Order of the Phoenix
Is This Harry?
By Ruskbyte
Chapter Three
~ Is This Harry? ~
Sunshine poured from the crystal clear blue skies, embracing Diagon Alley in the warm embrace of summer as many witches and wizards bustled to and fro. Weaving about the crowds was a tight knot of
redheads, two of whom were maintaining a constant exchange that seemed to have no real point beyond annoying the living daylights out of their younger brother.
Ginny Weasley stifled a grin and a giggle as she watched Fred and George work on Ron's nerves. The next eldest Weasley was already red in the face with frustration and soon she was willing to bet he would have steam escaping his ears - and not thanks to any Pepperup Potion.
He never learns, she observed, and neither do they.
Scanning the alley as she and her family strolled along, Ginny flicked her eyes from one passing face to another, hoping to be first to spot Harry. He had long since agreed, in his letters, to meet with them that day, but Ginny couldn't help but worry that something had happened. Too many possibilities presented themselves to her. It could be his horrid relatives, the Dursleys, who had delayed him or stopped him from coming. Maybe the Death Eaters or, worse, You-Know-Who himself had somehow found him and--
She forced herself to stop thinking along those lines. Nothing had happened to Harry. After all, Diagon Alley wasn't exactly tiny now, was it? There was no reason to expect him to show up only minutes after they had Flooed here from the Burrow.
"No, I am abso-bleeding-lutely not going to try that, thank you!" exclaimed Ron, shoving George away from him and leaning away from the proffered sweet in the older boy's hand.
"Aw, come on, Ronniekins!" protested Fred, on Ron's other side, "It won't hurt you. Much."
No, it'll just turn him into a rooster or something equally ridiculous.
They had just arrived outside Gringotts, the goblin-run wizarding bank, where upon their mother, Molly, told them to wait for her to collect the money they would be needing to purchase all the books and equipment they would be needing this year.
Standing just outside, waiting for their mom, Ginny continued her vigil. After a few minutes she noticed several witches standing not too far away, all of them gawking with open mouths and wide eyes at something that was holding their attention as firmly as Veela tended to hold a wizard's. Curiosity temporarily overwhelming her need to find Harry, she followed their gazes.
Wow, she thought as she caught sight of source of their distraction, What a hottie!
It was a young wizard, probably just out of school she guessed, standing outside Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, appraising several male dress robes displayed in the large front window. He was tall, about the same height as Ron, maybe an inch or so taller, with the broad shoulders of an athlete. His arms were slender, but well defined, his obviously Muggle T-shirt stretched tightly across his chest and his tight fitting jeans clearly displayed his lean legs. His robes, apparently made of black leather, were draped casually over his one arm.
His black hair lay in an unruly tussle with several errant locks falling over his forehead in an equally unkempt fringe. He was too far for Ginny to get a good look at his face, but his tanned features were sharp, almost chiselled, and matched his trim figure.
Wow, she repeated to herself, I hope Harry grows up to be half that handsome.
He turned, his eyes sliding over the alley with clear intent. Suddenly his gaze fell upon Ginny and a broad smile formed. Immediately he started towards her with long, distance eating, strides. Ginny watched as he approached, wondering why he was moving in her direction. She obviously had never seen him before (she would remember if she had), so he couldn't possibly recognize her?
Could he?
As he drew closer Ginny could make out his features more clearly, particularly his eyes which glittered an amazing shade of green. There was something familiar about those eyes, they seemed almost... somehow, as if...
Impossible.
If he were to put on some round, wire rimmed glasses...
Absolutely impossible.
His fringe had slid to one side as he finally stood before her. His skin had tanned considerably since Ginny had last seen him, morosely following his uncle out of King's Cross Station, and was a deep golden brown. But now that she recognized him she could see the scar, the scar that made him the most famous young wizard in the world. It was almost invisible against his tanned face and would be very near impossible to spot at a distance.
"Ginny," Harry swept her into a warm embrace, his strong arms hugging her tightly to him.
He pulled back, lifting a hand to tuck an errant lock of fiery red hair behind one of her ears. Smiling happily down at her, his hand gently brushed against her cheek and along her jaw line, leaving a burning sensation tingling where his skin met hers.
"It's so good to see you," he told her, in a voice much deeper than the last time she had heard him speak, "You've grown quite a bit. You look beautiful."
Finally Ginny found her voice and spoke the first thing that came to mind.
"Oh, my god!"
***
Some movement out the corner of his eye caught Ron's attention. Trying to ignore Fred and George's pestering, he turned to see Ginny be caught up in a tight embrace with a tall, dark and handsome stranger. As the man, he looked too old to be called a boy, pulled back slightly to speak with his sister, recognition sank in.
"Oh, my god! Harry?"
The Boy Who Lived turned to face him, a broad grin splitting his face as he took in Ron's purely gobsmacked expression. Reaching out Harry grasped Ron's hand in a firm, bone-crushing actually, handshake.
"Of course not!" he said, releasing his grip, "I'm actually Draco Malfoy in disguise!"
Ron surreptitiously moved his hand behind his back and tried desperately to revive it, trying to conceal the fact that he could barely move his fingers. He could certainly feel them, though he wished he couldn't. Considering the shock that was drowning all other expression from his face, it was easy to hide his discomfort.
He'd better watch out when he plays Quidditch, or he'll break the bloody Snitch!
"Oh..." gasped Fred from over his shoulder.
"...my..." breathed George from over his other shoulder.
"...god!" the twins chorused, pushing forward to stare openly at Harry.
"Morgana's Bane, Harry, you must've shot up nearly a foot!" exclaimed Ron, looking him up and down with wide eyes. His hand was almost back to normal, so he brought it round front to run it through his hair.
"Ten inches," elaborated Harry calmly.
Looks more.
Ginny shook her head in disbelief, "You certainly didn't mention this in your letters."
Ron shot her a surprised look. Harry and Ginny were exchanging letters? Oh boy. Worst of all was that Harry was just as tall as Ron now and, from the look of things, a good deal stronger. This left the youngest Weasley brother with no means to intimidate his sister’s would-be suitor away from her. Maybe if he could enlist the aid of his brothers, after all six overprotective Weasley men would be far more menacing than just Ron alone, right?
Oh, get a grip on yourself, Ron, he chided, This is Harry we're talking about. He wouldn't do anything to hurt Ginny. And remember what Hermione wrote you. Time to stop treating Ginny like a little girl all the time. Besides, if anyone could be a good boyfriend for Ginny, it's Harry.
Feeling proud of himself for such mature thoughts Ron returned his attention to the conversation only to lose it a moment later as his mind suddenly backtracked.
Boyfriend?!
Ron noticed how mature Harry suddenly seemed, had Ron not know Harry was only fifteen he would have guessed him to be around the same age as Percy. His face had lost the soft curves of youth and attained a crisp edge and somewhere along the line Harry's jaw had squared off. Most of all was the absence of his round, wire-rimmed specs, battered and jury-rigged with Sellotape since time immemorial.
Now Harry's startling green eyes viewed the world unobstructed, seeming to blaze with increased furor, freed from the muting effects of the glasses. They were so much lighter and brighter than Ron remembered and were sparkling in a way that reminded him strangely of Dumbledore.
With his rich tan doing a good job of hiding his famous scar from all but close inspection, the only thing about Harry that had not significantly changed was the mop of his messy black hair. It had been trimmed neatly at the back and sides but still refused to be tamed; particularly the longer locks that crowned his head and fell across his forehead.
Damn Ron realized, Girls are going to be tripping over each other to get at him.
He frowned.
Hermione had better not, or I'll be forced to kill him.
"So, Harry, mate," Fred was speaking, "What happened to your glasses?"
"Yeah," picked up George, "Did those Muggle relatives of yours get you, what are they called, compact lenses?"
Harry smiled and shook his head, "Contact lenses," he corrected, "And no, they didn't."
Ron was just as curious about the matter as his brothers and asked, "So what happened then?"
"Corrective surgery," replied Harry, smiling, "Had a bunch of Muggle doctors shooting some laser beams into my eyes for an afternoon."
"Laser beams?" asked George, not understanding the meaning behind the words.
"It's a Muggle thing, silly," explained Ginny, "Don't you ever listen to Dad?"
Both twins shook their heads and George replied, "Nope. Why should we? The man's mad."
"He is not!"
"Is too," insisted Fred, "And Mum agrees with us. Heck, Dad's even said so himself once or twice."
"So, what are lasso beans again?" George asked, turning back to Harry.
Harry was chuckling and grinning broadly, "Laser beams. It's an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Basically it's an invisible ray of light that, if they make it strong enough, can burn through steel."
The four Weasleys stared at Harry in horror for a moment. Finally Ron blurted out, "And you let them use something like that on your eyes? Are you out of your mind!?"
"Slightly," he replied with an impish smile, "I only hear voices when I'm alone."
Is that a joke?
"Did you hear how he explained that?" asked George of his twin, looking bewildered.
Fred nodded his head, "Indeed I did, dear brother. I just don't believe it."
"Unbelievable, but true I'm afraid."
"It's a sad day for the world," lamented Fred, now shaking his head, "A sad, sad day."
Ginny looked at her brothers with a crooked eyebrow, "What are you two going on about?"
"Harry," they chorused.
"He's turning-"
"-into another-"
"-Hermione!" they chorused again.
"Oi!" exclaimed Ron, looking affronted at the implied slur at his friend, and he wasn't thinking about Harry on this occasion.
"Did someone mention me?" asked a voice to one side.
Everyone turned and found themselves facing a beaming Hermione, who Ron couldn't help but notice had changed nearly as much as Harry. Only better. She had grown a few inches and her figure had filled out a good deal in ways that made Ron want to sweep her off her feet, carry her to a room in the Leaky Cauldron and start doing things that he really shouldn't be thinking about when it came to one of his best friends.
It's going to be a long school year. I think I need a shower, he thought.
Hermione had finished greeting the twins and Ginny and was now rounding on him. She hugged him tightly and he could clearly feel her suddenly very feminine body pressing against him.
Make that a cold shower.
He swallowed as she stepped back and grinned up at him.
A very cold shower.
***
Hermione felt a thrill of delight as she took note of Ron's reaction to her embrace. Who knew, maybe he would figure out she liked him and perhaps he would even reciprocate her feelings. She turned to face the one person present, besides herself, that was clearly not a Weasley.
He was tall, just a shade more than Ron, and endowed with a lanky, yet slender figure that held promise of developing into something any reasonable hot-blooded female would consider drop-dead gorgeous. His face was definitely handsome enough as is and the way he held himself, his poise, spoke of a good deal of confidence.
Y'know, she thought, glancing him over, noting his broad chest, This bloke's really dishy.
"I'm Hermione Granger," she said, offering the man her hand.
For a moment she wondered what was up as she noticed the strange looks and grins all four of the Weasleys were giving her. But before she could think about it, the man took Hermione's hand in his own and gave it a firm shake.
"Pleased to meet you," he said charmingly, but with a mischievous smile, "I'm Harry Potter."
It took several moments for her brain to fully register the words as her best friend introduced himself to her for a second time.
You've got to be kidding me. It can't be. It's impossible. He isn't...
"You may have read about me," he continued, "I've heard I'm in Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."
"Oh, my god!"
He is.
Hermione felt her eyes widen and her jaw go slack as she stared up at Harry. After a few seconds she pulled herself together and shook her head to clear it. Looking up at him she could see that Harry, and four redheads, were all struggling to restrain their laughter.
"I've just made a complete ass of myself, haven't I?" she asked, feeling her cheeks flush.
"Yep," agreed Ron.
Ginny nodded her head and patted her shoulder sympathetically, "You could say that."
"That-"
"-was-"
"-brilliant!" exclaimed Fred and George, exchanging a high five.
Harry smiled at her and shrugged, "Sorry, Hermione. You set yourself up for this one."
"I-I hardly recognized you," Hermione stammered, bringing a hand up to her mouth in amazement at Harry's transformation and some small amount of horror over what had just happened, "You-you've grown. A lot. I could almost say you're... intimidating."
Ron grinned, "Can't wait to see Malfoy's face when he spots you, mate," he told Harry.
Ginny clapped her hands, "Ooo, I want to be there too!"
"Y'know, Harry," mused Fred, looking Harry over once again, "Usually me and George are the ones that terrorize the first years."
"Now it looks like that's going to be your job," continued George, "and you won't even have to try all that hard."
Fred nodded in agreement and finished, "Heck, you could probably terrorize the rest of the kids, not just the first years."
Hermione puffed up and glared at the two mischief-makers, "Don't you two even dare suggest such a thing to Harry!" she berated and then threatened, "if you so much as try, so help me I'll take more points off of Gryffindor than Snape does on a bad day!"
"You're a prefect?" asked Ginny excitedly. Hermione blushed and gave a slight nod.
"See?" Harry asked the others, "I'm not the only one that left something out of our letters."
Ron suddenly shot forward and enveloped her in a hug. "Mione, why didn't you say something?"
Hermione blushed fiercely and hung her head in embarrassment, "I didn't want anyone to think I was getting a big head. You know... like--"
"--like Percy?" Fred and George finished for her, grinning maniacally.
"Well, yeah."
"Smooth!" they chimed, each grabbing one of her hands and shaking fiercely, "Finally a prefect that doesn't consider herself above the rest of us mere mortals."
They then, much to Hermione's continued embarrassment, proceeded to make a production of kissing her on both cheeks. Despite her embarrassment she did feel proud and pleased by their reactions and even more pleased at the look of displeasure on Ron's face as the twins smacked their lips with exaggerated sound effects.
After Fred and George were finished Harry pulled her into a hug and gave her a warm kiss on the forehead, much like she had given him at the end of their last year, beaming happily for her.
"You should be proud, Hermione," he told her, "I knew you'd be a prefect."
"You-you did?" she asked in surprise. Hermione had been wracked with worry and doubt right until her Hogwarts letter had been delivered. She had almost been too nervous to open the letter and confirm her fears, but after girding her courage she had done so. After that her parents had to physically pull her off the dining room table, which she was joyfully dancing on top of.
That was almost as embarrassing as not recognizing Harry.
Suddenly she was engulfed in a hug from Ron, who was laughing at her, "Mione," he chided softly, "We've known you'd be a prefect from practically the moment we met you on the train."
He gave her a quick peck to the cheek, much to her disappointment, before blushing furiously and leaning in to daringly kiss her on the lips, much to her delight. The moment didn't last long as the twins almost immediately burst into whistles and catcalls, crowing with amusement as the two jumped hastily apart.
"Sod off, you buggers," growled Ron, glaring at them before staring down at his feet to hide his growing blush.
Blushing just as much, Hermione snuck a glance at Harry. He was her and Ron's best friend, part of the Terrible Trio, and she was worried how he would take this development between his closest friends. She needn't have been concerned, however, as she saw he was standing alongside Ginny, a hand on her shoulder, smiling down at her before rolling his eyes and shaking his head.
"Took them long enough," she saw him say to Ginny.
Ginny nodded in agreement, "Think they'll stop fighting now?"
Harry snorted incredulously, "Fighting? Don't you mean flirting? I've been waiting four years to tell them to go and find a room. Now that they've finally worked it out; I can."
"Oh, my god."
The group of children turned, finding Molly Weasley standing on the steps of Gringotts, staring at Harry with wide eyes and a look of utter disbelief.
Hermione saw Harry smirk at Ginny. "I seem to be getting a lot of that."
It was good to see her best friend looking so happy, especially after the events of the previous year. When she had last seen Harry at King's Cross he had been busy withdrawing into a shell of depression. She stood by Ron, who was also looking at Harry and Ginny, shaking his head. He slid an arm around her waist, giving her a smile and a helpless shrug.
After all she mused as they started walking, Who are we to deny Harry any of the happiness that he deserves.
***
Smiling with contentment, Harry draped an arm over Ron's shoulders and wrapped the other around Ginny's slim waist. Laughing merrily he, Hermione and the five Weasleys began to wind their way through the crowd of witches and wizards bustling about Diagon Alley.
*So, Harry...* whispered a voice in his mind, *When are you going to tell them about us?*
Are you talking about ‘us’ as in you lot and me together, or ‘us’ as in just you lot and the fact that you're all suddenly residing inside my head? Harry asked wryly.
*One or the other,* answered the voice.
*Or both for that matter,* chimed another.
*You know you won't be able to hide the changes for very long,* mentioned yet one more.
*You'll have to tell them something,* concluded a fourth.
I'm not worried about telling them about the changes.
*What is it then?*
How in the name of hell can I tell them that I hear voices in my head?
*Um...*
Especially when the voices are of a bunch of people who have all been dead for millenia.
*Er...*
.
.
.
*So... when are you going to tell them?*
Damned if I know, he replied with a silent sigh, Damned if I know.
TBC...