Here's chapter 15. Thanks to my reviewers.
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'Harry? Harry?' a voice called to him. Harry opened his eyes expecting to see the surroundings around his bed but instead say two huge brown eyes looking down at him. With a small yelp, Harry tangled himself in his blankets and fell off of the bed and onto the floor. He heard giggles break out.
"That wasn't funny," Harry said rubbing his eyes before looking up. Jake was the one who was over Harry's head when he woke up. Matt, Ron, Matt, Jake, Caroline, Ashley, Liz and Hermione were all in the room.
"Yea it was," Jake confirmed. More laughter broke out. Harry untangled himself from the blankets. He straightened out his T-shirt and sweat pants before standing up.
"What time is it?" Harry asked rubbing his eyes.
"8:00," Caroline answered.
"We're suppose to leave at 8:30," Hermione added.
"You girls had better get out. Girls aren't allowed in here," Matt said. The girls left the room saying that they'll meet them in the Great Hall. Harry quickly dressed and checked to make sure he had everything before grabbing his backpack and heading down to the hall.
"I can't wait to go home," Matt said on the way.
"Me either," Jake agreed. "I miss everything that we used to have at home."
"I can't wait to see it," Ron said excited.
"It will be great to actually see things like the teen center and the muggle shops," a voice said from, behind them. They turned to see Caroline walk up to them.
"Weren't you suppose to be in the Great Hall?" Jake asked.
"I forgot my bag," she answered holding up a small duffel bag. They reached the Great Hall quickly. Barely anyone was there. It was a Saturday so many people were sleeping in as well as most of the professors. At the Gryffindor table was a few people and a pile of trunks and bags off to the side. At the table, Stacy, Sirius, Remus, Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Hermione, Ashley and Liz were already seated. Harry, Jake, Matt, Ron and Caroline walked up to the pile of bags to add their own bags before sitting down to eat breakfast.
"I heard you had a rude awakening this morning," Sirius commented as Harry sat next to him. He had a smirk on his face.
"You didn't tell them to do that did you?" Harry asked. Sirius looked at him shocked.
"Me?" he asked innocently. "Why would I tell them to wake you up in such a cruel way?"
Harry rose an eyebrow as to say, 'Yea right.'
"He did that a lot to James if I recall," Remus said. He was sitting across from Sirius.
"Those were the days," Sirius said smiling. "I would do that every morning and every morning he would yell and fall out of bed."
"Well just to tell you, falling out of bed isn't a painless trip," Harry remarked grabbing some toast and eating it.
"What does the house look like Harry?" Hermione asked excited. They went into a few details the night before but not enough that she and Ron could actually picture it in their heads.
"You'll just have to wait and see," Harry answered mysteriously.
"But why?" Hermione pouted.
"Because we want to surprise you," Jake said through a mouthful of pancakes.
"When we get home, I'm going up to my, blast my radio loud and yell at the top of my lungs while jumping on my bed," Liz said. Everyone looked at her before laughing.
"You can use a radio?" Hermione asked.
"It's not like here," Caroline answered. "It's practically a magical place with electricity."
"I'm going to check out the center and see if I can get some people up to a game of basketball," Jake said.
Ron looked at him puzzled. "What's basketball?" he asked.
"It's a muggle sport. We'll teach it to you," Jake answered. Matt nodded. "Harry are you in?" Harry looked up form his breakfast.
"Yea. We have to teach it to Sirius and Remus first though. Then we can have a game," Harry answered.
"That would be cool," Matt said. "Maybe we can get a bunch of other people to join in."
"Remember that one time when you were challenged by your brother and his friends?" Ashley asked Jake. "They clobbered you."
"That was last time," Jake said. "This year we have more players."
"Are you going to play, Hermione?" Liz asked. Hermione shrugged her shoulders.
"I can't really play. I haven't played in a while," she answered.
"Then we'll have to teach you again," Caroline said.
"You have a brother?" Ron asked going back to the last conversation.
"Yea. He's five years older than me though," Jake answered. "He's name's Tyler. I don't see him much anymore. He moved away to the states. I barley write to him."
"The states, huh?" Hermione asked. "Does he like it there?"
"From the last time I heard, he was failing his classes but was getting better."
"And how long ago was that?" Ron asked.
"A year?" Jake guessed.
"You should write to him again," Hermione suggested. The Great Hall doors opened as Dumbledore walked in.
"I take it that you are all ready to leave?" he asked walking up to the group. They nodded their heads. "The train will be here in about five minutes."
"How long is the trip?" Ron asked.
"About an hour and a half," Stacy answered.
"An hour and a half?!" Ron exclaimed. "The Hogwarts Express takes long to get from Kings Cross to here. Come can it only take an hour and a half?"
"We're not going to Kings Cross, Ron," Stacy answered. "The house is closer to here than you think. The train will stop near the house."
"The train's here," Professor McGonagall announced upon walking into the room.
"Do you have everything dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked Ron.
Ron glared at her. "That's the hundredth time you asked me!"
"What ever he doesn't have, we'll have back at the house," Stacy said. "There shouldn't be a problem."
They said their good byes before picking up their bags and heading out the main doors and down to the lake where they used the carriages to do across the lake as they do on September first. The train was waiting at the other end. It was a lot smaller than it usually was at the beginning and end of the year. They all boarded the train and took their seats while the train started to move.
"You're going to have tons of fun," Liz said excited.
"We should go shopping again," Caroline mentioned.
"No!" shouted Sirius, Remus, Jake, and Matt. They remembered the last time they went shopping for their costumes. It wasn't the most exciting trip ever.
"I can't wait t get back into the muggle world," Ashley said looking out the window.
"It's in the muggle world?" Hermione asked.
"No, but we can get there from the house," Ashley said.
"It's crazy though," Harry said remembering the first time he was transported to the House of the Gifted. It was in a room of the teen canter that acted just like a portkey.
"I can't wait to see it either," Remus said. He didn't stay over the summer. They talked more and played games like Exploding Snap until Stacy announced that they would be there in a few minutes.
"Get your things ready," she announced as she grabbed her own bag. Harry grabbed his before turning back to the window.
"We're here!" he announced as he saw the forest around the house clear to show a huge lake.
"A lake?" Ron asked looking out of the window.
"This is one end. The house is on the other end. This is a main track. The train has to switch tracks in order to get to our stop. The lake is here so others can't see the house," Harry explained.
"Don't muggles use this track?" Hermione asked. "They would be able to see things like magic if the did."
"This track is used by muggles but the house is so far away that they wouldn't be able to see anything." The trees reappeared hiding the lake. They felt a big bump as the train switched tracks.
"Welcome to the House of the Gifted," Ashley announced as the trees cleared. They could see the house clearly and it didn't change a bit. The train came to a halt as they got off.
"This is amazing!" Hermione exclaimed looking up at the house. Ron and Remus were looking too.
"Let's get inside so I can show you your rooms, classrooms and other essential places," Stacy before they walked up to the mansion. They opened the front doors and walked in.
"This is where you live?" Hermione asked looking around at everything. Harry nodded. They headed up the stairs. Harry noticed Hermione looking down at the stairs in question.
"They don't move," He said. Hermione looked up at his surprised that he knew what she was thinking. She was about to ask if he could read minds until Harry already answered. "No I can't read your mind. I just knew what you were going to ask because I wondered the same thing." Hermione closed the mouth as they reached the top.
"All of the bedrooms are up here," Stacy said. "The first few are guest rooms." They stopped in front of the first door. She opened the door. Inside, the walls were painted a dark red. It had a desk, bed, dresser, mirror, and bookcase inside.
"I'll take this one," Remus suggested looking around. He put his bags down in the room before stepping out and following the group as the walked over to the next room. Inside, the walls were painted light purple. It had the same furniture.
"I'll take this one!" Hermione exclaimed.
Stacy smiled. "I figured that. On the bookcase should be books that aren't in the school library that are interesting and could be helpful for your O.W.L 's," she said. Hermione put her trunk down in the room.
"The next room is Ron's and it's right next to Sirius I believe," Stacy said as they moved on. The next room was painted orange, which made Ron, Harry and Hermione laugh. It was the same color as his room at the Burrow. The bookcase was also filled with books.
"Those books are on things more pertaining to you," Stacy stated as Ron was looking at the funny.
"Can we see the other rooms?" Hermione asked.
"We have to drop off our stuff anyway," Jake said holding up his bag.
"You can show them your rooms," Stacy said. "I'm going to go down to the office to check on things." She headed the other direction, right down the stairs.
"We'll," Sirius said looking down at the group. "Here's my room." He opened the next door. It said his name at the top. Inside was a much fuller room. It had a lot more stuff only it had the same furniture. It looked homier than the guestrooms. There was stuff thrown around the room. "Just like I left it," Sirius commented.
"Next is my room," Jake said pointing to the door across the hall. Sirius closed the door to his room as the group walked across the hall. Wait till you see this," Jake said before opening the door. Hermione and Ron's mouths dropped.
"This is your room?" Hermione asked. She looked around the room. It looked like it was in the middle of the forest. Trees and plants were all over. His bed looked like it was suspended on branches. Off to one end was a hammock.
"This is it," Jake said dropping his bag on his bed.
"Where's the walls?" Ron asked looking around.
"It doesn't have any," Jake answered. Ron and Hermione looked at him.
"This goes on forever?" Hermione asked.
"None of our rooms have walls," Liz said shrugging.
"But- How?" Hermione asked.
"Magic," Caroline said simply.
"My room next!" Matt said. "It's right next door." They walked out of the room and into the room. The rest of the rooms were like Jake's with no walls. They saw Matt's water room with waves going through out the room. Liz room was next. Her room was on an ice rink. Icicles were hanging from the ceiling but amazingly, the room wasn't cold. Caroline's fire room was next. Flames engulfed the room but, like Liz's, the room wasn't hot. Hermione and Ron wouldn't enter Ashley's room in the fear of falling. They were most interested in Harry's room. He explained about his room before they were shown the classrooms, library, Quidditch pitch and the eating quarters.
"What do you want to do now?" Jake asked. Remus and Sirius had joined Stacy in the office.
"What is there to do?" Matt asked. They were sitting in Matt's room. Matt was lying on his bed tossing a basketball up in the air and catching as it came back down.
"We still need to show Ron and Hermione all the sites," Liz said. She was sitting on the windowsill looking out.
"What is there still to see?" Hermione asked. She was admiring the room and kept walking to the sides with her hand out trying to see if there was an invisible wall. A few times she got far and the others had to call her back before she got too far.
"You're getting far again," Harry said with Ashley sitting on his lap. Hermione turned around and headed back to the group.
"We could play a game," Caroline suggested. Matt stopped tossing up the ball.
"A game?" he asked.
"That's it!" Ashley exclaimed. "We could show them the center."
"And they can get clobbered by another group of teens at basketball," Caroline added with a smirk.
"Wardrobe change!" Ashley exclaimed. She got off of Harry's lab and stood in front of the group. She held her hands out elegantly and snapped one of her fingers. Ron and Hermione gasped as he clothes changed to a pair of black pants and a light blue tank top.
"How did you do that?" Ron asked.
"Maybe we should mention something else," Matt said sitting up. "In the rooms, just snap your fingers and think about what you want to wear. That only works in these rooms for you though. We can use it anywhere because we can do wandless magic."
Hermione smiled before snapping her fingers. Her robes changed to a pair of jeans and an orange short sleeve shirt. "It worked!" she exclaimed looking down at her clothes. Ron changed into a pair of khaki pants and a red shirt.
"Cool," he remarked. The rest changed their clothes before they headed out of the room and downstairs. Quickly telling Stacy that they were leaving, they headed out the door and headed to the spot that Harry remembered appearing after he was transported by the portkey for the first time from the center. Once they reached the spot, Jake said where they wanted to go and to Hermione and Ron's surprise, they're feet lifted off of the ground as the world spun around. They landed in an abandoned classroom.
"Where are we?" Ron asked looking around.
"The teen center," Matt answered as he headed over to the classroom door to open it. It didn't open. "Why did they lock it?" he asked as he muttered a spell as the door unlocked. They all headed out through the door and through the halls to finally exit the building.
"A court's open!" Jake exclaimed before making sure no one was looking while he called a basketball to him. "Who's in for a game?" he asked.
"I'm in," Matt said immediately as Jake passed him the ball.
"I'm in," Harry said.
"I'm not," Caroline said. She, Liz and Ashley were going to sit on the side. Hermione was going to join them as Ron was going to be taught how to play the game.
Jake, Matt and Harry were teaching Ron basic throws and how to shoot a hoop. They then moved on to game plans. Ron was getting better and better.
"Look who's here, boys. A sad excuse for a team, " a voice called from behind the group. The boys and girls spun around to see five teenage boys looking at them. Harry looked at them. He recognized one of them who used to bully him when he was in Muggle School. They didn't seem as if they recognized Harry.
"You're playing on our court," the tallest one said.
"So what?" Jake asked holding out his arms.
"This is our court. We play here. Get off," he said walking right up to the group. He was the same height at Jake.
"We were here first," Jake said angrily. Caroline, Liz and Ashley looked at the group with anger.
"We want to play. Get off," the teenager said pushing Jake in the chest. Harry and Matt grabbed Jake's arms to hold him from attacking back just incase he tried to.
"We're not moving," Matt said. Next to him, Ron looked at the group confused but anger replaced it as he saw Jake get pushed.
"Then we challenge you to a game," the leader said looking at Matt.
"Then we accept," Jake said. At the corner of his eye, he saw Sirius, Remus, and Stacy walk over to the girls. They had just arrived. Stacy was ready to approach the boys but Harry gave her a slight shake of his head. They could handle this. Stacy stopped but looked at them.
"My name is Mark," the leader said. "This is Chris, Alex, Dan, and Tom," the leader said pointing to his teammates.
"I'm Jake, and this is Matt, Harry, and Ron," Jake said never taking his eyes off of Mark. Harry saw Chris' eyes look at him as if he recognized him. Harry gave him a smirk.
"Looks like this will be easy," Mark said to his group as he laughed. "They can never beat us and they're a player short." A second later, Harry felt arms wrap around his waist and a head rest on his shoulder.
"I'm Ashley and now we're even," Ashley said still wrapped around Harry. She had put her hair up in a ponytail. This made the other group laugh harder.
"A girl? Is that all you have?" the leader said through gasps of air.
"Then play us if you're so sure," Ashley said coldly. The group stopped laughing.
"Fine, let's go. If we win, you leave. If you win, not like you will, but if you win, you stay," Mark said. Jake nodded in agreement. The other group took the ball and headed towards the other end of the court.
"What's going on?" Ron asked.
"We're going to play a game," Matt answered. They formed a circle.
"Are you sure you want to play?" Harry asked Ashley who let go of him.
"Oh, quite sure," she answered smiling.
"Ok, this is our first game in a while," Jake noted glancing at the other group who were talking to themselves.
"I can't play a game!" Ron exclaimed. "I just learned how to play!"
"Are you sure that you're up to this?" Liz asked as she, Caroline and Hermione walked up and joined them in their circle.
"Pretty sure," Jake said.
"I can't play," Ron said looking at the other group.
"You'll be fine," Hermione said although she looked unsure.
"Yea," Matt said. "If you feel during the game that you really can't play, tag either Caroline, Liz or Hermione to play in your place."
"I can't play," Hermione said. "I don't know the rules."
"I can't play either," Caroline said. "I'm not wearing the right clothes." They glared at her.
"I'll play," Liz said. "You can do it Ron."
"Are you wimps ready or not?" Mark asked as his team took to the court.
"Good luck guys," Liz said as she, Caroline and Hermione walked back to their spots on the sides. Harry glanced at Sirius. He looked confused as he and Remus kept asking questions.
"Let's do it," Jake said. He reminded Harry or Oliver Wood who gave the pep talks right before a Quidditch game. Jake turned to Ron. "Ron, just do what you learned so far. You'll learn new things as the game goes on. Matt, let's just play as we usually did. Harry, you know what to do. Use those seeker skills. Ashley, I think it might be wise for you to defend the hoop. You are a keeper after all. If you can't do it or are needed in the court, go where you're needed. We can all try to defend the net if it's in our court. Let's do it." The team broke as they walked to face their opponent who was already ready.
"Matt, you check," Jake said before taking his place where Matt could pass to him. Harry stood on the opposite side. Ashley stood by the net. Ron was standing behind Tom. Tom was checking with Matt.
"Your team can start," Tom said as he gave Matt the ball. Matt looked at his team to be sure they were ready before passing to Tom who checked his team before passing it back to Matt. The game began.
Matt immediately passed to Jake but the ball was blocked and taken over by Alex. Alex raced over to the net as he dribbled. Harry stayed where he was. It was useless for them all to be over there. Alex went to shoot but it missed the net. Ashley grabbed the ball from under the net and tossed it to Harry who was free. Harry caught it and started dribbling to the other net.
"Wolf, I'm open!" called Jake on his other side. Dan was trying to get the ball away from Harry so he passed it to Jake who caught it and made a shot. The ball went in the hoop.
"Yes!" he exclaimed. He high fived his teammates before they took their spots again.
"Beginners luck," Chris said shooting Harry a disgusted look. Harry just smiled back. They took their positions again as the next check was completed and the ball was passed around. Alex tried to make a shot but it was blocked again by Ashley, who tried to throw it to Ron, but Dan came by and caught it. Dan passed it to Chris who tried for the shot. Ashley tried to block it but it went in.
"Tie," Ron announced disappointed.
"Don't worry," Harry said keeping his eye on Chris who kept looking at him strangely. "This is only the beginning."
The next check was completed and the ball was dribbled around. Matt passed it to Jake who dribbled to the net to make a shot. He couldn't get a clear shot so he passed it to Harry. Harry took it and dribbled over to his own net. The other group followed him. He quickly passed it over their heads at Jake who was still by the basket. He shot and it went in easily.
"Nothing like using Quidditch skills in a muggle game huh?" Ashley said as Harry approached her.
"All we need are brooms," Harry said before walking to another spot. He was ready to grab the ball as Ron and Mark checked. The ball was going to the other team. Mark passed it to Alex as soon as the check was over. Alex dribbled around towards the net. Jake was right behind him trying to get the ball. Ron was trying to cover Dan. Matt was running around, keeping his eye on Mark. Tom was running with Alex. Chris was watching Harry's every move. Harry focused on getting the ball away from Chris if the ball went his way. Harry saw Ashley watching the ball and getting ready to move where she needed to go.
Alex threw the ball up to make a shot but it hit the rim and bounced back to Tom who tossed it to Dan but it was caught by Ron who passed it to Matt. Matt grabbed the ball and dribbled to the hoop while trying to keep it away from Mark who was right behind him. Matt shot the ball but it missed. Jake was right under the net. He caught the ball and threw it back up making a score.
"Three to one," Ron said excited.
"See?" Harry asked. "You can play."
"This is a lot different than Quidditch," he said but moved away quickly as the ball was back in the game.
The ball was in Tom's hands. As he dribbled around. Jake went racing after Tom to try to grab the ball but it was passed to Mark. Matt tried to grab it but Mark was able to catch it over his head. Mark ran the other direction to loose Matt but he was right on his tail. Mark quickly threw it to Alex who made a shot and scored.
"These little twerps don't know who they're playing against," Chris said laughing. He shot a glance at Harry again.
"Yea, we didn't think you were this terrible," Matt said back shaking his head.
"We'll see who's terrible!" Tom yelled as he threw the ball hard, right at Matt's head. Matt ducked as the ball flew passed. Ashley caught it and walked over.
"Are you bullies ready to play or do you admit your defeat?" she asked.
"We're not done yet," Chris said looking at her angrily.
"Let's play and clobber them," Mark said. Ashley passed the ball to Jake who checked it. Jake passed to Harry who threw it to Matt. Matt went to shoot but was shoved aside by Mark. Matt's shot was way off. Mark grabbed the ball and ran to the net and made a shot.
"That's not fair!" Ashley exclaimed. "You cheated!"
"So what? It's all fair," Mark said looking down at Ashley. He shoved her into the pole from the hoop.
"Play fair," she said angrily.
"I never play fair," he said as picked her up by her shirt.
"Leave her alone!" Harry yelled as he approached them.
"Where do you think you're going?" Chris said as he stepped in front of Harry.
"Getting him off of Ashley!" Harry yelled as he tried to step around Chris. Chris stepped in front of him again.
"Don't get me mad because no one ever escapes me," he said angrily. Harry saw out of the corner of his eyes that Tom, Dan and Alex were preventing Ron, Jake and Matt from getting through.
"Yea? Well guess what? I always escaped you! You never could catch me!" he yelled remembering when he went to Muggle School. Harry was bullied around by a lot of people but most couldn't catch him because of his small size. Not many people were able to escape the bullies.
Chris' eyes widened as he remembered where he saw Harry. "Potter," he said angrily.
"Now leave us alone!" Harry yelled as he tried to get around.
"You'll never escape me again!" Chris yelled as he went to hit Harry. Harry ducked as the punch went harmlessly by.
"Leave them alone!" Stacy yelled as she walked onto the court.
Harry took the time that they were distracted to run up to the back of Mark and do something he hadn't done in a while. He jumped right on his back. "Let her go!" Harry yelled as he hung on with his arm around his neck.
Mark moved around to get Harry off of his neck. Mark swung around and Harry flew off and onto the floor. Mark grabbed Ashley again by the shirt, pulled her over to the fence. He then pulled her up so her face was even with his. She stared at him angrily. He looked at her as well until Ashley spit in his face.
"Bloody girl!" he screamed trying to wipe the spit out of his eyes. When he could see, he pushed Ashley painfully against the fence.
"Let her go!" Stacy yelled approaching them. Harry stood up and went to jump on Mark again but was pushed aside by another person. Chris still didn't give up on Harry.
"About to jump on Mark huh?" he asked as he looked down on Harry. Harry moved to trip Chris but Chris moved to step on Harry's stomach faster. He was crushing his stomach.
"You sure changed a lot, Potter," Chris said. "But you came back. I knew something was strange about you. You might've changed a lot but I can still kick your butt."
"Oh really?" Harry asked trying to move form under the foot on his stomach. It was getting painful now. "You can't kick my butt even with your goons to help you."
"We should see about that," Chris said as he moved his foot from Harry's stomach to his throat. Harry choked.
"Leave them alone!" Jake yelled as he, Matt and Ron took a leaf out of Harry's book and jumped on Tom, Dan, and Alex. When they were to the floor, Jake ran to Mark as Ron and Matt ran to help Harry. Caroline, Hermione, Liz, Sirius and Remus had gotten through the gate and onto the court. Caroline, Liz and Remus ran to help Ashley as Sirius, went to Harry. Stacy went to the rest of the group who were knocked to the floor as Ron, Matt and Jake jumped on them.
"Get off of him!" Sirius yelled as he ran top Harry's side. Harry's throat was still being crushed. Sirius shoved Chris to the floor and took out his wand. Sirius pointed it at Chris, who, looked at it in fear.
"Sirius," Harry choked out as he sat up holding his throat and coughing. "Don't. They aren't like us. Stop." Sirius thought for a moment before putting his wand away and bending down to help Harry up who was still coughing.
"Is he okay?" Remus asked running up to them.
"I think so," Sirius answered as he waited until Harry stopped coughing. "How's Ashley?"
"She has marks on her throat as well but I think she's okay, just scared." Remus answered. Harry fell to his knees. He chest hurt and his throat hurt. Chris was a lot heavier than he was and it didn't take much effort to crush Harry.
"They were playing basketball when it got out of hand," they heard Stacy explain. They turned to see her talking to some police officers that were most likely called by a bystander after the fight broke out. "One of them grabbed Ashley. When Harry tried to help, he was hurt." She kept on explaining what had happened.
"How is he?" a woman asked walking up to them. She looked like a nurse.
"I don't know," Sirius asked looking at her cautiously.
"My name is Julie Kilmer," she said when she came up to them. "I'm the nurse here at the center." She bent down to Harry and felt around his neck. "His neck was crushed alright," she said. "Not a lot but enough to have damage. He should be all right. Nothing's broken." She reached into her bag and pulled out a small bottle of a liquid and secretly passed it to Remus who took it. "Give him this and it'll help fast." She walked over to the other group after giving them a wink. Remus looked down at the bottle.
"What is it?" Sirius asked as knelt down towards Harry who had stopped coughing.
Remus opened the bottle and smelt it. "I think it's a healing potion."
Sirius' eyebrows rose. "Do you think that it's safe to give it to him?" he asked. Remus looked around for Stacy who was still talking to the officers. One of the officers came over to them. Remus quickly hid the bottle.
"Is he one of the attackers?" he asked pointing down at Chris who was too scared of Sirius to move. They nodded and the officer grabbed Chris.
"This is one crazy Saturday," Hermione said walking up to them. She knelt down next to Harry and rubbed his back as she talked quietly to him.
"How is he?" Stacy asked walking over. She looked stressed out.
"Fine I think," Sirius answered looking down at his godson in concern who was looking down at the ground with a hand on his chest.
"Do you know what this is?" Remus asked handing Stacy the bottle Julie had given them. Stacy took it and smelled it.
"It's a basic healing potion," she said. "Who did you get it from?"
"The nurse here," Sirius answered.
"The nurse is a witch?" Hermione asked.
"Yea. Many witches and wizards work in Muggle Hospitals and places where there are a lot of people just incase they see another witch or wizard," Stacy answered. She handed Remus back the bottle. "You can give it to him. I'm going to check up on the other group. I can't believe this happened." She walked away.
"Are all games like this?" Ron asked as he walked over.
"No," Harry said. His voice sounded strained. "This is the first."
"Don't talk," Hermione ordered. Harry saluted her. She laughed.
"Drink this," Remus said handing Sirius the bottle who handed it to Harry. Harry took it and drank it slowly. It was painful.
"I am never playing baseball again," Ron announced. Harry looked up at him and smiled. They could see they marks on his neck
"It's basketball, Ron," he said. His voice sounded less strained.
"Basketball, baseball, it's the same thing," Ron said waving his hands around. Hermione and Harry laughed.
"No laughing!" Hermione said through laughs. "You'll hurt yourself more!"
"I can't help it!" Harry responded. The mark on his neck disappeared.
"What's so funny?" Jake asked as he walked over. Behind him, everyone else was also walking over. Ashley was drinking an identical potion that Harry had had. She was walking over. Harry saw finger marks on her neck. Harry stood. Sirius went to grab him if he needed help.
"Just something stupid that Ron said," Hermione answered Jake.
"I'd hate to ask what it was," Jake said. Ashley's marks had begun to go away as she walked over to Harry and put her arms around him. She started to cry. Harry held her close as she cried into his shoulder.
"Don't cry," he said rocking her back and forth.
"I was so scared," she said into his shoulder.
"So was I," Harry said after a slight pause.
"I hate bullies," she remarked. Her crying coming to an end.
"You become used to it after a while," Harry responded with a shrug. She laughed a little.
"It must've been horrible," she remarked.
"Nothing as bad as what just happened. They couldn't catch me. I guess I wasn't as fast," Harry admitted.
"You were fast. Just not on the floor," she said.
"I think it's time to go home," Stacy said. "You two should get some rest. Sometimes healing potions make you tired or give you headaches as side effects."
"Yea come on," Liz said. "You two can get a rest and then we'll go out in the muggle world for dinner later on."
"And maybe do some shopping," Caroline said. The boys glared at her. "We'll you don't have to go then!"
"Let's go," Stacy said. Ashley took her head off of Harry's shoulder. Harry kept her close as they made their way back into the building and into the old classroom before being transported back home. They made their way into the house. Not wanting to be alone, Harry and Ashley walked into a room with couches and fell asleep in each other's arms.
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This is sorta cheesy huh? I had nothing else to write. I wanted to make it so Ashley didn't seem like a Mary Sue. Just until a couple of days ago, I didn't know what a Mary sue was. Just to say, I don't want any of my characters to be a Mary Sue so don't worry. Thanks to my reviewers! You are the best!!!!! Keep reviewing. I just finished this so I didn't proofread the last part so forgive me! I wanted to get this out as soon as possible!
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'Harry? Harry?' a voice called to him. Harry opened his eyes expecting to see the surroundings around his bed but instead say two huge brown eyes looking down at him. With a small yelp, Harry tangled himself in his blankets and fell off of the bed and onto the floor. He heard giggles break out.
"That wasn't funny," Harry said rubbing his eyes before looking up. Jake was the one who was over Harry's head when he woke up. Matt, Ron, Matt, Jake, Caroline, Ashley, Liz and Hermione were all in the room.
"Yea it was," Jake confirmed. More laughter broke out. Harry untangled himself from the blankets. He straightened out his T-shirt and sweat pants before standing up.
"What time is it?" Harry asked rubbing his eyes.
"8:00," Caroline answered.
"We're suppose to leave at 8:30," Hermione added.
"You girls had better get out. Girls aren't allowed in here," Matt said. The girls left the room saying that they'll meet them in the Great Hall. Harry quickly dressed and checked to make sure he had everything before grabbing his backpack and heading down to the hall.
"I can't wait to go home," Matt said on the way.
"Me either," Jake agreed. "I miss everything that we used to have at home."
"I can't wait to see it," Ron said excited.
"It will be great to actually see things like the teen center and the muggle shops," a voice said from, behind them. They turned to see Caroline walk up to them.
"Weren't you suppose to be in the Great Hall?" Jake asked.
"I forgot my bag," she answered holding up a small duffel bag. They reached the Great Hall quickly. Barely anyone was there. It was a Saturday so many people were sleeping in as well as most of the professors. At the Gryffindor table was a few people and a pile of trunks and bags off to the side. At the table, Stacy, Sirius, Remus, Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Hermione, Ashley and Liz were already seated. Harry, Jake, Matt, Ron and Caroline walked up to the pile of bags to add their own bags before sitting down to eat breakfast.
"I heard you had a rude awakening this morning," Sirius commented as Harry sat next to him. He had a smirk on his face.
"You didn't tell them to do that did you?" Harry asked. Sirius looked at him shocked.
"Me?" he asked innocently. "Why would I tell them to wake you up in such a cruel way?"
Harry rose an eyebrow as to say, 'Yea right.'
"He did that a lot to James if I recall," Remus said. He was sitting across from Sirius.
"Those were the days," Sirius said smiling. "I would do that every morning and every morning he would yell and fall out of bed."
"Well just to tell you, falling out of bed isn't a painless trip," Harry remarked grabbing some toast and eating it.
"What does the house look like Harry?" Hermione asked excited. They went into a few details the night before but not enough that she and Ron could actually picture it in their heads.
"You'll just have to wait and see," Harry answered mysteriously.
"But why?" Hermione pouted.
"Because we want to surprise you," Jake said through a mouthful of pancakes.
"When we get home, I'm going up to my, blast my radio loud and yell at the top of my lungs while jumping on my bed," Liz said. Everyone looked at her before laughing.
"You can use a radio?" Hermione asked.
"It's not like here," Caroline answered. "It's practically a magical place with electricity."
"I'm going to check out the center and see if I can get some people up to a game of basketball," Jake said.
Ron looked at him puzzled. "What's basketball?" he asked.
"It's a muggle sport. We'll teach it to you," Jake answered. Matt nodded. "Harry are you in?" Harry looked up form his breakfast.
"Yea. We have to teach it to Sirius and Remus first though. Then we can have a game," Harry answered.
"That would be cool," Matt said. "Maybe we can get a bunch of other people to join in."
"Remember that one time when you were challenged by your brother and his friends?" Ashley asked Jake. "They clobbered you."
"That was last time," Jake said. "This year we have more players."
"Are you going to play, Hermione?" Liz asked. Hermione shrugged her shoulders.
"I can't really play. I haven't played in a while," she answered.
"Then we'll have to teach you again," Caroline said.
"You have a brother?" Ron asked going back to the last conversation.
"Yea. He's five years older than me though," Jake answered. "He's name's Tyler. I don't see him much anymore. He moved away to the states. I barley write to him."
"The states, huh?" Hermione asked. "Does he like it there?"
"From the last time I heard, he was failing his classes but was getting better."
"And how long ago was that?" Ron asked.
"A year?" Jake guessed.
"You should write to him again," Hermione suggested. The Great Hall doors opened as Dumbledore walked in.
"I take it that you are all ready to leave?" he asked walking up to the group. They nodded their heads. "The train will be here in about five minutes."
"How long is the trip?" Ron asked.
"About an hour and a half," Stacy answered.
"An hour and a half?!" Ron exclaimed. "The Hogwarts Express takes long to get from Kings Cross to here. Come can it only take an hour and a half?"
"We're not going to Kings Cross, Ron," Stacy answered. "The house is closer to here than you think. The train will stop near the house."
"The train's here," Professor McGonagall announced upon walking into the room.
"Do you have everything dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked Ron.
Ron glared at her. "That's the hundredth time you asked me!"
"What ever he doesn't have, we'll have back at the house," Stacy said. "There shouldn't be a problem."
They said their good byes before picking up their bags and heading out the main doors and down to the lake where they used the carriages to do across the lake as they do on September first. The train was waiting at the other end. It was a lot smaller than it usually was at the beginning and end of the year. They all boarded the train and took their seats while the train started to move.
"You're going to have tons of fun," Liz said excited.
"We should go shopping again," Caroline mentioned.
"No!" shouted Sirius, Remus, Jake, and Matt. They remembered the last time they went shopping for their costumes. It wasn't the most exciting trip ever.
"I can't wait t get back into the muggle world," Ashley said looking out the window.
"It's in the muggle world?" Hermione asked.
"No, but we can get there from the house," Ashley said.
"It's crazy though," Harry said remembering the first time he was transported to the House of the Gifted. It was in a room of the teen canter that acted just like a portkey.
"I can't wait to see it either," Remus said. He didn't stay over the summer. They talked more and played games like Exploding Snap until Stacy announced that they would be there in a few minutes.
"Get your things ready," she announced as she grabbed her own bag. Harry grabbed his before turning back to the window.
"We're here!" he announced as he saw the forest around the house clear to show a huge lake.
"A lake?" Ron asked looking out of the window.
"This is one end. The house is on the other end. This is a main track. The train has to switch tracks in order to get to our stop. The lake is here so others can't see the house," Harry explained.
"Don't muggles use this track?" Hermione asked. "They would be able to see things like magic if the did."
"This track is used by muggles but the house is so far away that they wouldn't be able to see anything." The trees reappeared hiding the lake. They felt a big bump as the train switched tracks.
"Welcome to the House of the Gifted," Ashley announced as the trees cleared. They could see the house clearly and it didn't change a bit. The train came to a halt as they got off.
"This is amazing!" Hermione exclaimed looking up at the house. Ron and Remus were looking too.
"Let's get inside so I can show you your rooms, classrooms and other essential places," Stacy before they walked up to the mansion. They opened the front doors and walked in.
"This is where you live?" Hermione asked looking around at everything. Harry nodded. They headed up the stairs. Harry noticed Hermione looking down at the stairs in question.
"They don't move," He said. Hermione looked up at his surprised that he knew what she was thinking. She was about to ask if he could read minds until Harry already answered. "No I can't read your mind. I just knew what you were going to ask because I wondered the same thing." Hermione closed the mouth as they reached the top.
"All of the bedrooms are up here," Stacy said. "The first few are guest rooms." They stopped in front of the first door. She opened the door. Inside, the walls were painted a dark red. It had a desk, bed, dresser, mirror, and bookcase inside.
"I'll take this one," Remus suggested looking around. He put his bags down in the room before stepping out and following the group as the walked over to the next room. Inside, the walls were painted light purple. It had the same furniture.
"I'll take this one!" Hermione exclaimed.
Stacy smiled. "I figured that. On the bookcase should be books that aren't in the school library that are interesting and could be helpful for your O.W.L 's," she said. Hermione put her trunk down in the room.
"The next room is Ron's and it's right next to Sirius I believe," Stacy said as they moved on. The next room was painted orange, which made Ron, Harry and Hermione laugh. It was the same color as his room at the Burrow. The bookcase was also filled with books.
"Those books are on things more pertaining to you," Stacy stated as Ron was looking at the funny.
"Can we see the other rooms?" Hermione asked.
"We have to drop off our stuff anyway," Jake said holding up his bag.
"You can show them your rooms," Stacy said. "I'm going to go down to the office to check on things." She headed the other direction, right down the stairs.
"We'll," Sirius said looking down at the group. "Here's my room." He opened the next door. It said his name at the top. Inside was a much fuller room. It had a lot more stuff only it had the same furniture. It looked homier than the guestrooms. There was stuff thrown around the room. "Just like I left it," Sirius commented.
"Next is my room," Jake said pointing to the door across the hall. Sirius closed the door to his room as the group walked across the hall. Wait till you see this," Jake said before opening the door. Hermione and Ron's mouths dropped.
"This is your room?" Hermione asked. She looked around the room. It looked like it was in the middle of the forest. Trees and plants were all over. His bed looked like it was suspended on branches. Off to one end was a hammock.
"This is it," Jake said dropping his bag on his bed.
"Where's the walls?" Ron asked looking around.
"It doesn't have any," Jake answered. Ron and Hermione looked at him.
"This goes on forever?" Hermione asked.
"None of our rooms have walls," Liz said shrugging.
"But- How?" Hermione asked.
"Magic," Caroline said simply.
"My room next!" Matt said. "It's right next door." They walked out of the room and into the room. The rest of the rooms were like Jake's with no walls. They saw Matt's water room with waves going through out the room. Liz room was next. Her room was on an ice rink. Icicles were hanging from the ceiling but amazingly, the room wasn't cold. Caroline's fire room was next. Flames engulfed the room but, like Liz's, the room wasn't hot. Hermione and Ron wouldn't enter Ashley's room in the fear of falling. They were most interested in Harry's room. He explained about his room before they were shown the classrooms, library, Quidditch pitch and the eating quarters.
"What do you want to do now?" Jake asked. Remus and Sirius had joined Stacy in the office.
"What is there to do?" Matt asked. They were sitting in Matt's room. Matt was lying on his bed tossing a basketball up in the air and catching as it came back down.
"We still need to show Ron and Hermione all the sites," Liz said. She was sitting on the windowsill looking out.
"What is there still to see?" Hermione asked. She was admiring the room and kept walking to the sides with her hand out trying to see if there was an invisible wall. A few times she got far and the others had to call her back before she got too far.
"You're getting far again," Harry said with Ashley sitting on his lap. Hermione turned around and headed back to the group.
"We could play a game," Caroline suggested. Matt stopped tossing up the ball.
"A game?" he asked.
"That's it!" Ashley exclaimed. "We could show them the center."
"And they can get clobbered by another group of teens at basketball," Caroline added with a smirk.
"Wardrobe change!" Ashley exclaimed. She got off of Harry's lab and stood in front of the group. She held her hands out elegantly and snapped one of her fingers. Ron and Hermione gasped as he clothes changed to a pair of black pants and a light blue tank top.
"How did you do that?" Ron asked.
"Maybe we should mention something else," Matt said sitting up. "In the rooms, just snap your fingers and think about what you want to wear. That only works in these rooms for you though. We can use it anywhere because we can do wandless magic."
Hermione smiled before snapping her fingers. Her robes changed to a pair of jeans and an orange short sleeve shirt. "It worked!" she exclaimed looking down at her clothes. Ron changed into a pair of khaki pants and a red shirt.
"Cool," he remarked. The rest changed their clothes before they headed out of the room and downstairs. Quickly telling Stacy that they were leaving, they headed out the door and headed to the spot that Harry remembered appearing after he was transported by the portkey for the first time from the center. Once they reached the spot, Jake said where they wanted to go and to Hermione and Ron's surprise, they're feet lifted off of the ground as the world spun around. They landed in an abandoned classroom.
"Where are we?" Ron asked looking around.
"The teen center," Matt answered as he headed over to the classroom door to open it. It didn't open. "Why did they lock it?" he asked as he muttered a spell as the door unlocked. They all headed out through the door and through the halls to finally exit the building.
"A court's open!" Jake exclaimed before making sure no one was looking while he called a basketball to him. "Who's in for a game?" he asked.
"I'm in," Matt said immediately as Jake passed him the ball.
"I'm in," Harry said.
"I'm not," Caroline said. She, Liz and Ashley were going to sit on the side. Hermione was going to join them as Ron was going to be taught how to play the game.
Jake, Matt and Harry were teaching Ron basic throws and how to shoot a hoop. They then moved on to game plans. Ron was getting better and better.
"Look who's here, boys. A sad excuse for a team, " a voice called from behind the group. The boys and girls spun around to see five teenage boys looking at them. Harry looked at them. He recognized one of them who used to bully him when he was in Muggle School. They didn't seem as if they recognized Harry.
"You're playing on our court," the tallest one said.
"So what?" Jake asked holding out his arms.
"This is our court. We play here. Get off," he said walking right up to the group. He was the same height at Jake.
"We were here first," Jake said angrily. Caroline, Liz and Ashley looked at the group with anger.
"We want to play. Get off," the teenager said pushing Jake in the chest. Harry and Matt grabbed Jake's arms to hold him from attacking back just incase he tried to.
"We're not moving," Matt said. Next to him, Ron looked at the group confused but anger replaced it as he saw Jake get pushed.
"Then we challenge you to a game," the leader said looking at Matt.
"Then we accept," Jake said. At the corner of his eye, he saw Sirius, Remus, and Stacy walk over to the girls. They had just arrived. Stacy was ready to approach the boys but Harry gave her a slight shake of his head. They could handle this. Stacy stopped but looked at them.
"My name is Mark," the leader said. "This is Chris, Alex, Dan, and Tom," the leader said pointing to his teammates.
"I'm Jake, and this is Matt, Harry, and Ron," Jake said never taking his eyes off of Mark. Harry saw Chris' eyes look at him as if he recognized him. Harry gave him a smirk.
"Looks like this will be easy," Mark said to his group as he laughed. "They can never beat us and they're a player short." A second later, Harry felt arms wrap around his waist and a head rest on his shoulder.
"I'm Ashley and now we're even," Ashley said still wrapped around Harry. She had put her hair up in a ponytail. This made the other group laugh harder.
"A girl? Is that all you have?" the leader said through gasps of air.
"Then play us if you're so sure," Ashley said coldly. The group stopped laughing.
"Fine, let's go. If we win, you leave. If you win, not like you will, but if you win, you stay," Mark said. Jake nodded in agreement. The other group took the ball and headed towards the other end of the court.
"What's going on?" Ron asked.
"We're going to play a game," Matt answered. They formed a circle.
"Are you sure you want to play?" Harry asked Ashley who let go of him.
"Oh, quite sure," she answered smiling.
"Ok, this is our first game in a while," Jake noted glancing at the other group who were talking to themselves.
"I can't play a game!" Ron exclaimed. "I just learned how to play!"
"Are you sure that you're up to this?" Liz asked as she, Caroline and Hermione walked up and joined them in their circle.
"Pretty sure," Jake said.
"I can't play," Ron said looking at the other group.
"You'll be fine," Hermione said although she looked unsure.
"Yea," Matt said. "If you feel during the game that you really can't play, tag either Caroline, Liz or Hermione to play in your place."
"I can't play," Hermione said. "I don't know the rules."
"I can't play either," Caroline said. "I'm not wearing the right clothes." They glared at her.
"I'll play," Liz said. "You can do it Ron."
"Are you wimps ready or not?" Mark asked as his team took to the court.
"Good luck guys," Liz said as she, Caroline and Hermione walked back to their spots on the sides. Harry glanced at Sirius. He looked confused as he and Remus kept asking questions.
"Let's do it," Jake said. He reminded Harry or Oliver Wood who gave the pep talks right before a Quidditch game. Jake turned to Ron. "Ron, just do what you learned so far. You'll learn new things as the game goes on. Matt, let's just play as we usually did. Harry, you know what to do. Use those seeker skills. Ashley, I think it might be wise for you to defend the hoop. You are a keeper after all. If you can't do it or are needed in the court, go where you're needed. We can all try to defend the net if it's in our court. Let's do it." The team broke as they walked to face their opponent who was already ready.
"Matt, you check," Jake said before taking his place where Matt could pass to him. Harry stood on the opposite side. Ashley stood by the net. Ron was standing behind Tom. Tom was checking with Matt.
"Your team can start," Tom said as he gave Matt the ball. Matt looked at his team to be sure they were ready before passing to Tom who checked his team before passing it back to Matt. The game began.
Matt immediately passed to Jake but the ball was blocked and taken over by Alex. Alex raced over to the net as he dribbled. Harry stayed where he was. It was useless for them all to be over there. Alex went to shoot but it missed the net. Ashley grabbed the ball from under the net and tossed it to Harry who was free. Harry caught it and started dribbling to the other net.
"Wolf, I'm open!" called Jake on his other side. Dan was trying to get the ball away from Harry so he passed it to Jake who caught it and made a shot. The ball went in the hoop.
"Yes!" he exclaimed. He high fived his teammates before they took their spots again.
"Beginners luck," Chris said shooting Harry a disgusted look. Harry just smiled back. They took their positions again as the next check was completed and the ball was passed around. Alex tried to make a shot but it was blocked again by Ashley, who tried to throw it to Ron, but Dan came by and caught it. Dan passed it to Chris who tried for the shot. Ashley tried to block it but it went in.
"Tie," Ron announced disappointed.
"Don't worry," Harry said keeping his eye on Chris who kept looking at him strangely. "This is only the beginning."
The next check was completed and the ball was dribbled around. Matt passed it to Jake who dribbled to the net to make a shot. He couldn't get a clear shot so he passed it to Harry. Harry took it and dribbled over to his own net. The other group followed him. He quickly passed it over their heads at Jake who was still by the basket. He shot and it went in easily.
"Nothing like using Quidditch skills in a muggle game huh?" Ashley said as Harry approached her.
"All we need are brooms," Harry said before walking to another spot. He was ready to grab the ball as Ron and Mark checked. The ball was going to the other team. Mark passed it to Alex as soon as the check was over. Alex dribbled around towards the net. Jake was right behind him trying to get the ball. Ron was trying to cover Dan. Matt was running around, keeping his eye on Mark. Tom was running with Alex. Chris was watching Harry's every move. Harry focused on getting the ball away from Chris if the ball went his way. Harry saw Ashley watching the ball and getting ready to move where she needed to go.
Alex threw the ball up to make a shot but it hit the rim and bounced back to Tom who tossed it to Dan but it was caught by Ron who passed it to Matt. Matt grabbed the ball and dribbled to the hoop while trying to keep it away from Mark who was right behind him. Matt shot the ball but it missed. Jake was right under the net. He caught the ball and threw it back up making a score.
"Three to one," Ron said excited.
"See?" Harry asked. "You can play."
"This is a lot different than Quidditch," he said but moved away quickly as the ball was back in the game.
The ball was in Tom's hands. As he dribbled around. Jake went racing after Tom to try to grab the ball but it was passed to Mark. Matt tried to grab it but Mark was able to catch it over his head. Mark ran the other direction to loose Matt but he was right on his tail. Mark quickly threw it to Alex who made a shot and scored.
"These little twerps don't know who they're playing against," Chris said laughing. He shot a glance at Harry again.
"Yea, we didn't think you were this terrible," Matt said back shaking his head.
"We'll see who's terrible!" Tom yelled as he threw the ball hard, right at Matt's head. Matt ducked as the ball flew passed. Ashley caught it and walked over.
"Are you bullies ready to play or do you admit your defeat?" she asked.
"We're not done yet," Chris said looking at her angrily.
"Let's play and clobber them," Mark said. Ashley passed the ball to Jake who checked it. Jake passed to Harry who threw it to Matt. Matt went to shoot but was shoved aside by Mark. Matt's shot was way off. Mark grabbed the ball and ran to the net and made a shot.
"That's not fair!" Ashley exclaimed. "You cheated!"
"So what? It's all fair," Mark said looking down at Ashley. He shoved her into the pole from the hoop.
"Play fair," she said angrily.
"I never play fair," he said as picked her up by her shirt.
"Leave her alone!" Harry yelled as he approached them.
"Where do you think you're going?" Chris said as he stepped in front of Harry.
"Getting him off of Ashley!" Harry yelled as he tried to step around Chris. Chris stepped in front of him again.
"Don't get me mad because no one ever escapes me," he said angrily. Harry saw out of the corner of his eyes that Tom, Dan and Alex were preventing Ron, Jake and Matt from getting through.
"Yea? Well guess what? I always escaped you! You never could catch me!" he yelled remembering when he went to Muggle School. Harry was bullied around by a lot of people but most couldn't catch him because of his small size. Not many people were able to escape the bullies.
Chris' eyes widened as he remembered where he saw Harry. "Potter," he said angrily.
"Now leave us alone!" Harry yelled as he tried to get around.
"You'll never escape me again!" Chris yelled as he went to hit Harry. Harry ducked as the punch went harmlessly by.
"Leave them alone!" Stacy yelled as she walked onto the court.
Harry took the time that they were distracted to run up to the back of Mark and do something he hadn't done in a while. He jumped right on his back. "Let her go!" Harry yelled as he hung on with his arm around his neck.
Mark moved around to get Harry off of his neck. Mark swung around and Harry flew off and onto the floor. Mark grabbed Ashley again by the shirt, pulled her over to the fence. He then pulled her up so her face was even with his. She stared at him angrily. He looked at her as well until Ashley spit in his face.
"Bloody girl!" he screamed trying to wipe the spit out of his eyes. When he could see, he pushed Ashley painfully against the fence.
"Let her go!" Stacy yelled approaching them. Harry stood up and went to jump on Mark again but was pushed aside by another person. Chris still didn't give up on Harry.
"About to jump on Mark huh?" he asked as he looked down on Harry. Harry moved to trip Chris but Chris moved to step on Harry's stomach faster. He was crushing his stomach.
"You sure changed a lot, Potter," Chris said. "But you came back. I knew something was strange about you. You might've changed a lot but I can still kick your butt."
"Oh really?" Harry asked trying to move form under the foot on his stomach. It was getting painful now. "You can't kick my butt even with your goons to help you."
"We should see about that," Chris said as he moved his foot from Harry's stomach to his throat. Harry choked.
"Leave them alone!" Jake yelled as he, Matt and Ron took a leaf out of Harry's book and jumped on Tom, Dan, and Alex. When they were to the floor, Jake ran to Mark as Ron and Matt ran to help Harry. Caroline, Hermione, Liz, Sirius and Remus had gotten through the gate and onto the court. Caroline, Liz and Remus ran to help Ashley as Sirius, went to Harry. Stacy went to the rest of the group who were knocked to the floor as Ron, Matt and Jake jumped on them.
"Get off of him!" Sirius yelled as he ran top Harry's side. Harry's throat was still being crushed. Sirius shoved Chris to the floor and took out his wand. Sirius pointed it at Chris, who, looked at it in fear.
"Sirius," Harry choked out as he sat up holding his throat and coughing. "Don't. They aren't like us. Stop." Sirius thought for a moment before putting his wand away and bending down to help Harry up who was still coughing.
"Is he okay?" Remus asked running up to them.
"I think so," Sirius answered as he waited until Harry stopped coughing. "How's Ashley?"
"She has marks on her throat as well but I think she's okay, just scared." Remus answered. Harry fell to his knees. He chest hurt and his throat hurt. Chris was a lot heavier than he was and it didn't take much effort to crush Harry.
"They were playing basketball when it got out of hand," they heard Stacy explain. They turned to see her talking to some police officers that were most likely called by a bystander after the fight broke out. "One of them grabbed Ashley. When Harry tried to help, he was hurt." She kept on explaining what had happened.
"How is he?" a woman asked walking up to them. She looked like a nurse.
"I don't know," Sirius asked looking at her cautiously.
"My name is Julie Kilmer," she said when she came up to them. "I'm the nurse here at the center." She bent down to Harry and felt around his neck. "His neck was crushed alright," she said. "Not a lot but enough to have damage. He should be all right. Nothing's broken." She reached into her bag and pulled out a small bottle of a liquid and secretly passed it to Remus who took it. "Give him this and it'll help fast." She walked over to the other group after giving them a wink. Remus looked down at the bottle.
"What is it?" Sirius asked as knelt down towards Harry who had stopped coughing.
Remus opened the bottle and smelt it. "I think it's a healing potion."
Sirius' eyebrows rose. "Do you think that it's safe to give it to him?" he asked. Remus looked around for Stacy who was still talking to the officers. One of the officers came over to them. Remus quickly hid the bottle.
"Is he one of the attackers?" he asked pointing down at Chris who was too scared of Sirius to move. They nodded and the officer grabbed Chris.
"This is one crazy Saturday," Hermione said walking up to them. She knelt down next to Harry and rubbed his back as she talked quietly to him.
"How is he?" Stacy asked walking over. She looked stressed out.
"Fine I think," Sirius answered looking down at his godson in concern who was looking down at the ground with a hand on his chest.
"Do you know what this is?" Remus asked handing Stacy the bottle Julie had given them. Stacy took it and smelled it.
"It's a basic healing potion," she said. "Who did you get it from?"
"The nurse here," Sirius answered.
"The nurse is a witch?" Hermione asked.
"Yea. Many witches and wizards work in Muggle Hospitals and places where there are a lot of people just incase they see another witch or wizard," Stacy answered. She handed Remus back the bottle. "You can give it to him. I'm going to check up on the other group. I can't believe this happened." She walked away.
"Are all games like this?" Ron asked as he walked over.
"No," Harry said. His voice sounded strained. "This is the first."
"Don't talk," Hermione ordered. Harry saluted her. She laughed.
"Drink this," Remus said handing Sirius the bottle who handed it to Harry. Harry took it and drank it slowly. It was painful.
"I am never playing baseball again," Ron announced. Harry looked up at him and smiled. They could see they marks on his neck
"It's basketball, Ron," he said. His voice sounded less strained.
"Basketball, baseball, it's the same thing," Ron said waving his hands around. Hermione and Harry laughed.
"No laughing!" Hermione said through laughs. "You'll hurt yourself more!"
"I can't help it!" Harry responded. The mark on his neck disappeared.
"What's so funny?" Jake asked as he walked over. Behind him, everyone else was also walking over. Ashley was drinking an identical potion that Harry had had. She was walking over. Harry saw finger marks on her neck. Harry stood. Sirius went to grab him if he needed help.
"Just something stupid that Ron said," Hermione answered Jake.
"I'd hate to ask what it was," Jake said. Ashley's marks had begun to go away as she walked over to Harry and put her arms around him. She started to cry. Harry held her close as she cried into his shoulder.
"Don't cry," he said rocking her back and forth.
"I was so scared," she said into his shoulder.
"So was I," Harry said after a slight pause.
"I hate bullies," she remarked. Her crying coming to an end.
"You become used to it after a while," Harry responded with a shrug. She laughed a little.
"It must've been horrible," she remarked.
"Nothing as bad as what just happened. They couldn't catch me. I guess I wasn't as fast," Harry admitted.
"You were fast. Just not on the floor," she said.
"I think it's time to go home," Stacy said. "You two should get some rest. Sometimes healing potions make you tired or give you headaches as side effects."
"Yea come on," Liz said. "You two can get a rest and then we'll go out in the muggle world for dinner later on."
"And maybe do some shopping," Caroline said. The boys glared at her. "We'll you don't have to go then!"
"Let's go," Stacy said. Ashley took her head off of Harry's shoulder. Harry kept her close as they made their way back into the building and into the old classroom before being transported back home. They made their way into the house. Not wanting to be alone, Harry and Ashley walked into a room with couches and fell asleep in each other's arms.
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This is sorta cheesy huh? I had nothing else to write. I wanted to make it so Ashley didn't seem like a Mary Sue. Just until a couple of days ago, I didn't know what a Mary sue was. Just to say, I don't want any of my characters to be a Mary Sue so don't worry. Thanks to my reviewers! You are the best!!!!! Keep reviewing. I just finished this so I didn't proofread the last part so forgive me! I wanted to get this out as soon as possible!