Hermione stared blankly out of the car window at the passing scenery. Between the worry and anxiety, her nerves were a wreck. Visions had plagued her mind the previous night, causing her to lose more than a little sleep. They were dark visions of Dementors, Death Eaters, and Voldermort tormenting Harry until he finally begged for death all while the Dursley's laughed in the background. They still hadn't completely left her mind after the sun rose.
The change in momentum of the car broke Hermione out of her thoughts. Her vision focused back in reality, she noticed the houses they were passing looked exactly the same, as if they were all made in some Norman Rockwell mold of suburbia. As they turned onto Privet Drive Hermione could feel her heart start to race as a fresh wave of anxiety washed over her. She instinctively started to scan the area on the lookout for any kind of danger, any sign of a trap and even men dressed in black robes with skull masks.
When the car finally stopped her eyes fell on the raven haired young man on his knees pruning a picture perfect rose bush. When he looked up at the car, she saw those familiar green eyes behind the round spectacles and lightning shaped scar behind his untidy fringe. Such a powerful wave of relief swept through Hermione that for a moment she felt light-headed.
"He's alive," she whispered to herself.
She barreled out of the car before should even finish the words. The anxiety suddenly forgotten, and a smile plastered on her face, she ran at Harry wanting to hug him fiercely, to just hold him. In her haste to get to him she decided to jump the small garden wall instead of going around to the gate. The sudden wide look in Harry's eyes told her that she didn't quite make the jump.
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In a swift and fluid motion Harry had dropped the pruning shears, leapt to his feet and was already running toward her when her foot caught the edge of the wall. With a final and desperate leap he was able to get under her as she started to fall. He wrapped his arms around her and they fell together, Harry on his back and Hermione on top of him.
Harry's vision went white for a split-second as the wind was knocked from his body. When his vision returned, it was filled with concerned brown eyes staring into his.
"I'm fine Hermione," he said answering her unasked question. "I'm more worried about you. How's your ankle?"
She gently pushed herself up, forcing him to let go of her. She tentatively put her weight on the foot as she stood.
"It's fine Harry. Just a little sore," she replied.
Hermione smiled and reached out a hand. He grabbed it and she pulled him upright next to her, their faces mere inches apart.
"What are you doing here Hermione?" he whispered as he starred into her deep chocolate eyes.
"I've come to take you Harry -- away from here. Whether Dumbledore likes it or not," she replied just as quietly with a hard edge of defiance.
A flash of fire erupted in the air above them causing them to jump. Fawkes appeared as the flames disappeared. The phoenix glided down and dropped a scroll into Harry's hand, before looking at him for a moment. With a trill and a rush of flames, Fawkes disappeared, leaving behind a red feather floating toward the ground. Hermione bent over and picked the feather off the grass.
"Oh, that's odd. It tingles," she said before handing him the feather.
Harry shared a quick look with Hermione then looked down at he scroll in his hand. It was obviously from Dumbledore. He took a deep breath to calm himself before he broke the wax seal.
Harry,
Your time is sufficient, protections renewed. You may leave at any time with Ms. Granger, who undoubtedly is standing next to you while you read this.
Yours most humbly,
Albus Dumbledore
"It seems I've been given a pardon from Durzkaban for the summer," he said in quiet exasperation and handed her the scroll to read.
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"Come on. I'll pack and we can get out of here. I don't want to stay a second longer than I absolutely need to and that stopped being the case 30 seconds ago."
She quickly read the note. Something about it didn't sit right with her. How did Dumbledore know she was here when she only just arrived? Why was it okay he leave now and not 48 hours ago when she last asked?
Hermione followed a subdued Harry inside and up the stairs. She watched him turn into the first room on the right, leaving the door open. When she reached the threshold her hands followed her eyes as she took in the 6 deadbolts of varying kind on the entrance to his room. Hermione's heart caught in her throat. ‘Harry didn't exaggerate his treatment at the hands of the Dursleys after all,' she thought sadly. She chided herself for not believing him whole heartily when he told her about his ‘home' life. She had to fight back tears when caught sight of the cat flap in the door by her feet.
She dared a glance into Harry's room. Barren would be generous way to describe the small room. The only sign that a teenage boy lived there was Harry's open school trunk and couple presumably dirty t-shirts on the floor. Harry had quickly scooped the clothes up and tossed them into his trunk before getting on his hands and knees next to his bed. Hermione watched with curiosity as he pulled up a floorboard and retrieved a small bag from the hidden spot. He threw the stash into his trunk and with a click that echoed in the small room, closed his trunk.
"That's it. I'm packed," Harry said simply.
That simple statement quietly broke her heart. All of his worldly possessions easily fit in his school trunk, without the help of shrinking charms or expanding the interior of the trunk.
Harry picked up Hedwig's cage and his trunk and walked out of the room. Her eyes once more took in the room. It was as if Harry hadn't been there at all. Then her eyes fell on a piece of parchment on the small desk.
"Harry, you forgot a letter on your desk," she called to him out in the hall, almost to the stairs.
"No I didn't. It's from Mrs. Weasley and Aunt Petunia will probably want it framed."
Hermione quickly bound across the room to the desk and picked up the letter. Something flared inside of her as she read the words. She had to resist the urge to destroy the letter, with or without magic.
An shrill "NO!" from downstairs shook her from her thoughts. She followed the voices and found Harry with his trunk next to him, someone who she assumed to be Dudley and Aunt Petunia in the kitchen. She stopped at the doorway watching the byplay inside.
"...told you that I'm leaving and I'm not sure that I'll be back next summer, if ever."
"You have work to do around here. Who will take care of my roses? You certainly don't think that I will do something so dirty."
"Why not?" Hermione hissed causing the group to look at her. "They are YOUR roses after all. If you can't handle getting your hands a little dirty, then you don't deserve something so beautiful."
Turning to Harry she continued, "Come on Harry let's get you out of here."
"You will not talk about my mother like that!" Dudley shouted.
Dudley grabbed her wrist. Trying to pull her back, he swung her around. Hermione rewarded him with a fist to his face using the momentum of her twisting to drive it home. As Dudley brought up his hands over his face, Hermione drew back her leg and kicked him in the groin hard. As he doubled over from the pain she brought her knee up into his face and knocked him back onto his huge backside.
Petunia screamed and ran to Dudley's side, her hand covering her mouth trying to stop the sobs.
"Dudders! Are you okay Dudders?!"
After she got a nod in the affirmative, she turned on Hermione.
"Get OUT of my home you BITCH!"
"I plan to! And that's WITCH to you!" Hermione spat back just as venomously, causing Petunia to jump.
Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him out the front door.
Harry watched as Hermione single-handedly put his trunk in the boot of the waiting car like it was light as a feather.
"He's boxing champion at his school you know," he said as he sat down in the back seat.
"Good, it'll make the story that he was beaten by a girl even more humiliating," said a still fuming Hermione as she climbed in after him and slammed the door.