Interesting Summer

Story Title: Interesting Summer
Rating (up to PG-13 only):  PG
 

A/N:  I wrote this one a little over a month ago for the challenges forum.  Since then, I promised my reviewers that I would eventually post it to the fanfic side once my app went through.  I realize that the plot is not quite as deep as I would have liked it, but it took some heavy editing to keep it under the 5k word-limit imposed by the forum moderators.  Enjoy!  Please R&R.

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Harry Potter was having another restless night in his bed at Number 4 Privet Drive.  Not because of the raging thunderstorm outside but for the images that were plaguing him in his sleep.  His muscles were violently reacting to the dreams that were playing in his mind.  Given all that happened last year, the subject of those dreams was no surprise and was a frequent source of pain for him. 

"No. Oh God, no! Hermione wake up! You can't be dead!" His features relax momentarily. "Oh, thank God! You have to get her out of here!"

“Sirius! Look out!! NO-OOOO!!!”

Harry’s body bolted upright upon waking abruptly from his dream, his body covered in a cold seat, his eyes as large as tea saucers.  Still gasping for air, his hands bolted to his nightstand to find his glasses and his wand.  He found his glasses, but he heard the distinct clatter of his wand hitting and rolling across the wooden floor.  Harry swore to himself and reached to turn on the lamp.

“Bullocks!  The electricity’s out!” 

He then reached out his hand and did the same thing he did last year to find his wand in the alleyway.  “Lumos!” 

He expected his wand tip to light up much like it did before the previous year but gasped in surprise when the light illuminated the room.  He was expecting a light, but it was the source of the illumination that surprised him.  The light was not emanating from his wand, but from a white glowing orb resting in the palm of his hand.  In a quick and panicked state he whispered, “Nox!” 

“Any minute now, I’ll get an owl from the Improper Use of Magic Office to notify me of another disciplinary hearing.” 

He got dressed with a heavy heart and waited on the side of his bed.  He waited for almost an hour but no owl arrived.  Feeling brave, he held out his hand again, “Accio wand!”  His wand immediately darted to his outstretched hand. 

Another ten minutes passed – still no owl.  This brought some newfound courage.  He held out his right again and repeated his first spell, giving him the same small glowing orb in the palm of his hand.  A mischievous smile crept upon his face. 

“This summer just got a lot more interesting.”

-----------------

Harry spent the next few hours until sunrise experimenting and learning to control his new abilities – Summoning or levitating random objects, locking and unlocking his door, cleaning his room while sitting on his bed, etc. 

Harry walked toward the open window, opened his right hand to the window, and with roll of the wrist chanted, “Aquula!”  A heavy, fast flowing jet of water as thick as a firehouse erupted from the palm of his hand.  He quickly closed his fist and pulled back his band to cut off the flow of liquid.  Harry looked around the neighborhood to find any witnesses to the scene.  Luckily the streets were empty and all the homes still had their curtains drawn.

“Maybe with a little less feeling this time.” 

He pointed a single finger and with the same motion, “Aquula.”  A lazy stream of water emitted from his fingertip and dropped harmlessly to the shrubbery below.  “Excellent!” he proclaimed as he turned away from the window and pumped his fist into the air.

At that point, the clock caught his attention, and he groaned knowing that the Dursleys would be expecting their breakfast the moment they woke up.  He cleaned Hedwig’s cage with a wave of his hand, filled the water dish with a small stream of water from his little finger, and unlocked the door to head downstairs.

---

Aunt Petunia and Dudley had just departed the kitchen when Uncle Vernon raised from his chair, “Boy!  Clean up the kitchen and help Petunia in the gardens!”  Harry dropped his eyes in defeat and began gathering the dishes to the sink.  Vernon promptly turned and headed toward the front door to leave for work.  Once all the dirty flatware was assembled beside the sink, Harry glanced over both shoulders and a wicked gleam came to his eyes and a grin to his face. 

There’s a better way to do this now.”  Waving his open left hand to the dishes in a counterclockwise motion, ”Scourgify!”  The dishes were instantly spotless.  “Wingardium Leviosa!”  He then used both hands and mimicked grabbing and tossing plates into the cupboard one by one and the plates responded in kind.

Harry smiled and crossed his arms, saying in a satisfied tone to no one but himself, “That was quick.”

He then heard footsteps from the hallway and turned to see Vernon re-entering the kitchen.  Vernon promptly froze in place upon seeing that the entire kitchen was clean and everything was in its place.  Vernon’s face started turning progressively red as his eyes rested upon Harry.  “How did you finish that so quickly, boy?  I bet you used your freakish ways, didn’t you?”  His voice was low and menacing.

“How could I?”  Harry turned to face his uncle and open his arms and showing his hands, “My wand is upstairs.”

“No funny business, boy.  I’ll be watching you.”  Vernon then grabbed his lunch from the counter, glowered at nephew again and exited the kitchen.

Harry listened for the front door close and the car motor to start before relaxing.  He then turned toward the back door to report to his other taskmaster. “That was close.  I had better be more careful.”

----------

Harry reveled in his memories of the past few weeks.  Ever since discovering that he had the ability to perform wandless magic, Harry spirits had lifted somewhat.  Sure, he still had terrible nightmares at night about his time in the Department of Mysteries, but his new gift had given him a welcome distraction.  He also had more free time now that he was completing his chores more quickly.  His relatives had figured that Harry’s increased productivity was due to him finally coming out of the funk he was in at the start of the holiday, but only Harry knew otherwise.

Harry had just finished mowing the lawn in record time by making the lawnmower weightless and was able to push it with little effort.  He was now sitting at his desk with parchment and paper, writing a letter to the one person in whom he knew he could trust and confide his secret.

Hermione,

I’m that I haven’t written to you very much this summer.  I was having a great deal of trouble getting over Snuffles being gone.  I really wanted to talk to you about it, and I couldn’t exactly write about something like that in a letter.  Luckily, something came up that distracted me to help save me from myself, but I’ll get into that in a minute.  Anyhow, I’ve missed you (and Ron) terribly and can’t wait to see you again.  Hopefully, it’ll be sooner rather than later.

As far as what distracted me, let’s just say I’ve found something else that I’m good at and leave it at that.  It’s not something I feel comfortable writing in a letter but would rather show you face-to-face.  You could also say that I’ve been doing all summer right under the ministry’s nose, and they’re none the wiser.  Who knows?  I might actually be able to teach you something for a change.

Anyhow, I need to go.  I’m heading out for my evening walk.  (I leave before dinner so that I don’t have to eat downstairs with my relatives.)

Miss you,

Harry

Harry put his quill and ink away and began rolling the letter.  On cue, Hedwig flapped over from her perch and landed on the corner of the desk with her leg extended.  Harry attached the letter quickly.  “Take this to Hermione, girl.”  She nipped at his finger for a second before taking flight out the window.  Harry stared out into the late afternoon sky while following his owl’s progress along the horizon with an absent-minded smile on his face.  A warm feeling overcame him and his smile widened as he recollected the memory of his female best friend embracing in a warm hug at the end of term last year at King’s Cross.

“Yeah, I miss her.”  The feel of the cool evening air made him shiver for a second and brought him back to reality.  “Well, I’d better get moving, or I’ll get stuck downstairs watching my uncle and Dudley stuff their faces,” he thought with a sigh.

He then went out the front door to take his evening constitutional toward the park.  Fate, however, had another idea for him.

“Right on time, Freak.”

Harry spun around to see Dudley and six of his gang standing behind him.  He only got to see the image for a split-second as Dudley’s fist connected to Harry’s left jaw and forced him to fall, face first, on to the turf.  The boys all lay down upon, punching him without mercy. 

“I’ve got to get out of here!  Get me out of here!!”

At that moment, the remaining boys fell flat to the ground as Harry’s mass disappeared from beneath them.

------

Harry reappeared in a dark room, two feet above a dusty hardwood floor and landed facedown with a sickening ‘Thud!’ as his body made violent contact with the surface.  He groaned as he tried to lift his head to take in his surroundings but couldn’t lift his head more than an inch without feeling as if his skull were splitting into pieces  “Oh God, my head hurts,” was his final thought before drifting off to unconsciousness.

-----

Hermione had joined the Weasleys at 12 Grimmauld Place after finishing a vacation with her parents on the continent and had arrived just moments ago.  She was in the process of unpacking her trunk when a familiar white snowy owl started tapping the window to her room.  Her eyes widened in realization of what that meant.

“He wrote back!  He finally wrote me back!”

She opened the window to allow the courier entrance, and the owl landed on the corner of the nearest bed and stretched out the leg that carried the correspondence.  She removed the letter and went to the bathroom to get a bowl of water borrow a couple of owl treats from Ron’s room.  Hedwig cooed thankfully as Hermione picked up the letter from the desk and read through it quickly.

“Oh my, he’s been grieving all alone for his godfather, and I was off running around France on holiday.  I guess I should be thankful that he found something to keep himself busy.”  Hermione thought guiltily.  Then another thought hit her, “Oooh, I hope he hasn’t done anything to get himself in trouble with the ministry again!  That’s the last thing he needs.”

Hermione arranged quill and parchment and jotted down a quick letter (quick for her anyhow.)

Dearest Harry,

My parents and I returned from our vacation yesterday, and I have since come back to Snuffle’s place.  It’s not where I’d like to be, but the members still think this to be the safest place outside of the school.

I was relieved when I got your letter.  I knew you were probably ripping yourself apart about Snuffles and the rest of us.  The lifeless look in your eyes at the train station as we left haunted me my entire vacation.  I was grieving myself, but I know the pain I was feeling was nothing compared to what you were going through.  I wanted nothing more than to just have you stay at my house all holiday, but the headmaster said that was out of the question.  What’s worse is when my parents found out about our ‘adventure’ to the Ministry, they insisted on dragging me along on this bloody vacation.  Believe me.  I didn’t want to go.  I wanted to see you and talk to you – find some way to make you feel better.  I’m really sorry that I couldn’t be there for you when you needed me.

Anyhow, I’m glad that you found something to distract you, but please…PLEASE… don’t do anything that will get you in trouble again.  That’s the last thing you need.  I’ll do my best to get you out of there soon.  I want to talk to you about Snuffles as well as some other things.  Until then, I’ll miss you horribly.

Love From,

Hermione

She got lost in thought while folding the parchment and putting Harry’s name on it, “As far as those other things go, I have to tell you soon, or it will drive me crazy.  This last year taught me that life is too short to not live life to its fullest, and my vacation away this summer only reinforced these feelings. This summer, I will tell you how much I love you, Harry Potter.”

The door suddenly burst open, “HERMIONE!”

“Ron?!”

“Harry’s gone missing!”

“WHAT?!”

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Ron and Hermione burst through the girls’ bedroom door and out to the stairway that overlooked the parlor.  Professor Dumbledore was sitting in an overstuffed chair across from a crackling fire while Molly Weasley and Remus Lupin were pacing in front of the fire as Tonks was fervently explaining what she saw from her vantage point as Harry’s bodyguard-on-duty from the fireplace.

“I was following Harry from a distance, underneath my cloak.  He was on his normal evening walk when a group of seven muggle boys came up from behind him and attacked him.  The all jumped on him and stayed on him while punching Harry for all they were worth.  Then ‘POOF!’  They all fell to the ground and Harry was gone.

“I was on my way to help him when he disappeared.  I took care of the muggles’ memories, but I haven’t seen Harry anywhere near Little Whinging.”

“I have had the staff search the Hogwarts castle and immediate grounds with no sightings.  How long has Harry been missing now, Nymphadora?” inquired the headmaster.

‘About an hour.”

Remus offered, “Molly and Arthur have searched the Burrow, and I have looked around the streets here and found nothing.”

“Nymphadora, do you believe that Harry apparated somewhere?”

“That’s the odd part professor.  There was no loud noise that would be associated with apparition.  Also, the Ministry’s Magical Transportation Department picked up no one apparating in or out of the Little Whinging area since I popped in this morning at the start of my watch.”

After listening to conversation taking place below, Hermione’s knuckles were turning white as she grabbed the banister with almost lethal pressure.

“Mr. Weasley.  Miss Granger.  Have you had any communication with Harry recently?”  Hermione jumped in surprise at being addressed by the headmaster causing her to separate from her thoughts.

“What?! Oh, Hedwig just dropped off a letter from him a few moments ago.”  Hermione didn’t want to let anything slip out about Harry’s surprise, whatever it was.  “He seemed to be in pretty good spirits, given recent events.”

At that moment, Hedwig darted out of the open door behind the teens and between the two’s shoulders causing Hermione to scream in surprise.  The owl had a letter in her beak and made for the door to the bedroom on the next level.  She landed on a doorknob and began screeching madly.

“What is that blasted bird on about?” raged an annoyed Ron.

“He couldn’t be…” whispered Hermione in a barely audible voice before barreling up the stairs to the third floor landing.  She looked at Hedwig and then to the letter she had written to Harry a little while earlier that the owl had dropped at the bottom of the door.  She opened the door to Buckbeak’s old room cautiously and let her eyes adjust to the darkness inside the room.

“HARRY!”

----------

Hermione rushed back to the landing almost losing balance over the third floor railing.  “Professor!  Harry’s up here, and he’s in bad shape!  Call Madam Pomfrey!”

Within a few minutes, Professor Dumbledore had called for the school nurse and levitated Harry’s bruised form down to Sirius’ old bedroom on the first floor.  After casting a few cleaning charms on the room and laying Harry down carefully on the bed, Madam Pomfrey made her way in and began repairing the damage wrought on the young man’s body.

“I’ve mended his fractured jaw and the broken ribs.  I’ve also cleaned up the bruising, but he’ll still be quite sore when he wakes up.  He also took quite blow to the head and probably has a concussion.  He needs time to rest to let his brain recover from any internal bruising.”

“Is there anything that we can do for him, Poppy?” asked the headmaster.

“I’m afraid not.  He just needs to get some rest; he’ll wake up when he’s ready.  The poor dear, he gets into more scrapes than anyone I’ve ever seen.”  The nurse turned and left with a woeful look.

“Well, let’s go down to the kitchen, dears.  I’ll make us a late supper, and then we all should be off to bed.” Molly told them as she wrapped her arms around the teens’ shoulders as to encourage them to head down to the basement level.

“Great!  I’m starving.” bellowed Ron and left the room.

Hermione held her ground, raised her head and spoke up in a hopeful tone, “If it’s alright, I’d like to stay here with Harry.  I don’t think he should be alone when he wakes up.”

Mrs. Weasley looked to the Dumbledore for guidance, and he nodded his head affirmatively.  “Very well, dear.  But please come down to get a few sandwiches to bring back with you.”

“Thank you, mum.” Hermione said to Molly as she passed her elder.  The Headmaster of Hogwarts and Mother Weasley shared a knowing smile as they watched the young woman leave the room.

Hermione returned to Harry’s room a short while later in her nightclothes, carrying a tray filled with sandwiches and pumpkin juice and a couple of tomes for some light reading.  She placed the tray on a table on the opposite side of the room and went to Harry’s bed.  She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the forehead and stroked it gently with her thumb as she held his head.  In a voice just above a whisper she admonished him but gave a loving smile, “You gave us quite a scare today, Mr. Potter.  Rest now.”  She sat herself comfortably in a squashy armchair near the bed and began reading.

-----

A few hours later, Hermione awoke from her chair slowly as she heard Harry talking in a low voice.  “Okay.  When I give the signal, break as many globes as you can and run for the exit.  NOW!  Run!”  Harry’s legs started jerking violently as he attempted to run in his sleep.  His legs froze suddenly as he took in a deep breath.  Hermione realized what was happening as the tears began streaming down her face as she held her breath.

“Hermione!  Look out!”  Harry’s legs began jerking again.  “Oh God, no, Hermione.  Please don’t be dead.  Oh Merlin, no!  No!  NOOOOOOOO-O-O!!!”  Harry’s shoulders racked with heavy sobs as he struggled to catch his breath and tears flowed in waves.  “You can’t be dead!  NO!  Please don’t leave me Hermione!  It’s all my fault!  It’s all my fault!!”

Hermione’s legs finally allowed her to react.  She ran to the bed and jumped to Harry, wrapping him in a warm embrace.  Her heart ached for him; she wanted to hold him tight and never let go.  She wanted to do everything she could to take away all of his pain.  “Shh!  Sshh!  I’m right here, Harry.  I’m fine.  We’re both safe.” She said in a comforting voice as she rubbed circles on his back as she continued to hold him in a tightly. 

Harry returned the hug fiercely still sleeping, “Thank Merlin, you’re okay.  I don’t know what I’d do without you, ‘Mione.”  His features relaxed as well as his grip on her as his breathing eventually became regular again.

“Is everything okay dear?  I heard Harry screaming.”  Hermione looked up to see Molly Weasley just inside the door, approaching the bed.  Hermione blushed and was thankful she was on the outside of the covers and not under them with Harry.

“Harry was having a really bad dream, but he’s okay now.”  Molly visibly relaxed at the reply.  “Would you mind getting a damp rag for Harry?  He’s burning up.”

Mrs. Weasley returned a moment later and gave the wet cloth to the girl, and Hermione thanked her as she headed for the door to return to her bed.

Hermione turned her attention back to Harry and began dobbing his forehead with the cool rag.  “It’s not your fault, Harry.  It’s never been your fault,” she though to herself. 

After a few minutes, she tried to pull away from Harry when his arms tightened around her waist and his body shuddered.  “No.  Please s-s-stay.”  She sighed in defeat and put the rag on the nightstand and pulled the covers up around her.  She was soon drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

-----

Harry’s head was pounding when he woke up late the next morning.  He heard muffled voices, but they were becoming less fuzzy by the minute.

He heard Ron’s voice in a low hiss, “Ginny!  I didn’t bring you up here so you could squeal like a stuck pig.  You’ll wake them up.  Why do girls have to squeal like that anyhow?”  Ginny just ‘harrumphed’ as they left the room.

Harry slowly opened his eyes, only to see Hermione’s smiling face close to enough to his that he didn’t need his glasses to see her clearly.  He smiled with a contented look on his face, until a thought hit him and his smile faded.  “Hermione, “ he said in a raspy voice, “where am I?  The last thing I remember is getting beat up by my cousin and his gang.”

At this admission, Hermione’s smile also faded.  “You’re safe here.  You don’t have to go back.  I won’t let them,” she said with a gentle conviction as she put her hand on his cheek and ran her thumb across his face as they both smiled again.  Acting on the moment, he grabbed her hand from his cheek and pulled it gently to his lips and kissed it and held it to his cheek. 

Harry saw her face change abruptly to a look of panic as she began to pull away, but he held fast and tried to assuage her fears.  “Shhh.  It’s okay Hermione.  Don’t be afraid.  You helped me get through a very rough night last night.  I’m not reading anything into it.”  He kissed her hand again and said, “Thank you.”  He reached around her, and pulled her briefly into a tight hug.  When he released her, she got up quickly from the bed and left the room.  He immediately missed the warmth of her body next to his and bundled up into the covers.  “Was she blushing?  Merlin, what I wouldn’t give to wake up like that every morning.”  His cheeks blushed crimson at the thought.

-------

Harry slowly swung his legs and began walking stiffly toward the door when he saw his trunk at the foot of the bed.  “Phew.  I’m glad they sent someone to get my trunk.  I’m sure as hell not going back there.”  Harry slowly and with pained effort opened his trunk to pull out a change of clothes.

After a steamy, hot shower, his body felt a little better as he made his way down the stairs to the kitchen.  Harry opened the door slowly only to be briefly engulfed in a crushing motherly hug from Mrs. Weasley.  “Arrrrrgggh!”  Harry yelled painfully.  Mrs. Weasley immediately released him from her arms. 

“Oh!  I’m sorry poor dear.  I forgot all about you still being sore.”

Harry bowed his head with a smirk on his face, “That’s alright, Mrs. Weasley.  I did too until you hugged me.”  Hermione covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

“By the way dear, Albus will be visiting just after lunch and said that he wanted to speak with you if you were awake.”

“Okay.  Thanks.”

Harry sat down directly across from Hermione and began to push his food around the plate.  Truth be known, he wasn’t really very hungry.  He kept glancing up at Hermione, but the two never talked and only made eye contact in short glances.  Harry finally broke the silence, “Hey Hermione?”

“Yes?”

“I have a feeling that I know what Professor Dumbledore wanted to talk about.  I think it’s the same thing I wanted to show you.  Why don’t you come with me when I talk to him?”

“Uh, okay.  Sure.”

-----------

At around 1:00 in the afternoon, Harry walked of his downstairs room to get something to drink when none other than Albus Dumbledore removed himself from the fire grate in the parlor as Harry was passing by.  Harry stepped back in shock but quickly regained his composure.  “Good afternoon, Harry.”

“Good afternoon, Professor.  You said you wanted to see me.”

“Ah yes, but I believe that you wanted Miss Granger to be present during our meeting?”

“Only if you don’t mind sir?”

“Not all Harry.  When you retrieve Miss Granger from the kitchen, would you mind bringing a bottle of butterbeer in addition to the one you were getting for yourself?”

“How did he know that?” Harry wondered to himself as he turned to go down the steps to the kitchen.  Harry returned within a few minutes with three bottles in hand and one Hermione by his side.  The professor sat in the same squashy armchair he sat in the previous day while Hermione sat in the middle of a long sofa and Harry joined her on the end closest to the headmaster.  The professor cast a series of privacy spells before speaking.

“Now, I believe there is something you wish to show us, Harry?”

“Yes, sir.  But first I have a question.”  The elder motioned with his hand toward as to indicate for him to proceed.  “How was I able to get away from Dudley and his gang yesterday?  I heard that I didn’t really apparate.  How is that possible?”

“I have a few theories on that, but I’d like to see you attempt it again for deciding which one is the most suitable.  Do you remember at all how you accomplished it?”

“I just remember trying to think of a safe place to go to.”  Harry cheeks began to redden as he admitted to the source of his focus.  “I tried to picture myself close to Hermione.”  Upon hearing this, Hermione blushed almost as red as Harry.  “I guess I should be thankful that I was only one floor off.”

Dumbledore looked at him with a twinkle in his eyes, “Given the state you were in at the time, Harry, it is remarkable that you were able to do it at all.  Could you please attempt it again?”

Harry nodded and closed his eyes.  He pictured being on the other side of Hermione on the sofa and seeing a puff of smoke where he was sitting now.  He felt weightless for a second or two then opened his eyes.  When he looked where the headmaster had been, he was surprised to see a slack-jawed, wide-eyed Hermione beside him while the professor was a little further in the distance.

“Excellent, Harry!  Most excellent!  You, my dear boy, have learned to teleport!” the professor exclaimed as he brought his hands together.

“Teleport?  What the difference between apparating and teleporting?” Harry asked incredulously.

Hermione piped in at this, “May I professor?”  The headmaster bid her to continue.  “Teleportation has become somewhat of a lost art but operates on the same principles as a portkey.  Wizards who are able cannot only teleport themselves, but can also teleport others or objects without actually going themselves.  To teleport, you don’t necessarily have to be familiar with a place, but it helps--you just need to be able to envision its aura.”

“Well done, Miss Granger.  Unlike apparition, teleportation is virtually untraceable and it can be performed silently.  It is also not affected by anti-apparition wards.  Teleporting is a draining process however, which is why you were so weak when you arrived here.”

Harry nodded in understanding after listening to the professor’s comments.  A smirk crossed his face before disappearing quickly.  This didn’t go unnoticed by his headmaster as he spoke with smirk that matched Harry’s, “I’ll understand if you wish to keep this a secret, but I ask you not to transport yourself within the school and its grounds in this manner unless you are practicing.” 

Harry sighed as he understood the meaning of the statement and nodded, “Yes sir.”

“Now, back to what you wished to show us?” 

Harry nodded and got up from the sofa and walked about 10 feet away from the sofa and turned to face them.  “Right, I guess I’ll just demonstrate instead of trying explain it.”  He then pulled his wand from his pocket and tossed it to a shocked Hermione.  Extending both his palms he yelled, “Lumos!”  A ball of bright, white light appeared in each hand.  He turned his attention to his right hand, “Nox!”  The ball on his right faded entirely.  He raised his now free palm to the fireplace, “Aquula!”  A two-inch diameter column of water erupted from his and extinguished the logs in the grate within seconds as Harry closed his fist and the flow stopped.  “Nox!” he said again as the orb in his left hand disappeared.  Raising his left hand to the hissing logs, he shouted “Incendio!” and the fire re-ignited in earnest.

The professor clapped hands in applause, “Bravo, Harry!  That was quite an impressive display of not only ability but control as well.”  Harry’s gazed shyly dropped to the floor.  “I take it you have been practicing this?”

“Yes sir.”

“Splendid!  I wish to continue practicing with you when we return to school.  I will have to schedule this with you later, as I am late for a meeting at the ministry.  Good day to the both of you.”  Dumbledore stood up and apparated away without saying another word.

Both Hermione and Harry looked at each other for a few moments.  Hermione stood up, looked his wand in her hand and finally spoke up in a nervous tone, “I suppose you’d like your wand back now.”

“Hold still Hermione.  I’ll get it.”  He reached out his left hand toward her as if waiting to grasp something.  “Accio!”

They were both shocked as Hermione’s whole body floated quickly across the room to him.  He quickly braced his feet and grabbed her tight to hold her up as her body made hard contact with his.  Both faces took on an almost burgundy color as she reminded him sheepishly, “Um, you forgot to say the word ‘wand’ after the incantation.”

“Tell her Potter!  You have to tell her now, or you’ll never do it!”

Harry was still looking at his feet when he replied softly, “In my mind I was thinking ‘wand,’ but I guess my heart was thinking ‘Hermione.’  You can tell which one won out.”

“What?!”  Hermione’s eyes popped up to look at Harry.

Harry slowly lifted his head and emerald eyes locked with cinnamon eyes.  He ran his hand down the back of her hair only to bring a few strands with his hand as he brought it around to cup her cheek.  “I guess what I’m trying to say is, I love you Hermione.”

Hermione’s face opened into one of the widest smiles Harry had ever seen on her as she grabbed both sides of his face, kissed him hard, then wrapped him in a warm embrace.  “I love you, too, Harry.”

As he stood there holding the newfound love of his life in his arms, he kissed her forehead and couldn’t help but think, “Yep, this certainly has been an interesting summer.”

-- Fin.