CHAPTER 4
Two hours later, Nathaniel and Harry had been settled in and Nathaniel had been given a tour of the school and the grounds. Nathaniel seemed really interested in the forbidden forest, wanting to enter and explore it. Hermione had objected though and they were now back in their common room.
"Well, it's good to be back." Said Harry as he slumped into an armchair.
"Well, it's good to have you back, Harry." Said Hermione.
Ron and Hermione sat down on a two-seated armchair close to each other, but immediately, they moved to the sides, farthest from each other looking nervous. Harry raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask. He studies his friends carefully, noting the changes.
Ron had grown again. His face wasn't round anymore. His jaw was more pronounced. Harry's best friend was growing to become a very handsome man. He was looking more like Bill with every passing day. Ron had developed some muscles which meant he had been training for Quidditch. Harry was glad. Although, he wouldn't admit it in front of someone, Ron hadn't been the best keeper. Harry only hoped he had improved.
Hermione had grown too. Her hair wasn't as bushy as before and she had definitely developed some curves. Harry shook his head to clear it. Hermione was his best friend, he wasn't allowed to think like that.
Harry then realized he was the only one among the four of them that wasn't the least bit attractive. He was still the skinny, glass-wearing boy he had ever been. Hermione was growing more beautiful by the days, Ron was heading straight for top ten of the most handsome Gryffindor male and Nathaniel. Well, Nathaniel didn't even need an explanation. With his bright purple eyes, sandy-blond hair, tanned skin and showing muscles, he would quickly become secret crush of many girls. With a sigh, Harry closed his eyes and tried to forget about his pitiful physical state.
Nathaniel who had laid down on a three-seated armchair looked at Harry then at his two best-friends with confusion.
"What do we do now ? We're not standing here all day right ?"
"We could head for the library and start preparing a study program ?" suggested Hermione.
"No way. I don't want to start the school year early. Besides, I have Occlumency lessons to worry about."
"Hey, I know what we could do." Said Nathaniel as he jumped from his place and ran to the dormitories.
He came back after a minute with a book in his hand which he threw to Harry. The other boy caught it and read the title.
"Wicked ! Where did you get that ?" asked Harry wide-eyed.
"From Mathias. He gave it to me before we left. You know how he is. Always helping us break the rules."
"What is it ?" asked Ron, curious.
"How do become an animagus in half the normal time"
"This is great. We're going to become animagus."
"Just like my father was." Added Harry looking at book with a dreamy look on his face.
"I suggest we keep it a secret from the order and the teachers."
"I'm in." replied immediately Harry.
"Me too." Added Hermione with a determined look.
"You are ? Hermione, you realize we're breaking law by doing this ?" asked Harry incredulous.
"Yes, of course, I know. When do we start ?"
Harry couldn't believe it. He was sure Hermione would have objected to the project from the start.
"How about now ?"
"Let's go." Said Hermione.
"Guys, I'm not sure about this. I mean if we get caught by the Ministry..."
Now, Harry was even more confused. Ron was the one objecting to the project. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Had Hermione and him changed bodies ?
"Don't worry, Ron. We'll be careful."
"If you're sure." Said Ron.
With that, the teens started. They decided to duplicate the book so that everyone of them could read. The book wasn't long. It would take them less than three days to read it completely if they read as much as possible. They decide that in three days, everyone had to have finished the book. Of course, by the next morning, Hermione had already finished the book (Harry was glad that that side of her hadn't change). So, while the boys finished reading, she headed to the library to find more documentation to help them. She had browsed through six or seven books and memorized their content by the end of the second day. By noon on the second day, Harry and Nathaniel had joined her in the library while Ron finished. They found some interesting books about animagi in the restricted section that Harry visited with his invisibility cloak.
When Harry woke up the morning of the third day, he found Nathaniel sleeping quietly in his bed, but Ron's was empty. Checking the time, Harry frowned. The sun had just risen and there was no way Ron would already be up. He usually was the one who overslept. Harry dressed before exiting the room. Looking down into the common room, he witnessed a sight that took the breath out of him.
Ron and Hermione were cuddled together on the loveseat. They were kissing, unaware of Harry's presence. When the two broke apart, Ron said:
"I missed that." Said Ron with a smile.
"Ron, it's only been three days since Harry returned and we were together all summer." Remarked Hermione.
"Yeah, but three days is too long."
With that, the two resumed their making-out session. Harry was stunned. His best friends had been going out with each other for a month now and they hadn't even told him. All the letters they had sent, all the lies about Hermione being with her parents. Harry couldn't believe they had lied to him.
"Hey, why is everyone up already ?" complained Nathaniel as he exited the dormitories having woken up and dressed.
Ron and Hermione broke apart and looked toward the door. They immediately saw Harry and by the looks of him, he had seen everything. He had an expression of anger, betrayal and sadness on his face.
"Harry, we-"started Hermione, uncertainly, but was interrupted by Harry.
He took the stairs down to the common room and went straight for the exit door without looking at his best friends. When the door closed behind him, Hermione and Ron looked at each other before running after him. Nathaniel who had also seen them kiss wondered what was going on and followed.
The two lovers only managed to catch Harry as he entered the Great Hall. Neither of the three noticed that all the professors were there along with Moody, Remus, Tonks, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, Dumbledore and Bill and Charlie Weasley.
"Harry, let us explain." Tried Ron.
"NO, THERE IS NOTHING TO EXPLAIN."
"Yes, there is. If you only let us talk. We were afraid you would feel left out if you knew."
"Left out ! I don't care one bit. I don't care about you two going out. If you had only told me, I would have been happy for the two of you." Yelled Harry as his temper flared.
"Than, what's the problem ?" asked weakly Hermione as tears started falling down her face.
Nathaniel entered the Great Hall out of breath, but froze before he ran straight into Ron.
"THE PROBLEM IS YOU LIED TO ME !!! YOU KEPT THINGS FROM ME !!! THE LAST TIME SOMEONE KEPT THINGS FROM ME, SIRIUS ENDED UP DEAD. HE DIED BECAUSE I WENT LOOKING FOR ANSWERS THAT WERE KEPT FROM ME. HE DIED BECAUSE OF ME!!!" yelled Harry.
Everything in the room started shaking as if an earthquake had started.
Harry ran to the door, pushing Ron and Hermione aside as he did so. Nathaniel managed to duck before Harry ran into him. As the druid assessed his surrounding, he saw Hermione sobbing on the ground while Ron tried to comfort her. The shaking had stopped, but some of the food had fallen to the grounds. Goblets had spilled their content on the table, a decorative armor had fallen to the ground, dismantled, chairs were on the ground.
"What the hell happened ?" asked Charlie.
"Harry let his temper get the better of him and he lost control over his magic." Explained Dumbledore as he used a spell to repair the armor.
"Even then, it shouldn't have created an earthquake." Added Bill.
"That's because of the ritual. When Harry was with us, we performed a ritual to increase Harry's magical potential." Explained Nathaniel.
"Someone should go see him." Suggested Remus.
"I'll go." Said immediately Ron.
"No, in his current state, Harry could very well kill you and he doesn't need another death on his conscience. I'll go." Said Nathaniel as he left the room.
He found Harry under a tree near the lake. Harry didn't even turn to acknowledge Nathaniel' presence. "You know, this is the exact location where my father played a prank on Snape during their school years."
"Harry, we need to talk."
"I don't want to talk."
"But you have too. I won't try to say I know how you feel like usual because I really don't know. I never had real friends in Dragon's keep. All the children were afraid of me because of what they heard about my birth. All I can tell you is that you are lucky to have friends like Ron and Hermione."
"Friends that lie to you." Snapped Harry.
"They lied to you because they didn't want to cause you pain. They weren't sure how you would take their relationship. They didn't want you to feel alone and left out. I think you're pretty lucky to have friends that are willing to restrain themselves from showing their affection to one another because they don't want to hurt you."
Harry was silent. He hadn't seen it from that point of view. He knew that if he was going out with Cho, he would want everyone to know. Harry realized that Nathaniel was right and he sighed when it became clear to him that he was the one at fault.
"You're right. I shouldn't have acted the way I did. I hope I didn't do too much damage."
"No, you didn't. Dumbledore must have fixed everything by now, but there is something he can't fix. Something only you can."
"What's that ?"
"Your relationship with Ron and Hermione. You need to speak to them and all three of you need to apologize to each other. Come on. I'll go get them and you, head straight to the common room. They will meet you there."
Harry obeyed and together, they made their way back to the school. Harry continued straight ahead toward the common room while Nathaniel went in the Great Hall. As he suspected, everything was back the way it was before although Hermione was still sobbing in Ron's arm, but when Nathaniel entered, she stopped and everyone turned to him.
"He's fine. I told him to go to the common room. Now, you two need to go there and talk to him now. Go settle everything with him and I mean now." Ordered Nathaniel.
Without a word, they obeyed leaving Nathaniel with the adults. The boy sighed heavily before turning to the adults:
"Wizards." He said with a smile. With that, he made his way to the table and sat down.
***
When Nathaniel later entered the common room holding a plate filled with food, he found the three other teens laughing together. When they saw him enter, they forced themselves to calm down.
"Well, I see everything is settle."
"Yeah. We promised not to hide anything from him anymore." Said Hermione
"And I promised to try and control my emotions better." Added Harry.
"Good idea. Now, let's eat."
Nathaniel set the plate on a table and all four of them started to eat.
"You know, we should really start training for our animagus transformation." Noted Nathaniel
"What do you mean, training ?" asked Ron, dreading the answer.
"I found in a book that to make the transformation easy, we should be in top shape both physically, mentally and magically which means jogging, meditation and dueling."
"This is going to be painful." Complained Ron.
"Maybe. Look, Harry, concentrate on physical training. Eat more too. Hermione, you could use magical training and Ron, meditation is definitely for you."
"That's all ? You mean we don't have to train more than that ?" asked Harry.
"Well, Harry, you don't have to train magically. You're boosted enough as it is, but meditation could help you control your emotions. Hermione, you don't need meditation. You already think too much, but physical training could help too. Ron, you're in top shape so no physical training for you, but magical training could help you."
"What about you ?" asked Ron.
"Hey, you've seen my wonderful muscles. I have as much magic potential as Harry and I meditate already."
"Not fair."
Two hours later, Nathaniel and Harry had been settled in and Nathaniel had been given a tour of the school and the grounds. Nathaniel seemed really interested in the forbidden forest, wanting to enter and explore it. Hermione had objected though and they were now back in their common room.
"Well, it's good to be back." Said Harry as he slumped into an armchair.
"Well, it's good to have you back, Harry." Said Hermione.
Ron and Hermione sat down on a two-seated armchair close to each other, but immediately, they moved to the sides, farthest from each other looking nervous. Harry raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask. He studies his friends carefully, noting the changes.
Ron had grown again. His face wasn't round anymore. His jaw was more pronounced. Harry's best friend was growing to become a very handsome man. He was looking more like Bill with every passing day. Ron had developed some muscles which meant he had been training for Quidditch. Harry was glad. Although, he wouldn't admit it in front of someone, Ron hadn't been the best keeper. Harry only hoped he had improved.
Hermione had grown too. Her hair wasn't as bushy as before and she had definitely developed some curves. Harry shook his head to clear it. Hermione was his best friend, he wasn't allowed to think like that.
Harry then realized he was the only one among the four of them that wasn't the least bit attractive. He was still the skinny, glass-wearing boy he had ever been. Hermione was growing more beautiful by the days, Ron was heading straight for top ten of the most handsome Gryffindor male and Nathaniel. Well, Nathaniel didn't even need an explanation. With his bright purple eyes, sandy-blond hair, tanned skin and showing muscles, he would quickly become secret crush of many girls. With a sigh, Harry closed his eyes and tried to forget about his pitiful physical state.
Nathaniel who had laid down on a three-seated armchair looked at Harry then at his two best-friends with confusion.
"What do we do now ? We're not standing here all day right ?"
"We could head for the library and start preparing a study program ?" suggested Hermione.
"No way. I don't want to start the school year early. Besides, I have Occlumency lessons to worry about."
"Hey, I know what we could do." Said Nathaniel as he jumped from his place and ran to the dormitories.
He came back after a minute with a book in his hand which he threw to Harry. The other boy caught it and read the title.
"Wicked ! Where did you get that ?" asked Harry wide-eyed.
"From Mathias. He gave it to me before we left. You know how he is. Always helping us break the rules."
"What is it ?" asked Ron, curious.
"How do become an animagus in half the normal time"
"This is great. We're going to become animagus."
"Just like my father was." Added Harry looking at book with a dreamy look on his face.
"I suggest we keep it a secret from the order and the teachers."
"I'm in." replied immediately Harry.
"Me too." Added Hermione with a determined look.
"You are ? Hermione, you realize we're breaking law by doing this ?" asked Harry incredulous.
"Yes, of course, I know. When do we start ?"
Harry couldn't believe it. He was sure Hermione would have objected to the project from the start.
"How about now ?"
"Let's go." Said Hermione.
"Guys, I'm not sure about this. I mean if we get caught by the Ministry..."
Now, Harry was even more confused. Ron was the one objecting to the project. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Had Hermione and him changed bodies ?
"Don't worry, Ron. We'll be careful."
"If you're sure." Said Ron.
With that, the teens started. They decided to duplicate the book so that everyone of them could read. The book wasn't long. It would take them less than three days to read it completely if they read as much as possible. They decide that in three days, everyone had to have finished the book. Of course, by the next morning, Hermione had already finished the book (Harry was glad that that side of her hadn't change). So, while the boys finished reading, she headed to the library to find more documentation to help them. She had browsed through six or seven books and memorized their content by the end of the second day. By noon on the second day, Harry and Nathaniel had joined her in the library while Ron finished. They found some interesting books about animagi in the restricted section that Harry visited with his invisibility cloak.
When Harry woke up the morning of the third day, he found Nathaniel sleeping quietly in his bed, but Ron's was empty. Checking the time, Harry frowned. The sun had just risen and there was no way Ron would already be up. He usually was the one who overslept. Harry dressed before exiting the room. Looking down into the common room, he witnessed a sight that took the breath out of him.
Ron and Hermione were cuddled together on the loveseat. They were kissing, unaware of Harry's presence. When the two broke apart, Ron said:
"I missed that." Said Ron with a smile.
"Ron, it's only been three days since Harry returned and we were together all summer." Remarked Hermione.
"Yeah, but three days is too long."
With that, the two resumed their making-out session. Harry was stunned. His best friends had been going out with each other for a month now and they hadn't even told him. All the letters they had sent, all the lies about Hermione being with her parents. Harry couldn't believe they had lied to him.
"Hey, why is everyone up already ?" complained Nathaniel as he exited the dormitories having woken up and dressed.
Ron and Hermione broke apart and looked toward the door. They immediately saw Harry and by the looks of him, he had seen everything. He had an expression of anger, betrayal and sadness on his face.
"Harry, we-"started Hermione, uncertainly, but was interrupted by Harry.
He took the stairs down to the common room and went straight for the exit door without looking at his best friends. When the door closed behind him, Hermione and Ron looked at each other before running after him. Nathaniel who had also seen them kiss wondered what was going on and followed.
The two lovers only managed to catch Harry as he entered the Great Hall. Neither of the three noticed that all the professors were there along with Moody, Remus, Tonks, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, Dumbledore and Bill and Charlie Weasley.
"Harry, let us explain." Tried Ron.
"NO, THERE IS NOTHING TO EXPLAIN."
"Yes, there is. If you only let us talk. We were afraid you would feel left out if you knew."
"Left out ! I don't care one bit. I don't care about you two going out. If you had only told me, I would have been happy for the two of you." Yelled Harry as his temper flared.
"Than, what's the problem ?" asked weakly Hermione as tears started falling down her face.
Nathaniel entered the Great Hall out of breath, but froze before he ran straight into Ron.
"THE PROBLEM IS YOU LIED TO ME !!! YOU KEPT THINGS FROM ME !!! THE LAST TIME SOMEONE KEPT THINGS FROM ME, SIRIUS ENDED UP DEAD. HE DIED BECAUSE I WENT LOOKING FOR ANSWERS THAT WERE KEPT FROM ME. HE DIED BECAUSE OF ME!!!" yelled Harry.
Everything in the room started shaking as if an earthquake had started.
Harry ran to the door, pushing Ron and Hermione aside as he did so. Nathaniel managed to duck before Harry ran into him. As the druid assessed his surrounding, he saw Hermione sobbing on the ground while Ron tried to comfort her. The shaking had stopped, but some of the food had fallen to the grounds. Goblets had spilled their content on the table, a decorative armor had fallen to the ground, dismantled, chairs were on the ground.
"What the hell happened ?" asked Charlie.
"Harry let his temper get the better of him and he lost control over his magic." Explained Dumbledore as he used a spell to repair the armor.
"Even then, it shouldn't have created an earthquake." Added Bill.
"That's because of the ritual. When Harry was with us, we performed a ritual to increase Harry's magical potential." Explained Nathaniel.
"Someone should go see him." Suggested Remus.
"I'll go." Said immediately Ron.
"No, in his current state, Harry could very well kill you and he doesn't need another death on his conscience. I'll go." Said Nathaniel as he left the room.
He found Harry under a tree near the lake. Harry didn't even turn to acknowledge Nathaniel' presence. "You know, this is the exact location where my father played a prank on Snape during their school years."
"Harry, we need to talk."
"I don't want to talk."
"But you have too. I won't try to say I know how you feel like usual because I really don't know. I never had real friends in Dragon's keep. All the children were afraid of me because of what they heard about my birth. All I can tell you is that you are lucky to have friends like Ron and Hermione."
"Friends that lie to you." Snapped Harry.
"They lied to you because they didn't want to cause you pain. They weren't sure how you would take their relationship. They didn't want you to feel alone and left out. I think you're pretty lucky to have friends that are willing to restrain themselves from showing their affection to one another because they don't want to hurt you."
Harry was silent. He hadn't seen it from that point of view. He knew that if he was going out with Cho, he would want everyone to know. Harry realized that Nathaniel was right and he sighed when it became clear to him that he was the one at fault.
"You're right. I shouldn't have acted the way I did. I hope I didn't do too much damage."
"No, you didn't. Dumbledore must have fixed everything by now, but there is something he can't fix. Something only you can."
"What's that ?"
"Your relationship with Ron and Hermione. You need to speak to them and all three of you need to apologize to each other. Come on. I'll go get them and you, head straight to the common room. They will meet you there."
Harry obeyed and together, they made their way back to the school. Harry continued straight ahead toward the common room while Nathaniel went in the Great Hall. As he suspected, everything was back the way it was before although Hermione was still sobbing in Ron's arm, but when Nathaniel entered, she stopped and everyone turned to him.
"He's fine. I told him to go to the common room. Now, you two need to go there and talk to him now. Go settle everything with him and I mean now." Ordered Nathaniel.
Without a word, they obeyed leaving Nathaniel with the adults. The boy sighed heavily before turning to the adults:
"Wizards." He said with a smile. With that, he made his way to the table and sat down.
***
When Nathaniel later entered the common room holding a plate filled with food, he found the three other teens laughing together. When they saw him enter, they forced themselves to calm down.
"Well, I see everything is settle."
"Yeah. We promised not to hide anything from him anymore." Said Hermione
"And I promised to try and control my emotions better." Added Harry.
"Good idea. Now, let's eat."
Nathaniel set the plate on a table and all four of them started to eat.
"You know, we should really start training for our animagus transformation." Noted Nathaniel
"What do you mean, training ?" asked Ron, dreading the answer.
"I found in a book that to make the transformation easy, we should be in top shape both physically, mentally and magically which means jogging, meditation and dueling."
"This is going to be painful." Complained Ron.
"Maybe. Look, Harry, concentrate on physical training. Eat more too. Hermione, you could use magical training and Ron, meditation is definitely for you."
"That's all ? You mean we don't have to train more than that ?" asked Harry.
"Well, Harry, you don't have to train magically. You're boosted enough as it is, but meditation could help you control your emotions. Hermione, you don't need meditation. You already think too much, but physical training could help too. Ron, you're in top shape so no physical training for you, but magical training could help you."
"What about you ?" asked Ron.
"Hey, you've seen my wonderful muscles. I have as much magic potential as Harry and I meditate already."
"Not fair."