Merlin's Familiar
Chapter 2
Arrivals
July 29th
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Granger household
Blushing slightly, Hermione excused herself from the table and went back upstairs to get ready to go to the airport.
"You're taking this pretty easy," Jane stated, looking at her husband.
"I've just decided to bow to the inevitable," Roger responded as he stared out the window into the back yard, sipping his tea. "He seems like a good young man," his gaze hardened slightly. "I hope, for his sake, that he does not hurt her."
Upstairs, Hermione pulled out a pair of jeans and a blue blouse. She then tried to tame her mass of hair and put some make-up on. Looking at herself in the mirror, she gave herself an appreciating glance. She was filling out in all of the right places to drive the guys crazy. Like Harry, she said. She stopped brushing her hair at that thought and then smiled to herself before continuing to get ready.
She was just putting her shoes on when she heard pecking at her window. Sitting outside her window are two owls. Putting her purse on her dresser, she opened the curtains and the window fully so she could get the letters from the owls. She recognized Hedwig immediately and took the letter addressed to her while giving her some owl treats that she had placed there for her regular deliveries. Giving Hedwig a quick pat she let her fly off with Ron's letter. She then relieved the other owl of its letter and it also flew off.
Looking at the two letters, she saw that one was from Harry but the other one did not have a return name attached to the envelope. She ripped open Harry's first.
Hermione,
How are you? I hope that you are all healed up from when we went to the ministry with the rest of the gang from the DA. You really scared me when you got hit in the fight. Please try to stay out of the line of fire. I do not know what I would do if you got hurt, or worse, expelled.
My uncle and aunt are being even more surly than normal so I can't wait to get out of here and head to Ron's in less than two days. Ron said that they're having a party after I get there and I hope you'll be able to attend. I can't wait to talk to you.
Stay safe,
Harry
Smiling, she put Harry's letter in her trunk with all of the others that she had exchanged with him over the years. It was quite a stack. The next envelope was addressed to her and the handwriting did look like Harry's so she opened the envelope. Inside the envelope was a simple charm anklet and a note that said "for protection from my enemies". The anklet looked like it was silver with some strange runes on it that she could only read a few. She recognized the Celtic rune for defense and the Egyptian pictograph representing what she thought was fealty or loyalty.
Hermione placed it on her left ankle and, hearing her mother calling her, she grabbed her purse and jacket. As she went down-stairs to leave, she missed seeing the note and envelope that contained the anklet, dissolve into a vapor and evaporate.
"Come on, dear," her mother said. "We are already going to be late for the airport." Both women got into the car and were off, one thinking of procedures and research and the other about a certain dark haired, green-eyed wizard.
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London Airport
Hermione and her mother arrived at the airport thirty minutes late. After rushing to find a parking spot, they dashed into the concourse for international arrivals. Hermione's mother went to the international desk and Hermione scanned the arrival area for anyone that looked to be out of place.
Most wizards are easy to spot in a muggle place like this airport, she thought. After a few minutes of searching, she noticed that there were only three people that looked to be the right age. One boy and two older gentlemen looked like muggles, therefore there was nothing she could do but wait until Lexius revealed herself. During this time Hermione's mom was talking to the person at the information kiosk where the exchange student was paged.
"Attention please. Will Lexius Ayers please meet your party at the International Arrivals Information Desk? Lexius Ayers, please come to the International Arrivals Information Desk. Thank You."
Hermione walked over to her mother to wait for the exchange student's arrival.
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London Airport, 2 hours earlier
A long line of people was queued up to pass through the customs control point.
"Passport please," a bored agent asked.
I passed my passport over and just kind of looked around. My first impression of England is that it looks just like the Seattle airport's arrival lounge. Dreary, boring and in dire need of a serious makeover. Sis would love to get a contract for a place like this, I thought. It was not a fair comparison, but first impressions hardly ever were.
"Purpose of your visit?" the agent asked.
Even though I was tempted to tell him that I wanted to run over to the palace and marry the Prince, I figured that the agent was one of these people who was born without a sense of humor, so I played it straight.
"I am enrolled in a boarding school in Scotland and will be staying through till June." He could have gotten the same information from the visa that was staring him in the face.
"Are you carrying any food or livestock?"
"No, Sir." The cow and pig are in my checked baggage, moron.
"Are you currently wanted in any locales for criminal charges?"
This is starting to get stupid. I have a really low threshold for stupidity, but I bit my tongue.
"No, Sir." Sure, I am wanted by half the population of the planet.
"Any dangerous items in your possession?"
Must bite tongue, HARD.
"No, Sir." I left the tactical nuke and nerve gas in my other coat.
The agent must have liked what he didn't hear and he stamped my passport for entry. He handed my passport back and was already forgetting my existence. "Next please."
Walking through the control point, I noticed the police officers with body armor and sub-machine guns slung on their shoulders. Kind of makes me glad that I played it straight. You're not in Kansas anymore, Toto. The next area was the baggage claim area. Since I carried everything I needed on the plane in my backpack, I bypassed the area and went to the Agricultural screening area. My "Antique Lock and key" garnered a raised eyebrow and they had to look at my backpack to ensure that I was not `holding' anything. They couldn't find anything, therefore I was finally finished with the British government's red tape for the day.
I found a money exchange and changed some of American dollars for British currency. Since the airplane was over two hours early, I figured that I could hit the closest restaurant, (Hoorah! A McDonalds!) to get a bite and then hang out at the arrival lounge to wait for my sponsor family. I found a place to get a bite to eat and made my way over to the arrival lounge in less than thirty minutes. My knee was starting to stiffen up on me, so I needed to find a place to stretch out and relax.
I found a place that was in sight of the arrival lounges outside doors and the information kiosk. I knew that if I nodded off, I would never hear any announcements so I got out my book (Hogwart's: A history) and settled in for a bit of a wait.
People came and went. I was blazing through my book (I can't get enough of history), just having to re-adjust my knee every so often (all the healing magic in the world and I still have bad days). After sitting there for over an hour the local security folks started to take an interest in me. Teenage Americans sitting in the Arrival lounge must not have been an everyday occurrence. I hope my sponsor family gets here soon. I am not in the mood for any more red-tape questions ("So, are you just visiting?" "No, I like to hang out in airports so I can answer stupid questions.").
About this time, I noticed a mother and daughter (I think) walk into the arrival lounge. The mother looked around and made a beeline for the information kiosk. The daughter stopped near the door to the lounge and looked around like she was trying to spot someone.
Attractive young woman, I thought. Brown hair, very curly, and pulled back into a ponytail. Easy on the cosmetics. She didn't look like she needed much of anything. Blue jeans, blue shirt and a black purse. Round about 5'6" tall and maybe 100 lbs (probably a little too high). Great curves.
I guessed that she couldn't find who she was looking for and went over to her mother. About that time there was another announcement.
"Attention please. Will Lexi Ayers please meet your party at the International Arrivals Information Desk. Lexi Ayers, please come to the International Arrivals Information Desk. Thank You."
I looked around and no one seemed to be moving. They were all going back to their magazines or books since the announcement. Looks like there is no Lexi Ayers here.
A few minutes later there was another announcement.
"Attention please. Will a Lexius L. Ayers please meet your party at the International Arrivals Information desk. Lexius L. Ayers, please come to the International Arrivals Information Desk. Thank You."
That sounded pretty close to my name so I figure that I should go up and check. I needed to get up and stretch and the security guys were getting antsy with me just sitting there. I got up, put my book back in my pack, grabbed my coat and headed over to the kiosk.
"Excuse me, sir," I said to get the attention of the kiosk attendant. "What was the name that was just called?"
"Lexius L. Ayers, I believe."
"I think that's for me. Who asked for me?"
He pointed me over to the mother daughter team. I stiffly walked over to them, I really need to work out to loosen up, I thought
"Are you Mrs. Granger?" I asked the mother.
"Yes. But my name is Jane, and you are?" She asked in response. About this time, the daughter turned my direction and she was even more stunning in close proximity. Brown hair, a bit on the bushy side was gathered into a ponytail that reached somewhere below her shoulders. While she did not yet have the classic `hourglass' figure, the future promise was there. Her most marked feature is her eyes.
Brown eyes were apprising him very frankly. They seemed to have deep hidden depths and what I would give to be able to stare into them for a prolonged time. Just being in her presence was intoxicating.
Oh, crap, was the only thought that I could get out. Complete brain lock. Remembering whom else was present, I tore my eyes away from the daughter, but not before I started to blush, and addressed the mother.
"My name is Alexius Ludwig Ayers from Concrete, Washington, USA." I said offering her my hand. "Call me Alex." This is going to be an interesting trip, I thought to myself.
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Surrey Police Station
Harry was bundled into the police station and was subjected to being fingerprinted and photographed. He was then led into a small room for a more vigorous series of questioning. The police were acting like broken records. They kept asking the same questions over and over, only changing the order sometimes for the sake of variety. Harry kept telling them the same thing.
"I didn't do it" and "I don't know."
This went on for what Harry figured was about eight hours. At the end of the day, the lead detective addressed him.
"Mr. Potter. You have not been very helpful and right now I'm not inclined to be very helpful to you. We are going to process the evidence that we retrieved from your bedroom and when we match the fingerprints with you and your friends, we will file charges against you. According to your uncle, you have done things like this in the past and I am surprised that he has not reported these things to us before. I can promise you that this time you will be spending several months in a correctional institute that will make your current reform school look like a pleasant day." Turning to the uniformed constable, he said, "Get him out of here."
Harry was led down to the holding cells. He was subjected to a strip search and was issued his jail coveralls, and flip-flops. All of his clothes were bagged for his release or for evidence before he was led to his own cell. The only thing Harry could do was hope that the Order or his friends might notice that he was missing and start sniffing around. It might take a few days, but they should find him. The only problem with this plan was that they might realize he was gone after his planned birthday party at Ron's place. Figures.
Crawling under the thin blanket, Harry tried to sleep while ignoring the tears in his eyes.
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The Granger's Car
Hermione wasn't sure what to make of her situation. On one hand, she was excited that she was hosting an exchange student from another country. On the other hand, her exchange student was a boy. She did not have a big problem with this, but by the set of her mother's shoulders, it was a big problem for her. Her dad would also have a problem with it once he heard about it.
I wish they trusted me. If he tried anything, I could easily take the wind out of his sails, she thought bitterly.
Alexius, or "Just Alex," was in the back seat wearing jeans, a t-shirt naming some singer or other and a leather flight jacket. The only thing that he was carrying was his backpack. He was nodding off because he said that his body still thought it was 3am.
Turning to her mother, Hermione asked, "Mum, what's the problem?"
Glancing to her left, her mother responded, "Honey, we were told that we would be hosting a girl, not a boy. This is not acceptable. You need to write to the school and get this sorted out."
"Don't you trust me?"
Glancing over at her daughter, she responded, "It's not you dear. I know how young men are. I trust you to not make any rash decisions; it's him that I'm a little concerned with."
"I can take care of myself, mum. I can use magic to defend myself."
Noting the tone of her mother's voice, she knew that the only thing she could do is write the school and hope that her dad was a little calmer about the whole situation.
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The police station later that night.
Harry was running down a stone hallway chasing after someone. It looked like a corridor from Hogwarts. He was not sure who he was chasing, but he knew that he needed to stop them. Rounding a corner, he heard someone cast a stunning spell and at the same time he heard someone say something he couldn't understand. "YASUMERU!" The scene changed suddenly to Hermione lying on a bed with her hands on her stomach, her face pasty white. He knew she was dead.
Harry woke with a start. He looked around and then remembered where he was. The dream was different from the others in the sense that it was short and very vivid. Burying his head in the pillow, he tried to go back to sleep.
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The Granger house
After dinner, Hermione sat at her desk to write letters to her friends before she went to bed. She decided to write Ginny first.
"Ginny," she wrote
"This has been a very strange day (and from a Hogwarts student, that is an understatement). We picked up the exchange student from America at the airport and she was a he. My mum and dad were really not happy about that, especially since they are both going to be working. Now they're worried that they shouldn't leave the two of us to fend for ourselves at home. "
"I think they're more worried about Alex than they are about me. I don't see why they should worry; even without magic I could easily flatten him if he tried anything. He's probably a nice guy, but he seems to be terminally shy. He was almost stuttering and was really blushing once he saw me when we picked him up at the airport. I have already sent a letter to the new DADA teacher so that we can figure out where he can stay for the rest of the summer."
Anyway, his name is Alex and he's from the States. He's pretty plain looking and really shy. He has a bit of a limp because he broke his left leg when he was about seven. He has an eagle back home named Driscoll that he uses like our Owl Post., his mother is a secretary at a muggle school and his father is a firefighter. He has a stepsister, Jenny, from when his father re-married."
"When we picked him up, he was only carrying a small backpack and I figured that he could not have carried all of the things that he needs for the year in it but he has a magical trunk. It's really neat! You put the key in the lock and turn it a special way and the trunk disappears with only the lock and key remaining. Great for traveling. He got it from a family friend when he heard that he had been selected to be an exchange student."
"Like I said earlier, he is really shy but he loves books. When we picked him up at the airport he was halfway through Hogwart's: A History. He seems to like reading books as much as I do. Tomorrow, we're going to go to the Mall with mum to get some things for the upcoming year. I will see you on the 31st for the party."
"Hermione"
Sealing the letter, she placed it on the windowsill so that she would remember to send it off in the morning. Gathering another piece of paper, she began to write to Harry.
"Harry,"
"How are things? I hear that Ron's parents are going to be picking you up tomorrow. I'm going to be at the party and will see you there. Thank you for the gift. I really love the thought. Are you still having nightmares? I am. They're getting better but they still wake me up at night."
"Stay safe and I will see you at the party,"
"Hermione"
Smiling, she sealed up the letter and placed it on the windowsill beside the other one. Anticipating the party, she went to sleep with a smile.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Sorry for the long time since my first up-load. I had to take a second job to get ready for a move in a couple months and it is really dragging my time down. Let me know what you think.
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