Series Title: Keeping in Touch
Characters: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Mrs. Granger, Mr. Granger,
Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Ron Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley,
Ginny Weasley, Albus Dumbledore, Dobby
Pairings: Hermione/Surprise, others (yet to be determined)
Genre: General - Adult
Parental Rating: R - NC17
Classifications: Friendship, Romance, First Times, Love, Comedy, Answer
to "the Digital Weasleys" Challenge, Spoilers up to and including
Order of the Phoenix (OoTP), Post OoTP
Summary: Voldemort still regains his strength and the trio needs a
way to stay in contact with their family somehow. The Family Granger introduces
a new way to keep in touch and this brings changes into the lives of everyone
at Hogwarts!
Keywords: Computers, Post OoTP, Love, Friendship, and Romance
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created
and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury
Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money
is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The
storyline about the introduction of the computer is my own idea so therefore
I hold the copyright of the idea. Author's note for disclaimer: This
complete story is written from the point of view that the original books ere
first published in 1995 instead of 1997. This does not affect the timeline
from the original stories, but this slight change does have affect on "Keeping
in Touch".
Author's note part 1: Italics between apostrophes is thinking (i.e.
'Cheez, did I really ever like this?' she thought). Notes about the whereabouts
will look like this: GRANGER RESIDENCE.
I want to thank my beta-readers Violet Wolf Sara, Jessica and Rachealle for
reading my story, getting out all the mistakes and helping me working out
ideas for the story! I want to thank Louis for Britt-picking my story! And,
last but not least, I want to thank Ali, Shannon, Fionnabair, Disturbedapple,
A'Marie, LadyAire, Alshain and Scherzando for helping me work out some ideas!
The story will be archived at Hogwarts' Tales ()
(Hogwarts) and Fiction Alley () (Schnoogle [Sch])
and Fanfiction.net (Harry Potter). If you'd like to archive this story anywhere
else, please let me know! I won't give you a hard time, but I like to know
first where my stories are placed! You can send me an owl via FA and HT!
I love (constructive) feedback! You can leave feedback at HT, FA(Sch) and
Fanfiction.net and you can send me an owl.
GRANGERS RESIDENCE
'This summer is different than the previous ones. Since Sirius died, nothing's
been the same. Harry distanced himself from us; Ron thinks I am in love with
Victor Krum while really, I love - No, not going there now! It's all really
complicated! And to top it all, we have to go back home during the summer and
no one knows what to expect next year. It's all different now! This is not what
I had expected when I went to Hogwarts for the first time. Why can't it be like
it was before? Will we see things happening in the Muggle world, now that Voldemort
regains his strength? Will we be able to fight him again, and can Harry handle
facing him again? And how can we keep track of things in the Muggle world? We
just have to know if things are happening!'
With this last thought, Hermione drifted off to sleep, unaware that her parents
were concerned about her. After all, they had been through a lot too, from a
distance. All they had heard was a bit of news from the Weasleys and most of
the time the news hadn't been comforting at all. They sat in front of the fire
in the living room, talking about the situation. They knew they couldn't keep
Hermione home, although that was the most attractive alternative. "How
about sending her an Owl every day? Of course we have to ask her to send one
back everyday too, but then we at least know she's alright." Hermione's
mother asked her husband worriedly.
"No, I don't think that'll do. What happens if one of her housemates gets
a hold of the letters? Or one of the Slytherins? Or worse, You-Know-Who himself?
That's really not an option."
"Then what? There's nothing left! We have to be able to do something!"
"You're right. We have to come up with something. We just have to. I have
been thinking about this a lot these last few weeks, but I haven't come up with
a good solution. Or maybe .."
"What? Do you have an idea? Tell me!"
"Well, it might work. Provided that I don't know, it could"
"What is it?" Mrs Granger asked impatiently.
"How about a computer?"
Mrs Granger looked perplexed at her husband. "A computer? They don't have
computers at Hogwarts, do they? I have never heard Hermione mention any! Doesn't
You-Know-Who know about computers? And if he does, won't he be able to track
it down?" Mrs Granger asked worried.
"I know. It's complicated, but it might work. It might work because of
the fact they do not have computers! I mean, in Diagon Alley I haven't seen
any computers either, so I guess they just don't have them. If I have understood
Arthur correctly, the ministry doesn't have computers; they have other devices
to help them. They don't really need computers, and I don't think You-Know-Who
knows about computers. But a computer can help us!" Mr Granger explained.
"But how? It's no use if Hermione has a computer and we don't. Shouldn't
we have one ourselves too? And who can explain to her how things work while
she's there? What can she do when something's broken? What-" Mrs Granger
asked worried.
"We can think of a lot of things that can go wrong, dear, but let's look
on the bright side." Mr Granger interrupted. "When she has a computer
and is connected to the Internet, she can send e-mails to us instead of using
the owls. This is a good way to keep in touch with her and to keep her informed
about everything that's happening here. She's so worried about everything, since
these death eaters have been in Little Whinging. This will help her too."
"You've got a point. But how do we get two computers? It's not like
we have loads of money and if I heard Molly correctly, we will have to reserve
some money for Hermione's sixth year. It's going to be more expensive then the
previous years."
"That's true. But I think we can find a solution for that. A colleague
of mine can get computers for a reasonable price. Maybe we can work something
out. It should be a computer that will not be noticed quickly, shouldn't it?"
Mr Granger asked.
"It's interesting indeed. It's a good option! Can't we give her a laptop?
That would not be noticed quickly, would it?"
"I think it is a good solution. I surely hope this will give us a good
opportunity to keep in touch. It might be far more effective than the owl post.
At least I hope it will be." Mr Granger said a bit uncertain.
"Yes indeed. Can we call your colleague tonight? In that way we do not
need to spend more time tomorrow morning."
Mr Granger rose from his chair and picked up the telephone. "I'll do it
right away." After he had dialled the number, the phone rang twice, before
it was picked up. "Hello, Peter? Listen, I want to ask you something."
He made an arrangement for the next morning. They would meet up in a café
near a computer shop. Peter would accompany them to the shop.
With a small sigh of relief, Mrs Granger stood up from her chair. "Shall
we go to bed? It's already late and if we want to go shopping tomorrow, I think
it's best to get up early in the morning."
"You're right about that." And with that Mr Granger stood up and followed
his wife to the bedroom.
The next morning Hermione woke up, still feeling down. "Oh, these dreams.
It's just too much! Feeling his hands on- No, hold it. Not going there. That's
too much! Think about something else Herm, just think of something else. You
have to get him out of your head! You have thought about him too much these
last few weeks! Let's see, something else.. Oh, right, staying updated
about everything that happens here! I have to find a solution. If I could just-"
"Hermione, are you awake? Breakfast is ready," her mother called from
downstairs.
"Yes mum, I'm coming down!"
Downstairs she saw her parents already dressed, which was highly unusual so
early on a Saturday morning. "What's going on?"
"Well, it's nothing serious, really. You've told us you are worried about
how the rising of You-Know-Who will reflect on our world and you want
to stay updated. Right?" her mother asked.
"Ehh.. yeah, that's true. But."
"Why do we bring it up again? We may have found a solution." Her mother
stated.
"You have? How? What? Where? I have been thinking about it, but - No solution.
So, what did you think of?"
"Computers," said her father.
Hermione looked at her father blankly. "Computers? What do you mean?"
"You don't have computers in the wizarding world, do you?"
"Ehh no, we don't. Why?"
"And You-Know-Who knows nothing about computers?"
"I guess not. I don't know."
"Well then, computers are your solution."
"But how?" she asked, puzzled.
"We want to buy a computer for ourselves and another for you. And of course
we have to make sure we both have an Internet connection."
"You want to give me a computer? Just give me one? You're kidding! This
is so great!" Her face lit with excitement. "Oh, but wait. Hogwarts
has these protection spells. Muggle objects don't work there, neither does electricity.
So I guess an Internet connection won't work either," she said worried.
"Maybe Professor Dumbledore can come up with a solution. I'll contact him
about it. I'm sure he knows a way to work around this. So, when do you want-"
"-to go shopping?" Mrs Granger interrupted. "After we have had
breakfast. What do you think? You're up to a little morning shopping?"
"Yes! Where do we go? And what are we looking for?"
"Eat first. We will talk about the rest later."
To be continued