Reality Bites Harry Potter

Shay's Day Out

The whole Dark Lord fiasco at the Quidditch game had left all of us frazzled. I'd almost forgotten with the calm summer I'd had so far how much things were still far from calm. This year would be literally the most dramatic we'd had so far and I was already dreading it. At least I had Angelina in my corner now, she was turning out to be a really cool person. She was really funny and super smart. Not to mention super pretty, it was no wonder I was jealous of her last year. But now that I was finally seeing things clearly I'm realizing she isn't a threat and never was. Which is why I was so excited to have a day out just the two of us before school started. Angelina was pure blood but she was familiar enough with Muggle culture that she was fine going to London and doing normal things. No magic involved, just us two. I got dressed, putting on my favorite lilac dress and sandals, before Angelina and her older brother showed up. "I'm only chaperoning, don't mind me" he says and I laugh. "I know it's embarrassing but I couldn't get here on my own. Alfred can drive" she admits. I nod, following her out of the burrow and to his car. We head to a shopping center and he drops us off so we can walk around. "Has your summer been ok?" I ask and she nods. "Kind of boring. I've only seen my family all summer and then the one time we go out the death eaters have to show up so dad's had us on lockdown. I barely got him to let us do this. I wasn't taking no for an answer though. You're a hard one to get ahold of so I'm not canceling plans with you" she says. I shrug. "I'm gonna work on that. I didn't mean to be so self centered" I admit and she shakes her head. "You're not selfish, you're just busy. Between helping Hagrid, running the Gingerpuffs, plus social life stuff and classes you're running yourself thin" she says softly. "I know... I think I'm going to let Astoria handle more of the Gingerpuffs this year" I say and Angelina smiles. "That sounds brilliant! Gives you more time to figure out what you want and enjoy school while you can" she says and I nod. "I don't think I even realized how busy my schedule has been. Like yes, I didn't have down time but I wasn't doing important things so it doesn't feel like I was busy" I point out. We wander around the shopping center for a bit, just enjoying the company. Once we got bored of shopping Alfred picks us up and we head to the park. "I figured if you wanted we could make your honorary Gingerpuff jacket today. It's a rare nice sunny day so it'll be nice to get some sunshine" I say and she smiles. "Sounds good, I love art projects" she says, looking through the art supplies I'd brought. We spread out in the park and I watch her paint, excited to see what she would create. Her jacket tuned out amazing and we played on the swings while we waited for it to dry. "Thank you for spending the day with me" I say and she shrugs. "I wanted to spend the day together, I really do like you" she says and I blush. "Well, thanks. I'm not sure what I did to earn you as a friend but I promise to do better in 4th year" I say and she shakes her head. "Don't be so hard on yourself" she says softly. The sun was starting to go down so we gather our things and head back to the car. Alfred was sitting in the car reading a book and we laughed when we accidentally scared him. He drove me back to the burrow and I head up to Ginny's room so I can tell her all about our day. I almost run into Fred and I freeze. "Sorry" I say and he shrugs it off. "Did you have fun?" he asks and I nod. "I told you she's a good friend to have" he says and I nod. "I'm sorry I've been so self centered" I say softly and he shrugs again. "You had a lot going on, that wasn't really your fault" he says softly. "Maybe we can start over as friends this school year?" I ask and he smiles. "I'd like that" he says, hugging me before heading the rest of the way down the stairs. I finish heading upstairs and talk to Ginny for a while before we head down and fight our way through dinner. I really did love the chaotic energy of the Weasley house. I hope one day when I have a family it can be as comfortable and laid back as they are. After dinner we all went outside for some late night quidditch and just enjoyed the last bits of summer that we could before school started again. I went to bed, sleeping in the next day because it was the last day of summer break. I made sure all of my things were packed up and just relaxed, enjoying some time in the garden and just relaxing. I knew this year was going to be different and I already wasn't looking forward to some of the changes but I knew for my own sanity I needed to back down a bit. I sigh, heading back inside and laying down to hopefully feel better in the morning. Mrs. Weasley woke us all up super early and I got dressed, ready to head to the train. Nothing would keep this year from being amazing for me. I was determined.