Harry Potter and the Dawn of a New Age

Harry Potter and the Dawn of a New Age (9)

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Chapter 9: Other things to think about

"Hermione, nobody's going to take that oatmeal away from you."

"Very funny, Harry. I have to hurry up so I can get to the library before...damn, there he is. I'll just grab an orange and eat it on the way. See you at dinner, Harry."

Hermione then pocketed an orange from the platter of fruit in the middle of the table and ran off with her bag slung over her shoulder. Harry watched her go as Ron made his way over to take her now vacant seat.

"So, I guess my ploy to get the two of you back together by talking to one another didn't work out so well?"

Ron ladled himself a half bowl of oatmeal and then proceeded to fill the rest of the bowl with a large assortment of extras that included: brown sugar, cinnamon, black and white raisins, chocolate chips, granola, and pistachios. When he was done he could barely fit in a drop of cream. This was usually the point when Hermione would make a caustic comment, but she wasn't there.

"Oh yeah, it went really well. Hermione and I made up and we're thicker than thieves. That's why she runs from me like I'm a dementor now, genius."

Harry felt a little upset at Ron now. He really had tried to do something for him.

"Look, Ron, I'm sorry about locking the two of you up like I did, but I had to do something."

"Well, mission accomplished. Of course, Hermione and I still aren't talking, and now she can't even be in the same room with me. You and Luna really helped us out."

Harry was about to go back to his toast and marmalade when he realized Ron had mentioned Luna as well.

"How did you know Luna was involved in this?"

Ron laughed and licked his spoon clean.

"Hermione figured that one out right away. I originally thought that you and Hermione had planned it all, but she said she didn't know anything about it. So, she figured it must have been Luna. She mentioned something about giving you doe eyes and swiveling her hips."

Harry stopped his toast's journey to his mouth and gave a confused look at Ron.

"Since when does Luna swivel her hips?"

Ron laughed again and poured a generous amount of salsa onto his scrambled eggs.

"That's what Hermione said. I never noticed it either. Mind you, I've certainly noticed that Hermione's hips swivel when she walks. Luna doesn't really have the amount of hips to swivel that much. Now, Hermione on the other hand..."

"Ron, I don't think talking about Hermione's hips swiveling is going to help you get over her. And hey, there is nothing wrong with Luna's hips! She's just a little more...delicate than Hermione is. And she's got the firmest little...damn it, Ron! Now you've got me thinking about Luna's body! We need to be talking about you and Hermione!"

Ron gave an exasperated sigh and grabbed some of Harry's toast.

"There is no Hermione and I to talk about. She made that perfectly clear yesterday during our confinement."

Harry shook his head.

"What happened in there? Did you tell her how you felt about her? Didn't you apologize for reading her letter?"

"Yes, I did all that stuff! I told her that I loved her and she just said she was 'sorry'. And she never even tried to deny that she was in love with Viktor."

"Did you ask her about it?"

Ron gave a momentary pause in his frenzied eating.

"Well...not in so many words, no."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Well, we never really got into specifics about what was in the letter. I was mostly upset about her writing him in the first place, let alone what the letter said."

Harry gave his own exasperated sigh and rounded on Ron.

"What the bloody hell do you mean you didn't even ask her? How do you know if she really is in love with him? Love can mean a lot of different things, Ron! Why didn't you just come right out and ask her if she really was dating him?"

Ron's face reddened slightly. It seemed obvious now, but now was too late.

"I just didn't, ok? Still, she should have told me she was still writing him. I mean, he's been after her for over two years!"

Harry realized that no progress was likely to be made at this point, so he opted to change the subject to something else.

"Fine, whatever, it's your life. And speaking of your life, how about what I was talking to you about earlier? What about asking another girl out?"

"I don't know, Harry. I've never even asked a girl out before. I even had to have you get me a date for the Yule Ball. Besides, what girl would ever want to go out with me?"

"Well, I heard that Eloise Midgen is available."

Harry and Ron both looked up to see Ginny now seated across from them. She had the patented Weasley grin on her face and looked pleased that her comment had successfully caused her brother's face to redden even more. It was another minute or two before Harry noticed that Ginny hardly looked like someone planning to spend the day studying.

"Ginny, what are you all dressed up for? Wait, is that perfume I smell? What's the deal? Oh, and you look great by the way."

Ginny smiled at Harry and then looked at the penetrating glare of her brother.

"Gin, what have you got yourself all tarted up for? I thought you and Neville were going to be studying Herbology together."

Ginny delicately chewed on a bit of muffin before blowing on her freshly painted nails.

"We are, right after breakfast. As for why I've 'tarted myself up', well, there's nothing wrong with a girl dressing up now and then. Oh, and thanks for the compliment, Harry."

Ron continued to glare at his little sister.

"Since when do you dress up to study with Neville? Remember this little sister; Neville and I sleep in the same room. If I get the faintest whiff of that pong on him, or I see even a trace of that flaming lipstick on his collar, I'll turn him into an 'it'. And that won't come close to mum will do to you."

Ginny took a lingering drink of her pumpkin juice and got up from the table.

"Well, I'd best be going now. Neville gets lonely if I'm away from him too long. Oh, and speaking of lonely, Ron, when are you going to make up with Hermione? She's in the library nearly all the time lately and she looks miserable. I told her I'd transfigure you into a vole, but she told me not to bother. Mind you, if you give me much more lip and Neville and I, you may end up a rodent anyway."

Ron seemed to consider this for a moment before his anger won out over his fear of becoming a small furry animal.

"Look Gin, I'll handle my own problems with Hermione, ok? Now, being the only brother you have left here at school, I feel it's my duty to look after you. I'm not going to try to tell you that Neville's not a nice bloke, because he is, but I am going to tell you that you're too young do date. Besides, he's too old for you."

Ginny had been prepared to walk away but couldn't resist the temptation to stay and torment her brother. After all, he was the only one left for her to pester.

"Oh, so Neville is too old for me? Weren't you the one who wanted to get Harry and me together? I seem to remember that they have the exact same birthday!"

Ron's face deepened in color again. It was now a mixture of anger and frustration. Ginny felt a sense of accomplishment at the sight, while Harry dreaded the thought of spending the rest of the day with him like this. It took Ron a long time to wind down once he was riled up.

"That was totally different, Gin! Harry's like a member of the family."

Ginny grinned even wider.

"Oh, so you want me to get involved with a member of the family? Well, that would keep the pureblood heritage going. I think incest leads to genetic defects, though. I mean, look at Draco."

"That's not what I meant either, Gin! Look, I just don't want to see you get hurt. I know Neville's a decent enough guy, but all sixteen year old males want the same thing, and it sure as hell isn't someone to study with."

Ginny rolled her eyes and laughed at her still ruby faced brother.

"Speak for yourself, Ron. Neville is a total gentleman to me. Sometimes he's too much of one. Besides, how do you know what every sixteen-year-old boy wants? And how do you know we haven't done it already?"

Ron Weasley was not someone you would attribute with having any amount of grace or gymnastic ability. However, the sight of him leaping the Gryffindor house table and landing on one foot and pivoting to grab hold of Ginny's shoulders was the kind of move that would have garnered high marks in the Olympic Games.

"You better be joking, Ginny. If you and Neville have...if he...you just better be joking."

Ginny's wry smile turned into a look of combined astonishment and fear. She realized now that she had gone to far this time.

"Ron, settle down! Of course I was kidding! We haven't come anywhere near it! He really is a total gentleman. He gets all sweaty and nervous when I just try to hold hands with him. I think he'd keel over if I so much as tried to kiss him. I'm sorry, Ron. I was just winding you up, I swear."

Ron didn't realize how tightly he was holding onto Ginny until he saw her grimace from the pain of it. He immediately let go of her and backed away a step.

"I know. I'm sorry, Ginny. I'm just a little messed up right now. I know that you can handle yourself. Hell, you're doing a lot better than I am. It's just that you're my sister, my little sister. I'm always going to worry about you, no matter how old you are."

Ginny felt extremely appreciative of her brother at that moment. He could still be a total git at times, but she wouldn't change him for anything in the world.

"I know, Ron. I really do appreciate it. I think that over the last year we've all started to care a lot more about one another. Well, I really need to go now. I'll see you both later, ok?"

Ginny then gave both boys a kiss on the cheek and set off for the library. Ron continued to sit and look down at the floor while Harry came around to sit next to him.

"She's right, Ron. All of us are closer than normal friends now. We're as much a family as any other one. That's what you have to keep in mind. I know you and Hermione are having problems right now, but you have to know that she still cares about you. We all have to be there for one another or we're not going to make it."

Harry clapped Ron on the back and gave him a reassuring smile. Ron looked dubious for a moment before he managed a smile of his own and gave Harry a clap on the back as well.

"You're right, mate. We're all in this together. I've been an idiot these last couple weeks but it all ends today, I swear. I don't know what's wrong with me. I just got into a funk and couldn't get out of it."

"That's ok, Ron. Hey, you don't need to tell me about getting into funks. I think I spent all of last year in one. Anyway, now that you're back to normal, how about the idea I had of you asking someone out?"

Ron's face pinked up slightly. Harry knew by now with Ron that pink meant he was embarrassed, and red meant he was angry. It was much the same as ordering a steak. You were pretty safe with rare, but when he got to well done...look out.

"I don't know, Harry. I'm never good at these types of things. I couldn't even work up the nerve to dance with Padma at the Yule Ball!"

Harry grinned at the memory.

"You don't have to dance with them, Ron. Just ask them if they'd like to grab a butterbeer on the next Hogsmeade visit. Luna and I could even go with you if you want."

Ron nodded. He liked the idea of other people being there in case things went south.

"Ok, I'll think about it. First we have to actually find a girl that will go out with me. We can scratch Slytherin off for a start. I don't think Gryffindor is a good idea either. If it doesn't work out, and I'm sure it will. I'd still have to see them everyday. So, that leaves Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. What do you think, Harry?"

Harry was a bit taken aback and how Ron had gone so quickly from not liking the idea to sounding like uncle Vernon before going to the bookies."

"Uh, well, both have some attractive girls. With Hufflepuff you've got Hannah Abbott. On the plus side, she's pretty in a 'straight forward blonde hair blue eyes' kind of way. And she's always been nice to you in classes. On the minus side, I'm not real sure what her relationship is with Ernie. You may want to find that out before you ask her out. There's also Molly Rome. I don't know much about her, but she's probably the second prettiest next to Hannah. She's just a little young, though. I'd suggest we try and stay with someone closer to our own age."

Ron nodded.

"Yeah, you're right. I could hardly give my sister hell one minute for going out with someone a year older and then turn around and date a third year. How about Ravenclaw? I think I'd like to date a girl who could carry on a conversation."

Harry shifted his gaze from the Hufflepuff table to the Ravenclaw one.

"Well, I think we can eliminate Cho and Marietta...right?"

Ron laughed.

"I don't know, Cho is pretty hot, and I heard that she'll kiss any bloke."

Harry gave Ron an elbow to the ribs in response.

"Moving on, Ron, there's always Padma. I know the two of you didn't do well at the Yule Ball, but she warmed up to you after the second task, and she is probably the prettiest girl in Ravenclaw...apart from Luna of course."

Ron rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, mate. Yeah, Padma could work. I like the idea of something a little exotic. How about that one girl across from Padma? I don't know much about her, either. She looks like she could be Italian. I like Italian food, so we'd have that in common. I think she's in Ginny's year. Her name starts with a P I think."

Harry looked at the girl in question and thought she looked familiar but couldn't quite place her.

"I think I've seen her talking with Luna before. I thought her name started with an F, though. Why don't you go over and talk to her? You two would be a bit of an odd couple. She's fairly tiny, and you're over six foot. You could carry her around in your little pocket."

"I don't think she'd be very comfortable in there."

Harry and Ron were both so wrapped up in looking over the available females that they had failed to notice Luna approaching them. Sitting down next to Harry she took hold of his hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek."

"I don't think she'd be a good choice for you, Ronald. She's in my Divination class and Professor Trelawney predicted that she'd one day have four children and befriend a strange American. On top of that, I think she's got a crush on Harry. Anyway, why are you bothering to shop around when you already know that it's Hermione that you really want?"

Ron's face went pink again.

"It doesn't matter what I want because Hermione doesn't want me."

Luna gave Ron a reassuring smile and patted him on the knee.

"Don't worry, Ronald. She'll come around. You just have to be patient. Hermione isn't the type of person to hurry into anything, especially important things. Give her some time and she'll find her way home. True love is worth the wait, I should know."

Ron nodded and was amazed to feel that he really did feel better about things. Maybe there was some truth to Luna having some kind of natural calming influence on people. For the first time ever, he was a bit envious of Harry for having her. Noticing that the great hall was now nearly empty, Ron stood up and gathered up his bag to leave.

"Thanks, Luna. You're right; I just need to be patient. Come on, Harry. We've got Transfiguration up first."

Harry stood up and gave Luna a kiss on the cheek before following Ron to class. Harry couldn't help but marvel at the fact that Luna had been able to calm Ron down in a matter of minutes when it had taken him days to do so. He felt again how very lucky he was to have Luna in his life.

Transfiguration went well enough. Harry had been able to transfigure his Great Dane into a chimp, so he was now working on early level human transfiguration. Since total human transfiguration was extremely difficult, even for fully grown adult wizards, McGonagall had the class start off by simply transfiguring their feet. Harry transfigured his into webbed duck feet and waddled around the room, while Ron transfigured his into large cement block looking feet and wandered about with his arms stretched straight out like Frankenstein. Hermione, naturally, got the hang of it almost immediately and actually managed to transfigure both her feet and legs both to give herself the appearance of being a mermaid.

Potions went as could be expected for them. They were currently working on a strengthening potion that would allow the drinker to temporarily possess ten times their normal strength. Snape spent most of the class lingering around Ron and Hermione hoping to take off more points for any outburst that might come up, but he was disappointed when they both remained quiet. The only satisfaction he gained was when he was able to take twenty points from Gryffindor when Neville's potion failed to turn the required blue color. Neville swore that he had followed the directions to the letter, but Snape paid no attention to him. In truth, it had been Malfoy who had switched the bottle of powdered rhino horn for one of troll dandruff that caused the error to occur, but nobody had caught him doing it. Draco merely grinned evilly at Neville before marking his own correctly prepared potion and turning it in.

The rest of the classes that day went fine, apart from the fact that Ron and Hermione were now back to ignoring one another completely. Harry wasn't sure what he liked better; having them fighting, or not having them interacting at all. By the time classes were over, Hermione made her usual escape to the library and Ron sat moping in the common room. Once again, Harry felt the need to try and do something. Going up to his dorm room and getting the mirror that Hermione had given him for his birthday; he sat on his bed and called out her name.

All he could see at first was darkness. He called out her name a little louder and suddenly saw a very close up image of a palm. He then was treated to the sight of Hermione's pretty face, albeit a concerned pretty face.

"Harry, what's wrong? What do you need? Are you ok?"

Harry smiled at her concern for him. He could never truly tell her how much he appreciated everything about her. He felt truly fortunate to have her in his life as well.

"Relax, Hermione, I'm fine. Actually, I'm more concerned about you."

A confused look appeared on Hermione's face.

"Me? Why are you concerned about me? I'm perfectly fine studying here in the library."

"I know- that's where you always seem to be lately. You're camped out there in the library, Ron's sitting all forlorn in the common room, and I'm out my two best friends. I need you both back, Hermione."

"I know, Harry. I know how stupid this all is. It's just that, since our talk in the room of requirement, things are different between the two of us. I don't know if my friendship is enough for him any more."

Hermione looked as if she might cry now, and Harry never liked it when girls cried. Especially when it was Hermione.

"Look, Hermione, don't worry so much about it. You guys are still best friends, and that's enough for anyone. I consider myself lucky to be your friend, and I know Ron does too. So, how about you pack it in and join us for dinner tonight? You know that Ron is always in better spirits when food is around."

Hermione laughed at this. It was true, anytime Ron was in a snit over something, you could usually placate him with food. She still wasn't sure though if she could be that close to him yet.

"I don't know, Harry. Things are tough right now. I'm not sure I can face him."

Hermione was surprised when, instead of a normal response, she heard Harry singing to her a song that she remembered being one of her parents favorites.

"When you're down and troubled

And you need a helping hand

And nothing, nothing is going right

Close your eyes and think of me

And soon I will be there

To brighten up even your darkest nights

You just call out my name

And you know wherever I am

I'll come running to see you again

Winter, spring, summer or fall,

All you've got to do is call

And I'll be there

You've got a friend...

"It's not going to work, Harry. Save the songs for Luna. You are not going to charm me into talking to Ron. No way."

If the sky above you

Should turn dark and full of clouds

And that old North Wind should begin to blow

Keep your head together now

And call my name out loud

Soon I'll be knocking upon your door

Ain't it good to know that you've got a friend?

When people can be so cold

They'll hurt you

And desert you

They'll take your soul if you let them

But don't you let them..."

"Ok, fine! I'll come to dinner! It's a good thing we're just friends, Harry. I'd hate to think of what you could convince me to do it we were going out together. I'll see you in the great hall at six. Oh, and if you tell Ron to try singing at me, I'll hex your ears off."

Harry laughed. He made a mental note to sing to Luna sometime to see what happened.

"I'll see you there, Hermione. Don't worry about me asking Ron to sing. Once you've heard him do a drunken version of The Wild Irish Rover, well, it wasn't pretty. Don't study too much!"

Harry then placed the mirror back in his dresser drawer and went back down to the common room. He wondered briefly if he should tell Ron about Hermione joining them but decided not to. He could handle a "surprised" Ron much better than a "nervous and slightly manic" one.

Hermione kept her promise and sat down next to Harry and across from Ron as usual. Harry wondered how Ron would react and was pleased to see that he wasn't as worked up as he had been lately around her. He thought that Luna's advice had perhaps helped him and wished he could have gotten her to talk to Hermione was well. As the platters filled up with food, Harry decided to break the ice and talk about a safe and neutral subject.

"So, I was planning on having the next DA meeting this Friday evening. I was thinking of having it at eight so that it shouldn't interfere with Quidditch practices. What do you guys think?"

Ron and Hermione both nodded and actually managed a look at one another. Ron swallowed his steak and kidney pie and spoke.

"That sounds good to me. How about you, Hermione?"

"Yes, that would be fine. I'll let the others know. What do you think we should work on this time, Harry?"

Harry was already feeling much better. Things seemed like old times again between them.

"I was thinking we could work more on conjuring a patronus. If Voldemort really has got them on his side now we all need to learn how to protect ourselves."

Ron nodded again and got another helping of mashed potatoes.

"You're right, Harry. I need to work on that myself. You've got your stag and Hermione has her otter, but mine seems to resemble a fox, I think. I need to work on making it more substantial."

"You can take turns practicing with Hermione and me," Harry said. "Neville has gotten pretty good with his toad; you could also practice with him."

"Cho was getting pretty good with her swan," Ron said. "I'm kind of surprised she's still coming to the meetings after the way you guys ended up last year."

Hermione gave a derisive snort.

"You mean the way she ended it. I couldn't believe she had the nerve to come to your birthday, Harry. I know that the DA is open to everyone, but I wouldn't mind seeing the door hitting her on her scrawny ass on her way out."

Harry couldn't help but laugh. He had pretty much put the whole thing behind him, but Hermione still felt that Cho should have properly apologized to the both of them. Apart from the fact that she had made Harry out to be heartless and uncaring, she had also made Hermione out to be a slut and a whore.

"Don't worry about her, Hermione. I've moved on and so has she. I don't like how she's treating Luna now, but that's just how she is. I'm just glad people still come to the meetings. Hell, I wouldn't mind is some Slytherins showed up."

Ron nearly choked on his pumpkin juice.

"What? Slytherins? Don't even joke about that! If Malfoy came through that door, the whole sodding castle would fall in."

Hermione gave another snort and threw her napkin onto her plate.

"Ron, we are supposed to be working towards house unity. Don't judge all of them by Malfoy, he's just one person. I agree with Harry, I'd like to see people from all houses in the DA."

Ron's face reddened slightly. Harry had seen this happen countless times before but couldn't help wishing he wouldn't lose his temper now that things were starting to get better between the two of them.

"House unity? With the Slytherins? I'd rather have another troll wander in. There's no way in hell I'd ever work with a Slytherin. I don't care what you say; the whole lot of them are evil."

Hermione quickly grabbed up her stuff and stood.

"That's typical of you, Ron. Everyone is supposed to respect you, but you don't want to respect them. If this school is going to survive we all need to work together. I'm going to the library now. Don't wait up for me."

Harry's shoulders slumped as he watched Hermione walk away. He really thought that things had gotten back on track there for a while, but it all seemed to have crumbled again. Looking back across at Ron he saw that he looked to be thinking the same thing.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I really was trying to keep it together, but thinking about Draco set me off."

"No, really? Ron, you need to wake up, mate. If you really do care about Hermione, I mean really care about her, yelling at her isn't going to endear you to her. You need to apologize to her and really mean it, and then you need to change your behavior towards her. Treat her the way you would want a friend to treat you. You do still want to be her friend, right?"

"Of course I do. Her friendship means the world to me. She's knows that, Harry."

"Maybe you should tell her anyway, Ron. I think she needs to hear you say it."

Ron lowered his eyes and sighed. He knew Harry was right.

"Ok, Harry. I'll try to talk to her again. This time I'll do it right, I swear. I need her in my life, even if it is just as a friend. I wouldn't want a life without her."

"That's the spirit, Ron. Hey, could you pass me the turkey and dressing?"

"Here you go, Fred. Yeah, I just need to grow up and face my problems like a man. The two of you are the most important people in my life and I couldn't make it without both of you. Pass me that meringue will you, George?"

"There you go, Ron. It does my heart good to see my baby brother growing up. You're still a little slow on the uptake, but we love you anyway."

Ron's face reddened again.

"Shut up, George! I'm trying to...wait...George! Fred! What the...how the...where did you come from?"

Fred and George both laughed at the completely confused look on their brother's face. Harry had seen them approaching but they had signaled for him not to say anything. George clapped Ron on the back and wiped the tears of amusement from his eyes.

"Boy, nothing gets past you little brother. Well, not for more than ten minutes. I thought we'd have to follow you back to the common room before you'd notice anything. Gee, no wonder you've got things so under control with Hermione.

Ron's face deepened in its already crimson color.

"Shut up, George! So, what are you both doing here? Are you members of the Order as well?"

Fred reached for a treacle tart and shook his head.

"Nope, we don't really have the time right now. Running two stores is keeping us pretty busy at the moment."

Harry nearly choked on his pumpkin juice. There seemed to be a lot of that happening today.

"Did you say two stores?"

Ron also stared at his brothers with his mouth open. Fred laughed and took out two very gaudy looking business cards that blinked in different loud neon colors.

"Yep, two stores. We now have our flagship store in Diagon Alley, along with our newest branch in Hogsmeade village. The address is on the card there. 254 Main Street."

Ron took one of the offered cards and looked at it. A confused look appeared on his face almost instantly.

"254 Main Street? Isn't that the address of Zonko's?"

George beamed at his youngest brother.

"Very good, Ron! It was indeed the address of Zonko's. It now happens to be the address for Weasley's Wizarding Weezes-Hogsmeade!"

Harry's mouth fell nearly to the floor. Ron could hardly believe his ears.

"You mean you bought out Zonko's? How the bloody hell did you manage that?"

Fred looked at George who signaled him to explain.

"It was old man Zonko's idea, actually. He came into the shop last week in Diagon Alley and said he had a business proposition for us. At the time, we thought he was going to try and buy us out. Before we could tell him we weren't interested, he started talking about passing the torch onto the next generation. He said he'd been thinking of retiring for years but never found anyone to take over for him. He told us he knew we had a good eye for products from all the years we've been buying things from him. So, when he heard that we'd started our own store he decided that the time had come to hang it up. He said he'd like to stay on as an idea man, but he really wants to take more time to spend with his grandchildren. We signed the final papers today and thought we'd make sure the old secret passage still worked. No more waiting for Hogsmeade weekend now lads! Honeyduke's is right next door!"

Fred and George both laughed as Ron and Harry broke into grins of their own. Harry liked the idea of having an escape route in case he needed a safe place to go apart from Hogwarts. Ron liked the idea that his brothers would now have access to Honeyduke's anytime they wanted, which meant that they could provide him with some anytime. Harry clapped Fred on the back and congratulated him.

"That's great you guys. I'm really glad that things are working out so well for you. I assume that I am still entitled to me benefactors discount?"

Fred pretended to ponder the idea.

"I don't know, Harry. We're getting to be successful businessmen here. We'll probably forget all about the little people who have helped us along the way."

Harry was about to make his own witty retort when Hedwig swooped down to land in front of him with a letter in his beak.

"Hedwig! How are you girl? What have you got for me?"

Hedwig gave Harry's finger an affectionate little nip before dropping the piece of parchment onto the table. Harry placed a chicken leg into her now empty mouth and watched as she flew away. Looking at the parchment that Hedwig had left him, he instantly recognized Hagrid's scrawled writing. Ron also recognized it.

"Harry, it's a letter from Hagrid! I wonder what he wants."

Harry opened the letter and read its contents aloud.

Harry-

How are classes going? I miss seeing the three of you everyday for class. Something exciting has happened and I'd like for you, Ron, and Hermione to come down and see. I want to introduce you all to someone. Don't say anything about it to anyone else.

Hope to see you soon!

Hagrid

Ron's face looked both curious and fearful at the same time.

"Who do you think Hagrid wants to introduce us to? Do you figure it will be a human, or what?"

Harry read through the letter once more and felt slightly fearful himself.

"I don't know. Knowing Hagrid, it's probably something dangerous. Come on, let's go tell Hermione. Fred, George, congratulations on the new store."

Ron sighed deeply and stood up to leave.

"Ok, Harry. Fred, George, I'll see you later."

Ron then walked alongside Harry as the two of them made their way to the library. One good thing had come of the day, Ron thought. At least he now had more than his strained relationship with Hermione to think about.