Yo! Apologies for the delay. It's been a busy few weeks because of mothers with cleaning sprees, visiting relatives, an aunt not unlike Petunia Dursley, and a brother's wedding. Forgive me?
Harry wasn't sure whether he was supposed to feel excited or not. September first was a mere week away, but he was honestly beginning to feel a little resigned. Something bad always happened to him at Hogwarts. He doubted this year was going to be any different.
At least the toad will be gone. What kind of toad likes cats, anyway? Trevor hates Crookshanks, after all. Poor Crooks. Who knew Trevor could be so evil? ...Wonder what Neville's been teaching him?
Still, that raised the question of who the new Defence professor would be-if Dumbledore ever found them. Would they try to kill him again? Probably. Would it actually be on Voldemort's orders this time? Eh, it was hard to say. It was a fifty-fifty chance, really.
"Oh, there you are, Harry!" Ron exclaimed, wandering into the room. "The book lists are finally here!"
Harry accepted his own with a raised brow. Their arrival only meant that Dumbledore had finally managed to fill the constantly vacant Defence position. Well, this was strange timing, wasn't it? Meh, at least he was going to be able to get out of this house for a little while. He needed to visit Diagon Alley, after all. He wasn't about to allow anyone to convince him otherwise.
It was later that evening when Harry was in the middle of, erm, private time, when Ginny burst into the room, Hedwig flying in behind her. Glad he'd been...polishing his sword under the blanket-dammit, Aragorn, you sexy bastard!-Harry eyed the scantily clad redhead and sighed. Whelp, that's one way to kill my boner, he thought in irritation.
Ginny, who didn't seem to have noticed anything, stepped closer, waving a sheet of parchment in the air. "Hedwig brought you a letter!" she said cheerfully, even though there was no reason to be so excited. She passed the missive over as the snowy white owl flew to her perch.
Harry glanced down at the signature, noticed it was Voldemort's, and wondered why Ginny didn't appear at all alarmed, despite clearly having read the letter. He was just about to ask when the girl spoke.
"So, what've you been up to, Harry?" she asked curiously. "You've been holed up in here since you finished dinner!"
"I've been very, very busy," he replied after a pause.
"Busy doing what?"
"Fantasizing."
"Fantasizing?"
"Yep."
"About what?"
"The King of Gondor and his throne."
"W-wha-? Who?"
"Now get out."
Ginny ran out of the room. Smirking, because he hadn't been lying, Harry turned his attention back to the letter. He'd forgotten about the Dark Lord while being a teenager.
'Potter,
Your suggestions worked. I removed the batteries and discarded the beast in a rather active volcano. It has not come back.
Send me another Furby, and I will slaughter all those you care for in their sleep.
Oh, and I do hope you are looking forward to the upcoming school year.
Voldemort'
"...I don't know why, but that last bit there sounded pretty bloody menacing."
Hedwig hooted and bobbed her head in agreement.
That's it for now. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!
