rubbed his chin, trying to think of a good insult or comeback. His eyes lit up. "I think Malfoy's rubbing off on you with that sarcasm, Herm."
Hermione made an infuriated face and spun around to nothingness, just for the sake of looking away dramatically. She remained stubbornly silent as Draco made futile attempts to convince Hermione that she had just received a compliment from Ron, and ignored Ron's exaggerated sighs of annoyance.
Meanwhile, Harry had begun meandering towards the ticket booth, and Cho, Ron, Draco, Ginny, and Hermione, in realization, began trotting after him.
Myriads of people blocked off the ticket booth entrance, and Draco and Harry, as the tallest, tried fruitlessly to peer over the crowds. In the end, the six decided to split up and venture onto different lines, vowing to all meet up on the one line that moved the fastest and got to the front first.
Draco looked at Hermione out of the corner of his eye. She caught his, frowned, and looked away. *Gez, she's impossible. What is the matter with her? She SAID that we were at least friends. A direct quote. Practically her exact words. What shit. Why is she acting like she hates me if she doesn't? Does she not remember how I said that I liked her… like that?*
"Ow ow!" Draco winced as something sharply pinched his left leg. He looked down and sighed, annoyed, at the sight of a pudgy little boy looking right back at him. "Little boy, go back to your mommy," pleaded Draco, trying to sound tolerable.
"My mommy says I can annoy you as long as I want," smiled the little boy. He pinched Draco again, as simply as that.
"Please stop!"
"What, can't handle a five-year-old?" Ron approached from behind, tapping Draco on the shoulder. "Gin's line ended up at the front first. Come on, we're waiting for you, O Oblivious One."
"Ha ha," Draco scoffed, pulling free from the little boy that had taken grasp of Draco's shorts and following Ron a few lines over. Surely enough, everyone was there waiting.
"How many?" droned the tired middle-aged woman in the stiff uniform behind the plastiglass booth in a nasal voice.
"Six," said Harry, taking a mental count. But the woman was no longer paying attention to Harry. She dropped the thin spectacles that she had been twirling around onto the counter and her hand froze over the ticket press-button. She was staring right above Harry's head, and he had a bad feeling.
The six looked up. Hedwig was hovering over Harry's head, with a parchment rolled and tied with a black bow. She nipped Harry's shoulder affectionately.
"There is no chance in Hades that that lady could believed that story!" Hermione laughed, plopping down on the bench inside the park beside Harry.
"What's not unreasonable about my pet owl knowing my scent so he follows me and chews on perfectly rolled paper?" Harry teased, letting a lopsided grin form on his lately tensed face. When Hedwig had arrived above him, Harry had turned six shades lighter than white.
"Well, go on and read it," Ron said impatiently, positioning himself behind the bench as to get the first view—well, second, after Harry.
"Alright, keep your skirt on." Harry careful untied the black ribbon and placed it on the bench. Hermione picked it up and tied it loosely in her hair. He unrolled the thin parchment and read:
Dear Harry
The information will be awaiting you in your chambers at Hogwarts when you arrive to dress for the banquet. I'm not sure why this was requested but it has been carried through. I am sure that you'll be pleased. Missing you.
Snuffles
"What is he talking about?" asked Ron accusatorially, pointing a finger towards the parchment.
"That's from Sirius Black?" Cho gasped, catching wind of Hermione and Ginny's hushed whispers.
"Ssssh!" Draco hushed, considering that most Muggles had been alerted of Sirius Black's "felony." "Keep it down!"
"Right, right."
"So Harry? What is he talking about?"
"Ron, that's my business for now. Can't we just go on and find out what that castle was all about?"
"Fine," Ron agreed reluctantly, "but I'm not going to easily forget about this."
"I know," Harry smiled.
A/N: I know, I got 16 reviews for this chapter but you guys can do SO much better. Please? I want at least 20 on this, I mean it. Only a few more chapters left. Love you all.
Ice—thanks, it's ok.
Sucker For Romance—Thanks so much!
Dragon Eyes—The ending? Hmmm… Oh yes, thanks. Lol.
Mione G—Why thank you. Glad you enjoyed this recent chapter.
Lady Nicolia of Conte—Nicolia is such a pretty name. Thanks.
SuperHPfan—Hey, it will all work out fine (hint hint)
Raven Delanuit—Hey grapeyapey. Hey thanks, I am currently on the list 12 for fav author and that feels… amazing. Thanks so much. I can not express all of the gratitude. Glad the story gave someone the chills.
Vicci—Check out Raven's review. It means "I lived a weak life, but I die a grand death," in French.
Charybdis—The chameleon of names, how ya doing? Thanks so much! I'm glad you got a laugh out of that.
Psychee—Little son of r n g? WHAT? Please explain, I'm uttlery confused.
Amaryllis—Here ya go. Thanks much!
ChibiFuu Malfoy—Thankssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!
Macbeth Hamlet—Yes'm, I did. I'm so glad it had an effect. Her words mean, "I lived a weak like but I die a grand death," in French. She seemed the type to speak French, did she not?
Miss Spinn—Neither do I! (but then I'll have more time to focus on the rest of my stories)
Sirius's Soulmate—I think I did… trying to remember. Yep, believe so. Did I? I'll check.
Glossy—Me too!!! (wait, I'm the author. I know when he's going to "confess." Heh heh)
Chyna9 4 ever—You a wrestling fan? My brother used to watch avidly and I recognize the pen name.Thanks!!!!
Ok, you can beat 16. I have faith in you. Make me very happy when I come back and check my reviews. Thanks a million!!!!
And I'm out…
Gez, I'm hurting. I received a review for "You, Me, and DADA" that was, to say the least, scathing. I try to be mature about my reviews and look for the points that the review made, but gosh that was hurtful. They asked me if I even read Harry Potter. Now that was aiming to hurt. Oh well… *deep breaths*
Disclaimer: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! (only Draco put how I want to express my annoyance about insisting that JK owns HP correctly)
"Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we? Are we? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we—?"
"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" Draco groaned, thumping his head against the side of the car. "Ouch," he frowned, then rubbing his head. "Ron, would you tell your sister to shut up!?"
"Ginny, shut up," Ron said half-heartedly, nodding forward and then jerking up as if he was about to fall asleep.
"What?" Draco teased. "Did my scary story keep you up, Ron?"
"No!" Ron insisted furiously, dragging the comforter over him. "It wasn't scary, anyway."
"Sure," Draco grinned, pleased with his victory. "Hey, what's that?"
Harry almost swerved the car off the road as he turned the car with the rest of his body to look towards where Draco was pointing. A black billboard had "AMAZING ITEMS OF THE UNIVERSE! ONCE IN A LIFETIME! Your second exit on the left!" in white drippy letters.
"I want to go!" Ginny pleased, jumping out of her seat. "Please! Oh, can we?" The others looked very hostile to the idea, so Ginny decided to focus on Ron. "Ronnnnnnnie, please? Please? Oh pleeeeeeeeease, Ron? Please?"
"Fine," Ron grumbled through bloodshot eyes. In a way, Ginny was taking the advantage of Ron in the fact that he was too tired to be aware of any decision he was making. But, Ginny had learning the craft of deception from being the youngest child in a large family and didn't plan to abandon her trade now.
Harry made a sharp turn (to the shrieks of the other passengers) into the designated exit. For a few minutes it appeared to be a wasteland and Harry was harried (no pun intended) by the other passengers. Just when it was about to turn ugly, a small, shoddy shack-looking construction appeared to their right.
"Is… THAT… it?" Cho seemed appalled, and then griped as she chipped her pink toenail polish.
"Seemingly so," Draco snickered, reclining further into the upholstery of the backseat.
"I don't see anything funny about it," Hermione said distantly. Draco silently mimicked her mockingly when she turned away, but he got the feeling that she knew what he was doing.
"Well, we didn't go out of our way for nothing," Harry said, slowing the car to a halt on the side of the road. He smoothed his shorts and stepped out, the others tentatively following his lead. They marched somewhat uphill until they once again spotted the dilapidated shack, which could not have been larger than a bedroom, sitting lonesome at the top of the grassy (weeds!) hill.
The door breezed back simply from the application of Harry's knuckles knocking on it, and a foul smell seeped outside. Hermione almost gagged, and it did wonders to wake Ron up—for a moment anyway. Harry braced himself as he led the way into the hut.
The air was as musty as the smell, and after a long coughing session the six adjusted their eyes to the scenery. A slipshod wooden table was placed in the middle of the room, and a long, skinny man slept on a chair beside it. But the peculiar thing was what was mounted on top of the poorly crafted table: an enormous, shiny bowl-like object.
This object easily took up half of the room's space, its shiny luster covered with brown rusty splotches. A long, dulled handle intruded from its side, as would a ladle. The bowl, which had not much in depth, was easily shallow enough to look inside. However, that was not the best idea. All that inhabited it was a few gum wrappers and what looked to be vomit.
"What is that?" Hermione stepped back and gaped, appalled. She didn't think she really wanted an answer to her question.
"It looks like a plate gone wrong," Cho whispered, making a horrified face as she caught a whiff of the vomit substance. She jumped back and stood, protected, behind Ron. Ron himself looked ready to gag (but more ready to sleep). Draco's face showed minimal emotion but his lack of sarcastic comments showed that he, too, was cringing on the inside. Ginny had paled to the color of a ghost.
Harry was standing to the side, seemingly squeamish. "I think it's a—"
"World's largest frying pan."
All six jumped. They had forgotten that the thin man with the overgrown moustache had been in the room; up until now, he had been latent with the exception of heavy snores. Now, he was pacing around in automatic mode, talking smooth and petting his greasy moustache.
"My brother Jayce and I made this little baby out of ten pounds of aluminum, bound with welding and secured with screws. Made it into the Guinness in 1989. Behold, my young friends, for you are looking at a wonder."
No one said anything. They all eyed each other, wondering what to do or say and hoping someone would lead by example. Ginny couldn't stifle it anymore. She broke into a fit of giggles.
"Ginny, quit!" Cho hissed, blushing faintly.
"I—hic—can't—hic—stop—hic!" Ginny was convulsing in laughs now interrupted by short hiccups.
"Gez," Ron groaned. Suddenly, he snapped his eyes open and looked around wildly. "Where are we? What's going on?"
He was basically ignored, so Ron shrugged and fell back into his half- sleep mode while the others tried to look their best to be impressed by the obscure… frying pan.
"World's largest frying pan, eh?" Harry shifted awkwardly. He looked desperately for help, but no one chimed in. "That's, erm, something."
"Yup," was the man's simple reply.
"Okay, well, we have to go now," Harry smiled through the awful stench that was making his eyes water and started to back away. At this, the other five were already half out the door.
"That's fine," nodded the man, "once you pay."
Harry audibly choked in disbelief, and then focused his widened eye on the slimeball of a human. "I beg your pardon?"
"Pay," the man repeated, as if Harry was the imbecile and not himself. "There's six of you, ten dollars per person, so that'd be sixty dollars. Tax on the house," he winked.
"You've got to be kidding!" Cho asserted. The rest were flabbergasted as well. "Sixty dollars! No way!"
"Look, missy." The man clenched his teeth. "You saw my show, you pay up. Now did you see this here?" He beckoned towards the frying pan.
"Yes," she answered promptly.
"Well then you pay." The man smirked satisfactorily with his reasoning.
"Sixty dollars," Draco repeated coolly. "Really, sir. If you need money to put your kids through college just say so. If they get the education that you got, it should only be 30 per each head. But you look the type to have much more than two, am I right?"
The man turned a red unmatched by Ginny and Ron's equally vibrant hair. "Fine, forty."
"Ten."
"Forty."
"Nine."
"Forty."
"Eight."
"Forty."
"Seven."
"Fine, ten dollars!" the man cried, throwing up his arms in defeat. If he considered Draco a superior barterer, he obviously didn't get out too much.
Draco smirked pompously, much to the disdain of the other five who were otherwise grateful. "You heard the man, Harry. Pay him."
Harry grumbled as he dished out ten dollars and shoved it into the man's open palm. They stormed out before any further remarks could be made, but Cho did make a rude gesture involving a certain finger on her hand.
"Are we almost there yet? I'm as antsy as Ginny," Hermione groaned, letting her head droop onto her left shoulder.
"Sure," Ginny grinned, still bouncing around in her seat between Ron and Harry. "Oh, I see it! I SEE IT!"
"See what? See what?"
"IT! Disney Land!"
"So do I!"
"Keep your pants on, Harry," Draco chuckled, but he too leaned up to get a better view. "It looks like… a castle?" He cupped his right hand over his brow and squinted. "I'm sure that the United States is a democracy, right, Cho?"
Cho was confused too, however. All she knew was that there was plainly a large French—and perhaps Bavarian—castle looming ahead, from the center of the upcoming park. "We're here," she said weakly, but the others seem perturbed that she rendered no answer for the castle.
"Why is that guy waving flags at us?" Harry asked as they pulled into the parking lot. A short man with tanned skin and thick sunglasses was frowning towards them and waving a large yellow flag, while pointing to the left.
"Should we follow the direction he's waving in?" said Hermione,
"That would be the logical thing to do."
"Shutup, Draco," Hermione hissed, then blushed and turned away.
The man began ranting in a language that was definitely not English, so Harry simply shrugged and followed the curb left. After a poor parking job between a crooked mini-van (with a bright red bicycle attached to the back and luggage racks nailed on the roof) and a 2002 Lexus ES with a large dent in the back mirror and a bumper sticker reading, "You're kid may be an honor student but you're still an IDIOT."
Ginny began cracking up at this, but Ron just frowned and made a subtle stamp of the foot. "I don't get it!" he whined impatiently, walking closer. He re-read it, and visually pouted once more.
"Note: Ron, proximity will not improve your ability to take a joke," Hermione drawled, pleased with herself. She smiled at the joke, too.
Ron rubbed his chin, trying to think of a good insult or comeback. His eyes lit up. "I think Malfoy's rubbing off on you with that sarcasm, Herm."
Hermione made an infuriated face and spun around to nothingness, just for the sake of looking away dramatically. She remained stubbornly silent as Draco made futile attempts to convince Hermione that she had just received a compliment from Ron, and ignored Ron's exaggerated sighs of annoyance.
Meanwhile, Harry had begun meandering towards the ticket booth, and Cho, Ron, Draco, Ginny, and Hermione, in realization, began trotting after him.
Myriads of people blocked off the ticket booth entrance, and Draco and Harry, as the tallest, tried fruitlessly to peer over the crowds. In the end, the six decided to split up and venture onto different lines, vowing to all meet up on the one line that moved the fastest and got to the front first.
Draco looked at Hermione out of the corner of his eye. She caught his, frowned, and looked away. *Gez, she's impossible. What is the matter with her? She SAID that we were at least friends. A direct quote. Practically her exact words. What shit. Why is she acting like she hates me if she doesn't? Does she not remember how I said that I liked her… like that?*
"Ow ow!" Draco winced as something sharply pinched his left leg. He looked down and sighed, annoyed, at the sight of a pudgy little boy looking right back at him. "Little boy, go back to your mommy," pleaded Draco, trying to sound tolerable.
"My mommy says I can annoy you as long as I want," smiled the little boy. He pinched Draco again, as simply as that.
"Please stop!"
"What, can't handle a five-year-old?" Ron approached from behind, tapping Draco on the shoulder. "Gin's line ended up at the front first. Come on, we're waiting for you, O Oblivious One."
"Ha ha," Draco scoffed, pulling free from the little boy that had taken grasp of Draco's shorts and following Ron a few lines over. Surely enough, everyone was there waiting.
"How many?" droned the tired middle-aged woman in the stiff uniform behind the plastiglass booth in a nasal voice.
"Six," said Harry, taking a mental count. But the woman was no longer paying attention to Harry. She dropped the thin spectacles that she had been twirling around onto the counter and her hand froze over the ticket press-button. She was staring right above Harry's head, and he had a bad feeling.
The six looked up. Hedwig was hovering over Harry's head, with a parchment rolled and tied with a black bow. She nipped Harry's shoulder affectionately.
"There is no chance in Hades that that lady could believed that story!" Hermione laughed, plopping down on the bench inside the park beside Harry.
"What's not unreasonable about my pet owl knowing my scent so he follows me and chews on perfectly rolled paper?" Harry teased, letting a lopsided grin form on his lately tensed face. When Hedwig had arrived above him, Harry had turned six shades lighter than white.
"Well, go on and read it," Ron said impatiently, positioning himself behind the bench as to get the first view—well, second, after Harry.
"Alright, keep your skirt on." Harry careful untied the black ribbon and placed it on the bench. Hermione picked it up and tied it loosely in her hair. He unrolled the thin parchment and read:
Dear Harry
The information will be awaiting you in your chambers at Hogwarts when you arrive to dress for the banquet. I'm not sure why this was requested but it has been carried through. I am sure that you'll be pleased. Missing you.
Snuffles
"What is he talking about?" asked Ron accusatorially, pointing a finger towards the parchment.
"That's from Sirius Black?" Cho gasped, catching wind of Hermione and Ginny's hushed whispers.
"Ssssh!" Draco hushed, considering that most Muggles had been alerted of Sirius Black's "felony." "Keep it down!"
"Right, right."
"So Harry? What is he talking about?"
"Ron, that's my business for now. Can't we just go on and find out what that castle was all about?"
"Fine," Ron agreed reluctantly, "but I'm not going to easily forget about this."
"I know," Harry smiled.
A/N: I know, I got 16 reviews for this chapter but you guys can do SO much better. Please? I want at least 20 on this, I mean it. Only a few more chapters left. Love you all.
Ice—thanks, it's ok.
Sucker For Romance—Thanks so much!
Dragon Eyes—The ending? Hmmm… Oh yes, thanks. Lol.
Mione G—Why thank you. Glad you enjoyed this recent chapter.
Lady Nicolia of Conte—Nicolia is such a pretty name. Thanks.
SuperHPfan—Hey, it will all work out fine (hint hint)
Raven Delanuit—Hey grapeyapey. Hey thanks, I am currently on the list 12 for fav author and that feels… amazing. Thanks so much. I can not express all of the gratitude. Glad the story gave someone the chills.
Vicci—Check out Raven's review. It means "I lived a weak life, but I die a grand death," in French.
Charybdis—The chameleon of names, how ya doing? Thanks so much! I'm glad you got a laugh out of that.
Psychee—Little son of r n g? WHAT? Please explain, I'm uttlery confused.
Amaryllis—Here ya go. Thanks much!
ChibiFuu Malfoy—Thankssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!
Macbeth Hamlet—Yes'm, I did. I'm so glad it had an effect. Her words mean, "I lived a weak like but I die a grand death," in French. She seemed the type to speak French, did she not?
Miss Spinn—Neither do I! (but then I'll have more time to focus on the rest of my stories)
Sirius's Soulmate—I think I did… trying to remember. Yep, believe so. Did I? I'll check.
Glossy—Me too!!! (wait, I'm the author. I know when he's going to "confess." Heh heh)
Chyna9 4 ever—You a wrestling fan? My brother used to watch avidly and I recognize the pen name.Thanks!!!!
Ok, you can beat 16. I have faith in you. Make me very happy when I come back and check my reviews. Thanks a million!!!!
And I'm out…