"Harry Potter and the Brethren of Ares"
Chapter 14: Valentines
"Oh, mighty crystal ball, I beg of thee, reveal to me, the locat-"
"Sirius, what in the name of Athena are you doing?"
Sirius immediately slumped, defeated. His hands relaxed around the 'crystal-ball' they had been fluttering around. "Nothing, Tiger Lily."
Lily moved and slapped the back of his head. "Ouch! Lily!"
"Sirius, if you want to see her, than go and see her!"
He looked at her. "Lily, I can't do that. I got her killed!"
Lily looked at him, with something akin to pity in her emerald eyes. She spoke softly to him. "Oh, Sirius. Never, ever believe that."
Sirius looked at the crystal ball. He pushed it, and it fell.
When it hit the floor, it shattered.
***
Harry hopelessly pushed at his hair. He grabbed the (borrowed) bottle of Slezeaky's Hair Potion and resisted the urge to throw it out the window. He put the bottle back down, and gave up on his hair.
Harry looked pretty good- well, to himself, at least. He was wearing new emerald green robes, his hair was as messy as ever, and his piercing green eyes jumped from his face. Shaking the unruly locks from his face once again, he turned to see Hedwig. "Hey, girl, how do I look?"
Hedwig happily hooted her approval from her perch. Harry and Hagrid had worked together to make a cushioned seat of sorts for her. Hedwig's maimed wing was still bound in a heavy bandage.
Smiling at his friend, Harry moved and carefully stroked her good wing. "Thanks, girl. It's good to know that at least one member of the female race thinks I'm good-looking." Hedwig nipped his finger affectionately.
"Now, that's not nice, Potter!" Harry turned and grinned sheepishly at Neville. "Hey, you've got Luna, leave me in peace."
Neville grinned back sheepishly. "You've got Padma, though!"
"Yeah," Dean chimed in, "I've had a crush on her since first year! Lucky bastard..."
Harry grinned. "Get to her first next time, then!"
Dean went back to combing his hair. "I'll be there when it ends, Potter."
Harry shook his head. "Don't ask Parvati to predict for you, Dean. She's rarely right."
As his roommates began to laugh, Harry took notice of Ron's predicament. The tall redhead was sitting on his bed, second-hand charcoal and navy trimmed robes (repaired via Hermione) hanging perfectly on his broad frame. He appeared to be somewhere in between a nervous breakdown and a whoop of joy.
"Ron, it's ok. Hermione is going to have a good time with you. A friend as a date will work out well." Harry was half hoping that Ron would admit to liking Hermione as more than a friend, but his hopes were in vain. "You're right, Harry." He swallowed hard. "Let's go down, mates."
Harry walked in the middle of the group of boys, allowing his nervous best mate to take the lead. Once down in the common room, the sixth year boys relaxed among the throng of the rest of the boys, fourth year and up, to await their friends and dates.
"Oiy, Ron! Your date is coming on down!" Dennis Creevey had been appointed unofficial commentator of the night.
Ron moved forward, looking quite nervous. His jaw dropped as Hermione began her descent down the stairs.
Harry thought that Hermione looked quite pretty indeed. The robe she had worn in fourth year had been updated with silver lining. Her hair was tucked into a complicated twist of some sort. She appeared to have some sort of shimmer on her eyelids- Harry wracked his brains for a moment, trying to remember what it was called, but couldn't- all he knew was that it looked good.
Harry watched as his two best friends' converse. Something George had said to him during Christmas break popped into his mind- "Harry, what we have between Ron and Hermione is a classic case of UST- Unresolved Sexual Tension."
Harry stifled a snigger.
"Harry?" A small smile moved over his face when he saw Ginny. Her golden robes with her fiery locks loose over her shoulders looked quite good. "Hey, Gin, you look great!" She smiled at him. "Thanks."
An idea bloomed in his head. "Ginny, would you allow me to escort you to the Entrance Hall?" He offered her his elbow. She laughed. "Why thank you, good sir! I'm sure Terry will be most pleased to see me in good hands."
"You're seeing Terry Boot?" Their conversation moved all over the place as they walked to the Entrance Hall, knowing that Ron and Hermione would stutter at each other for a good fifteen minutes before following.
Once they reached the area, they released each other's elbows and looked around. Ginny quickly spotted Terry and said good-bye to Harry.
It took a moment for Harry to spot Padma. She was standing outside a crowd of Hufflepuffs, looking a bit out of place. Her face broke out in a smile when she saw him, and she hurried towards him.
Harry was rather shocked when he saw her. Her glasses, which, in his humble opinion, looked gorgeous on her, contrasted sharply with her white robes. Her hair was curled and pulled half back, her lavender eyes sparkling excitedly. "Hello, Harry!"
Harry made a few indistinguishable syllable-like noises. Padma grinned. "C'mon, let's go in!" She grabbed his hand, and pulled him through the open doors of the hall.
***
Sirius slowly massaged his temples, muttering to himself. "Make it stop....make it stop...make it stop..."
"JAMES! I LOVE IT!"
Sirius let his head fall on the side of the basin. "How the hell did he buy her something? WE'RE DEAD!"
"I knew you'd like it, Lily, it suits you. You always look beautiful to me, though."
Sirius groaned. "If they start to shag I'll kill them....again."
"Thank you so much, Mr. B-"
"OH GOD STOP IT!"
James and Lily turned to see a mentally unstable Sirius looking at them seriously.
"Aww, c'mon, be serious!"
"I am Sirius."
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Can't James give me a Valentines' Day present in peace?"
Sirius gaped at her. "Are you aware of what you almost called him?" His voice began to squeak. "You two sounded like you were ready to have a good shag!" He waved his arms back and forth. "I'm in here, you know!"
James flinched at how high Sirius's voice had gone. "Padfoot, only DOGS can hear you now."
Sirius snorted. "How ironic."
Lily shook her head. "Where's Remus when you need him?"
***
Harry twirled Padma around, laughing happily. The MJ (magical equivalent of a DJ) was putting on song after song, muggle hits and magical hits.
"Ok," the MJ shouted, "time for another muggle song! This is one all you oldies fans will love! Here's....BABY GOT BACK!"
Harry heard Dean shout, and saw him run to the front of the dancing space. Harry squeezed Padma's hand, before running to join the throng of muggle-raised students.
Dean had conjured a pair of sunglasses from somewhere, and was mouthing along to the opening lyrics. His classmates were dying, and the Wizarding children looked quite confused.
Harry dared to participate. "I like big butts and I cannot lie..."*
***
Once the pandemonium was over, the MJ was calling for someone to sing. Knowing that his roommates would push him to sing, Harry tried to get to the back of the crowd....
"What's that I hear? Sir Harry Potter can sing? MR. POTTER, COME ON UP!"
Harry flinched and turned to glare and Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, who looked at him innocently.
The innocence may have worked if they hadn't been onstage, right next to the MJ.
Hermione motioned rapidly at him. Sighing, Harry moved through the crowd, and took the magical megaphone. "I can't sing, c'mon..."
Seamus's voice rang from the crowd. "YOU SING IN THE SHOWER EVERY DAY!"
Harry smirked. "You watching me shower, Finnegan?"
Seamus made a rude gesture with his fingers, visibly chuckling.
Harry rolled his eyes, and muttered a request to the MJ. She nodded, and tapped the speakers three times with her wand.
Harry leaned against the table, and did the only thing he could do in that situation:
He began to sing.
"She calls me from the cold
Just when I was low, feeling short of stable
And all that she intends
And all she keeps inside isn't on the label
She says she's ashamed
Can she take me for awhile
Can I be a friend, we'll forget the past
Or maybe I'm not able
And I break at the bend"
Harry grinned at the cheers issues from the females in the crowd. He tossed his messy hair out of his eyes before continuing.
"We're here and now, will ever be again
'Cause I have found
All that shimmers in this world is sure to fade
Away again"
Harry made a fist, and began to use extravagant gestures along with his lyrics.
"She dreams a champagne dream
Strawberry surprise, pink linen on white paper
Lavender and cream
Fields of butterflies, reality escapes her
She says that love is for fools that fall behind,
And I'm somewhere between
Never really know
A killer from a savior
'Til I break at the bend..."
Harry took pleasure in singing like no one was listening- for once, he didn't mind being the center of attention.
After all, it couldn't last much longer.
***
"Baby Got Back"?!?!?! You ask? I couldn't resist. I just couldn't. Lyrics: (again!) Fuel- Shimmer
Author's Notes: Hated that chapter. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE! It's already halfway written...wow, my chapters are actually getting out on time!
Review Responses:
Aphrodite13: LOVE the penname! I'm a huge fan of Greek mythology, and I'm huge fan of Harry Potter, so, I decided to bring them together! There are two sequels that I'm planning, actually, "Harry Potter and the Arch of Hades", and then "The Healing Time". Sirius back? I don't know...
Buffy Summers1: *hugs fellow Buffy fan* "Now, Buffy, what have we learned about beer today?" "Foamy?" XD! Thanks so much for reviewing! Yes, my cut offs are meant to be evil. This chapter was evil to me, if it makes you feel any better. It wouldn't be written the way I wanted it to be written.
Bluetiger94: Yep, sequel! And I didn't resolve the Percy issue, either! How evil am I?
Black Rose9: Why did he have to Obliviate him? I don't know *whistles innocently, pushes notes behind the computer chair with her foot*
PhoenixPadfoot89: I don't know. Well, I do, but I'm not telling! XP! Lol.
Apinda: I hurried with the next chapter! You're right, NOTHING is better than "After the End" I'm re-reading it right now. Also, all throughout Book 5, I couldn't help but think that the chars had gone to the fic for vacation x.X
;) : Yes, welcome to the wonderful world of cliffhangers!
Facade1: *bows* Thank you. And, in this chapter, Rebellious Singing Bish/Hott/Smecksay Harry returned!
Slycat-blaze1: *poke* You'll see!
I love you all! Please review! I know this chapter wasn't the best.... *sweatdrops* How self-pitying do I sound?
~Merusa