Chapter : 15
"After Stonehenge, I never thought I would complain about being cold again."
While Harry agreed with that, his mind was still on the letter. "I kinda expected something like that response, and not just from what you'd already told me. Looking through my trunk, apart from my Hogwarts uniform, everything is Dudley's castoffs. My aunt always believed her two boys should be smart, and act like proper little gentlemen. I would only be allowed to wear rags like that if Dud and me were painting the shed or something - with the clothes going straight in the bin as soon as we were finished. I have a lot of shopping to do, I hope you're right about this vault I have?"
"Dobby could get you a statement from the goblins, even have gold converted into cash for you."
"That would be great. I need clothes, contacts and a haircut. I also need to buy some Christmas presents. For my girls, Dobby, your mum and dad - and my family. Will you come with me to Little Whinging when I deliver them?"
Hermione had both arms around him and gently kissed his lips. "I told you, Harry, you're stuck with me. Where you go, I go too..."
"Well I think the guys are going to have their eyeballs popping onto the floor when we hit the shower."
"Potter, you have a one track mind..."
"...and that track leads straight to you."
"You need to write these down, Harry, they're pure gold. The twins got Ron a book, once he realised girls were different. Twelve failsafe ways to woo your witch - or something like that. You're better than any book..."
Minerva stood at the window with Albus as they watched the young couple, with a snowy owl circling above them, head back into the castle. "I have to say I like the change in Mister Potter since he started hanging around with Miss Granger. He even told Wood he would only play quidditch if it didn't interfere with his studies."
"I have to say both are a joy to teach potions. Young Harry may look like James but his attitude is now pure Lily."
"If I didn't think it would cause a further split in my house, I would ask if Mister Longbottom could join them for your lessons. Any confidence the lad builds over the week is destroyed the instant he steps into Severus' class. Students are not supposed to be terrified of their professors but Severus seems to revel in invoking that reaction from my young lions."
Minerva just mentioning a split in Gryffindor sent shivers down Albus' spine. That was certainly not his intention here. "I will speak with Harry and Hermione, see if they would mind the rest of their Gryffindor yearmates joining the class."
"I don't think they'll mind, but we both know someone who will."
"Yes, but Severus is the adult here. I'm not prepared to put up with any childish behaviour from him over this matter. If he did the job properly in the first place, I wouldn't have to take this class. I have to admit though, I am rather enjoying teaching again."
His deputy couldn't hide her smile at that admission, and also the possibility of getting all her young lions out of Severus' clutches. He refused to accept that a teacher had to treat an eleven year old student different from those who were sixteen or seventeen. The entire first year pride of lions all receiving their potions tuition from Professor Dumbledore would certainly make the Potter-Granger partnership very popular inside Gryffindor. "Can I be the one to tell Severus when those two say yes?"
After sharing their now customary chaste goodnight kiss with Hermione, Harry then headed up to his dorm to find the rest of his dorm-mates waiting on him. They were all smiling and had arranged some sort of party, complete with cakes and pumpkin juice.
"We just wanted to welcome you back, mate. Now that you're learning the same as us again, you won't have to hang about with Hermione all the time. She's turning you into a bookworm - just like her."
Taking a deep breath, Harry tried to answer without losing his temper. Hermione's comments that they all thought he was eleven too coming to mind and certainly helping. "Guys, I really appreciate you doing this for me..." He felt rotten at now having to wipe the wide grin off Ron's face.
"There's a few things we need to sort out though. Hermione's my girlfriend, and will be for as long as I can convince her to stay with me. That means I'll be hanging about with her way more than with you guys. I also learned from Hagrid that my mum and dad had my name down for Hogwarts since I was born. That really means something to me, and I'm not here to let them down. If that has you considering me a bookworm, well I've been called worse. I really want to remain friends with you guys, but my studies and Hermione have to come first."
Ron appeared ready to explode but Neville got in first with his opinion. "That's perfectly understandable, Harry..."
The redhead wasn't about to be denied however. "No it bloody isn't. You've changed so much, I wish we'd never gone to that toilet on Halloween!"
The air appeared to be sucked out the dorm as Harry's green eyes focused on Ron. "So you would rather Hermione had died that night, then things could be okay again in Ronald Weasley's world."
"That's not what I said. Someone else would have rescued her, and you wouldn't have lost your memory."
"Well they didn't and I did, and you're just going to have to learn to deal with that fact. This is who I am, Ron. If you can't handle that then stay the fuck away from me. You have insulted Hermione for the last time. Do it again and I'll be coming after you. Sorry guys, I'm not in the party mood anymore."
It was only as Harry was heading out the dorm he realised that his voice had been raised, raised enough that they'd drawn a crowd. That same crowd parted to let him past as he went downstairs and plopped down on an unoccupied sofa. He was soon joined by a Hermione who was wearing her dressing gown. She sat on his knee and wrapped her arms around his neck, Harry curling his around her waist as the anger slowly bled out of him.
They were still quietly sitting like that ten minutes later when McGonagall found them. "I received a report of a disturbance inside Gryffindor. Would you care to explain what happened?"
"I'm sorry, Professor. I hadn't realised I was shouting, Ron just got me so angry. He seems to think it would have been better if Hermione had been left alone in that toilet on Halloween, so I wouldn't have lost my memory. He claims to be my friend and then says something ridiculous and selfish like that - I just can't work him out. You saw that toilet, how could he possibly think Hermione would be okay in there with that troll?"
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