Harry spent most of Saturday talking to Ron and Draco in the Quidditch field, relieved that they settled their differences. Well, about Percy anyway. They were now on the matter of girls.
"Speaking of which, I want to hear how it went last night," Ron said, using some of Harry's broom polish to shine up his new Cleansweep's handle.
"What went last night?" Draco asked, looking up from grooming the twigs of his Nimbus 2001.
"He went to this Muggle...what's it called? Bat?"
"Club," Harry replied, sitting with his perfect Firebolt laying quietly in his lap.
"Yes, club. Odd name, isn't it? Anyways. He went with Dean Thomas last night to cheer him up about Her-," Ron quickly stopped himself, looking sharply at Harry.
Harry had grown a little green in the face.
"What?" Draco asked, more urgent then ever.
"Well...You're bound to hear anyway, but…Hermione broke up with me yesterday," Harry glumly informed.
"Infront of the entire school no less! Bloody hag she is!" Ron shouted angrily.
Harry felt the slightest better at Ron's loyalty to him, but still didn't feel the weight of her horrid words bearing down on his mind.
"So, you went out? Wow, I'm impressed," Draco drawled, clipping the last bent twig off." What happened?"
Harry went off into telling them about the strange clothes they wore, like vampires, and the loud German music and, of course, Cienna. After he was done, the two boys were looking at him awestruck.
"Wow, Harry, I only wish I could've gone," Ron commented soon as he found his voice.
"Maybe next time you can. We all can. Just ask Dean, I'm sure he knows when the next concert is, even if its not that freakish band last night," Harry replied, rolling his broomstick over his knees.
"So, think anything will happen with this Cienna?" Draco inquired, swapping the twig trimmers with the polish from Ron.
"I only hope so," Harry said with a smile.
"That's good then. Most guys pine after their girl dumped 'em the way Hermione dumped you...Bit odd though? The way she did it," Draco remarked, frowning at Harry.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Hermione's always been a bit of a hot-head, I'll give you that…but, I'd never think her the type to devastate someone she loved infront of the entire school. She was always quite discreet when it came to her relations, wasn't she?" Draco went on.
"Come to think of it, yeah. It IS odd. Cause with that Viktor chap, she hardly talked of him, and when she did she blushed like crazy. I remember that clearly," Ron added on, pausing his trimming.
Harry frowned noticing it too," Odd..."
//------------
He was running. Running. He cleared the corridors faster this time, flying down the marble stairs and out the tall front doors. The fog crept away as he dashed across the squishy grass. The screams echoed off the lonely field, only companied by his panting and the sucking noises as his sneakers lifted from the wet grass. The screaming was getting louder, louder still. They bounced all over the thick, dense forest, making it hard to decipher where its origin was. He approached the forest head on, seeing the start of a faint, sandy path.
Harry popped his eyes open with a gasp. There was a path now....And those screams, god...
"Harry?"
Harry rubbed his sore eyes and looked up, seeing Ginny standing behind a chair across from him. Somehow she had found him in the very back of the library where he was hiding from anyone else asking him how he was or if he'd like to go out sometime.
"Oh, hey Ginny..."
"Um, Hi. I-I was just wondering, um. Well…would-would you mind giving me my flying lessons alone? See, Malfoy told me he's going to be busy cause he landed himself detention from Professor Sprout for accidentally knocking over a Mandrake pot and killing three of her plants."
Harry nodded absentmindedly, "Uh, sure."
"Ok, great! Oh, I'm so sorry to be such a burden on you, but I'm determined to fly well."
Harry nodded again, noticing Hermione standing three aisles away, glaring at him coldly. He frowned, at a loss as to why she'd be angry with him now. Then something completely different dawned on him," Hang on...Ginny...Didn't you play on the Gryffindor Quidditch team last year?"
With a burst of embarrassment, Ginny turned the deepest of scarlet. "I'm so sorry, Harry! I really am! It all started out as just a comment I made to Lucy Mantle about being a horrid flyer and she suggested I get lessons from YOU, so of course I just blurted out OH HEY that's a wonderful idea and Professor Trelawney, who you know NEVER goes to ANY f the Quidditch games, came up behind us and said in that scary lofty voice of hers that shed arrange it. WELL, I knew I should've stopped it right then and there, but then Lucy suggested I ask another player to help me out to make it look as if I didn't INTENTIONALLY ask for you...see?"
Harry was still frowning, just out of concentration from trying to follow her fast rambling, "Ok, SO, what you're saying is...You fooled BOTH me and Malfoy into thinking you stunk at flying....How come I didn't remember any of your being a Seeker before this? Or Malfoy for that matter? I'm sure he'd have pointed it out right off the bat."
Ginny's expression turned deathly guilty and Harry felt a need to take back the question. he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer." Well...Ok, don't...don't kill me, ok? But, um...I..I sort of learned this new spell last year and it actually came in handy during our first practice…It was YOU who actually mentioned it first, Harry..."
"How come I don't remember, Ginny?" Harry said very seriously, narrowing his eyes at her.
She cringed and broke out suddenly into tears," I'm sorry Harry! As soon as you said it, I knew I was in SO much trouble and I just couldn't bear to tell you the truth about me and Lucy and our conversation and how it was obvious I still liked you...So...I did the first thing that came to mind.."
"Which was?"
"Well...Before I knew what I had done, I pulled out my wand and…well...Modified your memories," Ginny said miserably.
"You did the Obliviate spell on me???" Harry exclaimed.
"YES! I'm SO sorry Harry! I've wanted to tell you ever since!"
Harry couldn't stay angry, her grief stricken face prevented it. So he stood up and hugged her gently. She cried onto his shoulder as he patted her back," Look...its all right. Just DON'T do it again."
She nodded and after she had calmed herself down, he lead the way out of the library, Ginny still clinging to him. He saw a flash of brown hair disappear behind an aisle and upon passing it saw Hermione leaning back against the counter behind Ron, sliding her foot up and down his calf. Ron jumped at the contact and tumbled into the shelf he was looking through, knocking quite a few books down as well. Harry and Ginny rose an eyebrow at the scene. Harry was again confused, but Ginny clearly saw what had apparently happened. With an angry scowl at Hermione, Ginny wrapped her arms protectively around Harry and lead him out of the library.
"Speaking of which, I want to hear how it went last night," Ron said, using some of Harry's broom polish to shine up his new Cleansweep's handle.
"What went last night?" Draco asked, looking up from grooming the twigs of his Nimbus 2001.
"He went to this Muggle...what's it called? Bat?"
"Club," Harry replied, sitting with his perfect Firebolt laying quietly in his lap.
"Yes, club. Odd name, isn't it? Anyways. He went with Dean Thomas last night to cheer him up about Her-," Ron quickly stopped himself, looking sharply at Harry.
Harry had grown a little green in the face.
"What?" Draco asked, more urgent then ever.
"Well...You're bound to hear anyway, but…Hermione broke up with me yesterday," Harry glumly informed.
"Infront of the entire school no less! Bloody hag she is!" Ron shouted angrily.
Harry felt the slightest better at Ron's loyalty to him, but still didn't feel the weight of her horrid words bearing down on his mind.
"So, you went out? Wow, I'm impressed," Draco drawled, clipping the last bent twig off." What happened?"
Harry went off into telling them about the strange clothes they wore, like vampires, and the loud German music and, of course, Cienna. After he was done, the two boys were looking at him awestruck.
"Wow, Harry, I only wish I could've gone," Ron commented soon as he found his voice.
"Maybe next time you can. We all can. Just ask Dean, I'm sure he knows when the next concert is, even if its not that freakish band last night," Harry replied, rolling his broomstick over his knees.
"So, think anything will happen with this Cienna?" Draco inquired, swapping the twig trimmers with the polish from Ron.
"I only hope so," Harry said with a smile.
"That's good then. Most guys pine after their girl dumped 'em the way Hermione dumped you...Bit odd though? The way she did it," Draco remarked, frowning at Harry.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Hermione's always been a bit of a hot-head, I'll give you that…but, I'd never think her the type to devastate someone she loved infront of the entire school. She was always quite discreet when it came to her relations, wasn't she?" Draco went on.
"Come to think of it, yeah. It IS odd. Cause with that Viktor chap, she hardly talked of him, and when she did she blushed like crazy. I remember that clearly," Ron added on, pausing his trimming.
Harry frowned noticing it too," Odd..."
//------------
He was running. Running. He cleared the corridors faster this time, flying down the marble stairs and out the tall front doors. The fog crept away as he dashed across the squishy grass. The screams echoed off the lonely field, only companied by his panting and the sucking noises as his sneakers lifted from the wet grass. The screaming was getting louder, louder still. They bounced all over the thick, dense forest, making it hard to decipher where its origin was. He approached the forest head on, seeing the start of a faint, sandy path.
Harry popped his eyes open with a gasp. There was a path now....And those screams, god...
"Harry?"
Harry rubbed his sore eyes and looked up, seeing Ginny standing behind a chair across from him. Somehow she had found him in the very back of the library where he was hiding from anyone else asking him how he was or if he'd like to go out sometime.
"Oh, hey Ginny..."
"Um, Hi. I-I was just wondering, um. Well…would-would you mind giving me my flying lessons alone? See, Malfoy told me he's going to be busy cause he landed himself detention from Professor Sprout for accidentally knocking over a Mandrake pot and killing three of her plants."
Harry nodded absentmindedly, "Uh, sure."
"Ok, great! Oh, I'm so sorry to be such a burden on you, but I'm determined to fly well."
Harry nodded again, noticing Hermione standing three aisles away, glaring at him coldly. He frowned, at a loss as to why she'd be angry with him now. Then something completely different dawned on him," Hang on...Ginny...Didn't you play on the Gryffindor Quidditch team last year?"
With a burst of embarrassment, Ginny turned the deepest of scarlet. "I'm so sorry, Harry! I really am! It all started out as just a comment I made to Lucy Mantle about being a horrid flyer and she suggested I get lessons from YOU, so of course I just blurted out OH HEY that's a wonderful idea and Professor Trelawney, who you know NEVER goes to ANY f the Quidditch games, came up behind us and said in that scary lofty voice of hers that shed arrange it. WELL, I knew I should've stopped it right then and there, but then Lucy suggested I ask another player to help me out to make it look as if I didn't INTENTIONALLY ask for you...see?"
Harry was still frowning, just out of concentration from trying to follow her fast rambling, "Ok, SO, what you're saying is...You fooled BOTH me and Malfoy into thinking you stunk at flying....How come I didn't remember any of your being a Seeker before this? Or Malfoy for that matter? I'm sure he'd have pointed it out right off the bat."
Ginny's expression turned deathly guilty and Harry felt a need to take back the question. he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer." Well...Ok, don't...don't kill me, ok? But, um...I..I sort of learned this new spell last year and it actually came in handy during our first practice…It was YOU who actually mentioned it first, Harry..."
"How come I don't remember, Ginny?" Harry said very seriously, narrowing his eyes at her.
She cringed and broke out suddenly into tears," I'm sorry Harry! As soon as you said it, I knew I was in SO much trouble and I just couldn't bear to tell you the truth about me and Lucy and our conversation and how it was obvious I still liked you...So...I did the first thing that came to mind.."
"Which was?"
"Well...Before I knew what I had done, I pulled out my wand and…well...Modified your memories," Ginny said miserably.
"You did the Obliviate spell on me???" Harry exclaimed.
"YES! I'm SO sorry Harry! I've wanted to tell you ever since!"
Harry couldn't stay angry, her grief stricken face prevented it. So he stood up and hugged her gently. She cried onto his shoulder as he patted her back," Look...its all right. Just DON'T do it again."
She nodded and after she had calmed herself down, he lead the way out of the library, Ginny still clinging to him. He saw a flash of brown hair disappear behind an aisle and upon passing it saw Hermione leaning back against the counter behind Ron, sliding her foot up and down his calf. Ron jumped at the contact and tumbled into the shelf he was looking through, knocking quite a few books down as well. Harry and Ginny rose an eyebrow at the scene. Harry was again confused, but Ginny clearly saw what had apparently happened. With an angry scowl at Hermione, Ginny wrapped her arms protectively around Harry and lead him out of the library.