AN - Hi again. I'm finally continuing this fic again. This has been a long time coming, and for that I apologize. Anyway some comments would be appreciated.
Numb 3
Consciousness came slowly to Harry, and he really wasn't sure what was going on, nor did he care. He did know that he had a headache and that he felt rather stiff, but he actually felt better that he ever had that entire summer. His sleep had actually been restful. That was probably a first, Harry thought as he kept his eyes closed. He was warm and comfortable laying on his bed. Warmth spread all over him. The stroking of the hair was really nice too… .. hold on!
Harry's eyes snapped open as his mind started to register other information. A smell that was not his own was nearby, something fruity. He was laying on something that seemed too soft to be his bed. Someone's arm was around his chest while their other hand was playing with his hair. Groggily Harry sat up, not feeling any resistance to his movement. Once up Harry was able to turn around to see "Hermione?"
"Hi Harry."
Slowly he was fighting off the sleep. "Hermione, what…"
"Could you possibly hold on to that thought," she asked as she disentangled herself from him. The look of distress on her face was easy to see. "There's something I have to do first." And with that she got up, almost sprinted to his door, opened it, and went down the hall, where he heard another door close shut.
Dudley's head slowly turned around the corner of the door, looking into Harry's room, a look of confusion on his portly face, then turned to look in the direction that he had seen that girl go. Now there was a face he had been happier NOT seeing much of this summer. His cousin's diet had not been going well and it looked like he weighed at least another 20 pounds since last year. Harry personally thought Dudley was in a contest with Uncle Vernon as to who could weigh more, Dudley's version of teenage rebellion, since his parents didn't notice his more delinquent acts anyway.
Harry realized that he wouldn't be able to get off without Dudley opening his big gob and saying the exact thing Harry didn't want to hear. Unless… Pulling out his wand, Harry started tapping it in the palm of his free hand slowly, almost threateningly, one would say. Not that Harry would stoop so low as to threaten Dudley. Heavens, no!
Opening his mouth to comment, still looking in the direction that Hermione went, Dudley was cut off by Harry saying quietly: "Say. Nothing." Harry scowled at Dudley, who looked back in the direction of his cousin and scowled back, until he saw the wand in Harry's hand. Apparently Dudley decided he had gotten all the enjoyment he could out of this and went his own way down the stairs. Probably going out to torment some primary school kid, Harry thought to himself.
Harry decided to just sit there and wait for Hermione to come back. That is until he saw all the feathers laying about. `Oh yeah,' he thought, picking one up between thumb and forefinger, `I forgot about these.' Of course there was the mystery about where they all came from. Harry's brain, still sluggish from sleep, started up trying to figure out where the feathers all came from, and recalled…
"Harry, are you feel…"
"WAH!" Harry stumbled, or more accurately fell off his bed, pointing his wand at the noise, directly… at Hermione's nose. She was now staring cross-eyed at the object that was even now shaking a bit. Harry took a deep breath and lowered his wand, trying to calm down from being startled by Hermione's entrance back into his room. After taking a couple of more breaths to steady himself and clutching at his chest to make sure that his heart hadn't leapt out of his ribcage, he looked up to see the slightly startled look on Hermione's face. `At least she could look like I'm not about to turn into a raving lunatic in front of her.'
"Hermione, what are you doing here?" Harry asked getting himself back under control, trying to make it seem like nothing had happened.
At this point Hermione seemed to change from looking startled to looking embarrassed, or uncomfortable, to Harry's eye. "Well, that is a rather long story actually. This may not be the best time…" She obviously didn't want to talk about it.
Harry interrupted at this point. "Why, do you have to leave?"
"No, but…" she quieted then, and by her expression was not sure where to take the conversation. Her obvious reluctance made Harry very curious. Whenever Hermione didn't want to talk about something, it was usually very interesting. In Harry's experience it was usually when she was doing something she wasn't supposed to. An inward smile grew.
"Well, then I want to hear a story, a long one since that's the way you put it. We are in my room and I want to hear the `What-Hermione-is-doing-in Harry's-room' story." Harry had said this in a rather teasing tone, which surprised himself more than Hermione, he was sure. But for some reason, Harry's whimsy had taken over since he had woken up and was leading him where it will. He waved her to the bed to sit down as he closed his door and then he sat in his desk chair.
Hermione smirked at the turn of phrase Harry had used while she sat down. "Wouldn't that be quite the scandalous heading for the Daily Prophet?" Laughter was clear in her voice.
But Harry wouldn't be that easily deterred. "You're stalling. Come on. Tell."
Defeated she sighed and began, "… All right then. Well, I suppose it started about a week after I arrived home for the holidays. Whenever I get home from Hogwarts, I start on my homework, you know, get it out of the way so I am able to have the rest of the time to myself to do whatever I want, or look up anything that interests me. Sometimes I get great ideas by just elaborating on the homework projects…"
Getting impatient, Harry interrupted again, folding his arms, "You're still stalling."
"No I'm not," she huffed. "I told you it was a long story. If you don't like the way that I'm telling it, then I suggest that you tell it yourself."
"Huh? I don't even know the story, how could I tell it? That doesn't make sense!"
"Then I think you should just calm down and let me tell it . Don't you?" she said with that smirk on her face she always wore when she knew the right answer.
Harry realized that he really couldn't argue that point, pouted slightly, and slouched back in his chair.
"Thank you. Well, this year we didn't have any homework because of the OWLs' and so I had rather a lot of time on my hands. Also, because of the Ministry of Magic now admitting to Vol-Voldemorts return, special dispensation was given to students to practice magic outside of school…"
"WHAT?!?"
"Oh, sit back down, Harry. You would know about that if you had ever bothered to read, or even open any of your mail. If I may continue," she said with a raised eyebrow. Harry suddenly realized he was standing above Hermione, looking down at her.
Sitting back down, Harry waved a hand at her to continue, looking slightly sheepish. Hermione continued, looking miffed, "Now, there had been a lot of restrictions placed on the use of magic by a student, one of the main ones being the consent and supervision of a fully trained and qualified wizard or witch. Now this certainly led to problems for me, because my parents are neither fully trained nor qualified in the uses, applications, and safety precautions of magic. So I decided to write to Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall to see if there was any way that I would be able to practice, perhaps in the presence of a tutor. My parents also sent their own letters to the professors along the same lines." Hermione frowned slightly at this point, a worried look in her eyes. "Last year really scared them, Harry. I think if I hadn't found someone who was willing to become my tutor, my parents would have decided to move to somewhere they would have considered safe. I heard them talking about it one night. They thought that I had gone to sleep, and truthfully I had been, but had to get up to… well it's not important why I was up, just that I was. This was just last week and they were talking about what their options were, about whether or not I might be safe if they withdrew me from Hogwarts, and moving far away from all the troubles that seem to be developing here. They were suggesting places like New Zealand, or somewhere in America. Now understand that my parents are never impulsive. They are people that make up a list to go shopping for groceries and never deviate from the list, or at least I've never seen them do so. So the fact that they were doing this on the spur of the moment really surprised me. Actually now that I think about it, it really is rather out of character… hmmm." Her brow furrowed at this, as it usually did whenever she discovered a problem that needed unraveling.
After a few seconds though Hermione's face cleared from that thought. "Anyway, they eventually figured that I wouldn't go along with any plan of theirs to take me away from… well, everything! The next day we had a bit of a chat, they had decided to see what I would like to do. So I told them in no uncertain terms that my life is here, that I was needed here. Now how did we get off on that topic? We were supposed to be talking about how I ended up here, weren't we? Anyways… what are you smiling at?"
Harry tried to stop the light smirk that had formed on his face. "Nothing, absolutely nothing." Nope, it was still there. Damn, she isn't going to like this… Uh, oh. Harry looked at Hermione's face, she was wearing what he and Ron had dubbed her `McGonnagal Glare'
"Fine then, Harry. Fair is fair. I won't tell you anymore until you tell me what that look was for!" And with that she sat sideways on the bed and started staring out the window.
Uh oh! Harry thought to himself. Now I've done it. She's right brassed off for some reason. What did I do this time?!?
Trying to think up a response to Hermione's apparent ire, Harry opened his mouth to say something, he didn't know what, but was then interrupted by Hermione as she sat up straighter, still staring at the window, a slightly apprehensive look on her face. "Harry."
"Er, yeah, Hermione?"
"There is an owl sitting on your windowsill."
Harry turned quickly to the window, seeing a rather angry looking, brown barn owl staring straight at him. As soon as he thought it, a new line of thinking began running through his brain.
The Ministry.
Oh look. There's that numb feeling again.
-->