Extended Family

Chapter 22: Bacon Bacchanalia

Takes place after Harry and Katie got married but before Dahlia was born.

Harry sighed softly, trying to get comfortable.  He was currently at home on sick leave, recovering from an injury.  A rather nasty collision involving a Bludger, the opposing Chaser and Seeker, and some strong winds had made him walk away with many broken bones.  Luckily he was able to walk away.  The other two had to be taken off the field and would have a long time of recovery.

He did not feel bad though, for them anyways.  Considering they conspired to injure Harry first they got what they deserved in his, and many other peoples', opinion.  Still, the end result as that he was off the team for some time dealing with lots of bone repair, vanishing, and skelegrow.

Katie was out of the country for a bit on a conference and could not come back swiftly.  He also did not tell her the true extent of his injuries so that she would not worry.  Andromeda and Samantha were at the same conference and all of Harry's other friends were incredibly busy and off doing what they needed to do.

He found himself feeling a little bored and lonely.  It was still a novel experience for him, the concept of being lonely.  He had been alone for so long, until Hogwarts, and while he never took his friendships for granted, it still surprised him how truly lonely he could feel.  Even at his busiest between his mastery work and Quidditch, he usually found himself spending time with someone outside of the Bells and Blacks and Tonks a few times a week.

McGonagall had banned him from mastery work while he was healing, something she and Pomfrey had insisted.  They also claimed they would know if he ignored them and while he was reasonably sure they could not, he was not sure enough to chance it.  While he was no longer a student, he still had a long-cultivated fear of their authority and tempers, especially now that they did not need to hold back with him.

So Harry sat at home, feeling a little bored and a little lonely.  He eventually fell asleep.  After some time, he slowly woke, feeling a pressure on the one part of his abdomen that did not hurt.  He blinked slowly, greeted by large amber eyes.  "Hey girl," he said sleepily.

Hedwig fluffed up, barking at him severely.

"I know," he groaned.  "It was stupid and I'm paying the price."

She glared at him.

"I'm healing," he protested.

She sighed a very human-sounding sigh of exasperation.

He grinned and scratched her chest.  "Thank you," he said.  "You know, it's been a while since it was just you and me."

She cheeped and her eyes half-closed, enjoying the scratching.  Her eyes opened and she peered down, staring at his rumbling stomach.

"Guess I'm a little hungry.  How about you?"  He chuckled as she licked her beak.  "I think a couple bacon sandwiches apiece sounds nice, doesn't it?"  He looked thoughtful at her bobbing head.  "You know what, I just had an idea."

She fluttered into the air when he rose.  She hooted disapproval when he slipped a jacket on, landing on his head and yanking on his hair.

"Ow hey!  This will be fun for both of us.  I promise.  I'm just popping down to the market, the magical one so you can come too.  I just realized the majority of the bacon we had at Hogwarts and here are usually rashers or occasionally streaky.  Were you aware that there are other kinds?"