Chapter 17:
Hogwarts in Summer
By Jelsemium
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, alas.
Harry was never more grateful to his friends than he was that summer, as they were his main defence against going insane from boredom. Mrs. Weasley, of course, sent treats at every opportunity.
Ginny sent chocolate frogs and sugar quills, along with her chatty letters. She was miffed that she couldn't come visit, especially as Ron was allowed to visit once as part of his Honey Badger internship as a Honey Badger.
Ron's white robes were looking a bit worse for wear, and the hems had obviously been stretched to their limits. But Ron was so proud of them, Harry didn't say anything. Except, of course, to insist that Ron shouldn't eat any chocolate frogs as he didn't dare risk dripping on his white robes.
This only encouraged Ron to gobble down as many chocolate frogs as he could get his hands on. He did leave the cards for Harry, as well as the stack of magazines that he had picked up at Uncle Badger's.
The day would only have been better if they had been allowed to practice their Animagus forms. Unfortunately, Sirius, Tonks and Madam Pomfrey watched them like hawks, so they had no opportunity.
Sirius even confiscated Nicely on the grounds that if the OWLs examiners got so much of a whiff of the book, Harry would be expelled.
The downside of Ron's brief visit was that after he left, the Hospital Wing seemed even lonelier. Tonks and Sirius were there, however, but they were frequently distracted by a rather peculiar pastime.
Hagrid was off somewhere doing only Dumbledore knew what. However, now and then an "interestin' critter" with wings would turn up with a small gift. Once a bat had fluttered in with a small wooden whistle.
Another time, a cranky looking Quetzalcoatl slithered in and left a bunch of bananas on the foot of Harry's bed. Harry didn't eat them. However, he appreciated the thought.
Hermione sent him some of the latest PROWL guides. Harry tried very hard to appreciate the thought. He finally gave up and hid them under the mattress of an unused bed. At least her letters were entertaining.
Hermione's parents made up for the PROWL guides by sending grapes. Lots of grapes. Bunches and bunches of grapes. Harry began to wonder if they had invested in a vineyard.
The grapes proved to be a mixed blessing. They started out as a tasty treat, but then Harry started tossing them for Sirius to catch.
Then Tonks decided she would try to transfigure the grapes before Padfoot could snatch them out of the air.
Padfoot won three out of four tosses. Then Tonks transfigured a grape into a hot pepper that caused Snuffles to yelp, spit in out and run for the nearest fountain.
Tonks felt very pleased with herself. Until Sirius transfigured a grape into a banana peel. Instead of causing Tonks to slip and fall, as in all the Muggle comedy routines, the banana peel wrapped itself around Tonks ankle and refused to release her until Tonks sang the Hogwarts School song to the tune of "God Save the Queen."
"You will pay for that, Black," growled Tonks once she was release and the banana peel was once more a grape.
"I survived Death Eaters, Dementors and NEWTs, cousin, what can you do?" Sirius challenged.
Tonks just narrowed her eyes until they were literal slits in her face. "You'll see," she vowed.
If Harry didn't have motivation to get out of the hospital wing before, Tonks and Sirius' peculiar pastime would have given him one. Even Muggle courts recognized self-defense as a legitimate reason to do just about anything.
However, escaping the Hospital Wing wasn't easy. For some reason, Madam Pomfrey didn't think that prank wars and rampaging grapes were sufficient.
Harry brought another weapon to bear. "I need to revise for my OWLs," he said, glad that he had hidden the PROWL guides.
"You won't be able to get into the library," Madam Pomfrey said with a frown. She looked at the stacks of unread magazines with a frown. Not that she couldn't take them with her, she just didn't want people to see her reading Wiz.
"Dobby can open the library for me, can't he?" Harry said.
Madam Pomfrey brightened up considerably. "Of course he can," she said. "We'll give you a whistle so you can summon him when you need him to lock up."