Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
More Important Than Any Broomstick - Chapter 14 - The Day Before Training Begins
Harry spent the next day with the Grangers, who had wanted to properly congratulate him for passing his arithmancy test.
"We know how hard you worked on that, and we're very proud of you," said Marissa Granger, causing Harry to turn slightly pink.
"I couldn't have done it without Hermione's help," said Harry, now causing his girlfriend to slightly blush.
"You're the one who read the book..."
"Following the schedule you made for me..." argued Harry with a smile.
"Anyway," said Adam Granger. "You've both worked very hard this summer, and we decided to reward you with a trip to an amusement park."
Harry's eyes lighted up, "Really? I've heard of those, but whenever the Dursleys took Dudley to one, they'd leave me with Mrs. Figg and her cats."
Mrs. Granger sighed, "I can't believe anyone could be that cruel to their own nephew!" She then took a deep breath. "Well, thankfully you don't have to deal with them anymore."
Not long after, Harry found himself inside 'The Enchanted Earth,' a magically themed amusement park. The first thing Harry saw was a merry-go-round with muggle representations of magical creatures to ride.
Hermione pointed them out to her parents. "Mum, Dad, do you see those magical creatures on the merry-go-round?"
"Of course, dear," replied her mother.
"Every one of them exists," Harry said, "although some of them, like the mermaids and hippogriffs, look very different than this ride."
"But the unicorns and centaurs look almost exactly like the ones on the ride."
"Hermione told us that last year a hippogriff attacked a student, er, Malfoy, if I remember right," said Mr. Granger.
"He deserved it!" said Harry. "He wouldn't pay attention in class. And then he faked that it was a lot worse than it really was."
"You don't necessarily know he was faking," said Mrs. Granger.
"Yes we do," said Hermione. "When the teachers weren't looking, he'd elbow smaller kids out of his way with his supposedly bad arm. Harry's had much more serious injuries and always tried to pretend they weren't as bad as they were. He hates the attention they bring, while Malfoy loves getting the attention."
"According to the letters we've gotten, you have gotten a lot of injuries," said Mrs. Granger.
"They weren't so bad," said Harry.
"See what I mean?" said Hermione.
"The only times I get hurt is when someone interferes with a quidditch match, like the dementors last year or the stray bludger the year before that. Well, that and when I face Voldemort."
"You really shouldn't go after dark wizards," said Adam. "You should leave it to other people."
Harry hung down his head. "That's not even an option anymore."
"What does that mean?" asked Marissa.
"Well, er, Harry, should I tell them?" asked Hermione.
"I suppose so. They know occlumancy, so they can keep it secret."
Hermione led them to a secluded spot away from other people. When she was sure no one could overhear, she said, "We found out yesterday that Harry is prophesied to be the only one who can defeat Voldemort, and that one of them is destined to kill the other. That's the reason Voldemort attacked him as a baby."
"Wow, that's a lot to swallow," said Adam. "How did you find out?"
"I recently got a box that belonged to my mother. I think I told you about it." They nodded. "Anyway, one of the things in it was a letter from my mother. She said that I should demand that Dumbledore tell me about the prophesy, so yesterday Sirius, Hermione, and I went to his office and did just that."
"He's known all this time?" asked Marissa. "Why didn't he tell you sooner?"
"He wanted to wait until Voldemort killed me to say anything," said Harry disgustedly.
"That's not true!" said Hermione. "He just wanted to wait until you're older."
"I faced Voldemort when I was eleven years old," and when I recovered, I asked him why Voldemort wanted to kill me. He refused to answer. I was more in shock yesterday than anything, but now that I've had more time to think about it, I am angry at him."
"Well," said Adam, "We can't do anything about that now, so I suggest we enjoy this day."
Harry smiled. "That's a good idea. Sirius and Professor Lupin are supposed to be preparing a training schedule for me to prepare to face Voldemort, and they've warned me that it starts tomorrow. They're letting me off on my birthday and for the quidditch world cup, but aside from that, I'm gonna have to spend time training every day. So this is my last day before training begins, and I should take advantage of it."
"Harry," said Hermione, "you forgot to mention that I'm joining your training."
"What?" said both Mr. and Mrs. Granger together.
"Believe me, I don't want Hermione in danger," said Harry. "If I have any choice in the matter, she won't be fighting any dark wizards. But she pointed out yesterday that since we're dating, that could put her in danger."
"And I absolutely refused to let him break up with me when he thought of it!"
Harry smiled at that. "So anyway, if she's properly trained, then she'll have a much better chance of survival if she does get attacked."
Hermione's father took a deep breath as he grabbed his wife's hand while facing Hermione. "I don't like the idea of you in danger, but I suppose I couldn't break you two up, even if I wanted to." Then he faced Harry. "Harry, I trust you to do your best to protect her, but as a father I had to realize a long time ago that as much as I want to, I can't always protect my girl, and I doubt you'll always be able to do that either." He then turned back to his daughter. "It's a good idea to train so that you'll be able to protect yourself if you have to, but don't go looking for trouble."
"We won't," said Harry.
"Well then, I suggest we get on one of the roller coasters before the day is over."
The first ride they went on was called, "The Broomstick." It was a particularly scary one that had a train with several rows with two seats side by side that looked like brooms (except for the safety device that strapped you in). While they were in line, Harry said, "It'll be just like a game of Quidditch! It even looks like they have a few Wronski feints on the track, along with a lot of loops. It looks like they're moving faster than my firebolt!"
After they'd gone on several rides, they stopped and got some lunch. Then the Grangers let Harry and Hermione wander around the park alone for a few hours, enjoying each other's company, as well as the rides. At one point they stopped at the gift shop, and Harry bought himself, Hermione, and her parents a t-shirt that said, 'I rode the Broomstick at Enchanted Earth.' Eventually they met back up with Hermione's parents, and they all decided to go on the bumper cars, where Harry and Hermione joined together against her parents, until Harry decided to go against Hermione as well, which caused her to fake anger until she persuaded her parents to turn on their new ally. In the end, Harry found himself trapped in a corner unable to drive his bumper car anywhere because of the three Grangers that were guarding him.
On the way home, they stopped by a restaurant, where Harry thanked them for everything. When they got to the Granger's house, Harry told them all goodbye and reminded Hermione to floo to his house at eight o'clock to start training.
-
Please review.