Disclaimer: The usual, one "I do not own Harry Potter" order please. What's more to say?
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Harry hasn't seen his love for years. How many years precisely? Seven. He hasn't heard from her for five. So what happens when she returns from her home in America after so long? I'll give you a hint…it's not that nothing changed.
A/N: Sorry a lot of this stuff isn't according to British law or automotive sense. Remember: U.S.A Girl. Plus: I just finished my History Project a week ago. 26 pages of writing! I went a little overboard yea. So I wasn't very eager to get back to writing. But I'm healthy again and here's the continuation.
Sour Love-Chapter Two-A New Life
Harry's Apartment
"So, you're all set. Bedroom, living room, kitchen. You even have a lounge. I wish I lived here. My parents are making me stay at home until Ginny gets out of school," Ron complained when he looked around Harry's apartment.
"Yeah. Why is that?" Harry pondered.
"Because they will curse me if I don't," Ron groaned.
Harry laughed, "Well that still really doesn't answer my question. Why would they curse you? There must be a certain reason."
"That's it. They say I can leave, but if I do they will curse me." Ron shrugged.
"Why would they curse their own son?"
"They think that if I leave them then they won't be able to pay for Ginny and themselves." He looked down at the dark blue carpet that coated the lounge.
"Well, that's absurd. No offense to your parents. If they could pay for all nine of you then shouldn't they be able to pay for just three?"
"I know. I tried explaining it to them, but they just wouldn't listen. You know, as much as I love them I can't help but admit that they are a pair of stubborn people."
"At least you have a family. Mine's dead."
"Well, technically you do have a family. And thankfully you just moved away from them."
"Yeah, I can be grateful for that. Away from the Dursleys…"
"Forever…"
"Free from their shunning…"
"Free from their minds controlled by evil, against magic mud people from outer space."
"What?" Harry asked.
"Hey. It could happen."
"Right," Harry laughed, "You have one strange mind my friend."
Ron grinned, "And I'm proud of it." Harry laughed. "If you don't need anything else I have to go. Mom and dad are expecting me home for dinner."
"You can go. Thanks for helping."
"You're welcome. If only Hermione could have been here on this joyous day," Ron said then closed the door.
As Ron left Harry looked around his newly furnished apartment. Well, at least the lounge. It was spacious, but not as large as the adjoining living room and kitchen. The midnight-blue carpet matched perfectly with the deep green couch and chair. There was a mahogany desk with laptop in one corner and in the other there was a mini-bar. Across from the couch there was a glass sliding door leading out to a balcony looking out on London. On the balcony there was a small table with two patio chairs under a slanting roof.
He wandered into the living room. The carpet changed from the dark blue of the lounge to a cream color. The white couch and loveseat matched the walls painted with streaks of varies shades of peach. Facing the couch was a television set, including cable box and DVD player. There was also a bookshelf, surprising as it was. It was full of mystery and adventure books one would find an eighteen year-old reading.
Without a wall between them was the kitchen. A small bar coming out of the wall was used as a table. It was your average kitchen, a stove, table tops holding numerous household items, tiled floor, microwave, cupboards above, and next to the refrigerator in a small nook was the door.
Down an extremely short hallway was the bathroom. Once again average. A shower/bath tub, a sink, a cabinet, and, of course the toilet. All in a white-walled, tiled, cramped room.
Across the peach-carpeted hallway was the one and only bedroom. It had midnight-blue carpeting and white walls, just like the lounge. It also had a miniature balcony with glass sliding doors facing the dark-green queen-sized bed. A nightstand, a dresser, and a closet. It was the perfect average place to live. Any Muggle coming in here would have a hard time figuring out that Harry was magical. Yes, everything was perfect; he just had to find a place to put the trunk that would blow that one microscopic detail that would ruin his life.
The Burrow
Ron sat, fiddling with the food on his dinner plate. He sighed and scooped up some mashed potato, swallowing it, and sighed again. "What's wrong, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked, looking at her sorrowful son.
"Nothing," Ron replied and went back to twirling around the green beans with his fork.
"I'm sure it's nothing." Ron smiled inwardly, grateful that for once his parents didn't pester him about what was troubling his life. "And I'm sure that you father is going to become a servant of the Dark Lord," she added sarcastically, "Now tell me what's wrong."
"I helped Harry move into his new home today."
"Yes, we know that. But that can't be the thing that's troubling you."
"Think about it, dear," Arthur came in, "It could very well be. We aren't letting him get out of the house for another year."
"That's true." She looked back to Ron who still had his head down towards the extremely large, yet empty table. Ginny was staying over at her friend, Victoria Davis, house tonight. "But there is still something wrong and I want to know. It's Hermione again, isn't it?"
Ron acknowledged the answer with a shrug. "Maybe."
"Ron, you have to get over her. She owls you doesn't she? She stays in touch. Maybe you should visit her sometime." Ron's face lit up at the thought of being able to see Hermione again. "Of course you would have to earn the money yourself. That's the only catch." His face slumped back down and he brought plate over the sink so it could wash then went up to his bedroom.
"Being able to see Hermione would be the highlight of my life. But I have to pay for it? And what about Harry? Should I bring him or not?" he turned over and closed his eyes for a quick nap, his mind rattling on the subject of seeing Hermione.
Harry's Apartment
Harry awoke from his nap on the couch in his lounge to a loud tapping at the door. He opened his dreary eyes to see a brown owl beating at the glass. He wondered whose owl it could be. The owl swooped in as Harry opened the door, landing on the mini-bar. It dropped a letter and sat there a little bit, then flew off again.
Harry looked at the door where the owl had flown through to the sky, confused at why it would drop a letter, look at him strangely, and then just leave. He brushed it off and opened the letter. His face broke into grin that reached his ears, it was from Hermione. He flopped down in the chair.
Dearest Harry,
I hope this letter finds you well. I have bought a new owl, as you no doubt have seen, and I decided to test him by sending you a letter. You might not be all too pleased with this letter with the reminder of my previous one, but I assure this is nothing of the sort.
School here in America is great. I have made new friends and even have some new hobbies. Here they are very eager in the sports area and I have found that I am good at swimming. Although some are not as kind as I'd like them to be, I have found a few good friends who I have become very close to. But I don't think that they'll ever be as close to my heart as you and Ron are.
New York is the greatest. I have been taken out shopping, have gotten my hair done differently (it's no longer bushy let's say), and I was up in the Statue of Liberty just last week! I wish you guys could be here with me. I miss you and Ron so much. But who knows, I might see you soon anyway. My parents' job is going great, too. We really have gotten settled in here.
Well, this letter was mostly to check up on you. So how is life away from the Dursleys? I bet you're happy to be away from them finally. I wonder…Never mind. You don't want to hear how my life is going any more.
It's time for me to go. I'm going out to a club with some friends in a couple minutes and they should be here soon. I'll owl you some more. Bye.
All My Love,
Hermione
Harry immediately took out a pen and paper. He told Hermione everything that had happened, which wasn't a lot. That he wished he could see her, too. And he wanted to here more about her life in New York City.
After sending it along with Hedwig he sat out on the porch. He wondered what Hermione thought he didn't want to hear. But he asked about that, too, so hopefully he would find out. He couldn't wait until her next letter. He decided to sleep off the question.
Life was good. He had Ron, he had Hermione (sort of), he was living his own life, and, most importantly, he was living his own life away from the overpowering Dursleys. Yes, life was good. And it would stay that way for a long time. But not forever. No, nothing lasted forever.
A/N: Sorry, I forgot to put this in last time. I think. Wait…Let me check. Nope, didn't put it in. Oh well, must have forgot. I have a bad memory, I think. Maybe I don't. I can't remember. Anyway. Thanks to all you who have read it and reviewed it. And even more special thanks to those of you who liked it and came back for this chapter. I'm sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. I got out of school six days ago and have been spending a lot of my time writing my novel for I have cured my writer's block "THANK THE GODS!!!" Oh and the part with me just getting my history project done a week ago, that was from a week ago so technically I finished it two weeks ago. But that wasn't needed to be known and I bet it confused you. I'm not sure when the next chapter with be up. Until we read again…