The Boy Who Failed

Chapter 5 - The Rumor

The German children march along,
Heads full of fairy tales and song.
They read of witches in their reader,
They sing of angels in their lieder.
I think their little heads must swim;
The songs are jolly, the tales are Grimm.

German Song by Oden Nash.

"On the charge of murder one, we find the defendant not guilty."

Katharine sat still for a moment, amazed. It was really over. They were letting her go. They weren't taking Asol away...

A hand touched her shoulder and she turned around to see who it was. David's smiling face was what she saw.

"Hey, cheer up," he said softly. "We won."

She smiled back. "I know. It's just -"

He nodded. "I understand."

Just then the noise in the courtroom reached her. Apparently most of the attendants rose to their feet and were cheering.

When Katharine turned, she immediately spotted Albus and Selia standing up front next to her parents. Albus was clapping along with the rest of the crowd. Selia was laughing and cheering. And her father was holding her mother who was crying from joy.

Her eyes swiped further through the crowd and she noticed many of her school friends were there. Most of them waved at her.

None of the assembled noticed that a few cloaked figures left the hall.

A hand touched her shoulder again and she found David looking at her once more.

"You're free to leave now," he said.

Katharine took one step towards her parents, but turned around and hugged David.

"Thank you," she whispered in his ear.

"You're welcome," he answered and hugged her back.

Katharine stepped back, smiled and went to her parents.

"Congratulations," said Albus, as she approached. Katharine smiled and nodded her thanks.

Next in line was Selia, she took Katharine's hand and squeezed it. Katharine squeezed it back.

As she approached her mother, she was swapped into a two-side hug, since both her parents embraced her tightly.

"It's all over. You can come home with us now," whispered Katharine's mother in Norse.

"I can't," Katharine whispered back. "I have to stay."

"Are you sure?" asked her father. "You'll be safe with us."

"I am needed here. Besides, Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain right now."

"We'll still be worried."

Katharine smiled at her parents and hugged them close.

By the time they released each other the Court hall has emptied, leaving the six of them alone.

"How about a little celebration in honor of this joyous occasion?" said Albus with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

"Oh, yes. It's been a while since I've seen my granddaughter," said Katharine's mother in English with a heavy accent.

"There's a portkey outside," said David, gesturing to the doors. "Let me show you the way." All of them followed David out of the hall.

The last to leave was Katharine. Her eyes searched over the room for the last time and closed the door.

~*~*~*~

"This is extremely stupid," said Harry, lowering his wand. "I can just walk there and lift the blasted feather myself."

Hermione sighed exasperatedly. "It's all psychological. If you succeeded levitating a feather, you'll be able to levitate heavier objects."

Harry and Hermione were occupying one of the many empty classrooms in Hogwarts. In the last week Hermione had started teaching Harry some basic magic, nothing over first year level.

"Last try," said Harry lifting up his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa!" The feather budged momentarily but didn't lift or hover.

"Progress," offered Hermione apologetically.

Harry shrugged. "I'm going to my rooms."

"No, wait," Hermione tried to stop him. "It's not that bad. You'll make it eventually."

"Yeah, right," Harry snorted. "I just need more practice," he imitated her voice. "Save it. I'm tired."

"Let's go to the common room then," Hermione walked beside him in the corridor, trying to make him slow down."

"I don't want to see any of your folk."

Hermione was slightly offended. "Why don't you go and talk to Sirius Black then?"

Harry stopped and looked at her indigently. "Why would I do that?"

"He is your godfather."

"That's what he says." He turned and continued walking down the corridor.

"Harry!" Hermione ran to keep up with him. "Why don't you believe him?"

"Why should I?" They reached Harry's quarters and Harry opened the door. "Why should I trust any one of you?"

"I thought we've been through this," Hermione sighed, standing in the doorway.

"Apparently, it wasn't enough," Harry shot back and entered one of the bedrooms, shutting the door behind him.

Hermione waited for a couple of minutes. "Can I come in?"

"Sure, but I don't strip for free," came the reply.

Hermione smiled. "I don't have any money," she called to him.

"It's OK. I have a very good payment system."

The door opened and Harry stepped out. He changed from his black robes to a simple pair of jeans and a deep green t-shirt. He settled in one of the couches near the fire. Hermione sat opposite him.

"Seriously, why don't you trust him?" she asked gently.

"He expects me to be glad you chose me to be your savior, but he doesn't understand -" Harry struggled for words.

"That you can't connect to a world you don't know," Hermione suggested.

Harry nodded. "That too. He never bothered to come and see me, and now he says we're a family." He made a face. "I keep having the feeling that once this is all over he'll forget I even exist."

Hermione stared at the fire for a few moments. "I don't think he's like that. Besides, if you succeed no one will ever forget you."

Harry snorted. "Yeah, right. If."

They sat in silence.

"You still have to talk to him," said Hermione finally.

"What good would that do?"

"If you told him how your life was, he might understand."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "How can he?"

"He spent eleven years in prison, before You-Know-Who rose again. After that we found out he was wrongfully imprisoned."

Harry stared at her in astonishment. "Well, that explains the walk," he said finally, smirking again.

Hermione was puzzled but decided to ignore his comments for a while. "Will you see him?"

Harry sighed. "Fine. As long as I don't have to go through your nagging again."

"OK," said Hermione and then smiled. "So, what about that strip now?"

~*~*~*~

"Boxers or briefs?"

"What?!" Hermione stared at Elanor, astonished. "What are you talking about?"

"You know, you and Harry getting awfully cozy together," Elanor smiled mischievously.

The three friends were sitting in their common room. There weren't many people there and the ones that were gave them enough privacy to talk freely.

"It's not like that at all!" dismissed Hermione. "We just talk."

"It's more than he does with anybody else," commented Neville.

Hermione looked at him sideways. "What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you notice?" asked Elanor. "You're the only one he actually pays attention to."

"That's not true," said Hermione.

"I tried to talk to him several times," said Neville. "He just raises an eyebrow and walks away."

"I saw him smoking outside, when McGonagall asked him to stop he told her it's none of her business," added Elanor.

"He said that to a teacher?!"

Elanor laughed. "You always see the important part."

"He's never like that with me," said Hermione seriously.

"Oooh, love is in the air," cooed Elanor.

"Stop that immediately," Hermione nudged Elanor.

"No, you stop it! Every single girl in school is jealous of you."

"No, they're not," protested Hermione.

"Boy, are you blind," exclaimed Elanor. "She turned around and called across the room. "Hey, Parvati! What do you think about Harry Potter?"

Parvati did an exaggerated sigh and started giggling with Lavender Brown who sat next to her.

"See?" said Elanor, turning back to Hermione and Neville.

"You can't mean all the girls think that," said Hermione hopefully.

"Some of the guys think it too," said Neville miserably.

Hermione decided to ignore that comment.

"You know, if you don't want him, can I try?" asked Elanor.

"Since when do you ask my permission anyway?"

"Translation from Hermione to English," said Neville. "That means 'yes'."

Elanor grinned, hugged Hermione and Neville and ran out of the room.

~*~*~*~

Sirius stood in front of the teacher's desk in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.

He looked at it with unseeing eyes for a few moments, and then he sighed, picked up one of the empty boxes he brought and put it on the table. Sirius took out the top drawer and laid it beside the box, taking the quills and parchments and placing them in the box.

The door to the classroom opened and Sirius lifted his eyes. Harry was standing in the doorway.

"If you tell me what you were looking for," said Sirius, who was upset enough without trying to deal with Harry at the moment. "I can give you directions."

Harry looked surprised for a split second, but his face resumed their passive expression almost immediately. "I was looking for you."

"You ran out of people to ignore?" asked Sirius and took the second drawer out of the table.

"I came here to talk," said Harry and sat on one of the chairs.

"I'm not up for talking right now," answered Sirius, concentrating on putting the handbooks from the second drawer in the box. The he lifted his eyes. "The world doesn't revolve around you, you know."

"You didn't give off that impression the other day," commented Harry off handedly.

Sirius ignored him and continued gathering things into the box.

"Did you know the teacher that died?" asked Harry trying to start a conversation.

"I did."

"Hermione told me he was a really good teacher," Harry tried a different approach.

Sirius threw the last handbook into the box and looked at Harry. "What do you want?" he snapped.

"I said I came here to talk," said Harry and leaned back in his chair.

Sirius passed the table and stood in front of Harry. "Fine. Talk."

Harry looked surprised. "I didn't think it would be that easy.'

Sirius crossed his arms and leaned on the desk behind him.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Sirius could hear students in the corridor going from one lesson to another, but it wasn't his or Harry's concern.

"This is ridiculous," said Harry suddenly. "If you're not going to talk, I will.

"A month ago, this man came into the book store I'm working in and said he was interested in reading Valley of the Dolls."

Sirius stared at him. Harry stared back.

"What's the point of your story?" asked Sirius eventually.

"You don't get it?" said Harry, frowning. "It's a girly book."

Sirius continued staring at him. "Why are you telling me this?"

Harry shrugged. "I said I'll talk, I didn't say it's going to make sense."

Sirius' lips quirked upwards.

Harry must have seen it because he continued. "Anyway, a couple of days ago, I was taking a shower when suddenly this ghost came out of the draining pipe. You can imagine my distress when the only thing I could cover myself with were the shower curtains, which are transparent. But on the plus side, the ghost seemed to like the view."

That cracked Sirius up.

When he finally calmed down, he found Harry watching him smugly. "You know," the boy informed him. "If you're not going to talk, I'm going to continue."

"Tempting as it sounds," said Sirius, sill smiling slightly. "I've got my share of talking to do."

Sirius sighed. "I know I sounded demanding, but your father and I were best friends, I guess I expected you to be like him."

"You expected all that from my father?" Harry snorted. "He must have been one hell of a guy."

"He was."

There were a few moments of silence at the end of which Sirius spoke again. "I'm not sure how much you know about your parents, but I'll tell you everything I can."

Sirius waited for Harry to comment somehow on this, but he didn't and Sirius just continued.

"I met your father on the Hogwarts Express back in our first year. We became friends immediately and were inseperable from then on. We also became friends with Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and your mother, Lily.

"We had lots of fun together. There was this one incident in our first year involving our transfiguration teacher, some rope and a duck. Come to think of it, I imagine that's why ducks aren't allowed in Hogwarts any more..."

~*~*~*~

A lone, cloaked figure walked silently through the streets of Hogsmeade. The passers by didn't pay it much attention, although the figure watched them closely.

The figure tightened the cloak around itself and turned into a side path.

This street was nothing exceptional. Small cottages with well-cared gardens and white fences were standing at its either sides. It looked deserted.

The figure walked briskly down the road, shivering in the cold December wind.

At the end of the street the figure stopped. The house it now stood in front of looked neglected, a strong contradiction to the other well groomed ones.

An eagle was perched on the fence.

The figure looked around cautiously before stepping next to the owl, which immediately flew to its arm.

"Hello Tamshai," said the figure softly, while tying a message to the owl's leg. "Working extra hours for the Cause?"

The figure didn't stay to watch the bird fly off. After all, it wasn't safe for a spy to stay in the open for that long.

~*~*~*~

Harry wasn't very keen to admit that he hadn't the faintest idea where he was.

Sirius talked for what appeared to be hours before he finally let Harry go.

When Sirius did release him, Harry's general intention was to get to his quarters. The castle didn't seem to agree with him.

He was walking up a wide corridor with very few doors in it. It looked vaguely familiar, only Harry didn't know where from.

Suddenly he found himself facing a junction. Harry stood looking three ways in front of him, contemplating his options.

Just then he heard footsteps coming from the right-hand corridor. As much as Harry didn't want to ask for help, he needed it. He figured he could manipulate whoever it was into assisting him without them realizing it.

A moment later, Hermione's friend, Elanor, walked up to where Harry was standing.

"Hi, Harry," she said smiling. "I was looking for you."

"You were?" Harry played along.

"Yes," her smile became even bigger. "I was at your quarters earlier."

Harry twisted his face into a smile. "I'm going there now. Walk with me?"

"Sure." She looked like he made her day, and Harry started to see the other advantages of being nice to her.

Elanor started walking in the direction of the left-hand passage, Harry quickly followed her.

"So, are you enjoying your stay?" asked Elanor.

Harry looked down at her. "It's not what I expected."

"Is that a good thing?" her voice was playful.

"It has its perks," was Harry's none-committed answer.

"What did you do today?" she changed the subject.

"Got up, ate breakfast, Hermione had an unsuccessful attempt at tutoring me, made peace with my long lost, ex-convict Godfather, and now I'm talking to you. How was yours?"

"Much more boring than yours, apparently. But it isn't over yet," she said, looking at him slyly.

They reached the Entrance Hall and went up the marble staircase. There were two girls walking in the opposite direction.

All of a sudden, Elanor took hold of Harry's arm, beamed happily at him and turned to the two girls. "Hello Parvati, hi Lavender, how are you?"

The two girls stared at the two of them in mute shock until they disappeared in one of the passages. Only then did Elanor let go of Harry's arm.

"What was that all about?" asked Harry, half playfully.

"Oh," said Elanor innocently. "Just creating a little school gossip. Nothing important."

Harry smiled mischievously.

"Which reminds me," said Elanor cautiously. "What do you think of Hermione?"

"She's OK," he answered off handedly.

"Ooh, vagueness, you like her," Elanor smiled.

Harry smirked. "What if I do?"

"Then you're bounded to be disappointed, you don't stand a chance if you're not a book."

"Oh, alas," said Harry dramatically. "But not all great loves are answered."

The two of them stopped in front of Harry's quarters.

"Well, I'll see you at dinner," said Elanor and then smiled. "Thanks for that lovely rumor."

"Anytime," said Harry, smirking again.

Elanor turned to leave, but Harry called her back.

"Why were you looking for me earlier?" he asked.

"You are the realization of every girl's wet dream, who wouldn't want to spend time with you?"

"I'll keep that in mind."

~*~*~*~

Sirius knocked on the Headmaster's door. He had just finished talking to Harry and decided to fill Albus in the new developments.

"Come in," called Albus from inside the room.

Sirius entered and closed the door behind him. "I just talked to Harry."

Albus put whatever he was reading down and laced his fingers on top of the table. "Tell me what happened."

"I was in Remus' office." Sirius sat down and Albus nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"Harry came in saying he wanted to talk to me"

"What did you talk about?"

"I told him about James, how he was in school, how he met Lily, pranks we did..."

"You didn't give him any ideas, did you?" Albus' eyes twinkled.

Sirius smiled. "He doesn't need any tips from me."

"Do you think he'll stay?" Albus' tone turned serious.

"He seems to like it here, but I'm not sure."

An owl flew, at that moment, through one of the open windows. It landed in front of Albus and presented its leg to him.

Albus untied the note and read it.

"There has been another attack," said Albus finally.

"How many?" asked Sirius, sighing.

"Eighteen, many Ministry officials."

"Where was it?"

"Our Ministry of Magic. Fortunately, the Minister wasn't hurt."

"Yes, very fortunately," said Sirius, sarcastically. "And I am sure Minister McNair didn't know anything about the attack either."

Albus looked at him gravely. "We have a very honorable Minister."

They sat silently after that.

~*~*~*~

"What were you doing with my best friend?" demanded Hermione, storming into Harry's rooms.

Harry was sitting on a couch, reading Hogwarts - A History. He lifted his head and looked at her. "Which one?"

Hermione glared down on him. "The one you took to your rooms!"

Harry looked at her and then smiled innocently. "But I only take you to my rooms."

"Don't lie to me. People saw you!"

"And who was it that saw us, again?" asked Harry and then paused. "Are you jealous?"

Hermione became slightly pink. "I am not jealous."

"So why are you so mad?" asked Harry raising an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be happy for your friend?"

Hermione looked flustered. "Oh, well. Congratulations, then."

"Thanks, for what?" Harry was enjoying himself.

"You and Elanor," Hermione looked confused.

"What about us?"

"Aren't you together?"

"No, what made you think that?"

"You did!"

"I never said anything of that sort."

Hermione now turned completely red. "What are you doing?"

"I was just reading peacefully, minding my own business when you stormed in and started to yell at me."

Hermione sat next to Harry looking flustered. She glanced at the book he was holding. "What are you reading?"

"Hogwarts - A History," he looked at her. "I never thought that a thousand year old rivalry would start because somebody bought a cheap Christmas presents."

"Well, it was hand-made."

"It was a handkerchief."

"A very useful thing to have."

"It was pink and said Marry Christmas, Simon."

"I can see why Salazar was mad."

They sat in silence for a few moments.

"So what were you really doing with Elanor?" asked Hermione timidly.

"We pretended to be a couple."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "Why did you do that?"

"It seemed like fun at the time."

"It won't be fun anymore, the whole school thinks you're together."

"And that's bad because...?"

"It's not bad," said Hermione offhandedly. "As long as you love pink and hearts and Valentine music. The house elves tend to exaggerate with new couples."

"What are house-elves?" asked Harry.

Hermione sighed. "They are these little..."

~*~*~*~

"Congratulations," said Severus, letting Katharine into his apartment.

"Thank you," she smiled. "I hope I'm not bothering you."

"It's alright. What was it you needed?"

"An anti-coughing potion, for Asol. I trust your potions skills more than Pomfrey's."

Severus smiled. "I'm flattered. Take a seat, I'll be back with you in a moment."

Katharine nodded and looked around the room, as Severus disappeared behind a door on the other side of the room.

There was a fireplace in the right side wall and a sitting area near it with a couple of comfortable looking armchair and a small coffee table.

To her left there was a big book case stuffed full of books. She went to examine some of them.

"You have a very interesting collection here," she called out. "I never thought you'd have a copy of The Noble Sport of Warlocks."

Severus came back, holding a small vial in his hand. "It's a very interesting book, just so you'd know."

"I should borrow it one day," said Katharine.

Severus looked at his hands and handed her the vial. "Here's the potion."

She smiled. "Thank you."

Severus nodded. "No problem."

Katharine stood there looking at him, not knowing what to say next. He looked like he didn't know either.

"How's Hogwarts treating you?" Severus finally said.

"Perfectly fine," she answered. "Asol is having a great time here."

"I imagine," said Severus. "With all the children and ghosts to play with."

"She prefers animals. She's never seen so many cats before."

They were silent again.

"I should go," said Katharine at last. "Asol is alone in our quarters."

Severus nodded. "Yes, a little child with all those magical objects lying around."

Katharine smiled, walking towards the door. "Thank you again, for the potion."

"It really is no problem. Come by any time."

~*~*~*~

Harry and Hermione were walking in the general direction of the Great Hall. Of course you can never know with Hogwarts, but Hermione seemed to know where she was going and Harry had no choice but to trust her.

"Elanor and Neville should be right around the corner," said Hermione.

Harry nodded absent mindedly, thinking about his stomach more than anything else.

"Harry, really, how are you going to deal with everything?" asked Hermione, looking anxious.

He looked sideways at her. "You're obviously over reacting."

She was about to answer but Neville and Elanor appeared at the end of the corridor.

"I see Hermione's been lecturing you on the cons and pros of a public relationship," Elanor smirked their way. "Bored to death yet?'

"I wouldn't know," said Harry. "I wasn't paying attention."

Elanor looked at him, impressed. "Good idea, I should do that next time."

The two of them turned to look at the other two. Neville looked at them shocked, his eyes wide with disbelief. Hermione looked furious.

"I think our work here is done," said Harry. He put his arm around Elanor's shoulders and they continued walking down the passage.

"Oh, you two are perfect for each other," shouted Hermione after them. "And you deserve everything you'll get!"

Elanor twisted back and smiled at Hermione. "Jealous, darling?"

It turned out the Great Hall wasn't very far off and the small group reached it in no time.

After the fact, Harry realized he should have listened more carefully to Hermione. But at that specific moment, he concentrated on not passing out from the strong odor and the saver pinkness.

Absolutely everything was pink - candles, banners, table clothes. The things that weren't pink were heart shaped - the dishes, the silver ware, even the food.

"Where is this horrible smell coming from?" whispered Harry in Elanor's ear. He was thankful that no one noticed them standing in the entrance. Yet.

"I think it's the candles," whispered Elanor back. "They invented them when Justin from Hufflepuff and Padma from Ravenclaw started dating, last year."

"It smells horrible," said Harry. "Why do they inflict such torture on you?"

"I think it's supposed to be Passion Fruit. I guess they were fooled by the name."

Harry was about to give up dinner all together when all of a sudden somebody pushed him deeper into the room.

All eyes immediately turned to him and Elanor, who, apparently, was pushed as well.

"Oh, damn," whispered Elanor so that only Harry could hear.

After a strong mental battle Harry decided he really didn't care, and started walking towards the Gryffindor table, where he usually sat.

After a few moments, Elanor joined him.

All the eyes in the room followed them. The instant they took their places, the silence in the room was broken and everyone were whispering excitedly.

Harry looked cautiously at the heart-shaped potatoes in front of him.

A few seconds later Hermione and Neville joined them. Neville wouldn't meet Harry's gaze and Hermione was grinning from ear to ear.

Harry tensed up and waited for something new and very horrible to happen.

Nothing did.

Harry started to relax, and even managed to ignore the smell, after a while. He really didn't mind that the icing one everything read Harry & Elanor 4ever.

And just when he thought the worse was over the music started.

"Oh, my lovely!
I love you so!
You are my pumpkin,
To I would never say no!

"Your Unicorn hair
And Dragon-hide eye!
You are so pretty;
I'm going to die!

"Oh, my little pixie!
You will always be mine!
They brought you to me
from the sky divine!

"Your Unicorn hair
And Dragon-hide eye!
You are so pretty;
I'm going to - !

I'm going to -!
I'm going to DIE -!"

To Harry's greatest relief, the song ended there. He turned to stare at Elanor. She looked as shocked as he was.

"They didn't do this last time!"

Unfortunately, another song started and Harry couldn't hear Elanor anymore.

"I gave her my heart and also my wand,
She played them, she broke them,
And I am a wizard no more -"

The song ended abruptly and was followed by a high-pitched squeak. "Sorry! Wrong record!"

Another song started, but Harry wouldn't take it anymore. He stood up from his chair and left the Hall as fast as he could without running.

He headed for his rooms, hoping not to get lost this time. Halfway there, Hermione caught up with him.

"So, what did you think about your little... celebration?" she said with a glint in her eyes.

"Do not say I told you so," said Harry, glaring sideways at her.

"Fine," she said.

They walked silently.

"I warned you."

They reached Harry's rooms.

"I didn't really think you were serious," answered Harry, opening the door. "I mean, come on, little creatures with big eyes and even bigger ears who play stupid love music and make your food pink?"

"And that's normal," commented Hermione, entering after Harry and sitting in front of the fire. "Wait till you see our sports."

Harry snorted. "I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

She smiled. "Fine, I won't tell you."

Harry sat across from her and stretched out on his armchair. "This was a long day."

"I've been meaning to ask you," said Hermione. "How did your meeting with Black go?"

Harry shrugged. "It was fine. It took me a while to get him to talk, but..."

~*~*~*~

"More tea?" asked Albus gesturing at the teapot.

"Yes, please," nodded David.

Albus waved his hand and David's cup and saucer flew over to the pot.

"Have you told the school yet?" asked David, catching his tea as it flew back.

Albus shook his head. "They were having some sort of celebration. I couldn't bring myself to ruin it."

"They will find out tomorrow," said David solemnly. "It's going to be on the Prophet."

Albus sighed.

"It's getting worse."

"I'm afraid it is," said Albus. "All that is left for us is to rely on fate."

"Surly there is something we can do."

"I do have a plan, but it's too uncertain at the moment."

"Does it concern Harry Potter?" asked Davis and sipped his tea.

"Possibly."

David smiled, amused. "You don't trust me."

"These are difficult times," said Albus, looking gravely at the man in front of him. "It is very hard to trust anyone."

It was David's turn to sigh. "I understand."

Albus refilled their tea.

"How is Katharine doing?" asked David, in an attempt to change the subject.

"Oh, she's quite all right," said Albus, suddenly looking cheerful. "She and Asol are having great time here. Just the other day she brought me a painting. I thought it was a very colorful flower, but it turned out to be me."

David laughed. "I dearly hope you are referring to Asol."

"She's a lively young child," said Albus. "It is fortunate that she wasn't influenced by everything that happened."

"And Katharine?" insisted David. "How is she doing?"

"She is finding friends among my staff." Albus' eyes twinkled. "It's doing her good, being here."

David drank his tea. "I'm glad."

"You are invited to visit here, and her, as much as you like," commented Albus.

David continued to drink his tea.

~*~*~*~

"This is the last time I'm having fake affairs around you people," said Harry, sinking into a couch in the Gryffindor common room.

"This is the last time I'm having any kind of affair around here," said Elanor, mimicking Harry's actions.

"That will teach you," said Hermione, dropping into an armchair across from them. "Next time you'll listen to me."

Harry lifted his eyes and saw Neville. "Well, don't you have any words of wisdom to give us?" Neville averted his eyes and shrank into his chair.

Elanor buried her head into a near by cushion. "What are we going to do now?"

"We could break up," suggested Harry.

"NO!" cried Hermione and Elanor together, while Neville looked mildly alarmed.

"Can you imagine what they would do to us then?" asked Elanor. "It would be country and blues music forever!"

"You're exaggerating," said Harry.

"You said that last time," reminded him Hermione.

Harry groaned. "Fine, I give up."

"You have to do something," said Neville.

"One of us could fake their own death," suggested Harry.

The other three looked strangely at him.

"That's not a laughing matter," said Hermione.

By that time, the common room had filled up and all the Gryffindors were lounging about.

A sandy haired boy came up to Hermione, asking her for help in transfiguration. Hermione got up from her chair and followed him into an empty corner of the common room.

Elanor, Harry and Neville sat silently for a few moments.

"Umm," said Neville. "I need help with that too." He quickly hurried off.

"Alone at last," said Elanor, looking at Harry mischievously.

Harry looked at her, amused. "And what are you planning to do with me?"

"Wouldn't you wanna know?"

"I wouldn't mind knowing."

"Then I'll just have to sit next to you and tell you." She got up from her seat and sat next to Harry, still looking mischievous.

Hermione and Neville chose that particular time to return to their corner.

Harry glared at them. "She was just about to do illegal things to me, why did you come back???"

Hermione gave him a strange look and sat down on the seat Elanor vacated.

"So, Harry," she said. "Are we going to practice some more charms this evening?"

Harry grunted in return.

Unnoticed by anyone the portrait hole opened and admitted Ron Weasley in. He looked around for a moment and then called out, "Hey guys, I'm back."

The common room became quiet, all eyes on him.

Ron looked around and spotted Harry Potter, then the company he was in. He frowned.

"Harry why are you sitting with them???"