Chapter 2
"What? What did…what did you say?" He questioned in disbelief.
Hermione couldn't seem to find her voice. She struggled to breathe, her chest heaving. She could feel her cheeks tinge pink, and suddenly she felt herself slip into a world of darkness as she fainted.
Harry leapt forward, catching her just before she hit the ground. He picked her up and walked towards an empty bench hidden in some bushes. He gently laid her down, and instructed his daughter, Kate, to go and wet his scarf in the drinking fountain. She did as she was told and returned promptly, handing the dripping scarf to her father.
"What happened to her Daddy? Is she dead?" Kate was frantic holding onto her father's leg, trying not to scream. "Daddy," she all but yelled. "Wake her up. Wake her up!" Kate was crying now.
"Kate, honey, she is going to be fine. She isn't dead she is just sleeping." Harry said, wringing the scarf out and slowly dabbing Hermione's forehead.
Kate was relieved at hearing that the nice lady was not dead. She still couldn't figure out why the pretty lady seemed so familiar. She suddenly stopped and stared at her father.
"Daddy, how did the lady know your name?" Her brow was furrowed and she was frowning.
Harry looked at his little daughter. She was right. How did that woman know his name? He turned with attention back towards Hermione. He looked her over carefully. Her warm brown eyes were closed but long dark eyelashes fluttered slightly in the wind. Her dark brown curls were frizzy and bushy, sticking out around her head. She had a small nose and slightly large front teeth. She was petite and pretty though her face was death pale. She looked so different but so much the same.
Hermione?" He questioned the unconscious woman.
Daddy," Kate knelt down beside him looking up at him with dark eyes. "Do you know her?"
Harry swallowed hard, "Actually, honey, I do."
"Do I know her?"
"Well Kate, you shouldn't know her. I mean you've never met her. Why do you ask?"
Kate gazed at Hermione's motionless form for a few minutes. She spoke again, not bothering to answer her father's first question, "What is the matter with her? Are you sure she isn't dead?"
"Yeah I am sure. I'm pretty sure she just fainted. Come on sweets we should bring her back to the house. We can take care of her there." He didn't pry Kate's strange question, but he couldn't think of a reason that she would ask it. Maybe she saw Hermione's picture somewhere in one of his photo albums.
"Yes, that must be it." He thought to himself.
It hadn't occurred to him that he had locked away all of her pictures after she left because it had hurt him too much and she couldn't have possibly seen any pictures of her.
He gently lifted Hermione into his arms. She felt surprising light and frail in his arms. Kate led the way on the maze of streets until they finally came upon what could only be described as a mansion. Or what Harry and his family liked to call home.
He followed Kate through the door and up the stairs. He brought Hermione into the first guest room he got to. He brought her over to the bed and carefully let her out of his arms, and onto the bed.
"Kate, go get Kya to look after Hermione. I am going to go talk to your mother."
He watched while Kate scampered off to collect their house elf.
She walked into the kitchen calling for Kya. "Kya where are you?" She heard a laugh and she narrowed her eyes. "Kya you can't hide forever." All of a sudden she saw movement out of the side of her eyes. She grinned and reached out to grab the tiny house elf from behind the pantry door.
The elf had pointy ears, huge eyes, and a turned up nose. Its big green eyes were staring innocently at Kate. "Mistress Kate, I didn't see you there."
"Kya don't lie to me. I know that you were trying to switch the butterbeer with vinegar. You really need to get a new prank, that one is getting old fast!"
"Mistress Kate, Kya would never do anything such as that."
"Kya you don't know how many countless times I have found you up to no good, but right now I need you to help me."
"Kate, Kya will not help in any of your schemes…"
"My schemes? I beg to differ and it is Mistress Kate to you. But I do have an order from my dad for you to help out with a guest of ours."
Kya, who was always loyal to Harry, looked up. "Well if Master commands it, then Kya will obey."
Kate didn't feel like telling Kya that her father would never give an order or a command, but she always found that if she used that wording, Kya would obey her every wish.
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After Kate was gone Harry took one last look at Hermione and went off in search of his wife. He finally found her in the study looking over her paperwork. He came up behind her and gently kissed her on the cheek.
"Harry," she said laughingly in her sweet voice. "I'm working." She gestured helplessly at the pile of papers before Harry leaned into her chair, and kissed her deeply. She pushed him away playfully. "What do you want?"
Harry tried and failed to look hurt. "What would make you think I wanted something?" He said innocently.
"Honey, I know you too well, and there would only be two things that I can take from your show just a second ago. Either you want something, or you want something. So what is it that you want?"
"Okay, I give up. Look I came across one of my best friends, Hermione Granger, at the park today. She kind of fainted when she saw me and well…"
"You want me to look after her?" She finished the sentence for him, looking down at her papers and then back at Harry.
Harry nodded. He was surprised his wife didn't ask him about how he had found Hermione. She knew perfectly well who Hermione was, and that she had run away, years ago.
"What about Kya? Can't she do that? Why can't you do that? I have all this work to do Harry, you know that."
"Yes, I know, but I am going over to see Ron and I don't know how long I will be. I have to talk with him. I'll tell you what. I'll have Kya call you when Hermione wakes up. Just go up and introduce yourself to Hermione, and explain things. Okay?"
His wife looked up at him wearily. "Okay but only for you, right now I am going to try to finish as much work as I can. Now go have your talk with Ronald." He leaned in and gave her a final kiss, and she waved him out the door and sighed.
She couldn't believe that it was already happening. She had hoped to have more time, but she guessed that time was too much to hope for. She sighed once more and returned halfheartedly to her work.
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