"What bothers me is they haven't managed to make the Death Eaters we caught talk," Ron buckled his shin guards in place and then reached over to adjust the neck of Harry's Quidditch robes. The rest of the team were used to seeing these two fiddle with each other's gear absently now, and it didn't even rate a raised eyebrow. Harry grinned his thanks, enjoying the touch innocently.
"Shacklebolt and Tonks will wear them down," Harry knew he sounded confident, "I did a spread with that school deck I borrowed from Trelawny. She was so pleased I was interested in her 'art' that she let me have one for the rest of the term."
"You need to get your own, mate," Ron frowned, and let Harry adjust his wrist guards, "Flitwick said…"
"I'm sorry to interrupt you two, but would it be too much to ask that you pay attention to the match we're about to play?" Angelina Johnson broke in, using the sweet reasonable voice that meant you were about to be hexed six ways to Sunday. The partners broke off their conversation, and turned their attention to the rest of their team mates.
"Now that our Keeper and Seeker are ready," Angelina smiled sarcastically at them, "You all know that this is one of the most important games of the season. We play Slytherin and there is a lot riding on the match. We need to beat them by two hundred points to knock them out of the running entirely, but they'll be especially vicious after the thrashing that Ravenclaw gave them last time."
"It was beautiful," Ginny sighed, "Malfoy missed the snitch at least three times!"
Ron and Harry grinned at each other. They'd spent some time this last week reminding Malfoy of just that fact every time they met him in a hallway. Neither partner was silly enough to try it in a lesson - they didn't want to risk being banned from this match. Even Angelina was smiling in fond reminiscence.
"Yes, and he'll be out to prove himself this match. They need to win, and win well to recover from that last match. We're lucky enough to have good weather for ours," Angelina gestured out the window at the sky, which was blue with a few white high clouds, "So you'll have to watch yourselves. Slytherin likes to play dirty, and Harry, whatever you do, don't catch the snitch until we're fifty points up."
"Got it," Harry nodded, "Fifty points."
"Everyone ready? Lets go!" Angelina snatched up her broom and led the way out of the changing rooms to the players box. They got into position quietly, and Ron cleared his throat once. Harry reflected that he'd been having a brilliant run lately, and even the Slytherins had been forced to retire their version of 'Weasley is our King'. That had been sung at the first match of the season, and Harry had shot him a look that made the song fade from Ron's memory. He'd saved three goals in very quick succession before his partner had caught the snitch. They'd celebrated very enthusiastically that night with the team, and Harry had given his tired partner a sweet kiss before they'd slept. Ron had told him that was reward enough.
Madam Hooch strode out onto the pitch and reminded everyone that she expected fair play from all of them. The captains shook hands, everyone mounted, and Harry kicked his Firebolt off, moving to hover in the traditional Seekers position, above the Chasers and Beaters. Colin Creevey had taken the role of Beater this year, taking Kirke's place. Sloper had retained his spot as Beater, and seemed to have improved over the summer and after a lot of intense training with the team - he now hit the bludger where he was aiming it most of the time, and very rarely hit his team-mates. Angelina and Ginny were Chasers along with a fourth year called Alex Marshfall.
The snitch was released with the bludgers, and the whistle blew as the quaffle was thrown straight up. Gryffindor emerged with it from the scrum and Harry zigzagged above them down the length of the pitch, diving at one of Slytherins Beaters - he could never tell them apart - to spoil his aim at Ginny. Malfoy was zooming around the pitch feverishly, presumably looking for the snitch, and Harry soared back up to his position at the edge of the pitch, halfway between each goal. He preferred to watch for the snitch from a stationary position, it let him assist his team-mates with a distraction or a feint when needed.
Slytherin were playing very dirty, and Gryffindor received two penalties in the first ten minutes, which they converted to goals. That put the score at thirty nothing, and the Slytherins seemed to realise that they were defeating themselves. Though the team was mounted on the Nimbus Two Thousand and One model racing broom, they were finding it very hard to outclass the Gryffindors, who only had Harry's Firebolt to boast of. Gryffindor had discovered early that the best broom in the world wouldn't improve your ability to play Quidditch if you were talent less.
Ginny had the quaffle and was streaking for the goal when a bludger hit her brooms tail and sent her into a spin. The quaffle went flying as she tried to control her broom, and was grabbed by a Slytherin Chaser. Harry zoomed down the pitch, running interference until Angelina and Colin could get there. A very cleverly aimed bludger sent the quaffle flying and Angelina grabbed it, heading back up the pitch, joined by Alex. Ginny had regained control of her broom, though Harry thought it was having some difficulty flying in a straight line.
He ducked a bludger and glanced around to make sure that Malfoy was still seeking the snitch. Gryffindor increased their lead to forty and Harry decided it was time for a little distraction. He spun his broom towards his own goals and sped up, the ground and stands going by at a blur. His partner ducked out of Harry's way as a whistle of air told him that Malfoy had joined him in the hunt, thinking that Harry had spotted the snitch.
Harry heard Ron laugh as they went zooming past and Harry looped around the goals in a complicated pattern before returning to his usual place halfway down the pitch.
"What's wrong, Malfoy? Lost the snitch again?" he called over his shoulder, and gripped his broom as Malfoy barged past him, trying to knock him off as he went back to his search pattern, weaving in and out of the other players. Harry chuckled to himself and watched Ron make a brilliant save despite both bludgers aiming for him. He breathed easier when Colin and Sloper took charge of them, sending them towards the Slytherin captain.
There was a chill in the air as winter had yet give way to the spring storms, and Harry shivered a little in his robes, deciding to warm up with a quick sprint around the pitch. He scattered the Slytherin Beaters on his way past and dodged and dived around the Slytherin goal before returning to his place with Malfoy a rather dishevelled second. Before either teen could come up with a taunt there was a roar from the Gryffindor supporters, and Harry grinned, turning to keep an eye out for the snitch once more, looking in real earnest this time. He had to catch it before Malfoy did, thus knocking the Slytherins out of the running.
A flash of gold had Malfoy winging after it, with Harry in hot pursuit. The snitch led them a merry dance around both goalposts, as the Seekers rammed each other and ducked bludgers in an effort to get there first. Players scattered in front of them as they blasted through a heated dispute for possession of the quaffle. The Nimbus was no match for the Firebolt over long distances, and Harry had started to pull ahead when Malfoy grunted and heaved his broom handle over the top of Harry's, sending them both off course and into a steep dive. This was a foul called blurting, which would result in a penalty for Gryffindor if Madam Hooch had time to notice.
"Bugger off!" Harry roared, to the blonde's obvious amusement. Harry grit his teeth, seeing the wall of the stands looming very close. It was obviously Malfoy's intention to smear him on the wall like jam on toast. He took a deep breath and threw his weight sharply to the right, rolling his broom free of Malfoy's in an unexpected move. Harry maintained the roll, taking his broom underneath the other teens Nimbus, seeing the snitch shoot underneath them both in the opposite direction. Harry righted himself, free of Malfoy, who was overshooting his target in an effort to stop, and jammed his feet onto the twigs at the end of his broom, hauling up on the handle until the broom was vertical, twisting his weight so he spun one hundred and eighty degrees on the spot.
Now the snitch was in front of him, and Harry slammed his broom back into the horizontal position, leaning forward and kicking it into maximum speed. The snitch fluttered along in front of him and Harry leaned forward even more, snatching it out of the air and hauling back on his broom, soaring up into the rare, clear, winter sky - roars echoing in his ears.
0o0o0o0
"Harry!" Hermione screamed in his ear, "That was bloody brilliant!"
Harry winced away from the volume, though to be fair she had to scream to be heard over the top of the rest of the house. The common room was heaving with excited students, and the rest of the team had already been mobbed. Dennis Creevey was already showing pictures from his brother's camera. Colin had discovered a way to make Muggle Polaroid's move, and his younger brother never went to a game without it.
"Ease off Hermione!" Ron grinned at their friend, "He's only got one set of ears and they're mine!"
The remark went unheard by the rest of the Gryffindors in all the fuss and bother, and Hermione moved back a little, a slightly hurt expression on her face. Harry laughed and reached out to her, giving her a hug.
"Ignore him Hermione!" he laughed, "He's just being a prat!"
Hermione gave him a slightly wobbly smile and Ron hugged her too, making her squeak. Then the rest of the Gryffindors spotted Harry and Ron in the doorway and mobbed them. They lost track of Hermione in the middle of it all, and Harry forgot about the sad look in Hermione's eyes for a couple of hours.
Lee Jordan disappeared for a while, and came back with butter beer, fire whiskey and a large basket from Honeydukes. Harry guessed the twins must have told him about the passage out of Hogwarts and laughed. Ron warned the seventh year to keep the fire whiskey away from the under aged Wizards and ate a couple of chocolate frogs.
Neville snagged Harry for a detailed discussion of the match, and Harry settled down with a large group of students in the corner, sipping butter beer and taking the match apart, discussing tactics and counter moves that the Slytherin could have used. Once they'd exhausted that topic they moved on to racing brooms - which was the best, and why. Harry became so immersed in the discussion that when Ron found him two hours later it had become dark outside.
"Hey! Have you seen Hermione?" Ron yelled, "There's an owl here for her!"
"No!" Harry roared back over the noise and got up to help him look. She didn't appear to be in the common room, and Ginny said she wasn't in her room either. The carved arms around the archway were not something either teen wanted to wrestle with, so they couldn't go look for themselves.
"Have you tried our room?" Harry leaned in close to speak to Ron without screaming at the top of his lungs. His partner shook his head and they made their way through the throng, exchanging smiles and greetings with everyone as they waded through them.
Hermione was indeed in their room, wedged into a corner behind one of their ratty armchairs. Ginny took one look, rolled her eyes and left again, muttering something about coffee and headache potions. Hermione was clutching a bottle of butter beer, but from the smell of it she'd filled it with fire whiskey. Harry had taken a sip from Ron's glass and grimaced - the taste too strong for him to enjoy, though he understood that some Wizards liked to cut it with a non-alcoholic drink.
"Hermione?" Ron asked as Harry sealed the door. He had a bad feeling about this. Hermione was clearly not in a happy place and he knew she'd be mortified the next morning if anyone else saw this. She'd probably be mortified that her friends had seen it anyway.
"That's my name," Hermione slurred, "Hey it's Ronny! Helloooooo Ronny!"
She giggled and Harry sighed, biting down on a smile at the look on Ron's face. He helped Ron pull the chair out so that they could both get in behind it and then squeezed in to sit on one side of Hermione. First things first - the removal of her drink.
"Hello Hermione," Harry smiled as sincerely as he could, "Can I have a sip?"
"Harry!" Hermione threw her arms around his neck, banging his head with the bottle and squeezing him tightly, "Harry that was bloody brilliant! Bloody bloody brilliant!"
"Thanks Hermione," Harry winced and pulled the bottle from her hand. He stuck it behind the bookcase where it wouldn't be knocked over and then submitted to her very vigorous hugs. She even kissed him on the cheek, still muttering 'bloody brilliant' at irregular intervals. Ron chuckled and she turned her head to look at him.
"Ronny! You were bloody brilliant too," she stuttered, "You were, you were, you w-w-were!"
"You're brilliant too, Hermione," Ron said gamely, and she shook her head, her mood swinging from happy to sad the way only the truly drunk could manage. Her eyes filled with tears and Harry reared back in alarm.
"No I'm not! Y-you don't l-love me any m-more," she sobbed, "You love each oth-ther and y-you're l-l-leaving m-me b-b-b-bb-behhhhhinnnnnnd."
"Hermione," Harry groaned. He had been afraid of this. The Sympathetic Magic that he and Ron were learning to control had driven a wedge between them and their friend. She had continued to study with them, and any time during the day not filled with practice for one thing or another was spent with her, but obviously she was feeling left out.
"Oh, Hermione!" he sighed, hugging her to him, "That's not true. We do love you, don't we Ron?"
Hermione was clutching his robes and crying rather messily into them. Harry hit his partner with a very significant look, and Ron hurried to back him up.
"That's right, Hermione, we do love you," he said hastily, "In fact we'd be lost without you. You're our best friend!"
Both teens had their arms around her and were rocking a little in sympathy. Harry was patting her hair and Ron stroked her arms lightly, hoping to calm her down enough to get her up into a chair before Ginny came back.
"You do?" she asked in a very small voice and the partners rushed to assure her they did. Her mood swung back to very happy again and she sat up brightly.
"We'll always be friends," she proclaimed, "Harry, Ronny and Hermy! Friends forever!"
"Friends forever Hermy," Ron chuckled and got up, hauling her with him.
"Let's have a d-drink!" she suggested, and there was a knock at the door. Ron went to unseal it while Harry settled her in his usual chair, sitting on the arm of it when she refused to let go of his hand. Ginny entered with a very large pot of strong smelling coffee, a couple of mugs and a small bottle of headache potion. Hermione greeted her with delight, and the three of them started the task of sobering Hermione up before Professor McGonagal came to break up the party.
0o0o0o0
"Now, today gentlemen, we will attempt to master the techniques you have practiced so far without the use of a wand," Professor Flitwick stood on his usual pile of books, "This will require a greater level of concentration initially, as you train yourselves to channel your magic through your fingertips."
Ron nodded rather blearily - the effects of last night's party still ringing in his ears. He and Harry had finished off the fire whiskey together after Hermione had gone to lie down and nurse her incipient hangover. As Harry hadn't liked the taste they'd added it to the pot of coffee that Ginny had left behind. His partner had warmed to the drink straight away, and they'd been a little more than tipsy when they fell into bed that night.
Harry stifled a yawn beside Ron, which the Professor luckily missed, and Ron reached out to touch his wrist. Harry had been very hard to wake this morning and they'd had no time to celebrate their win together, having to rush to make it to Flitwick's classroom on time. As a result, Ron was feeling very… unsettled, and wanted to get this lesson over with so he could get his leg over with his partner later.
/Stay awake you sod/ he warned//or I'll dose you with Pepper Up potion./
"Now, the casting of the spells is exactly the same," Flitwick continued, eying Ron's finger with interest. Ron dropped his friend's wrist and tried to look more awake, "You say the spell as you normally would, but instead of a wand movement, you must use your hands. Unfortunately, I cannot instruct you on the hand movements that will work best for you, because?"
"Each partnership is unique, and therefore uses their magic uniquely," Ron surprised himself with the answer, and smiled when Flitwick beamed at him proudly.
"Precisely!" he squeaked, "Shall we begin? As you can see I have placed several feathers on my desk. I would like you to try the Wingardium Leviosa charm on them. Remember to feel the magic as you summon it. Instead of directing it to your wand, direct it to your target object."
Harry moved and tangled his fingers with Ron's. They grasped each other easily, tenderly this morning, and felt their abilities pool easily together. Ron flexed his fingers and Harry raised his hand instinctively, pointing it at the feathers on the desk.
"Wingardium Leviosa," Ron said quietly, and Harry turned his hand palm up, his fingers spreading a little. Ron felt the tingle of the spell as it left Harry's fingertips and the feathers floated up for a moment before settling on the desk.
"Excellent work, boys!" Flitwick clapped his hands, "Try again! Mr Weasley, I want you to cast and disperse the magic this time, Mr Potter, I want you to simply put your strength at Mr Weasley's command."
This time the feathers stayed in the air a little longer. When Harry was the sole caster he achieved the same result as Ron, and when they cast together they managed to raise the feathers and hold them perfectly still in mid air until Flitwick told them to release the spell.
"I want you to practice this for a few minutes - each taking a turn to cast individually. Once you have mastered that skill we will take this another step forward," the Professor got down from his books and moved over to the bookcase on the back wall. After thirty minutes of steady work, they could levitate the feathers easily and had moved on to the furniture, which was heavier and required a greater draw on their mutual powers.
"Rest for a few minutes," Flitwick said finally and a tray popped into existence on his desk with some biscuits and tea. Ron settled on a chair and pulled Harry onto his lap, wanting to maintain their closeness for a while. Flitwick always beamed at them when they did this, and Harry no longer squirmed or blushed, which took a little of the fun out of it for Ron. Once he had deemed them to be refreshed, Flitwick reviewed the reading he'd asked them to do in a gruelling question and answer session. Then he told them they'd be casting without their wands again, this time with a new twist.
"No touching?" Harry looked a little uncertain, "But I thought that the Magic worked best when we were in contact with each other."
"It does," Flitwick agreed, "But you may one day be faced with a situation where it will not be possible for you to reach each other. You must learn to pool your resources without touch. I do not expect this will work well, or for long at first, but I would be most remiss if I did not instruct you in it now."
Ron sighed and urged Harry up. He waited until the blood returned to his legs and got up as well. Flitwick made them stand on opposite sides of the room and Ron breathed in and out slowly. It took a lot of effort to reach out to Harry magically instead of physically, and it took even longer for them to feel the synchronisation of their abilities. Flitwick stood at the front of the room in his usual spot, absolutely still as Ron raised his hand and pointed it at the feathers.
"Wingardium Leviosa," he muttered and the feathers twitched up off the desk and floated for a few seconds before falling back in place. Flitwick bounced on his toes but did not speak, and a moment later Harry achieved the same effect.
"Excellent!" Flitwick gestured for them to return to his desk, "Now, I know you will be very tired, so we will finish here for today. I want you both to rest this afternoon, and tomorrow we will try again."
"I don't like it," Harry complained, "It feels… wrong, like Ron's missing."
Flitwick's face softened and he leaned over to pat Harry's shoulder.
"I know that it feels unnatural," he sympathised, "But you must practice it diligently. There may come a time when that very skill saves your life or the life of another. It will get easier with practice, Mr Potter, and though you may prefer to be touching your partner when you cast, you must not allow yourself to become overly dependent on it."
"Professor, could we get Hermione to help us practice?" Ron spoke up when Harry had nodded glumly. He had only been speaking Ron's feelings as well, and the redhead had decided not to resist the Professors advice.
"Miss Granger?" Flitwick looked startled, "Of course, she is highly proficient when it comes to her Charm work."
"We'll speak to her about it," Ron said impulsively, "And maybe you could talk to her too? Suggest things she could help us with."
Harry shot his partner an admiring grin. Ron may just have come up with a solution to their friend's worries. Ron smiled back - that particular look always boded well for him.
0o0o0o0
Hermione had, not to put too fine a point upon it, been delirious with joy at the news that they'd asked Flitwick to let her coach them. She'd gone off straight after Sunday dinner to talk to the Professor about it, and Harry had fixed Ron with a slightly put out look.
"We'll be practicing night and day," he'd said, and Ron shrugged. He was very fond of the Muggle-born Witch and it had been depressing to see her so upset.
"We'll be fine," he told his partner as they walked up the great staircase//we'll just have to point out that we need time together too./
As their fingers were hidden in the folds of their robes, he felt safe making that comment. Harry shot him a devilish look that went straight to his groin, and his fingers were caressed smoothly, heatedly, in a manner that made walking a little difficult. He was forced to let Harry's hand go and suffer the discomfort, as well as the smug look upon his partners face.
By the time they got to Wrestler, Ron was fairly worked up, and he blew through the wall at high speed, followed by his now chuckling partner. He sealed the door behind Harry and then pinned him to it.
"You tease," he ground his very interested dick into Harry's thigh, "You absolute slut."
"Me?" Harry widened his eyes innocently and Ron leaned in to nip at his ear lobe, before kissing his neck passionately. Harry moaned and latched his hands around Ron's waist, flexing his fingers in tiny movements that spoke of need and want. Ron rubbed himself slowly into Harry's thigh, nipping along his jaw to catch hold of his moaning mouth. Their kiss was hot and slow, tongues rubbing sensuously as their bodies reached melting point. Ron felt Harry grow hard against him and growled a little into the kiss.
"Bed!" Harry gasped and Ron pulled away, stumbling backwards towards it, trusting Harry not to walk him into the walls or furniture. Harry's hands were busily removing his clothes, and when he was naked he returned the favour. They'd learned not to do this simultaneously after a nasty spill that had almost resulted in a call to Madam Pomfrey.
They tumbled onto the covers, kissing in earnest, and Ron Summoned the jar they used for lubricant from the dresser without pulling out his wand. Harry moaned and rolled onto his back, spreading his legs to give Ron the access he needed to prepare his lover. Their fingers were lingering on each others skin, speaking of love and passion and pleasure now as they joined their bodies together and established that age old rhythm.
It didn't take long to reach completion, and as they lay basking together in the aftermath Hermione banged on the door.
"Is she the most annoying woman we know or what?" Ron growled and Summoned his wand so they could perform the cleaning spells they preferred to use, and their robes as well.
0o0o0o0
Hagrid's lesson was the last one they had each Friday, and the three friends often stayed behind to help clean up. Hagrid often invited them to have a cup of tea and his ever-present hard-as-rocks rock cakes. They took the chance to get away from Malfoy's malevolent presence - he'd been in a foul mood ever since the Quidditch match that had ended Slytherins hopes of winning the cup this year. Harry had asked Ron's permission to let Hagrid in on their relationship, and Ron had seen no reason not to tell the half-giant that they were together. Hagrid had been so miserable over Harry's treatment from the Dursley's that Ron was sure their friend would only welcome a bit of happiness in Harry's life.
He'd been right, though Hagrid had pulled him aside and made sure he knew not to toy with Harry's affections. Ron had been able to swear on his wand that he wasn't and Hagrid had been appeased, much to Ron's relief. He sincerely hoped that they never rowed badly enough that Harry would come to Hagrid for solace. The half giant would dismember him without a seconds thought.
Harry was telling Hagrid and Hermione about the visit from Madam Legales, and Hagrid was a getting little misty as he remembered Harry's parents house. Ron glanced at Hermione, hoping she could come up with a diversion for them all.
"Why didn't you renew the lease on the old house site?" she asked Harry promptly, nibbling at the edge of the rock cake she'd been soaking in her tea. Ron had been curious about this, but hadn't found the right time to ask. He didn't think that Harry was planning to sell the place, but couldn't come up with another reason that made sense.
"Well," Harry shot his partner a slightly nervous look, "I was thinking about building a house there again."
Ron gaped at him. Harry knew that his partner would never be able to come up with half of the cost for the building and furnishing of a new house, either now or in the future. His family weren't destitute, but neither would his parents be able to loan him the money. Harry never seemed to notice the difference in their personal fortunes, something that made Ron love and hate him in turn about. He'd never be able to afford half the things that Harry seemed to take for granted, but Harry had merged their worldly possessions so effortlessly, telling Ron that whatever he had was Ron's.
"Harry," Ron tried to keep his voice calm and steady, "You know that I could never afford to pay for my half of this. I don't even have a job to start paying for it."
"What's mine is yours," Harry reminded him, flushing a little, "And you'll be contributing the knowledge part of this little idea of mine, because I have no idea what a house needs to be a home. I lived with the Dursley's remember?"
Ron bit his lip. It was a peace offering - Harry wouldn't really need his advice, his partner was more than capable of building himself a good home. As peace offerings went though, it was a good one. Harry hadn't much experience with Wizard houses, beyond a few weeks spent at the Burrow. Ron could contribute there - and Harry would gladly allow him to shape the house however he wanted.
"I doubt you'll need much help from me, but thanks," Ron sighed, deciding to accept it for now and talk it over in private with Harry later. Harry looked as if he understood that, and Ron smiled at him, reaching out to stroke Harry's wrist, sending a single word that had his partner relaxing.
"Who will ye get ter build it?" Hagrid asked, redirecting the conversation, and Harry brightened up. Ron tucked his arm around him and listened with an open mind to Harry's plan.
"Well, I thought that we'd get it done in the summer holidays. Then Ron and I could camp at the house and supervise it. We'll get a Muggle company to build it for us, and Ron and I will expand it magically once they're done. We could also set up the house wards and protection together once the builders were finished," Harry said happily, "Old Tom won't be expecting us to spend the summer living as Muggles."
"True," Ron agreed, "He'll be expecting us to go to the Burrow or to stay here."
"What sort of house would you build?" Hermione asked, and Hagrid got up from the table, fishing around in his bedside cabinet for something. Harry waited until the half giant had returned to the table and put a photo down on it.
"Here," he grunted, "This is what it looked like before. This is th' back yard, o' course. It was called Potters Field 'cos there was clay in th' field that th' locals quarried out. Yer parent's stabilised th' quarry an' built their ground floor in it. Then there was another two floors above, an' th' attic o' course."
Hagrid was standing with James by the backdoor of a grey stone cottage. The door was open, and Harry caught a glimpse of stairs through the door. His father and Hagrid were grinning at the camera, bottles of butter beer in their hands. Harry smiled gently and reached out to pat Hagrid's wrist. Ron could feel the tension in his partner's shoulders, and squeezed them lightly. As much as Harry wanted to know about his parents and their past, at the same time the topic raised feelings that his friend had a hard time dealing with. It was a difficult paradox.
"It's a good picture," he said, "How long had they been at the cottage?"
"Just moved in," Hagrid replied with a chuckle, "An' that was a job I'll tell yer. Doors were too narrow for the furniture. We had a job getting it all in."
Everyone around the table smiled, and Ron let his partner absorb the photo in peace. He rubbed his fingers in soothing circles around on Harry's shoulder, projecting his support and understanding.
"Did they… clear the ruins away?" Hermione asked hesitantly. Hagrid nodded curtly.
"They took it all away to be destroyed," he confirmed, "It was tainted by You-Know-Who's last curse. Th' land were ok, tho'."
"So we'd have to start from scratch," Harry squared his shoulders, and pulled out his wand. His conjured up a copy of the photo and then erased the house and people, leaving behind the land. This was something they'd learned from Colin Creevey and his photographic hobby. Hagrid tucked the original away safely and Hermione leaned in over the picture.
"You could put the kitchen and a dining room downstairs," she suggested and Harry tapped the photo. A line drawing of a large room labelled kitchen and dining room appeared in the empty hole.
"We could also have a conservatory there," Ron suggested, "Make it a suntrap, and grow our herbs and things there. We'd need windows up near the ceiling on the side that is against the quarry wall to let in light and air on that side too."
Harry tapped the drawing again and the alterations appeared. Hagrid chuckled, pointing to one corner.
"Yer'll need stairs," he reminded them, "And yer'll need a laundry."
"Put the stairs in the middle of the house," Hermione suggested, "They'll run all the way through the house, right? So you'll want them to be accessible."
"Ok," Harry finished adding that, and Ron nodded approval when his partner looked at him. He was getting rather excited by it all; he'd never helped design a house, let alone one he was building for himself and his partner. Harry was leaning into him subtly, making Ron feel contented.
"Next floor," Harry said, "I think we should have a wide hallway that leads from the front door to the stairs."
"Good idea," Ron nodded, "We can put two large rooms on each side of the hall, one front room and one study."
Harry tapped it, and Ron nodded at the updated drawing. The stairs were in the right place with a small landing halfway up to save on space, and Hagrid cleared his throat. He looked a little pink, and Ron was sure that whatever he was about to say was probably going to point out a glaring error in the plans.
"Yer should think about puttin' a toilet in there," he tapped the back of the room designated the study, "Or yer'll be climbing up three flights of stairs ter use the loo."
"Good point," Ron grinned, and Harry made the adjustments. Hermione looked at the plan and nodded before pointing out they hadn't put any windows or doors in on this floor. Harry laughed and put the doors in, while Ron pointed out where he thought the windows should go, making sure they were wide enough to admit Hedwig. Pigwidgeon was so small that it would fit in through just about anything but the mail slot.
"What sort of walls would you like to have?" he asked his partner, who grinned so happily his breath caught. Ron made a mental note not to make difficulties over the house. He knew that Harry wouldn't want to live in Grimmauld Place, and that meant they'd be renting or buying a place of their own after school anyway. At least this way they'd be in a place that was truly their own.
"I've seen your house. Our book collection is growing almost every day, and Dobby has already had to find us another bookcase to go behind the door. I was planning on lots of bookshelves built in everywhere."
Ron laughed, acknowledging that he was the biggest book collector of the two, though Harry was no slouch in that department.
"You haven't put in a fireplace anywhere," Hermione pointed out, "How will you access the Floo network?"
They went back and added a large hearth in the dining room, and slightly smaller ones in the front room and the room Harry relabelled the library, to snickers from Hagrid. Hermione was also smiling at their antics.
"Third floor," Harry cleared his throat, "Bathroom in the same place?" he looked over at Ron, who nodded agreement.
"That will make it easier for the builder," Hermione noted, "It's hard to run water all over the house, and they'll make it more expensive."
They played around with the placement of rooms on that floor, ending up having to rearrange the stairs from the kitchen on up in order to make things work out. Harry and Ron bickered a little over where they wanted their room to be, and then Ron informed Hermione she'd have to choose how to decorate her room on that floor.
"My room?" Hermione looked a little startled, and Harry laughed. He was looking like the carefree teen that he should have been, instead of the cold worried man that most people saw. The last summer holidays had left their mark stamped on him indelibly, and Ron was all for anything that would make his partner lose the years he'd gained prematurely.
"You will be visiting I assume?" he asked her pointedly, "After all, you're our closest friend. Just not too much pink, ok?"
"Sure. Don't forget to give me a window and bookcase," Hermione ordered and Hagrid chuckled while Harry and Ron laughed.
"We'll need two guest rooms, really - Hermione and Ginny will share one, and one for everyone else," Ron mused, and Harry tapped the drawing again, "Unless you don't want my family staying too often?"
The look Harry gave him more than reassured him that the Weasley family were highly desired visitors at their new home. Ron knew that his family would be frequent visitors, and was grateful that his partner understood the close ties between them all.
0o0o0o0
Ron gasped as the magic released him, and reached out a hand to Harry. They had been running through their paces for Flitwick, working without wands or touch to make the instruments in front of them play. The partners had become caught up in the magic, feeling it flow with intoxicating ease between the two of them as they cast their charms and directed their efforts together. They'd also been caught up in the music, the sound becoming a living thing in the room for Ron, one that he could shape and direct along with his perfectly understanding partner.
Harry's warm fingers caressed and then gripped his. They'd never managed to enchant so many instruments at the same time before, and the effort had been exhausting. They had gotten better at working without wands and touch, and it though it still wasn't their favourite casting method, they were comfortable enough with it now.
"Excellent!" Flitwick clapped his hands, and Hermione joined in. Their audience had been enthralled, and Ron had a vague idea he'd seen them dancing together, "Come and sit down, boys."
Ron led his partner to the bench and pulled Harry into his lap as he always did. Hermione had given them a rather strange look the first time they did this in front of their Professor, which Flitwick had spotted; he had explained that the partners recovered more quickly if they were touching, and that had settled the matter.
Ron reached out and put an arm around Hermione as well, grinning at his Professor.
"Right now I'm the most envied student in the school," he said with a rather satisfied expression on his face. Hermione gave him a rather startled look; sitting very still beneath his arm as if she was worried he was about to molest her.
"Why is that?" Flitwick went along with Ron's obviously cheeky mood. Their Professor had revealed a wicked sense of humour in the time that they'd been tutored by him.
"I've got my arms around the two prettiest people in Gryffindor," Ron replied and Hermione smacked his chest lightly with the back of her hand.
"Oi," Harry protested softly, feeding Ron part of a scone. Ron was rubbing the small of Harry's back again, therefore practically putting his partner to sleep on his lap. Ron had actually performed that little feat before, but they'd been in bed that time, and Harry had been very tired.
"No hitting my partner," Harry continued, resting his cheek on Ron's head and sighing in contentment. Hermione grinned at them and ceased her protests, biting into a scone of her own.
"I must compliment you on your progress boys," Flitwick ignored the byplay, "You have worked very hard to achieve such a level of competency in a short time."
"Thanks to you, Professor," Ron spoke up, "You've been brilliant. And Hermione has been a real help too - the extra practices with her really made this easier on us both."
Harry leant over and dropped a kiss on Hermione's temple before leaning back into Ron. Hermione flushed a little but her hand joined Harry's on the back of Ron's robe. The three of them were back in synch with each other once more - the partnership formed by Harry and Ron hadn't killed their tie to Hermione after all.
Ron could only hope that their lessons with Professor Snape next term would be as easy. Easter was approaching rapidly.
"I will speak to Professor Snape if you like," Flitwick said suddenly, "About allowing Miss Granger to continue to sit in on your practices. Though the potions themselves will be beyond your ability Miss Granger, I believe the theory will interest you, and perhaps be of help in your own potion making endeavours."
"Would you like to come, Hermy?" Harry's drowsy voice drifted past Ron's ear, "I know that you have a lot of work to do with your own subjects."
"I'd like to come, if Professor Snape allows it," Hermione nodded, and Flitwick clapped his hands, directing Harry to get up so they could work on a particularly intricate protection charm that they were working into a gold and silver bracelet. The charm entailed taking strands of gold and silver and weaving them into an intricate Celtic knot arrangement.
Hermione didn't know this, but the bracelet would be hers when they finished. It was meant to thank her for standing by them over the year.
0o0o0o0
Harry scowled at his partner, who made a rather pointed gesture. They'd flipped a Knut to see who would be asking Snape if he had a booklist that they'd need for their work with the Potions master next term. He hated the idea of asking Snape for extra help in anything - the Occlumency lessons were still vivid in his memory. He'd failed at them so badly…
Harry squared his shoulders. He'd have Ron with him this time, and that would help. At least he'd have someone else to gauge his reactions by. Ron wouldn't let him get away with stupidity, and Hermione was allowed to sit in again, which meant that Harry would be very well grounded in reality.
Leaving the potion to stir itself - one of the simpler tasks that Harry had learned to perform - he moved between the tables, walking past Malfoy carefully so as not to start any incident with the embittered Slytherin. He could feel that Ron had his own hand on his wand, ready to defend him should Malfoy truly lose his head and start something in front of the Potion master.
"What is it, Potter?" Snape growled without looking up from staring at Neville through slitted eyes. Harry straightened, and took a calming breath.
"I wanted to know if you had a book list for the extra lessons next term," he said quietly. Malfoy perked right up, and sneered in his direction.
"Remedial potions again Potter?" he asked loudly, and Snape looked away from Neville finally to spear his student with a very cold look.
"Shut up Malfoy," he snapped, and turned his gaze to Harry. Harry waited for the usual sneer and look of thinly veiled hatred that was always aimed in his direction. Snape merely stared at him for a moment, and then heaved a huge sigh.
"I assume that you'll purchase the books at the end of the Easter holidays, Potter. Why bother asking for them now?" he sneered and Harry bit back on a sharp retort. He knew that there was bad blood between Snape and his father - and that it was justified to some extent. However, he was sick of being made to pay for the actions of a man he'd never known, or tried to emulate. Not that he'd know what to emulate.
"I asked for them now so I could start reading them now," Harry replied evenly, "I'll send an owl for them tonight."
Snape looked at him for a moment longer, then drew a piece of parchment over and scrawled a long list onto it. Harry took it silently and turned to go back to his potion. Malfoy moved around his cauldron and Harry tensed. They were working with some nasty ingredients today - a splash from the wrong thing could result in very painful burns at the very least.
"Don't move, Mr Malfoy," Snape's voice was low and cold. The threat in it was crystal clear and Harry hurried past the other student, making sure not to even brush the end of Malfoy's table with his robes. The last thing Harry needed was a detention because of Malfoy's acting abilities.
Ron relaxed when Harry returned to their part of the dungeon. A quick glance at the potion the class was brewing led to the swift addition of the next ingredient, with Harry taking over the stirring at this stage. He was relieved to see it turn a nasty shade of red - that meant he'd caught it in time.
"I got my book allowance from Mum at dinner," Ron said in a low voice, chopping blood mushrooms into paper-thin slices while his potion stirred itself in the complex rotating figure eight that was required.
"Ok, we'll split the list as usual," Harry murmured in reply, taking up his mortar and pestle for the last bit of preparation. Ron nodded and looked down at what he was doing with a decidedly unusual expression on his face.
"What?" Harry whispered, and Ron shrugged, shaking his head a little. Hermione gave the redhead a rather exasperated look and turned to Harry.
"Ron thinks that the Professor is looking at you funny," she explained in a low voice. Harry looked at them both in astonishment, then glanced up at Snape. The Professor was looking at him with a rather blank face, but when Harry turned, Snape immediately switched his gaze to Neville again. Harry went back to his potion, wondering what that had been all about.
0o0o0o0
Ron watched the last of the students who were leaving over Easter head down the path to the carriages that were waiting for them. The weather was finally starting to give them solid stretches of nice sunshine, and he was looking forward to the holidays. They were going to the Burrow again, and Ginny was going home with Hermione for the holidays.
If Ron listened really hard he could still hear Seamus and Lee yelling in indignation about the cancelled Seven Nation Cup - it seemed that no one had been able to reorganise things in time for the Cup to go ahead. He'd thought there would be a riot in the Great Hall over breakfast this morning when the news had hit the papers. Footsteps sounded behind him, and Harry's arms crept around his waist.
"Hello my lover," Harry breathed into his ear, and Ron felt his knees go weak. He loved it when Harry nibbled or sucked or breathed on his ears. He grunted in reply and felt the lips pressed to his neck curve up in a smile.
"Ready to go soon?" Harry murmured and Ron sighed. He was unsure exactly what Harry meant by that comment - he was after all a healthy teenager who was always ready to go - but they were facing a journey and Ron preferred not to arrive looking all flushed and dopey.
"I'm ready to go home to Mum, if that's what you mean," he said firmly, "And you'll get it tonight, you bloody little tease."
"Good," Harry let him go and Ron laughed, turning to run his fingers down the side of Harry's face gently before following his partner to where they'd left their luggage.
"Are you sure we can get the builders organised these hols?" Ron asked, and Harry nodded. His partner had some scheme up his sleeve that had Ron rather suspicious as it involved Muggle technology. They had both agreed that the house should be built in the traditional Muggle fashion, thereby putting You-Know-Who totally off their track. Bill had assured them that the goblins weren't passing on banking information to the Death Eaters, though their loyalty to the Ministry was still in some doubt - mainly by Fudge who had oppressed the goblins for quite some time.
"I can't wait to see this," Ron shook his head and they pulled on their winter cloaks. Things were still pretty cool out there, despite the bright sunshine, and the walk to Hogsmeade was no picnic when you were dressed for the wrong weather.
"Look, there's a few things that Muggles do very well that most Wizards, and Death Eaters especially, either won't know about, or won't know how to do," Harry said patiently, "My Muggle school taught me how to do what I want to do…"
"Which you won't tell me about," Ron grumped, hitching up the heavy satchel with Snape's books and a few of the Muggle fiction books he'd not yet had time to read - mainly because they had only arrived this morning.
"And I'll explain it to you as we go," Harry promised. He was also carrying a satchel, though his was a bit larger as it had a few changes of clothes in it. Both of them felt the moment they were out from under the Hogwarts protection spells and Ron led the way a little further down the path just to be sure. Their training with Professor Flitwick had enabled them to feel the use of magic around them, like a tingling on the skin. Of course, there was so much magic in use at Hogwarts that they became rather inured to the feeling, only noticing when they went from an area of heavy magic usage to light.
Ron went first, Apparating into the garden, close to the tree where Harry had chosen to arrive at Christmas. Sure enough, his partner Disapparated beside him, and blinked in surprise.
"You really don't think that Mum would be best pleased to have you arriving like some stranger again, do you?" he asked pointedly. Harry simply didn't take anything for granted - and while Ron appreciated the daily appreciation he got from Harry, it saddened him that his partner often felt that people only put up with him because they wanted something from him. Harry still didn't believe that he was loveable, but Ron was working on it.
"Ron! Harry!" his mother had spotted them from the window and Ron took Harry's hand. He grinned at his partner, who smiled back a little hesitantly.
"Stuck with me," Ron reminded in a low tone, "Even if you won't tell me what you're planning."
0o0o0o0
Ottery St Catchpole was a medium sized village, with a main street that boasted something called an internet café. Ron had been a little disappointed that they were only heading to a café - they'd just finished breakfast and even he couldn't eat again just yet. Harry had grinned at him and led the way in anyway, looking good in one of Ron's Christmas jumpers. The maroon wool hugged all the muscles his partner was developing through Quidditch, and made a greedy part of Ron sit up and beg.
Inside the café, instead of the tables and food Ron had been expecting, there were rows of Muggle machines, a counter with Muggle sweets, and a Muggle who was frowning at Harry.
"What are you using it for?" she asked, still frowning when Ron tuned in to the conversation. He stepped closer to his partner in case she decided to try anything funny. They both had their wands up their sleeves, though Ron knew they didn't always need them any more thanks to Flitwick. They cast spells with their wands only when working alone, and obviously their teachers weren't going to be too impressed if they started handing in a single piece of work for the two of them.
"We're researching a project," Harry replied reasonably, "And we really only need one machine."
"You can share a chair too then," she wrote something on a slip of paper and handed it over with a rather triumphant look in her eyes. Ron immediately slid his arms around Harry and nuzzled his neck. From what Harry had said about Muggles she wouldn't take this too well, and they'd get their way.
"Perfect," he purred into his partner's ear while the Muggles eyes widened in dismay. Harry was shaking with suppressed laughter, but he leaned into the touch anyway. Ron didn't mind about this Muggle knowing they were together - in fact it felt good to claim Harry in front of witnesses for once. From the way Harry's fingers were stroking his he felt the same way.
"Here! We'll have none of that! Two chairs, two chairs!" she exclaimed and Ron peeled away slowly and reluctantly, letting Harry lead him into the back room of the café and over to a machine at the end of one of the long benches.
/Thank you/ Harry's fingers murmured as they sat down, and Ron grinned at him. He watched Harry start the machine up and the box on top started displaying various images and words.
"So what are we doing?" Ron asked, aware of the Muggles nearby. He hitched his chair closer and rested his hand on Harry's leg, establishing communications silently. Harry's hand dropped to cover his in order to reply.
He was told that the machine was called a computer and that Muggles had developed a way to link all of their computers together in order to share information, do business, tell stories and entertain each other. They called it the internet, and Harry was going to use it to firstly place the design of their house onto the computer, and then contract a builder to build it in the summer holidays.
"How can you get the picture of the house into that?" Ron asked out loud, and Harry pulled the lettered board over in front of him and started pressing things. The box changed pictures again and again until Harry found one he was interested in. Using the small round thing next to the lettered board he started drawing up the house, asking for Ron's help with remembering how it had gone.
Ron leaned in and pointed things out, watching Harry's actions closely so that he could eventually take over some of the work. Harry silently told him what the computer parts were called and how to operate them, and together they drew up their home to be and saved it to the computers hard drive. The lady behind the counter popped up at one point to check on what they were doing, and seemed disappointed when she saw.
"She probably thought we were checking out the porn sites," Harry laughed and Ron frowned at him. He knew what porn was - the twins had been lending him their collection of magazines for the past two years - but he wasn't sure what Muggles meant by the term.
"What's that?" he asked, and Harry promised to show him one before they left. Ron's stomach growled at that point and Harry pulled out a couple of coins, telling him to get them both a snack from the lady out front. She watched Ron suspiciously the whole time he looked over her selection, eventually heading back to Harry with a small pile of interesting sounding sweets.
Harry was typing away in a blue screen this time, and Ron sat down to read it through.
"Your name isn't Adam Nonymous," he pointed out, and Harry grinned, "What are you doing?"
"Setting up an address for us to receive messages," Harry replied, "I don't want to use our names for the account in case a Muggle-born spots us."
"Can they do that?" Ron raised an eyebrow and Harry shrugged, then nodded.
"If they were sufficiently skilled at it," his partner smiled, "There are a lot of people on the internet who like to stay anonymous, it's not that uncommon. Ready to look for builders?"
"There are builders on this? I thought we wanted a real house," Ron squinted suspiciously and sucked on something called a polo. It wasn't bad actually and he popped one into Harry's mouth as well. Harry's fingers thanked him as his partner called up the first screen they'd visited.
"They will be in real life, but there should be a register of builders here somewhere," he typed quickly, and then started reading when the screen changed. Ron was fascinated by what was apparently an archive and library all in one that let you send owls to speak to people without using a real bird. Muggles had some mad ideas, obviously developed to get around their lack of magic.
Twenty minutes later they had found a builder that was local to Godrics Hollow and had excellent references. Harry printed the contact details and their house plans, before sending a copy to the builder as well, with a request that he email back to them a time when they could meet at the site to discuss the whole thing. He went to retrieve their printouts, and then came back to sit next to Ron.
"Now," Harry murmured in the tone of voice that always made Ron a little nervous. His partner typed in another request, and then selected a site that interested him.
/This is porn/ his fingers stroked the message into Ron's arm as the screen changed and Ron nearly fell off his chair. He went bright red and knew it, but couldn't help staring in a kind of horrible fascination at the very graphic picture on the screen. The naked woman was interesting enough, but what she was doing with the man…
"That can't be real!" he pointed, "Can you imagine buying trousers to…"
"OI!" the lady behind the counter had spotted them and Harry started laughing helplessly. He switched off the computer and Ron had to haul him out of his seat so they could go and pay. She glowered at them all the way out the door, and Ron shook his head at his partner when they were safely on the footpath.
"I can't take you anywhere," he scolded lightly, and then groaned when Harry leered. Ron shook his head, rather pleased that Harry could be playful with him in public. His eyes fell on a shop across the road and lit up.
"Is that a bookstore?" he pointed and Harry glanced and the black sign with the golden 'w' hanging above the door. Ron grinned when he nodded and cocked his head at the store in a questioning manner. They could always use a few more Muggle books, and Ron wanted to see if there was anything in there about building a Muggle house.
"Come on then," Harry grinned, "But we're not to spend all day in there - your mum's expecting us for dinner."
0o0o0o0