Harry and Hermione slept very late the next day, never breaking contact with one another. When Harry awoke, his hand was on her arm and her foot was against his leg. He considered these new feelings. He thought it may have been the first time in his life that he had really gotten some rest. He had never felt safe or comfortable at the Dursley's. Vernon or Dudley were as likely to toss him about, pounce on him, pull his hair, or hit him as they were to look at him. And how exactly would one go about getting comfortable in a cupboard? Since going to Hogwarts he had had to digest all the information about his life, his parents, and the constant threat of Voldemort. He wondered if this is what a proper holiday felt like or if this was what being held by Hermione felt like.
Soon, Hermione stirred too. Even though they were awake, they laid together in silence. Their eyes met and they smiled at one another. They were content to be together in this room even with a new continent waiting to be explored outside.
"How did you sleep?" Hermione asked eventually, stretching like Crookshanks after a long nap.
"Better than I ever have before," he answered truthfully. "What will I do when we get back to Hogwarts? Do you think that sneaking to your room every night will fall under the directions of 'Use it well ' that came with my cloak?"
"Somehow, I don't think even Dumbledore would let you get away with that," Hermione laughed. She appreciated the idea though. "We'll have to take up sleeping on the couch in the common room. What do you think?"
"Well, if we must," he laughed.
"Merlin, would you look at the time!" Hermione gasp when she saw that it was after 11:00. They decided it was time to tear themselves from bed and venture into the city. So they showered and changed.
"What do you want to do today?" Harry asked. He picked up a brochure on Atlantic City that was on the table. He flipped through it absently.
"Well, I've been reading about the city," Hermione began, causing Harry to grin at her. "Anyway, there are a lot of casinos, but we're too young for that. And I really think it's stupid anyway. I mean, what kind of moron gives their money to a machine hoping it will give them more back?"
"So what else is there?" Harry interrupted her rant.
"Oh, right... well, since we've already wasted half of today, how about we go to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch and then walk up the boardwalk? We can look at the souvenir shops and pick out something for the Weasleys."
"Great idea! I'm starved!" Harry agreed. "So, do we take a cab or walk?"
"Oh, the Hard Rock is too far from here. Cabs are $8 per trip, so we'd do better to take a jitney" she explained.
"Right. Let's go then." Harry grabbed the room's key card and put it in his wallet where he had some of his Muggle money. He had decided to not take it all with him.
When they got to the lobby of the hotel Harry turned to Hermione and said, "What's a jitney?"
"It's sort of like a bus. We have to find one that's going to the Taj Mahal--that's where the Hard Rock is. Maybe we can get a peek inside if we don't go to the casino part."
One jitney trip behind them, the teens found their way to the Hard Rock Cafe. It was dark and loud. The waitress showed them to a booth in the corner. There was music memorabilia covering the walls and all the entree names had a rock and roll connection. "This is a really cool place," Harry commented, looking around.
"Yes, very!" Hermione agreed cheerfully. They placed their orders and chatted until the food arrived. They asked how each other's meals were and took bites off one another's plates. After paying for their meal, they went out onto the boardwalk.
There was a nice breeze blowing off the Atlantic, which made the temperature seem perfect. It was warm, but not sweltering. They held hands as they walked along, stopping at souvenir shops. Hermione had brought her camera and made Harry pose for a few pictures with the ocean behind him.
"Excuse me," a lady with 3 children called to Hermione. "Would you mind taking a photo of me and my kids?"
Hermione obliged and then asked the woman if she could take a couple of her and Harry.
"I just love your accent," the stranger said. "Are you from England?"
"Yes, we are," Harry answered. He wrapped his arms around Hermione as she leaned against him. The ocean behind them was a brilliant blue with white caps coming at the surface.
"This is going to be a great photo," the stranger said as took it. "You're such a cute couple."
"Thanks," Hermione answered, taking her camera back from the woman. She had loaded this one with magic film, but she had a stash of Muggle film back in the hotel.
The walked along again, hand in hand. They stopped at a shop that had walls full of magnets, nothing but magnets. "Mr. Weasley would love these," Harry said, pointing to a section that featured kitchen appliances. He picked out a toaster and a blender, both of which had their electrical cords pictured. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen a magnet in the wizarding world."
Hermione thought for a second. "Neither have I. Maybe it's because we don't have to use refrigerators," she shrugged.
"Still, Mr. Weasly can stick these on something else," Harry decided before he paid for them. They were so very Muggle that Arthur was bound to love them.
"What should we get for Ron?" Hermione asked.
"I'm not sure. We'll know it when we see it." Harry answered.
They could not help but notice there was a psychic with a shop or tent every few few hundred feet. "Want to get a reading?" Hermione asked.
"Please. They're probably worse than Trelawney."
"Still, it might be interesting to see what one says," Hermione argued. Harry gave in easily, wanting to do anything in his power to put a smile on that face. They picked one at random and went into her shop, stepping through hanging wooden beads that clattered as they moved.
"Ah, come in, come in," an older woman with dyed black hair motioned to them. She was wearing loose robes of a purple and gold shiny material. There was a sent of incense filling the air that made Harry cough. It was sickeningly sweet. "How can I serve you today?"
"We just want a basic reading, the $5 special advertised out front."
"Ah, you are visiting from Europe?" she asked, picking up on Hermione's accent.
"Ah, score one for the psychic," Harry muttered quietly in her ear. He'd had years of "training" in divination and thought it was an unlikely art. It was true, however, that he could have been prejudiced against it because Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore seemed to doubt it as well.
"Yes," Hermione answered, forcing herself to not laugh at Harry's comment.
She closed the door behind them and put a sign in the window that said "Do Not Disturb." She explained that she wanted privacy in order to consult the spirits. "I am Madame Rosemarie," she said as she led them to a small round table covered with a white table cloth where they all sat down. "Which of you would like to go first?" she asked.
"Her," Harry answered.
"Would you like a private reading my dear, or do you wish for your husband to stay with you?"
"Um, we're not married," Hermione answered, annoyed. This settled it. The woman was a fake--and too stupid to even look for wedding rings or realize that they were just teenagers.
"Not yet," Rosemarie stated confidently. "But he is your husband. I see it very clearly. You have been destined for one another by powerful forces. Soon, my dears..."
Hermione turned to look Harry in the eye, wondering how he would react to that proclamation. He didn't seem bothered. He didn't seem surprised either. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on in his mind. That was annoying too, given her usual ability to read him so well.
Harry was watching Hermione's reaction. She seemed more surprised by this than he was. The only thing he found shocking was that the woman had made such a bold statement right at the start.
"Would you like me to read your palm, or would you prefer that I use tarot cards?" Rosemarie inquired.
"Palm," Hermione answered, extending her hand.
Rosemarie took Hermione's hand in her own and looked intently into her palm. "I see you have a long life line. Praise God," she began. "I also see that you are inclined to quick thinking. You have been blessed with a strong mind and unusual abilities." She was silent a moment and Hermione said nothing. "The letter P is meaningful in matters of love. Is your husband's initial P?" she asked.
Hermione, her mouth gaping open, nodded silently.
"God bless you," she continued, "You have seen many trials and will see even more. There is a long road ahead of you, but you are on the side of right. Praise God." Rosemarie ended the short reading. This was the $5 special afterall.
Hermione paid for her own and gave an extra $5 for Harry's reading. "You're next," she said to Harry. Her mind was reeling over what he psychic had said. Her husband? The letter P? Many trials on the side of right?
Harry reluctantly extended his palm. "Oh, my dear boy," she began sadly. "Yours is a life of tragedy and loss. So much pain." She traced the lines of his palm with her finger. "You have been hungry and hidden, shamed, used."
Harry felt like jerking his hand away from her that instant. He didn't want Hermione to hear this, to have a stupid fake psychic remind her of his life prior to Hogwarts. He wouldn't look at Hermione whom he could tell was peering at him with concern--it was too similar to looking at him with pity and he did not want that from her or anyone else.
"You've seen death," she added. "But I also see bravery, a sharp mind... and thirst to prove yourself."
Harry's head snapped up at those words. How had she managed to say something so close to what the Sorting Hat had said?
"Talent, my dear. You have amazing talents that even you do not know you possess. Power. God bless you. There is power and goodness. You are surrounded by light, even though darkness threatens you at all times. God is with you, my child."
Harry wasn't even sure he believed in God. How could God be with him?
"Love is your protector," she continued. "It is your guide. Your strength has increased tenfold recently because love is with you. It shall protect you as it is fulfilled."
She raised her eyes from his palm and said, "You can do what is required of you. Love is by your side. God be with you."
With that, the reading was over. Hermione politely thanked Rosemarie for her time and led Harry from the shop. They walked in silence. Hermione wasn't sure how to take Harry's silence. Did he think the old bat was crazy? Or, like her, was she shocked that the woman had said so much that sounded true? She thought of what Harry had said before that he had to be the one and pieced it with Rosemarie's words that something was required of him. He'll tell me when he's ready, she thought.
"Well," Harry said a while later as they walked hand in hand. "That was weird."
"Yeah," Hermione agreed.
"We should head back to the hotel, don't you think?" Harry asked, changing the subject. They been wandering around for five hours and the sun was just starting to set.
"Sure," Hermione agreed. She realized she hadn't called her parents all day and took out her cell phone. She left a voice mail that they were having a great time and would be returning to the hotel soon.