Flying lessons, Midnight adventures, Luna Lovegood: Chapter 6
Harry's week went as smoothly as the first day at Hogwarts. On Tuesday afternoon, Harry and his friends made their way down to Hagrid hut to visit the half giant. Earlier that morning, the Daily Prophet had reported that a high security vault at Gringotts had been robbed, or at least broken into as the item inside had already been withdrawn. Harry and his friends had mentioned it to Hagrid, and asked if he knew anything about it. Hagrid suspiciously didn't talk about it, avoiding the conversation…and Harry's eyes. The rest of the group agreed that it was highly suspicious, and all agreed that Hagrid probably knew more than he was letting on.
Further on in the day, Harry had suffered his first history of magic class, falling asleep within the first 10 minutes, only being able to revise thanks to the notes Hermione wrote down. Surprisingly, Alec seemed to be taking a fair few notes as well. He explained that he always had a fascination with history, however he agreed that Professor Binns, the ghost professor of history, was far too boring. Harry continued to do well in the rest of his classes, especially transfiguration. McGonagall had started to give Harry a couple of new spells to learn ahead of everyone, although she had stressed that he shouldn't push himself to hard. Hermione had been given a few extra spells to learn as well, however, Harry noticed that the bushy haired witch seemed more attuned to the theoretical aspect of learning then the practical. Herbology wasn't exactly Harry's strong spot, but neither was it his weakest. Neville however, thrived in herbology and earned the respect of Professor Sprout, the herbology teacher.
What everyone was looking forward to most however was flying lessons on Friday. Ron had already told Hermione and Alec that Harry was a fantastic flyer, much to Harry's embarrassment. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about Harry, you're the best flyer I've ever seen." Ron's reassurance did nothing to quell the anxiety in Harry's stomach.
Just as Harry was about to argue, Draco Malfoy interrupted, barging into the group with his goons Crabbe and Goyle. "That's a laugh, scarhead Potter on a broom. You won't last five seconds in the air Potter, you'll be flat on your arse before the lesson even begins."
"Go shove it Malfoy, don't you have a professor to suck up to." Harry retorted
"You should be asking yourself that Potter, I've heard how teachers have been worshipping the ground you walk on, but us Slytherin's aren't fooled. We know a farce when we see one." Malfoy sneered.
Harry was about to throttle the fool until Ron and Alec grabbed hold of the boy's arms. "Now now Malfoy, might want to watch it. Harry might just ruin that ferret face of yours even more." Alec spat at the boy.
Malfoy and his goons left the group alone, laughing at them and making snide comments as they stalked off, their mission to antagonise the Gryffindors a success. Hermione had made a tutting noise at the back of her throat, mumbling something about 'feeding into his wishes.'
Soon Friday came around and the group of Gryffindors and Slytherins made their way down to the practice field by the Quidditch pitch. They were greeted by Madam Hooch, the broom instructor and Quidditch referee.
The group each took a spot next to a broom lying on the ground, awaiting instruction from Hooch. "Right, Welcome to flying lessons. In these lessons, you will listen to my every word, in order to avoid injury. When you're ready, I want you to put your hand out, and in a strong firm voice, say UP. Is that understood."
The group nodded and grumbled in affirmation as they readied their hands. "Now, call your broom." Hooch instructed.
Harry called his broom in a firm, clear voice, 'UP', causing the broom to shoot straight up into his hand. Grinning, Harry looked around at who else had managed it. Ron and Alec appeared to have gotten it on their second try, and much to his dismay, Malfoy too. Hermione was still struggling, as was Neville. After about five minutes, the whole class had their brooms in their hands, awaiting their next instructions.
"Now that you have your brooms, I want you to place it in between your legs, and holding on to your broom handle with both hands, kick off on my mark. Understood?" the stern Quidditch coach instructed.
Once again, the class nodded and grunted in understanding as they swung their legs over the brooms and got ready to kick off. Hooch went around and checked everyone's positioning, congratulating Ron, Alec and Harry on their excellent stances, and scolding Malfoy for his poor handling.
"But that's how I always hold my broom! That's how I was taught!" Malfoy argued,
Hooch's eyebrows shot up into her head before a scrawl settled onto her face. "Well whoever taught you was clearly wrong."
Harry had to bite down on his fist to keep from laughing at Malfoys expense. Ron and Alec were a bit more open about it, chuckling quietly to themselves. Hooch brought the classes attention back to her with a sharp whistle. "Now, on my mark, lift off with a firm kick to the ground, and bring your broom to a steady a few feet off the ground. Ready. Kick off!" The shriek of the whistle signalled the classes mark.
With a firm hard kick, Harry kicked off from the ground, like he had many an occasion at the Weasleys. Floating there for a moment, Harry steadied his broom before bringing it back down. Harry was brought out of his concentration by a scream from one of the girls. Harry looked over and spotted Neville slowly floating higher and higher.
"Mr Longbottom, bring your broom back down here straight away!" Hooch called out, frantically waving her hand in a 'come hither' movement.
Neville started to panic, and lost control of his broom, starting to fly jaggedly and dangerously close to the castle walls. Without thinking, Harry shot off from his position towards Neville. As if by some chance of predestination, Neville fell off his broom at the moment Harry took off, starting to fall a good 30ft. Harry reached Neville just in time to catch him by the wrist, making the broom dip a good 10ft. However, as Harry caught Neville, the boy's momentum continued and caused him to slam into the castle wall, with a sickening crunch to his arm.
Cringing as he heard the sound, Harry tried to make Neville's landing as soft as possible as he laid the boy down onto the grass and landed next to him. "Neville, are you alright mate?" Harry's concerned voice asked.
"M-my arm…I th-think it's broken." Neville cried out, trying to grit his teeth to stop the flow of tears running down his face. Harry wrapped Neville up in his arms to try and comfort him.
Madam Hooch came running over, with the other students close behind, awaiting the news on their fellow student. Kneeling down in front of the boy, Hooch examined Neville's arm before speaking. "Definitely a broken arm, come on Mr Longbottom, I'll take you to the hospital wing. Well done as well, Mr Potter, that was quick thinking, 20 points to Gryffindor. I want you all to stay put! If I see one broom in the air you'll be out of here before you can say bludger!" Hooch's eyes glared out at the group as she let her words sink in, before she picked Neville up by his non-broken arm and took him off to the hospital wing.
As they were leaving, a sun glint drew everyone's attention, including Malfoy's. He quickly strode over to the item and picked up it up, examining it in the sunlight. It was clear by then that it was something of Neville's. "Would you look at this, Fatbottom's dropped his remembreball."
Harry remembered that Neville had received the ball this morning in the mail from his Grandmother. The ball had immediately turned red, causing a round of laughter around the Gryffindor table as the podgy Gryffindor turned a bright shade of red to match the ball. Harry knew that Neville was more then likely never going to see the ball again, so decided to act quickly once more.
"Hand it over Malfoy, it belongs to Neville." Harry stuck his hand out to receive the ball as his order rang through Malfoy's head.
Draco just sneered as he held the ball tighter to himself. "Always trying to be the hero Potter, well how about we have a little competition to prove just how far you'll go." Malfoy mounted his broom and kicked off in two clean motions, taking to the sky before Harry could react.
"Harry don't do it, Madam Hooch said stay on the ground!" Hermione called out to him, trying to catch his arm before Harry kicked off.
But it did little good as Harry avoided Hermione's arm and kicked off, zooming up to the Slytherin with haste, catching everyone off guard. "What. An. Idiot." Hermione pursed her lips as she watched her friend act before thinking.
"Hand it over, Malfoy, I can chase you 'round here all day but you'll never loose me." Harry had pulled up in front of Malfoy, blocking a clean exit.
"Alright then Potter, if you really want it, why don't you go catch it then!" Malfoy's arm cocked back and threw the ball as far as an 11-year-old boy could, which turned out to be pretty far.
Harry kept a careful eye on it as he flew straight towards its path, before finally flipping his broom and catching the ball just before he, and the ball, collided with the tower it was flying towards. Harry made his way back down to a cheering Gryffindor crowd as they piled onto him, congratulating him for his catch. Before they could congratulate him further, an all to familiar stern voice shot out from the other side of the practice pitch, towards the castle.
"MR POTTER! Come with me please!" Professor McGonagall strode with purpose as her voice echoed against the stone battlements.
Harry's stomach plummeted as he thought about the punishment awaiting him. He'd only just gotten into Hogwarts, he couldn't be expelled now, he had so much to do and try. Nodding his head in defeat, Harry followed the stern professor through the halls of Hogwarts, stopping out front of the DADA classroom.
McGonagall gave him one last stern look before opening the door, revealing an ongoing class. "Professor Quirrell, may I borrow Wood for a moment?" McGonagall asked the DADA teacher.
The turban wearing professor nodded his approval in surprise and a well-built brown-haired boy came out of the classroom. Harry remembered the twins talking about a Woods who was the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He wondered what McGonagall might want with him.
Before he could think any further though, McGonagall spoke up. "Wood, I have found you a new Seeker!" The excitement in McGonagall's voice was enough to surprise both of the boys present.
Wood's eyes perked up as he looked over Harry, eyeing him up and down." A seeker professor? Are you sure?"
McGonagall nodded her head in approval as she spoke. "I saw Mr Potter here catch a remembreball from a throw at least 50 feet from its original position, doing a full 360-degree flip whilst catching it, avoiding the window in my office."
"Is that right Potter? Sounds impressive." Wood told him, "I'd like to see your skill for myself then, how about I take you out to the field tomorrow?"
Harry's eyes lit up at the prospect of getting to play Quidditch. "Absolutely! I'm free all day. What time do you want me down there?" The enthusiasm was laced through Harry's voice.
"How about I meet you in the Great Hall at 10 then?" Wood replied with a smile.
Harry nodded his enthusiastically as McGonagall re-joined the conversation with a throat clearing. "Well then it's settled. Mr Potter, if you'd like to head off back to the pitch, I'm sure your friends would like to hear about this…unexpected development."
Harry nodded in agreement. "Yes Professor. Thank you so much Professor!" Harry scrambled away quickly, afraid that if he stuck around everything would come crashing down and reveal itself to be a dream.
The next few days were full of excitement as word about Harry's appointment as Gryffindor Seeker spread throughout the castle. When Harry had told Ron and the twins, they all gave him a 'I told you so' look, reminding him that they said Wood would recruit him. The day after the flying incident, Wood dragged Harry down to the pitch to properly evaluate him. Wood explained the role of a seeker into more detail, as well as their training regimen and strategies. Harry treated the Gryffindor captain to a fantastic show of skill, as he weaved in and out of the Quidditch pitch towers and stands, catching the practice snitch within minutes.
As Harry finished up his last lap, Wood waved him down to land next to him. "McGonagall definitely wasn't exaggerating. That was bloody fantastic."
"I was just doing what came naturally I suppose." Harry blushed and ducked his head as the older boy's eyes danced with excitement and enthusiasm.
"Well whatever you're doing, keep it up." Wood smiled fondly at Harry and ruffled his hair lightly, "Positions yours anyway, if you want it."
Harry's eyes lit up. "Absolutely! Thank you so much Wood!" The smile on Harry's face was positively beaming as the young boy struggled to contain his excitement, "I won't let you down!"
"That's what I like to hear. Go on then Harry, go take a shower and eat some food, I'll see you bright and early Monday morning."
Harry practically skipped on his way back to the castle, immediately tracking down his friends in order to tell them the news. Ron had given Harry a light slap on the back in encouragement. "Told you so. With you on the team, we can't possibly lose the cup this year!"
That night, Harry wrote a letter to Rose to inform her of the latest developments. Finishing up the letter to his sister, Harry pushed the parchment aside to let it dry before pulling out a fresh piece. He sat there for a moment, trying to decide who he was going to write to, until he remembered what Rose had written in the letter, she'd sent the day after her birthday. Conjuring up all the Gryffindor courage that he could muster, Harry penned the letter and began to write.
Dear Ginny,
Rose told me, under threat of being hexed, that I should start writing to you. Fearing for what my sister could do to me, I finally decided to agree to her orders and write you a letter. Seriously, she can be a fierce little thing for all her 'shortcomings.' All jokes aside I'm quite happy to write to you, knowing full well how little Ron and the twins write home.
Where to begin with my first week at Hogwarts…well for starters I've already made the Quidditch team, much to your brother's joy. I've been acing most of my classes here, and I've decided to name myself headmaster for life after I disposed of Dumbledore's reign. That last part may or may not be true.
I hope Rose is treating you alright, and not embarrassing you or pressuring you too much. I know that she can be a bit much at times. You mean a lot to her, being her first friend, and you mean a lot to me too. Before I met you and your brother, I had no friends, only Rose, and now I have you, Ron, and all of your family, plus the friends I've made here.
I can't wait for you to come here next year, you'll have a blast running the school along with Rose and I.
Take care Ginny,
Yours lovingly dearly,
Harry, aka Hogwarts Headmaster for life
Harry thought for a moment before deciding to add one last bit to the letter.
xoxo
Rolling up his letter to Ginny, Harry thought for a moment about what he'd just written. A giddy little feeling spread through his body as he realised what he'd just done. The smile that plastered itself on his face would've made anyone think he was manic. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Harry rolled up the letter to Rose as well before attaching the pair of letters to an awaiting Hedwig. The snowy white owl gave a chirp of excitement as she realised, she was off on another delivery.
"Now you be careful alright? I'll see you when you get back." Harry pressed a quick kiss to Hedwig's head, earning a loving chirp back, before helping her launch off from the open window.
Knowing that Hedwig was off safely, Harry let himself relax as he flopped himself onto his bed and shut his eyes for a bit, awaiting the arrival of his best friend. He didn't wait long until Ron showed up, and flopped onto his own bed.
"Blimey mate, those lot down there are going mental over you joining the team. Reckon they'll name you king soon." Ron's joke echoed Harry's written words.
Harry peeled open his eyes as he sat up. "Well, as soon as they do, I'll make you my advisor. How's that sound."
"Sounds fair to me mate." Ron grinned at him, "Can't have Hermione boss you around, she'll make us all do homework. And Alec can't play chess for quids."
The two friends sat there in amicable silence for a moment before Ron finally spoke up again. "So, what should we do to celebrate?"
Harry shrugged his shoulders. " Dunno, we could always sneak out?"
"Blimey, suppose so, Hermione would kill us though." Ron's eyes betrayed his worry, the excitement clear in his crystal blue eyes.
"What she doesn't know won't hurt her."
Taking his father's invisibility cloak out of his trunk, Harry tucked it into his pocket and made his way down to the common room with Ron behind him. The two boys made their way over to Alec who was writing a letter by the window table.
"Heya Harry, Hey Ron, what are you two still doing up?" Alec's eyes were slightly sunken from fatigue, but the boy's smile was still welcoming.
"We thought that a little adventure was in order to celebrate Harry's success." Ron explained.
Alec's eyebrows rose slightly. "And how exactly are you going to go sneaking out?" Alec's voice sounded sceptical.
Harry looked around the room to see if anyone else was waiting around, before pulling out of his pocket his father's cloak. "This…belonged to my dad. It's an invisibility cloak." Harry explained. To prove his point, Harry stood up and wrapped it around himself, causing his body to disappear.
"Bloody hell mate! That's incredible! Alright then, where to then?" The gasp from Alec's mouth had turned into eagerness as he jumped up and quickly packed his gear away.
"Why don't we just go for a walk around the castle, see what we can find." Harry suggest to Ron and Alec, untangling himself from the cloak and stuffing it back in his pocket.
Nodding in agreement, the three boys made their way to the portrait hole. Before they could get there though, the clearing of someone's throat caught their direction. "And where exactly do you think you three are going at this time of night?" The source of the noise revealed itself to be a very disgruntled looking Hermione.
"Um…we were just…going…for a walk?" Harry blushed as he tried to hide his lie.
"You do know you could get expelled for being out this late." Hermione reprimanded them, her finger jabbing the air towards them.
Ron rolled his eyes in response. "Oh, come on Hermione, we won't be going out for long. Besides, we've got Harry's invisibility cloak."
"Invisibility…cloak? Harry where did you get it?" The annoyance slipped away from Hermione's voice as curiosity seeped through.
"It was my fathers, Dumbledore gave it to me on my birthday." Harry explained, demonstrating its power the same way he had with Ron and Alec.
Hermione let out a gasp as Harry disappeared in front of her. She squinted her eyes, trying to make him out or even see a tiny disturbance, but failed. Harry sneakily walked over to her underneath the cloak, before pulling it off right in front of her, causing her to squeak in surprise.
"HARRY! Don't scare me like that!" Hermione scathed him, hitting him in the chest lightly.
Harry chuckled as he made his way back over to the boys. "Come on Hermione, why don't you come join us, I'm sure my cloak has room for all of us."
Hermione stood there for a moment, shifting from one foot to another, thinking things through. She had never had many friends, and now that she had some, she desperately didn't want to lose them now. "But…but, we could get expelled…expelled! Oh, alright, but only for half an hour!"
The three boys smiled at her as she ran over to join the boys just as they wrapped the cloak over top of themselves. The four first years made their way out of the portrait hole and out into the night. They wandered around the castle halls, stopping once in a while to observe the corridors for any sign of patrolling teachers. They enjoyed finding all sorts of secret passages and rooms, portraits of famous wizards and witches, and magnificent suits of armour that lined the halls. Soon enough, half an hour came around, and Hermione reminded them that they needed to get back. Agreeing, the group made their way back to Gryffindor tower. However, before they could get there, they ran into a furry little problem by the name of Mrs Norris. The group knew that wherever Mrs Norris was, Filch wasn't far behind. The dusty coloured cat obviously sensed them in some way, and eyed them suspiciously, following them as they tried to back up. It was at this moment that Ron, who was at the back of the line, backed right up into a suit of armour, causing it to collapse with a loud thud and clang.
Around the corner they heard the tell-tale sign of Filch running to find the source of the noise. "Students out of bed! We've got them this time my sweets!" Filch called out to no one but himself and Mrs Norris.
An ice-cold feeling ran down everybody's spine as they just sat there in shock. Harry was the first to snap out of the fear induced paralysis. Thinking quickly, he grabbed hold of Hermione's hand and tugged her along as he began to run. "RUN!"
Ron and Alec were quick to follow, desperate to stay underneath the cloak. The sounds of Filch jogging to keep up echoed down the hall, as their panting breaths made the space underneath the cloak unbearably hot. As they rounded a corner into another hallway, they came to door. "Bugger! It's locked." Ron tried to bash away at the door but failed to budge it.
"Oh, move out of the way." Hermione almost tutted like a disappointed parent, as she shoved Ron out the way. In any other situation, Harry would've been chuckling.
Hermione took her wand out and pointed it at the key hole, saying out loud 'Alohomora', causing a clicking sound to spring forth from the door. Hermione pushed the door open and ushered the boys in, locking the door behind them again. The foursome waited with bated breaths by the door, listening to the sounds of Filch rummaging around the doorway, trying to find a trace of them. Not long after, the sounds of Filch's investigation came to a halt, as he proceeded back down the corridor and away from them, muttering curses under his breath.
The group looked around at each other in relief as they realized they had been spared from being caught. However, as they looked around, they suddenly noticed that they were not alone. Standing in the centre of the room sat a massive three headed dog, who had suddenly noticed their presence. Rearing its head in anger, the massive beast started to growl at the intruders. Screaming at the top of their lungs, the four friends scrambled out of the room as quickly as they could, only just avoiding the snapping teeth of the beast.
They ran all the way back to Gryffindor tower, not stopping for anything. Quickly giving the Fat Lady the password, the group ran over to a couch by the fireplace and huddled under a nearby blanket for protection.
"What the bloody hell was that thing! Who keeps something like that locked up in a place like this!" Ron was the first to spring his head back up from the blanket.
Alec was next, shaking his head to try and control his bodies own shaking. "Strewth, that was insane, what the hell was that thing."
"A Cerberus, an ancient Greek mythological beast." Hermione explained, her eyes just barely coming up from behind the blanket.
Harry finally stuck his own head out once he got his breathing back to normal. Memories of running from Dudley's gang had sprung up in Harry's mind, giving him a brief panic attack. "So, what was it doing there then?"
"Obviously none of you noticed the trapdoor it was sitting on top of." Hermione said, her head finally popping up from the blanket.
"What trapdoor?" Harry's eyebrow cocked itself up in curiosity.
Hermione bit her lip in thought, wrapping a lock of her bushy brown hair in her finger. "That Cerberus was sitting over a trapdoor in the middle of the room. I wonder what was in there."
"Whatever is in there, it's got to be valuable to be locked up like that." Ron suggested.
The group sat there discussing what could possibly be locked up under the trapdoor. Eventually the group decided to call it a night and headed up to the perspective dorms. Harry placed his cloak back in his trunk and changed ready for bed, flopping in with a thud as his two best friends also flopped down onto their beds,
"Wha…who's there…Harry, Ron…Alec? What are you doing up?" Neville's bleary voice came from behind the closed curtains on his bed. Obviously, the boys had woken them getting in.
"Oh, you know, just finding three headed dogs and what not." Alec told him.
"Oh…okay." The sound of a yawn came from Neville's bed, before a soft thump signalled that he had fallen back to sleep.
The three friends looked around at each other and shared a quiet laugh at their friend's antics. Soon enough the boys let sleep take them over, and drifted off into their dreams. Harry's mind wandered thinking, about what could possibly be under the trapdoor.
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Rose woke up early Sunday morning, dripping in sweat from a nightmare she had just had. In her nightmare, she was watching Harry walk into a large stone room, with a mirror in the middle. A man was with him, a man who looked surprisingly like professor Quirrell. The Quirrell look alike attacked Harry, but before she could see what came of the attack, she woke up in fright. She pushed the dream away as merely that, a dream. Swinging her legs over the bed, Rose noticed the stickiness between her legs, reaching down to feel her damp nightie. Turning around, the dark spot on the bed sheets was obvious to anyone that looked. A shuddering sob came from Rose's mouth as she stuck her head in her hands and wept silently. Years of cruelty from the Dursley's had done wonders to break Rose's body and self-esteem. Taking in a deep shuddering breath, Rose steeled herself for the inevitable talk with her Grandmother. Taking a quick shower before anything and changing into fresh clothes ready for the day, Rose made her way downstairs to the dining room where her Grandparents were currently enjoying their own breakfast.
"Good morning, Rose sweetheart, come have some breakfast." Juni flashed her granddaughter a loving smile as she pointed to the fresh plate of food sitting where Rose normally would sit.
"Good morning Grandma, Grandpa." Rose's lack of enthusiasm and increased propriety rang alarm bells in Juni's head. The two exchanged a look, Rose only barely meeting her eyes.
The older woman reached out and softly petted Rose's hand. "I'll sort it out sweetheart. Don't you worry." Rose flashed her a grateful smile.
"So, what are you pans for today sweetling?" Alex had just gotten up to wash up his dishes.
"Ginny's taking me off to meet another friend of hers, Luna I think." Rose told her grandfather as she tucked into her own breakfast.
Ginny had asked her a couple of days ago if she wanted to go visit one of her childhood friends, Luna Lovegood. She was the same age as them and would be joining them at Hogwarts next year. Luna lived on the other side of town, not far from the Weasleys, so they would walk there from the Burrow.
"Well you enjoy yourself sweetheart, are you going to be here for dinner?" Juni asked her.
Rose nodded her head. "I should be, I don't expect I'll be out all day."
"Well so long as you let me know, you can stay out for as long as you like darling." Getting up to do her own dishes, Juni placed a soft kiss on Rose's head as she passed.
The family sat there and enjoyed their breakfast and hot drinks for the rest of the morning, discussing all sorts, from the weather, to sports results, news in both the muggle and wizarding world, and of course Harry's progress at school. Around 10, Ginny, came around to the Evans house via floo, ready to take Rose off for the day.
"Ready to go Rose!?" Ginny's voice bounced down the hall from the sitting room.
"COMING!" Rose yelled out her reply, "Alright, I'll see you lot later, love you!" Rose called out over her shoulder as she ran off to greet Ginny.
"Have a good time sweetheart!" Her grandparents called out to her, sharing a smile between them that Rose didn't see.
Rose greeted Ginny in the sitting room with a tight hug before they headed off to the Burrow. "Hey Rose, ready for today?" Ginny asked as Rose untangled herself.
"Sure are, let's go meet Luna." The smile on Rose's face was subdued but genuine. Ginny gave her a strange look but shook it off.
The two friends threw in their floo powder and made their way over to the Burrow, where Molly greeted them both before they headed off to the Lovegood's home. "Have a ncie time you two! And don't be late home!" Molly called out to them as the two girls wandered up the driveway.
"We won't!" The duo replied.
The two friends began their walk down the road towards the Lovegood's, chatting aimlessly about anything and everything, when the topic suddenly changed to Harry. "So, did Harry write you a letter?"
"Um…maybe…." Ginny's face had begun to match her hair as a blush rose up from her cheeks.
Rose smirked as she nudged Ginny. "He so did, didn't he, was it good?"
"You can read it if you want, I've got it in my pocket." Ginny replied.
"Why do you have it in your pocket?"
Ginny just stared at Rose with a blank look. "Because…."
"Because?"
"I wanted it to be safe alright!" Annoyance had seeped into Ginny's voice as her heart began to beat rapidly. It happened more often now when Harry was on her mind.
"So, let's see it then!" With the height difference between them it was almost like Spike and Chester, the way Rose was jumping excitedly around Ginny.
With a sigh, Ginny finally took the letter from out of her back pocket and handed it to her friend, who quickly opened it and read through the entire thing. Grinning at her friend like a Cheshire cat, Rose handed the letter back to Ginny for safe keeping. "You know, that bit about you being important to me is true."
"Don't worry, I know. And the same goes for you by the way." Ginny flung an arm around Rose, pulling her close.
"So, are you going to write a letter back? He seems almost desperate for an answer." Rose looked up at Ginny, waiting for an answer.
The redhead blushed fiercely before she could reply. "I-I'll write to him tonight, I promise."
"Good, wouldn't want to keep the poor boy waiting now would we." Rose teased, jabbing her fingers into Ginny's side.
"AH, stop that you, that tickles! And no, we wouldn't want to keep the 'poor' boy waiting." Ginny replied, slapping her friends arm lightly as she pushed the now giggling Rose away.
The two friends made their way across the outskirts of town, eventually stopping at the edge of a field which contained a big, stone like house in the middle. "That's Luna's house there. Now, I must warn you, the Lovegood's are…eccentric to say the least. They believe in some rather cookoo things, but they're lovely people, Luna especially." Ginny told Rose,
"Sounds reasonable, what's her mum and dad like?" Rose asked.
"Well her dads just as bonkers as she is but he's a lovely man…as for her mother…. well, she died last year …" Ginny answered, a tear coming to her eye.
"Oh…that's unfortunate…" Rose thought about her own mother for a second, but pushed the thought away, she didn't want to re-enact the waterworks she had this morning.
Making their way up to the house, they knocked on the door and awaited a reply. They didn't wait long before a man with shaggy white-blonde hair came and opened the door. "Hello! Can I help you! Oh…Miss Weasley, how nice it is to see you, Luna's been wondering when you'd come around again."
"Sorry about that Mr Lovegood, it's been a bit frantic these last few months, you know with the boys all back after Hogwarts and what not." Ginny explained.
"But of course, I understand, living in that family of yours one must hardly ever get time to themselves. Oh, but where are my manors, I haven't even introduced myself to your friend there." Mr Lovegood stuck his hand out towards Rose as he introduced himself, "Xenophilius Lovegood at your service…Miss?"
"Potter, Madeline-Rose Potter. But my friends just call me Rose." The youngest Potter introduced herself with a polite smile.
Xeno's eyes widened in surprise and hastily grabbed her hand in a shake. "Oh my, OH MY, Miss Potter, what an honour it is to meet you."
Rose, taken aback by the Xeno's outburst, sheepishly shook his hand before pulling back and folding her hands behind her back. "It's nice to meet you Mr Lovegood, I've heard some good things about you from the Weasley's."
"Ah yes, the Lovegood's and Weasley's go back a long time. Now, come on in, Luna is just up in her room, I'll go get her for you." Xeno ushered them in.
The two girls followed Xeno into the house and sat down on a dusty old sky blue longue, awaiting the arrival of the young Lovegood. The duo sat there for a while, talking aimlessly, until a beautiful, dirty blonde-haired girl came bounding down the stairs to greet them. "Hello Ginny, it's good to see you again. Who's your friend?" The blonde girl asked.
"Hi Luna, this is my friend Rose…Rose Potter." Ginny flashed Luna a friendly smile, waving her hand over Rose.
Rose waved her hand sheepishly as the young girl inspected her eyes. "Well, you're remarkably clean of any Nargles, are you related to Harry Potter?" The airily pleasant voice of Luna sounded almost hypnotic to Rose.
"Ah…yeah he's my brother. What's a Nargle?" Rose tried to shake the uncomfortable feeling from her body.
A small smile lit up Luna's face as she explained. "A small little creature that flies into your ear and causes you to become violent and angry. Is your brother here with you?"
"O-kay…I'll remember that thanks Luna. And no, he's off at Hogwarts at the moment, he's a year older than me." Rose replied.
"Well Rose Potter, it's very nice to meet you. Shall we go off and play?" The mysticism surrounding Luna faded as the attitude of a 10-year-old girl broke through.
Ginny and Rose broke out into toothy grins as they nodded their heads in agreement. Luna took the two girls outside where they headed down to a nearby stream of the river Ottery. The girls climbed over the trees and played all sorts of muggle and wizard games. Eventually their bodies grew tired and they climbed a nearby tree to sit and relax and just talk as girls…well…for the most part.
"Daddy said that he's going to take me to Australia to go find a Bunyip, they're incredibly rare." Luna was energetically telling the two other girls.
"I thought Bunyips were a myth?" Rose's eyebrow cocked in curiosity.
Luna shook her head. "Oh no, people just don't like to believe they're real, they're misunderstood quite often."
Rose seemed to accept this answer and shrugged her shoulders. Somehow, once again, the topic of Harry was brought up. "So, Rose, what does your brother look like? Is he as pretty as you?" Luna's smile almost sent shivers down Rose's spine as she blushed.
Before Rose could reply though, Ginny cut in with an enthusiastic monologue. "She wishes, Harry is just the most incredibly handsome young man. I wish that I could just run my hands through that messy jet-black hair of his, all while staring into those emerald eyes of his. But…ah…I…Rose is just as good looking…"
Rose started to giggle at her friend fangirling over her crush. "Jeez Ginny, sounds like you want to marry my brother already."
Ginny half thought that she wouldn't mind marrying Harry right there and then. Luna interrupted before Ginny could reply though. "I wouldn't blame her to be quite honest, your brother sounds like quite the dreamer."
Ginny shot her daggers in an almost predatory way, marking Harry as hers alone. Rose merely interrupted the death gaze by butting in. "Oh, don't you start Luna, I've already got Ginny here pining over him every day and night."
"I do not pine for him!" Ginny snapped.
"Oh, don't worry Ginny, I was merely saying how artistically appealing he sounds, I wouldn't get in the way of your future husband." Luna's reply was unsettling professional.
Ginny blushed the colour of her hair as she dug her face into her hands out of embarrassment. "Why are you both doing this to me. Ugh, I'm going to tell Harry about all this."
"Go ahead, I'm sure he'll find it all very amusing, it'll probably cause him to blush too." Rose chuckled.
"You're evil you know that Rose." Ginny told her, "Yeah but you love me." Rose added.
"I think it sounds rather sweet that the two of you fancy each other." Luna suddenly added,
"Yeah Ginny, he's just as madly in love with you as you are with him." Rose told the red-head.
"I'm not in love with him!" Ginny hastily replied. She knew it was a lie.
"It certainly sounds like you are Ginny." Luna told her.
The now beet red Weasley buried her head into her hands again as the two girls giggled at her embarrassment. The topic of Harry was not brought up again, and the three girls continued to play well into the late afternoon. Eventually Luna's father called for her from the front door, and the three friends bade farewell to their blonde friend.
The duo made their way back to the Burrow, reaching it just before dusk turned to night, bidding their own farewells as Rose departed for the Evans house by floo. Ginny had a quiet Dinner with her mum and dad, discussing what had happened during the day, and what they played. After her nightly chores, the young Weasley retreated to her room where she pulled out a parchment of paper and ink and began to write her reply to the boy she fancied.
Dear Harry,
Thank you so much for your letter. I wasn't sure you wanted to write to me at all but I'm glad you have. But I seriously doubt you'll have time to write to me once you're headmaster for life, but I suppose if anyone could do it, it would be the boy-who-lived…Mr Potter.
Speaking of Potters, you need to write to her sister and scold her for being a bad friend. I won't inform you of what she did, but she'll know. I took her to visit the Lovegoods today, Luna and Xenophilius. They're a lovely family, but highly eccentric, believing in the oddest things. Luna seemed quite interested in you and your sister, maybe she's got a crush on you.
"Who could blame her." Ginny said to no one in particular.
Anyway, I'm glad you made the Quidditch team, at least my brothers got that right. You'll have to show off your seeker skills when you get home for Christmas. I'm not surprised that you're doing well in classes, you are an incredibly smart boy, almost too smart. I'm surprised they didn't put you in Ravenclaw.
Tell my brothers to write to me by the way, I haven't heard hide nor hair of them since they left on the 1st. I miss you terribly Harry, you're the only one who can control that wild sister of yours. Please come home soon so I don't have to lock her up at Azkaban (The wizard prison).
Look after yourself Harry,
I look forward to your next letter,
Yours forever dearly,
Ginny
Ginny rolled up her letter and went down to strap it to the family owls' leg, Errol. Hopefully the old bird would make it in time for breakfast the next morning. Retreating back to her bedroom, the youngest Weasley laid on her head and shut her eyes, dreaming off a certain emerald eyed boy who she fancied…or maybe more she thought. It was strange loving a boy who she'd only met a few months ago. Perhaps it was fate, maybe they were soulmates for each other. Or maybe they just got along really well. She pushed the thought away anyway, there was no point thinking about it now on the verge of sleep. Shutting her eyes, the youngest Weasley let sleep overtake her as she drifted off to Neverland.
Over at the Evans house, Rose was just finishing her own letter to her brother,
Harry, my dearest brother,
You owe me big time. Miss Ginny Weasley is completely besotted with you, in fact if I wasn't mistaken, she has basically devoted her heart to you.
She took me over to meet her friend Luna today, odd little girl but very friendly. Seems to believe all sorts of odd things, like Nargles and Bunyips.
Anyway, I hope things are alright at Hogwarts, I had an odd dream last night about you getting attacked. I don't think it's too important but please do look after yourself Harry, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you.
Have fun anyway big brother, I miss you terribly,
Love you with all my heart,
Your precious little sister,
Rose, aka the 'matchmaker'
Rolling up her letter, she strapped it to Zeus and set him out into the night to deliver her letter to her brother. Cleaning herself up and changing for bed, the young Potter flopped onto bed, tucking into her brother's shirt that she kept in the bed every night. She smiled at the thought that Ginny might one day become family.