A sirius matter

Chapter 12 - Life's No Picnic

-ASM-

The rest of the week went by uneventfully. Neville was thrilled and terrified about the news of the picnic. On Harry's insistence, Hermione gave him a necklace portkey that went to Grimmauld Place only (she couldn't make a portkey that led to a place she'd never been, such as Neville's house) and gave him instructions how to use it.

On Friday, it was time for the trio to continue working on charming brooms to fly. After about an hour, Hermione had gotten hers to move pretty fast. Fifteen minutes later, Harry was flying his rapidly around the house, much to Hermione's frustration. She yelled, "It's great you got the broom to work, but honestly you can't fly around inside!" while Ginny was laughing.

Harry argued, "But it's fun! You should be riding yours! I'll bet it's faster than mine!" Harry did not stop, and was joined about five minutes later by an excited Ginny.

Finally, letting out a sigh of frustration, Hermione promised, "If you stop flying around the house like five-year-olds, I'll agree to play a game of Quidditch at the Burrow tomorrow after our picnic, if Mrs. Weasley allows us."

Harry stopped immediately saying, "It's a deal! We'll use these brooms. Ginny, do you think your mum will let us?"

"She doesn't give me hardly any chores to do on weekends. I'm sure Ron and the twins will play, too. Percy will be locked in his room writing a report on cauldron bottom thickness."

"What?" asked Harry. "Why?"

"He started working for the ministry last week, and for some reason he thinks he has to work twenty-four hours a day. I honestly think he stopped sleeping. Even when he comes to dinner, he's always talking about his job or his boss, Mr. Crouch, who, by the way, everybody else hates, according to dad. He's a complete stickler for the rules, just like Percy. You remember how pompous he was walking around with his Head Boy badge? Now, he's even worse! You'd think he was the Minister of Magic by how important he acts! Honestly, I think he'd sell out our family if he thought it would advance his career!"

"I'm sure you don't mean that," said Hermione, "He just believes in following rules, and so do I for that matter."

Harry grinned at his girlfriend. "Then why are you practicing underage magic in this house?" Hermione's ears went pink. "And how many times have we broken rules, sometimes even laws, together?"

Hermione's face was pink. "Er, well, I guess you have a point."

-ASM-

The next morning, Lupin showed up at 8 o'clock in Grimmauld Place for first their dueling and then occlumency training. He looked at Harry and then did a double-take. "Did you get contact lenses?"

"Yeah, but don't tell anybody. Last Saturday, I was recognized by someone I guess was a leftover Death Eater, and he attacked Hermione and me. I've been working on ways to disguise myself when I go out in public. This is part of it. I have clear glasses that I'll wear anyplace I want to be recognized, like Hogwarts, but don't see the point in wearing them here."

"I, er, heard from Sirius about the attack. It's a good thing you had those portkeys to escape. The ministry detected the killing curse in the area, but didn't find anything when they showed up."

"I should've fought him. I've thought about it. That murderer is still loose, thanks to me."

"No! You did the right thing! You're starting to train, and eventually you'll get good enough to fight Death Eaters, but right now you are not ready to fight them! You did the right thing!" insisted Lupin emphatically.

"Of course you did, Harry," agreed Hermione. "If you hadn't left, you'd have been killed! You said so yourself!"

Harry sighed. "I know. I just…I just don't like the idea of running away from a fight!"