Chapter 7

Shore leave

"Do you already have your dress robes ready, Sirius?" Hermione asked for the sixth time.

"Yes, Mione. You don't have to ask me that thousand times."

"Yes, but you are forgetful as what. Just like Ron, but he has Harry to remind himself things."

"Would you guys kindly leave me out of this? Hermione, Ginny, how late are you beaming back?" Harry quickly changed of subject.

"17.00. But we can move forward." Ginny gestured to the open space before them.

Ten minutes later the five took place on the platform and were beamed down.

***

Ron trusts his head back and breathed in the fresh air. "This feels good."

Ginny and Hermione turned around, their hair flowing on the wind. Both laughed at his remark. "Totally right." Ginny remarked.

Harry and Sirius was a little end behind him, talking privately.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny set down their bags and flopped themselves down on the grass, waiting for the last two to catch up. Ron was wearing a pair of jeans shorts and a dark blue T-shirt with sneakers. Hermione was in a short-sleeved white blouse and a dark blue skirt. Ginny also wore a short-sleeved white blouse, but with a pair of jeans shorts.

Finally Harry and Sirius caught up. Harry wore simple set of black shorts, T-shirt and sneakers. Sirius was in long jeans, white T-shirt and leather boots. Both also flopped down on the grass after setting down their bags.

"It's good to get some fresh air. I have been cooped up in the ship for too long." Harry commented.

The other quickly agreed and Hermione looked around her. "This is a beautiful place." She commented.

It was indeed a beautiful place. They were in a grassy field with several bushes, by a small lake. The white-painted houses of the village were a half mile away.

"Hé Mione, what do you know about this planet?" Ron asked.

"It's a subtropical planet, except for a few mountain tops. The people have almost a com-pletely human appearance, baring a small ridge on their foreheads. The main use of the planet is recreational. The planet is controlled by a female ruler, called Konega. It's an inherited position, going from mother to daughter. The Konega is assisted by the Counsel of Women and the Board of Men. The Counsel of Women exists out twenty-six women, each representing one district on the planet. The Board of Men exists from five men. They can be fathers, brothers, husbands, sons or an occasional nephew from the Konega…" Hermione started to flow them information.

"Well, I like the outfits the women were wearing in the village." Ginny commented middle in the flow of information.

Hermione looked a bit irritated at being interrupted, both boys groaned, but Sirius had a small smile on his face.

Then Hermione smiled also. "I agree. They are beautiful. Perhaps we should see if can acquire such an outfit."

Both girls started discussing colors and patterns. Both boys groaned even more and pulled out a game of wizards chess, but Sirius' smile even widened. He loved to see the girls being girly.

People always saw the pressure on the four. Pressure even adults shouldn't have to carry.

But if someone would ask him who of the four showed to it the most, it wasn't Harry. Of course he felt it, but he was very adept at covering it and he showed it only to people very close to him. And Ron kept it covered with his upbeat nature and occasionally acting a bit goofy. Sirius recognized this from himself.

It were the girls who showed it the most. It had caused Ginny to go to being quiet and a bit reserved in larger companies. Luckily that had been changing a bit the last few months. Hermione was diving even more in her books. And she was already less likely to act girly. It had been Ginny and to a lesser extent Parvati and Lavender who got her a bit interested in typical girl things. She had surprised many people when she developed a very own and unique style of clothing and started to wear some make-up.

"Hé, I don't know about you, but I am gonna take a swim." Ginny suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

The girl started rummaging through one of the bags and then threw Hermione her purple bathing suit, Harry and Ron their black swimming trunks and she took out her own dark red bathing suit. Then she pulled Hermione up and the two went over to some bushes.

Harry and Ron smiled at each other and went over to some other bushes.

Ten minutes later the four teens were splashing around in the small lake. Sirius was laughing at the wall side.

***

After having been swimming for twenty minutes Hermione was the first to come out of the water. She grabbed a towel, drying of her long hair. Then she lay down on the blanket, closing her eyes and soaking up the warm sunrays.

Ron followed quickly, also drying himself of. He didn't lay down to soak up the sun however, but started to chat with Sirius about the future.

Hermione followed the conversation for a few moments, then rolled on her stomach, popped her head up on her hands and opened her eyes. "Ron, for all the two months we have been spending together last summer, you never got around to tell us which subjects you chose."

"Well, I dropped divination. I picked Business and Trades, International Affaires and Rela-tions and Organisation."

"Quite a big package. Do you want to work on the Ministry or something like that?" Sirius asked.

Hermione could see that Sirius had hit a little nerve. "Do you know what I think, Ron? I think you already know what you want after school."

Ron was silent for a few seconds, but then grinned. "I do. I hope I can get a job on the Department of Magical Recreation and Sports. I still absolutely love Quidditch, but I am not good enough to play. So, I would like to organize the games and that kind of things."

"That sounds like a great idea. But why didn't you tell us? Do your parents know?" Hermione asked.

"Harry only knows. I was… a bit anxious you would find it a stupid dream." Ron clarified.

"Why should that be a stupid dream? If you work hard enough, I am sure you're gonna make it." Sirius said.

They were suddenly startled from their conversation from a loud shriek from the lake.

***

Ginny was calmly floating in the water. Hermione and Ron had gotten out and Harry was trekking between the sides of the lake.

Suddenly she felt a few splashes of water and opened one eye. Harry was swimming close by and few drops from his crawling arms had felt in her face.

Ginny turned around and swum after Harry. Just when he turned around at the shore side she stood before him and started splashing him.

Harry laughed and splashed back. "Where is that necessary for?" he yelled above Ginny's laughter and the sounds of the water.

"I was calmly floating in the water in the water and splashed me wet. So, I thought it was justice to get you back."

Harry wasn't wearing his glasses and he couldn't see under the water surface. Even Ginny was quite hazy. The sudden rock caused him lose balance and her fell forward, right on top of Ginny.

The water fight went on for a little while, until Harry tripped over a large rock under the water surface. He lost his balance, falling forward. Right into Ginny.

Ginny shrieked loudly when she felt Harry hitting her, causing her to lose her own balance. And she fell back into the water, Harry still in top of her…

***

The three on the wall looked up at the loud shriek and the very loud splash that followed it. All three had been automatically reaching for their wands, but they burst out laughing when they understood what had happened.

"Way to go, Harry! W…" That had been Sirius, until Hermione silenced him.

"Hé Harry. Stay away from my sister. You hear me?" Ron called over the water.

"I lost my balance." Harry yelled back and he busied himself helping Ginny up.

Sirius, Ron and Hermione sat down again, laughing loudly.

***

Ginny and Harry both turned bright red. The way they laid in the shallow water.

Ginny had ended up with legs wide and Harry was lying between them. To make matters worse Harry had ended up with one hand on one of her breasts.

It took a few seconds before the way they were laying settled in their mind and Harry hastily scrambled on his feet. He held his hand out, starting to help Ginny on her feet.

They were still both bright red. And to make matters worse…

"Way to go, Harry! W…" They heard Sirius call.

"Hé Harry. Stay away from my sister. You hear me?" That was Ron.

"I lost my balance." Harry yelled back and he busied himself helping Ginny up again.

Finally Ginny was on her feet again and she started walking back to the shore side. Harry stared after her.

***

Harry stared indeed after Ginny. She was beautiful. The dark-red bathing suit showed her figure perfectly. And the loose red hair clung to her skin. Her skin was a soft brown tan almost everywhere after a long summer mostly spend outside. But the few places that weren't, had the color of cream.

The school uniforms, her simple dresses or even the blouses and black stretch-trousers she had gotten so fond on last summer had never shown him this.

And when he touched her just before, she had been so… soft. He had never expected that with her figure. That was completely… athletic?

Harry turned bright red again and turned around for moment. He waded into the water and dove forward to cool down a bit.

A few minutes later he had composed himself again and waded back to shore.

***

Back at Hogwarts Parvati Patil shot up with start. It took her a few moments to calm her breathing down.

It wasn't the first time she had had dreams like this in the last two weeks. Lavender also had them once.

She climbed out of her bed and glanced at the clock on her bedside to see it was nearly seven in the morning. Getting dressed quickly she left a note for Lavender and headed towards Dumbledore's office.

***

They spent a few more hours near the little lake. Sirius also took a dive and they played some games. Hermione and Ginny also used the possibility to sunbathe.

And Harry had brought his broom, so they could fly a few rounds.

On moment however, they had to gather things to get back because the girls would beam back in one and half hour and they wanted to take a look around the market in the village.

***

"What can I do for you, Miss Patil?" Dumbledore asked when she had arrived in his office.

"I dreamed again of Harry and everyone. But this time Sirius Black was with them… And they were playing and laughing at a kind on lake. Sirius Black… what if he kills them…"

Dumbledore scrutinized the young woman before him carefully. The vision dreams of her and her room mate had already given them a few leads to where they should start looking for the disappeared friends.

But he hadn't exactly counted on this. Not on the fact that he would have to explain everything around Sirius Black.

"Could you find Miss Brown? You both have had dreams and I think I can better explain it once."

Parvati nodded and headed towards the door, but it wasn't necessary anymore for the fact that Lavender came in.

"You have been dreaming also?" Parvati asked her roommate.

Lavender nodded and turned to Dumbledore. "They were with Sirius Black!"

"I know. Miss Patil told me that. Please take a seat and allow me to explain."

Both women sat down on the chairs before the desks.

"I must start with saying that Harry and his friends are in absolutely no danger from Sirius Black. You have heard the story about how Sirius Black killed Peter Pettigrew and how he betrayed Harry's parents. What we didn't know until three years ago is that Sirius Black wasn't the secret keeper of the Potters. It was Peter Pettigrew and he betrayed them to Voldemort." Dumbledore told them the whole story.

The girls listened without interrupting his story. When he was finished it was silent for a few moments.

"Harry knows already since the end of his third year? Why didn't he ever say anything?"

"This would have placed Sirius in an enormous amount of danger. Miss Patil, Miss Brown, don't be scared if you see him in your dreams because he only wishes to protect Harry and his friends. But could you describe your dreams in somewhat more detail?"

Both described their dreams in details. Dumbledore listened carefully, making a few notes. When they were finished, Dumbledore said: "You must not speak about Sirius with anyone. Is this clear? Miss Patil? Miss Brown?"

Both girls nodded when he called their names and left the office. Dumbledore read over his notes one time, then headed out to call a meeting with the order.

***

"Those are beautiful colors." Ginny said loudly.

Ginny and Hermione were searching around in racks to find their combination of a typical Thulan outfit. Normally it existed from a long skirt to their ankles made from velvet like cloth. Over that came a dress with small bands over their shoulders which reached their knees, made from a more silk like cloth. Over the dress came a short long-sleeved, gauzy blouse which was tied just below the breasts. And to finish the combination, most women wore a very thin matching shawl draped over their head and shoulders.

Sirius, Ron and Harry didn't find it so interesting. In clothing they weren't interested, since the males only wore simple blouses made of something like cotton and leather shorts.

A sales man had approached the girls searching trough the racks. Both talked with him for a few moments, then the man headed behind a curtain. He came back with two hangers filled with cloths. He handed one to each of the girls and both headed behind a curtain where they could fit the outfits.

Hermione was the first to appear. The skirt was a soft lilac, the dress deep purple and the blouse and scarf again a soft lilac. She admired herself in a mirror, then turned towards the guys. "Well, what do you think?"

"Looks good on you." Sirius said, walking around her.

Harry and Ron chimed in, then watched as Ginny also emerged.

Ginny's skirt, blouse and shawl were a beautiful tint of brown, while her dress was crème. The blouse and scarf contrasted with the color of her skin, while the crème dress, broke the line of the brown and made sure that the outfit wasn't too severe.

Ginny also checked herself in the mirror and showed her outfits to the males present. Both girls were sold. They changed back into their normal cloth and started to negotiate with the sales man.

Both girls traded their outfits for a few pieces of new clothing they had had from their parents, but which they absolutely detested. The sales man, however, was in seventh heaven with the exotic alien outfits.

He wrapped his sold products in thin paper and handed it to Ginny and Hermione. Both quickly thanked the salesman. The five quickly left to see the girls of to ship.

Harry, Ron and Sirius would beam back around 18.30.