Starting Over
The Gryffindor Common Room was bustling with very loud Muggle music, as Harry entered quietly. An animated red and gold banner, which read "Congratulations Graduating Class" and featured a rather loud roaring lion hung on the wall. Half eaten Weasley-Wizard-Wheezes treats were lying about everywhere, couples were dancing in the center of the room, and groups of teenagers were huddled in different corners talking, gushing, hugging, and crying.
As soon as he entered, Harry spotted Ron and Hermione conversing excitedly with Ginny and Seamus Finnigan in the far right corner of the room. He crossed the room quickly to join his friends.
"Look what the Cornish Pixie dragged in!" Seamus exclaimed as soon as Harry arrived.
"Hey Harry, where've you been?" Ginny asked beaming.
"Oh, I had a loose end to tie up" answered Harry and quickly added, "So what did I miss?"
"Mate, it was hilarious! Dean convinced Neville to try one of the new Weasley-Wizard-Wheezes Toadish Turkish Delights and he's been croaking and leaping around for the past half hour!"
Seamus burst out laughing, clutching his stomach and snorting butterbeer through his nose.
Hermione rolled her eyes in disgust at Seamus' antics and continued,
"We've been talking about our plans for the future, Harry. It seems some of us aren't quite certain we've made the right choice".
"Not sure about becoming an Auror anymore?" Harry directed his question at Ron.
"Oy, not me, mate" Ron replied quickly. "Seems 'Mione here is torn about which University to choose".
"Um, I thought you'd already decided" Harry turned to face his friend. "You said Cambridge had the best Wizard-Muggle Relations program in the country!"
Hermione's expression grew somber and she squirmed slightly before answering,
"It is, but I'm not sure about being so far away from you guys. I mean, if I'm living in Cambridge, chances are we won't get to see one another all that often. Apparating back and forth from Cambridge to London isn't something I'll be able to do on a daily basis".
Harry and Ron exchanged a meaningful glance before Ron spoke up,
"And as I've tried explaining, we would be just as happy to visit her in Cambridge or to meet her halfway. It's not the end of the world 'Mione, and you know you want to study there!"
"You know he's right" Harry added in a serious tone. "You can't change your plans for fear of losing us. It's not as if that would ever happen, anyway. Ron and I promise to do whatever we can to ensure that our friendship remains just as strong as it has always been, as long as you promise not to give up on your dream".
Hermione's eyes welled up with tears and she drew her friends into a tight embrace,
"I guess I'm just being a silly emotional girl! Thanks guys. You're the best!"
Ginny and Seamus had meandered off by then, so the Trio was left alone.
"What about you, Harry?" Hermione asked with a glint of concern in her eye. "Have you made any decisions about your future?"
Harry cringed at the thought of sharing his decision with his friends, fearing they might not quite see things the way he does, or possibly think he'd gone completely bonkers.
"I'm not going to University, for now" he said, while shuffling his feet nervously. "I'm going to take some time off and stay at Grimmauld Place. Try to figure things out, get my head together."
"What about the Quidditch offers?" Ron asked.
"Nah, Quidditch is a hobby, not a profession. Besides, I need some time to think things through. I feel I'm at a fork in the road, what with Voldemort being gone and my so-called destiny having been fulfilled. I need to re- evaluate some things before I decide which direction to take in life".
The three stood in silence for a moment, before Harry felt Hermione's hand gently lacing through his own, as she said,
"I think that's a wise decision, Harry."
Ron nodded at him encouragingly and added
"Merlin knows you deserve some time off, after playing hide-and-seek with You-Know-Who for the past seven years".
At that moment Harry let out a relieved breath he didn't know he'd been holding in. His friends' reaction to this decision had been worrying him for weeks. He thought they might be disappointed by his wish to allow himself a period of grace before choosing which path to pursue.
Encouraged by his friends' acceptance, he ventured further and told them of his desire to befriend their former Potions Master.
"I've learned to see him for what he truly is, over the past few months" Harry explained. "He's a brave man who was dragged into a bad situation and did what had to do in order to survive. He reminds me a lot of myself, actually"
At hearing his friend's last sentence Ron cringed and said with great dismay,
"Far from it, Harry. Snape is a mean, bitter man who shows no mercy or kindness to innocent students. How on earth can you even compare the two of you?"
"I think", Hermione interjected, "that what Harry means is that both he and Professor Snape had to play a part that was far from their true nature, in order to survive the war. They were forced into these artificial roles not only for their own survival, but for that of the entire Wizarding world".
Harry gave the clever girl a grateful smile. He knew Hermione would see things logically.
"Look mate, I'm not saying he's Mr. Nice Guy. I haven't forgotten all the times he'd gone out of his way to embarrass me over the years. It's just that I now realize that was just a front; a mask he was wearing to cover up his role as a spy for the Light.
I guess I'm drawn to him for some reason.
You don't have to understand it, Ron, just try to accept my decision."
Ron was about to retort when he caught Hermione's meaningful glare, which quite obviously meant "leave him be"! Ron shrugged, turned to face Harry and muttered "Alright Harry, if that's the way you want it. I just hope the greasy git doesn't end up hurting you".
Now that he'd finally told his best friends the secrets he'd been holding in for weeks, Harry decided it was time for them to loosen up and party with the rest of their housemates.
He offered Ron and 'Mione his most dazzling smile and asked if they'd like to join him on the dance floor, for old times sake.
The three made their way to the center of the room and joined their friends in the festivities, which lasted until the early hours of the morning.
TBC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~
Please review! I'd love any kind of feedback.
The Gryffindor Common Room was bustling with very loud Muggle music, as Harry entered quietly. An animated red and gold banner, which read "Congratulations Graduating Class" and featured a rather loud roaring lion hung on the wall. Half eaten Weasley-Wizard-Wheezes treats were lying about everywhere, couples were dancing in the center of the room, and groups of teenagers were huddled in different corners talking, gushing, hugging, and crying.
As soon as he entered, Harry spotted Ron and Hermione conversing excitedly with Ginny and Seamus Finnigan in the far right corner of the room. He crossed the room quickly to join his friends.
"Look what the Cornish Pixie dragged in!" Seamus exclaimed as soon as Harry arrived.
"Hey Harry, where've you been?" Ginny asked beaming.
"Oh, I had a loose end to tie up" answered Harry and quickly added, "So what did I miss?"
"Mate, it was hilarious! Dean convinced Neville to try one of the new Weasley-Wizard-Wheezes Toadish Turkish Delights and he's been croaking and leaping around for the past half hour!"
Seamus burst out laughing, clutching his stomach and snorting butterbeer through his nose.
Hermione rolled her eyes in disgust at Seamus' antics and continued,
"We've been talking about our plans for the future, Harry. It seems some of us aren't quite certain we've made the right choice".
"Not sure about becoming an Auror anymore?" Harry directed his question at Ron.
"Oy, not me, mate" Ron replied quickly. "Seems 'Mione here is torn about which University to choose".
"Um, I thought you'd already decided" Harry turned to face his friend. "You said Cambridge had the best Wizard-Muggle Relations program in the country!"
Hermione's expression grew somber and she squirmed slightly before answering,
"It is, but I'm not sure about being so far away from you guys. I mean, if I'm living in Cambridge, chances are we won't get to see one another all that often. Apparating back and forth from Cambridge to London isn't something I'll be able to do on a daily basis".
Harry and Ron exchanged a meaningful glance before Ron spoke up,
"And as I've tried explaining, we would be just as happy to visit her in Cambridge or to meet her halfway. It's not the end of the world 'Mione, and you know you want to study there!"
"You know he's right" Harry added in a serious tone. "You can't change your plans for fear of losing us. It's not as if that would ever happen, anyway. Ron and I promise to do whatever we can to ensure that our friendship remains just as strong as it has always been, as long as you promise not to give up on your dream".
Hermione's eyes welled up with tears and she drew her friends into a tight embrace,
"I guess I'm just being a silly emotional girl! Thanks guys. You're the best!"
Ginny and Seamus had meandered off by then, so the Trio was left alone.
"What about you, Harry?" Hermione asked with a glint of concern in her eye. "Have you made any decisions about your future?"
Harry cringed at the thought of sharing his decision with his friends, fearing they might not quite see things the way he does, or possibly think he'd gone completely bonkers.
"I'm not going to University, for now" he said, while shuffling his feet nervously. "I'm going to take some time off and stay at Grimmauld Place. Try to figure things out, get my head together."
"What about the Quidditch offers?" Ron asked.
"Nah, Quidditch is a hobby, not a profession. Besides, I need some time to think things through. I feel I'm at a fork in the road, what with Voldemort being gone and my so-called destiny having been fulfilled. I need to re- evaluate some things before I decide which direction to take in life".
The three stood in silence for a moment, before Harry felt Hermione's hand gently lacing through his own, as she said,
"I think that's a wise decision, Harry."
Ron nodded at him encouragingly and added
"Merlin knows you deserve some time off, after playing hide-and-seek with You-Know-Who for the past seven years".
At that moment Harry let out a relieved breath he didn't know he'd been holding in. His friends' reaction to this decision had been worrying him for weeks. He thought they might be disappointed by his wish to allow himself a period of grace before choosing which path to pursue.
Encouraged by his friends' acceptance, he ventured further and told them of his desire to befriend their former Potions Master.
"I've learned to see him for what he truly is, over the past few months" Harry explained. "He's a brave man who was dragged into a bad situation and did what had to do in order to survive. He reminds me a lot of myself, actually"
At hearing his friend's last sentence Ron cringed and said with great dismay,
"Far from it, Harry. Snape is a mean, bitter man who shows no mercy or kindness to innocent students. How on earth can you even compare the two of you?"
"I think", Hermione interjected, "that what Harry means is that both he and Professor Snape had to play a part that was far from their true nature, in order to survive the war. They were forced into these artificial roles not only for their own survival, but for that of the entire Wizarding world".
Harry gave the clever girl a grateful smile. He knew Hermione would see things logically.
"Look mate, I'm not saying he's Mr. Nice Guy. I haven't forgotten all the times he'd gone out of his way to embarrass me over the years. It's just that I now realize that was just a front; a mask he was wearing to cover up his role as a spy for the Light.
I guess I'm drawn to him for some reason.
You don't have to understand it, Ron, just try to accept my decision."
Ron was about to retort when he caught Hermione's meaningful glare, which quite obviously meant "leave him be"! Ron shrugged, turned to face Harry and muttered "Alright Harry, if that's the way you want it. I just hope the greasy git doesn't end up hurting you".
Now that he'd finally told his best friends the secrets he'd been holding in for weeks, Harry decided it was time for them to loosen up and party with the rest of their housemates.
He offered Ron and 'Mione his most dazzling smile and asked if they'd like to join him on the dance floor, for old times sake.
The three made their way to the center of the room and joined their friends in the festivities, which lasted until the early hours of the morning.
TBC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~
Please review! I'd love any kind of feedback.
