Well folks, I'll be the first to admit it, I'm pleased with the reviews. I'm glad to see that some of you have taken my efforts to heart, and that you're reviewing.
Unfortunately, there isn't much to say right now, except that this chapter is a pretty long one. I have nothing else to say this time, so read on!
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Chapter Seven: Beginnings
The first thing that Harry noticed when he awoke was that he felt completely drained of all energy and couldn't open his eyes. The second was a slight weight on his left hand, which he assumed was Hermione. Using almost all of his energy, he opened an eye slightly enough to confirm that it was her. Closing his eye again, he did the one thing he felt capable of doing in his present state, and that was give her hand a slight squeeze.
"Harry?" she asked softly. He gave her hand another squeeze. "I'm so sorry." A harder squeeze this time. "I should've know this would happen. I was so scared at first that the spell had pulled your life into the book with the magic." A soft squeeze. "There's a potion here that will give you your energy back," she said. "You need to be conscious when you take it. Do you have enough energy to swallow?" Harry barely had enough energy to think about that question at the moment, but he squeezed her hand anyway. Hermione reached for a small bottle from the nightstand and opened it. Leaning over him, she placed a quick kiss on his lips and he managed to open his mouth slightly. She emptied the potion into his mouth, and mustering all of his energy, he swallowed.
It took about ten seconds for Harry's eyes to shoot open, and he sat straight up in bed.
"Whoa," he said blinking. "What was that?"
"A simple replenishing draught," Hermione replied stoppering the bottle and replacing it on the nightstand. "How are you feeling?"
"Better now," Harry replied. "How long have I been out?"
"About a day and a half," she said.
"So what'd I miss?" he asked.
"Nothing important," she replied. "Dumbledore's checked in on you a few times, Ron's been in a lot too, he actually just popped out for moment to speak to Fred and George."
"So when can we start practicing the spell?" he asked. "Assuming everything worked, of course."
"Everything worked perfectly Harry, but we have time to practice later. You shouldn't stress yourself so soon after recovering," Hermione said.
"You sound like Madam Pomfrey," he said. "I have enough energy to know that I'm okay to start working on this. Besides, your safety is more important."
"When will you stop saying that?" Hermione asked sadly.
"When I die," Harry replied in earnest. "Where's Ron?"
"Right here," said the ghost drifting through the closed door. "Moody told me you had just woken up. I expect Dumbledore will be up here soon too."
"Ron, have you ever considered knocking?" asked Harry with a grin.
"You know full well that I can't knock, so if you're asking whether I've considered shouting before I enter a room, no I haven't," Ron replied with his trademark lopsided grin. "Afraid I might walk in on you?"
"Yes, to be quite frank," said Harry standing up and stretching. "Anyways, I want to get to practicing the spell. You said Dumbledore should be here soon?"
"Yeah, Moody said he'd floo him after I left, he should be along soon."
"So Ron," began Hermione. "How exactly does your magic work? I don't want to get myself or Harry splinched or anything."
"Well all magic that ghosts use, like house-elves, is wandless," said Ron. "Have you ever wondered why that is?"
"Now that you mention it, no," said Hermione thoughtfully.
"I'm not entirely sure what energy source house-elves use, but us ghosts channel souls, whether it be someone else's or their own," Ron continued. "We have ties to every single soul in existence, being that we reside partially on the ethereal planes. When I created that shockwave, I was channeling energy from myself and sending it out in the form of a power wave. In this case, I'll use my ties to your souls to hold them in place. I can make it so that you can move your arms, but if you tried to move anything else, it'll feel like you're being held to the ground, just like I said earlier."
"I never knew that," said Hermione in awe. "It makes sense doesn't it?"
"You not knowing something?" asked Ron incredulously. "That makes no sense at all."
"Ha ha," she said with sarcasm running rampant in her voice. "You know what I was talking about."
"Yeah, but it was funnier this way," said Ron.
"You've been awfully quiet Harry," Hermione said looking at him.
"I've missed seeing you two row," he said with sincerity. "I was hoping that if I didn't interfere that one might spawn of its own accord." Hermione hit him on the arm and put on her best pout.
"That wasn't even technically a row," she said frowning.
"Aw come on, you know I didn't mean it," Harry replied. He gave her a chaste kiss on the lips on her expression changed to a grin.
"Please don't do that while I'm here," said Ron feigning sickness. "Dry heaving isn't something I really enjoy experiencing." Harry had his mouth open ready to retort, but at that moment came a knock from the door, so it had to wait for another time.
"Who is it?" asked Hermione.
"Someone who could use a sherbet lemon," came the voice of Albus Dumbledore through Harry's bedroom door. Hermione crossed the room and opened the door to allow the headmaster in, who was presently searching his robes for something. "Pity, I seem to be all out. Thank you Hermione. And how are you feeling, Harry?" asked Dumbledore walking over next to Harry.
"Well enough," came the boy's response. "I want to start practicing right away." Dumbledore smiled.
"I assumed as much," he said. "Do you really feel up to practicing magic? Especially new magic with no theory to help you out?"
"If I didn't want to I wouldn't have brought it up," said Harry.
"Wanting and feeling are two entirely different things," said the headmaster. Harry sighed and looked at him.
"I have enough energy to start on this," he said. "I want to have it mastered before we go back to Hogwarts in a week. For all we know we could get attacked while on the train."
"However unlikely that is, I won't rule out that it's a possibility," said Dumbledore. "Very well, you can start practicing, however I am going to stay here for the first time, just to make sure that you don't splinch yourselves in case Mr. Weasley isn't able to hold you in place." Ron scoffed at this.
"I am more than capable of using my own abilities, thank you," he snorted.
"I have no doubt of that Ron," Dumbledore said. "But as you've seen before, Harry is more than capable of out-powering other wizards if he wants to, and sometimes even if he doesn't want to." Ron thought for a moment then nodded in defeat. Harry blushed slightly.
"I'm really not all that powerful," he said bashfully. All of the other heads in the room turned to look at him. "I'm not!" he said with colors rising in his cheeks.
"Oh...that's right," said Hermione with a sick grin. "Fending off over a hundred dementors in our third year requires absolutely no skill or power whatsoever. My mistake." Harry bowed his head and suppressed a nervous smile.
"She is quite right Harry. You are much more powerful than you let on, you simply have yet to discover it," said the headmaster twinkling away."
"Duly noted," said Harry, his face returning to its original color. "Now can we get started on this?"
"I don't see why not," said Dumbledore. "After I see that Ron is able to hold the two of you in place, I will leave you three to practice on your own."
"Ok," said Hermione letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "We should both practice it, since we both should be able to use it," she said to Harry, who nodded. Ron rubbed his hands together.
"So who's going to start us off?" he asked. Harry and Hermione looked at each other.
"Ladies first," Harry said with a smile. Hermione rolled her eyes at him and pulled out her wand. She looked at Dumbledore who nodded.
"Whenever you're ready, Ms. Granger," he said. Hermione nodded and raised her wand, but then paused.
"How exactly do I cast it?" she asked.
"Simply concentrate on what you want the spell to do," said the headmaster. "That, more often than not, is a way to cast most spells quite efficiently." Hermione nodded and held her wand in front of her. She closed her eyes and bit her lower lip in concentration, which forced Harry to resist his urge to snog her and that bottom lip of hers senseless right then and now.
"Salus Evolo," she said. Immediately Harry felt as though an invisible hand was trying to pull him off the ground, but he was glued to the spot. The feeling became stronger, as if the hand was using more force, but his body stayed immoble. After a few moments, the pressure subsided and Harry was able to move around again.
"Very good Ms. Granger," said Dumbledore with a smile. "In one attempt too, although I admit, it didn't surprise me that much." Hermione blushed and looked at Ron.
"Was that you holding us there the entire time?"
"Yep," said Ron proudly. "I told you I could do it."
"Perhaps we let Harry try once before I leave you to it," said Dumbledore. Harry nodded and took his own wand from his robes. Thinking, he closed his eyes and thought solely of Hermione.
"Salus Evolo," he said. Instantly the force trying to pull him off the ground appeared again, but this time it was much stronger. He felt himself be pulled slightly backwards this time before being held in place. Again, after a few moments the pressure subsided and the first thing Harry noticed was a visibly exhausted Ron.
"You weren't joking Professor," Ron said breathing heavily.
"Did he manage to hold us by himself?" asked Hermione.
"Yes, but only just," replied the headmaster. "Ron was taken aback slightly by Harry's force." Harry's face reddened slightly at this.
"You alright Ron?" he asked.
"Yeah, just a little surprised, that's all," he said. "Was that good enough, Professor?"
"I'd prefer to see you do it one more time, just to make sure that there are no falters in your thoughts this time," replied Dumbledore. The three of them nodded and Harry raised his wand again.
"Salus Evolo," he said once more. The invisible hand was back, and again he felt as though he was going to be pulled off the ground, but this time his body didn't move at all. Ron seemed to have control of the situation, and after a few seconds the invisible force disappeared once more.
"Much better," said the headmaster. "And now, if you'll forgive me, I have some business to attend to back at Hogwarts. After you feel confident with just using the spells on yourselves, I suggest practice targeting belongings as well. Make sure you create Impenetrable Charms around them, as Ron will not be able to hold them in place."
"Thank you Professor," said Harry.
"Yes, thanks," added Hermione. The headmaster waled over to the door and turned.
"As you continue to practice, the spell will become more consistent and more powerful. I daresay you powers will improve as well, Ron," Dumbledore said. "I would wish you good luck, although I daresay you really don't need it." With that he gave them a small smile, opened the door, and departed, closing the door behind him.
"Well," said Ron turning back to the other two. "Let's have another go at this, shall we?"
=====
The last week before the trio's seventh year passed by fairly quickly and without much event. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been practicing their new spell non-stop, and it turned out to be just as beneficial, if not more to Ron than the other two.
"I'm getting really good at this," he said after Harry had just attempted the spell again. They had moved onto concentrating on material objects, just as Dumbledore had suggested. As a result, both Harry and Hermione found that they were exerting more power into the spell, as their trunks were now also included in their spell. This had effectively caused Ron to have to use more of his strength to hold Harry and Hermione there, but found as the week progressed that his power was steadily increasing.
"Just don't get cocky and slip up," said Harry lowering his wand.
"Let's take a break, shall we?" asked Hermione. The other two nodded and she conjured up two glasses of ice-cold lemonade for her and Harry. Ron audibly groaned at this.
"What?" asked Harry taking a sip.
"Yet another thing I miss about life," Ron started. "Is my mother's lemonade. Best that you could ever taste. She grew a lemon tree in the woods behind the house so that her lemons were ripe and hand-picked."
"Couldn't she have just conjured a tree instead of growing one?" asked Hermione sitting on Harry's bed.
"I suppose, but she always had a thing for gardening anyway. Said it took her mind off the more stressful things in life," Ron replied shrugging. They were almost done with their drinks when there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" asked Harry.
"Me," growled Moody from the other side of the entrance. Harry couldn't help but chuckle at Moody's antics and went to let him in. Upon opening the door he found Moody with his wand pointed right between Harry's eyes. Surprised, Harry stumbled backwards and fell onto the floor. Moody shook his head and put his wand away.
"What was that for?" asked Harry getting up.
"Your reflexes are too slow, Potter," he growled. "You ever fall down like that when a wand is pointed at you and you'll be dead before you know it. Constant vigilance."
"Yeah, I know," replied Harry brushing himself off. "I just don't consider you to be a threat, so forgive me if I wasn't ready to have a wand pointed right at my head." Moody smiled a sick smile.
"Two things Potter," he said. "One, I'm always a threat, whether you want to consider it or not, and two, how do you know that I'm even me? I could be some imposter who's been taking polyjuice, I do believe it happened a few years ago....not sure exactly when..."
"Okay, okay! I get the idea," said Harry throwing his hands up in defeat. Moody smiled.
"Just make sure that you remember to get the idea more often," Moody said.
"Sir, what brought you here today?" asked Hermione from the bed.
"Dumbledore asked me to come by and tell Harry and Ron to make sure that they are present at tonight's Order meeting. Says he has something important to discuss, but he didn't say what." Hermione's face visibly fell at the mention of her not knowing news at the same time the boys did.
"Oh."
"Come on, Hermione," said Harry sitting down next to her and putting her arm around her. "You know that we'll tell you everything the moment we get back up here."
"Yeah," she replied.
"Meeting still at 7?" asked Ron. Moody nodded.
"Well that's all," he said. "I'll be off, got a few things to take care of before tonight." He made to open the door and leave, but then stopped. "Oh, and one other thing Potter."
"What?" asked Harry.
"Put blinding charms on your walls and floor."
"Why?"
"Because you don't want anyone with an eye like mine being able to see what goes on in here," Moody replied. Harry had to think for a second at what Moody was hinting at, then his jaw dropped. Glancing at Hermione, he saw her eyes were wide and that a little of the color had drained from her face.
"You...you don't....you don't actually see that, do you?" asked Harry.
"Only that one time after the Order meeting, and believe me, I didn't watch. I only took a glance up here and deeply regretted it," Moody replied. Ron's mouth was opened and Harry could tell he didn't know whether to be repulsed at what he had heard, or to laugh. "See you tonight then." And with that he swept out of the room and was gone, closing the door behind him.
An awkward silence hung in the air after Moody's departure, and was broken a few seconds later by Ron falling in the air in fits of laughter.
"It's not funny!" shrieked Hermione.
"It's hysterical!" replied Ron nearly crying with laughter. "I can't believe that you of all people wouldn't have thought of it!" The color in Hermione's face was quickly returning, but it was going directly to a deep shade of red.
"I can't believe that," she whispered. "He actually saw us."
"Yeah, I'm not too keen about it either," said Harry still reeling slightly from what Moody had told them.
"Oh come on!" yelled a laughing Ron. "Honestly, you don't think that Moody could look right through your clothes if he wanted to?"
"He makes a point," Harry admitted after some hesitation. "I guess he probably received quite a shock when he saw us."
"I don't care," said Hermione pulling her wand out. "It makes me feel so...well...naked that he can do that." Pointing at the walls and floor she muttered five quick blinding charms and put her wand away.
"It's kind of funny that he actually can undress a person with his eye," said Harry.
"You don't think this is funny, do you?" asked Hermione incredulously.
"There's a bit of comedy to it," he said smiling.
"Harry!"
"He's right Hermione," said Ron, finally getting over his laughter. "Think of it like this. It could've been much worse. As far as people catching you go, Moody is probably the second-best next to Dumbledore. I doubt he told anyone, and he certainly didn't give you an earful about it. Imagine what would've happened if it had been McGonagal with that eye instead. Or Snape. Or even your own parents?" Harry and Ron saw Hermione visibly shiver at hearing this.
"I guess you're right," she admitted. "But that still doesn't erase the fact that it's very...embarrassing."
"Embarrassing, but funny," Ron corrected.
=====
At a quarter of seven that night, Harry gave Hermione a quick kiss on the forehead and went downstairs to meet the rest of the Order of the Phoenix in the basement kitchen. Seeing Ron hovering in the corner talking to Mundungus Fletcher, he walked over to them in hopes of passing time while waiting for the meeting to start.
"Hey Ron," he said reaching them. "Dung."
"Who you be callin' Dung?" asked Fletcher, his breath reeking of Ogden's Finest.
"You that's who," said Ron. "Dung's been telling me about his adventures to pick up supplies for the twins."
"You're still running errands for them, then?" asked Harry. Mundungus shriveled up his nose at Harry.
"I ain't be runnin' errands for no one," he said. "I be gettin' 'em what they need that ain't exactly....well, legal."
"How would the Ministry react if they found out that Fred and George were using illegal substances in their products?"
"Oh there's nothing illegal in their products," said Ron. "It's illegal to bring the stuff into the country without bringing to the Ministry's attention. That's what Dung here does for them." Dung nodded at this. "Besides, it's not like the Ministry would do anything, they already owe our family a favor from when Dad got attacked a year and a half ago guarding something that they should've admitted was a target." Harry nodded, distinctly remembering the attack on Mr. Weasley a little over 18 months ago that occurred while he was guarding the prophecy.
At that moment, Dumbledore walked in, and the room fell silent. Dumbledore pulled a tin of sherbet lemons from his robes and looked around the room inquisitively.
"Is there a reason you are all so silent?" he asked not disturbed in the slightest that everyone seemed to be looking at him like he was a ghost.
"Well you did have Alastor tell us all to make sure that we were here," said Molly Weasley from beside her husband. "We assumed it was something important."
"Ah," said Dumbledore putting a sherbet lemon in his mouth. "I think Alastor possibly may have made the situation seem more serious than it really is."
"I did no such thing," growled Moody from the corner. "You said for me to contact all the members of the Order, and tell them to make sure to be here tonight. That's exactly what I did, and that's all I did."
"Well no matter," said Dumbledore lightly. "We are all here now and that's what important."
"So are you going to tell us what's going on?" asked Fred.
"Yes, do inform us," commented George.
"Patience, patience," the headmaster said. "Do not fret, all will be revealed."
"Well then do get on with it Albus," said Professor McGonagal from next to Snape.
"Oh very well," sighed the Dumbledore. "I suppose I shouldn't keep you all curious." The air in the room seemed to tense as everyone was eagerly listening as to what Dumbledore was about to say. "I have received information that there is going to be a death eater attack on Monday." There was a murmur of confusion as the news was heard throughout the room.
"This isn't drastic news, Albus," said Lupin. "There are attacks all the time."
"This one is different. We have reason to believe that the targets of this attack will be David and Emma Granger, the parents of Hermione Granger," Dumbledore said. The room fell silent at this. Recovering first, Harry spoke up.
"Well we have to protect them, obviously," he said.
"Well unless you plan on skipping the train to Hogwarts, Potter, YOU won't be protecting anyone," said a smirking Snape.
"He's right Harry," said Dumbledore. "Do not worry, we will take the precautions necessary and move the Granger's immediately."
"Good," said Ron. "What about the death eaters that are going to show up at their house though? I mean, I can't be a good idea just to let them appear and then get away when they find out no one's there."
"I agree," said Harry. "For we know they might burn the house in anger if they don't get what they're looking for." There were some murmurs around the room at this, and Tonks spoke up after a moment.
"I'm with Ron and Harry on this," she said. "It makes no sense to just let death eaters that we know we can capture escape unscathed."
"It makes sense if it's a trap," said Dumbledore. "The information I have may not be entirely accurate, and we do not want to send people into a situation that might result in casualties on our side."
"So you're saying that we just let them get away?" argued Fred.
"No, I just think that it would be wise to use discretion here," replied the headmaster. "Given the facts, I personally do not think it is worth sending people to the Granger's house in order to capture five or six death eaters who are insignificant in the ranks of Voldemort's army."
"It only takes one grain of rice to tip the scale," grunted Moody.
"Quite true," said Molly Weasley. "But perhaps instead of arguing about whether or not to try to capture those death eaters, let's first discuss a way to get Hermione's parents to a safe haven for the time being." Everyone in the room agreed that this was a more sensible course of action, and individual talks immediately began on safe places.
"Professor Dumbledore?" asked Harry. The headmaster turned and smiled at the 17-year old wizard in front of him.
"What is it, Harry?"
"I was thinking that perhaps we should include Hermione in this, they are HER parents after all." Dumbledore thought for a minute and then called Ron over to him.
"Ronald, could you go and fetch Hermione for me please?"
"Why?" asked Ron skeptically.
"These are her parents that we are deciding the futures of, as Harry pointed out," said Dumbledore. "She deserves to know, and have a say." Ron nodded and floated up through the ceiling. A few minutes later Ron floated back down.
"She's on her way," he said. At that moment a knock came at the door and Albus crossed the room to open it. Standing there was Hermione, looking half confused and half anxious.
"Please come in, Ms. Granger," he said ushering he inside the basement kitchen. Everyone, your attention for a moment?" The room silenced for the headmaster to speak. "Harry brought to my attention a few minutes ago that Hermione should have a say in this, so here she is. I hope you will listen to her reasoning once we have informed her of what's happening and incorporate it in your ideas." Everyone nodded and resumed talking amongst themselves.
"Ummm...what exactly is going on?" she asked timidly.
"You didn't tell her Ron?" asked Harry looking at his other best friend.
"Thought I should leave that up to you, mate," said Ron in earnest. Harry nodded and took Hermione into a private corner of the kitchen.
"What's happening?" she asked. "I'm not a member of the Order, why am I here?"
"Hermione," Harry said slowly. He didn't know where to begin. "Dumbledore got some news earlier..."
"Yes?" she asked worried etched on her face.
"There's going to be an attack on Monday, supposedly anyway," he said.
"So? There are attacks all the time."
"On your parents."
Harry looked at the woman he loved and saw that her face was expressionless. Her features were like stone, impossible to read. Even looking into her eyes he couldn't tell what she was thinking about.
"Hemione?" he asked. "Did you hear me?" Instead of answering, she merely fell back against the wall and slid down slowly to the ground. Taking her in his arms, Harry held her tight and she cracked, sobs flowing freely from her. "It's ok," he said comfortingly. "We're working on plans to get them safe right away. That's why we wanted you here, you know them best, so we thought you should have some say in all of this.
"I....I can't believe this," she said weakly. "Are they ok?"
"They will be once we can get them to a safe place," Harry said. "Now, I suggest we have Dumbledore call the room to attention and you can tell them what you think is best." Hermione nodded and with the help of Harry stood up. Harry motioned for Dumbledore to come over, and the headmaster obliged, putting another sherbet lemon in his mouth.
"Care for one?" he asked holding the tin out to Hermione. "I find they help calm me down after I've just heard tough news." Hermione nodded and took one from the tin. "Harry?" His curiosity about the things finally getting the best of him, Harry finally conceded and took one from the tin in Dumbledore's outstretched hand as well. When he put it in his mouth he understood why the headmaster liked them so much. He couldn't help but smile at the sweet yet tangy taste of the candy.
"You see," said Dumbledore. "They always manage to put a smile on your face." Harry now noticed that Hermione was slightly smiling too. Harry couldn't help but feel that he had tasted something like this before, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Now perhaps, would you like to tell the room what you have to say?" Hermione nodded and Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly. The room fell silent.
"Well," began Hermione. "If I know anything about my parents, they'll want to see me before they go away, so I don't think it would be a bad idea to bring them here first." The room agreed with this statement, shown by the murmurs accompanied by an 'I told you so!' from Tonks in the back. "My parents always loved the Mediterranean climate," Hermione continued. "Southern France or Italy are their favorites, if you can accommodate it."
"That was actually what we were thinking," said Moody. "As you can very well guess, the Dark Lord hates warm and sunny climates, so he generally stays away from there. I think that perhaps Marseille is a good location, though the French have always been wary of letting English wizards into their country after what happened with the giant revolt in 1629."
"Won't they have a hard time getting in then?" asked Ron. This caused a slight chuckle from Hermione.
"Although I myself may be a witch," she said. "My parents are about as muggle as you can get."
"So it's settled then," said Dumbledore clasping his hands together. "Molly, Arthur, please apparate to their house and bring them here as quickly as possible, then I will personally inform them of everything after the meeting." The elder Weasleys nodded and disapperated with a pop. "Hermione, I must ask you to leave now, we have other things to discuss." Hermione sighed but nodded her head anyways. Harry gave her a quick kiss before she turned and walked out the door.
"Potter and Granger sitting in a tree-" Tonks began teasingly.
"Nymphadora," said Dumbledore warningly, looking over his half-moon spectacles.
"Sorry," she said grinning.
"Have we been able to work out a suitable course of action?" asked the headmaster. The people in room looked around at each and then Snape moved forward to speak.
"I feel as if we need to investigate this," he said. "From what I know about the Dark Lord, this doesn't sound like a trap. It would be the exact thing that Voldemort would do in this situation. Traumatize Ms. Granger into leaving Potter behind, which would leave him broken. It makes perfect sense. I think it's worth trying to capture the death eaters involved. For all we know he may be using some higher ranked ones to make sure the mission is a success." There was a general murmur of assent from the room.
"Who else feels the same way that Severus does?" asked Dumbledore. Every hand in the room went up. Dumbledore shrugged. "It's settled then. We will work out the operation a little later. Is there any news business to attend to first?"
From that point on, the rest of the meeting was a blur to Harry. He didn't really pay attention to what was being said, it was just the usual death eater movements talk. He did manage to pay attention long enough to hear that it would be McGonagal, Moody, and Lupin who were going to the Granger's house when the attack was supposed to come though. Finally the meeting ended, and Harry left to go upstairs to his room.
Upon reaching the third floor landing, he heard voices from inside his room, and upon closer investigation, realised they were those of Hermione and her parents.
"Harry should be up with Dumbledore any minute now, mum, don't worry," Hermione said.
"I don't understand why you have to wait until he comes to tell us why we're here," said David Granger.
"Because Dumbledore knows more than I do," she replied. Harry stood outside his door listening, until a soft voice next to his ear made him jump.
"Perhaps we should go in instead of just letting Hermione's parents debate why they are here?" whispered the headmaster from directly behind Harry.
"Professor," said Harry, his heart rate slowing. "I didn't see you there."
"I know, but perhaps we should inform them of what is going on," said Dumbledore. Harry nodded and rapped loudly on the door once.
"I bet that's them now," said Hermione from inside the room. Harry and Albus heard footsteps cross the room to the door, which she opened slightly. "Hello Professor, Harry."
"May we come in?" asked Harry smirking.
"Well it is your room," she said opening the door all the way. Ushering them inside, she closed it behind them. Hermione's parents stood to greet Harry and Dumbledore as the three of them walked back over to the bed.
"Albus, Harry," said David smiling. "How are you?"
"As well as to be expected," said Harry smiling. He shook Mr. Granger's hand and turned to Emma, but found himself smothered in a hug.
"Oh, it's great to see you again Harry!" said Mrs. Granger, who was cutting off Harry's supply of air.
"It's nice to see you too," Harry said struggling with his breath. She released him with a timid smile. Rubbing his ribs, Harry turned to Hermione. "She could give Molly a run for her money."
"As much as we enjoy seeing you again Harry," began David. "Could we get to the part as to why we are here with several packed suitcases?" Dumbledore's expression quickly changed to that of concern.
"Please be seated," he said, conjuring up three chairs for the adults; Harry and Hermione sat on Harry's bed. "First of all, I warn you that this may come as a bit of a shock." The Grangers nodded and Harry took Hermione's hand and gave it a light squeeze.
"It's bad then?' asked Emma.
"Certainly not as bad as it might've been" replied Dumbledore. "But I suppose it isn't the grandest situation in the world." Hermione's parents leaned forward slightly so that they could hear every word of what Dumbledore was about to say.
"Last night I received information that you two were the targets in Lord Voldemort's next attack," Dumbledore said grimly. Emma's eyes widened as she brought her hand to her mouth. David simply paled. "Fortunately, we have gotten you here safe and sound, so there is no chance you will be harmed." The tension in the room eased as Hermione's parents realised that they were not in any immediate danger.
"However," Dumbledore continued. "We still believe that your residence is a target. The death eaters will more than likely destroy it when they do not find you there." Harry felt Hermione's grip tighten around his hand at the mention of her house possibly being destroyed.
"Well are you going to protect it?" asked Emma.
"The Order voted to attempt to capture your would-be killers before they do any damage to the house, but nothing is certain. I suggest having...what do muggles call it? Insurance? Just in case we cannot prevent them from causing damage."
"Yeah, we should be adequately covered," said David. "So that's why we're here?"
"For the moment, yes," said Dumbledore. "The Order agreed that the safest place that you would enjoy would be Marseille. We will transport you there as soon as we can and-"
"Begging your pardon," said Emma. "But why do we have to go to Marseille?"
"I thought it would be in a region that you guys would like," said Hermione from the bed.
"Dearest, as much as we love Southern France, we would like to be somewhere that was closer to you," said Emma. David nodded his agreement and looked at Dumbledore.
"It really isn't all that safe here," said Dumbledore. "There aren't many places that we can protect, especially not in England."
"They can stay here," said Harry. The other four looked at him with bewilderment. "What?" he asked. "This is my house now, and if they want to they can stay here. The location is kept secret by you Professor, so I don't see how there could be any other place in England - scratch that, the world that could be safer than here."
"Harry, this is the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix," said Dumbledore. "It is number one on the list of potential targets for Voldemort, should he ever find the location."
"But you're the secret keeper, so unless you plan on telling him, he won't be able to find it," retorted Harry. Dumbledore's brow furrowed in thought.
"Perhaps you're right," he said. "Assuming, of course, that you have no objections?" he asked David and Emma.
"None at all," replied Hermione's father.
"Are you sure it's all right, Harry?" asked Emma.
"Positive," he said. "There are enough rooms in this place to turn it into a small hotel."
"It's settled then," said Dumbledore. "I will inform the Order of the decision after I depart tonight. You two shall stay here until we have determined that it is safe for you to return to your house. I think Dobby can adequately prepare a room quickly. Dobby!?" The house-elf appeared and the Grangers jumped at his sudden appearance.
"What can Dobby do for you, Great Albus Dumbledore?"
"Please, Dobby, just call me Albus."
"Yes sir, Albus, sir." Dumbledore smiled.
"Please ready a room for Mr. and Mrs. Granger, they will be staying with us until further notice," Dumbledore said. The house-elf nodded and disappeared with a snap of his fingers.
"What was that?" asked Hermione's mother.
"A house-elf," said Harry. "His name his Dobby, and he's one of the best there is. If you ever need anything, and I mean anything, just call his name and ask for what you need. He'll have it for you in under a minute, if that." At that moment, Dobby reappeared with a crack and bowed to Hermione's parents.
"The fourth room on the left on the second floor is ready for you, sir and miss," he said. "Is there anything that I can get for Harry Potter or Hermione Granger?"
"I'm fine thanks," said Hermione.
"I could use a butterbeer," said Harry. The elf snapped his fingers and instantly a frosty bottle of butterbeer appeared in his hand, which he gave to Harry.
"If sirs or misses need anything else, just call for Dobby." And with that he was gone.
"Well, perhaps if you are ready, we can get you settled into your new room," said Dumbledore standing up and banishing his chair. The Granger's followed suit and stood up. Dumbledore walked to the door and opened it, Emma following him, but something had caught David's attention.
"My, these posters are bloody amazing!" he exclaimed looking at the moving pictures of Harry flying around on his firebolt chasing the snitch.
"Thanks," Harry said. "They were a house-warming gift from Dobby." David nodded and walked over to Emma and Dumbledore, who then left the room, closing the door behind them.
"That was a really sweet thing you did back there," Hermione said putting her head on Harry's shoulder.
"I couldn't very well just let your parents go to France worried about their only daughter," he replied. "Although you do know these means that you'll have to sleep in your own room for the next three days." Hermione looked at him with disappointment.
"I suppose you're right," she said standing. "Well, I better be off to bed then, I want to get my last few nights of good sleep in." Harry nodded.
"Good night," he said standing beside her and giving her a quick kiss on the lips.
"Good night."
Later that night Harry lay awake in bed, unable to fall asleep. It was the first night since the beginning of the summer that he hadn't slept with Hermione, and it felt extremely unnatural to him. He was just getting ready to summon Dobby to ask for a sleeping potion when a knock on his door disturbed his thoughts. Getting out of bed, he walked to the door and opened it slightly to see who was there.
"Hermione?" he asked. He opened the door for her and closed it behind her. "What are you-" but he didn't have time to finish because Hermione had thrown herself at Harry and crushed her lips to his.
"I couldn't do it," she said. "I can't fall asleep without you anymore."
"That makes two of us, then," Harry replied.
"Let me stay here," said Hermione. "Please, I don't care if my parents find out, I just need to be with you." Harry smiled at the girl in his arms and nodded, walking them both back to his bed where they collapsed next to each other, both of them falling into dreamless sleep right away.
The next morning Emma Granger woke early.
'It's only 8,' she thought. 'David's still asleep. I'll go check on the kids to see if they're doing ok.' Quietly, so as not to disturb her husband, she got out of bed. She had almost made it to the door when a floorboard she had stepped on creaked.
"Emma?" David asked groggily. "Where are you going?"
"To check on Hermione," she said. David sat up in bed.
"I'll come with you, I really missed seeing her." Emma nodded and they left the room, walking down the hall to where Hermione was sleeping. They opened the door and found Hermione's bed empty.
"Maybe she's already up," said David.
"She's probably with Harry," Emma commented. "Come on, Dumbledore said they were practicing a new spell, I want to see what it does." So David and Emma Granger walked up to the third floor to Harry's room, and knocked on the door slightly. They heard no response, so tried the handle. The door opened, and they looked in to find their daughter fast asleep in the arms of Harry. Both were silent for a minute, then Emma closed the door and faced her husband.
"Well," she said. "What do we make of that?" David shrugged.
"We knew it would happen," he said. "I certainly did, I even told her to keep herself from getting pregnant."
"We're not even sure that 'it' happened," said Emma. "They were just sleeping."
"Please," he said. "Maybe not this time, but I'm sure that they were doing plenty of other things before we arrived here." The two of them argued all the way down to breakfast, and even after Harry and Hermione woke up, they kept bickering about it to themselves.
=====
Monday morning rolled around, and Harry and Hermione woke to the bright September sun flooding into the room.
"Morning," Harry said kissing Hermione on the cheek. "Looking forward to Hogwarts?"
"Immensely," said Hermione yawning. "Come on, let's get dressed and head down to breakfast, we should be ready to leave early." Harry agreed, and so the two of them found themselves walking down to breakfast a few minutes later.
Upon arriving in the kitchen, they saw Hermione's parents chatting away animatedly about something. They immediately silenced when they saw who walked in the room. Sitting down, Harry noticed the lack of the usual early morning banter in the room.
"Is something wrong?" he asked to the Grangers.
"Well, to be quite frank, there is something we'd like to discuss," said David.
"We've talked it over, and thought it best to talk to you about it," added Emma.
"What is it?" asked Hermione.
"Well.....the other morning, we went to check on you two, and we kind of...walked in on you," said Emma. Hermione's eyes widened, but quickly narrowed again in concentration. Both she and Harry knew that neither of them had done anything in the past three days that would constitute something her parents could 'walk in on'.
"You see," Dan continued. "We saw you two sleeping with each other, and we thought-"
"Ohhhh," breathed a visibly relieved Hermione.
"We were just wondering if you two knew what you were doing," said Emma.
"Mum!" exclaimed Hermione turning red.
"I'm sorry dear, but everyone needs to have 'the talk' at some point."
"Perhaps I can explain everything," said Harry. "Hermione and I both love each other very much. We both know what true love is, and what it includes. Rest assured that what we do during our own time is nothing that we don't know the consequences of. We are both responsible and mature enough to know to take precautions, which we do." Hermione along with her parents stared at Harry, all of whom were suitably impressed with this statement.
"I think that covers everything then," said David resolutely, standing up. "Emma, maybe we should let these two get on with their breakfast, we still have some unpacking to do." His wife nodded and they left the kitchen, leaving Harry there pleased with himself, and Hermione stunned at her parent's reaction.
=====
"That was extremely impressive what you did back during breakfast," said Hermione who was sitting on Harry's lap on the Hogwart's Express later that day.
"I started planning that speech out the moment I said your parents could stay at headquarters," Harry said.
"Started planning what out?" asked Ron floating into the compartment followed by a knocking at the door that could only be Ginny.
"Nothing," the two of them quickly said. Hermione opened the cabin door to let the younger Weasley in.
"You two do know that you're not supposed to be here, right?" asked Hermione. Because Harry and Hermione were Head Boy and Girl, they had a compartment all to themselves.
"Yeah, but since when has that ever stopped us before?" asked Ginny. "So is the attack team ready for today?" she asked. Ginny had since been informed of the impending attack on Hermione's house.
"I hope so, I really like my house," said Hermione. "There are still a lot of things I own that have a lot of sentimental value to me." The other three nodded at this.
"So what's going on?" asked Ron.
"Nothing much," said Harry. He wasn't about to tell Ron and Ginny what he and Hermione were about to do when they entered the compartment.
"Ah, well Malfoy's out there abusing his 'prefectness' so we decided to duck in here for a little while," said Ginny.
"Make yourselves at home," Hermione said.
The four of them made conversation for a good portion of the train ride, and eventually Ron suggested that he and Ginny should get back to their original compartment, where they had left Neville and the Creevey brothers.
"You sure it was Malfoy that made you want to come in here and hide?" asked Harry jokingly.
"Har har," said Ron. "We'd best be getting back though, don't want to keep everyone waiting."
"Okay," said Hermione. "We'll see you at the train station." Ron and Ginny nodded and left the compartment.
The moment they were gone, Harry quickly moved to lock the door and cast an Impenetrable Charm on it. After doing so, he wasted little time in moving over to Hermione who stood up from her seat and met him halfway.
"I missed doing this," Harry said breaking off their kiss.
"You only did it a few hours ago," said Hermione smiling.
"That's not what I was referring to," he said running his hand down her back. Hermione drew in a sharp breath as she felt his hand press her body firmly up against his. Unable to take it any longer, Hermione dragged Harry down to the floor and straddled him, looking into his eyes.
It was when Hermione looked back up out the window that she saw them.
"HARRY!" she screamed terrified. Quickly sitting up and knocking her to the ground, Harry spun around just in time to see three death eaters on brooms flying alongside the train fire red jets of light at them. The spells shattered the windows of the compartment. Harry had no doubt that if it weren't for his seeker reflexes, he wouldn't have been able to duck in time. The spells hit the door behind them, causing the wood to splinter. More spells were shouted from the death eaters, and the wood below the broken window blocking Harry and Hermione from view started to splinter as well. Pulling his wand from his robes, and holding onto Hermione with everything he had, he said the first spell that came to his mind.
"SALUS EVOLO!" he bellowed.
This time the invisible force lifted him off his feet, and he felt as if he was being thrown backwards. The only thing his mind could register during the whole experience was that he was holding tightly onto Hermione, who was with him.
And then just as soon as it started, it stopped. Harry and Hermione hit the ground with a hard 'thud', and moments later their trunks along with Headwig and Crookshanks' cage crashed onto the ground beside them.
"Where are we?" asked a dazed Harry getting up. Hermione blinked her eyes and pointed at two very familiar large double doors made of oak.
"Take a guess," she said.
"Hogwarts?"
"Right in one," Hermione said. "We need to go find Dumbledore quickly and let him know what's happened."
"The bags should be safe here, none of the students are here yet," Harry said. Hermione nodded and the two of them set off at a run for the stone gargoyle, leaving their possessions behind. Upon reaching it they stopped and looked at each other.
"Any ideas?" Harry asked.
"None," Hermione said. "Start guessing."
"Fizzing whizbee," Harry said, and the stone gargoyle leapt aside.
"Good guess," Hermione said as they ascended the stairs to Dumbledore's office. Knocking once, they entered before awaiting a reply and found themselves staring at Dumbledore. Harry was the first to notice, though, that Dumbledore seemed...different. As if there was less worry etched into his features.
"James, I've told you before, you cannot start causing trouble before the start of term when the teachers cannot take house points away," Dumbledore said grinning. Harry and Hermione looked at the headmaster in confusion.
"James?" asked Harry. "I'm not James, I'm Harry, remember?" Dumbledore looked at the two of them in confusion.
"Harry?" he said eyeing him carefully. "No...you aren't James. Though I admit the resemblance is uncanny. And you might you be?" Dumbledore asked looking at Hermione. The two teens exchanged worried glances before facing the headmaster again.
"I'm Hermione, remember Professor?"
"No, I can honestly say that I've never met you before in my life," he replied with a slight smile.
"What are you talking about Professor?" asked Harry. "Not three days ago were you talking with us and Hermione's parents at headquarters."
"Headquarters?" asked Albus.
"Yes, you know, Number 12 Grimmauld Place, headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix," said Hermione. At this, Dumbledore's eyes narrowed.
"I'm not sure how you two know about the Order of the Phoenix," he said. "But Number 12, Grimmauld Place, wherever that might be, is most certainly not where headquarters are located." Harry and Hermione were now getting worried.
"We've known all about it since Voldemort rose to power again-" began Harry, but Dumbledore quickly cut him off.
"Wait," he said. "Again?"
"Yes, don't you remember?" Harry asked. "Killed my parents, then tried to kill me, only to have the curse bounce back upon him and thus cause his first downfall?" Dumbledore's expression then changed to that of understanding.
"Ahhh," he said. "Tell me Harry, what year is it?"
"It's 1997," he replied. Dumbledore smiled a sad smile.
"You will undoubtedly have to tell me how this occurred, but I think for right now it's better that we learn everything important that led to you ending up here," the headmaster said.
"What do you mean here?" asked Hermione. "Isn't this Hogwarts?"
"Unless I am very much mistaken, we are still in Hogwarts," said Dumbledore smiling. "But the matter at hand is not where you are, but when you are." Harry and Hermione's eyes grew wide and they looked at each other.
"Professor," said Harry. "Why don't YOU tell me what year it is." Dumbledore smiled as he looked at Harry and Hermione, who were both preparing for the answer they knew was coming.
"1977," the headmaster replied.
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WOW this was a long chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it, it took me a while to get it done. The next chapter might take awhile, I really have no idea what I'm going to write for it. This was all I had in my mind for the story up until this point. Rest assured though, it'll be there eventually. I promise you that there will be some serious mischief while Harry and Hermione are there, and that they'll get back to their own time eventually. As for right now, I'm off to bed to get my beauty sleep. Have fun all, and DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!!!