Chapter 8 - The Problems of a Weasley and a Dentist
Harry breathed in deeply, the alluring scent of Hermione's hair invading his nostrils and he wrapped his arms around her tightly. From whatever few teenage discussions he had participated in, he knew that sex was supposed to be mind-blowing but now he knew differently. When it was with someone you cared about more than any other, when it was with someone you loved, it was magical.
He knew without doubt that this was the best moment in his life, something he would carry with him to his grave and he swore to himself in that moment that no matter what the future held for him, no matter what happened with him and his future spouse, he would remember this as the best thing that had ever happened to him ; the most magical thing that could have possibly occurred.
Little did he know that Hermione was also swearing the same thing to herself as a soft chime alerted her to reality, rendering her numb with disbelief.
'No,' Hermione whispered, and her voice sounded terrified.
'Hermione, Hermione, what's wrong?' Harry asked, his eyes widening, hoping against hope that she had enjoyed this as much as he had.
Hermione looked at him lovingly, yet dejectedly, and that simple gaze she gave him told Harry everything he needed to know. He knew then, at that precise moment, that he had lost something truly precious forever.
Harry cried as and cried as he remembered that beautiful, yet terrible night, the night everything had changed for both of them.
There would be no such angst this time, he would see to that ; it would be him and Hermione from the beginning, as it always should have been...
He rolled over in his sleep, thinking about his last day at Hogwarts and his impending return to the Dursley's. After all the horrors he had been through, even the thought of them didn't fill him with dread anymore, but yet, he was not in favour of going back and residing in Privet Drive.
Ideally, he wished he could have spent some time with Hermione over the summer ; he never had in his previous life. Whatever time he got with Hermione was shared with the presence of the Weasleys, except the times when Ron had faithfully abandoned him....
His situation with Hermione notwithstanding, he had a lot of things to do in the summer, a lot of things to change. He had to have his Trace removed, or at the least get an untraceable wand. How he was going to do that, he had no idea. Perhaps Dobby could help..
He also wanted to destroy the diadem as soon as possible, preferably before he left Hogwarts, although he had no idea what kind of protective enchantments and traps lay on it. The last time around, he had never actively sought it due to the Slytherin trio's untimely appearance. By the time it actually fell into his hands, its magic was already destroyed due to the Fiendfyre.
Harry sighed loudly as he turned over, he had been given the gift of time, and he still didn't know what to do, or when to do it. There was one thing he definitely wanted to do, but the only limitation to his gift prevented him from doing it.
Killing.
Murder.
There were so many people who didn't need their life, so many people who strictly speaking, weren't required to breathe or live or talk.....
Starting with Umbridge and Lucius Malfoy and extending to every corrupted bigot in the Ministry's ranks.
All the prisoners in Azkaban should have been gassed instead of leaving them in an insecure place where they could easily escape whenever they wanted to...
Not to mention every single stinking Slytherin.
No, not every Slytherin was a Death Eater... Harry thought grimly. Severus Snape had assured him of that.
But all the same, ninety nine percent of those idiots were taught to fantasize about licking Voldemort's half-blood scaley arse.
That house certainly required a good bout of killing, and yet Harry could do nothing about it.
Today was already the thirtieth ; Sirius would be escaping in three weeks or so. Joy swept through him as he lay in bed, eagerly anticipating when that time would come and when he would see his beloved godfather again, someone he hadn't seen for two years...
For a mad moment, he pondered sending a letter to Azkaban and letting Sirius know he wasn't alone, informing Sirius that his godson was waiting for him with open arms.., but Harry dispelled that thought reluctantly. It was too risky and all he had to do was be patient ; just a short wait.
Drowning out the loud snores of his roommates, he finally fell into an uneasy slumber, planning to sleep in late the next morning.
Unfortunately, he was roused much earlier than he would have liked, when a slightly miffed red head forced him to do so.
'Harry! HARRY!' a voice shouted, shaking him roughly, 'Wake up, get out of bed for crying out loud!'
'Ergh - gerroff,' Harry mumbled, as he stuffed his pillow into his eyes, wanting no light to hit him at all. He rolled towards the small desk beside his bed and reached for his glasses.
'Why are you so tired?' Ron asked, looking at him curiously.
'Huh? Oh, couldn't sleep well last night. Have you guys had breakfast yet?' Harry yawned, changing behind the curtains he had just drawn shut, wondering since when had Ron started waking up so early.
'Nope, we were waiting for you. Hermione was already awake when me and Ginny reached the common room. I really hope she wasn't studying, seeing as how we don't have exams.'
'How do you know we don't have exams?' Harry asked.
'Well, it's pretty obvious isn't it? We were supposed to be leaving next week, and our exams were supposed to be from today ; but instead, we're all leaving tomorrow,' Ron reasoned.
'Hmm,' Harry shrugged, yanking the velvet curtains open and walking past Ron, a momentary stab of anger against Ron Weasley flashing through him ; for the terrible recollection he had of his time in the tent and its aftermath, not to mention being woken up rudely at seven in the morning.
'Come on, the girls are waiting in the Great hall,' Ron said, as they exited the dormitories.
Harry followed him, trying to recall when the trio of him, Hermione and Ron had expanded to include Ginny as well.
'Harry!' Hermione squealed as she saw Harry and Ron make their way over to them. She got up and brought him into a typical Hermione Granger tight, crushing hug that Harry always loved. It was different from the overbearing, smothering type of affection provided by Mrs. Weasley. He rested in her arms for a moment, taking a moment to inhale softly and smell the fresh vanilla scent of her bushy brown hair.
A subtle cough brought them out of their embrace and Hermione sat down, blushing.
She chanced a quick glance at Ginny and was nervous to find a disgruntled look on the younger girl's face. Ron himself was looking no better, even glaring at Harry before he looked away to check out the day's breakfast menu.
Harry also didn't miss the antagonising looks given by the two Weasleys. What surprised him was the look on Ginny's face. He frowned to himself as he remembered her behaviour the previous time. The first time she was genuinely happy to be alive and harbored no negative feelings against anyone at all. Yet here she was frowning at Hermione and there definitely was a certain tension in the air as the four silently started their breakfast.
Harry didn't forget the previous evening's events either when Ginny came close to blowing up over his behaviour to Hermione in the Hospital Wing. He laughed bitterly to himself. All of twelve years of age, just had her butt saved, and she was playing the part of a jealous girlfriend perfectly.
Not this time, Harry thought to himself resolutely as he finished the last piece of toast, This time I'm gonna be a friend to Ginny but I'm going to stick it in her head that I only see her as a baby sister, I'm going to be a good friend or at least as well as I can to Ron, but now he's my good friend ; Hermione's going to be my best friend. Unlike last time...
'Harry, what are your plans for the summer?' Hermione asked suddenly.
'Um...I'm going back to my aunt and uncle's?' Harry said slowly, wondering why Hermione was asking him that.
'Oh, um...' Hermione looked quite flustered, and she wasn't helped by the unpleasant look that Ginny was giving her.
'Why, what's up?' Harry asked.
'Um... I was just wondering if you would like to spend the summer at my house?' Hermione asked quickly, pretending that Ron and Ginny didn't exist for that moment.
'What?' Harry asked in shock. That was what he was desperately wishing for, to get away from everyone and get to know the woman he loved in her natural environment, something he had never done in his previous life.
Hermione mistook his words and subsequent silence as disgust and utter rejection of her offer. Ginny's disgusted face cleared into a wide smirk.
Managing to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes, she said softly, 'It was just a suggestion, Harry. I didn't mean anything by it.' Harry wants Ginny, he wants to go to the Burrow again, he doesn't want to be with me at all, he doesn't-
'I would love to stay at your place, Hermione,' Harry said sincerely and urgently, nearly tearing up at the way Hermione's eyes became suspiciously bright at his insensitive first reaction. He felt like hitting himself for his stupidity. He had promised himself that anyone who made Hermione cry would pay through the nose, and yet he had gone and done it himself.
'Really?' Hermione asked with rising hope in her voice, trying her best not to sniff too loudly, especially in the presence of the other two.
'Yeah, I would love to Hermione, but I don't see how I could do that,' Harry started off, but Hermione interrupted him.
'I've already cleared it up with Professor Dumbledore and he said that you'll have to stay at your aunt and uncle's for a week, then if you wanted, you could...' Hermione finished uncertainly.
'Come over to your place,' Harry finished for her, 'that would be great, Hermione!'
'You seemed to have planned this to perfection,' Ginny interrupted them, her voice and expression were pleasant, but yet it was obvious that she was unhappy at the latest turn in their conversation.
'Well, seeing as Ron and I are Harry's best friends, and that Harry stayed at the Burrow last summer, I wanted him to spend this one with me,' Hermione retorted just as pleasantly.
'What about your parents, will they be okay with this?' Harry asked.
'Harry, you're not an escaped convict, I think they'll be okay with me bringing a friend home for the summer,' Hermione said, giving him a soft smile, which Harry returned.
Nothing was said further as the quartet silently finished their breakfast and headed out of the Great Hall.
***
Elsewhere in a posh five bedroom villa in Oxford, two dentists were just waking up, ready to start the day and have their usual morning breakfast of bread, omlettes and juice.
'Ohh, I don't see why we have to wake up so early,' Thomas Granger yawned loudly, trying to coax the warmth that was his wife back into bed.
'Oh, honestly, Tom, you are incorrigible, it's eight in the morning and you're in the mood for that?!' Jane asked increduously.
'I don't remember any rules in the guidebook for the appropriate times to have sex, honey,' Thomas replied groggily, squinting his eyes when his wife pushed the curtains open.
'The guidebook?' Jane asked suspiciously, 'What guidebook?'
'Er - um nothing,' Thomas quickly replied. 'And it's not my fault that my beautiful wife is so sexy that I want to ravage her the whole day. So, you see, it's really your fault that I'm horny at eight in the morning.'
Jane raised her eyebrows suspiciously. 'Sweet talker,' she grumbled.
'Did it work though?' Thomas asked, looking at his wife's naked form greedily.
All Jane did in response was shoot her husband a lecherous smile and yank the curtains shut.
'I knew you would come down to my way of thinking,' Thomas muttered, before they fell on top of the bed, kissing each other deeply and passionately.
'What can I say?' Jane replied, 'You can be very.....persuasive.'
'I can be many other things,' he replied, 'Want to see?'
'Mmmm- I can't-'
PECK! PECK PECK PECK! PECK PECK!
Thomas groaned loudly as his wife rolled off him.
'Bloody birds,' he snarled.
'Hush, Tom, it's probably from our darling Poppet,' Jane replied as she opened the window to let the bird in.
'You know she hates it when you call her that. She liked it till last year,' Thomas said.
'I know, so I use it when she's not around, because she'll always be my little Poppet,' Jane replied fondly, as she watched the bird walk around on the windowsill.
'What does it say? Is she alright?' Thomas asked.
'Well, yes, she says she's woken up, as have everyone else, but that's not what she wrote to us about,' Jane replied.
'What? Why else would she write to us?' Thomas asked, 'She's coming home tomorrow anyway.'
'Um,' Jane started hesitantly, not knowing how her husband would take the news, 'She's asked us if it's alright if she brings a friend over.'
'What?! Of course it's alright! God knows she's never brought a friend over, it's great news that-'
'She wants to bring a boy over, Thomas,' Jane interrupted succinctly.
'She has a boyfriend?! I thought she was in a coma all this time, you said-'
'Thomas, I said a boy friend not a boyfriend, which means it's someone who's her friend and he just happens to be a boy,' Jane interrupted again.
'Same difference,' Thomas grumbled.
'Take it easy, Tom, it's the same boy we've heard about for two years now. Her best friend, the one who saved her from that troll, Harry Potter.'
'That only makes it worse,' Thomas muttered.
'What?!' Jane exclaimed, 'How does being her friend and looking out for her and saving her life make it worse??'
'He'll probably think he's entitled to something from her just because he's helped her out,' Thomas said staunchly, refusing to back off.
'Jesus,' Jane rolled her eyes.
'You don't agree with me?' Thomas asked.
'No,' Jane replied.
'What? Why not? I told you that Hermione-'
'We've heard all about Harry Potter from our daughter, Thomas. Every letter she's sent home has mentioned him in some way or the other and I must say, at least from Hermione's letters, I think I've managed to grasp that Harry's become a fine young man,' Jane said, looking her husband straight in the eye.
'Oh no, not you too,' Thomas groaned, running his hands through his hair exasperatedly.
'Hear me out,' Jane said firmly.
Thomas frowned at her but wordlessly gestured for her to continue.
'Hermione comes back tomorrow evening. You are not to say anything to her about Harry's arrival and you are not to express any of your opinions on her having a boy over to stay for the summer. Is that clear?' Jane asked sternly.
'Not crystal clear,' Thomas replied.
'Give him a chance Tom. I'm sure you will like him. And even if you don't, you'll have to get used to having him around.'
'What do you mean by that?' Thomas asked.
'I mean that there is a healthy chance that our Hermione will fall in love with the man and decide to keep him around forever,' Jane replied frankly.
'No! No... No! My precious thirteen year old baby, married! Don't even think about continuing, I've had enough shocks for a day,' Dan replied, his voice coming muffled as he brought the pillows around his head in shock.
'She's almost fourteen now, Thomas, and she's not a baby anymore, she's a young lady who will soon start to seek out guys that attract her, if she hasn't started so already,' Jane said, watching her husband in amusement.
'Mmm, if you say so, honey...' Thomas said, his pillow encasing his head firmly.
'So, I'm sending my reply now,' Jane said, reaching over for some parchment.
'You're denying her request?' Thomas said hopefully, removing the pillow and looking at his wife.
Jane rolled her eyes and penned down a quick reply and sent the owl off on its way.
'All right, I guess he can come over and stay but I'm pulling up a list of ground rules for Hermione and him,' Thomas said.
'And do you think Hermione will accept any such 'ground rules' that you lay out for her? You know she's as stubborn as I am when she wants to be.'
Thomas watched the bird soar off into the distance as he carefully framed his reply. 'Well, we'll talk about this later, possibly after Hermione comes home. But one thing for sure is, if Harry even steps into her bedroom, I'll do to him what that Voldemort bloke failed to do.'
'Of course you will, honey,' Jane replied sweetly, clearly humouring her husband.
'Now that we're done with that, why don't we get back to... you know...' Thomas said, giving his wife what he obviously thought was a lusty look.
'Sorry, honey, I'm really hungry, I'm gonna go down for some breakfast,' Jane replied, putting on a robe.
She gave him a quick kiss and headed downstairs.
Thomas Granger groaned loudly ; nothing was going right for him today...
***
AN - Less than a week, and I've actually updated! The sun's gonna rise in the west tomorrow...
A poor dig at my own habit of slow updates. :(
Anyway, I know the length of this chapter is much less as compared to the previous chapters, but I just felt this was the proper place to end it. Just for future reference, each chapter in this story will have a minimum length of 3000-3500 words (no matter where I feel I should end it) and a maximum of around 5000-5500 words. Hope that's okay with all of you.
And I'm also going to avoid the stereotype of Dan and Emma Granger. Although I've seen much, much better stories than mine which feature Dan and Emma Granger, I'm not going to do that because I ship Harry/Hermione, not Dan Radcliffe/Emma Watson. (I actually ship myself/Emma Watson... Yup, I'm delusional...)
So I've ended up using a traditional Christian name for Hermione's dad and Hermione's middle name for her mother.
The next chapter will (hopefully!) wind up the second year and mark the beginning of Harry's summer.
Please review!! Thanks to those who have.