Disclaimer: The usual; I own nothing but the plot and Hermione's parents'
first names, both of which happen to be in this chapter. I also own a new
character, Dawn Parks. Do you remember her? I think she was in the first
chapter of this fic as Sirius's ex-girlfriend.
A/N: Hmm...this chapter has R/L. There shouldn't be too much disagreements about that since I put R/L in Temptation is Callin', right? Oh, and I don't know why, but I made Hermione's dad sound a bit like a cross between Vernon Dursley and Ron...dear Lord, I've created a monster!
Mark Granger frowned, looking down at a piece of parchment. It was a letter containing the whereabouts of his daughter, and who she was with at the moment. It didn't surprise Mark at all, though, that she was with the person that had wrote the letter, who just happened to be her boyfriend.
"Elizabeth, dear, have you read this?" Mark asked his wife, waving the letter around in mid-air. Elizabeth looked up from her bowl of cereal, and sighed.
"Yes, I have, hon. Why do you ask?" she asked absent-mindedly, half- knowing what was coming next.
"You mean you actually don't care about this...this-"
"No, Mark," Elizabeth answered sternly. "If you think about it, it was actually kind of...your fault that Hermione left so suddenly. You wouldn't let her go over to a friend's house for the summer!"
"No, no, no...stop. The boy isn't a friend of hers, 'Liz." Mark was turning red from anger. "He's her b-boyfriend!"
"So? That doesn't change anything. Really, Mark, Hermione's grown up now, she can take care of herself," replied Elizabeth soothingly. "And we've both met him, right? Harry seems like a friendly person. I mean, he must be if Hermione's attracted to him. You know, she is kind of picky on guys..." Mark sighed deeply while he thought of something to say to her in his defence. Elizabeth, enjoying the sight of watching her husband's face turn a light shade of purple with frustration, shook her head.
"The guy is...is...dangerous!" Mark finally answered.
"What? How is Harry in anyway dangerous?"
"He is being...watched...possibly stalked...by that Voldemort every minute of his life!"
"Sweetie, remember, it's You-Know-Who," whispered Elizabeth quietly. "And I'm sure Harry isn't 'being watched and possibly stalked by You-Know-Who every minute of his life'."
"I don't care!" Mark spat out angrily, but Elizabeth knew better than to take this seriously. Mark's anger never did last that much, anyway. "Our daughter could be in trouble, Elizabeth. She could get killed if she gets too close to that Potter boy!"
Elizabeth put down the newspaper that she had started to read. "No, she won't. You sound like you don't trust Harry, but I do. And you're making it sound like he himself is the Dark Lord! For goodness's sake, Mark, they're old enough to be able to protect themselves!" she remarked.
"Ah, but-" Mark interrupted.
"You're not writing to Hermione and ordering her to come back home. I'll make sure of that. She can stay at Harry's for the rest of the summer if she wants, agreed?" Elizabeth said, raising an eyebrow.
"Eli-"
"Good. Now hurry up and finish breakfast. You don't want to be late for work, do you, honey?" Elizabeth questioned innocently.
"Uh, no...of course not," mumbled Mark, scratching his head and grumpily walking over to the refrigerator to get himself some more milk for his cereal. 'Every time,' Elizabeth thought happily, looking up at her stubborn, but loving husband.
~*~
"Lavender?" Hermione said, startled. "What're you-"
"Lavender had decided to drop by, see how I was. Apparently, Mum told her where I'd gone," said Ron, looking very smug about all this. "Isn' that right, Lav?" Ron snuggled with Lavender, who giggled shyly like a little girl.
"Guys, go get a room," sighed Harry, and Hermione nodded, laughing quietly.
"It's really you two that need to get a room!" yelled Ron, smirking. "Man, that Pepper-up Potion scene, I honestly-"
"You saw?" Harry and Hermione quickly asked, their eyes wide in shock.
"No, I heard. You need to get a sound-proof room, actually..." Ron replied, laughing at his own joke. Harry was gaping at Ron, while Hermione was giving him looks that could kill.
"Well," said Lavender, making everyone jump. "Do you think...that maybe I could stay here for...possibly the remainder of the day?" Ron nodded furiously.
"Yeah! Can Lav stay, too?" he asked, excitement dripping out of his mouth with every word he said.
"Er..." Harry started.
"Thanks, Harr! Knew I could count on you, buddy ol' pal!" Ron yelled, slapping Harry's back unexpectedly with so much force that Harry almost fell onto the floor. Hermione gave a fatal sideways glance at Ron, who was grinning from ear to ear. He was giving off a look that kind of said, 'My girlfriend! My girlfriend! My majorly hot girlfriend is here! I must be the luckiest man in the world!!'
"Harr?" mumbled Harry. "Since when did you start calling me Harr?"
"Since forever! Let's go somewhere now...Lavender is going to suffocate if we stay here any longer. We need to go outside otherwise Lavender will be depressed, therefore killing me inside and out..." Ron sighed, faking a very badly acted-out faint.
"Good," Harry and Hermione both muttered. Most unfortunately, Lavender had heard them. That was when she started to...scream at them, not knowing they were probably being sarcastic.
"HOW DARE YOU! I thought you were supposed to be Ron's two best friends!"
"Erm...Lavender, calm down...we didn't mean-"
"-YOU NEVER CARE! I'm the ONLY one who does!" Lavender turned to Ron, smiling innocently. "Isn't that right, Ron? Aren't I the only one who truly cares about you?"
"Uh..."
"Yes. Good."
"Lavender," said Hermione, trying to change the topic, "why don't we all go outside so that you don't...erm...suffocate. How does that sound, hm?" Harry and Ron nodded, while Lavender's face lit up. She smiled again, nodding.
"SHOPPING!!" she screamed. "Let's go shopping at Hogsmeade village! It will be so fun! Like...a double date or something! How does that sound...Ron?" Ron nodded yet again, staring at Lavender as if she were an angel of some sort. Harry and Hermione agreed to go to Hogsmeade, but only on one condition - to have dinner at a nice, fancy restaurant before they started shopping. Lavender happily agreed, saying that they should all dress up first.
Lavender ushered them all upstairs, then told the boys to get changed into dress robes in Harry's room while she and Hermione went into the cozy- looking room that Hermione was staying in.
"Hermione, you're going to loooove the dress robes I brought!" Lavender squealed.
"Huh? You brought dress robes? Why? How'd you know we were going to need dress robes tonight?" a confused Hermione asked, although she had the impression that Lavender carried a couple of dress robes everywhere she went just in case there was a fancy ball or anything of that sort.
"Oh, that. Well actually..." Lavender suddenly became quiet. She looked around the room as if she was trying to see if someone was spying on them. She looked down, started twirling a strand of her hair, and continued. "Hermione, you're really smart, and...I know you think I'm just this...really dumb blonde. But...see, I-" -she toned down the volume of her voice even more that it was now a mere whisper- "I learned something from Professor Trelawney in Divination. I kind of...just kind of...started to understand how to...fortell. You know...yeah. You must think I'm crazy, since you thought Divination was horrible, don't you?"
Hermione started to laugh quietly. It was funny to see Lavender looking ashamed of actually learning something from a class. It was not too surprising, though, Lavender understanding something that Professor Trelawney said to her. After all, Lavender was one of the students that Professor Trelawney favored.
"That's great, Lavender. It's amazing how you have the power to fortell the future! I do wish I was good at that kind of magic." Lavender smiled gratefully, as Hermione went on. "And you're wrong, I don't think you're dumb. I never did. I try not to be so prejudice, so don't worry...and don't ever think of yourself as just a 'dumb blonde'. I tell you, I once believed I was the dumbest witch in all of the magical world, being Muggle- born and all. Believing that never gave me too much confidence."
"Thanks, Herm, you're a great friend," Lavender replied, before she quickly bounced back to her usual, very cheerful self. "SO! Wanna see something else I've learned at Hogwarts?" Lavender took out her wand, and waved it around in the air, saying, "Accio dress robes!"
Suddenly, two dress robes, each beautifully designed, came flying into Hermione's temporary room. Once they had both been carefully set down on Hermione's bed, Lavender walked over to the door and closed it, giggling at what the two boys in Harry's room were saying: "Ron, I am NOT going to put that on! It's not..." "Not what? Not good enough for you, huh? Don't you dare make fun of the dress robes that my sweet Lavender bought for us!" "No, Ron, Lavender was very nice to buy us these, but I don't think this one's me..." "Oh, come on, Harry! It's 'not you'? Then what IS you?" "Well how should I know...?" "You should know because you're you, therefore, you probably would know what IS you!"
Meanwhile, Hermione was gazing the two beautiful dress robes. One was a fancy, pearly white, while the other one was a simply designed, deep red.
"Lavender?" Hermione asked. "Which one's mine?"
Lavender turned around. "Yours is the one on the right. That red one."
Hermione smiled, "OK, I think I'll go try it on...I'll be right back."
"Sure," said Lavender, who was once again busy listening intently to Harry and Ron's conversation. Hermione carefully picked up the red dress robe, walked into the large, adjoined bathroom, and closed the door behind her. She quickly changed into the delicate clothing and looked at herself in the mirror. Seeing the reflection of herself, Hermione had to admit, the dress suit her perfectly, clinging to her not too loosely or tightly.
Hermione turned from the mirror and shouted, "Lavender, the dress robe looks great! Thanks!"
There was a muffled "You're welcome, now let me see you in it!" from the other side of the door that didn't sound like the normal Lavender. Hermione supposed it was just the door blocking some of the sound out.
"OK...fine..." Hermione sighed and opened the door, after quickly looking at herself in the mirror one more time just in case there was something wrong with the dress robe.
Slowly walking out of the bathroom, she gasped at the sight infront of her.
A/N: Ooh, what's up with that? Sorry for leaving you at a cliffhanger. Please review!!
~Rumiko Aida
A/N: Hmm...this chapter has R/L. There shouldn't be too much disagreements about that since I put R/L in Temptation is Callin', right? Oh, and I don't know why, but I made Hermione's dad sound a bit like a cross between Vernon Dursley and Ron...dear Lord, I've created a monster!
Mark Granger frowned, looking down at a piece of parchment. It was a letter containing the whereabouts of his daughter, and who she was with at the moment. It didn't surprise Mark at all, though, that she was with the person that had wrote the letter, who just happened to be her boyfriend.
"Elizabeth, dear, have you read this?" Mark asked his wife, waving the letter around in mid-air. Elizabeth looked up from her bowl of cereal, and sighed.
"Yes, I have, hon. Why do you ask?" she asked absent-mindedly, half- knowing what was coming next.
"You mean you actually don't care about this...this-"
"No, Mark," Elizabeth answered sternly. "If you think about it, it was actually kind of...your fault that Hermione left so suddenly. You wouldn't let her go over to a friend's house for the summer!"
"No, no, no...stop. The boy isn't a friend of hers, 'Liz." Mark was turning red from anger. "He's her b-boyfriend!"
"So? That doesn't change anything. Really, Mark, Hermione's grown up now, she can take care of herself," replied Elizabeth soothingly. "And we've both met him, right? Harry seems like a friendly person. I mean, he must be if Hermione's attracted to him. You know, she is kind of picky on guys..." Mark sighed deeply while he thought of something to say to her in his defence. Elizabeth, enjoying the sight of watching her husband's face turn a light shade of purple with frustration, shook her head.
"The guy is...is...dangerous!" Mark finally answered.
"What? How is Harry in anyway dangerous?"
"He is being...watched...possibly stalked...by that Voldemort every minute of his life!"
"Sweetie, remember, it's You-Know-Who," whispered Elizabeth quietly. "And I'm sure Harry isn't 'being watched and possibly stalked by You-Know-Who every minute of his life'."
"I don't care!" Mark spat out angrily, but Elizabeth knew better than to take this seriously. Mark's anger never did last that much, anyway. "Our daughter could be in trouble, Elizabeth. She could get killed if she gets too close to that Potter boy!"
Elizabeth put down the newspaper that she had started to read. "No, she won't. You sound like you don't trust Harry, but I do. And you're making it sound like he himself is the Dark Lord! For goodness's sake, Mark, they're old enough to be able to protect themselves!" she remarked.
"Ah, but-" Mark interrupted.
"You're not writing to Hermione and ordering her to come back home. I'll make sure of that. She can stay at Harry's for the rest of the summer if she wants, agreed?" Elizabeth said, raising an eyebrow.
"Eli-"
"Good. Now hurry up and finish breakfast. You don't want to be late for work, do you, honey?" Elizabeth questioned innocently.
"Uh, no...of course not," mumbled Mark, scratching his head and grumpily walking over to the refrigerator to get himself some more milk for his cereal. 'Every time,' Elizabeth thought happily, looking up at her stubborn, but loving husband.
~*~
"Lavender?" Hermione said, startled. "What're you-"
"Lavender had decided to drop by, see how I was. Apparently, Mum told her where I'd gone," said Ron, looking very smug about all this. "Isn' that right, Lav?" Ron snuggled with Lavender, who giggled shyly like a little girl.
"Guys, go get a room," sighed Harry, and Hermione nodded, laughing quietly.
"It's really you two that need to get a room!" yelled Ron, smirking. "Man, that Pepper-up Potion scene, I honestly-"
"You saw?" Harry and Hermione quickly asked, their eyes wide in shock.
"No, I heard. You need to get a sound-proof room, actually..." Ron replied, laughing at his own joke. Harry was gaping at Ron, while Hermione was giving him looks that could kill.
"Well," said Lavender, making everyone jump. "Do you think...that maybe I could stay here for...possibly the remainder of the day?" Ron nodded furiously.
"Yeah! Can Lav stay, too?" he asked, excitement dripping out of his mouth with every word he said.
"Er..." Harry started.
"Thanks, Harr! Knew I could count on you, buddy ol' pal!" Ron yelled, slapping Harry's back unexpectedly with so much force that Harry almost fell onto the floor. Hermione gave a fatal sideways glance at Ron, who was grinning from ear to ear. He was giving off a look that kind of said, 'My girlfriend! My girlfriend! My majorly hot girlfriend is here! I must be the luckiest man in the world!!'
"Harr?" mumbled Harry. "Since when did you start calling me Harr?"
"Since forever! Let's go somewhere now...Lavender is going to suffocate if we stay here any longer. We need to go outside otherwise Lavender will be depressed, therefore killing me inside and out..." Ron sighed, faking a very badly acted-out faint.
"Good," Harry and Hermione both muttered. Most unfortunately, Lavender had heard them. That was when she started to...scream at them, not knowing they were probably being sarcastic.
"HOW DARE YOU! I thought you were supposed to be Ron's two best friends!"
"Erm...Lavender, calm down...we didn't mean-"
"-YOU NEVER CARE! I'm the ONLY one who does!" Lavender turned to Ron, smiling innocently. "Isn't that right, Ron? Aren't I the only one who truly cares about you?"
"Uh..."
"Yes. Good."
"Lavender," said Hermione, trying to change the topic, "why don't we all go outside so that you don't...erm...suffocate. How does that sound, hm?" Harry and Ron nodded, while Lavender's face lit up. She smiled again, nodding.
"SHOPPING!!" she screamed. "Let's go shopping at Hogsmeade village! It will be so fun! Like...a double date or something! How does that sound...Ron?" Ron nodded yet again, staring at Lavender as if she were an angel of some sort. Harry and Hermione agreed to go to Hogsmeade, but only on one condition - to have dinner at a nice, fancy restaurant before they started shopping. Lavender happily agreed, saying that they should all dress up first.
Lavender ushered them all upstairs, then told the boys to get changed into dress robes in Harry's room while she and Hermione went into the cozy- looking room that Hermione was staying in.
"Hermione, you're going to loooove the dress robes I brought!" Lavender squealed.
"Huh? You brought dress robes? Why? How'd you know we were going to need dress robes tonight?" a confused Hermione asked, although she had the impression that Lavender carried a couple of dress robes everywhere she went just in case there was a fancy ball or anything of that sort.
"Oh, that. Well actually..." Lavender suddenly became quiet. She looked around the room as if she was trying to see if someone was spying on them. She looked down, started twirling a strand of her hair, and continued. "Hermione, you're really smart, and...I know you think I'm just this...really dumb blonde. But...see, I-" -she toned down the volume of her voice even more that it was now a mere whisper- "I learned something from Professor Trelawney in Divination. I kind of...just kind of...started to understand how to...fortell. You know...yeah. You must think I'm crazy, since you thought Divination was horrible, don't you?"
Hermione started to laugh quietly. It was funny to see Lavender looking ashamed of actually learning something from a class. It was not too surprising, though, Lavender understanding something that Professor Trelawney said to her. After all, Lavender was one of the students that Professor Trelawney favored.
"That's great, Lavender. It's amazing how you have the power to fortell the future! I do wish I was good at that kind of magic." Lavender smiled gratefully, as Hermione went on. "And you're wrong, I don't think you're dumb. I never did. I try not to be so prejudice, so don't worry...and don't ever think of yourself as just a 'dumb blonde'. I tell you, I once believed I was the dumbest witch in all of the magical world, being Muggle- born and all. Believing that never gave me too much confidence."
"Thanks, Herm, you're a great friend," Lavender replied, before she quickly bounced back to her usual, very cheerful self. "SO! Wanna see something else I've learned at Hogwarts?" Lavender took out her wand, and waved it around in the air, saying, "Accio dress robes!"
Suddenly, two dress robes, each beautifully designed, came flying into Hermione's temporary room. Once they had both been carefully set down on Hermione's bed, Lavender walked over to the door and closed it, giggling at what the two boys in Harry's room were saying: "Ron, I am NOT going to put that on! It's not..." "Not what? Not good enough for you, huh? Don't you dare make fun of the dress robes that my sweet Lavender bought for us!" "No, Ron, Lavender was very nice to buy us these, but I don't think this one's me..." "Oh, come on, Harry! It's 'not you'? Then what IS you?" "Well how should I know...?" "You should know because you're you, therefore, you probably would know what IS you!"
Meanwhile, Hermione was gazing the two beautiful dress robes. One was a fancy, pearly white, while the other one was a simply designed, deep red.
"Lavender?" Hermione asked. "Which one's mine?"
Lavender turned around. "Yours is the one on the right. That red one."
Hermione smiled, "OK, I think I'll go try it on...I'll be right back."
"Sure," said Lavender, who was once again busy listening intently to Harry and Ron's conversation. Hermione carefully picked up the red dress robe, walked into the large, adjoined bathroom, and closed the door behind her. She quickly changed into the delicate clothing and looked at herself in the mirror. Seeing the reflection of herself, Hermione had to admit, the dress suit her perfectly, clinging to her not too loosely or tightly.
Hermione turned from the mirror and shouted, "Lavender, the dress robe looks great! Thanks!"
There was a muffled "You're welcome, now let me see you in it!" from the other side of the door that didn't sound like the normal Lavender. Hermione supposed it was just the door blocking some of the sound out.
"OK...fine..." Hermione sighed and opened the door, after quickly looking at herself in the mirror one more time just in case there was something wrong with the dress robe.
Slowly walking out of the bathroom, she gasped at the sight infront of her.
A/N: Ooh, what's up with that? Sorry for leaving you at a cliffhanger. Please review!!
~Rumiko Aida