Chapter 12 – Dec 31st

Harry didn't want to go downstairs. He was currently sitting on his bed fully dressed except for his shoes. It wasn't that he wasn't hungry; he'd been up for hours already and gone on his morning run with Hermione. It wasn't that he didn't want to go and spend time with Hermione or her parents either. Harry didn't exactly know why he was unsettled or upset or whatever it was that was bothering him. So he sat and tried to figure it out.

There was a knock on his door and Dee poked her head an when Harry said enter. She came over to the side of the bed and sat down. "Not feeling good, Harry?" She put a hand to his forehead to see if he was running a temperature.

"No, I think I'm ok but I just feel a little off for whatever reason."

"Well, come on down and have some breakfast. Maybe some food will help your mental processes a bit and you can think a little clearer."

"Okay." Dee watched while Harry donned his trainers and got up off of the bed. She held out a hand for him and he stared at a bit before he reached out and took it. They walked down the stairs together and into the kitchen. Tony and Hermione were just starting on their breakfasts but both got up and gave the other pair hugs before everyone sat down.

Tony spoke up as he passed the plate of toast. "I thought we'd head for the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley this morning Harry since you said you wanted to go there. I'm pretty sure my daughter wants to visit the bookstore again but I was wondering if you had some specific plans."

Harry turned his attention away from his breakfast to try to remember all the reasons he wanted to head for the magical shopping area. "I need to go to Gringotts and see Griphook. I need to see about getting a passport if I'm going to be traveling with you this fall. As I understand it, I don't have a proper birth certificate since I was born at St. Mungo's. I also won't be able to get Uncle Vernon's signature on a passport application without giving him a significant bribe and then he'll wonder where I got money. So I thought Gringotts might provide the magical equivalent of a passport to me."

"I also hoped to catch up with Remus somewhere along the way and check if he's visited Sirius lately. I've got a letter written my godfather that I want to give to Remus to pass along. I'm sure there were a few more items but I guess I'll have to have Hermione prod my memory on the way there."

"We've been invited out to a New Year's Eve party with a couple of other couples" Dee said. "Tony and I haven't discussed if we really want to go or not. It seems like we haven't done enough with the two of you this last week."

Harry protested. "Please don't let me interrupt any plans you guys have made. I'm sure your daughter wouldn't mind putting up me…Owww! You needn't have kicked me Hermione! I was just joking. I'll be very happy to spend the evening with you."

"You best never let me hear you thinking along those lines again."

Harry nodded but Dee reached over and poked her daughter. "Take it easy on Harry. He's trying to figure something out and he doesn't need you distracting him."

"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do?"

"If I figure it out I'll let you know, Hermione."

Breakfast was soon finished and Harry sat on the couch thinking. He had narrowed the problem down to something that had happened yesterday. But so much had happened yesterday from waking up with Hermione to kissing her goodnight after they came back from the nice Italian restaurant.

Hermione came back down from changing and was carrying Crookshanks in her arms. She sat and leaned her head into Harry's shoulder while the Kneazle curled up in her lap. Crookshanks started purring and got even louder when Harry started rubbing his head.

'So figured it out yet?'

'No but I think I've narrowed it down to something that happened yesterday. Trouble is a lot of wonderful things occurred yesterday. I did apologize to you for poking your bum in the morning right?'

'Yes even though you aren't responsible for Em's behavior while you are sleeping.'

'I'm still thinking about that. I just realized I'm going to have to a little careful about paying attention to Crookshanks when we're back at school.'

'And why is that?'

"Well, you'll never hear it. Maybe I shouldn't tell you."

Harry received an elbow to his ribs. "Okay, okay." Harry turned so that Hermione could hear his whisper. "I might be kidded for …playing with Hermione's pus…"

Hermione squealed and Crookshanks jumped off the couch in alarm while Harry received a slap to his shoulder for his honesty. Hermione couldn't tell if Harry was kidding her or not but the look on his face made Hermione start to rethink her idea of letting Harry watch Crookshanks when she was held up in the library.

'Mad at me?'

'I'm not sure. Would somebody really say that to you?'

'Lee Jordan or the twins in joking around to embarrass me. Seamus might if he got annoyed or mad at you or me. Malfoy definately.'

'I'm not leaving Crookshanks here.'

'I'd rather he went back with you Hermione.'

Dee and Tony came back downstairs then and everyone went out to get in to the Land Rover. Harry was a little surprised at all the traffic on the highways but Tony told him that a lot of people traveled so that they could spend New Year's with family and friends. Harry nodded at that but went back to sitting quietly and holding Hermione's hand while he thought.

Hermione felt a sudden flash of happiness and then annoyance from Harry and thought he might have figured out what was bothering him. She waited for a bit and waited to see if he would talk to her or everyone. Harry let out a big sigh. "I figured out what has been bugging me but I'm not sure if this is the best time to talk to you about it. In traffic."

Dee turned a little sideways in her seat belt so she could look at Harry and Hermione. "Tony will listen and concentrate on his driving. I can talk you about whatever it is."

"I guess I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that you two came home and found Hermione and I naked in the living room."

"Were you doing anything wrong?"

"No."

"Did you expect us to yell at you or Hermione?"

"Yes… no… I'm not sure."

"You're confused because we didn't have a reaction?"

"Sounds weird when I say it but yes. I'm a little confused. Obviously."

"Time for a couple questions from the dad's perspective" Tony said from the driver's seat. "What made you decide to take off the rest of your clothes Harry?"

"Hermione acted like it was the most natural of decisions to be like that. And I trusted her not to laugh at me or tell anybody else if I undressed to join her. So I thought I would try to see if I could behave myself."

"And did he Hermione?"

"Absolutely!"

"How long did it take him to quit holding the mandolin like it was his personal protector?"

"I think about ten minutes but we were laughing our heads off by then."

"I don't think I see any problem then Harry. We told you we trusted you; how did you expect us to react when we were confident that nothing objectionable happened."

"I guess I'm feeling better about last night then. It's just not a thing most 12 year olds I know get to experience."

"Time for my two pence then" Dee said. "I grew up with being naked. My parents and grandparents on my dad's side were naturists or nudists for a long time. So I grew up seeing naked boys, girls, women and men. It was the way of life for me; getting dressed for school seemed weird at first. It wasn't like we were naked all the time though; just when the weather or company allowed."

"Thanks Dee but I'm still not sure if I'd be comfortable seeing you or Tony naked yet."

"It's ok Harry. We promised not to push you and we'll stick to that. Let us know if you get curious."

"Do either of you think I'm capable of just walking up to Hermione and telling her I'd like to see her mother naked? That sounds way too pervy." All three of the Grangers laughed at the thought of the bashful Harry saying anything like that out loud. Harry chuckled at his own joke and Hermione just grabbed a tighter hold of his hand.

It was another 10 minutes from that point until they found a parking space near the Leaky Cauldron. Harry was disappointed that Remus Lupin wasn't in but he left the letter for Sirius with Tom the barman who promised to give it to Remus when he returned. After entering Diagon Alley, the quartet split up. Hermione and her mother were heading for the apothecary store for some 'feminine' potions for the younger Granger. Not really wanting to be a witness to that transaction, Tony accompanied Harry to Gringotts and agreed to meet up later at Flourish & Blotts.

Harry only had to mention his name to one of the goblin tellers and he was escorted to one of the small meeting offices that were in one corridor of the bank. He and Tony sat in waiting in the office for a few minutes before Griphook arrived.

Harry stood and bowed to his account manager. "Long life and gold."

Griphook bowed back. "Greetings Lord Potter. How may I help you today Master Harry?"

Harry explained that he was planning a trip to Europe with the Grangers in the summer and needed some official documentation for travelling. Griphook asked if a passport would be sufficient and Harry just nodded. Griphook excused himself and left the room by way of the back door.

Five minutes later Griphook came back with a very official looking burgundy-colored credential. He unfortunately held up a small knife. Tony looked on carefully as Harry held up his thumb. Griphook pricked Harry's thumb and held his the passport under the small wound until two drops of blood fell on it. There was a quick gold flash and then Griphook healed Harry's wound.

Griphook handed the passport to Harry. "All done. That will pass scrutiny at any official immigration office in the world. Magical or otherwise. It will also serve as your identification at any Gringotts branch if you wish to access your other accounts. It will never have to be renewed as it automatically updates on your birthday every year. There is also a small enclosure in the back flap that will have an emergency driving license in it until you turn 16. The license has a small confusion charm on it that will satisfy normal police officers. Once you turn 16 a real international license will take its place"

Harry opened the little booklet to see his name, photo and address on the first page. It looked very official. "Thank you manager Griphook. Are there any papers that you need my signatures for?"

Griphook waved his hand and a small stack of papers appeared on the desk. "Just acknowledgement receipts for those loan repayments sir… Harry."

Harry went through and signed all the various legal documents that Griphook presented him. Harry apologized for taking Griphook's valued time and the two bowed to each other before Tony and Harry left the office. Harry transformed himself back to Jamie Evans before opening the door onto the Gringotts main entranceway. Jaime explained a little bit of his dealings with the debts that were owed to his family as they walked over to Flourish & Blotts.

Hermione and Dee were just coming out of the bookstore when the two walked up. Both were carrying a small bag of books and Harry relieved Hermione of her burden. Tony picked Dee's out of her hand and asked why they had bought so many. Harry explained that they were both thinking of taking 'Care of Magical Creatures' the next year and thought that they could get some studying done over the summer.

Harry didn't really want to explain to Dee and Tony that they were looking for clues about a monster that was currently wandering around the school petrifying students.

The four agreed on one of the restaurants in Diagon Alley and had a quick lunch and talked about all the other shops that they knew about while they were eating. Dee and Tony watched in amusement as the youngsters had a tug of war over the bill when it came. Harry finally settled the dispute by tickling Hermione until she released the bill. She threatened a payback but Harry just smiled and kissed her.

It was a quick trip back through the Leaky Cauldron and it didn't take very long to return to the Grangers house. Harry helped Hermione carry her books up to her room and left them on their bed. When they came back downstairs they found Tony sitting at the table and shuffling deck of cards.

"I thought for a change Harry we'd play some poker. Do you know how to play?"

"I've watched some of the older students playing back in the common room and I think I kind of know how to play." Hermione looked at Harry for a bit and then wandered over to the nearby bookcase. She returned with a small book that she handed to Harry. 'Hoyles Rules for Cards.'

"Do you play Hermione?'

"We've killed some rainy afternoons on holidays before. It can go really fast."

Harry asked for some time to read and get familiar with the rules and Tony agreed to that. While Harry was reading, Tony played some solitaire and Hermione helped her mother gather up laundry for washing. About 25 minutes later Harry said he'd play if he could keep a list of hands nearby. Tony agreed to that and then briefly went over the general rules.

"The simplest type of poker is five card draw. We begin with placing a wager or ante, for us matchsticks, in the center of the table. Players are dealt five cards face down and make another wager based on how well they think their hands are. You can meet or raise the wagers of the player before you or quit the hand by folding if what you have is really horrible. After that round of bidding is finished, you can try to improve your hand by discarding and drawing new cards. Up to three new, or four if you have a lone Ace, cards will become your new hand. Another round of wagering begins after that and then the hands are revealed with the person with the best hand winning the pot."

It seemed relatively easy to Harry and he sat down next to Tony to start playing. Tony pushed pile of matches over to Harry and threw 3 matchsticks on the table between him. Harry put three matches of his own into the pot and watched as Tony dealt five cards out to each of them. Harry picked up his cards to find he had a pair of sixes and an ace, jack and four. Hermione pulled up a chair next to Harry and watched the hand. Harry bet another three matches and Tony put five of his own into the pot. Hermione whispered that Harry had to meet Tony's bid with another two matchsticks. When Harry did that, Tony asked him how many cards he wanted.

Harry threw his jack and four face down on the table and asked for two. Tony dealt him two cards and then took two for himself after discarding two cards. Tony began the next round of bidding by putting three matches in the pot. Harry looked at his new card and found he had drawn another ace and a nine. He had two pair and he "asked" Hermione how good a hand that was. She responded that it was good but not great and that her father had only drawn two cards himself. "He might be bluffing or have three of a kind. It's your judgment and decision to risk now."

Harry just placed three matchsticks in and called. Tony laid down his hand and Harry found that Tony had three eights which beat his two pair. Tony raked in the pot and just smiled at Harry. "Simple but complicated."

Hermione asked in for the next round and she moved over a bit as her father pushed a pile of matches at her. She won twice in a row as Harry folded and then Hermione drew to a flush and beat her father's straight. Dee arrived a little later with some sodas and crisps for everyone and joined into the deal. The four played for an hour before it became apparent that Dee was either on a hot streak or was very good about reading people and cards.

When she had cleared everyone out of almost all their matches, a question occurred to Harry. "So how far is it to get from what we've been playing to strip poker?"

Hermione turned to Harry with a certain gleam in her eye. "You've heard about strip poker?"

Harry blushed just a little bit. "Fred and George were wishing on about how their best double date might end with a game of strip poker with Angelina and Katie."

"That sounds like them" Hermione said with a shake of her head.

"It's not that bad. If the girls were willing, it should be ok." Harry had a brief unsettling vision of his Quidditch teammates sitting around a common room table naked.

"To answer your question Harry" Tony said, "there's at least two ways to get to strip poker. The first is you can't fold your hand and the person with the worst hand has to take off an article of clothing after each round. The second one involves betting clothes instead of matches or cash. There are lots of variations to that but those are the basic changes."

"Are you saying you'd like to play strip poker Harry?" Harry gulped a little and thought about the question Dee had asked. If everybody stayed at the table, then he wouldn't see anybody below the waist.

"I guess so as long as I could make a couple of conditions." Tony nodded and asked Harry what he wanted. "I don't need to stand up and make a show of losing my skivvies and we all get dressed before we leave the table after we finish."

"I think that's acceptable to everyone. Let me get the water going for the boiled supper first." Dee headed for the kitchen while Harry clarified a few questions like whether jewelry counted (no) and whether a pair of shoes counted as one item or two. He was told two just as Dee came back and sat at the table across from him.

The first four hands saw Harry losing his two shoes while Dee and Tony loss one apiece. The next three hands turned against Hermione as she lost both her shoes and one sock. After that the hands seemed to be more evenly distributed as everyone got more or less to the same state of being shoeless and sockless. The next round resulted in the first real loss of some clothing. Tony tried drawing to fill out a straight but didn't and had to take off his shirt. Harry laughed a little as he won that particular hand but then he turned around and loss the next one to Dee. As Harry took off his shirt, Hermione asked if he would fetch a couple of butterbeers for then. Harry did as she asked but had to endure a couple of wolf whistles coming way back to the table. He placed one of the cold bottles against Hermione's neck in retaliation and laughed as she flinched.

Harry dealt Tony a full house the next hand and it was Dee that had the worse hand that time around. She unfastened her slacks and shimmied out of them while sitting down. She wadded them up and threw them at her husband when he almost immediately asked her to go fetch a soda for him. Harry and Hermione were laughing but then Dee decided to actually go and Harry's laughter was cut short. He did find out however that Hermione inherited both her nice legs and a fondness for colored underwear from her mother when she went into the kitchen. Luckily her blouse was long enough to cover almost everything that Harry could have gotten embarrassed about. "I've put the potatoes and the beef in the water" Dee said as she sat down.

Harry thought he had an excellent hand of three Jacks but he was beat by Tony's flush. It was Hermione that stood up and skinned down her jeans and placed them in the pile next to her chair.

Dee's deal was next and Harry was happy to draw another pair of fours to go with the pair he had. Hermione loss again and Harry tried not to watch the girl next to him as she decided what to take off next. 'She's only got three choices left after all' Harry thought. Hermione however drew her arms into her blouse and unhooked her bra somehow and drew it out of her sleeve. She put the rose-colored foundation in front of Harry on the table. "Not fair, distracting the boy like that" Tony ruled and Hermione dropped the garment onto her stack. She did however lean in and give Harry a kiss while she moved her bra. 'Having fun Harry?'

'So far, but we'll see what turns up next.'

'Harry, you're bad! And that's good sometimes.'

Hermione's mom enjoyed winning the next hand very much as Tony had to get rid of his pants. He looked over at Harry and winked. "Guess it's time to get serious then. Can't look bad in front of the girls."

Harry tried to keep a straight face as he replied. "How could we look bad? We're only a hand away from being naked?"

It was Harry's deal again and he let Hermione cut the cards after he mixed them up. Harry dealt himself a total mishmash of cards but he did have one Ace. Everyone started kidding him about drawing four cards but he said he wasn't quite ready to lose his skivvies yet. He tried to keep his face composed as he looked at the rest of his cards. When it was time for disclosure Tony had a flush. Dee turned over a two pair; king and threes. Hermione had a pair of jacks and everyone waited for Harry. Harry laid down his initial ace, a nine of clubs, a six of hearts and a queen. Everyone was waiting to see if Harry was going to lose his last piece of clothing.

"Sorry Hermione." Harry turned his last card- another ace. "You don't have to finish this if you don't want to."

"No way am I losing to you; besides the last loser has to do dishes tonight." Hermione reached down and pulled her blouse over her head. Harry got interested at that point about watching Tony deal the next hand.

That Hermione leaned again to Harry again so that he could feel that she wasn't wearing anything on top earned her a call from her mother. "Blatant distraction – double count." That drew a chuckle from Tony and Hermione and Harry risked a glimpse over to the young girl next to her. 'You can look Harry; I'm not that ugly am I?'

'Certainly not.' Harry made a show a stretching the kinks out of his neck and gave his girlfriend a mental hug as he glanced at her breasts.

Harry started concentrating on his hand. He, Tony, and Hermione were down to their skivvies while Dee had all of her underwear and a blouse still to lose. Dee was very unhappy about losing the next hand and threw her blouse at her husband who was gloating just a little bit. Harry saw that the black bra she wore matched the panties he had caught a glimpse of earlier. It actually wasn't any worse than the two piece suit she had worn into the hot tub a few nights earlier, so Harry wasn't very embarrassed.

Harry lost the next hand and rather self-consciously removed his last article of clothing. And moved his chair very close to the table. "I wouldn't want to be accused of blatant distraction by anyone" as he winked at Hermione. She slapped him but calmly picked up the cards that her mother dealt her.

Hermione lost that hand and her knickers. She threatened to come over and sit on Harry's lap so they could watch her parents finish. Harry held her off as she giggled at him but she watched to see who had to do the dishes later.

Dee and Tony both drew three cards on the next deal so it was a tossup as to who was going to win. Dee placed down three sevens and Tony snapped his fingers and displayed his three fives. Dee stood up and did a little happy dance at her seat while she watched Tony reach down and bring his skivvies up for everyone to see.

Harry thought it was time for everyone to get redressed but there was still a surprise to be had. Dee walked the step over and did a little backward jump into Tony's lap. He caught her and they snuggled up and kissed once or twice. Harry had gotten his skivvies and socks back on by that time but straightened up when Dee called to him.

"You've been an awful good sport about being here and putting up with our lunacy Harry. Tony and Hermione won't mind if I do this." Before Harry could say or do anything Dee reached down and lifted her bra up for three seconds. She then sat down and placed her breasts back in her bra.

Harry's jaw had dropped at the quick flash and he tried to form a coherent sentence. "Thank you Dee; that was quite … unexpected but memorable." Tony laughed at Harry's statement. "Go stare at your own girl; that one's mine!"

Harry turned sideways in his chair so that he wasn't looking at either Tony or Dee. His timing remained excellent however as he watched Hermione stand and tug her knickers back into place. He shut his eyes firmly as he felt around for his pants from the floor. He had just got them on and fastened when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

As he opened his eyes he saw Hermione whirl around and present her back to him. "Do me up Harry?" Harry looked over at Dee who had just put her blouse on. She nodded at Harry and he took Hermione's back straps in his hands and tried to figure out the hook and eye closures.

"This is almost as important for you as figuring out how to undo them". Harry turned his head and stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry at Tony. Tony laughed and went out to the kitchen while Dee finished dressing.

Dee came over and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Are we okay Harry?"

Harry stared up at the anxious face of Hermione's mother. "I guess I was fated to see a lot of you this holiday than I expected. Give a guy some warning the next time you do something like that. Okay?"

Dee nodded solemnly but gave Harry a big hug. "You are definitely the one for our little girl. Excuse me – our young lady. Supper should be ready in about a half hour. I'll go throw the vegetables in the pot."

Harry turned and watched Dee walk into the kitchen and he heard some giggles from her just as she went out of sight. He turned back to Hermione. "You do know they are both partially crazy, don't you?"

Hermione leaned in to give him a kiss on the end of the nose. "But that's half the fun, boyfriend."