Chapter 95: 95 The End Of The Trip

“H-Harry... that... was not...” Amelia tried her best to form what she wanted to express into words, especially how that was not an appropriate act for an eleven year old to do to a woman that was old enough to be his mother.

“Harry! That was HILARIOUS!” Susan yelled as she pulled him off balance and hugged him. “I never thought that you liked my mom that much!”

“She's a close friend.” Harry said and didn't try to pull away from the embrace, because he didn't mind getting hugged by her. “Just like you.”

“AWW!” Susan gushed and then she kissed his cheek. “When do I get my cauldron that you only share with friends?” She asked, since it was all over the school about what had happened in Harry's potions class. Everyone talked about it, despite her attempts to stop them.

“It's in my trunk.” Harry said. He hadn't had the chance to give it to her after he gave the others to his friends, then completely forgot about it.

“IEEEE!” Susan yelled and kissed his cheek several more times.

“Susan.” Amelia said a bit sternly.

“I know, I know.” Susan said. “Mom, he's giving me a solid gold cauldron because we're friends!”

Amelia sighed. “Harry, you shouldn't be doing things like that.” She said and looked at her niece. “Someone might get the wrong idea if you give them such an extravagant gift.”

“Professor Snape said that we don't have to use them.” Harry said and looked at Susan. “We have to use special formulas to figure out the changed brew times for potion recipes.”

“He gave them to you?” Amelia asked, surprised.

“He said that he wasn't going to give us special treatment and we have to do the extra work ourselves.”

Amelia had to nod in agreement. There was a reason that families chose to board their children at the school, rather than travelling from home all the time, even though that could have been easily arranged. It was to teach the children how to be more independent, to rely on themselves, and to develop friendships and long lasting work ethics.

Some people thought that eleven was a bit too young to do that, not realizing that the earlier you started, the less chance that they were already set in their ways. It was easier for the younger ones to take direction and to accept things as how they were supposed to be, rather than trying to adapt to new situations. It worked for most of them and they came out of the school fully prepared to assume roles in the workforce and with the proper mentality that they can live on their own if necessary.

“At least he's doing something right.” Amelia said with a smile and Harry grinned at her.

“I've had Exceeds Expectations on every potion so far.” Harry said, a bit proudly.

“I'm sure that has nothing to do with you going around and helping everyone prep their ingredients properly.” Amelia countered.

“I've only done it a few times while I waited for my potions to brew.” Harry said. “Lavender is the worst at it.”

Susan laughed. “She's a bit off at doing things like that, isn't she?” She asked. “That outfit you bought her was beautiful, though.”

“She picked it out.” Harry said. “I just paid for it.”

“I think you and I need to have a little talk, too.” Amelia said to him.

“What about?” Harry asked.

“The appropriateness of gifts, for one.” Amelia said and stood up to wave them out of the way, then she put the benches down to make the bed.

“She helped me, Hermione, and Neville with some of the things we were doing and I asked her what she wanted as a gift.” Harry climbed onto the left side of the bed. “What was wrong with that?”

Amelia took a deep breath and let it out. “We can talk about it tomorrow.” She said and she climbed onto the bed on the far right and Susan climbed into the middle.

The three of them settled down under the blanket and silence fell in the train compartment.

“I can't believe you got me a cauldron, too.” Susan whispered.

“I got it for you months ago.” Harry said. “I never had a chance to give it to you.”

“You forgot, didn't you?” Susan asked.

“No, I... yeah.” Harry admitted, because he didn't want to lie about it.

“I'm okay with that.” Susan said and then giggled.

“Okay.” Harry responded.

“Don't make me use Silencio.” Amelia warned them and they broke into fits of laughs and giggles.

Less than an hour later, Amelia was still awake and thinking over what she was going to say to Harry, when she felt the blanket over her lift up slightly. She was surprised when she looked over and Harry was slightly in the air as well. He was tucked up into a ball on his side and the blanket quickly formed into a nest around him and he settled back down onto the bed.

Amelia sat up, careful to not disturb her niece, and stared at the boy. It wasn't the first time she had seen accidental magic before; but, it was the first time she had seen it try to protect someone and not lash out instead. Her eyes caught the sight of her niece shivering slightly, then Susan slid over while still half asleep and hugged Harry. She pressed her face to his and let out a soft sigh.

Amelia grabbed the extra blanket and draped it over herself and her niece, then laid back down. She wasn't sure who she could talk to about this, since it was such an odd thing to happen. Most bouts of accidental magic were accompanied by intense emotional outbursts, not by a subconscious mind that was looking for comfort.

He's looking for comfort! Amelia thought and stopped her gasp before it escaped. Even now, after months of being away from home, he's still looking for comfort.

Her mind quickly reformed her words about the talk she wanted to have with him about gifts, girls, and how dangerous it was to do things without knowing the problems it could cause. He was overcompensating for anyone that shows even a bit of affection for him and she needed to caution him about people that might trick him because of that.

With her mind set on a course of action, Amelia closed her eyes and let sleep overtake her. Morning came all too soon and the train pulled out of the station. Susan started to rouse and Amelia spoke.

“We're sleeping in.” Amelia whispered. The train's motion had woken her, too.

Susan didn't say anything and only nodded. She put her head back down and pressed her cheek to Harry's. Harry hadn't even opened his eyes.

The three of them stayed in bed for several more hours, much longer than they should have, and they didn't get up until an hour before noon. They were in no rush to get dressed, since Amelia's work had finished at the stop before the fireworks and New Year celebration. The next two days were going to be an actual nice and relaxing tourist trip for the three of them.

Amelia asked Susan to go and get lunch for them and to take her time. Her niece took the hint and left the compartment to give her and Harry some privacy. She moved over to the left bench seat and sat next to him and put her arm around him.

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“Harry, please don't think that I'm angry about what happened last night.” Amelia said. “It wasn't fair of Susan to kiss you like that without warning...”

“Like I kissed you?” Harry asked.

Amelia sighed. “Harry, you are much too young to be kissing anyone, let alone an old woman like me.”

“You're not old.” Harry said adamantly. “Neville's Gran and Professor McGonagall are old.”

Amelia had to agree to that. “All right, someone as old as me.” She clarified. “In fact, I had a talk with Susan when you were with your godfather about things like this.”

Harry's eyes widened. “Susan wants to kiss someone as old as you?”

Amelia laughed. “No, don't misunderstand. I meant about kissing in general, and about boys, and about how she needs to be careful.” She said. “Unlike you, other boys might take her affection the wrong way and think it means a lot more than what she wants it to mean.”

“I don't understand.” Harry said.

“I'm going to do my best to explain.” Amelia said. “Did you know that Susan hugs you at night?”

Harry's face went a little red and he nodded.

“You don't have to be embarrassed, Harry. She cares a lot about you. When she saw you huddled up in the blanket, she wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Harry's mouth formed a smile at that last word.

“Just ignore me saying that word.” Amelia smiled back. “You've huddled up every night and she's held you every night. That's all it was, though. She wasn't trying to do anything bad. She was only making sure you knew she accepted you for who you are.”

Harry nodded.

“Now, if she somehow snuck into the boys part of the Hufflepuff dorms and climbed into one of their beds and tried the same thing with a boy, that would be very, very bad.”

“Why?”

“Because of her reasons. She would be intentionally breaking school rules and also getting close to a boy, that she would want to kiss and hold, and not in a friendly manner.” Amelia said. “You see, sometimes a hug can mean a lot more than a hug...”

“I know.” Harry said and she widened her eyes a little. “When Ela hugged me at Christmas, I could tell that she didn't mean it as much as you do when you hug me.”

Amelia was quiet for a moment. “You could tell a difference?”

Harry nodded. “It's your face. I can see that you're happy when you hug me and Ela just had a smile.”

Amelia wasn't sure what to say about it, then she nodded. “I think it's because she hasn't gotten to know you as well as I do. After a while, she should start caring as much about you as I do, then she should have the same look or something similar to mine.”

“So, the longer someone knows you, the more they care about you?” Harry asked and Amelia nodded.

“I warned Susan about taking your friendship too far and I want to tell you the same thing. You can't be going around and kissing each other like that. You are too young to have those kinds of problems.”

“What problems?”

“Girlfriends, arguments, hurt feelings, and people talking about you behind your back and teasing you about it.” Amelia said. She saw Harry's smile disappear and she realized her mistake in her choice of words. “Harry...”

“I understand.” Harry said, his voice firm.

Amelia sighed. “You do; but, not the whole thing.” She said and hugged him a bit tighter. “I need to tell you the differences between friends, girls that are friends and girls that are friendly, and girlfriends.”

After half an hour, Harry's interpersonal education had taken leaps and bounds.

“I have lunch.” Susan said and opened the compartment. She carried in three covered trays and placed them on the other bench seat.

“Thank you for waiting to come in.” Amelia said.

Susan nodded as she handed a tray to her aunt and then gave one to Harry. “I hope you don't hate me now.” She said to him.

“I can't hate my friend.” Harry said and put the tray aside and stood up. He gave Amelia a glance and she nodded. He nodded back and then he took Susan into a hug. “Thanks for caring about me.”

Susan hugged him back. “It's what friends do.”

Harry let her go and his face went a little red as he spoke. “I like you, Susan... but...”

“You don't like me, like me.” Susan said and he nodded. “Was it because I took your first kiss?”

“Susan.” Amelia said sternly.

“I know, Mom.” Susan said and took Harry's hand. “Just so you know, that was my first kiss, too.”

“It... it was?” Harry asked, a bit surprised. “I thought... well...”

“I don't go around kissing everyone I like, okay?” Susan said with a giggle.

“Don't start that again.” Amelia said.

“Okay.” Harry and Susan said as one. Amelia groaned and they couldn't help it and laughed. Annoying her with the 'okay' game had been too much fun for them to stop.

The day passed as did the next. They did the tour of the last two places the train stopped and they had a great time. All in all, it was a great two weeks and Harry would remember it vividly for years.

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