Harry Potter and the Ring of Loyalty

For the first time in a long time, Harry finally felt relaxed. He, Ginny, and Sirius sat on bar stools in a small shack-sized restaurant. The food was good. He wasn't exactly sure what he was eating, but it tasted sweet and sour all at the same time. The company was good too. Ginny had always been a friend of Harry's, and eating a meal with Sirius made him feel like he was finally part of a family.

Ginny excused herself to the restroom, leaving Sirius and Harry alone at the bar. "Are you having a good time, Harry?" he asked.

Harry nodded. "It's been really great, Sirius. I couldn't have asked for a better vacation."

Sirius smiled a genuine smile. "You know, I was thinking, hopefully by the time the winter holidays roll around I'll have my own place - not a cave this time," he chuckled. "Or would you rather spend Christmas at Hogwarts this year instead of with me?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Harry exclaimed.

"Good. I feel bad that I've imposed on Molly and Arthur for all this time, but I just needed to start living like a real human being again. Not a mangy old mutt."

"I reckon Ron's mom was happy to have you there, anyways, Sirius," Harry said. "You finally got Mr. Weasley to make that new addition onto the Burrow. She said she's been waiting for a whole year to have it magicked up correctly."

"And I finally have my own room," Ginny said, returning from the girl's bathroom. "It's been terrible sharing a room with Ron ever since the old one collapsed. He snores something awful."

Harry grinned. "I know."

Sirius let out a satisfied sigh. "Well, I'm ready to hit the beach again. What about you two?" he asked.

Harry checked his watch and glanced at Ginny. "I don't know. Do you think we've given them enough time?"

"Enough time for what?" Sirius questioned, completely oblivious.

Ginny and Harry exchanged private smiles. "I think it's safe," Ginny said, and stood up from the stool.

Sirius pulled out his wallet and fingered the various bills. "This is all so confusing. Galleons and Knuts and Sickles to Muggle money, and what's worse, it's American. I have no clue what kind of tip to leave."

"Hermione'd know," Harry said. "I think you should leave three of the lowest bills." He turned to Ginny. She shrugged. The Weasley family was not known for their knowledge of muggle culture.

Sirius went on Harry's estimate and the three of them headed back towards the beach. The sun was at its highest peak and the traffic on the beach was as heavy as ever. Children were running around and building sand castles. Others were playing games, like volleyball or Frisbee, and some were having cookouts on the grills that were strategically placed along the shoreline.

When they finally reached the blanket, Harry's feet were on fire. He quickly took off his sandals and stood on his towel. Ginny collapsed on the blanket, next to Hermione, who had stopped reading her book and was leaning up against the palm tree, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Where's Ron?" Harry asked.

"In the water," she replied tonelessly.

Ginny shook her head. "It went that bad, huh?"

Hermione frowned. "It was worse."

Harry decided to go see how his other counterpart was holding up. He took off his glasses and his white undershirt, a little self-conscious, and made a quick beeline for the water before his toes caught on fire.

He spotted Ron a little farther out in the distance. Harry stepped into the cool ocean water and made his way Ron. He was floating on his back as the waves brought him closer and closer to shore.

"You're really going to get sunburned out here, you know."

Ron's eyes flew open. He tried to sit up in the water, but instead went beneath the waves and got a mouthful of water. He sputtered for a moment before regaining his bearings. "Thanks a lot, Harry."

Harry smiled. "So what happened?"

Ron sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Did she say no?"

"Not exactly." Ron shrugged. "It wasn't a 'no.' It was more of a 'not now' kind of thing."

Harry stayed silent, knowing full well with what kind of feelings Ron was dealing with. He'd had that same conversation with Cho.

"Women." That summed it up for the both of them.

Harry ducked under the water to cool off, getting his dark hair wet. When he came up, it covered his eyes and pulled it away, revealing his legendary lightening bolt scar.

Ron was staring at him. "What?"

"Maybe you shouldn't do that - let everybody see your scar. They might ask you about it. I mean, we're surrounded by curious muggles."

Harry shrugged. "I suppose you're right."

Suddenly, there was an uproar from one of the half-hidden coves along the coastline. People were screaming and there were masses of hooting and hollering. The waves were a lot bigger on that side of the beach. Dozens of men and women were riding flat wooden boards into shore.

"Whoa! Harry, did you see that?"

"I can't see a thing," Harry grumbled. "I don't have my glasses on and my hair is in my face." But he turned to the direction that Ron was pointing in.

"What are they doing?"

"They're surfing. I saw a competition on the television back at the Dursley's once. The professionals - the people who do it for a living - ride waves that are fifteen feet."

"Wicked!" Ron exclaimed. "D'you reckon we can try it?"

"I don't know. Not with fifteen foot waves."

"C'mon Harry, it'll be fun. Let's go see where we can get those board things."

"Surfboards."

"Right."

Harry followed Ron back up to the beach where Ginny, Hermione, and Sirius were laying in the sun. "Aren't you going to go into the water?" Ron asked.

"Eventually," Ginny replied. "It's not hot enough yet."

Ron rolled his eyes in Hermione fashion. "Sirius, Harry and I were wondering if we could try... Um... I forgot what it was called."

"Surfing," Harry interrupted and pointed over to the cove of surfers. "You stand up on a board and ride the waves into the shore."

"Isn't that sort of dangerous?" Hermione questioned.

"Not if we could get some lessons or something," Harry replied. "I bet if we go back to that rental shop, they'd let us rent some surfboards - the boards you stand up on - and gives us some lessons." Surfing sounded like just the thing Ron needed to get his mind off Hermione, and Harry was also anxious to try something new and exciting.

Sirius looked from the surfers to the boys, then back again. "I don't know. What do you say girls?"

"I'm in," Ginny said. "I've always wanted to learn a muggle sport." She turned to Hermione. "What about you?"

She shrugged. "It looks like fun, I guess. As long as no one gets hurt or anything."

"Now she's worried about me getting hurt?" Ron muttered.

***

Hermione grabbed Sirius's wallet, taking charge of the money calculations. "Okay. Surfboard rentals, plus deposits, plus lessons, times four..." Her voice trailed off and she concentrated on the bills in her hand.

Ron's eyes widened as he watched her work. "Amazing," he breathed. "I don't know how she does it."

Harry stifled a laugh. "So how much is it going to cost, Hermione?"

"More than we can afford." She sighed and put the money back into Sirius's wallet. "Sorry. We have two days before we go back home. We still need to eat."

Ron looked out to the cove of surfers. "Things sure are expensive in the U.S."

"Not if you know where to shop," said a voice behind them.

A girl, who looked roughly about the same age as the sixth years, approached them. She had long bleached blonde hair that was wet with salt water and bright green eyes. She was wearing a pair of low-cut flower-printed shorts and a black tank top. The strings of her yellow bikini poked out at her neckline. Harry's mouth dropped open at the sight of her.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear you. If you're looking for a place to rent some boards and get some lessons, I can help you out."

"You can?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. My mother owns the shop a little ways from here. She'll give you five boards and lessons for half that price." She smiled, and Harry felt as though his knees were going to give out.

Sirius seemed to consider her offer. "Sounds good to me. I wouldn't mind trying this surfing thing myself."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Hermione said.

Ron smirked. "Of course it is, Hermione. Don't be so afraid to take a chance."

Hermione glared at him. "At least we'll have enough money to eat now."

The girl glanced to Hermione and then to Ron, and back again. "Right. Well, I'd be glad to walk all of you there." She gestured to a half-hidden building on the other side of the cove and headed towards it. Harry made his knees toughen up as he and the others followed her.

"Oh, by the way I'm Makana Nane." She shook Sirius's hand.

"What?" Ron asked. "How do you say that?"

The girl laughed. Harry liked her laugh even more than her smile. "Mah-Kah-Nah. Nan-Ay. Makana is my first name. It means gift in Hawaiian. But you can call me Kana for short."

"Well, I'm Sirius, and this is my god-son Harry, and his friends Ron, Ginny, and Hermione." He gestured to each one of them.

She turned to Hermione. "How do you say that?"

"Her-my-oh-nee." Hermione smiled. "So do you live on this island then?"

Kana nodded. "I've lived here my whole life."

"You know how to surf, right?" Ron questioned.

"Of course," Kana said. "I've been surfing ever since I learned to stand up. Where are you guys from?"

"London," Ron answered. "In England," he added, matter-of-factly.

"I'm quite sure she knows where it is," Hermione snapped. Both of them had daggers in their eyes as they glared at each other. Harry wasn't sure how much more he could take of this. He was almost embarrassed to be around them when they were arguing like this, especially with this gorgeous girl walking them to her mum's surf shop.

"Sorry about them," Harry said quietly to Kana. "They're having sort of a lover's quarrel."

She grinned. "I thought so." Kana glanced at Harry, a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay? You're limping."

"Oh," Harry said sheepishly, blushing and looking down at his feet. "It's from the sand. It's too hot."

"Don't worry about it," she said. "You'll get used to it in no time. It doesn't take long to build up a tolerance." She smiled again, her pearly white teeth highlighting her dark tanned skin. Her eyes were sparkling, and the color reminded him of the salty ocean itself, its crashing waves and magnificent sunsets.

Kana continued to lead them through the white sandy beach, weaving their way amongst all the tourists and natives until they reached a small hut near the cove of surfers. "This is it," she announced. She gestured inside the shop. The group went inside and Kana came in behind them, quickly going behind the counter. "Makuahine, we've got customers!"

A petite dark woman came from a backroom. Her dark eyes were shining brightly in the dim sunlight shining through the roof. "Aloha. Welcome to the Tiki Shack. How can I help you?"

"They're looking to rent surfboards and get some lessons," Kana supplied. "They were over at the other end of the beach at Milo's store."

"Ah, my daughter is good for business," the woman told Sirius. She had a rich Hawaiian accent, but they could still understand what she was saying. "She brings in nearly all my customers."

"Gee, I wonder why," Ginny muttered under her breath, eying Kana's wardrobe.

"They're from London," Kana said. "In England," she looked over at Ron, who smirked at Hermione. "We should give them the European special."

"What's the European special?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

"You don't pay for your lessons until after you've mastered the surfboard," Kana's mum said. "You only have to pay for the rentals right now. A daily rental of a surfboard is only ten dollars. That will be fifty total for all five of you."

"Sounds good to me," Sirius said, handing Hermione the wallet.

Hermione took it reluctantly and put five ten-dollar bills on the countertop. "And what about the lessons?" she asked, as Kana's mother disappeared into the backroom again.

"The fee is negotiable," Kana replied, putting the money into a rusted cash box. She grinned at Harry. "I'll be your instructor."

"Wicked," Ron whispered. Harry agreed wholeheartedly.

Kana's mother returned from the back room, a surfboard under each arm. "Why don't you try these out for size?" she asked, handing the boards to Ginny and Hermione.

"I'll get the others," Kana said. Harry watched as she hurried into the back room and emerged with a red surfboard for him and a yellow for Ron, and then went back again to get one for Sirius and herself.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Hermione questioned.

"Rest assured, it's perfectly safe," Kana's mother said. "Kana may not be a certifiable surfing instructor but she knows this beach better than anybody on the whole island."

"And she's easy on the eyes," Ron added. Ginny elbowed him.

After some last-minute, basic surfing instructions, Kana led the five of them out of the shop and back through the hot sand to the beach. The surfers in the cove were screaming again, as wave after wave crashed on shore, whitecaps and all.

"I - I'm not so sure I want to try this anymore," Ginny said, as one of the surfers flew off his board and landed flat on his back into the water.

Kana followed her gaze. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not taking you there. The cove is dangerous this time of year." She pointed to a thick forest of palm trees and leafy green vegetation. "There's a better place to surf just past those trees. It's more private and not packed with tourists. And the waves aren't quite so big."

As she led them along the beach and through the thicket of tropical plants, Harry realized that his feet were, in fact, adjusting to the burning sand like Kana said they would. He wasn't limping around anymore and had grown used to the weight of the surfboard he was carrying.

When they finally pushed their way through the last of the ferns and palm trees, Harry gasped at what they saw. This part of the beach seemed much more like a Hawaiian paradise. The sand glistened like crystal in the sun and the water was much calmer than in the cove. Its crash was gentle and soothing, and the waves weren't nearly as big.

"Wow," Ron breathed.

"Amazing," Hermione added.

"This is where we locals like to do some easy surfing," Kana explained. "Most people don't want to trek all the way here with surfboards under their arms, but it's definitely worth it. I usually come here just to relax."

"I can see why," Sirius said.

"Well, why don't we get into the water and I'll show all of you how to get started?" Within seconds, Kana had wiggled out of her shorts and slipped out of her tank top, leaving her in her black bikini.

Harry's mouth dropped open. Ron reached up and closed it for him. Hermione muttered something that sounded remotely like "boys."

***

A few hours later everyone had managed to stand up on their surfboards and ride at least one wave into shore - even Ron, who had a tendency to slip backwards off his board and fall face-first into the salty ocean.

As the sun started to set, the group settled on the beach blanket, snacking on sandwiches and soda. Sirius insisted that Kana joined them. She obliged and sat on the blanket between Harry and Ginny, telling them stories about crazy tourists and Hawaiian culture, and about herself whenever Harry got up the nerve to ask.

"No, I've never been to England. I haven't even left this island before. It's always been me and my makuahine - I mean, my mom. We don't have the time or money for vacations," she said quietly. "I went to school up until this year, but once I turned sixteen I decided to stop and help at the store full-time."

"Wow, no school," Ron replied. "Sounds cool."

"I have a rather silly question," Hermione interjected. "If you're a native to Hawaii, how come you don't...Well, you don't look it."

Kana took a sip of her soda. "You mean my hair?" She nodded. "It's sort of a hidden trait in my family tree, I guess. I'm part British from my dad. Apparently that's where I got the hair from."

And Harry had to agree that it was very nice hair indeed.

After the food was gone, everyone sat back on the blanket, enjoying the breath-taking sunset. The sky was full of color and there was a cool breeze in the air. The evening was much more comfortable than the afternoon.

The beach was growing more crowded with locals as they returned from their day jobs for a diversion. "This is the best time to watch the surfers," Kana said. "Some of these people really know how to handle a board."

One man was crouching on the back end of his board with his shaggy black dog sitting calmly on the front as they surfed into the shore. Harry eyed Sirius curiously, wondering if he'd thought about surfing on four legs now that he'd mastered it on two. He almost said something, but realized that Kana was there.

Harry wondered if Kana was a muggle. He didn't know how to find out. It wasn't a question someone could ask lightly - and it would really get him in trouble with the Ministry of Magic. It didn't matter to him whether she was or not; he was just curious to find out. In all honesty, he thought she was a muggle because she hadn't said anything about his scar or recognized him as the famous Harry Potter. He liked that.

He stared past Kana to the shoreline, where two little girls were holding hands as they surfed together on the same board. "Whoa," Harry said. "That must take real talent."

"Two people on the same board?" Kana questioned. "Nah, it's easy." She shook her head, her blonde curls were now dry, and the bounced playfully, framing her face. She stood up from the blanket and brushed the sand off her legs. "C'mon, I'll show you how to do it. We'll use Sirius's board. "

Harry stared up at her. She really was stunning. She was so animated, so kind and cheerful. He got up and jogged over to grab Sirius's board that was leaning against a palm tree. He followed Kana out into the water.

The ocean seemed warmer than the air outside as the waves silently crashed against his knees, then his waist, until Kana and Harry were up to their necks.

"How are we going to do this?" Harry asked.

"Very carefully." She laughed. "Don't worry. It'll be fun. I'll get on first, and then I'll help you up." Kana set her palms flat on the surfboard and pulled her body effortlessly out of the water. She straddled the surfboard backwards, facing Harry. "Your turn."

Harry pushed off from the ocean floor, using one arm to heave his weight onto the board. It tipped on one end and the board nearly flipped. Kana quickly pulled her weight over to the other side, gripping it, trying to keep it afloat. She held out her free hand and Harry grabbed it, tightly hanging on as she helped pull him onto the surfboard so that they faced each other.

Harry held onto her hand for an extra moment. It felt like electricity was racing through her palm. It wasn't as smooth as he expected - a little rough at the edges from years of work on the island - yet somehow gentle. Her fingers weren't carefully painted or manicured like Cho's. The nails were short and dainty and rugged all at the same time.

Kana squeezed his hand, sending another jolt of energy through him. He quickly let go, then blushed down at Kana. "Sorry."

She smiled. "It's okay. Now for the hard part. We have to stand up."

"Are you sure we can do this?" Harry gulped.

"Of course. Just hold on to the board."

The waves were already dragging them towards shore, but Harry tried to keep the board as steady as possible with his feet in the water.

Kana moved her legs to a cross-legged position, then leaned forward, so close to Harry he could smell her. She smelled sweet like coconuts, and spicy like the jungle. She was a contradiction to him.

The two of them tried to maintain their balance on the board. Kana slipped, and at the last second grabbed Harry's shoulders. His heart skipped a beat from her touch as she regained her bearings. She slowly made slid her way up to a standing position, and Harry tried to keep himself from staring at body parts and places he shouldn't be looking at.

"Close one." Kana let out a sigh of relief. "Now I'll help you up."

Harry pulled his legs up out of the water and managed to get himself into a kneeling position. Kana put her arms beneath Harry's and gripped his elbows, helping him stand up.

He could feel beads of sweat on his face, but he grinned at Kana. She smiled back. Without speaking, she moved her hand to Harry's again, and linked his fingers with hers.

The waves sped up now that Harry's legs weren't in the water, anchoring the board. They swiftly began to surf closer to shore. Harry could hear Ron and Hermione shouting and cheering them on.

"Okay, I'm going to turn around now." She let go of one of Harry's hands and carefully swiveled around, facing the shoreline. Harry reluctantly let go of Kana's other hand. Sirius had his camera he'd bought at the muggle shop and was snapping pictures rapidly as they sailed into the beach together.

Kana leaned back into Harry. He breathed in the scent of her hair as her wet curls tickled at his neck. Without realizing it, he slipped his arms around waist and snuggled his chin at the base of her neck, his check brushing against her shoulder blade.

Harry gasped. It had been so natural. It was almost automatic. He kept telling himself, over and over, that he needed to let go of her - that he couldn't hold her that way. He'd gone too far. But then Kana seemed to mold into him, and she didn't squirm or object or push him off the board.

"This is why I love to surf," Kana whispered quietly as they sailed into shore. "It's like flying."