𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐃𝐎𝐌

Chapter 3

Lunch with Dumbledore and Professor Snape wasn't as bad as Harry had thought it could have been. There was always an air of formality required of a student where Snape was concerned, so Harry decided to make it easy on himself by only speaking when spoken to and being polite as necessary. After a great meal, all three rose to leave when Dumbledore regarded Harry and said, "You may owl your friends if you wish, but there will be no time for visits during the summer. However, you may stay with the Weasleys for the last two weeks of summer before term begins if you desire. Now, I will leave you to have the rest of the day to yourself."

As Harry made his way to the hall he heard Dumbledore speaking, "Severus, a moment of your time, please."

Not wanting to listen, Harry walked down the corridor making his way toward the Gryffindor common room. Even though Harry had been down these halls for years now, it was odd knowing that there were only three people in the entire castle. There were no bustling students, classroom chatter, crowding in the hall...nothing. Only the sound of Harry's footsteps echoing down the hall could be heard. Harry smiled at this knowledge and began to run and shouting gleefully. The castle was all his.

As he came to the Fat Lady's portrait, he remembered he didn't know the password. When he took the last step up to her, she smiled. "Mr. Potter it will be lovely to have you during the summer. It can be quite lonely during the summer months. I will let you choose your own password until the beginning of term."

Happy at this news, Harry thought for a few minutes at what his password would be. It would have to be something that nobody could figure out. But why? There was no one here to figure it out really. So he said the most logical choice of password, "I think I'd like for my password to be my name. Is that okay?"

The Fat Lady just shook her head and said, "Very original, Potter. Nevertheless, since there is no one here but you anyway, I guess that will be fine. Password then, please."

Harry squared his shoulders, gave a great smile and said his own name, "Harry Potter."

Except for the lack of fire in the fireplace, the common room looked the same as it always did. The windows were all half open and a breeze was flowing thru the room. ‘The house elves had done a great job with cleaning the place’, he thought. Harry stretched his arms out on each side of him, spun around, and around with his eyes closed. 'All this to myself. This is going to be great!' He strode up the stairs to the boys dormitory and went straight to his room. It was always warm and inviting, but without his other dorm mates and none of their personal belongings there, it felt odd. Harry took the small luggage out of his pocket. With a swish of his wand, his trunk and all it contained, his Firebolt and Hedwig's cage were restored to full size. Harry spent an hour or so unpacking and settling in a bit. Then he decided this was a great day for flying and in 15 minutes time he had mounted his Firebolt on headed to the Quidditch pitch. With the wind sweeping thru his hair, it felt marvelous. Of all the things in the world, there was nothing better than the ability to fly. Not one thing compared to the freedom Harry felt on a broom when soaring thru the sky. Nothing could touch him when he was on his Firebolt. All the cares in the world were shed like an old cloak and left on the ground. Up here in the clouds was Harry's domain and he loved every minute of it. After two hours of practicing maneuvers, and playing an imaginary game of Quidditch, Harry was all sweaty and decided to make his way back to the castle. With his broom perched over his shoulder, Harry walked along the path. When a cool breeze blew on his back, he decided to sit for a moment on the beautiful manicured lawn. He looked over the beautiful green grounds. This was home. He gazed at the clouds and felt a tickle on his fingers. A little green snake not more than 6 inches long was scurrying over his hand to some unknown destination.

With his best manners and his parseltongue ability, he kindly spoke to the little creature "Hello, my name is Harry. Where are you going?"

Obviously startled to have something speaking to it, the little creature looked around and up to Harry. With a few swishes of its tongue, the little snake began to speak. "Hello, Harry. My name is Sasha. I am hunting crickets. How is it that you speak to me? None of your kind has spoken to me before."