The War of Shades

Chapter 21 Harry the Love God

At dinner the Patil sisters steered Harry to a seat between them. They pulled their chairs so close to him that each one was brushing against an arm. Ron and Hermione found a couple of seats nearby. Harry noticed them whispering to each other as they cast furtive glances his way.

"Harry," said one sister silkily, "we're so glad you could join us. You've been so busy with all the training we hardly ever get a chance to spend time with you."

Harry was not sure where this was headed, but as he looked at each of them, he had to admit that they had gone from being the prettiest girls in the class to being stunningly beautiful women, with large rounded dark eyes set in perfectly proportioned faces and set off by their smooth, cherrywood skin. All the exercise of the past year had only served to make what had been a delightful female form breathtaking. It was also unmistakable that they were wearing perfume - quite unusual thus far at training camp.

"Erm, well, Parvati ..." said Harry then turning to the other side, and saying "Parvati?"

"I'm Parvati," said the first one to speak, placing her cool hand gently on his forearm.

"Oh, sure, I'm sorry. You two look so much alike."

They both smiled. Padma placed her hand through the crook of his elbow and said, just as liltingly as her sister, "Oh, but there are ways to tell us apart - if you know where to look. We could show you sometime."

Harry tried to stifle the look of shock he felt coming to his face. Ron had to bite hard into a roll to keep from laughing, and Hermione turned away and hid her face to hide her expression.

"Erm, well, I guess that won't so much matter when we get back to school. Your robes have your house symbols on them."

"Oh, of course," said Parvati, "but we don't always keep our robes on, you know, - or our other things."

Now Ron leaned very close to Hermione to whisper in her ear. She glanced at him, giving a small nod and a squeeze of his hand.

"Well, yeah, of course, I know, but it's never seemed to be a problem before."

"Well, that's because you've been so busy with other things, Harry," said Padma, "You must be feeling a need to ... unwind. We were hoping you could find a chance to spend some time with us."

"Erm, what, both of you!?"

"Well, if you'd like - some boys rather like twins, you know," said Parvati.

Ron was so surprised at this he spurted pumpkin juice out his nose. Harry blushed furiously and the twins smiled serenely.

"Oh, erm," said Harry, stuffing as much food in his mouth as he could and standing up, "Excuse me - I just remembered, erm, some work I needed to do with Hermione on, erm, ... counter-hexes. Hermione - can you join me?"

"Oh, it can wait, Harry. Have a seat," she said mischievously.

"No - it - can't!" he snarled.

"Oh, I suppose I've had enough then," she said, rising, "Ron, will you join us?"

Ron had figured where this was going and had been eating furiously. He nodded and shoved in a few more forkfuls and grabbed a couple of rolls.

"Later, then, Harry?" said Padma.

"Yeah, sure, I'll be around," said Harry, hurrying out of the dining hall.

"So will we," they said in harmony.

Harry led Ron and Hermione out to the front porch and paced back and forth, flexing his hands. Ron and Hermione were barely able to stifle their laughter at Harry's distress.

Finally Harry said, "Before I over-react, did I misunderstand what just went on there?"

Ron grinned even bigger. "I don't see how you could have. Even you."

Hermione smiled sweetly. "Well, let's find out - did you think they were about to ask you to join them in a rousing game of gobstones?"

Harry suppressed a giggle and said, "Uh, no!" and then he blushed.

"I can tell by your reaction," said Hermione, "that you understood them perfectly. They were not particularly subtle."

"Right then, we're all on the same page," said Harry. "Now you must have some idea, Hermione. What is going on? I had been trying to get Cho to talk with me about Marietta since she had been here, but she avoided me. Then all of a sudden, she's ready to talk, only she has no notion it was about Marietta and acts like it's going to be something cozy. Ginny sure thought I was going on a date with Cho, even so much as to know where we were to meet, and she wouldn't have even known I was meeting with Cho if Cho hadn't been saying something about it. And a lot of the other girls have been unusually friendly as well. And now this with the Patils! What is up!?"

Hermione smiled impishly, "Well, Harry, it seems that Tonks' little display this morning got the girls around here to realize that you're not a scrawny little geek but a hot property."

"A hot ...Hermione!" sputtered Ron, "This is our friend Harry you're talking about."

"And I assume, Ron, that you have noticed that many of the girls you are truly just friends with are much more womanly now. You needn't deny it: I'm not offended and I'd find it quite curious if you hadn't noticed and even appreciated it. That doesn't mean you aren't still their friends. And it goes both ways: I can see a lot of ways in which Harry has become very desirable: he's still a friend, but I'm not oblivious. For a long time he was just scrawny, kind of distant and more than a little out of touch. During the Triwizard Tournament he was set apart and then for the past two years he has been so aloof - very understandable, mind you. But this year, he's gotten some height, he's more open and personable, he's grown into the leadership role, and yet he's just plain dashing either on the broom or during training. When we first got here, people just accepted the old roles, but Tonks shook that up by announcing romantic intentions, whether she meant it or not."

"Did she?" asked Harry. "I mean, did she mean it?"

"You'll have to ask her that yourself, Harry," said Hermione. "Truthfully I'm not sure she knows herself. She's emotionally very high right now, both over making her patronus and because you cared enough to show some intense emotion over her situation."

"Okay, I'll talk to her after her lethifold test tomorrow, if Remus doesn't freak out - he's all jealous."

"Oh, be careful, Harry, he's such a dear," said Hermione.

"What am I supposed to do? All I did in this was blow my top!" said Harry exasperatedly.

"I don't know. Maybe things will sort out a little when you talk to Tonks."

"Okay, Hermione," said Ron, "I can see Harry being seen as datable. But the Patils were suggesting a lot more than a simple date, and with no strings attached as far as I could tell."

"Well, Ron, you see, it's like this. Most of us didn't really make out what Tonks was screeching this morning. All most of the girls got out of what Tonks was saying was that the night before Harry had made her feel so good that she could now do a patronus."

"But all I was doing was yelling at her."

"They don't know that. The word has gotten around that you are, erm, uniquely talented with women, uniquely talented at making women feel wonderful."

"WHAT!?" said Ron and Harry together.

"Hey, Ron," added Harry, "You don't have to be quite so shocked."

"C'mon, Harry, it's me. I know you've only even kissed two girls in your life, except for those stunt kisses in the Ravenclaw dorm, and the first girl you kissed couldn't stop crying."

"Yeah, well, the second didn't seem to mind. She liked it very much, thank you."

"Fine, fine, you can snog, Harry," said Ron, "But it doesn't sound like that's all they're assuming about you."

"No, it's not," said Hermione, "I don't think they have any idea what it is you might do which would be so much better than any other reasonably attentive fellow could do, but they figure if you got to Tonks that much, and her being in her mid-20s, you must be some big time stud."

"Hermione!" said Ron.

"Well, what other term should I use? A 'Casanova'?"

"Huh, I thought that was a dance."

"That's a bossa nova, Ron."

Harry tilted his head toward her. "Now Hermione, when the women first got this notion, they must have asked you about what you might know."

Hermione grinned mischievously. "They might have done."

"You played them, Hermione!" said Harry, "Just what did you say?"

"Well, I admitted that I overheard what happened between you and Tonks."

"And what did you tell them you heard?" asked Harry suspiciously.

"I said that I had never heard two people so loud and passionate."

"Passionate? I was as mad as an insulted hippogriff."

Hermione laughed, "Yes, that's one sense of 'passionate.' Can I help it if I was misunderstood?"

"Something's gotten into you, Granger, you never were a joker before. It must be your fault, Ron."

"What, me!? This is her mess, but we can deal with it. Hermione - you just tell all the girls that Harry hasn't got a clue, that he doesn't know which end is up."

"Oh, thanks, Ron," said Harry. "I sure want them to think that. And I do know which end is up!"

"It's just an expression," said Ron.

"Oh, Harry, I hadn't intended to let it go on very long," said Hermione. "So what are you thinking? That you want them to think you're a real operator?"

"It's better than being thought an idiot."

"Until you prove where the truth lies."

"I reckon you're right," said Harry, "only I don't necessarily have to prove anything. Or maybe I could learn what I need to know. It's kind of nice getting the attention, now that I know where it's coming from."

"But who would you learn from?" asked Hermione, and then she turned to Ron, "And don't you dare volunteer."

"What? I know a little."

"I know," said Hermione dryly. "Harry, do you really want to play around like that?"

"I don't think I would even so much play around. I really haven't all that much free time. I do have a few things on my plate, you know. But it really feels so nice to get this kind of attention. You sure didn't mind it when you were asked to the Yule Ball," said Harry. "Oh, don't even say anything, Ron - she would have gone with you if you hadn't been ... well, as big a git as I was."

"So you aren't even going to take them up on what they may be offering?"

"I've learned enough to know I'm more likely to get attention if I don't say yes, but don't quite say no."

"I'm not sure I like the idea of a Harry Potter who plays people."

"Like you never have, Hermione," said Harry with a glance toward Ron.

Hermione blushed. "But ... you're different."

"Yeah, I know," said Harry sadly. "I can never forget I'm different. I'm a marked man," he added, pointing to his scar. "I have a direct pipeline into the mind of Voldemort and it goes both ways. It's fallen on me to train the entire student body to defend themselves, and I don't have it in me to do otherwise because I care so bloody much for every one of you. And through all that, I have to be ready at all times because I've got a big target on my back for every dark wizard in the country."

"Probably the world," corrected Ron. Hermione thumped him in the chest.

"I'm an orphan because of whatever it is that sets me apart, and I was raised being told I was loathsome. Even with things better now, the pain of that does not go away easily. You two were cherished by your parents: you don't know what being brought up like I was does to a child. When I came to Hogwarts, and learned that I could actually have friends," Harry continued, placing a hand on a shoulder of each, "that was the most magical development of my life. So if I want to feel connected with humanity, and appreciate the opportunity to do so in very human ways, I hope you can understand."

"You got it, mate," said Ron.

"Of course, Harry," said Hermione, "and you deserve to do so. Just remember you are dealing with people, not things."

"Have I ever neglected that?"

"Well ..."

"Recently?"

"No," said Hermione with a smile, "you've cared for those around you for them, not for what they can do for you."

"And in all honesty, I don't think I'll be doing anything different. But now that I'm getting a bit of attention, just as a man, don't be so quick to yank it away."

Then as an afterthought, Hermione added, "What about Ginny? I thought you liked her."

"I was ready to head that way, but it takes some time for feelings to grow and she barely gives me the time of day."

"But Ginny cares a lot for you."

"Oh, yeah," said Harry sarcastically, "that's why she tore into me like I was Draco today."

"She didn't!" said Ron.

"She did," said Harry.

"But I know she likes you - aah, that's it - she heard the other women talking too. That's what's got her miffed."

"Well, if that's miffed, I'd hate to see her angry."

"Trust me, Harry, you DO NOT want to see her angry," assured Ron.

"But Harry, she wouldn't have gotten angry if she didn't care about you," said Hermione, "just like you wouldn't have gotten angry with Tonks if she wasn't important to you."

"Yeah, well, I'm getting a bit tired of having to figure out what game she's playing each day. She can go cop whatever attitude she wants, but I'm not going to keep playing that game. I've got enough other 'issues' to deal with. I've accepted that and all the work I have to do, but I have got to include some pleasantness. I never know when I'm going to be in a life-or-death battle. I think it's time to have a bit more of the sweetness in life, and I'm not going to get that moping over someone who won't give me a chance!"

"Can we talk about this again later, Harry?" asked Hermione.

Harry softened his stance. "Of course, Hermione, I almost always value your reaction to things."

"And maybe Remus or Reverend MacBoon can talk with you about women, too. You need someone sort of like a father."

Harry nodded. "I'm glad you didn't suggest Moody."

"Well, he's sort of like a father, but not the kind you need right now. Oh, Harry," said Hermione, "do you mind if I borrow Hedwig for a letter to my parents? Pig is busy."

"Sure," said Harry, "she needs a good long flight."

Ron cleared his throat. "Harry, aren't you late for your date with Cho?"

Harry quickly checked his watch and then disapparated. In a second, he reapparated and said, "It's not a date!" and then disapparated again.

It occurred to Harry as he tried to talk to Cho that this meeting was something of a mirror-image of his first appointment with Cho, in which he had expected to be more focused on just them, and Cho wanted to talk about Cedric. In the gazebo, Cho was acting like Harry had asked her for a romantic evening and Harry kept trying to steer the talk toward Marietta, so that he could let out some of the pain he still felt over her death. Apparently Cho had moved on more easily.

It would have been easier to admit that he was not comfortable with a romantic relationship until he had dealt with these feelings, but that would have required him admitting that nothing more exciting than a blown temper had occurred with Tonks the night before. And if that came out, then it would be clear that he was just about as clueless around girls as he had been two years before. Harry didn't understand a whole lot about girls, but he could see that as long as it appeared that he was interesting to one girl, there were a lot of others who became intrigued. It reminded Harry of Uncle Vernon's talk of using a shill to drive up interest in a product - the shill was an undisclosed partner of the salesman who would act very interested in the product so that all the customers would think that this was the best product to have. Well, in this market male companionship was the product, and Harry enjoyed being thought of as the best product - even if deep down he really felt more often like the little boy in the oversized hand-me-down clothes who stared stupidly at the portal to Platform 9 ¾ six years ago.

Finally Harry came up with an angle that got Cho to respond. He told her that he felt guilty about dating her best friend last year. Cho nodded gravely, as if this was a serious offense.

"Yes, erm, and I would not feel comfortable continuing our ... friendship until we had cleared the air fully of our feelings about Marietta." He had let the word friendship tarry so as to suggest that he felt he had to use a more innocuous term than he felt. "Or else we'll always have that between us."

That seemed to do the trick. Cho accepted that they needed to have a long talk about Marietta, just as they had about Cedric the year before. She was surprised to learn how much of a relationship Harry and Marietta had. Harry explained that Marietta felt she was violating a code among girls about dating friends' ex-boyfriends. Cho laughed appreciatively and said that Marietta was one of the few girls who would worry about such a thing when it came to a desirable boy. She said it was mostly cited as an excuse to gracefully turn down a date with a boy when other girls had made poor reports about him. They were interrupted once by Harry having to call Remus to send out auror teams. After they had talked and cried over Marietta for well over an hour, they both said how much better they felt. Then they hugged.

"So, Harry," said Cho, tilting her head so that she was looking up though a few strands of hair, "maybe now we can take a walk and talk about ... other things?"

"Oh, uh, that would be nice, Cho," said Harry cautiously, "but I have to talk to Remus about the attack and get the results."

"Harry, can't you let go of the responsibility for a little while? Professor Lupin and the aurors know what they are doing. Or maybe you don't think much of the acting Minister?"

"No, they all are good."

"Then do you have to carry all the burden of the world? Or were you just using me to get your feelings off your chest?"

Somehow the word "using' struck a chord with Harry. He didn't like to think that he was using someone, or for them to think he was. But what had he really done? He sought out the mutual friend of a deceased friend to talk out feelings. She's the one who wanted to make a romantic time out of this. And yet Harry felt like he was backed into a corner where he was either saying all he wanted her for was someone to dump his feelings on or he had to go along with a romantic stroll.

He chose the romantic stroll - 'how do girls do that?' he asked himself. But there were worse things than spending an hour with an attractive young woman, walking in the countryside by moonlight, putting an arm around her when she said he was getting chilled (Harry doubted this was so, but couldn't just call her a liar), and eventually sharing some snuggling and snogs. At least this time the kisses weren't teary - or brief. A small part of his brain was saying "how did I get into this?" but most of the rest of his mind was saying that this wasn't too bad.

In the morning, Harry rose bright and early for the morning run feeling particularly energized. As he joined the gathering crowd for the run, Cho caught his eye and gave a sly smile and winked at him. He smiled warmly back. She started to come over to him when Ron and Hermione came up and started asking about how his planned talk with Cho had gone. Before he could even begin, though, they heard Hedwig returning with a message. She flew directly to Hermione, who removed the parchment addressed to her from Hedwig's leg.

"Oh, good, I've been trying to get my parents to use parchment for owl posts," she said. "They've been reluctant. They usually use wood-pulp note paper and wrap it in plastic wrap against the weather."

She unrolled the parchment and unfolded it, "Oh, a hundred-pound note. Must be for my books."

Hermione reached for the bill in the parchment and as she touched it, she disappeared. Left behind, under where the bill had been, were an address and a note that said, "She has five minutes to live."