THE NEXT DOOR
An Additional Branch on the Tree
Chapter Nine
Hermione blinked her eyes and inhaled deeply. The bedroom came into focus and the air smelled of breakfast. Sunlight trickled through the sheer curtains hanging from the large bedroom window.
The memory of the previous night crept back into her mind, and she exhaled a breath broken by sadness. An arm draped across her chest and it wasn't her own. She turned her head to see Harry, his glasses half-hanging from his face. Strange how the closeness of his body to hers did not bother her in the least. In fact, she felt safe. She smiled slowly and adjusted his glasses. He stirred beneath her touch and opened his green eyes. He smiled sleepily.
"Morning," she said quietly.
Harry rolled away from her and stretched. She could tell when he remembered their situation because he quickly turned back to her.
"Are you okay?" he asked in concern.
Hermione nodded. Then, she rubbed her chest with gentle fingertips. "It still aches, but I know this isn't real."
Harry propped himself up on his elbow and brushed stray curls from Hermione's face. Her stomach fluttered and she blinked her brown eyes up at him. He continued to brush his fingertips down her cheek. Heat bubbled deep in Hermione's body. Their gaze was unbroken until someone cleared his throat in the doorway.
"Breakfast," he said.
Harry and Hermione jerked apart. The tender moment was lost, and James Potter eyed his son.
"Your mother has already packed your trunks. J.P.'s been up for an hour. I think you two have slept long enough," James continued. "If you don't eat breakfast now, we'll miss the train." James walked away and disappeared down the hallway.
"Who's J.P?" Hermione asked as she jumped out of bed and tried to smooth the wrinkles from her clothes.
"No idea," Harry answered.
Hermione hurried over to the mirror above a set of drawers and upon seeing her reflection, she yelped.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked as he tied his trainers.
"Come here," she said seriously.
Harry stood beside her, and together they gazed into the mirror. Harry's mouth dropped open.
"Exactly," Hermione said.
"But we…we look so young," Harry said.
Hermione nodded. "That's you at sixteen. And me…why didn't someone tell me my hair was so frizzy?"
Harry looked from his reflection to Hermione and back again. "But you look like you now, but in the reflection…."
"This is what we look like to everyone in this reality," Hermione said. "After all, if we looked twenty, they would be suspicious."
"Weird," Harry said.
"Harry!" Lily yelled up the hallway.
"We'd better get going," Hermione said and dashed out of the bedroom.
Harry was close behind, and he and Hermione entered the kitchen at the same time. A young boy with black hair and dark eyes sat at a rectangular dining table with six carved wooden chairs. He shoved eggs into his mouth and glanced up as Harry and Hermione walked in.
Hermione was stunned and stopped walking. Harry bumped into her, and he also stared at the young boy.
"What?" the boy asked through a mouthful of eggs.
"You two fix your plates," Lily said, "because we can't be late."
Hermione squeezed Harry's bicep. "You have a brother," she whispered through barely parted lips.
Harry could do nothing but stare and shake his head. His mouth had gone dry. The boy at the table looked like Lily but had his father's dark hair and eyes.
Tears welled in Hermione's eyes. "You would have had a brother," she said in awe. "I hope we can stay here a bit longer so you can get to know him."
Harry nodded and Lily scolded them for standing around. They hurriedly fixed their plates and sat at the table with Harry Potter's little brother.
Hermione lifted her glass of orange juice but didn't drink. She cleared her throat and glanced at Harry. He was busy pushing his eggs around with his fork.
"So…" she said, feeling odd to be sitting at a dining table with a Potter who would have been had Lily and James not died when Harry was a baby, "you're J.P."
J.P. frowned at Hermione and raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Harry as if to ask, `has she gone over the bend?' Harry pressed his lips together and stopped shoving his eggs around.
"What does J.P. stand for?" Hermione asked.
The young Potter bit into a biscuit and swallowed before answering. "Jonathan Paul." Then, he glanced at his mother. Lily quickly shook her head as if encouraging J.P. not to tease Hermione who obviously should have known such things.
"And you're…how old again?"
This time, J.P. smiled. "I'll be 14 in four days."
"Big party plans?" Hermione asked. Harry had now placed his fork down and sat watching his brother answer Hermione's questions.
J.P. leaned in closer toward Hermione and whispered, "Yeah. Fred and George said we can nick loads of stuff from the kitchens after everyone has gone to sleep-"
Lily whirled around, "-Jonathan Paul Potter, you will do nothing of the sort. You know you cannot wander the halls at night without supervision!"
Harry jerked his head toward his mother. "Why not?" he asked.
Lily frowned at her oldest son. "You know why. I would have expected better of you, Harry. Don't encourage your brother…not when it isn't safe."
J.P. sighed and dropped his chin onto his fisted hand. "Why don't you let the Dementors suck the life right out of us, then, Mum?" he said in a sulk. "There's nothing fun left at Hogwarts anymore."
"What about Quidditch?" Hermione asked quickly when she saw the anger rippling across Lily's face. Obviously the Dementor comment was nothing to joke about.
"Yeah," J.P. said, "at least we still have Quidditch."
"You play then?" Hermione asked. Harry's interest was clearly piqued because he leaned toward his brother.
J.P. smirked at Harry. "Better than him."
"You wish," Harry retorted.
"Care to take a wager?" J.P. prodded.
"Any time," Harry countered. "I could beat you playing Quidditch with my eyes closed."
J.P. laughed loudly, and Hermione was reminded of Sirius' barking laugh. "You can't be serious, Potter," J.P. said haughtily, "don't embarrass yourself in front of your girlfriend."
"Girl-girl-" Hermione spluttered, and J.P. laughed harder, snorting milk up his nose. He promptly had a coughing fit, and Lily rushed over to smack him on the back a few times. Harry would have chuckled if his stomach hadn't dropped out of sight at the mention of Hermione being his girlfriend.
"Don't tease your brother," she said seriously. J.P. nodded his head and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Hermione's not his girlfriend. You three get ready," Lily continued. With a wave of her wand, their dirty dishes flew to the sink and began washing themselves. She checked the clock on the wall, "We'll need to leave in five minutes."
Harry and Hermione stood from the table and walked in to the living room. J.P. walked up behind them and punched Harry in the arm. Harry whirled around, fist raised.
J.P. grinned wickedly at his brother and punched Harry playfully in the stomach. "You're always getting me into trouble."
Harry grabbed J.P.'s hand before his little brother could swing another punch. This turned into a laughing wrestling match where each brother tried to best the other. Hermione moved away and watched the two of them in amazement. Harry had been given a brother, if even for a short time, a brother who loved him, teased him, punched him, and most likely admired him.
"What are you two doing?" Lily fussed. "Get up! Where is your father? James!" she shouted up the hallway. The front door opened and James walked in.
"We're ready," he said. "Everyone set?" he asked and then frowned at his two sons who were crouching on the floor, panting and clearly ruffled from physical exertion. "What are you two doing? Get up," he said, echoing his wife's words.
"Is the guard ready?" Lily asked, pulling on a traveling cloak and grabbing a broom from the closet?"
"Yes," James answered.
"Guard?" Harry wondered.
"It's the same thing every time we travel to Hogwarts," J.P. said. "You'd think they never want us to have any fun," he whined.
"We're trying to keep you safe," Lily said, clearly displeased. "Now get your brooms. We are barely going to make the train." They hustled the children out the front door. "I need to speak with Molly during the train ride."
"Are you-are you both taking the train?" Harry asked.
James and Lily glanced at each other. "Did you think we wouldn't?" Lily asked.
"I…er…just curious," Harry answered.
"Mount your brooms," James ordered.
"The parents always take the train, " J.P. grumbled. "We'll be lucky if they don't force us to sit with them."
"You'll be happy to know, J.P.," Lily said, sounding mildly hurt, "your father and I won't be staying at Hogwarts the whole school year."
J.P.'s face lightened. "Really?"
James frowned at his youngest son, and J.P.'s smiled faded. "I'm only joking, Mum," he added. "You're much cooler than most of the parents."
James looked to the sky. He tapped his wand on each of the children and Harry instantly recognized the awkward trickling effect of a Disillusionment Charm. "Time to go," he said and kicked his broom from the ground.
"You going to be okay?" Harry asked quickly, looking at Hermione.
She kicked from the ground. "What do you know? I still know how to fly," she said with a grin. "Thank you `Quidditch' Hermione."
Harry smiled at her and kicked off from the ground. He hovered beside Hermione, and together they soared after Harry's parents and brother. For the short flight to King's Crossing, they felt their troubles slip away into the clouds, still greatly unaware of how shadowed the halls of Hogwarts had become in these troubled days.
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