Adaptations

ADAPTATIONS PART 16

With a snort of exasperation Ginny Weasley slammed shut the book she had been pretending to read for the last half hour, earning her a glare of disapproval from Madam Pince. It had been a week since 'The Incident', as folks around Gryffindor Tower had taken to calling the blow up between herself and Dean, and she had not gotten one step closer to solving her problem. She knew she would never have anything resembling a normal social life as long as her ridiculous prat of a brother insisted on doing his best to intimidate her potential boyfriends. It had started out as being the adorably cute actions of a protective older brother, but that had worn off in about five minutes, and now it was just incredibly insulting.

What she needed to find was a boy who would be willing to face down her brother. One who wasn't afraid of the fact that she had five other older brothers as well. But where could she find a fellow brave enough, or maybe that should be stupid enough, to deal with her family?

Then she saw them, three people got up from a table in a far corner of the library and left in a tight group. One of them in particular caught her attention. She quickly gathered her things and followed them. He would do perfectly, she thought to herself. It was like a bolt of lightning in her brain, he was just the person to get Ron off of her back. That is if she could just get him to cooperate.

She followed them down the hall at a discreet distance and then pulled back into an alcove as they began to descend a flight of stairs. How could she get him alone, Ginny puzzled to herself? Anytime he went anywhere, the other two were with him. The trio seemed almost inseparable. This was going to take some planning, she concluded. When they were out of sight, she left her hiding place and headed back towards Gryffindor Tower. She knew where they were going anyway and she needed to drop off her school bag before tonight's DA meeting started.

* * * * *

Harry awoke the next morning still mentally exhausted. Last night's DA meeting had drained him. He had spent the entire meeting working the class on the Patronus Charm with no appreciable results. No one had made any progress and Harry felt frustrated. His night was filled with dreams of a brick wall that he just couldn't get through. He understood that it was merely a reflection of his frustration with the DA and nothing to do with Tom. Even Ginny seemed to feel the block; she was no closer to casting a corporeal Patronus than she was last year. If anything, Harry thought, her spell was even weaker than it was a week ago. He staggered into the shower dreading having to endure a full day of classes like this. Maybe he could sneak back at lunch, he hoped, and take a nap.

"Mister Potter," Professor McGonagall spoke, coming up from behind him in Transfiguration that afternoon.

Harry snapped around from where he was trying to make his clock sprout wings. "I'm sorry, Professor. I'm trying, I really am. I reckon I'm just having an off day."

Professor McGonagall looked down at him with her lips pressed into a prim line. "Be that as it may, Mister Potter, the headmaster has informed me that he would like to see you directly after dinner this evening in his office." Harry frowned, trying to figure out what he had done this time. McGonagall continued, "And he said to make sure that you brought your dog along as well."

Now Harry was truly confused. Had Snuffles been terrorizing Mrs. Norris again? He had given him quite a lecture the last time Filch had caught him and explained in terms so simple that even a dog could understand that he had to avoid getting caught by Filch. Nobody else, not even most of the Professors, would care if he cornered the mangy old bag of fleas, but he absolutely HAD to avoid the caretaker at all costs. Harry packed up his things and headed down to dinner, deciding that later was soon enough to find out what bee had gotten into Dumbledore's bonnet.

An hour later, Harry was dragging himself towards the Headmaster's office. "Lion Bars," Harry muttered and the stone Gargoyle stepped aside allowing him and Snuffles access to the revolving stairs that led to Dumbledore's office. At the top of the stairs the door swung silently open before Harry could raise his hand to knock. With trepidation fluttering in his stomach Harry entered the room, Snuffles at his heels with his tail tucked low.

Inside the room was an eerily familiar sight. Dumbledore sat behind his imposing mahogany desk with Remus seated opposite him. In two armchairs flanking the fireplace sat a grim Minerva McGonagall and a sneering Snape. Forcing his fears down, Harry entered the room, Snuffles close behind.

"Harry, please," Dumbledore began, sensing the boy's fears, "we are not here to punish you in any way. In fact, I am hopeful that we can be of some service." Harry looked around the room, doubt obvious on his face. The Headmaster shook his head slightly. "Indeed Harry, this is strangely reminiscent of a much more unpleasant occasion but if you will just be patient I think you will be rewarded."

"What do you mean?" Harry interrupted harshly. McGonagall recoiled a bit at her student's lack of respect but said nothing.

Dumbledore continued, "The last time we were all here, we removed a portion of Sirius' self from within you. You were understandable angry although I am still convinced we did the right thing." Harry bit back his sharp response and merely nodded his head. "Subsequently, you have managed to return Sirius from beyond the veil; a feat we had considered to be impossible. However, Sirius was not 'all there', if you will. We are hoping that we can rectify that situation tonight."

"How?"

"Professor Snape has, after months of intensive work, managed to recreate the potion and ritual that Tom Riddle used to rebuild his body and return his spirit to it. We have adapted that ritual in such a way that we hope to reunite that portion of Sirius that we removed previously to the body that you recovered."

"You mean," Harry asked, hope dawning in his eyes, "that Sirius will be whole again?"

"That is what we hope, Mister Potter," Professor McGonagall said from the fire

Dumbledore stood and reached high onto a shelf behind him and moved down a shallow stone bowl. Harry immediately recognized it as the vessel they had used to catch the quicksilver that they had drained from his hand that day. Dumbledore remained standing and waved his wand causing a section of bookcase to slide to one side revealing a darkened workroom. Harry's breath grew short and his heart began to race as the interior of the room came into focus. There was a large cauldron resting over a bed of coals. The bottom of the cauldron glowed a deep cherry red with the heat. From his seat Harry could hear the spits as whatever was in the cauldron simmered and bubbled.

"Shall we?" Dumbledore said and the group rose and followed him into the room. Snuffles whinged as he kept close to Harry's heels. As they approached, red sparks began to fly up from the brew as bubbles burst on the surface, their reflected light on the walls caused flickering shadows to dance.

Harry had to fight to keep the panic that was building within him from erupting. He wanted to flee, to run as far as he could to get away. This ritual had brought him nothing but pain in the past, pain and the resurrection of Voldemort. Unable to resist, Harry looked over the rim into the cauldron, the surface of the potion seemed like molten diamonds, catching and reflecting the light. Here and there thick bubbles would rise and burst on the surface causing more sparks to rise and light the room around them.

"Harry?" Dumbledore asked quietly. "Do you wish to continue?" Harry didn't know what to say, he hated the idea of seeing this ritual carried through again, but on the other hand he wanted nothing as much as he wanted Sirius back. If going through this again could do that... He nodded silently.

"Now this spell requires some rather... unusual ingredients," Dumbledore said as he reached into a pocket of his voluminous robes. He extracted a small object. Harry looked more closely. It was a small silver box, ornately cast and decorated. After only a moment Harry recognized it as the silver snuff box that they had found while they were cleaning out the parlour at Grimmauld Place last year. They hadn't been able to open it then and he thought it had been discarded.

Dumbledore continued, as if he could sense Harry's confusion, "Harry, are you familiar with the practice of keeping relics? I understand some Muggle religions have been especially fond of this sort of thing."

Harry thought back. In primary school he had gone on a field trip to a museum located in an ancient church. He had read a placard describing objects contained in one of the displays, although Dudley and his gang were ogling the case and wouldn't let Harry close enough to actually see anything inside it. According to the sign, the case had contained a fragment of the ankle bone of Saint Anne as well as some teeth from some other saint that Harry had never heard of. The placard said that they were sacred relics but didn't say what purpose they could serve. He looked back at the Headmaster and the small box he held.

"The Black family was also prone to keeping relics, Harry. This box contains a finger joint of Orion Black, Sirius' father."

With a flick of his wand the box opened and Dumbledore dumped the contents into the cauldron, Harry didn't watch. "Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son." There was a flash of light and Harry opened his eyes as the potion turned a dark blood red. It seemed to be simmering harder now and sparks filled the air above the cauldron.

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Remus Lupin standing beside him. "Have you ever wondered, Harry," he spoke quietly, "how Padfoot managed to keep the werewolf under control?" Harry shook his head. "Padfoot was the stronger of the two, the dominant one. He was the Alpha male of our little pack and I was subservient to him." He withdrew a small pocketknife from his trousers and with a flick opened the blade. Harry watched him tense as he took the knife and pressed it along his forearm, roughly slicing off a piece of skin. He too dropped it into the pot and spoke, "Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you shall revive your master."

Harry stood transfixed as the potion turned a brilliant blue and now began to boil. Professor McGonagall stepped quickly to Remus' side and pressed a bandage to his arm. Muttering some quiet incantations she healed the injury.

Now Snape stepped forward and took the knife from the old Marauder. "Blood of the enemy, reluctantly given..."

"No!" Harry shouted suddenly, bringing everyone in the crowded room to a stunned halt. "That's not the way it goes!"

Snape's mouth was set in the vilest of sneers as he turned towards the student. "I am the Potions Master of this school, Potter." He practically spit out the name. "I hardly think you are in any position to tell me how this ritual should be carried out."

Harry's sneer was every bit as condescending as his teacher's. "I was there, remember? Oh yes, you don't because you weren't. I know how the ritual is supposed to go." With a movement so fast that no one could have stopped him if they had tried, Harry drew his wand and cast a spell towards Snape. Cords sprang from the bookcase behind the shocked former Death Eater and in a moment he was bound fast, unable to even turn his head.

Harry reached over and took the knife from Snape's fixed grasp. He plunged the point through the Professor's robes and into his left forearm, right where Harry knew the Dark Mark was burned into the skin. Taking a vial from a shelf he held it to the bleeding wound to collect the flowing blood. Harry poured it into the cauldron, speaking the words, "Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you shall resurrect your foe." The light was nearly blinding. The potion had turned a dazzling white and the sparks that shot from the surface bounced off the ceiling, the walls and the small group gathered around the cauldron.

Steam now began to pour from the roiling liquid. It rose up and spread around the room, filling their nostrils with a heavy odor that no one could put a name to. Dumbledore now raised the stone basin he was holding and slowly poured the liquid it held into the glittering potion. It was alight was gemlike fire that cast eerie shadows on those watching. The aged headmaster looked at Harry, as if asking permission. The exhaustion Harry had been feeling all day suddenly crashed down upon him. He could no longer think. He could no longer feel. He was being swept along by the magic evoked by this ritual. He nodded and Dumbledore made a slow motion with his wand towards Snuffles and whispered, "Somnulus."

Harry looked down at the huge dog now asleep at his feet. Dumbledore floated the animal up and over towards the roiling cauldron. With a long hiss the dog descended into the potion. Harry remembered again the scene at the graveyard. How he had prayed then that the thing lying at the bottom of the cauldron would drown. Now he prayed again but this time for life. "Please," he begged silently, "please, let him live. Please give him back to me. He's all that I have. I can't lose him again. Please let him live."

Clouds of steam billowed out of the cauldron, obscuring the vision of everyone in the room. Sounds began to come as well. Through the mists, Harry could see the pot begin to rock. Steam continued to rise as it upended and flipped over onto its side. Thick, glittering goo spilled out onto the stone slabs covering the floor. Like lava, it flowed across the floor, evaporating into steam as it cooled. Then from the bottom of the cauldron slid a black figure. It was curled tightly into a ball, fur wet and steaming from the potion it had steeped in. Snuffles splayed out onto the floor before them and then his outline began to blur and lose its focus.

Harry watched transfixed as the limbs seemed to elongate, the curve of the spine straightening and stretching. The shoulders broadened and the pelvis rotated downwards. The snout retracted until... with a final gut of steam from the black fur the figure snapped back to its original shape. Harry collapsed next to it and cradled the canine head in his lap.

He buried his face in the still damp fur. "I'm sorry, Sirius. I'm so sorry. I tried. I've tried my very best. It just isn't enough." He felt a hand grasp his shoulder. He looked up into the sad eyes of Albus Dumbledore. The old man shook his head slowly.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I had truly hoped that this would work. We will of course continue our research but I am afraid there is little hope left. I am sorry."

Remus, fresh loss etched across his face, leaned down and grasped Harry under his arms, helping him to his feet. The werewolf opened his mouth but could not find his voice. He could only shake his head in grief. Not wanting to look into his face anymore, Harry stooped and helped Snuffles to stand. The dog tried to shake his fur free of the last remnants of the failed potion but almost collapsed from the effort. Harry held him tightly around the neck until he was steady once again.

"Mister Potter... Harry," Professor McGonagall spoke almost gently, "why don't we see about getting you back to your dormitory? It has been a difficult night for all of us and I am certain you need your sleep before classes tomorrow."

Harry turned and began to head for the door but the sound of the Headmaster clearing his throat stopped him. With a tilt of his head he indicated the Potions Master, still trussed like a Christmas Goose against the wall. With a flick of Harry's wand the ropes fell limp to the floor. Snape reared himself up to his full height and opened his mouth to speak before he noticed that Harry's wand was still pointed directly at his heart.

"One word," Harry spoke with a voice as cold and unrelenting as a glacier, "one single word and I will roast your very soul."

Snape closed his mouth with a clack and Harry turned back towards the door. Walking gingerly, one hand reaching down and supporting his Godfather, Harry left the Headmaster's office, Snuffles leaning heavily against his side.

Back in Gryffindor Tower, Hermione, Ginny and Ron were awaiting him. They were filled with questions about what Dumbledore had wanted but one look into the eyes of their best friend told them all they needed to know. Harry, Snuffles close at his side, slowly made his way up to his dormitory and collapsed into bed.

Over the next few days, Harry slowly returned to his usual self. His friends listened as he told them of the failed attempt to complete Sirius' return to the world and afterwards Cho led him on a slow stroll around the lake, Snuffles never letting them get out of his sight. In fact, several people noticed that the two, boy and dog, seemed even closer now. Harry spent every free moment with Snuffles, whether playing with the dog or simply sitting and doing his assignments with Snuffles at his feet worrying at a soup bone from Dobby; the two were rarely apart. Even during classes, Snuffles would follow Harry and sit patiently outside the door while class was in session.

By the time Saturday came around, and the tryouts for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Harry would even smile occasionally. It seemed that he had finally accepted that what he had of Sirius was all he was going to get. He rose early that morning, at least considering that it was a weekend, and dressed in Muggle jeans and a Weasley jumper. Grabbing his Firebolt, he and Snuffles headed down to the common room to meet the rest of the team for breakfast before tryouts began.

Kirke and Sloper had assured Ron that they had been practicing non-stop over the summer holidays so Ron gave them a half-speed bludger that he had gotten from Madam Hooch and sent them to play 'Beaters' Tennis'. He had also told Ginny that she didn't need to try out, one of the Chaser slots was hers, but she insisted and so Ron had her running drills with the other prospective players to see how well they flew together. By the end of the tryouts, Harry was rather shocked by the results. Kirke and Sloper had indeed improved, although he could tell they would never be anywhere near as good as Freorge, and Gryffindor had a new Chaser lineup. Ginny was obviously the best of the group. Dennis Creevey also made the team. What he lacked in skill he more than made up for in enthusiastic abandon. The real surprise however was their third Chaser, Lavender Brown. She was surprisingly good on a broom and seemed more than willing to mix it up with the other players. Walking back to the tower Ron explained that he wasn't surprised at all as Lavender had quite a reputation for being willing to 'mix it up'.

"Really, Ron," Ginny snorted. "Do you think that just because Lavender is pretty she can't be athletic as well?"

"Sure Ron," Harry chimed in, earning a smile from Ginny. "Look at Katie, Alicia, and Angelina. They were all really pretty and probably the best Chaser lineup Gryffindor has seen in decades!"

"ARRRGH!" Ginny snarled, tossing her broom over her shoulder and storming off towards the castle.

Harry got the distinct impression that he said something wrong but didn't for the life of him know what. He walked over to where Snuffles had settled in the shade of the stands and smiled as he noticed Cho there scratching him behind the ears. Ron gave him a quick pat on the back and made his own way up to the castle for lunch, making sure that he stayed far enough behind Ginny to avoid any further altercations. He wasn't that thick.

"So, doing a bit of spying on the next Championship team?" Harry asked Cho with a grin.

Cho returned his smile and said, "No, although I did notice some unusual additions to the team. Besides, the next Cup winners will be wearing blue robes, thank you very much."

"You wish! Care to take a walk, or do you want to go in for lunch?"

Cho draped her arm through his. "Well, I'm taking a bit of a break from revising this morning. I promised Marietta that we would get back to work straight after lunch, so how about the walk first?" They began to make their way over towards the lake with Snuffles capering around their legs.

Meanwhile, back at the castle, Ginny was just entering through the doors when she saw Draco Malfoy walking up a staircase alone. Her temper was still high after that stupid remark from Harry so she figured that the timing would never be any better. She dropped her Quidditch bag and set her broom carefully on top of it.

Draco looked over as she made her way across the hall towards him. "Well, if it isn't the little Weas..." he began when his words were cut off by Ginny grapping him firmly by the robes and kissing him soundly. Just as he was getting over his shock and beginning to respond, she broke it off and let go of him.

"You know, Draco," she said with a smirk, "if you spent less time in the company of those two goons, fewer people would think that you didn't like girls." With that she turned and flounced back to her gear and headed up towards Gryffindor Tower, leaving a thoroughly stunned Draco Malfoy gawking after her.

Draco managed to shake off his shock and turned down towards the dungeons just as Ron opened the doors of the castle.

* * * * *

Harry picked up a stone and chucked it out over the lake. It fell with a *plop* sending rings spreading across the surface of the water. Beside him, Cho stooped and selected a small, flat stone and with a brisk side-arm motion sent it skipping out over the lake. Six times it bounced off the water's surface before the giant squid reached up a lazy tentacle and struck it down. Cho looked over at Harry and grinned.

"Show off," was all Harry responded with. They rejoined their hands and walked a bit further along the lakeshore. Harry seemed hesitant about something and Cho, noticing this, gave him a light nudge.

"Cho," he said softly, "can I ask you about something?"

"Sure, Harry," she responded. "Anything."

He looked at her with uncertainty. "Do you promise not to get angry?"

Cho's look now mirrored his hesitance. "What do you mean, Harry? What do you want to know?"

Harry looked down at the grass and said, "It's about Luna Lovegood."

"What about her?"

"Why does everybody take her things?" he asked almost too quietly for her to hear.

"What?"

"She told me about how the people in Ravenclaw are always taking her things and hiding them from her."

"Are you calling me a thief?" Cho said, anger rising in her voice.

Harry looked at her, shocked that she would reach that conclusion. "No! Not you!" he stammered. "But I thought that since you're a couple years ahead of her that you would know who was doing it and why."

"So, you don't think I'm a thief, only that I condone it?" Sarcasm was thick in her voice now. Harry looked stricken at her accusations and couldn't manage to reply. Cho, however, was undaunted by his reaction. "Is that all you really think of me? That I would just tolerate such of thing!

Before Harry could manage a reply, she had stalked off down the lakeshore. He ran after her.

"Cho! Wait, please!" he called. With a sprint he managed to pass her and came to a halt blocking her way. "Cho, listen to me, please! That's not what I meant."

"But it is what you said," she snapped back at him.

"No, that's not what I said, or at least that's not what I meant to say," he pleaded.

Cho stormed off again, this time back towards the castle, or at least away from Harry. Once again, he sprinted to catch up to her.

"Just listen to me, please?" he said.

Cho didn't seem to hear him, she continued on in her rant as if she hadn't even stopped. "How could you say such a thing to me?" she scolded him. "Not to mention the rest of us in Ravenclaw! What do you think we are; a bunch of Slytherins who would eat their own young just to get ahead? And do you think for just one minute that Professor Flitwick would tolerate such behavior towards one of his students? How dare you!"

"Look, I said I was sorry," Harry responded. "I'm just trying to help her, to find out what's going on."

Cho continued to stare daggers at him. "A funny way you have of showing it: calling us all a den of thieves. I'd've thought your mother would have raised you better than that!" Cho's eyes grew wide as she realized what she had just said. Her hands flew to cover her mouth, as if to try and catch the words before they came out, but it was too late.

All signs of contrition fell away from Harry as his eyes grew cold as stone. "I'm sure she would have if she had been given the chance." Now he was the one to storm off.

Cho stood frozen, staring after Harry's retreating form. How could she have said such a thing? Tears sprang from her eyes but she batted them away and ran after Harry. His legs were longer than hers and she had to struggle to make up the distance that separated them. She pulled ahead of him and skidded to a halt. Harry's eyes were locked on the ground at his feet so he didn't see her until they collided. Cho threw her arms around his neck as he stumbled and he had to grab hold of her waist to keep from falling.

Cho buried her face in his neck and spoke in panicked sobs. "I'm sorry, Harry. I'm so sorry. I don't know why I said that. I didn't mean it. I was just angry and I lashed out. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you like that. Please."

Harry set her down on her feet and stepped back. He looked at her icily and she shrank away from him. His voice was calm as he spoke and somehow that frightened her even more than if he had screamed. "I never accused you of stealing. I never accused anyone of anything. I was just trying to help a friend. I don't know why you got angry with me. I don't know what I said that was wrong. But you... you knew exactly what you were saying."

Paling under his scrutiny, Cho answered quietly, "No, I didn't, Harry. Please, believe me. I was angry and I just said something mean. I didn't realize that it was so much worse than I meant it to be."

"So you were trying to hurt me?" he countered.

Cho shook her head. "I'm sorry. I was so angry at what you had said."

"And what exactly did I say?"

"You said that we stole things from Loony."

Harry's voice began to rise as he answered, "Her name is LUNA! And I never said you stole her things!"

"But you said..."

"I said that Luna told me that the people in Ravenclaw take her things! That's not a direct accusation and I certainly didn't single you out!"

"I know. I can see that now," Cho continued meekly. "It's just that it's a bit of a sore topic in Ravenclaw and I didn't think anyone outside knew about it."

"And that's my fault?"

"No, it isn't. I'm sorry Harry."

Harry looked down at her. She was obviously sorry for what happened but Harry was still hurt at what she had said. "So, what is it?" he said sternly.

"What's what?"

Harry bit back a snide comment, trying to keep control over his temper. "What's the story with Luna and her things?"

Cho looked up at him through the fall of hair that concealed her face. She was still smarting at what he had said and embarrassed for what she had said in return.

"It's rather a long story," she said hoping to avoid the issue.

"I've got all day," was his stony reply.

Cho took a deep breath and began, "Well, you've had to have noticed that Luna's a bit... she's a bit of an odd duck, you have to admit."

"So am I," Harry snapped back. "What difference does that make?"

"None, it's just that..." Cho noticed the hard glare Harry was sending her. It gave her a quivering feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Harry, I'm trying here, OK? Give me a chance."

She watched as Harry bit back another retort then closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again they were still hard but not quite as cold as they had been. She swallowed and continued.

"We get our share of oddballs in Ravenclaw, like one fellow who finished a few years ago who insisted on revising in the common room till all hours of the night."

"So?" Harry said quizzically.

"He did it in his underwear." She was relieved when Harry couldn't suppress a grin, maybe this would turn out all right after all.

"What does that have to do with Luna?" he asked a trifle less harshly.

"Well," Cho struggled to find the right words to continue. "She's not dim. She's really quite clever... just a bit unfocused." She stole another glance at Harry and saw that he seemed to be following her. "When she first came, she had this annoying habit of just wondering off and leaving her things lying about wherever they happened to be at that moment. It got so that her roommates were spending half their time ferrying her things back to her room for her. At first it was kind of cute then it became sort of a house joke 'picking up after Loony'. By the end of her first year it was just annoying. So at the start of her second year, the Prefects decided on a strategy. Instead of having everyone in the house running after her to give her back the things she'd left behind, we started putting them aside. They reasoned that if she didn't have everyone fetching her things for her she might become a little more responsible about where she left them. So, whenever she would leave her quills or her parchment lying about we would put them in..." She hesitated for a moment as if rethinking her words. "We'd put them aside. If she asked about them we would give them back. If she didn't... well, they'd stay there."

"Stay where?" Harry asked.

Cho pretended not to hear. "At the end of the year we would just take all the things that had accumulated and put them all back on her bed. We never stole anything."

Harry started to show a bit of temper again. "But you let her do without! You let her think that people were stealing her things!"

At this Cho began to get hot too. "Did you ever see her without a warm cloak in the winter!?" she said accusingly, "or a hat? Was she ever missing her books for class?" Harry didn't reply. "No! You didn't! Like I said before, we're not a bunch of selfish Slytherin prats. We take care of our own! We were just trying to teach her a little responsibility."

"Did it work?" Harry asked quietly.

"What?" she responded, put off by his abrupt change of pace.

"Did your plan work? Has she changed at all?" Harry asked.

Cho stopped to think for a minute. "No, she hasn't," she had to admit. "In fact, she might have become a bit more forgetful."

"Maybe that's because she doesn't see that she is forgetful. She thinks her housemates are taking her things deliberately."

"She can't honestly think that about us," Cho said, desperate for it to be true. "How could she?"

Harry glared at her. "How could she not?" Cho hung her head. Harry softened a bit, seeing how she had reacted to his comment. "Maybe it's time to try something different?" Cho just nodded without saying a word.

Harry watched her for a moment, seeing that she was really thinking about this and not just defending her house's actions. "So, how much stuff does she leave about?" he asked tentatively.

Cho looked up at him, seeing that he was trying to make peace. "Lot's."

"Like what?"

Cho waved her hands distractedly. "Oh, things like quills, and parchment, pots of ink or her homework. Then there's her jumpers, and hair ties, even some odd socks. One time she even left her pillow in history class." Harry had to snort at this. Why didn't he ever think of bringing a pillow to Binn's class? It would have made napping much more comfortable. Even Cho snickered a bit recalling it. "It spent a week and a half in the bin before somebody took pity on her and gave it back."

"The bin?" Harry asked, anger suddenly coming back into his eyes.

"Not the rubbish bin," Cho said quickly, realizing the conclusion he had jumped to. "There's a big box in the corner of the common room where we put all the things she leaves out. We call it the..." She stopped before finishing and turned away from him.

"You call it what?"

Cho looked back at him over her shoulder, apprehension clear on her face. "Nothing."

"What do you call it?" Harry said shortly.

"You have to promise not to get angry." Harry took deep breath and Cho continued, "We call it... the Loony Bin." She took a quick step away from Harry to stay out of his reach.

After a minute of Harry not exploding, Cho turned cautiously around and saw him standing there with a small grin on his face.

"I have to admit," he said quietly, "it's rather an appropriate name."

Cho grinned back and stepped up beside him. "So," she said softly, "I reckon we've had our first real quarrel?" Harry just nodded. "Are we going to be all right?"

After a moment Harry looked at her and nodded again. "Yeah, I think so."

Cho sighed in relief and grinned a bit wider. "Do you want to go in and eat?" she asked hopefully.

"Naw," Harry said looking out over the lake. "I think I want to be alone for a bit. You go ahead."

The grin dropped from Cho's face. She turned and rose up on her tip-toes to give him a kiss on the cheek but Harry didn't seem to know she was still there. Glumly, she turned and made her way back to the castle.

Harry was lost in thought. He was thinking about how people thought of Luna and how they must think of him, especially how Cho thought of him. In a way, he could understand how she could have been insulted by what he had said, but that didn't give her the right to get angry with him about it. It certainly didn't give her the right to say what she had said about his mum. How could she have just forgotten like that? Did it mean that she cared so little for him that she didn't bother to remember that his mum had died when he was a baby? That didn't seem likely with all the Boy-Who-Lived codswallop going around. But then what did it mean? Could it possibly mean that she was comfortable enough around him that she didn't think of him as the Boy-Who-Lived at all? Maybe she just thought of him as a normal bloke and that was why she just let the comment slip; it was just supposed to be a little barb and nothing more? Maybe by insulting him like that she had actually shown him that she liked him for who he was really and not just who he was supposed to be?

Harry drifted into the Great Hall during dinner ignoring the normal commotion that went on around him. He took his usual seat at the Gryffindor table not really seeing Ron and Hermione there eating across from him. He absently acknowledged them with a wave and ladled some sort of food onto his plate. He risked a glance over to the Ravenclaw table and saw Cho sitting there, her elbow resting on the table and her cheek in her hand. She was looking down at her plate, looking decidedly dejected, and didn't see him watching her.

After a few more minutes, Harry saw Luna get up from the table to leave. Cho's head came up for the first time since Harry had started watching her. She half rose from her seat and called, "Luna dear, isn't that your magazine?" Luna looked back and saw a copy of The Quibbler back at the table where she had been sitting. She stepped back and picked it up with a mildly confused glance at Cho. She turned back towards the door but was again stopped by Cho's calling her. "And isn't that one of your quills?"

Luna slowly returned and picked up the bright yellow and red striped feather. "Yes, it is," she mumbled wonderingly. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it, dear," Cho said warmly.

Harry was smiling broadly by now and, House Points be damned, he was going to go snog Cho right out of her shoes, but his feet tangled in the legs of the bench as he tried to stand and, as he struggled to keep his balance, Snuffles shifted underneath him and he slipped to the floor. By the time he had gotten himself extricated, Cho was nowhere to be seen. Harry stood there disappointed, but then he got another idea and raced up to Gryffindor Tower.

When Ron and Hermione got back about a half hour later they found Harry sitting at a table in the corner of the common room surrounded by a pile of crumpled parchment. As they approached they saw Harry wave his wand in a complicated motion and mumble a long incantation. The sheet of parchment that had been sitting on the table suddenly began to fold itself. It flipped over and folded itself again. Three more times they watched the piece fold onto itself before it wound up in a crumpled ball just like the others. Harry growled in frustration and swept the ball onto the floor to join its compatriots and reach into his satchel for another piece. They had seen him doing this a few times in the last week and he never seemed to be satisfied with the results. They wisely decided to leave him alone and sought out chairs nearer the fire at which to do their own work.

Later that evening, just as people began to filter upstairs to go to sleep, Harry stood and exclaimed, "HA! Got it at last!" Ron and Hermione glanced over and saw him scanning the room. His eyes landed on a group of girls sitting in the opposite corner, giggling more than revising.

"Hey, Parvati!" he called out. "Can I ask a favor?"

Parvati Patil stood and began to cross the common room. "Sure, what can I do for you, Harry?"

"You've got a lot of different colored parchment, don't you?" he asked.

"Sure," she answered. "I like to match my mood."

"Can I borrow a sheet?"

"Are you going to give it back?" she sing-songed with a mischievious gleam in her eye.

Harry was struck speechless for a moment. "Well, I was gonna use it..."

"Then you're not 'borrowing' it, are you?"

Harry sighed in exasperation and then chuckled at being caught out. "OK, OK, could you give me a sheet of parchment then... please?"

Parvati grinned, and it lit up her entire face making Harry think of just how pretty she had become. "What color would you like?"

"Red."

Her grin fled, to be replaced by an almost insulted sulk. "What shade? Vermillion? Passionate Pink? Chartreuse? What do you need it for?" A sudden thought seemed to strike her. "Is it for something terribly romantic?"

Harry flushed slightly and he muttered, "Or terribly silly."

"Aww," she sighed and sped up the stairs to her dorm. She returned a moment later with a huge stack of parchment held in her arms, all of it red but in more variations then Harry knew existed. She spread them out in a broad fan on the table before Harry and looked at him as if expecting him to actually know which one to pick. Harry scanned over the too-wide selection, trying to remember what color Cho's lips were. Finally, he pointed to a deep, rich tone.

"That one."

"Ah, scarlet!" Parvati intoned as if it held great meaning. She plucked out three sheets and handed them over to Harry. "And take some extra in case you need it. The next time I'm in a bland mood you can give me back three ordinary sheets," she said with a smirk.

She gathered her stack of parchment back up and turned to leave when Harry stopped her. "Uh, Parvati?"

She turned to look at him over her shoulder, causing her hair to swish around in a way that made Harry smile. "Yes, Harry? Was there something else?"

Harry stumbled for a second. "Well, yeah, there is, kinda." Parvati turned back around and faced him again. "It's about the Yule Ball a couple years ago."

Parvati gave him a grimace and said, "Urgh, don't remind me."

Harry seemed embarrassed but carried on. "Ya see, that's the point really. I wanna say I'm sorry for being such a rotten date then. You were so nice to agree to go with me and all, and I just acted like a jerk. I'm sorry I wasn't a better date."

Parvati's face softened and she gave him a genuine smile. "That's so sweet of you to say, Harry." She shifted the bundle in her arms. "It was rather annoying at the time... but all those unattached boys from Beaubatons helped to make up for it," she finished with a smirk.

"I'm glad I didn't spoil the whole thing for you."

Then, quick as a flash, Parvati leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Harry's eyes opened wide as Parvati pulled away with a grin and said, "At the least, you did still owe me a good-night kiss." Harry blushed and began to stammer.

"No worries, Harry," she said as she walked back across the room to rejoin her friends. Halfway there she turned and gave him a misty glance over her shoulder. "You know, Harry. If you want to make it up to me, there's a Hogsmeade visit coming up?"

Harry gulped visibly and stammered out, "I don't really think Cho would appreciate that all that much."

Parvati sighed and gave a sad shake of the head. "Well, if things don't work out there you know where I am." She then turned back to rejoin the group of girls who hide their smiles behind their hands.

"Oh yeah," Harry whispered to himself, "I'll surely remember that."

Harry banished all the crumpled parchment from the floor to the fireplace, where it was consumed in a guttering shower of sparks, then gathered up all of his things before joining Ron and Hermione. Just as Ron opened his mouth to speak, the portrait hole swung open and a rather disheveled Ginny Weasley sauntered into the room. She paused for a moment to sort out her rumpled robes with a dreamy sort of half-smile on her face then turned and headed up the stairs. As soon as she was out of sight of most of the room, Harry noticed her speed up and start taking the stairs two at a time.

Ron was half out of his seat and drawing breath for a huge rant when Harry stopped him by pulling him back down.

"Don't do it, mate," he warned the red-head. "She's a big girl and can make her own decisions."

"But... but... you saw how she looked," Ron sputtered.

Hermione rose from her seat and, gathering up her books, said, "Relax, Ron. I'll just head on up and see if there is anything she wants to talk about."

Ron looked about to start an argument when Harry interrupted, "Besides Ron, you haven't had a chance to copy my notes from Transfiguration yet, and we're getting quizzed on it in class tomorrow."

Ron reluctantly sat back down and started digging up a fresh quill as Hermione went up the stairs. At the fifth year girl's dorm she stopped and pushed open the door. She saw Ginny's clothes scattered across the floor and heard the sound of the shower running. Not wanting to intrude on her friend's privacy, she closed the door and headed up to her own room.

The next morning at breakfast, the students were all tucking in at the Gryffindor table. Harry was sitting next to Ron and across from Hermione and the rest of the sixth year girls. He looked over and noticed Cho reading a copy of the Daily Prophet and took advantage of the chance to reach into his bag and pull out a sheet of the scarlet parchment. Muttering softly to himself, Harry waved his wand over the parchment, which seemed to almost quiver with energy but didn't do anything. Shoving his wand into his back pocket, at great risk to his buttocks, Harry quickly folded the sheet into a paper aeroplane. Whispering to it quietly, Harry tossed the plane into the air and watched it sail across the Great Hall.

Cho was busy with her newspaper and didn't notice the incoming bomber. It dove down at her and embedded itself in her plate of waffles. Cho looked at it quizzically and then searched the room for the navigator; Harry ducked over behind Hermione and couldn't be seen. With a shrug, Cho picked up the plane to examine it. With a flourish, it flattened itself out and then began to fold onto itself again. In a rustle it formed itself into a pair of large red lips and sailed up to plant a noisy kiss on Cho's cheek. The flustered Ravenclaw blushed deeply and again searched the room. This time she looked straight at the Gryffindor table and saw Harry sitting there with a broad smile on his face and she blushed even deeper.