Harry Potter and the Gift of Memories [Harry Potter Fan Fiction]

Chapter XXX: A Cry for Help, Part I

I woke up feeling unusually comfortable, which was odd because judging by the feel underneath my back, I was clearly lying on a couch.

I opened my eyes to gaze upon a ceiling, white and bumpy. It possessed a number of familiar patterns that I recognized. This was the ceiling to Lisa's living room.

Last night I had spent the night at Lisa's house. I actually meant to head home but became so caught up watching movies with Lisa that I must have fallen asleep. Ah well, it's no skin off my bones. A night at the Crawft's sounded infinitely more pleasant than a night with my relatives.

Something shifted against my chest, and I suddenly became aware of the weight on top of me. I looked down and blinked several times upon being met with a mass of brown hair. Lisa was lying on top of me, holding me close like a life-sized plush toy. She was also drooling all over my shirt.

I twitched.

The flash of a camera went off, spots appearing before my vision. I blinked several times to rid myself of the white flares behind my eyes. I then focused on where the flash came from.

“Good morning, Harry,” a smiling Mrs. Crawft greeted me. “I hope you slept well.”

I blinked some more, thinking about her question. “You know, surprisingly, I did actually sleep pretty well.”

“Oh my,” Mrs. Crawft said, putting her hands to her cheeks, “really?”

She had an odd smile that I didn't like, but ignored as best I could.

“Um.” I nodded. “Really, though I don't really know why.” I guessed it was just because I wasn't sleeping at the Dursleys.

“Hmm.”

Mrs. Crawft hummed. I got the feeling she had her own theories, but didn't want to know what they were. For some reason, I was afraid of learning them.

“That's just lovely,” she said, before holding up her camera some more. “Now then, I think I'm going to take some more pictures of you two. Hope that's alright.”

I shrugged, or tried to shrug. It was hard when someone had you in a grip of titan-level strength. “I don't really mind. Not sure why you want to take pictures, though.”

Mrs. Crawft smiled as she held the camera to her face. “Don't worry, you will eventually.”

It would be half an hour later that Lisa woke up. I would then learn exactly why Mrs. Crawft had been so keen on taking pictures when my only friend began chasing her mum around the house, screaming in outrage and embarrassment.

On a side note, Mr. Crawft would be very displeased when he woke up and learned his daughter and I fell asleep together on the couch. Go figure.

XoX

“Is he alright?”

That was the very first question Hannah asked as she and Susan sat down next to Harry, Hermione, Neville, Lisa and Terry at the Gryffindor table. She was, of course, referring to none other than Neville Longbottom, who looked like he'd been shoved through a metaphorical meat grinder. The boy's head had fallen onto the table, large bags hung under his slightly bloodshot eyes and low, piteous moans escaped his mouth every few seconds. If weren't for the fact that he was sitting and not standing, the term 'dead on his feet' would be a most apt description of how terrible the boy appeared.

“He's fine.” Harry smiled as he patted Neville on the back, earning a small whimper for the action. “He just got through his first day of my exercise routine.”