(9)
The 19 Years
This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
PEACE AT LAST?
Hermione was up early this morning, it was Saturday and the first Quidditch match of the season was being held today. It was a match between Gryffindor and Slytherin and it promised to be exciting and extremely hard fought. Neither Ron nor Harry was playing of course but Hermione's best friend Ginny Weasley was the Seeker for Gryffindor so Hermione had to be there.
The Quidditch match wasn't really the reason that Hermione had gotten up early though; she had gotten up early so that she could share breakfast with her new friend down by the boat dock, it was something she had been doing for about a week now and Hermione really enjoyed it.
After a nice, hot shower Hermione put on her favorite jeans, a sweatshirt and tennis shoes and she was ready to go. She made a quick stop by the kitchens where the house-elves had a container of fresh kippers waiting for her; then it was off to the docks.
At the docks Hermione slipped off her socks and shoes and sat down to let her feet dangle in the water. It was almost too cold to put her feet in the water but she loved how it felt and decided she could put up with it for a bit, at least until after breakfast; she wondered where her friend was.
Suddenly two large hands covered her eyes from behind and a familiar voice said, "If you can guess who this is then you've earned yourself a big kiss! "
Without hesitation Hermione said, "Victor Krum!"
"Victor Krum?"
"Oh relax Ronald, I knew it was you," laughed Hermione.
Ron wasn't sure if he should laugh or not, sometimes Hermione's quick wit was a little too quick for him.
"Take your shoes and socks off Ron, the water is very nice."
Ron looked a little apprehensive at the cold water but in the end he did as Hermione suggested.
"Wow Hermione that water is cold!"
"Oh relax Ron, it's refreshing, you can sit closer to me if you need to get warm."
Ron liked that idea and moved closer to Hermione and gave her a loving kiss. He put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Got your kippers I see, when is your date going to get here?"
"Don't know for sure, he sometimes varies fifteen minutes or so one way or the other."
"I guess that means that we have time for another kiss then."
The couple kissed again, enjoying the moment until Hermione felt a tug on her foot.
"We're not alone Ronald, I think it's time for breakfast."
Ron looked over the edge of the dock and two huge, saucer shaped eyes were staring back at him.
"Yeah Hermione, he's here. How do you know it's a he anyway?"
Hermione laughed and scooted closer to the edge of the dock.
"Here you go big fella, fresh kippers," said Hermione as she tossed several of the little fish into the gaping maw of the giant squid.
"You didn't answer my question Hermione, how do you know it's a boy?"
"Well, just look at him eat. Most boys are pigs when they eat so I figure he has to be a boy. "
"Very funny Hermione, I'm trying to do better."
"And you have Ron, I'm very proud of you."
"So you wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen on a dinner date with me then?"
"Ron, I wouldn't care if you ate from a trough if I could just be with you."
Ron smiled and kissed her again until Hermione felt another tug.
"Here Ron you feed him."
"Don't know if he will take it from me, he seems to have a real thing for you."
"Oh don't be silly, he doesn't care who gives him food just as long as someone does."
Ron grabbed a hand full of kippers from the container and tossed them into the squid's waiting beak.
"I told you he wouldn't care Ron, look at him go!"
"Tell me again how you started feeding him Hermione."
"Well I was down here one morning thinking over the project that Neville and I are working on and I brought a bit of toast from breakfast with me. The big guy here suddenly popped up right next to where I had my feet in the water and almost scared me to death. After the initial surprise I wasn't afraid of course because everyone knows that he's harmless. I noticed that he seemed to have an interest in my toast so I tore off a bit and gave it to him. He seemed to like it so I just fed the rest to him a bit at a time. Later on that day when I was thinking about it I was wondering what a giant squid might really like to munch on and that is when I decided on fresh kippers. The house-elves are more than happy to supply them to me and I give them a little tip for their efforts."
"Hermione you truly are the most kind-hearted person I've ever known but won't all those tips to the house-elves get expensive?"
"Well, I haven't gotten them to take any money yet but I'm working on it. Right now they're content with socks and knit hats and things like that."
"You are the absolute best Hermione."
Hermione blushed and buried her head in Ron's shoulder; then she felt another tug on her leg.
"Okay, okay be patient, here's some more!"
Hermione grabbed a big handful of kippers this time and tossed them to the squid, he didn't miss a one.
Ron shifted his position so that Hermione could rest her head on his chest as she continued to throw kippers to the squid one at a time.
"Remember when they first told us there was a giant squid in the lake? I had nightmares about it even though they told us he was friendly," said Ron
"I don't think I was fully convinced until he rescued Dennis Creevy when he fell out of the boat on the way to the castle," said Hermione.
Ron noticed that a tear had fallen down Hermione's cheek.
"You're thinking about Colin aren't you?"
"Yes Ron I am. He was such a brave little fellow, I miss him terribly."
"We all do Hermione."
The couple sat there holding each other and tossing the last of the kippers to the squid. When the kippers were all gone they washed their hands in the lake and said good-bye to their multi-armed friend, promising him that there would be more next week.
"Well, about half an hour till the match starts, let's go and make sure the season gets started properly," said Ron.
There was one more long, loving kiss and then the couple walked hand in hand to the Quidditch pitch.
The stands at the Quidditch pitch were packed. It seem like every student in the school was there along with invited parents and the Hogwarts's staff. Ron and Hermione searched the stands until they found Harry. He held up three fingers and indicated that he was saving three seats. They finally worked their way through the crowd and took their seats next to Harry. Normally Ron would have been the referee for this match but since his sister was playing on one of the teams he decided to step aside and ask Madam Hooch to come and take his place; she was more than happy to fill in. The three of them were soon joined by Neville who managed to squeeze in beside Harry.
"WELCOME TO THE OPENING MATCH OF THE NEW HOGWART'S QUIDDITCH SEASON!" boomed a voice that silenced the crowd.
"WELCOME TO YOU ALL FOR WHAT SHOULD BE AN EXCITING MATCH BETWEEN GRYFFINDOR AND SLYTHERIN, ESPECIALLY IF SLYTHERIN DOESN'T CHEAT AS THEY HAVE SO MANY TIMES IN THE PAST!"
Somehow, Luna had been chosen to be the Quidditch announcer this year.
Headmistress McGonagall looked like she was going to have a stroke; Neville just shook his head.
"What's with Neville, why should he care what Luna says?" Ron Whispered to Hermione.
"You remember McGonagall saying that another instructor had petitioned to escort a student to the Yule Ball? The instructor has to be Neville and from what I've seen the student has to be Luna," replied Hermione.
"Just what have you seen?" asked Harry who had overheard the conversation.
"Oh little things, caring looks, winks, accidental touching and the like," said Hermione.
"Go on, Neville and Luna?" said Ron.
"Why not? They're perfect for each other," said Hermione.
All three of them turned to stare at Neville.
"What?" said Neville shrugging his shoulders.
"You dog," said Ron with a huge smile on his face.
"What are you talking about?" asked Neville.
"We'll talk later mate," said Harry.
"AND NOW THE STARTING LINEUPS!"
"FOR GRYFFINDOR; AT ONE CHASER; DENNIS CREEVEY, AT ANOTHER CHASER; JIMMY PEAKES, AT THE THIRD CHASER; ROMILDA VANE WHO USED TO HAVE A TERRIBLE CRUSH ON PROFESSOR HARRY POTTER BUT HOPEFULLY SHE IS OVER THAT NOW…"
Harry now knew how Neville had felt; he just sat there shaking his head. He hadn't really wanted Romilda on the team but as team captain that was Ginny's decision. As it turned out, when she wasn't playing the fool, Romilda was quite an accomplished flyer. It seems that her Mother had been a professional Quidditch player with the Holyhead Harpies for several years flying under her maiden name Stefany Gilbert; she had taught her daughter well.
"AT ONE BEATER; DYLAN HYATT, AT THE OTHER BEATER; WESLEY KNOX, AT KEEPER SARAH POST, AND AT SEEKER; GINNY WEASLEY WHO LOOKS EVER SO CUTE WITH HER HAIR BRAIDED LIKE THAT AND WHO IS THE BEST REASON FOR ROMILDA VANE TO MIND HER MANNERS AROUND PROFESSOR POTTER!"
The introductions for Slytherin went much the same way with Luna's little side comments causing uproarious laughter.
"AND NOW MADAM HOOCH WILL TOSS UP THE QUAFFLE TO BEGIN THE MATCH, GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!"
On the field Madam Hooch gave the Quaffle a tremendous toss and the match began. It was clear from the start that Roberta Cox's comments about Slytherin wanting to have a better reputation were not understood by everyone on her Quidditch team as Crock immediately smacked a Bludger in Ginny's direction almost hitting her in the head.
"Hey! She's nowhere near the Snitch or the Quaffle you stupid lout!" yelled a very angry Professor Potter.
"That's right, how'd you like it if I came out there and bounced a Bludger off your head?" screamed Ron.
Hermione grabbed hold of both Ron and Harry and managed to get them seated again.
"Stop it you two! You are professors now, you have to watch how you conduct yourselves!" said an agitated Hermione.
"But that's my sister he's trying to hurt out there!"
"And my girlfriend!"
"You both know Ginny! She knows how to take care of herself, she'll pay Crock back!"
Harry and Ron knew that Hermione was right and they remained in their seats. It wasn't long before Ginny proved Hermione correct. Crock was chasing Dennis, apparently intent on smacking the Quaffle out of his grasp with his beater's bat. Asp hit a Bludger at Dennis that was going to miss everything; that is, until Ginny deflected it with her broom and it hit Crock in the side of the head and he was knocked off his broom. There were immediate howls of indignation from the Slytherin crowd and Cox called for a time out. Crock was ministered to and the reserve beater, Sloan, entered the match. Madame Hooch gave Ginny a good talking to but Ginny just shrugged her shoulders and feigned innocence.
After the rough start to the match things seemed to settle down a bit. Both teams were playing hard but they were at least obeying most of the rules. Gryffindor was up thirty to nothing in pretty quick order. Little Dennis Creevy had proven to be a master with the Quaffle having scored two goals and setting up Romilda for the third with a beautiful pass.
As far as the Gryffindor goalposts were concerned, Sarah Post was doing a great job as Keeper. Slytherin did finally manage to score a couple of goals on her but she kept the majority of the Slytherin shots from going in. It was unusual for a girl to play Keeper but Sarah was a big girl and quite intimidating.
After about an hour the score was one hundred to twenty in favor of Gryffindor and the snakes were in desperate need of catching the Snitch. Ginny had been keeping one eye on Slytherin's Keeper and one eye on the lookout for the Snitch. Suddenly Cox went into a power dive, headed straight for the first row of seats where the professors sat; she had seen the Snitch. Harry and Ron stood up, foolishly screaming at Ginny who had already reacted and was dropping like a rock in the same direction that Cox was headed. Everyone was on their feet now as Cox and Ginny raced at blinding speed for the little golden ball that would determine the winner of the match; it looked like there was no way that a collision could be avoided. Many people closed their eyes and waited for the sickening sound of the crash; they weren't disappointed.
Whaaam !
"GRYFFINDOR WINS! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" yelled Luna into her magical megaphone.
Hermione opened her eyes to witness Ron, Harry and Neville jumping up and down and screaming their heads off. She looked up to see Ginny flying a victory lap around the pitch while medical wizards rushed to the stands.
"What happened?" yelled Hermione over the crowd noise.
"Didn't you see it?" yelled Ron with excitement.
"No, I couldn't watch. What happened?"
"Ginny got to the Snitch just a second before Cox did, she had a better angle and was able to get the Snitch and pull out of her dive; Cox hit the stands without slowing down," said Ron.
"Oh my, is Cox alright?" asked Hermione.
"Don't know, the medical wizards are looking at her now," said Ron.
Ginny just then realized that Cox was hurt and she flew to the spot where the medi-wizards were treating the fallen Slytherin Seeker.
"Will she be okay?" asked Ginny.
"She's out like a light, we're taking her up to the castle," said one of the medi-wizards.
Ginny stood back as the medi-wizards gingerly transported Cox to see Madame Pomfrey.
"Ginny, how is she?" asked Hermione who had just arrived.
"Don't know for sure, it looks bad though."
"Madame Pomfrey will patch her up in no time Ginny. That was a nice bit of flying out there by the way," said Ron who didn't appear to share Ginny's concern for Cox.
"Ginny you were wonderful," said Harry as he gave her a big hug.
"You were amazing," said Neville.
"Thanks everybody, I just wish that Cox hadn't been hurt like that."
"I'm sure she'll be okay Ginny, look at how many times Madame Pomfrey patched Harry up over the years," said Hermione.
They all laughed at Hermione's remark and the tension was somewhat lessened.
"Tell you what , Ginny why don't you go get changed and then we'll all go to Hogsmeade to celebrate. Drinks are on me!" said Harry.
Everyone cheered at Harry's excellent idea.
"Hey Neville, I'm sure that our illustrious match announcer is probably ready for a drink too after all her hard work. Why don't you invite her to go along?" said Harry.
Neville turned his usual shade of red and hung his head a bit but other than that he didn't move.
"Neville Longbottom I've had enough of this. Everyone knows that you fancy Luna and from what I have seen she fancies you right back. You have no reason to be embarrassed so you march right over there and you ask her to go with us right now," barked Hermione.
Neville grinned and made his way over to where Headmistress McGonagall was deep in conversation with Luna. Just as Neville reached them the Headmistress turned on her heel and marched off muttering to herself.
"Hi Luna, have a problem with the Headmistress do you?" asked Neville.
"Oh not really, she seems to have a problem with the way I announced the match today. Not really sure what she is talking about. Oh well."
"I was just wondering if you would like to go with us to Hogsmeade? Harry is buying drinks for everyone."
"That sounds fun Neville. Will I be able to call you Neville or should I call you professor Longbottom since there will be others there?"
"Considering who the others are going to be, I think that Neville will be fine."
"Does this mean that our secret is out in the open now?"
"Yes, I guess it does. Is that okay with you?"
"Oh most certainly. What girl wouldn't want people to know that she is the girlfriend of Professor Neville Longbottom, hero of the Battle of Hogwarts?"
Neville grinned and took Luna's hand. In her childlike way she had the ability to make him feel like he was important in this world, someone to be valued. He hadn't told her yet, he was searching for the right words, but he thought that he was actually the lucky one to have a wonderful girl like Luna in his life.
"Come on then, we have a bit of a wait for Ginny but she shouldn't be long," said Neville.
The couple joined the group and they all discussed the match until Ginny showed up all refreshed and ready to go.
"A medi-wizard stopped me as I was coming out of the locker room. Cox is going to be okay. She has a concussion but Madame Pomfrey is going to be able to put her right. I'm going to go see her in the morning," said Ginny
"That's great news, even more reason to celebrate," said Harry.
The three couples headed off to Hogsmeade, each holding hands with their significant other; they enjoyed a leisurely stroll down to the Three Broomsticks pub. Upon entering the pub they were able to seat themselves at their favorite table near the fireplace. Harry went up to the bar to order drinks and Ron and Neville went along to help carry them back. While they were gone it was time for girl-talk.
"So, Luna, I think it's wonderful that you and Neville have come out in the open about your relationship," said Hermione.
"It was a bit surprising to me at first but I think it was a good choice for the both of you," said Ginny.
"Thank you for saying that, both of you. I wasn't too sure at first because Neville can appear to be a bit odd at times but once I got past that and just concentrated on what a wonderful, sweet person he is I knew that he was the right choice for me."
Hermione and Ginny smiled at each other when Luna made her comment about Neville being a bit odd.
The boys returned with the drinks and the group was soon sipping hot butterbeer and making merry.
"Say, Harry, since we both have some free time on Monday afternoon I was wondering if you could sit down with me and finalize the starting lineup for the Beaubattons match coming up next week?" said Ron.
Harry looked a little uncomfortable with Ron's question, as though he really didn't want to answer it but he finally spoke.
"Sorry Ron but I have to go to Diagon alley on Monday; I have business at Gringotts."
"Gringotts, what are you going to do there? Maybe I can go with you, I don't have any classes Monday afternoon," said Ginny.
Harry looked even more uncomfortable now as he shifted in his seat. Ginny could sense his unease and she wasn't too happy about it.
"Well I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean to try to impose myself on you," said Ginny, curtly.
"No, no, that's not it at all, it's just that I have some business to take care of and I don't know how long I'll be tied up."
"Oooh, secret banking business with the goblins; that sounds rather exciting Harry," said Luna.
"Is it really a secret Harry?" asked Hermione.
"Yeah mate, can't you tell us?" said Ron.
"Now, now, if Professor Potter wants to keep secrets from his best friends and his girlfriend then that is his business," said Ginny very unconvincingly.
Harry looked around at the group as all eyes were upon him; finally he gave in.
"Oh alright I'll tell you. I just didn't know how people would react is all," said Harry.
"Sounds like this might be good, better have some more drinks first. You stay here Harry and Neville and I will fetch more butterbeer," said Ron.
Harry sat there nervously as the girls eyed him closely. Finally Ron and Neville returned and Harry began his explanation.
"Well, you all know how it was after the Battle of Hogwarts. Many families were hurting as they had lost everything because of Voldemort. There were funds set up to see to it that people were taken care of and to try to help them rebuild their lives. People who were called heroes of the battle, like us, had all kinds of praise and awards heaped on us almost to the point of embarrassment. There was one hero, or heroine I should say, who was completely forgotten, someone who had lost everything and was pretty much left to her own devices."
"I don't think so Harry. I think the ministry is continuing to help everyone," said Hermione.
"She's right Harry, I don't think anyone has been left out," said Ron.
"Surely it was a mistake and wasn't done on purpose," said Luna.
"Who is it Harry? Who are you talking about?" asked Neville.
"Narcissa Malfoy," said Harry.
"What?" the others cried out in unison.
"Yes, Narcissa Malfoy," repeated Harry.
"How can you call that hag a hero?" asked Ron.
"Think about it guys. If Narcissa hadn't kept quiet to Voldemort about me still being alive, things would have probably ended much differently. By saying nothing it allowed Hagrid to carry me back to the rest of you; where with Neville's help we were able to finish off Voldemort once and for all. She made it possible to end Voldemort's reign of terror and she got no recognition for it. Now she has lost her home, her husband and she is forced to live on handouts from the few people who will have anything to do with her."
After a long silence from everyone, Ron finally spoke.
"Okay mate, I guess I can see that, but how does your business with Gringotts help her?" asked Ron.
"Well, I have income every month from a business I invested in a couple of years ago. When I receive a dividend from the business I have arranged for it to be anonymously deposited into an account that has been set up for Narcissa. She will never know where it is coming from and it should be enough to allow her to live comfortably."
The others looked at Harry in disbelief; Ginny finally spoke.
"What business are you talking about Harry?" asked Ginny.
"The joke shop, Harry gave Fred and George the money to get it started; Harry is a partner," said Ron.
The others looked at Harry with even wider eyes now as he in turn looked at Ron.
"George told me Harry. He told me to keep it under my hat though so I never told anyone till now. You're a special kind of bloke Harry. I don't know that I would have done what you are going to do. I'll tell you one thing though; it makes me prouder than ever that I'm best mates with the boy who lived!"