Harry Potter and the Ancient Order

Chpt 14. Hangover Blues

The world heaved and shivered, and Harry's stomach heaved and his skin shivered in agreement, misery loving company. Rolling over on his side, he fell out of bed and his head spun, and he wondered as he lay on whatever it was he was lying on-he couldn't open his eyes to see; they felt all gummed together- how long it would take him to die and end this suffering.

Crawling to an open toilet stall, he was violently sick. When he could be sick no more and when it seemed that his insides might actually stay inside, Harry sat back with a groan. He was vaguely aware of another presence in the stall next to him when he crawled into the toilet, but was very aware now as he heard a voice groaning,

"Oh, Mr. Toilet bowl. Thank you Mr. Toilet Bowl for being so cold. Only you understand me Mr. Toilet Bowl..."

Harry managed to stand up, only to fall into the wall. Confident that the floor would obligingly stay still this time, he walked over to a sink to rinse his mouth out. He could barely open his eyes, as the light gave him the feeling of cutting his head in half. Closing all the drapes in the dorm, he noticed that Ron was awake and dunking his head in a pan of cold water. Seamus came out of the bathroom, and Harry realized it was him who praised the toilet. Neville was snoring very loudly, but Harry noticed that his robes from the previous night had an awful stench to them. Holding his nose in order to keep from retching again, he pulled Ron's head out of the water bin before he drowned.

"You 'right?" Harry asked, wincing as his whisper made his eardrums pound.

"Yeah," Ron breathed, water dripping off his hair. "How'z 'mione?"

"Dunno," said Harry, looking around. "Whershee?" He didn't see Hermione until he noticed a messy pile of blankets next to Ron's bed, and was surprised to see Hermione sleeping in Ron's bed. "Whyshee here?" Harry slurred.

"Pass' ow," Ron explained. "Brut her here to sleepoff."

On cue, Hermione woke up and sat up, the blankets half over her head. She pulled them off, only adding bushiness to her already bushy hair and mumbled, "Eurg, my head hurts. What time is it?"

"Shh," said Harry, grabbing his ears again. Why was everyone talking so loud? Harry stepped on something, and realized it was the same thing he had fallen onto when he rolled out of bed. Upon closer inspection, it was a note, he thought. It was scrawled a little sloppily, and sentences slanted up or down at random.

Harry,

I had your friend Dobby bring you up to bed when you passed out. I left enough potion in your room for everyone. It helps with the sickness. I had fun tonight. Thank you for dancing with me.

Cho

p.s. You're cute when you're drunk

Harry blushed as he took a drink from the potion, and his eyes felt instantly better. His stomach quit wrestling with itself, but still ached a little, and his mouth was still incredibly dry. His immense headache hadn't disappeared, either, but at least he wouldn't be sick anymore. He handed the bottle to Ron and Hermione, and had to look away when Hermione moved the blankets. She hadn't noticed that her robes were twisted around her waist and her bare legs and underwear were showing. Ron helped her out of bed (trying but failing to look away) and her robes returned to their proper place.

She tried to pass the bottle to Seamus, who had to run back into the bathroom again. "Maybe Xander needs some," she muttered, and walked to his bed to open the curtains of the four-poster. "Xander, we have-Oh!"

Hermione has inadvertently woken everyone up, and they looked to see what was wrong. Everyone except Xander... and Alicia. Harry and Ron exchanged sly grins. Xander and Alicia were wrapped up in each other, and both were in their underwear.

"You don't think they..." Hermione said, looking terribly embarrassed. Harry and Ron began to laugh, Dean and Seamus joined in, and even Neville was smiling. Xander and Alicia woke up now, and everyone immediately searched for something else to do. Alicia stood up and got out of bed, and Harry couldn't help but look out of the corner of his eye (he was, after all, a red-blooded male), and smirked when he noticed the rest of the boys doing the same.

Alicia found one of Xander's baseball jerseys and putting it on around her shoulders, she pulled her hair back up into a ponytail. Hermione timidly handed her the potion, muttering something about it helping the sickness. She in turn handed it to Xander, who rubbed his face slowly before taking it. They both seemed rather comfortable lounging around in their underwear, Harry thought, as Alicia told Xander that she needed a shower before she kissed him. "Kay," Xander said wearily. "Meet you for breakfast?" Alicia nodded and kissed him again. She stood up and walked out of the room, failing to realize that she hadn't bothered to button up the jersey. Harry couldn't help but marvel at her, thinking that she certainly wasn't that well put together last year.

"I didn't mean to-" Hermione began to apologize, but Xander waved it off.

"It's O.K., I should wake up anyway," he said.

"Did you... I mean, did the two of you... you know," Hermione stuttered, with a disapproving look in her eye.

Xander smiled. "No, Mom," he said. "You're first time with someone shouldn't involve alcohol." Hermione responded with a "hpmph" but immediately lost her cold tone.

"Then how come you were both half-naked?" Dean asked, obviously not believing.

"Ever try to sleep with your clothes reeking of alcohol?" Xander asked him. "I'm amazed that y'all managed."

Hermione sniffed her robes and immediately went for the door. "I need a shower," she said hastily, collecting her shoes on the way.

After they had all cleaned themselves up, and able to speak in normal tones again, they made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry noticed that the majority of the hall was very worse for wear. Many were still half asleep on someone else's shoulder. Harry immediately chugged his pumpkin juice in an attempt to cure his cottonmouth. He was very nervous as Professor Dumbledore walked towards him.

"Here you are, Harry," he said, handing Harry his Firebolt. "I brought this back for you. You left it on the Quidditch pitch after the match." Harry accepted, wondering how he could possibly have forgotten his beloved broomstick as Dumbledore surveyed the Great Hall. "I assume it was a most excellent victory party," he said with a slight chuckle in his voice.

"Yeah, it was fun," Harry said simply, eager to end the conversation.

"I read an interesting article in This Month's Potions last week," Dumbledore said. His eyes twinkled and his mustache quivered slightly. "Did you know that adding equal parts sugar and salt to pumpkin juice makes for a wonderful hangover cure?" he said loudly. He returned to the head table without another word, and Harry snickered inwardly as everyone within earshot scrambled for the sugar bowl and saltshaker.

If it weren't for the fact that he was going to meet Sirius, Harry would have skipped the Hogsmeade trip that day. The students slowly filed out of the Entrance Hall, many having taken advantage of Dumbledore's suggestion once the word spread. Malfoy was still smarming about Dobby's insult and even passed up the chance to toss a few of his own at Harry when he walked past.

"I knew I liked Dobby for a reason," Ron smirked.

The trio spent a very enjoyable afternoon in the wizarding village. Many were still coming up to congratulate Harry and Ron for their performance the previous day, and Ron was eating up all the attention. It was one of the few times he was able to share in Harry's popularity, and Harry allowed Ron to do the speaking. He even smiled whenever he noticed Ron and Hermione attempting to covertly hold hands.

As they began their journey to the edge of town, Harry witnessed a scene that upset him very much. Roger Davies was talking to Cho, or rather talking at Cho. She kept trying to walk away and ignore him, but he was relentless.

"What do you mean, 'no'? Do you know how many girls would kill to be in your place right now?" Davies was shouting.

"Go find some, then," Cho snapped. "Leave me alone. I don't want to date you."

This infuriated Davies, and he barely kept his temper in check. The small crowd that gathered to witness the exchange only added to his ire. "You know what? Whatever," he said scathingly, waving his open hands in her face. "It's your loss," and he stalked off, leaving Cho to fume with a group of her friends.

"No, Harry," said Hermione, grabbing his arm. "We have to meet Snuffles. Talk to her later and let her calm down. She handled it."

Harry reluctantly agreed, even though every ounce of his being told him to stab Davies in the eye with a quill. His sour mood continued until they reached the meeting place, and only slightly improved when a large stray dog trotted up, wagging its tail. Harry's mood immediately brightened.

"Hello, Sirius," Harry said quietly, unable to hide his smile.

Sirius gave a comforting nudge to Harry's hand with his nose and set off at a trot down the road. Scrambling after him as fast as they could without drawing attention to themselves, Harry, Ron and Hermione followed Sirius into a well-hidden cave. For a moment, Harry thought Sirius had apparated, not being able to find an entrance.

"Harry, how are you?" Lupin asked kindly, shaking Harry's hand. "Ron, Hermione," he added with a nod to each.

"Professor, I haven't seen you in forever. Where've you been?" Harry asked.

"I'm no longer your professor, Harry. It's just Remus now," Lupin told him with a kind smile. "I've managed to find some work since Hogwarts. The Ministry has paid me for certain reconnosance these past few months."

"So how have you been, Harry?" Sirius asked seriously. He had given Harry a warm squeeze on the shoulder, but insisted on holding Harry's gaze.

"I'm okay, really," Harry tried to reassure him. "I'm really sorry I haven't written as much as I should've. I just kind of took 'no news is good news' for granted."

"You don't have to apologize, Harry," said Sirius. "I just wanted to see you with my own eyes, that's all. I see you've had one excellent victory party last night."

Harry was thankful that the conversation cut off where it did, as he really didn't feel like telling one more person about his dreams. They sat around all afternoon listening to stories from Sirius and Lupin, mostly about their days before the day Harry lost his parents. He took several mental notes on some of the pranks that his father and his friends had played on people during their days at Hogwarts. Hermione giggled madly as Lupin told an embarrassing story about Sirius, involving a lot of free time, a very willing young witch, and too much ale. Harry and Ron hung on every word as Sirius recounted some of James Potter's more glorious Quidditch accomplishments, leaving Harry feeling very proud indeed. Harry and Ron recounted the story of Xander and Malfoy in the library, leaving Sirius lying on the floor with laughter. Sirius looked amazingly young when he laughed that hard

After a couple of hours, Harry finally brought up the subject of Voldemort. The mood went from cheery to somber so quickly it almost sounded as if a clap of thunder hit. Ron and Hermione stared at the floor when Harry asked, and Lupin sighed deeply. Sirius was the first one to talk.

"He's been hiding in the north," Sirius told him. "Not many people will chase him there, since that's where the giants were rumored to run to fourteen years ago. It'd be a death trap for anyone to attack him there."

"But why hasn't he done anything yet?" Harry pressed. He felt a great sense of urgency, needing to know what Voldemort was doing.

"The quiet before the storm," Lupin muttered.

"Don't be so sour, Mr. 'glass-is-half-empty'," Sirius said in an attempt to lighten to mood a bit. "Dumbledore seems to think that he's looking to hit big the first time, but I doubt that it'll be any time soon. He doesn't have nearly a string enough hold on his supporters yet. He still doesn't have any spies where he needs them. It's too soon."

"Harry, we should be getting back," Hermione interrupted, looking uncomfort-able. "It's getting late. We'll miss the carriages."

Having spent such an enjoyable afternoon with his godfather and former professor, Harry said his goodbye's with reluctance. Sirius kept reassuring Harry about his safety for the moment and gave several warnings about keeping his eyes and ears open for anything unusual.

"I'll be nearby for most of the year," said Sirius. "Any owls you send won't take long to reach me. Don't dwell too much on what we've talked about. I'm sure you'll be wanting to concentrate on Quidditch; I hope you don't mind if I watch?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically as he wished Lupin well, forgetting again not to call him 'Professor'. Lupin couldn't help but grin despite himself. Harry knew he had enjoyed his term as a teacher and the look of longing in his eye told him that he wished very much to hold such a position again.

Dinner was just as riotous as usual at Hogwarts, the aftereffects of the Cheers Movies seemingly a memory. A good deal of the conversation centered around the Hogwarts All Stars team, of which tryouts for were rumored to begin in the upcoming week. An afternoon of hiking through the hills did wonders for Harry's appetite; he ate nearly as much as Ron, and Hermione even ate more than usual as she poured over her O.W.L Study Guide. Halfway through desert, Ron nudged Harry in the ribs with his elbow.

"Harry," he whispered, pointing over to the Ravenclaw table. "Maybe you should..."

Harry looked over, seeing Roger Davies talking loudly with Malfoy. He could hear them making rude remarks very loudly in the general direction of Cho, who was trying her best to ignore them, but the look on her face told Harry that she was failing miserably.

"Why is Davies talking with Malfoy?" Harry wondered aloud. Xander stopped his conversation with Alicia and her friends when he heard Harry say this and looked over with curiosity.

"Malfoy 'hooked up' at Hogsmeade today. I guess he wants someone to brag to," said Xander, leaning over to Harry momentarily. "Who'd of thought Hogwarts would have a crew of 'playas'?"

After several minutes of discussion, Ron, Hermione, and Xander convinced Harry to swallow his pride and go over to talk to Cho. Xander insisted that Malfoy and Davies would immediately quiet down their remarks, afraid of a confrontation in the Great Hall. Ron pulled out his wand and set it on top of the table, reassuring Harry that his back would be covered just in case. Swallowing what felt like an overly large apple that had suddenly found its way into Harry's throat, his knees shook slightly as he walked over to the Ravenclaw table.

"Hi," Harry said to Cho. He went red as her group of friends began to giggle and feigned ignorance, looking away but still inspecting the situation out of the corners of their eyes. Cho, thankfully, wasn't giggling.

"Hi," she answered sweetly. Harry noticed that she hadn't eaten much, her dinner plate still very much full.

"You should try the pudding, it might cheer you up," Harry stammered, trying to find his voice. Davies and Malfoy were leering over at the pair, continuing on with their remarks, only growing more loud and more lewd.

Xander came through with a distraction, giving Harry the time he needed to relax and shutting the two up in one sweeping move. He picked a box of tissues up from the table and chucked it at Malfoy's head, leaving a red welt on his temple. Xander made a very rude gesture with his hand, referring to the note he had posted on Malfoy's door in the library incident, and the Great Hall broke out in laughter. Xander caught Harry's eye and winked, and Harry heard Cho laughing as well.

"Listen," said Harry once his laughter died down. "I never got the chance to thank you for leaving that potion last night."

Oh," said Cho, her cheeks flushing slightly. "it was no problem. I had a really nice time last night. Thanks for dancing with me," she added, smiling sweetly.

Harry's tongue swelled as he looked at her face, Cho's smile adding so much more to her beauty. He smiled in return, helping himself to a drink of pumpkin juice in an attempt to shrink his tongue. Not really knowing what to say, he figured he may as well try to talk about the one thing he had no trouble talking about.

"Going to try out for the All Star team?" he asked, more to the goblet than to Cho.

"I dunno," she shrugged. "I heard that Malfoy was going to try. I don't know if I can make it over him."

"You're a better flier than Malfoy," said Harry quickly, then immediately began to blush as Cho's friends giggled once more. Why did they always seem to be around when Harry wanted to talk to Cho?

"Thank you," Cho smiled again, adding to Harry's redness. "Anxious to play against me again?" she teased Harry.

"What? I... uh... no, I mean...um," Harry stammered. Cho's friends giggled louder than ever, effectively causing Harry's throat to shut off completely. Xander and Ron walked up, saving Harry further embarrassment.

"Pardon me," Xander said very apologetically to Cho. "May we borrow Harry for a second?"

Cho nodded with a smile to Harry, and he joined Ron and Xander a few paces away with a wave of gratitude.

"You're doing fine," Ron winked at Harry. Talking to Ron reopened Harry's throat. If he hadn't been standing in front of the entire school, Harry would've punched Ron in the arm.

"Just wait for it," said Xander quietly, looking over his shoulder. "I had the Palone's start one of their wrestling matches. In a minute, they'll make a distraction. Think of a compliment to give Cho before Hermione asks you to help her drag them back to the Common Room."

Before Harry had the time to think, one of the Palone twins fell off his seat, laying flat on the ground. The other, hardly anybody could tell them apart, jumped up on the table with a great show of flamboyancy.

"Hard Core Baby!" he shouted, and leapt off the table, dropping an elbow across the chest of his brother. The Great Hall roared in laughter again, and Harry could even see Dumbledore's beard twitching in amusement.

"Once more and I swear you'll have detention!" scolded Hermione shrilly. The twins were struggling for a pin, Colin Creevey waiting next to them to count someone out. "Harry!" called Hermione, looking desperately over to him. "I need a hand!" she said, struggling to separate the two. Harry grinned despite himself, and heard Xander's voice in his ear reminding him to compliment Cho.

He looked at Cho, who was laughing along with everyone else, the sad look now gone from her eyes. Blurting out the first thought that came to mind, he leaned over. "You should smile more," he told Cho. "You look prettier when you're happy."

Not turning to see her reaction, he hurried off to help Hermione. He assumed that she liked the compliment, as Cho's friends giggled once more. Thinking to himself that her friends really needed to find a hobby other than giggling at Harry's embarrassment, he and Ron grabbed one of the Palone's and carried him off to Gryffindor Tower, silently vowing to buy Xander all of the Buffalo Wings he could eat.

"Well done," Xander muttered from the corner of his mouth as he and Hermione dragged the other twin up the stairs. "Remember," he said to Hermione, "you promised not to take nay points away."

"I know," said Hermione sharply. "I can't believe I let you two-" she indicated Ron and Xander with a nod of her head "-talk me into this."

"All in the name of love," grinned Ron.

Harry found it difficult to look at his friends until they heard the entire hall making their way back to their Common Rooms. He played a few games of Exploding Snap with Ron, Fred, and George, ignoring the twins' teasing the whole time. Hermione laughed heartily as a card exploded in Ron's hand before he could get rid of it, resulting in the loss of a bit of hair from the back of his head. Feeling very worn, Harry retired early, and was surprised to find an owl sitting on his bed. Thankful that nobody was around yet, he blushed furiously when he noticed Cho's handwriting on the outside of the letter.

Dear Harry,

Thank you for coming over to talk to me. I know it took a lot for you to do that in front of the whole school. I owe you one. You were right, the pudding was very good.

Cho

p.s. You should smile more yourself. It adds to your eyes.

Harry reread the letter many times over, smiling to himself. Feeling a little childish but not caring, Harry placed the note under his pillow before his roommates came up for bed. Listening to Xander once again mumble to himself as he read from his journal, Harry fell asleep holding onto the letter, all thoughts of nightmares forgotten.