Year 6, Chapter 10 – Some Misunderstandings and Resolutions

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – March 27

I certainly have mixed feelings about this trip to Durmstrang. From the point of view of my research, it’s been a success. From a personal point of view, it’s been a disaster. That part’s pretty difficult for me to write about, but I’m going to try to be as complete as I can, beginning with my arrival.

Durmstrang itself is a little scary. Everyone is so serious here! I don’t mean serious like I’m serious about my studies, but serious as in humorless. Possibly it just seems that way because they’re so suspicious of outsiders. I mean, they must have some fun, or do things like sit around telling jokes in the privacy of their rooms. Perhaps they’re gathering around a fire right now, laughing at the clueless English girl. More likely they’re making lewd comments about me and Viktor.

Viktor had met Hermione at the Polish International Apparation Receiving Site (sort of like picking her up at the airport, she decided) and greeted her warmly with a hug. Then he put his arm around her and side-along apparated them to the entrance to Durmstrang. Hermione became increasingly uncomfortable as his arm remained around her while they approached the gates of the castle. But before she could object they were met by the Durmstrang headmaster, Herr Friedrich Karl Von Hoffmann, who had succeeded Igor Karkaroff after the latter fled at the conclusion of the Tri Wizard Tournament two years previously. Later, Viktor would explain that the headmastership of the institute rotated among the three primary ethnic groups involved – Germanic, Scandinavian, and Slavic.

Hermione soon noticed the number of curious looks, glances, and occasional outright glares she received as the headmaster escorted her and Viktor into the castle, and her Bulgarian friend evidently did as well. In response he once more wrapped his arm around her waist in a possessive fashion and returned a glare of his own. Trying to force her mind off of this behavior for the time being, she focused her attention on her surroundings.

Viktor had told her at the Yule Ball about the lakes and mountains that surrounded the castle, but her imagination hadn’t done them justice, as the setting was quite beautiful. It was also considerably colder than Beauxbatons, and she pulled her cloak more tightly around herself. Unfortunately, her shivering gave Viktor the excuse to wrap his arm around her even more snugly.

The castle itself was similar in style to Hogwarts, although smaller in size. But just like Beauxbatons, this smaller size did not translate to fewer students, as Durmstrang served the largest geographical area of the three schools. The student population was diminished somewhat, however, by their policy of not admitting muggleborns. Hermione wondered if that might be part of the reason for the stares she had received, and whether she was the first muggleborn witch or wizard to set foot inside these gates.

Finally, Headmaster Von Hoffmann reached the guest quarters and showed them inside. To Hermione’s dismay, it was immediately evident that they were expected to share a room, and as soon as she and Viktor were alone she expressed her feelings on the matter.

“Viktor, just what is going on here? You know very well I’m with Harry now! This is completely improper!”

Krum did not react immediately, giving her a solemn look in response, then gestured to her to sit down while he walked around the perimeter of the room, casting an occasional detection spell before returning to face her again.

“I informed you that ve must appear to be together,” he stated slowly, in an obvious effort at correct English pronunciation. “They vould not haff let you come here othervise. Even so, there vas difficulty, but I am, how vould you say, important name here.”

Hermione nodded her understanding of the situation, but needed more clarification. “I appreciate your willingness to do that for me, Viktor, I really do. But what exactly does ‘together’ mean?”

“It means that I am courting you, and either haff already or soon vill ask for your hand in marriage,” he revealed, now moving forward and gently taking her hands in his.

Hermione gaped momentarily, and backed away, removing her hands from his grasp, but he followed her and took hold of them again. “Is that such a disturbing idea?” He kissed the back of her hand, and Hermione’s face flushed as she remembered a similar situation back at Hogwarts during her fourth year, where the kiss on the hand had escalated into something more. Sure enough, he followed up by moving his head closer to hers, but she dodged away again, moving to the other side of the chair.

“Viktor! I told you, I am with Harry!” she snapped.

“And has Potter asked you to marry him?” he asked.

“Well, no not yet, but …” she stammered, thrown off balance by the question. She expected that she and Harry would get to that stage eventually, but he wasn’t even of age yet. She was, of course, at least in the wizarding world, and Viktor was three years older still.

“Then there is still a chance for me,” he replied evenly. “Perhaps, vith this time for us together, you vill change your mind.”

“No!” Hermione nearly shouted. “No, Viktor, I told you the last time you asked me and that hasn’t changed. We are just friends, and that’s all.” She lowered her voice and continued. “I’m sorry that you got the wrong impression. It was very important that I get into the library here, and I thought that you’d be willing to help me – as a friend.”

Viktor stood up straight and squared his shoulders. “Very vell. I vill help you with your search – as a friend. However, ve must still keep up … appearances.” Hermione shakily nodded her understanding. “Outside of this room, ve must appear to be … lovers.” Hermione swallowed hard and nodded again. Why had she not foreseen this potential complication? The irony of this situation in comparison with how Cho had pursued Harry just a few months ago was not lost on her. At least Viktor had not removed his clothing … yet.

“Where are we going to sleep?” she demanded. Viktor looked toward the large bed and then swung his gaze back to her. “No,” she said firmly. Then he continued to turn his head until he spotted the sofa at the other end of the room.

“You vill use the bed. I vill sleep over there.”

It was a nightmare. For three days everywhere we went we had to act like we couldn’t keep our hands off each other, and he would sneak kisses whenever we had a semi-private moment. I never kissed back, and certainly never opened my mouth, but it was still extremely uncomfortable. Of course, everyone ‘knew’ what was going on, and the lecherous looks we got made me want to scream. Even so, I drew the line at him touching me in certain places. The first time he did it, I pulled out my wand and asked him if he remembered Fleur Delacour. Then I hissed at him that she had taught me a hex that Veela used against men who made unwanted advances. It causes extreme pain in a certain localized area, and eventually leads to loss of functionality. His hands never went near my breasts or my bum after that.

When it came time for bed, I changed in the bathroom. I hadn’t given much thought to sleepwear – at Beauxbatons and at home I sleep in knickers and a tank top this time of year – but fortunately I had packed some old quidditch robes of Harry’s that I like to keep with me to remind me of him, sort of like a security blanket. I decided to transfigure them into a long nightgown that covered me quite thoroughly, and made a statement as well. I could see Viktor’s face fall when I emerged from the bathroom wearing a red and gold nightgown with ‘Potter’ stamped across the back. (I had to resist an urge to add ‘Property of’ to spell it out even more.) Even though I’m sure I could trust him not to try anything, I still put up an imperturbable ward around the bed.

As far as the research went, I learned even more than I expected. I did find several references to Horcruxes, and they confirmed what we already knew and provided more information as well. One book even went into the theory behind the spell. I now have a pretty good understanding of the ritual, as disgusting as it is. While none of the references went into any detail about how to destroy them, it does appear that there are two components involved, physical and physiological. Thinking back on the two that have already been destroyed, I believe that the basilisk venom or something similarly toxic was necessary, in addition to the physical damage that Harry did when he punched a hole in the diary with the fang, or Dumbledore did when he cracked the stone of the ring with the sword. As a magical object the sword must have imbued the toxic properties of the basilisk venom when Harry thrust it into the creature’s mouth.

The other discovery I made was when I spotted a familiar symbol carved into a wall in one of the corridors. It was the circle/triangle combination from the ring! I immediately stopped and asked Viktor about it, and he got a disgusted look on his face. At first he refused to say anything, but I persisted and he finally revealed that it was Grindelwald’s mark. And it’s all over the place – he must have carved it at least a dozen times. Now, I’m certain that the ring was much older than Grindelwald, so the question is, why did Grindelwald adopt this symbol as his mark, and for that matter, how did he come to know about it? I can’t believe that he would have ever paid a visit to the Gaunt shack in Little Hangleton in England, or that they would have showed it to him if he had. So there must be some significance to that symbol, more than just being a Gaunt family coat of arms. I’ll have to add that to my to-do list, after I finish with this Horcrux business.

As far as Grindelwald is concerned, I’ve asked around a bit and everyone is extremely reluctant to say anything about him. Sort of like the German people are about Hitler, I suspect. All I’ve learned is that he was definitely a student here, sometime in the last century. He launched an anti-muggle movement and wanted to take over the wizarding world and eventually have wizards rule over the rest of the world. He was defeated by Dumbledore in 1945, but not killed. As near as I can tell, he’s still in prison.

The library search for the Horcrux information wouldn’t have taken four days, except that we couldn’t make it look like I was only here to see the library. So Viktor had to show me the entire castle, as well as the grounds. Of course we had to spend a good deal of time at the quidditch pitch, where we watched one of the Durmstrang teams practice. I had a strong urge to dress up in Harry’s Gryffindor quidditch robes that day, but I resisted, since it would have really blown our cover.

To top off the whole awkward experience, this evening they had a feast in honor of Viktor, and there was a photographer. There’s sure to be a picture of us kissing in every Eastern European magical newspaper tomorrow. Fortunately, with the way the Daily Prophet virtually ignores any news outside of Britain, it will probably take a few days before anyone back home sees it. I desperately hope I get a chance to tell Harry about it myself before he sees it in the paper, and explain what happened. Please, please, please!

-0x0x0-

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – March 29

Oooh! Sometimes I don’t know whether I want to kill that boy or kiss him. And sometimes I want to do both at the same time.

“Hermione, how could you!” Trembling, Hermione took a step back from Harry, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

“Please, Harry, I can explain!” But before she could say anything more, Harry grabbed her arms and pulled her close again. Just then she noticed the edges of his mouth begin to twitch upward.

“Only after you kiss me, and make it better than when you kissed Krum,” he intoned, still trying to keep a straight face.

“What?” Hermione was taken aback, having been about to launch into her explanation. “Harry, I … you … oh you!” She began to pound on his chest with her fist, before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly to himself. “Harry, I was so nervous,” she moaned, after she caught her breath. “I’ve been agonizing over how I was going to explain this for two days.”

“And I bet you’ve written a speech in your head, and changed it at least twenty times, and it’s probably more than a half hour long,” he teased.

“Yes, but … you prat! This is serious!” she protested.

“I know,” he said softly. “But I trust you. You’re here, right? So there must not be anything to it. After what happened at Christmas time I’d be a daft git to jump to the wrong conclusion. So I’ll sit down and listen to the whole thing, and even scowl a few times when you get to the parts I don’t want to hear. But you’re here right now and I’ve really missed you. Can I have my kiss now?”

I changed my mind. After hearing him say something like that, I don’t want to do anything other than kiss him. I love him so much.

So, I met him in Hogsmeade, outside of the Shrieking Shack, and side-along apparated him home (after that initial discussion and welcoming kiss, but before I told him the whole story – that waited until we were snuggled up together on the sofa in our living room). He agreed that it was a successful trip, and worth doing, and that I’d done the best I could with Viktor. That didn’t stop him from wanting to kill Viktor, though. Unfortunately, he lost a lot of respect for Viktor from this incident. I did too, to some extent, but I realize that he did what he thought he had to do to get me into Durmstrang. Harry did ask me if I was joking about the spell I learned from Fleur, but I demurely responded that that information was just between us witches.

With respect to more serious matters, we agreed that we have as good a handle on Horcruxes as we need. What we need now is specific information on Voldemort’sHorcruxes – what and where. We also decided that he’d ask Dumbledore about Grindelwald’s symbol and its connection to the design on the ring. We don’t really know the extent of Dumbledore’s interaction with Grindelwald, other than that he defeated him.

-0x0x0-

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – March 30

Today is Easter, and we went to church this morning with my parents. Easter services are always so festive, and the atmosphere did us good. There’s such an emphasis on victory over evil and beginning a new life – it made us think about our future and how it will be once Harry defeats Voldemort. I don’t want to push the analogy too far, though, since I don’t want to dwell on the possibility that Harry might die in the process. I don’t expect to find any magical resurrection spell for him.

There was one hymn we sang that seemed particularly appropriate. The first verse goes like this:

The strife is o’er, the battle done;
Now is the victor’s triumph won!
Now be the song of praise begun.
Alleluia!

That sounds like exactly what happened the last time he was defeated when he attacked Harry as a baby. I certainly hope history repeats itself.

This afternoon I got out the mirrors and cast the final spell to activate them. They’re keyed to Harry and me specifically, unlike the one he got from Sirius, which could be used by anyone. We talked about that and decided it was the best way to go, so no one else can use them if something happens to one of us and our mirror would get taken away. We tested them out by taking them into different rooms and calling each other on them.

I teased him about giving Hedwig a rest now that he probably wouldn’t be writing to me anymore, but he said Susan (and Ron? I think he’s written me 2 letters all year) would still be able to use her. We set a time right before bed when we’d talk to each other every night, but we’ll keep them with us during the day too in case either of us need to get in touch with the other in an emergency. This is going to be so much better!

Before we left to take him back to Hogwarts we talked about Snape. It’s so ironic that he’s the Half Blood Prince. Harry’s done better in Potions using his old book than he ever did while Snape was teaching the class. I think that says something about his teaching competence! And that last memory Dumbledore showed him certainly seems to indicate that Snape is trustworthy – at least as far as Dumbledore is concerned. By that I mean that he may be loyal to Dumbledore, but we’re not convinced that he fully supports Harry or his role in the battle against Voldemort. After all, Snape does bear some responsibility for the death of Harry’s parents, regardless of the fact that he owed James a life debt, or was friends with Lily at one time.

This has been a great two days. I’m so glad it worked out that we could spend this time together. Only three more months to go.

-0x0x0-

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – April 12

Harry finally got a chance to ask Dumbledore about the symbol and Grindelwald. Dumbledore says that he’s certain that Voldemort had nothing to do with Grindelwald. He pointed out that Grindelwald was defeated while Tom Riddle was still at Hogwarts, and Tom wouldn’t have had any opportunity to meet him. So he was out of the picture when Riddle started transforming himself into Lord Voldemort. And Grindelwald would have known nothing about the ring Horcrux, or any of them for that matter. Clearly, that symbol has an older history than just being on the Gaunt family ring. Dumbledore did say that he would research the symbol and put some background material on it together for us, but the Horcruxes were his first priority so it might take a while.

Dobby’s surveillance of Malfoy is beginning to pay off. He’s confirmed that Malfoy is indeed using the Room of Requirement, but the amazing thing is how often he’s in there. He must really be neglecting his studies. Of course that doesn’t help too much, since no one can get into the room while he’s in it. Just like Umbridge wouldn’t have been able to get in last year, since we requested ‘a room where we can practice in secret’, Malfoy would have requested something similar. Harry tried anyway, going through all the variations of ‘I want to find out what Malfoy’s hiding’ that he could think of.

He did come up with a plan to thwart him a bit, and at least slow him down. Whenever Dobby reports that Malfoy’s heading that way, Harry and Ron will intercept him. Gryffindor Tower is closer than the Slytherin dungeons, so they can get there first – as long as they’re in the corridor, Malfoy won’t dare to summon the Room.

I suggested an improvement in the scheme, so that Harry uses the other DA members as well. Since he can’t be available all the time, they worked out shifts where there are always 2 or 3 of them ‘on call’. He uses his charmed Galleon from last year to signal whoever’s turn it is to hurry up to that corridor to get there before Malfoy does. It also looks less suspicious when it’s always someone different who just happens to be hanging around in that hallway.

So far it’s worked most of the time, and Malfoy is getting very frustrated. They haven’t come to blows yet, but it might be only a matter of time before he goes off.

On a lighter note, while I was talking to Harry on the mirror last night, Michelle came up and looked over my shoulder to join in the conversation. (We had finished the confidential part so I didn’t mind.) However, because of the way Michelle dresses when we’re in the room, in only a bra and knickers, she ended up giving Harry quite a show. She was wearing a particularly low-cut bra today. It was quite amusing to see his eyes keep darting to look over my shoulder at her cleavage, then he’d force them back to me. Finally she just sort of casually slipped the straps off her shoulders and pretended to be taking it off and his eyes really bugged out. At that point she and I both burst into laughter and let the poor boy off the hook.

But Michelle didn’t let it go at that. She started making all sorts of suggestions about what we could do with the mirrors besides just talking. One that really got Harry’s attention was that I should take the mirror into the shower with me. That escalated into the possibility of a group shower with several of the girls in the dorm. Poor Harry was ready to pass out by that time. It did raise an interesting question about how far you could see with the mirrors, though. We experimented, and discovered that the focal length is about 2 feet, and anything farther than 4 or 5 feet is too blurry to see clearly. So no ‘naked witches in the shower’ show for Harry.

That did leave open quite a few other possibilities, however. But I’m not going to write any of those in this journal. I’ll just say that we’re going to enjoy these mirrors even more than I had expected.

-0x0x0-

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – April 27

It finally happened, as we expected it might. Harry and Malfoy got into a fight yesterday. Harry was by himself this time, as Ron and most of the others were off in Hogsmeade taking their Apparation Exams. Malfoy had Crabbe and Goyle with him, though, as themselves this time, so I suppose he was emboldened by the odds. Not that it mattered. Harry’s been practicing dueling all year while Malfoy’s been spending all his time in the Room of Requirement working on his ‘project’ so it was no contest.

Harry followed Tonks’s instructions perfectly, attacking the primary target first, then engaging the backups, and finally finishing off the main threat. I’d like to see a pensieve memory of it sometime, but he described it for me pretty thoroughly.

“So, Potter,” Malfoy sneered as he approached the portrait of Barnabus the Barmy, flanked by a smirking Crabbe and Goyle. “No friends today? You’ve been quite an irritant lately, you know? I think it’s time you got out of my way. A nice long hospital stay seems just the thing. And Pomfrey probably misses you besides.”

“I don’t think so, Malfoy,” Harry retorted, willing himself to remain calm and focused. He allowed his wand to slide into his hand as he held his arms slightly away from his body and bent his knees a little, bringing his weight forward. “You’ve never got the best of me yet, and I don’t see that happening with just the three of you. You forget that I’ve fought real Death Eaters, not just a bunch of kids pretending. You and your two goons are hardly enough to worry me.”

As Harry had planned, the insult infuriated Malfoy, who hated nothing more than being dismissed as unworthy of notice. “You’ll pay for that, Scarhead,” he snarled, raising his wand. “ Cruc …”

But Harry was faster. “ Reducto !” The spell was out of his wand before Malfoy could even finish the incantation of the Unforgiveable he’d been about to cast, and the surprised Slytherin hastily slashed his wand down to deflect the blasting hex, which tore a chunk out of the wall behind him. This left him wide open for Harry’s followup nonverbal Expelliarmus , which he’d perfected through hours of practice. Malfoy’s eyes went wide as his wand was torn from his grasp and sent flying through the air.

Crabbe and Goyle were much slower to draw their own wands, and were only now casting hexes of their own. Harry smoothly dropped below their curses and returned his own. “ Stupefy !” he called out twice in rapid succession, incapacitating the hulking pair before turning his attention back to Malfoy.

Levicorpus ! The nonverbal spell caught Malfoy just as he reached for his wand and an invisible force hoisted him into the air, dangling him by his ankle as his robes fell over his head.

“Potter!” After a quick glance confirmed that all three of his opponents were out of action, Harry turned to see his least favorite professor storming down the corridor, his robes billowing out behind him.

“Release him!” Harry nodded an acknowledgement and turned back to the three Slytherins, flicking his wand again while thinking the counter jinx, Liberacorpus . But the unexpected drop caught Malfoy by surprise and he landed on his head with an audible crack, suggesting that Draco Malfoy, rather than Harry Potter, would be the one experiencing a long hospital stay. While the arrogant blonde Slytherin lapsed into unconsciousness, Snape revived Crabbe and Goyle.

“Follow me.” With a glare at Harry, Snape levitated Malfoy and gestured to Crabbe and Goyle, and without breaking stride, continued down the corridor to an empty classroom. “Wait here,” he hissed at Harry. I shall return in ten minutes and we will discuss the terms of your detention for fighting in the corridors.”

Harry managed to keep his cool and prepare for the confrontation, sending off some messenger spells while racing up to his room and back to fetch his school bag. He even had a minute or two to spare to compose himself before Snape returned.

“What do you have to say for yourself, Potter?” the angry black-eyed professor all but shouted when he returned to the dimly lit classroom.

“I was minding my own business in that corridor, when Malfoy demanded that I leave. When I refused, the three of them attacked me,” Harry retorted, working hard to stay calm.

“You’re lying, Potter!” Snape hissed. “Do you expect me to believe that you were attacked by three students but still managed to incapacitate all three of them while remaining untouched? You obviously attacked them first. That will be a detention for fighting, and another for lying.”

“If you’re going to accuse me of lying, I’ll demand to be allowed to submit a pensieve memory of the attack,” Harry shot back. “The Headmaster can decide who’s at fault then.”

“The Headmaster is far too busy to bother with your petty squabbles with Draco Malfoy, Potter,” the erstwhile Potions professor snapped, irritated at being out-maneuvered. “But the detention for fighting still stands. Now, tell me where you learned that spell.”

“The levitation spell?” Harry asked innocently. “Oh, I must have learned it from my father. He was quite good at it, as you’ll no doubt recall.” Ignoring the furious look on Snape’s face, Harry continued. “Oh, no, I guess I couldn’t have learned it from him could I? I never knew my father since he was killed when I was one. I never learned anything from him, did I? No, instead I had to grow up in a house full of people who hated me and abused me every chance they got. But you wouldn’t know about that, would you Professor?”

Snape moved forward and grabbed Harry by the front of his robes. “Tell me where you learned that spell, Potter!”

“I read about it in a book!” Harry shouted, pushing himself away. “It was a very useful book, too. I learned more from it than I ever learned from you!”

“Give it to me,” Snape growled in a cold voice.

Harry stepped over to where he’d dropped his bag, and retrieved his old copy of the notorious Potions book and handed it to the scowling professor. “Here. I think this belongs to you. Don’t worry, I’ve already learned all the spells in it.”

Snape snatched the book out of his hand without looking at it, as he’d already figured out Harry’s secret. He continued to stare loathingly at Harry for a full minute, then announced in a cold voice, “You will have detention with me every Saturday for the rest of the term. It’s a shame that you’ve let down your quidditch team yet again. Gryffindor should have picked a more worthy captain.” He turned in triumph to leave the classroom, but Harry wasn’t finished yet.

“Would you hate me so much if I looked like my mum instead of my dad?” Snape whirled back to face him in surprise. “I know you had a thing for her. Is that why you arranged for my dad to be killed?” Ignoring the look of fury in Snape’s black eyes, Harry pressed on. “Tell me, did you think she would go to you once my dad and I were dead?”

Seething with rage, Snape whipped out his wand. “ Obliviate !” he shouted, pointing it directly at Harry’s forehead.

“Protego !” Harry was just as quick, and had anticipated the attack.

“Expelliarmus !” This spell came from another direction, and in a different voice. Both of the combatants turned in this direction, one in surprise and one in expectation. The small figure of Professor Flitwick emerged from behind one of the desks and walked up to Snape, handing him his wand back. The taller man faced him down for a moment, but wisely decided not to challenge the former dueling champion, and turned to leave the room.

“Mr. Potter’s detention will be served with me, as a neutral party, as will those of Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Crabbe, and Mr. Goyle. And they will be at a time of my choosing,” Flitwick announced before Snape had exited the door. Then he turned to Harry with a wry smile. “Despite the fact that you will be playing against my House, I will enjoy watching you in the upcoming quidditch match. Please do try to avoid any further mishaps before then.” With that he reached up to shake Harry’s hand before following his fellow Head of House out of the room.

“Thank you, sir,” Harry called out to the diminutive professor as he disappeared down the corridor.

Now another witness to the drama appeared, as a tabby cat moved out of the shadows and transformed into the Gryffindor Head of House, who regarded Harry with a stern expression.

“This is a dangerous game you’re playing, Mr. Potter,” she warned.

“I’ve been playing a dangerous game ever since I arrived at Hogwarts, Professor,” Harry responded darkly. “But I’m just now discovering the rules.”
 

I was incredibly nervous while he was relating that last part, even though I knew it must have turned out all right since he was there telling me about it. It was a very good idea for him to have Flitwick present, even more so than McGonagall. Oh, but I worry so about him. At least he probably won’t have to be concerned about being challenged by Malfoy again after the humiliation he dished out. On the downside, Snape told Harry that he was forbidden to be in that corridor for the rest of the year, and that if he found him loitering there again he would be serving that detention.

As far as the Apparation exams went, Ron didn’t pass – he missed the target by several feet – but he shrugged it off by saying his brother Charlie didn’t pass on his first try either, and at least he hadn’t splinched himself. Susan passed, and Neville, like Harry, isn’t of age yet since their birthdays are both at the end of July so he didn’t take it either.

Two more months to go.

-0x0x0-

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – May 10

Harry won – I mean Gryffindor won the Quiddditch Cup! Harry activated the mirror before the match and handed it to Susan, so I was able to hear a running commentary while it was going on. They finally got to play with their entire team intact, for the only time this year, and they were sensational. Harry toyed with Cho for the whole match, and Susan said she just seemed to give up, realizing how outclassed she was. Katie and Ginny were both awesome as Chasers, and the third one, Demelza, held her own. But Katie and Ginny just pelted the Ravenclaw Keeper unmercifully.

Ron played well, too, and only let in 5 goals all match. Susan said she could see Luna in the Ravenclaw stands cheering for Ron whenever he made a save, which annoyed her housemates. But when has something like that ever bothered Luna?

Interestingly, Hannah, who was sitting right next to Susan during the match, was a bit put out. She said Luna keeps popping up around Ron, and that he always smiles when she’s around. I asked Harry about it when he talked to me after the match and he just shrugged and said Ron finds her amusing. He didn’t think there was anything else going on there. He thought Ron thinks more of Luna as a fun person to have around, rather than as a girl. I’m almost reminded of how the two of them regarded me as the brains of the trio and not as a girl, until they saw me in my Yule Ball dress. Perhaps Luna will have to do something similar to get Ron’s attention, if she’s interested in him that way.

Harry didn’t talk long, since he wanted to get down to the celebration in the common room, and I told him he should go ahead. It’s so good to see him in such a great mood.

Later –

Harry just called me back. That boy! He just can’t seem to stay out of trouble!

As Harry came down the stairs to the common room a cheer went up from the crowd. “We won! We won! We won!” Ron began to move in his direction with a bottle of butterbeer, but someone else got there first. With a running leap Ginny jumped into Harry’s arms, laughing the whole time. Then with a blazing, determined look on her face she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly on the lips.

After what seemed like several long moments – several uncomfortably long moments for Harry, although it was quite a good kiss – but in reality were only a couple of seconds, Ginny pulled back and smirked at him.

“I figured this would be the best chance I’d ever get!” Then she laughed again at the startled look on his face. “Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.”

Harry understood, as he too was caught up in the mood. “You know though,” he grinned, “there are probably a lot of people staring at us right now.”

Ginny giggled. “Perhaps we could act like it’s no big deal.”

Harry’s grin turned mischievous as he had an idea. “Hang on.” With that he grabbed her tightly around the waist and spun her around and around in a circle, as she shrieked with delight. He released her and she staggered slightly, laughing so hard she could barely stand, as he looked around. Spotting his next quarry he moved quickly across the room.

Katie just had time to put her glass down before she found Harry’s arms wrapped around her in a massive hug. Then he moved his head to give her a congratulatory kiss as well. To his surprise, she returned it with one as vigorous as Ginny’s kiss had been. Her eyes sparkled with amusement at his questioning look.

“I’ve wanted to do that for years,” she teased.

Harry groaned. “Where were you when I needed a date for the Yule Ball?”

Katie laughed. “Alicia and Angelina tried to talk me into asking you, but I chickened out.”

Harry just shook his head with a wry grin, before he grabbed her waist and spun her around in a circle as well. As her delighted shriek dissolved into laughter he released her and looked around again. As he moved toward the third member of his Chaser line, her fellow classmates giggled and moved away from Demelza Robins, whose eyes grew wide as saucers. The rest of the room roared their encouragement, and it was obvious that only one thought dominated her consciousness. I’m about to get kissed by Harry Potter!!

After a comparatively chaste kiss, but one that the young Gryffindor would be telling her grandchildren about, Harry gave her a spin as well. After releasing her so that she could run over and hide her furious blush in a huddle of her giggling girlfriends, he paused to take stock of the common room, which quieted in anticipation. Another grin spread over his face as he spotted the two Beaters, Peakes and Coote.

“Sorry guys, that’s where I draw the line.”

The common room exploded with laughter as Ron and Ginny came over to join him, and Ron finally handed him his butterbeer and slapped him on the back.

“Good one mate. For a minute there I thought something funny was going on with you two,” he joked, as he gestured at his sister. Ginny wrapped an arm around Harry for a quick hug, cocked her head and gave him a nod of approval for his display of enthusiasm along with a grin, then gave him a wink when Ron wasn’t looking.

After taking a long pull from the butterbeer bottle, Harry sighed to himself, and decided he’d better call Hermione again before the gossip spread too far. But first, he was going to enjoy the rest of the party.

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