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SIYE Time:13:18 on 29th March 2024
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Harry Potter and the Prophesized Six
By bengpotter31

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Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:Albus Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, James Potter, Lily Potter, Neville Longbottom, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley, Severus Snape, Sirius Black
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Romance
Warnings: Extreme Language, Sexual Situations
Rating: R
Reviews: 668
Summary: This is the sequel to my previous story, Harry Potter and the Twists of Fate, starting off a few hours after the last chapter. Harry and his friends are now aware of the part they will play in the coming war. Can their friendship and love hold them together or will they allow jealousy and uncertainty to pull them apart, allowing Voldemort to win?
Hitcount: Story Total: 327555; Chapter Total: 6259





Author's Notes:
Well, here's the next one. It's mostly romance, fluff and a bit of drama. Enjoy and please review.




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Chapter 37: Surprises in the new term

Harry glanced around the Great Hall while the Sorting Hat performed its yearly task. The students didn’t appear too shaken after the ambush on the road from Hogsmeade. Most of the bruises and scrapes had been healed by the Aurors in the field after the attack.

He looked around at the other members of his group. Ginny was holding his hand as she sat beside him as close as she could get without being in his lap despite Ron’s occasional glares. Poking its head out of one of her robes’ pockets was the pygmy puff she had chosen from her twin brothers’ store as a reward from her parents for making prefect. Oddly enough, she had named it Arnold. (A/N: Sorry about this. It should have been in chapter 34) Harry thought it was cute but strange.

Rose was on Ginny’s other side leaning her head against Neville’s shoulder. Maggie was further down the table from Neville, talking to Dennis Creevey and some of her other friends.

Ron was across from Harry with Hermione beside him. Ti was on Ron’s side of the table talking animatedly to Romilda Vane. That girl had not left Ti’s side since the walk back to the castle after the ambush and she still had that look of adoration in her eyes as she looked at Ti. Harry was puzzled that it seemed to disgust Ginny. He also noticed that Maggie had the same look of disgust on her face whenever she happened to glance Ti’s way.

Shaking his head mentally in his puzzlement over the two girls’ attitude, he turned his attention back to the Sorting. There was only the lackluster applause after each first year was sorted and the very subdued conversation among the older students in between that indicated the fearful mood of the student body.

Harry was grateful that no student had been badly injured or killed in the attack. Even the Aurors and teachers had escaped permanent injury. Harry knew that it had been due to the timely warning his sister had given them about the attack. In spite of that, he was still a little upset that the attack had been allowed to take place at all.

The previous night after Rose had told his parents about her vision of an attack on the carriages as they rolled to the school from the station in Hogsmeade, his father had come up with the brilliant idea of having a group of Aurors go to the area early in the morning and stay hidden to ambush the would be ambushers when they started to attack the students. He thought it would be an excellent opportunity to cut down on the number of Voldemort’s supporters.

His mother had been appalled by the idea, insisting that James finding other means of transporting the students to the school, instead of using them as bait for the Death Eaters. James had been confident that Harry and his friends could hold off any of the Death Eaters that broke through the cordon of Aurors he would have hidden and Disillusioned in the woods outside Hogwarts’ grounds.

His mother had argued against James’ plan to no avail, especially since Dumbledore himself had agreed to it when James had gone to Hogwarts before midnight to talk to the Headmaster. Harry had no choice but to follow his father’s plan and make sure that as few of the students were hurt as possible. Harry suspected that his father would be sleeping in one of the other bedrooms in Potter Manor for some time in the future which would serve him right.

Harry looked up at the teachers’ table. The familiar faces were all there: Snape, McGonagall, Flitwick, Sinistra, Hagrid, Sprout, Pomfrey and even Trelawney. One unfamiliar face was that of a bald, dark skinned wizard dressed in African style robes. Harry wondered if he was the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher since that was the only position unfilled. Then he noticed that the Sorting was over. Dumbledore got to his feet to begin his speech.

“Good evening to all,” the Headmaster began, “I am so pleased that no one was hurt badly in the recent unpleasantness we had on the road.”

“If that was unpleasantness, I wonder what he’d consider trouble. An attack by Tom?” Ginny’s voice said in Harry’s head. Harry grinned inwardly and could only agree full heartedly with his soul mate.

“Because of that, I believe everyone is in need of refreshment and replenishment, so let the Feast begin!”

With that, food and drink aplenty appeared on the four House tables. The students immediately wasted no time filling their plates and goblets and settling down to eat as if they hadn’t been in a life threatening situation less than an hour before. Even Harry found that he was feeling ravenous.

When the last of the dessert had been consumed, Dumbledore stood again. “Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. We will endeavor to continue your education in the midst of the terrible troubles we are having. As demonstrated by the attack this afternoon, we are now at war, a war pitting the ideals of freedom and tolerance against the ideas of tyranny and prejudice. We must continue to stand in the Light to hold back the Darkness or no one will be safe for the Darkness consumes even its own.”

Dumbledore paused for a while and looked around the Hall before continuing, “Before I allow you to retire, there are just a few announcements. First of all, let me remind you that the Forbidden Forest is just that, forbidden. It holds more dangers than you can see so avoid going into it unless you are accompanied by a member of the staff. Second, we have a new professor for Defense against the Dark Arts. Since Professor Potter has left us to move on to greater things, he as Minister of Magic has consented to lend us one of his top Aurors to fill in his teaching post. Let me introduce Professor Kingsley Shacklebolt.”

As he applauded along with the rest of the students, Harry remembered now why the man had seemed familiar. He was one of the best Aurors in the Corps and they had met before.

“Isn’t he one of the Aurors in the Order?” Ginny asked.

Of course! Harry realized now. This was brilliant. In addition to an Auror, having another member of the Order in the school would only increase its security. He then noticed the sour look on Snape’s face as he looked at the dark-skinned man, reminding Harry that Snape coveted that teaching post.

Harry grinned inwardly at the disgust his least favorite professor must feel for losing it again, as if last year hadn’t been bad already since it had been his worst enemy, Harry’s dad who had gotten the post. Harry reveled for a few moments in remembering the glares Snape had thrown his dad whenever the greasy git thought James wasn’t looking.

His attention returned to the Headmaster as Dumbledore continued speaking, “Third, there is a list of banned items in front of Mr. Filch’s office, most of which seem to be products of a shop called Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Anyone caught with one of these items will be severely punished.”

Harry couldn’t help but smirk when he noticed the emphasis the Headmaster put on the word ‘caught’ which meant that as long as the bearer wasn’t caught, he wouldn’t be punished.

“Finally,” Dumbledore said, “Tryouts for the Quidditch teams may begin next weekend. Quidditch team captains, please see your Heads of House to schedule your own trials.”

Ron leaned toward him, “Harry, I’m going to ask McGonagall to have our tryouts next Saturday or Sunday. Is that all right?”

Harry nodded his agreement as Dumbledore said, “Now, off to bed. You have a fresh day to start your classes tomorrow. Prefects, please escort the students to their dormitories.”

Harry got to his feet and was about to join Ginny who was calling the first year Gryffindors to her and Colin, the other Gryffindor fifth year prefect when his scar exploded in pain again. He dropped to his knees, shut his eyes tightly and concentrated on putting up stronger Occlumency shields. He vaguely sensed Ginny come up beside him both through the bond and her familiar scent of wild flowers and strawberries.

She gently moved him to lie down and lay his head in her lap. Her gentle touch on her forehead eased the pain considerably. He suddenly felt so tired. He then heard a familiar grating voice speak up, “What do you think you are doing, Potter, Miss Weasley. Twenty points from Gryffindor for treating the Great Hall like a trysting place.”

Harry could feel Ginny’s anger at Snape’s callousness. She was about to reply but Rose beat her to it.

“It’s his scar, Professor,” Rose said quietly though Harry could feel the anger in his sister’s voice, “It’s hurting him. I guess old Snakeface must be angry from his minions’ failure today.”

“Do not call him by such a degrading name, Miss Potter,” Snape said his tone a steely quality to it that even Harry had seldom heard, “It will greatly anger him if he should learn of it.”

“Sorry, Professor,” Rose said with a sarcastic tone, “But I don’t think it appropriate to call him by a name he just made up anyway.”

“Bravo, Miss Potter,” Harry heard Dumbledore say, “Severus, I think we should allow the students to call Tom by whatever they wish as long as they show no fear of him.”

“As you wish, Headmaster,” Snape said, “no matter how foolish that is.”

“Harry,” Dumbledore’s voice came to him from beside him, “Is Tom angry like Rose says?”

“Y-yes sir,” Harry answered, “He’s furious about the attack’s failure, so angry that my Occlumency shields couldn’t hold it off but Ginny helped the pain ease up. I just feel very tired now.”

“I see,” Dumbledore said, “Very well, I think you’ve earned a bit of a rest after your successful actions earlier on the road. Do not worry. We will make sure you get enough rest tonight.”

“Sleep now, love,” Ginny said, “I’m right here with you.” He felt her fingers brush his fringe aside and massage his forehead, pushing the pain back further. With a grateful sigh, he gave in to the darkness and fell into a peaceful sleep.

*******

James looked up as the clock on the wall of his office chimed the hour, nine o’clock in the evening. He hoped that Sirius would soon finish interrogating the Death Eater captured at Hogwarts earlier that evening so he could go home and get some rest, even if he ended up in a room other than the master bedroom. He winced as he recalled the anger in his wife’s eyes and voice over his plan to allow the Death Eater ambush to proceed so they could catch more of Voldemort’s followers. He hoped Lily would not make him sleep in the couch in the living room.

To distract himself from those thoughts, he looked back down at the reports he had been reading on investigations into recent Muggle disasters and accidents. Some of them looked suspicious, with traces of magic being cast in the area. James was sure the collapse of the bridge over the River Avon had not been due to “shoddy steel girders” or that the derailment of the commuter train outside Bristol had been caused by “faulty signaling” as the Muggle newspapers had reported.

James sighed and leaned back in his chair. He took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. Voldemort had shifted his method of attacking Muggles since his failure in attacking villages. Rose had not seen these in her astral walks because they had no Dark Mark over them and she didn’t know how to identify signs of magical tampering. James knew his daughter would have been distraught if she knew about them so he made sure neither of his children could suspect that magic had been used to cause those disasters.

Just then, he felt his mirror vibrate in his pocket. He wondered if it was Sirius already. He withdrew the mirror from his pocket and activated it. He was surprised to see Rose’s face on the mirror’s face.

“Rosie honey,” James said, “What’s wrong?”

Rose frowned, “Don’t call me that, Dad. I’m not five anymore.”

James suppressed a chuckle and reminded himself that Rose was trying to appear more mature now. Hell, she even had a boyfriend. “All right, Rose, what is it?”

“I thought you’d like to know,” Rose said, “Harry felt Tom get angry again through his scar earlier just at the end of the Welcoming Feast, even through his Occlumency shields.”

James frowned, concern welling up in him. Harry’s scar hadn’t bothered him since the summer after his third year, mainly because of the Occlumency lessons Dumbledore had given him then. Now, it had caused him great pain twice in three days.

“That is not good, Rose,” James said, “Does Albus know about this?”

“Yeah,” Rose said, “Harry almost collapsed in the Great Hall. Fortunately, Ginny was able to help him block off most of the pain. Professor Dumbledore was there. Of course, Snape was there as well and was his usual horrible git self.”

James suppressed a smile at his daughter’s indignation. Snape was one nasty person, had always been even when they were in school. He still couldn’t understand how Lily had been friends with that git from before Hogwarts until their fifth year due to that incident when Snape had called her a Mudblood. They were still friends of a sort because of the Order but not as close as they were. James just tolerated Snape for Lily’s sake. In fact, he had promised Lily not to prank Snape during his stint as DADA professor the previous year. He was glad his daughter shared his opinion of the greasy-haired professor. However, his wife would be even less pleased with him than she already was if she found out that he encouraged her to disrespect her potions professor.

Summoning up his best father face, he looked sternly at her, “Now pumpkin, that’s no way to refer to your esteemed potions professor,” he said, swiftly adding when she looked mutinously at him, “even if it were true. I bet he wasn’t pleased with Shacklebolt there as the new Defense teacher, was he?”

Rose grinned, “Oh you should have seen his face. It’s like Fred or George had slipped him one of their You-No-Poo tablets.”

James smiled back, “I’m just glad there’s someone there to help you learn proper Defense and help Harry with the Dueling Club. So, how’s your brother?”

“He’s much better,” Rose said “Professor Dumbledore decided to bring him to the Hospital Wing to rest the night. In fact he’s sleeping peacefully now.” A sly expression formed on her face as she added, “That’s probably due to the beautiful petite redhead whose sleeping with him.”

James’ eyebrows rose to his hairline. “Albus allowed Ginny to sleep with Harry in the same bed? Molly would have a fit if she found out.”

Rose laughed, “No, Dad. They just put two beds right next to each other. Ginny is in the one next to Harry, holding his hand as they sleep. It looks so cute.”

“Well at least he’s fine now,” James said, “Thanks for telling me, Rose. I doubt your brother would have let me know. I need to talk to Albus about this.”

“You’re welcome, Dad,” Rose said, “I’m worried too. Just don’t tell Harry I told you. You know how he hates to be coddled by anyone other than Ginny.”

James nodded, “Yes, I know. You better get some sleep, Rose. You’ve had a long day and classes start tomorrow. Oh and remember your promise not to do any Astral walking. We’ll do okay even without your warnings.”

“All right, Dad,” Rose said, “No need to nag me. Good night.”

“Good night, sweetie,” James said as Rose’s face faded from the mirror. He sighed and shook his head. Sometimes, he railed against Fate for giving all this to his son. He couldn’t fathom how Harry would have gotten along if he or Lily had not been around. Best not dwell on it and just take things as they came. He needed to talk to Albus about how to help Harry with his connection to Voldemort.

His mirror vibrated again just then and he looked down at it. This time, it was Sirius on the glass.

“Hello, Padfoot,” James said, “Done with the interrogation already?”

“Not completely, Prongs,” Sirius said, “Oh, excuse me, Minister.” He snickered.

“Cut it out, Sirius and tell me what you called me about,” James said.

“Wow,” Sirius said, “Someone’s cranky this evening.”

James sighed, “Sorry, but Rose just called me through this mirror. It seems that Riddle was angry about his ambush’s failure and Harry felt the full force of it.”

Sirius whistled softly then said, “I’m sorry, James. How’s my godson?”

“He’s fine now,” James said, “Apparently Ginny managed to lessen the pain again and he managed to get some sleep.”

Sirius blew out a breath, “That’s good. I’m glad his gorgeous girlfriend helped him out.”

“Why, Padfoot, admiring another woman?” James said, grinning, “Whatever will Sam say, not to mention your godson?”

“Now, now, James,” Sirius said, “I was just admiring the good taste of your son.”

“All right, all right,” James said, “I won’t say anything to Sam, or Harry.”

“Git,” Sirius said darkly, “Anyway, to business. We managed to catch 26 Death Eaters and interrogated them using Veritaserum as per the new Ministry policy. Unfortunately, none of them were in Voldemort’s inner circle. They were mostly new recruits. The worrying thing is that most of them were foreigners. Dawlish thinks they’re Eastern European from their accents.”

“So Voldemort’s recruiting men from Eastern Europe now?” James asked, “That’s not good, Sirius. There are a lot of Dark wizards in those areas.”

“I know,” Sirius said, “He can gather a larger army than he did during the first war.”

“Aside from their nationalities, have you found out anything from them about his other plans?” James asked.

Sirius shook his head, “No, in fact, they didn’t know they were attacking the students until an hour before they Apparated to the outskirts of Hogsmeade. I doubt we’ll get anything important out of them.”

“Well, do your best,” James said, “I have to talk to Albus about finding a way to help Harry with his connection to Voldemort.”

Sirius winced, “All right, James. I’ll call you if I find out anything else.” Sirius’ face faded from the mirror.

James stood up and walked over to the fireplace built along one wall of the office. One quick spell created a fire in it. He picked up some Floo powder from a pot on the mantle. As the fire turned green, he yelled, “Hogwarts, Headmaster’s office!”

*******

Rose watched her father’s face fade from the mirror in her hand, feeling at bit guilty for lying to her father about how Harry and his girlfriend were lying in bed. She glanced at the single bed in which the couple was presently asleep. Harry was lying flat with Ginny lying almost on top of him, her head on his chest and their hands clasped in each other. It was a position Rose had seen them in before. Both looked so relaxed and peaceful.

She felt a hand squeeze hers gently and looked up to see Neville give her a smile. After Harry fell asleep in the Great Hall, Dumbledore had conjured a stretcher and placed him in it. The New Marauders had escorted them through the crowd of curious students all the way to the Hospital Wing. After assurances from Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore that Harry was safe and only needed a good night’s sleep, the others had decided to return to Gryffindor Tower. Rose decided that this was the best place for her to contact her father and tell him about what had happened to Harry. Neville decided to stay with her.

“Thanks for staying here with me, Neville,” she said, returning his smile.

“Hey, they’re my friends too you know,” he replied. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Don’t worry. They’re fine now.”

She faced him fully, placed her hands on his cheeks and started to snog him senseless. A quiet ‘ahem’ forced them apart. They looked up to see Madam Pomfrey eyeing them balefully.

“Miss Potter,” the matron said, “I didn’t allow you and Mr. Longbottom to stay for a while with your brother and Miss Weasley so that you can engage in inappropriate activities.”

“Sorry, Madam Pomfrey,” Rose said, her cheeks flaming. “I was just thanking Neville for being here with me.”

The nurse snorted in disbelief, “At any rate, it will soon be curfew and you must go back to your dorms. Don’t worry, I’ll let you know if there’s any change but I believe Harry will sleep well through the night especially with Miss Weasley positioned like that. I can’t believe Albus insisted they be allowed to lie that way. Off with you two, back to Gryffindor Tower.”

Rose took one last look at Harry and Ginny then walked out of the Hospital Wing, holding hands with Neville. They walked in silence for a while. When they reached the seventh floor, Rose pulled Neville into a shadowed alcove and pressed her lips forcefully to his.

Neville eagerly returned the kiss. Then Neville broke the kiss and started nibbling Rose’s earlobe while Rose started sucking on his neck as their hands roamed around each other’s bodies. They resumed kissing and their tongues were soon engaged in a sensual dance. They broke off only when the need for air proved too much. They stood there, clinging to each other as they caught their breath.

“Come on,” Neville said, pulling away from her and taking one of her hands, “It’s getting late. The others might be worried.”

Rose reluctantly agreed and they walked up to the Portrait covering the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. They found the common room to be empty except for Ron, Hermione and Maggie.

“There you are,” Hermione said, “We were getting worried since it’s already past curfew.” She looked suspiciously at their ruffled appearance, “Just what were you doing? You haven’t been in one of the broom cupboards when you were supposed to be keeping Harry and Ginny company in the Hospital Wing, were you?”

“Relax, Hermione,” Rose said, “We left the Hospital Wing a few minutes ago. You can ask Madam Pomfrey tomorrow if you want since she was the one who chased us out of there. Harry and Ginny were already sleeping peacefully by then. We just got a bit sidetracked before we got to the portrait.”

“Sidetracked, were you?” Maggie said, looking amused. She walked up to Neville and wiped his lips with a finger. She looked at her finger and said, “I never knew you used lipstick, brother dear. Is that a hickey?” She pointed at his neck.

Ron snorted as Neville nervously wiped his mouth and started to rub at his neck. His face was as red as a Weasley’s hair.

“Oh for Merlin’s sake,” Rose said, “We didn’t do much, just a little of this.” She pulled Neville towards her by the front of his robes and started to kiss him passionately. Neville was startled for a moment but soon returned the kiss with equal passion while wrapping his arms around her.

“Eww!” Maggie said, “Knowing about it is one thing but seeing it up close? I’m off to bed.” She headed for the girls’ stairs.

Hermione frowned and sniffed, “I’m turning in as well.”

Rose and Neville didn’t pay them any mind and were lost in their activity until Ron said, “Oi! Cut that out!”

Rose sighed against Neville’s lips and pulled away. She glared at Ron and said, “What do you care?”

Ron’s cheeks turned pink, “Look, Neville, I don’t have anything against you personally but Harry’s been my best mate since we were babies. Since he isn’t here, it’s up to me to watch out for Rose. She’s almost like a sister to me anyway.”

“Aw, Ron,” Rose said, “That’s so sweet.” Then she glared at him, “But I don’t need another brother interfering with my relationships. So go to bed.”

“Fine!” Ron said. “Have it your way.” He started walking to the boys’ stairs but turned around at the base of the steps. “But I’m telling Harry what you’ve been up to,” he said before climbing up the stairs at a dead run.

Rose and Neville watched him disappear up the steps. Neville turned to face her.

“We really should go to bed now, Rose,” he said, “Classes start tomorrow.”

Rose sighed, “Oh all right, one last kiss?”

A half hour later, Rose was sitting on her bed in her pajamas, the curtains around her bed shut tight. She closed her eyes and sought her magical center. In spite of her promise to her father, she really needed to do this. If she hadn’t done it the previous night, they would never have known about the ambush. She just felt guilty about lying to her parents and Harry and making them think that she had seen it in a vision.

She pushed her feelings aside and easily located the ball of energy that was her magical core. Then she threw herself upwards to begin her astral walk.

*******

Harry was well enough in the morning to join his friends for breakfast in the Great Hall. Most of the students were happy to see him, greeting him and Ginny as they walked toward the Gryffindor table. While they were eating, McGonagall came along the table, distributing their schedules. Harry groaned to find out they had Double Potions first thing after breakfast.

When the class started, Snape spent the first ten minutes reminding them that N.E.W.T.s level potions were more difficult and required more concentration than their previous ones. He also commented that some of them must have cheated or bribed the Ministry to get into the class, while staring at Harry and Ron. Harry knew Snape was probably insinuating that his father had helped them get their grades. It took a lot of concentration from Harry to keep his temper in check. Feeling Ginny’s own anger at the accusation didn’t help either. Thankfully, they had Double DADA after lunch. Harry couldn’t wait to see what kind of teacher Kingsley Shacklebolt was.

He wasn’t disappointed. Professor Shacklebolt had them paired off to see how well they did in dueling. Ron remarked it was a pity that they were having DADA with the Hufflepuffs this year instead of the Slytherins since he had wanted to avenge his loss to Malfoy in last term’s dueling tournament. Of course, that drew a glare from Hermione.

After each pair dueled, Shacklebolt went over what each person did and how to improve it. Even Harry learned a few new things. The dark-skinned Professore then announced that he was continuing the Dueling Club with Harry continuing as the student head. This was met with great enthusiasm by the class. Harry knew the rest of the school would love the idea as well.

Later that evening, Ron posted an announcement about the tryouts for the Quidditch team. He had gotten permission from McGonagall to have it on the morning of the second Saturday of September and had reserved the Pitch for eight a.m. The rest of the original team agreed to his plan to hold full tryouts for all positions except Keeper where only the reserve Keeper position was up for grabs.

The next few days passed on without many problems though the fifth, sixth and seventh years were already being swamped with homework. Their first weekend was spent mostly doing that. Harry and Ginny were thankful to have a few hours together, even if it was spent doing essays side by side.

On the second Saturday of the month, the sky looked a bit cloudy as the residents stirred from their sleep but that didn’t bother Ron. At least, it wasn’t raining yet. He intended his team to be ready to play in any kind of weather.

Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Ron headed for the Pitch together after a quick breakfast. There was already a crowd of Gryffindors when they got there, probably more than twenty. Hermione sat in the front row of the stands holding a clipboard to help Ron note down his comments about each candidate. There were also several people in the stands to watch them, including Romilda Vane.

Ron first tested the candidates’ flying skills. He had them all fly around the Pitch in a clockwise direction for ten laps. Several candidates could barely complete the laps. Ron had them land and thanked them for coming out.

Then, he started out with the Chaser Tryouts. He had all the prospective candidates line up on the Pitch. Aside from Katie, Ginny, Rose and Ti, there were eight others, including Maggie Longbottom. Ron had them formed into groups of three then each group was asked to do passing maneuvers. He watched them to see who had trouble handling the Quaffle. Then he had each trio try to get as many goals out of 5 attempts with him as Keeper. Finally, he had them do the same thing while Neville and Seamus tried to hit them with the Bludgers.

In the end, it was clear that Katie, Ginny and Rose were still the best. For the reserves, he decided on Ti, Maggie and Demelza Robbins, who was a fourth year, like Ti.

Ron next conducted Beater tryouts. There were four others besides Neville and Seamus who tried out. Ron had all of them work in different pairs to check how well they worked together. He decided to have Neville and Seamus on the regular team while two of the previous year’s candidates, Andrew Kirke and Ritchie Cootes were placed on the reserve team.

Next, he had Keeper tryouts. He had each candidate tested against Katie, Ginny and Rose. It soon turned out that Melinda was still the best of the candidates so she remained on the reserve team.

For Seeker tryouts, Ginny and Rose decided not to try out anymore. So, aside from Harry, there were three others: Martha Manson who was a fourth year, Sharon Green and Ian Toombs who were both second years.

For the first test, Ron had them try to catch golf balls which he threw one after another all over the Pitch. Martha and Ian missed a few of the balls while both Harry and Sharon managed to catch all of theirs.

Then Ron released a practice Snitch which was a bit slower than a regular one and had Harry and Sharon search for it. Both of them spotted it at the same time. They raced down the Pitch for it. They gave chase as the golden winged ball flew all over the Pitch. Sharon managed to keep up with Harry in spite of Harry’s Firebolt. In the end, Harry’s longer arms gave him the advantage to catch the Snitch.

“Excellent, Harry,” Ron said, “Good try…Sharon, is it? Yes, that was great effort. I’ll put you in on the reserve team. Who knows, if you improve over time, you might get the spot after Harry leaves in two years time.”

Sharon, who was a petite blonde, looked at him with wide eyes before grabbing hold of Ron in a tight embrace, whispering her thanks over and over. Everyone had amused looks at the uncomfortable look on Ron’s face as he endured the small girl’s enthusiastic thank-you.

What came next wasn’t as amusing. As they left the Pitch, Romilda Vane came up to Ron, demanding why he placed Ti on the reserve team rather than the main team. She went on saying that he was a lot better than Ginny or Rose. Ti, his face red with embarrassment, tried to stop her, finally halting her harassment of Ron by pulling her to him and proceeding to kiss her right in front of them.

Ron, Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Maggie, Neville and Rose looked at them in shock. Rose felt a little relieved that it seemed Ti had moved on after the disastrous end of their romantic relationship until she saw the tears hovering in Maggie’s eyes. She quickly put her arm around her boyfriend’s sister and led her away, all the while whispering consoling words to her.

Shaking their heads, the other five Gryffindors decided to leave the snogging fourth years and head back to the castle. Harry, Ron and Neville lagged behind the girls, discussing the new team. Harry pulled Ron aside when they had come into the Entrance Hall.

“Ron,” Harry said, “You do know that it’s Hermione’s birthday on Thursday.”

Ron looked wide-eyed at him, “Uh…this Thursday? Already?”

Harry groaned before replying, “Ron, you cannot forget your girlfriend’s birthday, especially since she’s turning seventeen.”

“Oh Merlin,” Ron said, “I forgot about that part. Look, Harry, I knew her birthday was in the second part of September. I already got her a gift the last time we were in Diagon Alley, a box of chocolates.”

“That might be good enough for Valentine’s Day or maybe an ordinary birthday, Ron,” Harry said, “But she’s coming of age. You’ve got to do better than that. Did you plan anything for her like last year?” He could feel Ginny’s irritation as she heard Ron through her link with him.

Ron gulped, “N-No, Harry, I haven’t” He looked back at the girls who were just coming into the Entrance Hall. He turned back to Harry with a look of panic on his face. “Look mate, y-you know how we’ve been busy studying the last two weeks what with all the homework the professors already gave us. Any free time we had I used to make plans for the Quidditch team. Help me, Harry, please.”

Harry sighed. “Gin, what do you think?” he asked Ginny over their link.

“I don’t know, Harry,” Ginny said, “He can’t expect us to bail him out every time he forgets Hermione’s birthday. We already helped him last year.”

“Well, at least, we can give him ideas for a better gift,”
Harry said.

“Oh, all right,” Ginny said, “I’ll distract Hermione while you go with Ron.”

“Thanks, Gin,”
Harry said. He turned to Ron, “Come on, Ron. Gin will run interference with Hermione while we go back to the boys’ dorm.”

“B-but it’s almost lunchtime,” Ron protested as Harry led him up the main staircase.

****************** *


Five days later, Hermione woke up when her alarm clock rang at six. Harry had decided to resume their morning runs at the start of the week so the group was waking up two hours before breakfast. Hermione got up and went into the bathroom to change into her running outfit. Then she went down into the common room to meet the others.

The common room was still empty except for a tall redhead also dressed in a jogging suit. “Hey, Ron,” she called out to him.

Ron turned around and Hermione gasped. Ron was holding a bouquet of roses of different color. There was red, white, pink, yellow and even a few blue ones.

“Happy 17th, Hermione,” Ron said, presenting her the bouquet.

Hermione took it from him. “Thank you, Ron,” she said, looking up at him with adoring eyes. She breathed in the scent of the flowers. “It’s lovely. I’m so happy you remembered. I thought you’d be distracted by the Quidditch team.” Her eyes narrowed as Ron seemed to laugh nervously.

“Oh, ‘Mione,” Ron said, “How can I forget your birthday? You’re more important than any Quidditch team. This is for you, my lovely.” He handed her a small wrapped package.

Hermione felt happiness over his statement as she took hold of the gift and started to unwrap it. Once she was done, she was surprised to see that it was perfume. She opened the cap and sprayed a little in the air in front of her before taking a sniff. The smell was that of some exotic flowers which she found to be too strong for her taste and almost gagged but managed to restrain herself. Merlin’s beard, where’d he get this from? Still, it was sweet of him to give me this kind of gift.

“Do you like it?” Ron asked anxiously.

“I-it’s lovely,” Hermione answered, “Thanks, Ron.”

“I know we have classes today,” Ron said, “so it would be difficult to celebrate with you but I’d like to make it up to you at the next Hogsmeade weekend.”

Hermione hid her disappointment since she was hoping for another romantic dinner like the previous year, though with different food and no dancing. “That’s all right, Ron,” Hermione said.

Just then, they heard footsteps coming from the boys’ stairs. Moments later, Harry, Neville and Ti came into the room. They came up to them.

“Happy birthday, Hermione,” Harry said. “How does it feel to be of age?”

Hermione grinned, “Not much different from last year.”

Neville and Ti both greeted her as well. The other girls then appeared and gave their own birthday greetings to Hermione. The group then exited Gryffindor Tower and descended to the Entrance Hall. From there, they left the castle and headed for the lake. They spent an hour running around the lake and doing calisthenics. Then they sparred for another half hour before heading back to shower and get ready for the day.

Classes went well that day, even in Potions. After dinner, the Quidditch team had its first practice. Ron managed to get Hermione to watch the practice from the stands. She brought her book in Ancient Runes along with her in case she became bored. An hour after sitting down, she was finishing up the third chapter when she sensed someone sit down beside her in the stands. She looked up and was surprised to see Draco Malfoy.

“What are you doing here, Draco?” Hermione asked, “I hope you aren’t spying on our team.”

“As tempting as that seems, Granger,” Draco answered, “That’s not why I’m here. I heard that it’s your birthday. I wanted to wish you a happy one, especially since I believe you come of age today. Oh, I hope you’d like this.” Hermione tensed for a second when he drew his wand out but he didn’t point it at her. Instead he waved it and conjured a beautiful red rose. He offered it to her, “Happy birthday, um, Hermione.”

“Why thank you, Draco,” Hermione said, accepting the flower. “I’m sorry for accusing you of spying on our team.”

Draco smirked, “That’s okay, Hermione. Well, I better leave before your friends see me. I don’t want them to give Ti a hard time.” He got up and left.

Just as Draco disappeared from sight, Ron landed beside Hermione. “Was that ferret face Malfoy who just left? Was he spying on us?”

Hermione scowled, “No, Ron, he wasn’t. He heard it was my birthday and just wanted to greet me.”

“Oh and you believe him?” Ron asked. “Who knows how long he was here before he came up to you.”

“Really, Ron,” Hermione said, “He could have just left if he was spying on you guys. He didn’t have to reveal he was here. You really should give him a chance. I think he’s trying to change.”

“I don’t believe that, Hermione,” Ron said, “Whatever Ti says, his brother is a snake. You can’t trust a snake.”

“You know, you’re being a real git, Ron,” Hermione said. She got up from the bench. “I’m going back to Gryffindor Tower. Go back to your practice.”

“Um, we’re done,” Ron said, “It’s our first practice anyway. I had just told the team to pack up when I saw Malfoy talking with you.” He took a deep breath before continuing, “Look Hermione, I’m sorry for being a prat just now. I don’t want to make you angry on your birthday.”

Hermione looked at Ron and sighed, “All right, Ron. I accept your apology but you should really give Draco a chance.”

Ron sighed, “All right, Hermione. I’ll try but I really think it’s a mistake. Anyway, come on, let’s go. The others have already gone.”

Hermione looked around in surprise. Ron was right, the Pitch was empty. At least the rest of the team didn’t see Draco. It might have gotten ugly, especially if Ti defended his brother.

Ron and Hermione walked back to Gryffindor Tower. When they reached the seventh floor, Ron suddenly pulled Hermione into a dark alcove.

“Ron, not here,” Hermione said.

“Come on, Hermione,” Ron said, “I just want to give you a birthday kiss where no one will see us. It’s still an hour before curfew anyway.”

He didn’t wait for her to respond. Instead he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers. After a second or two, Hermione returned the kiss. Ron’s hands soon started to wander up and down her back while Hermione ran her hands through Ron’s red hair.

Ron nipped her lower lip, begging entrance. Hermione parted her lips and Ron ran his tongue around her mouth, eliciting a moan from Hermione. Finally, the need for air forced them apart. They clung to each other as they caught their breaths.

“We’d better get back to the common room,” Ron said shakily.

Hermione was surprised that he’d want to stop now. Glad that the darkened alcove prevented Ron from noticing the disappointment on her face, she replied, “Okay.” She thought her voice sounded a bit shaky as well.

They stepped out of the alcove and they arrived at the portrait hiding the entrance to Gryffindor Tower a few seconds later. Ron let Hermione go first. When she stepped into the common room, she was greeted by a great shout of “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HERMIONE!”

She looked around and saw what seemed to be the entire Gryffindor House filling the common room. On the wall above the fireplace was a huge banner that read:

HAPPY 17th Birthday, Hermione! Welcome to adulthood in the Wizarding World! From your fellow Gryffindors.

Several colorful streamers were hanging from the ceiling along with a few balloons. Just under the banner was a table with a large birthday cake with seventeen lighted candles. There were also several tables covered with food and drink scattered around the room.

She turned to Ron with tears in her eyes. Ron came up to her and gave her a big hug and a quick kiss on the lips then said, “Happy birthday, ‘Mione. Do you like it?”

Hermione nodded, “Yes, Ron. I’ve never had a birthday party with other than my parents. I’ve always wanted one with a lot of guests. Did you arrange all this?”

Just then, Harry, Ginny, Rose, Neville, Maggie and Ti came up to them. “Actually,” Ron said, “Harry and Ginny planned all this after I gave them the idea. I just had to distract you for a while to let them fix the place.”

She hugged each of her friends, thanking them over and over. She then came back to Ron and took hold of his hand. “Thank you so much, Ron.” She pulled him toward her and kissed him passionately. It was the best birthday she had ever had.

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