Harry Potter and the Heart-Shaped Box

Purple Flames

Harry sat in the Gryffindor Common Room, in a corner all by himself. This had been a common occurrence ever since Harry had "walked in" on Ron and Hermione earlier this year. Though, as Harry thought about it, he had been alone quite frequently last year as well. He had stupidly assumed it was due to their ever-increasing prefect duties. If only he had known that when Ron and Hermione said they were off to do their "prefect duties", it was actually a code for "snogging time."

Harry sighed. It wasn't as if he wasn't happy for them, au contraire, he was rather pleased and relieved that they finally stopped bickering which, Harry latter found out, had been merely a show put on to conceal their relationship (for the most part, anyway). It was just that with Ron and Hermione always together, Harry had been feeling exceptionally lonely as of late and all this "alone time" allowed him plenty of opportunity to think about Sirius. Harry sighed again. No use dwelling on that topic right now, not with half the Gryffindor population in the Common Room. It wouldn't do well for everyone to see him so upset. Instead Harry attempted to find something to distract him.

Looking over to where Ron and Hermione were sitting, his hope quickly diminished. Hermione was explaining something out of Standard Book of Spell, Grade Six to Ron, though Harry could see that Ron was hardly paying attention to what she was saying and saw Ron slip his hand into Hermione's unoccupied one.

"Figures," thought Harry aloud.

Hermione was now resting her head on his shoulder and Ron's right hand was now in her bushy, brown hair and twirling several strands between his fingers. Harry could see that Hermione was quickly loosing interest in whatever it was that had preoccupied her mind only minutes before, a feat that Ron alone was capable of accomplishing. Harry looked away quickly, before it got too intense. Feeling slightly angry and, if possible, even more lonely than he had five minutes ago Harry got up, quickly shouted, "get a room" in Ron and Hermione's direction, and left the Common Room before he was forced to witness anymore affection.

Ashamed of his sudden outburst, Harry decided to roam the corridors aimlessly, that is until something caught his interest. He realized that he had just passed where the Room of Requirement dwelled. His curiosity as to what the room would contain now that the D.A. ceased to exist got the better of him and Harry soon found himself walking past the room three times. Suddenly a large wooden door appeared and Harry, turning the knob, entered. The small, poorly lit room looked nothing like it had when Harry taught the D.A. classes. Harry muttered "lumos" and the light his wand emitted illuminated the entire room, including a tiny, heart-shaped box. Intrigued, Harry picked it up and began to examine it. The red box was no larger than Harry's palm and was beautifully decorated with emeralds and rubies. Harry lifted the lid and realized it was empty.

"I wonder what this is here for," Harry murmured to himself.

Suddenly, just as soon as the words had escaped his lips a note appeared inside the box. Harry picked up the note and began to read the curvy writing.

"Though many may wonder,

Of their heart's deepest desire

You need not ponder,

Merely walk through this fire."

As he finished, the card Harry was holding burst into purple flames and enlarged so as to fit Harry's lanky frame. Indecisiveness plagued Harry momentarily as he gaped at the beautiful, dancing flames. Finally arriving at a decision, Harry took a deep breath and stepped into the warm, purple flames.