Unofficial Portkey Archive

Author's Note: These stories are all one-shot, 1000-word responses to the Summer Writing Series Challenge, so each one is not related to the next.

Summer Writing Series Challenge (June 30)
Challenge: Harry inherits Sirius' flying motorbike. Will Hermione ride with him?
Title: Escape
Word Count: 1,000

"Harry," Hermione said calmly and cautiously. "What have you done?"

"Nice to see you too, Hermione," he replied, grinning mischievously at her reaction to seeing him. "And I haven't done anything. What would make you ask that?"

"Umm, well…" she started, apparently trying to choose her words carefully. "You… Well, you're at my house, in the middle of summer…when you're supposed to be with your family. You drove here on a…motorcycle," she said, looking over his shoulder at the hunk of metal parked in her drive, "and you're not legal age yet. And the last time you left home in the middle of summer like this you'd blown up your aunt."

Harry laughed. "First off, she's not actually my aunt, and that's not my home at all. Secondly, I thought it would be a nice change for me to visit you. And third, I didn't drive the motorcycle here. I flew it."

"Oh," she said, her brow furrowed as she digested what he'd just said. Then her jaw dropped. "You…what?!?"

"Well, as you said, I'm not legal age to drive yet. So I flew."

Hermione's eyes darted around the darkness behind him, looking to see if anyone had heard, then she pulled him into the house and shut the door.

"Harry! Using magic to enchant a Muggle motorbike and then flying it into a Muggle neighbourhood? You'll get into trouble again!" Her voice was hushed and frantic. "You don't want to have another hearing, do you?? Besides, how did you cast something strong enough to lift that?"

Harry laughed, and she looked at him with astonishment.

"Why are you laughing?" She looked truly concerned that he'd gone off his trolley. "Oh, Harry…what've they done to you?" she asked, searching his eyes.

"Hermione," he said with a grin. "I didn't use any magic on the bike. I got it that way."

Her expression was full of confusion.

"It belonged to Sirius, and he left it to me. And before you start worrying about Voldemort…I had an escort from the Order and I was Disillusioned the whole time. Dumbledore even approved my trip, so everything is fine."

"Oh," she said again.

He watched as her face changed from confusion to worry, then surprise, and finally ended with a look of relief. She threw her arms around him in a crushing hug and he couldn't help but laugh a little as he hugged her back.

"Harry, I've been so worried about you!" Her quiet words were muffled in his hair.

"I'm alright," he said, not even realizing that he'd begun to rub her back gently. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to get in touch sooner."

"Where have you - oh, wait! I'm sorry," she said, pulling back. "I didn't invite you in," she added apologetically, taking his hand and leading him into the sitting room and to the couch.

"Would you like a drink?"

"No, thanks. I'm fine," he said with a smile, looking around the room. "You've got a really nice house."

She sat down next to him on the couch. "Thank you. My mum loves decorating and all that," she said, waving a hand at the table nearby. "So where have you been all this time?" she asked, getting right to the point.

He thought a second before he answered. "Well, I was at the Dursleys for a few weeks right after school got out. Then Professor Lupin and Tonks came to get me. I've been at Siri -" He stopped, a pained expression crossing his face. "I've been at Grimmauld Place since then," he said softly. Hermione put a hand on his knee.

"Harry, are you sure you're alright?"

He shrugged and looked at a picture hanging across the room. "I have good days and not-so-good days. I'm getting better."

"I'm here, you know…if you want to talk."

"I know," he said, nodding. "Thanks." He paused before saying, "They've been keeping me really busy though, doing some training and making me study potions." He grinned at her with his last statement. She smiled back.

They sat quietly for few moments, then Hermione stood abruptly and said, "Wait here. I'll be right back."

She hurried off down the hall and returned shortly after with a package in her hands.

"I was waiting for Hedwig to come get this for you, but since you're here…" She handed the package to him. "Happy birthday, Harry."

He smiled, and carefully opened the wrapping.

"Wow, Hermione! Thanks!" He pulled two books from the paper and examined A Modern History of English Aurors and So You Want to Be An Auror: A Study Guide. "You shouldn't have."

She smiled at him. "I wanted to. I couldn't let your birthday pass without getting you something. I'm sorry I didn't know what you wanted."

Harry bit his lip and looked at her earnestly. "They're perfect," he said. "But there was something I wanted…"

Her expression dropped a little. "Oh…I -"

"No, wait…these are really great!" he interrupted. "There was just…something else, though..."

"What's that?" she asked timidly.

"Well," he said with a bit of nervousness, "I was hoping you might…go for a ride with me?"

She looked stunned for the third time that night. "A…a ride? On that motorcycle?"

He nodded, his face full of hope.

Hermione's mouth hung open as she seemed to search for the right words to turn him down. She let out a deep breath, and then a small smile emerged.

"Sure."

"Really?!" he asked, almost jumping up from the couch.

"Really," she replied, smiling widely at his excitement. "Let me just go tell my parents."

Ten minutes later Hermione swung her leg over the seat and settled herself behind Harry.

"You'd better hold on to me," he said, and she wrapped her arms around his middle. When the green sparks above signaled the all-clear, they took off into the night sky. Hermione squealed and squeezed him tightly, hanging on for dear life, and Harry smiled, feeling the happiest he'd been in nearly a year.