Thanks for the reviews! Disclaimer: Did I do this last time? Well, I sadly do not own Harry Potter.
Harry rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
"Bloody hell, it's Hermione!" He exclaimed. Hedwig hooted and Harry's smile was wiped off his face.
"Dammit, I promised Uncle Vernon I wouldn't speak to them!" He reminded himself. "I can't believe this! My best friend is moving in next door and I can't even speak to her!" Harry kicked the wall angrily.
Now it really is the worst summer ever. He thought as he rubbed his sore foot.
Harry watched from his window as Hermione passed her trunk to her dad. He had a short brown hair and, from what Harry could he see, he was very athletic. A pretty, young woman walked out of the house and hugged Hermione. Harry assumed she was Hermione's mother. She had long brown hair and bright blue eyes. Although she looked like she should be walking down a runway, she seemed more comfortable dressing in sweats and t-shirts. A small young girl suddenly appeared behind Mrs. Granger and she grabbed Hermione's arm, squealing something. Harry scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion.
"Oh, that must be Hermione's little sister!" Harry realized, vaguely remembering Hermione mentioning her in first year. (In an interview with J.K. Rowling, she stated it was possible Hermione might have a Muggle sister)
Hedwig hooted and Harry turned his attention back to the Grangers. They seemed to be making their way next door as the sun set.
"They're coming over already? Have I really been watching that long?" Harry asked himself. Hermione paused and looked up to his window just as he moved away. She shook her head, doubting she saw what she saw, and quickly walked ahead.
"Now what do I do Hedwig?" Harry complained to his snowy white owl. Hedwig hooted and gestured her head towards the door then the window.
"Should I go downstairs?" Harry asked, confused. Hedwig hooted twice. Harry took a deep breath.
"I'll take that as a yes. Wish me luck big time Hedwig." He said as he cracked open his bedroom door.
"…Welcome to Little Whinging!" Vernon was saying. "You've met my wife, Petunia…"
"Hello, pleasure to meet you." Petunia greeted, shaking Mrs. Granger's hand.
"Ah, and this is our son Dudley!" Vernon exclaimed. Dudley smiled sourly.
"Welcome to our home." He said. Harry watched in amusement from the stairway as Hermione hid her look of her disgust when he shook her hand.
"Thank you for inviting us." Mr. Granger said as Hermione wandered towards a different room.
"Come, sit!" Vernon said. Mrs. Granger caught sight of Harry.
"And who's this?" She asked, gesturing towards him. Vernon turned slightly purple but continued to smile.
"I'm Harry, their nephew." Harry greeted. "Thank you so much for coming over. Did you know my uncle worked as a director at Grunnings?" Mr. Granger smiled gently.
"Really? That sounds fascinating!" He exclaimed. "Could you elaborate?" Vernon laughed nervously.
"Ah, y-yes of course!" He exclaimed as Petunia showed Mrs. Granger around. Dudley walked in the room Hermione had walked into earlier. Hermione's little sister walked over to Harry.
"Hi, my name's Juliet. My parents really liked Greek gods and Shakespeare when they named me and my sister." She greeted. "I'm ten and I wanna go to my sister's school when I turn eleven!" Harry smiled.
"That's cool that your parents named you after what they liked. Juliet's a pretty name. It's almost as pretty as my aunt's flowers." He said loud enough for Petunia to hear. "Would you like to seem them Juliet?" The small girl smiled brightly.
"Sure!" She said excitedly. Harry led her to the garden outside and it was then he realized how similar she was to Hermione. Juliet had bushy hair like Hermione's but hers were more tamed, she had blue eyes like her mother, and she had this air of importance around her.
"Wow, these roses are gorgeous!" Juliet squealed. "They're almost like the ones my Romeo will give me one day!" Harry had to laugh at that.
"Would you like to help me take care of them?" He asked. Juliet gasped in delight.
"May I?" She said. "I just love flowers! My sister would rather curl up with a big boring book than play in the garden with me! No one wants to play with me at school." Juliet glanced at the flowers sadly. "My sister gets away from the loneliness by reading and studying but I like to plant flowers. But even that gets lonely."
"I know how that feels." Harry admitted, thinking of his school life before Hogwarts. "But now we can be…..flower buddies." Juliet giggled.
"You know, most guys would rather pick on others than play with a little girl." She noted. Harry smiled.
"Yeah, well. I'm not like most guys and you're not so little." He teased. Juliet giggled again.
"My sister would like you." She blurted suddenly. Harry found himself blushing at the thought. Juliet herself turned pink from her sudden outburst.
"So….are we going to garden or not?" She said after a few awkward moments.
"Yeah, just let me get the tools." Harry said; grateful the awkward phase was over. "You stay here; I don't want you to get hurt." Juliet nodded and sat on the grass.
"Oh thank goodness I found you Juliet!" Hermione exclaimed as she plopped down next to her sister. "That big oaf, Dudley, keeps following me!"
Juliet snickered. "Ha, ha! Well, I found a really cute guy who likes to garden with me!" Hermione stuck her tongue out at the ten year old. "You would like him. Well, if you didn't like that boy from your school-"
"Juliet!" Hermione interrupted, utterly embarrassed.
"Now, vamoose! He's going to be back soon!" Juliet exclaimed, pushing her sister. Hermione groaned as she stood up.
"Alright! I'll hide from Dudley somewhere else!" She gave in, heading inside. "But I'll be back!"
"Can't wait!" Juliet said sarcastically. Just then, Harry returned with an armful of supplies.
"Can't wait for what?" He asked as he gently placed the tools down on the grass. Juliet shook her head.
"Nothing…..my sister was just telling me something. So, what should we start with?" She asked, gesturing towards the pile of tools. Harry handed her a pair of small pink gloves.
"You start with putting these gloves on. The dirt can get inside any cuts on your hands or arms and make you sick." He said as Juliet grabbed the gloves.
"Wow…..I didn't know that." She admitted, pulling the gloves on her hands. "Oof, I hate gloves! I can never get the second one on because of my gloved hand!" Harry smiled.
"Here, let me." He said, gently pulling the glove over her small hand.
"Your hands are so soft…wow, your eyes are really green! Why is there a scar on your forehead?" Juliet covered her mouth in embarrassment. "Oh my Gosh, I'm so sorry! Sometimes I just notice these things and start talking, and talking!" Harry patted her head softly.
"It's okay. My best friend talk a lot when she gets nervous…or angry…..or upset. So I'm sort of used to talking." He said, thinking of Hermione. Juliet rolled her eyes.
"I try not to talk because my sister does that way too much! What's your best friend like?" She asked. "There, is this hole big enough to plant seeds?"
"That's perfect!" Harry said, dropping the sunflower seeds in the hole. "And my best friend is very smart. She's also…..quite pretty; but she would be utterly embarrassed if I ever told her that. She tends to ramble but I really don't mind. She and our other friend, Ron, quarrel much too often for my liking. There are some classmates who treat her differently because she's not like them and it used to bother her…but now she justs punches them in the nose. Would you hand me the watering can?"
"Here you go." Juliet said, handing him the plastic container. "I almost thought you were talking about my sister but that can't be, because she's not the punching type." Harry had to bit his tongue in order to prevent himself from laughing.
"Oh, so you would rather spend some time with some boy than hang out with me?" Hermione's voice called. Juliet turned around while Harry continued to tend the flowers.
"Oh, stop being so sensitive!" She snapped as Harry stood up, still not facing Hermione.
"Well, I've had to be tortured by the Dursleys for an hour now. Dad was just telling Mr. Dursley about your upcoming ballet recital. I think you should be in there for that." Hermione said sweetly. Juliet scowled as her mother called her name.
"Ooh, you got lucky!" She said. "He's really nice, and sweet, and he has a girlfriend!"
"I don't have a girlfriend Juliet, I have a best friend….who happens to be a girl." Harry said. Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, you've been telling me all about her! And I don't even know her name!" Juliet complained. "You know what? Just tell my sister and she'll tell me later!" Juliet then stormed into the house as her mother called her again. Harry smiled as he turned around.
"Hermione." He said. The witch gasped.
"Harry!" She said.
"What did my cousin do to you my lovely Hermione?" Dudley suddenly asked, appearing by her side. "Come, my mother has made dinner. You're welcome too….Harry."
Harry gave Hermione a sympathetic look as Dudley led her inside. Oh, yes. This summer was going to be quite interesting.
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