Until We Meet Again

Noel woke up the next morning determined to spend more time with the Trio. After all, what better way to spend the summer than passing the time with The Boy Who Lived and his best friends?

Even though they didn't seem particularly keen on spending their summer with her. They probably thought she was just a curious groupie - which wasn't completely untrue. Noel couldn't help it, she was fascinated by Harry and his friends. And of course it helped that Harry was absolutely gorgeous.

She would find a way to hang out with them until they could get more comfortable around her. Surely they would warm up to her once they got to know her, right?

Noel changed into a tank top and jeans and wandered into the front of the house, where she found her Aunt Figgy right where she'd been last night - in front of the window. She felt a pang of concern when she saw how tired her aunt was. It only took her a few minutes to convince the old woman to go to bed and let Noel take over for a while.

With that out of the way, she wondered what to do next. She had no idea what the Trio's plans were. She wasn't even sure they would be leaving the Dursley house that day. Should she just go knock on their door?

"Get real, Noel. You want to be their friend, not stalk them," she muttered moodily.

She needed to clear her head and formulate a plan. A picture of the neighborhood park popped into her mind. It was a very relaxing spot, and she thought a little lounging in the sunshine would do her some good. With some luck, maybe the Trio would come around again soon.

Noel was humming her favorite song as she entered the park, but stopped when she spotted someone on the swing set. Someone much too big to be one of the local children.

"Harry?"

He looked up at her, startled.

"Hi, Noel. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, just passing the time." She struggled to contain her excitement as she took a seat in the swing next to Harry's. "What about you?"

"Same thing, I guess." He seemed distant. His brilliant green eyes were trained on the grass below him as he swung half-heartedly.

"Got something on your mind, or are you just unenthused to see me again?"

He smiled.

"Sorry, I have a lot on my mind."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Er... no, thanks, I can't really discuss it."

Noel could only guess that he was thinking about his troubles with You-Know-Who. She was curious what the truth was regarding Harry and You-know-who, but even she didn't have the nerve to broach the subject when they had just met. She decided to change the subject.

"Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"Back at the Dursleys'. Hermione wanted to get some reading done while we're here, and Ron is going to spend the day torturing Dudley."

Noel raised an eyebrow. Harry laughed.

He told her about his cousin and his life with the Dursleys. He made it sound funny, but she couldn't help but notice the pain and resentment in his voice. To lighten the mood, she told him about her visits with her crazy, beloved Aunt Figgy and her army of mutant cats. Noel decided Harry looked very cute when he laughed.

They talked about lots of other things, slipping easily into conversations about school and Quidditch. When Noel told Harry she'd gone to the Yule Ball with one of his classmates, he looked surprised.

"I'd have thought I'd remember if one of the guys took a Beauxbatons girl to the Yule Ball."

"I'm surprised you don't remember me staring at you all night," she laughed. "Me and a few other girls spent almost the entire ball finding excuses to walk past your table. I've never drank so much punch in my life."

Harry blushed slightly before looking at his watch.

"It's almost lunch time, I'd better get going. Ron, Hermione and I will probably go into town for something to eat." He paused as if he was considering something. Then he smiled. "Would you like to come?"

Noel laughed.

"Hmm. Would I like to go for lunch with the famous Harry Potter and his friends? No, I think I'll go back home with the cats."

It was Harry's turn to laugh. Noel grinned at him.

"Of course I'll come."