I Don't Want to be a Hero - Second Year

Chapter Twenty-Nine

An Interlude 'Til Christmas - Part I of V

After knowing that his ex-godfather had tried to kill his father Harry had thought he would have nothing but nightmares when he slept. However, the nightmares were kept at bay by baseball games where he watched his two fathers play opposite each other, or he would play on the beach with a younger version of his father of about five years old. They would make sandcastles or swim all day under the watchful eye of Severus.

During the day Harry would go to his classes, then meals, and he and his friends of late would talk about visits to Hogsmeade which had begun for all the upper years, third years and up, at the beginning of September.

Snowfall began with flurries the second week in September, and Hermione was the first to speculate upon the snowy beauty of Hogsmeade during lunch.

"I've seen photographs and Hogsmeade is a quaint town right out of Peter Pan," she sighed. "It must be a dream with the snow coming down."

Ron chuckled, "Until everyone walks through it, and the horses and carriages mess up the streets, then its just a muddy mess."

Hermione glowered at Ron. "You've been to Hogsmeade?"

Draco was the one to reply, "I've been to Hogsmeade in Winter. The first snow is fine, and then Ron's right; snow gets all muddy and grey once people hit it."

"Carriages," muttered Harry as he drank his milk. "Did you say carriages, Ron?"

The redhead nodded. "With horses. Thestrals or Aethenor if you're like really rich."

Draco sneered, "No one would ever use winged horses on carriages, Slug-mouth. We use horses with our carriages."

"Ferret-face," muttered Ron without rancor.

"Why not cars?" asked Harry. "Don't witches and wizards ever use cars?"

Both Ron and Draco made equal expressions that were grimaces. Ron then said, "'Course, dad's gotta car. It's blue and he said its called a Fern Angel."

"Ford Anglia," corrected Hermione. "Honestly are witches and wizards so dim about Muggle objects they have to purposely mispronounce everything?" Hermione had taken Muggle Studies as an elective to see the differences between the two worlds but there was so much that they got wrong that she was becoming disenchanted with the class.

"No we don't!" Ron defended himself.

Draco added, "A lot of what Muggles have just doesn't make sense, Hermione. I mean, it still sounds like a fairytale when I hear about the 'moon landing'." He chuckled, and Harry and Hermione stared at him. "Why go to all that trouble when you can just use a potion to release your spirit to the stars? Of course, that's a Dark potion so the Ministry wouldn't let you do it but…"

Luna interjected, "Don't forget the Aborigine Yiri. My dad said they were the first to actually travel to the moon nearly 2,000 years ago."

"I read about the Yiri," enthused Draco. For once Luna had dredged up some obscure legend that made sense. "Their wizards were Spirit Travellers that crossed time and space in the world of Dreamtime."

"Just like your father, Harry," nodded Luna as she touched Harry's hand. He felt his heart soar.

"How do you mean, Luna?" asked Harry hoping she would not move her hand from his.

"It's the Healing Sleep that Healers put their patients into during prolonged procedures. The patients then exist in a place of Dreaming that allows them more than just the fragments of simple dreams allow." Luna patted his hand, and unfortunately removed hers to finish her meal. "The Healer known as Altijira created the spell with the potion to slip a patient into this sort of Healing Sleep. I wonder if your father is dreaming about Nargles and the Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

Harry chuckled softly, "Dad said he's playing baseball."

"But he could travel to the moon," Draco returned their discussion around to the moon landing by Muggles. "A lot safer, and a lot less costly than some fairytale the Muggles probably made up."

Hermione huffed, "Fairytale?! The moon landing was not a fairytale! And, Muggles did go to the moon."

Harry interrupted, "Why not cars?"

Draco was all prepared for an argument with Hermione when Harry asked his question. "Well, cars cause a lot of pollution but magic makes a lot of cars just not work. Horses and carriages are a lot more efficient. And, you should see our ships!"

Harry's jaw dropped, "Ships! You have ships?"

Draco and Ron both nodded. Draco replied, "All wooden, like even Muggles used to have but our ships can go underwater. Durmstrang, in Bulgaria, has an entire fleet of ships, two for the school, but the rest are for import and export. My father has a company the makes bolts of Acromantula Silk cloth, and it's exported by ship."

"Really?" asked Harry.

Draco nodded, "Malfoys have been in the business of making fabrics for three centuries. My father though sold most of the fabric companies so he could specialise in breeding and raising Aethenor and the Malfoy Peacock."

"What's the Malfoy Peacock?" asked Hermione.

"A peacock?" shrugged Ron.

"More than that," scoffed Draco. "Father has spent years perfecting the breed which is not an albino bird but a perfectly snow white peacock."

"Everybody says they're albino," insisted Ron as he glared at some broccoli that appeared on his lunch plate. Fred & George were trying to improve his diet at Hogwarts which tended towards pancakes with syrup, fried chicken at lunch, and mashed potatoes and gravy for dinner. In other words his eating habits were awful.

"They are ignorant," muttered Draco. He glanced around the Great Hall. "Harry, where did Luna go? I didn't even see her leave."

Harry smashed the rest of his bacon, lettuce, turkey, and tomato sandwich flat. "Luna's gone to the Astronomy Tower. She said there's something called Flutter-bye Flakes she wants to catch and they only show up at noon."

"Luna's a flake," chuckled Ron.

Harry glanced up with a glare at the redhead. "That's an insult, Ron. Don't be mean."

Ron sighed. "Sorry, Harry. I just meant that Luna's funny in that she believes in all these make-believe creatures."

"And you believe you'll play Quidditch for the Chudley Cannons!" retorted Draco with a laughter of triumph.

"Hey! I might! Who says I can't?" protested Ron.

Hermione intervened, "Nobody said you couldn't, Ron. You can do whatever you put your mind to. You just have to quit sliding by in classes by either making stuff up in Divination or sleeping in History of Magic."

Ron rolled his eyes, stabbed a floret of broccoli, and stuffed it in his mouth.

Neville smiled and bravely stammered, "And, you should do your own ho-homework, too, Ron." He chuckled warily until Harry grinned at him, Hermione nodded, and Draco gave him a hearty thump on the back. Ron just slouched a bit more, and ate another floret of broccoli.

a/n: The Aborigines of Australia did, and do, have Spirit Travellers, shaman (wizards) called Yiri that enter into a state known as Dreamtime which they claim crosses time and space. Their stories during the furor over the moon landing claimed that Altijira (who is sometimes man, sometimes a god) travelled to the moon many times and without the need and expense of a spaceship. Of course, most of the world just thought these were fanciful tales. But, who is to say they are not true? If you want to know more look up Dreamtime in Wikipedia, or Aboriginal Mythology.

Dear readers, when this Interlude concludes Christmas will arrive.