I don't own Harry Potter or any characters therein.
Harry Potter and The Dragonborn: Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Escape
Mr. Granger was steadily losing his mind inside the Visitor Centre where they were sequestered. His favorite cousin, who he was supposed to be responsible for this week, was trapped in a cave with a thin young boy who his relatives were blaming for everything. The team of miners were working as fast as they could, but every minute lost was another minute Hermione and the Potter boy didn't have. Worse yet, whatever it was that opened the hole in the rocky wall had caused a cave in that was blocking the entrance with massive boulders that kept moving around even as they tried to remove them. He had to restrain himself from decking that cow, Mr. Dursley, who seemed intent on making a large sale of drills even with his nephew was trapped in the cave.
Idly, he wondered what was going on with the child. He was polite to the point of nearly being incessant, didn't whine and complain like the 'big boned' Dudley had about having to sit through a safety video (which basically said don't wander, obey instructions), and complied with every instruction he had given the small family. He was also small and short for his age, and his complexion said his skin didn't spend much in the sun. William had also caught the silent exchange between Harry and Hermione; he assumed they'd met on the plane or something, but why would Harry implore her not to speak up like that? He couldn't answer those questions, but it was a matter for later.
His patience with Mr. Dursley, Sr was wearing thin, so he excused himself. "Mr. Dursley, I'm going outside for some air. Help yourself to the refreshments, and we'll continue this conversation at a more... opportune time." he said coolly. Vernon didn't seem to hear the chilly tone he had used, but acquiesced for the offered food and drink. He practically marched out the door. Once he was out of hearing range, he completely broke down and started crying. He hadn't wanted to take her down there, but he had both his bosses' permission and her parents consent, not to mention those puppy dog eyes she specialized in.
He was also worried on behalf of Harry, since his relatives couldn't seem to drum up the effort to care about his well being. Seriously, it took a very pathetic eset of relatives to care more about a fat Christmas bonus that a trapped child. He sighed, knowing he already had enough situations he couldn't control without worrying about an unloved child. Hermione's parents' reaction was probably the most stressful thing on his mind; Emma Granger nee Fawley was not a lady to be trifled with under the best of circumstances, and his cousin Dan had a way of making you feel like scum with just a few select words. So wrapped up was he with thoughts of what he was facing, the sudden shout from behind him made him jump.
Harry was getting tired of stumbling over rocks. Actually, he was tired period; he could barely put one foot in front of another, and he felt lightheaded. The tunnel was impossibly long, completely dark, and it was bitterly cold. "Hermione, I gotta stop for a minute. I can barely walk." Harry said weakly. Without waiting for confirmation, he sat/fell on the ground and leaned against the tunnel wall.
"Harry, are you okay? You don't sound so good." Hermione asked, concern lacing her voice like it had on the plane. When he didn't respond, she laid her hand on his forehead; it was alarmingly cool and clammy despite the exertion of walking and crawling up a tunnel. Checking his pulse (as instructed by the first aid book she'd bought), she found it normal but slightly weak. More than a little worried, she roused him. "Harry, we have to keep moving. The adults are probably worried about us, and we don't have that much further to go. Come on.". Using every ounce of strength she possessed from hauling overstuffed school bags almost every day, she helped him to his feet and supported him as they walked.
It didn't escape her notice how light Harry seemed to be as she helped him along. Honestly, he didn't weigh much more than her school bag (A/N; please, this is Hermione we're talking about, a girl who things gargantuan history books are "light reading"). She fully intended to have words with his relations when they got back to the surface. Speaking of which, she finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel ('Never thought I'd be able to say that and mean it.' she thought). She wanted to run to it, but one glance over at Harry told her that wasn't possible; he seemed to be getting weaker and weaker, and she was almost carrying him already.
They had barely cleared the entrance to the tunnel which explorers had thought led to nowhere when Harry gave out completely. Hermione tried to wake him to no avail; he was completely unconscious, pale as the dead, but still alive and no blue lips. Looking around, she noticed her cousin walking the other way. "WILLIAM! We're over here!" Hermione shouted, causing the aforementioned Granger to jump in surprise and shock. He ran over, and crushed her in a hug while babbling like a fool. She returned the hug, but silenced him quickly by pointing out Harry.
As part of his training to work at the mine, he was required to take a first aid course; he immediately recognized the signs of shock underlied by exhaustion. He took off his jacket and placed it over the small form while Hermione rolled hers up to place under his feet to elevate them. He instructed Hermione to stay with him while he got help before running back to the visitors centre. Bursting through the door, he didn't even spare the Dursleys a glance as he hurried to the security guard; a few choice words later and the paramedics on site because of the mine accident were rushing towards Harry and Hermione. Before Vernon could even object about the cost of the ambulance ride or the medical bills, Harry was on his way to the local hospital while Hermione sobbed into William's shirt.
Vernon Dursley was angry, as was completely normal for a person in his situation. The day had started off okay; the freak had managed to make a decent breakfast, Mr. Granger was seemingly impressed with his sales pitch, and the freak was staying out of his way like he should. But that all went down the toilet when the boy somehow managed to fall into a hole in the wall, taking that know-it-all with him. He'd tried to keep selling once they were sitting down in the visitor's centre, but Mr. Granger was obviously angry with him for bringing his freakish nephew along with his completely normal cousin and stormed off. He was almost certainly out of a job at Grunnings, but at least the freak was gone… or so he thought.
Just as he thought he was free of the worthless boy, he managed to crawl out of whatever hole he'd fallen in. The paramedics had loaded him into the ambulance before he stop them, so now he probably owned them a huge bill; stupid freak was going to be pay him back for that. He just couldn't catch a break! After the boy had been carted off at Vernon's expense, he was ready to start salvaging the situation only to find that girl (Hearmy? Hermy? Whatever it was) taking Granger's attention away from the situation. Sighing, he decided to make his way back to the hotel.
William aimed a nasty sneer at Dursley's back as he retreated to the car with his wife and child. Even while he was comforting Hermione, he was watching the Grunnings representative as little Harry was taken away by the paramedics. His piggy little face displayed anger, frustration, and a not small amount of disappointment in that order. After seeing his callous behavior for the better part of 2 hours, he was forced to come to a rather startling conclusion; Vernon Dursley not only didn't care about his charge, he was hoping to be rid of him and was disappointed that he wasn't. He froze as that revelation struck him, and Hermione picked up on his mood immediately.
"What's wrong, Will? You're thinking about something you don't want to, I've seen that look on Dad's face often enough." Hermione said. 'Intelligent as always, that one.' he thought as he considered how to answer. Knowing that she would see straight through a misdirection or outright lie, he went with the truth. "I'm worried about Mr. Potter. His uncle's behavior was unsavory. At first, I thought he was just apathetic about the boy, which is bad enough on its own. But I was watching his face when they took Harry to the hospital, and it showed unmasked anger and disappointment. I don't know what to make of it, except that his uncle clearly cares nothing for Harry.". Hermione thought about those observations; she remembered Harry telling her he didn't like his relatives, so it fit that they didn't like him, but this level of apathy was alarming.
"Can we go see Harry? If his family really is like that, he'll be in there all alone! He probably doesn't even speak Swedish!" Hermione said, looking ready to hoof it to the hospital if he refused. "We will, Hermione, and I agree with your assessment, but you need to get cleaned up first. The hospital probably frowns on that level of dirt being tracked in. Come on, my flat is nearby. A quick rinse and change and we can go see Harry." William said in a commanding tone. Hermione huffed, annoyed that he was quite right about her current state. "Fine, let's go then!" Hermione retorted in the same tone of voice. Without another word, they both set off to his car.
A/N; Sorry for the delay, folks! Between school and Christmas shopping, this is the first time I've had the time or energy to finish a chapter. If anyone experienced authors could give me a little advice on making regular updates, I would appreciate it. Please Rate and Review!