Harry's Bond Part 3
Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling and various publishers. I make no claim to ownership.
A/N: Thanks to my betas Vettesr and Keronshara, and those kind enough to review.
Chapter Three: The Vacation from Hell
The next day, Harry and Hermione joined the Grangers for breakfast, outfitted in hiking gear.
There was a day trip to a nearby mountain that promised some good trails; hiring a car, Dan drove north to Voreppe and with a little difficulty, found a nice easy trail. Parking the car at the end of the trail, they checked their footwear and started out. Not used to hiking, Harry hung back a bit, working the kinks out of his legs. When he finally caught his stride, the rest were several hundred meters ahead.
Hermione turned around to see where her husband was and caught sight of him, far back at a bend in the trail. She waved her parents and sister to continue, telling them they would catch up. Jogging back to Harry, she could see him smiling at the quick pace she'd set.
I'm not used to hiking, Hermione, the Dursleys thought that exercise was a waste of time.
Yeah, I can see that by the size of Dudley. Your uncle was not a prime specimen either.
Both laughing, they hurried to catch up to the Grangers, who by this time were out of sight. The climb steepened and the trail twisted and wound back and forth over the mountain. The trees hid their ascent, with few open spots. Birds twittered in the trees and an occasional rustle hinted at small animals scurrying to hide.
Catching a glimpse of the Grangers in one of the open spots, they noted that they had hardly made up any ground.
"Whew, your parents are in much better shape than I thought," Harry puffed. Hermione only laughed. "We've been hiking every summer, Harry, and mum and dad regularly work out in a local gym.
Walking a bit faster, they finally caught up to the fast paced Grangers. At that point, they had nearly reached the top of the trail and had a panoramic view of the valley. The air was crystal clear that day and the view was quite spectacular. They could see small town and villages off in the distance.
Resting for a bit, they finally decided to head back down. Harry was in the lead with Hermione a step behind. Emily and her mum and dad hung back a bit, enjoying the mountain air.
As they worked their way lower, Hermione began to feel a bit uneasy. Harry quickly picked up on his wife's feelings. Harry, something doesn't feel ri…
That was as far as she got as a spurt of blood poured from Harry's shoulder, followed by the loud crack of a gunshot.
"HARRY!" she screamed, pulling him down.
I'll be okay love, someone shot me. Keep everyone down.
A golden glow surrounded them as the Grangers rushed up. "Keep down and out of sight!" Hermione shouted to them. "Someone is shooting at us."
The Grangers ducked behind a large outcropping of rock as another bullet whined overhead.
The next shot bounced harmlessly off their shield, but provided Harry and Hermione a rough idea where the shooter was. When the next shot came, they were prepared and pushed their magic at it, forcing the bullet to retrace the path it came. There was a short scream several dozen meters away and the thud of a body falling a considerable distance along with a small rock fall.
Poking her head up, Hermione spotted a man scrambling away. She pulled her wand quickly and sent a cutting curse after the man. A scream told her that she had connected. Meanwhile, Harry was bleeding and she could feel the pain through the bond. Fortunately, the wound was clean and did no damage to bone or muscle. Looking through her backpack, she found the emergency kit and bandaged his shoulder.
The Grangers slowly came out of hiding, but Hermione told them to stay put, as there may be more lying in wait. After a half hour, they cautiously emerged again and helped Harry to his feet. The pain had lessened and except for the loss of blood, Harry said he was all right.
Jean and Dan insisted on examining the wound, prodding to see if the bullet had exited properly, then cleaning and re-bandaging the wound.
They carefully made there way to the spot where the assassins had hidden. Looking over the embankment, they saw a body on the rocks below. It looked like the man's face had been partially blown away. A few dozen paces away, lay another man, neatly cut in half at the waist, lying in a pool of blood. There was a look of utter horror frozen on his face as he died.
"Do you recognize them?" Dan asked.
"No," Harry and Hermione said together. "These are muggles, probably hired assassins. I wonder who hired them?" Hermione queried.
"Probably whoever tried to kill Hermione at the wedding," Harry answered. "But why?"
"We'll have to notify the authorities," Jean stated. "Let's get back to the car."
Emily was shaking violently from the encounter, so Dan hugged her and soothed her until she calmed down enough to continue. He continued to hold her hand, making sure she was all right.
When they reached the car, they groaned; all the tires had been punctured.
"We'll have to walk, I'm afraid. Harry needs medical attention. You three go on ahead and call for help. I'll stay with Harry. Be careful," Hermione cautioned. "Emily, keep your wand at the ready."
An hour later, the French authorities arrived along with an ambulance. The Grangers had given a statement and rode back in the ambulance with Harry and Hermione. Harry had already started to heal, although, with the loss of blood, he was a bit woozy. It took a pint of blood to replenish what he'd lost.
Properly bandaged and his arm in a sling, they held Harry for observation over night in the hospital in Grenoble.
…….
"Well the hike up was nice," Harry joked the next day, after being released.
The police had interviewed them, telling them that the two bodies were notorious hired assassins, wanted throughout Europe. They wanted to know how both were killed, especially the one cut in half. Harry and Hermione shrugged, telling them they had no idea, they were too busy trying to avoid being killed. Fortunately, a wizard from the local French Ministry of Magic had heard of the peculiar incident and intervened, modifying the officer's memories. The wizard then interviewed them, asking different questions.
"Good morning. Harry Potter, is it? I've heard quite a bit about you. My name is Jacques Lemont. Now Mr. Potter, if I may have a word with you?
Harry nodded.
"We don't think they were wizards, since you were shot with a muggle weapon."
"That sounds about right," Harry replied.
"They must have followed you in a car," Jacques continued.
"Did you see the car when you went back?"
Hermione answered. "Um… no. That means there must have been at least one more that got away!"
"That's what we figured, so, whoever is after you, now probably knows that they failed and will likely try again."
The Grangers shuddered at this. They couldn't stay here.
…….
After returning to the hotel, they all met in Harry & Hermione's room. Dan expressed his uneasiness.
"Harry, we can't stay here, it isn't safe! Mr. Lemont admitted they might not be able to protect us. Now that we know at least one man escaped, they'll try again. They must know where we are."
"I agree," Jean replied, supporting her husband. "We should go, before they can re-organize." Dan can move up our reservations in Nice and we could check out and leave today."
Harry thought about it for a bit. What do you think love? Nice or home?
Nice, I think. You've never had a decent vacation, aside from last year and I'd love to see the French Riviera. We can take some precautions, like shifting out of the hotel to a secluded place and hiring another car to drive to a train station. Then simply blend in to the crowd and take the train to Nice.
Sounds like a workable plan, lets ask your parents.
After Hermione explained their plan, they hit a bit of a snag. Dan and Emma agreed but noticed the snag. There were three Grangers to shift and they figured they could only take one each when they shifted. It was finally decided to have Harry shift Dan and Emily separately.
Dan arranged with the car hire place for a car that they would drive from Grenoble to Nice. The distance was about four hours away. He checked that the car he had hired for Grenoble was returned by the authorities and requested a comfortable car for five people.
After checking out of their hotel, Harry found a secluded spot and shifted Dan to an alley near the car hire.
"Harry, I didn't even notice the travel. This is the way to go. Too bad we can't do this as far as Nice."
"I'm not sure I couldn't, but I need to know where I'm going before I shift. I've never been to Nice."
Hermione and Jean arrived shortly after and Harry went back for Emily.
As Harry prepared to shift with Emily, he noticed a pair of suspicious men, methodically searching the lobby. Grabbing Emily, he quickly shifted to the car hire alley before he was spotted.
"That was close, Emily. If they had seen us, they might have attacked. I'm not sure if they were wizards or not. The sooner we leave, the better I'll feel."
Emily squeaked at the close call. "Harry, will we be safe in Nice?"
Joining Hermione and her parents, Harry filled them in on what he had seen. This time Jean filled out the hire agreement to try to throw off anyone that might search for them. When at last they were on the highway, they started to relax.
The trip to Nice took them on some lesser traveled roads but they made good time until south of Gap, France. They cut over to Remollan, thence to Borgo San Dalmazzo on the Italian side, before heading south to Monaco and Nice. This took more than the estimated four hours, but they had magnificent scenery on the way. The Italian border presented no problems and would draw any potential followers in the wrong direction.
Arriving in Nice, they checked in at the Hotel Beau Rivage, and requested a room overlooking the Mediterranean. Exhausted after the long trip, they ate at the hotel restaurant and retired for the night.
As soon as Harry and Hermione settled in bed, Hermione scooted close to her husband, spooning him. She had missed the close contact they usually enjoyed at night. The excitement of the day had drained their energy and although they wanted a bit of `exercise', they soon fell asleep.
…….
Lucius was in a towering rage. The bumbling muggle assassins he had been assured would carry out the special job he had in mind, nevertheless failed spectacularly. Two killed and two others badly frightened. He'd had to kill them before they were captured by the muggle authorities and questioned.
The two wizards he had hired, fared no better. After checking the hotel in Grenoble and failing to trap the Potter's, they had used the Imperio curse on the desk clerk, only to discover that they had checked out earlier. Checking the obvious transportation methods; i.e., the train stations and finally, the for hire auto establishments, they managed to miss them altogether. The wizards assumed wrongly that Harry and Hermione would be traveling under their own names, not knowing that Jean had made the reservations.
Lucius had one final idea to get to the couple he would follow through himself.
…….
Hermione was having a pleasant dream. Harry and her were in a casino at Monaco, (they had stopped there for a quick look) and were winning at the tables. The money kept piling up and it seemed they couldn't lose. Neither had gambled before, but the dream took no note of that. Giddy with their success, they bet larger and larger amounts. It seemed the casino owners took notice and were about to evict them when she awoke.
Harry had turned over during the night and Hermione felt his erection poking her in the belly. Smiling, she decided to take advantage of Harry's `morning wood'.
Soon, Harry was fully awake and enjoying the pleasures his wife had initiated. Moaning, Hermione felt Harry enter her…
Later, after a shower and breakfast in their room, Hermione checked to see if the rest of her family was awake. Dan answered the phone on the first ring, sounding sleepy. "'Lo?"
"Dad, are you guys up? We've already eaten and it looks like a gorgeous day. Harry and I are thinking of walking down to the hotel's private beach. You can join us there when you're ready."
A grunt and a muffled acknowledgement greeted her.
The sun was already hot in the cloudless sky, as Harry and Hermione settled on a pair of beach chairs. Since it was a private beach, Hermione decided to go topless. Harry kept looking at his wife askance, hoping that nobody would bother them. Hermione made sure they had sunscreen on and a book to read. Hermione had a trashy novel that she was totally absorbed in. Harry was reading an action novel. They'd picked the books up in the hotel and decided to just relax and unwind after the hectic pace of the last two days.
Harry and Hermione swam and experienced the freedom of breathing underwater. This time, the green glow was much stronger and they didn't have to hold hands. The water was warm and they decided to be adventurous. Swimming out a fair distance, they dived deep, exploring the seabed. Canyons and aquatic life surrounded them. Pulling Harry close, Hermione wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him hard, delving her tongue into his mouth, flicking it against his. As their bodies heated from the kiss, Hermione's hand reached down and freed his cock. Harry was already almost painfully hard as his hands pulled her bikini down. She guided him into her and they slowly made love. As the passion increased, their hips flashed faster and faster until Hermione climaxed, with Harry peaking a few seconds later. Twice more they brought each other to completion under water until finally they swam back to shore, huge grins on their faces.
Dan and Jean had seen them dive beneath the waves and followed the green glow as the pair swam. It appeared to Dan that the glow abruptly intensified several times, but thought that it was a trick of the light. Jean was the first to figure it out. "I think they are having sex underwater, Dan!"
Dan was sure of it when the teens emerged from the water minutes later with goofy grins on their faces. He decided to tease them a bit.
"Was the water warm enough for it? Or did you warm up the water?"
Catching on, they blushed scarlet, but the grins never left their faces.
…….
The days passed in idyllic peace and Harry was enjoying the freedom that he had never had at the Dursley's. Swimming and shopping with a bit of sightseeing filled their days. The nights were fun, as they did find a casino and gambled a bit. Unfortunately, unlike Hermione's dream, they usually lost. Not much, since Harry was cautious and played conservatively. It was fun and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Dan and Jean did much better at the tables, and came away with quite a bit, but knew when to quit. Emily just watched, occasionally putting a few coins in the slot machines.
…….
Harry's birthday was fast approaching, and Hermione was at a loss as to what to get him. Telling Harry she wanted to do a bit of shopping with her mum, the three girls left Harry and Dan at a casino for a few hours.
Finding the two laughing at the small fortune Dan had won, they dragged them back to the hotel. Hermione had a hard time hiding from Harry what she had found for his birthday.
…….
After a long search, Lucius had finally tracked the Potter's down. Now he could plan his revenge properly.
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