Chapter 2
Once More at the Burrow
Harry stepped out of the Burrow to be greeted immediately by Hermione. "It's so good to see you again," said Hermione after she released him from a tight hug. "I just got here a couple minutes ago, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny came to pick me up." She gestured at Ginny and Mrs. Weasley, who were standing a couple steps away. Then Ron came through the fireplace and he too received his warm greeting from Hermione.
Harry stepped over toward Mrs. Weasley and Ginny. "Welcome back to the Burrow," said Mrs. Weasley happily. "We would have let you come sooner, but Dumbeldore just now gave permission for you to come."
"Well," said Harry, grinning, "I'm just glad he's let me come now."
Then, Ginny said, "So, Percy tells us your Quidditch ban has been lifted?"
"Yes, so I've heard," said Harry.
"That's awesome," said Ron, who had just disentangled himself from Hermione, and was walking over. "Why don't we all go up to my room and we can talk about our shot at retaining the Quidditch cup for another year!"
Harry, Ginny, and Ron headed up toward Ron's room, as did Hermione, even though she didn't usually have much to say about Quidditch.
"Well, Harry, you'll have your old spot back, of course," said Ginny. "And I'll try out for Chaser, like we were talking about last year."
"Yeah, but we'll still have 2 more Chaser spots to fill, and our Beaters still need to practice a lot," Ron added.
"Yeah, I can't believe we're losing Bell, Johnson, and Spinnet!" said Harry with some anxiety.
"Yeah, it'll be hard for you to find replacements for them," registered Ginny.
"What do you mean it'll be hard for me to find replacements for them?" asked Harry.
"Well, you'll be Captain of course," Ginny explained patiently. "Even without playing most of last year, you've still got more than 2 years more experience than anyone else on the team. Why, you've been in about as many games as all the rest of the members of the team combined!"
Well, this was certainly something to think about. Going from not playing Quidditch for most of his fifth year to being almost a shoe-in for Captain for his Sixth year.
"How're captains chosen anyway?" Harry asked.
"They're picked by the Head of House," registered Hermione, after it became clear no one else knew the answer. "Honestly, are you ever going to read Hogwarts: a History, it mentions a few of the all time best Quidditch players at Hogwarts, and it also tells the procedure for Captains getting picked."
"Well, I would have read it sooner if I knew it was about Quidditch," said Ron.
"It's not about Quidditch, it just contains some references," said Hermione, obviously annoyed.
"Well then, maybe I won't read it," replied Ron defiantly.
"Anyway, McGonogall's bound to pick you, she's the one who put you on the team in the first place, and the only reason you didn't get picked last year is that most of the team had been playing for longer than you," said Ron.
After that there was a moment's silence before it became quite clear that the subject of Quidditch had been, for the moment, exhausted.
"So, how's everyone's summers been so far?" asked Hermione, trying to get the conversation rolling again.
"Pretty good," said Ron, "it's a lot quieter here now that the twins are gone, and Mum's been in a better mood ever since Percy came back and apologized. He's too embarrassed with himself to move back in though. Suits me just fine it being just me and Ginny here though, except for the fact that without the twins, Mum's able to spend more time making sure that I'm behaving."
"What about you Ginny?" asked Hermione.
"Well, Dean's broke up with me," she said with a pointed glance at Harry that left him feeling a bit confused, "but that's no big deal. Other than that, everything's been just fine."
Ron was now looking at Harry too, apparently because of what Ginny had said. Did he expect him to ask Ginny out on the spot? Harry started to wonder, however, whether he would ask Ginny out. It was quite clear that nothing was going to happen between Cho and him. And Ginny was looking a lot prettier than he remembered her looking last time he saw her. And she had proven herself brave last June in the Department of Mysteries. Harry shuddered at the thought of the Department of Mysteries and did his best to stop thinking about it. Beyond that though, there was something to be said about a girl who could play Quidditch. Still, Harry felt that it was a bit premature to go and ask her out right away, especially with Ron and Hermione still in the room. An awkward silence was beginning to fill the room, and Harry was quite relieved when the door to Ron's room burst open, revealing Remus Lupin.
"Hello everybody," he said. "Hello Harry. I would have sent your birthday present to you this morning, but when I heard I'd be seeing you tonight, I decided I'd wait till now. This really works out the best anyway because now I'll be here to explain the gift to you. Well, here it is."
Lupin handed Harry a small wrapped parcel. Harry opened it, and found that it contained 5 pieces of parchment. Harry looked questioningly at Lupin and realized that it really was a good thing that he was here to explain this.
"Well, what is it?" asked Harry.
"It should come in handy this school year in many ways. You see, if you write on one of these papers, what is written shows up on as many of the other papers as you want it to. For instance, if you're sitting through a particularly boring class, and each you and Ron were in possession of this paper, you could write notes to him without having to pass notes and risk getting caught."
"Cool!" said Ron, and was met with a disapproving look from Hermione.
"But, as Hermione will no doubt be glad to know, it has more practical uses as well. If you leave one of the pieces of parchment with me, then we'll always be able to keep each other updated with news without having to worry about whether our owls are going to get intercepted."
"Cool!" said Hermione, and Ron, Ginny, Harry, and Lupin all smiled heartily.
Lupin opened one of the pieces of parchment and pointed out 5 lines that were drawn across the top of the paper. "You put the names of each person who has a piece of paper here, and then when you want to send the message to a specific person, you simply tap their name or their names before writing the message. If you don't tap any of the names, the message will appear on all 4 of the other pieces of parchment. Well, here you are then," Lupin concluded, handing the pieces of parchment back to Harry.
"Well, thanks," Harry said. "Here," he handed a piece over to Lupin. "You keep one too."
"Good, this way we'll be able to keep in contact. So that I'll be able to fill out the other names at the top here, who else is going to be receiving one of these?" asked Lupin.
"Well, everyone in this room," said Harry without hesitation. He passed out one piece of parchment to each of his three friends. Ginny looked somewhat flattered to be included in the group, and Harry was glad about that. He found that he liked to see Ginny happy. Yes, he would have to ask her out eventually…
He ended up getting the chance sooner than he had anticipated. After dinner ended, Mrs. Weasley asked Ron to help clean up the dishes. Harry offered to help, but was told by Mrs. Weasley that it was unnecessary. At just that moment, Ginny popped into the room and says, "Harry, would you like to go for a walk with me?"
"Uh. Sure," said Harry after he shot a quick glance at Ron, who nodded fervently.
"So," said Harry, after they had left the Burrow and walked a good ten yards from the house, "this is nice."
"Yeah," said Ginny, and she smiled. "So," she said, after a brief pause, "how're things between you and Cho? Are you still holding out hope that she'll tire of Michael Corner and come back to you?"
She said it kindly enough, but it still seemed to Harry to be quite an odd topic to be discussing. Ginny seemed to be very interested with discussing relationships with Harry as of late. He tried to think of what Hermione would explain as being Ginny's motive for this. He wasn't really sure what Hermione would have said, but he decided to throw caution into the wind and:
"So Ginny, would you like to- you know- go out with me?" asked Harry awkwardly.
"Whatever could you mean, Harry? We're out now aren't we?" replied Ginny playfully.
"No, I mean… You know what I mean," said Harry, wishing she would stop being so difficult.
"Yeah, of course I do. I knew what you were going to say before you said it," she grinned slyly. "From the look you got on your face, the slightly queasy one."
"Well, what's your answer then?" Harry asked impatiently.
"Well, sure, but I hope you don't expect to treat me the same way you treated Cho!" said Ginny.
"What, what d'you mean?" asked Harry startled.
"Nothing, I was just kidding," said Ginny, in a comforting way. "I think she treated you a lot worse than you treated her. From the way you told it, she was always crying on your shoulder or yelling in your face."
Harry and Ginny laughed together, and Ginny reached over and slipped her hand into Harry's. They walked together for 20 minutes before going back to the Burrow.
Once More at the Burrow
Harry stepped out of the Burrow to be greeted immediately by Hermione. "It's so good to see you again," said Hermione after she released him from a tight hug. "I just got here a couple minutes ago, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny came to pick me up." She gestured at Ginny and Mrs. Weasley, who were standing a couple steps away. Then Ron came through the fireplace and he too received his warm greeting from Hermione.
Harry stepped over toward Mrs. Weasley and Ginny. "Welcome back to the Burrow," said Mrs. Weasley happily. "We would have let you come sooner, but Dumbeldore just now gave permission for you to come."
"Well," said Harry, grinning, "I'm just glad he's let me come now."
Then, Ginny said, "So, Percy tells us your Quidditch ban has been lifted?"
"Yes, so I've heard," said Harry.
"That's awesome," said Ron, who had just disentangled himself from Hermione, and was walking over. "Why don't we all go up to my room and we can talk about our shot at retaining the Quidditch cup for another year!"
Harry, Ginny, and Ron headed up toward Ron's room, as did Hermione, even though she didn't usually have much to say about Quidditch.
"Well, Harry, you'll have your old spot back, of course," said Ginny. "And I'll try out for Chaser, like we were talking about last year."
"Yeah, but we'll still have 2 more Chaser spots to fill, and our Beaters still need to practice a lot," Ron added.
"Yeah, I can't believe we're losing Bell, Johnson, and Spinnet!" said Harry with some anxiety.
"Yeah, it'll be hard for you to find replacements for them," registered Ginny.
"What do you mean it'll be hard for me to find replacements for them?" asked Harry.
"Well, you'll be Captain of course," Ginny explained patiently. "Even without playing most of last year, you've still got more than 2 years more experience than anyone else on the team. Why, you've been in about as many games as all the rest of the members of the team combined!"
Well, this was certainly something to think about. Going from not playing Quidditch for most of his fifth year to being almost a shoe-in for Captain for his Sixth year.
"How're captains chosen anyway?" Harry asked.
"They're picked by the Head of House," registered Hermione, after it became clear no one else knew the answer. "Honestly, are you ever going to read Hogwarts: a History, it mentions a few of the all time best Quidditch players at Hogwarts, and it also tells the procedure for Captains getting picked."
"Well, I would have read it sooner if I knew it was about Quidditch," said Ron.
"It's not about Quidditch, it just contains some references," said Hermione, obviously annoyed.
"Well then, maybe I won't read it," replied Ron defiantly.
"Anyway, McGonogall's bound to pick you, she's the one who put you on the team in the first place, and the only reason you didn't get picked last year is that most of the team had been playing for longer than you," said Ron.
After that there was a moment's silence before it became quite clear that the subject of Quidditch had been, for the moment, exhausted.
"So, how's everyone's summers been so far?" asked Hermione, trying to get the conversation rolling again.
"Pretty good," said Ron, "it's a lot quieter here now that the twins are gone, and Mum's been in a better mood ever since Percy came back and apologized. He's too embarrassed with himself to move back in though. Suits me just fine it being just me and Ginny here though, except for the fact that without the twins, Mum's able to spend more time making sure that I'm behaving."
"What about you Ginny?" asked Hermione.
"Well, Dean's broke up with me," she said with a pointed glance at Harry that left him feeling a bit confused, "but that's no big deal. Other than that, everything's been just fine."
Ron was now looking at Harry too, apparently because of what Ginny had said. Did he expect him to ask Ginny out on the spot? Harry started to wonder, however, whether he would ask Ginny out. It was quite clear that nothing was going to happen between Cho and him. And Ginny was looking a lot prettier than he remembered her looking last time he saw her. And she had proven herself brave last June in the Department of Mysteries. Harry shuddered at the thought of the Department of Mysteries and did his best to stop thinking about it. Beyond that though, there was something to be said about a girl who could play Quidditch. Still, Harry felt that it was a bit premature to go and ask her out right away, especially with Ron and Hermione still in the room. An awkward silence was beginning to fill the room, and Harry was quite relieved when the door to Ron's room burst open, revealing Remus Lupin.
"Hello everybody," he said. "Hello Harry. I would have sent your birthday present to you this morning, but when I heard I'd be seeing you tonight, I decided I'd wait till now. This really works out the best anyway because now I'll be here to explain the gift to you. Well, here it is."
Lupin handed Harry a small wrapped parcel. Harry opened it, and found that it contained 5 pieces of parchment. Harry looked questioningly at Lupin and realized that it really was a good thing that he was here to explain this.
"Well, what is it?" asked Harry.
"It should come in handy this school year in many ways. You see, if you write on one of these papers, what is written shows up on as many of the other papers as you want it to. For instance, if you're sitting through a particularly boring class, and each you and Ron were in possession of this paper, you could write notes to him without having to pass notes and risk getting caught."
"Cool!" said Ron, and was met with a disapproving look from Hermione.
"But, as Hermione will no doubt be glad to know, it has more practical uses as well. If you leave one of the pieces of parchment with me, then we'll always be able to keep each other updated with news without having to worry about whether our owls are going to get intercepted."
"Cool!" said Hermione, and Ron, Ginny, Harry, and Lupin all smiled heartily.
Lupin opened one of the pieces of parchment and pointed out 5 lines that were drawn across the top of the paper. "You put the names of each person who has a piece of paper here, and then when you want to send the message to a specific person, you simply tap their name or their names before writing the message. If you don't tap any of the names, the message will appear on all 4 of the other pieces of parchment. Well, here you are then," Lupin concluded, handing the pieces of parchment back to Harry.
"Well, thanks," Harry said. "Here," he handed a piece over to Lupin. "You keep one too."
"Good, this way we'll be able to keep in contact. So that I'll be able to fill out the other names at the top here, who else is going to be receiving one of these?" asked Lupin.
"Well, everyone in this room," said Harry without hesitation. He passed out one piece of parchment to each of his three friends. Ginny looked somewhat flattered to be included in the group, and Harry was glad about that. He found that he liked to see Ginny happy. Yes, he would have to ask her out eventually…
He ended up getting the chance sooner than he had anticipated. After dinner ended, Mrs. Weasley asked Ron to help clean up the dishes. Harry offered to help, but was told by Mrs. Weasley that it was unnecessary. At just that moment, Ginny popped into the room and says, "Harry, would you like to go for a walk with me?"
"Uh. Sure," said Harry after he shot a quick glance at Ron, who nodded fervently.
"So," said Harry, after they had left the Burrow and walked a good ten yards from the house, "this is nice."
"Yeah," said Ginny, and she smiled. "So," she said, after a brief pause, "how're things between you and Cho? Are you still holding out hope that she'll tire of Michael Corner and come back to you?"
She said it kindly enough, but it still seemed to Harry to be quite an odd topic to be discussing. Ginny seemed to be very interested with discussing relationships with Harry as of late. He tried to think of what Hermione would explain as being Ginny's motive for this. He wasn't really sure what Hermione would have said, but he decided to throw caution into the wind and:
"So Ginny, would you like to- you know- go out with me?" asked Harry awkwardly.
"Whatever could you mean, Harry? We're out now aren't we?" replied Ginny playfully.
"No, I mean… You know what I mean," said Harry, wishing she would stop being so difficult.
"Yeah, of course I do. I knew what you were going to say before you said it," she grinned slyly. "From the look you got on your face, the slightly queasy one."
"Well, what's your answer then?" Harry asked impatiently.
"Well, sure, but I hope you don't expect to treat me the same way you treated Cho!" said Ginny.
"What, what d'you mean?" asked Harry startled.
"Nothing, I was just kidding," said Ginny, in a comforting way. "I think she treated you a lot worse than you treated her. From the way you told it, she was always crying on your shoulder or yelling in your face."
Harry and Ginny laughed together, and Ginny reached over and slipped her hand into Harry's. They walked together for 20 minutes before going back to the Burrow.