Harry woke the next morning at five. He slipped into a pair of Adidas running shorts and a t-shirt, both that actually fit him. They had been a gift from Mrs. Figg the year before for his birthday. He laced up his trainers and left the house quietly.
Harry did his daily routine, and was back at home after the gym by nine. He fixed his breakfast and Petunia's, but left Dudley and Vernon's for themselves. After his aunt had come into the kitchen, he set her hot tea and bagel in front of her.
"I'm leaving in about an hour. I should be home a little after seven, eight at the most," Harry said. "If you want me to do any chores, tell me now. I need to take a shower."
"There's nothing to do today," Petunia said. Harry raised an eyebrow but nodded nonetheless. He finished his breakfast and cleaned off his plate before he set it in the dishwasher. He left the kitchen and went upstairs to his room. He grabbed the only pair of decent jeans he owned that fit him (a Christmas present from Hermione the previous year) and a Manchester United football team t-shirt (another gift from Hermione) along with a pair of boxers. He left his room and headed towards the shower.
Harry stepped from the bath and dried off. He got dressed before he wiped the steam from the shower mirror. He brushed his teeth and ran a comb through his hair. Once he was done, he examined himself. His jeans fit him just right. They were loose, but not so lose he needed a belt; there was enough room to move in them. His t-shirt was grey and read `Born United, Live United, Die United' across the front. It fit him well. The arms of the t-shirt weren't tight, but they showed his arm muscles. It stretched nicely across his chest and torso. It was light and comfortable. His eyes were a vivid green today, and his hair was as chaotic as usual. He put his watch on and left the bathroom to go back to his room. In there, he grabbed his wand and wallet and put them in his front right pocket. He grabbed his binder full of notes and left for downstairs.
"I'm off," Harry said as he poked his head into the kitchen. Petunia nodded and Harry left the house after picking up his keys.
The two hour ride to London was uneventful for Harry. Traffic wasn't too bad and he found a parking space easy enough. He got out of the car and locked it before walking towards Browns.
"Hermione," Harry's smooth baritone voice rang. Two adults looked from their conversation to Harry as Hermione turned around. In the brief minute that it took Harry to walk to her, he took in her appearance. She was taller than when he last saw her, and he guessed she reached around 5'7''. Her once wild hair was tame and wavy and fell around her shoulders. Her chocolate eyes sparkled with kindness and gentleness as always. Her skin was bronze from the sun of summer, and she was still slim, yet she was well toned. Her familiar, beautiful smile lit up her face as she saw Harry, and he felt warmth and happiness flood through him. He couldn't do anything but smile back, laughing as she wrapped her arms around him when he reached her. He wrapped his arms around her as well, and in a rush of excitement, spun her around in a circle. He felt her nuzzle her face into his shoulder and her laugh made another smile appear on his face as he set her down.
"Hey," he said softly.
"Hey," she replied. Harry leaned down and kissed her forehead. They let go of each other and Harry turned to her parents.
"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Harry said politely. Her mother smiled at Harry.
"Hello dear," she said. Harry went to shake her hand lightly but she pulled him into a hug. Though he was surprised, he hugged her in return. He stepped back a second later. Her father held out his hand and Harry shook it firmly.
"Sir," Harry said respectfully.
"Harry," replied the older man.
"We'll leave you two to it," Mrs. Granger said.
"Bye mum, bye dad," Hermione said. "I'll see you later."
"Bye dear," her mother said. She and her husband smiled one last time at the two teenagers and began walking towards their car. As Elizabeth Granger went to get into the car, she turned one last time and glanced back. Harry opened the door to Browns for Hermione before following her into the store. Chivalry isn't dead then she smiled to herself.
"Thanks," Hermione said as Harry opened the door for her. Harry smiled at her.
"You're welcome," he replied. She crossed the entryway and stepped into the store with Harry right behind her.
"So, what are we looking for?" Hermione asked as she turned to Harry.
"Everything," Harry replied. Hermione smiled at Harry, and he sensed a sort of wickedness to it.
"Let's get started then," she said.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
"Try this one on," Hermione said as she sent a blue and white checked button up shirt over the dressing room door.
"Hermione, how many of these are you going to make me try on?" Harry called back.
"When I see fit to stop making you try them on," Hermione called back.
"Okay," Harry said as he stepped from the dressing room.
"Turn, slowly," Hermione said. Harry smirked and began to turn. Hermione sighed.
"Jeans are good, the shirt isn't," Hermione said. "Try this one instead." She handed him a black button up shirt. Harry dutifully went back into the dressing room and switched the shirts.
"Better?" he asked as he turned slowly once again.
"Much. You'll be glad to know all we have left is formal and shoes," Hermione said with a smile. Harry chuckled.
"All right," he said. He went back into the dressing room and changed into his original clothes. He took the jeans and shirts that were approved by Hermione and left the dressing room.
"That will be eight hundred pounds, sir," the teller said. Harry handed him his Master Card.
"Have a nice day," said the cashier. Harry nodded and took his bags and card back.
"You too mate," he said. He and Hermione walked out of the store. Hermione looked up at Harry, one eyebrow raised. Harry smiled down at her. Her silent question amused him.
"My mum left me a muggle account. It was in one of Dumbledore's letters," Harry said. "I opened the account after I got my license and car."
"Oh," she said.
"How many suits do you think I'll need?" Harry asked.
"At least two," Hermione said. "The suits will be black, since I can't picture you in gray or blue. But we'll buy different color dress shirts and ties."
"You're having fun with this," Harry said, amused. Hermione smiled.
"Yeah, just a bit," she said.
"I'm glad," Harry told her. "After this, how about we put the bags in my car and I'll take you out for lunch."
"All right," Hermione agreed. "Come on, this store has really good suits." Hermione lead him in the store.
"Can I help you?" asked a store employee. Harry looked to Hermione who rolled her eyes.
"He needs to get fitted for a couple suits," she said. The employee smiled at them both.
"Right this way," she said. "My name is Miranda and I'll be helping you today." She led them back to what looked to be some sort of conference room, though it had tape measures and mirrors.
"Is there anything you're looking for specifically?" Miranda asked, looking at Harry.
"Uh…Hermione, is there anything I'm looking for specifically?" Harry asked, looking at Hermione.
"Seriously Harry," she said.
"I told you I'm not good at this shopping thing. You're lucky if I can find you a birthday present on time," Harry said. Hermione shook her head.
"The suits need to be in black, but that's it really," Hermione said to Miranda. She nodded.
"All right, let's get you fitted," Miranda said to Harry. She motioned for Harry to stand and she got the tape measure. She measured his neck, chest, arm length, and waist.
"Here are you measurements," she said, handing a slip of paper to Harry. "Do you want the suits custom fitted or out of the store?"
"Um…out of the store is fine," Harry said.
"Right this way then," Miranda said. Harry took Hermione's hand and they followed Miranda from the room out to the store.
After several times of trying on suites, Hermione and Miranda finally picked the perfect suit. The jacket of the suit was an Executive cut, it had 2 buttons, and was single breasted. The pants were cropped and fit nicely around the waist and were open at the bottom.
"There," Hermione said. "That wasn't so bad." Harry smiled and shrugged.
"Is there anything else you'll need today?" Miranda asked, smiling at both teens.
"We have to look at the shirts and ties, but that's it," Hermione said.
"Well then, thank you for your business today. It was nice meeting you," Miranda said.
"You too," Hermione and Harry said simultaneously.
"What colors?" Harry asked as they looked around the shirt section.
"You'll need white, of course," Hermione said. "Maybe a French Blue, some greens and reds."
"You're good at this," Harry said. Hermione smiled as she picked up a deep blue dress shirt and handed it to Harry.
"Mum and I help dad all the time when they have to go to conferences and meetings for work," Hermione said.
"What color ties would match?" Harry asked.
"Well, you'll need a black tie, that's a given," Hermione replied. "We'll have to see what shades of colors they have."
"Oh," Harry said. "When we look for shoes what are we looking for?"
"Trainers and dress shoes," Hermione replied as she handed him a red dress shirt.
"I'm going to go look at ties then," Harry said. Hermione laughed.
"All right then," she said. Harry wondered over to the tie section and began looking around. He tried to match the ties to the colors of the shirts Hermione had picked out.
"So, what'd you find?" Hermione asked from behind him. Harry turned around and held up a dozen or so ties. Hermione laughed.
"All right, let's go through them," she said. One by one she looked at the ties. Satisfaction overcame Harry when she only put one of the ties back.
"It doesn't match anything," she explained. "We're done. Just shoes left." Harry nodded and the two of them took the clothing to the register. Harry paid and they left the store.
After they finished shopping all together, Harry and Hermione made their way to Harry's car.
"Where to next?" Hermione asked. Harry smiled slyly.
"You'll see. I'm taking you to lunch and then someplace else," Harry replied. He took her hand and led her down the sidewalk.
"You're taking me to The Ivy?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded.
"Yeah, I hear they have a great lunch menu," Harry replied. Hermione smiled.
"You're spoiling me," she said.
"You deserve it," Harry answered. He opened the door for her and once she was inside, followed her in.
"How many today?" the host asked.
"Just two," Harry said.
"Right this way," the host said as he grabbed two menus. Harry and Hermione followed him to a table for two.
"You're waiter will be right with you," he said and left the two. It was silent between the two for a moment. Harry realized that they hadn't really talked to each other; just about clothes and what not. They hadn't had any means of a real conversation.
"I need to talk to you," Harry said. Hermione looked at him.
"Shoot," she said.
"Well, first off, I wanted to say I'm sorry. I should've paid more attention to the things that mean the most to me, and not a stupid book. A lot of things could've been prevented if I had listened to you. I said stuff that I didn't mean. I wasn't thinking clearly. Your friendship means the world to me Hermione, and I don't want us to be distant because of last school year. You've been my best friend since I was eleven, even more so than Ron. You've never left me for any reason, and you always have my best interests at heart. I don't want to lose you," Harry said.
"Harry, you're not going to lose me. You will never lose me. I will always be here for you. If anything, I should be the one that's sorry. Last school year I was totally out of line, and I acted as if I was some immature little girl. I said stuff to you that I shouldn't have said, and I didn't mean them. It was like I was another person last year, and I don't know why," Hermione replied.
The beginning of their conversation was soon interrupted by the waitress.
"Hi. I'm Kate; I'll be your server today. What can I get you to drink?" Kate asked.
"I'll have water," Hermione replied.
"Me too," Harry said. Kate nodded and walked away to get their drinks.
"Well, I have a lot of things to tell today. I just wanted to tell you before I tell your parents so you wouldn't be hearing new information," Harry said. "And I hope you can forgive me for everything."
"Harry, you have nothing to be sorry about. But, if you want me to, I'll forgive you," Hermione said. "Can you forgive me?" Harry smiled.
"You don't have anything to be sorry about, but yeah, I forgive you," he said. He leaned over the table and kissed her on the cheek, lingering a second more than normal.
"You're my best friend," he said.
"And you're mine," Hermione replied. They smiled at each other.
"Here are your drinks," Kate said, coming back to the table. Harry and Hermione smiled at her.
"Thank you," they said in tandem.
"You're welcome. Would you like to order now or do you need a few minutes?" Kate asked.
"Could we have a few minutes?" Harry asked.
"Of course," Kate said. She smiled and left the table once again.
"So, what else do you need to talk about?" Hermione asked.
"Well, it'll take a while so we should order first," Harry said. Hermione nodded.
"How are you and Ron?" Harry asked as he looked through the menu. He glanced up at Hermione, who had glanced up at him.
"There is no me and Ron," Hermione said. Harry raised an eyebrow.
"So you two aren't together?" he asked. Hermione looked like she wanted to laugh.
"Are you serious?" she asked. At Harry's silent reply, she sighed. "I don't like Ron like that. I've never liked Ron like that. We just argue a lot, and people mistake that for tension of not being together."
"Oh," Harry said. "I saw you two at the funeral and I thought…" Hermione shook her head.
"Yeah, he comforted me, but we're not together. He hasn't told me that he likes me, but he does. And I hope he can see I don't like him and move on," Hermione said. "I could never be with someone like Ron." Harry raised both eyebrows in surprise.
"There isn't anything wrong with him; he's a great guy. He's just not my type," Hermione said.
"What is your type?" Harry asked.
"Someone who doesn't argue with me over everything that I do. Someone that can trust me, and know that I'd be faithful. A guy that I can go to for anything, no matter what it is, and someone who'll be there for me when I need him the most," Hermione replied. "He's got to be sensitive and serious but knows when to be funny. I'd like him to be sweet and caring, intelligent and spontaneous but at the same time predictable. Don't get me wrong, Ron is some of those things, but he's just not…that guy."
"Not your stereotypical tall, dark, and handsome then?" Harry said teasingly. Hermione laughed.
"He could be that too, but it's not just about his looks. Actually, I look at someone's personality before I look at their appearance," Hermione said.
"Are we ready to order?" Kate asked as she came back to the table.
"Uh…yeah," Harry said. He looked at Hermione and motioned for her to order.
"I'll have the crab bisque," Hermione said. Kate nodded and wrote the order down and then looked at Harry.
"I'll have the shepherd's pie," Harry said.
"Would either of you like wine with your meal today?" Kate asked. Hermione looked at Harry, who shook his head.
"No thank you," she said to Kate.
"All right, your order should be out shortly," Kate said. She walked off towards the kitchen.
"So, how are you and Ginny?" Hermione asked.
"There is no `me and Ginny'," Harry replied. Hermione raised both eyebrows in surprise.
"Seriously?" she said. Harry nodded.
"I broke up with her after the funeral," Harry said.
"Why?" Hermione asked.
"Well, part of the reason why is what I'm going to tell you. But, the other part was that I just didn't feel that way for her anymore. Before we started dating, every guy I saw her with, I wanted tear them away from her and say she was mine. But then we started dating and that changed. She was sweet, and she made me happy, but what I felt for her before we dated and what I felt for her while we dated, it was totally different. I didn't have the butterflies in my stomach every time she walked in the room or when I looked at her. I didn't have the sudden urge to kiss her anymore, like I did after the quidditch match. It was almost like…"
"Almost like what?" Hermione asked. Harry sighed.
"It was almost like I was a different person when I dated her. There was something about her that kept me…there, but another part of me wanted to be away. I didn't want to date her," Harry said. Hermione frowned and a look passed on her face.
"What?" he asked. Hermione shook her head.
"Something that she said before you started dating her came back to me…but I don't think she did it," Hermione said.
"What'd she say?" Harry asked. Hermione sighed.
"Over the summer…when we were at the Burrow…we were in her room talking. And she asked me about you, what it was like to be close to you. I told her that I didn't know because we weren't romantically involved like that, we never were. She said that she had dreamt about you since she was little, and when you first met she really liked you. It was sort of that `knight in shining armor' thing. In second year when you had saved her she said she fell in love with you. All through third, fourth, and fifth she tried to get you to notice her in that way…but you never had. Then she stopped and sighed. She was silent before she told me that she had been cleaning and she ran across one of her mum's old books and she looked through it. She said she had come across a love potion…amortentia actually. She told me that her mum had used it to get her dad to notice her mum when they were younger and she was tempted to use it on you. But then she laughed the whole thing off and said she was kidding," Hermione said. Harry frowned.
"In potion's class last year, when were had to identify those potions, I walked by the amortentia and I smelled Ginny's perfume," Harry told Hermione. Hermione looked at Harry.
"Harry, you shouldn't have been able to smell anything unless you had come in contact with it before," Hermione said.
"Every time I walked by her, I smelled that scent. It was…flowery, sort of. Even in the mornings, when I was eating breakfast, sometimes when I'd pick up my drink I smelled it. I just thought she had passed behind me or something," Harry said. "If she had given me the potion, I don't know how she would've done it. I never noticed anyone put anything in my drink." Hermione's eyes widened and she gave a small gasp.
"What?" Harry asked her.
"All those times she offered to pour your pumpkin juice. One morning she had done it, and you were looking away at something, I think you were talking to Ron. I glanced over at her and I thought I saw her put something in the glass other than juice, but I thought I was seeing things because she smiled at me like there wasn't anything wrong and she passed you your juice," Hermione said. Harry was quiet and Hermione truly looked at him. His face was stony and his eyes had hardened.
"Harry, I'm so sorry," Hermione said to him. Harry looked up at her and his rough looked softened. He shrugged.
"There's nothing you could do about it," Harry replied. "I'll just talk it out with her when I see her next." Hermione smiled. Harry raised an eyebrow.
"What's got you smiling?" he asked, his own smile appearing.
"You," she said. At Harry's inquiring look, she continued. "It just amazes me how you can stay calm about that, knowing someone used a love potion on you and made you feel false feelings. If I were you I'd be furious."
"It doesn't do well to get angry about something that's already happened. I'm not saying I'm not upset, because I am. She did something equivalent to lying to me; she made me lie to myself. I'm not happy about it, but I've learned that getting angry about everything, especially things that have already happened, won't fix anything," Harry said.
"Aww, you're maturing," Hermione said, humor apparent in her voice. Harry smiled.
"Yes ma'am I am," Harry replied. They both shared a laugh.
"Here's your meal," Kate said out of nowhere. She set each plate of food in front of its respectful owner.
"Is there anything else I can get you?" she asked. Harry and Hermione looked at each other.
"No thank you," Hermione said to Kate. Kate nodded and left.
"So, what is it that you needed to talk about?" Hermione asked Harry. Harry sighed.
"You know the prophecy," Harry said. Hermione nodded.
"Horcruxes," Harry said softly. Hermione looked at Harry, slightly confused.
"What do Horcruxes have to do with anything?" she asked.
"Voldemort made six of them towards the middle of the first war. In the beginning of the year last year, Dumbledore went after one. That's why his hand was dead. The Horcrux destroyed his hand while he destroyed it. Back in my second year, I destroyed one and I didn't know it until Dumbledore told me about it in one of our meetings," Harry said to Hermione quietly. Hermione blinked.
"So…there's four more besides his actual body?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded.
"Yes. Last year in the meetings between me and Dumbledore, we were working on possible locations of Horcruxes and I learned more about Tom Riddle's past," Harry said.
"What'd you find out about Riddle?" Hermione asked.
"He was orphaned by his mother. His father was a muggle, and his mum was a witch. His mum used a love potion to get his father, and once his father found out that she was a witch, he left her, even though she was pregnant with his child. The night Tom was born, his mum died. She didn't have enough strength after giving birth, but she had enough to name him. Then she was gone. Eventually, a family adopted him from the orphanage. Though, while Tom was there, he caused quite a bit of trouble. I guess he found out about his magical abilities and used them on the other children at the orphanage. Some of them were so messed up from him that they wouldn't speak any longer," Harry said.
"How horrible," Hermione breathed.
"The night that Dumbledore died, we had gone on a search for a Horcrux. It was in a cave that Tom found and used when he was at the orphanage. We found the Horcrux, but it was surrounded by a liquid that someone had to drink. Dumbledore made me promise that no matter what happened, I would make him drink the whole thing. I didn't know what it was, but he did. So, he drank, and he wanted to stop, but I kept my promise. He was so weak afterwards that he couldn't stand up. I got the Horcrux, but the lake that we had to cross was filled with Inferi that attacked us. We got out, and I apparated us back to Hogsmead. From there, I carried him into the castle while it was under attack. We got up to the Astronomy tower and Draco showed up. It was his job to kill Dumbledore, but he couldn't do it. Snape stepped in and Dumbledore practically begged Snape to kill him…and he did. I was under my invisibility cloak, I was frozen in place, and I had a silencing charm on me. Dumbledore had made sure that no one knew I was there. Once he was killed, the spells were off, and I went after Snape. We fought, but he got away," Harry said. "It turned out that the Horcrux wasn't even the real one; it was a replica. Someone else had been there before us and got it. There was a note inside the locket. It was signed R.A.B," Harry said.
"Harry, I'm sorry," Hermione said.
"There's nothing you could do about it. You were trying to stay alive, and I'm grateful that nothing to serious happened to you," Harry said. "I brought the note with me if you want to read it." He took it out of his jeans pocket and handed it to her.
"It sounds like it was a former Death Eater that knew Voldemort's secret and had tried to get rid of him himself," Hermione said after she finished reading the note. "R.A.B…"
"I've been doing my best on checking out former Death Eaters with those initials but so far I have nothing," Harry said. "That's what I want to talk to you about most."
"What?" she asked. Harry sighed.
"You know I don't like putting you in danger. I'd give the world to keep you safe because if something happened to you…I don't know what I would do. You were one of my first real friends that I had ever had in my entire life, and you were the first one to give me any kind of affection, even if it was just a hug when we were eleven. But it as you. Your faith in me has never faltered, and you've always stood by me even when I was being the world's biggest prat. You are the most intelligent, caring, gorgeous woman I know…and Hermione, I need you. No matter how much I hate putting you in danger…I need you," Harry said. He looked at Hermione, who looked back at him. Her eyes were watery, and she smiled weakly at him. She reached across the table and took his hand in hers. Slowly, their fingers intertwined and Hermione looked Harry dead in the eye.
"You have me Harry. You will always have me," Hermione said. Without either of them knowing, their relationship strengthened ten fold at that moment and a vow was made between them. I will give my life to protect you.
That evening Harry told Hermione's parents what he told Hermione that afternoon, leaving out their heart to heart talk just because he felt it was something between them that should stay between them.
"And what of Hogwarts?" Elizabeth Granger asked.
"I'm definitely going back. My education is important to me, and Hogwarts has several resources that I can use," Harry said.
"What about Hermione?" Aaron Granger asked. Harry looked over at Hermione. She took his hand underneath the table and gave it a squeeze.
"I won't lie to you, I need your daughter. And if she does decide to stay with me, I will do everything in my power to keep her safe; she means the world to me. But, it's her decision. Either way, I will respect her choice and it won't change my opinion of her in the slightest. I'll understand completely because I know it's a hard judgment and if it were up to me, this wouldn't be happening," Harry said seriously as he looked back at her parents.
"Dad, I've been his friend since we were eleven and we've been through a lot together, more so than I would've liked. But I've stayed by his side because he's my best friend and he means everything to me. I'm not going to stop standing by his side just because this endangers my life. If it weren't for Harry, I wouldn't be alive right now and you know it. If this is how I can make that up to him, I'll do it," Hermione said honestly. Before either of her parents had anything to say, Harry had turned to Hermione.
"You don't owe me anything," he said. "You've done more for me in the past six years than you will ever know. I don't want you risking your life because you think you need to make something up to me. I would've been dead when I was eleven if you hadn't been there, as would countless others. Don't risk your life just for me, I'm not worth it." Hermione smiled.
"I made that decision back in first year, and you're worth more than you know so don't say that," she replied.
"Hermione-" Harry began, but Hermione interrupted him.
"Don't `Hermione' me," she told him. "I've made my choice and I'm not going to go back on it." She turned to her family. "I mean it," was all she said to them. Her parents nodded.
"We stand behind you one hundred percent Harry," Elizabeth said. Harry smiled.
"Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Harry said sincerely.
"You're welcome dear," Elizabeth replied. Aaron nodded his agreement. Harry looked at his watch.
"I think I should head home. I told my aunt I'd be home before dinner," Harry said. He stood up as did Hermione and her parents.
"It was nice speaking with you," Harry said politely. He held out his hand to Mr. Granger and then received a hug from Mrs. Granger.
"I'll walk you to the door," Hermione said softly. Harry nodded and the two teenagers left the kitchen.
"Are you sure? You can still back out," Harry said to Hermione as they reached the door.
"Harry, I'm staying. There isn't anything you could do or say to change my mind," Hermione said. Harry sighed.
"Okay," he said. He bent down at the same time she leaned up and they kissed each other on their respective cheeks. Harry's arms wrapped around her waist and vise-versa.
"Be careful going home," Hermione said gently. Harry nodded.
"I will. I'll give you a call tomorrow," Harry said.
"Okay," Hermione said. Harry leaned down and kissed her one last time before he let go of her waist and left the house. Hermione stood in the doorway until his car was no longer in sight. Sighing, she shut the door as she retreated back inside.
"Oh, Harry," she breathed.
&---&---&---&---&
Chapter 2 finished. Let me know how it was. Just so you know if you didn't before, Manchester United is an English football (soccer) team. They're very popular among Europe as well as the US. The Ivy in London is a real restaurant. So, for those franchises, I take no credit.
Thanks, WarriorPride23. 12 pages.
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