Irish Chocolate

"Sorry Harry!" Fred called from beneath him. Harry looked down at him and laughed.

"It's all right," he answered. It was a few weeks before the beginning of term and he, Fred, Ron and Ginny were playing Quidditch in an open field behind the Weasley's house. George was inside making Floo deliveries. Harry had never thought of using Floo powder to deliver things. Fred had said, 'It's not an easy task, that's why we usually use owls. But seeing as we don't have mail order owls, Floo powder is the next best thing.' Fred and George switched off every time deliveries came up, and this time it was George's turn. 'Although,' Fred had said, 'I'll be responsible for working the soreness out of his back later.' Harry understood that using Floo powder the way George was is not comfortable in the slightest, having used it his fifth year to contact Sirius.

He shook himself from his reverie and climbed higher in the air, preparing to practice one of his feints. It was still too painful to think about Sirius and he swore when he came to spend the rest of summer with the Weasley's that he wouldn't let it interfere with his relationships with his friends and his enjoyment of summer. He had accepted the fact that the closest thing he had ever had to a father was now dead. Beside all that, Hermione had written him a very thorough letter about how he needed to stop chomping on people's arses for every little thing that unsettled him, even the truth about what his father may have really been like. He decided that she was right, as usual.

He continued mounting higher and higher, above the seventh floor of the Burrow and brought himself level. He looked around at the others, Fred flying around in a frenzy after the bludger and Ron practicing his Keeper skills as he saved Ginny's serves of the quaffle to over Ron's shoulder. Then he pointed the handle of his Firebolt downward at the ground. He leaned forward, urging the Firebolt into a fast, steep dive, the wind roaring in his ears, his torso alive with adrenaline. He squinted as the wind swirled behind the lenses of his glasses, his shaggy black hair tangled and swept back on his head. He looked to his side and saw that Ginny had been marking his movements because she was instantly on him, rushing towards the imaginary spot where the snitch would have been, abandoning Ron behind. Just as he was a few feet from the ground, he pulled out of the dive and soared over Ginny's head, the Firebolt's bristles licking her hair. As he went, he looked over his shoulder and grinned at Ginny who returned it with a giggle, and she attempted to flatten the hair that was pulled from her ponytail.

"If that had been in a real game," Harry called, turning to face her, "you would have either caught the Snitch or fallen sickly for a good feint." Ginny blushed. She no longer had a crush on Harry, but a compliment from him was still enough to turn her cheeks red.

"Well, I suppose that means I'm improving," she answered, following Harry who flew up to hover above a tall tree.

"You are Ginny. Very much so. I'll be surprised if you don't get Seeker after I'm gone. Even if it's only for a year," They exchanged modest grins and Mrs. Weasley poked her head out the kitchen window to announce dinner.

"Dinner kids! Tuck in!" she hollered and the sweaty foursome landed, propped their brooms against the outside wall and went inside. The kitchen was warm from the heat of the day and the hot oven from which Mrs. Weasley pulled a steaming pot roast. The table was set with mismatched plates, glasses and silverware and odd chairs to match. Harry breathed in the aroma of fresh butter and hot rolls and was reminded that this was the closest thing he had ever been to having a real home and he loved every aspect of it. They took their seats and immediately began serving themselves mounds of steaming mashed potatoes and gravy and vegetables and the pot roast.

"George!" Mrs. Weasley called as she took a seat next to Arthur. "Come on now, it's getting chilly." A few moments later, George emerged from the living room, half stooped over with a pained expression.

"Oi! Floo deliveries will be the death of me," he groaned as he sat next to Fred across from Harry.

"Right, well, Ginny'll massage you later, aye Gin?" Fred said, looking almost pleadingly at his sister.

"I'm not massaging him, it's not my fault you've got to make deliveries that way. You can do it like you always do," she answered as she helped herself to steamed carrots and passed the dish to Ron, who spoke up.

"You know, Harry's pretty good at those back massages," he said and Harry looked at him quizzically.

"When have I ever massaged you?" he asked and Fred and George sniggered at this suggestive statement. Ron shot them a scowl.

"Oh shush, it's nothing like that," he said and looked back at Harry. "Hermione mentioned the massages you would give to her when she was real tense from studying."

"Oh," Harry said, the memory coming back to him. "Yeah, she said it helped her sleep better too," he said and George looked at him meaningfully.

"Harry, honestly, I'll pay you a Galleon just to rub my shoulders," he said as he rubbed his freckled neck. Harry laughed and shook his head.

"No no, you don't have to pay me, it's not a problem. I'll massage you after dinner." George pretended to melt backwards into his chair, letting his arms dangle lifelessly at his sides and his head roll back onto the high back of the chair.

"I'm saved," he gasped and everyone at the table laughed.

Their last days of summer each passed this way, Quidditch, fishing and swimming by day and full hearty meals, conversations and lounging by night. Harry's skin was growing steadily darker by the day and the Weasley's freckles stood out even more than usual. Ron was jealous that he couldn't tan like Harry, he just gained more freckles, and Harry took the opportunity to tease him about it. Finally their letters from school arrived and they made their annual trip to Diagon Alley to buy their school supplies. They met up with Hermione in Flourish and Blotts to buy their school books and from there proceeded to see Fred and George's shop.

The other Weasley's, Harry and Hermione gaped in awe at the magically flashing sign above the shop door that read 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes'. Even Mrs. Weasley was without words.

"Well done boys," she said breathily, still gazing open mouthed at the gently swinging sign.

"What Mum? I thought you didn't like the idea of the twins dropping out of school for a joke shop," Ron said, looking down at his mother.

"Well," she sighed as she gazed at the flickering sign. "At least they have something going for them and I know your father and I won't be plucking them off the streets in the future." During this, Fred and George had already gone inside and opened up the shop. The twins leaned out of the door to look at the gaping group.

"Well shut your mouths or a pigeon's liable to give you a present," Fred said with an amused smile.

"Yeah, quit your gaping and come in," George laughed, and they all gathered inside the warm rectangular room.

The shop was spectacular. The walls were plastered with bulging shelves and the floor was crowded with barrels and displays that were spewing a wide range of random items such as candies, books, quills, wands, shirts, fireworks, hats, brooms and more. Ropes hung down from the ceiling and dangling off of them were what looked like large maracas, tambourines, small drums, plush animals, dolls and trick shoes. Anything you wanted, they were sure to have it.

Harry wandered over to a group of overflowing barrels in the center of the room. They each contained a type of joke candy such as items from the Skiving Snackboxes, Ton-Tongue Toffees, Cat-Ear Caramels, Lock-Jaw Licorice and Canary Crèmes. Most of these jokes and tricks proved to be pretty hazardous. Harry laughed to think of the long list that Filch will have to make out containing most, if not all, of the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to be banned from the corridors. He and Ron, to Hermione's loud disapproval, each purchased a Skiving Snackbox. As a free gift for their first purchase, George gave them free samples of what he claimed to be harmless chocolate crèmes. Harry and Ron were sure to throw them in the next rubbish bin they saw.

They left Fred and George at their shop and stopped at Fortescue's for ice cream before they Flooed back to the Burrow for dinner, where they played Exploding Snap and lounged in the grass, enjoying their last day of summer holiday.

The next morning, Harry and Ron were awakened by Hermione jumping on their beds.

"Wake up, wake up! Time to go to school!" She giggled insanely as she pounced on top of Harry, shaking him by the shoulders. Harry grumbled, pulling free of Hermione and, turning over on his belly, he buried his face in his pillow. She jumped off of him and pounced on Ron instead.

"Wake up, wake up," she cooed this time. Harry wondered why she had suddenly dropped her voice. He peeked up from his pillow at her straddling Ron. She was leaning over him, her hair tucked back behind her ears and she was smoothing back his rumpled red hair. She leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss onto his forehead and leaned back again, looking at him in his sleep. Harry wasn't sure if Hermione knew Harry was awake or not, but he was sure that she wouldn't want him to know that she had done that, so he closed his eyes again. She continued to sit there on Ron for a moment or so more and Harry heard her sigh and begin jumping on him too, hollering for him to wake up.

Finally, everyone was up and at 'em, rushing around, gathering their things and gobbling down breakfast. At ten after nine, they loaded up their trunks and animal cages in the Weasley's new car and bumped their way into London to King's Cross Station.

On the Hogwarts Express later that day, Neville, Dean and Seamus had joined Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny in the same compartment. Dean asked Ginny to pose herself next to the window and he sat opposite her, drawing her portrait. Hermione and Ron played chess while Harry and Seamus chatted animatedly and Neville fussed over some rare snapping flower he'd gotten over the summer.

Seamus was telling Harry about an exciting girl he met in Ireland over the holiday.

"She was a fiery one, Harry," he told him, brushing back his sandy bowl cut hair. "I like to think she kind of released me, made me relax and... open up. Oh, how can I put this?" he thought for a moment, pulling on his bottom lip. Harry began to notice that Seamus was different. He did seem much more relaxed and comfortable with himself. His appearance had changed as well. His muscles were toned and his hair fringed his eyes, complimenting the blue sparkles beneath. Harry also noticed as Seamus played with his lip that they were full and naturally tinted. He felt a slight urge to touch Seamus' hair, to push it out of his eyes. But Harry stopped suddenly. His mind came to a screeching halt, his eyes almost widening in surprise. He was floored by the way he perceived Seamus. It was an odd thing, and Harry was confused by it. Brushing hair away from someone's face is something a boy would reserve for a girl. He shook himself mentally and pushed the thoughts out of his mind, quite sure that his thoughts were a misconceptions of his own mind.

"She's wild and she turned me like her. Wild," Seamus continued as he found his words.

"What do you mean by wild?" Harry asked. Seamus blushed slightly.

"Well... we, err... did stuff," he answered, lowering his eyes in the most flattering way. Harry subconsciously gulped and felt a pang of curiosity.

"Did stuff? Like what stuff? Did you kiss?"

"Did we kiss?!" Seamus exclaimed, snapping his eyes up in surprise at Harry. "Of course we kissed! Jasus, Harry, you really are a prude," Harry blushed self-consciously.

"Well, I don't know what else you would do," he confessed.

"You mean that all you and Cho did was kiss?"

"Well, yeah. Is that hard to believe?"

"Of course it's hard to believe! You were alone with one of the prettiest girls in Ravenclaw for almost an hour. You were fifteen. Of course we all thought something more happened."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," Harry said sheepishly, feeling like a genuine prude.

"I really shouldn't blame you though. I didn't feel this way last year, all the hormones. I mean, I did get moodier, but that's all. We all got moodier, especially you, Harry."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, turning and sitting with his legs folded, facing Seamus.

"Oi, you sure are dense. I mean, you were a huge ball of angst," Seamus said bluntly and Harry felt himself blush again. "We were all really hoping that you'd be releasing some of that tension with snogging Cho because we were about to die under your pressure. You need to get snogged, Harry. Thoroughly. Believe me, it's a cure," Harry thought about this for a moment as Seamus reached into his bag and pulled out a small red drawstring pouch. He opened it and pulled out a round piece of chocolate and placed it in his mouth.

"Mmm..." Seamus moaned and he closed his eyes. The feeling Harry had earlier resurfaced and he struggled to push it back down.

"So what should I do about her then?" Harry asked.

"About who?" Seamus asked, knitting his brow as he looked at Harry, rolling another piece of chocolate in his fingertips.

"About Cho, of course. What should I do about her? I do still like her. I really want it to work out with us. But she just can't forget about Cedric. She was always wailing about him, wanting to talk about him and I really would have rather forgotten about it." Seamus folded his leg up onto the seat to face Harry as he leaned against the back of the seat. He shook his hair out of his eyes.

"You got to make her forget," he said.

"Oh, and how exactly do you suppose I do that?"

"You have to make the moves. You have to show her that you're just as good as, if not better than, Cedric was,"

"But that doesn't answer my question. How?"

"Well, she obviously likes you, right?"

"I... well, yeah," Harry chuckled. He hadn't thought of it before, but Cho was quite eager.

"All right then. It shouldn't be hard to make a move then, right?" Seamus asked, lifting his eyebrows.

"No, I suppose not. What are you getting at?"

"What I'm saying is, you've most likely got the girl wrapped around your finger. So why not take advantage of that?" Harry thought about this for a moment and Seamus offered him a chocolate. He didn't notice, however, that Seamus' breath caught in his throat as Harry parted his lips and placed the chocolate inside.

"Mmm... These are really good Seamus," Harry said over the chocolate, letting it melt deliciously on his tongue. "Anyways, what are you suggesting?"

"What I'm suggesting is this. Girls are driven wild by a spontaneous boy. So what you should do is approach her in the corridors when you have a few minutes to spare, grab her by the arm and nudge her against the wall. You'll have both the excitement of catching her off guard and the risk of getting caught." Harry's eyes widened at the coy smile curling Seamus's lips.

"What?! I can't do that, Seamus!" he exclaimed quietly, not wanting to attract the attention of the others in the compartment. Seamus inched closer and Harry could smell the sweet smelling cologne he wore.

"Why can't you? Have you even thought about it?" Harry paused again to think. Had he ever thought about it? No actually, he hadn't. Why couldn't he take a chance? But it was still a scandalous proposition. An excited chill coursed through Harry's body. What if it did work? What if she did like it? Harry amused himself for a moment, playing through his mind what he might do, how he might press Cho's slender body against the flagstone walls of the corridors, stripping her shoulders of her robes to kiss and nuzzle them as well.

Seamus poked him and he was jerked back to reality.

"So, obviously you haven't," Seamus said, still fingering his chocolate. Harry sighed.

"But what if she doesn't like it? What if I end up becoming known as The-Boy-Who-Sexually-Harassed? How much will she like me then?" Seamus burst into a hearty laugh at this and Harry felt very childish.

"Oh please, Harry. Shove your silly fears aside and just do it!" He grinned encouragingly. "You won't be disrespecting her. I mean, if she asks you not to do it, then naturally you stop. But you're not going to find out unless you take a risk."

"A risk," Harry said pensively. "You know, you're beginning to sound more and more like someone I used to know," He said wistfully and his eyes drooped at the thought of Padfoot.

"Oh really? Who?" Seamus asked, completely unaware of Harry's woes. He sighed and rested back on the seat.

"No one," he said as nonchalantly as possible and spent the rest of the ride to school thinking about Cho.