HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
CHAPTER SIX: QUESTIONS AND GOOD-BYES
Unconsciously Harry decided not to decide which twin to choose-it was easier to just not think about it. He woke up the next morning still feeling a little sick at all the wondering he'd done and he still hadn't come up with anything worth mentioning. He got up slightly earlier than usual the next day, and whether this was from not being able to sleep or just wanting to get away from his room where he'd been doing too much thinking-he didn't know. When he got down to the kitchen, he noticed, to his relief that Aunt Petunia wasn't up yet.
Quickly, he got out a bowl and walked to the pantry, glancing over his shoulder every few steps. 'This is stupid,' he told himself. 'I don't have to be scared of putting together a bowl of cereal for heaven's sake.' Shaking off the slight apprehension he had at the thought of Aunt Petunia's face if she had seen him digging through the pantry of her kitchen- he grabbed a box of cereal and commenced to eat his breakfast. As he stood to rinse his dishes, his head whipped around, thinking he had heard a footstep in the hallway. No-- no one was there. Mentally cursing his tendency to be a wimp around the Dursleys, Harry finished loading his dishes into the dishwasher, grabbed his bag, and left the house.
As soon as he was on the sidewalk with nothing to do other than walk- and think-he was sunk again. Parvati and Padma were in his thoughts. Not just in his thoughts, they were his thoughts.
"Good night," he thought aloud to himself. "There's got to be a name for this. Obsession? In love? Hormone crazed teenage boy? Yeah, that sounds about right. Honestly, why can't crazy hormones be dealt out to mature adults who can handle it? Whose sick idea was it to match immaturity up with raging hormones and no sense?" Mumbling incoherently to himself (and looking quite mad to the other early risers that were up and about,) Harry slowly walked to the pool, forgetting that he usually ran. When he came to the front gate, he just about ran into it, he was so distracted.
"Bugger," he said with feeling, staring at the gate. It was too early, the place was still closed. He turned around, feeling slightly disoriented- what to do now? He saw a sign that said Library with an arrow pointing towards the larger part of town.
"Why not?" Harry shrugged, and headed towards the library. "Hermione would be proud of me," he thought wryly. He'd be sure to let her know he'd spent time in the library over the summer- although he would not elaborate with details such as-"read a bunch of comic books," "nothing else to do," "only stayed for an hour or so." Thinking of her reaction to those statements was nearly as funny as the reaction he'd get by telling her he'd spent most of his summer watching dirty movies. She was very scholarly, Hermione was. Never could turn down an educational book. She was a little strange that way. He grinned to himself. Already his bad mood was lifting.
Two hours later Harry stepped out into the sunlight, blinking with the brightness of it. He'd completely lost track of time. He'd found several books worth reading, although they weren't exactly challenging material. His thoughts on the matter didn't go too deep, but he didn't see any point in reading a bunch of educational nonfiction now in the middle of summer when come September he'd have to practically live in the library, studying for O.W.L.s. Unconsciously he sped up to a jog, reaching the pool in no time at all.
Later that evening, while Harry was sorting through a list of late videos on the computer, the bell jangled. He looked up, seeing a somewhat surly looking middle-aged man, who walked quickly over to the Drama section.
Not two minutes later he was standing at the front counter. Harry moved the mouse to close down the open window on the computer screen before helping the man, and as he did, the man irately slammed the video down on the counter, exclaiming, "Excuse me, I'm in a hurry here! Would you please check this movie for me?!" Harry swallowed the anger that had risen in him at the man's unfair comment and picked up the movie
"Yes, sir," he added to his actions for good measure. Harry placed the movie in front of the man after noting it in the computer, naming the price as he did so. The man's eyebrows shot up.
"How much was that?" he demanded rudely. Harry repeated the sum.
"Insane," the man muttered angrily, half to himself, half to Harry. "Howling, barking mad. Check that again," he told Harry imperiously.
"I thought you were in a hurry," Harry said coolly. The man started muttering again, phrases like, "no respect," "kids," "attitudes like I've never seen," coming up in his speech.
"I assure you I've rung it up correctly," Harry said, somewhat condescendingly. He knew he wasn't making the man like him any more but he didn't really care. "Would you like to talk to the manager?" The man backed down immediately.
"No, no, I'll just go now."he said, withdrawing his wallet. He placed the money on the counter and left with his movie. Harry chuckled, turning to look at he doorway as the bell sounded again. His smile widened; it was Parvati and Padma.
"Hi, Harry!" they said at the same time.
"What's so funny?" Padma asked curiously. "Do we look that strange?" She grinned, and Harry grinned back. No, they certainly didn't look strange. Phenomenal was more like it.
Parvati was wearing black capris, thick-soled black sandals, a plain white shirt, and a thin, thigh-length, blue duster. Her hair was parted in the middle and pulled back on one side with two sparkly hairpins.
Padma was wearing a short jean skirt with a wide black belt, a skin-tight long-sleeved white shirt, and duplicates of Parvati's sandals, only in white. Her long hair was pulled loosely back into a white clip.
"Nah," Harry said, finally looking back to their smiling faces. "No, you're not strange looking at all. You guys look great. Actually, it was that old bloke you two passed coming in. He complained about the service and the price, and kids these days." Harry paused, smirking, then continued, "But when I offered to let him talk to the manager- he scarpered." Harry grinned, remembering not only the man's actions, but also the last time he'd heard the word 'scarpered'- in his third year, when Ron had described Sirius Black's flight from Gryffindor Tower. Parvati grinned.
"Oh, him. He's been a plague to Dad for years. I think they've gotten so that they enjoy their arguments, in some kind of weird, twisted sort of way. Dad thinks he's funny."
"Well he's free to deal with him!" Harry said humorously. They all laughed, and talked for a while in between customers. Finally the twins left.
It became a daily routine. Every evening the twins came to visit Harry for a half hour or so. Still Harry didn't know whom to choose. It wasn't for lack of wondering- he left the store every night in turmoil, wondering, thinking, contemplating. He thought that it was possible that Parvati might be interested in him; she came some days that Padma didn't come, and she stayed longer to help him and talk. But, Harry thought sourly, what's to say that she's used to doing things more without Padma- and she just helps out because she's a nice person? Who says there's any "like" in it? It was a problem. Harry's birthday was on a Monday, and due to a schedule change that Bud had incorporated- he had the day off. He lay in bed, ignoring the arguing he heard from below (Dudley still wasn't too thrilled about his diet.) and staring at the bright blue sky. "This," he thought aloud to himself, "would be a truly great day- if I was anywhere but here." He lay in bed a few more minutes, and then shrugged. "Might as well face it," he said resignedly, getting up to take a shower.
Twenty minutes later he was back in his room. He looked up when he heard a tapping on his window. It was an owl, which was expected, but not an owl he recognized. He walked over to the window.
"Hello there," he greeted the newcomer. "Who are you from? Come to bring me something neat for my birthday?" He was in a better mood after a hot shower, and the Dursleys were all gone for the day too.
The owl didn't reply, just held out its leg, allowing him to untie the two envelopes tied on there.
"Thanks!" Harry said to the owl, sending it off out the window. He turned back to the letters he had in his hand, but before he could open them another owl came soaring in through his open window. This one he recognized- it was Pig, Ron's owl, carrying a small package. Before he could untangle Pig from the ties, another owl came through, and another and another. Four owls were now sitting in his room, one on top of Hedwig's cage, two on the dresser, and one was perched on the windowsill right in front of Harry, glaring at him ominously.
"All right, I'll take your package first!" Harry said to the belligerent owl. He freed the three unknown owls from their burdens and sent them on their way after giving them a drink of water. He turned to his bed, which was now covered in packages and cards. He sat down and picked up the first card he had received. He had just begun to open it when a very insulted SQUAWK! came from underneath him. He jumped up, barely swallowing his yell of shock.
"PIG!" he burst out, disgusted. "Why are you always in the way?" Pig didn't answer. He looked up at Harry with a disgruntled look on his face, clicking his beak in obvious anger. Harry relented at once.
"All right, all right, I'm sorry. It was completely my fault. I should have looked where I was sitting. C'mere, I'll take your package off for you." Pig, his wounded pride (and head) apparently healed, walked over to Harry and extended his leg, waiting patiently until the string was untied.
"You sure are acting decent today," Harry told Pig in a conversational tone. "Did Ron train you up a bit, or are you just tired?" Pig cocked his head sideways, uttering a tiny "squeak" for an answer. Harry nodded.
"I see," he said wisely. "That's how it goes, huh? No joke." Finally he freed Pig from the ties and set the owl on his pillow to do whatever it was owls did in their free time. He picked up his first letter for the third time, this time managing to get it completely open. He broke into a smile.
"Look at this!" he said to Pig, for lack of anyone else to talk to. "Parvati and Padma sent cards!" Pig apparently didn't care, as there was no answer. "Best Wishes on your birthday, Sincerely, Padma." Harry read aloud. "Happy Birthday, Harry!! I'll see you tomorrow, all right? Love," Harry choked. "Love, Parvati."
Harry laid the cards on the bed, somewhat shell-shocked. "Love?!" he said out loud to himself. He shrugged. It probably didn't mean anything anyway. Still, he couldn't put it completely out of his mind. He reached for one of the packages lying on his bed waiting to be opened. He quickly untied the knots in the string and discarded it. He opened the box and laughed. Apparently Fred and George had wanted to repay him for his generous gift to them earlier that summer. They had sent him a box chock full of their custom-made pranks: fake wands, Canary Creams, Flavored Ink, Year-Round Snowballs, and all sorts of other stuff. Enclosed was a note thanking Harry again for the money he'd donated to the twins.
Harry looked up again as he put the box aside, sighed, and then grinned- there were more owls winging their way into his room. One was obviously a school owl, which was carrying a squashy looking package, and the other he didn't know.
"More?" Harry said, half joking, half exasperated. "Yeesh, I've already gotten plenty of presents!! Oh well, make way." He cleared a space on his bed and reached up to untie the two new packages. He untied the first one quickly, subconsciously expecting another owl to come through his window any minute. None did.
He opened one of the packages- it was from Hagrid. It looked like a life time supply of rock-cakes, Although, Harry thought dryly, one would last me a lifetime at the rate I'd eat it. He turned to another package.
"Wow, Hermione!" He said hoarsely as he opened the package that was from her, judging by the enclosed card that she had signed. She had sent him a Quidditch game-a three-dimensional, realistically made Quidditch game. He glanced at the directions, trying to figure out how exactly to run the thing-and wasn't surprised to find that the entire thing was run by magic- all the players were suspended in mid-air, and, he suspected, would stay in the air once he activated it.
Harry placed Hermione's gift to the side, planning on saving it to play with Ron sometime during the school year. He turned to the squashy-looking package that had just arrived. He broke the official Hogwarts seal on the envelope and read:
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to be Gryffindor Captain of the house Quidditch team. We expect that you will not take this responsibility lightly. Enclosed are you captain robes.
Sincerely, Minerva M. McGonagall (Deputy Headmistress, Head of Gryffindor House)
Harry's face broke into a grin. Quidditch captain! He'd never really thought about it before, but now that he was captain he couldn't imagine not being captain.
"Oh!" he said aloud in disgust. "I forgot to read Hermione's card!" He finished opening the card, (which proclaimed "To Harry, Love, Hermione, on the envelope) and began to read.
Hey Harry!
I found this in the Daily Prophet last week and ordered it for you- hope you like it!
Guess what? Ron and I have been made prefects! I hope you don't feel bad about that Harry, but I'm so excited! I'm at Ron's right now but we'll meet you in Diagon Alley sometime before school starts, all right?! Lots of Love- Hermione
Harry smiled, happy for Hermione. She'd finally been made prefect- it was exactly what she wanted. And now Ron had a chance at achieving his "heart's desire." He quickly picked up a piece of parchment and wrote-
Hey Hermione-
Don't worry about it; I'm happy you two are prefects. Besides- I'm Quidditch Captain! Can't wait to see you all- ---Harry
"Here, Hedwig," he said, standing up and tying the letter to her leg. "Go find Hermione for me." Hedwig took off. Harry sat down again, and picked another package at random. At this rate it'd take him all day to get through his presents!
He looked at the card; it was from Ron. There was no mistaking his scrawl.
Hey Harry. This is called a C-tall, (a see-it-all, get it?) and it's really neat. If you shake it and say someone's name it'll show that person no matter where they are. Try it! Hermione's here for a while- she's having fun, far as I can see. She and Ginny spend a lot of time together. We'll meet you in Diagon Alley sometime before school's in- we can figure out dates later. Happy Birthday! ---Ron
Harry opened the package, untying the string and throwing it to the side. Inside of about three layers of paper a glass ball about the size of a golf ball lay nestled. Harry picked it up and nearly dropped it. For something so small with no discernable matter inside it weighed a lot. Harry shook it.
"Ron Weasley," he whispered into the silence. The ball began to shake and Harry gripped it tightly. A speck of red smoke appeared, twirling in the center of the sphere. It grew larger and larger, still spinning, before it popped and disappeared, to be replaced a split second later by a string of gray smoke- which pulled itself longer and longer until the ends touched the sides of the C-tall- and kept going. It continued stretching until it reached around twelve inches long. It floated out of Harry's hand to hover directly in front of him, and then it began to grow up, stopping at twelve inches again and making a perfect square. A bright, clear image of Ron showed on the miniature screen, and Harry laughed.
Ron was still sleeping by the looks of it. His hair was going every which way, and he had a slight smile on his face.
"Wonder what he's dreaming about?" Harry thought out loud, amused. He looked at the screen again, not quite sure how to get it back to normal. He reached a tentative finger out towards it, and just as he touched it the image disappeared and the C-tall landed on the bed with a soft 'thump.' Harry reached over to pick it up and exclaimed
"Pig!" Apparently what owls did in their free time was not what Harry had expected. The minute little owl was having some sort of wrestling match between himself and the discarded string from Harry's presents, and he was losing.
His feet were hobbled about an inch apart, allowing him no way to move except hopping. He had a strand of string passing through his beak, which then wrapped completely around his head, under his right wing, and around his left.
Pig lay there, making furious sounding squawks and squeaks. Harry erupted into laughter, his mirth greatly hampering his efforts to untie the poor owl. Finally he got the owl free.
Harry sat Pig on a pillow and ordered him, "Stay there. Understand?" Pig looked up at him with big eyes. He sat there on the pillow, legs stretched out in front of him, wings limply draped where they had landed, with his beak hanging open. Harry grinned and patted the little owl lightly on the head.
He reached for the package that he was guessing was from Sirius. It was, and it contained- a photo album? Harry glanced at the enclosed note. What.?
Dear Harry, the note read.
This was your mother's. Don't ask me how I got it but I thought you'd like it. It's her years at Hogwarts- on film. Please be careful Harry, and don't do anything I wouldn't do." Harry snorted. That left him a wide variety of things to do. ".and do what Dumbledore says this year. Happy Birthday! --Snuffles
Harry opened the photo album. There was his mother and father, page after page of them, all moving and smiling--when they had been his age. His eyes smarted and he quickly put the album away for later.
He reached for his last present, sending a chastising look at Pig, who immediately climbed back up on the perch he had been inching down from. Satisfied, Harry looked at the card.
Happy Birthday, Harry!
I'm looking forward to your visit to the Burrow- we'll have fun. Hermione has been teaching me all sorts things for fourth years so I'm really getting a head start! This present was a little expensive but I know you'll like it. It's a sound thing for the C-tall Ron gave you. When the screen of the C-tall is full size, just touch this little gadget to it and you can hear the sounds that the person on the screen can hear. Happy Birthday again! --Ginny
"Whoa." Harry muttered. "This is incredible." He unwrapped the present Ginny had sent to him and sat looking at it for a minute. It looked complicated, with lots of unlabeled switches and dials. One end was shaped into an arrow, while the other end was a semi-circle, which sported a large dial, painstakingly labeled in large letters: "VOLUME." Harry bit back a grin.
Picking up his C-tall, he once again asked to see Ron. When the picture was full-sized, he held the new sound gadget to it, turning the dial up slightly from zero as he did so. A faint sound of snoring issued into the room. Pig hooted in what sounded like owl laughter.
"Sod off," Harry said automatically. The owl gave him a disgruntled look, hooted rebelliously, and settled down again to stare into space, probably thinking of how great the world would be- if mice were actually smaller than he was.
Dropping the C-tall and its sound piece onto the bed, Harry opened the user's manual for the speaker.
"1. Use only the dials that are clearly labeled."
"As opposed to what? Unclearly labeled dials? Sheesh," Harry complained to himself, picking up the speaker again. A thorough inspection of the contraption revealed no more "clearly labeled dials," or any unclearly labeled dials either. Harry glanced back at the manual.
"2. If you're stuck already, you shouldn't be allowed near this machine. Enjoy!"
Harry laughed aloud, startling Pig, who toppled down from his pillow perch, landing in an undignified position with his large eyes blinking out at Harry from underneath his feet.
Harry glanced at the directions one more time, back at Pig, erupted into laughter again, and tossed the paper and speaker back onto the bed. He turned to the C-tall still in his hand. He shook it.
"Parvati Patil," he said clearly. A few seconds later the screen was intact in front of him and Harry looked eagerly at it, hoping he could see her smile again.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed in shock, quickly reaching out to touch the screen. "Sorry, Parvati!" He blushed bright red. "That was stupid," he berated himself, more softly. "It's late morning in the middle of summer-of course she'd be getting dressed. Agh, I'm an idiot." He shook his head, the blush fading some from his cheeks. He looked again at the C-tall, a slight smile lighting up his face. It had been interesting, at that. The smile disappeared, to be replaced by a light frown.
"I wonder." he said softly, thinking out loud. He shook the ball.
"Lily-" Pig looked up at Harry with a worried look.
"Lily-" Harry tried again. "No. No, I can't do this." He dropped the C- tall onto the bed again. He couldn't do it- he couldn't ask to see his mother- or his father. Who knew how they'd appear? Skeletons? Harry shuddered. He didn't want to think about it. He cleared away the wrappings and set up his gifts and cards on the desk. He stood looking at them for a minute, absurdly happy that he even had friends to give him gifts. Finally he jerked his gaze away from his birthday things and sat down on his bed to write thank-yous to everyone.
~*~
Halfway through August, Harry gave Bud the notice that he was leaving. He'd only been working for six weeks, and yet he felt he had to get back to the wizarding world, and after a few days of owling Professor Dumbledore back and forth, the headmaster had reluctantly agreed to allow Harry to leave the Dursley's- on the condition that he went to Diagon Alley and nowhere else. "I'm allowing you to go, Harry," one letter from the Professor read, "under the condition that you stay in Diagon Alley, and I want you to wear this bracelet I'm sending along." A silver bracelet with no design except for a red stone in the very centre on top fell out of the envelope. "It's a tracking bracelet, and I know you won't want to wear it," Harry made a face at the offending object, "but it's essential, and you did say you wanted to go to Diagon Alley." In the end Harry agreed to wear the bracelet, Although, he swore to himself, it will never be seen by anyone but me.
Bud wasn't happy with the proclamation.
"Layving?! But wah, Harry? Everythang's goin' so wayll!"
"I know," Harry said regretfully. "And I'll give you a few more days, but I just need-I don't know. I think I'm going to go to Diagon Alley and get a room at the Leaky Cauldron for a couple weeks or so. Just get back into the wizarding world. I still have all my summer homework to do and that'd be a good place to do it." Bud shook his head.
"Ah cain't tahk y'out of ait.?" Harry shook his head. Although he felt like he was being a bit of a chicken running away from his problems this way, he knew it was the right thing to do.
"Wayll." Bud sighed. "All raht. Three more days. And if y'nayd a job naixt summuh, y'know where t'come." He clapped Harry on the shoulder. Y' been a good worker, kid. Rayl good. Ah couldn't ask fer better." Harry smiled happily and thanked him. Then he sighed. Three days.
~*~
The three days seemed to last forever, but finally the day came for Harry to leave. He would take the Knight Bus to the Leaky Cauldron where he would spend his leftover pay (surprisingly, the Dursleys hadn't demanded any of his pay- they seemed to be happy that his job kept him out of the house) and last month of his vacation enjoying himself and doing his homework, although he expected he'd spend as much time as he could not doing the latter.
Surprisingly, Parvati and Padma had taken the news pretty well. They had both been disappointed but they understood Harry's need to get back into the wizarding community. They felt it too, although not nearly as strongly.
They watched silently as Harry cleaned up the store for the last time just before closing up. Finally he stood, surveying his work, making sure it was completely finished. Satisfied, he turned to Parvati and Padma. He stood uncertainly, not quite sure what to do. Before he could say anything they both came forward. Padma reached him first, and wrapped her arms around him in a tight, friendly hug. She stepped back and Parvati came forward.
He wrapped his arms around her and she did likewise to him. He held her for a couple moments, not saying anything. It felt comfortable to have his arms around her, somehow. Finally she made a move to step back. As he loosened his arms she stretched up and whispered in his ear,
"I'll miss you." He shivered, and his heart skipped a beat.
"It's only for a few weeks," he whispered back softly. She nodded, and he released her.
No more words were exchanged as the girls left. Kind of like a funeral procession, Harry thought wryly, following them out the door after turning off the main lights.
Half an hour later he fell into bed, exhausted. He'd be leaving for the Leaky Cauldron first thing in the morning.
CHAPTER SIX: QUESTIONS AND GOOD-BYES
Unconsciously Harry decided not to decide which twin to choose-it was easier to just not think about it. He woke up the next morning still feeling a little sick at all the wondering he'd done and he still hadn't come up with anything worth mentioning. He got up slightly earlier than usual the next day, and whether this was from not being able to sleep or just wanting to get away from his room where he'd been doing too much thinking-he didn't know. When he got down to the kitchen, he noticed, to his relief that Aunt Petunia wasn't up yet.
Quickly, he got out a bowl and walked to the pantry, glancing over his shoulder every few steps. 'This is stupid,' he told himself. 'I don't have to be scared of putting together a bowl of cereal for heaven's sake.' Shaking off the slight apprehension he had at the thought of Aunt Petunia's face if she had seen him digging through the pantry of her kitchen- he grabbed a box of cereal and commenced to eat his breakfast. As he stood to rinse his dishes, his head whipped around, thinking he had heard a footstep in the hallway. No-- no one was there. Mentally cursing his tendency to be a wimp around the Dursleys, Harry finished loading his dishes into the dishwasher, grabbed his bag, and left the house.
As soon as he was on the sidewalk with nothing to do other than walk- and think-he was sunk again. Parvati and Padma were in his thoughts. Not just in his thoughts, they were his thoughts.
"Good night," he thought aloud to himself. "There's got to be a name for this. Obsession? In love? Hormone crazed teenage boy? Yeah, that sounds about right. Honestly, why can't crazy hormones be dealt out to mature adults who can handle it? Whose sick idea was it to match immaturity up with raging hormones and no sense?" Mumbling incoherently to himself (and looking quite mad to the other early risers that were up and about,) Harry slowly walked to the pool, forgetting that he usually ran. When he came to the front gate, he just about ran into it, he was so distracted.
"Bugger," he said with feeling, staring at the gate. It was too early, the place was still closed. He turned around, feeling slightly disoriented- what to do now? He saw a sign that said Library with an arrow pointing towards the larger part of town.
"Why not?" Harry shrugged, and headed towards the library. "Hermione would be proud of me," he thought wryly. He'd be sure to let her know he'd spent time in the library over the summer- although he would not elaborate with details such as-"read a bunch of comic books," "nothing else to do," "only stayed for an hour or so." Thinking of her reaction to those statements was nearly as funny as the reaction he'd get by telling her he'd spent most of his summer watching dirty movies. She was very scholarly, Hermione was. Never could turn down an educational book. She was a little strange that way. He grinned to himself. Already his bad mood was lifting.
Two hours later Harry stepped out into the sunlight, blinking with the brightness of it. He'd completely lost track of time. He'd found several books worth reading, although they weren't exactly challenging material. His thoughts on the matter didn't go too deep, but he didn't see any point in reading a bunch of educational nonfiction now in the middle of summer when come September he'd have to practically live in the library, studying for O.W.L.s. Unconsciously he sped up to a jog, reaching the pool in no time at all.
Later that evening, while Harry was sorting through a list of late videos on the computer, the bell jangled. He looked up, seeing a somewhat surly looking middle-aged man, who walked quickly over to the Drama section.
Not two minutes later he was standing at the front counter. Harry moved the mouse to close down the open window on the computer screen before helping the man, and as he did, the man irately slammed the video down on the counter, exclaiming, "Excuse me, I'm in a hurry here! Would you please check this movie for me?!" Harry swallowed the anger that had risen in him at the man's unfair comment and picked up the movie
"Yes, sir," he added to his actions for good measure. Harry placed the movie in front of the man after noting it in the computer, naming the price as he did so. The man's eyebrows shot up.
"How much was that?" he demanded rudely. Harry repeated the sum.
"Insane," the man muttered angrily, half to himself, half to Harry. "Howling, barking mad. Check that again," he told Harry imperiously.
"I thought you were in a hurry," Harry said coolly. The man started muttering again, phrases like, "no respect," "kids," "attitudes like I've never seen," coming up in his speech.
"I assure you I've rung it up correctly," Harry said, somewhat condescendingly. He knew he wasn't making the man like him any more but he didn't really care. "Would you like to talk to the manager?" The man backed down immediately.
"No, no, I'll just go now."he said, withdrawing his wallet. He placed the money on the counter and left with his movie. Harry chuckled, turning to look at he doorway as the bell sounded again. His smile widened; it was Parvati and Padma.
"Hi, Harry!" they said at the same time.
"What's so funny?" Padma asked curiously. "Do we look that strange?" She grinned, and Harry grinned back. No, they certainly didn't look strange. Phenomenal was more like it.
Parvati was wearing black capris, thick-soled black sandals, a plain white shirt, and a thin, thigh-length, blue duster. Her hair was parted in the middle and pulled back on one side with two sparkly hairpins.
Padma was wearing a short jean skirt with a wide black belt, a skin-tight long-sleeved white shirt, and duplicates of Parvati's sandals, only in white. Her long hair was pulled loosely back into a white clip.
"Nah," Harry said, finally looking back to their smiling faces. "No, you're not strange looking at all. You guys look great. Actually, it was that old bloke you two passed coming in. He complained about the service and the price, and kids these days." Harry paused, smirking, then continued, "But when I offered to let him talk to the manager- he scarpered." Harry grinned, remembering not only the man's actions, but also the last time he'd heard the word 'scarpered'- in his third year, when Ron had described Sirius Black's flight from Gryffindor Tower. Parvati grinned.
"Oh, him. He's been a plague to Dad for years. I think they've gotten so that they enjoy their arguments, in some kind of weird, twisted sort of way. Dad thinks he's funny."
"Well he's free to deal with him!" Harry said humorously. They all laughed, and talked for a while in between customers. Finally the twins left.
It became a daily routine. Every evening the twins came to visit Harry for a half hour or so. Still Harry didn't know whom to choose. It wasn't for lack of wondering- he left the store every night in turmoil, wondering, thinking, contemplating. He thought that it was possible that Parvati might be interested in him; she came some days that Padma didn't come, and she stayed longer to help him and talk. But, Harry thought sourly, what's to say that she's used to doing things more without Padma- and she just helps out because she's a nice person? Who says there's any "like" in it? It was a problem. Harry's birthday was on a Monday, and due to a schedule change that Bud had incorporated- he had the day off. He lay in bed, ignoring the arguing he heard from below (Dudley still wasn't too thrilled about his diet.) and staring at the bright blue sky. "This," he thought aloud to himself, "would be a truly great day- if I was anywhere but here." He lay in bed a few more minutes, and then shrugged. "Might as well face it," he said resignedly, getting up to take a shower.
Twenty minutes later he was back in his room. He looked up when he heard a tapping on his window. It was an owl, which was expected, but not an owl he recognized. He walked over to the window.
"Hello there," he greeted the newcomer. "Who are you from? Come to bring me something neat for my birthday?" He was in a better mood after a hot shower, and the Dursleys were all gone for the day too.
The owl didn't reply, just held out its leg, allowing him to untie the two envelopes tied on there.
"Thanks!" Harry said to the owl, sending it off out the window. He turned back to the letters he had in his hand, but before he could open them another owl came soaring in through his open window. This one he recognized- it was Pig, Ron's owl, carrying a small package. Before he could untangle Pig from the ties, another owl came through, and another and another. Four owls were now sitting in his room, one on top of Hedwig's cage, two on the dresser, and one was perched on the windowsill right in front of Harry, glaring at him ominously.
"All right, I'll take your package first!" Harry said to the belligerent owl. He freed the three unknown owls from their burdens and sent them on their way after giving them a drink of water. He turned to his bed, which was now covered in packages and cards. He sat down and picked up the first card he had received. He had just begun to open it when a very insulted SQUAWK! came from underneath him. He jumped up, barely swallowing his yell of shock.
"PIG!" he burst out, disgusted. "Why are you always in the way?" Pig didn't answer. He looked up at Harry with a disgruntled look on his face, clicking his beak in obvious anger. Harry relented at once.
"All right, all right, I'm sorry. It was completely my fault. I should have looked where I was sitting. C'mere, I'll take your package off for you." Pig, his wounded pride (and head) apparently healed, walked over to Harry and extended his leg, waiting patiently until the string was untied.
"You sure are acting decent today," Harry told Pig in a conversational tone. "Did Ron train you up a bit, or are you just tired?" Pig cocked his head sideways, uttering a tiny "squeak" for an answer. Harry nodded.
"I see," he said wisely. "That's how it goes, huh? No joke." Finally he freed Pig from the ties and set the owl on his pillow to do whatever it was owls did in their free time. He picked up his first letter for the third time, this time managing to get it completely open. He broke into a smile.
"Look at this!" he said to Pig, for lack of anyone else to talk to. "Parvati and Padma sent cards!" Pig apparently didn't care, as there was no answer. "Best Wishes on your birthday, Sincerely, Padma." Harry read aloud. "Happy Birthday, Harry!! I'll see you tomorrow, all right? Love," Harry choked. "Love, Parvati."
Harry laid the cards on the bed, somewhat shell-shocked. "Love?!" he said out loud to himself. He shrugged. It probably didn't mean anything anyway. Still, he couldn't put it completely out of his mind. He reached for one of the packages lying on his bed waiting to be opened. He quickly untied the knots in the string and discarded it. He opened the box and laughed. Apparently Fred and George had wanted to repay him for his generous gift to them earlier that summer. They had sent him a box chock full of their custom-made pranks: fake wands, Canary Creams, Flavored Ink, Year-Round Snowballs, and all sorts of other stuff. Enclosed was a note thanking Harry again for the money he'd donated to the twins.
Harry looked up again as he put the box aside, sighed, and then grinned- there were more owls winging their way into his room. One was obviously a school owl, which was carrying a squashy looking package, and the other he didn't know.
"More?" Harry said, half joking, half exasperated. "Yeesh, I've already gotten plenty of presents!! Oh well, make way." He cleared a space on his bed and reached up to untie the two new packages. He untied the first one quickly, subconsciously expecting another owl to come through his window any minute. None did.
He opened one of the packages- it was from Hagrid. It looked like a life time supply of rock-cakes, Although, Harry thought dryly, one would last me a lifetime at the rate I'd eat it. He turned to another package.
"Wow, Hermione!" He said hoarsely as he opened the package that was from her, judging by the enclosed card that she had signed. She had sent him a Quidditch game-a three-dimensional, realistically made Quidditch game. He glanced at the directions, trying to figure out how exactly to run the thing-and wasn't surprised to find that the entire thing was run by magic- all the players were suspended in mid-air, and, he suspected, would stay in the air once he activated it.
Harry placed Hermione's gift to the side, planning on saving it to play with Ron sometime during the school year. He turned to the squashy-looking package that had just arrived. He broke the official Hogwarts seal on the envelope and read:
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to be Gryffindor Captain of the house Quidditch team. We expect that you will not take this responsibility lightly. Enclosed are you captain robes.
Sincerely, Minerva M. McGonagall (Deputy Headmistress, Head of Gryffindor House)
Harry's face broke into a grin. Quidditch captain! He'd never really thought about it before, but now that he was captain he couldn't imagine not being captain.
"Oh!" he said aloud in disgust. "I forgot to read Hermione's card!" He finished opening the card, (which proclaimed "To Harry, Love, Hermione, on the envelope) and began to read.
Hey Harry!
I found this in the Daily Prophet last week and ordered it for you- hope you like it!
Guess what? Ron and I have been made prefects! I hope you don't feel bad about that Harry, but I'm so excited! I'm at Ron's right now but we'll meet you in Diagon Alley sometime before school starts, all right?! Lots of Love- Hermione
Harry smiled, happy for Hermione. She'd finally been made prefect- it was exactly what she wanted. And now Ron had a chance at achieving his "heart's desire." He quickly picked up a piece of parchment and wrote-
Hey Hermione-
Don't worry about it; I'm happy you two are prefects. Besides- I'm Quidditch Captain! Can't wait to see you all- ---Harry
"Here, Hedwig," he said, standing up and tying the letter to her leg. "Go find Hermione for me." Hedwig took off. Harry sat down again, and picked another package at random. At this rate it'd take him all day to get through his presents!
He looked at the card; it was from Ron. There was no mistaking his scrawl.
Hey Harry. This is called a C-tall, (a see-it-all, get it?) and it's really neat. If you shake it and say someone's name it'll show that person no matter where they are. Try it! Hermione's here for a while- she's having fun, far as I can see. She and Ginny spend a lot of time together. We'll meet you in Diagon Alley sometime before school's in- we can figure out dates later. Happy Birthday! ---Ron
Harry opened the package, untying the string and throwing it to the side. Inside of about three layers of paper a glass ball about the size of a golf ball lay nestled. Harry picked it up and nearly dropped it. For something so small with no discernable matter inside it weighed a lot. Harry shook it.
"Ron Weasley," he whispered into the silence. The ball began to shake and Harry gripped it tightly. A speck of red smoke appeared, twirling in the center of the sphere. It grew larger and larger, still spinning, before it popped and disappeared, to be replaced a split second later by a string of gray smoke- which pulled itself longer and longer until the ends touched the sides of the C-tall- and kept going. It continued stretching until it reached around twelve inches long. It floated out of Harry's hand to hover directly in front of him, and then it began to grow up, stopping at twelve inches again and making a perfect square. A bright, clear image of Ron showed on the miniature screen, and Harry laughed.
Ron was still sleeping by the looks of it. His hair was going every which way, and he had a slight smile on his face.
"Wonder what he's dreaming about?" Harry thought out loud, amused. He looked at the screen again, not quite sure how to get it back to normal. He reached a tentative finger out towards it, and just as he touched it the image disappeared and the C-tall landed on the bed with a soft 'thump.' Harry reached over to pick it up and exclaimed
"Pig!" Apparently what owls did in their free time was not what Harry had expected. The minute little owl was having some sort of wrestling match between himself and the discarded string from Harry's presents, and he was losing.
His feet were hobbled about an inch apart, allowing him no way to move except hopping. He had a strand of string passing through his beak, which then wrapped completely around his head, under his right wing, and around his left.
Pig lay there, making furious sounding squawks and squeaks. Harry erupted into laughter, his mirth greatly hampering his efforts to untie the poor owl. Finally he got the owl free.
Harry sat Pig on a pillow and ordered him, "Stay there. Understand?" Pig looked up at him with big eyes. He sat there on the pillow, legs stretched out in front of him, wings limply draped where they had landed, with his beak hanging open. Harry grinned and patted the little owl lightly on the head.
He reached for the package that he was guessing was from Sirius. It was, and it contained- a photo album? Harry glanced at the enclosed note. What.?
Dear Harry, the note read.
This was your mother's. Don't ask me how I got it but I thought you'd like it. It's her years at Hogwarts- on film. Please be careful Harry, and don't do anything I wouldn't do." Harry snorted. That left him a wide variety of things to do. ".and do what Dumbledore says this year. Happy Birthday! --Snuffles
Harry opened the photo album. There was his mother and father, page after page of them, all moving and smiling--when they had been his age. His eyes smarted and he quickly put the album away for later.
He reached for his last present, sending a chastising look at Pig, who immediately climbed back up on the perch he had been inching down from. Satisfied, Harry looked at the card.
Happy Birthday, Harry!
I'm looking forward to your visit to the Burrow- we'll have fun. Hermione has been teaching me all sorts things for fourth years so I'm really getting a head start! This present was a little expensive but I know you'll like it. It's a sound thing for the C-tall Ron gave you. When the screen of the C-tall is full size, just touch this little gadget to it and you can hear the sounds that the person on the screen can hear. Happy Birthday again! --Ginny
"Whoa." Harry muttered. "This is incredible." He unwrapped the present Ginny had sent to him and sat looking at it for a minute. It looked complicated, with lots of unlabeled switches and dials. One end was shaped into an arrow, while the other end was a semi-circle, which sported a large dial, painstakingly labeled in large letters: "VOLUME." Harry bit back a grin.
Picking up his C-tall, he once again asked to see Ron. When the picture was full-sized, he held the new sound gadget to it, turning the dial up slightly from zero as he did so. A faint sound of snoring issued into the room. Pig hooted in what sounded like owl laughter.
"Sod off," Harry said automatically. The owl gave him a disgruntled look, hooted rebelliously, and settled down again to stare into space, probably thinking of how great the world would be- if mice were actually smaller than he was.
Dropping the C-tall and its sound piece onto the bed, Harry opened the user's manual for the speaker.
"1. Use only the dials that are clearly labeled."
"As opposed to what? Unclearly labeled dials? Sheesh," Harry complained to himself, picking up the speaker again. A thorough inspection of the contraption revealed no more "clearly labeled dials," or any unclearly labeled dials either. Harry glanced back at the manual.
"2. If you're stuck already, you shouldn't be allowed near this machine. Enjoy!"
Harry laughed aloud, startling Pig, who toppled down from his pillow perch, landing in an undignified position with his large eyes blinking out at Harry from underneath his feet.
Harry glanced at the directions one more time, back at Pig, erupted into laughter again, and tossed the paper and speaker back onto the bed. He turned to the C-tall still in his hand. He shook it.
"Parvati Patil," he said clearly. A few seconds later the screen was intact in front of him and Harry looked eagerly at it, hoping he could see her smile again.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed in shock, quickly reaching out to touch the screen. "Sorry, Parvati!" He blushed bright red. "That was stupid," he berated himself, more softly. "It's late morning in the middle of summer-of course she'd be getting dressed. Agh, I'm an idiot." He shook his head, the blush fading some from his cheeks. He looked again at the C-tall, a slight smile lighting up his face. It had been interesting, at that. The smile disappeared, to be replaced by a light frown.
"I wonder." he said softly, thinking out loud. He shook the ball.
"Lily-" Pig looked up at Harry with a worried look.
"Lily-" Harry tried again. "No. No, I can't do this." He dropped the C- tall onto the bed again. He couldn't do it- he couldn't ask to see his mother- or his father. Who knew how they'd appear? Skeletons? Harry shuddered. He didn't want to think about it. He cleared away the wrappings and set up his gifts and cards on the desk. He stood looking at them for a minute, absurdly happy that he even had friends to give him gifts. Finally he jerked his gaze away from his birthday things and sat down on his bed to write thank-yous to everyone.
~*~
Halfway through August, Harry gave Bud the notice that he was leaving. He'd only been working for six weeks, and yet he felt he had to get back to the wizarding world, and after a few days of owling Professor Dumbledore back and forth, the headmaster had reluctantly agreed to allow Harry to leave the Dursley's- on the condition that he went to Diagon Alley and nowhere else. "I'm allowing you to go, Harry," one letter from the Professor read, "under the condition that you stay in Diagon Alley, and I want you to wear this bracelet I'm sending along." A silver bracelet with no design except for a red stone in the very centre on top fell out of the envelope. "It's a tracking bracelet, and I know you won't want to wear it," Harry made a face at the offending object, "but it's essential, and you did say you wanted to go to Diagon Alley." In the end Harry agreed to wear the bracelet, Although, he swore to himself, it will never be seen by anyone but me.
Bud wasn't happy with the proclamation.
"Layving?! But wah, Harry? Everythang's goin' so wayll!"
"I know," Harry said regretfully. "And I'll give you a few more days, but I just need-I don't know. I think I'm going to go to Diagon Alley and get a room at the Leaky Cauldron for a couple weeks or so. Just get back into the wizarding world. I still have all my summer homework to do and that'd be a good place to do it." Bud shook his head.
"Ah cain't tahk y'out of ait.?" Harry shook his head. Although he felt like he was being a bit of a chicken running away from his problems this way, he knew it was the right thing to do.
"Wayll." Bud sighed. "All raht. Three more days. And if y'nayd a job naixt summuh, y'know where t'come." He clapped Harry on the shoulder. Y' been a good worker, kid. Rayl good. Ah couldn't ask fer better." Harry smiled happily and thanked him. Then he sighed. Three days.
~*~
The three days seemed to last forever, but finally the day came for Harry to leave. He would take the Knight Bus to the Leaky Cauldron where he would spend his leftover pay (surprisingly, the Dursleys hadn't demanded any of his pay- they seemed to be happy that his job kept him out of the house) and last month of his vacation enjoying himself and doing his homework, although he expected he'd spend as much time as he could not doing the latter.
Surprisingly, Parvati and Padma had taken the news pretty well. They had both been disappointed but they understood Harry's need to get back into the wizarding community. They felt it too, although not nearly as strongly.
They watched silently as Harry cleaned up the store for the last time just before closing up. Finally he stood, surveying his work, making sure it was completely finished. Satisfied, he turned to Parvati and Padma. He stood uncertainly, not quite sure what to do. Before he could say anything they both came forward. Padma reached him first, and wrapped her arms around him in a tight, friendly hug. She stepped back and Parvati came forward.
He wrapped his arms around her and she did likewise to him. He held her for a couple moments, not saying anything. It felt comfortable to have his arms around her, somehow. Finally she made a move to step back. As he loosened his arms she stretched up and whispered in his ear,
"I'll miss you." He shivered, and his heart skipped a beat.
"It's only for a few weeks," he whispered back softly. She nodded, and he released her.
No more words were exchanged as the girls left. Kind of like a funeral procession, Harry thought wryly, following them out the door after turning off the main lights.
Half an hour later he fell into bed, exhausted. He'd be leaving for the Leaky Cauldron first thing in the morning.