Chapter 25: Respite

June 12th, 1994

"Are you ready for this?" asked Daphne.

"I guess," said Astoria, "I've never stood up to father like this before."

"It's pretty fun actually," said Daphne.

"I don't enjoy getting into trouble, thank you very much," said Astoria.

"Father has never punished me for standing up to him personally," said Daphne, "He's only ever punished me for when I did something publically, like when I insulted Draco."

Astoria shook her head quietly. Daphne knew that Astoria had always liked Draco, but this year at school had been a bit of a shock to her. The confident, wealthy young man she had always known had been replaced by a vile person who lashed out at everyone around him. At school, Draco wasn't in control like he had been in the pureblood social scene, and the Draco Astoria had seen there had been very disappointing.

"I need to thank Harry and Hermione," said Astoria, whose thoughts had followed the same pattern, "If I had been associated with Draco…"

Astoria smiled at her sister, "Well, at least I know why you never liked him now."

Daphne nodded. "If you're ready, then let's do this."

The two of them marched into their father's study. He smiled at them as they entered.

"I'm in trouble about something, aren't I?" he asked.

"How could you tell?" asked Astoria.

"Your faces are rather grim," said Bryant with a faint smile. The truth was, Bryant liked it when his daughters challenged him. He disliked open rebellion from them, but in private he expected them to question him and challenge him. Daphne had known this from a very young age, but Astoria was far less confrontational.

"Remus Lupin," said Daphne simply.

Bryant scowled. "He wasn't supposed to tell anyone," he said sourly.

"He only told Harry," said Daphne, "Which I'm sure you'll agree, is perfectly understandable."

Bryant nodded begrudgingly. He couldn't deny that Harry had a right to know why one of his father's best friends was not going to be teaching him any longer.

"Harry hasn't been spreading it around," said Daphne, "But he did tell his closest friends."

"Daphne, you have to understand…" Bryant started to say, but Astoria interrupted.

"What I understand is that you took one of my favorite teachers and fired him because of something he can't control," said Astoria indignantly.

"Even if you set aside the fact that Professor Lupin was an exceptional teacher, and the fact that he survived the supposed curse on the position of Defense against the Dark Arts, there remains the fact that the reason you fired him had nothing to do with his work as a teacher," said Daphne.

"He's a werewolf!" insisted Bryant.

"He's a werewolf who was on the Wolfsbane Potion, and took himself away from people when he transformed!" shouted Daphne, "He was exactly what a model werewolf was supposed to be, and yet he is still being fired."

"He was around children!" persisted Bryant.

"Not when he was dangerous!" argued Astoria, "He made certain to be off school grounds and safely locked in whenever he transformed."

"No," Astoria continued, "This isn't about the danger he posed to the children. It's about what he was teaching them. Every student who took his unit on werewolves figured out that Professor Lupin was a werewolf. And he stood there as proof that a werewolf could be just as safe as any other witch or wizard. But he couldn't be allowed to be that kind of role model. The children might grow up and decide to pass laws that helped werewolves instead of oppressing them. No, he had to be fired as quickly as possible, so that those children can grow up to fear werewolves properly."

Daphne was impressed. Even she had rarely taken a tone as cynical as that with her father. She silently re-evaluated her sister.

"Do you think my vote would have made a difference?" demanded Bryant.

"No," said Daphne, "But who cares? Pragmatism is all well and good, but there are some principles that you have to stand up for, no matter what."

"Even if it hurts you in the long run?" asked Bryant.

Daphne sighed, "Father, that's the problem. Your influence over the long term could have significantly changed the course of Magical Britain for the better. If you'd been trying beforehand, I could understand being politically pragmatic on this one issue. But you haven't been doing any of that. You've been actively opposing progress."

"So what you are saying is…" asked Bryant.

"If you want any credit from us, you have to do something good," said Astoria.

Bryant grimaced. It was a rather blunt way to put that.

"Well, the two of you will make decent prefects with smarts like that," he said.

Astoria looked at Daphne impishly. Daphne realized that she needed to tell her father the truth.

"Daddy," said Daphne, "You do understand I won't be a prefect in my fifth year, right?"

"What?" asked Bryant.

"You'll get it the seventh year," said Astoria, "Hermione's a cinch for Head Girl."

"Hermione will be the female Slytherin prefect in our year," said Daphne, "I knew that the moment I made friends with Harry."

"I…" started Bryant, who was, for once, speechless, "I didn't know."

"Please don't be upset about it," said Daphne, "I'm not. Harry and Hermione have given me lots of opportunities to take leadership roles at the school. The IUC for example."

Bryant sat back, he looked somewhat stunned. "Harry's putting a faction together, isn't he?"

Daphne nodded. "Next year we're going to start deciding what our goals are beyond school. We're going to turn this into a real political movement."

Daphne put her hand on her hips, "And if you don't get with the program, we're going to be on opposite sides."

And she stormed out. That should get him thinking.

XXXXX

June 25th, 1994

Harry stacked his things in the hallway of his aunt and uncle's house as he waited to be picked up by the Grangers. His Uncle Vernon was pacing angrily. Typical of him.

"Can you stop that?" asked Harry testily, "It's annoying."

"Don't take that tone with me boy," said Vernon, "I can still put a stop to this you know."

"No, you can't," retorted Harry, "You lost all right to tell me to do anything the day you kicked me out of this house."

Vernon glared at him, but he knew Harry had him dead to rights. Petunia was sitting in the kitchen. She looked as if she wanted to say something to Harry, but of course, she wouldn't. Petunia almost had a bit of a conscience, but she could never quite find it when Harry needed someone to stick up for him.

"How are you paying for this trip?" asked Dudley, who was staring down at Harry from the staircase. Dudley had been almost polite to Harry this year. Harry had long concluded that Dudley would have been a decent boy if he had been raised by parents who had ever set him any sort of limits. Harry wasn't quite ready to forgive his cousin all the indignities he'd suffered at his hands for so many years, but he did feel that it wasn't entirely Dudley's fault.

"My godfather is rather wealthy," said Harry, "And since he's currently on the run, I inherited his wealth."

"Wait, you're rich?" demanded Vernon.

"I've always had a fair amount of money that I inherited," said Harry, "I might have shared that wealth with a LOVING family."

Vernon seemed about to say something, but his mouth snapped shut. Even he had to realize that after his actions last summer he couldn't pretend that he'd been magnanimous in letting Harry stay there all these years.

The doorbell rang. Harry ran to the door and opened it, only to be tackled by an enormous hug from Hermione.

"A-a-a-ir…" stammered Harry after a few moments.

Hermione reluctantly let go, as Helen Granger walked in.

"I guess your ribcage needs some strengthening against Hermione's hugs," said Helen, who suddenly reached down and gave Harry a hug of her own.

When she released Harry, he could feel the tears building in his eyes, but he refused to shed tears in front of the Dursleys. Still, the very fact that Helen accepted him in that way was huge. Hermione, of course, was beaming in delight that her mother had hugged her best friend.

Harry and Hermione grabbed Harry's things. Harry turned to his relatives. "I'll see you next summer," he said simply. And then he dragged his stuff to Helen's car. Helen had stayed behind for a moment as she glared at the Dursleys.

"Daddy had to work today," said Hermione, "So mum decided to pick you up herself rather than wait a day. We dropped Crookshanks off with the Weasleys yesterday. He didn't like the floo very much."

"Your mum wants to talk to us I bet," said Harry, "So when she asks about what we plan on doing..."

"Oh, I hadn't thought about that," said Hermione with a blush.

"I have," said Harry, "I kind of had to. So I'll field that one. But I don't think either of us is ready for a physical relationship beyond what we've already done."

Hermione nodded in agreement, though there was a slightly mischievous glint in her eyes. A few moments later Helen walked out of the Dursleys' home. Her manner initially seemed calm, but the fire in her eyes belied the lack of it in her step.

"I just had to give the Dursleys a piece of my mind," explained Helen, "I hope I didn't embarrass you."

"No, I... well, thank you," said Harry, "It isn't embarrassing, I just didn't expect it."

"Well our daughter has made you a part of our family, so I guess it's time I started treating you that way," Helen said laughingly.

"I've come to see you like family as well," said Harry.

"That's good," said Helen as she ushered Harry and Hermione into the car. The two of them got into the back seat together.

"One of you doesn't want the front seat?" joked Helen.

"No offense Mrs. Granger, but I don't think you'll be able to hold my hand while you're driving," said Harry.

Helen laughed. "Call me Helen, Harry."

"All right… Helen," said Harry a bit hesitantly.

Soon they were on the road, Hermione talking about all the places they were going to go, and all the preparations they'd made.

"We'll stop at a clothing store on our way home," said Helen, "as I assume you need new swimming trunks."

"I already got a new bathing suit, Harry," said Hermione quietly, but with a playfulness that matched the glint Harry had seen in her eyes, "I hope you like it."

"I'm, uh, looking forward to it," Harry said honestly.

Helen seemed to be staring at them through the rearview mirror. "So the two of you are getting pretty close, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes," said Harry, "We are. Though we've decided to not pursue a serious romantic relationship. At least not yet."

"So Hermione has told me," said Helen, "Still, it seems like you two are, how shall I put this, experimenting a bit."

"We do plan to, yes," said Hermione, her face now scarlet.

"I just want to make sure that you aren't trying to do too much for your age," said Helen, "You're still very young…"

"We've only started kissing," said Harry, "And I don't think we're all that ready to move on yet. We are going to stay above the belt, no matter what else we do."

Helen nodded. "That's VERY good to hear," she said, relief in her voice, "That's a very good line for your age and I'm very impressed by the maturity it takes to come to it."

Harry felt a bit proud of himself for a second. But he wondered if he would have been so certain about his line if it hadn't been enforced by a rather nasty curse. One look at Hermione and he knew she was thinking the same thing.

XXXXX

June 27th, 1994

Harry had never flown on an airplane before. It had been a novel experience for him, but after flying on a broom he found muggle air travel to be a bit boring. Hermione found it a bit nerve-wracking, though he thought she might be putting on a bit of a show. She'd shown remarkable courage riding behind him on his broom after all. Either way, she spent most of the trip clinging to his arm, which as far as he was concerned was perfectly fine. Robert Granger seemed to see this as a personal affront, however.

Hermione had studied up on France in the past year, as in Magical France. She'd learned that there was no restriction on underage magic use in France so long as the Statute of Secrecy was observed and underage magicals did not experiment with unknown spells. She'd also learned that it was possible to magically translate French to English as modern English was heavily influenced by French. The moment they had set down on French soil Hermione had cast the spell on Harry and herself. Hermione didn't need it, but she thought it would be helpful anyway.

The first few weeks would be for relaxation, and a second couple of weeks would be to go see historical sites across southern France. Then they would also take a train up to Paris to see the French magical district at the end of the trip, before catching a flight back to London. All in all, it sounded brilliant to Harry.

And then Harry had discovered how very poorly prepared he'd been for a French beach. It was all he could do to prevent himself from staring at the many attractive and barely clothed women on the beach. But then Hermione had taken off the long shirt she'd worn to the beach, and he'd finally seen her new swimsuit. It wasn't the most daring suit he'd ever seen, but it was a rather standard string bikini. The moment she'd shown it off, Robert had started glaring at Harry. Harry himself was having difficulty looking anywhere but his feet.

"Maybe you and Harry should take a walk?" said Helen to Hermione, while giving her husband an annoyed look.

"Come with me Harry," said Hermione as she took his hand and grabbed a large beach umbrella and a bag carrying towels and other assorted items.

Once they were out of sight of her father, Hermione stopped them. "Harry, please look at me. I know you are embarrassed, but I'd appreciate it."

Harry looked at her. She was gorgeous. He'd always thought she was cute, even with her uncontrollable hair and her buck-toothed smile, but in this outfit, she looked amazing. Hermione spun around to give him a better look. The view from the back was incredible as well.

"Do you like it?" asked Hermione.

"You look fantastic," said Harry, "I just need to get used to it. I have to admit, it's easier to get used to the topless women, as I don't know them." Hermione snickered at that for some reason.

"What do you like most about it?" asked Hermione.

Harry blushed. "Your, uh, your bum," said Harry embarrassed. He was surprised at how difficult it was for him to say that. He needed to loosen up a bit.

Hermione laughed. "I'm glad you like it," she said. And then she grabbed his arm and put it around her waist, while she reached around his.

Harry pulled her close as they started to walk again. "I think I could get used to this," he said.

As they walked the beach Harry found himself looking at Hermione more and more. There were a lot of women wearing far less than her, and showing off bodies that were far more physically impressive. But Harry was caring less and less. After all, Hermione was right here. As far as he was concerned she was the best-looking thing on the beach.

So it was decidedly odd when he felt his attention turned toward two women sunbathing on the beach with a younger girl. One of the women was not quite middle-aged in appearance, the other Harry realized was a girl only two or three years older than him. Harry sort of wanted to look away, but he was finding it difficult.

"What are you looking at?" asked Hermione. She looked over to where he was looking then gasped delightedly.

"OOOH!" she said with understanding. She let go of Harry's waist and ran towards the women, pulling Harry by the wrist.

"Fleur!" she yelled, waving her free hand as she ran up to them.

" 'ermione!" shouted Fleur. The girl stood up to greet Hermione. It was only then that Harry realized that the girl's top was still on the ground. Harry tried to look away, but only managed to look at a middle distance between Fleur and Hermione where everything was still quite visible.

"These are the Delacours," said Hermione excitedly, "the older woman is Apolline, this is Fleur, and the young girl is Gabrielle."

She pulled Harry up in front of her to greet the Delacours, "This is my friend Harry Potter."

Gabrielle gasped a bit, while both Apolline and Fleur seemed to be slightly impressed.

"Pleased to meet you, Harry," said Apolline.

"As am I," said Fleur.

Harry did try to keep from staring at Fleur. He gave it a heroic effort. But ultimately it was a futile effort. He turned to Fleur and said, "I'm very pleased to meet you as well," he said, trying very hard to get his eyes to move away, "Hermione has mentioned you a few times."

"Fleur," said Apolline, "perhaps you should…"

Fleur blushed a bit when she realized what was happening. She grabbed her top and put it on.

"I am very sorry 'arry," said Fleur, "I did not think about what would 'appen." Harry still felt a bit of a pull toward her, but with her chest covered it was much easier to ignore.

"Fleur is a quarter Veela," explained Hermione, "Her allure might be a bit much for you."

"I think I can manage it now," said Harry, "That was just a bit much all at once." And he managed to tear his eyes off of Fleur. And onto Hermione. As he looked at her for a moment, he felt the pressure on his mind fade even further into the background. Steeling himself, he turned back to Fleur. Luckily the intense pressure did not return, and he found himself able to look at her normally.

"Very good!" said Fleur, a knowing smile on her lips, "Few men could shake even a quarter Veela's allure so quickly. Unless…" she trailed off as she looked at Hermione. Hermione blushed.

"We're not quite together yet," said Hermione quickly, "Though I guess we kind of is for the duration of this vacation."

Apolline smiled. "A good arrangement, to take a friend for such a purpose," she said knowingly, "Fleur, I suppose you want to spend some time with them?"

Fleur nodded excitedly. "Of course," she said excitedly.

"Have fun," said Apolline, "And be back before lunchtime."

XXXXX

Hermione was delighted at how quickly Harry had managed to get used to Fleur's presence. The boy seemed to genuinely get along well with her, and Hermione was fairly sure it wasn't because he was attracted to her. She had to admit that when she'd initially seen the nearly vacant stare on his face she'd been worried, but he'd dealt with it quite quickly.

Harry wasn't with them at the moment, however. Hermione and Fleur were trying on clothes in one of the shops near the beach, and Harry was outside the changing room.

"You are very lucky to 'ave a boy like 'arry," said Fleur, "'e was thinking of you when he pushed my allure out of my mind. 'e must like you a great deal for that to work."

"I know how lucky I am," said Hermione, "And I have plans to show him how grateful I am as well."

Fleur laughed, as she had some ideas as to what those plans might be.

"Your English has improved," said Hermione.

Fleur grinned. "I admit, I was a bit embarrassed by my pronunciation when last I met you, so maman hired a tutor for me. It is steel a bit difficult for me, but I think I have a better grasp of things now."

"Much better Fleur," said Hermione.

"I am glad to see you more confident 'ermione," said Fleur, "You were so timid when we last met."

"I realized that I was just scared of losing the people I love," said Hermione.

"You need something else in your life 'ermione, not just your friends and family, but a purpose that is for you," said Fleur, "I have long had the opposite problem, in that I had few friends, but a purpose."

"I'm surprised to hear you say you have so few friends," said Hermione.

Fleur nodded, "Unfortunately, most men make leetle effort to overcome my allure. Of the boys at school only one is a friend to me, and 'ee is, shall we say, not particularly motivated by my feminine charms?"

"I understand," said Hermione, "A couple of our friends are the same way if they'd ever admit it."

"Many girls are jealous of me of course," continued Fleur, "And a few are also affected by my allure. And of those who remain, only a couple 'ave personalities that I can be friends with."

"I'm so sorry," said Hermione.

"I am not so sad, I 'ave always wanted to apprentice as a cursebreaker, and that is what drives me," admitted Fleur, "But I could use a bit more balance, on the whole. It is the same as you but in the other direction. You've found your friends, and now you must find what you want to make of your life. But it needs to be your decision, not one forced on you."

"Though I suspect this next year I will find it easier to find a friend at school," said Fleur.

"Oh?" asked Hermione.

"You are probably not aware, but this year they are 'olding the Triwizard Tournament at 'ogwarts. I will be part of the Beauxbatons delegation, so I will be at your school this year."

"That's wonderful!" said Hermione, who gave Fleur a crushing hug.

"I see why 'arry likes being hugged by you," said Fleur after she had managed to extricate herself from Hermione's grip of iron, "Your hugs are most powerful."

"So I'm told," said Hermione.

Hermione and Fleur decided to model two outfits each for Harry. The outfits Fleur chose were more cute than sexy, though Hermione had to admit that on Fleur just about anything looked sexy. Hermione was looking to get a reaction out of Harry with her outfits. The strapless dress she wore had a fairly short skirt, while the jean shorts she wore on her second trip were a bit on the tight side. Harry had the good sense to look at her in all the right places.

As they changed back, Fleur suddenly asked, "Will you be at the World Cup Finals?" she asked.

Hermione nodded. "One way or another. Minister Fudge is trying to win Harry over right now, and we have a feeling he's going to give Harry a bunch of tickets for the Minister's box as a bribe. If not, our friends the Weasley's will be able to get our tickets."

Fleur looked at Hermione strangely, "The Minister is trying to bribe Harry?"

Hermione waved exasperatedly. "That's a long story, but yes," she admitted.

Soon they had left the store.

"I must be getting back to my family," said Fleur, "But I have enjoyed speaking with you. Hopefully, I will see you at the Quidditch World Cup Finals."

"We still have about an hour and a half before my parents will come looking for me," said Hermione, "at least that's what my mum said when we planned this out."

Hermione suddenly realized something Fleur could help them with. "Fleur! Before you leave, could you put a muggle-repelling charm down for us? I've never actually done one before. Well I have, but I did it at Hogwarts which already has a muggle-repelling charm on it, so I don't know if I did it right."

Fleur grinned wickedly, "'ermione! It sounds to me like you wish to do something naughty with poor 'arry here."

But Fleur picked out a clear area of the beach and made a quick wave with her wand.

"How do we know it worked?" asked Harry.

Fleur seemed to think for a moment, then she turned to a young man sitting on the beach nearby. Fleur waved at him. He didn't respond. Fleur blew him a kiss. He just sat there scratching his nose. Finally, she pulled off her top. He just sat there.

Putting her top back on, Fleur looked at them. "I think it is working."

Harry had a little grin on his face, but it wasn't the vacant stare he'd had earlier. Hermione was impressed, as was Fleur.

"Best take care of this one 'ermione," said Fleur, "If you cast him aside I might be tempted to steal him from you."

And she then took off.

Harry laid down their beach towels, while Hermione put up the umbrella.

"So did you like what you saw there?" asked Hermione.

"Even without the allure, she is very pretty," said Harry as he sat down, "But all in all I'd rather look at you."

Hermione sat down on her towel. "That's so sweet," she said, "And I'm so proud of how you dealt with that. I think you deserve a reward."

"A reward?" said Harry, his eyes curious.

Hermione grabbed the back of Harry's head and leaned in close. This angle must have given him a very interesting view. After a moment she moved in the rest of the way and began kissing him. No reason for him to get all the fun.

XXXXX

August 13th, 1994

The rest of Harry's vacation was probably the most fun Harry had ever had. They went to old historical sites throughout Southern France. When they wanted a day off they went to the beach. He spent almost all his time with Hermione, who was often more than willing to drop everything and find a hidden corner for a good snog. On Harry's birthday, they had a special meal to celebrate as it was also their first day in Paris. Aside from that he and Hermione had been left largely to their own devices. It had been a very memorable day. He may have gone a little bit past kissing on that day.

But beyond all that, Harry found France to be a revelation. He could use magic whenever other people weren't around. Harry and Hermione both couldn't resist the chance to use magic outside of school. Both managed to master the Muggle repelling charm, and they began to practice more advanced magic like the summoning charm, the disillusionment charm, and even began to experiment with conjuration. They also tried dueling a few times. It was one of those times that her parents came to check on them.

"Come in!" said Hermione as she heard a knock on the door.

Helen and Robert walked in. "You've been in here most of the afternoon," said Robert.

"We've been studying," said Harry.

"Mostly," corrected Hermione, which made her father start glowering at Harry. Robert still wasn't comfortable with Harry kissing Hermione. He certainly wouldn't approve of Harry touching Hermione, even if it was only on top of her clothes.

And Harry was disappointed in Robert Granger's reaction to Harry and Hermione's (admittedly rather frequent) private time. It was quite clear that he did not approve of Harry touching his daughter. Harry had been willing to cool things off a bit, but Hermione insisted her father just had to get used to things. Luckily, Helen was the one calling the shots on this matter, and she seemed to support Hermione's decisions, so long as they were made responsibly.

"Anything interesting?" asked Helen, closing the door behind her.

"We were actually about to practice a few things," said Hermione.

"Can we watch?" asked Robert.

Harry looked at Hermione, who shrugged. "Just sit over there and don't interfere," said Harry, pointing at the head of the bed.

As Hermione's parents complied, Harry stood near the door, while Hermione stood on the other side of the room. Both raised their wands to their faces.

"Could you give us a count of three?" Harry asked Robert.

"One, two, three!" said Robert, who seemed to have guessed what was happening.

Hermione led off with a stream of spells. "Expelliarmus! Stupefy! Petrificus Totalus!"

Harry ducked forward as he cast, "Protego!"

The first two of Hermione's spells missed, the Stunner just barely missing Harry's head. The last spell hit Harry's shield.

Hermione was immediately on the defensive. "Protego!" she cast.

Unfortunately, in her haste to cast it she made a small mistake. Hermione's wand motion had been just a bit off. Harry grinned.

"Expelliarmus!" cast Harry. The spell tore through her shield and struck her in the midsection. Hermione's wand flew out of her hand, only to be caught in mid-air by Harry.

"Whoa," said Robert.

"That damned disarm spell of yours," said Hermione, "You're too good at it. If I make even a tiny mistake you treat my shield as if it isn't there."

"Tsk tsk Hermione, language," said Harry, with a huge smile.

"You swear all the time," said Hermione.

"And you give me trouble for it," he said as his smile turned crooked. He handed Hermione's wand back to her.

"We had a question for you," said Harry, "I've been offered tickets to the Quidditch World Cup, good seats. I was going to invite most of my friends from Slytherin, but Luna won't be able to come, she's still out of the country with her father until the next day. So I thought I'd invite Ron, but Arthur already got tickets for Ron and Ginny. Now my seats are in the Minister's box, so I know Ron and Ginny would probably want to watch there, so Arthur asked me to ask you if you want to go. You'd be sitting with Arthur and the older Weasleys."

Robert looked at Helen. "I would be interested in seeing a Quidditch match," he admitted.

"Well we're both off that day, so sure, we'd love to come," said Helen.

Harry grinned, "It's too bad you can't come to see our games at Hogwarts. Our team is pretty good. But I think you'll have a good time."

XXXXX

That night Harry slept fitfully. A dream intruded on his sleep. A dream of Peter Pettigrew, a snake, and a thing. They were on a train, somewhere in France. Harry couldn't even wrap his head around the monstrous thing he could see glimpses of. It looked like a horrible monstrous baby. Some glimpses came through stronger though.

"I do so want you to kill the Potter boy, my lord," Pettigrew said wistfully, "He exposed me, left me at the mercy of Black. I could have strangled him in his cradle, and this is the thanks I get from him?"

"You are a true rat, aren't you Wormtail?" said a voice that Harry would never forget. It was Voldemort.

"But even rats have their uses I suppose," said Voldemort, "But enough of that. I will kill the Potter boy when the time is right. And at that moment, you too will have your revenge."

"A pity you had to kill Bertha Jorkins, back in Albania," said Pettigrew, "She was rather useful to us." His voice was full of disgusting longing. Harry wanted to gag on hearing it.

"She was less than a shell once I finished with her," said Voldemort, whose voice was growing further away, "But yes, she told us so much; where one of my most loyal followers still can be found. If we could only free the younger Crouch we…"

The dream grew hazy again, and Harry couldn't see anything else.

Harry woke with a start. That had not been a dream. Not really. His Occlumency had partially shielded his mind from something being broadcast into his head. Which meant that Voldemort was in France, on a train. Probably fairly close by. Harry reached out in his mind. And for one moment he felt a presence.

Harry didn't hesitate, he got up and walked down the hall, and knocked on Hermione's door urgently. Her door opened.

"Harry? Is something wrong?" asked Hermione.

Harry marched in. "Voldemort is nearby. I can feel him. I saw him in one of my dreams. He's found some sort of twisted form to take. He killed someone named Bertha Jorkins."

"What do we do?" said Hermione as she picked up her wand, "Should we warn my parents?"

Harry thought about this, then reached out with his mind again, very, very carefully.

"I think he's moving away," said Harry finally. "I think he came near us by coincidence. I think…" Harry stopped as he realized the full implications of what he had felt...

"He's heading north. I think he's heading to Britain." said a horrified Harry.

Hermione put her arms around Harry. "We'll stop him," she said as she held him.

But one word echoed through Harry's mind.

How?

XXXXX

August 24th, 1994

Harry had to admit, the French magical quarter had been interesting. Harry had liked magical France in general. He and Hermione had even managed to catch a portkey to tour the grounds of Beauxbatons, which was a rather impressive place.

And now he was trapped in Magical Britain, unable to use magic again. The ban on underage magic was just another example of the extent to which the Ministry would go to oppress the muggleborns. While the ban was enforced equally, it had an outsized effect on muggleborns who didn't have magical relatives to help show them things when they weren't at school. France's system made much more sense. And with Voldemort likely returned to Britain, Harry wished he could use magic.

The day after his encounter with Voldemort's mind, he'd written Sirius and Dumbledore. They both needed to know that Voldemort had returned to Britain. Sirius had written back and said that Harry needed to be extra careful, and made several recommendations as to security precautions Harry could take. Dumbledore had been less helpful, but he'd thanked Harry for letting him know what had happened.

Harry and the Grangers were at the Burrow now. Hermione had been happy to see Crookshanks again (he had seemingly had a delightful time staying with the Weasleys), while Harry spent a lot of his time catching up with Ron and Ginny. Percy was still living there, though he had privately told Harry that once Ginny had gone off to school this year he would move out. "I'm only still here to support her," he said, "I'm still furious about what Mum did to her." Bill and Charlie were also there. Bill had given Harry some odd looks but hadn't approached Harry to talk yet.

Daphne had been at the Burrow when Harry and Hermione had arrived. She'd been watching the Weasleys play Quidditch, and this wasn't the first time. This struck Harry as odd. Daphne was largely indifferent to Quidditch. Daphne claimed she was there to root on Ginny, but Daphne and Ginny weren't all that close. Harry suspected that Daphne was more interested in watching Ron. Which did support his idea that Daphne was into him? Harry didn't want to say it, but he suspected that Daphne was mostly into Ron because dating him would piss off her dad.

The Grangers and Harry would be camping with the Weasleys the night after the World Cup. Arthur had acquired two magical tents which they would be staying in. With so many people in the Burrow, Harry had suggested they test them out the night before. So Ginny and Hermione took a tent, while Harry and Ron took the other tent.

Robert had been a little worried about Harry and Hermione being out there unsupervised, but Ginny had laughed at him and insisted she would be out there with Hermione. Ten minutes later she'd snuck up behind Harry.

"You're free to sneak into our tent tonight if you want," whispered Ginny, "Hermione might appreciate it."

"Uh," said Harry lamely, as Ginny ran off.

When Harry asked Hermione about it, she had different ideas.

"Maybe this is a good time for you to spend some time with her," said Hermione, "Just remember she's a lot younger than me."

"You think I want to be with Ginny?" asked Harry, "Have you been paying attention at all?"

"I think that she likes you and that you need to at least talk to her about it before you go off and trying to get with every other girl in school," said Hermione, "I also think you care about her, whether you want to date her or not. And technically she is your fiancée."

"Don't remind me," groaned Harry, "But you're right. I'll do it if she wants to do it."

Hermione suddenly leaned over and kissed Harry lightly. "That's what I like to hear. How about this, I'll ask her what she wants to do when we get to the tent. If she doesn't want to do it we can have some time to ourselves, all right?"

Harry just grinned.

XXXXX

Ginny was waiting for Harry when he showed up. But outside the tent. "Follow me," she said. She led Harry into a nearby copse of trees. She sat down next to a particularly large tree and gestured for Harry to sit next to her.

"Hermione told me what you are planning," said Ginny, "I just want to know, why me? At least, why me first? Is it just because of convenience?"

"No," said Harry honestly, "The truth is I'm closer to you than any girl, other than Hermione. If I'm gonna start dating, I want to be on the same page as you. And I do like you. I, uh, guess I'm not opposed to us trying something."

That wasn't quite true. He felt extremely awkward about this whole thing and would much rather have been with Hermione tonight.

"All right then," said Ginny, "I want you to kiss me. A real kiss, open mouth, the works. I want that, and afterward… well, we'll see."

"All right," said Harry. He leaned in, held her by the shoulders, and started to kiss her. At first, it was tame, with his mouth barely open. But as it went on he got bolder, and by the end, he had to admit, it was rather fun. But it also felt a bit weird. He didn't have any sort of romantic feelings for Ginny.

As Harry pulled away, he saw that Ginny had closed her eyes. Her face was almost rapturous. Finally, Ginny sighed and opened her eyes.

"Thank you, Harry," said Ginny, "I do love you. But as a friend. I realized over this summer that even if you were fine with being with the person you were put into a marriage contract with, I'm not. I just… was it wrong of me to still want to have that kiss from you? The one I've dreamed of?"

"No," said Harry, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close, "it isn't wrong. I liked it too."

"I think you're my best friend Harry," said Ginny as she hugged him closely, resting her head on his shoulder "Would you mind just holding me for a bit? I'm suddenly very sad. My first childhood crush is over."

"As long as you want," said Harry, "I'm a bit sad too you know."

"Oh?" asked Ginny.

"Your crush was flattering," said Harry, "It made me feel good about myself. But this is better. And I love you too. I want you to know, I've always wanted a family. And maybe I consider you part of mine."

"Who else is in this family?" asked Ginny.

"Hermione, her mother, Daphne, maaaaybe Blaise, Tracey, and Justin. Ron's pretty close too," said Harry. "Sirius too I guess. And Remus. Hermione's dad, even though he hates that I'm with his daughter. He doesn't hate me though. He's just a protective dad."

"Good company then," said Ginny, "you know, I had a thought. Maybe we should snog each other ONE more time. In the future I mean. To teach my mum a lesson. If she thinks we're about to become intimate..."

"You're evil," said Harry, "I love it."

Ginny sighed as she rested against him. "Evil," she said absently.

Suddenly she pulled her head away from Harry. "I feel him. I can feel him, close by."

Harry's heart sank. "I don't feel him. And I would. My scar hurts when he comes by."

Ginny stared at Harry's scar. She came closer and closer to his head, then put her forehead directly against his.

"Your scar feels just like the diary!" moaned Ginny, "It's a Horcrux!"

And then she sank her face into his shoulder again as she started to cry.

Author's Note: The thing that is the best about this part of the story is that I finally start to get to paying off some of the things I set up in earlier chapters. Ginny absorbs the horcrux, so now at close range she can recognize horcruxes. The only reason she didn't before was because the horcrux in Harry is contained within his scar. Also Fleur shows up again. Fleur actually ends up being kind of important, so I give her a lot of scenes.

Seros 109, your point on the Goblet is an interesting one. But I would point out that the magic on the Goblet predates the ban on underage competitors. The only thing that kept someone from entering underage in canon was the age line. That being said, Harry being entered into the Triwizard Tournament is definitely going to free up Harry in one way, but for totally different reasons.

To the guest commenting on McGonagall, she definitely regrets what she does to Vernon immediately. Magicals in general in the Harry Potter universe treat Muggles very badly. Even good magicals. Muggles are constantly getting transformed and Obliviated. McGonagall knows she shouldn't use magic on Vernon, but he just drives her nuts.

Josamen, I know I wasn't intentionally quoting Delenn in that scene, but I may have been channeling her. I'm a big Babylon 5 fan.

Anyway, next chapter is the Quidditch World Cup.