Chapter 9 Misunderstandings

Harry remained in bed all the next afternoon and evening, much to the disappointment of Ron and Hermione, though they tried very hard not to show it. Hermione sat beside Harry trying to comfort him as best she could. When he was finally feeling better and sitting on the couch in the living room, Hermione explained the plans for the rest of the week. She and Ron were returning home on Saturday, so they could pack the rest of their clothes for school.

"Tomorrow we're all going to Diagon Alley to purchase our books, extra parchment and other supplies," said Hermione, sounding like a mother. "Sirius is right-we only have a few weeks left and I'd like to get my books right away so..."

"You can start studying before classes even start?" asked Ron with a roll of his eyes. " Good grief, Hermione. You're unbelievable do you know that?"

Harry sneezed but neither Hermione or Ron paid him any mind. "At least I always make full marks in school!"

"I don't do badly either!" Ron snapped.

"You scrape by, Ron!"

"Guys-stop it. You're giving me a headache." Harry grumbled, massaging his forehead. Hermione turned to him.

"Sorry."

Sirius had gone into the kitchen to make each of them mugs of tea, and handed Harry one, offering honey.

"Thanks, Sirius," Harry replied, gratefully sipping from the hot liquid. Tea was something he could take or leave, but it was soothing when he wasn't feeling well.

"Hermione wants to go to Diagon Alley to get school things tomorrow," he began, once his other friends were drinking. "Could we?" He asked, his eyes hopeful.

Sirius cocked his head and gave his godson the once-over. "We'll see how you're feeling, Harry. If you're feeling up to it, then I don't see why not. It's always good to beat the rush-good thinking, Hermione. Now-what would the three of you like for supper?"

They shrugged. "Not really hungry," Harry admitted. "Just soup and crackers would be all right for me."

"Whatever you want, Sirius." Said Hermione. "I'm not a picky eater."

"Hot dogs," said Ron. "Cheeseburgers, steak, potatoes-all are fine with me." Sirius laughed, promising he would look into the freezer or refridgerator and see what was availible. This was another change Harry enjoyed; he'd never been allowed to touch anything in the kitchen while living with his Aunt and Uncle. Now, he could eat whatever he want whenever he fancied, and Sirius always made sure he had his godson's favorite foods in store.

"Carnivore!" Hermione snipped. Ron stuck his tongue out at her and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"All right, you two, chill out." Sirius laughed. "How about I make you two some steak and baked potatoes?"

"Sure!" said Hermione.

"Good. We'll eat around 6:30-7:00 then. And you just want soup and crackers, Harry?" Sirius looked back at his godson, who nodded.

"Yes. Thanks." Harry gave his nose a rub, and Hermione offered him a tissue. When he blew his nose, Ron suggested they play a game of Exploding Snap or Wizard's chess, to keep them occupied. Hermione went into the kitchen to offer Sirius help with dinner, and Harry smiled when he heard his girlfriend and guardian chatting away comfortably. Ron dealt the cards on the table, and the two of them began a game, which they hadn't played in a while. Harry was thankful to have his mind off of his misery for the time being, and smirked when Hermione would peer into the living room everytime a card exploded.

At dinnertime, they sat in the living room working their way through the meat pies Sirius cooked, and Harry sipped from his bowl of soup.

Afterwards, Hermione read from one of the books she'd gotten that summer, her head resting on Harry's lap, and enjoyed as he stroked her hair. Ron had Sirius tell him stories of all the pranks the Marauders pulled during their years at Hogwarts, and soon all four of them were rolling on the ground with laughter.

"Believe me," Sirius chuckled, "the stuff you three got into is nothing."

Harry coughed, giving Hermione a confident look when she asked if he was all right, and pulled her to him in a hug. Ron realized as he sat there watching his two friends cuddle, how badly he missed Lavender. He had enjoyed her surprise visit to his house before Harry's birthday party very much, and wished she wasn't taking a last minute trip to the seashore before school started.

"You'll see her soon enough, Ron," Harry promised, and Ron grinned sadly.

"Yeah," he replied.

Much to Hermione's relief, Harry looked a lot better the following morning. Sirius agreed to take the trio to Diagon Alley, and kept pestering Harry about how he was feeling. "I'm FINE," Harry lied. He, in truth, was still very tired, but the doctor had been right-the medicine did help ease the symptoms. He hadn't sneezed once all morning and was very pleased by that at least.

"Speaking of which," said Sirius, "These arrived late last night. I almost forgot to give them to you." He handed each of the kids their Hogwarts letters. "Dumbledore knows you're here, Ron."

"He always knows where we are. It's spooky." Ron chortled. "He must have known we were deciding to go today."

"Well let's go then," said Hermione, after glancing over her letter. "Give me that." She took Harry's hand in hers. They were going by Floo powder, as Sirius knew the drill. Harry was glad Sirius had managed to find an apartment with a fireplace, or they would have been stuck using muggle transportation. Though the wizard villiage was literally ten minutes away, Harry didn't think he could make it on foot.

"You two are going to have to part for a few moments," Sirius laughed at Hermione and Harry, who were still holding hands by the time they were situated.

"Can't we go together?" asked Harry.

"Yes! As long as we're joined like this he won't get lost," Hermione insisted.

Sirius looked at Ron who sniggered. "All right, all right. You two are inseperable." Sirius told them to go first, and Hermione took the powder into her hand. "DIAGON ALLEY!" She shouted loudly and clearly and the familiar green flames engulfed them. Soon they found themselves standing right in front of Flourish and Botts, and Harry grinned, pleased. He remembered during his second year when he'd first tried the Floo powder and had wound up in Knockturn Alley, because he han't spoken clearly enough. Soon after they'd arrived, Sirius and Ron did, and they stood in a group for a moment. Diagon Alley was not too crowded yet-a few random early shoppers like Hermione, but no large crowds.

"Let's hit Gringotts first," said Hermione. "Because clearly we won't be able to buy our things without money."

Ron swallowed nervously-he hated going to his vault with Harry and Hermione, for it was so empty. Hermione didn't have loads of money, but she had enough to get her through all seven terms at Hogwarts (her parents were upper middle-class, and both were dentists). Harry, however, had inherited a large fortune from his mother and father, and never had to worry about running out anytime soon.

"Your hands are cold," Hermione whispered to Harry. "Are you SURE you're feeling all right? You're not just lying to make me happy, are you?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm fine, Hermione. Stop worrying."

She gave him the once over. "Because if you are lying to me, Harry, I'll kick you in the butt."

Harry elbowed Ron in the shoulder when he laughed.

They headed to the enormous, goblin-run building and were taken to the vaults under the bank by Griphook. Once their money bags were filled, they hurried to the bookshop. Harry glanced down his school list: Standard Book of Spells Grade 6, More 1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi for the Advanced Student, etc. Harry watched as Hermione parted from him and began walking down one of the old, musty isles searching for her books. Sirius stood talking to the store owner, and Ron stood with Harry.

"Are you sure you're all right, mate?" he asked. "You still look tired."

"I'm FINE. Stop pestering-you're starting to sound like Sirius." Harry groaned inwardly. He decided to go down a separate isle with the direction of the shopkeeper of where to find his texts. As he was searching for his Defense Against the Dark Arts book, he felt a wave of dizziness and had to lean against the shelf till his world tipped itself upright again. He could see Hermione and Ron whispering along the back wall of the store when he glanced between the shelves, and felt guilty for having slightly lied to Hermione about how he was feeling. She cared about him, and he was just being stupid. Straightening up to look healther, Harry pulled out the book he needed and headed back into the open store. Sirius was still talking to the shopkeeper, and turned his head when he noticed Harry standing still not more than two feet away.

"You all right there, Harry?" Sirius asked with concern.

Sirius unconsciously placed a hand against Harry's forehead, checking for a fever. "Are you sure you're all right? You seem so tired today."

Harry gave Sirius a look. "Will you stop worrying?"

When they got their books, the trio and Sirius made their way outside. The bright sunlight nearly blinded Harry, and caused him to squint. "Let's go and eat lunch or something," said Ron. "I'm hungry."

"Harry doesn't look so good-I think we should go home," said Hermione.

"No, no. Let's go eat." Harry insisted, wrapping his arm around her waist. She leaned against his shoulder, smiling to herself as they headed for The Leaky Cauldron. It felt better to be in a dim place, and Harry was grateful to sit down. He sat his bag of textbooks beside him and watched as Ron and Hermione sat down.

"I'm starved," Ron laughed when the landlord, Tom, handed each of them menus.

"Good to see you again, Mr. Potter. Have you had a nice summer holiday so far?"

Harry shrugged. "Well enough." He admitted.

Tom took their drink orders and then told them he'd return to ask them what they wanted to eat. Sirius, who sat beside Harry, gazed in his menu. "Hmmm. Everything looks so good."

Harry decided on a bowl of lamb stew and set his menu on the table before looking at Hermione who sat directly across from him. "What are you getting?" he asked curiously. She shrugged.

"Might get a hamburger but I can't decide."

When they gave Tom their food orders, they fell into quiet conversation. "So you decided to take Muggle Studies this year, eh?" Hermione laughed as she saw the book sticking out of his bag. He shoved it back in and glared at her.

"So what if I am?" He asked.

"No, no-it's good! You should take Muggle Studies. It's helpful."

Ron shrugged. Harry reached over and took Hermione's hand, and kissed it. She blushed. "Your hands are cold, Harry." She pointed out, rubbing them. "You should wear gloves from now on."

Ron snorted. "In the middle of the summer? You nuts? So anyway-yes, I'm taking Muggle Studies. Dad convinced me-he's so into them you know, and wanted me to learn as much as I could so I could enlighten him on how their objects worked. He was so confused over how to work a coffee grinder he'd gotten from work, and Mum was ready to turn him into a toad because he was on her nerves!"

Hermione giggled but jumped when Harry covered his mouth and sneezed loudly. "Bless you." She said and Ron raised an eyebrow when Harry sneezed a second time.

"Thanks." He cleared his throat and rested his head in his arms on the table.

"Here are your orders-Mr. Potter, are you all right?" Tom asked, and Harry quickly lifted his head.

"Oh-sorry. Yeah." He accepted his soup with thanks and ignored the suspicious glanced from Ron, Hermione and Sirius as he started eating.

"I'd hate to tell you this, Harry," said Ron, "But you're a real ass when you're sick."

Harry nearly choked on a mouthful of soup. "What?" He asked in surprise. "How do I act like an ass?"

"You're rediculously stubborn!" said Hermione.

"Whose side are you on?" Harry snapped at her.

Hermione took his hands. "Harry. We care about you. If you're not feeling well, tell us. You don't have to lie to make me happy. I love you."

Harry stood up. "God-I don't need this right now. Excuse me." He headed out of the resturaunt, leaving the others in surprise.

Ron coughed. "That went well." He replied.

Sirius looked at Hermione whose chin trembled a bit, and he decided to let Harry be for a little bit. "He needs to cool off, Hermione. It's been a rough few weeks for him."

"But I just don't want him hurting himself," She snapped. "He's going to wind up in the hospital again if he keeps this attitude up!"

Outside, Harry leaned against the wall outside of the pub and just gazed at the cobblestone beneath his feet. He hated being a burden to everyone around him, but he felt so helpless sometimes. Fighting the urge to cry, Harry kicked at a random stone and watched as it rolled to the middle of the street. He didn't notice when Hermione came outside to find him. "Hey." She announced and he jumped, looking up.

"Hey." He replied.

She leaned against the wall beside him and for a while neither of them spoke. "You know I worry about you, Harry. I'm your girlfriend and it's my job."

He looked at her. "I know you worry. You shouldn't. I can take care of myself, Hermione. I'm sixteen now."

She nodded. "I know that. We all do. But you're sick, and there are times when you do need us."

Harry felt another wave of dizziness and had to steady himelf against Hermione's arm. Suddenly his world was spinning and he felt a tightness in his chest. " 'M sorry," he whispered, before darkness clouded his mind.

"HARRY!" Hermione watched as her boyfriend crumpled to the ground in a heap at her feet, and she knelt down beside him, stroking his hair. "HARRY-WAKE UP!" She shook his shoulders and watched in horror as his head lolled limply. "SIRIUS!" She stood and rushed into the pub. "It's Harry! He's fainted!"

Sirius nearly knocked over his drink when he stood up. "Jesus. Come on, Ron. Tom! Prepare a room for us, will you?" Sirius burst outside to aid his godson.