Chapter Four

The fall air had turned crisp earlier then expected, and one could see their own breath in early September, and the students of Hogwarts were not ready for that type of weather just yet. Summer clothes had still been unpacked, and winter wears were not as fashionable when it came to shorts, tanks and sandals.

Although the day was rather crisp, it was even chillier at seven in the morning on the first Saturday of September and of the year. Two companions were making the trip to the quidditch locker rooms to ready themselves for practice; Harry turned into an Oliver Wood the summer before sixth year and decided the cup was Gryffindors' this year. He pulled on a wool sweater and a light cloak and once he stepped into the cold air, he wished he had brought his mittens and his scarf.

"Mate, I just want you to know, you really know how to kick a mate." Ron moaned hold his hands to his face and blew into them. The night before the boys in Gryffindor year six doors, had a celebration of surviving the first week of a term and a welcoming back ceremony involving all their favorites: bottles of Butterbeer and flasks of firewhiskey and Wizard Tonic. Ron had drunk himself into oblivion while Harry paced himself knowing the results of excessive drinking from covering Dudley's ass that summer.

"I warned you Ron." Harry said in a high pitch mimicking Hermione.

"Well what if I mention to Miss Prefect about you're transporting of alcoholic beverages onto the Hogwarts grounds." Ron yawned and watched as Harry's eyes glared at him. "Wait, I'm a freaking prefect, ten points from Gryffindor, and twenty to Gryffindor for creating a great spanking party!" Ron and Harry laughed and walked into the locker room to meet a disgruntle Ginny, and the various other teammates.

"I want you to know Harry; I hate you at six in the morning." Ginny informed him and took her broom and marched off into the pitch to warm up her body by moving. After a good hour and half, the team was sweaty, and practicing drills one after the other because this year the team really had two co-captains. Harry took charge of the beaters, while Ron focused on the Chasers, since he got the best view being the Keeper.

Harry caught the snitch and whistled over to Ron who nodded back at him. He motioned the ending of practice and they all landed to the grass with thumps. "Good practice, now if we keep this up, we will be great this year. I plan on our team to take us all the way, so keep it up and soon we will all be competing each other some day professionally."

Ginny rolled her eyes and she and the two other chasers stalked into the quidditch locker rooms to shower and head off back to bed, since it was still and ungodly hour for a Saturday. Harry stayed behind to lock up the quidditch practice balls, having some difficulty with the bludgers, he finished up showering alone only to walk out shower with a Hermione Granger sitting on a bench waiting for him.

"Jeez Hermione, give me heart attack." He said standing still and taking a few breaths to calm his rapidly beating heart. Her brown hair spilled across her face hiding the blush creeping her face by seeing Harry in only a towel. He caught her purposely distracted face, and smirked, "What Granger can't handle the man in front of you?" Trying to imitate the blond prat. She scowled at him and he laughed. "Good thing I came out in a towel." He suggested with his eyebrows wagging, "Or that would be one story to tell the grandkids. You could tell them, yeah well I saw the boy-who-lived's wanker."

"Harry stop!" Hermione shrieked and turned around fully. "Just get yourself clothed so we can go get breakfast."

He chuckled under his breath and went to his locker and clothed himself relatively fast, shimmying into his pants and bouncing up and down to tie his shoes without bending over or sitting down. Hermione grew tired of the show of immaturity and muttered a tying charm and stood holding out his scarf and mittens.

"Here, I brought these for you." Hermione said shoving them into his open hands.

"Hermione Granger, were you sneaking around my dorm room?" Harry asked in an accusing tone. "That's kind of stalkerish, kind of turning bad huh miss Granger?"

"Not as bad as the half dozen flasks and cases of empty bottles I found scattered around your room." Hermione said shoving him out the door. He stumbled backwards but laughed and turned himself around and held the door open for her.

"Point taken, lets just drop both accusations and move on to breakfast." Harry laughed. "How did you know I was still down here?" He looked at her.

"Well, I was rudely awakened by a shrieking Ginny, something about Stupid Potter, or I want to kill him. So when I saw Ron come back alone I figured you were still cleaning up, and since you ruined my beauty sleep, I wasn't about to let you go back to sleep so fast."

"You need beauty sleep, whatever." He said causing her to blush by his words.

The pair continued towards the castle as a light snow began to fall upon the two shoulders and they stopped by the whopping willow. Harry looked up towards the sky and opened his mouth.

"Harry what are you doing?" Hermione asked looking around to why they stopped and were standing halfway away from the castle.

"I'm catching snow flakes." Harry said as if he was stating the obvious, but in a childlike tone. Hermione starred at Harry for a few seconds and a smile spread across her face admiring the innocence of the Harry Potter. She let out a little laugh and he turned and starred at her. "What's so funny Miss Granger?" Harry asked poking her in the side.

She let out a shriek and jumped away as his hands reached for her again, and she took of running, but with his lightning fast reflexes his arms held her fast to his side.

"Where do you think you are going Miss Granger?" He asked mimicking Professor McGonagall's stern voice although a hint of a doting tone for her favorite student.

"Stop it, Harry!" Hermione whined.

"What Miss Granger, you know you are my favorite pupil!" Harry said swinging her around in the snow. The snowflakes started swirling around them. She began to giggle.

"I am not her favorite and she doesn't talk to me like that!" She shrieked, "And let me go!" He laughed and fell over, Hermione falling on top of him. He started coughing because of her elbow connecting with his ribs, "Serves you right?" Hermione snapped and rolled off onto the snow blanketed ground. Harry rolled over starred at Hermione, smiling and laughing.

Harry sat straight up in bed, looking around his dark room. It had been three months since Hermione's immediate departure, and Ron's request for him to search for his true love, but he hid away into his house, sulking around and hardly even moving from bed. Each time he fell asleep, he had a dream of Hermione, remembering the innocent past they shared, and the moment in September when he fell in love with her for the first time. Each time he relived that memory, he fell in love all over.

Owls were lined up around the room waiting for replies, most were from the Weasley's wondering if he was alive, and apologizing for Ron's behavior. Ron had been the one to break the news of Hermione's departure to his family, and soon he received an owl from each Weasley, and multiple more from Mrs. Weasley. He ignored each one.

There had been a pounding on his door but as he sat up in bed, he thought it had been due to the bottle of muggle tequila he consumed by himself the night before. But when he heard the faint sounds of voices yelling, "Harry!" "Potter" and "ARSE" were not side effects from the tequila. The door to his town house was blown in and before Harry could react two red heads and a platinum blonde.

"Merlin Harry, what in broomsticks have you been doing for the past three months?" Ron snapped looking around the room it was littered with bottles of all shapes and sizes.

"Looks like tequila, whiskey and a whole bunch other stuff. Hell Potter, what did you do consume all the alcohol in Kent?" Draco Malfoy asked admiring the bottles scattered on the table.

"Malfoy we are not here to admire his drinking selection." Ron grumbled at the other brit. Ginny walked over to the curtains and opened up allowing sunlight to stream through the room right onto Harry's face.

"Bloody hell, what is going on?" Harry grumbled.

"We are trying to kill you with sunlight." Draco muttered, and received a punch on the arm from Ginny.

"Harry what's the matter?" Ginny asked shifting some of the bottles on the night stand and placing a cup of water and two aspirins. She handed him the pills and the glass.

"Tequila happened." Harry said sitting up. "What are you all doing here?"

"Saving you from yourself mate." Ron said and started to banish bottles to the garbage. "Mum hadn't received word back, in fact no one had for weeks now, and we started to get worried."

"It's been three months." Harry muttered.

"Oh Harry." Ginny said sitting on the bed and rub his forearm. Draco coughed from the back ground and she rolled her eyes. "Shut it, I am just trying to be a good friend."

"Didn't know being a good friend involved going to second base." Draco muttered and Harry scoffed.

"I just can't believe she is gone." Harry said pitifully.

"Oh get over yourself Potter!" Draco snapped. Ron glared at him and Ginny made an attempt to say shut up but he cut them both off. "Oh don't give me those looks, and shut it Ginny, I have had enough of this crap. He is a grown freaking man; he doesn't need to be coddled."

Harry snapped from his daydreams and looked at Draco. "What do you mean coddled Malfoy, no one has coddled me."

"Yeah, sure. For the past three months, you have been drinking yourself into oblivion and since you are Harry-freaking-Potter you get babied in everything you do. So big deal, you got turned down, get over yourself and move on." Draco snapped.

"I don't get babied for being Harry Potter." Harry muttered under his breath and looked at Ron and Ginny. They both looked away thinking that if they didn't say anything they were in the clear. "Bloody hell, you guys agree with him!" Harry pushed away the covers.

"Its not that we agree with him, mate." Ron started delicately. Harry's green eyes starred right through him.

"Well, what then?" Harry snapped.

"It's just-

"What, it's just what?" Harry yelled and Ginny got annoyed with his attitude.

"Alright Harry!" She snapped back at him. Her face was red and both Ron and Draco knew better then to cross her when her face was red. "Yes you do get babied. You get everything, you have no responsibilities, and you are living in the glory of the past. Get over yourself, so something bad comes your way; don't take it out on all the rest of us."

Harry stared at her. No responsibilities. Living in the glory of the past. "Well I am sorry for giving you and the rest of the freaking wizarding world a chance to have responsibilities." His eyes turned dark.

"Knock it off mate." Ron growled. "Get out of bed and shower. We are only here to show you that the world is still happening and you need to live there too."

After they cleared the room, and heard the shower start, Ginny and Draco headed off to their next destination while Ron waited downstairs for Harry to emerge. Harry descended shortly after dressed in different clothes for the first time in a month.

"There you go; you are looking somewhat like your normal self." Ron said. "Now Mum is expecting you for dinner tonight and tomorrow. See you there."

"Wait, Ron." Harry said before Ron apparated. "Thanks mate."

"No problem Harry, it's what friends do." He said.

"Has it really been three months? Wow I feel like and idiot, did you ever find Camille?" Harry asked looking at Ron's whose face fell.

"Yeah, I did mate, nothing happened." He said, and with that he apparated away.