Chapter 2
Toilets and Clothes
Thank you for all the reviews. They are much appreciated. To reiterate, yes Voldemort has been defeated, at the end of sixth year, and no, I am not homophobic. Thank you.
Today is my birthday, so I am now another year older and a few years wiser, and decided to post the next chapter. Twenty-three feels so old sometimes, yet so young…
I love to hear birthday wishes ;)
And I'm not lying, kids; August 3rd, 1985, 4:33 am (a few short hours from my West Coast time), after seven hours of labor, this *points at self* little bundle of joy came into the world
And everybody: Aw…
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Harry must have dozed off. The next thing he knew, Hermione was shaking him gently. "Wake up, Harry, we're home."
Harry had never associated the word `home' with anything other than Hogwarts, but hearing the words "we're home" coming from Hermione's mouth, he realized where ever she was, that would be his home. With her. Home is where the heart is and his heart belonged to her and her alone. If she'll have me, which I doubt, he thought dejectedly getting out of the car and dragging his trunk to the front door. Like Dudley said, I'm even a freak among my friends.
Taking a moment to look at her house, Harry thought this was the ideal home for the Grangers. Very modest and quaint, two stories with pale yellow paint and white trim. Walking in, he could see evidence of her growing up with loving, proud parents. Pictures from various grades framed on the mantle or hung on the wall along with family photos and numerous certificates of achievement.
Harry gazed around the tidy, well-furnished room feeling poignant and envious, wishing he still had what most teenagers take advantage of: parents.
Hermione came up beside him, both her arms wrapping around his left. "I'm sorry, Harry," she said quietly, sincerely.
He gave a small, sad smile, not the least surprised she knew what was bothering him. "It's not your fault, Hermione. No need to apologize."
"I know it's not my fault, but I…just wish I could make it right. That I could help."
"You do help, 'Mione," he told her, turning to face her and placing his hands on her shoulders, "everyday you're there for me, everyday you've been my friend. Knowing you care is enough," he finished softly.
"As touching as this is, kids," Robert interrupted, "we have a bit of a drive to London, so we better get going."
"You know, Robert," Helen said, coming from the kitchen where she'd been, "I think it'd be better to go tomorrow. It's already been a long day and I'm not really up for drive to London."
"But they need -" Robert began before his wife cut him off.
"They still have over three weeks, sweetie. We can go tomorrow. Don't tell me you're up for driving to London and back?"
"Well, I have a bit of energy."
"You have energy, do you?" Helen repeated with an arched brow and gleam in her eye. "I know what you can do with that energy," she said moving closer to her husband.
Harry looked between the two adults, hoping they wouldn't start with sexual innuendos for his and Hermione's sakes. Parents, even if they weren't his, and sex wasn't something he wanted to think about. And he was sure Hermione didn't either.
"And what's that?" Robert questioned, a smirk on his face as he encircled his wife's waist in his arms pulling her closer to him.
Helen moved her mouth closer to his ear and Harry's eyes widened in fright. "Fix the downstairs toilet," she whispered.
Harry and Hermione broke out in laughter at Helen's words and the shocked and disappointed look on Robert's face.
"Bloody hell," he grumbled, letting Helen go and walking towards the stairs.
"Hermione, show Harry the guest room, please," her mother requested.
"Sure, Mum. Follow me, Harry," she said, levitating and directing his trunk up the stairs.
The top of the stairs found him in the middle of a hallway and Hermione explained the general layout of the house.
"To the right is the master room and bath, my parents' room, you know," she gestured, "it's over the kitchen and living room. I learned to be careful about sitting up and reading down there late at night. The door straight across is the upstairs bathroom. Down here on the left is the guest room, your room while you're here," she opened the door to a spacious room of neutral colors, decorated in different shades of blue with an oak desk and matching dresser. The window looked over the lawn and street and Harry figured he was over the garage.
Hermione set his trunk down at the foot of the double bed and Hedwig's cage on the table near the window. "You'll be sharing the bathroom with me. Sorry in advance if you find anything you're not used to seeing that gives you the creeps."
Harry chuckled. "I'm sure I'll be alright. I should be apologizing, though. You wouldn't be used to sharing a bathroom with a boy. We tend to be messy, you know."
"I'll live, I'm sure," she laughed. He loved hearing her laugh. It was so pretty, feminine, innocent. He wanted to make her laugh more, but couldn't think of anything to say offhand, and settled for watching her with a smile.
"So, any questions about anything, Harry?"
"Not really," he shook his head. He pointed across the hall. "Your room?"
Hermione nodded. "If you need anything, just ask."
She lingered, her hand on the knob of the ajar door. "Harry…" she began timidly
Harry raised his brows, encouraging her to continue, though he knew it was about the kiss they shared at the Dursley's.
"Harry, about at your aunt and uncle's, well, I mean, what happened between us -oh, never mind!" She turned to leave, her face crimson and frustrated.
"Hermione, wait," Harry said, grabbing her hand. "It's okay, you can talk to me. We should talk about it."
She nodded and took a deep breath. "About the…kiss, I agreed to it, well, initiated it, to help you with Dudley; I know he's always been a jerk to you. I mean, I didn't feel like I had to and I know you didn't ask me to or anything, but I don't want you to think I'm some sort of tart."
"'Mione, I could never think anything bad about you," he said gently taking her other hand in his so he was holding both her hands.
"You weren't…you weren't put off by it?" she questioned hesitantly.
Harry smiled. "Hermione, you know I was anything but put off by it."
She blushed, but continued with her next question. "So what does all this mean, Harry?"
"I know how I feel," he began after a moment, "but I don't want to assume how you feel and I'm afraid of what might happen if something happens."
Seeming to ignore the second half of his statement, she asked what Harry knew she would. "And how do you feel, Harry?"
Harry stared into her eyes, her beautiful brown eyes there were begging for the truth. He could never lie to her, and her never would. He respected her too much for that. "'Mione, I'm in-"
The door swung completely open, causing Harry to jump back in fright. "Hey, Harry," Robert called. "How 'bout you change your clothes and help me fix the toilet? I could use someone who actually knows what tool is which to hand them to me," he added with a pointed look at his daughter.
"Honestly, Daddy, I have better things to do than study the difference between an open-boxed screwdriver and a Philips or flathead wrench."
"Philips or flathead screwdriver and open or box-ended wrench," Harry and Robert corrected in unison.
Chuckling, Harry asked, "You mean there's something Hermione doesn't know?"
"Shush, you," she said pushing him while smiling.
"So you wanna help Harry?" Robert asked. "You don't have to, but I'd like it if you did. We can have some man-to-man time. I've been around estrogen for too long."
Harry laughed again. "Sure thing, sir, it'll be a way to earn my keep. I'll change and be right down."
"Eh, don't worry about that, son. Hermione, why don't you go help your mum make a late lunch for us?" Robert suggested.
"Alright, Dad," she sighed, leaving the room. Harry could tell she was just as disappointed as he was that her father had interrupted them at that moment.
Harry changed into some of Dudley's hand-me-downs, after shrinking them to fit better, and headed for the downstairs bathroom.
"Thanks for helping me out, Harry. I can't tell you how glad I am to have some more testosterone in the house. I'm telling you, I've been surrounded by estrogen for so long, I think I might start suffering for menopause with my wife."
"No problem, Robert," Harry chuckled. "It's the least I can do with you taking me in for the rest of the summer."
Robert lay down on the floor beside the wall to check the piping behind the toilet. "You're going to keep thanking us all summer, aren't you?" he smiled.
"You have no idea how grateful I am, sir."
"I think you're right there, from what Hermione's told us. And I've a feeling she left the bigger stuff out. Flush the toilet, will you, Harry?"
Harry did as he was told, then heard the sound of spraying water, followed by "Oh, shite," and sputtering from the dentist.
"Yes, that needs to be replaced," he said, wiping his face, while Harry was trying his best not to laugh. Robert removed the lid and peered into the toilet basin. "Hmm…yeah, just the piping needs to be changed. Up for a trip to the DIY store after lunch?"
"Sounds like a plan," Harry agreed.
"Good," Robert said as Helen called them to lunch. "Harry and I are going to the DIY store after we eat," he told his wife as they sat down.
"Going for some male bonding time?" Helen teased.
"Hey, there's finally a balance in the hormones, I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts."
Helen patted his cheek. "You do that, hun. Just remember," she added leaning closer, "there'll be a balance when they leave for school, too." She winked before taking her own seat.
The exchange was not lost to Harry, and he glanced at Hermione to see how she was reacting. She hardly appeared to have noticed and seemed absorbed in thought. Harry cocked his head, looking at her, wondering what was on her mind. His eyes were drawn to her mouth, where her bottom lip was pulled between her teeth, being nibbled lightly as she thought.
He stared, imagining what it would feel like to have her nibble on parts of his body. His pants felt tighter at the idea.
"So, how's it you're Mister Fix-It, Harry?" Helen asked, drawing both him and Hermione back to their lunch.
"The Dursleys," he answered simply. "Vernon was always too lazy to do anything himself and too cheap to call a repair man until it became vital, Dudley couldn't fix anything to save his life, and Petunia was clueless. If something broke, that left me. Not that they gave me any choice. It was more like `fix this, boy, or you won't eat for a week'," he imitated his uncle's gruff voice. "Who knew it'd come in handy some day."
The talked turned to Hogwarts and school supplies to avoid discussing Harry's relatives.
"So, it's finally official? Hermione Jane Granger, Gryffindor Prefect, Hogwarts Head Girl going on the résumé?" Harry commented with a grin at the end of the meal.
Hermione blushed and rolled her eyes, smiling all the same. "Yes, they sent me my badge with my letter the other day. I wonder who Head Boy is," she thought aloud.
"I think I can tell you," Harry said. Reaching in his pocket, his hand emerged a closed fist. He turned it so his palm would face up and opened, revealing a badge with gold HB set against a scarlet shield and gold lion intertwining through the lettering.
"Oh, Harry!" Hermione screamed, hugging him. "I'm so proud of you!"
"Congratulations, Harry," smiled Helen.
"Yes, congratulations, son," Robert said, offering his hand to Harry when Hermione released him. "This calls for a celebration. For dinner, we're going to that fancy Italian place in town. On us, Harry."
"Oh, sir, you really don't have to. It's not necessary at all. Really, there's no need," Harry insisted.
"Nonsense, Harry. It takes a lot of hard work to earn that. We were planning on going out for Hermione anyway. This just gives us more of a reason."
"Alright…" Harry conceded. "But only if you let me buy lunch at the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow."
"Deal," he agreed, shaking hands once more, "Ready to go?"
"Yep, just let me grab, never mind, nothing I need to get."
"Aright, then, I have my keys, wallet, list of what we need-"
"Cell phone," Helen called clearing the table.
"And that blasted mobile I don't know how to use. So we're set. Be back in an hour, hun," he told his wife, giving her a quick kiss.
"Okay, sweetie, try not to buy more than you need to," Helen said, returning his kiss.
While Robert retorted that she was the one who bought more than necessary most of the time, Harry followed Hermione, who still had the look of deep thought on her face, out of the kitchen.
"Well," Harry began, "I guess I'll see you later, Hermione."
"Of course, Harry," she said matter-of-factly, but something seemed amiss to Harry. "You're staying here with me, after all."
"Yeah, well." He glanced toward the kitchen and still hearing conversation between her parents, looked back at Hermione. "Maybe we could…" his voice trailed off, his courage faltering as he tried to get the words out.
"Yes, Harry?" she prompted, a hopeful expression on her face that confused him.
"Maybe we could finish our-"
"Ready, Harry?" Hermione's father interrupted again.
Solemnly, Harry nodded, his gaze locked on Hermione's eyes and the disappointment hidden in their cinnamon depths as Robert steered him gently toward the door.
"So, Harry," he began as they buckled up, "Helen and I were talking, and the Dursleys never bought you any new clothes, did they?"
Harry snorted. "The Dursleys never got my anything that could be considered remotely new."
Robert made an odd, short hum before putting the car in reverse. After a short drive, they pulled in front of a large department store.
"This doesn't look like a DIY store," Harry commented, eyeing Robert warily.
"You're right, we're going shopping."
"Huh?" Two guys going shopping? That doesn't seem normal, he thought.
*~*~*
Dun Dun DUN!
That was "the plot thickens" music, if you didn't catch it
Many thanks to Libby, my beta <3
I have a joke I want to share: When is a door not a door? When it's ajar! Lol, makes me chuckle
I learned from a Brit they "tend to refer" hardware stores as DIY stores. Hardware store is such an American Phrase
Chapter Three in… whenever I get to it. Should be soon
Of Bribery and Men - Coming soon to a computer screen near you
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