Chapter Ten
"Hogsmeade"
The next Saturday, Harry had gotten up early. He had made arrangements with Hermione to meet early and go for a walk around the lake. He made sure that Ron was still sleeping. He was indeed still snoring quietly in his bed. Harry got dressed and made his way down to the common room. He didn't like the idea of sneaking around behind Ron's back, but he and Hermione were always together these days and he really didn't want to tell Ron about his dream. When Harry reached the common room, Hermione was sitting by the fire, dozing off a bit with Crookshanks on her lap. "Good morning, Hermione," Harry said startling her awake. "Thanks for meeting with me." "I don't mind meeting with you, Harry, I just wish you weren't so secretive about it all." Hermione told him. He gave her a sad look that made her seem to understand that this was important. They walked down to the entrance hall and opened the door. It was chilly, they both wished that they had brought their cloaks with them. As they rounded the lake, Harry seemed to feel like they were far enough out of Ron's earshot, so he began to tell Hermione the dream. He relived the entire dream to her, his throat catching a few times as he thought he would begin crying, but he made it through the entire dream without a tear. Hermione on the other hand, looked appalled, and had wiped a few tears from her cheek as Harry had told her what had happened. She hugged Harry and they both sat down at the edge of the lake. He told her that that is what he had written to Sirius about the night that he sent Hedwig. She nodded. Suddenly, Hagrid came tromping along and stopped next to them. He was carrying a long thick stick. "Yer lot is up brigh' an' early this morn'n, eh?" he said as they stood up. "Kind of cold ter be down 'ere by the lake this early, yer shoulda brough' yer cloaks," he barked. "I jus' came down here to try and capture our next creature for class." "Hagrid," Harry said slowly, "You aren't going to try to capture the giant squid are you?" Hagrid laughed. "There's more in tha' lake than squid, 'arry, yer know tha'." Hagrid said still laughing. That, Harry did know. He remembered spending over an hour beneath the surface of the lake during the second task in the Triwizard Tournament last year. He wondered what Hagrid would be trying to catch. Probably not a merperson and they had studied grindylows in Defense Against the Dark Arts in their third year with Professor Lupin. Perhaps there was something under there that he hadn't seen, after all he had only been to the center of the lake and back. "Yer should bring Ron and come up ter the hut fer tea after Hogsmeade," Hagrid told them. They nodded and said they would. Then they headed back up to the castle. "You know, Harry, I think you've done all you can do. Just wait until you've heard back from Sirius. I'm sure he'll be able to tell you something. And if you thought it would help, you could always go and tell Dumbledore." Hermione had been talking the entire walk back up to the castle. They entered and went into the Great Hall. Ron was sitting at the Gryffindor table looking annoyed. "Where have you two been?" he asked as they sat down. "Er, I was getting worried." He added hurriedly, so he wouldn't sound jealous again. He knew that Hermione didn't find it a becoming trait. "We went down for a walk around the lake. That's all," Hermione said, and she gave Ron a kiss on the cheek for reassurance. Ron smiled and muttered all right. Then they all piled breakfast onto their plates. Colin came running over and squeezed in-between Ron and Harry. Harry huffed and rolled his eyes. "Hiya, Harry, I got these pictures developed, I thought I'd see if you wanted a copy," Colin said as he shoved some photos under Harry's nose. Harry started looking through the pictures. One of them showed Harry and Cho flying into the Wronski Feint and it showed him as he swooped up and she crashed into the ground. Harry flinched, it really did look bad, he thought. He shoved the photos back at Colin and told him no thanks. Colin shrugged and went back to where Dennis was sitting. "Honestly, that little prat is really annoying," said Ron. "He doesn't know when to stop, that one." Then he scooped some porridge into his mouth. Harry looked over at Cho, who was sitting down at the Ravenclaw table and smiled when they made eye contact. They had agreed to meet at the doorway to the entrance hall when it was time to go down to Hogsmeade. It was going to be a double date with Ron and Hermione. Harry had been looking forward to it all week. He smiled dumbly and took a bite of scrambled eggs. Then the owls began to swoop into the Great Hall. It was mail time. Harry looked up and saw Hedwig. He was glad to see her, but he was afraid of what he would tell Ron. Hedwig landed on the left side of Harry. He gave her a piece of bacon and untied the letter. He scrolled it open and read: Harry, You should have told me as soon as it happened. We have had a lot of death eaters reported in that area. We haven't received any reports yet of any use of the killing curse, but it's only a matter of time. Dumbledore informed me that you have a Hogsmeade day on Saturday, meet me at the cave we met in last year, I need to talk to you. See you then. With love, Sirius Harry groaned. Of all the days he had to meet his godfather. why did it have to be while he was on a date with Cho? He wanted to meet with Sirius, but why today of all days? He stuffed the letter in his robes and told Ron and Hermione that he had to meet with 'Snuffles' in Hogsmeade. They nodded and began to discuss how they would distract Cho while Harry talked with Sirius. At eleven all the students who were going to Hogsmeade gathered in the entrance hall near the doors. Harry, Ron, and Hermione found Cho, and got into the line. Harry gave Cho a hug and she kissed him. Harry blushed when he saw Ron wink at him. Hermione and Cho talked about the O.W.L.s. Since Cho had taken them last year, she was giving Hermione advice. Ron and Harry were talking about their next Quidditch match. It would be against Hufflepuff. They wondered who would be their new seeker, since Cedric had passed away. They walked down to Hogsmeade and went into Honeydukes Sweet shop. They each picked out some sweets, and Harry picked out a peppermint toad for Hagrid. Ron bought five chocolate frogs for the cards. Hermione had rolled her eyes at this, but he explained that as the older wizards on the cards died, their card would go up in value. He told her that he bet he had about a hundred galleons worth of dead wizard cards. Harry was shocked, he never realized that they would go up in value like that, but he thought about it and remembered that muggle sports cards go up in value with each year, so he guessed that it made sense. Then they decided to go to the Three Broomsticks pub and have lunch. Hermione and Cho sat down at a table as Harry and Ron went to the bar and placed their order. "We'll take four chicken sandwiches and chips and four butterbeers, warm, please." Ron said as Harry paid. Then they went back to the table and talked about everything from potions to Quidditch. When their food came, they ate quietly, so that they could go explore Hogsmeade some more. Harry excused himself and went back up to the bar. He bought another chicken and chips dinner and waited at the bar until it was finished. When it was ready, he wrapped it up and put it in the bag that he'd brought with him. He went back to the table and sat down. As was prearranged, Fred burst into the pub and told Harry that he was needed outside. Harry told Cho that he would be back in a few minutes, and he ran down the road to meet up with Sirius. Harry wandered up the side of the mountain to the cave, a big black dog padded up to him and sniffed Harry's bag. Harry patted the dog on the head, then suddenly Sirius stood in front of him. "I brought you some food," he told Sirius as he pulled out the chicken and chips and a butterbeer for him. Sirius grabbed the food and began to eat it as he thanked Harry. "Harry," Sirius began, "You should have told me right away about that dream. Anytime your scar ever hurts, I want you to notify me immediately. You're linked to Voldemort that way, it's imperative that I know when it hurts," he scolded. "Well, I was going to write you right off, but then Mr. Weasley apparated to me and I knew that they were all right, so I didn't think it was necessary." Harry explained. "I'm sorry, if I would have known I would have gone ahead and written. Why did you want to see me, Sirius?" "Well, Harry, I wanted to tell you that I told Dumbledore about that letter you sent me. He was very concerned. He is going to be at Percy's wedding in December, and so am I. If that young Malfoy is informing you that something is going to happen, we have to make sure that the wedding is as safe as possible." Sirius told Harry as he took a swig of butterbeer. "Um, Sirius, I hate to cut this meeting short, but." Harry blushed. "I'm in the middle of a date. Ron and Hermione are stalling for me." Sirius smiled broadly at Harry. He said that Harry could go on back to the pub, just to be on the lookout and to contact him immediately if his scar hurt again. Harry agreed and made his way back down the mountainside. Harry reentered the Three Broomsticks and sat down at their table. "Sorry 'bout that," he told them. Cho looked at him quizzically but didn't ask any questions. He admired that about her and he was appreciative. They decided to go to the shrieking shack. They only went for Cho's benefit, because Harry, Ron and Hermione knew the truth about it. When they stood at the fence looking at it, she giggled and pointed and swore that she heard a moaning noise. Harry smiled knowingly at Ron and Hermione and said he thought he heard it too. Then they decided to go back to the castle. Harry wanted to stop in the Three Broomsticks one more time, so he ran in while Cho, Ron and Hermione waited outside. He returned with a bag full of butterbeers for when they went to Hagrid's later. When they got back up to the castle, Harry walked Cho inside, but Ron and Hermione waited outside. They walked hand in hand toward the Ravenclaw common room just as they had on Halloween night. They stopped at the same place she had stopped him before and they kissed. "Thank you for inviting me with you and your friends today, Harry." She cooed. He told her it was his pleasure, then they kissed once more before she jogged off toward her common room. He went back outside to meet with Ron and Hermione and they went down to Hagrid's hut. "'Ello, there," Hagrid said as they knocked on the door. They could hear Fang barking inside. They went inside and sat down at Hagrid's giant table. "Can I getcher some tea?" he said as he bustled around with the teakettle. "Actually, Hagrid, I brought some butterbeers." Harry said as he opened his bag and pulled one out. "And I brought you a peppermint toad from Honeydukes." Hagrid smiled appreciatively and pulled up a chair. "Yer didn' have ter do tha' 'arry! Thank yer. I 'ppreciate it." He said as he sat down. "So, Hagrid, did you find what you were looking for down at the lake this morning?" Hermione asked attentively. She knew as well as Harry and Ron that whatever it was, they probably weren't going to like it. "Sure did! I found it righ' after yer two left." He said happily. "What was it, Hagrid?" Ron asked with a look of worry on his face. "Ah, it's a surprise! Mind yer, jus' cause I went ter the lake fer it, tha' don' mean I got it out of the water." Hagrid said with a boyish grin.
Harry, Ron and Hermione shot each other fearful glances. At least, Harry thought, he hadn't gotten it from the forbidden forest. They toasted Hagrid with their butterbeers. Hagrid blushed and wiped a tear from his eye and smiled down at them. They all drank and then they watched Hagrid eat the peppermint toad. He laughed and rubbed his stomach when the toad had started to hop around his insides. They all laughed. Today, Harry thought, has been a good day.
"Hogsmeade"
The next Saturday, Harry had gotten up early. He had made arrangements with Hermione to meet early and go for a walk around the lake. He made sure that Ron was still sleeping. He was indeed still snoring quietly in his bed. Harry got dressed and made his way down to the common room. He didn't like the idea of sneaking around behind Ron's back, but he and Hermione were always together these days and he really didn't want to tell Ron about his dream. When Harry reached the common room, Hermione was sitting by the fire, dozing off a bit with Crookshanks on her lap. "Good morning, Hermione," Harry said startling her awake. "Thanks for meeting with me." "I don't mind meeting with you, Harry, I just wish you weren't so secretive about it all." Hermione told him. He gave her a sad look that made her seem to understand that this was important. They walked down to the entrance hall and opened the door. It was chilly, they both wished that they had brought their cloaks with them. As they rounded the lake, Harry seemed to feel like they were far enough out of Ron's earshot, so he began to tell Hermione the dream. He relived the entire dream to her, his throat catching a few times as he thought he would begin crying, but he made it through the entire dream without a tear. Hermione on the other hand, looked appalled, and had wiped a few tears from her cheek as Harry had told her what had happened. She hugged Harry and they both sat down at the edge of the lake. He told her that that is what he had written to Sirius about the night that he sent Hedwig. She nodded. Suddenly, Hagrid came tromping along and stopped next to them. He was carrying a long thick stick. "Yer lot is up brigh' an' early this morn'n, eh?" he said as they stood up. "Kind of cold ter be down 'ere by the lake this early, yer shoulda brough' yer cloaks," he barked. "I jus' came down here to try and capture our next creature for class." "Hagrid," Harry said slowly, "You aren't going to try to capture the giant squid are you?" Hagrid laughed. "There's more in tha' lake than squid, 'arry, yer know tha'." Hagrid said still laughing. That, Harry did know. He remembered spending over an hour beneath the surface of the lake during the second task in the Triwizard Tournament last year. He wondered what Hagrid would be trying to catch. Probably not a merperson and they had studied grindylows in Defense Against the Dark Arts in their third year with Professor Lupin. Perhaps there was something under there that he hadn't seen, after all he had only been to the center of the lake and back. "Yer should bring Ron and come up ter the hut fer tea after Hogsmeade," Hagrid told them. They nodded and said they would. Then they headed back up to the castle. "You know, Harry, I think you've done all you can do. Just wait until you've heard back from Sirius. I'm sure he'll be able to tell you something. And if you thought it would help, you could always go and tell Dumbledore." Hermione had been talking the entire walk back up to the castle. They entered and went into the Great Hall. Ron was sitting at the Gryffindor table looking annoyed. "Where have you two been?" he asked as they sat down. "Er, I was getting worried." He added hurriedly, so he wouldn't sound jealous again. He knew that Hermione didn't find it a becoming trait. "We went down for a walk around the lake. That's all," Hermione said, and she gave Ron a kiss on the cheek for reassurance. Ron smiled and muttered all right. Then they all piled breakfast onto their plates. Colin came running over and squeezed in-between Ron and Harry. Harry huffed and rolled his eyes. "Hiya, Harry, I got these pictures developed, I thought I'd see if you wanted a copy," Colin said as he shoved some photos under Harry's nose. Harry started looking through the pictures. One of them showed Harry and Cho flying into the Wronski Feint and it showed him as he swooped up and she crashed into the ground. Harry flinched, it really did look bad, he thought. He shoved the photos back at Colin and told him no thanks. Colin shrugged and went back to where Dennis was sitting. "Honestly, that little prat is really annoying," said Ron. "He doesn't know when to stop, that one." Then he scooped some porridge into his mouth. Harry looked over at Cho, who was sitting down at the Ravenclaw table and smiled when they made eye contact. They had agreed to meet at the doorway to the entrance hall when it was time to go down to Hogsmeade. It was going to be a double date with Ron and Hermione. Harry had been looking forward to it all week. He smiled dumbly and took a bite of scrambled eggs. Then the owls began to swoop into the Great Hall. It was mail time. Harry looked up and saw Hedwig. He was glad to see her, but he was afraid of what he would tell Ron. Hedwig landed on the left side of Harry. He gave her a piece of bacon and untied the letter. He scrolled it open and read: Harry, You should have told me as soon as it happened. We have had a lot of death eaters reported in that area. We haven't received any reports yet of any use of the killing curse, but it's only a matter of time. Dumbledore informed me that you have a Hogsmeade day on Saturday, meet me at the cave we met in last year, I need to talk to you. See you then. With love, Sirius Harry groaned. Of all the days he had to meet his godfather. why did it have to be while he was on a date with Cho? He wanted to meet with Sirius, but why today of all days? He stuffed the letter in his robes and told Ron and Hermione that he had to meet with 'Snuffles' in Hogsmeade. They nodded and began to discuss how they would distract Cho while Harry talked with Sirius. At eleven all the students who were going to Hogsmeade gathered in the entrance hall near the doors. Harry, Ron, and Hermione found Cho, and got into the line. Harry gave Cho a hug and she kissed him. Harry blushed when he saw Ron wink at him. Hermione and Cho talked about the O.W.L.s. Since Cho had taken them last year, she was giving Hermione advice. Ron and Harry were talking about their next Quidditch match. It would be against Hufflepuff. They wondered who would be their new seeker, since Cedric had passed away. They walked down to Hogsmeade and went into Honeydukes Sweet shop. They each picked out some sweets, and Harry picked out a peppermint toad for Hagrid. Ron bought five chocolate frogs for the cards. Hermione had rolled her eyes at this, but he explained that as the older wizards on the cards died, their card would go up in value. He told her that he bet he had about a hundred galleons worth of dead wizard cards. Harry was shocked, he never realized that they would go up in value like that, but he thought about it and remembered that muggle sports cards go up in value with each year, so he guessed that it made sense. Then they decided to go to the Three Broomsticks pub and have lunch. Hermione and Cho sat down at a table as Harry and Ron went to the bar and placed their order. "We'll take four chicken sandwiches and chips and four butterbeers, warm, please." Ron said as Harry paid. Then they went back to the table and talked about everything from potions to Quidditch. When their food came, they ate quietly, so that they could go explore Hogsmeade some more. Harry excused himself and went back up to the bar. He bought another chicken and chips dinner and waited at the bar until it was finished. When it was ready, he wrapped it up and put it in the bag that he'd brought with him. He went back to the table and sat down. As was prearranged, Fred burst into the pub and told Harry that he was needed outside. Harry told Cho that he would be back in a few minutes, and he ran down the road to meet up with Sirius. Harry wandered up the side of the mountain to the cave, a big black dog padded up to him and sniffed Harry's bag. Harry patted the dog on the head, then suddenly Sirius stood in front of him. "I brought you some food," he told Sirius as he pulled out the chicken and chips and a butterbeer for him. Sirius grabbed the food and began to eat it as he thanked Harry. "Harry," Sirius began, "You should have told me right away about that dream. Anytime your scar ever hurts, I want you to notify me immediately. You're linked to Voldemort that way, it's imperative that I know when it hurts," he scolded. "Well, I was going to write you right off, but then Mr. Weasley apparated to me and I knew that they were all right, so I didn't think it was necessary." Harry explained. "I'm sorry, if I would have known I would have gone ahead and written. Why did you want to see me, Sirius?" "Well, Harry, I wanted to tell you that I told Dumbledore about that letter you sent me. He was very concerned. He is going to be at Percy's wedding in December, and so am I. If that young Malfoy is informing you that something is going to happen, we have to make sure that the wedding is as safe as possible." Sirius told Harry as he took a swig of butterbeer. "Um, Sirius, I hate to cut this meeting short, but." Harry blushed. "I'm in the middle of a date. Ron and Hermione are stalling for me." Sirius smiled broadly at Harry. He said that Harry could go on back to the pub, just to be on the lookout and to contact him immediately if his scar hurt again. Harry agreed and made his way back down the mountainside. Harry reentered the Three Broomsticks and sat down at their table. "Sorry 'bout that," he told them. Cho looked at him quizzically but didn't ask any questions. He admired that about her and he was appreciative. They decided to go to the shrieking shack. They only went for Cho's benefit, because Harry, Ron and Hermione knew the truth about it. When they stood at the fence looking at it, she giggled and pointed and swore that she heard a moaning noise. Harry smiled knowingly at Ron and Hermione and said he thought he heard it too. Then they decided to go back to the castle. Harry wanted to stop in the Three Broomsticks one more time, so he ran in while Cho, Ron and Hermione waited outside. He returned with a bag full of butterbeers for when they went to Hagrid's later. When they got back up to the castle, Harry walked Cho inside, but Ron and Hermione waited outside. They walked hand in hand toward the Ravenclaw common room just as they had on Halloween night. They stopped at the same place she had stopped him before and they kissed. "Thank you for inviting me with you and your friends today, Harry." She cooed. He told her it was his pleasure, then they kissed once more before she jogged off toward her common room. He went back outside to meet with Ron and Hermione and they went down to Hagrid's hut. "'Ello, there," Hagrid said as they knocked on the door. They could hear Fang barking inside. They went inside and sat down at Hagrid's giant table. "Can I getcher some tea?" he said as he bustled around with the teakettle. "Actually, Hagrid, I brought some butterbeers." Harry said as he opened his bag and pulled one out. "And I brought you a peppermint toad from Honeydukes." Hagrid smiled appreciatively and pulled up a chair. "Yer didn' have ter do tha' 'arry! Thank yer. I 'ppreciate it." He said as he sat down. "So, Hagrid, did you find what you were looking for down at the lake this morning?" Hermione asked attentively. She knew as well as Harry and Ron that whatever it was, they probably weren't going to like it. "Sure did! I found it righ' after yer two left." He said happily. "What was it, Hagrid?" Ron asked with a look of worry on his face. "Ah, it's a surprise! Mind yer, jus' cause I went ter the lake fer it, tha' don' mean I got it out of the water." Hagrid said with a boyish grin.
Harry, Ron and Hermione shot each other fearful glances. At least, Harry thought, he hadn't gotten it from the forbidden forest. They toasted Hagrid with their butterbeers. Hagrid blushed and wiped a tear from his eye and smiled down at them. They all drank and then they watched Hagrid eat the peppermint toad. He laughed and rubbed his stomach when the toad had started to hop around his insides. They all laughed. Today, Harry thought, has been a good day.