Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me.
It's for the Best
Chapter 6 - Vernon Dursley's Wake
The next day, Harry, Ginny, Molly, Tonks, and Moony went to the funeral home for Uncle Vernon's wake. They'd portkeyed to a nearby alley a few minutes early and walked the rest of the way. Arthur had been called in to work early before Harry and Ginny had awakened. Upon Harry's insistence, all but Ginny had stayed in the foyer while he and his girlfriend went into the actual room where the visitation was being held.
Harry took a deep breath and stood proudly as he took Ginny's hand. He was wearing a black suit with a black shirt and burgundy tie. His hair, as usual, was a mess, but it suited him. Ginny was wearing a sleeveless black dress that he thought was a bit too low on top and a bit too high on the bottom. He wasn't complaining. He had to admit he liked what he saw, but just thought it was too revealing. He wisely decided not to say anything about it. After all, he was no expert on women's fashions.
Together, the couple walked into the room, and he looked around at the twenty or so people who had come to pay their final respects to Vernon Dursley. He recognized some of the people who were talking in groups of three or four as people that his uncle had worked with and brought to the house once or twice. Of course, he'd been stuck in the cupboard when he saw them through the vent, so they didn't know about him. With the exception of the incident with Dobby before his second year at Hogwarts, he hadn't seen any of the house guests since he'd been moved to Dudley's second bedroom because he'd been locked in it when they had company.
He noticed a few people from Privet Drive that appeared to become nervous when they spotted him. Obviously they'd heard the rumors about him. As he was signing the registry, he whispered, "I'll bet if I walked up to them and said `boo' they'd wet themselves."
Ginny giggled for a moment before replying, "So, what are we waiting for?"
Smiling at the idea, he continued surveying the room until he spotted his aunt. "Hello, Aunt Petunia. This is my girlfriend, Ginny Weasley. You've met her before on my birthday."
"Yes, of course," she said sadly. "Thank you both for coming."
"Where's Dudley?" he asked, having noticed that his cousin wasn't in the room.
"He left about a half-hour ago to have tea with one of his friends. He should be back in a few hours."
After some more small talk, wherein he'd found out that Auror Jones had repaired the Dursleys' car from spell damage after the attack at the house, he walked up to the casket alone and looked at his uncle's remains. He thought to himself that he still looked terrified from the torture curse he'd been subjected to. Harry sighed and quietly spoke.
"Uncle Vernon, you never treated me fairly, and I resented it. I suppose from your perspective it wasn't fair to you to be forced to raise me, but it wouldn't have hurt you to at least pretend you, you loved me. I've never known what it's like to be loved, thanks to you." Tears were slowly forming in his eyes. "I remember when I was younger; I always tried to please you. But no matter what I did, it wasn't good enough. You always said I'd be the death of you…and I guess…in a way, I was. I'm s-s-sorry Uncle Vernon. I didn't mean for this to happen. In a way, despite everything you've done…I loved you."
He turned around and marched quickly toward the door, leaving Ginny watching him from one of the chairs. He didn't see her get up to follow him.
-
He walked past his Order guard and looked around for a loo where he could wash his face and regain his composure. When he saw the sign for the men's room, he turned toward it until he heard a familiar voice call his name.
He turned to see someone he hadn't expected walking toward him in long black dress with a burgundy jacket, her bushy brunette hair fixed in a simple, yet attractive, style.
"Hermione?"
"In your letter last night you mentioned you'd be here today, and it was listed in the paper. I had to come. I hope you don't mind." She spoke quickly as she approached her best friend, who was failing miserably at holding back his tears. Without thinking about it, she flung her arms around him and allowed him to cry on her shoulder.
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Ginny walked into the foyer to see something she never expected. Her boyfriend was crying on the shoulder of Hermione Granger. She knew they were close friends, but Ginny thought he was crying on the wrong shoulder. Wasn't that why she'd come with her boyfriend - to help him grieve? What was Hermione even doing here, anyway?
Surprisingly, she didn't really feel that upset or jealous about it, only a bit annoyed that her boyfriend was hugging another woman in front of everybody. Part of her wondered if Harry secretly had romantic feelings for Hermione. She was pretty sure Ron did. She wondered if one day Harry would drop her for Hermione, and further wondered if she'd even care.
It's not that Harry wasn't a good boyfriend to her. He was always polite and considerate. She loved the pigmy puff he'd bought her from the twins' shop, as well as the roses. He was also very good at snogging, as he'd proven yet again the night before. Not to mention how cute he was. It's just that sometimes, like now, she'd think of him more like a brother than a boyfriend.
Sure, she'd had that embarrassing crush, that seemed to double after the Chamber business, but she thought she'd completely gotten over him. She'd dated Michael, who turned out to be a git, and then Dean.
She frowned at the thought of Dean Thomas and his reply after she'd dumped him. He was very understanding. He'd said that he was sorry she felt that way, and that whoever that other guy was, he was a very lucky bloke and would have to be an idiot to reject her. She found herself wondering what a relationship with him would have been like. She walked up to her mother and chatted with her while they waited for Harry.
-
Hermione had never seen her best friend break down like this, and had a feeling that it wasn't just about his uncle. In the space of a little more than a month, Harry had lost both of the father figures he'd known. She didn't believe he'd grieved properly for Sirius. Before he'd started dating Ginny, he'd needed someone to talk to. Once he started dating her, he all but forgot about his godfather.
She found that she was very comfortable having Harry's arms around her, although she wished the circumstances were different. She patted his back and encouraged him to, "Let it out," for as long as it took. After a while he finished crying, and looked into her eyes.
He blinked and suddenly looked uneasy. "Er, thanks. I'm, er, sorry I, er, wet your jacket."
She smiled at him. He was so cute when he was nervous. "That's what friends are for."
"I'll, er, just clean up in the loo. Be back in a minute."
Five minutes later, he emerged with a clean face, and Hermione allowed herself to take in his appearance. Even with red eyes, she still thought he was exceptionally handsome, especially in that suit. She had to force herself not to whistle at him. "Nice suit."
"Thanks."
"He bought it yesterday," said Ginny, who walked up and took Harry's hand. Hermione forced herself not to frown.
"Hello, Ginny."
"Hi." Ginny looked around. "I don't see your parents. Did you take the Knight Bus?"
Grinning, Hermione pulled something out of her purse. "Actually, I took the test and got a driver's license, and my parents got me a car. I drove here." She proudly showed them her new license.
"Wow! That's great!" said Harry.
"Wizards and witches don't have to test for that. Harry got his without taking a test," said Ginny.
"I know," said Hermione, "But I think it's important to actually earn a license." She turned to Harry. "No offense, Harry. I know you were taught how to drive after you had the license."
"Truthfully, Hermione. I agree with you, but wasn't about to turn down the license when Dumbledore gave it to me." He took on a grim expression. "It's the least he can do after…"
"We should probably talk about this somewhere else. Would you like to come to my house?"
Harry's face formed a big smile immediately. "I'd love to. I was near your house yesterday when I was running my errands and thought about visiting you."
"WE'LL have to check with our Order guard before WE agree to anything," said Ginny stiffly, causing Harry to frown for a moment.
"Then we'll ask them now," said Harry as he, accompanied by the two girls, walked toward the adults.
"Hello, Hermione," said Mrs. Weasley. "I must admit we were surprised to see you here."
"I knew Harry would be coming here today, so I thought I'd come. Anyway, I've invited Harry and Ginny to come home with me for a visit. I brought my own car and would like to show it to them."
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea," said Molly.
"Actually," said Moony, "I think that it's a great idea. You know Harry will go off on his own anyway. At least this way you'll know where he is."
"But I…"
"If you're worried about their safety, I'll accompany them." He turned to the teenagers. "If that's alright with you."
"That's fine, Professor Lupin," said Hermione.
"How will you be getting back?" asked Molly.
"The Knight Bus," answered Remus.
"Alright then. Be back before dark."
-
A few minutes later, the group was packed into a blue green Pontiac Grand Am. Hermione was in the driver's seat, Remus was next to her. In the back seat, Harry was sitting next to Ginny.
"I thought we'd stop and get lunch before we go to my house. Do any of you have a preference?"
"What about Chinese food?" suggested Ginny.
"Harry hates Chinese," said Hermione. The boy in question nodded, causing Ginny to frown. "How about Italian?"
"Sounds great!" said Harry and Moony at the same time. Ginny decided to agree as well, so they went to an Italian restaurant for an enjoyable lunch that Harry insisted on paying for when the bill came.
They finally made it to the Granger residence, a very nice-looking three-story house. Hermione parked in the three-car garage. Her parents were at work.
"Wow!" said Ginny as she looked around, "You never told us you were rich."
Blushing slightly, Hermione replied, "Only people like Malfoy brag about their family's money. Anyway, we're not that rich."
"Compared to my family, you are."
Lupin said, "Let's just say that the Grangers are well off, and leave it at that."
"So, Hermione, are you going to give us a tour?" asked Harry.
After she'd given them a tour of the garden and the house, showing them the five bedrooms, and den, she showed them a small library, where she spent the largest amount of time.
"You don't have to show us every book in your library," said Harry playfully.
"Ha, ha," she replied. "Why don't you sit down in the living room and I'll get you some tea?"
-
A few minutes later, they were each sipping their drinks in the living room. Harry and Remus were each sitting in a recliner, while Ginny and Hermione were on the couch. Hermione wasn't sure whether or not Harry would want to discuss Dumbledore's manipulations with the others. She also wanted to share her discoveries about wards. She decided to let Harry have control by stating, "That was some letter you sent me last night." That allowed him to comment on whatever aspect he wanted to, whether it was about his relatives, his assets, or Dumbledore's manipulations, since no one else knew what he'd written.
-
Looking around, Harry's eyes focused on Lupin. Although he knew about Lupin's history, and got along well with him, he didn't know if his loyalties would lie with him or with Dumbledore. Deciding to see if he'd defend the headmaster, Harry said, "Yes. As I wrote, I was amazed at the friendliest conversation I ever had with my relatives. It didn't take much convincing to get Aunt Petunia to move. She realized that Dumbledore wasn't protecting that house at all, and the best thing to do was disappear."
Lupin looked startled. "What do you mean, he wasn't protecting the house at all? I know it was attacked, but…"
"You heard it yourself at the meeting. He had Dung on guard duty again! He knew those blood wards could be penetrated easily from the time Riddle got my blood!"
"Actually," said Hermione, "I've been researching wards extensively, and haven't found any mention of wards based off of a mother's blood or being welcome in a home. I bought a few books on rare wards and blood magic yesterday morning and read them. There also wasn't any kind of ward that couldn't be detected by someone because they weren't powerful enough. Most wards can't be detected unless you're looking for barriers or trying to break in. A senior auror like Mr. Shacklebolt wouldn't have had any trouble detecting that something was there, even if he couldn't identify or penetrate it."
"Really?" asked Remus, "May I see those books?"
"Of course."
While Hermione was getting the books, Lupin continued. "I'll admit that I've never heard of those kinds of wards either, but Professor Dumbledore was so insistent that they would protect Harry. If there really weren't special wards there, then I can't imagine why he'd insist that you lived someplace you obviously weren't happy."
"I don't know, but I do know that I had another vision a few nights ago."
"What?" asked Hermione as she came back into the room. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wasn't sure if you'd believe the vision or not, after…"
"It's still important to share it. He's either trying to trick you again or you've had a true vision. If we discuss it, we may be able to come to a conclusion."
Harry took a deep breath and told of his dream, where Voldemort said there were only standard wards on the property and how he'd tell Snape to kill Harry in an occlumency lesson. "And the next day, Dumbledore told me Snape wanted to resume my private lessons. I refused."
"Wow," said Lupin. "So, according to your vision, Severus never was trying to teach you to shield your mind."
"There are two possibilities," said Hermione. "Voldemort is trying to sway your faith in Professors Dumbledore and Snape or…"
"Dumbledore is simply wrong to trust Snape!" yelled Harry louder than he'd intended, causing everyone to flinch. "Sorry."
Ginny said, "The fact that he decided to teach you occlumency the next day makes it sound real."
"As does the research I've done on wards," said Hermione softly.
"But Dumbledore has always been trustworthy," said Lupin.
"He lied to both of us just a few days ago!" snapped Harry. "I went to Gringotts yesterday and found out that Sirius did leave me his house!"
"WHAT!" shouted a red-faced Moony, "That bloody liar! He looked us both in the eyes and said Sirius left it to him! He told us…"
"He said he was afraid I wouldn't let Snape in the house anymore, or let him have his meetings there. That reminds me, I bought a book on magically claiming ownership of homes yesterday, but unlike Hermione, I haven't had time to read it yet."
"It would serve Dumbledore right if the Order can't use the house after what he tried to pull!" said an uncharacteristically angry Remus, "Trying to swindle you out of your inheritance! Letting Snape run the meeting!"
"You noticed that, too, did you?" asked Harry, and then something occurred to him. "That dumb-old-dork let Snape kick me out of my own bloody house!" The cup of tea in his hand broke at that moment, and Harry would never know if it was accidental magic or if he just had a very firm grip.
After about an hour of berating Dumbledore, but not mentioning Harry's enormous fortune, the three visitors left Hermione's house, and as previously planned, took the Knight Bus back to the Burrow find Ginny's dad waiting for them with some nice cold lemonade. Hermione would be arriving in just a few days for Ginny's birthday party, and would be spending the rest of the summer there.
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Please review. Thanks to all who have. Next chapter - Hermione's at the Burrow
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