Chapter 3 Summer Vacation

Harry leaned casually against the lamppost, hands shoved into his pockets and his hood drawn over his head. Hogsmeade may not have been as populated as Diagon Alley, especially this late in the evening, but that didn't mean he wanted anyone recognizing him. It wasn't that he was trying to be stealthy; it was just that he didn't want to be mobbed by reporters or flocked by the public since he was a 'hero' again. Well that or spotted by zome over zealous Death Eater and attacked.

He stared intently at the public apparition spot where he was expecting someone to arrive any minute. Problem was the person wasn't expecting him and he knew it must look suspicious for him to be standing there with his hood up in such dark times.

"Turn around, slowly."

Harry frowned. He hadn't even realized someone had approached him. That wasn't acceptable. He was supposed to be more aware of his surroundings. He glanced over his shoulder and saw one of the patrolling Auxiliaries, his wand drawn, standing ten feet behind him.

Harry turned slowly, not wanting to get in a confrontation. He supposed he could try to take on the law enforcement official but not over something as stupid as loitering, especially since he wasn't doing anything wrong.

"Lower your hood."

Harry grimaced but brought his hands up and slowly lowered the cloth from around his head. The Auxiliary's face went from hostile to shock as he took in the sight of the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Lord Potter," the man stuttered.

Harry grimaced at the title of Lord. Most people didn't use it unless in a formal setting, like Ministry held balls and Wizengamot sessions, but pureblood aristocrats used it almost all the time. The man must have been a pureblood from a noble family. "Sorry about the hood but I had hoped to go unnoticed."

"Understandable Lord Potter. Please, forgive me for the mix up but you can never be too sure now a days."

"It's alright. Better to be safe than sorry."

The man nodded his head before walking off quickly, muttering to himself as he did so. Harry shook his head and turned back toward the apparition point. There was a loud 'crack' as a female appeared out of nowhere. Harry immediately recognized her as the woman he was seeking. The same woman he had bested in the second round of the dueling tournament. She lived in Hogsmeade and was coming home from her job, where she worked as a Spell Crafter at a private company.

An Auxiliary checked the woman over, making sure she wasn't a threat. Once it was clear she wasn't one, they allowed her to pass.

"Ms. Joyce, if I could have a moment of your time."

Helen Joyce turned in surprise, finally noticing Harry. "Harry Potter? If you're here on behalf of Dumbledore the answer is still no."

Harry blinked, wondering if Dumbledore had approached her about joining the Order back when he still ran it.

"I like where I work and I'm not going to quit so I can join the Ministry at a lower salary," she continued.

"No, I'm not here on behalf of Dumbledore, though I find it odd you'd think I'd be working for him."

Helen shrugged her shoulders. "Everyone knows your Dumbledore's man."

Harry frowned a little at that. While it was true he would consider Dumbledore his mentor, he didn't consider himself Dumbledore's man. "I'm here to ask you to join something else. It will only take a minute; I assure you. Plus you won't have to quit your job."

"You can walk me to my house then and tell me your offer on the way."

"How was work?" Neville asked as Ron walked into the flat.

Ron, a ball cap covering his hair and sunglasses over his eyes, held up a brand new beater bat. "Flame Wood shipped the store its new pro-style beater bats that are supposed to be used by the English National team for their World Cup qualifying matches that are starting in March. When I told Eric I wanted to take the spot of Beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team now that my brothers have graduated, he gave me one as a present."

Harry held up his hand and indicated he wanted to see it. Ron gave it a toss and Harry was easily able to catch it, looking it over in his hands and testing its weight.

"Got a good grip. Not too heavy or too light. It's a pretty brilliant beater bat," Harry admitted after several moments.

"I know," Ron crowed, grinning as he tossed the ball cap onto the counter. "Perks of working at Quality Quidditch I suppose."

Harry handed the bat over to Neville, who gave it a quick once over. Being as he wasn't a Quidditch player or fanatic, he only had a passing interest in both the bat and the subject. He held the bat up and Ron, who had walked over, took it from his hands.

Seeing as how the conversation was on Quidditch, Harry decided to bring it over to the English National team. "Ollie was upset he wasn't even given an invite to the English National team. But given as this is his first season as Puddlemere's Keeper, it isn't surprising they didn't show any interest in him."

"Ollie is good but Merwyn Finwick is bloody amazing. He had two straight shut outs last year. Two! It's all but impossible to get one a season, and he got two in two straight games! With him on the United Kingdom's team, we might have a shot of upsetting Ireland and their Chasers."

Harry nodded his head at Ron's words. Last time the World Cup qualifying matches had taken place, Finwick was only in his second year of starting and was not nearly as unstoppable as he had been the last couple of years. It was because of him the Tornadoes won the British and Irish league last year.

"I actually like our chances this year." Harry stated. "Hawksworth and Vosper aren't as talented as Mullet, Moran and Troy but they're in that tier right right below them skill wise. They have chemistry, as we saw the previous World Cup qualifying matches. This new chaser, Vector Conroy, is supposed to be a real physically gifted freak."

"Hopefully Conroy will fit in chemistry wise, otherwise his physical tools won't mean crap. Gwenog Jones is a world class Beater, probably one of the best in the world and Duncan Inglebee is pretty solid as well. They won't be the be as good as the American duo or the Turkish duo, but they're up there."

"Only weakness I see is Seeker. Dougal McBride won't scare anyone," Harry pointed out.

"Yeah and Seeker is probably the most important position too," Ron muttered.

Neville coughed loudly. "Yeah, let's find a new topic to talk about."

"I'm not talking about the newest plant you read about in Herbology Weekly," Rom immediately said.

"I never said we should talk about that!" Neville protested.

Before it could go any further, a knock on the door interrupted the argument. Harry frowned and grabbed his wand from the coffee table. Holding it by his side, he quickly approached the door and looked through the peephole.

"Hermione? I thought you were in Canada!" Harry yelled, as he stepped back from the door.

"Our plane leaves in two and a half hours. I need to talk to you before I go."

With a flick of his wand, the front door opened. He looked at Hermione expectantly and beckoned her forward. Polyjuice wouldn't fool his wards, so if the person in front of him wasn't really Hermione, they would be in for a nasty surprise.

Without missing a beat, Hermione walked right into the flat. When nothing happened to her, Harry moved forward and wrapped his girlfriend in a hug and kissed her. Except it wasn't like their usual kiss. There was no effort on Hermione's part. Harry pulled back and shot her a weird look.

"We need to talk," Hermione stated.

"Oh."

Harry wasn't any idiot. He knew when someone in a relationship said that, it was never a good thing. He stepped back and looked at his friends, who were looking at them curiously.

"Right, my room it is."

"Hello Ron, Neville," Hermione greeted as she stepped further into the flat.

"Hey."

"'Lo"

The two responded simultaneously while never altering the curious looks on their faces. Hermione walked by them and to the staircase that led up to Harry's room. Ron shot Harry a confused look, which Harry returned with one of his own. Shrugging his shoulders, he followed Hermione up the spiral staircase.

The reading area, which looked over the living room, had two bookcases stocked in books of all kinds, as well as some comfy chairs for people to sit on while they read, and a large coffee table for any notes they wanted to take. Surprisingly, in the almost two weeks they had been there, the three of them had used the area a lot. Harry made sure the shelves were stacked with books on defensive magic, offensive magic, transfiguration, healing magic, battle charms, enchantments and various other magics.

He walked pass the area into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. Last time he and Hermione had been in this room together, they had sex. That was two weeks ago and was also the last time Harry had seen his girlfriend before today.

She sat on his bed, her toned legs crossed. She had definitely gotten tanner since they had last met, and was currently wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top, with her messy hair tied up in a loose bun. Harry thought she looked beautiful but didn't say it. For some reason, he didn't think she wanted to hear his compliments.

"I'm breaking up with you," Hermione bluntly stated.

Harry felt his mind shut down. "I don't know what you're saying."

"Stop Harry. Don't make this hard on me. I've been thinking about this for over a month now-"

"We had sex two weeks ago!" Harry interrupted, trying not to shout.

Hermione looked down and blushed. Harry ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. This is not what he wanted right now.

"So you don't like me anymore?"

"No!" Hermione proclaimed. "I still really like you."

"Then I'm confused as to what the hell this is all about," Harry stated.

"It's you. You don't like me."

Harry scratched his head. He was utterly baffled. "I think you've lost your bloody mind. Of course I like you!"

Hermione shook her head furiously. "Not like I like you Harry. I'm like a sister to you. You don't like me in a romantic way. You're physically attracted to me and we're good friends but that's it. There is no connection between us; nothing that will make this relationship move forward."

"And what makes you think that's how I feel?" Harry asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"I'm not the only one who sees it Harry. You're with me because I'm safe and familiar not because you have actual feelings for me. It needs to end so you can find someone you actually like the way a boyfriend should like his girlfriend and I can start getting over you."

"Is," Harry licked his lips as he hesitated on his words, "this what you want?"

"No, it's not what I want Harry but it's what's best."

Harry stared at Hermione, who refused to look at him. He took a slow step forward and suddenly Hermione was pushing by him and running out of his room. He turned quickly, his mind trying to process everything and make the decision of whether he should chase after her. By the time he had come to the conclusion, that maybe he should go after her, she was already down the spirals stairs. Harry ran to the railing of the reading area, which looked over half of the apartment, and stared as Hermione threw open the front door and left his apartment, the sound of the door slamming close behind her echoing.

Harry shifted his gaze and saw that Neville and Ron were looking at him in bewilderment. He could only shake his head at them before turning and slowly making his way back into his room. He wasn't positive, but he was pretty sure he wanted to be alone right now.

Harry collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Going from the muggle gym to the Gryffindor arena to work on their magic had seemed like a good idea when they had first thought of it, but looking at Ron and Neville who were in similar positions of fatigue, Harry thought maybe it wasn't.

"I can't... I don't... I'm just so..." Ron made a face and tried to gesture with his arm but wasn't able to lift it up high enough.

"Yeah," Neville said in agreement.

Harry summoned his water bottle and chugged whatever was left in it. When he was done, he held it upside down and pouted at the lack of water. After a few moments, he slowly made his way to his feet and stretched.

"So, do we continue?" Harry asked between breaths.

"I don't think I have ever been this exhausted in my entire life," Neville muttered with a groan.

"I think we have to mate," Ron stated. "I mean we feel like shit, yeah, but the amount of work we put in today, both magically and physically, it's gonna pay off."

"I think I sweated my body weight," Neville grumbled.

"I say we do it four times a week, work around Ron's schedule."

Ron slowly got to his feet as well, and with obvious reluctance, Neville joined them in standing. After a few minutes and some charms to make sure their body odor didn't knock unconscious anyone they passed on their way back to their flat, the teens left Gryffindor Arena.

"I don't know how I'm walking right now," Neville stated. "I'm not even lying when I say, I can't feel my legs."

"Ron? Neville? Harry?"

The three teens turned and saw Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott sitting at a small table outside a cafe. Neville blushed at the sight of Hannah, who was returning the favor. The two girls were holding menus in their hands and had cups of tea in front of them.

"Do you guys want to join us?" Susan asked.

Harry glanced at his friends before glancing back at the girls. They were sitting at a table meant for two only. He looked around and noticed a waitress making her way over to them.

"How can I..." the waitress trailed off as she realized she was talking to Harry Potter.

"Can we get another table over here please?" Harry asked.

The waitress bit her lip. "We're really not... I mean they don't... Sure."

She waved her wand at the nearest empty table and it, along with the chairs around it, quickly floated into the air. Before Harry's eyes the table shrank in size and made its way over to the group. With another flick of her wand, the table and chairs placed itself on the ground and grew quickly to its normal size.

"Wow," Harry said, nodding his head at the impressive display of magic. "How long ago did you graduate?"

The girl blushed. "Two years ago."

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you working here? You've got some serious talent!"

The girl's blush deepened at Harry's praise. "I was apprenticed under a master but I broke the contract because he tried...er...feeling me up. He is an influential pureblood and has blacklisted me. Since I'm a muggle-born, it's hard finding another apprenticeship or even a job now."

"Harry," Ron said, clearing his throat.

Harry turned and saw that his two friends had already sat down and everyone was starting at him. He turned back toward the waitress and gave her a guilty smile.

"Sorry about that."

Harry quickly took an open chair, his mind spinning with an idea. The idea could wait though, cause right now it seemed that everyone was having a conversation he wasn't a part of.

"...are you guys going in Diagon Alley?" Hannah asked, shooting Neville some not-so subtle looks.

"We were at Gryffindor arena training," Ron answered.

"Really?" Susan asked. "Like a continuation of what we were doing at school?"

"Not really. I mean this was our first one, but it was more just to improve on our dueling skills. Faster spell casting, improving accuracy, dodging spell fire and the like," Harry explained.

Hannah and Susan shared a look with each other.

"Do you mind if we join you guys?" Susan asked.

Neville shot Harry a pleading look. Harry guessed Neville wanted Harry to say yes so he could spend some more time with Hannah. Harry thought about it.

"Sure. In fact, might as well invite everyone and see who can also join us."

"That's a great idea mate; getting everyone together again. It's going to be hard for muggle-borns to get to London everyday though," Neville pointed out.

Harry nodded his head. "Very true. Hopefully something can be worked out."

The waitress came back with three new menus and handed them out to the boys. "Would you guys care for anything to drink?"

"Water please," they said simultaneously.

"And lots of it," Ron added.

The waitress chuckled. "I'll be right back with the water, and to take your order."

They all caught up while they ate, exchanging how their summers had been going. Susan had been spending most of her time at Hannah's since her aunt was constantly at the Ministry trying to revamp the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Soon they found themselves done eating and their check paid for. Everyone got up and while four of them made a move to leave, Harry waved the waitress over and made his way toward her.

"What is Harry doing?" Hannah asked, curiously watching.

"Is he giving the waitress his number?" Susan asked, as Harry held out a piece of parchment. "Hermione isn't going to like that one bit!"

"They broke up," Ron stated. "A couple of days ago, before Hermione left on vacation."

Susan whipped her head in Ron's direction. "Harry's single?"

"Look," Neville nudged Ron and pointed at Harry and the waitress. "He's recruiting her."

Harry was handing the waitress a envelope that Ron and Neville had seen before.

"Recruiting her?" Hannah asked.

"It's nothing to worry about," Ron said dismissively.

"Neville," Hannah urged.

Neville grimaced. "Sorry Hannah, not our place to discuss."

Harry came walking back over to the group, a small smile on his face. However, he noticed the looks he was receiving from Hannah and Susan, and the smile quickly vanished.

"What was that about Harry?" Hannah asked.

"You're single?" Susan demanded.

"Uh." Harry looked at Ron and Neville with wide eyes. "Nothing to worry about Hannah. And yes Susan, I guess I am."

Both of them looked like they wanted to press the individual issues each one had brought up. Neither of which Harry wanted to discuss. He shot Ron and Neville a look, silently pleading for a quick intervention.

"Unfortunately, we really have to be going," Ron said, interjecting. "Lots to do."

"And not enough time to do them," Neville added nodding his head.

"So sorry ladies," Harry finished in relief.

The three waved goodbye before turning and quickly walking off, ignoring the protest from the two girls. They moved throughout the crowds of people walking the streets of Diagon Alley. Their walk wasn't a straight line to the Leaky Cauldron though. They broke off from each other, each one going into a separate store before emerging minutes later. Harry walked out of Madam Malkin's with a pair of sunglasses on, his hair longer then usual and a new change of clothes on. Ron came out of the potion's supply store wearing a Manchester United baseball cap pulled low to cover his hair color and face, and a new change of clothes. Neville exited from the stationary store with a combination baseball cap and sunglasses, as well as a new pair of clothes.

The clothes were simple transfigure spells, along with Harry's hair. The accessories were stored in bottomless pockets. They had also checked for tracking spells. None of the three acknowledged each other as they made their way down the rest of Diagon Alley, through the Leaky Cauldron and out into muggle London. It wasn't a foolproof way of throwing off anyone who might be following them but it would throw off the simpler Death Eaters out there. It was a precaution they had decided to use since they visited Diagon Alley so frequently, their easily recognizable faces, Ron for being a Weasley and Harry for being who he was, made it more then likely that a Death Eater who was out shopping for something could easily spot them.

Finally all three of them were safely back in the loft and their disguises gone. Harry flicked his wand and summoned some stationary to him. He had a bunch of letters to write and he hoped Hedwig and Pig were up to the challenge. He tried to remember what everyone was doing. Luna was in Switzerland and Hermione was in Canada. Alicia and Jeff were both going through Hit-Wizard training. Fred and George were working long hours for the Ministry. Lee was working long hours at the radio station. Angelina was practicing hard ever since she made the Harpies as a reserve Chaser. Anthony had been released from St. Mungo's but he was still going through physical therapy. That left 26 people he was going to have to send letters to.

"Does Seamus have a floo hookup?" Harry asked as he grabbed a quill.

"Yeah," Neville answered. "But Dean doesn't."

"Neither does Justin," Ron pointed out.

Harry frowned. "I don't think Megan or Lisa have one either. Crap. Who else?"

Neville tapped his chin. "Kyle, Eddie, Sally-Ann and Su are also muggleborns. Don't think any of them have a floo hookup."

"Guess the only thing to do is write them a letter to see if their interested. If they are, maybe I can work out something with the Ministry to get them portkeys."

Harry, Ron and Neville wrote out the letters to each person, making each one pertain to the individual they were writing to. It took an hour but soon all the letters were written and sent off with Hedwig and Pig. The three boys tuned toward the television for some entertainment, as they contemplated what to do.

"You recruited the waitress?" Nevilled asked.

Harry nodded his head. "Her name is Morgan, and yes. You guys saw, she has some talent. And I'm sure she overhears some gossip with her job."

"How many is that now?" Neville asked.

"She makes number eleven," Harry answered.

"So you got Lee, Oliver and Angelina," Ron said, ticking off the people he knew personally. "Then there is the other Gryffindors Andre Kirke and Patricia Stimpson. You got that muggle-born bloke from Slytherin-"

"Kacey Bundy," Harry supplied.

"As well as that Ravenclaw who joined the dueling circuit," Ron continued. "What was his name?"

"Bryan Dunston."

"Don't forget the two Hufflepuffs he told us about. Jill Dorny and Steve Capper." Neville had a puzzled look on his face. "Weren't they friends with Cedric?"

"Yeah, I got to know when I was training with Cedric for the tournament."

"Who is the eleventh?" Ron asked.

"Helen Joyce. Spell crafter I dueled in the tournament. Lives in Hogsmeade."

None of them said anything for a moment, the sitcom on television being the only noise filling the flat.

"So what now?" Ron questioned.

Harry knew Ron was still a little peeved it was Harry who was the Order member and he wasn't. Harry knew though that he wasn't really an official member of the Order. Being called a member was just something Moody was doing to get Harry to recruit for him.

"I'll talk to Moody and give him the contracts for his new members. Then I'll talk to him and McGonagall about bringing in some international help and supplying them with jobs at Hogwarts."

"New Order members and added protection for the school," Neville said, nodding his head in approval.

"Right. But in order for me to recruit these people, I'm going to have to do some traveling. Which means there will be several days I won't be here."

"Mum won't like that," Ron muttered.

Mrs. Weasley was prone to stopping by on random days to check on them. Ron had told his parents about the job he had gotten and though they were proud of him for taking the initiative to take on a responsibility and make some money, they were both extremely worried he'd be attacked while going to and from work. Harry could understand their concern. George had been in the hospital for a little over a week after the incident in the Forbidden Forest. Now he and Fred worked for the Ministry, developing weapons for the coming war. Her oldest was an active member of the Order. Ginny had already been possessed by Voldemort as a child. And the youngest son was best friends with Voldemort's number one target. If the Weasley family made it out of this war without any casualties, it would be a miracle.

"I'm going to wait until we get these training sessions going again before leaving. Want to make sure everyone knows what to do before leaving. And it should only be two or three days. Just some quick portkey trips and several hour discussions."