Whatever

Story Teller Sarin

Rating: PG13
Genres: Romance, Action & Adventure
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 4
Published: 01/03/2003
Last Updated: 26/06/2003
Status: paused

OMFG! I'm not good at summaries. Damn! H/Hr don't give up hope, even though Hermione still loathes Harry. Voldemort has kidnapped Hermione! Someone has to save her right? I give you one guess. PG-13 rating for strong language,blood and violence

Chapters

1. Opening

2. A New Beginning

3. Old Friends, New Boyfriends

4. The Play

5. Lost and Found

1. Opening

Disclaimer: I know that I don’t actually own Harry Potter, which would bring me out of misery, probably. In a virtual reality I might, but in the real world J.K. Rowling does.

A/N: This is another H/Hr romance fic. Combined with a little action/adventure. I think it might turn out well. Hopefully.

Whatever

*My Own Little Thing*

Key~

*…* = I’m saying these things

(…) = A thought

"…" = Speaking

italics = Anything in italics is sarcasm

‘…’ = When someone’s quoting another

Anything in all capital letters is when someone’s yelling

"Hey you, yeah you up there," said Ron in a very annoyed voice. I broke out of my trance.

"Huh?" I said in return.

"Are you ever going to make them stop bickering?"

"Yea, later."

"Well, hurry up. They’ve been fighting for a while."

I looked over at Harry and Hermione, whom Ron was talking about. They were having one of their usual quarrels. Yelling, slapping, kicking, some cursing along the way.

"What do you mean ‘I’m not interested’. It’s the biggest event that’s ever happened to me, Hermione! Well, if you don’t count the Triwizard Tournament." Harry was yelling, obviously at Hermione, though standing about ten yards away from her in the meantime.

"I don’t feel like going to the Quidditch game, Harry! I’m just don’t feel like it." Hermione stood with her arms crossed over her chest and breathing heavily as she yelled.

"Why won’t you go?" Harry was now looking at her with his best puppy dog eyes.

Hermione looked at him crossly, then turned around and swore under her breath, "Asshole."

Harry practically mimicked her as he turned around, trotted off to the nearest corner, sat down and cursed, "Bitch."

"See what I mean," Ron said looking up at me.

Draco apparated into the room, "What’s all the fighting about?" Draco Malfoy had become one of the trio’s best friends during their seven years at Hogwarts. Though Ron resented him a bit, still never forgiving him for calling Hermione a mudblood so much.

"Harry and Hermione are being very stubborn today," I told him.

"How can you tell?"

"More than usual she means," Ron joined in.

"Ahhh, I see." Draco glanced at Hermione, with her arms crossed, then at Harry, while he sat in the corner.

"So, what was the plan again?" Ron asked me.

"Well, let’s see. Harry and Hermione aren’t forgiving each other for something, I haven’t figured out what. And then they are going to fall in…"

I didn’t get to finish my sentence. Harry jumped off his feet and came over to me.

"What do you mean?" he asked very crossly.

"I can’t love him. It’s inhuman!" Hermione had stomped over, too.

"Uh. Excuse me. I’m not the one who won’t join one of her best friends for a Quidditch match!" Harry turned on Hermione again, beginning another fight.

"Who said you were one of my friends."

Harry had had it. He whipped out his wand and pointed it threateningly at her. Hermione copied him.

I turned away as lights began to flash, "Well, that pretty much sums up what’s going on in this story. If you didn’t figure it…out…" suddenly a giant flash of light overcame me and I crashed on the floor with a bang, "…just…read," I continued and then glared thousands of knives at Harry and Hermione. They looked at me sheepishly, "Sorry."

2. A New Beginning

Disclaimer: I know that I don’t actually own Harry Potter, which would bring me out of misery, probably. In a virtual reality I might, but in the real world J.K. Rowling does.

A/N: This is another H/Hr romance fic. Combined with a little action/adventure. I think it might turn out well. Hopefully.

Whatever

*A New Beginning*

Hermione glared at Harry in a most unusual way. It was almost as if they were having a staring contest, and when someone would lose they would be cursed.

They were sitting out on the Hogwarts grounds; it was late into the year. Very late. In fact, they were supposed to be leaving on the Hogwarts Express in about one hour.

Ron and Draco came walking up to them.

"Hey," Ron said as they came closer.

Neither Harry nor Hermione lifted a finger to them, they didn’t say ‘hi’, and didn’t stop staring down each other.

"What’s up with them?" Draco asked Ron.

"Obviously one of them is mad. Or both. You can never tell with those two."

Draco shook Hermione, but she didn’t move. Ron locked his arm around Harry’s and tried to pull him off the ground. Eventually he succeeded.

"Ron, what are you doing?" Harry asked him.

But before he could answer Hermione chimed in, "Oh my god. We’ve got less than an hour to get ready."

Draco nodded. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Draco all raced up to the front doors. Then slowed down to a walk as they opened them.

Everyone was inside, making last minute preparations. There was an enormous commotion and the halls rang with laughter and speech. People around were all signing pictures as the seventh years all had gotten photographs. Soon others spotted the four-some.

Parvati Patil and her sister Padma pranced up to them, "Hey. You guys want to sign our pictures?"

They saw that the twins had pictures of nearly everyone in the seventh year. Harry could spot his and glimpsed that it was moving, as usual.

"Sure," he said as he grabbed both of his pictures from their hands. The others followed suit.

After about twenty people had come up to them and asked them for their autographs, Draco split from the pack and headed for the dungeons.

Walking up the steps toward the Gryffindor common room, Harry caught sight of Colin Creevey and his brother, Dennis.

"Hey Harry, Hermione, Ron," he said in a very eager voice.

"What do you want, Colin?" Harry questioned.

Colin and Dennis each held out a picture of Harry. It wasn’t like the others though; it was of him playing Quidditch.

Harry assumed that Colin had taken the picture with his camera, he so very much adored; though not more than Harry. In great depression, Harry took the pictures away from the two, pulled out his quill, and signed his name.

They soon made it up to the common room.

"Dragon hair," Ron said and the painting of the lady in the pink dress opened.

Inside there were several trunks lined up, all ready to be carried downstairs and out to the train. Harry, Ron, and Hermione fumbled up the stairs and turned separate ways when they reached the top to go into their own dormitories.

When Harry and Ron opened the door to their room, which still occupied the five beds, and started packing up all their trinkets and clothes Ron spoke up. Dean and Seamus and Neville listened closely to their conversation while pretending to pack also.

"Why were you and Hermione staring at each other like it was a death match?"

Harry froze; he couldn’t really recall what had made Hermione so pissed. "I don’t know."

Ron shrugged, "You know Harry, I don’t believe you."

"What?" Harry said with a perplexed expression on his face.

"You just can’t give in to the fact that you like her."

"What are you talking about, Ron?"

"Remember the first Yule Ball."

"Yeah."

"Remember how pretty she looked."

"Yeah."

"And now she’s started using that look quite a bit."

"Yeah."

"And remember how worried she was about you after the second task in the Triwizard Tournament."

"Yeah."

"And remember how distressed she was when you hopefully defeated You-Know-Who."

"Yeah."

"And remember how gorgeous she is."

"Yeah." Harry’s face went a bright pink color.

"And remember how much you love her."

"Yeah."

Ron grinned. "I mean, no."

Ron broke out into hysterical laughter and doubled up onto the floor.

The other three joined in. Harry’s face went a vivid red, which was full of embarrassment and anger.

"Yeah, we finally got him to admit it," Dean said as he tripped over his trunk and flipped onto his bed.

Everyone burst out laughing and he smiled then hopped up and gave a bow as if he had purposely done it. This made them laugh even harder.

*

The party piled onto the Hogwarts Express, all eight of them. There was Harry, Hermione, Ron, Draco, Parvati, Dean, Lavender, and Seamus. Yet there were only two couples, who obviously were sitting on each other’s laps. They were as following; Parvati and Seamus, and Lavender and Dean. Ron had previously been dating Padma, but they broke up before the end.

Then rose a commotion. They all agreed to pass around their pictures of each other. They each wrote their names on the back of their photos and then gave them to the others and followed a circle. Eventually, when all the photos had been returned to their owners you couldn’t tell whom the picture was of.

The group fell into a quiet conversation.

"You guys realize that we’re never going back to Hogwarts," Ron said in a gloomy voice.

The other seven replied with a simple ‘yeah’ in the same tone.

"Well, I’m going back," Lavender said in a cheer-up sound.

"Why?" Draco asked.

"I got a job there as the Divination teacher."

The rest nodded. They knew that the job suited Lavender well.

"Yeah, and I’m going to become a fortune teller. I’ve made a shop in Hogsmeade," Parvati told them in an equally cheerful voice.

Soon the quiet conversation erupted into a telling of what they would do while they were out of Hogwarts.

"I’m working with Mr. Ollivanders at the wand shop in Diagon Alley," Draco said.

Dean told his next, "I’m working for the Daily Prophet as an editor."

"I’ll be working at a book shop in Diagon Alley." This was evidently Hermione.

"I’ve got a job at the Quidditch shop," Ron said.

Seamus told everyone, "I’m going to be at the Three Broomsticks."

"What are you doing, Harry?" Parvati asked him.

Harry thought for a moment, then remembered what it was. "I’m playing for the England Quidditch team."

Hermione was still not talking to Harry. Ron noticed this. (He probably did something to really piss her off.)

The group fell into a sudden silence. All of them were thinking different thoughts.

(What will happen after we split up?) Ron thought.

(When will we see each other again?) was on Draco’s mind.

(I hate Harry.) was of course what Hermione had among her brain.

The trolley cart, which was being pushed by the same old woman, rolled along to the group’s compartment.

(Now she going to say ‘anything off the trolley, dears?’ and then we’ll all order.) ran across Dean’s head.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?"

They all ordered they’re usual; Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, and all the other goodies that were stored.

Not long after they started eating the whistle blew. They all reluctantly got off their seats and walked out into the crowded street of Platform 9¾.

Harry looked around. Every girl was crying, all the boys were shaking hands. And then there were the eight of them. Hermione hugged everyone except Harry, who got a glance, then trotted off towards her parents.

The others did the same although they actually said something to Harry, then walked off to find their parents.

Harry chose to apparate to his new home. It was off in the middle of nowhere it seemed, surrounded by forest and a crystal lake. It was in possession of Sirius who was now Harry’s official guardian. Harry was thankful to not be going home to the Dursley’s this summer.

He arrived at the front door of a fairly good-sized house. It had a large oak door and was made of wood. It had nice, white polished windows and a concrete porch. It was two stories tall and the backyard faced the lake that was a bright blue on account of the sky. Harry stepped into the home and set his trunk down by the door to rest.

(There’s nothing to complain about, Harry.) he told himself. (How about this, Hogwarts is over, Hermione hates me, and my life is trash.)

A/N: So, how was that? Good, bad, mediocre? Know how you can tell me, review. Yep, that’s what I said, review. You click on that little blue box below. Go ahead, give it a try. It won’t bite. I look forward to your responses.

3. Old Friends, New Boyfriends

Disclaimer: I know that I don’t actually own Harry Potter, which would bring me out of misery, probably. In a virtual reality I might, but in the real world J.K. Rowling does.

A/N: This is another H/Hr romance fic. Combined with a little action/adventure. I think it might turn out well. Hopefully.

Whatever

*Old Friends, New Boyfriends*

Hermione awoke Friday morning in a bit of a daze. She very vaguely remembered a dream from last night. It was hazy all around; no one was there. Then a dark figure crept out of the dense fog. She was startled when her alarm clock woke her up.

It was playing new music by the Weird Sisters.

She sat up on her bed, stretched, and went to take a shower.

Hermione lived in a one-story house with a small library across from her bedroom. It had several windows that spread sunshine throughout the home.

When she had cleaned up and changed into a dark purple blouse and black pants she headed out into her kitchen.

It was small with a refrigerator next to a freezer and across from that was a sink. There were granite countertops and a four-person table in the middle. Cupboards stretched all along the walls.

Sitting on the table already were some eggs, toast, jam, and coffee. Along with bacon and a bowl of cereal.

"What’s this?" Hermione asked the person sitting at the table.

"Just something I thought I’d whip up," the person said.

"But you can’t cook."

"So."

He lifted himself from the table and walked over to Hermione, giving her a tight hug and plotting small kisses on her neck.

"I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to eat."

She looked up at the handsome young man. He had devilish blue eyes and his hair was fluffy and blonde. He wore a green T-shirt with jeans and tennis shoes. He looked to be in his early twenties as Hermione was.

Hermione kissed him on the cheek, grabbed a piece of toast, and apparated to work.

The bookshop where Hermione worked was better known as Flourish and Blottes. She loved seeing all the Hogwarts students going in and out, buying what they need for school.

This particular day surprised her. Someone had just walked into the store, but wasn’t a student. It was too early in the summer for students to come in anyway.

"Hey, Herm," someone called from the door.

Hermione turned around only to confront Lavender Brown

"Lav! How have you been?"

"Same as usual. I came in to pick up some books though."

"What else would you find in a book store."

"Good point. Anyway, I’m looking for a book called What to do When You’ve Found The One."

Hermione laughed and Lavender looked at her crossly.

"Sorry, it was funny." Hermione went to the bookshelves and started sorting through them, trying to find the one Lavender wanted.

"So, have you found anyone?" Lavender asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Actually, yes I have."

Lavender hadn’t expected this answer from Hermione. She had never pictured Hermione as the dating type.

"So, who is it," Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but Lavender cut her off, "Is it Draco? No wait, Ron."

Hermione made a grunting noise that told Lavender that she was wrong.

"How ‘bout Harry?"

Hermione had never thought about Harry until Lavender mentioned his name, then she scowled. She still never forgave Harry since they left Hogwarts.

"No. Aw poo. You two would have been cute together."

Hermione came over to Lavender and placed the book in her hands, "Well, it was nice seeing you again, Lav, but I need to get back to work."

"Hey wait. Herm, I’ve got these tickets to a play tomorrow night," Hermione turned to look at Lavender with a very confused look hanging on her face, "No, not like that. My boyfriend had to cancel at the last minute so I’m stuck with an extra ticket. You want to go?"

A grin came upon Hermione’s face. She nodded her head then wrote down her address and Lavender raced out the door.

*

Harry slumped out of his bed and down the stairs, not realizing that he had practice. He slowly cooked up some breakfast and lazily sat in on of the chairs that occupied the large table.

Harry was still living in Sirius’s house, though Sirius had moved out. The rooms were very spacious and furnished as if it were a castle with butlers and all the perks.

But poor Harry, he had no one to share it all with.

He hadn’t kept in contact with his friends, except for Ron of course. He had obtained Ron and his girlfriend, Arianna; Top Box seats at his Quidditch game against the Chuddley Cannons. He honestly wasn’t sure whom Ron would root for.

But first things first. Parvati was taking him, Seamus, and another one of her friends to a play later that night. Harry didn’t know who to dress or who the other girl was. He was sure that Parvati was trying to set him up though.

Harry looked up at the clock and his eyes widened. He was supposed to be at practice in ten minutes! Harry wolfed down his breakfast, raced up the spiral stairs *which is hard if you’ve ever tried it*, and apparated to the stadium.

When he arrived the team was already racing around the field, all on Firebolts. Harry looked up into the stands and saw Kinzlee Skeeter, Rita Skeeter’s sister. Unfortunately she was just as annoying as her older version, and loves to print the same exposes like her older sister.

As soon as Kinzlee saw him she bolted out of her seat and was down on the ground faster than you could say ‘Quidditch’. Trying his best to stay out of the spotlight, Harry hopped onto his brand new Starlight, the fastest model of racing brooms yet, and flew up into the sky.

Instead of using the snitch in practice, Harry used a remembral; it was bewitched so that it could fly. Though it didn’t have a mind of its own.

"Hey, Harry, you finally made it," called one of Harry’s teammates from below him. He had light brown hair and steel gray eyes.

"Yeah, I woke up a little late this morning." The young man flew up to Harry. His name was Yvonne Davis, he was a catcher for the England team.

"Well, you better get started practicing, we got a game coming up soon."

"I’ll keep that in mind." Harry, of course, already knew that there was a game. Yvonne just liked to remind everyone about things. It was as if he thought that they were like Neville Longbottom.

Harry searched around for the remembral when something in the stands caught his eye. Ron was standing there, waving at him like a maniac. All of a sudden, all his friends were coming back. After five years? A girl, whom Harry didn’t recognize, was standing next to Ron, holding his arm.

Harry flew over to them, but not leaving the stadium, they were in the front row anyway.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, a smile growing on his already adorable face.

"You ask that like it’s a bad thing," Ron said, looking hurt.

Harry laughed, "You know what I mean."

"We just came to watch you play," Ron said gesturing to the girl next to him.

Before Harry could ask who she was, the girl held out her hand.

"I’m Arianna Starogan." Harry was surprised; she had an American accent.

"Harry, look out," Ron said nearly screaming it at him.

Harry looked at Ron with a perplexed look on his face. Ron pointed behind Harry and he turned around. But it was to late. Even though the snitch was fake, the other balls weren’t, including the bludgers.

And, to Harry’s unfortunate luck, a bludger came a hit him upside the head. Nailing his scar. Harry kind of wobbled on his broom for a moment, then just tipped off it.

*

"Harry, wake up," Parvati’s voice came in clear. As Harry flickered his eyes open her hazy figure came into focus.

Harry sat up and clapped a hand over his head. He had one of those headaches where when you get up you feel like you’re going to faint *I had one of those just now, I almost collapsed on my stairs*. Harry, very shackely stood up, his head feeling like it had just been operated on. He wobbled for a bit, then fell to the grass, landing on his hands and knees.

"Come on, Harry, get up. You’re not usually like this," Parvati told him.

"Lay off, Parvati," Ron said in an almost over-protective tone, "He just got nailed by a bludger."

"Oh," Parvati said in shock. She went over to Harry and knelt down by his side, "Help me, Ron."

Ron nodded and bent down to Parvati’s level. They each gripped one of Harry’s arms, put it over their necks, and lifted him.

His feet wobbling while walking, Harry, led by Parvati and Ron, made his way to his house.

"Maybe, we shouldn’t apparate him home, he might not make it in this condition," Parvati said. Ron nodded his head again.

Arianna was sulking a ways behind them. (Maybe, their friendships are stronger than I thought. Well, as long as no one loves another we shall prevail.) she thought.

*

"Do you think he’ll be all right?" Parvati asked Ron as they hoisted Harry onto his bed.

"Yeah, he just needs to rest," Ron whispered back.

They left Harry alone for a little while as he slept. And as he slept, he had the weirdest dream.

It was, dark with a hint of a winter frost. The ground below Harry was covered in a red liquid. There was a muffling sound behind him and he swerved to come face to face with absolutely nothing. Another sound came from behind him again and he turned, still nothing.

Then came a voice, familiar, horrible. "Your precious Potter won’t save you now, he’s done with, finished."

"What are you talking about. He’s not gone." Another familiar voice.

"You should learn to pick your friends better little girl, you never know when they’ll desert you. I thought that you of all people would know."

"LIAR!" Harry heard a small gasp for air. She was crying.

"DON’T call me a liar little girl. You know nothing of what I’ve been through. You know nothing of what that Potter’s done to me!"

Harry heard a scream, and then there came an over-whelming green flash.

Harry woke up, close to screaming himself. Who had they been? He glanced over at the digital clock on his nightstand. He had exactly half-an-hour until the play began.

Harry scrambled out of bed and picked out his best suit. It was like every other tux the world has seen. Black with a white shirt underneath. He quickly pulled it on and ran downstairs.

Parvati was sitting there with Seamus.

"Finally. Sleep well?" Seamus asked.

"Like a baby," Harry replied. He didn’t want to tell them about the dream, more like nightmare.

"Well. We had better get going or we’ll be late," Parvati said, "Oh, Harry, muggles will be there so no magic got it."

Harry glumly nodded. He hated these muggle get-togethers; they reminded him of the Dursleys.

"Now, Candy is going to meet us there." Parvati walked over to Harry, straightened his bow tie, and they all apparated about a block away from the theater.

A/N: How was it? Let me know through your reviews plz. I’ll set a minimum. If you liked it and I should continue, give me at least five reviews. Then I’ll get started and post chappie three.

4. The Play

Disclaimer: I know that I don’t actually own Harry Potter, which would bring me out of misery, probably. In a virtual: reality I might, but in the real world J.K. Rowling does.

A/N: This is another H/Hr romance fic. Combined with a little action/adventure. I think it might turn out well. Hopefully, anyway.

Whatever

*The Play*

The trio had appeared in a narrow alleyway behind the theater. Harry could see at least a hundred people filing into the large building. There was a sign above the street that said ‘Cinderella’ and another next to it that said ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

"Hey, Parvati, which one are we seeing?" he asked her while still looking into the crowd.

"Romeo and Juliet, Harry."

There was a sudden ‘pop’ that made Harry and Seamus jump. "Candy! Glad you could come. We’re seeing Romeo and Juliet and it starts in fifteen minutes so lets get a move on." Parvati shoved Harry and Seamus into the large, glass double doors.

There was an extremely large and noisy crowd inside. Muggles were everywhere. It was as if the wizarding world would eventually be swallowed whole by them all. There were some buying drinks and snacks, others were casually blabbering on and on, and then some were heading through large, oak double doors.

Harry looked around until something caught his eye. A girl that looked about his age, her hair pulled up in a very fashionable bun. For a moment he thought it was Hermione, but he blinked and she was gone.

They decided to get some candy then headed through the doors that said ‘Romeo and Juliet’ over them.

They found their seats, which were stationed in the very back of the immense room. The ceiling was covered in a deep navy blue and all along the wall and going down to the stage were red chairs. And at the bottom was a pearl-black stage were two silk-red curtains that stretched from the ceiling to the stage.

Harry glanced around the room. He couldn’t remember the last time he was around so many muggles. The wizarding world seemed so much more advanced than this one.

Again something caught his eye. It was the girl from earlier and she was sitting two seats away from him. This time he was sure that she was Hermione, her hair and eyes were precisely the way he remembered them from school.

Harry desperately wanted to go talk to her, but he couldn’t. He soon noticed who was separating them. It was a boy; they were making small talk so obviously something was between them. He knew it would be awkward to talk to her. He didn’t even know if she would recognize him.

He looked to his other side; Candy was sitting there. Her sand-blonde hair falling to her shoulders, her light blue eyes fixed on the curtain. He started to make a conversation, but the lights suddenly dimmed. He heard everyone clapping and started to himself as he settled back into his chair. The curtains rose and the play began.

Harry was never really interested in romance genres. He didn’t find them interesting. So during the next few hours he sat back and tried sleep. He eventually succeeded, and the dream that returned scared him.

It was still dark, and the red liquid was still soaking under his feet.

"Your precious Potter won’t save you now, he’s done for, finished," came the slithery voice. It sent a shiver down Harry’s spine.

"What are you talking about. He’s not gone."

"You should learn to pick your friends better little girl, you never know when they’ll desert you. I thought you of all people would know."

"LIAR!" Harry heard a small slap that he hadn’t heard before, then the gasp. He again knew that whoever it was, was crying.

"DON’T call me a liar little girl. You know nothing of what I’ve been through. You know nothing of what that Potter’s done to me."

Harry heard the shrill scream again and then the flash of green light. Just as before, but the picture didn’t fade, he didn’t wake up. It just kept going.

"HARRY!" screamed the girl. Harry moved forward, everything was coming into view.

Harry heard clapping once more and he opened his eyes. The play was over; the red curtains were closing. He sat up and clapped along with the others, he didn’t want to seem rude.

They all rose to their feet and walked out of the massive room.

"Did you like it Harry?" Parvati asked.

Harry was kind of in a daze, thinking about the reoccurring dream.

"Harry?" Candy called. He immediately shot out of the stupor. He had never heard her talk before.

*

Hermione knew Harry was there. She didn’t want to talk to him. She wasn’t still mad at him, who holds a grudge for five years. Hermione didn’t want to apologize. She had so many things to say she was sorry for. For not speaking to him since they left Hogwarts, for being mad at him, for dumping him in sixth year. She had a list stored in her head with a thousand things she could say sorry for.

"Wasn’t that great?" Bob said. He was Hermione’s boyfriend.

"Yeah," Lavender added, "Tragedy, romance, it’s the perfect play. Who cares if it was written by a dead muggle?

"Whatever," Dean came in. Dean was now Lavender’s boyfriend.

Hermione didn’t say anything until she arrived at her house, and then it was only to herself.

"I saw a lot of people today, Cookie," she told her cat. Cookie was Crookshanks’s daughter. Crookshanks wasn’t around anymore so Hermione kept his daughter as a memory. Hermione loved Cookie just as much as Crookshanks just the same.

"The play was great, too. I saw Parvati, Dean, Lav, Seamus, I even saw Harry. Yeah, I think this is going to be the start of a new era."

It was late, quite late. When Hermione checked her watch it said 10:42. "Well, I guess I better get to sleep."

She put Cookie on the ground and headed down the peach-carpeted hallway. She then changed into her pajamas, a spaghetti-strap tank top and plaid pants, and hopped into bed. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that she felt the orange cat jump onto her bed and curl up at the foot of it.

The clock ticked quietly, and with twelve loud gongs, the two hands landed on the XII that sat atop the face. This signaled the start of the new day.

At that precise moment, as if on cue, a shadowy figure made form outside of the window. It slithered inside and stood at the foot of Hermione’s bed. Cookie woke abruptly, hissing and patting Hermione’s feet with its paw. Trying desperately to wake her. Nothing was working. Hermione was too fast asleep to be awoken by a cat.

Slowly, the figure crept to the side of Hermione’s bed where it could look down on her face. It raised its wand and out of it uncoiled a strong rope. The rope formed around Hermione’s body and squeezed tight. Hermione woke up in a startling position. Ropes bound her legs and arms unbearably tight to her body.

Before she yell for help, or even shriek in pain, more of the lengthy, coarse rope had gagged her. Her eyes widened in shock as the enshadowed person pulled out its wand once more and muttered ‘Wingardium Leviosa’ and floated Hermione over to him.

She fell into whoever it was’s arms. It then apparated quite quickly. All the while, Hermione was clueless to what was going on. Of course she knew that she was being kid-napped, but why? Why would someone want to kid-nap her? It was all so baffling.

*

Ring...Ring...Ring..."Come on, Hermione. Pick up the damn phone, this is an emergency." It was Lavender, "You won’t believe what happened last night!"

Not long after there were several very loud knocks on Hermione’s front door. And not long after the knocks had finished did Lavender discover that the door was unlocked. She let herself in under the circumstances.

"Hermione?" she called into the sun-lit room, "Hey, Hermione, ya there?" There was still no answer.

Lavender walked a few paces forward. There was no sound, just a bone-chilling silence. (Maybe she’s still sleeping.) she wondered. Lavender decided to check Hermione’s bedroom.

There was a small click as Lavender opened the door to the petite, dim room. She peered inside. Everything was as it was supposed to be. The four-poster bed was neatly made, nothing was out of order, there was a large shelf of books over the window, it seemed so much like Hermione that Lavender shuddered to think they weren’t in school.

Lavender went down and sat on the bed. Cookie crawled from underneath it, shivering.

"Aw, poor kitty. What’s the matter?" Lavender didn’t need to be able to speak with cats to see that it was holding something in its mouth. Lavender took the piece of paper. She held it in her hands for a while, thinking. (What if this is something private? What if it’s a love note?) Lavender smiled at the thought of Hermione in love and decided to open it. The smile that seemed glued to her face widened when she read the first line, but it slowly descended as she read the scrawls of writing that could not possibly be Hermione’s:

Dear Mr. Potter,

How are you this lovely night? The perfect rays of the full moon had fallen on her face as she slept peacefully, not knowing that I was watching her from the side. Her sleek brown hair pulled up into a ponytail, her pale skin so soft when it was touched. I think you know whom I’m talking about.

Yes, Miss Hermione Granger is her name I believe. And you don’t know how much fun it will be to torture her. At any mere moment I could whisk her away from this world, and she won’t be able to do anything to save herself.

Oh, it’s been so long since I’ve been able to kill someone. I’ve been longing to do it for quite sometime. You should see her now. Ropes bound tightly to her, face now paler than the moon as I write this. You have no idea how much pain she feels write now.

If you do indeed wish her safe return, come to me. Sacrifice yourself in the name of love and friendship. Once more there shall be n o one to stop me from overtaking this idiotic world. If you do choose to remain there, I hope you pray that God will take her instead of Satan. I don’t see why he would though. If you decide to come you have until September 1st. That is three months this Sunday. That is three months to prepare. That is three months to track me down and three months to save her.

I believe you know

P.S. I’ll be waiting.

The grin that had once sat on Lavender’s face had vanished completely, replaced with a huge whole. In awe Lavender sat, staring at the letter, not knowing what to do. Her best friend was in danger. The letter had been for Harry. You-Know-Who had obviously written it.

Lavender came to her senses mere seconds later. She raced into the living room where, in the corner, sat a small wooden fireplace.

Lavender looked into the fire and called "HARRY!"

A/N: I can’t think of anything to write here. So, if you liked it then write a review. If you didn’t like it write a flame. I’ll post the next chapter if I can get at least ten reviews. Thanx.

5. Lost and Found

Disclaimer: I know that I don’t actually own Harry Potter, which would bring me out of misery, probably. In a virtual reality I might, but in the real world J.K. Rowling does.

A/N: This is another H/Hr romance fic. Combined with a little action/adventure. I think it might turn out well. Hopefully, anyway. I’ve decided to make some changes to it, for a preferred thing. Mostly in the sentence structure, and since I’m currently reading the fifth book I’ll try to keep it like this. So as not to have any spoilers.

Whatever

*Lost and Found*

"What?" Harry’s head popped in to the fire, the dancing flames licking his messy black hair.

"Did you know about this?" Lavender asked holding up the folded letter.

"What is it?" Harry asked, a bewildered expression on his face.

"What does it look like?"

"A letter," Harry said seeing the format it was written in.

"Who do you think sent it?" Tears started to roll down her face and she did her best to hide them from Harry.

Noticing the tears he decided not to push it, "So, Hermione has a boyfriend. Why should I care about one of her love letters?"

"Well, if this is a boyfriend I’m not envious."

"Why should you be? I mean, you’ve got Dean."

Lavender blushed. She didn’t know that Harry knew about her and Dean. "That’s not what I’m talking about. I mean, she does have a boyfriend, but this isn’t it."

"Hermione’s cheating on him? Never would’ve thought Hermione would cheat on someone."

"Harry, don’t be stupid. This letter was meant for you."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "What’s Lavender getting at?" he asked himself. "Why’s it for me?"

"Here," Lavender said, tossing the letter to Harry. Tears still falling across her cheeks, "I’m going to tell Bob." Lavender stalked out of the room and Harry heard the slamming of the door.

Harry pulled out of the fire and sat on the soft couch. He opened the letter and read, still not seeing the point to why Lavender was sobbing.

Only once he finished, read again, again, and read once more did Harry chose to get off the sofa. His mouth still hung open, but, shaking off the fact that Hermione had just been kidnapped by Voldemort, he went to talk to Ron.

"Ron?" he asked when Ron’s red hair appeared in the flames.

"Harry?"

"I’m going to make this quick," Harry pulled in a deep breath and added, "Hermione’s been abducted."

"By aliens? Or was it by books, that would explain a lot."

"Ron, stop kidding around, this is serious," Harry said in a sharp tone, "She’s been kidnapped by Voldemort."

Ron winced at the name, but decided to over look it. "She’s been WHAT!!! Why?" he said, starting off angry then confused.

"I don’t know. You’ve got to help me find her!"

Ron face crept into a grin. "You still like her," he said slyly.

"Ron, DON’T change the SUBJECT!" Harry yelled. Then added, "And no I don’t."

"Then why…"

"She’s our best friend, Ron. Are you going to help or not?"

"Fine. Jesus, you get mad easily," Ron said sighing. He stepped out of the fire, fully materialized in front of Harry. His hair was still flame-red, his face was still covered in freckles, but somehow, this didn’t seem like Ron.

"Okay, here’s the letter," Harry said handing it to Ron.

"Yeah, so how exactly are we supposed to find them?"

"I have an idea of where they might be."

"And where is it?"

"In fourth year when the cup had been changed into a portkey it brought me to this cemetery. I was tied to a gravestone and it was where Voldemort’s dad was buried. The house is in Albania I know, but I just don’t know where."

"Okay, that’s specific," Ron said sarcastically.

"Well, we know what country it is, so that narrows it down. Plus, Albania’s a really small country. We should be able to find it."

"Harry, I don’t mean to disappoint you but…this seems rather impossible. And we only have three months. How the hell are we supposed to find them by then!"

"Well, we should start by not wasting time!" Harry said, his tone rising slightly, "Now go get your broom and wand."

"What about some…"

"We’ll get new clothes in Muggle shops. We want to blend in."

"How…"

"GO!!!"

Ron apparated to his own home and Harry sat down on the sofa once more. What was he getting himself into? How was he going to get Hermione back safely? He decided he would think about that later. For now he went up to gather his broom and wand also.

*

"So, we’re going to The Riddle House?" Ron asked holding a map in his hands.

"Yep."

Ron looked down at the map, which was significantly out of the ordinary. It had three dots, one black, one red, and one blue. The black dot told them their destination, the red dot was Ron, and the blue dot was Harry. Currently, Harry and Ron were just sitting on the paper, not moving or anything. Then again, so was the black dot.

"Let’s go," he said, gathering his courage. Their brooms rose higher and higher, they were going to wait until they were above the clouds to start moving forward. Soon they were passing through a clear mist of clouds, and then they saw the orange and yellow rays of the morning sun coming towards them against the pink sky.

It looked like the perfect thing to paint. Below them was a sea of mauve-colored clouds, in front of them was the pink-tinged sky, behind them you could see the dark sky fading away, and before them was the marvelous, bright yellow and orange rays of the morning sunshine.

Warmth spread through Harry’s body, he looked over at Ron, who nodded. They tugged in a breath and raced forward.

Harry’s broom was much faster than Ron’s so he slowed down a bit. To him it was as slow as a snail, to Ron it was as fast as the speed of light. Ron pointed towards the southeast and they turned to head in that direction. He didn’t know why, but he almost knew that they would be going there. Like a magnetic force was pulling him to Hermione…and Voldemort.

"Why am I going to find Hermione? Surely her boyfriend could do it," Harry thought, he felt a speck of jealousy flow through him, but shrugged it off.

"Harry? You okay?" he heard Ron call. Harry broke from his thoughts and realized that Ron was at least fifty feet ahead of him. Then he saw that he was going at the speed of a walking feather against a breeze, a very stubborn feather at that. "What’s on your mind?"

"Nothing," Harry said as he sped up to Ron.

"Fine, Harry. If you don’t want to say, but you can tell me you know."

"Nothing, really." Harry smiled and then looked at Ron seriously again. "So, where are we?"

"Um," Ron pulled the map out from his pocket, "At the speed we’re going we should be right over the English Channel."

"Well, let’s take a look." The two dove down several meters and were shrouded once again in the clouds. Below they saw another magnificent site. The deep blue ocean covered in an icy blue mist with small shadows creeping under the surface. They lowered their brooms several hundred feet more and let the water lap them. Harry had the urge to jump from his broom and dive straight into the cool water.

"Do you hear something?" Ron asked him while they were enjoying the feeling of the cool liquid. Harry turned to him and heard it too. It was like the roar of an engine. They looked behind them and both pairs of eyes, blue and green, widened.

They both turned in opposite directions to avoid the ship. Harry looked at it, it was huge. He felt as if the iron sides were going to fall on him. He considered flying higher, but that was out of the question. It could be a Muggle liner and he might need to stay out of sight. As long as no one looked over the side he should be fine.

But Harry did decide to fly up a little higher, just enough to see the name. "S.S. Badger?" Harry said to himself quietly. "Sounds like something a Muggle…" But Harry’s thoughts were interrupted by scream above him. "Shit!" He looked up and there, along with about fifteen other people were staring right back at him. "Definitely Muggle boat."

Harry stared at them strangely. Apparently he had broken up a costume party because everyone was in strange clothes. A woman wearing a princess dress had fainted; a man with a king’s outfit was helping her. There was a man in a cowboy outfit and next to him another man wearing what seriously reminded Harry of a mandrake.

The man dressed as a cowboy was clearly experienced as a rodeo clown. He flung down a lasso and, before Harry knew what was going on, the rope snapped around his body, tightening and causing him to let go of the broom as he was violently jerked up.

Harry watched in dismay as his broom flop into the ocean and pop back up, floating away behind the moving ship. He thought of Apparating, but he couldn’t do that. He would leave Ron behind and, even worse, he would take the Muggle with him. No, he would have to sit it out before he could go. He would have to hope that Ron would come get him.

*

Meanwhile, Ron was in a similar predicament. He couldn’t go up, what if it was a Muggle ship? He had to wait it out, hopefully he wouldn’t be spotted. Ron stayed low, not risking the fly upward. He was so close to the water that his face couldn’t have drowned in it if he moved just an inch lower. His clothes were already drenched in cold, salty water that if he bothered to fully maneuver into the water he would sink to the bottom.

Ron shivered, but kept to the water. He felt like he had leaned to far over a boat’s edge and the wake was hitting him. But he couldn’t move. At best, if someone did look over the edge they would think he was a dolphin or something. As long as they didn’t try to fish for him.

Concentrating too hard on not being seen, Ron didn’t feel the piece of paper slip out of his pocket and into the open water. He didn’t see the white parchment tear from the water pushing against it. He didn’t see the blue dot move onto the ship and out of site.

Ron stopped, letting the liner pass by slowly, hoping that when it was fully past no one would bother looking behind it as they hadn’t looked towards him. They didn’t. The ship moved onwards without anyone seeing him. "Okay Harry, it’s safe now," when there was no answer Ron looked around, "Harry?"

He looked back at the ship, "Uh-oh."

A/N: Okay. So Harry’s a captive on a ship full of Muggles, Ron just found out that Harry’s gone, and I have no clue on how to spell ‘Apparating’ so if I did spell it wrong tell me. I’ll try and post this story more frequently and I hope you all aren’t mad at me for taking so long. As always I’m not sure when the next chapter will be up and I’m sorry in advance if it is in a long time. I’m working on writing one chapter for each of my stories at a time and I have four stories I’m working on (three of which are on Portkey).