Chapter Two
Hasty Departure, Weary Arrival
"Thought it would save time if I started packing for you while you and Dumbledore had your chat," said Ron as he closed Harry's bag. "That lot out there nearly pulled me to pieces trying to congratulate me! I had hopped to finish and be waiting outside when you and he were done."
"Thanks, Ron, said Harry. "If I'd known they'd all gone this potty I'd have sent you an owl asking you to meet me outside! By the way, what did you pack? We never did ask Dumbledore what kind of things we'd need to take with us."
"Oh, don't worry about all that," said Ron reassuringly. "I snuck down to the kitchens with Fred and George and while they were loading up on food for the party I ran into Dobby. Seems the House Elves also take care of catering at the Retreat House. He was quite familiar with the place and gave me tips on everything we'd need."
"That's good to know," said Harry feeling even more eager to get away from all the noise and commotion. "Did he say how we're to get there? I don't recall Dumbledore actually giving us any directions."
"That's just like him. Mental, that one!" said Ron with admiration.
"In fact, Dobby had the answer to that one as well. Seems there's a portkey near the Shrieking Shack. They change it every so often to keep others away, but since the house elves have to see to everything at the Retreat House they know all about it."
"Shall we say goodbye to Hermione before we go then?" asked Harry.
"Too late. She left for home as soon as we got out of Dumbledore's office. Said if we need anything just send her a letter and she'd take care of it." Harry smiled at the thought that he and Hermione both had come to the same conclusion.
A few minutes later Harry and Ron were descending the stairs to the Common Room amid more (and louder) sounds of ecstatic laughter and music. Glasses were being raised and cheers enveloped the room as the two slowly made their way to the entrance. Fending off questions about where they were going, and vaguely answering that they'd be back in a few days, they wound their way towards the portrait hole. In the end, most of the students were so enthralled by the defeat of the Dark Lord that they were even prepared to let the heroes of the day leave the party. They finally made it to the portrait hole, and ten minutes later had made their way to the main entrance.
Stepping outside the pleasant night air greeted them and the soft sounds of night were a welcome contrast to all the noise. They walked along in silence, letting it wash over them. Harry's mind was blank, he seemed to be just experiencing the moment. The sounds of their shoes on the grass and pavement, the chirping of the crickets and the soft night air on his face filled his consciousness. It was as though he and Ron were the only two people on earth at that moment, like an episode in some dream, disconnected and ethereal.
They made their way to Hogsmeade and up the hill to the Shrieking Shack, barely uttering a word. Harry was becoming aware of just how very tired he was and he was surprised that Madam Pomfrey hadn't insisted on the usual stay in the Hospital Wing. He was glad that Ron was not forcing conversation and he smiled when he considered that if Hermione had come along with them she'd have been chattering on dreadfully. No, a couple of days alone with Ron was just thing. Harry would be glad to have Hermione along, but later.
When they reached the Shrieking Shack Ron fumbled about looking for the portkey.
"Ah, here it is!" he exclaimed on spotting what appeared to be a torn Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans wrapper. "Come on then," he said offering Harry his hand.
Harry felt himself being pulled forward from the middle of his stomach. The next moment they were transported to a secluded looking meadow-like clearing in a forest. On one side was a pleasant lake and in the middle of the meadow was a small building that for all the world looked very much like an old rundown garden shed.
"Here we are," said Ron happily.
Now Harry was perfectly used to wizard dwellings that magically had more room, or were dramatically nicer, on the inside than one would ever believe possible looking at the outside. Nonetheless, this looked like overkill in trying to make the Retreat House nondescript. As they approached Harry began to worry that their footsteps might cause it to collapse in on itself.
"Er um, is it supposed to look like that?" Harry asked.
"Well, no actually. Dobby said that it usually looks like a nice little cottage, but right now they're doing some major renovations. Don't worry though, from what he said, it'll be quite nice on the inside."
They continued walking towards the shed and Harry glanced at the lake. Even in the darkness the waters looked warm and inviting.
"I'll say one thing, after a good night's rest, I'm going to enjoy a swim in that lake!" he said as they reached the door to the shed, which seemed to tremble slightly at their approach.
"Oh," said Ron. "We'll have to include that on our list of things for Hermione to bring. Only Dobby didn't mention the lake and so I didn't pack swim trunks."
Harry was too tired to care. He was just happy to finally be away from it all and ready to sleep. They came to the door and opened it. Harry held his breath and then let out a sigh of relief.
On entering, they saw a cosy sitting room with a fire, a cupboard that the house elves had stocked with a variety of snacks, sandwiches, chocolate frogs, pumpkin juice and butter beer, a table with chairs, and a door at the back of the room.
They dropped their bags, sat down at the table and had a quiet but satisfying nosh. The food was delicious but Harry felt himself sagging under the exhaustion of the last few days.
After sitting silently by the fire for awhile, Ron stood up and stretched. He walked over to the door at the back of the room and opened it.
"O bloody hell," he said dispiritedly.
"What's the matter," Harry asked, now half asleep sitting on the sofa.
"Of course Dobby didn't mention that the renovations were this incomplete." He held up a note that had been pinned to the door.
"Listen to this:
" 'Dear esteemed guest of the Sorcerer's Retreat House:
" 'Welcome to this place of quiet meditation. We hope to make your stay as comfortable as wizardly possible.
" 'Please excuse the inconvenience that the room resizing configuration charm has temporarily been disabled. However, we have set the basic room sizes to dimensions that we hope you will find accomodating until the charm has been re-administered. We expect to have this renovation completed within the next few days.
" 'Again, we hope you find your stay refreshing and productive.
" 'Yours ever faithfully,
" 'The Management of the Sorcerer's Retreat House.' "
"What does that mean?" Harry asked stifling a yawn.
"It means that instead of three bedrooms, or at least two, there's only one bed!"
"I don't care," Harry signed, and he sleepily made his way towards the bedroom. "As long as there's room enough to for me to get some sleep I don't care if there's one bed or a hundred."
Entering the bedroom, Harry noticed that it wasn't quite as bad as Ron had made out. The room looked pleasant enough and the bed was certainly large enough for both himself and Ron. There was a dresser and mirror near a window that looked out over the meadow. Another door obviously led to a bathroom.
Harry began to undress and was sitting on the bed about to reach for his pyjamas. The exhaustion of the last few weeks that had threatened to overwhelm him all day finally caught up with him. He lay back on the bed and fell into a wondrously deep and satisfying sleep. It seemed that all the cares of the world were drifting away from him and the thoughts of dementors, death eaters and Voldemort were being replaced by happy memories.
When Harry awoke it was midmorning the next day. A pleasant breeze was lazily drifting through the window. He felt relaxed and more comfortable than he had in ages. Staring up at the ceiling his mind drifted over half-coherent thoughts about his life, Hogwarts, Hermione, and Ron.
Ron…
It was in thinking about Ron that Harry suddenly realised that he was beside him in the bed. He realised that he and Ron both had fallen asleep unclothed. He also realised with some amazement what he had not noticed immediately on awakening.
They were lying very close together.
And they were naked with their legs entwined.
Hasty Departure, Weary Arrival
"Thought it would save time if I started packing for you while you and Dumbledore had your chat," said Ron as he closed Harry's bag. "That lot out there nearly pulled me to pieces trying to congratulate me! I had hopped to finish and be waiting outside when you and he were done."
"Thanks, Ron, said Harry. "If I'd known they'd all gone this potty I'd have sent you an owl asking you to meet me outside! By the way, what did you pack? We never did ask Dumbledore what kind of things we'd need to take with us."
"Oh, don't worry about all that," said Ron reassuringly. "I snuck down to the kitchens with Fred and George and while they were loading up on food for the party I ran into Dobby. Seems the House Elves also take care of catering at the Retreat House. He was quite familiar with the place and gave me tips on everything we'd need."
"That's good to know," said Harry feeling even more eager to get away from all the noise and commotion. "Did he say how we're to get there? I don't recall Dumbledore actually giving us any directions."
"That's just like him. Mental, that one!" said Ron with admiration.
"In fact, Dobby had the answer to that one as well. Seems there's a portkey near the Shrieking Shack. They change it every so often to keep others away, but since the house elves have to see to everything at the Retreat House they know all about it."
"Shall we say goodbye to Hermione before we go then?" asked Harry.
"Too late. She left for home as soon as we got out of Dumbledore's office. Said if we need anything just send her a letter and she'd take care of it." Harry smiled at the thought that he and Hermione both had come to the same conclusion.
A few minutes later Harry and Ron were descending the stairs to the Common Room amid more (and louder) sounds of ecstatic laughter and music. Glasses were being raised and cheers enveloped the room as the two slowly made their way to the entrance. Fending off questions about where they were going, and vaguely answering that they'd be back in a few days, they wound their way towards the portrait hole. In the end, most of the students were so enthralled by the defeat of the Dark Lord that they were even prepared to let the heroes of the day leave the party. They finally made it to the portrait hole, and ten minutes later had made their way to the main entrance.
Stepping outside the pleasant night air greeted them and the soft sounds of night were a welcome contrast to all the noise. They walked along in silence, letting it wash over them. Harry's mind was blank, he seemed to be just experiencing the moment. The sounds of their shoes on the grass and pavement, the chirping of the crickets and the soft night air on his face filled his consciousness. It was as though he and Ron were the only two people on earth at that moment, like an episode in some dream, disconnected and ethereal.
They made their way to Hogsmeade and up the hill to the Shrieking Shack, barely uttering a word. Harry was becoming aware of just how very tired he was and he was surprised that Madam Pomfrey hadn't insisted on the usual stay in the Hospital Wing. He was glad that Ron was not forcing conversation and he smiled when he considered that if Hermione had come along with them she'd have been chattering on dreadfully. No, a couple of days alone with Ron was just thing. Harry would be glad to have Hermione along, but later.
When they reached the Shrieking Shack Ron fumbled about looking for the portkey.
"Ah, here it is!" he exclaimed on spotting what appeared to be a torn Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans wrapper. "Come on then," he said offering Harry his hand.
Harry felt himself being pulled forward from the middle of his stomach. The next moment they were transported to a secluded looking meadow-like clearing in a forest. On one side was a pleasant lake and in the middle of the meadow was a small building that for all the world looked very much like an old rundown garden shed.
"Here we are," said Ron happily.
Now Harry was perfectly used to wizard dwellings that magically had more room, or were dramatically nicer, on the inside than one would ever believe possible looking at the outside. Nonetheless, this looked like overkill in trying to make the Retreat House nondescript. As they approached Harry began to worry that their footsteps might cause it to collapse in on itself.
"Er um, is it supposed to look like that?" Harry asked.
"Well, no actually. Dobby said that it usually looks like a nice little cottage, but right now they're doing some major renovations. Don't worry though, from what he said, it'll be quite nice on the inside."
They continued walking towards the shed and Harry glanced at the lake. Even in the darkness the waters looked warm and inviting.
"I'll say one thing, after a good night's rest, I'm going to enjoy a swim in that lake!" he said as they reached the door to the shed, which seemed to tremble slightly at their approach.
"Oh," said Ron. "We'll have to include that on our list of things for Hermione to bring. Only Dobby didn't mention the lake and so I didn't pack swim trunks."
Harry was too tired to care. He was just happy to finally be away from it all and ready to sleep. They came to the door and opened it. Harry held his breath and then let out a sigh of relief.
On entering, they saw a cosy sitting room with a fire, a cupboard that the house elves had stocked with a variety of snacks, sandwiches, chocolate frogs, pumpkin juice and butter beer, a table with chairs, and a door at the back of the room.
They dropped their bags, sat down at the table and had a quiet but satisfying nosh. The food was delicious but Harry felt himself sagging under the exhaustion of the last few days.
After sitting silently by the fire for awhile, Ron stood up and stretched. He walked over to the door at the back of the room and opened it.
"O bloody hell," he said dispiritedly.
"What's the matter," Harry asked, now half asleep sitting on the sofa.
"Of course Dobby didn't mention that the renovations were this incomplete." He held up a note that had been pinned to the door.
"Listen to this:
" 'Dear esteemed guest of the Sorcerer's Retreat House:
" 'Welcome to this place of quiet meditation. We hope to make your stay as comfortable as wizardly possible.
" 'Please excuse the inconvenience that the room resizing configuration charm has temporarily been disabled. However, we have set the basic room sizes to dimensions that we hope you will find accomodating until the charm has been re-administered. We expect to have this renovation completed within the next few days.
" 'Again, we hope you find your stay refreshing and productive.
" 'Yours ever faithfully,
" 'The Management of the Sorcerer's Retreat House.' "
"What does that mean?" Harry asked stifling a yawn.
"It means that instead of three bedrooms, or at least two, there's only one bed!"
"I don't care," Harry signed, and he sleepily made his way towards the bedroom. "As long as there's room enough to for me to get some sleep I don't care if there's one bed or a hundred."
Entering the bedroom, Harry noticed that it wasn't quite as bad as Ron had made out. The room looked pleasant enough and the bed was certainly large enough for both himself and Ron. There was a dresser and mirror near a window that looked out over the meadow. Another door obviously led to a bathroom.
Harry began to undress and was sitting on the bed about to reach for his pyjamas. The exhaustion of the last few weeks that had threatened to overwhelm him all day finally caught up with him. He lay back on the bed and fell into a wondrously deep and satisfying sleep. It seemed that all the cares of the world were drifting away from him and the thoughts of dementors, death eaters and Voldemort were being replaced by happy memories.
When Harry awoke it was midmorning the next day. A pleasant breeze was lazily drifting through the window. He felt relaxed and more comfortable than he had in ages. Staring up at the ceiling his mind drifted over half-coherent thoughts about his life, Hogwarts, Hermione, and Ron.
Ron…
It was in thinking about Ron that Harry suddenly realised that he was beside him in the bed. He realised that he and Ron both had fallen asleep unclothed. He also realised with some amazement what he had not noticed immediately on awakening.
They were lying very close together.
And they were naked with their legs entwined.