Chapter 2: Freedom Of Sorts

The first thing that Harry noticed when he woke up was the lack of pain. The second thing was that he was no longer in his room at Privet Drive. Concentrating further, he realized that he was not at Hogwarts either. In fact he had no idea where he was at but that it felt safe. Something that in his experience he had had very little of.

No sooner had he tried to sit up in bed, the door open to reveal a smiling Dobby. He was carrying a tray with some kind of soup. An equally smiling Hermione followed behind. The smell of the soup made Harry realize how long it had been since he had last eaten. His stomach rumbled in response.

"Dobby is glad to sees Harry Potter finally awake."

Harry tried to answer the elf but found that he couldn't.

"You strained your vocal cords. Give it a couple of days with no talking and you should be fine. The potions I gave you are sort of suspension types. They take longer to work but help you more in the long run. I also had to give you several nutrient potions. I had no idea how long it has been since you last ate and the potions work better with some sort of nutrients in your stomach." answered Hermione to his unspoken question.

Harry nodded his understanding as Dobby placed the tray on his lap. He had to remind himself to eat slowly or the broth would just come right back up.

Seeing that Harry was slowly eating, Hermione asked Dobby, "Dobby, why don't you see if you can find something for Harry to wear. I don't think that he wants to run around naked, do you?"

"Nos, Miss Hermy! Dobby wills gets something fors Harry Potter right away. And, yous, Harry Potter, eats every drop!"

Harry grinned at the elf and nodded. Then Dobby disappeared.

"He has been very worried about you. So have I for that matter."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her.

"You were hurt very badly, Harry. What those 'things' did to you was nothing short of death. And what Dumbledore did to you was way over the top." Seeing his questioning look, she sat down in the chair that she had placed by the bed and explained everything. How Hedwig had come for her, finding him hurt, what he had said, and how she had healed him with only Dobby to help her. Then she began to blush and refused to look at him. He grabbed her hand before she could move and gave her another questioning look.

"I sort of did a couple of things." she said in a small voice.

Both of Harry's eyebrows shot up. He had never heard her like this before. It was rare that Hermione showed this side of herself. The little girl who was afraid of getting into trouble. He found himself wanting to protect her from whatever she had done. His people saving thing. Something that he was going to have to get under control.

"I sort of bonded Dobby to both of us." Harry's eyes widened with surprise before he started shaking with silent laughter.

"It's not funny!" she said. That only made him shake harder.

"Yes, well Dobby's happy and I think you are too." she huffed.

Harry finally settled down and began to eat again. He waved his hand for her to continue. He was surprised to see her fidgeting in her seat.

"I told a small lie."

Harry looked at her like she had two heads or something. Hermione rarely lied, and only if there was just cause in doing so, like saving someone. It was one of the things that he loved about her.

Hermione sighed. "The Goblins sent you a missive about Sirius' will. I sent a message back saying that you were indisposed due to an illness. They understood that, but in order for me to act on your behalf I had to claim that I was your fiancée. Once that was said, the Goblins came here with the Potter family betrothal contract. It was signed by both your parents and waiting for my parents to sign. They were very helpful in explaining the entire contract and why they had it. I couldn't back out. I told my parents that, yes, you had asked me, and that I had said yes. My father signed it so fast I had to wonder if he was jinxed or not. I found out later that both my parents wondered if I would even notice a boy in that way. I guess they think that I only live for my books.

Anyway, once the contract was signed and witnessed by your solicitors, a Mr. Eaton and a Mr. Rhoades, the Goblins came up here and performed the Betrothal Ritual. What was weird was that our magic accepted it. There is no reversal. I'm so sorry. I know that I have probably ruined your life!" She started to cry. Harry moved the tray out of his way before pulling her over on to the bed. There he held her until she fell asleep. He followed quickly behind her.

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Albus Dumbledore silently unlocked the back door to number four Privet Drive and let himself into the house. As prearranged, the Dursleys were gone on a day trip, leaving the boy home alone. He hoped that the boy had learned his lesson of 'think before you leap'. If the beatings from his family didn't work then he would have to let Severus do so. He knew that the Potions Master would relish the opportunity. He checked the many pockets of his orange colored robes with small black bats flying around on them, for the many potions that the boy would need to heal. The last beating had been quite violent.

Dumbledore climbed the stairs going over what he would say to the boy. 'You let not only yourself but your friends get hurt. You alone are to blame for their injuries and the death of Sirius. I hope that you will do as you are told next time.' It had just the right amount of guilt to make the boy obey his every command.

Thinking of Black's death, Dumbledore couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. He had been trying to think of a way to get rid of the man, but what had happened in the Ministry was better than he could have hoped for. It was a good thing that he had made Black make out a will a week before his 'death'. Now all he had to do was keep the boy from finding out about it.

The locks were still in place when Dumbledore reached the smallest bedroom door. A quick Alohamora undid the locks and he turned the knob to open the door. Inside the signs of abuse were everywhere. But the one piece of evidence was not. The boy was gone. Fury like no other entered his heart. He searched the rubbish in the room, hoping against hope that the boy had simply fallen off the bed. It was on the other side of the bed that he saw the floor boards pulled up. A space big enough to hide a wand and a cloak was revealed.

Finally losing his temper, the elderly Headmaster left the house to begin his search for the boy. From inside his pocket he pulled out a silver box with a red button on it. Pressing it, he felt satisfaction that, at least one part of his plan was going to work.

Thousands of miles away a muggle plane exploded midair over the Atlantic Ocean. All on board were instantly killed, including two English dentists with the last name of Granger.

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When Harry woke up, he realized that he was alone. Slowly he sat up and swung his legs over to the edge of the bed. He sat there for a moment before Dobby popped into the room.

"Dobby knows Master Harry is awake. Dobby has fresh clothes fors Master Harry. Miss Hermy's bath is over theres. Does Master Harry needs Dobby fors anything else?"

Harry shook his head no. He still couldn't talk but his throat felt much better. He stood up slowly and made his way over to Hermione's bath, never knowing that the faithful little elf followed behind him just in case he fell.

An hour later Harry nearly felt human again. He made his way downstairs and found Hermione eating a bowl of cereal while reading a book. He must have made some noise because she looked up and smiled at him.

"Good Morning sleepy head."

Harry grinned at her.

"Help yourself to some breakfast."

Harry grabbed a bowl and sat down. After filling his bowl and taking a bite he looked around for Hermione's parents.

Realizing what Harry was doing, Hermione answered "My parents had to take a trip to New York. They left rather early this morning and won't back for a couple of days. It was something that they couldn't get out of."

Harry nodded and began to eat again. Hermione watched him. She noted how careful he was being, as he probably didn't want it to come right back up. "You got an owl from Gringotts this morning."

Harry raised his eyebrows at her. "They want you to come by this morning if possible. I went ahead and owled back that we would be there around ten. Is that alright?"

Harry nodded again. He whispered "Thank you."

"Your welcome. You should probably not talk too much today. Your voice will probably be better tomorrow."

Harry nodded again and finished his breakfast. Silently she handed him his wand and other treasures. Gratitude filled his eyes as he held the wand reverently. He raised his eyes to Hermione.

"Hedwig showed me your hiding place. She's one smart owl." Said owl hooted in response. Harry let her finish his cereal. He was going to make sure that she had her favorite treats from now on.

One hour later both Harry and Hermione were seated in the Leader of the Goblin Nation's office for a private reading of Sirius' will. One that was made on the day he 'died'. Canceling out the one that Dumbledore had forced him to make. He also told Harry in a letter that Dumbledore had forced him to sign a betrothal contract, but he didn't know with whom. Harry had to push aside his anger at the manipulative Headmaster and his guilt over his godfather's death. Other things needed to be done first. Like signing the emancipation papers that Sirius had drawn up. Then going over what everyone was to receive from the Black estate. He made several changes as Sirius stipulated that he had the right to do. Those changes would cause several blood pressures to rise during the reading.

It was when they were going to open the Potter will that a goblin came in to interupted the meeting. The leader, Ragnok, actually paled at whatever news the other goblin told him.

"I apologize, Lord Potter-Black, but my aide has just informed me of some terrible news that concerns both you and Ms. Granger."

"What would that be?" asked Hermione

Never had Harry seen a goblin look at a human as Ragnok did. Whatever the news was it was unsettling to see a goblin with a look of sympathy.

"I have just been informed of a tragedy concerning you, my dear." Hermione turned very pale. "Your parents were killed when the muggle plane that they were on exploded over the ocean."

"No.' she whispered as Harry reached over to gather her in his arms.

"I am sorry, my dear. But that is not all. It seems that Headmaster Dumbledore knows and i as of right now is filling out the necessary forms to make him your guardian. This must not happen."

Hermione had silent tears running down her cheeks but she said, "Go on."

"Since you are betrothed to Lord Potter-Black and your parents did sign the contract, you can stop Dumbledore by simply getting married right now. Once he submits the forms there will be no stopping him."

Hermione looked at Harry who nodded. "Who can we get to marry us?"

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Dumbledore finished filling out the forms making Hermione Granger his ward. He handed the forms to the clerk and left not realizing that his wishes were rejected.