A/N: This part kind of finishes up some loose ends that I "forgot" from Summer (you'll see), and opens the way for some new characters.
Please read the disclaimer at the bottom, since I have neglected it in the previous parts,( sorry, Ani) AND I have been trying to keep this at least a bit authentic. I've included the URLs so you can join them on the holiday, if you like.
I promise, on my honor, there will be no RUGRATS in Harry Potter's Paris. The timing for my Paris and theirs is a bit, um, odd, but totally unintentional. Unless it was a subconscious thing.
Love from Circe
Paris 3
As they left the train, Harry looked around him, truly amazed by what he saw. This might not be the wizarding world, but some of the people were dressed differently enough that they would for sure be offensive to Uncle Vernon.Then he thought of the look on Professor McGonagal's face if she could have seen the man who'd just walked by. The man's hair had been at least four shades of blue and green. There were around six earrings in each of his ears, and a few in his nose. Ouch, that had to be painful!
"Er, Hermione, we should take lots of pictures on this trip- I don't think Ron will believe some of these people. It must seem pretty tame to you, coming back to Hogwarts after a summer holiday"
Hermione gave a sarcastic laugh and said, "Oh yes, so tame. Last year we returned to find a contest that.everyone knew could cause deaths, the year before, there's an escaped murdered suspected to be invading,the year before, the year before......."
" OK, OK, I get it, Hermione. And it's mostly been because of me... at least our second and third years." Harry broke in before Hermione could really get started. But she wasn't looking at him as if she was going to deliver one of her lectures on not looking for trouble.
Harry couldn't help noticing, though, instead she was looking at him with a mixture of tenderness and dread. He had a strange feeling he couldn't identify. It wasn't the lurching stomach he'd once gotten when he'd had the crush on Cho (what an aeon ago that now seemed) and it wasn't the rubber legs feeling he got when he and Hermione kissed. No, this was a feeling that he'd like to close the doors on the rest of the world, leaving only the two of them in a safe place, where the dread he saw on Hermione's face would never appear again.
His own face must have given away his thoughts, because Hermione's face suddenly broke into a smile, and Harry felt his heart lift when he saw it." Why are we so gloomy, Harry? We're going to have fun, we've survived so far, and we'll learn even more this year."
She took both of his hands and he was pleased but amazed when, right there with her parents getting their bags and suitcases, she kissed him on both cheeks. quickly, then her arm slid around his waist. "We're in France now, you'll have to get used to being kissed in the French way."
"And that would be?" Harry asked, his eyes twinkling. " I think you could define that several ways, and I'm all set to practice getting used to all of them. Mmmmm, visit some famous sights, a little practice, a little visit to a museum, a lot more practicing.....sound good? We could be real experts on the subject of kissing by the time we get back to school." He squeezed her a little closer and whispered, " You always want to be the expert, right?"
Hermione went very pink, and though she didn't pull away, she took a long drink of the water she had brought from the train." Um, bit hot today, isn't it? " she said , brightly. "We'd better catch up with Mom and Dad."
Harry grinned as he steered Hermione over to a line of travelers, all in various states of emotion. Some werre babbling happily, others were looking angry, and one woman, who reminded him of Aunt Marge, was banging on the counter with a large fist, her face purple with anger.
Suddenly he heard the woman bellow "Find my Ripper! I can take care of you with one blow if you don't find my precious Ripper!" and she banged again, shaking the counter all the way down to where the Grangers were standing.
"Amazing how some people can't control their tempers, isn't it? " Ivy said in a low voice. Harry turned to look at her, and noticed Ivy's eyes had a sparkle that made him glad his name wasn't Marge Dursley! He had opened his mouth to ask what the plan was for Aunt Marge, but heard Chris whisper urgently but a bit nervously," Ivy, remember, we aren't in England now. And I haven't even started learning magic." Harry saw Ivy reach up and kiss Hermione's dad reassuringly, then apparently feeling his eyes upon them, she grinned at him, sheepishly but with mischief in her eyes. "All in good time, my love, all in good time!"
Harry laughed aloud, and looked back to where Marge had one of the men behind the counter by the ear. His eyes widened when he saw four uniformed policemen come up and not so gently disengage Marge from the station attendant's ear. An argument was in full swing when Ivy suddenly moved away from Chris, Harry and Hermione and went to stand beside Aunt Marge.
She spoke in a low voice to the men in uniforms, then to Aunt Marge.Some sort of an agreement must have been reached, because Harry saw Marge and Ivy walking toward them. This would be the end of the nice holiday, he thought glumly. Aunt Marge would soon be raving about St. Brutus for the Incurably Criminal.
Suddenly Ivy stopped Aunt Marge, and handed her a bun, wrapped in a napkin."You must be starving, after going through that ordeal!" he heard Ivy saying, and his mood quickly lifted. By the time the women reached the line he and Hermione and Chris were in, Marge's mood had obviously begun to change.
When she saw him , her eyes widened, but just as she seemed ready to begin bawling about his criminal tendencies, her face took on a totally different look."Harry Potter! Imagine finding you so far from home. And you're with this lovely family? "
"We brought Harry over as a part of his birthday celebration - he'll be fifteen this week, and since Harry's been such a good employee this summer, we wanted to reward him. This is my husband Chris, and our daughter Hermione."
"Yes, another birthday for Harry! And I've been meaning to send your present for a month!" Aunt Marge said in a voice that resembled Ludo Bagman's when he was commentating for the Quidditch World Cup.
'This ought to be interesting', thought Harry.The only gift Marge had ever given him had been to call Ripper off at midnight once so he could climb out of the tree he'd been chased up.
In fact, it did turn out to be not only interesting, but quite gratifying. Marge opened her huge handbag and pulled out an envelope stuffed with strange money, which she handed to Harry. "I won't be needing as much of this without Ripper," she said, sadly."I had booked a larger room, and of course Ripper eats like a horse. But I'm sure I'll never see the poor little thing again."
"Uh, thanks but I don't......" Harry began, but Ivy interruped him, so smoothly, Marge didn't notice.
"Isn't that lovely, and you're so kind!" she told Marge and then continued comfortingly, "I have a feeling though, you'll see Ripper soon, and you'll notice some very nice changes. He'll more than likely be fine in a smaller room, and Harry can use some of this birthday gift to help a few of the homeless animals in Paris. I'm so sure Ripper will be back, I'm going to give you this package of dog treats. Give him lots of them when you get him back."
Harry and Hermione were fighting a massive attack of giggles by now, but Marge Durseley was so overcome by the idea of Ripper returning to her that she seemed to think Harry and Hermione were only being very friendly and cheerful.
"Let us drop you at your hotel," said Chris, who seemed to be struggling with a laugh too. "We have a car waiting for us, and we'd like to see you safely settled."
Marge agreed, and soon they were leaving her at an establishment with a sign outside proclaiming it to be a hotel that accepted pets. Her luggage was unloaded, and soon the Grangers, and Harry were off to their own hotel.
"Where are we staying?" Harry asked Hermione. " I know I won't have heard of it, but I'd like to know, anyway." He was a little uncomfortable, now it had become clear all three Grangers spoke very fluent French. Hermione made him feel better about this immediately though.
" We'll be at the Hotel Relais Saint Jacques. It's wonderfully comfortable,and the staff is trained to be sure they can help anyone, whether they speak French or not. It's not that way in some of the hotels,Harry. In a few hotels we visited only French was spoken. They would look at you as if you were a worm if you couldn't understand or make yourself understood. And the Hotel Relais has a cozy feel, in spite of being a bit grand."
"Not much like Aunt Marge's hotel? But what about Crookshanks and Hedwig?" Harry asked worriedly. He knew Hermione would be miserable without Crookshanks , and Hedwig would ignore him for a month if she wasn't allowed out.
Hearing this, Ivy turned around and said reassuringly, " They'll be fine, Harry. I have an old friend here who's been living in the Muggle world for some time, and for similar reasons. She was able to...smooth the way for us. " She laughed and turned to Hermione." Marielle has children close to your age. Perhaps you and Harry would like to spend some time with them. You played with them when you were very young, though you may not remember."
"Oh, but I do! " Hermione answered, her eyes shining." I would love to visit them. They lived in a house that was more like a wizard's house than any I've known in the Muggle world. Sort of like the Burrow, just not as crowded. You don't think, Mom, that the children might be Beauxbatons students?"
"It's a good possibilty," Ivy told them. "I hadn't thought of it before, and Marielle has never mentioned her children's abilities. I haven't mentioned yours either though, Hermione. We will just have to wait and see."
Harry thought more than ever Ivy was a very unusual mother. He'd grown up watching and hearing Petunia and Vernon go on and on about Dudley's (nonexistent) remarkable qualities. And here was Ivy, with a daughter who was remarkable, never showing anything, except to Hermione herself.
He wondered what these French teenagers would be like, and had to admit to himself he wasn't crazy about the idea of sharing the time he was to have with Hermione with strangers. And would they have heard of him and ask all kinds of questions he couldn't answer in French?
They arrived at the hotel then, and in the flurrry of taking out baggage, and finding rooms, Hermione pulled Harry aside. " I don't know if you want to meet these people, but .... Harry I was thinking Ron could come over for a day or two, if one of Marielle's daughters turns out to be someone he might like. Even if it's just a quick trip, Ron needs to have a break too. I know Mom and Dad would agree to have him come."
Harry looked at Hermione and he couldn't help pulling her into one of the small alcoves along the hallway. It was so like Hermione to think about Ron, even in the midst of their own excitement at sharing a holiday! She looked at him with a question in her eyes, but then her eyes closed as he pulled her close and kissed her very thoroughly. When they stepped apart slightly, he could tell Hermione had that so familiar 'no bones in the legs feeling' and he held her by her shoulders and looked into her eyes.
"W.. what was that for, Harry? " she asked shakily, staring into his eyes with a wondering look. "Kind of, um, sudden, not that I'm complaining."
"That was partly because you just look so very kissable all of the time." Harry said in a voice that was at least as shaky as hers. " And partly because you are always and forever the best friend Ron and I could have, and you keep showing us that will never change. Ah, Hermione, I...."
" So, there you are! Come along and see your rooms," said Chris. "We were able to get the suite we hoped for, and it even has a refrigerator with ice!" Chris peered at them closely, especially Hermione. "And I see you have some scheme in mind, I've seen that look so often on your mother's face!"
Hermione laughed and said,"Right, dad, you caught me! Just scheming away!" As they walked away she and Harry exchanged raised eyebrowed looks, and Harry silently mouthed to her "To be continued." and ran a finger down her spine, making Hermione give an involuntary shiver.
So as Harry says"To be continued....."
I can't wait to meet these friends of Ivy's , can you?
And will Aunt Marge be appearing again? Hope we'll find out soon.
DISCLAIMER:
Things I don't own include:
Hotel Relais Saint Jacques
http://www.discoverfrance.com/HotelsParis/hotels/relais.html
A stone's throw from the Luxembourg Gardens, the Sorbonne, the Pantheon, and the Rue Mouffetard, on a quiet little square, this pure Haussmann style hotel once frequented by the famous Austrian writer Rifke, harmoniously combines luxury, comfort, refinement and spirituality. 23 rooms.
The Eurostar
http://www.europebytrain.com/eurostar.html
The Eurostar trains link the center of London with the centers of Paris and Brussels in about three hours. The trains make swift, smooth journeys through the Channel Tunnel at speeds of up to 100 mph and up to 186 mph in Europe.
Harry , Hermione, Marge Dursley,Ripper, Dr & Dr. Granger (except what I've done WITH them) , Harry's Firebolt, Crookshanks, Hedwig, or any of the Malfoy's or Weasleys. But I love them as if they were my own, and hopefully it shows. Harry appears to me "fully formed" too, and says "OK, time for more, Circe."
Who can refuse Harry Potter? Not me!
Thank you, J.K. Rowling! It's been fun. I sure wish you could be at Harry's birthday celebration. Lots of Circle Charms for you!