Disclaimer: I still don't own the wonderful world of Harry Potter. *sigh* Rough luck, I know. Also, this disclaimer should have gone w/ the previous chapter. The term "half man, half boy" belongs to Deegan from the book The Battle for the Castle.
Dedication: I dedicate this chapter to Moon Warrior for letting me be her beta-reader, and see her new story. *grins happily* And hurry with the Chronicles!!!
Chapter 6: Will Some Things Never Change?!
"Did you ever think the sun was too bright?" Ron asked when Harry walked in the room the next morning.
"What?" Harry had just spent twenty minutes waiting for Hermione to get out of the bathroom just to have Azar shove her way in first, so he wasn't in the most thoughtful of moods.
"In the morning, right when the sun gets up, it's blinding. Especially in the summer. The summer is always too bright."
Harry raised an eyebrow, but Ron continued to stare out the window.
"Have you ever seen a ghost outside in such bright?" Ron went on wistfully, "At Hogwarts, they're always indoors. Can you even see them in the sun?"
"Does this have anything to do with Percy?" Harry said tentatively.
"I guess. I'm not really sure."
Harry sat on the bed. "Have you told your parents?"
"Told them what?"
"About Percy."
Ron finally turned to Harry, looking at him as if he'd just suggested they forget about Hogwarts and live as muggles. "No. And I don't plan to."
Harry was a bit surprised. "Why not? Wouldn't they want to know?"
"I don't see what good it'd do. He'll be at Hogwarts, anyways, and they've got too much to think about." Ron's mood had gone from contemplative to tense faster than Hermione could answer a Transfiguration question.
"I still think you should tell them. What harm could it do?
"Are you joking?!" Ron cried, getting a little panicky, "They'd think I was mad! Think about it, Harry. "How was your day, Mum and Dad? By the way, Percy came back from the dead a few nights ago. He's here on some important mission, though he can't remember anything. Could you pass the toast?" If you didn't know, would you believe me or think my grief had gone to my brain?"
"Well… I could back you up."
Ron shook his head. "I dunno. It's Percy's choice. Let's leave it at that. I'm going down to breakfast."
Ron left the room. Harry sat a moment, then tidied up the room, just giving himself time to think.
"Knock, knock. I hope you're decent," Azar said, rapping on the door and then walking in, "Hey, Harry."
"I'm not speaking to you," Harry said, turning away from her with a faked lofty look.
"Aw, why?"
"You stole my spot in the bathroom line. And I think I've a bruise where you shoved me into the wall."
"Sorry, Harry," she laughed, "but when nature calls, woe to anyone who gets in my way."
"Azar," Harry said after a while, "there're a couple things I wanted to ask you."
"Ask away," she smiled.
"Last night, why did you tell me 'beware the holidays'?"
"Very simple," she said, her voice getting quiet, "That thing you've been avoiding, your greatest fear, it shall come true at Christmas. You're coming to meet my family."
"The horror!" Harry laughed, "Well, that's one prediction that won't come true."
"Mr. Potter," Azar said, folding her arms, "do you mean to tell me that you are not coming to my house for Christmas?"
"Well—I dunno."
"You're coming."
"We'll talk about this later," Harry smiled, shaking his head, "Now, question number two: why didn't you tell everyone that you're a Seer?"
Azar thought a moment, then smiled at him. "I thought it'd be a secret. Just between you and me."
"You've never been one for secrets, Azar. Keeping a secret just for the sake of having one isn't like you at all."
"Well, what if it is now?" she said, giving an impish grin, "A girl's got a right to change her mind, right?"
Harry just looked at her, not quite frowning but far from laughing, his head cocked downward as if expecting something.
"Oh, don't; my dad gives me that look all the time," Azar said, giving a little shiver.
"Spill it, Azar," he answered simply.
She tugged nervously at her fingers. "I… Well, I'm afraid."
"Afraid?"
"Well… yeah. I don't know. It's just…this isn't some neat trick. It's powerful. And dangerous."
"Dangerous?"
Azar smiled slightly. "Are you my echo or what?"
"Sorry. But…why?"
Azar took a deep breath. "I know these people would rather die than tell, but… I don't know. If Voldemort came… and if I wasn't strong enough… What if I couldn't take it? What if I gave in? People could get hurt. Because of me."
"Why would Voldemort come after you?" Harry asked, eyes wide.
She gave a nervous little laugh. "I dunno. I guess I just figure he'd like to know the future, so he could avoid it. I'd rather not give him the warning."
Harry nodded, though it was still a shock to think Voldemort might come after Azar.
"Well, let's head downstairs," Azar smiled, "According to Sirius, our Hogwarts letters have arrived."
The two hurried downstairs to find Ron and Hermione at opposite ends of the kitchen table, opening their letters.
"I'm Head Girl!" Hermione suddenly yelled excitedly, brandishing a badge that said 'HG' before them.
"Wow, congrats, Herm!" Azar exclaimed rushing over to see the badge and letter that came with it.
"That's great," Harry smiled.
Ron, however, was silent. Harry looked over at him. He was staring at his letter, his eyes so wide Harry was sure they'd fall out.
"What is it, Ron?"
"I… I'm Head Boy…" he whispered.
Everyone was silent. "Co…come again?" Harry said.
"I'm Head Boy," Ron said, holding up the badge with a quivering hand.
Hermione practically leapt over the table to Ron's side. Her eyes went wide when she saw the badge closely. "Bloody hell…" she whispered.
"Hermione!" Ron said with a surprised laugh.
"Oh my, I'm sorry," she blushed, covering her mouth, "It just kind of popped out. That's wonderful!"
She hugged him and Harry and Azar went over, congratulating and patting him on the back.
"Let me see the letter," Harry said.
Ron handed Harry a parchment, turning as red as his hair, but unmistakably more from pleasure than embarrassment. Harry read it with wide eyes:
Dear Mr. Weasley,
It is my great pleasure to inform you that you have been chosen as Head Boy for the Hogwarts class of 1998.
Many think that the title of Head Boy is placed only on those with extremely outstanding academic achievement, and that is partially correct. But there is much more to it than that. First, ever teacher at Hogwarts nominates a candidate. They give reasons why they chose that candidate and reasons the rest of the staff should chose him. We have a vote, but it doesn't just go by majority. Every single teacher has to agree that the nominee deserves this great honor.
Quite a few teachers nominated you, Mr. Weasley. I feel that you have a right to know their reasons. First, your outstanding improvement over the last year. Whatever prompted you to put that much dedication into your schoolwork, it is amazing how far you took it. A score of twenty-seven O.W.L.s is more than outstanding. That alone was enough to get you nominated.
Then, many of us were greatly impressed by how you kept your mind through such trials that you had to suffer. The loss of family is never easy, and at such a time in life when you have become old enough to be friends, it is especially tragic. Few people could have survived it as you did, and are.
The final reason you were chosen is your personality. All of us felt that you would be kind and fair to the students of our school, yet you wouldn't yield to rule breaking (much). Your natural brotherly ways are a great comfort to younger students.
I congratulate you, Mr. Weasley, and it is with great pride that I present to you the Head Boy badge.
Sincerely,
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore
Harry kept looking from the letter to Ron, his voice lost but for one word. "Wow."
"Unbelievable, isn't it?" Ron laughed, "It's like Hermione getting expelled: possible, but definitely the last thing you'd expect. Ten galleons that you'd've gotten the spot if it weren't for Snape, though."
Harry shook his head. "No, you can keep it. I couldn't be Head Boy."
Ron just smiled. "I gotta get home. Mum and Dad won't be able to believe this. And I can't wait to see the looks on Fred and George's faces!"
The rest of the day sped by, Ron and Hermione leaving each in turn. Harry smiled thinking about how each of the households must be full of laughter and happy tears. Azar stayed at the Den. She would be spending the rest of the summer there, for her parents had gone on a second-honeymoon. The rest of the summer went by so fast, Harry just couldn't believe it.
Harry tried to go to Azar's room that night to talk, but Remus headed him off. Even though Harry tried to explain all he wanted to do was talk, he was sure Remus didn't believe him. "Even the most honorable of seventeen-year-old boys shouldn't be trusted in the bedroom of a sixteen-year old girl," he said with a slight smile as he guided Harry back to his room.
During Azar's visit, Harry tried twice more to visit her at night, but Remus was always there. Harry was never sure how he managed it. Soon enough, however, September 1st arrived and it was time to head to King's Cross Station. Things at the Den weren't nearly as hectic as the Burrow when it was time to leave, but the problem was Remus' car. It worked properly about half the time, and seemed to particularly enjoy stalling at stoplights and on hills. Harry and Azar had little time to say good-bye to Remus and Sirius, and ran all the way to Platform 9 ¾, glad to get there before the train left.
After boarding the train, however, there was the matter of finding Ron and Hermione. By the time they finally found the right compartment, half the people on the train were very annoyed with them.
"It's about time," Ron said when they entered, "We were beginning to think you'd missed the train."
"Almost did," Harry laughed, "Remus' car isn't the most trustworthy means of transportation."
Azar sat down, then broke out in a grin. "Ron and Herm, Head Boy and Girl. I still can't get over it."
Hermione smiled (though she had flinched at being called 'Herm'), straightening up, and even Ron looked very pleased.
"No funny business, then," Hermione smiled, "I'm looking forward to a nice, quiet, and orderly trip."
"Good luck," Harry laughed, "Nothing's nice, quiet, and orderly when Azar's involved."
Azar scooted over in her seat, squishing Harry up against the wall and looking as though she hadn't meant to do it.
"Ah, okay, I take it back! Get off, I'm suffocating."
"I thought Draco would have been here with you guys," Azar said, scooting over.
"He wouldn't be on the train," Harry said, "I mean, he's still living at Hogwarts, right?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot," Azar said, flumping down into her seat, "I wish he was here, though. I haven't seen him all summer."
"Me neither. Hey, why wasn't he at my birthday party?"
Ron suddenly looked as though everyone was looking for a lost chocolate cake, and his fingers were sticky with frosting.
"Ron, don't tell me you didn't invite him??" Hermione said, Ron avoiding her eyes.
"I just…forgot to."
"Forgot to? How could you forget to invite him?!"
"Look, I'm sorry! I'm just not used to anything but hating Malfoy. Besides, I'm not even sure how strong our friendship is, if it exists at all. Is Malfoy even such a good friend that he would be invited?"
"For heaven's sakes, Ron, he's a person, not a…a storm," Hermione countered, "You don't categorize your friends. And his name is Draco."
"See? I'm still not even used to calling him by his first name! How was I supposed to be expected to invite him?"
"You just were. I hope he can forgive us," Hermione sighed.
"Oh, he probably doesn't even know when Harry's birthday is. He won't care."
"Of course he'll care! He has feelings, you know!"
"Well, he's not like the rest of us."
Hermione looked as if she were ready to slap Ron. "Ronald Mary Weasley! How dare you!"
Ron's face went extremely red from a mixture of embarrassment and anger. "Crikey, Hermione, just drop it."
"I will not drop it! Draco is a good person and he should be treated as such! Why can't you forgive him?! The rest of us have, right?"
She looked to Harry and Azar, who both nodded vigorously. Even if they thought different, neither dared to disagree with Hermione when she was like this.
"Well I'm sorry if forgetting to invite someone to a birthday party is such a crime!"
Hermione glared at him, giving an indignant grunt, and then stormed from the compartment. Ron slumped back in his seat, arms folded and bottom lip protruded in a pout.
Suddenly, Azar snorted with laughter, causing both boys to look up at her. "Mary?" she said to Ron, unable to contain her grin.
"Oh shut up," Ron said, slumping further down, "It's tradition in my family that one child gets her mother's name as her middle one. My parents had lost all hope of having a girl by the time they got to me, so I was stuck with it. And don't you dare tell anyone. I'm going to the bathroom."
He lifted himself out of his seat and stomped out of the compartment, slamming the door as he went.
"Well," Azar said, stretching out and putting her feet on the empty seat across from her, "so much for a quiet trip."
Ron and Hermione were gone for the majority of the rest of the trip. They'd occasionally come back and talk with Harry and Azar a while, always managing not to be there at the same time. Ron was in the compartment when the train finally stopped, having arrived at Hogsmeade station. The second he stood up, however, Azar grabbed him by the scruff of his robes and started marching him out the train.
"Azar, what are you doing?" Ron asked, alarmed at having little control over where he was going.
Azar didn't answer, though her face was as composed as if she didn't even realize was she was doing. Harry followed, as bewildered as Ron. When they got outside, she stopped a moment, looking around, then marched forward as determined as ever. It was a while before Harry realized they were headed straight for Hermione. When she reached her, Azar grabbed her by the back of her robes also, much to Hermione's surprise. Getting out of the crowd's way, Azar turned her captives so they could see her, but she didn't let them go.
"Okay," she said casually, "Apologize."
"What?" Ron said incredulously.
"You heard me. Kiss and make up."
"Oh, come on, Azar," Hermione sighed, turning to leave, but Azar tugged her back.
"We're not leaving until both of you apologize."
"This is ridiculous," Ron said with a frown.
"Oh look, the first carriages are leaving," Azar said as if merely commenting on the weather.
"You're going to make us late, Azar," Hermione said, a little angry.
"That would be a shame, wouldn't it? Of course, it's out of my hands. You guys are the ones who have to apologize."
Hermione's eyes went wide and she quickly glanced over to the carriages, now greatly reduced in number and more and more leaving every minute. Ron noticed this, too, getting a little worried. He and Hermione looked at each other.
"Fine, I'm sorry," Ron finally said.
"Yeah me, too," Hermione answered, "Now, will you let us go, Azar?"
"You forgot to seal it with a kiss."
Ron and Hermione looked at each other again, both still a little angry. Ron, however, slowly began to smile, and Hermione couldn't stop her grin either. They leaned forward and kissed. Then, with another smile, they kissed again, much longer this time.
"Break it up, break it up," Azar said, pulling them apart, "The expression is 'kiss and make up' not 'kiss and make out.' Besides, we'll be left behind."
Azar headed off for the last carriage remaining, Harry right behind her. He just stared at her, until, while she was entering the carriage, she looked at him and said, "What?"
He smiled. "I love you."
"The feeling's mutual," Azar said, leaning over and giving him a quick kiss.
After Ron and Hermione joined them, the carriage jolted alive, heading quickly for the school. When they got there, all the other carriages were gone and they could tell they were more than a little late.
"Come on, let's hurry," Hermione said, leaping up the steps two-by-two, "Oh, I hope they didn't try to introduce the new Head Girl and Boy. I'd just die of embarrassment."
They quickly entered the Entrance Hall, but were stopped by a cold voice.
"Well, well, if it isn't Potty, Weasel, and Mudblood."
The four friends turned around to find Draco Malfoy leaning against the wall, sneering haughtily.
"Draco? Wh…what did you call us?" Harry said, truly unable to believe what the blond boy had just said.
"You heard me, Potter," he scoffed, eyes full of malice, "Oh, but how could I forget Miss Azar Zundel, practically perfect in every way." His voice was anything but complimentary.
"Well, what do you know," Azar said, putting her hands on her hips and cocking her head to one side, "A spoonful of sugar really doesn't help the medicine go down."
Ron was more than a little confused at this statement, and Harry suspected Draco was too though he didn't show it.
"Nice to see you four," Draco went on, "The summer seemed so empty without you."
They were silent, not sure what to say. Draco just glared at them. Suddenly, Hermione's eyes went wide and she put her hand to her mouth.
"Oh, Draco…" she whispered.
Draco didn't answer, but headed for the Great Hall.
"Draco," Hermione said, stepping in his way, "I'm so sorry. When I heard…"
"Oh, you're sorry," Draco said, his eyes clouding over, "So sorry that you didn't even bother to send an owl?"
Hermione looked absolutely crushed, tears coming to her eyes but words unable to form on her lips. Draco flushed with anger, but was blinking furiously, as if there was something in his eye.
"Just out of my way, mudblood," he snarled, shoving roughly past her.
"Malfoy, get back here!" Ron called angrily.
"Make me."
Ron ran right after him, reaching out and grabbing Draco's left arm to stop him. What happened next, however, shocked all of them, Ron most of all. Draco cried out in pain. It wasn't from surprise or from pressure. This was true, searing pain; pain strong enough to make Draco fall to his knees. Ron quickly let go, absolutely mortified.
"Weasley!" came a slightly shrill voice.
Professor McGonagall stormed up to them, livid with anger, the Sorting Hat in one hand and a three-legged stool in the other. "May I ask what you think you're doing?"
"I…I didn't mean to, Professor. I just was trying to stop Malfoy. I didn't mean anything by it," Ron said, his eyes wide.
McGonagall set him in her piercing gaze a moment, then turned to Draco. "Are you all right, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Yes, Professor. Weasley startled me, that's all," Draco said, getting up, but Harry noticed he was rubbing his forearm, as if to get rid of the pain.
"Very well then. Hurry to the Great Hall; you've already missed the Sorting and will miss the feast if you don't get there soon."
McGonagall then turned to go wherever she was headed, presumably to return the Sorting Hat to its rightful place, and Draco skulked off to the Great Hall without another word.
"What happened, Ron?" Azar asked in bewilderment.
"I…I don't know. I swear I didn't grab him roughly. I barely even touched him! Think he was faking it?"
"No," Harry said, shaking his head, "That was real pain, no doubt about it. I just can't imagine why it hurt him like that. Or why he acted like that. You'd think last year didn't happen at all."
"Well, I say we forget Malfoy for the night and think about our stomachs. I don't know about yours, but mine is empty and I don't plan on keeping it that way."
They started off for the Great Hall, but Ron stopped, turning around. "Hermione? Hermione, aren't you coming?"
She didn't answer, just standing, fingering her robes nervously.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" Ron asked, walking over to her.
"He's right," she whispered, eyes brimming with tears, "I read about it, I felt sorry for him, but then I turned to another article. I didn't even send him a letter. If it had been any of you, I'd have been there as soon as I could, but for him… I didn't even think of sending an owl. How can I even call myself his friend?"
"What happened? What did you read about?" Harry asked anxiously.
"His mother. Draco's mother," Hermione said quietly, "In mid-August, she… She committed suicide."
~*~*~
A/N: I'm so mean to poor Draco. *grins* What, did you think I'd just let him be nice this year?
Whew, finally at Hogwarts! Now I really need to get my ideas in order… I should be doing math right now, but hey, it's Superbowl Sunday. ^_^
Well, thank you all for reviewing!!!
SuNnY GuRL: Thanks!
Sophie Black: Thanks! I'm glad you didn't have too much trouble. ^_^
1: Thanks!
Jeanne: Yeah… "half man, half boy" doesn't belong to me. And real or fake, you decide. ^_^ Thanks!
Mrs. Grim: Nope, nothing. ^-^ Yes, they do both deserve someone… ^_^ Thanks!
abbey: Thanks! ^-^
Lady Aquila: Thanks! And maybe… ^-^
Nallen Riddle: Well, Draco's back. ^-^ Thanks!
Naralina: Thanks! I'm looking forward to your new chapter, too!!!!
yerbroham: Since I already emailed you, I'll just say thanks. Thanks! ^-^
sweets: lol. Mmmm… The only question I'll answer is yes, the last word is going to be scar. Though good luck figuring out in what context. ^_^
Lupin's Niece AJ: ^_^ Thanks!
Thank you all!
Be excellent to each other!
-Ady