Me and Harry Potter

I put my stuff down in the room that I was to be sharing with Hermione and Ginny. I just couldn't believe that they were real. It was...weird.

"So, where are you guys from?" I asked Hermione and Ginny, even though I already knew the answer. I guess I was trying to figure out if it was a joke or not.

"England," Ginny replied. "What about you?"

"California," I said. "What are you doing in Italy?"

"Well," Hermione said looking uncomfortably at Ginny. "We... umm, a lot of bad stuff had been going on at home, but it all just ended, so we took a vacation to celebrate."

"Did it have anything to do with Voldemort?" I asked, hoping for a surprised reaction. That's what I got.

Ginny had dropped her camera and Hermione gasped, staring at me. "How do you know about V-Voldemort? Are you a witch?"

Before I could answer, a knock came on the door. We called "come in" and the boys I had seen in the kitchen walked in.

"Hi," said the black-haired boy, extending his hand toward me. "I'm Harry."

"I'm Mallory," I said, taking his hand. I couldn't believe it. I was meeting Harry Potter. Harry Potter! My favorite book character of all time was shaking my hand! I was about to die.

After the red-haired boy introduced himself as Ron Weasley (I knew beforehand of course), Hermione asked me again, "Are you a witch?"

Harry and Ron looked at me with interest. "A witch? Really?"

I laughed and considered giving them a sarcastic answer, but I decided to just be truthful. "No, I'm a Muggle. But I know all about you."

"How?" Hermione asked. I zipped open my suitcase and pulled out a heavy book.

"This," I said, dropping Order of the Phoenix in her lap. She pulled it open and gasped. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," she read. Harry, Ron and Ginny crowded around and looked at the book. Hermione flipped through to the first page and began reading aloud.

Chapter one, Dudley Demented. The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive.

Ron: Whoa...Isn't that where you live, Harry?

Harry: Yeah. Keep going, Hermione.

Cars that were usually gleaming stood dusty in their drives and lawns that were once emerald green lay parched a yellowing; the use of hosepipes had been banned due to drought.

"When does this take place?" Ginny asked.

"Fifth year. There is a series of books all about Harry and you guys. This is fifth. There are going to be seven eventually. There are also three movies," I answered.

"Movies? About us? You've gotta be kidding," Ron said.

"No. I saw Prisoner of Azkaban, about your third year, five times in one day. It just came out last month," I said.

"Why?" asked Harry.

"Because I'm obsessed with anything Harry Potter," I admitted.

"How much Harry Potter stuff is there to be obsessed with?" Ron asked.

"Plenty. Movies, books, dolls, Legos..."

"Dolls?" Harry asked, incredulous.

"Yeah. I have a Harry Potter doll in my bedroom," I said smiling.

"I'd prefer to be an action figure."

"Is there a Ron action figure?" Ron asked.

"Of course," I replied. "It's really popular. There's also a Hermione doll."

"Can I continue reading?" Hermione asked, looking slightly embarrassed at the fact that there was a doll based on her.

"Oh, yeah, please continue," I said.

Deprived of their usual car-washing and lawn-mowing pursuits, the inhabitants of Privet Drive had retreated into the shade of their cool houses, windows thrown wide in the hope of tempting in a nonexistent breeze.

Ron: Why would they need a breeze if their houses are cool?

Harry: So they could get even cooler...

Ron: Well, what's the point?

Hermione: Can I read? (everyone nods) Thank you.

The only person left outdoors was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four.

Ginny: (looking at Harry) I wonder who that could be?

Harry: Ooh, I could never guess.

Hermione: (glares at Harry and Ginny who stop talking)

He was a skinny

Harry: Hey! I'm not that skinny!

black haired, bespectacled boy who had the pinched, slightly unhealthy look of someone who has grown a lot in a short space of time.

Harry: I'm finally almost as tall as Ron!

Ginny: You'll never be as tall as Ron.

Hermione: Shhhh!

His jeans were torn and dirty, his T-shirt baggy and faded, and the soles of his trainers were peeling away from the uppers.

Harry: (whispers) I hate those trainers.

Harry Potter's appearance did not endear him to the neighbors,

Harry: You got that right.

who were sort of people who thought scruffiness ought to be punishable by law, but as he had hidden himself behind a large hydrangea bush this evening he was quite invisible to passersby.

Harry: That's why I hid myself.

In fact, the only way he would be spotted was if his Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia stuck their heads out of the living room window and looked straight down in the flower bed below.

"How did you get Vernon and Petunia to let you go to Italy this summer?" I asked. " And, how did you all get here?'

"Oh, well," Harry said. "Tonks, Dumbledore and Moody talked to Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, and they actually agreed to let me go. And...well, I probably shouldn't tell you this, but..."

"Dad became the new minister!" Ginny squealed. Harry and Ron glared at her. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it! I'm just so excited."

"Wow! There's a rumor going around that Arthur becomes the next Minister," I said. "Hey, what year did you just finish?"

"Seventh," Harry said. "Well, Ginny just finished sixth."

"Ahh...So, I'm guessing you defeated Voldemort?" I asked.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny stared at each other.