Later that same day, after dinner.
In the underground training room at 12 Grimmauld Place.
"Flipendo!" A dazzling flash of red light streaked past...
Thud! "Ow..." The slender figure's feet left the floor under the force of the spell, and he flew backward before landing on his backside.
"Harry, oh..." Ron cried out. "Are you all right?"
On the other side, Ginny and Hermione gave Harry puzzled looks. When Harry faced Ron, Ron's spells almost never hit him. What was going on today?
"I'm fine." Harry took Ron's arm and pulled himself up, rubbing the spot where his backside had struck the floor.
"I got distracted."
"You've seemed a bit off ever since we got back from Diagon Alley. What happened?" Ron asked in confusion.
Squatting nearby in utter boredom and pretending to be a sweet, well-behaved pet, Su Er twitched his ears and raised his head slightly.
Harry did not hide anything. Sirius was out today anyway, and it was just the few of them, so there was no reason not to tell them.
He limped over to the reading corner Kreacher had set up for everyone to review and address their shortcomings after duels, found a chair, and sat down with a grimace before speaking.
"We ran into Malfoy in Diagon Alley today, didn't we?" he said. "At Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions."
"Oh, why bring up that pain in the neck?" Ron waved a hand. "All he can do is rely on his dad. I don't get it. His dad's already in Azkaban. What's he still got to be so smug about?"
"Hey, remember when we'd just started school-"
"I'll have my father get you expelled... Hmph, hmph, hmph." Ron sneered, imitating the way Malfoy had acted back then.
Harry could not help laughing. Ron's crooked