It had been a week since the attack. Hermione's parents were still in the hospital wing, but they were making a good recovery. Harry was fine, although he was still sort of sore.
St. Mungos was in horrible condition. Almost half of the hospital had been demolished, along with the patients. The area surrounding the hospital had been hit hard. Death practically littered the place.
"That's the fourth attack since last week," Harry said, reading the paper that had been sent out earlier that morning. "A small town that was barely even on the map was wiped out, no survivors."
"This is getting ridiculous," Hermione said, sighing. "Where is the Order?" Harry rolled his eyes.
"What Order? It's pretty much gone because of Dumbledore's death. Most of the people that were in it are gone, whether they're dead or they're just too scared. It's bullshit," Harry said.
"Harry, Hermione," said a voice that they hadn't heard in almost three weeks. Harry put the paper down, though he didn't turn around in his seat.
"Ron," he said coldly.
"Do you guys have a minute?" Ron asked.
"What?" Hermione asked, turning around. Ron swallowed.
"I came to say I'm sorry," he said. Harry and Hermione were quiet, though they looked at him. "I was a prat. I let my jealousy get in the way of our friendship. I thought back to first year when I was in front of the Mirror of Erised and I remember being Head Boy and Quidditch Captain. I guess I let that get to my head." Harry sighed.
"It's all right mate. Just keep in mind that if it happens again I doubt you'll be forgiven like you have now. I don't have time for messing around with petty things like jealousy and large egos," Harry said. Ron winced, but didn't say anything.
"Thanks," he said quietly. Hermione didn't say anything as she looked up at Ron.
"I'm not going to be quite as forgiving as Harry. I don't appreciate being advanced on without being asked or if I haven't shown any feelings in return. I'm a girl Ron. Not only that, but I'm a human being; my own person. I have feelings and wishes just like you or Harry. I won't be treated like a trophy or a piece of meat," Hermione said. "If it happens again I'll hex you so far into the Stone Age you won't be able to find your way back." Ron gulped but nodded.
"Sorry Hermione," Ron said. Hermione nodded.
"Apology accepted. Now, I'm going to go see my parents," Hermione said as she rose from her seat in the Great Hall (they were on study break). "Harry, when you can go see my parents. They want to talk to you." Harry nodded and Hermione left.
"I heard about the attack on the hospital," Ron said. Harry nodded. "What was it like?"
"It was pretty bad. There was smoke everywhere and bodies practically made up the floor," Harry replied. Ron grimaced.
"Sounds bad," he said. An awkward silence settled between the two boys.
"I scheduled quidditch try-outs for next week," Harry said, hoping to get rid of some of the discomfiture.
"Yeah?" Ron said. "You're going to have one hell of a time with it. The team needs a lot of new players." Harry nodded.
"It's not going to be fun," he said. Harry checked his watch. "I'm going to stop and see Hermione's parents before class. I guess I'll see you later mate." Ron said goodbye and Harry left the Great Hall.
"Harry," Elizabeth greeted warmly.
"Hi," Harry replied. He chose to lean against the wall instead of taking a seat like Hermione had.
"Harry, Hermione explained to us what curse you took in effort to protect us and we'd like to say thank you," Elizabeth said. Harry felt his cheeks warm.
"It sounded like that curse would've done serious damage to us if you hadn't intercepted it and we heard what it did to you," Aaron added.
"Er…you're welcome," Harry said. "Are you feeling better?" Elizabeth and Aaron nodded.
"Poppy said that we'll be in here for another two days maybe, but then we're free to go…but I don't know where we'll go. Most of the house was destroyed," Elizabeth said, a sad look in her eyes.
"Don't worry, I'm taking care of that," Harry said.
"What?" Hermione said, spinning around to look at her best friend. Harry nodded.
"I'm taking care of it. In fact, today after school ends I'm leaving for a little while to take care of some things," Harry said. "But I'll be back in time to do rounds with you."
"Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione asked.
"You'll see in a few days. Hopefully you're parents don't mind staying at the school for a little longer?" Harry directed the last at Elizabeth and Aaron.
"We don't mind. But dear, you don't need to do this," Elizabeth said. "It's too much, whatever you're going to do." Harry smiled.
"Nah, it's not enough. You both have helped me in more ways than you know. Without Hermione, I probably would've been six feet under a long time ago," Harry said.
"Harry," Hermione said softly. Her fingers brushed the tips of Harry's. Harry caught two of her fingers and held them in his hand.
"It's true," he said, looking at her. "And you both have treated me like family since we've met. I've never had anyone other than Hermione and Mrs. Weasley hug me or even respect me for who I am and not for my name or what I appear to be. If you didn't already know, Hermione was the first person ever in my entire life to give me the first sign of affection. Mrs. Weasley followed, but not for some time; and now you, Mrs. Granger. You've both treated me like I was an adult and not another child who doesn't know what he's doing. I respect both of you greatly and I trust you both. And I have a lot to thank you both for. I mean, back in first year, when Hermione was attacked by the troll and went down to get the Sorcerer's Stone, you didn't pull her out of Hogwarts. In second year, when she was petrified, I thought for sure she was going home and I would never see her again. In fifth year, she got attacked again and I thought she was going to die. And when she didn't, it occurred to me that you might have had enough of your daughter getting injured because of me and you could possibly pull her out of school. But you never did and I thank you for that. If it weren't for Hermione, I probably would be dead by now; and even if I wasn't, I don't know what I'd do without her. Helping you out with your house isn't anywhere close to what all three of you have done to help me; it doesn't even make a scratch." Harry finished speaking. He took the chance of looking at Hermione (he had been looking at her parents when he spoke). Her eyes were wet, but she wasn't crying and a slight smile, one a person couldn't detect unless you knew her, was there. He looked at Elizabeth, who was crying and wasn't trying to hide that fact and then he looked to Aaron, who was looking back at Harry with a curious look on his face.
"Dear…" Elizabeth said. Harry smiled softly.
"It's okay," Harry said. "Everything should be finished by Friday." The hospital wing was quiet for a few minutes.
"We should head to class," Hermione said softly.
"Okay," Elizabeth said, just as soft, if not softer, than Hermione. Hermione gave her mum a hug and kiss and did the same to her father.
"Bye mum, bye dad," Hermione said. "I'll stop by later."
"Bye Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Harry said, waving. He and Hermione left the Hospital Wing with a silence between them. Nothing was said and the only thing done was when Harry took Hermione's hand in his.
O.O.O.O.O.O.O
"Down," said Dawson. The burning in Harry's arms was killing him but he went down anyway. "Lower." Dawson put his foot on Harry's back and pushed down. Harry gritted his teeth but did as he was told.
"Hold it," Dawson said. Even though his arms were shaking and burning like they were on fire, Harry continued to do push-ups. Dawson said physical fitness was just as important as learning how to duel. If you didn't have good reflexes, if you couldn't run or jump, and if you got tired to easy, you were screwed. Your enemy would have you in a second.
"Up," said the professor. Some of the weight was lifted off of his arms as Harry pushed himself up, but not much. "That's one hundred. You have fifty more to go." If Harry had been one to show emotion, he would've cried.
"Dawson," said a voice familiar to Harry. Dawson looked away from Harry and to the door. "Tonks." Harry swallowed and bit his lip as he went down once more.
"Do your other fifty, between each one hold it for ten seconds," Dawson said to Harry. Harry sighed and went down one more time.
Eventually, his last push-up came and Harry's arms gave out. His body hit the ground with a thud and he groaned.
"Flip over," Dawson called. Harry flipped over so that he was on his back. Sit-ups were next. "Two hundred sit-ups; I want to see your elbow touch your knee when you go up." Harry hissed as he moved his arms up to put his hands behind his head. He lifted his torso up and touched his elbow to his knee. One…
"What are you doing to him?" Tonks asked Dawson as she observed Harry. His face was beet red and sweat dripped off of him, making large dark patches on his shirt.
"Training," Dawson said. "He'll be both fit and ready to duel when I'm done with him. He's doing the auror trainee fitness schedule for right now." Tonks raised both of her eyes.
"He'll be in hell for a while then," she said. "I've been sent to get you to come back to the office." Dawson snorted.
"I quit for a reason. I had enough of being an auror and I certainly wasn't going to work for the idiot we call our minister," Dawson said. Tonks shrugged.
"I know. If I could, I'd quit too, but I can't," Tonks said. "I'll let you get back to torturing Harry then. See you tonight." Tonks left the room and Dawson walked back over to Harry.
"How many?" he asked.
"One fifty-two," Harry said.
The last ten got to Harry as he pulled his torso up, trying to ignore the sharp pain in his side and the burning in his abdominals.
"Are you finished?" Dawson asked. Harry nodded as he pulled himself up one last time and let his body fall back against the floor.
"Up," his professor said. "We're running for a while." Harry dragged himself up and began running along side Dawson.
"When does quidditch start?" Dawson asked as they ran.
"Next Wednesday is try-outs," Harry said. "I need one chaser and probably a new reserve team."
"What time?" Dawson asked.
"Four," Harry said.
"I'll come and watch then. I've always liked quidditch," said Dawson. "I played for my house when I went here. I was a few years younger than your parents; I was in first year when they were in their seventh."
"I guess that was supposed to be an interesting year," Harry said. "My parents got together then. I guess before my mum practically hated my dad even though my dad was pretty crazy about her."
"Yes, your mum wasn't thrilled to hear that James had gotten Head Boy. The first week a lot of people walked on eggshells around her so to speak. She wasn't very happy. Actually, I bet the first week back to school they said about ten words to each other total," Dawson said. Harry laughed.
"Yeah, sounds about right," Harry said. "I guess my dad was a bit arrogant in their previous years. My mum wasn't for that."
"From what I've heard your mum and dad got along up until their third year. Dunno what happened from there though. I do know that they made an excellent couple," Dawson said. "That should be good." Harry stopped running and put his arms on top of his head to control his breathing.
"Today all we're doing is learning dueling tactics," Dawson said. "The last hour will be studying."
Training ended at nine and Harry walked out of the room of requirement. He was quite sweaty and sore.
After he got to the Heads Dorm, he went to his room and grabbed a change of clothing. He went into the bathroom to take a shower.
The warm water had relaxed his muscles somewhat and after Harry stepped out of the shower, he dried off.
Today was Friday. He was heading over to the house he had bought for the Grangers. He had checked with McGonagall to see if it was all right if he missed school for that day while he fixed up the house before he showed it to Hermione, Elizabeth and Aaron later that day.
Harry put on a pair of old lounge shorts and a short sleeved t-shirt. The house needed some work and touch-ups still.
After flooing from the fireplace in the common room, Harry landed in the Leaky Cauldron. He went outside into Muggle London and looked for his car, which was dropped off for him by Remus.
The hour long drive from London to Kent went fast for Harry. Soon enough, he was in the driveway of the new house. Harry observed the house from the front yard once he stepped out of his car.
It looked similar to the house the Grangers used to live in, though some things were different. It was a 4,000 square foot two-story house (painted white) that had four bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms and a three car garage. The backyard held a large patio complete with a grill and a table with chairs. Further out, in the yard, was an in ground pool. Other nice scenery like trees and flowers were planted strategically. A fence surrounded the property to ensure privacy.
The front of the residence was nice too. The windows had shutters that were a dark blue and the door was painted to match them. The front yard had a large English Oak tree that provided shade and around the trunk of the tree were Oxeye Daisies. Nice stones circled the daisies; the yard was neatly cut. To the left of the large front porch was a flower bed full of flowers that contrasted nicely with the house and each other.
Harry walked up the sidewalk and unlocked the door to the house. The entryway to the house was nice. To the right was a small end table that held a small fern. Above the table on the wall was a key holder. A little farther down to the right was an opening that led to the kitchen. On the left was a small den that was open. It had bookshelves full of books Harry thought would be interesting to Hermione, Elizabeth and Aaron. On the walls were pictures of the Granger and Stevens family along with paintings by their favorite artists. The room was nicely furnished with a comfortable looking couch and chair. The front wall of the room held a large window that showed the front yard and other neighboring houses across the street.
The kitchen, living room, dining room and both the guest bedrooms had already been painted and furnished. All that was left was Elizabeth and Aaron's bedroom and Hermione's. Harry decided that he would leave those up to them because after all, it was their rooms. All he had to do was finish staining the wood floors.
Eventually the house was done and Harry went back to school to get Hermione and her parents. After he had checked the Hospital Wing he went back to the Heads Dorm. Hermione's parents must have been discharged.
"Found you," Harry said as he walked into the Heads Common Room. Hermione, who was sitting comfortably on the couch leaned her head back and looked at him.
"I didn't know you were looking for me," she said. Harry nodded.
"Yeah, I have something to show you," he said. "All of you. But you have to come with me to see it. Just grab a hand full of floo powder and go to the Leaky Cauldron." Elizabeth and Aaron went first and then Hermione, followed by Harry.
Once every one was in the car, Harry drove off towards Kent. With other people in the car, the ride was much more enjoyable then his first drive to the new house.
"Okay, we're here," Harry said. He parked the car in the driveway and got out. The car doors shut and all three Grangers stood next to Harry as they looked at the house.
"Welcome to your new home," Harry said. He dropped the keys in Elizabeth's hands. "Another surprise is in the garage." Elizabeth and Aaron walked towards the house, shell shocked. Hermione stayed back with Harry.
"Harry, you bought us a new house," she said. Harry nodded. It took a second before Hermione all but tackled him. Harry laughed and slid his arms around her easily.
"Thank you," she practically whispered to him as she pulled her face back from the crook of his neck.
"You're welcome," Harry said. He kissed her forehead and let go of her. "Take a look inside." He gave her a small push towards the house and she went in. A moment later, Harry followed.
Taking a seat inside of the kitchen at the large table, Harry relaxed and waited for Elizabeth, Aaron and Hermione to finish looking. Eventually, they stepped into the kitchen and tears were streaming down Elizabeth's face. Aaron had a broad smile and Hermione looked happier than Harry had ever seen her.
"Oh thank you so much dear," Elizabeth said, rushing to Harry to give him a hug.
"You're welcome," Harry said.
"We can't thank you enough," Aaron said, shaking Harry's hand firmly.
"It wasn't a problem. Everything is paid off and you have insurance on your house. Protection spells have been put on it and it's pretty well secure. Your fireplace is hooked up to the Floo Network but only people you authorize can go through," Harry said. "You still have to look in the garage though." He led them through the kitchen and out of the door that led to the garage. Inside were three cars. One was a large SUV, the other was a Sedan and the one next to it was a red Mercedes.
"All of them are paid off and they have insurance," Harry said.
"Harry…" Elizabeth started. Harry smiled and shook his head.
"It's okay. I needed to do this," Harry said. Once again, Elizabeth hugged him and Aaron shook his hand. Hermione leaned up and kissed him on his cheek.
"Thank you so much Harry," she said softly to him as they followed her parents back into the house. "You have no idea how much this means to us." Harry smiled.
"It was the least I could do," Harry said. The four of them took a seat at the table in the kitchen.
"Anything that was able to be salvaged from the fire was restored and it's in boxes in the living room. On the coffee table in the living room is a manila folder full of the insurance and housing information," Harry said. "I left your room and Hermione's room up to all of you because they're yours. I think because it's personal, you guys should be the one's to decide what you want. I just hope that the house is okay and to your liking. I tried to make it so it was similar to your old one, but I realize that won't be totally true since all of your memories and happiness was in that house."
"Dear, we can't thank you enough. This is wonderful," Elizabeth said. "I don't know what we can do to repay you." Harry shook his head.
"There's nothing to repay me for. Like I said, I needed to do this. All three of you have done nothing but treat me like family since you've met me and I've never had that before aside from the Weasleys. But even then they don't really understand me because they've never understood the muggle way of life and where I come from. I'm grateful to have you three in my life and this doesn't even make a scratch on what I need to do to show that to you," Harry said. Tears had formed in Elizabeth's eyes again and Aaron was beaming at Harry. Underneath the table, Hermione's hand had found Harry's and they rested on Harry's knee.
After Harry had helped Hermione and her parents decorate the house with their possessions that made it through the attack, Harry and Hermione said their goodbyes to her parents. Hermione promised to visit more often since the fireplace was hooked up the Floo Network. Once again, Elizabeth and Aaron said thank you to Harry.
Once Harry and Hermione were back in the Heads Common Room, Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry. She buried her head into his chest and a few seconds later he felt warm liquid on his shirt. His arms had gone around Hermione's waist and he kissed the top of her head.
"Thank you so much," she said as she pulled back. Harry brought one of his hands up and wiped the tears from her face.
"There's no need to thank me," Harry said. Hermione smiled slightly.
"I can't tell you how much this means to me and my family Harry. It's amazing," Hermione said.
"I'm just glad you like it. I was afraid you wouldn't," Harry said.
"We love it," Hermione said.
"I'm glad," Harry said. "Come on, let's go get some lunch." The two of them walked out of the Common Room and as they walked down the corridor, Harry put his arm around Hermione's shoulder. He pulled her to his side and kissed the side of her head. As she looked up at him with a warm smile, Harry smiled in return and tapped the end of her nose with his other hand. His arm dropped down from her shoulders and took a hold of her hand.
Whispers started as the two of them walked into the Great Hall hand in hand. They took a seat at the table and started to fill their plates.
"Where've you two been all day?" Ron asked.
"At her new house," Harry replied after he swallowed his mouth full of food. Ron raised both of his eyebrows.
"When did that happen?" he asked.
"For the past few weeks; I bought it and fixed it up for them," Harry said.
"Wow mate, you bought them a new house," Ron said. Harry nodded. "What's it like?" Hermione went into detail about the house and Harry continued his lunch.
Lunch ended and Harry and Hermione returned to their classes. The day passed quickly and soon enough, it was late evening. The two of them were in the Common Room doing homework.
"Tomorrow is a Hogsmead visit," Harry said. "Do you want to go with me?" Hermione looked up from her essay in Transfiguration.
"Just us?" she asked. Harry looked up from his Potions essay.
"Yeah, just us," he said. Hermione smiled.
"Sure," she said. Harry smiled.
"Okay," he said. Comfortable silence passed between the two of them. Before long, Harry got up with his book and essay in hand. He moved to sit beside Hermione in front of the fire. She scooted closer to him and they sat side by side, elbows almost touching.
Things were okay.
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Thanks. WarriorPride23. 9 pages.
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