Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.

A Harry/Hermione story.

Rating is M

Thanks to my beta Herman Tumbleweed for tweaking the story where it needed it.

Chapter 2: The Grangers

Diagon Alley: July 31st 1991

After the bank, they entered Madam Malkins for their school robes. Professor McGonagall and the Grangers watched as first Harry and then Hermione were fitted.

"Boy, these robes sure do hide a lot," Harry remarked. Not exactly in style in the muggle world are they?"

"They're meant for protection and warmth, Mr. Potter," the professor remarked. "They also conform to Ministry guidelines for proper dress. You may be surprised how little we pay attention to the muggle world."

Harry sniggered and Hemione smiled. She thought they also had the advantage of hiding a young ladies figure and would be less distracting in school. Of course she was too young to think of things like that, but she had noticed her school's older girls were ogled frequently. That would be plain embarrassing, she thought.

After Madam Malkin had finished with them, they made their way to a luggage shop, where they both purchased a trunk for their school things. The salesman tried to sell them a magical trunk, but they both decided it wasn't necessary. The shopkeeper did advise them to get locking charms to prevent theft, and they agreed.

Next, the apothecary where they purchased the recommended items: potion ingredients, a nice brass scale for weighing precise amounts, a sharp cutting knife, as well as a pair of dragon hide gloves and a pewter cauldron.

Next stop was Flourish and Blotts for their books. Besides the standard books on the book list, Hermione bought a thick tome "Hogwarts, a History" along with "Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts", "Modern Magical History" and "Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century". Harry wondered if he should pick up any extra books and finally settled on a rather advanced defense book "Protecting Yourself From Dark Spells and Curses". Harry wasn't quite sure why he picked up this book, but felt it could come in handy in case he ever was attacked. Thumbing through the book, he shuddered at some of the curses shown there.

Their next to last stop was at Magical Menagerie for a familiar or pet. Harry was unsure about this, as he'd never owned an animal before. Oh, he'd spoken to quite a few, and some even spoke back, but he'd learned not to tell anyone about that. Aunt Petunia had shrieked when he brought a garden snake into the house and was talking to it. Of course, Aunt Petunia didn't know he was talking, all she heard was hissing. He quickly returned the snake to the garden when Vernon came storming downstairs. He hadn't been allowed out of his cupboard for a week.

A beautiful snowy owl caught his eye and he went over to look. "Hello," he said softly. "You're really beautiful. Would you like to come home with me?"

The owl hooted and bobbed her head, staring straight at him.

That settled it. He wanted that owl. The storeowner was a bit curious, since the owl seemed to ignore other people and actually nipped some potential customers. Shrugging his shoulders, he sold Harry the owl. "She seems to like you, young sir."

Harry had kept his scar hidden at McGonagall's suggestion, to avoid unwanted notice, unfortunately that would soon change.

Hermione settled on a part Kneezle cat. It had a very squashed face, a bottlebrush furry tail and apparently an attitude. The shop owner was quite pleased to sell him finally. He sat purring as Hermione stroked him while waiting for Harry.

Their final stop was for a wand. Entering a small dark shop called Ollivander's, Minerva greeted the owner, a slightly creepy old gentleman with moon like eyes.

"Good afternoon Minerva. Ah, Mr. Potter, I wondered when you would be stopping by. Here to buy your first wand I see. And Miss Granger; my, my, I haven't seen a Granger in here for, lets see, over fifty years."

Both Dan and Jane gasped at this. "Surely you must be mistaken," Dan replied. "There are no magical people in my family as far as I know."

"Oh, let me think now, there was a Perry Granger that bought a wand here fifty years ago."

"Uncle Perry was a wizard?" Hermione asked.

"Dan, wasn't he just a bit odd?" Jane asked.

"Now that I think about it, nobody wanted to talk much about him. He got on very well with Hermione, but the rest of the family just tried to ignore him. He died last year."

"He was funny Dad. Now that I think about it, he did do odd things that I couldn't explain. He even said that I'd be able to… He knew I was a witch!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"My relatives never told me either," Harry supplied. "Maybe he was afraid what happened to him would happen to you."

Hermione was thoughtful for a moment, before reluctantly agreeing.

Harry took a long time selecting his wand. "The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter," the old man told him. He eventually found the right wand, a holly 11", supple, with a single phoenix tail feather core. A brilliant burst of gold and red stars left the wand, dancing around the shop when he gave it a wave.

"Curious, that wand is a brother to the wand that gave you that scar, Mr. Potter," Mr. Ollivander said.

"And who owned that wand," Harry asked, fearful that he would learn the name of the wizard that killed his parents.

Minerva interrupted. "Mr. Potter, an evil wizard named Voldemort gave you that scar and killed your parents." She shuddered at the mention of his name. Most people are afraid to say his name, preferring to say 'He Who Must Not Be Named' instead. His followers called themselves 'Death Eaters' and referred to Voldemort as The Dark Lord. He was very powerful, but thank goodness he's gone."

"What happened to him," Harry wondered.

"Why, you, Mr. Potter. You defeated him when he cast the killing curse on you," Ollivander replied.

"Excuse me? How is that possible?"

"Nobody knows, Mr. Potter. The curse somehow rebounded and killed him instead. You're the only one to have survived the killing curse," Ollivander continued.

Hermione and her parents could only gape in open amazement and horror.

Once Harry had paid for his wand, it was Hermione's turn. After several tries, Hermione's wand turned out to be vine wood, with a dragon heartstring core. She waved it and a fountain of golden sparks shot out of the wand. "A fine wand and it matches you perfectly," Ollivander proclaimed.

Exiting the shop with their new wands, Harry and Hermione at last felt like a wizard and a witch. Jane and Dan beamed at them proudly. McGonagall led them over to Florean Fortescue's ice-cream parlor for a treat. McGonagall let slip that it was Harry's birthday today, and the Grangers wished him a happy birthday.

The Grangers insisted on treating Harry and Minerva and they sat down to a delicious sundae each with a sampling of a dozen of the shop's flavours.

Harry and Hermione continued to talk quietly amongst themselves. Both seemed quite comfortable with the other and decided they'd like to be friends. Harry had never had a friend before and Hermione confided she didn't have any either.

"What are you going to call your owl, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I read a book once and came across a name that I liked. I'll call her Hedwig. What about your cat?"

"Hedwig. That's a pretty name. I think I'll call mine Crookshanks."

"Crookshanks? That's an unusual name," replied Harry.

"Well he is a bit bow-legged and the name just seems to fit. What do you think Crookshanks?" Hermione asked the part Kneezle.

A loud purr answered her, as Crookshanks settled in her arms. Leaving Diagon Alley at last, they drove back to the Granger's home. Harry didn't want the day to end, but at last he and McGonagall bid goodbye, with a promise from Hermione's parents that they would visit him soon.

…………

Dursley residence: Aug 1st

After the excellent day he had yesterday, Harry wanted more. His relatives now treated Harry with a bit more respect, although Uncle Vernon avoided him as much as possible. Dudley was just plain scared and would run as soon as Harry entered the room.

Harry snickered at this. It was as close to payback time as he could imagine. Vernon had also given Harry Dudley's spare bedroom. It was quite small and filled with Dudley's cast off junk, but it was bigger than his old cupboard. Dudley had whined about the loss of his spare room, but Vernon had been firm. He didn't want that old witch coming back any time soon.

Harry, on the other hand, couldn't wait to start school. He also hoped that Hermione would visit soon.

Hogwarts, Headmaster's office:

"Really, Minerva," Albus Dumbledore complained, "did you really have to interfere?"

"Albus! You should have seen the conditions that Mr. Potter lived in. I warned you when you placed him there that they were the worst sort of muggles. Harry would not have been properly introduced to the magical world if I hadn't seen to it."

"Hagrid was supposed to take care of that," Albus returned.

"Oh, Hagrid would have fit right in with the muggles!" she snorted. "He's even less equipped to deal with muggles than most wizards. And what would people say when they saw a half giant walking about?"

"Nevertheless, Hagrid would not have taken Harry to see Miss Granger. That set a bad example. He should have been introduced to the Weasley family instead. At least they're Purebloods."

"Albus!" Surely you aren't that bigoted!"

"My dear, all I'm trying to say, is that the Weasley's are more likely to show Harry what a wizarding family is like."

"Poppycock! Albus, Miss Granger is one of the smartest witches I've seen for her age. As you know, we keep a close monitor on all magical children before they attend Hogwarts and her school grades are tops in all subjects."

"But she's a Muggleborn, Minerva. She knows nothing about our world. There are those that will try to bully her for being who she is. Smart doesn't mean a thing to some Purebloods, only bloodlines."

"And you seem to agree, Albus. What about young Mr. Potter? He's a half blood, his mother was Muggleborn."

"Yes, well, Harry's a special case. His destiny lies with the Purebloods."

Minerva gasped at this side of the headmaster. "So you've shown your true colours then. You'll find that Purebloods are in the minority in the wizarding world now. Halfbloods are more numerous and Muggleborns are becoming more common. You'd best not dismiss them as casually as you seem to be doing. I predict Miss Granger will be an excellent student and Mr. Potter seems to agree. In fact they seem to have hit it off quite well."

Albus pondered this for a brief moment before dismissing his deputy. Privately, he thought he'd keep a close eye on Miss Granger to make sure she didn't have too great an influence on Mr. Potter. After all, his destiny was already set. He'd have to have a talk with Molly Weasley.

…………

Granger residence, Aug. 10th:

"Hermione, are you ready yet?" her mother called.

"Yes Mum, I'll be down in a minute."

She bounded down the stairs, skipping the last three steps.

"Did you telephone Harry to let him know we're visiting today?"

"Of course, dear. His Aunt answered and seemed a bit hostile until I mentioned we were dentists and fully capable of caring for Harry. I asked if he could stay with us for the rest of the month until school starts and she seemed only too glad to get rid of him. Odd!"

"Harry told me a little bit about his home life and it didn't sound too good," Hermione replied. "I'm so excited to have him stay with us. We got along great; he's my first real friend."

Jane was sad for a moment, remembering how hard it was for her daughter to make friends. Many were the times she would come home from school with tears in her eyes from some insult her classmates had taunted her with. Her instant friendship with Harry Potter was a good change in her life. He seemed intelligent and well mannered. Maybe she wouldn't be a lonely girl any longer.

Dan quickly drove them the sixty some odd kilometres to Little Winging. As they approached Number 4 Privet Drive, Harry could be seen working in the yard. Apparently his relatives had not told him they would be by today.

"Harry," Hermione called, as soon as the car stopped.

Harry whipped around in surprise at the familiar voice. "Hermione," he exclaimed warmly. "What are you doing here?"

"Didn't your Aunt tell you? We're here to pick you up and take you to our home for the rest of the holidays," Hermione told him.

"Uh, no. She just told me to mow the lawn and weed the garden. When did you talk to her?"

Jane answered, "Just this morning. She seemed a bit off, but she agreed to let you come with us. She seemed… well never mind. Do you have all your things? School books and what not, and your clothes?"

"Well, it'll take me a few minutes, but I'll be out shortly," he smiled.

"Have you finished weeding the garden and mowing the lawn, boy?" Vernon asked sharply.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon, the Grangers are here to pick me up. Why didn't you tell me they were coming?"

"I wanted to make sure your chores were done first. Heaven knows why they'd take a freak like you."

Grumbling at the unfairness of living with these sour people, Harry quickly assembled his possessions and practically ran out the door.

Hogwarts, Headmaster's office:

Far away in the headmaster's office, a silver instrument puffed a bit of grey smoke, but since Albus was visiting the Weasley's, it went un-noticed. The grey smoke continued, changing colour to black until it finally stopped altogether.

The Dursley's:

After Harry left, Albus showed up at the Dursley's intending to whisk him off to The Burrow. Imagine his surprise when Vernon told him that Harry had left an hour ago. He didn't know where he had gone but was glad to be rid of him.

"Some dentists came and picked him up. I didn't see them but they telephoned first. Petunia answered the telephone. Seemed to know him, I forget their names."

Albus was furious. "You just let Harry go with someone you don't even know? You don't even remember their names? Stupid man! What did I tell you in my letter when I left him here years ago? He. Was. Not. To. Leave! Do you know what you have done? All my efforts will be for naught if he doesn't return here."

"Why should we care?" Vernon retorted. He's a freak! We never asked to be left with him."

Petunia ventured timidly behind Vernon. "I remember she said her name was Granger. We let him go because they sounded like respectable people."

Vernon glared at his wife, silently wishing she'd kept her yap shut. If the boy were found, he'd probably be returned to them.

"Did it ever occur to you that I placed him here for a reason? Petunia is his only blood relative and hence I was able to construct wards to protect him here."

"Well, I for one, don't care if we never see him again!" roared Vernon, slamming the door in Dumbledore's face.

'What incredibly rude people: I can't have that happen,' he thought and apparated inside the house, causing Petunia to faint in fright. "Obliviate!" Albus said, pointing his wand at Vernon and Petunia. 'Now to place a new memory in them, one that will accept Harry back,' he smiled to himself.

"Enervate." And Petunia awoke, worried that Harry was gone. Vernon was more resistant and only pretended to be worried.

"Now, when I locate Harry, I will be sending him to some friends' place for the rest of the summer. You are not to worry." The mild compulsion charm did work properly and a smile settled on their faces.

Leaving the Dursley's, he apparated to the Granger residence. Unfortunately, no one was there.

Growing impatient, he left a charm disguised as a ball that would notify him when they arrived, then returned to the castle.

Hogwarts:

In his office, he finally noticed one of his silver instruments was strangely quiet. It should have been emitting at bit of white smoke. Then he noticed the instruments around that one had black soot on them.

"No! It can't be. The tracking charm on Harry has broken. He could be anywhere and I won't be able to find him. This is bad, that charm was supposed to be unbreakable."

As the hours went by, the charm that he left at the Granger's failed to activate. Albus was getting worried. First his tracking charm broke and now this. Was he in fact at the Granger's now? He'd have to check. He apparated back to the Granger's, but the house was dark. Apparently they hadn't returned. Frustrated, he vowed to resume the search in the morning. Already he could feel a headache starting.

The Granger's:

Little did he know that they had indeed returned and had left again to take in a movie. The charm Albus had left, had been picked up by a stray dog and carried away as a new toy. After chewing on it for awhile, the dog had accidentally dropped it down a drain and it had washed away.

After the movie, the Grangers and Harry ate dinner in a nice restaurant and then returned home.

"Harry, you will be staying in one of the spare bedrooms," Dan informed him, leading Harry to a nice bedroom next to Hermione's.

"Thank you for having me sir, this is much nicer than at my relatives place."

"You're welcome Harry. Hermione has so few friends, we felt that having you here would help her overcome her shyness. She really seems to like you, as do we," Dan beamed.

Harry was at a loss for words, finally stuttering, "T-that's kind of you to say, sir, Hermione is the first friend I've ever had as well."

"Harry, how do you like your room?" Hermione gushed. "Of course it's not fancy or anything, but it's just like mine."

"It's brilliant, Hermione. If you saw what I had for a room at the Dursley's, you'd think this was a castle!"

"Really? Oh, Harry, it couldn't be that bad," she teased.

Harry lowered his eyes and mumbled something.

"Pardon? I didn't quite catch what you said," Hermione replied.

"I said, it's actually much worse than you can imagine," he said quietly.

After a long talk, in which Harry detailed much of his life up to that point, Hermione was in tears. "How could those…those dreadful people treat you like that?"

"Well, they always called me a freak. Things just seemed to happen around me," he related sadly. "I now know it was accidental magic. My uncle especially hates magic and calls it unnatural. My Aunt isn't too bad, but she's afraid of my uncle, so she goes along with whatever he says."

"Well, that's…ooh…so wrong. Just forget it Harry, you won't have to see them until next June. I guess we should go to sleep now, I'm sure you're as tired as I am."

Dan had been listening to this conversation and determined to do something about it. He didn't know just what, but he'd make sure that Harry had a better life from now on. Perhaps a visit to his solicitor would be in order.

………..