Chapter 17: lessons learned
"Cheer up, Harry," said Ron, taking a swig of his butterbeer and leaning back on Harry's sofa.
Harry sighed. Ginny had left that morning for Holyhead to get settled in the flat she would be sharing with her teammate. Harry had gone with her to help her with her things and after a long good-bye, returned to London with Ron.
"You'll see her at her first game in two weeks," said Ron. "She's coming back for the weekend after the game, right?"
"Yea," said Harry. "But that's not for two weeks. How would you feel if Hermione left for that long?"
"I guess I see your point," said Ron. He sat his empty bottle on the side table and looked over at Harry, who was still sulking and added, "You need to get out of the house, mate."
"Huh?" said Harry.
"You need to get out of the house," repeated Ron. "You go back to work on Monday, right?" he asked. When Harry nodded, he continued, "we should go out tonight. Me, you and George. We can go to the Leaky Cauldron and have a few drinks."
"I don't know, Ron. I think I'd rather just stay in," said Harry, taking a long pull from his own bottle of butterbeer.
"No, we're going out. You can't just sit here and sulk," said Ron, standing up from the sofa and moving toward the fireplace. He scooped up a handful of floo powder and threw it in the flames. "Just get ready. We'll meet you back here in about an hour," said Ron before stepping in the fireplace and disappearing in a rush of emerald flames.
Harry leaned back and groaned. He knew Ron meant well and only wanted to help him get his mind off missing Ginny, but he had a bad feeling about tonight.
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An hour later, Ron returned to the flat with George.
"Ready, mate?" he asked as he stepped out of the fireplace.
"As ready as I'll ever be, I expect," said Harry, heaving himself off the sofa.
"Can you floo yet," asked George.
"Yeah, cleared yesterday," said Harry. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this', he said, grabbing a handful of floo powder and throwing it in the flames. Ron slapped Harry on the back. "Thought you could use a guy's night," he said.
When the three of them arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, they made their way through the crowded pub until they found an empty table close to the bar. George walked up to Tom, the barman, and returned a moment later with a glass of firewhiskey for each of them.
"Firewhiskey? Go right for the hard stuff I see," said Harry, shaking his head and accepting his glass from George.
The three of them raised their glasses in the air, clinking them together, before tossing them back. Harry grimaced as the amber liquid burned its way down his throat. George slammed his glass on the table, raised his hand in the air and said, "Another round over here."
"So, Harry," began George as the barman brought over their second round. "What exactly are your intentions when it comes to our baby sister?"
Harry choked on his drink. "Er . . . what do you mean?" he asked. He knew he was going to have to face Ginny's brothers sooner or later, he was just hoping it would be later.
"I think you know what I mean. Mum told us she stayed the night at your flat the other day," said George.
Harry's face paled. "I . . . uh . . .," he stuttered, unable to form words. He looked over at Ron who was sitting across the table, his arms folded over his chest and looking at Harry expectantly.
"Well . . . I . . . I love her," he said finally.
George looked over at Harry's anxious face and his face split into a wide grin. He had been wanting to take the mickey out of him for a while, but he was just making it too easy. "I'm only messing with you Harry," he said, reaching across the table and slapping Harry on the back good naturally.
Harry let out the breath he had been holding. "I thought you were going to hex me," he said. Ron and George exchanged looks.
"Still haven't ruled it out," said George, smirking.
Several hours, and several rounds of firewhiskey later, Harry could barely see straight. He had firewhiskey before, just never this much. He looked over at Ron, who was having difficulty staying in his chair, and slurred, "Ron, I can't feel my face!" He brought his index finger up and poked his check. "Nope, can't feel it," he said.
"Harry," said Ron seriously. "I . . . I think I love Hermione."
Harry let his hand fall to the table and stared at Ron in disbelief. "You . . . you what?" he asked.
"I think I love Hermione," repeated Ron.
"It's about time," said Harry. "I guess Ginny owes me five galleons."
"You made a bet with Ginny?" asked Ron.
"With your whole family, actually," said Harry. Spotting George walking back to the table, Harry stood up stumbling and said, "George, Ron loves Hermione."
George reached into his pocket and handed Harry five galleons. "Man, I didn't think he'd realize it til Christmas," he said, shaking his head. "Here, Harry," he added, handing Harry another glass of firewhiskey. "Tom says this is the last one. He wants to close the pub up for the night."
Harry tossed the drink back. "Come on, Ron," he said over his shoulder. "Got to go home so you can tell Hermione that you love her," he added teasingly.
Ron attempted to stand from the table but stumbled, knocking into Harry who fell forward onto the floor, tipping over a chair. The two lay on the floor for a moment before they burst out laughing. Climbing to his feet, Harry asked, "How are we getting home?"
"Floo, I suppose," said Ron with a shrug.
"You may want to rethink that," said George.
"What?" said Harry.
"Oh nothing," said George with a smirk. "I'll see you at the Burrow for lunch tomorrow."
Harry and Ron stood and watched George head out the door leading to Diagon Alley. "What do you think he meant?" asked Ron.
"No idea," said Harry, scooping up a handful of floo powder. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said before disappearing in a rush of emerald flames.
A few moments later, Harry found out exactly what George had meant. He stumbled out of his fireplace and landed face first onto the hearth rug. He lay there for a moment as the room spun around him before jumping up and darting to the loo. Apparently drinking large amounts of firewhiskey and spinning around in fireplaces didn't mix. "Never again," he groaned as the firewhiskey refused to stay down.
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He awoke the next morning with his head pounding. He slowly got out of bed and made his way into the kitchen, summoning a glass and filling it with water. A moment later, there was a knock on the door. He sat the now empty glass on the counter and made his way to the door, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to ease his headache. He opened the door to find Mr. Weasley standing in the hall, smiling at him knowingly.
"Bit of a headache, son?" he said cheerfully, stepping through the doorway.
"A bit," said Harry, closing the door and following him into his small sitting room.
"Yeah, Ron came home last night in a right state. Molly figured you'd need this," said Mr. Weasley, holding out a small vial.
"What's this?" asked Harry, taking the vial from him and examining the dark blue liquid.
"For the hangover. If I know George, he had you drinking firewhiskey," said Mr. Weasley with a grin.
Harry pulled the stopped from the vial and tipped the contents into his mouth, grimacing.
"That's disgusting," said Harry.
Mr. Weasley chuckled. "I bet you won't do that again," he said, relieving Harry of the empty vial and tucking it inside his jacket pocket.
"No, I won't," said Harry. He flopped down on his sofa and put is head in his hands.
"Mind telling me why you three went out last night to get smashed?" asked Mr. Weasley, sitting down next to him.
"Ron thought it would help me get my mind off Ginny leaving," said Harry, his voice slightly muffled by his hands.
Mr. Weasley gently laid his hand on Harry's shoulder. '"t's all right to miss her, son," he said.
Harry sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Thanks," he said.
Mr. Weasley smiled. "Now, go get cleaned up," he said, standing up from the sofa. "I still need to go see George."
Harry laughed. "Yeah, I suppose I do smell a bit like Mundungus right now," he said. "And make George squirm for a bit. He never told us why we shouldn't floo."
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A/N: Hope you enjoyed it and as always, please review!!!! :)