Title - Getting Away 15/24
Author - Lena
Pairing - Harry/Ron, Harry/various OC's (slash and het), Ron/OC (slash)
Rating - this chapter - NC-17
Feedback - [email protected]
For warnings, disclaimers, etc. please see chapter 0/24 - msg#11257
Chapter Fifteen - Wednesday
Harry got up the next morning with his stomach in knots. He had to go to court today. He lay in bed for a while, not wanting to get up. He had to be in court by 10:30, so he knew he really didn't have all that much time to avoid everything.
Harry slowly got up and went into the bathroom. He turned on the hot water and watched it steam up the mirrors. He peeled off his boxers, laid his glasses on the counter and stepped in the shower. He felt so stressed.
So many things had happened on this trip. The day before had been nice, and he’d had good moments on this trip but for the most part it had been very trying. His mind went through a little checklist of things.
He had been arrested. He had gotten drunk and stupid. He’d been just plain stupid. He was confused and didn’t understand the way his brain had been thinking lately. Then Ron's feelings had finally been spoken and now their friendship, which Harry knew had been changing, was irrevocably different.
Harry leaned his body against the wall and let the water fall over him. His face was pressed up against the tile. His eyes were closed and he moved a hand over his body. He wanted so badly to relax and he knew of only one way to do it. He reached down and grasped himself. He continued to lean towards the side of the shower. He kept his eyes closed while he stroked and panted.
It didn't take long for him to shudder and feel utterly overheated under the water that was now turning lukewarm. His knees felt weak and he had to pull away from the heated stroking to catch himself from falling. He put his head totally under the water and burst into tears. Harry had not cried like that for a long time, but he was alone, so he didn’t care. He cried like a little kid, loud and long, until the water turned cold.
He sniffled for just a little longer, because the water was really cold. He quickly shampooed his hair and soaped down his body. The water was freezing now. He rinsed himself and turned off the water. He grabbed a towel and dried himself slowly. He grabbed his glasses and placed them on his face.
The mirrors weren’t fogged over anymore and he looked at himself. He saw a boy with brilliant green eyes and very dark hair. He saw a boy with red-rimmed eyes and left over tears on his cheeks. He saw a boy with a slim figure, defined but small muscles on his arms, and slight forms of muscles on his chest. But he knew he wasn’t looking at a boy, he was a man now, grown up, and he knew he needed to act like it.
He knew he needed to have a mature friendship with Ron, not the arguing, bickering, and attitude of childhood. He made up his mind at that moment that he would let Ron do what he needed. When it came to affairs of the heart he knew for some reason he had a double standard for Ron. It was okay for Harry to go out and do what he wanted, but he somehow passed judgment on Ron all the time. He thought for a moment, but he couldn't understand why he had always done that.
He also decided that as soon as he got home, he would move out of the Burrow. Not because he didn’t love the Weasleys, he knew they would always be his family, but because he needed find his own life, his own self, just like Ron had done when he came out and was doing now, by finding his own life and loves. Harry was making hard decisions, but he knew there was more than lurking there and he wasn't quite ready to face it.
Harry really wanted to just go back to bed, but he got dressed in slacks and a nicer shirt, because he didn’t think the court would like him there in jeans. He went downstairs, hailed a taxi and headed to court. He tried not to think of what might happen, while he was sitting in the backseat of the car. He was still nervous, but his stomach had stopped hurting.
When they arrived, he got out of the back of the taxi, paid the driver and walked through the large glass doors. He had to go through a security system similar to the airport and pulled his passport, money, paperwork, and hotel key out of his pocket and into a small bin. He walked through the security with no problems and the officer handed him back his things.
He showed the lady at an information desk his paperwork and she directed him to a courtroom upstairs. He took the elevator and walked down a hallway to the room. An officer stood in front of the door and Harry showed him the papers and the officer let him in the room, and told him to have a seat until his name was called.
Harry walked in the door and saw a large desk at the front of the room. He also saw a woman behind a large machine that sort of looked like a typewriter. There was another officer standing at attention near the large desk. He noticed on the wall, the clock said he was ten minutes early. Harry had a seat somewhere in the middle of the rows of chairs facing the front of the room.
Harry sat there for about fifteen minutes when a phone rang and the officer up at the front of the room answered it. He placed the receiver down and walked to the side of the large desk. He called out, "All rise! The honorable Judge Miller presiding!"
The other people in the rose out of their seats, so Harry did as well. A man in a black robe walked out of a door behind the desk and quickly sat down in an enormous chair. He said quietly, "Be seated." Everyone sat down. Harry thought all of this was rather opposing and his stomach started to hurt a little again.
Harry watched as the judge ruffled through his paperwork and then look up at the few people sitting in various places in the room. The judge said, "Okay, well, who is first on the docket?"
The officer walked over to him and handed him a file. The judge looked at it and said, "Okay."
The officer called out, "Harry Potter!" Harry's heart jumped and quickly leaped up, even though he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. He walked from his row and stopped at a little swinging half door that separated him and the rest of the room.
The judge said, "Come up to the bench!"
Harry walked through the half door and walked carefully up to the judge's desk. He only guessed that was what the judge meant, because he saw nothing else that looked like a bench. He figured he must have guessed correctly because nobody said anything. The judge looked at his file and said, "You are from out of the country?"
Harry stammered, "Yes...from...from...England, sir. I'm on vacation."
The judge said, "And you do know that soliciting for sex is a crime, correct?"
Harry said, "Yes, but...I didn't mean to! I just...well...she was cute...and I...I..." Harry couldn't finish and knew he sounded stupid.
The officer snorted a muffled laugh and the judge glared at him. The judge looked at Harry and said, "Well, stop worrying. The police department had decided to drop charges if you just pay a fine. Is that okay with you?"
Harry was so relieved. He said, "Oh, yes, sir! How much is the fine?"
The judge looked at his paperwork again and said, "You paid cash for your bail? How about if we just leave it at that?"
Harry finally smiled and said, "Oh, yes, thank you!"
The judge looked at him sternly and said, "Have you learn your lesson about not following girls where ever they take you and that you should think with your brain?"
The officer stifled another laugh and Harry said sheepishly, "Yes, judge."
The judge said, "Okay, you are free to leave. The officer will just have you sign some paperwork. I hope the rest of your vacation goes well."
Harry said, "Thank you, sir."
The judge handed the officer Harry's file and muttered, "Kowalski is getting a bit overzealous." The officer grinned and led Harry to a table.
Harry felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He left the room and felt like skipping down the hallway, but decided he better not. He walked away from the court building and back outside to the sideway and the beautiful sunny day.
It had not taken nearly has long as he had thought, so Harry had the rest of the day to himself. He decided first to head back to the hotel and change into some more comfortable clothing.