**I own nothing. No profit is being made. For entertainment purposes only.
"Happy Birthday!" Hermione exclaimed as she jerked the covers off Harry. She had let him sleep late while she took a shower and got dressed. Then she had ordered room service and now that their breakfast had arrived, it was time to wake him up and lavish him with affection.
Harry barely opened his eyes and absently reached for the covers to pull them back.
"No sir!" Hermione laughed, jerking them away again. "It's your birthday and it's time to get out of bed and celebrate."
Harry gave a big yawn and said, "It's my birthday?" He smiled because she had remembered. It was not that he expected her to forget, but somehow he was still not used to anyone caring enough about his birthday to remember it. Having no happy birthday memories prior to his eleventh had taught him the day was not important to anyone but him. He figured the only reason the Dursleys even remembered it was that each year marked another milestone until the day they could kick him out of their house.
"Yes, and I'm going to spoil you all day long." She reached for the tray that had arrived and uncovered two plates of pancakes covered in strawberry syrup, fruit, and whipped cream. There was a single candle in the middle of one of the stacks. She had asked if the kitchen could arrange for it and they had agreed. "This is your first birthday cake of the day," she told him. "And this is your first present," she kissed his forehead. "More of that to come later," she laughed. "And you have to wait until tonight for your other presents."
Harry grinned at her. "Thanks, Hermione. You're too good to me." They ate their breakfast and then Harry took a shower and got ready to go out for the day.
The day after the concert, they had gone into New York City to see some of the sites. From there, they had returned the car to a rental agency and taken a train to Boston. They rented another car and drove west from Boston then north into New Hampshire and through Vermont where they had found a nice inn nestled in the mountains. Harry had become very comfortable with Hermione's parents and they treated him as well as the Weasleys did. He had told them how much he appreciated everything so many times that John had threatened to tape his mouth shut if he said "thank you" one more time.
"It's nothing," John assured him. "We're very glad you could come." There was really no way John could express to Harry just how glad they were for the chance to get to know him. He had known since the day Hermione started Hogwarts that she would eventually fall in love with and marry a wizard. While marriage may have been in the distant future, John was pleased to have the chance to get to know the wizard his daughter would marry and he was positive that was Harry. He and Jane would never fit into Hermione's other world and he was happy that she had someone like Harry who, from all he had heard, was brave, loyal, and decent. More than anything else, it was important to and impressive to John that Harry really respected Hermione and valued her as a person. Of course, it did not hurt that he knew Harry wasn't putting any moves on his daughter.
He was also happy to get Harry out of a situation that he knew was bad. Hermione had told them what little she knew of the Dursleys and Harry became so quiet when he tried to talk about them that John was worried about how much he suffered at their hands. Now that he knew Harry and he was more than just a name it had nagged at him constantly that the boy's relatives withheld food as punishment. He had studied enough anatomy to know that starvation was one of the cruelest things a person could be put through. There was no doubt in his mind that if Harry had been properly nourished and had not been forced to sleep in a cupboard that he would be taller, broader, and have a healthier look overall. He knew that Jane shared his concerns, but her desire was to make things better for Harry now rather than to worry about the past. She knew nothing could be done about it.
Harry and Hermione went to her parents' room around 10:00. They had decided to go hiking over a scenic trail not far from the inn. Jane answered their knock and invited them inside. "We're just about ready," she said. "I want to stop at the gift shop downstairs and get some bug repellant though."
"You didn't pack any?" John teased as he walked out of the bathroom. "Hmmm, it must be the only thing she left at home."
"Very funny, dear," she replied. It was true that she had brought three heavy suitcases, but they were on a three week vacation, after all.
"Isn't today someone's birthday?" John asked, smiling broadly at Harry.
"Yes sir," he replied, very surprised that the man knew, remembered, and cared that it was his birthday.
"Well, then, that calls for a celebration!" He turned to his girls, "And a song. Granted, I'm not Jon Bon Jovi, but since he's not here and I am… ahem…" The three of them serenaded Harry with "Happy Birthday," embarrassing him more than themselves.
Hermione kissed his cheek when they finished their song. Harry knew his cheeks were burning. "Thanks," he replied softly.
Jane and Hermione breezed through the gift shop picking up bottled water and snacks in addition to a can of Off!. They left the inn and followed the signs to the edge of the forest, leading them to the hiking trail.
"I hope there aren't any giant spiders, angry centaurs, or blast ended skrewts out there," Harry joked to Hermione as they entered the forest.
She laughed, "I don't think we have to worry about those here, but have you got your wand, just in case?"
"Never leave home without it," he replied, patting the pocket in his jeans.
"Blast ended whats?" John asked, repeating the portion he had heard. Thus ensued a conversation about the magical beasts that they had encountered through their years along with much discussion of Hagrid. Talking about Hagrid and the magical creatures seemed appropriate for their hike.
They were not met by any overgrown magical beasts. In fact, they saw very few animals at all. Apparently the well-worn trail was so frequented by humans that the animals in the area stayed away. However, the walk was very pleasant and quite uneventful. The temperature was warm, but there was little humidity so it was quite comfortable. They followed the trail until they came to a stream which led to their ultimate destination of some waterfalls they'd seen in a tourist's brochure. They knew they were close to the falls because they could hear the rumble of the water.
"Wow!" Hermione exclaimed when they came in full view of the falls. Before them crystal clear water was cascading down a rocky slope and pooling into the river below. If they stood near the water's edge, they were misted with spray from the falls. They took many pictures and got a member of another group to take some of the four of them all together.
"You two are adorable together," Jane commented as she snapped a picture of the teens.
"This is the best birthday I've ever had!" Harry told them enthusiastically. "I'll remember this forever."
Hermione gave him another kiss on his cheek just as her mother snapped another photo and embarrassed them by saying, "Awwww," rather loudly.
On the way back to the inn, Harry asked the Grangers if they had met in school.
As it turned out, they had been in the same school throughout their high school years, but never paid one another much attention. They met again while both were studying to become dentists. "Once we realized how much we had in common, we became best friends," John told them.
"Then we fell in love," Jane added. "We got married while we were in our second year. It wasn't easy to be married and go to university, but we managed."
Hermione smiled. She had heard the story of her parent's romance many times before, but it touched her that Harry was interested enough in her family to ask about it himself.
They decided they should all wash up before meeting to go to dinner. "We'll meet you in the lobby in one hour," Jane told them.
"Don't forget the goodies!" Hermione instructed her mother.
"What goodies?" Harry asked.
"Oh, you'll see," Hermione teased. She had left Harry's presents with her mother and, in fact, put her mother in charge of making sure one of her ideas materialized.
There was a restaurant in the inn. A man with an acoustic guitar was in a spotlight as he sang covers of many well-known hits from several decades. Many couples danced on a hardwood floor adjacent to his small stage. The majority of the restaurant was dimly lit and it had a romantic atmosphere. They were placed at an oak table with dark green leather booth seating.
There was a variety of food on the menu and Harry decided on lasagne while Hermione opted for chicken Caesar salad. After they placed their orders, Jane brought out a bag of presents.
"Save mine for last," Hermione instructed, taking the smallest package and a medium sized box to one side.
"Well, this one is from me," John said as he handed Harry what looked like a shirt box.
"But," Harry started, shocked, "You didn't have to…" his words trailed off. He had known Hermione would give him a present, but this was another happy surprise for him.
"I know I didn't have to," John said. "I wanted to." He smiled at the boy and nudged the gift toward him.
"Thank you," Harry said, taking the package.
"Well, open it first. Then thank me!" John laughed. He could tell from Harry's reaction that birthday presents had been very few in his life. Again, his treatment by the Dursleys worried John. He wasn't sure why he would have expected them to give Harry birthday presents if they didn't give him food regularly.
Harry opened the package to find a black t-shirt from the concert. "Cool!" he said upon taking it out and showing the front and back to Hermione.
"That's awesome," Hermione said, taking the shirt. "I can't wait to borrow it." She knew that Lavendar and Pavarti would be immensely interested in the Muggle men on the front and part of her looked forward to telling them all about the wonderful time she'd had with Harry at the show. Every non-Slytherin girl in Gryffindor had their eye on the most eligible bachelor at Hogwarts and Hermione was sure that she could subtly let it be known that Harry was hers. She supposed, deep down, that it was silly of her to be possessive of Harry, but she was. Maybe that was just part of loving him so much.
"Well, it was good while it lasted," Harry joked to John as the shirt was snatched from him.
John laughed in return, rolling his eyes and shaking his head slightly. "Granger women!" he sighed.
Jane slapped her husbands arm, then took a smaller gift out of the bag and gave it to Harry.
Harry picked it up observing that it was kind of heavy, but relatively thin. He unwrapped it to find a silver framed photograph of Hermione and him standing on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. He recognized that it had been taken the day of their psychic reading. "This is great!" he exclaimed, showing it to Hermione, then to her father. "I'll put it on my bedside table," he told them.
"When we get back to Hogwarts it will be like normal pictures," she told him. Of course, when Hermione said "normal pictures" she meant the kind that moved. However, in the Muggle world, the photo was quite still.
Hermione then gave him her first gift. It was the medium sized box wrapped in yellow, blue, and red paper. He ripped off the paper then opened to box and took out a water globe. It was a miniature figure of Atlantic City. "It's not much," Hermione said almost apologetically. "I got it while mom and I were shopping."
"Are you kidding?" Harry asked. "I love it." Only the two of them knew how significant Atlantic City had been to them. It was where Harry had revealed the prophecy and she had vowed to stick with him no matter what kind of danger it put her in. It was there that they had had time to spend with one another alone and really test the waters of their newfound love.
"Well, it's kind of cheesey," she said.
"No, it's not," he said before he kissed her cheek. "It's where we fell more deeply in love than I ever imagined we could," he whispered in her ear, making her blush.
"I have another one for you," she said as she placed the box in front of him. She suddenly picked it up again and added, "This is what I got for you before we left home." She set it down again, but then took it back once more. "I thought it was something you needed. But I got something added to it recently--with a little help from mom."
"Hermione, stop giving him a dissertation and let him open his present!" John laughed. He found his daughter's introduction to the present quite comical.
She gave him an evil stare before releasing the present for Harry to open.
"This is too much," he said, taking the second present hesitantly. He unwrapped the small package and found a black velvet box. He opened it slowly, almost reverently. "Hermione!" he exclaimed, taking a gold watch out of the box. The face of the watch was an ebony black and it had golden Roman numerals in the 12, 3, 6, and 9 positions with golden slashes to mark the other numbers.
"Read the back," she told him, touching his hand softly.
"To HJP, my love, for all time, HJG" he read aloud. He wasn't sure, but there was a stinging sensation in his eyes that he thought may have been tears. ""Mione," he said again. It was the only word he could form.
She took the watch from his hand and placed it on his wrist. Harry stared at the watch on his wrist, completely overwhelmed by it along with the Granger's generosity. "Thank you," he told her.
Hermione smiled brightly. "I love you," she told him and she didn't bother to whisper it.
"I love you too," he answered. "For all time." Harry, too, spoke in his normal voice. He didn't mind that her parents heard. There was no point in hiding that the loved each other. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips, just enough to say thank you without embarrassing her, himself, or her parents.
"Do you want to dance?" Hermione asked, glancing at other couples who were doing so.
"How emotionally attached are you to your toes?" he grinned as he scooted out of the booth, took her hand, and led her to the shiny hardwood floor.
A new song* started just as they arrived on the dance floor. They held each other close and the words touched them deeply:
Oh, why you look so sad?
Tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now.
Don't be ashamed to cry,
let me see you through
Cause I've seen the dark side too.
When the night falls on you,
you don't know what to do,
Nothing you confess
could make me love you less
I'll stand by you,
I'll stand by you,
won't let nobody hurt you,
I'll stand by you.
So, if you're mad get mad,
don't hold it all inside,
Come on and talk to me now.
And hey, what you got to hide?
I get angry too
But I'm a lot like you.
When you're standing at the crossroads,
don't know which path to choose,
Let me come along,
cause even if your wrong
I'll stand by you,
I'll stand by you,
won't let nobody hurt you,
I'll stand by you.
Take me into your darkest hour,
and I'll never desert you.
I'll stand by you.
And when, when the night falls on you baby,
you're feeling all alone,
You won't be on your own,
I'll stand by you.
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you,
won't let nobody hurt you.
I'll stand by you
Take me in into your darkest hour
and I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you.
"Oh my," Hermione whispered, "I think this song was written for us." It perfectly expressed what she felt.
"I think you're right," Harry answered. He pressed his lips to hers to kiss her gently as they continued to sway with the music.
They were so captivated by one another, the music, and their kiss that they did not hear two distinctive pops.
"Dammit," they heard a snarl. "We thought you were alone." Whoever growled at them had no qualms about interrupting their intimate moment.
They broke their kiss. "Professor Lupin! Professor Snape! What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, startled, but not frightened by them. More than anything, she was surprised that the two wizards had apparated into the middle of a dance floor. Luckily, the restaurant was so dark that no one seemed to have noticed. The two men were dressed in Muggle-looking attire and did not stand out from the other patrons.
"Harry has to go back to the Dursleys now," Remus told them. His expression made it clear that he was not happy about it.
"Come on so we can talk without looking conspicuous," Harry said, leading them all off the dance floor and back to the booth where the Grangers were seated.
The waiter was placing their food on the table. Hermione picked up Harry's gifts off the seat and placed them at the end of the table She and Harry squeezed back into the booth very tightly so that Remus could sit next to them and Hermione motioned for Snape to sit next to her mother. Looking quite unhappy about it, Snape did so, introducing himself to the Grangers and also introducing Remus.
Her parents were obviously taken aback at the arrival of the two wizards. "We're here for Harry," Snape told them. "He must return to the Dursleys immediately."
"But they're not expecting me," Harry argued. "They'll be angry if I come back early." His expression was unreadable, but the more astute members of the dinner party picked up on his apprehension.
John's eyes narrowed at Harry's statement. He wondered exactly what would happen if Harry made them angry.
"They'll get over it," Snape snapped in his usual arrogant tone.
"No," Harry replied. "We have to at least tell them I'm coming back. They don't like surprises, especially magical ones."
"There's no time," Remus explained. He certainly seemed more attentive to Harry's objection than Snape did, but he knew that there was not time to warn them of his arrival. "You only have to stay an hour. Then you can take a portkey back to Headquarters."
"I'm going with him," Hermione volunteered decidedly. "He doesn't have to go alone."
"No, Ms. Granger, you're coming with us," Snape told her. "Your parents should accompany us as well." He looked to the still surprised couple.
"What's the meaning of all this?" John asked. "I see no reason for Harry to go back there alone. We can go with him, and then onto wherever you want us to go," he reasoned.
Severus turned to Harry, "The Dark Lord has new plans for Mr. Potter. Measures must be taken to ensure his safety."
"And you're sending him back to the Dursleys in the name of interest in his safety?" John snorted.
Harry caught John's eye and shook his head slightly, silently asking the man to not make an issue of his treatment by his relatives. John got the message and it only added to his frustrations over Harry's situation. He was so typical of an mistreated child who wanted to keep his troubles secret.
"I understand," Harry broke in. In truth, he did not understand. He had spent time with them already. He wondered why it had not been enough.
"You won't have to stay long, Harry," Remus offered. "Just an hour. Then you can use the portkey to come back to the Order. Dumbledore has discovered that you must spend some time in their home on your birthday.** Happy birthday, by the way."
"Just an hour?" he repeated. He sincerely hoped that Vernon would be at work when he arrived. As long as he was with his aunt, the blood bond would be solidified.
"What's this Dark Lord?" Jane asked, finally finding her bearings enough to speak to the wizards.
"An evil wizard who's highest priority is to kill me," Harry answered. He had hoped that by the time the Grangers found out about Voldemort the story would be entirely told in the past tense.
"Why would he want to kill you?" Jane asked. "You're just a kid. You're a good kid."
"He's not just a kid," Hermione sighed. "He's The Boy Who Lived. Voldemort tried to kill Harry when he was a baby," Hermione began. "But the curse backfired and nearly destroyed him while Harry only got that scar."
"He killed my parents," Harry added sadly. "That's how they died. He wanted to kill me and they died."
"He's tried to kill Harry 3 times since," Hermione told them.
"And you've survived this man four times?" Jane asked, shocked. "How?"
Harry shrugged. "It's a long, long story."
"One that you can tell in greater detail once we're all back at Headquarters," Snape interrupted. "We don't have time to go through the saga of the famous Harry Potter right now."
Harry was actually glad that Snape had interrupted. He did not want to go through the laundry list of his encounters with Voldemort. As good as the Grangers had been to him, he was afraid it would all end when they found out how much danger Hermione was in due to a relationship with him.
"Why do you want my parents to come?" Hermione asked, trying to understand. Muggles were not commonly invited into the wizarding world. Her parents had been to Diagon Alley, but taking them to Grimauld Place? That was unheard of!
"It will all be explained there. However, it is necessary that they come with us," Snape answered. "Harry should portkey to his family immediately." He took the snow globe, the first object within his reach, and muttered an incantation, stealthily hiding his wand from view. "Here. This will do." He placed the globe in the empty box so that Harry would not activate it while still at the table. "Take it into the men's room and then touch it. It will take you to your family. Then, in one hour, touch it again and it will bring you to headquarters. We will help Ms. Granger and her family get there and will be waiting for you to return."
"Good luck, Harry," Remus said sincerely.
"I love you," Hermione told him, unconcerned with expression her affection in front of the wizards. He told her he loved her too and kissed her forehead.
"Does anyone want my lasagne?" Harry asked, defeated. He pushed the plate toward the center of the table and exited. "See you in an hour, sharp." He looked at his watch to make sure he knew what time he could leave Privet Drive again. "You were right, 'Mione. I do need the watch."
*"I'll Stand By You" by the Pretenders.
**For the sake of continuity and allowing Harry to have a partially happy birthday, please ignore time zones. Thank You!