Chapter 96 : Flight of the Phoenix Broomstick
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"What's going on here? Dad said he's seen Malf…" Ron began as he approached the Potter twins. "Oh, it's you." Ron stated looking at Malfoy like he was something less than dirt. "Bet you're surprised to see Adrian here, eh?" Ron asked smirking, holding the stack of his collection of their new DADA professor tight. Hermione next to him offered a disgruntled tat of her tongue at the redhead's reaction; Harry wondered momentarily how he ever managed to hear it amidst the general chaos around. The cacophony around was a bit louder that usual, but so far he had only attributed it to the book signing; now however…
"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley." Draco spat back, effectively snapping Harry out of his reverie. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those." Ron turned beet red and dropped his books in Ginny's cauldron too. He moved to attack Malfoy, but Adrian and Hermione held him back. A fruitless effort since Lucius Malfoy and Mr. Weasley -after the older Malfoy made a harsh comment regarding the state of Ginny's books- decided it would be a great idea to attack each other inside the bustling shop.
Not even the complaining owner couldn't separate them while the Weasley twins, James and Sirius were cheering Arthur the whole time. Thankfully for everybody included, Hagrid made a surprising entrance -he had apparently been shopping for Flesh-Eating Snail Repellent in Knockturn Alley, something that caused an identical mischievous gleam on the Weasley twins' faces- and got everybody out relatively unscathed.
"I can't believe you did that!" Lily stated, looking at her husband. "You stood there and cheered? You're an Auror, James!" She was fuming as Prongs was mumbling his apology; still, nothing could compare with the glare Mrs. Weasley directed to her own husband. The fact that she had barely managed to dodge a rather hefty tome on the Sisterhood that had almost hit her in the eye, didn't help either.
"A fine example you set for your children… brawling in public… what Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought…" Arthur just looked properly chastised, appearing right down miserable, nursing a cut lip.
"He was pleased." Fred informed everyone. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He asked that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report -said it was all publicity…" Harry rolled his eyes; a year of Lockhart's teaching and he was afraid all they would learn was how to pose effectively so that the camera only captures your good side.
"Lockhart sounds lovely." Ginny muttered next to him. Harry turned to her and smirked.
"Just imagine all the knowledge he could impart on us!" The green eyed boy whispered in an obviously fake state of awe. "I can see it already; a full month devoted on his favourite fashion trends. Oh, the joy!" Ginny giggled at his sarcasm.
"Well, there has to be some knowledge in that ponce." The redhead girl stated. "He did write all these books after all…" She reminded him and Harry nodded.
"And the theory is correct but the way he writes…"
"I guess you also thought that mentioning his favourite colour is lilac was irrelevant to how he dealt with that Yeti?" She asked and Harry's eyes widened in surprise.
"Have you already read his books?" The raven haired wizard asked. Ginny blushed a deep hue of red.
"No, just that one, A Year with the Yeti." Ginny explained. "Mom's a fun and the book had been laying around the house for some time so I figured, why not?" Harry nodded smiling.
"And yes, to answer your question, I do believe it's irrelevant, unless the poor Yeti in question jumped of a cliff once it saw him approaching, its eyes burning out at the sight of said completely lilac-clad ponce." Ginny burst into laughter, drawing the eyes of their families, if only for a second, before Sirius dragged them all to Florian Fortesque's for an ice cream. His childish behaviour however did lift their spirits a bit and Harry suspected part of it was intentional this time around. Harry spoke with Ginny for the majority of their stay, the girl telling him a story of how she was once attacked in Knockturn Alley.
"And what were you doing in Knockturn Alley?" He asked interested.
"I was about five and had gotten lost." Ginny explained. "I was so scared my mind started playing tricks on me, I swear." Harry nodded, understanding the feeling; Merlin knew how many nightmares his mind had subjected him to lately.
"And what happened?"
"Let's put it this way; if you think that my Dad was scary while brawling with Malfoy, you would have thought him terrifying back then." Harry laughed at that, trying to imagine the usually calm Mr. Weasley fighting off a group of wizards. Well, he could certainly do it, he thought, especially if it was to save his only daughter.
The return to Potter Manor was uneventful; Ron had tagged along for the night and at the moment he was off at the grounds, swimming at the pond. Harry had returned to his room and was catching up on what they would be required to learn this year, making notes of subjects he might need revise before leaving for school. The list was unsurprisingly short; Harry pulled out his History of Magic textbook, and did the best he could with all the goblin rebellions he would have to remember. Considering there were fifteen of them, his head was throbbing by the time he went down for dinner. Adrian and Ron were lost in an argument over Quidditch once more. Shaking his head fondly, Harry sat down on the table.
The rest of the summer passed like a breeze; Harry had been so focused on his studies -partially because he was trying to not think about last May and June too much- he barely realized August was over and the next term was about to begin. He was seated at the back porch of Severus's castle once again -it was becoming something of a ritual for the last day of summer- carving the details on his first handmade broomstick ever; it was of crude design, he could tell, and the cushioning spells left a lot to be desired but it was unmistakably a broomstick and, most importantly, it flew.
"It really does fly…" Severus trailed off, his hand over the hovering broomstick. Harry smirked.
"For somebody who was certain of my success only weeks ago, you seem rather surprised, Sev." Harry stated.
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