September 9, 1995 – Hogwarts, Gryffindor Common Room
Three days later, Harry was trudging down the steps that led from his dorms, Firebolt in hand. He had never discovered who his mysterious benefactor was during third year, but he was certainly grateful to have such a fantastic broom. Flying was the only thing that truly relaxed Harry, and he was desperately in need of relaxation right now.
Only Ron and Hermione were treating him kindly, although Ginny, Neville, and Luna had each made token attempts at conversation with him. The rest of the student body still fell silent whenever he passed, and the girls of Ravenclaw House had taken it upon themselves to loudly mention the name "Cedric" whenever Harry was near. Evidently Cho Chang, Cedric Diggory's former girlfriend and Harry's erstwhile crush, held Harry responsible for his death. The constant stress of reigning in his temper was beginning to wear on Harry.
Dumbledore refused to allow him to continue his running program at Hogwarts, as it was supposedly too dangerous for him to roam the grounds alone, so Harry's only form of exercise (save for his training sessions) now came from flying. With quidditch practice not yet begun, he was now going to fly simply for pleasure.
At the bottom of the stairs he was met by Ron and Ginny.
"Going for a fly, mate?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, I've got to get out of the castle for a bit," Harry sighed.
"Well, if you're going, would you, er, mind if Ginny goes with you? She likes to fly too, don't you, Ginny?"
Ginny managed to contain most of her blush and nodded.
Harry looked oddly at Ron for a moment and then shrugged. "Well…yeah, that's fine. I didn't know you flew, Ginny."
"I, er, I fly sometimes at home when nobody can see."
Before Harry could respond, Ron slapped him on the back.
"Right, then. You two take your time. We'll see you in a bit."
Why is Ron doing this? Harry wondered, as he and Ginny made their way out the Common Room door. Has he seen me looking at Ginny?
After they had stopped at the Quidditch locker rooms to locate a school broom for Ginny, she and Harry spent the next two hours in the air. To Harry's surprise, she was actually a competent flier. She couldn't keep up with his Firebolt and would never make the house team, but she flew with a relaxed ease that most of her classmates lacked. They didn't speak much while in the air, but both were flushed and happy when they landed to return to the castle.
As they walked slowly back, Harry couldn't help but notice the way the fading sunlight reflected off Ginny's red hair. Merlin, she's stunning, he thought. Maybe I should ask her to the first Hogsmeade weekend? But then his new sense of mission kicked in, and he ruthlessly quashed these feelings of tenderness. NO, he thought. I do NOT have time for a bloody girlfriend. Not until this is over.
Ginny noticed the shadow that crossed his features as they walked in silence, but chose not to mention anything.
Maybe she can join us in training later, Harry thought. At the very least I could have Dobby keep an eye on her.
...
September 10, 1995 – Hogwarts, Great Hall
The next morning Hogwarts' "golden trio" entered the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry noticed an empty seat next to Parvati Patil, and decided now was as good a time as any to make his apology. He had kept Padma's reprimand in the back of his mind for the past few days, but hadn't been able to talk to Parvati when she was alone. This morning Lavender was absent, so Harry motioned Hermione and Ron on while he hesitantly approached Parvati.
"Hi, Parvati," he said cautiously. "Do you mind if I sit here?"
The pretty Indian girl looked at him once in surprise, but quickly recovered.
"Oh…no, Harry, have a seat."
"So did you have a good summer?" Harry began, not sure how to broach the subject of the Yule Ball disaster.
Parvati shrugged. "It was okay. We just stayed around the house mostly. We went to Germany once—my dad had business there—but that's about it."
"Cool," Harry responded lamely. He had filled his plate with food, and now didn't know what else to say.
An awkward silence ensued for the next minute or so, when Parvati finally sighed and put down her fork.
"Padma said something to you, didn't she?"
"Um…," said Harry, articulately.
"What did she say to you?" asked Parvati, with a touch of heat.
"Well," started Harry, "she said that you, er….I mean that, you know, your family…and that you told them you had a good time….and—,"
"Stop, Harry," Parvati interrupted. "I don't care what she told you. Here's the deal. We had a terrible date. I didn't want to embarrass myself by having to tell everyone that The-Boy-Who-Lived treated me rudely. They would have felt sorry for me. So I told people I had a good time. End of story. You don't need to sit here and try to talk me."
Harry leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He was truly terrible at conversations with girls—Hermione didn't count in his mind—and he had just botched this one badly.
"I'm sorry, Parvati," Harry said, sincerely. "That's all I wanted to say. I know it was, erm, a bad night. If I had known how badly you felt, I would have apologized earlier. It was just…well, last year was rough."
Parvati gave him a small smile. "Apology accepted, Harry. Now, go sit with your friends. They're giving us funny looks, and Ron looks like he's about to choke."
Harry nodded gratefully and moved to sit with Ron and Hermione. Thank God that's over, he thought.
As soon as Harry sat down and started to fill another plate for himself, Ron began peppering him with questions.
Harry explained between mouthfuls why he felt the need to apologize to Parvati, and Ron seemed to accept that. Apparently it hadn't occurred to him to apologize to Padma for his awful behavior.
Harry's good mood continued until the arrival of the mail owls. A large barn owl dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet onto his plate, and what little he could see of the headline made his stomach drop. He opened the paper with trepidation, just as a hundred other students did the same.
Is The-Boy-Who-Lived a Danger to Hogwarts Students?
by Rita Skeeter
The Hogwarts School Year started only week ago, and already there are reports that a dangerous threat is roaming the castle's illustrious halls. With the death of Cedric Diggory last June, it was expected that Headmaster Albus Dumbledore would clamp down on troublemakers to ensure the safety of students. But this reporter has learned that Harry Potter, already implicated in the deaths of Mr. Diggory and his muggle cousin, has been terrorizing students and faculty alike this term.
Says Defense against the Dark Arts Professor Dolores Umbridge: "In my first week of teaching, Mr. Potter has already earned a week's worth of detentions for his constant disrespect. His outbursts have started to negatively affect the learning environment at our beloved Hogwarts."
We are forced to wonder what Headmaster Dumbledore, now in his sixth decade at Hogwarts, is doing to reign in The-Boy-Who Lived. Has Mr. Potter gone too far in exploiting his fame for his own gain? I'm sure if one were to ask the parents of Cedric Diggory…
Harry slammed his copy of the paper down in disgust. The article continued for several more paragraphs, but he couldn't bring himself to read it. Merlin, he fumed, how can they get away with printing this shite? And why the hell is Skeeter still writing about me? I thought Hermione was blackmailing her. Harry looked up at the Head Table and was revolted by the sight of Dolores Umbridge smiling at him. So this is her game, Harry thought. She couldn't get me to lie, so she decided to blast me in the newspaper.
Little did Harry know that Umbridge's "game" had almost gone far beyond propaganda. She had convinced Minister Fudge to introduce a bill to the Wizengamot that would create the position of a "High Inquisitor" at Hogwarts. Dumbledore, through his position as Supreme Mugwump, had the support to prevent such a decree from being passed, but just barely. He was unpopular these days among the old families, despite his status among them, and he had had to call in special favors to prevent further Ministry inroads into Hogwarts.
Had Harry known this, it still would not have lessened his wrath at Umbridge and Dumbledore. A member of the Hogwarts staff had spread lies about him. And Professor Dumbledore had allowed it to happen, despite his status as Harry's guardian.
Harry turned to Hermione, who had read the article with a mournful look on her face.
"Hermione," he whispered, "I thought the Rita Skeeter situation was under control. Didn't she promise to stop?"
"She did, Harry," responded Hermione, "but she apparently changed her mind. She sent me a note a couple weeks ago which just said 'Deal's off.' I think she must have cut some kind of deal with the Ministry."
Harry nodded, fuming. He couldn't seem to catch a break.
.....
Want to read ahead by more than 60 chapters. Then join my p@treon Right Now.
Also Free members get 2 advanced chapters for Free as well.
Join Now
Link: p*atreon.com/BookReaderBoy (Remove the *)