Chapter 3: The Letters
Disclaimer: don't own anything except Anna, Lidro, and that little ugly thing in chapter 1... You'll find out wut it is later... u'll be all like DUH! But yea... anywho.... Oh yea! I don't own the lyrics to Your Own Disaster by Taking Back Sunday either.... Who ever wrote that is brill though, I tell you... I love it! Sorry it took me so long to update! I had the absolute WORST case of writer's block... it sucked a left nut! But anywho... please review this when you get done reading it... I'd really like to kno what u think
Harry had just come in from one of his walks with Anna when Hedwig flew in the window with a letter from his best friend, Ron Weasley. Harry quickly untied the letter and read it. He hadn't heard from his friend in nearly two weeks, about the same time that it had been since Anna arrived in Privet Drive.Harry,
I hope you've been ok these past couple of weeks. Its been a bit busy around here trying to move Percy's things back into the Burrow. Dad's real reluctant to have him back, but Mum welcomed him with open arms. The prodigal son returns, eh? We're already at Grimmauld Place. We arrived yesterday... with Percy. He's real gung-ho about the Order now that his precious Fudge has received his comeuppance.
Who's the girl you keep writing about? Anna? Is there a future for the-boy-who-lived with this girl? Flash, mate. Real flash. Hermione will be arriving this afternoon. I expect you've told her about Anna? You know she'll have to go through the best friend test, right? Sorry that we've left you there so long mate. We'll be after you tomorrow though. Well, see you then.
Ron
No sooner than Harry had finished reading the last line in Ron's letter than had a large barn owl swooped in through Harry's window and had landed on Hedwig's cage. He quickly untied the letter from the other owl's leg. The owl just hopped down and began to placidly drink from Hedwig's water bowl. This letter was from Hermione. Harry threw himself onto his bed and read this letter laying down.Harry,
I'm finished packing to go to Grimmauld Place. I can't wait to see you. I don't think we've ever really talked as much as we have this past summer. I've really enjoyed it. I'm going to send you a disposable camera when I go to the store so you can take pictures of you and Anna. I wish you had a wizards camera though so I could see her personality. I'm sure she's really nice.
I'm going to give you your birthday present at Grimmauld Place. I know you had to have been wondering why I only sent you a card. I got you something really good this year. I'll talk to you tomorrow at Grimmauld Place. If you don't take all the pictures that you can then we're going to have a row about it when I see you. See you then!
Hermione
Harry folded the letter back up and placed it on his bedside table. He suddenly realized that he didn't have any normal pictures. He had the magic pictures that his parents had kept in the album that Hagrid had given him, but other than that he had nothing. Harry lay there thinking about how good it would be to see his friends again. Then he began to think about Sirius. He would be going back to Sirius's house tomorrow. All of a sudden a ton of memories flooded his brain. Seeing Sirius for the first time as a dog when the night bus had picked him up, Harry nearly killing Sirius for supposedly betraying his parents, saving Sirius from the dementors. Even those few memories were too much.
Just as Harry was about to storm out of the house and run to the park a small brown package came hurtling through the open window and hit him in the back of the head. He leaned down to pick up the fallen package up off the floor at the perfect time, because the owl that had been carrying it flew in out of control right after it and smacked into the wall right behind where Harry's head had been.
Harry shrugged his shoulders at the animal who was shaking off the impact and tore off the brown paper around the package. It was the camera Hermione had bought for him. A little piece of parchment fell to his feet. It read: Nothing bad!
Hermione
"Nothing bad huh?" Harry laughed as he walked towards his bedroom door. He heard a loud banging coming from the front door. He walked into the hallway and heard Aunt Petunia's voice. He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the next voice, Anna's.
"Hello Mrs. Dursley!" he heard Anna say. "How are you today?"
"I'm fine, dear. And you?"
"I'm just great, thank you ma'am."
"YAY!" Harry's mind did the happy dance. He wouldn't be yelled at for having "delinquent" friends!
"You must be one of Dudley's friends," Aunt Petunia said sweetly.
"No ma'am," Anna said just as nice. "I'm here to see Harry."
silence
"H... Harry?" his aunt said weakly.
"Yes ma'am. We're supposed to go to the park together. I want to teach him how to play guitar."
"Oh... so... So you're not one of his friends from school?"
"Oh no ma'am. I start school at St. Mary Catherine's in a few weeks. I'm suppose to be leaving tomorrow to go and get my school books though."
At this moment Harry came through the door and averted his eyes from his aunt's gaze.
"Come on Anna. Let's go," he said hurriedly.
"Alright Harry, alright," Anna said sweetly. "It was nice to meet you Mrs. Dursley!"
Harry and Anna walked down the street quickly, not talking until Harry was sure they were out of listening range of his aunt and uncle's house.
"My friend Hermione sent me a camera. She wants us to take some pictures so she can see what you look like," he said excitedly.
"Pictures, eh?" Anna said raising one eyebrow. "Is this Hermione..." she placed one of her hands in the air parallel with the ground and shook it a little. "Is she funny?"
"Funny? Well yes. She can be," Harry said unsure. Anna simply kept one eyebrow raised. "But you don't mean funny as in 'haha', do you?" he asked confused.
"No... but that's ok... I don't think she is from the way you've described her," Anna said patting Harry on the top of his head.
By the time they had gotten to the park, Harry fully understood what Anna's meaning of "funny" was and had assured her that he didn't know anyone like that, except for maybe one of his teachers when he was 11... But that that teacher had been... terminated in a manner of speaking.
"So how many pictures does your precious 'Mione want?" Anna asked while picking a dandelion apart.
"Well," Harry said snapping the first picture of the American teen that day. "She assured me a proper row if I didn't use all the pictures in the camera. So I guess we just have to take all of them," he said over- dramatically while Anna thrust the back of her palm to her forehead. The two teens collapsed in a fit of giggles underneath the biggest shade tree in the park.
"I love the way you Brits talk," Anna said poking Harry in the stomach. She was the only person to ever do that and in-turn the only person to tickle him.
"Well I love the way American girls talk," Harry said poking Anna back. At this, she squealed and jumped. Harry tried to tickle her every chance he got because it was funny to watch the girl squirm and fidget and smile up at him. He liked this girl a lot. More than he had liked Cho Chang even. And that was a lot. Anna sat up bolt-right.
"Shit!" she exclaimed. "I forgot to tell Li I was going out!" she kicked at the ground. "Oh well... I'm sure he'll figure it out."
"Ok," Harry said quietly.
Anna turned and looked at his face. It was like he was staring at her. But it didn't feel strange. All of a sudden Harry leaned over and kissed her. It was just a pop-kiss mind you, but it was still enough to give her stomach a case of the butterflies. He pulled away and smiled sheepishly at Anna. She could see his face begin to turn a violent shade of pink. Harry tried to hide his now rosy cheeks by looking up at the sky. Anna put her hand on one of his warm cheeks and he turned and looked at her again. This time it was Anna who made the move. She leaned over and kissed him softly at first, but then more intensely. Harry thought he was about to burst inside. He'd never felt like this before. It was like all the emotions he'd ever felt had been poured into one great big mixing barrel and blended into something that felt like pure bliss. He really fancied this girl and hoped that she felt the same.
After what felt like forever both teens pulled away for breath. Harry looked at Anna and noticed how flushed her cheeks looked and knew that his were just as red, if not more. Harry decided to take a picture of her like this. He pulled the camera up when she looked away and focused it and when she looked back he snapped the picture.
"Harry James Potter!" she said in a mock-mad tone. "You'd better run! Because if I catch you you'll be right sorry!" they spent the next half hour chasing each other around and snapping pictures here and there until they finally settled down and Anna took her acoustic guitar out of its case and began to play and sing. She had a beautiful voice and was really good at playing guitar.
"Why don't you play something I know so I can sing with you?" he asked.
"I don't know what you know. And plus... do I want you to sing with me?"
At this Harry pulled up a handful of grass and flicked it at Anna.
"Fine," he said, trying to sound hurt. "If that's the way you wanna be... then sing by yourself."
"Ok... lets see... something you'd know... hmm..." Anna began to stroke her chin in thought. "How about this..."
Anna began to play a slow song on her guitar, and then began to sing a song Harry recognized right away. The first part went like this: Just think of this and me
as just a few of many things
to lie around
to clutter up your shelves
And I wish you weren't worth the wait
because there's some thing's
I'd like to say to you...
And then it got barely faster and Harry began to sing the song he now recognized as Your Own Disaster by Taking Back Sunday. I don't think that
you know what
you've been missing
Cuz I don't think that
you know what
you've been missing
He had heard it on one of the radios that a greebo he had seen one day was carrying and became entranced with it. Even his cousin Dudley, who was a definite townie, had been playing it loudly over and over.
Anna looked at Harry in surprise when he began to sing but didn't stop playing. His voice was amazing. Just the over-all texture of it was brilliant. She'd never heard anything like it before. She then began to sing with him for the rest of the song. I dare you to forget
those marks you left
across my neck
from those nights when we were both
found at our best
I could make this obvious,
and you, you could deny me
all in one breath
you could shrug me off
your shoulders...
I don't think that
you know what
you've been missing
Cuz I don't think that
you know what
you've been missing
I don't think that you know
I said I don't think you know
I said I don't think you know what your missing
Hey, lush, have fun
It's the weekend
Hey, lush, have fun
Hey, lush, have fun
It's the weekend
Hey, lush, have fun
I don't think that
you know what
you've been missing
I don't think that
you know what
you've been missing
Then they broke up the last part perfectly with Anna singing the Just forget me part and Harry singing the It's that simple part.
Just forget me
It's that simple
Just forget me
It's that simple
When they had finished their song they looked up to see a crowd of people watching them. Both of them had been too taken by the music to notice anything during the song. They looked at each other and burst out laughing.
When the sun began to set, Harry was leaning against the tree with Anna propped up against him. He played with the now sleeping girl's hair gently and watched the light blues of the sky fade to bright oranges and reds. He gently shook Anna's shoulder to wake her up. He needed to be getting home. He knew that if Dudley got home before he did then he'd be having another row with his uncle that would kill his good mood.
The two of them got up and began to gather their things.
"Wait! Harry! I just realized that we don't have any pictures of us together!" Anna said disappointed.
She grabbed the camera from Harry and walked over to an old man sitting on one of the park benches and asked him to take a few pictures for her. He agreed to and she and Harry began to pose together.
After about five pictures the old man announced that there was only one more picture left. "Maybe we should do something memorable for the last one," Anna suggested.
Harry grabbed Anna's shoulders and turned her to face him and kissed her. The man just smiled and took the picture.
"I definitely need a copy of that one," Anna said taking the camera from the man and thanking him. With all the pictures taken and everything gathered they left the park and headed home, hand in hand.
Yay! That was a pretty long chapter, eh? I think it was longer than the others at least... well... u know the drill... click the little thingy that says "go" and review! Plz! I might not go all serial killer on u then! Lol... tehe.... MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAchokes that wasn't part of the plan.. Anywho... ill try to update sooner this time... sorry... but like I said up there, I had the WORST case of writer's block ever! But yea... I love you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love,
Anna