Chapter 49

"First thing he did was send off for his parents textbooks on Auror training," said Ron as he was describing what happened at their first training session without Harry and Hermione.

"My Gran sent them with a owl asking what I wanted with them since I wasn't planning on entering the field. Also sent Dad's old journal."

"That's the best part," commented Luna.

Ginny set down her pumpkin juice. "It had all sorts of strategies copied down and also some personal notes."

Harry looked at Neville with interest. "Anything good?"

Neville shrugged and Ginny pressed on. "His dad knew Neville would grow up to be quite a wizard. All sorts of plans for him and such."

Neville reddened slightly.

Ron took over. "And when we were all arguing over who was gonna lead, old Neville stood up and took charge -- started ordering us around."

"Except everything he said made sense. Some of the battle strategies are quite brilliant and he knew just how to make them work. So we voted him ad hoc leader in your absence," finished Luna.

Hermione smiled at him. "Your dad's going to be very proud of you when he comes out of St. Mungo's."

Harry agreed about his dad being proud but not so much about him ever coming out of St. Mungo's sane.

Neville wanted to change the subject to something else, anything other than his parents. "So have you set a new wedding date?"

Harry shook his head. "Hadn't had much of a chance."

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Later that night, Hermione returned from the prefect's bathroom all warm in her floor-length flannel nightgown and joined Harry in bed.

"Thought about setting another date?" she asked.

He nodded. "Well, Valentine's Day is right around the corner."

She smiled warmly and laid her head on his shoulder. "That should set everybody on their toes. Only three weeks away?"

Harry laughed softly and kissed the top of her head then picked up his wand from the nightstand. "Nox!'

The torches promptly went out and put the room into total darkness until their eyes adjusted to the moonlight streaming though the window.

"Do you feel any different, Hermione?"

She snuggled up closer and laid her hand on his chest. "How do you mean?"

He wasn't even sure. All he knew was that something felt different when he woke up at St. Mungo's.

"I don't know?"

"Well I don't have an uncontrollable desire to rip off your shirt like I normally do at this time." She paused. "I suppose it could be the absence of Phineas and his wife, or maybe its this flannel nightgown I was thinking of something in black lace might be better."

"Tease."

He thought that the missing souls excuse made sense and wrote it off as his imagination if nothing else.

**********************

The next morning Harry left their rooms and a still sleeping Hermione in bed. He had an old friend he needed to check up on and had put it off for long enough. He pulled his winter cloak tightly around him as he stepped out into the frigid morning air and kicked through the snow down to Hagrid's hut.

After only a few knocks Hagrid answered with a sullen face. "Hello, Harry. Come on in outta the cold."

"Hello, Hagrid."

"Whadda yeh doin' outta bed? I thought yeh was in a right state?"

Harry smiled. "I should say the same about you."

Hagrid shrugged and sat down in his enormous chair. "So whadda doin' down 'ere?"

Harry's brow furrowed. "Hagrid, you're my friend. Do I need a reason to visit you?"

And as he said the words he realized that he hadn't been down to see, at all. For the entire school year, and it was almost the end of January already.

His large friend looked down at his feet. "Am I still yeh friend, Harry?"

"Of course, you are ... I'm sorry Hagrid."

The half-giant tried to look like he didn't know what it was Harry was sorry about. "Whadda yeh mean? Whadda 'bout?"

Harry sighed, "For being a bad friend."

Hagrid sniffed. "Don' know whatcha talkin' 'bout."

"Yes you do. I've ignored you all Fall term and here it is beginning of Winter term and I'm just now visiting."

Now Hagrid was getting a little nervous and decided to busy himself. "Fancy a cuppa tea?"

"Hagrid."

"Hmm?"

He stood up and closed in on his friend. "Oh, forget the ruddy tea. I'm trying to apologize."

Hagrid shook his brushy head. "Nuthin' to apologize fer. You've bin busy is all. Teachin all those classes, and trainin' for the the war and all."

"And that doesn't make up for not being there for my friends now does it. Ron's already chewed me out and you should have too. I can spare fifteen minutes out of my day to come by to say hi."

Hagrid smiled. "Good, now tha's outta the way. How 'bout some o that tea."

"Love some."

They spent a good hour catching up on the highlights of what Harry had been doing all term and eventually what little Hagrid could tell him about the involvement of the giants. This is what he'd been missing all year. A little companionship now that everything was going on, he and Hagrid both. Malnutrition was the cause of his fainting spell at the end of November. Seems he had bushed off eating in lieu of working himself to death trying to teach Grawp

how to speak English. His half-brother had at least stopped beating on him so there weren't any slabs of Dragon steak laying about.

Harry glanced at his watch and commented, "I've got to be off to breakfast. Hermione's probably wondering where I am."

"Bin nice talkin' to yeh, Harry."

"You too, Hagrid."

The feeling of correcting a mistake kept him more than warm on the way back to the Great Hall.

Breakfast was well underway when he sat down with his friends.

"How's Hagrid?" asked Hermione.

Harry was mildly surprised. "How did you know ..."

She flashed him the Fire Diamond. "I woke up and wondered where you were. Then I smelled Hagrid's hut."

"You smelled?"

She nodded. "I think the bond growing between us is getting stronger, Harry."

Ron set down his glass. "Either that or you need to talk to the house elves about cleaning your room."

At that, the room was filling with owls delivering the morning post. Hermione dropped five bronze Knuts into the little sack a brown owl was carrying and retrieved a copy of the Daily Prophet from its beak.

Reading the wizarding paper wasn't first thing on his to-do list in the morning for you could never tell if what you were reading was actually true or Ministry drivel. Harry tended to read it when nothing else was around. That was until Hermione gasped and a letter fell into Harry's lap from a school owl.

"They've escaped!" she almost shouted. "The Death Eaters!"

Ron dropped his fork and Ginny squeaked. Harry ripped open the letter. It was addressed from Dumbledore.

Harry,

Your presence and those of your friends are requested in the Room of Requirement, immediately. Please bring Mr. Black along with you.

-Dumbledore

"Ron, get Luna. Dumbledore wants us." He looked up at Malfoy who was holding a copy of the paper, looking directly at him.

Harry motioned with his eyes to meet them outside and he complied being the first person up from the tables. Ron was a close second followed by Neville.

"I'll go get the Spinus juice and meet you there."

Harry nodded. They were going to need Gobstones, and he wasn't going to get a chance to go to Hogsmeade.

He looked up and down the Gryffindor table until he found who he was looking for. "Colin!"

Colin Creevey looked up from his breakfast in surprise as Harry waved him over. Colin was one of the founding members of the unofficial Harry Potter Fan Club. He knew because Colin was selling pictures of him to first-years because every once in a while one of them would gather up enough courage to approach him for an autograph. Colin was also the captain of the Gobstones Club at Hogwarts.

"Yeah, Harry?"

He looked Colin straight in the eye. "We need 120 Gobstones, right away."

Colin blinked, "Um ... Harry I don't have that many. Even with my back up set I've only got twenty."

"Can you get some from your Club. It's an emergency."

Colin sat down. "Don't laugh, okay."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and nodded.

Colin covered his mouth with one of his hands and looked down to cover his face.

"CAW!"

Before anyone had the chance to look around Colin was stabbing at the plate in front of him trying his best to look like he was eating. Harry looked around and saw a couple people getting up from the Ravenclaw table and head outside the hall, then another few people from the Hufflepuff table and eventually Gryffindor and Slytherin tables, a total of nineteen in all.

"Okay, our turn."

They rose from their chairs and made their way past the doors and into a crowd of Gobstones enthusiasts. Harry waved Draco, Ron and Luna on down the hall so they wouldn't be suspicious as if this wasn't bad enough.

"Harry here, needs all our Gobstones," Colin announced.

A lot of them stared like Colin had gone crazy wanting them to give up their prize possessions. Harry backed him up.

"Look, I'll buy all of you brand new sets when I get back from Hogsmeade, okay?"

Now the pressure was on and their collective will's were being sapped. The chance at a brand new set weighed heavily on their shoulders, but to lose at heir well tempered sets was another thought altogether.

Slowly they began taking out small sacks from their cloaks filling Harry's arms. Well over twelve were accounted for when Harry declared it was enough and he would make good on his promise.

They whispered behind his back as he and Hermione left that he better or there would be consequences, and they wouldn't want an angry Gobstones mob after them.