Hogwarts in France
Chapter Eight
Friday
Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me
"Ron! Will you shut up?" growled Draco at half past two in the morning, "We're trying to get to sleep!"
"Sorry!" said Ron, "I just can't get to sleep and I'm so bored!"
"Well get up, go out of this room and get a drink of milk or something," moaned Harry, "We're all tired. It's not our fault you drunk gallons of coca cola!"
"You know what? I'm seriously considering exchanging Ron for Ginny," said Draco, "Then at least we'd get some sleep!"
"Alright, alright! I get the message!" huffed Ron and stalked out of the room.
"He's already sounding like Hermione," sniggered Neville as they listened to Ron cautiously climbing down the stairs.
Five minutes later he was back, glass of milk in hand and giggling slightly.
"I woke Remus up by accident," he said, "He's sleeping on the sofa."
"I wondered where he was sleeping," Harry said, "Anyway goodnight!"
Then there was silence.
"OK. Well today we don't have any planned schedule," said Remus,
"What are we going to do then?" asked Ginny,
"Anything you want. As we have yet another fine day, we could visit a town about half an hour away that has a large park and a lake with places to sit and sunbathe. We could have a picnic lunch there too," said Professor McGonagall,
"Baguette?" asked Draco,
"Yes Draco."
He groaned.
"Well, that sounds fine," said Ginny,
"OK, that's settled," said Remus, "last one in the mini bus is a rotten egg!"
Harry, Ginny, Draco, Neville, Hermione, Ron, Professor McGonagall and Remus crossed carefully over the road and headed towards the park. The sun was shining down onto their heads and they longed to cool down somehow. An ice cream would have been ideal but there weren't any shops nearby.
They found an empty spot and flopped down gratefully. Harry stretched out, lent up on his elbow and peered at the others.
"What's the time?" he asked,
"A quarter past ten," replied Remus, glancing at his watch, "so no lunch yet, Harry."
Harry mock groaned and grinned.
"Did we bring the football?" asked Ron, eagerly,
"Yes. It's in the minibus," said Professor McGonagall,
"Let's play!" said Draco.
Five minutes later, Draco, Harry and Ron had dragged Remus into playing football with them. The girls watched in amusement while Neville identified some odd looking plants growing in a ditch by the lake.
"Ah! I give, I give!" yelled Remus from under the pile-on. After their energetic game of football, the lads had taken to teasing one another. At first, Remus had tried to pacify them but then he found his Marauder streak and joined in. His last comment had made them gasp, Harry had yelled "PILE ON!" having seen it during his primary school days and within seconds, Remus had disappeared underneath the bodies of Harry, Ron, Draco, Neville and Ginny. It was childish but extremely good fun.
"Hello," said Harry, when he found himself face to face with Ginny while still on top of Remus,
"Hello yourself," smiled Ginny and leant over to give him a kiss.
"Ginny! Harry! Get off me now and stop kissing! It's time for lunch!"
This sentence had an immediate effect. Ron leapt off Remus with a roar of "Food!" Hermione rolled her eyes and Harry scrambled off his adoptive godfather and then helped Ginny up. Remus stood up gingerly and then clapped his hands.
"Ha! Fooled you!" he smirked.
"What? No! Get him!" Ron cried.
"No Mr. Weasley," said Professor McGonagall, sharply, "Remus is only kidding. Lunch is ready, come on."
The students scrambled over to where Professor McGonagall and Hermione were sitting, underneath a tall tree. They sat in a wonky circle with the food in the middle and dug in.
"Wha' 'o we nee' 'o 'o tonigh'?" asked Ron, through a mouthful of crisps and baguette sandwich,
"Ronald!" said Hermione, sternly, "Please do not talk with your mouth full!"
Ron finished his mouthful with difficulty and mumbled "Sorry Hermione."
The two professors looked at each other and smirked. They could see a long and lively relationship for the two.
"In answer to your question, Ron," said Professor McGonagall, "We need to pack, have our tea, tidy up the gite and there is the chess tournament which was postponed from Wednesday evening."
"So we'll leave here at about three o'clock as we need to visit the hypermarket on the way back to get souvenirs," said Remus, "Now, does anybody want one of these French biscuits?"
"We should be back in about half an hour and then we need to leave," said Remus, as the group began their walk. Everybody except Draco and Harry had decided to take a walk around the perimeter of the lake in the sunshine. The two remaining students leant back against the bark of the tree in which they had had lunch underneath.
"It's been a good week, hasn't it?" said Draco, comfortably
"Yes," Harry agreed, "It's going to be a shame to return to Hogwarts and have things go back to the way they were,"
"You mean us being bitter enemies and all that?" asked Draco,
"Mmm," was all Harry said.
An uneasy silence settled between the two for a few minutes. The wind rustled the thick green leaves above them and the long grass beneath their feet waved slightly. They could still hear the laughter of the rest of the group on their walk.
"Harry," said Draco, suddenly, "Harry, I really would like to remain friends with you, believe me, I really would but it's going to be too tricky, what with my reputation and everything!"
"Screw your reputation!" said Harry, vehemently, "You can't give up a good friendship like the one we've developed just for the sake of your reputation!"
"You don't understand!" said Draco, turning to look straight into Harry's eyes, "If my father or the Dark Lord find out I've become friends with the very person they loathe the most, they'll kill me!"
"I'll take care of you. Dumbledore and I can sort something out to keep you safe!" said Harry,
"They'll kill me," Draco repeated, faintly,
"I'll keep you safe. You're a good guy and if you continue this path, you'll spend the rest of your life doing something you hate and you'll end up hating yourself," said Harry, quietly.
Draco wiped his fringe out of his eyes and looked desperately at Harry. "Do you promise you'll help me?"
"I promise," Harry said, solemnly, "Like I said yesterday, you're now seventeen and legally an adult so it's up to you what you want to do with your life. You never have to go home again,"
"Thanks," smiled Draco, shaking Harry's hand, "You're a true friend."
"We'll speak to Dumbledore as soon as we return home and then go from there," Harry planned,
"OK," agreed Draco.
The two young wizards sat back and chatted about all sorts of things until the others returned from their walk. Everybody then piled into the minibus and they went to a hypermarket.
"Are we ready to pay yet?" called Harry, clutching his purchases,
"In a minute," said Hermione, "Ginny and I are just looking around this perfume section!"
The boys groaned. They had been waiting for ages for the girls and only had five minutes left to pay and meet their professors outside the hypermarket.
"Sure you've got enough there, Ron?" asked Draco, raising an eyebrow,
"I'm not sure…" said Ron, slowly gazing at the six different packets of sweets for his family, two large bottles of coca cola and varying other things,
"Who's got Professor Dumbledore's sherbet lemons?" asked Neville, from behind the two plants he wanted to buy for his grandmother and himself. Hermione had assured him that there was an anti-drying charm that they could put on the plants to help them survive until they reached Hogwarts.
"Me," said Harry, waving the extra large packet of the sour sweets their headmaster loved so much. He also held a packet of delicious chocolate biscuits that he couldn't resist.
"Here we are," said Hermione, cheerfully, weighed down under a new top, a small bottle of perfume and some souvenirs for her dentist parents that were definitely not sweets.
The Hogwarts students queued up at an empty till and dumped their purchases down on the conveyor belt- each person's separated. Everything was going smoothly and it was just Ron left to be served, when he opened his wallet to find he was two euros short of what he was planning on buying.
"Oh no!" he wailed, "Ginny you got any more money?"
She shook her head and he groaned.
"Here Ron," said Draco, pushing some coins into Ron's hand. Ron looked at them and then at Draco, blankly.
"Thanks Draco," he said, gratefully after being nudged by Hermione and giving his money to the cashier, "I'll pay you back as soon as I get some more money!"
"It's OK," said Draco, "It's only two euros." He wandered off, leaving the rest of the group to grab their varying shopping bags and scurry after him.
In no time at all, they were back in the gite that they had called home for just under a week and sent upstairs to pack as best as they could. This seemingly simple task quickly turned disastrous and it was amazing how far their possessions had spread in such a short amount of time.
"Has anyone seen my blue shirt?" Neville called,
"It's in the bathroom downstairs for some reason," yelled back Remus,
"Thanks," said Neville, hurrying down the stairs and nearly bumping into Ginny,
"Where's my teddy!" she asked,
"Aww you still sleep with a teddy!" shouted Draco, "Are you sure you wouldn't like me to transfigure it into resembling Harry? Or would you rather the real thing?"
"MALFOY!" yelled Ginny and Harry, simultaneously,
"Ginny, it's under your bed," said Hermione, helpfully, crossing the landing with something that looked suspiciously like a pair of boxers.
"Whose are these?" she demanded, holding them up between finger and thumb.
After each boy denied it, she threw them into the boy's room and went downstairs to help Professor McGonagall with the dinner. As for the boxers, they remained on the floor until they suddenly disappeared later that night when everybody was downstairs.
Amazingly, an hour later, everybody was seated around the dining table eating Spaghetti Bolognese with all their packing done save for items they still needed like pyjamas and toothbrushes. Remus had uncorked a bottle of champagne and they all held their glasses in the air.
"Here's to a fantastic holiday!" cried Harry, "All because I lost my temper and stormed off to play Quidditch!"
Everyone laughed and drank deeply. The happy mood continued throughout the spaghetti Bolognese and apple pie and ice cream which they had for pudding and then all the students chipped in to help wash up and clear away, leaving the professors to put their feet up and relax.
When everything was tidy, everyone took their places around the table with the two finalists in the centre. Ron had disappeared upstairs and returned five minutes later with their chess pieces and a stack of Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks.
"Found these in my trunk," he said, before piling them on the sofa behind the table. He sat and faced Draco, who stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes.
"Welcome to the final of the Hogwarts in France chess tournament!" boomed Remus, "Our finalists comprise of Mr. Ronald Weasley…" Cheers rang out and Ron puffed out his chest. "…and Mr. Draco Malfoy!" An equal amount of cheers echoed through the room and Draco looked slightly relieved. "If you are ready gentlemen?" Both Draco and Ron nodded, "then you may begin!"
Draco, who was playing white, directed a pawn forward and the game began.
An hour later, the battle was still being fought strongly and neither player seemed to be letting up. The audience was still watching but not quite as intently and there was a lot of fidgeting going on. Ginny had ended up on Harry's lap and was leaning back against his firm chest with his arm around her waist. Hermione was sitting anxiously next to Ron, holding one of his hands but not speaking so as not to ruin his attention.
A further hour slipped by and it was nearing a quarter past nine.
"Aha!" whispered Draco, as he spotted a potential winning move. Ron looked at him with a worried frown on his face and then scanned the board. He couldn't see why Draco looked triumphant- he was probably just faking it. Hermione suddenly began to rub her thumb over his palm. Merlin that feels good thought Ron, with shivers running down his spine, Hermione's so gorgeous. I'm so glad I've got her; we have such a great relationship, why didn't I see it before. I've wasted years! A slight cough interrupted his musings. Oh yeah, the game against Draco. Gosh, he's so different now. It's a miracle! RON! Shut up and concentrate, let me see. Aha! That should do and then I can go back to dreaming about Hermione! He took his move. Oh no! Draco's looking smug…he's moving already… what's he doing? NO!
"Checkmate," said Draco, quietly and Ron's King dropped his sword as a sign of defeat.
The room erupted into cheers and Draco was thumped on the back by Harry and kissed on the cheek by Ginny. Draco grinned.
"And our winner is Mr. Draco Malfoy!" said Remus, loudly, "Commiserations to Mr. Ron Weasley. You fought bravely." He presented Draco with a large bar of Honeydukes chocolate, which he had bought before they'd even left.
"Well done Draco," said Ron, shaking his hand, "You're like the first person to beat me for ages!"
"Thanks," said Draco, "We should play again at some point,"
"I'd like that," said Ron, looking surprised and happy.
Harry darted around and set off all of the any Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks while Remus poured everybody another drink of champagne. Professor McGonagall, Remus, Hermione, Ron, Draco, Neville, Harry and Ginny sat down again around the table, drinking their champagne, watching the fireworks explode all around the room and rounding off the end of an unforgettable holiday in France.
Everybody was up at seven o'clock the next morning and after getting washed and dressed and having breakfast and finishing packing, they spent the next two hours sweeping, dusting and stripping the beds to make the gite look like it had when they had first arrived. By half past ten, the trunks were securely placed in the trailer and the students were patiently waiting in the minibus while Remus and Madame Lenoir finished their conversation. Shortly afterwards Remus climbed into the minibus, revved the engine and they exited the courtyard, waving and shouting their goodbyes out of the open windows.
Harry kept his promise to Draco and within a few days after arriving home once more, he and Professor Dumbledore (who incidentally had been delighted with his present) had set up a safe place for Draco to go until the monster that called himself Lord Voldemort was gone for good. Eventually the good side did prevail over the darkness with Draco standing by Harry all the way.
But that's another story.
The End.
Many thanks to Pyrowriter69, It Doesn't Matter At All (I had forgotten that), Queenlover, Petroleumjellydotone, YouKickedMEDog, HP's Twin, miss bear, dogbertcarroll (you've given me a great idea…stay tuned), Spacehog26, griffindor-girl12, sharkiebeetle, emeraldhazel, unicornluver and hypa4evr (yes that is how Space Mountain went but now there's a new ride called Space Mountain 2 (original) and I don't know what that's like!) I got 14 reviews! I'm not sure I've ever had that many for one chapter before!
Well that's the end of Hogwarts in France. I have plans for a sort of short spin off/ sequel, which I should have out very soon. I hope you enjoyed reading Hogwarts in France.
Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received.
