10.
It was a topsy-turvy kind of week.
Harry was released from the Hospital Wing as soon as he had calmed down enough for Madame Pomfrey to heal the last of his wounds and on the condition that he would stop by every evening before curfew so she could check up on him.
Privately, she asked Hermione to write to her if he should deteriorate over the summer.
Harry staunchly refused to openly mope and even the Slytherins let him be in the short time between the third task and the leaving feast. Hermione didn't pester him to come down to the Great Hall when she knew it would be busy, instead bringing him back what she could.
She had initially thought about skipping meals with him but she could see he just desperately wanted to be alone to do whatever it was he needed to do and she wasn't about to crowd him when he seemed to be making so much progress the rest of the time.
She wrote to her parents, explaining a little of what had happened, and they wrote back telling her that they would meet outside the Leaky Cauldron instead of at the station if she thought they could manage the trunks, give them a little time to clear their heads.
Harry started taking advantage of his new legal status almost straight away and they spent the eight hour journey poured over books of spells that would come in handy. Harry practiced shrinking their trunks on Crookshanks' empty cage until he was confident enough to attempt it on their trunks.
"I don't want to do it if I can't turn them back...we need to do enough this summer without me setting all of our things on fire..."
Once he had mastered the trunks, he placed them carefully in his pocket and settled back to discuss their plans. Neville had vanished down the train, blushing all of the way out of the compartment, as he told them he had promised to go and see Susan Bones before they got to London.
"You know, in all of the drama around that article, I forgot about that petition...did anything even come of it?"
Hermione tore her eyes away from the blurred country side to look at Harry.
"You're right...I never even thought about it. I suppose it's the least of our worries now."
They had only spoken about the night in the graveyard once and Harry knew he was going to have to explain it to Hermione's parents when they met. He had been going over what to say for days now but the whole situation felt utterly surreal.
"Yeah...I wrote to Snuffles before we left, he should start making his way to London in the next week. I told him to meet us in three weeks, should be plenty of time to plan a holiday and get a room ready for him to stay in."
A strange look crossed Hermione's face every time Harry mentioned the holiday and Harry wasn't sure she realised she was doing it. He wouldn't have called Hermione bashful my any stretch of the imagination but she looked almost shy whenever they started talking about it.
"That should work out quite nicely. I thought we would probably just take the tube to meet mum and dad, it's about an hour to walk from there to the house...they said it depends on what kind of paper work you need to get in."
Harry nodded along, he'd been worried about how they were going to get to the house.
"Ragnok said he would leave all of the paperwork for me at the front desk for us to pick up whenever we needed it. I think he's leaving a full folio of properties for us to look at. if we need to get any furniture in then he's let instructions for it as well."
Excitement bubbled up in his chest whenever Harry thought about the house. It might not have been the family he had wished for growing up but it was the closest thing he had found to freedom and despite the still raw pain in his chest, he was burning up with happiness over the prospect of a Dursleys free summer.
He was wearing his cloak when they left the train and they waited until everyone else had cleared the platform before passing through the Muggle London in time to see Harry's Aunt and Uncle standing fuming in the station. Hermione made a wide berth around them, in case the might recognise her from previous years, and Harry remained hidden under the cloak until they were in the underground station beside Kings Cross.
Hermione was the expert at navigation the tube, having spent most of her pre-Hogwarts summers in the city, and Harry was happy for her to take the lead as she explained the whole system to him even though he knew the basics. It was only five minutes before they stepped back out into the bright sunlight and made the short walk to the Leaky Cauldron.
Hermione's parents were sitting in a corner at the back of the pub, looking quite at ease despite their magical surroundings and the fact that the patrons would eye them suspiciously every so often.
"Mum and dad have grown quite fond of the place…they keep a pile of spare Galleons in case they fancy coming down. If you ask me, I think they just like to unsettle the other patrons."
Harry couldn't keep the grin off his face at the thought of the prim and proper looking Grangers going out of their way to make some of the less pleasant visitors to the Leaky Cauldron uncomfortable. The last time Harry had seen Mr and Mrs Grnager had been that disaster of a meeting with Gilderoy Lockhart and he hadn't quite been able to remember what they looked like.
Mr Granger was a tall man with thick, dark hair and Hermione's eyes, he looked like the sort of man that would have played Rugby at University and who had kept it up on the side ever since. Mrs Granger, on the other hand, was slightly shorter with mousey brown hair and lighter eyes than her husband. It didn't seem like Hermione took after either of them but, at the same time, the three of them just looked like a family.
"Mum, Dad – this is Harry, I've told you about him in my letters, Harry these are my parents, Dan and Emma."
After hugging Hermione, Mrs Granger turned to Harry and offered him a hug as well.
"It's lovely to meet you Harry, Hermione told us some of what's happened already so don't feel like you need to rush into anything."
Her husband shook Harry's hand and offered him a similarly warm greeting.
"Exactly what she said, Harry. We're more than happy to help and friend of Hermione's. Just let us know what you need."
Harry, a little shaken by their openness and readiness to help, had to take a minute to compose his thoughts.
"I…um…wow…thank you so much for doing this. I wasn't really all that prepared for it, if I'm honest…I don't really know what I need to do."
After a late lunch, they made their way through the archway and towards Gringotts where Harry collected the thick portfolio of properties that Ragnok had left for him.
Kensington Palace Gardens were, to Harry's mind at least, an experience of their own. From the mixture of old and modern buildings and the armed police checkpoints, Harry couldn't stop himself from staring opening at the buildings as they passed.
In the end, all he had to do to gain entry was show his family ring and watch as the eyes of the Policemen glazed over for a moment. They admitted him with nothing more than a 'Have a good evening, Lord Potter' and a nod of their heads.
Harry's house was conveniently right next to the checkpoint. It was a tall building constructed from dark red bright with white accents and large sash windows, the fidelus charm wasn't in place yet but the Goblin at the desk had told him that a team would be dispatched later to see to it.
Inside, the ceilings were high and the white-painted walls gave the whole building a sense of class and importance that Harry hadn't expected from a building that hadn't been properly lived in since before the Second World War. He had worked out from the folio that his Grandparents had used it as their main residence when they were younger and then for a few days each year surrounding his dad leaving for and coming home from Hogwarts. He had forgotten how old wizards could live to until he realised that Dorea and Charlus Potter would have had his father when they were in their forties.
Furniture had been moved into many of the rooms and Harry vaguely recognised the haphazard mix of items as ones that had been stored in some of his new vaults. There was still a sense of emptiness about the house but it was more than liveable in.
"Harry…this is magnificent…Ragnok really did a number on this one."
There was a loud crack that took their whole group by surprise.
"Harry Potter Sir, Dobby is hearing that you is not at your aunt and uncles. Professor Dumbledore was most displeased to hear and has been looking all over for yous. Dobby was wondering if Harry Potter might be in need of a house elf with all of these houses? Lots of cleaning and work to be done before they can be lived in."
Dobby was standing wringing one of the many sock he wore between his hands, looking for all the world like he was about to try and punish himself. Harry was delighted to see him.
"Dobby! I mean…How did you find…no, no never mind…I thought you were working at Hogwarts? Wouldn't working for me get you in trouble?"
"Dobby is free to leave Hogwarts whenever he wishes, sir. It was in his contract with Professor Dumbledore and Dobby would very much like to be the Great Harry Potter's elf! Dobby does not want paying either sir, because he knows Harry Potter will try to because Harry Potter sir is an honourable wizard, the very…"
Harry was acutely aware of Hermione's parents watching all of this unfold and he felt a blush rise to his cheeks. He was also conscious of the fact that Hermione would be none too pleased at the idea of him having a House Elf but, thinking about his properties, it would be useful and he did owe Dobby a lot for all the help he had given him over the last two years, even if he'd almost been killed by that Bludger.
"Okay, Dobby….if you really want to then…"
Dobby bounced forwards, the top of his head colliding with Harry's outstretched palm and a bright flash exploded from where they met, followed by a sharp static shock that ran through Harry's arm.
Almost instantly, the change in Dobby was evident. His ratty jumpers seemed to fit him better, his ears didn't droop quite so much and he seemed to gain some colour in his cheeks. Looking at him, even Hermione would be forced to admit that he did seem so much happier in service. That was when Harry had an idea.
"Dobby, I know you like clothes so I'm still going to pay you the same as Dumbledore so that you can go out and buy your own things whenever you like. I don't what you to take it the wrong was if I give you a present so this way you still get to, uh, be yourself…but, before we figure that out, can you throw Dumbledore off our tracks?"
"Dobby would be happy to Master Harry!"
"Really, Dobby, It's just Ha…"
He vanished with a crack before Harry could finish.
That night, the Grangers sat up on the plush couch in the drawing room of Harry's Palace Green house with a bottle of wine, trying to sort through everything they had learned that afternoon.
After Dobby had departed, Harry and Hermione had sat them down and explained everything, for start to finish, and to say it had been a lot to take in was an understatement.
"…and here I thought that Hermione had overstated the Troll."
Emma couldn't help but let out the anxious laughter she'd been holding in all day.
"I think trolls are the least of our worries Dan! Madmen, giant snakes, Werewolves, dragons! To think we've been letting her risk her life every year. What does that make us?"
Dan had been thinking along the same lines, Hermione had never been a child who pushed her boundaries so long as she knew why they were there. She might have argued black was blue of she didn't agree with the rules they put in place but she never railed against them but both parents knew that it would be hopeless to try and ban her from the magical world now.
"We could pull her out of school but she would never forgive us, that world is her birth right…no matter what we think. She's learning how to survive in that world; if we took her out of it I can't help but think she'd be in even more danger."
"Harry will keep her safe, I'm certain of that much. Did you see the way they looked at each other?"
Dan hummed in agreement, draining the last of his glass and placing it back on the glass-topped coffee table in front of them. As soon as he placed it down, the two empty glasses and bottle vanished. The faint clinking of glass echoed from somewhere in the quiet house and it seemed like Dobby was still hard at work.
"I didn't think I was imagining that. They'll make quite the pair when they're older, I just hope Hermione doesn't let her self-esteem get in the way of her happiness. You know she won't own up to her feelings if she thinks it might hurt her friendship…I like him. I didn't want to after hearing some of the things he's gotten into but, that's not really the lad's fault, is it? I'm not a bad father for being glad they're friends? Even though she gets herself into so much danger because of it?"
Emma shook her head, patting his arm lightly before standing up and stretching.
"Not at all, love. If anything, I think you're a better father for understanding she'd be in danger no matter what…and for knowing we're not the people who are best equipped to protect her. Come on, I get the feeling tomorrow will be a busy day so we'd better turn in."
Neither of them noticed the dark figure standing in the corner of the hall as they made their way up the stairs. Once they were gone, Harry stepped out into the artificial light streaming through the windows. He hadn't meant to over hear them but he'd had a sneaking suspicion that Dobby would be working himself to the bone and he was going to tell the little Elf to get some rest when he heard his name drifting from the drawing room.
He hadn't been prepared for the maelstrom of feelings in his chest and, as he quietly crept down to the kitchen, he could only separate one clear through from the jumble in his mind.
The Grangers were right – He was determined to keep Hermione safe, no matter what they had to face next.
A/N: I know, I know. I've fallen on that old 'Dan and Emma Granger' trope but, at this point, I'm too tired to be any more creative with them. Besides, despite the real-world connections, they seem like the kind of names that would fit Hermione's parents.
I know it's been a long time since I updated and I'm making no promises about the frequency with which will continue because my health is all kinds of up and down at the moment. However, I will finish this story at some point.
'Till the next time.