"Don't worry Harry. I'll talk to my parents; we'll have a cover up by….well, today. I'll meet you for the first time in five years again tomorrow" After the laugh they shared, they walked in their respective homes.
Harry fell asleep with thoughts of his best friend and how Hogwarts was going to be great this year.
Chapter 4: Dinner and Getting Settled
"POTTER"
Harry jumped up in his bed, startled from his sleep. He looked over at the old alarm clock that Dudley thought was stupid to have when you have parents, and it read 9:15 am. Harry could not believe it. He was asleep for about three hours! I should have remembered I have to serve breakfast! This is going to be a long day. I wonder what cover up Hermione and her parents came up with. Harry threw on a shirt and pants. He rushed downstairs and saw the family at the table eating breakfast. Seeing Harry's quizzical look Petunia said "I cooked breakfast since you chose to sleep all day! Now go and mow the lawn." As Harry left to do as he was told she added "And trim the bushes. And make sure it's done perfectly and quickly" Even with his back facing them, Harry could see the 'you go girl' look Marge was giving Petunia.
Harry went to the yard and picked up the old fence that fell and moved it aside. Harry spent 80 minutes cutting the front and back grass then he trimmed the bushes. That was extremely hard work for 90 degree weather (about 32 Celsius). Harry walked in the house literally dripping sweat. "HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT THIS HOUSE BY LEAVING YOUR FILTH ON THE FLOOR. TAKE A SHOWER AND PUT ON THE TUX I BOUGHT YOU. YOU ARE THE BUTLER!!! AND YOU BETTER APPRECIATE IT" Vernon was absolutely furious. "Now you will address me and Dudley as sir. Petunia and Marge will be maam. Do you got it boy? No funny business or I'll make you wish you were never born" you already make me wish that every morning.
Harry ran upstairs, showered, and changed into his penguin suit. Harry may have been uncomfortable but he could help but smirk at the thought that 'he cleans up well'. It was nearing noon when he heard the door open. He ran to the window and saw Vernon and Petunia talking to the grangers. They all looked so happy and perfect. Then Vernon laughed heartily and said "Why don't you come over for dinner? We have a butler just waiting to serve you." Harry didn't know whether to roll his eyes or be happy that he would see Hermione again.
"BOY GET DOWN HERE NOW" When Harry got to the bottom of the stairs his uncle rounded on him with a finger in his face. "You will cook the best steak you've ever made and I don't want any cheap side dishes. I want a full course meal. Have the tables made by 7:00 tonight… What are you still doing here? GET TO WORK!!"
There was no denying that Harry was afraid of his uncle. Sure he despised him; but the fear was inevitable. Years of beatings, starvation, and emotional abuse had paid its toll.
Vernon achieved his most prized accomplishment. He made Harry Potter, boy wizard, fear him and he loved every minute of it. Vernon knew Harry couldn't use magic outside of school. That wasn't his major problem. He would have a problem if Harry were to go to the police about it. It was obvious the boy was small for his age and Harry could easily show some of the scars on his back. Vernon would be in jail before he could tell his conscience he was going. So he spent years putting fear in the boy. He knew the Potter kid despised him. But the key was the fear that never let him act on his hatred. Vernon loved his life.
Harry was finishing dinner as he heard the doorbell ring. He stood by the closed kitchen door straining to hear what was being said. "Welcome to our humble home. Dinner will be served shortly." Harry heard rustling of coats and felt the vibrations of Vernon walking the Grangers to the dinning room. "This is my lovely wife Petunia, you met earlier" Try ugly wife Petunia. "This is my beautiful sister Marge" HUMPH beautiful. "And this is my roguishly handsome son Dudley. He takes after me" In more ways than you know. Harry could practically hear Hermione rolling her eyes at the last part.
It was silent for a while so Petunia spoke up. "Well young lady, why don't you sit next to my Dudders."
"Oh I don't see why I never noticed before! Aren't you Dudley Dursley?"
"Erm...Yeah! Have we met before? I know I would have recognized your pretty face."
"Well… we weren't exactly on good terms. I was a friend of Harry's. I'm Hermione Granger, remember?" Dudley made a sour look and quickly wiped it off his face. The rest of the Dursley's tried not to glare too hard her.
"Well, you've grown up and Harry was sent off to St. Brutus' school for delinquent boys. He's only here for the summer. But he's horrible. Isn't he dad?"
"Yes. The boy is now our butler. The school thought it might be good to strengthen his morals and appreciate the littlest things in life. We do everything for the boy but there is no good luck. Our Dudley is in Smeltings! We're proud of him!"
"Oh I was hoping Harry not have gone bad. He was nice as a child. But they are the ones who turn out rough. I'm in a boarding school too. It's in Scotland. The best! I'm the head of my year" Hermione said with a sweet voice. A little too sweet. What is she up to?
Harry heard the conversation die down so he went to serve the appetizers. He couldn't help but smirk at how Hermione couldn't take her eyes off him. He quickly hid it and continued serving. Harry stood to the side while everyone ate and was pleased to see everyone was enjoying the food. He may have hated the fact that he has to cook, but he takes pride in his food. Vernon started up another conversation while Harry was serving the main course. "So what do you do if you don't mind my asking?"
Mrs. Granger spoke up this time. "My husband and I are both dentists. We own our own practice a few miles away. We plan on staying this time."
Vernon clapped his hands and startled everyone. Harry had to try to hold in his laughter. "Well! We are fairly matched after all. I own a drill company. Maybe we should talk business sometime. We sell everything from dentist drills, to carpentry drills."
"Yea we will see about business one day" Mr. Granger said trying to put him off without being rude.
"Oh, daddy! The fence that divides our yards fell down last night. The wind took it away when I was sitting in the garden."
"Well, the butler, Harry, is also very handy. He can fix the fence." Petunia wanted to make a good impression. Yeah why not volunteer me for manual labor.
"None sense. I'll have a contractor do it. He can add a small gate to connect our yards. Just in case of emergencies." Yes the Grangers are on my side. They want me to have contact with Hermione. "But we can use a hand in repairing the house and moving the rest of our furniture in" Mr. Granger added. WHAT! Take deep breaths Harry! You trust Hermione. This must be a part of her plan. Oh forget the plan. They're trying to make me a slave.
"Yes of course you can work the boy; adds to his morals." Vernon was ecstatic.
"Great! We may need him for about three weeks though. Plumbing, painting, building; it would be a lot of hard work!"
Mrs. Granger sounded just as eager and menacing as Vernon, "Do you want him over our house at a certain time. I know he may have chores here."
"No. You can keep him those three weeks. Just as long as our lawn is mowed every week we'll be fine!"
Mr. Granger pulled out his wallet, "How much should we pay you? Good help is hard to find!"
Marge waved her hands signaling a negative to Mr. Granger. "No need to pay just think of it as neighborly sharing. So when my brother needs your trimmers don't be shy" They all laughed at this. Please let this be a part of the plan. But they were showing no sign of sympathy for him. Vernon excused himself and grabbed Harry and took him to the kitchen.
Once they were in private, Vernon whispered harshly, "Listen boy. You will be on your best behavior there. You will do as you're told. And you are their tool for the next three weeks" Vernon grabbed Harry by the collar. "If you mess this up. I'll make sure you'll never walk again.
Harry nodded and went upstairs to let Hedwig out. "Fly to Ron's girl. Ask if you can stay for the summer…or hoot… just get the message across okay?." Hedwig nodded an affirmative and flew away. Harry packed his few clothes and put his wand in the bottom of the bag. When he got back downstairs the Grangers were saying goodbye to the Dursley's.
Mr. Granger looked at Harry and said, "Come on boy we don't have all day." Harry trudged along following the Granger women into number 3. Harry held his head down as he got in the house. When he looked up the house was perfectly furnished in tip top condition. He looked over at Hermione with confusion written on his face. She beamed at him then hugged him, more like cut off air supply, but once again he wasn't complaining. Mr. and Mrs. Granger were smiling at Harry. When Hermione let him go, Mr. Granger spoke.
"Sorry for being so brutal there but Hermione wanted her best friend over for the remainder of the summer and it seemed like a good plan."
"Of course! I'll still cut both lawns to make it seem more realistic. It's the least I can do to thank you."
Before the Grangers could reply Hermione cut in "Harry let me show you your room!"
She pulled him upstairs and opened a door. It was cozy, he could tell that was for certain. It had a wooden desk; a chair next to it; a dresser with a mirror on it, and a queen size bed! This was far better than Dudley's second room. She pulled him over to a door on the side of the room. When she opened it, it was a bathroom. It was huge. It had a huge shower, a Jacuzzi bath, and a marble shower. Harry stood there with his mouth hanging open. "I think it's too much for me to have by myself, so I thought we could share it. Is that okay wit you?"
Harry just nodded dumbly. As he was led to Hermione's Room. Her room was pretty much the same bust twice as big with huge bookshelves and an entertainment center. She led him back to his room to unpack. About halfway through his bag she asked, "So Harry. What do you want to do for the rest of the summer? I personally think we should catch up more. I know we talked for hours last night but… there has to be something we forgot. "
"Oh! well… We could talk about things outside of school if you want. Although I pretty much covered everything." After a long silence Harry asked "Do you have any specific questions?"
Hermione had a question in mind but she didn't want him to think negatively about her. Oh to hell with it. "Have you ever had a girlfriend Harry?"