Chapter 10: All These Memories
It was now early April and Harry lived his life in a vicious and inescapable circle of waking up, going to school, coming home and being physically and emotionally abused. This circle drove him crazy because the one part he wanted to escape from so much was the one part he couldn't and that frustrated him. He could bunk off school but he couldn't escape going home to the abuse. He hated it. He'd thought about running away but he was already in enough trouble with the ministry that he didn't dare cause anymore by running away. He wanted to tell someone but he was afraid of what would happen to him if he did. He was writing to Sirius and he wanted to tell him exactly what his vile Uncle had been doing to him but he knew exactly what Sirius would do. Sirius would flip, come round to the house and make his feelings on the situation known. He may even use magic against Uncle Vernon and he knew that was illegal and he didn't want Sirius back in Azkaban. He would just have to sit it out.
For him this cycle would be over in a few months anyway because he would be leaving school in June. Then he'd be stuck at home all day with Aunt Petunia. Well he'd probably be shut in his room so nobody saw him. He kept thinking about all the days he'd spent locked in his room and all the days he would be spending locked in there once he left high school. He was dreading it. Maybe she'd let him go out with Gabrielle during the day. Just maybe.
Harry was already in a bad place emotionally, what with all the abuse, the revelation about Gabrielle being his twin sister, having everything good ripped away from him when he'd been expelled and the vivid memory of witnessing Cedric Diggory's death. He didn't need any more things added to this. But beggars can't be choosers. It was something at school that just made Harry realise just how bad things had been for most of his life. And when this realisation hit him he broke.
He was in English, the last lesson of the day and Mrs Hanscombe was discussing their final assessment for their final grade. The subject of choice for this assessment was biographical; meaning they basically had to tell their life stories. "Now I want real-life experiences in these assessments" Mrs Hanscombe explained "I do not want biographical fiction. I want you to tell me your life stories. I want your happiest memories from your childhoods. For example the day you went to the beach with your mum and dad, brothers and sisters. Meeting a younger sibling for the first time or your first day at school. I want you to remember how these events made you feel and I want good, vivid descriptions."
Harry thought for a moment. He had no happy memories from his childhood, prior to going to Hogwarts and his memories from Hogwarts which were happy he couldn't use. Even meeting Sirius he couldn't use because he didn't know how to make it sound like a muggle story.
"Now I want you to discuss some ideas of the sorts of memories you could use then I want you to make some notes in your exercise books" Mrs Hanscombe continued "Off you go"
The class erupted into happy chatter. The people on his table started discussing their memories passionately whilst he simply listened. "When I was five years old my mum and dad took me to Disneyland in America. It was amazing" one boy grinned.
"When I was seven my dad took me to my first football match" another smiled happily. "Our team won five nil"
They were all shouting out suggestions and that made him feel incredibly left out and extremely jealous. His Aunt and Uncle had never taken him anywhere he wanted to go, never taken him to see a football game or taken him to the park to play with all the other children. Dudley had made sure he had systematically alienated everyone around him so that no one would talk to him or play with him. In fact they'd never done anything him that he would've really enjoyed. They'd just left him to all but raise himself. Never brought him his own clothes or shoes, had withheld food from him for periods of time and locking him up in a cupboard under the stairs. He was an orphan and all he gotten as a child was pure and painful rejection. He thought about how much all the rejections had hurt him as a child. He was used to that rejection by now and now it didn't hurt as much.
He tried to look interested as they started discussing Christmases and all the wonderful presents their families had given him. He listened, burning with sheer jealousy and dejectedness as they detailed some of their favourite presents. Bikes, videogames, a trampoline and pair of ridiculously expensive trainers were some of the gifts listed by them. He'd never had any of those things; they'd never even given him as much as a cheap pair of trainers, with the exception of Uncle Vernon's mother last Christmas. He'd been jealous over this before but that was with Dudley. The greediest boy in the world. He'd spent Christmas after Christmas watching Dudley tear open present after present, throwing it aside and asking for the next, always wanting more. Having tantrums for more presents because he didn't think he had enough things. Today was something different though, that was jealousy over someone who lived in the same house and were raised by the same people. This jealousy was pure jealousy from realising it really wasn't that normal to sit and watch someone tear open all those presents and get nothing yourself. Just to get nothing at all. It was being jealous because they were getting something he'd never gotten as a child and that was love. If their parents didn't love them they wouldn't get them Christmas presents and spoil them.
Harry felt so angry and so confused about everything. Listening to this was tearing him up inside so he just tried to zone out so he wouldn't hear it. Unfortunately one of the boys burst his bubble. "What about you Harry?" he asked. "What about your memories? What are your happiest memories?"
Harry thought about it. His happiest memories were from his time at Hogwarts but he couldn't state these and other than these there were no more. "I don't have any happy memories"
"Sure you do" a second boy said.
"No. I don't" he shook his head "I don't remember a time when I was happy as a child. I just remember being rejected every single day for ten years"
"Your parents arseholes if they rejected you all your life" the first replied.
"My parents loved me and they died when I was a baby" Harry snapped slightly "I never knew them. I live with my Aunt and Uncle."
That night their homework was to finalise their notes and Harry was struggling for something to write. He couldn't remember anything good from his childhood. He sat at his desk and scoured his brain. Soon he was entering a wormhole into his memories.
{FLASHBACK}
It was a hot July day in 1986 and Aunt Petunia had just picked Harry and Dudley up from school, along with Dudley's boisterous friends Piers, Malcom, Gordon and Dennis. She was taking them to the park to play and tire themselves out before taking them home and feeding them. Dudley and his friends were walking up ahead whilst he was walking next to Aunt Petunia. He wanted to join in with Dudley so he ran towards them and tried to join in. "You can't walk with us" Piers giggled.
"Why not?" Harry asked innocently.
"Because you can't" replied Dudley "Go away"
"Get over here" Aunt Petunia hissed to him. He dropped his head and went back over to Aunt Petunia. She took his small hand in hers and held it tightly. "Don't do that again". She didn't let go until they arrived at the park. There Dudley and his friends went to play on the climbing frame so he went to join them, desperate not to be left out again. He started climbing up behind them but then they saw him. Gordon reached his foot down and kicked him in the face. He stopped climbing for a moment so Gordon kicked him in the face again. This time he knocked his glasses right of his face and down onto the floor. The others laughed at him and he burst into tears. He climbed off the climbing frame and found his glasses on the ground. He picked them up and pushed them onto his face.
He started climbing up again so Dudley came back down and came over to him. He smirked then gave Harry a hefty shove hard enough to knock him off the climbing frame and onto the floor. He landed in a heap on the floor and started to cry again. Dudley laughed and started climbing back up the climbing frame. Aunt Petunia came over. "What are you doing?" she demanded.
"Dudley pushed me off" he replied, wiping the tears from his cheeks.
"No he didn't" she snapped "Now get up and stop making a scene. You are embarrassing me. I mean it. Get up"
Harry got to his feet and she grabbed his wrist tightly and dragged him over to the bench. She forced him onto the seat before sitting down herself. "Do not move until we leave. Do you understand?"
"Yes Aunt Petunia" he nodded. So he sat there watching Dudley and his pals playing wishing he could join in with them. He didn't understand why he was being punished when Dudley was the one who had shoved him off the climbing frame in the first place.
Eventually it was time to leave the park. Aunt Petunia took hold of his small hand to stop him running off to try and walk with Dudley and his friends. Then when they got home she put him in his cupboard and locked the door. He peered through the vent to see Dudley and his pals playing in the front room. They were laughing and they were happy and he was simply jealous. He was five, almost six, years old and he was being rejected by everyone. He sat alone in his cupboard and played with his toy horses to pass the time.
{END OF FLASHBACK}
Looking back he should have taken the hint they didn't want to play with him when they told he couldn't walk with them on the way to the park. So he had a memory, not a happy one. He opened his mind and more flooded to him. He saw the vivid memory of one of the first times Uncle Vernon' had been absolutely livid with him the way he was most of the time now. The first time Uncle Vernon had ever laid a hand on him. Well the first time he'd ever given him a proper beating. This being when Dudley and his pals had set fire to the door of his cupboard…
{FLASHBACK}
It was a cold December day in 1988 and Dudley had his horrible friends over again. Harry had been told to stay in his cupboard today because Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't want him in Dudley's way. So he was sat in his cupboard playing with his toy horses or scribbling into a tatty old notebook he'd found. He could hear Dudley and his friends playing upstairs. After a while they came thundering down the stairs, obviously making sure they jumped on every step so dust would fall on him so it would annoy him. Then once they'd finished coming down the stairs like a herd of fully grown elephants they started banging on the door of his cupboard. "Come out" they laughed. "It's not hide and seek"
So he went out. "What do you want?" he asked his tone full of surliness.
"To see if you want to play with these matches" smirked Dennis.
"Where did you get those?" Harry asked looking at the matchbox.
"My mum's drawer" he shrugged opening the match tray which was full of unused matches.
"Light one" Dudley grinned. So Dennis took one of the matches out of the tray and lit it. He moved it towards the cupboard door. He held it there for a while until the door took the flame and caught fire. They all stared at the fire until the fire alarm started screaming and Aunt Petunia came dashing into the hall. Dennis thrust the matches into Harry's hands to shift the blame and dropped the now extinguished matchstick on the floor. "Harry what have you done?" she seethed seeing the matchbox in his hands.
"It wasn't me" he replied "It was Dennis. He did it"
"Don't lie to me" she wagged a skinny finger "Your Uncle will be furious when he gets home"
And he was furious. He was absolutely raging mad. He started shouting at the defenceless eight year old boy. "HOW DARE YOU PLAY WITH MATCHES IN MY HOUSE?" He roared.
"It wasn't me" he trembled.
"DO NOT LIE TO ME BOY!" He raged "HOW DARE YOU START A FIRE IN MY HOUSE BOY? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"
"Sorry" he stammered.
"YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME!" Uncle Vernon spat. The next thing Harry knew Uncle Vernon's beefy hand had collided with his face. He burst into tears but the large man just didn't care. He smacked him in the face again then pushed him over. He landed on his front and Uncle Vernon kicked him up the backside several times as he cried in agony. "Please stop" he sobbed.
"YOU SET A FIRE IN MY HOUSE! He exploded "I'LL STOP WHEN I'M GOOD AND READY TO STOP!"
He kicked him up the backside several more times before grabbing his hair and yanking him to his feet. He dragged him into the hall, yanked open the cupboard door and shoved him inside. He bolted the door shut and closed the vent leaving him in darkness. He could barely sit down his bottom hurt so much.
{END OF FLASHBACK}
That was the first proper beating he'd ever received at the hands of Uncle Vernon and he'd never forgotten it. He'd been eight years old. How could his Uncle have been so heartless he had no issues with beating an eight year old? He didn't have any problem with beating a teenager so why would he have a problem with beating an eight year old? The memory filled him with hatred for his Uncle. He thought back to a rare time when they'd taken him out with Dudley. They'd gone to a travelling fair that come into town and he'd not enjoyed it one bit because he'd been left out the whole time.
{FLASHBACK}
It was early June 1990 and today Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were taking Dudley to a traveling fair that had just arrived in town. Dudley had been bragging about it at school all week. Telling all his friends how much fun he was going to have and that he was going to have candyfloss, a lollies and toys. Then he'd made sure he'd rubbed it in his face because his parents had told him that Harry was not coming because he always acted up in public. Harry had overheard this through the cupboard door several days ago. He'd been slightly angered by this because he always tried to behave when they were in public to avoid getting shouted at or locked in his cupboard. He still remembered the vicious beating he'd gotten after Dennis had set the door of his cupboard on fire then blamed it on him. He'd been slapped since then but not beaten to the extent he had that time. He got punched enough by Dudley he did not want to Uncle Vernon to start punching him as well. Harry was certain he could probably punch even harder than Dudley.
Listening to Dudley bragging about it then rubbing it in his face had driven him crazy and he'd told Dudley to shut up several times. This had resulted being punched in the mouth by him. Now it was the day and Harry was sat in his cupboard listening to his Aunt, Uncle and cousin all faffing around getting ready. Dudley kept stomping up and down the stairs, Aunt Petunia was scrubbing the kitchen clean and Uncle Vernon was pacing up and down the hall. Then all of a sudden there was a massive thud on the door that caused him to fly out of his skin. "Are you dressed boy?" Uncle Vernon asked.
"Yes Uncle Vernon" he replied. He was going over to Mrs Figg's today, like he did most times when Dudley, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon went out for the day. Either that or he was staying locked in his cupboard while they were out.
He heard the bolt sliding and the door creaked open. "Out" ordered Uncle Vernon "Now. Hurry up"
Harry hurried out of the cupboard and Uncle Vernon closed the door. He looked up at his Uncle through his glasses and studied him briefly. He looked fairly relaxed for once. He was red in the face or turning beetroot, his moustache was neatly groomed not covered in spit and his cap was sat on his head in a neat fashion. This was a sign he hadn't been getting worked up. "I'm taking the boy over to Mrs Figg's" he shouted into the kitchen.
"We will be ready when you return" Petunia replied sticking her head into the hall. Uncle Vernon nodded and pulled the front door open. "Out you go boy"
Harry scooted outside and waited for his Uncle who came out shortly after. He followed Uncle Vernon as he led him across the road and a few houses down the street. Then they turned into a driveway and headed down the path to the front door. Upon reaching it Uncle Vernon knocked on the door. Soon Mrs Figg opened the door with a welcoming smile. "Hello Harry" she smiled softly.
"Hello Mrs Figg" he replied politely.
"I'm so pleased you can take him today" said Uncle Vernon almost trying to shove him towards her.
"Ah" she responded uneasily "I cannot take him today. I am very sorry"
"Why not?" Uncle Vernon demanded.
"I am going to see a friend for lunch" explained Mrs Figg "We have not seen each other for some time so I cannot take Harry today"
"Take him with you" Uncle Vernon sneered
"No I cannot take Harry with me" she shook her head. "I am happy to take him whenever you need me to but today I cannot because I have other arrangements. I am sorry"
"Fine" Uncle Vernon huffed. Mrs Figg closed the door and Uncle Vernon marched Harry back to number four. He pushed him inside and slammed the door. "Did he go in alright?" asked Aunt Petunia coming into the hallway. "Oh"
"She cannot take him today" Uncle Vernon replied "She is having lunch with a friend"
"Well he isn't coming with us" Dudley declared thundering down the stairs.
"We're not leaving him here" Aunt Petunia insisted. "He'll have to come with us"
Harry looked around at the angry faces that were staring at him and for some reason he felt very satisfied. He was going to get to go after all. "No he isn't!" Dudley snapped.
"Yes he is" Aunt Petunia put her foot down "But only because I have just scrubbed my kitchen spotless and I do not what his dirty hands touching it"
So he got to go. Arriving there he was filled with excitement. There were rides, stalls filled with sweets and toys and games to have a go on. Uncle Vernon purchased a wrist band for Dudley but refused to purchase one for him. Then he followed them through the fair as Dudley dragged them to the bumper cars. "Stand there and do not move" Uncle Vernon ordered standing him by the bumper car ring.
"Yes Uncle Vernon" he nodded. Uncle Vernon joined his son and wife and they queued up for the bumper cars.
After half an hour they came to collect him and Dudley was bragging about how great the bumper cars had been. After this he followed them around while they went on the rides and had a go on the games. Dudley managed to win a massive toy shark on hook-a-duck then made him carry it. At last they queued up for the final ride of the day, the haunted mansion. The queue was absolutely huge and he was made to stand and wait by the exit. While he waited a young girl came over to him. She had very long ginger hair in two neat braids, big brown eyes and large circular glasses much like his own. "Hello" she smiled "I'm Gabrielle"
"Harry" he replied. "Have you been on the ride?"
"Yeah. I just went on with my mum" she nodded "Have you been on?"
"No" he shook his head. "I'm not allowed"
"Why not?" she asked.
"I don't know" he shrugged "They don't like me"
"I think you're nice" she smiled. "It wasn't good anyway. Is that your toy shark?"
"No it's my cousins" he sighed "He's making me carry it"
"Why?" she frowned.
"Because he is lazy" Harry smirked.
"Well he can't be very nice either then" she grinned. They talked for ages and had laugh together. She was very friendly and happy.
"You don't go to St Josephine's do you?" she asked.
"No" he replied "St Grogory's"
"Maybe we can play together after school" she suggested.
"I'd like that" Harry agreed.
"Gabrielle!" a voice shouted "We're going now"
"Ok mum!" she shouted back. "Bye Harry"
"Bye Gabrielle" he smiled. She skipped over to her mum and took her hand. She turned around and flashed him a smile before waving him. Soon she was gone.
He was left alone again and as he waited he was overcome with the urge to go to the toilet. Eventually he had to go so he dropped the door shark on the floor and ran to the toilets. After relieving himself he returned to the exit only to find the shark gone and the ride closed. He was in so much trouble. He walked around to the park and eventually he found his Aunt and Uncle. "Where have you been?" Uncle Vernon demanded.
"I had to go to the toilet" he replied meekly.
"How dare you run off?" he snapped furiously.
"Sorry" he said quietly. Uncle Vernon grabbed his shirt and dragged him out of the park whilst people around them watched.
Back home Uncle Vernon unleashed his wrath on him. After slapping him several times he once again shoved him over and started kicking him up the backside again. Harry rolled over onto his back and Uncle Vernon kicked him in the face. Harry screeched in pain. He pulled himself to his feet and felt blood gushing out of his nose. Uncle Vernon forced him back into his cupboard and hissed "NO MEALS FOR A FORTNIGHT!"
{END OF FLASHBACK}
Harry remembered that beating, given that it had most likely broken his nose. Although it had been fine by Monday which he realised probably had something to do with him accidentally using magic so he didn't get picked on. It had hurt when it had happened though. To be honest it had been an okay day ruined by Uncle Vernon beating him because he'd run off to go to the toilet. In retrospect he shouldn't have done it but his Uncle shouldn't have punished him so violently. He had starved him for a week. He'd been so pleased when he'd finally gotten some food. He'd never forgotten that girl, Gabrielle. He had gone to wait outside her school in September but he'd never seen her. But as he sat thinking about it something suddenly hit him. Gabrielle! How had he never realised. Long braids and big glasses Gabrielle from the fair was his trouble making Mistress Twin sister Gabrielle Summers. Thinking about her they had to be the same girl. They both had big brown eyes and long ginger hair and both wore glasses. Sure they could be different people but Harry was suddenly certain they were the same person.
Maybe he did have a happy memory after all. He made sure he scribbled it down before trying to think of more memories like this. But all he could see were all the times when Dudley had bullied him, all the times Uncle Vernon had punished him, all the times they'd treated him like a slave and all of the times they'd left him behind.
He thought about the present. All the good things were overshadowed by the bad. Yes he had friends but he was being regularly abused at home and he couldn't bear to share that with them. He tried to think about the good things in his life but it was so hard when there were so many bad things.
The following day it was English and they were starting their assessments. Harry struggled because he had one good memory from his childhood before going to Hogwarts. So after detailing this brief happy moment he was all but done. He dropped his pen on the table and rested his head in hand. He looked around to see if anyone else had finished but everybody else was still scribbling away. He picked his pen back up and thought about his recent memories. He thought back to Patterson's sleepover, which had been great. He thought about the times they'd hung out at the park and things like that. But suddenly he was plagued by images of all the beatings he'd suffered. He tried to block them out but they simply forced him to relive his most tormented moments. Flashing before his eyes was the aftermath of the sleepover. The first time he'd ever been whipped. He closed his eyes and tried desperately to block out the horrific memory. But the harder he tried the more he could see it and even feel some of that pain. Then other painful memories forced their way into his mind.
Suddenly he saw Cedric's body flying across the graveyard and himself screaming no. The memory caused his scar to start burning. He rested a hand on his scar and tried forcing happier memories into his mind. He tried to think about winning his first quidditch match or being sorted into Gryffindor or winning the house cup in his first year. But this didn't help as more painful memories forced their way into his mind. He saw the dementors attacking him and he could hear his parents desperate last words. Hearing his mother's last words tore him to pieces. He started screaming inside his own head. Some of the boys on his table were looking at him. He realised he was holding his head with both his hands and had had his eyes screwed shut. For him this was agony. He could feel his scar burning and feel his mind screaming as it ran around it crazed circles.
And that's when Harry broke.
He stood up, grabbed his bag and bolted out of the classroom. He ran down the corridor and down the stairs. He ran down the steps and across the playground. He reached the gates which were locked. So he threw his bag down and started climbing up the fence. However a P.E teacher saw him climbing up the fence and bolted over to him. "Get down now!" he ordered.
"NO! He snapped back. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"
"GET DOWN THIS INSTANCE!" The P.E. teacher shouted "GET DOWN OR YOU'LL BE EXPELLED!"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Harry yelled.
"Right that's it!" the P.E. teacher hissed. He grabbed Harry's leg and attempted to pull him off the fence.
"LET GO OF ME!" Harry shouted.
"GET DOWN!" The P.E. teacher retorted. So Harry jumped off the fence. The teacher unlocked the fence and told Harry to get his bag and follow him. He took hold of Harry's shirt and started dragging him to the heads office. But Harry started to flashback to his beatings again. He saw Uncle Vernon dragging him around before throwing him down and beating him. "GET OFF ME!" Harry cried.
"Zip it" the teacher spat.
"Please don't hurt me" Harry whispered in a very childlike yet very heart-breaking tone. The teacher stopped and turned to face him with an expression of confusion.
"Why would I hurt you?" he asked.
Harry didn't say anything he just looked down at the ground. His mind fell blank and suddenly he just felt very empty. The teacher took him to the heads office and made him wait outside while he spoke to Mr DeGarry. Then after he came out he sent Harry in. "Sit down" said Mr DeGarry.
So Harry slid into one of the chairs. "Mrs Hanscombe informed me you'd run out of her class during your controlled assessments and Mr Johnson has just informed me he caught you climbing over the gates. What is going on young man?"
"Nothing sir" he lied. He couldn't tell him the truth. "I just don't feel well"
"Do you know how many times I've heard that excuse in my career?" Mr DeGarry asked. Harry shrugged his shoulders. "More times that I should ever care to remember. I'm going to tell you now Harry I don't believe you. There's something going on with you and I would like to know because you give me cause for concern"
"I won't be your problem soon" Harry said quietly "You won't have to be concerned"
"I am fully aware of that" Mr DeGarry replied "But for now you are. I understand it's hard starting a new school in your last year but it doesn't excuse the things you've done. I need you tell me what's going on. Maybe I can help you"
"No you can't" Harry shook his head. "I don't want your help. It's my life"
"Harry what is going on?" Mr DeGarry asked. "Why are you so insistent on making us believe there's nothing wrong?"
"Do you want to know what's wrong with me?" Harry snapped slightly "My parents are dead, I never got to know them and my Aunt and Uncle they hate me and my cousin bullied me from the moment he could talk. Because of him I never had any friends until now. My Aunt and Uncle ignore me and pretend I don't exist when they have guests. They make me do all the chores while my cousin gets to sit around on his fat backside when he's not at boarding school. He tormented me about my nightmares. He thought they were really funny! Yeah they were so funny they had me screaming in my sleep!"
"What were they about?" Mr DeGarry asked, looking genuinely interested.
"Death" Harry replied angrily "I saw someone die!" Harry fell silent upon realising what he'd said. He'd never intended to tell anyone about what he'd seen because he wasn't really allowed and because it was his business. But he was just so angry and confused he couldn't think straight or lucidly. He could barely keep himself from spilling everything to Mr DeGarry.
Mr DeGarry himself looked absolutely astounded at what Harry had just told him. "You saw someone die in your nightmares?" Mr DeGarry questioned.
"Yes" Harry nodded. Perhaps he could pass it off as just a nightmare and not a flashback to something that had actually happened. "It was a horrible dream"
"Ok" Mr DeGarry nodded. "Harry why did you ask Mr Johnson not to hurt you?"
"Because he had hold of my collar" Harry replied.
"Were you scared of him?" Mr DeGarry enquired.
"No" Harry shook his head. "I was confused"
Harry ended up being put into detention and Mr DeGarry rang the house to inform Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia of what had happened. Which when Harry got home that night resulted in one of Uncle Vernon's immensely painful beatings. After the beating they locked him in his room and refused to feed him.
At school there whispers about Harry running out of class, attempting to climb over the fence and Mr Johnson trying to get him off. Gabrielle asked him about what had caused this and he revealed the real reason to her and only her. "You know the boy who died during the tri-wizard tournament?" he explained "I saw him die and yesterday I was trying to think of happy memories but all I could see was my lousy childhood and that moment. It wouldn't go away and it was driving me crazy. My scar was burning and my head was spinning so I ran off and tried to leave"
"That's horrible" she replied.
"Yeah then I accidentally told Mr DeGarry when I was in his office when I was ranting about my cousin being a lazy bully. His face when I said it" said Harry. "I told him it was a dream. I think he bought it though"
"Hopefully" Gabrielle smiled slightly "Are you coming to the park tonight?"
"I've got detention" he sighed.
"So have I" she smirked "I mean seriously you draw one inappropriate anatomical feature on the biology textbook. We'll go after"
"Ok" he agreed.
"Actually how about you come back to my house and we blow some stuff up" she grinned "Ok maybe not blow stuff up but just hang out. You know we have like fourteen years' worth of catching up to do"
"Now that sounds good" he grinned too.
So after detention they headed to her house and hung on. They had sat on the trampoline and discussed magic among many other things. He stayed for tea before heading home.
Could things ever change?