Adaptations

Adaptations - Part 11

Mrs. Weasley had set lunch up in the garden, and the tables were laden with platters of sandwiches and meat pies. Remus was staying for lunch but Professor Dumbledore was, much to Harry's relief, nowhere to be seen. Harry's mouth began to water from the delicious smells; that is, until it suddenly went dry when a decidedly angry-sounding voice called his name.

"Potter!"

Then another equally unwelcome voice joined in, "We'd like to have a word with you!"

He turned to see Fred and George Weasley coming out the back door of the Burrow and heading directly towards him. Harry's face suddenly went pale and all the moisture that had left his mouth began to appear in the palms of his hands. An angry pair of Weasley twins was not a heartening site, even the bravest of Gryffindors walked softly around them when they were in a temper, and Harry had momentarily forgotten that they had parted on less than friendly terms yesterday. He wondered what sort of a creature they were going to turn him into, and whether or not his hair would ever return to its normal color, if it ever returned at all, when they were finished. Wiping his sweaty palms on his trousers, Harry approached them.

"Fred. George," he began uncertainly, "I sort of want to talk to you as well... about things."

"Things? Things, he says. Did you hear that, dear brother," one of them said.

The other answered without skipping a beat, "Indeed I did, brother mine. I dare say that we..."

"...have some things to discuss with him as well."

"Imagine our surprise, Mr. Potter, when we came down from our flat this morning..."

"...to open up the shop..."

"...only to find someone already inside and waiting for us?"

Harry blanched; had Death Eaters tracked him back to the twins? He thought he had thrown them all off the scent.

"It was none other than a certain..."

"...Professor Dumbledore."

Harry heaved a sigh of relief, which was short-lived as one of the twins began to poke his finger into Harry's chest and the other rapped a fist into the palm of his hand in a decidedly threatening manner.

The twins resumed their stereoscopic assault. "He wanted to know..."

"...why we had provided you with a certain, rather talented rope, and if we had..."

"..provisioned you with any other unusual and unique items that he was unaware of."

"He also wanted to know..."

"...why a certain special order of his was placed..."

"...on the back burner while we pursued something entirely different..."

"...for you."

"And the worst part of it all..." At this, each twin placed a hand on Harry's chest and shoved. Harry staggered backwards a step and then, just as he thought he was regaining his balance, his heels caught on the rock border that surrounded one of Mrs. Weasley's flower beds. Harry's arms pin wheeled, but to no avail, and he soon found himself sitting in the middle of a patch of purple Pansies. Molly gasped and moved to intervene, but Arthur restrained her with a hand on her shoulder. He spoke quietly in her ear for a moment.

"The very topper of the whole affair..."

Here it comes, Harry thought. I hope it's at least quick and relatively painless.

The twins now spoke in perfect harmony, "is that YOU ran off and rescued Sirius on your own, and DIDN'T INVITE US TO COME ALONG!"

"How could you be so selfish?" one said hotly, resuming the alternating attack.

"It's bad enough that we didn't get to go with you to the Ministry the last time..."

"...not to mention all your other little jaunts..."

"...but to not be invited THIS TIME..."

"... even after we even provided the vital materials..."

"...is simply the action of a..."

"... greedy..."

"...self-centered..."

"...egotistical..."

"...practically Slytherin..." The second twin turned towards the first with a shocked expression. After a second, they both shrugged and concluded in unison, "GIT!"

Harry just sat there with Pansies poking up between his knees, completely flabbergasted. The scene would have been quite hilarious if it had been anyone else on the receiving end, or if the twins didn't look quite so murderous. His mouth worked for a moment before he could make any sound.

"Sorry?" he squeaked.

The twins looked at each other again and after a moment of silent communication they extended their hands to help him up.

"All right for this time..."

"...just don't EVER let it happen again!"

Harry stood and began to slap at the dirt on his trousers. The twins shared an evil grin that Harry didn't see and joined in to help. Even though their slaps seemed a bit harder than technically necessary, Harry knew that he was getting off lightly.

They made their way to the table, where Remus was about to sit down. As Harry passed behind him, Remus turned and lightly kicked Harry in the seat of his trousers. Harry looked around with a startled expression on his face, but Remus merely shrugged. As Harry was about to say something, another foot struck him, a good deal harder this time. Harry spun to see Ginny standing there with a mean smirk on her face. Harry didn't bother trying to speak; he just spun again and caught Molly Weasley in the act of drawing her foot back for a kick of her own.

Harry glared at her, but she just smirked at him and replied, "Well, you are wearing the sign, dear."

Harry looked over his shoulder and saw the corner of a piece of parchment stuck to his back. He tried to grab it but couldn't quite reach. He could just imagine what the sign read. He tried to stretch and as he did so, he shifted his feet slightly. He could manage to just touch it but couldn't grab hold of the parchment. He tried to stretch his hand a mite further. Not quite yet. He shifted again and tried to stretch further still. Harry struggled like this for a minute before he realized that all his shifting was doing was causing him to spin around in a circle. He looked at the others gathered around him and saw that they were all staring at him, staring and grinning, grinning like... well, like Weasleys.

"Really, Harry, did you pick that little trick up from Sirius?" Fred said, "Chasing your own tail?"

Ginny snickered and answered her brother's question, "No, he's quite a natural at running around in circles."

The entire gathering now broke out in laughter. Ginny wiped tears from her eyes and Molly finally took pity on him and pulled the flashing 'Kick Me I'm a Prat' sign from the back of his shirt.

Harry looked at the twins with a glare and said, "You had to make it FLASH?"

They just shrugged and answered, "But of course..."

"...and charm it to always move just out of reach."

"Only six Sickles, quite a bargain."

Harry shook his head in frustration, but Arthur patted him on the shoulder and simply said, "Welcome home, son."

Lunch was wonderful; the food was typically delicious and Harry, more than once, 'accidentally' dropped one of the meat pies to the ground where Snuffles was waiting. If anyone noticed, no one said a word. The only discordant note for Harry was that Ginny was still angry with him and he hadn't a clue why. She sat at the opposite end of the table from Harry and chewed her food with exceptional vigor whenever Harry looked in her direction.

The food was quickly gone, and Molly had stood to take the empty platters back to the kitchen when Harry's eye caught a slight hint of movement above the trees. He watched intently and slowly drew his wand. Everyone at the table noticed the action and immediately seven wands were pointed in the direction Harry was looking.

"Do you see something, Harry?" Molly asked with concern evident in her voice.

Harry thought a moment and said, "Yeah, but I'm not sure..."

"It's an owl," Ginny stated.

Harry looked again. "It's Pig!"

The wee owl circled the table once, while Harry put his wand back in his pocket. He came straight towards Harry, but Fred reached out his hand and caught him first. Pig looked tired, even his pinfeathers seemed to sag a mite. George untied a small scroll from his leg and the owl immediately hopped over to Ginny's shoulder.

"Poor Pig," she said in a coo to the bird. "You look positively exhausted. Where have you been?" She shot Harry a stony look as if to ask why he had sent her owl - all right, it was technically Ron's owl but he never really cared for him all that much - off on an errand when he had a perfectly good owl of his own.

She held out her hand for the note but Fred said, "It's for Harry." Ginny's brows raised high as the now familiar-looking note was handed over. Harry saw her discomfort and he rose from the table. He began to walk back towards the pasture as he read the note:

Harry,

I spoke with Ron and Hermione. I know what you told them and more importantly, I know what they told you. Do you really think you can save Sirius?

I know you told Hermione that you were going to wait, but I know you, Harry. You won't wait long and when you go, I want to go with you. I miss Sirius too and I trust you to get him back.

I trust you, Harry, and no matter what, I want to be there to help you.

Yours,

Ginny

Harry stood and looked at the note in his hands. Now he understood her anger. After a moment someone spoke from behind him.

"Is that my note?" Ginny asked in a small voice. Harry just nodded his head. "So, you didn't get it before?"

"No, I didn't get it, and I didn't just ignore it," Harry said just as quietly.

"Oh Harry, I'm so..."

"Don't say it, Gin," Harry interrupted. "You were still right. I deserved it." Ginny made a quizzical noise so Harry continued, "I shouldn't have needed a note. And I shouldn't have just assumed how you would react, how you would feel. You've always been a good friend and I should have, at least, shown you the courtesy of talking to you about it."

"But you did talk to Ron and Hermione," Ginny said, still in her soft voice.

"Yeah, and I let them tell me what they thought. I should have done the same for you. I shouldn't have just assumed that you would think the same way they did. I deserved to get smacked. I'm sorry, Ginny."

Harry was still looking at the note, so Ginny rested her hand on his back. "I think I understand, Harry. After what Hermione had just said to you then, I can see how you wouldn't want to talk about it all over again."

"But I still should have. I should have trusted you to think for yourself. You're not Hermione... and you're certainly not Ron!"

Ginny snickered and said teasingly, "I'm so glad you finally noticed."

Harry grinned back and built upon her attempt to lighten the mood. "Oh, c'mon, Ginny, I'm thick but I'm not that thick!"

Ginny now shared his grin for a moment then asked, "You reckon the Ministry is still intercepting your mail and that's why Pig took so long?"

"Nah, London is only about thirty kilometers from Little Whinging. It wouldn't have taken this long."

Ginny's face paled as she spoke, "You don't think it was them, do you?"

Harry knew who she meant, the Death Eaters. "If it were, then Pig never would have been let go. It was somebody else."

"Who else could it have been?" Ginny asked.

Harry looked at her for a moment and said, "How long does it take Pig to fly to Hogwarts?"

"You don't think that..."

"If he were to fly there and back in, say, a couple of days?" Harry continued.

"It would really wear him out," Ginny concluded. "He would be one tired little owl." Harry nodded. The two of them stood and looked out at the pasture for a few minutes, not speaking, just thinking about the implications of what they had reasoned. Finally, Ginny reached up on tiptoe and kissed Harry lightly on the cheek, where the red imprint of her hand still stood out. Harry blushed deeply and the mark disappeared into the flush.

"I am sorry I hit you though," she said. "You can be a bit thick-headed but you would never deliberately hurt me." Harry actually blushed even more and it made Ginny smile.

"So'm I, you pack quite a wallop."

"Well then, let it be a lesson to you." She hesitated a moment before continuing, "So, can I ask you a question without starting another row?"

"Sure, Ginny, anything."

"Why did you ask Cho to go with you?"

"I didn't ask her. She asked me."

"Huh?"

Harry looked at the petite red-head and asked, "Why did you want to come? For that matter, why did you want to come the first time, back in June?"

Ginny looked at him and her brow began to knit. "You shouldn't have to ask that, Harry. I wanted to go in order to help you."

"Is that the only reason? What if it weren't me? Suppose it was someone else, someone you didn't even know, would you still have gone?"

Ginny considered this before answering, "Yes. I would have gone anyway. I... I need to fight him. I need to fight Voldemort. I need to show that he didn't win back there in the Chamber, that he didn't break me."

Harry nodded his head. "Yeah, we have that in common, I reckon. We have to stand up to him for our own reasons. Not just for the good of all, but to prove something to ourselves. And Cho feels the same way." Ginny shook her head in confusion so Harry continued. "Cho and Cedric were very close and, when he was killed, she took it quite hard. It took her a long time to come to terms with it, but I think she has finally made some progress." He looked over at Ginny and continued, "We both know how that goes, don't we?" Ginny nodded sadly. "But she had to do more than just get over losing Cedric; she had to prove, to herself as much as anybody, that she wasn't helpless. She needed to fight back in order to regain some control over her own life."

Ginny looked straight into Harry's eyes. "Sort of like what you have been doing this summer? You're fighting back, even against Dumbledore. You're trying to take control of your own life."

Harry thought for a moment. He had never really turned it around to look at his own actions in this light. "Yeah, maybe I am. I never really thought about how I was behaving that way before." He looked at her appraisingly. "You're a clever girl, you know that? Maybe you are a bit like Hermione after all?"

Ginny snorted a laugh. "Yeah, but I'm a lot more like Ron than I'd like to admit."

Harry gave her a shocked look. "Oh, really?" He slung his arm companionably around her shoulder and they began to walk back towards the house.

Ginny put her hand up on Harry's shoulder in return; her shoulder nestled right under his in a perfect fit, as they walked at a matched pace through the grass. "Oh, yes," Ginny explained. "For instance, we both have a horrible temper. We're not at all easy going."

Harry nodded, "That is true."

"And we're both stubborn as mules." Again Harry nodded. "Oh, and we can't forget the most obvious thing of all," she said, holding out a handful of her vibrantly red hair. Harry stopped and took a bit of her hair between his fingers.

"Really?" he asked. "I think your hair is quite different. Aside, of course, from the fact that both your hair colors can be generally called red, they're not at all alike." Ginny tilted her head and looked at him. "Ron's hair is orange, or to be more accurate, it's Chudley Cannons Orange."

Ginny hid a snort behind her hand. "You know something?" she said. "Sometimes I think the only reason he loves the Cannons so much is that their gear matches his head!"

Harry chuckled his agreement. "But your hair is definitely not Chudley Orange. Your hair is Gryffindor." Ginny looked at him questioningly and Harry continued, "It a deep, rich red and spun through with gold so that it catches the light from the common room fire and shimmers. It's... really quite lovely."

Ginny blushed and bowed her head to conceal it. "Oh Harry, that's just the sweetest thing to say! Now I know what Cho sees in you... but I still don't get what you see in her." Harry gave her a glare and she raised her hands in surrender. "OK, OK, I'm sorry I brought it up. Consider the topic closed and I won't open it again."

Harry changed subjects, "So, speaking of orange-haired, stubborn, and easily riled blokes, where is Ron anyway?"

Ginny smiled in a very Gred-and-Forge sort of way and said, "He took off just after breakfast. I think he was sort of avoiding you."

"Avoiding me? Whatever for?"

"He thinks you're going to be hacked off with him for agreeing with Hermione and not sticking by you. When Dumbledore and Professor Lupin brought you and Snuffles here last night, Mum suggested that we bring you up to Ron's room to sleep, like always, and he just sort of went white all over. Then, this morning, he made sure that he got himself up and out of the house before you even stirred."

"But why would he think that he had to avoid me?"

"He reckons that you're mad at him."

"But why would I be?"

Ginny looked straight at Harry as she spoke, "Because you went off on your own and did what they didn't want to do."

"But that's just ridiculous," Harry said, dumbfounded.

"He's also probably thinks that you think that he was afraid to go, and he's ashamed."

"WHAT? How could he possibly think that? Just because he didn't want to go along with my hare-brained scheme?" Ginny nodded. "That's just... that's just stupid."

Ginny turned on him in a heartbeat. "It is NOT stupid!" she practically shouted at him. "How many times has he gone along with your plans, eh? How many? Then the one time when he doesn't just agree with you, when he thinks he's convinced you that maybe somebody else has a better idea than you do, what happens? You just go off and do whatever you want anyway! What is he supposed to think? He's gonna think that you are going to go off and do whatever it is that you want to do, no matter what anyone else says. And, if he doesn't go along with you, then he is either afraid or disloyal to you, that's what!"

"But I don't think that! Just because he doesn't want to come along on every daft thing that I have to go and do, that doesn't mean he's afraid, and it certainly doesn't make him disloyal. You guys are the most loyal friends anybody could ever ask for!"

"Well, maybe you ought to be telling him that," Ginny said flatly.

Harry paused and then nodded, "OK, where is he? I'll go and tell him right now. And Hermione as well."

"Well, Hermione's not here anymore. She only stayed a couple of days for your party and all."

"Did she and Ron have another fight?" Ginny flushed slightly. "Was it about Viktor?" Ginny nodded. "All right then, where is he? I'll straighten this out with him before I go and talk to Hermione."

Ginny seemed uncomfortable. "You might want to wait a bit on that," she suggested.

"Why? Where is he?"

"I don't know for sure, but I think he's on the other side of the village... with Luna."

"What?" Harry looked at her with his eyes wide. He remembered, during their walk to the Quidditch World Cup Portkey location, hearing it said that both the Diggorys and the Lovegoods lived near Ottery St. Catchpole. "You mean she and he... I thought he liked Hermione?"

Ginny shrugged. "I think he does too, but Luna likes him - she has since we were all kids - and, right now, I think that's what Ron wants: someone who wants him."

Harry just shook his head. He'd never understand this relationship codswollop. Fighting Voldemort was just so much simpler; the only feeling they shared was a mutual hatred and each spent every waking moment trying to figure out how to kill the other. All in all, it was so much simpler than trying to figure out how girls thought, or why they acted the way they did.

When the two got back to the garden, Snuffles was still busy sniffing the ground around the table, looking for any remaining scraps. Harry approached and ruffled his fur.

"I see that I'm going to have my hands full trying to keep you fed, huh?" he said fondly.

Harry picked up his satchel and checked to make sure that all his things were still there. Then he began to turn over in his mind the question of how he was going to get back to Privet Drive with Snuffles. He didn't think the large dog would handle the Floo Network very well, and how would he know which grate to get out of? The two simply couldn't travel together, as they would never fit into the fireplace. So, it looked like Harry would have to go the Muggle way, although he had no idea how long it would take, or how the conductors would react to seeing a very large dog trying to climb on board the motorbus with him. Oh well, he'd just have to cross that bridge when he came to it. Maybe he could just take a bus to Exeter and then take a train. With luck, he might be able to find one that stopped in Surrey before reaching London, and so save themselves from doubling back. As he was mulling this over, Molly came out of the house carrying a note.

"Harry, dear," she called, "everyone had to go back to work, but before Remus left, he asked me to give you this." She handed him the note, along with a sealed parchment envelope.

Harry read the note first. It told him that inside the envelope was a Portkey. Dumbledore had enchanted it to go back and forth from the Burrow to Number 4. That way, Harry could visit more easily, and get Snuffles away from Harry's relations as well. It also meant, Harry understood immediately, they had intended that he shouldn't ride the motorbike when he came to visit. Not that Harry was going to give up riding the bike in any case, but let them think what they liked. Harry gathered his things and said his goodbyes; then he opened the envelope and looked inside. Tucked into the folds of the parchment was the worn old fob and key that had been his Portkey to Grimmauld Place earlier that summer. Harry now understood that the key was Sirius'; it was the key to his old motorbike.

Harry took a firm hold of the fur of Snuffles' neck and then stuck a finger into the envelope to touch the key. Just like with the first time he had used a Portkey, standing with Cedric, Mr. Diggory, and surrounded by Weasleys on Stoatshead Hill to go and see the Quidditch World Cup. Harry felt his finger stick to the key, as if he couldn't let go of it if he wanted to, then the tug behind his navel that sent colors swirling before his eyes. Seconds later, he was unceremoniously dumped to the floor of the smallest bedroom of number four, Privet Drive, with Snuffles falling on top of him.

* * * * *

To say that Aunt Petunia wasn't thrilled to find that she would be having a dog roughly the size of a Shetland pony living in her pristine house would be an understatement. She looked to be about to launch into a tirade such as Harry hadn't seen since he accidentally dropped a half-dozen eggs, smashing them all over her freshly waxed kitchen floor, when he was six. Her eyes screwed up and she drew in a deep breath, and then Harry casually mentioned that if she didn't want his godfather living there, then she could just toss him out herself. Well, she had taken no more than a half step towards them when Snuffles let go a deep, low growl that started the glass knick-knacks on the shelves in the lounge to vibrating. Petunia quickly realized that the few short weeks left before Harry would return to school would pass more quickly if she was not being treated for bites from a possibly rabid beast. She settled for telling Harry that if 'that animal' left a single mess in her garden or dug up a single flower that she had planted, it was off to the RSPCA with it. Harry nodded meekly and agreed.

Deciding that discretion was still his best course of action, Harry took his leave. He reckoned that out of sight, out of mind was the best place for them to be for awhile, so he headed upstairs with Snuffles in tow. He pushed open the door to his bedroom and was greeted by a hoot from Hedwig.

"Hello, girl," he called. Then he noticed that Hedwig wasn't alone in her cage.

Sitting next to his Snowy was Cho's small Screech owl, and there was a message lying on the desk in front of the cage. Harry gave the birds fresh water and made sure that they had a few owl treats before he sat down to read the note. Snuffles plopped his head onto Harry's thigh and watched.

Dear Harry;

Are you all right? I'm worried because they wouldn't let me see you or go with you last night. All that Professor Dumbledore would tell me was that you would be taken care of and then he had that Tonks woman bring me home. Did you know that she was a Metamorphmagus? And an Auror? She seemed nice enough but she wouldn't tell me anything either.

Please, tell me that you're OK. Where did they take you? You're not in trouble, are you? Were you able to find Sirius? And why did you come back with that dog?

I'm so worried, please send me word as soon as you can and let me know what happened.

Love,

Cho

Harry read through the note a second time before looking up at the Screech owl.

"Your Mistress can certainly ask a lot of questions, can't she?" he asked it. "And you're supposed to wait for a response?" The little bird hooted.

Harry grinned then sat at his desk and removed a sheet of parchment and a quill. He tapped the point of the quill against his teeth a few times in thought, before he dipped it into a pot of ink and began to write.

Cho,

Please, don't worry, I'm fine. After everything we did at the Ministry, I was exhausted. I don't rightly remember exactly what went on, I was just that tired. I hope I remembered to thank you for helping me. If I didn't, let me do it now. Thank you. Having you there was a great help and I truly appreciate your coming with me. You're a great friend.

Harry paused for a moment, remembering his other great friends and how he needed to thank them as well. His shook his head lightly and returned to Cho's note.

I did find Sirius, and I managed to bring him back, or at least part of him. That dog was him. You see Sirius is an Animagus and his animal form is that big black dog. It's really a long story so I won't write it here. I promise I'll tell you the whole thing the next time we meet. That is, if you want to meet again. I know you're busy.

Anyway, with Sirius here I don't think I should head into London, at least for a while. Maybe you could come here and the three of us could find something to do?

Write back and let me know.

Harry

He gave the note to the small owl, who clamped it firmly in its beak, and carried the bird over to the window. It leapt from his arm and with two sweeps of its wings had disappeared around the corner of the house. Harry returned to his desk and began to idly scratch Snuffles behind the ears, thinking of how best to spend his time.

The next day, Harry was sitting at his desk, reading the old text on Apparation that Dumbledore had given him for his birthday. From his reading, it didn't sound too difficult, at least until he actually tried it, that is. He was wondering if he could try practicing at Hogwarts when the doorbell rang downstairs. Normally, Harry wouldn't have bothered paying attention as it wouldn't be for him, but Snuffles had immediately gotten up at the sound and was pawing at the door. Taking this as a sign, Harry got up as well and opened the door. Snuffles rushed past him and down the stairs before Harry had time to shut the door behind him.

As Harry approached the bottom of the stairs, he saw Dudley standing in the open doorway with one arm leaning against the jamb. Harry couldn't tell if this was some sort of pathetic attempt to appear debonair or if his cousin was deliberately trying to completely block the way.

"So," Dudley said, trying to sound suave, "what brings a nice looking bird like yourself around here?"

"I'm looking for someone," replied a voice that Harry immediately recognized as Cho's. He almost ran down to push Dudley aside, but decided instead to watch what happened. It might be fun.

"Found someone you have, and, might I say, I right pleased you did," Dudley responded.

"I'm looking for Harry Potter, not you."

"What would a girl like you be wanting with that little shrimp when I'm around?" Dudley suddenly had a rare thought and puffed himself up like a circus balloon. "He hasn't been bothering you, has he? If he has, well I'll just show him what's for. I am the junior heavyweight boxing champion of the southwest, you know?"

"Boxing? By that do you mean emptying boxes of biscuits? I'd find that quite easy to believe," she answered smarty.

Dudley stood still and Harry could here the grinding of the neglected gearing inside his thick conk. "...Hey!" he said finally. Harry was surprised; it had only taken Dud about ten seconds to realize he'd been insulted. "I'd watch my tone if I were you."

Harry had heard enough. He said loudly, "Yeah, well she's not you, and I, for one, am quite pleased by it."

"Harry!" Cho called from around Dudley's bulk. "You are there!"

"Oh, don't tell me that you're one of those fre..."

Harry cut in, not allowing him to finish, "I'd watch it if I were you, ya big dud. Cho there IS a witch, and quite a clever one to boot. Not only that, but she is also of age, which means that she can do magic wherever and whenever she pleases."

Dudley looked over his shoulder at Harry grinning at him, and then turned to face Cho again. "But you've still got to keep those things secret, right?" he said with absolutely no certainty.

"But you already know all about magic, don't you?" Cho replied sweetly. "It wouldn't be revealing any secrets at all if I turned you into say... a newt?"

Dudley quickly began to back away from the door with both hands grasping at his buttocks, as if he were remembering when Hagrid had caused a pig's tail to sprout there. Harry laughed at his cousin's predicament. Then he turned to look at Cho and saw that her eyes were bright with amusement as well.

"Are you all right, Harry?" she asked. Harry could only nod.

She took a quick step into the house and looked to be about to hug him when she stopped short. She glanced over her shoulder at Dudley, who had almost made it into the kitchen.

"First things first," Cho said and drew her wand.

Dudley, in what was for him a remarkable flash of insight, took this as a sign he should leave; he turned and pushed open the kitchen door.

Cho pointed her wand at his retreating back and said sternly, "Accio pants!"

Dudley suddenly stood up on his toes as his boxer shorts began to slide out of the top of his trousers. For a moment, it looked like a struggle between whether the pants would go up, or the trousers would go down. Suddenly there was the sharp sound of ripping cloth accompanied by a high-pitched squeal, and Dudley vanished into the kitchen.

"As if he were in any position to call anyone a freak!" Cho said.

Harry looked at Cho; he had never seen such a broad smirk on her face before. "A Wizarding Wedgie?" he asked incredulously.

Cho looked at him evenly and said, "Quite an effective little application of the Summoning Charm, don't you think?"

Harry grinned, "Remind me never to hack you off, Miss Chang."

"Always a good thing to remember," she said as she threw her arms around his neck. "Oh Harry, I'm so glad you're all right." She squeezed him hard and Harry didn't mind it, not one little bit. "I was so worried about you. You just collapsed and then no one would tell me anything. I didn't know what to think. They just sent me home."

She released him and stood back. Harry saw tears running down her cheeks and quickly drew out his handkerchief to wipe them away.

"Aw, Cho, there's no need to cry."

Cho snorted a small laugh as she took the handkerchief and finished wiping her face. "C'mon Harry, you ought to know by now that I'm a very emotional person. I'd think you'd be used to it."

"I just don't like to see you sad, and I especially don't want to be the reason you're sad."

Cho rubbed her hand on his chest and said, "But I'm not sad, Harry. I'm relieved. You could never make me sad." Suddenly she blushed and turned away from him. Harry opened his mouth to reply, but it was cut off when Snuffles shoved his head past him and walked into the lounge to get a better look at the two of them.

Cho raised a hand to her mouth in shock. "Is that...?"

Harry nodded. "Cho, let me introduce you to my godfather, Sirius Black, otherwise known as Snuffles."

Cho knelt down and held out her hand. Snuffles came to her and sat. He lifted his paw and placed it carefully into hers.

"Isn't he the sweetest thing," Cho gushed. She released Snuffles' paw and gave him a scratch on the head.

Harry smiled then said, "Let's go outside. It's far too nice a day to spend it cooped up in here."

The park they walked to was filled with children playing while their mothers sat on benches and watched them. Harry and Cho walked along the paths and talked while Snuffles ran ahead and chased the occasional squirrel. Harry told her about his waking up at the Weasleys and how things had straightened themselves out with Ginny and the twins. He also told her that he was worried about how to talk to Ron and Hermione.

"Harry," she explained calmly, "they're both reasonable people, or at least as reasonable as you Gryffindors get. If you just explain things to them, I'm sure they'll understand. If you forgive them for not going with you, I'm sure they'll forgive you for going without them."

"But there's nothing to forgive," Harry said exasperatedly. "For them or for me. They don't have to come along with me everywhere."

"That doesn't matter, Harry. Sometimes, saying your sorry goes a long way towards mending fences. Even if no one's done anything to be sorry about, you can still be sorry for the misunderstanding. And you are sorry about that, right?"

Harry's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It was just so much easier when we were kids. Ron would get hacked, and then he'd get over it and we both knew we were sorry but neither had to say anything."

"What about Hermione?"

Harry thought about the time that everyone had thought that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers. Ron and Hermione were furious at each other and neither would say anything. It took Buckbeak's conviction, and Ron's promise to help appeal it, for Hermione to say she was sorry that time. And then, when they found out that she had nothing to be sorry about after all, Ron hadn't apologized to her, Harry hadn't either for that matter. Harry nodded slowly.

"I suppose you're right, as usual." Cho glowed at this. "They both deserve to know that I'm sorry for hurting their feelings at least. But how should I go about it. They're rather quarrelling with each other so who should I talk to first?"

Cho looked at him and said, "What are they quarrelling about?"

Harry shook his head, how could he go about explaining this?

"Well, I think Ron likes Hermione, but I'm pretty sure that Hermione is seeing Viktor Krum."

"Viktor Krum? You mean the Quidditch star who was the Durmstrang champion for the Tri-Wizard Tournament? How did she manage that?"

"Well, you'll recollect that they went to the Yule Ball together that year. And I think Hermione and maybe her folks have visited him in Romania over the summers. And they write all the time."

"So, it's a long-distance relationship?"

"I suppose so. Anyway, I also think that Hermione likes Ron, but I can't figure that out if she is going with Viktor..."

"That's easy, Harry," Cho commented.

"Not to mention that Ginny says that Ron is spending time with Luna Lovegood now."

"You mean Loony Lovegood, the Ravenclaw a couple of years behind?"

"Yeah, and I'd sort of appreciate it if you didn't call her 'Loony'. She did go to the Ministry with me and she did really well. I owe her a lot and she's become kind of a friend."

"OK, Harry, I'll try, but what about her and Ron Weasley?"

"Well, Ginny says that Luna has liked Ron for a long time and that right now Ron wants somebody who wants him, even if he really likes Hermione, and so he's going with her."

"That makes sense," Cho said.

"IT DOES?" Harry exclaimed. "Well, then I wish you'd explain it to me."

Cho sighed. "You blokes can be so dim when it comes to your own emotions. It's a wonder you ever manage to get a girl at all... ANY GIRL." She hooked her arm through Harry's and began to stroll along a pathway. "You see, Ron likes Hermione, but he thinks she doesn't like him. So, he's lonely and needs to be reassured that somebody likes him. So he goes to Luna, who he probably knew liked him all along, and starts to see her. That way he gets his reassurance and if Hermione winds up feeling jealous, so much the better."

"I reckon that makes sense, but what about Hermione? If she likes Ron, then why is she seeing Viktor? Especially since he's so far away and Ron is right there in Gryffindor with her."

Cho thought about this for a moment. "Hermione's a bookworm, isn't she?"

"Bookworm? Nah, Hermione's a major swot, that's what she is."

Cho chuckled. "Then dating a boy, especially one who is right there in the same house, would really cut into her studies, wouldn't it? Even if she really liked him, she might still want to put her studies first and a boyfriend would just get in the way."

"So, she dates Viktor because he's far away and therefore won't get in the way of her schooling," Harry concluded.

"Exactly," Cho said. "See? You can be trained to think like a real person after all, and not just a bloke. Hermione isn't ready for a real relationship yet, but she still doesn't want to feel left out when everyone else is dating. So, she dates someone whom the other girls are jealous of, but still isn't there to intrude."

"So Ron and Hermione do like each other, but neither one wants to say anything about it because they are either afraid of being rejected or afraid of not being rejected?"

Cho nodded, "Full marks for Potter." Harry was shaking his head in dismay. "Don't worry Harry, when they're both ready for a relationship, it will happen. Sometimes things just have to work out in their own time."

"I suppose, but it never seems to happen that way for me." Cho hugged his arm tightly in response.

"So, I still don't know what to do," Harry said a few moments later.

"That's easy, too. If you want to repair your friendship with them, help them repair their friendship with each other."

Harry looked over at her and smiled. "You know that you're brilliant, don't you?"

"But of course," she answered with a grin and then she gave him a playful shove with her shoulder.