Author's Notes: About the car… Yeah, well, let's just pretend Harry and Hermione put temporary charms on it so it'd be like the ones in England?
Haha, like, not even a whole week and I'm getting PM's on Harry and Hermione's looks. I imagine Harry to be the seventeen-year-old Daniel Radcliffe (the stubble beard, looks, body-which is pretty hawt, etc.) with the David Beckham faux-hawk. (Well, when he had one :-P) With Hermione, she's just Emma Watson with curly hair. :-P
Enjoy!
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August 16th, 2001 …
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The doors to the lift opened, and Harry and Hermione saw two people they'd least expect to see: Luna Lovegood and Dudley Dursley.
Though it had been over four years, Dudley still looked the same he had when he was seventeen. The large boy, now wearing a jean jacket with black trousers, had his hands stuffed in his trousers, unaware that he was being watched by his cousin.
Luna seemed to have grown a bit, though she was still much shorter than the wedded couple was. Clad in a purple sundress, a soft green jumper, she had sandals on that seemed to have a stuffed pygmy puff on it. Her hair, still long and wavy as ever, was put up into a messy bun, while the bottom half of her hair was put into a long braid. Looking up, she finally saw Harry and Hermione, their mouths open in shock, a small boy resting peacefully in a pushchair.
"Harry, Hermione!" she exclaimed, running from the lift.
Dudley lifted his face up and ran from the lift, facing Harry and Hermione. Hermione stared at the large boy, and instinctively pulled Andrew's stroller closer to her.
"Oh my, it's been so long," she said, her eyes wide. "We'd thought the Blimbing Clinkers had gotten you," she assumed, her voice calm. Looking down, she saw Andrew. "Oh, you have a son?" She smiled, her lips slowly moving upward as she reached for him. "He's adorable, just don't let the Humdingers get him! They like to play with a child, but then it'll just suck the hair from his skull!" she exclaimed.
Harry and Hermione blinked. Slowly, he looked from Luna, who was now playing with the hem of her jumper, to Dudley, who stayed oddly quiet throughout the whole thing. Quietly, Harry asked, "Dudley…? What… what are you doing here?"
Dudley raised his face slowly, looking Harry square in the eye. "Dad's here. Had a stroke, you see."
"Oh."
"You two are related," Luna stated calmly, looking from Dudley to Harry and back again.
"Why do you care… small person?" asked Dudley hotly. How did this stranger know about him and Harry?
She shrugged, turning her attention to Hermione. "My father had started visiting the hospital in hopes of finding the leftovers from-"
"Mumma!" exclaimed Andrew, tearing up. "Papa!"
Instantly, Hermione went to aid her distressed son. Smelling his nappy, she knew that he needed changed. Quickly grabbing the baby bag from the small compartment under Andrew's chair, Hermione excused herself and went out in search for the restroom.
"What's a `diaper?'" asked Dudley, remembering the girl say that she needed to change his "diaper."
"A nappy," answered Harry immediately. "They call nappies diapers in the States," he added nonchalantly. "But," he asked seriously, looking from the two, "how do you two know each other?"
Dudley looked at Luna, arching a thick eyebrow, while Luna stayed oblivious. "I don't know her… She was just some nut I saw on the lift." Shaking his head in understanding, he exclaimed, "Oh, she's one of your friends, isn't she?!"
"Err… she and I weren't too close, no, but we are friends," said Harry, rubbing the back of his neck.
After a few moments, Luna suddenly exclaimed, "Well, father's calling, and I must assist him. Good-bye, Harry! Tell Hermione and your son goodbye for me!"
Before she could leave, however, Harry remembered that she could inform the Weasleys of their arrival. "Luna, wait!" She turned around, her eyes wide in question. "Do you think you could tell the Weasleys that Hermione and I want to visit them? They can just send us an owl, if they want."
Nodding, Luna said, "Okay. I'll do that." Smiling, she enthusiastically waved him goodbye and skipped off, leaving the nurses to glare at her.
Now turning to Dudley, Harry questioned, "So, erm, Dudley… how, how is life going?"
Dudley shuffled his feet. "I've finished University and plan on starting a Professional career in Boxing in a few months."
Nodding, Harry rubbed the back of his neck, "O-Oh. That's nice," he commented. After a hesitant pause, Harry asked, "Can… can I see Uncle Vernon, too?"
Dudley blinked in surprise, and Harry half expected him to say `no' and storm off, but it never came. Instead, a few moments later, Dudley acquiesced. "I… That wouldn't be too bad, no." He gave a feeble smile, and said, "Dad's staying on this floor, and I bet Mum's already there."
Hermione ran towards the two relatives. "Sorry I took so long," breathed Hermione, holding a giggling Andrew. "I couldn't find a restroom!" She smiled politely at Dudley and handed Andrew to Harry, putting the baby bag into the stroller.
Forgetting that there was a woman there-a very good-looking woman, Dudley noticed-Dudley jumped when he saw Hermione hand over the baby to Harry.
"Oh… You're married, aren't you?" Dudley questioned, finally seeing the silver band gleaming on his left hand finger. "And… she's your wife, and that's your son!"
Harry nodded proudly, smiling. "Yep! She's been my wife since we were eighteen!" he stated proudly. Quickly sobering, he asked once more, "Are you sure it'd be alright if we saw him?"
Dudley nodded. "Yeah, c'mon, Potter. Let's go." Chuckling, Dudley added, "I bet Dad's going to have another stroke knowing that you're married and have a child."
Harry chuckled, holding Andrew and following Dudley. Hermione walked next to Harry, pushing the stroller, and asked, "Harry, where are we going? And why is your cousin being civil towards you? I thought you said the boy despised you?"
Harry nodded, moving his head away from Andrew's playful hands, and intertwined his left with her right. "He was, but then the Dementors tried to suck out his soul. Since then, he hasn't been too bad with me." He grinned, pecking her cheek, and answered the first part of her question. "And, we're going to see my Uncle Vernon. Apparently, he had a stroke and has been hospitalized here."
Nodding, Hermione only said, "Oh." Pushing the empty stroller down the hospital corridors, Hermione noticed that when Dudley stopped, her parents' room was only a few doors down. Harry opened the door, seeing as Dudley was already inside, and Hermione ambled in, stroller in front of her.
She saw a rather large man, lying on a bed in a hospital gown, eating a few fruits. Next to him, was a woman with a long face, her expression one of surprise. Looking up, Vernon nearly choked on his apple.
"You!" exclaimed Vernon, pointing a large finger in Harry's direction. Turning his attention to his son, he asked, "Why did you let him here?" he enquired hotly. "And… and that woman, with that child!"
"Vernon," Petunia placated quietly, "now, now, dear. You know what the doctor said." Emitting a soft sigh, Petunia stood up and picked the tray away from Vernon and placed it on a near by table.
Vernon snorted. "Yes, I know what he said! But I don't care! They're here, and I don't want them to be!" His stare turned suspicious. "How did you know I was here, anyway?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "My wife and I were just mooching around," he answered sarcastically. "Hermione's parents were sick, so we visited today," he answered after, receiving a hard glare in return.
"Is that so?" he asked slowly. "Then why, pray tell, were you here, when you could've been with your brilliant in-laws?"
"Because we already saw them, and we were leaving, but then we saw Dudley," responded Hermione this time, her voice steady.
His glare was now adverted to Hermione. "Did I say you could talk, you little-?"
"-I don't think you want to finish that sentence," intervened Harry, stepping in front of Vernon's bed, his anger getting the better of him. "I can do magic now, remember? So can my wife," he reminded the patient. "And I don't think you'd want to trouble us, we can be very dangerous when we want to be," he nearly snarled, knowing that his son was still in his arms, still as ever, watching his father.
Vernon's eyes widened, and he instinctively reached for the sheets. "Just… Just go," he ordered a minute later, his voice low. "I don't want to see you, ever."
Sighing, his past anger ebbed away slightly, he turned and addressed Dudley. "I'm sorry, Dudley, but I think it was a mistake I asked to be here. I'm sorry." He turned away from his cousin, and held his son close to his chest, knowing that he was scared. Going to the stroller, Harry strapped his son in, and got behind it, turning it around so they could leave. "Let's go, love," Harry murmured, taking his wife's hand and leaving the room.
Hermione shook her head sadly as they left the room, her gaze lingering on the poor man in the bed. As they started their way through the halls once more, Harry absently wrapped his arm around her waist, bringing her closer. She wrapped her arm around his waist, keeping one hand loosely on the handle as Harry pushed.
Reaching the lift, Harry murmured, "Funny, isn't it, how Dudley and Luna were here."
She nodded, "Yeah, I guess." Hoping to change the topic, Hermione asked, "Are we going to call Matt? A few weeks ago he made us promise we'd call him once we were back in England."
They got out and headed for their car. "Yeah, but we'll need a calling card first. Or perhaps we could just use a pay phone, since our cells don't work."
Hermione took Andrew out of his stroller and put him into his car seat, as Harry put the stroller into the trunk of the car. "Perhaps we could just use our cells, mix the signals a bit, and then call?" she suggested.
"Perhaps it'd work," Harry said, leaving the hospital. "But how would we be able to mix the waves? We'd have to intercept the satellite's waves and somehow-" he was cut off by his wife's loud huff.
"Honestly, Harry!" she huffed. "You don't have to go that into detail about the subject!" She shook her head, "We're magic, Harry. We could do everything by magic!"
Chuckling he said, "Oh yeah."
Rolling her eyes, Hermione went back to playing with Andrew. "Mumma!" he squealed, playing with Hermione's pert nose. "Pay, pay!"
Smiling, she gave her son a kiss on the forehead and murmured, "Yes, Mumma will play." Together, they both stuck their tongues out and stared at their nose.
Laughing silently, Harry looked at his wife and son. They could be so silly sometimes.
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Though it took them half an hour to figure out how to transmit the waves from Hermione's cell phone satellite to one where they could get service, they were finally talking to Matt.
"Sheesh, it took you long enough!" exclaimed Matt as soon as he found out who was on the line.
"Sorry Matt, but we were visiting Hermione's parents today," Harry apologized, sitting on the armchair.
Chuckling, Matt responded, "Ahh, the in-laws. By the way, how are they? I hope they're alright."
"They're… they're… well, they're there…" Harry said softly.
"Oh man, I'm sorry," Matt apologized. "Are they that bad?"
"Yeah, they are." Hoping to change the subject, Harry asked, "So, are you ready for the next semester? Hopefully you'll still be able to play, with all of your majors, and stuff."
"Yeah, I didn't think Biology, Latin, and Volleyball would be too hard to juggle," answered Matt. "But man was I wrong!" After a pause, Matt asked, "So, I heard you're going back to the Magical community? Are you scared?"
Nodding, Harry answered, "Yeah. I mean, I'm not even too sure they want me there anymore. It's been four years, and I quiet like it in California, to tell you the truth."
"Damn straight you do!"
"But yeah, it's going to be tough. Hermione had a boyfriend back there, and I bet you anything he still thinks they're together. And I had an ex there, too." Harry knew Matt understood; he'd already told him the story when he arrived.
"Yeah, that'd suck. Just show up at their door and be like: `Hey! Guess what? I'm married, I have a kid, and I've stolen your girlfriend! You're still my friend… right?'" Matt teased.
"Shut up," Harry said playfully. "Or I might just have to Portkey back to your dorm and jump you."
"Hey, just because you're magical doesn't give you the right to jump a poor guy!" argued Matt playfully.
"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure," said Harry playfully.
They went on for a few more minutes, just catching up. Soon, Hermione asked for the phone and called her friends, and after nearly half an hour, the phone was finally put back to its original spot.
Hermione stood up from her spot on the floor, and went to the telephone. "What do you want to eat, Harry? They don't have any burgers, so you won't be able to eat that."
Harry groaned, "But that was my favourite!"
Hermione chuckled, patting his arm. "I know, love, I know." Looking at the menu, she asked, "Do you want pizza or a club sandwich?"
"Just give me the sandwich," answered Harry as he brought Andrew from his afternoon nap. Quickly, the small child nearly ran towards the television. Harry, seeing as his son was about to run into the thing, Harry picked him up, earning a loud squeal and lots of wiggling from Andrew.
"Oh no you don't, little guy," said Harry, bouncing him on his shoulders. "You were going to run into the TV, and then you'd cry!"
Giggling, Andrew pulled on the longer part of Harry's faux-hawk, and pulled. "Papa pay!"
"Oh Papa's paying alright," muttered Harry, taking Andrew off his shoulders and onto the couch. "You're a tricky little baby, aren't you?" he asked playfully, the small child bouncing on his thighs.
"Harry!" Hermione shouted, pointing at the window. "Look, there's an owl here!"
Harry stood up quickly, letting Andrew onto the floor softly so he could play with his toys, and went to the window. Opening it, Harry saw that the owl was none other than Ron's old owl, Pig. Letting the small bird in, Harry took the letter from his leg while Hermione went to the bathroom to get a cup of water for him. Andrew, upon seeing the bird, screamed and tried running away, only to trip and fall on his face.
Alarmed, Harry quickly forgot about the letter and ran towards his son. Picking him up, he saw that Andrew had a slight bump on his forehead, but was all right nonetheless. Bringing his son close to his chest, he patted his back and rubbed the back of his head, soothing his son, whom was crying freely.
Hermione came in, and seeing her son in distress, immediately went to go help. But since Harry had beaten her to it, and since Andrew was starting to calm down, Hermione went back to Pig. Taking the letter from the floor, she let the exhausted bird sit on the windowsill and drink from the cup. She laid the letter on the side table and sat next to Harry, threading her finger through Andrew's soft hair, murmuring words of comfort.
After a few minutes, Andrew calmed down. Each parent kissing his forehead lightly, lovingly, Andrew unfastened himself from his father and slid down his legs, going back to his toys, forgetting about the owl completely.
"Is he alright?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah," answered Harry. "Just a little bump on his forehead. It'll clear up tomorrow," he added.
She nodded and got up, picking up the letter. Noticing that Pig was still sitting there, she wondered if the Weasleys had told him to wait until he got a reply. Shrugging, she sat herself back next to next to her husband and looked at him. Getting his nod, she started opening the letter. She placed the open letter on Harry's thigh so the two could read the letter together.
You two,
Blimey, after years of isolation from the Weasley family, you finally decided to notify us that you're in the country? Well, it wasn't even you, was it? Looney Lovegood had to tell us where you were!
I don't think our family can express our feelings right now, so why don't you lot just come by this evening? At seven…?
Bloody Hell…
Ron
Harry turned the letter around, as if expecting more writing, but there wasn't any.
"That's it?" Hermione asked.
Harry shook his head. "Apparently not…"
"Oh my," she mumbled, lying her head back. Harry rubbed her thigh, understanding. After a few moments, Hermione asked, "Well, since we're expected to write back, I suppose we should."
Harry nodded and took a piece of paper and found a pen. Putting it on the desk, Harry wondered what he was supposed to write.
Hermione sat on his lap, taking the pen from his hand, and started writing. Simply telling the Weasleys that they'd be there, Hermione folded the paper and put it in Pig's beak. The owl flew off a few seconds later, and Hermione lied her head on Harry's shoulder, exhaling.
"What're we going to do now?" Harry asked softly, checking the time on his watch. It was five: thirty, and they had a short while until they had to leave.
Suddenly, Hermione asked, "What am I going to wear?"
Despite the current tense atmosphere, Harry couldn't help himself but start laughing.
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An hour later, the small family stood on the curb near an alley. Harry-wearing a black suit jacket, a simple deep green button down shirt, and black jeans-groaned as he rubbed his stubbly cheek. Andrew had been playing with Harry and even stained three of his shirts, one of which he ruined merely ten minutes ago.
Hermione fixed her floral top, trying to tie the back of it. "Harry, do you think you could tie this?" she asked, standing in front of him. Wordlessly, Harry took the ties from her and tied it, giving her neck a soft kiss as he finished. "Thanks," she said absently, picking up Andrew and taking his thumb away from his mouth.
Fixing his jeans and red shirt, Hermione asked Harry, "So, are we all ready?"
Harry nodded, and stuck his right hand out. A few seconds later, a bright red, Double Decker bus came into view, speeding towards them. A woman opened the door, greeting them. "Hello, and Welcome to the Knight Bus," greeted the woman, clearly bored. "I'm Melissa-"
"-Yes, yes," interrupted Harry. "We know about the Knight Bus. Now, are you going to let us on or just let us rot out here?" he asked.
She got off and looked around for luggage. Shrugging as she saw none, she went back on the bus, her hand out in expectation.
"Fuck," Harry muttered, "I don't have any money!" Turning towards Hermione, he asked, "D'you have any knuts or sickles in your purse?"
Shrugging, she gave Andrew to Harry and started searching for her purse. Since her purse was large, she spent a few minutes looking for it.
Fed up, the woman cried, "You know what? No money! You three go on for free! Now just get on the bloody bus!"
Getting on, Harry and Hermione sat near a corner, making sure Andrew wouldn't get hurt. "Where are you going?" asked the woman.
"Ottery St. Catchpole," Harry answered.
She nodded, and soon, they were zooming through the streets of London. They made a few stops, one of which Harry nearly rammed into the window, and quickly zoomed through Diagon Alley. After passing the London Eye, the Parliament Building, and starting off into the country, Harry wondered how much really had changed.
Ron hadn't been too hostile, but he certainly hadn't been pleasant towards them. Although, since the letter was fairly short, Harry didn't think he would be able to analyse the meaning behind it. Oh, great, I'm turning into Hermione!
A few minutes later, they reached their destination. "Right, well, yeah…" the woman trailed off, pointing a bored finger towards the exit while filing her nails with her wand. "You guys can leave now. Don't expect me to be nice towards you, since you foreigners didn't even-" She suddenly stopped. "Oh. My. God." She looked at Harry, her eyes wide. "You're-you're Harry Potter, aren't you?! Oh my! I hadn't even noticed! Oh my," she stood up, walking towards them. "I'm so sorry! Here, do you need anything? Like, anything at all?"
Suddenly irritated, Harry muttered, "No," and left. Hermione offered the young girl a feeble smile and wave before she adjusted her large, brown leather purse before following her husband.
As she stepped from the bus, she started remembering the fun times they had while at the Burrow. The times she watched Harry and Ron play Quidditch with the rest of the Weasley boys; the times where she read peacefully under the tree, Harry and Ron on either side of her, each snoozing peacefully; the times they would play in the summer rain, forgetting about the homework they had to finish; and so many more, she remembered.
Taking her husband's hand, the two strode towards the shabby home. It was still the same as before, if not more worn out, but it still held wonderful, and not so wonderful, memories. Slowly, as if scared, Harry and Hermione stepped onto the first step. Even Andrew seemed to be quiet, one hand fisting Harry's collar, the other in his shirt. Careful to be soundless, the two made it to the front door.
They knocked, and waited for someone to open.
Author's Notes: Oh god, not another cliff hanger! :-P, I'm sorry!! I really am! But hey, at least I updated quickly!
Did I mention I love Hermione's clothes? Man, I so wish I could buy the store Buckle! (Even though I own like half the clothes there. Heh) That floral top is to die for!
Sooo… how'd I do?
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