A/N - ok so this chapter is not as long as the last but it is all my own plot... the characters etc all, of course, belong to Ms Rowling and I would also like to acknowledge that "Back to the Future" was a great source of inspiration for this plot. I know I said in my last that updates would be every three days but I've changed my mind. Also would like to again thank Katia for Beta services.
Chapter 2 - Getting settled
They arrived on the side of a dusty road in the middle of the countryside; low stone walls bordered the road and above them rose hedges partially obscuring the rolling green hills from view. The sun beamed down on them from high in the sky and just up ahead was a homely looking cottage. It was double storied with a thatched roof, rambling roses climbed the walls and in front was a typical cottage garden full of lavender, bluebells and other pretty, fragrant, plants, though Harry did notice though that there was not a Petunia in sight. White net curtains floated in the open windows of the cottage and everything about the place suggested the light homely atmosphere. With a pang Harry realised it should have been the home in which he had grown up.
Harry tore his gaze away from the place that was causing a terrible wave of pain to rise inside of him and looked instead towards the house that sat directly opposite. It was obviously made in the same style but lacked the homely touches that the other house had in such abundance. Its windows gaped like vacant eyes, the gate was sitting off one of its hinges and the garden was a mess of weeds, in short the whole residence showed obvious signs of neglect and abandonment.
The two teens walked over to the empty house and stood in front of it, contemplating the possibilities. Harry had already explained why they should live in such close proximity to his parents and Hermione had agreed with the reasoning, but now faced with the reality of it Harry became consumed with doubts as to the wisdom of this course of action.
`What do you think, Hermione?' asked Harry, trying to maintain his earlier bravado. `Do you think we'll be able to make this our home?'
Hermione looked at him quizzically.
`Yes, I suppose so...'
`It's important of course that our first home as a young married couple, be perfect. I wouldn't want you to be unhappy.' It was the one aspect of the plan that Harry had withheld while briefing Ron and Hermione in Dumbledore's office. If they were going to live in such close proximity to his parents, together and alone, then they would have to pretend that they were a married couple. Anything else would be suspicious.
Hermione nodded in understanding, her eyes going wide with surprise, `Yes, well... of course. Umm... I think it's perfect,' she put on a bright smile, `It needs a bit of work of course, but I couldn't be happier.'
Harry thought he could sense some hesitancy in her voice but otherwise she had accepted his little bombshell with good grace. It was a good thing Ron wasn't with them, thought Harry, or there would probably have been more opposition to the plan.
`Right,' said Harry briskly, now moving to the next part of the plan, `How do you suppose we contact the estate agent?'
Hermione bent to examine the small board, stuck into the ground near the gate, which advertised the property as being for sale. `It looks like we just have to tap the board with our wand and it summons them,' she said at last.
Harry took his wand from the pocket of his robes and strode over to the sign; he purposefully tapped the sign with his wand and then looked around expecting someone to appear.
Nothing happened.
`Should I do it again?' asked Harry frowning at the still empty lane way.
`No,' Hermione was still examining the board, `there's writing appearing here!' Harry bent to look at the board as well, `It say's Mr Ollinender the Estate Agent for this property will be with us shortly.'
`And so I am!' exclaimed a jovial voice from behind them.
The two teens jumped and Hermione nearly fell, but Harry's reflexes saved her from landing in the ditch and he helped her to her feet.
`So sorry to startle you,' said Mr Ollinender, not looking at all contrite, `in these times you can't be too careful. I have to make sure you're genuine buyers and not Dark Wizards or something before I can let you know I'm here.'
Harry took a deep breath and nodded, `Perfectly understandable, we are genuine buyers. Looking at this place in fact if you'd care to show us around it?'
Mr Ollinender nodded enthusiastically, `If I can just get your names please, ever since all these disappearances and such started taking place we've had to step up our security procedures, it's now mandatory before any house showings.'
`Of course,' said Harry smoothly trying to cover his panic, `I'm Har - ' he paused as Hermione dug her elbow into his side, and Harry coughed to cover his false start. Of course he couldn't give his real name; he'd have to thank her later for stopping him from doing something so foolish. `I'm Harvey Porter,' he said making things up on the spot, `and this is my wife Hermi - aah' He broke off feeling foolish and wondering what on earth he could easily change Hermione to.
Thankfully Mr Ollinender didn't seem to notice, `Hermiah, what a beautiful name for a beautiful lady.'
Hermione blushed at the outlandish flattery and gave Harry a funny look, Harry was too relieved at the narrow escape to care that Hermione had now been christened Hermiah for the duration of their time here.
Harry cleared his throat and nodded, `Yes, my wife is very beautiful,' agreed Harry quickly hoping to flatter Hermione out of her annoyance at him.
Hermione only huffed and rolled her eyes.
Mr Ollinender grinned openly at what he saw as the young couple's flirtatious teasing of each other, `Very good, Mr Porter, now if you'll simply touch your wand to the bottom of the parchment there, we'll be able to get started.'
Harry brought forth his wand again and was about to touch the parchment with it when Hermione's hand on his arm stopped him short.
`What properties does the spell have?' she asked her voice suddenly harsh with suspicion.
Mr Ollinender swallowed, suddenly appearing nervous, `Oh well, standard procedure, you know. In these trying times -' he blustered but Hermione cut him off her eyes now blazing with fury.
`Yes, in these trying times we must all be careful. I hope you don't mind if I examine the spell on that parchment before my husband foolishly binds his magic to it, do you?'
The Estate Agent who had shrunk back in the face of Hermione's fury now rose up slightly, looking at her as though he might argue. Harry stepped in now to back her up, `I'm afraid I cannot go against my wife's wishes, Mr Ollinender, either you allow her to examine that spell or we walk away from this property and you loose a valuable commission.'
It was pure bluff, but all they could do was hope that Mr Ollinender wouldn't see that and the commission he would receive from the sale of the house was worth more to him than protecting whatever spell was tied to that parchment. Fear and doubt chased each other across the other man's features and Harry held his breath waiting for his answer, if the spell turned out to be worth more than the commission to this man then they would have to come up with another plan quickly before he left. Mr Ollinender's indecision was clear, Harry heard Hermione whisper something and felt a rush of air as a spell left her wand.
Confusion crossed Mr Ollinender's face for a moment and then cleared, `Excellent,' he said rolling up the parchment and tucking it back into his robes, `now that we have that squared away we can proceed.'
He led the way into the house, with Harry and Hermione bringing up the rear, `Memory charm?' whispered Harry, dying of curiosity to know what she had done.
`NO!' she hissed back in a scandalised tone, `just a mild confundus.'
Harry snorted in amusement, `yes that's so much better,' he whispered back, amused that she thought there was really any difference.
`Well it's certainly better than you just putting your wand to random pieces of parchment, it was bad enough when you tapped that board without letting me examine it properly first.'
Harry was about to reply but their conversation was interrupted by Mr Ollinender who was eager to show them the house and convince them to buy it, he could have no idea that this was merely a formality and he was about to earn the easiest commission of his career.
`Now, I know that the garden appears over-run but appearances can be deceptive. A quick examination of the garden beds will show you that you have there some very valuable and rare magical plants, excellent for potion making and only in need of a little care to get them back to useful state. `
He unlocked the front door then and led them into the front hall of the cottage, ahead of them was a staircase leading to the upper story of the house, to their left was a set of double doors that led to an open room with a bay window, facing the garden, a fireplace sat on the far wall and on the right hand wall was a door leading to another room.
`Now this is the living room, as you can see plenty of room for entertaining or for a growing family to congregate in.' Mr Ollinender smiled at Hermione's blush and led the way into the room, `As you can see, there are solid wood floors throughout which, although they've clearly seen better days, need only a quick spell to return them to their former glory.'
Harry looked down at the dusty wooden boards that creaked under foot and nodded in silent agreement, they would have to get a book on Magical home renovations.
`The fireplace is elegant and well placed, and this little window seat makes an excellent spot from which to enjoy a sunny day.'
Hermione walked over to the window seat and looked out of the bay windows, Harry had a sudden image of her sitting there with Crookshanks curled in her lap while she read in the sunshine. Mr Ollinender seemed oblivious to the musings of the young people and continued extolling the virtues of the property.
`Now through this door we have an informal dinning area, and the kitchen, ` he pushed open the door and led the way through, `The last owners had this room re-fitted so you've got a lovely cast iron wood-fired stove there along with new benches and cupboards that although, again, in want of cleaning and re-painting have seen very little use.' Mr Ollinender gestured grandly around the room as he spoke indicating each point of interest with an expansive wave of his arm, `The door there leads into a sweet little back garden that, though somewhat overgrown, has some beautiful established tree's and shrubs.'
So they toured the entire house in that fashion, the laundry was described as "well equipped" and "sturdy", the formal dinning room was "gracious" and "spacious" (an unconscious rhyme on Mr Ollinender's part that made Hermione giggle) the den was "comfortable" and "cosy" with "the added convenience of it's own fire place". His description of the stairs will not be repeated but had Harry trying to contain his laughter and Hermione covering her blush. The rooms upstairs were "nestled cosily amongst the eaves".
By the end of the tour the two teens could barely control their hysteria but they were, still, no less determined to buy the house which had now been described so fully to them.
`Well, thank you for that excellent and very thorough tour,' said Harry, battling to control his smile, Hermione snorted derisively behind him, `I think,' he glanced at Hermione then, who only nodded in reply, `We would very much like to purchase the house.'
That established they moved on to the contracts and Harry parted with a substantial number of galleons from the collection in his case and then, less than an hour after his arrival, Mr Ollinender left them in a home of their own.
Their next order of business was to furnish the house and several hours were happily employed in finding furniture in Diagon Alley, parting with yet more of their galleons, and obtaining books on Magical renovations. The did not want to become too attached to their life here but, if Harry was correct in his calculations, he was only just starting to grow inside his mother's womb and they would need to stay until the night of his parents murder which was to take place one year and three months after his birth. If they were to be in the past for two years, then it made sense that they should get comfortable.
When they got the beds set up there was an awkward moment as a subject arose that both of them had been thinking about but neither of them had wanted to bring up.
`Hermione,' Harry began scratching the back of his neck in confusion. Hermione glanced at him and frowned, perhaps sensing what he was about to ask her, `I've been thinking about this... we're going to be living here for about the next two years and... If all goes according to plan... we're going to end up being friends with my mum and my dad,' Harry fidgeted trying to explain what he was thinking without offending or upsetting her.
She was facing him now, arms folded across her chest and eyebrows raised, `and... I don't know if you know this but... my dad was supposedly quite a prankster. Anyway, I'm just worried that if we don't... um...'
Finally Hermione took pity on him, `Let me guess, you're worried that if we don't ... share a bed... then your dad will find out and it will look suspicious, but your also worried that if you ask to share a bed with me I'll get the wrong idea... or Ginny will?'
Harry smiled relieved, `something like that, though honestly I think Ginny would understand its Ron I was really worried about.'
Hermione just looked confused, `Why on earth would Ron care?'
Now Harry was the one confused, `Well, because... he and... You... you two... are, you know?' He burst out finally frustrated with her uncharacteristic obtuseness.
Hermione looked stunned and then, she laughed, `You don't really think that, Ron and I are... that there is anything other than friendship between Ron and I... do you?'
`Well, maybe not yet,' muttered Harry defensively, `but I'm not the only one who can see where it's heading.'
Hermione snorted derisively again, `Oh yes and where's that? The insanity ward at St Mungo's? Honestly Harry, Ron and I are more likely to kill each other than we are to become a couple, and I know he feels the same way. We talked about it once when Lavender was being all crazy and jealous.'
`What about the canary's then? What was all that about?'
`I thought you understood that,' she said, clearly exasperated, `everyone knew he was supposed to be going to that Christmas party with me. To be ditched, by someone who is supposed to be my best friend, for Lavender in front of everyone... and he didn't even apologise! He just kept saying that we were only going as friends, as if that makes a difference!' She crossed her arms over her chest, `I still think he got off lightly.'
Harry wasn't entirely sure he believed her but he really didn't want to pursue the topic any longer, `right, well... so you agree with me then, about the sleeping arrangements I mean?'
Hermione took a deep breath, `If you're sure that Ginny would understand?'
`Yeah, I'm sure she would.'
Hermione seemed unconvinced but once the bed was assembled and made they were too tired to debate it any further and fell into bed, and asleep, without another thought on the topic.
The next morning dawned bright and clear, the sun streamed in through the windows without any curtains to block its progress but the two teens were too tired from their 36 hour day to notice and they slept on until midday. When Harry finally woke, with Hermione's bushy hair in his face, he thought that this must be what jet lag felt like. He washed his face and scrubbed his teeth and then wandered down to the kitchen. He set up enough of their newly acquired belongings to make some breakfast and have a place to eat it.
When he was finished cooking he shared the food between two plates, placed a warming charm on Hermione's to keep it warm for when she woke up, and then sat at the newly constructed kitchen table to eat his own breakfast.
A few minutes later Hermione descended the stairs, her hair brushed back into a loose bun and her face freshly washed.
`Morning,' greeted Harry, quickly swallowing his mouthful of food, `I didn't realise you were awake or I'd've come and got you, your breakfast is on the bench.'
`Ooh thanks, Harry,' she went over to the plate on the counter and inhaled deeply, `this looks great! Where did you learn to cook?'
Harry shrugged, `the Dursleys,' he would've thought that'd be obvious.
`Oh, I always thought you said they didn't like you?' said Hermione looking confused.
Harry swallowed another mouthful before responding, `they didn't, and I learnt to cook to avoid being punished when I burnt their breakfast.' Hermione looked aghast so Harry hastened to add, `it's not so bad though, at least I can make an omelette for breakfast without setting fire to the place.'
Hermione looked like she wanted to disagree but she didn't say anything, just picked up her plate and brought it over to the table where she sat at the spare chair and began to eat. After a few minutes of companionable silence, while they ate their breakfast, Hermione spoke again.
`So what's the first order of business then? Do Dumbledore's notes have any plan outlined?'
Harry swallowed his mouthful and shook his head, `Not particularly, I think what we really need to do is get the lay of the land first. We've got plenty of time so there isn't a need to rush, plus I've been thinking about it and we can't get rid of Voldemort as easily as I first thought anyway.'
Hermione frowned, `Why not?'
`Well, I think we have to leave the ring for Dumbledore to destroy. If Dumbledore didn't destroy the ring then he wouldn't have been too weak to travel into the past and if he hadn't been too weak to travel into the past we wouldn't be here in his place.'
Hermione nodded as though she understood, `so you think that if we destroy the ring, we'll create a paradox?'
Harry nodded, `Yeah, I was going to ask you as well,' he paused and took a deep breath, `do you think we should destroy the diary? If we don't it'll still be destroyed by the time we return to the future, so Voldemort will still be mortal there, and we'll spare Ginny a load of grief and nightmares but it'll mean that I won't have freed Dobby and who knows what else we might accidently muck up.'
Hermione looked thoughtful, `I suppose we probably should leave that one alone too, so what does that leave us with then?'
`Well there's still the locket, which Dumbledore thinks is in a cave by the beach where Tom Riddle used to go as a kid, and Hufflepuff's cup, which Dumbledore seems fairly certain is a Horcrux but is unsure where it is. The next one, Dumbledore thinks, is Ravenclaw's Diadem. He doesn't have a lot to support the theory except that some of the history of the Diadem that seems to coincide with some travel that Tom did, or, is going to do.'
Hermione looked terrified but determined, `is that all of them?' she asked.
`No there's one more, Dumbledore wasn't sure what it was but from reading his notes and theories I think he was pretty sure that Voldemort made Nagini into a Horcrux but I don't think he meets the snake til after Halloween next year. If it's not the Snake then I've got a pretty good idea what else it could be.'
`Well, what is it?' asked Hermione her hands over her mouth.
`I think it's me.'
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