Through The Fire

A House Elf's Warning

There was nothing better than relaxing in the warm sunshine. It was perfect for long, languid stretches and afternoon cat-naps.

"It's hard to believe that you'd turn out to be such a lazy kitten," a male voice said, sounding amused.

One green eye slid open to find Remus crouched in the grass and smiling. "Care to join me for lunch Orion?" Remus asked, reaching out to stroke black fur. Orion rolled onto his back, exposing his belly and stretching his little toes. His mouth opened wide on a yawn to reveal sharp, pointed teeth. A moment later, Harry was human again. He gave another stretch, enjoying the pull of muscles before he relaxed again. "It's so nice out here," he said, finally sitting up. He loved coming outside to enjoy the warm sunlight. It was especially pleasant in his feline form.

"How about a picnic then?" Remus suggested. When Harry eagerly nodded, Remus levitated their food outside while Harry spread out a blanket to sit on.

They had sandwiches, crisps and lemonade that was delightfully cool. Harry ate slowly, his eyes unfocused as they rested on a flower bed. "You seem a little down," Remus said carefully. "I thought you'd be a little happier to spend the summer with me."

Harry instantly felt guilty. "I love spending time with you," Harry assured him. "It's not you. It's just- I haven't gotten any letters from my friends. Not one," he added sadly. "I see Ron sometimes... I knew he wasn't going to bother writing. But, I really thought that Draco would write to me. Blaise and Hermione too."

Remus frowned. That was surprising and rather strange. Between stories from Minerva and Harry himself, Remus was under the impression that Harry was very close with his friends. Draco in particular had always been attached to Harry.

"Maybe they don't want to be friends anymore," Harry said softly, finally voicing the fear that had been plaguing him for the last few weeks.

"I'm sure that's not true," Remus said firmly. While Remus knew little of the other children, he would be very shocked indeed if Draco suddenly wished to end their friendship. "There's a reasonable explanation. Give your friends a little more credit than that."

Harry felt bad for doubting his friends, but his feelings were hurt. He'd written to each of them and not received a single response. What could he have done wrong?

Harry thought that he and Draco had grown to be a little too old for the park they had been going to since they'd first met. He had Remus had gone there, just in case, but Draco had never shown up. It was fine, of course. Harry had little interest in the playground equipment. But, not hearing from Draco at all was hard on him. He wasn't quite as close to Blaise or Hermione, but he'd been certain that they'd write to him.

"Try not to worry," Remus said, pulling Harry into a hug. He hated seeing Harry look so sad. It warmed his heart when Harry hugged back tightly. "We're going to see the Weasleys later. That'll cheer you up."

It did cheer Harry up. The Weasley children didn't seem to mind at all that Harry was in Slytherin. He was treated like one of them, and Harry loved it.

Ginny was going to be starting her first year at Hogwarts. She acted a little oddly around Harry these days; blushing if he looked in her direction, never making eye contact and hardly ever speaking when he was around. Her older brothers thought it was hilarious.

"She's been talking about you all summer," Ron complained. "It's really annoying. You'd think she'd jump at the chance to speak directly you."

Fred and George exchanged a knowing smirk but didn't comment.

Remus sat with Molly while Harry went outside to play Quidditch with Ron and the twins. Harry graciously allowed each of them to have a turn on his Nimbus Two Thousand.