Harry Potter and the Ultimate Frisbee

Could it be any hotter? he thought as he wiped the sweat off his brow. It was the middle of August and Harry Potter was not enjoying himself. As per usual Harry was spending the summer at 4 Privet Drive, with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and his nasty cousin, Dudley. A month shy of his seventeenth birthday, Harry was fed up with the whole situation. It was another summer with the only family he had, and he couldn't stand it. This summer, he couldn't even hope for rescue from his friends. Ron and the rest of the Weasley family were spending holiday in Australia. And Hermione was too busy with her dissertation on the molecular make up of magic to spend time with Harry.

"Why is she even worrying about that?" said Harry to no one in particular. "It's not as if anyone really cares about molecules in the wizarding world." In reality, Harry was just frustrated about the five years prior to Hogwarts spent in public school. The history, math and science he had learned at regular school seemed so obsolete once he entered Hogwarts. Although, Harry had to admit, it was fun knowing things his fellow students didn't know. It was amazing how many people had asked him what the "force" was.

"Don't just stand there!" came a screech from inside the house. "I want that lawn mowed in the next hour!" Uncle Vernon was such a pain in the ass. Why couldn't Dudley mow the lawn? That's right, his "allergies" would act up.

"If he has allergies, then I'm the king of England," said Harry. But he began setting up the lawn mower, nevertheless. Just as he was about to start up the engine, he heard a call from next door.

"Hey there!" said a pretty blond girl. Harry gave her a funny look. Where did she come from? She walked over and stuck out a hand. "My name's Anna. I'm staying with my grandmother for the summer. I'm from Boston."

"Oh! Hi!" Harry shook off the initial shock. It wasn't just a girl; it was a pretty blond American girl. "My name's Harry. Harry Potter." He looked at her, almost expecting to see her eyes widen upon hearing his name. But it never came. She smiled warmly and shook his hand.

"So what's there to do around here? It seems pretty quiet." She looked expectantly at Harry.

"Well, there's-" began Harry. "I mean, you could- Hmm. I don't know. I don't get out much." He blushed and looked down.

"Doesn't look like there's that much to do here anyway. It's a good thing I brought my Frisbee, I guess. Do you play?" Anna held up a white, flat disc thing. Harry just stared at it. It looked like a weird plate, but it was plastic. "You've never seen a Frisbee before, have you?"

"Uhh.. well, actually, no. What do you do with it?"

"I'll show you. Stand over there." She pointed a few meters from where Harry was standing. He jogged over to the spot and looked back expectantly.

"Okay, catch."

"What? OW!" said Harry as the Frisbee hit him in the chest.

Anna ran over and grabbed his shoulder. "Oh! Shit! Are you okay? I'm really sorry!"

"No, it's fine," coughed Harry. "I just wasn't expecting it. Show me how to throw it?"

For the next hour Anna and Harry threw the Frisbee back and forth. At one point Uncle Vernon came out and began to say something, but Harry just glared at him and he closed his mouth quickly. With a humph, he turned around and walked back into the house.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Harry. "That has never worked before! This thing is like magic!" Anna jogged over and laughed.

"Magic? Ha! It's plastic! Anyway, I should probably go. My grandmother's been expecting me." She handed Harry the Frisbee. "Here, you keep this."

"No, I can't! It's yours!" said Harry, flustered. But Anna insisted.

"Have you ever been to Boston? This is all people do there! It's such a college town. Frisbee and hacky sack."

"What's hacky sack?" asked Harry.

Anna just laughed. "Another day. Bye Harry!" And she jogged inside.

Harry watched her go and chuckled to himself. Maybe this holiday wasn't going to suck as much as he originally thought.

Over the course of the month, Harry really picked up Frisbee. Anna came over every day and they tossed it around. Much to Harry's surprise, a number of the other boys in the neighborhood actually noticed that Harry existed and asked to play as well. Pretty soon, Anna and Harry were organizing games at the nearby park. Even more shocking was the fact that Uncle Vernon didn't mind the games. Harry approached him about it once or twice, but Uncle Vernon just grunted and said, "Anything that keeps your mind off that magic nonsense."

The games became so routine that once, much to his surprise, Harry invited Dudley to play. Flabbergasted, Dudley declined, but not before giving Harry a very odd look. Aunt Petunia smiled quietly to herself and then looked up, shocked. Things were very unusual in the Dursley house. Everyone was getting along. No one was glaring evilly at Harry. Even Dudley had stopped shoving him for no reason.

Harry couldn't really understand the change until one day he ran past a mirror in the hall. He walked back slowly and stared at his reflection. His skin was very tanned. His hair actually looked decent, messy, but in a manageable way. His arms were the biggest shocker. Harry had always been scrawny, but suddenly he was toned.

"Damn," said Harry. "When did that happen?" He looked for a moment longer and then ran out to play.

Soon enough, it was time to head back to Hogwarts and for the first time, Harry was actually reluctant to go. He was excited to see his friends, who he had not had too much contact with in the past few weeks, and he was excited about playing Quidditch again, but for some reason, the thought of not playing Frisbee every day was a let down. At first, he thought there might be something with Anna herself. But the more he played with her, the more he realized that there wasn't any romantic connection there. She was too much one of the guys. Anyway, she was going back to America. He'd probably never see her again.

As they tossed the Frisbee back and forth the night before Anna's departure, Harry mentioned his reluctance to return to school.

"I know what you mean," replied Anna. "I have to go all the way back to Boston. I'm really looking forward too it, I mean, I miss my parents and the T- er, the underground in Boston. But, I don't know, this summer has been so much fun! It's not like we've done a whole heck of a lot, but just hanging out has been a blast."

"I'll have to bring the Frisbee with me back to school. I doubt anyone will want to play, though. There all obsessed with Qui- uhh, football." Well, thought Harry, Dean's into football.

"Crazy Brits," said Anna with a grin. "Anyway, I'm leaving really early tomorrow morning, so I won't get to see you before I leave. I just wanted to make sure you knew that you're the only reason this summer was bearable. More than bearable, you made this summer great."

"Ditto. You don't know how much I've hated it here in the past. Now I'm reluctant to leave!" He grinned at her foolishly for a bit and then stepped forward with his arms open and gave her a great, big hug. "I'm going to miss you, Anna."

"I'm going to miss you too, Harry Potter. Don't let you-know-who get you down."

"Who? Dudley? He's-"

"No, Voldemort." And with a grin and a wink, she left. Harry watched her leave, too shocked to make her stop and explain.