Late Night Mysteries

            Harry is lying awake that night, thinking about the day's events.  It had felt so good to be playing against those Slytherin jerks.  And with Colby and Johnny at his side, he felt as though they could have easily won that contest had Hagrid not interfered.  He hears Colby snoring heavily and sighs.  Colby had been right, though.  Things wouldn't have been right if either he or Draco had lost the match.

            Ron is fast asleep in the bed nearby.  His breathing through his nose is strained and whistles when he breathes out through it.  Harry has spent most of the night trying not to laugh at his poor friend's difficulty.  His mind drifts to the event that had caused him to get his nose bashed up.  He had been saving Hermione from a nasty beating with a Bludger.  It was no secret to anyone that he had feelings for Hermione.  Well, it is a secret to Ron and Hermione, who both seem oblivious to Ron's subconscious attempts at winning her heart.

            A light knock at the fifth year boys' dormitory door shakes Harry from his musings.  He gets up and pads toward the door quickly.  He sees Daniel standing in the doorway.  "Hey, Harry.  Mind if we chat for a bit?"

            "Uh, sure.  Let's head down to the common room," Harry says.  They sneak down into the common room and sit across from each other at the chess board.  "What's up?"

            "What's going on here?" Daniel says bluntly.  Harry cringes, seeing why Hermione hates the abruptness of the Americans.  "Everyone jumps at their own shadows, looks at you as though you're some kind of hero, not just a famous guy…" he fumbles with his thoughts.  "Something's not right here."

            Harry nods slowly.  "Nothing's ever really right here," he explains in as much detail as he can all of the previous events at Hogwarts.  Daniel's eyes widen as each story grows more spectacular.  "I don't expect you to believe it.  Not a lot of people do.  But it did happen and I've been trying to figure out what's happening this year already."

            "What do you mean?" Daniel asks.  "And, by the way, I do believe you.  All that is too far fetched for anyone to make up."

            Harry smiles.  "Thanks.  I think.  Anyway, after last year, I thought that things would be in full swing towards the preparation of defending everyone from the rise of Voldemort," he watches Daniel flinch at the name.   "But there's been nothing mentioned about it at all.  Only the regular warnings about the Forbidden Forest and the like.  And the only thing out of the ordinary is Snape's friendship with Zimmermann."

            "If you ask me, Zimmermann's more dark than he's letting on," Daniel says.  "After all, why would Snape, who has so far hated all the other Defense Against the Dark Arts, suddenly be all buddy-buddy with the new one?"

            "Especially after he's been basically told to spy on the Dark Lord's forces from the inside again," Harry agrees.  "But there's no way to be sure since nothing's really happened yet here, you know?"

            Daniel's eyes light up.  "Except that we've been invited here to play Quidditch!  Maybe there's a reason we were asked to come out here!"

            "Possibly.  But why?  No offense, but what could a bunch of young Quidditch players do against You-Know-Who?" Harry asks.

            Johnny is tossing and turning in her sleep.  She keeps seeing Hermione in her arms over and over again in her dreams.  She lets her imagination take a bit further, seeing herself tilt Hermione's chin up so that their lips meet momentarily.  Johnny smiles and runs her fingers through the brunette's bushy hair.  "Johnny…" Hermione murmurs.  "Johnny… Johnny?"

            Johnny opens her eyes to see Ginny's face only inches from her own.  She gasps and sits up, bumping her forehead against Ginny's chin.  "Johnny, are you okay?  You were whimpering in your sleep."

            "I'm fine," Johnny says quietly.  She rubs her head.  "You all right?  I smacked you kind of hard then."

            Ginny smiles.  "I think my chin can handle that hard head of yours.  Having a nightmare?"

            Johnny's smile returns.  "Just the opposite, actually.  A nice dream that I'd kind of like to get back to, if you don't mind."

            Ginny shrugs.  "Sorry for being concerned," she heads back to her bed.

            "Aw, don't be sore," Johnny heaves herself out of bed and sits down beside Ginny.  "I'm glad you're watching out for me.  Really appreciate it."

            Ginny and Johnny look at each other for a minute, their eyes locked on each other's.  Johnny sighs deeply and Ginny smiles.  "Well, aren't you going back to your dream?"

            "Uh, yeah," Johnny says.  She gets back to her cot and gazes at Ginny's bed for a minute, letting all her thoughts flood her mind before she drifts off to sleep, her dreams filled with Quidditch and ranch work but having nothing to do with a certain Hermione Granger.