Disclaimer: I do not own anything of this story. Harry Potter and all of the notable characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
Magnolia Crescent
Chapter Thirty-Four
Woking Out the Kinks
The next morning at breakfast, Harry sat with Ginny and Neville. Much to his surprise, Hermione wasn't straying from Ron's side.
"Do you want me to kick his arse, Harry?" Ginny offered, seeing the distracted look on his face.
"No, just let it go," he replied, turning back to his eggs and toast.
"There's no classes; do you have anything planned for today?" Neville asked, picking at his plate.
"Not really, I'm still trying to figure out what the details for the first task are going to be. Or rather, how I prepare for it," Harry said.
"Oh," Neville said, his face dropping.
"Why, did you have something in mind?" Ginny asked, glancing at the nervous boy beside her.
"In a way," he replied. "I was hoping one of you could help me practice for the tournament. I'm getting better," he added, his face brightening, "but I'd like to know where I could improve more."
"I'd be glad to help you, Neville," Ginny said brightly. Neville smiled weakly, clearing wishing Harry had been free. "Hey, my mum gave me a bit of pocket change. Do you guys want to go to Hogsmeade with me this afternoon?"
Harry jumped at the offer. "Anything to get away from the castle and its unwelcoming atmosphere," he said.
"Meet you guys at lunch?" Ginny said, jumping up from her seat. The boys nodded before she raced out of the hall.
"Where is she headed to in a hurry?" Harry asked, watching her go.
"Probably to meet with Dean or hang out with Luna. It's girl stuff, how should I know?" Neville asked. "I just hope she helps me with my spells."
"Don't worry; Ginny is very good at keeping her word," Harry assured. Neville nodded, finishing off his breakfast. Harry gathered up his things and headed for the library. Much to his surprise, the library was mostly empty when he arrived. He selected a few books on dragon lore and settled at a corner table.
Most of the information was all stuff he had found in Ginny's book. Before long, he found himself thinking over what this year had brought him. A grouchy friend and an entry into a tournament he didn't even want. With a grumbling sigh, he shook off that train of thought and pulled a sheet of parchment closer to him. After dipping a quill in a pot of ink, he began to list out all of a dragon's weaknesses. When he finished with that list, he thought of different spells that might be able to help him.
After a few moments of thought on the second list, Harry stood to return his dragon books. Instead, he pulled a few books off the shelf for Charms. His own Charms book was in his dorm but he didn't feel like going to grab it. There didn't seem to be much Harry deemed useful.
He was looking back over his list when his stomach gave a loud grumble. He glanced up at the clock on the wall and realized that it was already after noon. The lunch dishes would be clearing up soon. He hurried to pack up his books before heading down for a bite to eat.
Harry frowned when he failed to see Ginny or Neville at the Gryffindor table.
"Are you looking for the two you ate breakfast with?" a female voice asked. Harry glanced up to see Laryl, the American he had met a few weeks ago.
"Yeah, how'd you guess?" Harry replied, giving her a curious stare as he started to fill his plate.
"You had a searching look on your face," she explained. "But the both of them have already been here and gone."
"I figured as much. Lunch is nearly over anyways," Harry said, giving a small shrug.
"So, is there always this much hostility between the houses?" Laryl asked.
"Yeah, pretty much," Harry said, taking a drink of his pumpkin juice.
"Why?"
"Come again?" Harry asked, setting down his goblet and glancing at the American.
"Why are you guys so angry with each other?" she clarified.
"Actually, I'm not quite sure," he mused. "What's really strange is that I'm really good friends with a Slytherin." He shrugged. "So your friend is in the tournament as well, correct?"
"Yeah, I'm not too thrilled about it, but he's fairly excited. So I don't want to dampen his mood too much," she replied.
"What are you doing in your free time here at Hogwarts?"
"Oh, Zach and I fly over the Quidditch pitch. I have to keep up on my skill, seeing as I'm a Chaser back in America," she said proudly, puffing out her chest.
"Sweet. Perhaps we could go fly some weekend. I'm supposed to be a Seeker on Gryffindor's team but I doubt I'll get to fly this year," Harry said, polishing off his lunch.
"Why not?" Laryl said with a shrug. "Give me someone else to best on the field."
"Wait, you're not thinking you're better than me, are you?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Uh, yeah," she replied. "I'm the best there is. I'm surprised I'm not on a professional Quidditch team already."
"We'll see about that," he said, standing from the table. "Next Saturday after lunch. Meet you on the field?"
"You're on," she agreed, giving him a solid stare. "Just don't get your hopes up." Harry nodded, giving her a challenging look before heading out of the Great Hall. He was planning on dropping off his bag before finding Ginny and Neville. Maybe if he was lucky, he could find Hermione and get her opinion on usable Charms for the first task. In fact, he was quite lucky as he found her on the stairs.
"Hermione, just the girl I was looking for," Harry said, picking up his pace as he approached his friend.
"There you are. Where were you? We didn't see you at lunch," she asked, her eyes narrowing a bit.
"What's with the interrogation?" Harry asked, a little hurt but she didn't reply. "I was in the library and was hoping you had some Charms that would be useful against dragons," he admitted.
"Look, if you don't want to tell me, fine," Hermione sighed. "You and Ron have a few things to discuss," she added. Harry was speechless and just blinked at her. "Look, I have put up with this for far too long. And with Leo and Ron fighting in the halls, I've had enough."
"But I already have plans. We were going to Hogsmeade," Harry protested.
"Harry, this is something you need to do," she urged.
"No, going after Ginny was something I had to do. Warning about the troll was something I had to do. Proving Sirius was innocent was something I had to do. Apologizing to Ron because he doesn't believe me is not something I have to do," he said with a huff.
"Please?" she asked, looking up at Harry.
"Fine," he growled, realizing how it was for Hermione to rein him in. He was still frowning as Hermione sighed.
"We can do it at Hogsmeade," Hermoine relented.
"So, about those Charms?" Harry asked, giving a small nod.
"Later," she said, a small smirk gracing her lips
The group reformed in the courtyard with Ginny, Luna and Neville already waiting. Leo trailed in, glancing up at the clock tower. It wasn't long until Ron showed up as well. He glared at Leo who seemed more interested in everything else.
Ginny cleared her throat, garnering everyone's attention. "I didn't know we had others joining us," she said nonchalantly, glaring at Ron and Leo in turn. Ron clearly knew his sister well for this failed to bother him but Leo cringed. Her look was chastising enough, even for Harry. But then her face suddenly brightened, smiling at the group around her. "Shall we?"
"Umm," Neville said, tapping Ginny's arm. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking at her nervously.
"Great," she replied. "I'm just giving you a hard time, Leo."
"Yeah, great…," Leo said quietly. Everyone was quiet for a few moments until Luna spoke up.
"Are we ready to go to Hogsmeade? I could really go for some Fizzing Whizbees," she said wistfully, rocking back and forth on her toes a bit. The others agreed and they headed down the sloping grounds to the main gates. After they made it to High Street, Luna practically dragged them to Honeyduke's. Harry followed after her, returning shortly thereafter with a bag of Ice Mice.
"Ooh, those are perfect for a hot summer day!" Neville exclaimed, accepting one when Harry offered.
"How so? Chocolate melts in the heat," Harry said with a frown.
"You've never had Ice Mice?" Ginny demanded, staring at him with a shell-shocked expression. Harry shook his head, staring at her incredulously. "Well, what are you waiting for? Try one!"
Harry picked up one of the chocolate mice and nibbled at it. Immediately, his teeth began to chatter and a squeaking sound escaped him. Neville began emitting the same sounds and when Harry glanced over, he noticed that Neville's Ice Mice was nearly gone.
"S-so, t-the I-ice M-mice h-have t-this e-effect?" he asked, teeth still chattering though he was hardly cold. Ginny nodded, looked positively pleased with herself.
"Wee!" Luna called, gathering the group's attention. They glanced over to see her floating a few inches off the ground. "This is fun!"
"I want a Fizzing Whizbee now," Leo groaned, having not entered the shop with Luna and Harry.
"So, go get one," Ginny said simply. "We haven't gone far." There was a small note of sadness in her voice. Harry knew that she might have some pocket change but it wasn't much and Ginny probably had her eyes set on a bigger prize. Just as he was about to offer her a few coins, Leo caught her hand and dragged her with him back to Honeyduke's.
"What are you doing?!" she demanded, digging her heels into the ground. When Leo stopped, she slammed her foot down on his and wrenched her hand free. "What was that all about?"
"You seemed like you were debating between getting some candy or not," Leo explained. "I figured I'd take the decision away and buy something for you. The least I could do to apologize for beating up your brother." He shrugged.
"He deserved it," Ginny said childishly, crossing her arms.
"Free candy?" Leo offered, smiling sheepishly.
"I wouldn't," Harry warned. "I'd be surprised if she accepted." Ginny frowned, clearly debating with herself. On one hand, she really did want some candy. On the other hand, she really didn't want to accept a handout. Especially from a Slytherin. Leo watched her carefully as she weighed her options. She really did want some Honeyduke's candy, she finally decided, sighing as she nodded to Leo.
"Finally," he nearly shouted in triumph, dragging Ginny towards Honeyduke's once more. They returned a few minutes later with candy in hand – Ginny with some Glacial Snow Flakes and Leo carrying a mixed bag of Fizzing Whizbees and Sugar Quills. Harry noted that Ginny kept looking towards the ground and a small amount of color was on her cheeks. And everyone else either failed to notice or was smart enough to stay quiet about it.
Without a word, they continued down High Street. They spent most of the walk discussing the dueling club and how things had been in the few weeks since Harry resigned. Ginny had been helping Neville in their spare time and he had been improving quite nicely.
"Excellent," Harry said, grinning over at his fellow Gryffindor. "I knew you'd be a perfect replacement." Neville smiled sheepishly, ducking his head to avoid Harry's gaze. They were just turning towards an empty park when Hermione ran up after them.
"Harry!" she called, huffing when she came to a stop. He assumed that she had run all the way from the other end of High Street.
"Hermione, where did we lose you and Ron?" he asked, noticing Ron was no longer with them. She paused for a second to catch her breath before speaking.
"I held Ron back outside of Honeyduke's to ask a question. Can we all go to the Three Broomsticks and have a butterbeer?" she asked, giving Harry a pleading look. Harry nodded, noticing that Leo was scowling.
"It might be about the dueling club as well," Harry said, tugging on Leo's sleeve. He growled before following them down the street. He insticintively stiffened when he saw Ron sitting at a table inside the pub.
"Should've figured," he grumbled, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Harry elbowed him in the ribs.
"Leo, I think he's trying to work everything out," Harry said quietly.
"Fat chance of that happening," Ginny mumbled.
"Can we at least try?" Hermione moaned, stopping in the doorway and facing everyone. It was Leo and Ginny her stare pierced the most. They nodded glumly and motioned for her to lead them in. She sighed, leading them to the table and gathering a head count for a butterbeer order. No one said a word until her and Luna came back with the drinks.
"So what are we all doing here anyways?" Ron grumbled, slouching down in his chair.
"We've been at each other's throats since Harry got accepted into the Triwizard Tournament," Hermione explained. Ron opened his mouth to argue but Hermione quickly cut him off with a glare. He grumbled as he slumped back into his seat. "And it's not good; we just need to get it out of the way and go back to being friends."
"How is that gonna happen?" Leo asked calmly.
"We are going to talk," Hermione said plainly, giving the group a stern gaze. This time, no one bothered to question her.
"I don't want to talk," Ron said with a frown.
"What is there to talk about?" Leo asked. "I kicked his arse after he hit me in the back and I am still willing to stick with the dueling club. What's the big deal?" he said with a shrug.
"You did not kick my arse," Ron growled, shooting up from his seat. Hermione stood, putting a hand in front of the boys to keep them from moving. But Leo didn't even bother to stand up.
"Leo, stop instigating," she said, glaring at him.
"How about we get this out of the way? I am not the problem, I just dragged it up," he said, glancing over at Ron.
A silent understanding crossed everyone's mind. Harry glanced at Ron as Leo stood up. "I'm getting something to eat," he replied, walking off.
"Ron, you and Hermione have always been around me. You should know I would never withhold information from you," Harry said, looking up at Ron.
"And we always get involved. It's hard to think that you wouldn't keep the pace up and you always seem to pull something off. It's hard to be convinced that you don't have an ace up your sleeve," Ron said. "Things just work out too damn well."
"I had no reason. I only stick my neck out if it's for the right reasons. I already have fame and glory. The whole mess with the Death Eaters should have made it clear. Anyone could have wanted my name in that cup just to try and get me killed," Harry reasoned.
"You have survived more than any one person could have already. Who would be dumb enough to think this contest would have anything that could kill you, especially with Dumbledore and all the other teachers right there, ready to step in? Out of everything, this seems like a walk in the park compared to everything else," Ron retorted.
"That's a fair point," Harry admitted, inclining his head. Ron balked when Harry realized that he was in far less danger than anything else he had jumped into.
"Ron, when have you ever known Harry to be a glory hound?" Hermione asked. Ron opened his mouth, but closed it after a second.
"Never," he admitted with a sigh. "Harry has never stood up to try and take fame." He slumped his shoulders.
Harry let out a sigh of relief at that understanding. "So, can we be friends again?" he asked, holding out his hand. Ron let a small sigh escape his lips before shaking hands with Harry.
"Well, it's about time," Leo shouted, slamming a fresh round of butterbeer on the table. The liquid sloshed as everyone grabbed a mug and downed it in massive gulps. Harry felt a massive grin on his face while they all sat down and chatted away. All was right with the world once again.
"So, then he's halfway down the road, skidding away as his broom jammed straight up in a bush. He ran home with his pants so shredded, you could see his bare arse hanging out of his britches," Leo said while everyone laughed at the joke.
Looks like Ron finally got his crap together. Way to go, Hermione! As always, R&R and we'll be back soon with the next chapter!
~LE