1996
"Whats wrong?" Fleur asked, after Harry ordered a third cup of coffee from Rosmerta, who rolled her eyes at the young student.
"What? Oh, nothing. Tired is all." Harry murmured, nursing the warm beverage. Dramatically inhaling the aroma of the coffee deeply, he sunk into his chair heavily with a lazy smile.
Taking a page from the owners book, Fleur rolled her eyes at her friend, causing Rosmerta to laugh. Telling the pair to enjoy.. again, Rosmerta took her leave from their table.
Taking a long drink from his cup, Harry nodded his head in delight and set it back down. Fleur in turn did the same, then took a moment to look around them.
"Bit weird being back 'ere, right?" Fleur asked Harry, who matched her head movements.
"A bit, yeah." He nodded, looking back into his coffee. Though Fleur caught onto his gloomy impression.
"So! You ready?" Fleur asked in an upbeat tone, reaching over and clasping his hands into her own, holding them tight.
Looking up at her, he couldn't help his eyebrows from scrunching together, confused at her sudden energy. "For what?"
Smiling, Fleur let go of his hands with one of her own, using it to dig inside her bag that sat next to her on the bench, before pulling out a sheet of parchment and tossing it onto the table. Spreading the parchment out, Harry read out the title.
"HELP WANTED-REBUILDING HOGSMEADE"
"Hmm. I thought all the shops were done already?" Harry asked, looking quizzically at his friend.
Nodding her head whilst drinking her coffee, she excitedly set the cup down, eager to explain to him.
"They are, all except one. Ollivanders." She said, her words laced with mystery.
"Ollivanders? Here, in Hogsmeade?" Harry asked, to which she nodded. "Why?"
"In case anyone tried stealing of course. He wished to be 'ere in person to keep an eye on everyone. Apparently 'e 'as been out of town for weeks. So, they must wait." She finished, picking up her coffee.
"But what does that have to do with us?" Harry asked, to which Fleur rolled her eyes, being using her perfectly manicured pointer finger to point to something on the paper, something Harry didn't see at first when he read.
"You volunteered us?! Why?!" Harry asked in a quick whisper, not watching to draw a scene. "I can't go out on the streets, someone can attack again!"
"ERRRRRR. Wrong. Try again." Fleur said, making a loud noise like a button being pressed.
"Wha…"
"You are scared. Scared to be out there." She said, pointing over his shoulder at the doors. "So if you are scared, why should they be not scared?"
"Fleur, please."
"You save them, you save me, you showed the entire world that anyone can fight back. And that there will always be someone to 'elp them. You showed bravery, now you 'ide." Fleur said, standing from the table to leave. "Show your face, so that others can be brave too."
Then she left, throwing down a few coins to cover their tab. Leaving behind a conflicted teen, who really wanted another coffee.
Later
"This is dumb."
"ERRRRRR!"
"Can you stop?!"
"Non."
"Loser."
"ERRRRRR!"
Harry's complaints were covered by the laughs of the wizards and witches in their area, all eavesdropping on the pair.
In total it was about twelve kind people who volunteered to help rebuild Ollivanders, all of whom were strangers to Harry. Except one.
"Please Mr. Potter, the other one."
Sighing heavily, Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he set down the brick he had grabbed, and instead grabbed a identical one about four inches away.
"Mmmm. Excellent." Mr. Ollivander's dull voice loomed, satisfied. Giving him a tired, sarcastic smile, Harry stood straight from his crouched position and moved over to the pile of bricks he had made earlier and set it down, before moving over and grabbing the original brick. Showing it to Ollivander, who in turn gave him a nod, caused Harry to lose his inner battle and roll his eyes. Annoyed.
"So stupid." Harry muttered, throwing the brick into his large pile, only to feel a sharp pain as something bounced off of his head. Turning around quickly, he laughed when noticing Fleur trying to hold in her own laughter, stood directly over her own pile of small rocks.
"Something funny?" Harry asked, a knowing smile on his face.
Holding her empty hands up, Fleur shook her head. "Nothing I know."
"Yeah, okay." Harry muttered, nodding his head in acceptance. Bending down to begin working again, Harry kept a sly eye on the french witch, waiting for a moment. That moment arrived when something behind Fleur caught her attention, causing her to turn her back to Harry.
Quickly grabbing a tiny rock, Harry lobbed the stone, watching in anticipation as it soared over, before landing directly on top of a surprised Fleur's head.
"Merde!" She exclaimed quietly, her head snapping to look over at Harry, who was whistling a tune to himself as he sorted through rocks. Shaking her head to herself, she bent down and grabbed a handful of pebbles, ready to bombard her friend.
Looking over as she raised her fist into the air, Harry's eyes widened as his hands shot up, surrendering.
"Whoa! Okay, okay. You win." Harry said quickly, smiling.
Smirking, Fleur dropped her hands, letting go of the rocks. Laughing at each other, they both agreed to a truce, shaking each others hand.
Harry returned to his pile, with a annoyed Ollivander stood next to it, waiting.
Fleur turned and began sorting through the rubble again, separating everything into piles, when a really sharp pain raced over the back of her head, feeling as if whatever hit her would end up drawing blood.
"'ARRY!" She shouted, her hand jumping up holding her head. Turning to look at her friend, she gave him a really intense glare. "That really 'urt you jerk. What about the truce?"
A very confused Harry looked at her, not knowing what she was talking about. "Huh?"
"Do not play coy with me, you threw something at me!" She accused, annoyed at him.
Looking over at Ollivander, who shrugged his shoulders, then back to Fleur, he shook his head. "No I didn't Fleur, ask him." Harry said, pointing his thumb at the old wandmaker.
"He did not throw a stone, Miss Delacour. He did however, grab the wrong stone."
"Oh my fucking…" Harry muttered quietly to himself.
"Hmmm." Fleur questioned, believing her friend. Looking around, she saw no-one else who looked like they tried being in their little game. Shaking her head, she returned to her work, curious.
After only a few short moments, someone came walking around the corner, whistling to herself. Hearing the tune, as it was the one he had just sung to himself, Harry looked at where the whistle was coming from, before his eyes widened.
"Sarah!" Harry exclaimed, dropping his bricks onto a frustrated Ollivanders foot before racing over to his friend. Jogging up, Harry's eyes met hers and he began to blush at the smile she gave him, but then an image of his brown-eyed friend flashed in his mind, erasing his blush.
"Heya Harry, thought you might not recognize me for a second." Sarah laughed, her left hand rubbing her right elbow as they stood close together.
"You kidding? Could never forget the girl who just randomly stopped replying to my letters." Harry laughed, trying to erase the tension before it could build.
Nodding her head, her purple eyes dulling a bit at that, she apologized. "Yeah sorry about that, my dad took away my owl and… I've just been going through some stuff, so… not the best time to reply."
Nodding his head, Harry showed her he understood. "Hey, no pressure."
At that moment, a very curious Fleur walked up to the pair, looking quizzically at the new arrival. Noticing Fleur, Harry quickly began introductions.
"Fleur, this is Sarah, a friend I made in the summer. Sarah, this is Fleur, a friend I made in my last year at Hogwarts. Hope you like each other." Harry said, chuckling to himself. The girls however, did not.
"It's so nice to meet you. Harry hasn't mentioned you before." Sarah said, dark purple meeting deep blue. "What brings a beautiful, older, witch like yourself into the company of a guy like Harry?"
"I could ask the same of you, hmm?" Fleur asked, her eyes squinting a bit.
Catching that, Harry looked at Sarah. "Oh yeah, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you? My age?"
Laughing, Sarah shook her head. "No, I was born in 1977, so about three years before you."
"Yeah, so was I." Fleur cut it, not looking away from Sarah.
"Huh. Really? Wouldn't have thought." Sarah dismissed, looking down her nose at Fleur. Giving the french witch a small smirk, Sarah moved back over to Harry before Fleur could reply, irritating her. "So, how far are we with the shop? Hope I didn't arrive too late."
Shaking his head at her, Harry led their newest helper over to their zone, showing her with his hands how far they were and how much more needed to be done. Behind them, stood firmly in place on the cobble street, was a fuming witch with a lot on her mind.
'Just wait until Hermione hears about this.' Fleur thought, her blue eyes glaring directly into the back of Harry's friend.
Later
Walking back to the castle, Harry whistled a tune to himself as he tossed around an apple. His reward for helping out in the 'Rebuild of Hogsmeade.'
Seeing his beloved castle up ahead, Harry thought back on the past few weeks.
The nightmare of the room with the glowing orbs still woke him almost every other night. He wasn't afraid of it anymore, only curious on where the room actually was and if something was trying to send him a message. A message to retrieve something.
He'd questioned Hermione and Ron on it, even Luna, but not even she knew of a place like that.
Sirius and Remus had yet to message Harry that training was back on, which in turn, meant no training for their little secret club. He'd been asked a bunch on when it would return, but he could only respond with a shrug of his shoulders, not knowing the answer himself.
Apart from Ollivanders, Hogsmeade was back. Students still weren't allowed back yet, which hadn't stopped Harry, but everything was back to normal. Voldemort hadn't done anything since the breakout of Azkaban. No murdering. No symbols in the air. Nothing.
Harry didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing just yet.
"Maybe he finally had a good shagging." Harry joked to himself, before shutting his eyes in disgust at that horrific thought.
"Who?" A voice asked, causing Harry to turn in a panic. That was until he saw who it was, and welcomed in that warm feeling again.
"I thought you went home?" Harry asked, walking up to Sarah.
"I did, but my parents were… busy. So I came back to see if you were still around. Had to jog a bit to catch you though." She laughed, a blush laying neatly on her face.
"Well, you wanna walk with me to the gates? Maybe do a lap or two around the lake?" Harry offered, pointing his thumb to the castle.
Staring over his shoulder, Sarah felt a pained look cover her face, before washing it off with a neutral one. "Sorry, I can't pass the gates, but I can definitely go with you to the edge."
Nodding his head, he offered her one of his arms, to which she gladly accepted, before beginning their slow walk to the gates of Hogwarts.
"So… how are you parents?" Harry asked as the pair walked.
Sarah shrugged her shoulders, not answering. Looking slightly over to his left, Harry briefly saw what looked like a tear run down her face before she quickly used her jumper sleeve to wipe it away. Looking back forward, Harry felt a build up of sorrow for his friend, understanding how difficult it must feel.
"I miss mine." He said simply, not looking at her when he felt her stare directly at him.
"Harry, please. Can we talk of something else?" Sarah asked him, her voice sounding choked.
Nodding his head, he stopped his steps, causing her too as well. Looking into her eyes, he grasped her hands into his and held them tight. Opening his mouth to speak, he stopped, thinking for a moment.
"I just want… I understand how hard it is, you know? Having difficulties with the idea of parents. Sure, my scenario is quite different then yours…"
'You have no idea.' She thought.
"…But that doesn't mean I won't listen if you wanna talk about it. No judgement. I swear." Harry finished, holding his hand up in a boy scout manner, giving her a shy smile.
"Thank you." She said, letting out a sob as she did so, before moving forward and hugging him. Her tears fell, he thought for one reason, but she knew the true reason. Here she stood, in front of the person she thought of most in the world, knowing she couldn't have him, or even tell him anything at all. Knowing her father was the reason for all of his hardship, all of hers. And it drove her mad.
Breaking apart, Harry gave her a large goofy smile, ready to say something. But before he could, Sarah moved forward quickly and engulfed him again, shutting her eyes tightly. Moving her hands up, she held onto him tight as she tried sending every emotion over to him through their contact.
"Please finish it Harry." She mumbled into his chest. Before taking a heavy step back and removing herself. Too scared to see the look on his face, Sarah stared at the ground for awhile, catching her breath. Not hearing him say anything or move, Sarah knew in her head that it was over.
"…Sarah? What was that?" She heard him ask. But she couldn't manage to look up, not to him. Knowing this was goodbye, Sarah took a deep breath, mumbled a sorry to him, then turned and quickly left.
So when she felt him run up and grab her arm, she stopped immediately. Her eyes wide in shock. Turning slowly, she finally saw his face again, seeing his green eyes ablaze with a emotion she couldn't recognize.
"Sarah?" He asked, their eyes not separating.
"Goodbye Harry Potter." She said, allowing all of her sadness and fear encase her words. Taking a quick step forward, she shut her eyes and gave him another quick hug, this time only lasting a brief second, then backing off.
"Goodbye?" Harry asked, putting his fingers up to his chest. "Why?"
Walking away from him, Sarah felt the tears run down her face. Giving him a small wave, she turned from him and walked a few steps, feeling her heart break with every step before shifting into a small grey kitten and pouncing away. Leaving behind a very confused and sad wizard.
Later
Walking up the stairs of the castle, Harry stared at the ground. Not hearing as he walked past many of his friends and people who waved and greeted him in the corridors. Mumbling the password to the common room as he arrived to the Fat Lady's portrait, he didn't even notice the frown cover her face.
Walking through the common room, the voices of those inside never reached him as he ascended the stairs and headed into his dorm. Closing the door behind him, he dropped his book bag onto the ground by the door and laid in bed, resting his head on his pillow.
For about half an hour, Harry laid there, staring into the roof, with wild thoughts running rampant throughout his mind. Thinking of Sarah. Of how she held him. Of how he thought she was a friend, but she obviously had much more to deal with inside. He felt so confused about what she was so scared about, and how he can't message her to figure it all out.
"This is all a mess." He grumbled to himself, rubbing his temples.
A soft knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts. With a grunt, he got out of bed and moved to the door, opening it to see his best friend standing there, holding a steaming cup.
"Coffee?" Hermione asked, giving him a soft, shy smile.
Giving her a big smile, Harry gratefully took the cup and headed back to bed, with Hermione following right after.
Settling onto his bed, Harry sitting on his pillows and Hermione sitting on the end of the bed, Harry began talking about his scenario. Sipping the warm drink as he spoke, he left no bits out. How he first met her in the alley, how he now recognized her as the kitten at Ollivanders, and that they have been sending letters back and forth for months now, but that she stopped suddenly a few weeks ago. He spoke of their last conversation, and how she looked to him, like she was heartbroken afterwards. He told Hermione everything.
Sitting in silence after, Harry stirred his drink as they both thought. Eventually, Hermione broke the silence.
"Do you like her?" She asked nervously, staring into her lap. Looking up at her, he asked her what she meant.
"I mean… do you like her? Do you want to be with her?" Hermione asked, her hands moving around to stay busy.
Thinking for a moment, Harry thought of that question, and how he truly felt.
"I like her." Harry said, causing Hermione to nod. Patting her lap, Hermione began to move off the bed when Harry stopped her. "But I definitely don't love her."
Looking at him, Hermione opened her mouth to ask what he meant when he suddenly moved forward, until he was only an inch from her. Staring into her eyes, he silently asked her for permission.
Then she moved forward, closing the gap between them.