Chapter 6 - Retelling the Story
Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Potter universe… JKR owns all!
AN: Thanks to Turnlach for his BETA work!
Hermione woke up to the sounds of someone mumbling, it sounded desperate and afraid. She quickly jumped out of bed and stuck her head out into the hallway listening for the sound. She noticed that it seemed to come from Harry's bedroom. She silently opened his door and listened.
"No, no, Hermione, please… please be alive… NO! Sirius! No, no, no… I'll kill you
Voldemort!"
She realized that Harry was having a nightmare so she quickly went to his side, shaking him awake. Harry's eyes shot open, he then grabbed Hermione into a huge hug, tears falling down his cheeks.
"Shh… Shh… it's ok Harry, I'm here…" Hermione said softly. Harry's cries seemed to die down.
"How long have you been having those nightmares Harry?" she asked softly.
"Since 5th year I guess." Harry said not thinking, his eyes shot open as he realized what he had said.
Hermione seemed to be wide eyed now also. "Fifth year Harry? Is there something you're not telling me?" she said, her eyes boring into his. He knew he was caught… he could never lie to her anyways when she looked at him like that.
"Ok… don't freak out ok…" Harry said, Hermione just nodded and sat down on Harry's bed, still looking at him.
"Well… I guess the first thing is to tell you that… I came back in time." he said, looking at Hermione, all he noticed was that her eyes became wide; she didn't say anything, waiting for him to explain more.
"When I was 19… about two years out of Hogwarts… at my engagement party… Voldemort attacked…" he said softly. "He killed everyone there… I was the last one, and I just gave up… I released all my magic, probably killing him but also killing myself as well."
He looked back at Hermione and noticed she wasn't looking at him, she had tears in her eyes as well, "What's wrong Hermione?" Harry asked concerned, he hoped she didn't hate him now.
"N-Nothing." she said quickly wiping her tears away, she then looked at him strongly, "So… your engagement party… who was the lucky girl?" she asked, no emotion in her voice.
Harry understood now… she had thought it was someone else… "Well… I considered myself the lucky one… but it was… You." Harry said looking quickly away from her.
"M-Me?" she asked, a little shocked, Harry just looked at her and smiled,
"Its always been you Hermione… always." he said softly, "I-I can't tell you how much I love you… I love everything about you!"
"But… I'm bossy… a bookworm." she said looking down; she didn't think she was good enough.
Harry took her chin and made her look up, "It's your being bossy, that kept me alive… and…well, stopped both Ron and I from failing classes since our first year… and I love the fact that your eager to learn and love to read… there is nothing at all wrong with that." Harry said softly.
Hermione's smile reached her cheeks at Harry's words before she launched herself at him, crushing him in her hug, before she lowered her head and gave him a sweet little kiss on the lips.
Hermione then seemed to get a mischievous glean in her eyes… "Wait 'til I tell your fan club you're all mine." she joked, Harry just matched her grin.
"You did… and let's just say they weren't too happy about it." Harry said and Hermione's eyes went wide.
"You actually had a fan club? And I told them you're all mine…?" she asked.
"Well… most famous people get a fan club… and it was rather funny the way you shoved your ring in their faces… they were quite annoying… well back to my story…"
"After I… died… instead of going into the afterlife I came in front of the Council of Death, I think they called themselves… they gave me the choice of either going back, or going into the afterlife. After a talk with you, my parents, and Sirius…I decided to go back." Harry said softly, he looked down hoping she wouldn't be totally freaked out. He was surprised when Hermione hugged him.
"I'll help you every step of the way Harry." she whispered… "By the way… who is Sirius… the name sound familiar…?" she asked.
Harry just grinned at her, "Well you might have seen him on the news… escaped murderer I think they're calling him." Harry said. Hermione's eyes went wide at this, "Oh… but he isn't! he was sent to Azkaban without a trial… they believed he betrayed my parents, but it turned out it was Peter Pettigrew, one of their other friends… we found out at the end of third year… but Peter escaped… and Sirius was murdered in our fifth year…" Harry said softly, "But this time… this time is going to be different." Harry said determinedly.
Harry then laid back in his bed, looking at Hermione. She didn't know what it was… but she felt like Harry needed her company.
"H-Harry… would it be ok if I stay here… with you?" she asked softly, blushing like crazy… "It... might help with your nightmares?" she suggested. Harry sighed in relief… he never seemed to have nightmares when she was with him.
"You have no idea how much that would help." Harry said honestly. He then pulled the quilt back so she could slip in. She quickly jumped under the covers and lay down next to him. She softly put her head on his shoulder and noticed that Harry had already drifted off to sleep. She then placed one arm around his waist and lay closer to him, loving the warmth his body was providing. She let out a contented sigh as Harry's arm unconsciously came around her. She then closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
*-------*
Jane Granger woke up rather early; looking over at the clock she noticed that it was 7:30am. She didn't know why, but she had a strange desire to check on Hermione.
She quickly got up and put on her slippers before heading upstairs to Hermione's room. When she opened the door, she was surprised to find it empty and after a little thought she walked over to Harry's room and looked in. She was greeted by the sight of Hermione and Harry, soundly asleep, holding each other. She fought down her motherly urges to rush in and grab her baby girl but could see that they were still both clothed, and she trusted her daughter.
Jane carefully tiptoed over to the bed and nudged Hermione softly awake. Hermione woke up slowly, though her eyes went wide when she remembered where she was… there was that, but it was mainly the fact she was here and her mother was standing in front of her. Hermione went to explain, but stopped when Jane held her finger to her lips then pointed for Hermione to come with her.
Hermione slowly got out of bed as to not wake Harry and followed her mum out of Harry's room and into her own. There was a growing fear about how much trouble they were in when she sat down across from her mother.
"Care to explain why you were sleeping in his bed?" Jane asked softly looking over at Hermione.
"I-I woke up, and could hear voices… I found out it was Harry… he was having a nightmare about his parents getting murdered again… he's never told me about them before…" Hermione said softly, tears came to her eyes. Though what she was telling her mum wasn't exactly true, the real reason still brought tears to her eyes….
"He was thrashing around in bed… covered in sweat, so I woke him up and we talked for a bit before we went to sleep… I stayed there in case he had another nightmare… nothing happened mum." Hermione said softly. She looked over at her mum and noticed that she too had tears in her eyes.
"OH honey…" Jane whispered… "I'm sorry, I had no idea." she said giving her a hug, "Well I guess it was better for me to catch you two rather then your father…" Jane reasoned. Hermione just grinned,
"You're not angry at us?" she asked softy.
"Of course I'm not! That has to be one of the sweetest things to do Hermione." Jane said seriously, "But I suggest if you're going to go back to sleep, you stay in your own bed… it could be your father next and I don't know whether he would be able to control his fatherly instincts of protecting his little girl." Jane said chuckling a little.
"No… I think I might help you with breakfast." Hermione said, they both then left to get breakfast ready.
*-------*
Harry woke up to the smell of bacon being cooked. He quickly got dressed and headed down into the kitchen where we watched as Hermione and Jane were making bacon and eggs. Jane was the first to notice him and she looked at him, a sly grin on her face,
"So… Sleep well Harry?" she asked sweetly, Harry's eyes went wide at this, he knew THAT grin, and THAT line. He quickly looked at Hermione, who had noticed Harry's looks and had guessed he had been asked the same thing by her mum before. She was now blushing like crazy when she thought about what they would have been doing last time. Harry coughed a little, clearing his throat,
"Yes… best nights sleep in a long time." Harry said, trying to sound normal, trying to not let his fear and nerves come though in his voice.
They made small talk during breakfast, but it was soon time for Harry and Hermione to head to Sirius' house. They said their goodbyes, and Jane gave Harry a large hug before they left. Once out the door, Harry turned to face the house and started to flick his wand around, muttering in a language that Hermione couldn't recognize under his breath. After he finished he turned and walked up to Hermione.
"Well?" Hermione asked, Harry just gave her a confused look, "What was that?" she said.
"Oh… I just put up some a couple of wards… magical presence detector so that only you, I, Sirius and the Weasleys won't set it off. I also put up a Dark Mark Ward… it's a ward that you made actually… stops anyone with the dark mark from entering the property.
"Did my parents die… last time?" she asked softly. Harry looked at her, sorrow in his eyes.
"Yes… in our seventh year… another thing I'm already putting a stop to… we didn't have these wards when they got attacked… now no Death Eaters will be able to get onto your property." Harry said softly, Hermione nodded.
"Thank you Harry." she said giving him a hug.
"There is nothing to be thankful for." Harry said smiling at her, he then stuck out his wand and the Knight Bus appeared. They quickly jumped on telling Stan that they were heading to the Leaky Cauldron.
Once they got off the bus Hermione and Harry started to walk down the street,
"Harry? Why didn't we just take the bus right to the house?" Hermione asked as they were walking,
"Well, I didn't want to actually take the bus there, just in case… he is a fugitive remember." Harry said,
"Oh… yeah. I guess that makes sense." Hermione agreed.
About fifteen minutes later Harry and Hermione were walking down the drive to the house. Harry didn't bother knocking and just walked straight in. As soon as they entered a soft 'pop' announced the arrival of Binky.
"Hellos master Harry Potter, would yous or your friend be needing anything?" Binky asked. Harry just smiled down at the house elf.
"No thanks Binky… could you tell me were Sirius is?" Harry asked,
"He be in the living room, watching the television." Binky said, she then disappeared. Harry turned around to Hermione and seeing that she was about to say something Harry quickly cut her off,
"Binky is a fully paid house elf with rights." he said a small grin on his face. Hermione looked at him in amazement.
"How? How did know I was going to say that?" she asked, Harry just grinned more.
"This time… please call it something different… S.P.E.W was… well never mind." Harry said before he walked off to the living room, Hermione hot on his heels.
"Hey Sirius!" Harry said, Sirius turned around, a grin on his face when he saw Harry, he then spotted the girl next to him,
"Ah… so this is the Hermione I have been hearing so much about." he asked, his eyes twinkling with mischief, "So… Harry, have you asked her out yet? Or is that tomorrow?" he asked grinning madly.
"Actually, I asked her out yesterday. Sorry, your attempt to try and make me look embarrassed failed." Harry said in mock anger.
Sirius just gave him a lopsided grin, "So… I've noticed she's not screaming to the heavens… so I take it you have told her about me?" Sirius asked.
"Well I told her about me and the future… and that you were innocent… but I haven't told her much about your story." Harry said, Sirius just nodded and waved them over.
He then started to explain everything that had happened, from Dumbledore announcing that the Potters and Longbottoms were going under the Fidelius charm, told them when he suggested that they use Peter instead of him, since Peter would be less obvious. He then told them that Peter sold them out, and when he came to the house Hagrid wouldn't let him take Harry, he was so angry, so sad, that he wasn't thinking and went after Peter, then when Peter blew up Sirius thought he had killed him. He didn't care how much trouble he would get in…
Then about two weeks before his escape he told them about the newspaper picture with a family of red heads… it was then that he saw Peter in his animagus form and it was then he decided it was time to escape, time for revenge. But then he met Harry, and Harry already knew who he was… and now… he didn't really desire revenge, he just wanted his name cleared so that he could be free to live with Harry.
By the end of his story, Sirius had tears falling from his eyes, both Harry and Hermione went over and gave him a big hug, and after about five minutes he had settled down.
"So… what are we doing today?" Sirius asked.
"Well… first I want to send a note to the Weasleys asking if they want to pick up their Hogwarts stuff. Then I was thinking about getting this phone to work… so I could use it at Hogwarts." Harry said, Hermione seemed to light up at the idea, while Sirius seemed very interested. "If I can get it working… I could call you whenever I wanted." Harry told Sirius who now seemed to be very keen on the idea.
"Do you have any idea how to go about it?" Sirius asked.
"Well me… No… but I have a memory of Hermione explaining how she did it for the Defence Association Class… if we had a pensieve…" Harry said. Sirius stood up and walked over to a cabinet and came back with a pensieve, "When did you get this?" Harry asked.
"Yesterday… I removed some of the memories of Azkaban… decided to leave them in here for good… they're not totally gone, but they're more of a shadow in the back of my mind now." Sirius said. Harry just nodded in understanding. He quickly drew the memory from his head and placed it in his pensieve, then grabbed Hermione and Sirius' hands and entered it.
About half an hour later Harry, Hermione and Sirius came back out of the pensieve. Both Harry and Sirius had the most confused looks on their faces, while Hermione seemed to be in complete understanding.
"Oh my god… I don't know why I didn't see it earlier… it makes so much sense doesn't it!?" she asked Harry and Sirius.
"Er… to tell you the truth Hermione… even with about six years more knowledge… I still don't totally understand all of that… in fact I'm amazed that you do." Harry said seriously, Sirius nodding in agreement.
Hermione blushed at the compliment, "Well… why don't you send that note off to Ron and I will start on this then." Hermione said. Harry just nodded and went off to write the note for Ron.
When he came back Hermione had the phone apart and was already casting spells on some of the parts... that was when he thought about it… Hermione was doing magic!
"Er Hermione…under age restrictions?" Harry asked. Hermione seemed to give him a smug smile.
"Well, other than the fact that Sirius removed the ministry tracking charm on my wand… he said this house has wards that even the ministry can't see through." Hermione said before she went back to her work. Harry settled down and started to read an advanced Defence book.
About three hours later Hermione announced she was finished with a shouted "DONE!" as she proudly turned the mobile on, "Now when we go to Diagon Alley tomorrow we will have to test it out." Harry just nodded.
"So what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" Harry asked, Hermione seemed to think for a bit,
"I need to finish some of my summer homework actually." she replied, Harry's eyes went wide at this… he had completely forgotten.
"Opps… I have forgotten…" Harry said, it was now time for Hermione's eyes to widen,
"Well go get it now! We will do it now." she said shooing Harry off to get his work.
When he came back down, they spent the rest of the day doing homework. Around sixish Hedwig flew in dropping Ron's letter off for Harry, telling him they would meet them tomorrow at about 10am.
Harry told Sirius about this and the fact that he would need to go to the Leaky Cauldron early since he said he was staying there and that Hermione had arrived today. Sirius just nodded and left the table. Harry thought something was wrong but was shocked when he came back in.
"I spoke with the Goblins yesterday… they don't really care about the wizarding world… but once I changed my disguise back and they realised I was with you… they were happy to give me access to my vaults." Sirius said handing Harry a new broom, the word Firebolt in gold letters on the handle, "It's to make up for all the missed Birthdays and Christmas presents." he said softly.
Harry just jumped up and hugged him, "Thanks." he whispered, before sitting down to look at the broom again. Not too long later they all headed off to bed.