All recognized characters belong to J.K. Rowling
Everything else is mine.
R – for violence, language and adult content
Contains male/male pairings- That's SLASH... you know, GAY

Harry Potter and the Parliament of Dreams

Chapter 12 – Points of Intersection

By Myr

       

Neville Longbottom stood on the top of the Astronomy tower very late that night.  When he had left the common room, it had still been Saturday.  That was some time ago.  He had taken his time to make his way to some place he could see the stars.  He missed them a lot.

Neville spent his whole summer trying to improve himself.  He knew that others saw him as a clumsy fool and he really wanted to get past that.  He had gone through a growth spurt and had gained a couple of inches in height. He also lost some weight as his baby fat burned away.  It left him with less of a moon-shaped face.  He felt quite sour that no one had even commented about his trim new look.  He was also feeling dreadfully tired of being some sort of Gryffindor wall fixture.  He had to have talent somewhere, even if his own fear had hid it.  Both of his parents were Aurors, after all.  He twitched subconsciously when he thought of his last visit with his parents in St. Mungos.

They hadn’t noticed him.  Not really, anyway.  The last visit had been one of the very rare visits that his grandmother came into the room with him.  She only did this one in perhaps ten visits.  Neville burned inside with the pain that his loneliness gave him.  His mother had touched him, and for a moment looked as if she was really there.  It had been some sort of odd fluke though because she had looked away and went back to staring at the wall almost immediately.  He felt that brief moment last forever though, like his mother was really there and really did love him.

Neville growled low in his throat when he snapped out of the memory.  He had spent the rest of the summer after that visit viciously attacking his studies.  He would have put Hermione to shame at the amount of time he focused on his skills.  When he wasn’t studying spells, he was outside on the grounds of Longbottom Manor.  He spent the time trying to master his clumsiness.  His clumsiness had been getting better as he grew older, although it still acted up when he was frightened, like whenever he was around Professor Snape.

He managed to succeed at both improving his fitness and his magical skill.  He discovered that the fright of what happened to his parents was what kept him from doing as well as he would have liked in school.  As soon as he discovered that, it wasn’t very hard to bottle the problem up internally so he could get around it.

His need for the stars that had been some comfort it to him over the summer was why he found himself on the top of the tallest tower at Hogwarts in the very early morning hours of his first full Sunday of the school year.  He missed his Grans a lot now.  She had been a real help in his studying, once he stopped destroying all of his attempts.  For the second time that he could ever recall, his Grans was happy with him.  The first was when he had proved that he wasn’t a squib and had been accepted for Hogwarts.  With his fear bypassed he also was able to see his grandmother in a different light.  The last month of summer had been a real joy.  She had become a lot less taciturn with him when he stopped being a walking disaster area.

Neville was so lost in his thoughts, that he didn’t hear the person sneak up behind him.  The person stopped next to him, but did not say anything. 

The person started to withdraw to leave him to his ponderings when Neville spoke up, “Wait, please.”

“Hi Neville.  Is there something wrong?” Harry asked.

“I’m just… lonely,” Neville replied quietly.

“Would you like me to stay?” Harry asked quietly.

“I… have you ever wondered what it would be like with your parents?  I mean, if You Know Who hadn’t killed them?” Neville stumbled out.

“All the time Neville,” Harry said barely a whisper, “all the time.”

Neville looked at Harry, while Harry looked at his feet.

“I’ve never told anyone this Harry.  Can I trust you?  I mean, really trust you?”

“Yes, you have my word,” Harry stated solemnly.

Neville nodded and then started to talk, staring off into the dark night, “My parents were Aurors.  I’m told they were very good, not unlike your parents.”

Harry nodded gravely, but did not say anything.

“They’re not dead though.  No.  Not that good,” Neville spat out violently.  “No, instead the are in St. Mungos because they went insane.  He Who Must Not Be Named cast the Cruciatus Curse on them so many times that they went insane.  They don’t even know who I am now,” Neville sobbed.

Harry pulled the other boy into a light hug.  Neville sobbed a few times and then pulled away.

“I sometimes wish that they had just died like your parents did,” he paused and then looked at Harry for a minute.  “You don’t look surprised,” Neville observed quietly.

“I found out about your parents last year.  I promised I wouldn’t mention it to anyone, including you.  It is a very private thing.  I’m honored that you would trust me with it, Neville,” Harry stated sincerely.

“Everybody trusts the great Harry Potter,” Neville said sourly.

“Oh Neville… I’m not trying to hurt you.  I’m your friend.  Ron and Hermione are my closest friends, but we have been through so much together.  That doesn’t make you any less a friend to me though,” Harry replied, stumbling for the right words.

“You really knew, and you didn’t say anything?” Neville asked.

“I was told not to.  I also really don’t like talking about my parents not being here.  I didn’t think you’d want to mention it either,” Harry said softly, a vacant look coming to his eyes.

“I’ve been lonely.  Nobody has even asked about my summer,” Neville sighed.

Harry adjusted his glasses and looked closely at Neville.  He smiled and then said, “It looks like it was good.  You look like you got in shape.  I’m been drowning in my own problems, of course.  How was your summer Neville?”

“It was good.  I spent my whole summer trying to be less clumsy and more skilled in casting magic.  I’ve shown a lot of improvement in both, though I still shake and screw up when I’m scared.  I’m not sure I’ll ever make it through Snape’s class again.  That man just drips evil.”

“He’s a slimy git, but he is not evil.  He is just very unfairly biased towards his own house,” Harry said, stating the way it was.

“He hates me,” Neville pouted.

“He hates me more,” Harry pointed out.

“Okay, you win, as usual,” Neville sighed.

“Have you tried finding a girlfriend?” Harry asked.

“Who would want me?” Neville groaned.

“Ginny went to the Yule Ball with you and enjoyed it a great deal,” Harry smiled at Neville.

The effect on Neville was visible.  He stopped slumping and moping.  “Did she really?”

“Yes.  She said so.  You are a nice guy Neville,” Harry told him.

Neville, his spirits lifted, turned back to Harry, “We should get back to bed.”

Harry nodded and then walked for the door.  Neville fell in beside him and walked quietly.  Both boys moved through the castle corridors, as quiet as one of the ghosts.  They shifted in and out of the shadows to finally end up in front of the Fat Lady.  Neville, proud of himself for remembering the password for once, told the snoozing portrait.  She swung wide open without saying anything.  The boys made their way across the common room and to the stairs to their dorm.  Neville went to his bed and Harry went to his own.

It wasn’t until Harry was lying on his bed looking at the ceiling on his four-poster, that he remembered why he got up in the middle of the night to begin with.  He had originally gone out to think.  Instead he found a friend in need and helped that friend out.  Not a bad night’s work was the last thought to go through Harry’s head before he drifted back to sleep.

       

Ron woke up around three A.M. and felt very restless.  He finally got out of bed, slipped a robe on over his pajamas and threw on a pair of shoes.  He crept quietly out of the dorm and down the stairs.  He stopped in the common room briefly to look around.  After he saw for sure that no one was around, he traveled across the room and out through the portrait.  He had no idea where he wanted to go; only that he needed some air.  Not far from Gryffindor tower, was another lower tower on the castle wall.  He traveled to the third floor entrance to that tower and started up the stairs.  It was a quick climb for him and he stepped out onto the roof as soon as he got to the top. 

Ron saw a movement out of the corner of his eye from the other side of the tower.  He circled the tower and found someone leaning heavily on the wall, looking out over the lake below.  He was startled to discover it was his brother Percy.

“Hi Perce,” Ron said quietly.

Percy started and turned to look at his brother, and said quietly “Hi Ron.  You shouldn’t be out of bed.”

Ron flushed indignantly, “I have every right that you do to be out of my bed.”

“No, you are still a student,” Percy replied without any real bite to it.  He turned to look back at the lake.

Ron, aware suddenly of Percy’s detached mood, asked, “What’s wrong?”

“What makes you think something is wrong?” Percy asked in return, sounding flat and tired.

“I didn’t get a lecture about being out of bed,” Ron pointed out quietly.

“Am I really that bad?” Percy muttered to himself.

“You are a lot of the time Perce.  That doesn’t mean I’m not concerned about you though.”

“Harry said something similar earlier.  I don’t intend to sound condescending.”

“I’m glad that you don’t intend to be that way, because if you did, I would be upset with you.  Now, what are you thinking about?”

“What makes you think I should share my troubles with my little brother?” Percy inquired.

“Because you know that I won’t judge you and that you can trust me because I’m family,” Ron said reasonably.

Percy sighed and then started, “As you know, Penelope left me last year, when work caused me to be busy all the time.  She wasn’t so wrong either, in what she said.”

“What did she say?” Ron asked concern mingled with curiosity in his voice.

“She said that all I was ever concerned with was work.  I think, in part, I was just not interested in her.  Not sexually really.  I mean, we kissed a few times…” Percy trailed off.

“Penelope or girls in general?” Ron asked, thinking back to how Justin was acting around Percy.  He knew Justin was gay.

“I think I have developed an interest in Justin,” Percy replied in something that was almost a whisper.

Ron only heard the response because he was so close.  “Does that bother you?” he asked carefully.

“I’ve never really put much thought into guys before.  I mean, I saw Cedric naked a few times in the Prefect’s bathroom, but I…” Percy trailed off again.

“It’s okay Percy.  You’re my brother and I love you.  No matter what,” Ron stated firmly.

Percy looked at Ron sharply for a moment.

“Really.  Harry and Seamus are gay too, you know,” Ron said as he shrugged his shoulders.

“So I’ve heard.  Do you think Justin likes me like that?”

Ron thought back to the night in the Great Hall and then replied, “I think he does.”

Percy smiled.

“Are you going to ask him out?”

“Yes,” Percy smiled for the first time that night.

“Good.  He deserves someone that will take good care of him,” Ron stated.

“Now, why are you up here?” Percy the Prefect was back.

“I woke up feeling restless,” Ron replied without much emotion.

“Is this about Hermione?” Percy asked, his brown eyes locking with Ron’s blue ones.

Ron looked away, but nodded.

“What’s wrong?” Percy asked, moving to look out over the same piece of land that occupied Ron’s vision.

“She is just so much… better at school then me.  I… it is hard to do something new when you have five older brothers.”

“So, it is not just about Hermione.  It is about being the youngest of six brothers too.  I know what it is like in some ways.  I was your oldest brother still attending Hogwarts when you started, but I was the youngest here until the twins started.  Being in the middle has similar issues as being at the end.  Mum and dad love us all, you know.  I think they even love Harry, Justin, and Mickey.  They have a lot of love to share with the world,” Percy said more to himself than to Ron.

“It’s always about being the youngest with something to prove,” Ron grumbled.

“Haven’t you always been there for Harry?” Percy asked.

“Yes, but I want to distinguish myself for something,” Ron grumbled.

“Do you think working with Harry and being in his shadow is shameful?” Percy asked quietly.

“Yes.  I mean no… I don’t know,” Ron sputtered.

“Ron,” Percy turned Ron’s face towards him, “there is nothing shameful about helping Harry.  There is nothing shameful about being in the background.  Look at your first year, your skill at chess and other strategy far exceeds Harry’s skill, doesn’t it?”

“Yes.  But I really need to be recognized,” Ron started.

Percy cut him off, “Ron, stop being selfish.  Everyone that matters already recognizes you.  Your best friends Harry and Hermione are the ones that count most.  Hermione even more so now that she is your girlfriend.”

“But…” Ron started.

“No buts Ron.  All you have to do is help your friends and do your best in school.  Stop caring about what others think,” Percy concluded.

Ron looked at Percy for a little while before finally saying, “I’ll try. Thanks Percy.”

“Thank you too Ron,” Percy said with a smile.  “It is time for you to get back to bed.”

“You should too Percy.”

Percy started to say something and then stopped.  After a moment he replied, “You’re right, Ron.  Good night.”

“Good night.”

They walked together to the corridor.  Ron took the short walk back to Gryffindor tower and he returned to bed, after spending a moment trying to get The Fat Lady awake enough to except the password.

Percy’s walk was a little longer, but he strode with a happy purpose in mind.  He settled quickly into his bed as soon as he breezed through his door and breezed into his room, his clothes dropping onto the floor in a trail behind him.

       

Hermione woke up in the middle of the night with a start.  It sounded as if someone went by the door to her dorm room crying.  She reached out and grabbed her wand and robe and quietly slipped out the door.  She went down to the common room and discovered Ginny sobbing lightly in front of the fireplace.

Hermione walked over to Ginny and stooped down, “What’s wrong Gin?”

Ginny started, not realizing that she was no longer alone, “What?”

“What is bothering you?”

“Oh,” Ginny replied quietly.

“Come with me up to my room.  I can cast a silence spell and we can talk.  That way we won’t be disturbed,” Hermione urged Ginny.

“Thanks Hermione.  I really appreciate it,” Ginny said with a weak grin on her face.

The pair walked back up to Hermione’s dorm and got on her bed.  Hermione drew the curtain and cast a silencing spell.  She settled in and looked at Ginny and waited.

Slowly Ginny relaxed and finally she started, “I guess it is just that I’m lonely.  I know you know that I had a crush on Harry for a long time.”

Hermione grinned sadly and nodded.

“After I found out about his orientation, I was heartbroken for a few weeks.  I hid it well, since nobody really noticed.  I still like him, but I understand his feelings.  This made me to consider who is left.  There is nobody really interesting in my year, except maybe Colin and I think he has a worse crush on Harry then I do.”

Hermione started at the last statement then her eyes narrowed in thought.  “Do you think he is gay?”

“I’m pretty sure he is.  He is very hung up on Harry though.  Seamus might be more his type, with all that energy.”

“Seamus seems to be spending all his time cuddling with Mickey lately,” Hermione observed.

“Mickey is still young yet to know whether or not he is gay.  I don’t think it would hurt Seamus to spend some time with Colin.  Perhaps we can arrange something?” Ginny asked, looking devilish.

Hermione smirked, “Look at us!  Plotting to put a couple of boys together.”

“Only the gay ones,” Ginny defended herself.

“You’ve been lonely, and you want a boy for yourself, don’t you?” Hermione asked.

“I do.  Do you think Neville would go out with me?” Ginny asked feeling suddenly shy.

Hermione pondered for a few moments before answering, “I think he might.  He has obviously been spending time on getting in shape.  He looks good.  You had fun with him at the Yule Ball last year, right?”

“Yes I did.  He was quite a gentleman,” Ginny smiled at the memory.

“There you go!  You can just ask Neville to go out with you.  That will help him with his confidence too.”

Ginny smiled, “Thanks for talking Hermione.  I really appreciate it.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Hermione smiled.

Ginny grinned wickedly, “Should we help out Colin?”

“Give it a week or two, I’m sure something might happen.”

“Ok.  Good night and thanks again for the talk.”

“Good night Ginny,” Hermione said with a smile.

       

Draco was barely asleep when his curtains abruptly opened bringing him back to full alertness.  He looked up to see Goyle staring at him.

“We need to talk Malfoy,” Goyle rumbled at him.

“What?” Draco mumbled back.

“We need to talk.  Right now.”

“Fine.  Where?” Draco replied coldly to hide his sudden nervousness.  Goyle never treated him this way before.  He honestly didn’t know what to expect.

“Potions classroom.  I’ll meet you there,” Goyle rumbled out before pulling his head out of Draco’s bed area.

Draco got up and threw a robe on over his shirt and boxers.  He then grabbed his wand and then put on his shoes.  He drifted out of the room as quietly and gracefully as a cat.

He made his way quietly to the potions classroom only to discover Goyle leaning casually on the front table.

“What did you want to talk about?” Draco asked cautiously.

Goyle looked blank for a moment, as if he was actually thinking, before actually speaking “I left Vincent in the common room to make sure no one followed us.”

Draco raised his eyebrows in surprise, but showed no other signs.

“Our fathers have given us instructions to ignore you and stay away from you.  We tried at first, by avoiding you on the train and at the Sorting ceremony, but we talked afterwards while you were out wandering.  We owe our loyalty to you more than our fathers.”

“What?” Draco replied sounding as thick as Goyle usually did.

“Draco, Vincent and I are not as dumb as everyone thinks.  We are nowhere near as smart as you though.  We need all the tutoring you give us to pass.  It is that simple.  We have a certain advantage by pretending to be dumber than we actually are.”

“I never knew,” Draco said quietly

“Of course you didn’t.  You were told to order us around just like we were told to follow you around.  Something changed this summer though.  We’ve been watching since we got back.  You’ve gone over to Dumbledore, haven’t you?”

Draco narrowed his eyes and responded tightly, “I have.”

Goyle smiled and for the first time it didn’t look grotesque, “Vincent was right.  We’re prepared to follow you then.  Neither one of us will ever be much more than dumb grunts, but we owe it to ourselves to be on the right side.  You seem more alive in the last week than I have ever seen you.  I want to feel that too.”

“Are you sure Gregory?” Draco asked quietly.  “I mean, really sure?”

“No, but it is easier to just follow where you lead, since you are around us all the time,” Goyle stated bluntly.

“I don’t think you are going to be able to go home, if you follow me Greg.  My father very nearly killed me already.  I don’t remember what happened.  I only remember that I went to see the Dark Lord, and I lived to return.”

“The adults tend to take me for a complete mental toadstool, so they sometimes talk while I’m around.  I think that you might have had some powerful spells cast on you.  They were cursing Potter, so he must have had something to do with it.  They didn’t say specifically what happened but they mentioned Avada Kedavra and Potter stopping the spell from hitting its target.”

Draco’s face turned into a picture of dumfounded shock as a few things clicked into place.

“It looks like you recognize something?” Goyle prompted.

Draco’s face returned to studied boredom before he replied, “I’ll talk to someone and get back to you.  Meanwhile, you said you need my tutoring help still?”

“Yes Draco.  We aren’t good enough to make it on our own,” Goyle said, a rumbling distaste expressed in his voice.

“I’ll see what I can do.  I think we need to get back to bed though.  It is getting quite late,” Draco said reasonably.

Both boys returned to their own beds and dropped off to sleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows.

       

In a deserted hallway on the third floor of the south wing of the castle, a large portrait of an ancient wizard opened to reveal a secret passage and two young men.  The young men, identical, with red hair, crossed the hallway and tapped their wands on each side of another portrait.  The portrait shook for a moment before opening to reveal another secret passage.  The twins walked into it and the portrait closed behind them.

They walked along quickly and quietly stepping over various items strewn about the passage.  One stopped suddenly and tapped the wall.  A door swung open to reveal a hallway in another part of the castle entirely.  They walked through and then ducked behind a suit of armor.  George tapped his wand on the third brick of the fifth course.  The wall swung open to reveal a room set up as a laboratory.  Fred and George were in their secret room.

The door to their hideaway closed silently, but the last thing they heard in the hallway was a hiss of a cat.  They smiled to each other and leaned against the secret door, listening.

Less then a minute later they heard the rumbling voice of Argus Filch, “Did you hear something my sweet?”

A loud mew answered the question.

“There are students out of bed again.  I will get them my sweet.”

George cast a silence spell on the door and then sat down in a comfortable chair.  Fred sat in the chair across from him.

“I think we need to do the students of this school a favor and get rid of Mrs. Norris,” Fred complained lightly to his twin.

“Maybe we should.  It is so much fun driving that old man nuts though,” George winked at him.

“Can you believe our little sister?  She’s plotting to hook Colin up with Seamus.  And she is thinking of going out with Longbottom,” Fred asked.

“I think the trickster genes just skipped Percy and Ron.  Everyone else knows how to have fun.  Speaking of which, I think we should add a snoop spell under Neville’s bed.  I think I have one that will last for a few months.  We’ll have to update the one under Hermione’s bed, since she obviously has a lot of good information for us.”

“But our little sister wants Longbottom,” Fred said again.  “But you are right on adding the new spells.”

“Neville is a solid chap.  It could be worse.  You see whom Harry is hooked to.  Although I’ll admit, Malfoy seems to have changed a bit.  I’ve never seen him so alive.”

“That’s true,” Fred admitted reluctantly.

“Do you think Percy is gay?” George asked suddenly.

“He might be.  He has been spending a lot of time with Justin.”

“If mum and dad adopt Justin, that means that Percy would be in love with his brother,” George pointed out.

“What’s wrong with that?” Fred asked with a wink.

“Don’t go there Frederick!” George coughed out.

“I was just pulling your leg.  You’re too cute for me.  Besides, I’ve got my eye some other lad, who isn’t my brother.”

“I knew you were bent,” George said slyly.

“Like you aren’t,” Fred replied as he tossed a cushion at his brother.

“Are we going to do something for Colin?” George asked.

“We could try a little confidence booster.  He just needs the nerve to ask Seamus out.  I think those two would do quite well together,” Fred replied as he got up.

“That might be a good idea.  We can discuss it tomorrow.  Now, let’s get some of our new product done,” George said as he joined Fred at the workbench.

The twins went to work.  The silence charm prevented the noises of the explosions from being heard in the hallway outside.

       

Hundreds of miles away, in a small town near London, a tall woman was walking her dog.  The dog, large and black, walked along silently next to the old woman.

“Is this the place, you mangy mutt?” the old woman queried the animal.

The dog tilted its head and whimpered a bit, but made no other response.

“Mutt,” The lady snarled at the dog.

The dog, which was not on a leash, rushed down the path towards the door.  He started whining and scratching on the door as soon as he reached it.  The old lady took a more sedate pace to reach the door, but nevertheless arrived within moments of the dog.

The door swung open to show an old man wearing a robe.  “It’s about time you two got here,” the man snarled.  “Get in already,” he ordered.

“You have been getting more and more crotchety lately Gus.  Are you getting old?”  The lady taunted him.

The dog went inside by walking between the old man and the door.  Gus and the old lady followed.

In a little over a second, the dog transformed into Sirius Black, escaped convict of Azkaban.  The old man, nominally in charge of apprehending him, smiled at his old student.

“What brings you two out so bloody early in the morning?” Gus Fletcher asked them both.

“Professor Dumbledore asked that we come to talk to you face-to-face,” Sirius answered.

“He did, did he?” Gus asked while taking a seat and pointing to two available seats.

Sirius sat and continued, “Percy Weasley, Harry Potter and two others are to be inducted into the Order.”

“Harry Potter? Why so young?” Gus asked surprised.

“He felt it was necessary, given the way the boy keeps bumping into the Dark Lord,” Arabella Figg, the old lady, supplied.

“You allowed this Sirius?” Gus asked.

“Dumbledore did not leave any room for debate.”

“Who are the other two?” Gus asked, suddenly suspicious.

“Justin Finch-Fletchley,” she paused, and then continued, “and Draco Malfoy.”

“Has Albus finally cracked that golden-fool head of his?” the old man squawked.

“Don’t talk that way about Albus,” snapped Arabella.

“A Malfoy in the Order?  Are you people insane?  He’ll betray us in a heartbeat,” Gus said with a disbelieving look on his face.

“I haven’t been made privy to all the details, but I am assured that young Malfoy couldn’t betray anyone, even if he wanted to.  Apparently the boy has somehow been connected to my Godson.  I’m told the boy has had a serious change of heart,” Sirius said in a neutral voice.

“A change of heart?  The boy changed sides.  What about the boy’s father?”

“Albus has apparently been working on a new arrangement this summer for students not wishing to return to their families.  As you know, he believes strongly in letting each person live by his or her own actions.  Draco will be the first to take advantage of being able to ditch an old Dark Wizard family,” Arabella explained.

“The other one, Finch-Fletchley you said?  That would be one of the Muggleborns that lost his parents, right?  The one that Arthur and Molly Weasley are trying to adopt?”

“Yes.  He is in Hufflepuff and Dumbledore feels that he can be useful there.”

“Okay.  You have informed me.  That can’t be the only reason you are here?”

“Right you are chap.  Albus wishes for you to come and train certain select students as Aurors.  The more we have the better off we will all be.  It will also help to have them trained at Hogwarts by someone we trust.  We can ensure loyalty much easier that way,” Sirius explained.

“I’ll have to make some excuse to be away for a few days at a time.  That’ll be the best I can do.  Unless, of course, you’d like Minister Fudge to be in on this?” Gus asked.

“Absolutely not!  That man is sniveling fool.  He could single-handedly lose this war for us by bungling at the wrong moment,” Arabella said heatedly.  “I’m just glad that the fool decided to retire.  Unfortunately we have him for two more months.”

Gus raised his hands in surrender, “Don’t preach to the choir dearie.”

“Don’t you get fresh with me Mundungus Fletcher!” she replied sharply.

“Now that we have delivered that message, was there anything you wanted us to tell Albus upon our return to Hogwarts?” Sirius asked.

“Tell him I’ll be in sometime this week to talk to him.”

“Good enough.  Cheerio.”

Sirius transfigured back into the large black dog. 

“Are you ready to go, mutt?” Arabella asked dryly.

The dog growled back and Gus started to laugh.

“Out!  Both of you,” he said good-naturedly.

“Ta ta then Gus,” Arabella said as she strode through the door, the dog at her heels.

       

It hardly seemed like any time at all passed when Harry cracked his eyes open the next morning.  A storm front must have moved though in the very early hours that morning because the temperature dropped quite a bit from when he was out on the tower last night.

He pulled a robe on over his boxers and headed for the showers, stopping only long enough to grab his toiletries.

Harry dropped his clothes on the bench and threw his towel over the wall.  He then walked into the large, unoccupied, two-man shower.  He turned the water up to very hot and stood under it, sucking up the heat and sighing.

Ron woke up with a start and got out of bed.  He too headed for the shower.  Still half asleep, he stumbled into the same shower as Harry.  He turned on the other tap and stood under the hot water until he heard a wolf whistle from next to him.  Harry, who could barely see Ron without his glasses, had a wicked smile on his face.

“Good morning, wanker.  Did you want to share this morning?” Harry asked in a teasing tone of voice.

Ron blushed a brilliant red and started to sputter.

“Relax Ron.  I’m not going to do anything.  I know your heart belongs to Hermione,” Harry smiled as he said that.

Ron smiled, but was still blushing.

“Aye!  What do we have here?” a lilting Irish voice filled the shower Ron and Harry occupied. 

Ron jumped at the sound of the voice and ran dripping wet out of the stall into a single shower stall next to it.

“Top of the morning to you Harry!” Seamus said, looking Harry up and down.

“Good morning Seamus.  Why did you go and scare Ron off?  I was enjoying the view.”

A choking and sputtering noise could be heard from the next stall over.  Harry grinned broadly at Seamus.

Seamus reached out for Harry and Harry swatted his hand away.

“Behave yourself Seamus, or I’ll turn you into a toad.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Seamus started and then cut off when he noticed the glint in Harry’s eyes.

Seamus got quiet and went to his own showerhead for a bit.  Harry went back to soaking under the hot water while Seamus washed up.

Neither Harry nor Seamus noticed a boy’s head disappear behind the curtain.  He had been looking at Harry… again.

Colin had been watching Harry since he first arrived at Hogwarts.  This was the first time he ever dared to spy on him when he was naked though.  Colin smiled to himself as he went to the furthest shower stall and turned the water on.  He had nice some images in his head now.

End of Chapter 12

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