Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.
I hope you all had a happy New Year, Sharday, my Beta, has been working overtime to provide us with another chapter to welcome 2007. Please give us a quick review at the end and thank Sharday for her efforts.
Barmy
(5) The Grangers
"What happened?"
"She just disappeared … trunk and all!"
After quickly putting her trunk down on her bed, Hermione rushed out her bedroom door to the top of the stairs and said loudly, "What's the matter, Mum?"
Dan and Emma hurried to the bottom of the stairs and looked up to see her standing there. "You … you vanished … with your trunk."
"I'm sorry, Mum. I didn't think it would scare you. What I did was called apparition, you vanish from one place and reappear somewhere else."
"And I suppose that's considered normal?" asked Dan.
"Ohhhh … well … yes it is actually … you have to get a licence to do it though … like driving a car."
"You did say you could now do magic away from school … so I guess … as long as it's safe … maybe you should ease us into this gently so we don't … or at least stop to warn us before popping yourself or something in or out." stuttered Emma.
"Yes Mum, Dad … I'm sorry, it just seemed the logical thing to do at the time, I wasn't considering that you've never really seen any amount of magic and I guess you have no idea what the possibilities are. Harry and I will have to put on a show for you sometime, but for now, I'll get into the dress … come on up." She rushed back to her room, unlocked the trunk and threw it open, picked the dress out of its box and laid it out on the remaining bit of the bed. In a minute she was out of her jeans and top and into the dress, all before her mother came in.
"Oh my, I can see why he'd be in shock if he's only seen you in school robes, jeans and t-shirts. Yes … it's a little long, I'll get some pins and be right back."
Five minutes later, the dress was all pinned. Hermione magically fixed the length and the pins were removed. Then they went downstairs to show her dad. A few minutes later she was back in her jeans and t-shirt in the living room, and asked her Mum if it was time to send for Harry. Her Mum nodded.
"Alright Fawkes, go get Harry" she said to the bird and then he disappeared in a flash.
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After a few minutes of waiting, Harry realized that the Grangers weren't ready for him yet. He was still feeling hungry after the meagre sandwich that Aunt Petunia left him, so he went to look around the kitchen for something more to eat. He nibbled on bits of this and that, trying not to be too obvious in leaving a dent in anything when Fawkes reappeared.
"They're ready for me now, are they?" he asked Fawkes, "You're not going to apparate me into the shower?" Fawkes gave him a look that had to be the closest thing to exasperation he had ever seen on a bird, including Hedwig. "Let's do this from upstairs, since my bag is up in my room." He ran down the hall, around the corner and up to his room with Fawkes perched on his shoulder. He closed the door and wandlessly locked all Vernon's locks, then magically sealed the door again.
Harry picked up his bag of clothes and held his arm out for Fawkes to perch on. Fawkes moved down to his arm and Harry imagined himself standing beside Hermione … then he was gone in a flash of red flame.
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"Mum, a word of warning. Harry is planning to appear right beside me. It may take a minute or two, if he's in the middle of something else right now. You'll see a flash of red flame and both Harry and Fawkes will appear. There won't be a popping sound like when I apparated upstairs."
Hermione was standing near the entrance to the living room, in the middle of a patch of empty floor to make it easy for Harry, and giving him plenty of clear space to appear on either side of her.
"Why can Harry do it silently?" asked Dan.
"When I did it, I was apparating myself and all wizards make some noise when they apparate. The better control you have, the less noise you make. I can apparate now because I'm seventeen and I have my apparition license. With more practice I can probably do it almost silently. Harry isn't seventeen until the end of July, and although he can apparate, he doesn't have a license. If it were anyone else, I'd have to go and bring him back with me, that's called side-along apparition. Harry … is quite special. The Phoenix that was here wants Harry to be his … I don't know … I guess 'owner' is close enough. The Phoenix will actually be bringing him here using a different sort of magic."
"We'll have to have a birthday party for Harry", said Emma. "That's going to be a very special day for him, isn't it? I'm sorry we didn't arrange something special for your seventeenth," said Emma, sounding disappointed.
"That's all right Mum, Harry remembered," she said as Harry flashed in on her right side, startling everyone.
Fawkes flew off Harry's arm to find his perch. "Remembered what?" Harry said as he shifted his bag to his right hand and shuffled closer to Hermione while nodding hello to the Grangers.
"Nothing," said Hermione taking his hand in hers.
"Is that all you brought with you Harry?" asked Emma, "I thought you were staying a while."
"Oh, yes." he said. Harry shifted his gaze to Hermione then back to her parents. "I have to stay at my Aunt and Uncle's tomorrow night according to Professor McGonagall, so there wasn't much point bringing more for now. I really appreciate your willingness to put me up on short notice. I hope I'm not interrupting any of your plans."
"We were hoping to spend more time with our daughter this summer than we've been able to in some summers past," said Dan.
"So am I," Harry said as he gave Hermione's hand a light squeeze. "However, it is not my intention to take all of your time with her. I don't expect you to treat me like a guest. Just treat me like family, if that works for you. When I'm at the Dursleys, I cook and clean, mow the lawn and weed the garden. Molly takes it easy on me when I stay at The Burrow, but I usually help Ron or the twins with whatever chores they're doing. If I do something you don't like, please tell me, or if you just want some private time, I can keep myself occupied elsewhere. I do hope we can get along."
"That sounds impressive from a teenager. I'm starting to like him," Dan said to no one in particular.
Emma smiled and whispered, though not too softly to Hermione, "He cooks, cleans and mows the lawn. This one's a keeper honey, don't let him out of your sight." Emma then winked at her daughter.
Hermione blushed bright red, covered her face with her hands and with a near silent pop apparated to her room. Harry too was blushing, feeling embarrassed for Hermione and for about a minute, it was so silent you could have heard a pin drop. The blush had faded a bit by the time Hermione left her room and went to the top of the stairs. She yelled down, "Harry, come up here and I'll show you your room. I'm not going down there until my parents promise to behave themselves."
"I guess I should go up … and thank you." Harry walked over to the stairs and up, where he found Hermione standing against the doorframe of the guest room. He walked over to her, she took his hand and led him into the guest room.
"This is your room Harry, put your stuff away and I'll be back in a couple of minutes. I'm going to try to get Mum and Dad back to normal." The last Harry saw of Hermione was the back of her bushy haired head bobbing down the stairs.
Hermione met her parents at the bottom of the stairs. "Pumpkin, your Mum and I apologize," said Dan in a low voice. "It's just that you're seventeen years old, and this is the only boy you've ever brought home, except for Crookshanks. We're just happy for you and I guess we're having a little fun with the occasion. I hope you and Harry can forgive us."
"We'll think about it," Hermione said in a teasing whisper. Dan and Emma both gave her a hug and a kiss before letting her return to Harry.
When Hermione returned to the guest room, Harry said, "Your Mum seems happy enough about me and I think your Dad is coming around too." Harry spotted Hedwig on the windowsill, so he went over and opened the window. She flew in and landed on Harry's shoulder and pecked him hard on the ear. "Ow! I'm sorry I forgot your cage, Hedwig"
Hermione immediately pulled out her wand and conjured another perch, just like the one she made for Fawkes, and filled the water dish. Hedwig left Harry's shoulder, ensuring that her wing clipped him on the back of the head, landed on the perch and took a grateful drink of water. She then hooted softly at Hermione.
Harry said, "Done this before, have you?"
"Yes, there's one just like it for Fawkes, in the kitchen."
"Been showing off your magical skills?"
"No! Well … I reminded them that because I am seventeen I can now use magic out of school and Dad asked if a glass of water was too difficult. So I made three crystal water goblets and filled them."
"It took a little coaxing to get them to drink the water. I think they were scared that it might not be real water."
"Then we ordered food. Halfway through the meal, Fawkes showed up and I made him a perch so he would be comfortable while he waited. Then Mum wanted to see the new dress. Dad had put my trunk at the bottom of the stairs. I told Mum I would put on the dress and show her, so I picked up the trunk and apparated upstairs. Well, Mum screamed, I guess I should have warned her, then I called down from my room and she came up. I put on the dress and we shortened it a little, then I went down to show Dad."
"You look fabulous in that dress." Harry said, "I think I've only ever seen you in two dresses and both times you've taken my breath away."
"Harry." she softly said, "Thank you." She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. After a few moments they broke apart and Hermione said, "After I changed back, I sent Fawkes to get you."
"No letters from the Ministry for using magic in front of your parents?"
"No, why should they?"
"Just asking. I did some wandless magic, locking and unlocking some locks and I sealed a door. It took quite a bit of effort and concentration, so I was sweating slightly afterwards. No owls have arrived from the Ministry either. McGonagall must have been right about wandless magic not being traced."
In the guest room, there was a large bed with a small table next to it, a dresser, a small desk and a couple of chairs in the room. He had put his bag down on the desk while she was gone. They were still standing there facing each other, they just stared into each others eyes for a while in blissful silence, just together, alone … until Hedwig gave a soft hoot and disturbed them.
Harry turned his head and looked past Hermione to the window; he then realized it now looked dull outside. When he had let Hedwig in, it was bright and sunny out there. How long had they been standing there?
Dan and Emma decided, since they haven't heard anything from upstairs in a while and it was getting late anyway, that they were going to sleep. Emma was in the lead and as she passed Harry's room, with the door wide open, she saw them looking at each other, apparently in a daze. Emma smiled and winked at Dan so he'd know she wasn't concerned. Dan, however, stopped at the door and cleared his throat loud enough to startle the couple. They split apart and faced the door, both blushing quite well. Harry moved a little in front of Hermione, though not blocking her view.
Dan asked the teens, "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"
"We have to talk to Ron, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley and then get Harry back to the Dursleys for the night," said Hermione.
"Since tomorrow is Sunday, your mother and I will probably have a lie in. If you decide to leave before we are up, leave us a note saying when we should be expecting the both of you to be back. Oh, and move the bird out of the kitchen please."
With a 'Yes Daddy', Hermione apparated to the kitchen and went over to Fawkes. Picturing in her mind Fawkes and his perch in Harry's room, Fawkes landed on Hermione's shoulder, she grabbed the perch and they vanished in a flash of red.
"You two popping in and out is going to take some getting used to," said Dan to Harry. "Is it dangerous? I mean can anything go wrong."
"Yes, things can go wrong, and that's why you need training and practice, like driving a car. When we were learning, Susan Bones left a leg behind once, and when Ron was doing his first test, he left half an eyebrow behind. Though I've never driven a car, I expect it's much the same. You learn the basics and get your license, and as you get more practice, it becomes normal and natural. Hermione's always been quick at learning everything."
Dan looked at the floor where his daughter disappeared and saw nothing had been left behind, so he felt a little more relaxed. Then a silent flash of red flame revealed Hermione, Fawkes and the perch from the kitchen. Dan jumped, Harry smiled and Hermione said, "Sorry Daddy, I suppose this apparating is a little unnerving for you."
"I'll just have to get used to it. Good night kids. How about a goodnight kiss for me and Mum?"
Hermione first gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek and whispered, "Today has been really special for me Harry. I can't believe how happy I am. I'd better go and get some sleep. Night …" Then she scampered over to her parents closing Harry's door behind her.
"Good night, Hermione," he said as she closed the door on her way out. Love the thought; I really don't want to share her with anyone. Today has been special. Harry changed and got into bed. The last thought he had was someone saying "Dumbledore would have been happy to see a little more love in the world" and he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. He had happy dreams that night.
After kissing, hugging and saying good night to her parents, Hermione entered her room and closed the door, then leaned back against it. She wanted Harry to notice her … to love her … He had put his arm around her and given her a squeeze … the way he looked at me a few minutes ago … I hope Mum is right, maybe he is starting to notice me more …why couldn't it have happened years ago … what is tomorrow going to be like … maybe it's time to put subtlety aside and hit him over the head with a club.
She went to her trunk, got her sleepwear out and levitated the trunk to the foot of the bed. After changing she climbed into bed, her mind still racing over the day's events. Frustrated with not getting to sleep, she grabbed the pillow from the other side of the bed and hugged it tightly, pretending it was Harry, then thought to herself, pleasant dreams Hermione. Soon, she drifted off to sleep.