Chapter Six – Waste of a Weekend

The sky was turning a blissful yellow orange mixed in a dazzling mellowed purple with swirled pink lines and white jagged clouds whence Harry woke that evening. An uneasy empty feeling came over him suddenly as he looked down expecting to see a figure that had this morning been sharing his bed, now there was none. He got out of bed and stretched, the sudden feeling of pain in the side of his head came about him realizing the events of early this morning. Feeling that he should look for Hermione and feeling a bit peckish, Harry pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt which had most likely been laid out by Mrs. Weasley and headed out the door and downstairs.

Harry took care on his tiptoes as he past the portrait of Mrs. Black and down stairs to the kitchen where he got quite a shock. It seemed, people had been informed about Harry's incident in a short space of time and had arrived. Present was Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, their children Ron and Ginny, Hermione of course who had obviously woken before him and found a surprise also, Luna Lovegood, Ron's new girlfriend who waved momentarily before busying herself in the latest edition of the Quibbler, Lupin looked extremely refreshed and reorganized seating alongside Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore who both waved as he entered.

'Harry!' Mrs. Weasley was the first to speak, moving forwards and guiding him into a seat, 'you're awake good- something to eat, dear?'

'Please,' Harry said, as if on cue his stomach grumbled, (he had missed dinner last night, breakfast this morning and of course lunch.)

'I'll take that as a yes,' Mrs. Weasley said as she nodded and began rummaging through the cupboard while everyone stared longingly at Harry. As it was, of course, Professor Dumbledore was first to clear his throat and set those twinkling eyes alight.

'Well Harry,' Dumbledore said, smiling brightly, 'while you were sleeping I have, as promised, gathered the required information from over night events.

'Before you were found, I followed your footsteps from where you and Miss. Granger departed ways in the Entrance Hall,' Dumbledore went on, glancing briefly at Hermione, 'then you met Sir Nick, where you apparently had a unfortunate conversation about poor Nick who has yet to be enrolled with the Headless Hunt-'

'Albus would you get to the p-'

'Hang on, Minerva I'm going somewhere with this,' Dumbledore said mischievously, a wide grin spreading on his face, 'so anyway, to avoid Peeves who broke a particular ornament I'm quite fond of-'

'That's the miniature plug trophy I got from a Muggle raid,' Mr. Weasley spoke up, seemingly quite proud of himself.

'So,' Dumbledore went on, smiling at Mr. Weasley, 'you then headed into a secret corridor that Mr. Weasley- Ron- had to point out or us-'

'Filch didn't know about it?' Harry said, bewildered, Dumbledore shook his head.

'But that doesn't matter - next you entered the Gryffindor common room,' Dumbledore continued, his voice slow and steady as usual, 'Fat Lady was drunk but I managed to get it out of her-'

'And then I got attacked,' Harry interrupted, thanking Mrs. Weasley as she put a bowl of soup for starters in front of him, 'in the dormitory, in Hogwarts- which is suppose to be the safest place possible-'

'I had thought so too,' Dumbledore said, 'but I figured something out, that should have been thought of earlier, let me explain it to you.

'Voldemort wants you, Harry,' Dumbledore said, (some including Ron, Mr. Weasley and Luna flinched), 'he will in anyway try to achieve that and that does include taking you from Hogwarts and as you can remember he has penetrated the walls before such as your first year with the Philosophers stone,' ('The Philopolus what?' asked Luna bewildered), 'then he's had an insider with the portkey in your fourth and at the Ministry in your fifth.

'However,' Dumbledore continued, still smiling brightly, 'Voldemort's time at Hogwarts did not at all ever let him see inside the Gryffindor tower at all, being a Slytherin, he hardly went near there. And also, most of the Death Eaters were from Slytherin too-'

'Bloody gits,' Ron grunted, everyone turned to face him and he went gaunt like.

'Ron!' Mrs. Weasley shrieked, walking over and thumping him on the back of the head with a wooden spoon, 'be quiet!'

'It is fine, Mrs. Weasley,' Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling, 'in actual fact, Mr. err- Ron is right,' Ron looked mildly happy with himself, 'this made me think hard you see. I was stupid of course, I sat here for hours this morning wondering- how would Voldemort come to know the whereabouts of a room he's never been in while at Hogwarts? Who did he have that had been in Gryffindor? And; was perhaps there an insider in the school-?'

'Snape?' Harry asked hopefully.

'Harry you must understand,' Dumbledore went on, 'Snape is working for us- he would not tell Voldemort where Gryffindor tower was let alone the dormitory you sleep in. So, I had to dig deeper.

'And then it occurred to me,' Dumbledore went on, a glint in his eye, 'a Gryffindor is actually in Voldemort's circle, it didn't take me long to figure out from then on, that Peter Pettigrew must have flown through the open window of the boys dormitory and immediately have full access of yourself.'

'Wouldn't he have been spotted?' Harry asked.

'Yes, perhaps if he was visible,' Dumbledore said.

'It can't have been him,' Harry said thought, 'the stupid rat- can he even use an Invisibility charm?'

'That's where I come in,' McGonagall spoke for the first time, her eyes were cold like as usual and had a stern look about her, 'Dumbledore needed to know that at school Peter Pettigrew was never of a high quality of a student; usually it was Severus, James and Sirius bickering out for the best of the class- Snape well on top.

'When it came to Invisibility, Peter could never entirely get the charm to work,' McGonagall went on, 'always left with a head, or a leg, or an arm remaining, so Albus had to assume that he was wearing an Invisibility cloak at the time he hid waiting for you-'

'But-' Harry was trying to figure something out here, 'he would have been spotted-'

'No Harry,' Dumbledore said, 'Peter simply flew to the castle undetected- another slight mistake on my part I must admit although he was no acrobat on a broom himself as I recall he still managed to get to the tower.'

Harry raised an eyebrow as Dumbledore cleared his throat.

'So my theory is this,' Dumbledore said, 'Peter flew at Hogwarts with one purpose, to fly into the Gryffindor tower where he waited for you to arrive as you should- having just finished a game of Quidditch and needing to drop off your broom- he did this by grabbing your very own cloak and hid under it, waiting for you-'

'My cloak!' Harry grumbled, looking dumbstruck.

'It wasn't in your trunk,' Ron spoke up, Harry turned to face Ron, 'I looked everywhere- even in mine'

'They have my cloak?' Harry asked, feeling awkward.

'Your cloak isn't important, Harry,' Hermione muttered, putting a comforting hand on Harry's arm.

'She is right, Harry, of course,' Dumbledore said, 'a cloak is not important, you Harry, are.'

'But I don't see the point of this,' Harry said, looking back around to Dumbledore, 'what we should be figuring out is where there base is-'

'Taken care of,' Dumbledore said happily, 'I have members of the order on shifts twenty-four seven from now on and- if anything happens, Voldemort is located, if your cloak is found, you Harry will have the privilege of being the first to know.'

The kitchen door opened suddenly and Severus Snape entered, looking his slimy-nosed, greasy-haired git self as his eyes narrowed towards Dumbledore.

'Albus, we have to get going,' Snape said, flashing his eyes briefly at Harry, 'Cornelius Fudge has asked for you at the Ministry.'

'Ahh… sounds like he's been struggling with the muggle Minister again,' Dumbledore said, rising from the table, 'Harry, you make sure you have a good feed and sleep and look forward to returning to Hogwarts tomorrow morning and to classes.'

Dumbledore bowed and left, closely followed by Snape and McGonagall.

Harry hadn't touched his soup when Lupin declined Mrs. Weasley's offer of staying for dinner and left, nor when Mr. Weasley stood up also.

'I have to go by the office, Molly,' he said, kissing his wife on the cheek, 'sorry but it's getting incredibly busy and I need to go over some papers with Rufus Scrimegeour.'

Rufus Scrimegeour, Ron had explained earlier at the Burrow before term, was an old Auror heading through the ranks at the Ministry, currently Mr. Weasley's boss. Arthur left after Lupin and remaining was just Mrs. Weasley, her two children, Harry and Hermione and Luna.

'At least I have you lot to make dinner for,' Mrs. Weasley said, currently pulling out dusty pots and pans, 'unless any of you feel like leaving.'

No one replied, she muttered to herself and began to make dinner. Harry actually had suddenly lost his appetite and pushed the cold soup away from. Hermione looked at him but said nothing and Ron was whispering something to Luna that made Ginny beside them pull a face.

'Mrs. Weasley I'm sorry but I'm not hungry,' Harry said eventually, standing up from the chair, 'I know I was but- I don't know I'm just not.'

'I understand, dear,' Mrs. Weasley said; alternating what she was cooking again.

'I'll come,' Hermione muttered.

'No you should have-'

'I said I'll come with you!' Hermione repeated, her eyes narrowed.

'If their not staying,' Ginny said pointedly towards Harry and Hermione and looking awkwardly at Ron who began to make out with Luna, 'then neither I am-'

Mrs. Weasley made a feint noise of annoyance as Harry and Hermione departed, followed closely by Ginny who, in consideration, isolated herself to the room she was sharing with Luna rather than follow Harry and Hermione who went upstairs.

They mainly talked, but on occasions their lips met in awkward silences, Harry just loved the feel of Hermione's lips at that moment; full, smooth, tasty and warm. Additionally, he felt warm also when her arms were around his just talking, joking, laughing. That was, however, until Mrs. Weasley knocked on the door and they broke their kiss before she entered.

'It's time you two got to bed,' Mrs. Weasley announced, Harry and Hermione had completely lost track of time and were shocked to see it nearing midnight, 'we will be taking the Knight Bus from here to Hogwarts at seven- I'll wake you at six-'

'Can't we just apperate?' Harry said pointedly, 'Hermione can, and I know how to-'

'Were not going to risk it,' Mrs. Weasley hissed, 'Hermione may, if she likes, but you Harry, under my watch, will be taking the bus, Dumbledore's orders.'

She left and Hermione told him she will take the bus like he was before she left, leaving Harry to lie back and fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Harry could not have thought of a better way to wake up that morning than to have a pair of smooth, warm, tasty, full and familiar lips press against his. For several minutes their tongues and saliva mixed before she pulled away and smiled.

'Morning,' she whispered licking her lips sensuously, her body was pressing firmly again his, 'it's time to get up-'

'Whatimis't?' Harry said half asleep and wary eyed.

'Six,' Hermione said, smiling, 'we have to go.'

Harry sighed as Hermione brandished his jeans and shirt in front of him. He snatched it up and Hermione got off him, turning away so Harry could change. Once he had, they went downstairs together to the kitchen where Ron and Luna sat alone doing, what appeared to be, kissing, but Harry was unsure whether it could even be called that. Harry and Hermione had only just taken a seat (at the end of the table) when Ginny arrived - being guided in by Mrs. Weasley – mumbling half asleep.

'Alright, alright,' Ginny muttered and after spotting Ron and Luna turned towards Harry and Hermione, 'I haven't been able to sleep anyway.'

And she explained that Ron had sneaked into Luna's bed last night and they had spent most the night talking and giggling madly. Ginny made a gesture with her hand like a hand gun blasting off her head.

'So will you be able to play against Ravenclaw at the end of the month then?' Harry said hopefully to Ginny through thick pancakes for breakfast; Ginny looked completely back to normal even though she had only been released from the hospital wing on Saturday.

'You know, I've been thinking,' Ginny said, 'and I figured, that while we still have a chance of winning it, with you an all, that yeah, count me in.'

'Good, I can't stand McLaggen,' Harry said, 'I'm grateful I haven't spent more time away from Hogwarts I couldn't begin to imagine what he would do while I'm not there.'

When they had finished their breakfast, Mrs. Weasley led them outside and stuck her wand hand out; immediately a violently purple Double-Decker bus came screeching up the road and to a halt outside number twelve.

'Look its 'Arry Potter, Ernie!' cried Stan as Mrs. Weasley ordered they be taken to Hogwarts immediately.

The trip was, as usual, violent and unsteady; several times Hermione lost her balance and kept falling apologetically into Harry – Luna was doing it to Ron, purposely.

When they reached the gates of Hogwarts, Mrs. Weasley kissed them each goodbye and snapped at Stan Shunpike to get moving. Ginny walked ahead of the others, seemingly more destined to get away from Ron and Luna and instead to her friends. Hermione pulled Harry back, telling Ron they would catch up. She took him for a walk.

'I don't feel like, Transfiguration this morning,' Harry said as they walked around the lake, hand in hand of course, 'I can just imagine what type of scrutiny I'll receive when my kidnapping gets out.'

'Please let's forget about it,' Hermione said, 'I want to keep on the menu what is more important for us – our relationship.'

Harry stopped and turned to her.

'Huh?' he said.

'Harry, do you realize were both of age and are both still virgins?' Hermione said, raising an eyebrow.

'Err-' Harry said.

'Exactly,' Hermione muttered, 'according to my calculations were the only ones in our year- well beside Malfoy of course he couldn't get into bed with a Troll.'

'What-?' Harry said.

'My point is,' Hermione went on, 'I love you Harry, and I don't want you to think of me as some whore who wants a fuck every five minutes. The truth is I'm ready – but I am prepared to wait if you are not.'

Harry looked at her cautiously as if she was a time bomb about to go off; he agreed with her that she was with no doubt the most attractive girl in her year, she had top marks, loved by every teacher, the only problem was she was considered a book worm – to this day Harry found that in no way unattractive.

'Do you understand what I'm saying?' she asked, stepping closer to him and taking his other hand, 'I-want-you.'

There words were so clear out of her mouth that it was as if she had pressed them from her lips to his. In fact she did kiss him, Harry savored the moment before Hermione broke and looked at him with one of those this-is-our-turning-point-in-the-relationship looks.

'Let me think about it,' Harry said, Hermione sighed but smiled all the least.

They stood in unison and watched Hagrid from across the lake, he - having just woken up - let Fang loose into the grounds who sprinted down the planes chasing wild owls who had taken the small opportune time with the dog inside to take a dip in the water. Harry wished he was each of those owls, that he would could fly off from this castle with Hermione and end his thinking now rather than have classes, more than anything in the world. But on the other hand, Hermione began her way up to the castle doors, Harry, half-heartedly, in her wake.