A Midsummer Hunt

A Midsummer Gift

Harry Potter

They had pulled over about a block away from Kings Cross, the drive was spent in a tense silence between the three of them. Neither Atalanta nor Harry had asked questions about how the last two weeks had been, Harry had spent his time just looking out the window watching the world fly by with his own mind going a mile a minute about everything that had happened as he left behind Privet Drive for the last time, hopefully. Seeing Atalanta again, his Aunts goodbye, and his almost fight with Zoë. It was the last one that had bothered him the most, the hunt was a family, but meeting Artemis second in command didn't really make that impression on Harry, it was like she had hated him on sight. Every time Harry would glance over he would see her golden eyes glaring at him in the rare view mirror, he could practically taste her hatred, like biting into a rotten apple.

When they did stop Zoë didn't say a single word to either of them, just pulling out a roll of pounds before stuffing them into the cup holder and storming off toward the pay phones as Atalanta and he pulled his things from the boot before finding a trolley and waiting at the entrance to Kings Cross. Before long Zoë shows up and the trio, without speaking, make their way over to the entrance of Platform nine and three-quarters, and Harry pushes through. The platform was as busy as always, but not with the wizard and witches learning at Hogwarts, but with hunters. Everywhere Harry looked he saw girls wearing silver jackets, carrying trunks, packs, quivers, and survival gear of all kinds, all being loaded up on the Hogwarts express. Some were chatting with one another, some were chasing each other laughing all the while, they all looked…happy.

Harry had stopped, and smiled at it all; they all seemed so happy and free, that was until he was shoved aside by Zoë.

"Move, boy," she growls out as she shoves him aside, and Harry flinches at the echo of his Uncle's voice, Zoë pays no mind before storming into the crowd of hunters.

"What a bitch," Harry says under his breath, and Atalanta chuckles.

"Yeah, just about sums Zoë up, don't let her get to you, and don't try to start anything with her Harry," The Lioness tells Harry, "The reason she gets to have an attitude like that is because she has the skills to back it up," she sighs before turning to face Harry, she puts her hand on his shoulder drawing his full attention, "Listen, Harry, there is something important you need to understand before we go wading into the crowd," She tells him before Harry raises an eyebrow in question, "The hunters aren't used to…males being around a whole lot, the only guy that some have contact with is the rare exception to the rule, so most aren't going to give you the…warmest welcome," Atalanta says, picking her words carefully.

A worried look crosses Harry's face before asking, "Like Zoë?"

"No," Atalanta tells him firmly, "Not like her, Zoë has a good reason to be the complete bitch she is, and her isolating herself with the hunt for so long has not helped with those problems, but most girls here joined the hunt after the flame of the west started to move around, where the hunt was one large gathering, not the smaller ones from when I'm from so they have had very, very little contact with males and some girls came from, well, …" Atalanta bites her lip, thinking of what to say before sighing, "Some girls came from homes like the Dursleys, they had lives like yours, in some ways better and in some ways much worse, okay?" Atalanta says softly, looking Harry in the eyes.

Harry doesn't know what to say to that, he knows his home life isn'-wasn't normal, but it wasn't the worst either, Harry was constantly reminded how good he had it with the Dursleys by his Aunt and Uncle, how there were kids worst off than him, so he just nods at Atalanta's words and shuffles his feet side to side, fidgeting where he stood, he hates standing still.