Six
"Seriously, Neville," Ron told him. "I think Luna likes me. What am I going to do?"
Neville shrugged his shoulders. How was he supposed to know? "No idea, Ron. Go ask you father or something."
"Fat lot of good you are for a mate! How am I supposed to talk to my father about something like this? Besides, he's always at the Ministry. I only see him for maybe five minutes a day."
"Sorry, Ron. I don't know what to tell you. Ask your mum for some advice."
"Yeah right! Like THAT will happen," Ron said.
"Well, you have older brothers. Ask one of them."
Ron shook his head, "I don't know why I listen to you, Neville. Bill's on his honeymoon, I haven't spoken to Percy or Bill in ages, and the idea of telling Fred or George anything has got to be the silliest thing you've ever said."
"Owl Luna then, and ask her what she thinks."
Ron looked at him incredulously, and shook his head. "I take back my previous comment. THAT is without doubt the silliest thing you've ever said."
"Why did you ask me for advice when you've shot down every suggestion I made?" Neville asked.
"I'm beginning to wonder that myself," Ron replied.
"So what is the problem, Ron? Is it that you think she likes you, or that you aren't sure if she REALLY likes you?"
"Second one... no, first one... no, both!" Ron replied, confused.
"Would it be terrible if she did like you?" Neville asked.
Ron smiled as he remembered dancing with Luna last night and laughing as she told him about mudwarm woolly weevils.
"I take that smile to be a no," Neville said.
"If you tell anyone Neville, I'll --," Ron started to warn.
"You know I won't, Ron. Gryffindor, loyalty, remember? Besides, I heard Ginny, George and Fred talking about you two this morning."
Ron went cold and his face turned pale as he thought of the upcoming teasing he would be the butt of. "You didn't?" he pleaded.
"I did. I pretty much knew myself last night as I watched you two together, and I'm sure Luna knows as well. Gee, Ron, I guess the last person to know out of all this, is, well... you." Neville told him.
"What am I going to do?" Ron asked again.
"It depends, do you like her?"
"Let's skip that at this point and go through to the next step."
"You can't skip that, Ron. It's the most important part. Either you like her or you don't. You have to decide which it's going to be."
"Is it okay if I like her?" Ron asked.
"It isn't for me to say. Ask yourself, trust your own feelings."
Ron gave thought to Neville's words for a few minutes; Neville started to wonder if maybe Ron had forgotten he was there.
"Ron, what is the problem?" Neville asked.
"Well, Luna is okay, and I like when she is around because she is always fun."
"So?"
"But, I sort of thought I liked Hermione. Now I'm not sure."
"Maybe you do like Hermione, Ron. Lots of us always thought you did. I mean you have always been so close to her, and Harry."
Ron started pacing, which was very un-Ron-like; Neville smiled as he watched.
"Maybe I do like Luna," Ron said, almost to himself. "Maybe I like them both." He looked up at Neville sheepishly, as if he had been caught doing something wrong.
"Nobody said you had to choose, you know," Neville told him. "It's not like you have to marry one or the other, and decide right away."
"No," he agreed. "I don't have to decide anything do I?"
"Only whether you like Luna or not."
Ron paused for a moment as an idea came to him. A great idea. An idea that once and for all would answer the question of whether or not he liked Luna. "Neville, you haven't got a Galleon on you I could borrow, do you?"
***
"Hey, Dad, how'd it go?" Hermione asked.
"Good. Very good. Three over par and that included an eagle."
"Really?"
"Yep. Where's your mother?"
Hermione pointed upstairs, and Dan nodded.
"Harry?"
"He's taken Sam for a run."
"Is that wise? He doesn't know the neighbourhood."
"That's what I said. He said he'd run that way," she indicated the direction by pointing, "and then turn around and come back."
"Hmm, how long has he been gone?"
"Not sure. I didn't take note of the time but it's been a while." Dan looked to see if he could see any sign of worry on his daughter's face but she either wasn't worried, or she was hiding it. He walked up the stairs and poked his head around the door to Emma's study, finding her on the phone.
She smiled and gave him the universal `come in' sign and he sat in front of her desk listening to her side of the conversation. After the obligatory "Okay, thank you," and "Bye," Dan still didn't know who it was she'd been talking to.
"How did your round go?" she asked.
"Great, three over. How did you go?"
"Good, I think we went good. He seems better I think already, and Hermione says she hasn't seen him smile like that for a long while."
Dan nodded; he wasn't sure what to say.
"That was Dr. Haladin," she told him, waiting to see if he was going to ask.
"Brian Haladin? About Harry?"
Now it was Emma's turn to nod. "I didn't give him too many specifics of course --," she started,
"Like for instance, magic," Dan said.
"Yes, like magic. But he's given me some suggestions that I think should prove useful. He also invited us to dinner Friday."
"Friday?" he asked.
"Mm-hmm. He wants to discuss his thesis with me."
"What did you say?"
"I'd get back to him. I've already checked your schedule, you're free."
"So how much longer?" Dan asked. When he saw Emma's reaction he quickly added, "I'm not trying to get rid of the boy, Em, it's just... are we talking days, weeks, or something a little more permanent?"
Emma smiled cheekily and Dan saw the response coming. "Now THAT'S an idea. Let's go run it by Hermione."
"Em, I've watched her, when she is around him. You'd almost think she is a different person."
Emma looked up into her husband's eyes and smiled.
"What's on your mind, dear?" When he didn't reply, Emma went on. "You're going to have to tell me, unless you'd like for me to READ your mind."
"Have you spoken to Hermione, about Harry?"
"Meaning?"
"Is there any chance she likes him, I mean REALLY fancies him but just doesn't know it yet."
"Every chance. There is even the chance she fancies him and she DOES know. Why, would that be a problem? I mean he IS a boy and she IS a girl, and you know what sometimes happens when boys and girls get together?"
"I don't like that people get hurt around him," he said.
Emma paused, mostly for effect. She knew this conversation would come up at some time, but she thought she might have a few more days before they had to discuss this point. She now knew she had to meet his concerns head-on.
"So what bothers you most, her safety or her heart?"
"Her safety of course. Look, if it was any other boy --," he began.
"It isn't. She hasn't ever LIKED any other boys."
"So what do we do?"
"We? We do nothing. I continue to talk with Harry and help him to deal with his issues. You spend some time with him, get to know him, and while you're at it, show Hermione she has your support."
"And the whole time he is here, he just may be a ticking time bomb waiting to go off?"
"You're being overdramatic. He's managed with everything he's had to deal with up to now."
"Managed? Really?" Dan asked with eyebrows raised.
"Considering the lack of family support he's had, yes. I'd say he's managed fairly well, but then I don't really have a fair frame of reference to compare against do I? Neither of us have been up against a Dark Lord, or a legion of Death Eaters."
"Or a basilisk, dragons, Time Turners..."
"So what do you want, Dan? A guarantee that Hermione will be safe while he is under our roof?"
"I'd settle for that."
"I thought you would. Tell me, can YOU guarantee ME that the sun will rise tomorrow?"
"Low blow, Emma. I expected more from you." Dan stood and walked to the door.
"Dan, nothing I can say is going to satisfy you. Talk to Harry. Ask him whatever questions you have and you may find you just get to know him better."
"And if I don't like the answers?"
"Don't ask the questions."
***
Voldemort smiled at the response, though in truth it was a smile in name only. It would be far more accurate to call it a sinister sneer, though the idea of one of his Death Eaters saying so to his (lizard-like) face simply did not bear thinking about. Had any even thought the idea, it would have been evident to the Dark Lord before the offender had a chance to close their mind off from him.
"Good," he had said. Simply that.
"Tell them to remain out of sight, but I want to know everything that happens in the mudblood's home."
"Yes, my Lord," Alecto responded.
"And remind them, once again, that no one makes any kind of move against Potter, the mudblood, or her Muggle parents. She dies by MY hand, before his helpless eyes. Then, and only then, when he is completely consumed in grief, he dies, also by my hand."
"Yes, my Lord."
"And ask Severus if he would be so kind as to find a free moment for me. There are a couple of things I'd like to discuss with him."
A growl could be heard behind him.
***
"Three over?" Harry asked. "Is that good?"
"Not good," Hermione added, "Great! Three over is four strokes under Dad's handicap. Well done, Dad!" she said.
"Thanks dear, though in truth I have to point out I got lucky on the thirteenth when I should have gone out of bounds, and a couple of putts that could have stayed up went in."
Harry nodded as though he understood and turned his attention to the television set, which was showing a golf tournament.
"Is that where you played, Mr. Granger?" Harry asked.
Hermione burst out laughing and Dan could not suppress a smile. Harry couldn't decide whether it was good natured or instead reflected on his obvious lack of golfing knowledge. "No, Harry," Dan replied. "It's been quite a while since I've played in the British Open."
Hermione and Dan shared a laughing look at his joke, but Harry clearly still didn't understand.
"How did you do?" he asked innocently, causing the two Grangers to laugh even more. Ordinarily Harry would have been slightly angry to watch people laughing at him, but he realised he was in Hermione's home and he was happy enough to admit he knew nothing about the game.
"Dad was kidding, Harry. He's not quite up to the level to play there," she said, pointing at the television.
"No dear," Dan agreed, still smiling. "Not quite."
"How good do you have to be?" Harry asked.
"Four over would have to about be your worst round. If you could shoot four under, consistently, you could expect to see your name on the leader board," Dan said.
Hermione smiled again and started to walk away while giving Harry a look that meant he should stay and chat with Dan about golf. Dan sat in his usual armchair and began taking a closer interest in the television.
"You shoot as well?" Harry asked.
"Sorry?" Dan asked.
"You said something about shooting."
Dan smiled as he realised what Harry was talking about. "No, that's just a golf term. It doesn't mean I have a gun Harry. You have nothing to worry about."
"I thought it was funny. I mean how can you shoot and play golf at the same time?"
"You can't, not without magic," Dan said. He paused a moment as if allowing his own words to sink in and turned his head to see Hermione had left the room. He smiled as he realised at once what she was up to. "Speaking of magic Harry, how do you feel about it?"
"What do you mean? About doing magic or what I think of it?"
"Both."
"Well, there isn't much to think about, it's just part of what I am I guess."
"Part?"
"When I was told I was a wizard, it didn't mean anything at all. Now I know I can make a book come to me from the other side of the room, fly a broom, and stuff like that." He paused, as he was reliving the past couple of conversations he and Ron had had on magic. Much of what Ron had said had troubled him, and he still needed time to go over it. After the pause had become a couple of minutes, Dan continued.
"So what else are you, beside magic?" It was an innocent enough question, but Harry felt there was more behind it. He could sense that he and Dan hadn't made a connection; he thought Dan might not like him. For a brief flicker, Harry asked himself whether he should give the answers he thought Dan wanted to hear. He squashed that thought instantly, and decided to follow the advice he'd been given: to be himself, to be just Harry.
"I'm Harry," he said smiling, as if that answered everything.
"And who's that?" Dan asked.
"Not really sure yet. But I know I'm just doing the best I know how to."
Dan nodded; this made sense after hearing what Emma had said. "Sometimes that's the best way to be, just being yourself."
Harry smiled as he agreed, and nodded. Silence filled the room again as the two watched golf.
"Mr. Granger, I really appreciate Mrs. Granger taking the time to talk with me. It has already helped a lot."
Dan nodded, still watching the television. "She said she was happy with the way things went this morning." As if realising what he just said, he quickly added, "Not that I mean to pry or anything Harry. Anything you say to Emma stays in her confidence --."
"That's all right, Mr. Granger. I really don't mind if she tells you, and Hermione, anything I say to her. I don't have any secrets from you."
Dan thought for a moment and asked, "None at all?"
Harry thought hard, searching for any hidden secrets in the back of his mind. "Well, maybe just one or two, but they aren't all that important. I could tell you --."
"That's okay, Harry, you don't have to."
"I mean, everything else I've told to Hermione and probably Ron as well. I'm sure Hermione has mentioned most of it to at least you or Mrs. Granger."
Dan nodded, thinking again. "That's not to say that much of it makes too much sense to us, Harry. To be truthful, we hardly understand anything that happens in your world."
"It's not MY world, Mr. Granger," Harry said. "I'm just along for the ride like most everybody else."
Dan stopped and turned towards Harry at this latest remark. "What do you mean?"
Harry paused, wondering how he was going to be able to put his barely coherent thoughts into words. "Mr. Granger, one of the things they call me at Hogwarts-my friends as well as the ones who don't like me-is `The Chosen One.'"
Dan nodded. "Yes, I've heard Hermione mention the term. Does that bother you?"
Harry shrugged his shoulders; he wasn't sure if it did bother him or not. "Sometimes, but it doesn't really matter. The thing is, of all the things that have happened to me --," Harry paused; he was quickly reliving some of the darker moments in his head.
"Yes?" Dan said, prompting Harry to finish the sentence.
"-- all the things that have happened, I've never really had much choice in them at all."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Hagrid pops in and tells me I'm a wizard, and I never had any choice in that. Mum and Dad both die to save me and I never had any choice there. No choice when Voldemort tried to kill me and the curse backfired and hit him. I never had any choice when my name was pulled out of the goblet, or in the Chamber, or when --."
Dan stopped him as he could see Harry was starting to get worked up. "Easy Harry, don't be so hard on yourself."
"I've got green eyes and nobody asked me if that was okay --."
"Harry." Dan said quietly.
He thought for a moment and continued, trying hard to make Dan understand. "It's just that, well, I haven't made any choices. It's like I've been a passenger or something and I can't get off the train. Whichever way it runs, wherever it's going, I don't have any say at all."
Both fell silent as Dan looked at Harry, really looked at him, and for the first time tried to imagine what it must have been like to have gone through so many ordeals.
"You've managed this far," Dan said helpfully, and watched as Harry's face suddenly tensed up at hearing his words. Something Dan had said had struck a nerve. Harry was again recalling Ron's words about how Harry had made it through on at least luck to this point of his life, and should assume his luck would continue to run true.
"Are you okay?" Dan asked.
Harry nodded weakly.
"Harry, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, Mr. Granger."
"I need you to be honest with me, Harry, really honest. It's very important."
Seeing as how Dan had set the tone for the upcoming question, Harry realised he had to be totally honest; he thought he wasn't going to like the next question. He nodded again, indicating he'd give as truthful a response as he could.
"Harry, is Hermione in danger?"
Harry paused for a fraction before answering. "Yes sir, she is." Just like that, now it was out there, and nothing Harry could say or do would put that genie back in the bottle. "But sir, so is most everyone else."
"How do you mean?"
"Well Mr. Granger, it pretty much comes down to the fact that everyone in the Wizarding world is either a Death Eater, and therefore a supporter of Voldemort, or they stand against Voldemort."
"And by standing against him, they make themselves a target," Dan finished.
Harry nodded. "It's no secret he wants to kill me, and most of my friends including Hermione. But sir, he has already killed hundreds of innocents, wizards and Muggles alike. He doesn't care. He'll kill EVERYONE who doesn't support him. It comes down to him or us."
"Isn't there somewhere you can hide?" Dan asked.
Harry shook his head. "No sir. Nowhere at all. They have already killed wizards, witches and Muggles all around the world. There's nowhere to hide. He has the dementors on his side. They are able to go anywhere, anywhere at all."
Dan paused, "Are you telling me it's hopeless then?"
"No sir. He has to be stopped... stopped so he can never come back."
"How do you do that?"
Harry could not reply, he had no answer. He didn't even know where to start to track down the Horcruxes, let alone fathom how he was going to defeat Voldemort.
Dan watched as Harry began torturing himself and laid what he hoped to be a friendly hand on his shoulder. Harry looked up and smiled weakly, as Dan stood and walked to the door and out of the house. He decided to go for a walk while he went over this conversation in his mind.
Hermione had walked back into the living room with a smile that faded when she saw Harry, alone and looking sad. She looked around and found her father had left, although the television was still on. Harry walked toward his room, almost brushing Hermione in his path, and seemed not even to notice she was there. His head was dropped and he seemed defeated.
"Harry?" Hermione asked.
Harry said nothing, but closed the door of the room behind him.
***
Fred and George were laughing while Ron was looking for his broom, thinking he could at least relieve the boredom with a little Quidditch practice. Ginny was shaking her head in amazement that Ron would even THINK of such a thing.
"So what would you have done if it came down the other way, heads instead of tails?"
Ron held the Galleon out for Ginny to see. "Not that kind of coin. It's Neville's D.A. Galleon."
Ginny looked surprised. It was bad enough to find her brother tossing a coin to decide whether or not he liked Luna, but to find he used one of the D.A. coins...
"Why did you use Neville's? What was wrong with your own?" Ginny asked.
"I don't know where it is, somewhere in my room underneath all my stuff."
"You've lost your D.A. coin?"
"It's in there somewhere," he said, nonplussed.
Ginny snatched and grabbed the coin Ron had been holding before he had time to react. She proudly held it up for him see that she was quicker than him and smiled teasingly.
"I'll hold this, until I can return it to Neville myself," she told him.
"Yeah, you do that. It gives you a perfect chance to go and see him doesn't it?"
"What are you talking about?" Fred asked.
"Ginny likes Neville," George said, and Ron nodded agreement.
Ginny's face started to blush before she decided she didn't care.
"What's wrong with that? At least I admit it, while prat-face here --," Ginny said.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Fred asked.
"I knew, I figured you would," George said.
"Besides, nobody is going anywhere," Ron said. "Remember what Mum said."
"If you MUST know, I like lots of boys, not just Neville. I just like it when Neville's around because it makes me feel a little safer."
"Don't you mean Harry?" Ron asked.
"Him too, but Neville has always been around when he's been needed. If he hadn't been there on the stairs of the astronomy tower --."
Ron thought about that before answering.
"But Harry's the one who has to defeat --." He couldn't say the name, not without Harry around to lend him strength.
The four fell silent as each asked themselves the question: how was Harry going to defeat the Dark Lord?
"So how long is he going to stay at Hermione's?" Ron asked.
"Why?" Ginny asked in return. "Who are you jealous of, Harry or Hermione?" She had that smug look on her face that defied Ron to answer, so he shook his head, realising any reply would just give Ginny further ammunition to use against him.
Ron found his broom where he least expected to find it: right where it was supposed to be. He grabbed it quickly and raced out the back door before Ginny could say anything else.
"Boys," she said shaking her head, and Fred and George laughed in response. "You two are no better. I mean look at yourselves. Mum said you could have brought anyone you liked to the wedding."
"I did," Fred said.
"Yeah," George agreed.
"I brought him!" each said, pointing at the other, and then they couldn't hold the laughter any more.
"Boys!" Ginny said again and walked away.
***
"You were one of his professors, Severus," Voldemort said. "Surely you would know if Potter felt something for the... mudblood." Voldemort spat the last word out as if it had been a piece of poisoned food. For a brief instant Snape was unsure just who Voldemort hated most.
"My Lord. I was just his Potions Master. You can't expect that he would confide in me about such matters. I have no idea who, if anyone, he feels anything for. It was merely my ordeal to have to watch him stumble through his Potions course, for which I might add, he has no great talent."
"Thank you, Severus," Voldemort said with a sneer. "Thank you for assuring me I have no cause to fear his potions prowess. But I note that you haven't yet answered my question. I've also noticed you have experienced... difficulty, of late, in answering direct questions. Would you like me to repeat it for you?" he asked, and the air about him began to turn evil. His eyes were burning within Snape's and he was feeling Snape's mind for any sign he was being anything other than loyal.
"My Lord, I regret that I do not know if Potter has feelings for Granger. I have no evidence either way, I wasn't his House master so I cannot even revert to casual gossip I may have heard."
Voldemort looked at Snape carefully, not for the first time feeling that Snape was holding something back. "I understand Severus, you couldn't be expected to know such matters." Voldemort never wavered his gaze from Snape for an instant. Something would have to be done about Snape... something final, and soon, he thought.
"You may go, Severus. Thank you for your... assistance."
Snape bowed slightly, saying nothing, and left the chamber, leaving the Dark Lord alone, with his thoughts. His thoughts of death and destruction.
***
A single knock at the door would have been barely heard, except for Harry's keen sense of hearing.
"Come in, Mrs. Granger," he said.
The door opened slightly, enough for her to poke her head through as she found Harry sitting at the desk with scribbled paper strewn about.
She smiled at seeing him. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"Trying to come up with a plan."
"I see," she said, and smiled again as she remembered the first time she'd said that to him. As she did, she could see Harry remembered as well because he too was smiling.
"Dan told me he'd spoken with you. Did something he say upset you?" she asked.
"Not upset exactly. But a couple of the things he said got me thinking," Harry said, forlorn.
"And you decided to make some plans?" Emma asked.
Harry nodded, looking at the stacks of scribbled upon paper. "Trying to anyway," he said.
Emma nodded, understanding. "How did you know it was me at the door, not Dan or Hermione?"
"I heard you coming; I knew it was you. Besides Hermione would never have knocked so lightly. Did Mr. Granger tell you what we talked about?"
"Yes, Harry, I assume that is all right?"
"Yep. I've nothing to hide, I told Mr. Granger that."
"You can call him Dan, Harry," Emma said, smiling.
Harry paused before replying. "Is it all right if I call him Mr. Granger, at least until I know him a little better?"
"Perfectly," Emma said. She looked about and found Harry's trunk neatly stacked at the end of the bed, and the wardrobe shut tight. She wondered whether he had unpacked or not.
"What do you say to dinner, Harry?"
"Sounds good, Mrs. - - Emma. I'm about done here anyway."
"You've finished?" she asked.
"Barely even started. I can't do any more in my present state of mind anyway."
"I take it that means you're happy to stay a little longer,' she asked and smiled as she expected an affirmative response.
Harry hung his head and momentarily avoided her gaze. "Mr. Granger is worried I'm putting Hermione at risk."
"I heard. He also told me your answer, Harry. Sounds like you summed up the situation pretty well. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall said the same thing. This is a war, Harry. It's going to be a war where everybody has to choose which side they are on."
Harry thought about what Emma had said and looked up at her, almost pleading for her to give him the answers to his many unanswered questions.
"Aren't you worried about Hermione?" he asked.
"Very. I'm worried about you too. So is Hermione. And believe it or not, Mr. Granger is worried about you both."
"Tell me what to do," he said softly.
"Come on, dinner first. War plans later. I hope you're up for pizza."
"Pizza sounds good, Emma. Promise no anchovies though."
"Asked and promised. We Grangers have zero tolerance for anchovies. Or Dark Lords."
Harry allowed a laugh to escape his lips and he smiled back. He thought he was going to hug her but held back with sheer willpower. They walked to the kitchen where Dan and Hermione awaited them, two delivered pizzas also waiting in the centre of the table.
"Hi," Harry said sheepishly to Hermione and Dan together.
"How are you?" Hermione.
"Hungry," he said.
"Dan, Harry has specifically asked that we don't order anchovies," Emma said.
"Too late," Dan said. "We already DIDN'T order anchovies."
"Dad hates them," Hermione whispered to Harry.
"Mum hates them even more," Emma whispered.
"Help yourself, Harry," Dan said, opening the boxes. "Here we have everybody's favourite: supreme. And here: the Granger's special."
"Ham, pineapple, ground beef and onion," Hermione said with a laugh.
Harry looked questioningly at the three Grangers. Hermione and Emma laughed openly while even Dan allowed a slight laugh to escape his lips.
"Isn't it meant to be ham and pineapple OR ground beef and onion?"
"Normally yes, Harry," Dan said.
"Though when Mum and Dad can't decide whose favourite to get, the only answer is to get one with both their favourite toppings," Hermione said, reaching for a slice.
Harry smiled and shook his head, also grabbing a piece of the strange concoction of a pizza. "Doesn't seem right," Harry said.
"What doesn't seem right, Harry?" Dan asked.
"Pineapple on a pizza. Beef, onion and ham all make sense, but PINEAPPLE? That doesn't make sense."
"Thank you," Emma said with a beaming smile. "MY point exactly."
Harry looked over, realising he'd just criticised Mr. Granger's favourite pizza topping. Dan shot him an amusing look and he realised he had nothing to fear. He was after all just being honest.
"It's an acquired taste, Harry. Let's see if we can groom you in the ways of gourmet pizza."
"I'll try," Harry said happily. "But it's like vegetarian lasagne. Doesn't make sense."
Hermione laughed and shook Harry's shoulder. "Now you've done it!" she said.
"What?"
"Vegetarian lasagne. Mum loves it!"
Harry looked over to see Emma laughing, and even Dan had joined into the mood.
"But I've never tried your mum's vegetarian lasagne. I bet it's the best!" Harry said, forcing Emma to laugh even harder.
"Nice save, Harry," Dan said.
The four ate together and passed the time talking about the normal sort of mundane things Harry had never spoken off in a family setting. Dinner with the Dursleys was basically a case of gobble and go, where the only time anyone spoke to Harry was to criticise something he had said, or done, or cooked as he was often to be expected to cook. When Emma heard that Harry was handy in the kitchen, she announced that she would allow him to assist her in making dinner, something he was keen to do.
"Mr. Granger," Harry said as they were finishing.
"Harry?"
"Sorry about this morning, about waking you up and everything."
Emma spoke up before Dan had a chance to reply. "You've nothing to be sorry about, Harry. Remember? Besides, Dan was up anyway."
"I was already up," Dan said. "Getting ready to leave for golf. I didn't even hear you until I heard Hermione." Dan gave a slight smile to Harry, as if to alleviate his guilt.
"That's right, blame me," Hermione said jokingly.
"Reminds me of when Hermione used to wake us up at all hours of the night," Emma said, as only a mother could.
"She was that bad?" Harry asked.
"Terrible. Every three hours she'd be awake screaming her lungs out," Emma said.
"Mother!" Hermione hissed playfully.
"Well you did, dear," Emma replied.
"Great set of lungs on her too. Even the neighbours could hear her," Dan added.
"Doesn't surprise me," Harry said, joining into the spirit of the moment. "Try not doing your homework around her sometime."
"Thanks a lot," she smiled to the combined laughter. She looked directly at Harry and smiled sweetly, letting him he wasn't alone. She placed her hand on his leg nearest hers and squeezed it, as if to tell him she'd stand by him as long as he needed. Harry's hand dropped to his leg and squeezed her hand in thanks.
He looked down and saw that he was now holding her hand, beneath the level of the table so neither Dan nor Emma could see. He was holding her hand, and liked how it felt. Hermione gave a friendly squeeze back, and continued to hold his hand, telling him if he wanted to let go she wasn't going to let him.
Something came to his mind, a previous phrase, as if by magic just dropping into his head. "Accidental magic," he said.
"Pardon?" Dan said.
"Hermione said something about doing some accidental magic, when she was six. What was that about?"
"You listen to me?" Hermione asked.
"Always."
Dan watched as Emma smiled at him as the subject of accidental magic was brought up, while Hermione let go of Harry's hand and placed it on her own lap. Harry looked slightly disappointed, though she smiled back at him, showing him he hadn't offended her.
"It was winter," Emma began. "Hermione was in the back yard, just over there," she said pointing. "And it started to snow."
"Hermione was always trying to take her gloves off in the snow. She said she hated the feel of them," Dan added.
"And," Emma continued, "she couldn't understand why snow fell down, but not up."
"Do we REALLY need to tell this story?" Hermione asked with a smile.
"YES!" her mother answered. "Well, Hermione said it was sad that once snowflakes fell to the ground they stayed there."
"So we can make snowmen," Harry said.
"Snow WOMEN!" Hermione corrected to Harry and Dan's simultaneous eye-rolling.
"So," Emma continued again, "while Dan and I were collecting enough snow to make a - - snow PERSON, we looked over to see the snowflakes were somehow turning into butterflies."
"Snow butterflies," Hermione said with a grin.
"Snow butterflies, made from real snow flakes. She was watching them dance around her head for a long while before we noticed."
"I thought they were just snowflakes just caught in an updraught," Dan offered.
"Until we took a closer look. Dan and I were astounded, but Hermione just acted as if it was the most normal of things."
"Snow butterflies. How cute! Mind if I tell anyone, I mean EVERYONE?" Harry asked.
"YES! Tell anyone Harry James Potter and I'll --," Hermione began, but was laughing too hard to come up with a satisfactory threat.
"What happened next?"
Dan took up the story where Emma had left off. "Well, for two days we didn't even dare to talk about it. We didn't believe what we saw with our own eyes. We had no idea what we would do until there came a knock at the door, and a Mr. Flavius told us that Hermione was a witch and that the Magical authorities would be getting in touch with us."
"Squib?" Harry asked Hermione.
"Guess so. We never saw him again. A couple of days later an owl arrived with an envelope in its beak," Hermione said.
"Addressed to Hermione Jane Granger. Well, we read it and it pretty much repeated what Mr. Flavius said. Then it was just a case of wait until Hogwarts sent their letter out."
"So you got your letter the same time I got mine?" Harry asked.
"I guess so."
"Funny, I always thought you would have Accioed something. Maybe a doll or something," Harry said.
"Try a book. In fact, try lots of books. After the snow butterflies, she worked out how to get books to come to her, and she's been reading ever since," Dan said.
"We were forever trying to keep them from her when she was supposed to be sleeping. We even removed all books from her room only to find we had to replace her window every month or so," Emma said.
"So when we finally relented, and let her have her books, we had to remove the light so she couldn't read all hours of the night," Dan said.
"Only to find," Harry finished, "Hermione had figured out Lumos as well."
"That's pretty much it," Hermione said.
"And she's been a bookworm ever since," Emma added laughing.
All four laughed and Hermione dropped her hand to Harry's side, holding his hand again having already forgiven him for bringing up the subject.
"What about you, Harry?" Emma asked.
"Boring. I made a piece of glass disappear from a snake exhibit at the zoo when Dudley was banging on it. Dudley fell into the exhibit, the snake said `thanks' in Parseltongue and slithered away. Nothing at all interesting like snow butterflies."
"What happened to the snake?" Dan asked.
"I'm not really sure. But I remember the whole thing was a complete surprise. I didn't mean for it to happen, it just did. Not like Hermione's snow butterflies that she meant to happen."
"Just shows I'm smarter!" she said mockingly.
"I never doubted that for a minute, Hermione," Harry said.
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