Harry Potter and the Unexplained Phobia

Chapter one: A drop in the ocean

Fanart by atalienart

It had been a normal day up until then- strangely sunny for September and Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville were been sitting on the grass outside, enjoying their final day before the beginning of the new term. Harry had grown a little bit over the summer- puberty still seemed a long way away away, but he had definitely gotten a little bit taller, though he was definitely still the shortest in his year group. Especially compared to Ron- his summer robes were only just covering his knees, whereas his own still floated a few centimetres off the ground and were prone to tripping him up.

He was glad to be back with his friends. They were the bright spark in his otherwise gloomy world. 

Neville and Hermione were pouring over a thick book- Neville's grandmother had met Hermione at parents' evening and had taken to the girl. She hadn't been shy about trying to set the two of them up on a date, muttering something about finally having some brains in the family, so as a compromise, Hermione had agreed to help tutor Neville in the holidays. If it had been Ron, or even himself, Harry admitted, the practice would have likely gone to waste, but Neville proved to be a dutiful student and consequently, the pair had grown quite friendly. On the other hand, Ron, with the help of his family, had done everything in their power to forget everything they had learned over the last year, instead prioritising flying and playing card games, much to Percy's annoyance.

Harry was currently sat on Ron, although what the pair was up to, neither of them could really explain. All they knew was that it was clearly very funny, as the two were in fits of giggles.

"Pass me a Butterbeer?"

"What's the magic word?" replied Hermione.

"Accio?"

"Well... well yes, but that's not what I meant," she muttered, leaning over to hand Ron and Harry a bottle. Ron tapped them smartly against the tree and the lids flew off, earning a raised eyebrow from Hermione. 

"Impressive," Harry laughed, sliding off his friends' lap and clinking their bottles together in a salute. "I still don't understand how you make that look so easy."

"I grew up with Fred and George," he replied simply, as though that answered the question. Harry nodded and chugged his drink. His cheeks were a little rosy and the slight saltiness of the Butterbeer made him thirstier if anything. 

Neville had spotted Hannah and Luna in the distance and had run off to them, leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione, who put the book they had been reading back into her bag. Wanting to keep her brain active, she had been learning basic sign language throughout the holidays, though had never actually met a deaf or mute wixen. Still, it had been one more thing to put in her CV. Excitedly, she turned back to her friends and showed them all the notes she'd made over the break.

"It's fascinating really," she burbled, flipping through the pages, which were so covered in sticky notes that you could barely see the paper. "You should learn a bit, so we can communicate in secret. It could be useful for the order!"

"Or to talk in lessons!" Ron added.

"And that," she added, half-heartedly. The three of them lounged on the grass for the next few hours, flicking through Hermione's book. The boys could only seem to retain the swear words for some reason, which Hermione had added in shamefully small writing, quickly covered by a brightly coloured sticky note. 

They stayed out there a little longer, sipping Butterbeer and eating chocolate frogs until the sun dipped beneath the hills and the sky turned from blue, to orange, to pink then violet, before heading up for bed. It was good to be home.

(~~~)

The first instance that something was wrong was the next morning. Harry woke up the next morning plastered in sweat, woken as abruptly as though Voldemort himself had screamed in his ear. That was weird- he didn't remember having a nightmare, he hadn't burned his bed curtains with accidental magic, nor shattered all the windows like last time. However, he soon realised why he had awakened so abruptly.