aalikane- thanks for the review!
And sorry it took us so long to post this chapter but here it is!
Chapter 6- Facing the Pain
He got to the bus and Stan Shunpike jumped out to help him and Elisia with their luggage.
"Well if it isn't Neville!" Stan said. "Hey Ern, Neville's back!" he shouted to the driver up front.
"Oh and who is this Neville? Your little girlfriend?" he asked Harry.
"She's not my girlfriend," he said grumpily getting onto the bus leaving a hurt Elisia behind him.
Hermione came up to Harry as he entered the bus and pulled him over to a seat that she had saved for him. Right when Elisia entered the bus it lurched forward throwing Elisia into the back window. Harry turned back to look at her and their eyes met for a split second before he turned away and started talking to Hermione. Elisia pulled herself back to her feet and sat next to Ron looking like she was on the verge of tears.
"Harry just because she was rude to me doesn't mean you have to be mean to her," Hermione said sympathetically.
"Hermione, I can't be nice to someone who ignores me and my best friend! She's been like this all day and I have no idea why. It all started when she got some stupid howler this morning," Harry explained.
"Well Harry I'm just saying that maybe you should talk to her and don't blow her off right away. And plus I think she likes you," Hermione added as an after thought.
Harry turned around and looked back at where Elisia and Ron were sitting. Elisia and Ron were flirting; it made Harry want to puke all over the bus.
"I think you like her too Harry," Hermione said as she watched his face turn sour from seeing them flirting.
"WHAT? Of course I don't! I don't want another Cho for a girlfriend," Harry said loudly.
"Ok Harry, you don't need to get so angry about it," she said with a slight smile creeping across her face, which Harry saw and shoved her playfully.
Soon the Knight Bus came to a screeching stop throwing Elisia into the windshield. With the conversation he had had with Hermione replaying in his head, Harry decided to get up and help her.
"Need a hand?" he asked.
"Sure, thanks Harry," she said gratefully.
Hermione walked by the two smiling at Harry and coughing something that sounded oddly like "Just kiss and make up." Harry gave her a warning look that then turned into a smile, as Hermione got off the bus still in her "coughing fit."
Harry and Elisia then walked off the bus together smiling, obviously a lot happier than they had been earlier.
"Hurry now into the house we don't want prying eyes following us" Dumbledore said.
Harry then suddenly became very quiet as he looked up at Grimmauld place, stopping in his tracks. Hermione noticed this and walked over to Harry. She reached out for his hand gave it a quick gentle squeeze and smiled at him encouragingly. Ron then came over and said, "Come on Harry. Well help you get through this."
Elisia, in the mean time was starring between Harry and Hermione; her hand was still holding Harry's.
Hermione then let go of his hand with a last final squeeze and the trio and Elisia walked into number 12 Grimmauld Place.
As the door creaked opened Harry caught a glimpse of the dark muggy hall before a mass of red hair obscured his vision making him stumble.
"Hey, Harry!! Great to see you again!" Ginny Weasley said as she threw her arms around his neck.
"Good to see you too, Ginny," Harry replied.
"Ginny! Let Harry breath" Ron said jokingly.
They continued down the hall, Ginny was talking non-stop about her summer to Elisia and her new relationship with Dean Thomas, which Ron didn't seem to approve of very much.
"I mean she would have been better off with someone else like you or someone," Ron was muttering to Harry who just rolled his eyes—Ron was always to protective of his sister.
The dismembered house elves heads soon started covering the walls. Harry's heart jumped as he started skimming the line of heads for Kreacher's. Unfortunately he came to the last head and he hadn't seen it.
As if on cue, Kreacher appeared and as Harry saw him hatred so powerful erupted inside him that he wanted to take off his head right then and there. Instead as Harry walked past him he shoved him into the wall with all the force he could muster and kept walking.
"Harry! Do you not remember S.P.E.W? Your action goes completely against section 5,673 of my house elf handbook and..."
"Just shut up, will you, Hermione? That disgusting creature deserves it, so save you breath for someone who cares," Harry said. He had snapped. Being in Sirius's house was too much for him to handle. He pushed his way past Ginny and Elisia who had finally shut up about Dean at Harry's outburst and ran up stairs. He knocked over the umbrella stand, which set off Mrs. Black's painting and went into the room that he and Ron had shared last summer.
Harry felt extremely guilty for shouting at Hermione like that. Of course he hadn't meant any of what he had said to her, but seeing Kreacher alive and walking and having Sirius dead was just way to much for him to cope with.
Suddenly there was a knock on his door.
"Harry? Are you in there?" came Hermione's voice from the other side of the door.
He walked over and slowly opened the door letting Hermione in.
"Harry, I—" she began.
"No, Hermione, I should be the one apologizing. I'm sorry...it's just this house and all of the memories that made me burst out like that," Harry said sadly. "I didn't mean anything of what I said to you—you're my best friend and I would never want to hurt you," he added.
"Oh, Harry!" she said, flinging her arms around him as he hugged back. "I would never want to hurt you, either!"
At that precise moment, Elisia walked by. She had heard all of what they had said and now saw them hugging each other yet again. It simply was too much for her.
"Get a room," she yelled angrily, stalking off.
Harry and Hermione sprang apart quickly after hearing that.
"What's her problem she has worse mood swings than Cho! I can hug my best friend if I want to," Harry said irritated.
"Don't worry about it Harry. She'll come around," reassured Hermione.
Ginny and Ron then walked into the room; Elisia must have run off somewhere.
"Hey guys is everything all right between you two now?" Ron asked looking from Harry to Hermione.
"Yea" they both answered together.
"Good now you can hear more about me and Dean! He's so cute and nice and sincere and—" Ginny started with a dreamy look upon her face.
"Gin shut up! We all know Dean, he sleeps in our dormitory," Ron interrupted her with a disgusted look on his face.
"Hey, I never tell you to shut up whenever you talk about Elizabeth," Ginny replied with a satisfied smile. "And I hate the name Gin" she added.
"Oh Ron, who's Elizabeth?" Hermione questioned a smile creeping onto her face as well.
"Um nobody really," he answered his face turning a brilliant shade of red.
"Oh come on Ron spit it out," Harry demanded while trying to stifle a laugh.
"Elizabeth is a 6th year Ravenclaw, she's also my big brother's girlfriend," answered Ginny with a smirk across her face.
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny started to burst out laughing while Ron glared at them.
"It's not that funny, or are you guys just so surprised that a girl would actually like me," he said with an annoyed tone.
"Sorry Ron," said Hermione trying to contain her laughter but failed miserably.
Ron through a pillow at Hermione, which hit her square in the face making her shut up.
"HEY! What was that for ickle Ronnikins?" Hermione questioned jokingly throwing the pillow straight back at him.
"Hem, hem," Ginny said doing such a good imitation of Professor Umbridge that it made everybody startle. "Can we please stop acting like children and have a nice calm conversation?" Ginny asked.
"Yea, sure Gin," Harry replied smirking at her as he threw a pillow at the back of her head.
A huge pillow fight then broke out until a knock at the door made everyone stop except Harry and Ginny.
"Never- call- me- Gin!" Ginny said as she hit Harry, who was cowering on the floor, in between each word.
"Alright, alright I get the point...Gin," Harry said laughing while getting up to his feet.
"Guys cut it out!" yelled Elisia who had just come in accompanied by a tall girl with blonde curly hair and bright blue eyes; she was actually quite pretty Harry thought.
"Hey Lizzie!" said Ron approaching her.
"Hey Ronny!" she said. She grabbed him and they started making out right there in front of everybody.
Ginny grabbed a pillow motioning everybody else to do the same. "One, Two, Three" Ginny whispered as they all threw a pillow at the couple who were still wrapped up in each other.
"Get a room!" Hermione and Elisia both shouted at the same time. Hermione and Elisia then looked at each other and burst out in a fit of giggles which they couldn't control and Harry had to cover their mouths with his hands to make them stop.
"Oh um sorry," Ron said looking like he would like nothing better than to be buried.
Elizabeth on the other hand looked completely unembarrassed like it was perfectly normal to make out with someone in front of four other people.
"Hi Ginny!" exclaimed Elizabeth.
"Hey Elizabeth, oh and this is Harry, Hermione, and I guess you've met Elisia," said Ginny as she introduced everyone.
"Hey I'm Elizabeth. Ronny has told me so much about you guys," she said while Ron's hand went around her waist.
Harry had to turn his laugh into a cough at hearing Ron being called Ronny.
"Oh Ronny what did you say about us?" said Hermione smiling widely.
"Um.... j-just stuff," answered Ron.
"All of you up there come down and eat" came the kind voice of Mrs Weasley saving Ron from further embarrassment.
As they walked out of the room Elisia pulled Harry aside.
"Look, Harry, I'm really sorry about earlier," she said apologetically.
"It's ok, and I promise next time I hug my friend I'll make sure to get a room," he said smiling at her. They both started laughing as they continued their way downstairs to the kitchen.
When they entered Harry noticed there were people surrounded around the table probably having another meeting. Mr and Mrs Weasley were of course there along with Bill and Charlie, Mundungus, Tonks (whose hair today was bright orange), and Lupin. Various teachers from Hogwarts were also there including McGonagall, Dumbledore, and to Harry's horror, Snape. They were all conversing with each other in whispered voices until Dumbledore looked up and said, "Hello Harry. How has your summer been?"
The whispering immediately stopped, and with a wave of his wand Professor Dumbledore made all of the papers that were covering the table disappear.