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Just Dropping In: Wednesday, June Week 3
The doorbell was ringing, and Harry left his room and stood at the top of the stairs, he knew it would be Hermione and Ron coming over. Harry decided that it was better if he answered the door least his uncle stir off the living room couch. Harry went down the stairs swiftly, running his hand down the banister. Harry opened the door and on the porch stood Hermione and Ron wearing their muggle attire which consisted of halter style top and denim mini-skirt with flip-flop sandals. Hermione was muggle born so she was perfectly passable, Ron on the other hand had his t-shirt inside out and was wearing a pair of bowling shoes. Harry stepped aside letting them through, they wiped their feet on the door mat and stepped in. "So this is where the Dursley's live." Hermione said walking around the small foyer a good bit. "Hey Harry, we have some bad news I'm afraid." Ron said rubbing his cheek. However went quiet when they heard footsteps approaching.
"These must be your little friends." They all turned to see Harry's Aunt Petunia coming into the foyer. They could hear Vernon saying something along the lines of weirdo delinquents in the other room. "My names petunia, be careful not to get anything dirty and make sure you take your shoes off." With that she left and went into the kitchen presumably to clean. "At least she was pleasant about it, eh mate?" Ron said lightly punching Harry in the shoulder. "Oh Harry, those people must have been horrid." Hermione said looking rather upset. "Yeah, they were." Harry simply replied.
"Well let's go upstairs at any rate. And make sure you take your shoes off." Harry said walking forward. Turning around he watched Ron pull his shoes off and Hermione simply kicked her flip-flop sandals off onto the shoe mat next to the door. Harry noticed Hermione had blue toe nail polish and matching fingernails. "That cousin of yours been giving you trouble?" Hermione asked sternly with a protective look on her face. "No, he hasn't given me any trouble in a long while." Harry said dismissively already mounting the stairs. Hermione and Ron followed him up the steps, looking down and across into the living room where Dudley was vegging in front of the television set. Ron noticed the television. "Wow, is that one of the things muggles call a v.v?" Ron asked looking interested. "No Ron, it's "tv" not "vv" and it stands for television." Hermione said, sounding like a right little know it all.
Walking into Harry's room Ron took a good look around and said "It's kind of small." Harry remembered that Ron's room wasn't that much better off at the Burrow. Harry followed after Ron and Hermione was right behind him. "By the way, I think Ginny is going to come. She sounded really mad that she wasn't invited. Every since you told her that you two couldn't stay together she's been horrid. I don't think she's going to accept that answer after all." Ron said, smirking. "Whatever you do, remember she's my little sister." He remarked shortly after, the look on his face made Harry consider that Ginny's happiness might impact his friendship with Ron. But then Harry smirked when Ron went to pet Hedwig, because he was thinking about how Ginny could take up for herself just fine. Hermione walked past Ron and sat down on Harry's single bed with a thump and playfully bounced up and down on it for a while causing Ron to laugh. Hermione picked up a copy of Which Broomstick off Harry's bedside nightstand and kicked her legs back and forth, as she read it and Harry smiled when he noticed Ron highly attuned to everything she did. Harry turned away and put away a few books from the previous school year that he had lying around. "Hey Ron, that broomstick you have is in here, the Cleansweep series." Hermione said, sounding mildly interested. "Oh really?" he asked, sitting on the bed beside her. "Oh no! That's a newer model. The Cleansweep 7!" Ron said snatching it away from her without realizing that she was now scowling at him. Seeing that Ron was pleasantly immersed in Which Broomstick, thumbing idly through the pages, Hermione got up and walked over to Harry's desk apparently trying to make a mental image of the area he studied at for future reference. She seemed to come to and saw Harry looking walked over to him, she walked over to him; her bare feet making hushed sighs on the carpet.
"Harry, are you okay. I know you must really regret breaking it off with Ginny." Hermione said studying his face. Harry felt a cold block form in his throat, "Well I-I thought that it was better this way y-you know." Harry hadn't thought much about her for the past three days since Dumbledore's funeral. "Listen Harry, I know your trying to protect her, but that isn't fair to her. Just remember we're all in this together." Her eyes were tearing up. Harry heard the springs from his mattress squeak and turned around to see Ron listening to the conversation, "And don't forget Harry, she was with us when we went to the Ministry during our fifth year. And remember mate, you can't take Voldemort alone." Ron looked as if he was going to go back to reading Which Broomstick but then turned and said, "Remember, those who fight alone die alone." Then he walked back over to the bed.
"Listen Harry, just think about it. Ginny is as skilled as Ron and I, she deserves the right to make the decision." Hermione said incredulously.
"But you know Voldemort would try to use her against me," Harry said. However Harry had to cut the conversation short when they heard footsteps coming up the stairs, Harry turned and looked through his bedroom door which they had left open and was surprised to see Dudley appear in the doorway shortly later.
"Oh," he grunted, "It's you." Dudley said looking at Harry.
"Yeah it's me, it's my room you giant git." Harry said scathingly.
"Well…" Dudley said puffing his chest out but then Hermione stepped around Harry to get a good look at Dudley.
"Didn't I just see him downstairs watching the television?" Hermione said.
"I suppose he got tired of his brain coagulating into mud," she added, seconds later.
Harry laughed and so did Ron who had left Which Broomstick lying in his lap forgotten. But Harry noticed something strange, Dudley had looked mad at first but now he looked peculiar, Harry exchanged looks with Ron who also noticed it, giving Harry a shrug in return.
"What are you staring at?" Hermione said menacingly to Dudley. Dudley then proceeded to turn purple and turned and stormed at, heard later charging down the stairs sounding like an elephant.
"What was that all about?" Hermione said later, a smile barely playing on her lips.
"So that was obviously your cousin," she said, "A total idiot, just as you described him." Hermione said. She then turned on heel and padded on bare feet over to Harry's bedroom window, staring up and down the street reminding Harry that this was the first time she had ever been to the Dursley's.
Harry then sat down at the chair in front of his desk. And stared at his two best friends, considering whether he could allow them to accompany them or not on the journey ahead, fighting Voldemort. Just then Harry saw a brown shape approaching the window and he turned to see a large brown barn owl smash into the window and fall out of sight. Ron looked up looking shocked, "Errol!" And he rushed out of the room, Harry followed and Hermione just walked toward the window, presumably to watch the goings on from there. Harry ran down the stairs, watching Ron open the front door and go outside, there was the Weasley family owl, lying on its back on the front porch. Aunt Petunia had come around to the foyer from the kitchen, vinyl cleaning gloves pulled over her hands. "Harry's friend, get that bird of the porch please, what will the neighbors think!" She said only slightly irritated, abruptly turning and going back into the kitchen.
Harry once again heard his uncle mumbling in the living room about delinquents and what not. Ron hurriedly picked Errol up and brought him inside closing the front door. Harry noticed that his Uncle Vernon and Dudley were sitting on the living room sofa in front of the tv, yet were both watching closely. "Whats that Ruddy owl doing in my house?" Uncle Vernon hollered shaking a fat purple fist in the air, yet making no attempt to get up.
"I think that mean we should hurry and get out of sight Ron." Harry said hurriedly, already heading back up the stairs. Ron followed and they both walked into Harry's room half a minute later. Ron holding Errol out in front of him, he set Errol on Hedwig's perch and the old barn owl rolled over and took a drink out of Hedwig's water dish, which Harry noticed Hedwig was watching closely. Ron pulled the letter tied to Errol's leg off and noticed that it was addressed to Harry.
"Hey mate, it's addressed to you." Ron said giving Harry a peculiar look, "Maybe mum has something to say?" he added shortly after.
Harry took the letter and opened it to read a neat clever handwriting.
Harry,
I've decided to come and visit. You'd better be receptive when I show up, as I'm in a dither that you didn't even mention that they were going to visit to me!
Love,
-Ginny
"She loves me." Harry said looking confused. Ron looked at the letter and replied, "Maybe, but she signs all her letters off that way." Ron said.
"I reckon she's right mad that you didn't invite her too." Ron added thoughtfully a little later.
Their conversation was cut short however by approaching footsteps, and once again they were interrupted, only this time by Harry's Aunt Petunia. "Harry, are you and your friends ready for lunch? I've made sandwich's and if your hungry you'd better hurry down and eat them before Dudley does. He's got a healthy appetite you know." She said beaming oddly before leaving. "Why'd she look at us so weird?" Ron asked in a casual tone. "She's proud of Dudley as always," Harry replied. "Well, healthy appetite my backside! Your cousin is a fat idiot!" Hermione shouted as she walked from the room.
"She has a point you know." Ron said, following her out. Harry had a good laugh before catching up to them.
They trooped silently and carefully down the stairs, Hermione looked around cautiously as if not wanting to startle the natives. Harry walked around her and led them to the kitchen. Seated at the table was Uncle Vernon looking purple face, staring at the three of them as they walked in. Hermione was still bear foot as she took a seat opposite of Harry's uncle, Harry sat next to her across from Dudley and Ron took the other side of Hermione across from Harry's aunt. "Uncle Vernon, I think I have another friend coming later." Harry said. Upon hearing this his Uncle Vernon turned a darker shade of purple, "More of your freaky friends eh? Well just remember to keep them in your room where they belong! And they aren't staying more than a couple days either!" He said, digging into his casserole immediately afterwards. "Yeah like we'd want to!" Ron whispered incredulously around Hermione. Harry smiled before eating his food. Dudley kept looking at Harry, Harry thought that Dudley might be jealous of Harry's friends. His uncle Vernon stopped mid-meal to mumble about weirdo's before cleaning his plate. Luckily Harry had just finished along with Ron and Hermione, and they were able to escape without any further conversation, if it could be called that. Hermione turned before leaving, "Thanks for the meal Mrs. Dursley." She waved and left with a smile.
"At least one of them knows when to be grateful!" Harry's Uncle roared as Harry hurried through the door after Ron and Hermione.
"What a bunch of gits, that lot!" Ron said as they went back towards Harry's room after mounting the stairs.
Ron sat back on Harry's bed picking Which Broomstick back up. "I spose we're sleepin in here then?" Ron asked. "Yeah, I spose so unless you want to sleep at the foot of Dudley's bed." Harry replied. The three of them laughed and then settled down. Ron remaining where he was, Hermione sitting with her back against Ron's legs and Harry took the chair at his desk.
"So I suppose Ginny will be here soon then?" Harry asked, the ice in his chest melted slowly at the thought that he would see her again so soon after their hasty separation at the funeral. "Harry, really I think you should get back together with her!" Hermione said in a pleading tone. "Yeah, she'll be here within the," he was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. "Well that'll be here there won't it?" Ron said. And sure enough, they heard light footsteps charging up the stairs and in came Ginny. They heard more footsteps following at Dudley waddled in hauling a trunk which he hastily dropped on the floor before peering at Ginny, with a wide eyed look. Then he hurriedly left before she looked back at him. "I put the big git to work, Hermione and Ron forgot that they would need clothes to wear if they are going to stay here for more than a day. Brought some for myself as well." She said. "Wait!" Ron said with a look of excitement on his face, "This is what muggles call a sleep-at!" Hermione scoffed and said, "No Ron! It's called a sleepover!" Ron mumbled at being corrected by a haughty Hermione and went back to reading Which Broomstick. Ginny looked about the room, "No place for me to sit then?" She then strode over pulling her sneakers off (and looking much more convincing in her muggle attire than Ron) and sat down in Harry's lap. Harry shifted uncomfortably in the chair before Ginny looked down at him and said, "We've got something to talk about in private!"
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