A/n: *Looks around warily* Um, hello everyone! I know it's been forever since I've updated-I'm well aware. I apologize profusely in every way I know how. I've been swamped with schoolwork. Anyway, Destiny's Shadows is back, and I have a lot planned! I promise to be consistent in my updates from now on. In response to a review I got for the last chapter-I did not mean to offend anyone by making one of the bullies an American. I'm a faithful American myself. He simply wandered into my head like that and I didn't have the heart to change him. I'm sorry if I accidentally offended anyone out there. Anyway, last time I only got three reviews. Please, get me four or more this time! :-)
Destiny's Escalations 2
Harry awoke a long time later to darkness. He turned his face to the side and looked out the open window. The golden sun had been replaced by a silver half-moon and diamond stars. He realized he could see this all clearly and felt at his face to find that he'd slept in his glasses. He pulled them off, noticing their crooked state. Wonderful, he thought in mild annoyance. I'll have to wear them like this until Hogwarts is back in session and I can do magic.
He sat up, yawning. Though his eyelids were still a bit heavy, he felt much more rested than he had before. He felt relieved at the realization that he had not had any nightmares. He glanced at his wristwatch to see it was half past eight. Taming his hair with his hands, smoothing his wrinkled clothes, and replacing the uneven glasses back on the bridge of his nose, he headed out into the hall. Hermione's door was open and her room was vacant.
He walked quietly down the stairs. Hermione, at the very least, was still awake. He doubted her parents would be asleep. He headed into the living room, feeling that someone would probably be in there. His assumption was correct. As soon as he walked in, he saw Hermione laying on the couch, an open book in her hands. The television was on behind her with the sound low, but it was apparent that she was not watching it.
"Hey," he said quietly, but his voice was loud enough to get her attention.
She looked up, surprised and gave him her usual half-smile. "Hello," she replied. "You've been asleep for hours. I'm glad at least one of us can get a fairly average amount of sleep."
He walked over and Hermione sat up, allowing him room to sit beside her. "You could have taken a nap, too. I don't always have nightmares-you didn't earlier. You have to risk it eventually."
"I've been thinking about that, about the nightmares we've been having. It never seems that we have a nightmare when the other isn't asleep. Odd, isn't it?"
Harry realized she was correct. He'd been awake that morning when she'd slept, and she'd been awake all day while he'd rested. Of course, she'd been having nightmares over the summer when he hadn't, but at least that shed some sort of light into the shadows. He nodded. "You could be right. Maybe at Hogwarts we can look up stuff like this in the books. And Ron and Sirius should be getting back to me soon. Speaking of Hogwarts, what was going on earlier?"
Hermione grimaced. "My parents. They don't want me returning to Hogwarts. They feel it to be too dangerous after what happened and no matter what I do to convince them that Voldemort's now gone, they won't be shot down. My mum is the ringleader. Dad is worried for me, but he feels that I should be able to do what I enjoy and knows that Hogwarts is what I love. He doesn't want to take anymore away from me than I've already lost, he says. Mum won't hear of it though." She gave him a wry smile. "Not until about an hour ago, anyway. After she heard what happened today and after hours upon hours of Dad working with her, they've agreed to let me return."
Harry grinned and patted her shoulder. "Great. Hogwarts wouldn't be the same without you always nagging Ron and I to do our work and not copy. It would be a lot more peaceful . . ." He laughed to show he was joking and was surprised that she swung a pillow over to hit him. She really was opening up.
Just as he was raising his arms to fend off her next blow, his eye caught the TV screen and he stopped still, staring, his smile gone. Hermione froze as well, looking over. She looked grim and grabbed the remote, turning up the volume, for his benefit apparently as she didn't pay much attention. "They've been playing it all night," she informed him. "It was the straw that broke Mum's back, you might say. What made her finally relent and let me return."
Harry watched as a far away shot of Hermione throwing the boy from the park against a tree played. He could see himself there as well. They cut immediately to an announcer. "This is the newest in a line of amazingly shocking footage of a brutal attack upon two teenage boys today by none other than two wizards. The boys have spoken to us, saying-quote-'We were just walking along when they attacked us! Threw me against a tree with their magic!' It is quite apparent that these attacks are becoming more and more violent and unprovoked. We do appear to be in quite a predicament."
"Why are they talking like it's so definite that we're wizards? Before it was just a strong speculation," asked Harry to Hermione. If possible, her expression became even grimmer, all traces of the playfulness she'd had a moment ago long vanished.
"Not anymore," she said. "Apparently the new Minister of Magic, Harold Burns, talked to the Prime Minister recently."
Harry winced. "Sirius said that was planned. How did it go? I'm guessing not well."
She shook her head. "Not at all. He didn't speak to him so much as threatened him. Said he'd have the wizards attack the Muggles if he didn't hush up all this media hype. Of course the man had a press conference as soon as Burns left. Now everyone knows. It's war, Harry. The Muggles are already speaking of it and it's no question that if Burns was that way to the Prime Minister, he'll be the same way to all Muggles."
Harry sat back, sighing. "Wonderful, more good news," he muttered. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes. In the midst of the worries now plaguing him, he couldn't help but admit that he felt content sitting there, even after such horrible news. He'd been with the Grangers for one day now and still he felt more at home and much more welcome than he ever had with the Dursleys.
"That's not all," added Hermione hesitantly. When he didn't move, she continued. "They've issued a warrant for the immediate arrest of all citizens accused of being wizards or harboring wizards. We're in trouble, Harry. People will recognize us. We can't go out of the house. If they find us-which inevitably they will-they'll arrest my parents and take us into custody. Mum and Dad are on the front porch talking about it right now."
Something clicked in Harry's mind and he sat up. "The Dursleys," he said. "I'll bet they found out that anyone harboring a wizard was to be arrested. They wouldn't want to be taken into custody, so they threw me out the second they heard. It's probably why Aunt Petunia shrieked before Uncle Vernon nearly broke the door down to drag me out of the house." He thought about the second part of what she'd said. "So what are we going to do?"
Hermione just shook her head, looking bleak. "I don't know. They think we're going to have to leave here. Our faces have been seen. They'll track us down and take us. My parents don't know where to send us."
Harry considered and immediately thought of Ron. "Ron's," he said simply. "You know Mrs. Weasley-she'd be happy to take us. And they helped your parents so your Mum and Dad won't have a problem with them."
Hermione looked hesitant. "I don't know. I thought of it, but . . . I just wouldn't want to be around so many people. I'm hardly comfortable around my own parents."
"You're comfortable with me," he said gently. "Maybe you will be with Ron and his family too. You won't know unless you try."
"You're different, Harry," she said vaguely. "I don't know why, but the second I saw you, I could feel that you were different. There's just something about you I'm okay with. Something I can allow myself to open up to. I know-completely and undoubtedly-that I would not be able to do the same with another person. Besides, you said the Weasleys didn't have the money to take you let alone the both of us."
Hermione's last comment hit him and he sighed, sitting back. That was true. He considered her other words. He felt the same way about her, though to a slightly different effect. He didn't have a problem opening up to other people, but he knew that he felt more comfortable with Hermione than he ever had with anyone before. He felt a complete trust, an unbreakable bond had formed between the two of them and he knew she felt it too. He could feel her certainty of this just as strongly as he could feel his own.
He settled back into his thoughts. He remembered staying at the Leaky Cauldron in the summer before his third year, but he quickly dismissed this as a possibility. If Hermione would feel uncomfortable around the Weasley family, who were their friends, then she would certainly feel the same there around hundreds of strangers. Not to mention the fact that her parents would almost certainly not allow it. That left him with one last idea, his only hope.
"Sirius," he said. "Dumbledore's hideout. It's where Sirius is staying with Lupin, Dumbledore, and that Fletcher guy. Probably Professor Figg, too, as she's moved out of her house near the Dursleys'. I stayed there the first couple of days of the summer. It's not so bad. Kind of small and hidden away, but that's what we need, isn't it?"
Hermione looked torn. "I guess," she said slowly. "It does appear to be our only option. I wouldn't mind being around Sirius or Professor Lupin or Dumbledore. The only other option is being sent to one of my relatives and that's not what I want."
"Do you want to suggest it to your parents?" he asked. "I could if you want me to."
She shook her head and stood, looking quiet and withdrawn again. "No, that's fine. I need some air anyway. Why don't you head upstairs and I'll meet you up there?" With that, she turned and left the room.
Harry bounded back up the stairs and into his room. The second he reached the doorway, he stopped still, his eyes bulging. Crookshanks was standing on Harry's bed, eyeing Hedwig who was sitting perched on the windowsill. Harry rushed forward, grabbing Crookshanks around the middle before he could lunge at his owl. Crookshanks hissed and clawed at him and by the time Harry had set him down in the hallway and closed the door, his arms were covered in bloody, stinging scratches from the cat's vicious claws. Hedwig hooted in a regal way as the door closed as though to say, Good riddance.
Harry walked quickly over to her, wincing as he looked over his tattered arms. He pulled the letter off of her leg and sat on his bed, opening it. Ron's untidy scrawl was on the front. He pulled the letter out and read it quickly.
Harry,
Merlin, does your life ever settle down? Not to be rude, I actually feel quite
sorry for you in that respect. They kicked you out of the house? Those bloody
Muggles! You are all right, aren't you? How is Hermione handling everything?
Hedwig got here very quickly. Guess Hermione's house isn't that far from the
Burrow.
What happened with those Muggles?! It's all over their news, pal. They
are completely blowing it out of proportion-making it sound like you murdered
the guy. The Minister of Magic is pressing for war harder than ever. Need-
less to say, this is not good. The Daily Prophet is enclosed with two articles
you should be interested in seeing. One's about your encounter with the Mug-
gles and the other is . . . something you need to see. It appears that with the
passing of one year, Rita Skeeter is back at it. So much for breaking her habit
of writing awful stories. She's targeting Hermione now. Personally, I still think
Hermione would have been better off squashing Rita the Beetle under her shoe.
What is this about weird dreams? That doesn't sound too normal. I've def-
initely never heard of it before. Hope you find your answer elsewhere, because
I don't know.
Good to hear from you and I'm sorry for all the trouble. Tell Hermione hello for
me.
-Ron
Harry picked up the envelope and pulled out the two newspaper clippings he hadn't noticed the first time. He was hesitant to read them-particularly Rita Skeeter's-but he knew that no good would come in keeping himself ignorant to such events. He unfolded the one about the encounter between he and Hermione and the Muggles.
Young heroes Harry Potter and Hermione Granger encounter Muggle trouble
Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, two of the most famous wizards in the history of our world encountered difficulty earlier today with a pair of Muggle teenagers. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, and Hermione Granger, the girl who just months ago helped Potter destroy the Dark Lord permanently, are being charged by Muggle law enforcement officers with the attempted murder of Karl Ross and Paul MacDougal. Our Ministry is currently sending officials from the Department of Mysteries to look into the case, though it is common consensus that the two children are not responsible for the said act. It is being made out as a case of self-defense in which the Muggles attacked them, which is being verified by Martha Persel, an elderly witch who witnessed the scene earlier. Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has gone on record saying firmly that neither of the two were on the offensive. Sirius Black, Potter's godfather and former Azkaban prisoner who was wrongly convicted, has also spoken to a few of our reporters, saying fiercely, "Harry and Hermione are at fault for nothing that happened. You all leave them alone. They've been through enough without your sharks bothering them with things that aren't their fault."
Harry's emotions were mixed as he finished reading the article. He was happy that the wizarding community didn't blame him for this and was glad that Dumbledore and Sirius were aware of the situation. Once again he felt anxious at just how slow owl post was. He wouldn't have wanted to have to send Sirius a letter notifying him of these recent developments.
Hesitantly, he began to unfold the other paper, uncertain of what would lay ahead. Anything was possible with Rita Skeeter-but he knew that this article would certainly be particularly nasty. She couldn't be happy with Hermione for trapping her as a bug and blackmailing her, then halting her career for a year. Now that she was back, she would make every accusation she could and hurl them all Hermione's way. Though Hermione had not been particularly worried about Rita's last article about her, she was in a much more fragile state now. No telling what another event--in only two days already piled with enough confusion to last a year--would do.
He was spared the immediate pain of reading Rita's article by Hermione's knock. "Come in," he called after a moment where his heart jumped at a sudden noise in the silence. She entered and he looked back at her, quickly hiding the newspaper clipping. He was not fast enough to evade her eyes and she narrowed them at Harry.
"What?" she asked. Her voice had an edge to it that warned him not to lie to her.
"Nothing," said Harry, but his voice was high-pitched and he'd replied too quickly.
"Just let me see the newspaper article," she sighed, sitting down. "It can't be that bad and I'm not in the mood for wrestling you."
Harry's desire to hide the article from her was suspended temporarily by his shock. He looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Okay, I can see how you'd see I was hiding a paper from you, but how could you tell it was a newspaper article? It was folded!"
Hermione stared at him, her face a mirror of his. "I . . . I don't know . . ." she whispered. She looked quite stunned. After a moment of brow-furrowing thought, she paled more. "The article is from Rita Skeeter."
Harry was beyond shocked and into worried. Hermione was far beyond worried, this odd encounter quite reminiscent of her visions the previous day. "I knew that," she said, her voice heightening in panic with each word. "I knew it was from her! I didn't guess, I knew-like I'd read her name already! How did I know, Harry? How did I know that?"
It was obvious that Hermione's resolve had worn out and she was dissolving. Everything had become too much for her too quickly. He knew she'd been struggling coming to grips with the events of the past year, then all the events of the past two days had been thrown at her with no time in between to consider them, to cope. Every last bit of strength to hold out had been slowly destroyed with the days' events, and her last bit had just been smashed.
"Calm down. It's okay. I don't understand this anymore than you do, but it will be okay. I'll stay with you through whatever comes, I promise." He wasn't sure what else to say.
His words didn't seem to do much to calm her, but after a few seconds, she regained her composure. "I'm sorry for that . . . everything's just gotten to be too much for me I suppose."
"Don't apologize," he said quietly. "It isn't your fault. None of this is your fault." He pulled out Rita Skeeter's article and she watched him with apprehension in her chocolate eyes. He folded it once more and set it on the table by his bed. "We won't bother with her tonight."
"No," said Hermione, shaking her head. "Read it. Just get it over with. I don't want to be losing sleep over that awful woman. I should have just turned her in."
Harry agreed on that point, but said nothing aloud. He picked up the article, sending her a questioning glance. It appeared she'd recovered some of her strength and she nodded determinedly. He unfolded it and displayed it for both of them to see.
Hermione Granger: Hero or traitor?
By this time, the story of Hermione Granger has become just about as famous as the story of Harry Potter himself, writes Rita Skeeter. Her name has certainly become as common as his. Her story is astounding and a true example of good surviving the harshest things life can throw its way to defeat evil in the end. During the days of terror that followed You-Know-Who's takeover of Hogwarts School, young Miss Granger's name was thrown to all sides of the board-from a brave soul fighting for the light side in the pits of the Dark Lord's ranks, to the traitorous Death Eater that helped betray the school. In the end, things were cleared up and Miss Granger was declared a hero when the real story came out. However, many questions still arise at the mention of these awe-inspiring events. There are so many things left unanswered and blank spots in a tale woven for us to believe. Any average person must ask themselves just how much of this story is true and how much is just that-a story. Dumbledore has refused adamantly to speak of it, as have all other members of Hogwarts staff that are informed of the events. Harry Potter has eluded media questioning by returning to his Muggle home and Ron Weasley, Miss Granger's other best friend and the only other living person with her through most of the ordeal, has on many times refused to comment, once even lashing out with a long string of insults for this reporter, many too colorful to repeat here. What is there to hide that no one dares speak of it? Perhaps they are covering for a darker story, one no one cares to let the media get wind of? Miss Granger bears the Dark Mark as any Death Eater does. True, it is said that she wears this mark because of her devotion to the Light side-a twisted play on words in this reporter's opinion-but can we trust that to be the truth? How do we know anything that has been spread to public ears is indeed true? For all the public knows, Miss Granger was once as much a Death Eater as any other. Perhaps in the end she switched over, but we have no proof to verify anything. No one questions the fact that Miss Granger is quite possibly one of the smartest students in Hogwarts history. It is not all that far fetched that she is still a Dark devotee, just as loyal to You-Know-Who as any of his other Death Eaters. She would have been intelligent enough to tell when the Dark Lord was losing the battle. Just as with You-Know-Who's reign sixteen years ago, she could be returning to the Light side with a made-up story to restore the status she'd destroyed by going over in the first place. It would most likely be in the best interests of Dumbledore, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and anyone else who knows anything concrete about this to step forward before these rumors-or possibly these truths-become too far out of hand to restrain.
Harry felt his fists clench as he read the article and peered over at Hermione out of the corner of his eye wondering about her reaction. When she finished, she rolled her eyes, grabbed the article, smashed it in her fist, and threw it easily into the garbage can a few feet away.
"She's so full of it," muttered Hermione, but she didn't seem particularly bothered.
"Are you okay with that?" asked Harry hesitantly, watching cautiously for her reaction.
"I don't really care," said Hermione honestly. "I know what happened and everyone who cares about me knows too. Everyone else can think what they want. Let them believe her or not. It's their choice and I don't particularly mind it. If they're thick enough to believe her, than they'll believe anything. Oh, sure, the first chance I get I'll turn Rita in to the Ministry about her being an Animagus, but in the mean time I don't intend to stay up late worrying over her petty revenge articles. I have much more important things to worry about."
Harry looked at Hermione in admiration. He couldn't say he'd be this composed had the article been about him. He gave her a smile that relayed his thoughts and took her hand. "You're pretty amazing, you know that?"
Hermione laughed ruefully. "I appreciate your compliment, but amazing is an adjective low on a list used to describe me."
Harry shook his head, his facial expression completely serious. "No, I mean it. I've never met anyone who could go through as much as you have and still be able to survive. Certainly you have nightmares and get upset-anyone would. That doesn't make you any less courageous. People should look up to you a lot more than they look up to me. I'm not sure I could have handled all you have."
She gave him a small, sad smile and looked down. "Of course you could have handled it, Harry. You've handled Voldemort before, so many times."
"Hermione," said Harry with a sigh in his words. How could he make her see the truth? "Look at me." She didn't look up, so he gently put his hand under her chin and tilted her face up. She didn't fight him, though the oddness of the situation did hit her. "I may have come face to face with him before. I may have beaten him before. But never-never-have I ever survived through such seemingly impossible circumstances to finally destroy him entirely. Never have I dealt with the hardest, most terrifying things life could throw at me and still manage to be willing to return for one last suicidal battle with the madman who brought it all about. I don't know if I could have handled it. Maybe I could have, but there's an equal chance that I couldn't have. I know I couldn't have put aside my differences with Malfoy enough to work with him when I had no choice-I couldn't have done it under normal, everyday circumstances, let alone after what he did. You're stronger than me in a lot of ways, Hermione. And amazing is a perfect adjective to describe you."
They looked at one another for a moment before Harry realized exactly what he was saying. Reality seemed to surge up and smack him in the face. He could feel the heat rise in his cheeks as he took his hand away from Hermione and determinedly focused his eyes on another part of the room. Now was not the time for this. The heat in his face was nearly unbearable and it was hard to think of time that he'd ever felt this embarrassed.
Hermione watched him for a moment once he'd looked away. She could feel a jumble of feelings inside and she wasn't quite sure how to sort them out. Something had passed between them in that moment, something more than normal. For the first time, she'd felt something odd when he'd touched her. She wasn't sure what, but she had an idea: contentment. She wasn't sure how she felt about this, let alone what had brought it on. She'd never felt this way before. She forced herself to set it aside. She stood.
"I think I'm going to turn in," she said. She bowed her head. "This could very well be the last night of the summer I spend here."
Harry remembered suddenly that Hermione had gone down to speak with her parents about going to Sirius. "How did it go?" he asked.
She shook her head and shrugged. "They said they'd consider it. It could go in any direction at this point. Why can't everything stay the same for even a little while? Just when I begin settling down here, I have to leave again. And now these strange visions and dreams . . . and how I knew about the newspaper article . . . is someone up there just determined to ruin my life?"
"Get some sleep," suggested Harry after a moment's silence. "You're tired and aren't thinking clearly. I won't sleep for a while and we'll see if we're right or not about the dreams. I'll see you tomorrow."
Hermione nodded and turned toward the door, opening it and stepping out. She closed it softly behind her and Harry could almost feel her withdrawing. Just an hour before she'd been laughing and ready for a pillow fight and now she was quiet and sullen again. He sighed dejectedly. Every time progress was made, something happened to start them back at stage one again.
He walked over to stroke Hedwig, who had flown over to her cage and was lapping water thirstily. He wondered why she'd returned with only Ron's letter. Obviously she'd dropped off Sirius's too, or else it would still be on her leg. Maybe Sirius was using another owl. Harry didn't much care as long as his godfather replied sometime soon.
"Sirius, where are you?" he whispered into the darkness outside his window. His voice was filled was a painful longing. "We need you right now."
Destiny's Escalations 2
Harry awoke a long time later to darkness. He turned his face to the side and looked out the open window. The golden sun had been replaced by a silver half-moon and diamond stars. He realized he could see this all clearly and felt at his face to find that he'd slept in his glasses. He pulled them off, noticing their crooked state. Wonderful, he thought in mild annoyance. I'll have to wear them like this until Hogwarts is back in session and I can do magic.
He sat up, yawning. Though his eyelids were still a bit heavy, he felt much more rested than he had before. He felt relieved at the realization that he had not had any nightmares. He glanced at his wristwatch to see it was half past eight. Taming his hair with his hands, smoothing his wrinkled clothes, and replacing the uneven glasses back on the bridge of his nose, he headed out into the hall. Hermione's door was open and her room was vacant.
He walked quietly down the stairs. Hermione, at the very least, was still awake. He doubted her parents would be asleep. He headed into the living room, feeling that someone would probably be in there. His assumption was correct. As soon as he walked in, he saw Hermione laying on the couch, an open book in her hands. The television was on behind her with the sound low, but it was apparent that she was not watching it.
"Hey," he said quietly, but his voice was loud enough to get her attention.
She looked up, surprised and gave him her usual half-smile. "Hello," she replied. "You've been asleep for hours. I'm glad at least one of us can get a fairly average amount of sleep."
He walked over and Hermione sat up, allowing him room to sit beside her. "You could have taken a nap, too. I don't always have nightmares-you didn't earlier. You have to risk it eventually."
"I've been thinking about that, about the nightmares we've been having. It never seems that we have a nightmare when the other isn't asleep. Odd, isn't it?"
Harry realized she was correct. He'd been awake that morning when she'd slept, and she'd been awake all day while he'd rested. Of course, she'd been having nightmares over the summer when he hadn't, but at least that shed some sort of light into the shadows. He nodded. "You could be right. Maybe at Hogwarts we can look up stuff like this in the books. And Ron and Sirius should be getting back to me soon. Speaking of Hogwarts, what was going on earlier?"
Hermione grimaced. "My parents. They don't want me returning to Hogwarts. They feel it to be too dangerous after what happened and no matter what I do to convince them that Voldemort's now gone, they won't be shot down. My mum is the ringleader. Dad is worried for me, but he feels that I should be able to do what I enjoy and knows that Hogwarts is what I love. He doesn't want to take anymore away from me than I've already lost, he says. Mum won't hear of it though." She gave him a wry smile. "Not until about an hour ago, anyway. After she heard what happened today and after hours upon hours of Dad working with her, they've agreed to let me return."
Harry grinned and patted her shoulder. "Great. Hogwarts wouldn't be the same without you always nagging Ron and I to do our work and not copy. It would be a lot more peaceful . . ." He laughed to show he was joking and was surprised that she swung a pillow over to hit him. She really was opening up.
Just as he was raising his arms to fend off her next blow, his eye caught the TV screen and he stopped still, staring, his smile gone. Hermione froze as well, looking over. She looked grim and grabbed the remote, turning up the volume, for his benefit apparently as she didn't pay much attention. "They've been playing it all night," she informed him. "It was the straw that broke Mum's back, you might say. What made her finally relent and let me return."
Harry watched as a far away shot of Hermione throwing the boy from the park against a tree played. He could see himself there as well. They cut immediately to an announcer. "This is the newest in a line of amazingly shocking footage of a brutal attack upon two teenage boys today by none other than two wizards. The boys have spoken to us, saying-quote-'We were just walking along when they attacked us! Threw me against a tree with their magic!' It is quite apparent that these attacks are becoming more and more violent and unprovoked. We do appear to be in quite a predicament."
"Why are they talking like it's so definite that we're wizards? Before it was just a strong speculation," asked Harry to Hermione. If possible, her expression became even grimmer, all traces of the playfulness she'd had a moment ago long vanished.
"Not anymore," she said. "Apparently the new Minister of Magic, Harold Burns, talked to the Prime Minister recently."
Harry winced. "Sirius said that was planned. How did it go? I'm guessing not well."
She shook her head. "Not at all. He didn't speak to him so much as threatened him. Said he'd have the wizards attack the Muggles if he didn't hush up all this media hype. Of course the man had a press conference as soon as Burns left. Now everyone knows. It's war, Harry. The Muggles are already speaking of it and it's no question that if Burns was that way to the Prime Minister, he'll be the same way to all Muggles."
Harry sat back, sighing. "Wonderful, more good news," he muttered. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes. In the midst of the worries now plaguing him, he couldn't help but admit that he felt content sitting there, even after such horrible news. He'd been with the Grangers for one day now and still he felt more at home and much more welcome than he ever had with the Dursleys.
"That's not all," added Hermione hesitantly. When he didn't move, she continued. "They've issued a warrant for the immediate arrest of all citizens accused of being wizards or harboring wizards. We're in trouble, Harry. People will recognize us. We can't go out of the house. If they find us-which inevitably they will-they'll arrest my parents and take us into custody. Mum and Dad are on the front porch talking about it right now."
Something clicked in Harry's mind and he sat up. "The Dursleys," he said. "I'll bet they found out that anyone harboring a wizard was to be arrested. They wouldn't want to be taken into custody, so they threw me out the second they heard. It's probably why Aunt Petunia shrieked before Uncle Vernon nearly broke the door down to drag me out of the house." He thought about the second part of what she'd said. "So what are we going to do?"
Hermione just shook her head, looking bleak. "I don't know. They think we're going to have to leave here. Our faces have been seen. They'll track us down and take us. My parents don't know where to send us."
Harry considered and immediately thought of Ron. "Ron's," he said simply. "You know Mrs. Weasley-she'd be happy to take us. And they helped your parents so your Mum and Dad won't have a problem with them."
Hermione looked hesitant. "I don't know. I thought of it, but . . . I just wouldn't want to be around so many people. I'm hardly comfortable around my own parents."
"You're comfortable with me," he said gently. "Maybe you will be with Ron and his family too. You won't know unless you try."
"You're different, Harry," she said vaguely. "I don't know why, but the second I saw you, I could feel that you were different. There's just something about you I'm okay with. Something I can allow myself to open up to. I know-completely and undoubtedly-that I would not be able to do the same with another person. Besides, you said the Weasleys didn't have the money to take you let alone the both of us."
Hermione's last comment hit him and he sighed, sitting back. That was true. He considered her other words. He felt the same way about her, though to a slightly different effect. He didn't have a problem opening up to other people, but he knew that he felt more comfortable with Hermione than he ever had with anyone before. He felt a complete trust, an unbreakable bond had formed between the two of them and he knew she felt it too. He could feel her certainty of this just as strongly as he could feel his own.
He settled back into his thoughts. He remembered staying at the Leaky Cauldron in the summer before his third year, but he quickly dismissed this as a possibility. If Hermione would feel uncomfortable around the Weasley family, who were their friends, then she would certainly feel the same there around hundreds of strangers. Not to mention the fact that her parents would almost certainly not allow it. That left him with one last idea, his only hope.
"Sirius," he said. "Dumbledore's hideout. It's where Sirius is staying with Lupin, Dumbledore, and that Fletcher guy. Probably Professor Figg, too, as she's moved out of her house near the Dursleys'. I stayed there the first couple of days of the summer. It's not so bad. Kind of small and hidden away, but that's what we need, isn't it?"
Hermione looked torn. "I guess," she said slowly. "It does appear to be our only option. I wouldn't mind being around Sirius or Professor Lupin or Dumbledore. The only other option is being sent to one of my relatives and that's not what I want."
"Do you want to suggest it to your parents?" he asked. "I could if you want me to."
She shook her head and stood, looking quiet and withdrawn again. "No, that's fine. I need some air anyway. Why don't you head upstairs and I'll meet you up there?" With that, she turned and left the room.
Harry bounded back up the stairs and into his room. The second he reached the doorway, he stopped still, his eyes bulging. Crookshanks was standing on Harry's bed, eyeing Hedwig who was sitting perched on the windowsill. Harry rushed forward, grabbing Crookshanks around the middle before he could lunge at his owl. Crookshanks hissed and clawed at him and by the time Harry had set him down in the hallway and closed the door, his arms were covered in bloody, stinging scratches from the cat's vicious claws. Hedwig hooted in a regal way as the door closed as though to say, Good riddance.
Harry walked quickly over to her, wincing as he looked over his tattered arms. He pulled the letter off of her leg and sat on his bed, opening it. Ron's untidy scrawl was on the front. He pulled the letter out and read it quickly.
Harry,
Merlin, does your life ever settle down? Not to be rude, I actually feel quite
sorry for you in that respect. They kicked you out of the house? Those bloody
Muggles! You are all right, aren't you? How is Hermione handling everything?
Hedwig got here very quickly. Guess Hermione's house isn't that far from the
Burrow.
What happened with those Muggles?! It's all over their news, pal. They
are completely blowing it out of proportion-making it sound like you murdered
the guy. The Minister of Magic is pressing for war harder than ever. Need-
less to say, this is not good. The Daily Prophet is enclosed with two articles
you should be interested in seeing. One's about your encounter with the Mug-
gles and the other is . . . something you need to see. It appears that with the
passing of one year, Rita Skeeter is back at it. So much for breaking her habit
of writing awful stories. She's targeting Hermione now. Personally, I still think
Hermione would have been better off squashing Rita the Beetle under her shoe.
What is this about weird dreams? That doesn't sound too normal. I've def-
initely never heard of it before. Hope you find your answer elsewhere, because
I don't know.
Good to hear from you and I'm sorry for all the trouble. Tell Hermione hello for
me.
-Ron
Harry picked up the envelope and pulled out the two newspaper clippings he hadn't noticed the first time. He was hesitant to read them-particularly Rita Skeeter's-but he knew that no good would come in keeping himself ignorant to such events. He unfolded the one about the encounter between he and Hermione and the Muggles.
Young heroes Harry Potter and Hermione Granger encounter Muggle trouble
Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, two of the most famous wizards in the history of our world encountered difficulty earlier today with a pair of Muggle teenagers. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, and Hermione Granger, the girl who just months ago helped Potter destroy the Dark Lord permanently, are being charged by Muggle law enforcement officers with the attempted murder of Karl Ross and Paul MacDougal. Our Ministry is currently sending officials from the Department of Mysteries to look into the case, though it is common consensus that the two children are not responsible for the said act. It is being made out as a case of self-defense in which the Muggles attacked them, which is being verified by Martha Persel, an elderly witch who witnessed the scene earlier. Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has gone on record saying firmly that neither of the two were on the offensive. Sirius Black, Potter's godfather and former Azkaban prisoner who was wrongly convicted, has also spoken to a few of our reporters, saying fiercely, "Harry and Hermione are at fault for nothing that happened. You all leave them alone. They've been through enough without your sharks bothering them with things that aren't their fault."
Harry's emotions were mixed as he finished reading the article. He was happy that the wizarding community didn't blame him for this and was glad that Dumbledore and Sirius were aware of the situation. Once again he felt anxious at just how slow owl post was. He wouldn't have wanted to have to send Sirius a letter notifying him of these recent developments.
Hesitantly, he began to unfold the other paper, uncertain of what would lay ahead. Anything was possible with Rita Skeeter-but he knew that this article would certainly be particularly nasty. She couldn't be happy with Hermione for trapping her as a bug and blackmailing her, then halting her career for a year. Now that she was back, she would make every accusation she could and hurl them all Hermione's way. Though Hermione had not been particularly worried about Rita's last article about her, she was in a much more fragile state now. No telling what another event--in only two days already piled with enough confusion to last a year--would do.
He was spared the immediate pain of reading Rita's article by Hermione's knock. "Come in," he called after a moment where his heart jumped at a sudden noise in the silence. She entered and he looked back at her, quickly hiding the newspaper clipping. He was not fast enough to evade her eyes and she narrowed them at Harry.
"What?" she asked. Her voice had an edge to it that warned him not to lie to her.
"Nothing," said Harry, but his voice was high-pitched and he'd replied too quickly.
"Just let me see the newspaper article," she sighed, sitting down. "It can't be that bad and I'm not in the mood for wrestling you."
Harry's desire to hide the article from her was suspended temporarily by his shock. He looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Okay, I can see how you'd see I was hiding a paper from you, but how could you tell it was a newspaper article? It was folded!"
Hermione stared at him, her face a mirror of his. "I . . . I don't know . . ." she whispered. She looked quite stunned. After a moment of brow-furrowing thought, she paled more. "The article is from Rita Skeeter."
Harry was beyond shocked and into worried. Hermione was far beyond worried, this odd encounter quite reminiscent of her visions the previous day. "I knew that," she said, her voice heightening in panic with each word. "I knew it was from her! I didn't guess, I knew-like I'd read her name already! How did I know, Harry? How did I know that?"
It was obvious that Hermione's resolve had worn out and she was dissolving. Everything had become too much for her too quickly. He knew she'd been struggling coming to grips with the events of the past year, then all the events of the past two days had been thrown at her with no time in between to consider them, to cope. Every last bit of strength to hold out had been slowly destroyed with the days' events, and her last bit had just been smashed.
"Calm down. It's okay. I don't understand this anymore than you do, but it will be okay. I'll stay with you through whatever comes, I promise." He wasn't sure what else to say.
His words didn't seem to do much to calm her, but after a few seconds, she regained her composure. "I'm sorry for that . . . everything's just gotten to be too much for me I suppose."
"Don't apologize," he said quietly. "It isn't your fault. None of this is your fault." He pulled out Rita Skeeter's article and she watched him with apprehension in her chocolate eyes. He folded it once more and set it on the table by his bed. "We won't bother with her tonight."
"No," said Hermione, shaking her head. "Read it. Just get it over with. I don't want to be losing sleep over that awful woman. I should have just turned her in."
Harry agreed on that point, but said nothing aloud. He picked up the article, sending her a questioning glance. It appeared she'd recovered some of her strength and she nodded determinedly. He unfolded it and displayed it for both of them to see.
Hermione Granger: Hero or traitor?
By this time, the story of Hermione Granger has become just about as famous as the story of Harry Potter himself, writes Rita Skeeter. Her name has certainly become as common as his. Her story is astounding and a true example of good surviving the harshest things life can throw its way to defeat evil in the end. During the days of terror that followed You-Know-Who's takeover of Hogwarts School, young Miss Granger's name was thrown to all sides of the board-from a brave soul fighting for the light side in the pits of the Dark Lord's ranks, to the traitorous Death Eater that helped betray the school. In the end, things were cleared up and Miss Granger was declared a hero when the real story came out. However, many questions still arise at the mention of these awe-inspiring events. There are so many things left unanswered and blank spots in a tale woven for us to believe. Any average person must ask themselves just how much of this story is true and how much is just that-a story. Dumbledore has refused adamantly to speak of it, as have all other members of Hogwarts staff that are informed of the events. Harry Potter has eluded media questioning by returning to his Muggle home and Ron Weasley, Miss Granger's other best friend and the only other living person with her through most of the ordeal, has on many times refused to comment, once even lashing out with a long string of insults for this reporter, many too colorful to repeat here. What is there to hide that no one dares speak of it? Perhaps they are covering for a darker story, one no one cares to let the media get wind of? Miss Granger bears the Dark Mark as any Death Eater does. True, it is said that she wears this mark because of her devotion to the Light side-a twisted play on words in this reporter's opinion-but can we trust that to be the truth? How do we know anything that has been spread to public ears is indeed true? For all the public knows, Miss Granger was once as much a Death Eater as any other. Perhaps in the end she switched over, but we have no proof to verify anything. No one questions the fact that Miss Granger is quite possibly one of the smartest students in Hogwarts history. It is not all that far fetched that she is still a Dark devotee, just as loyal to You-Know-Who as any of his other Death Eaters. She would have been intelligent enough to tell when the Dark Lord was losing the battle. Just as with You-Know-Who's reign sixteen years ago, she could be returning to the Light side with a made-up story to restore the status she'd destroyed by going over in the first place. It would most likely be in the best interests of Dumbledore, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and anyone else who knows anything concrete about this to step forward before these rumors-or possibly these truths-become too far out of hand to restrain.
Harry felt his fists clench as he read the article and peered over at Hermione out of the corner of his eye wondering about her reaction. When she finished, she rolled her eyes, grabbed the article, smashed it in her fist, and threw it easily into the garbage can a few feet away.
"She's so full of it," muttered Hermione, but she didn't seem particularly bothered.
"Are you okay with that?" asked Harry hesitantly, watching cautiously for her reaction.
"I don't really care," said Hermione honestly. "I know what happened and everyone who cares about me knows too. Everyone else can think what they want. Let them believe her or not. It's their choice and I don't particularly mind it. If they're thick enough to believe her, than they'll believe anything. Oh, sure, the first chance I get I'll turn Rita in to the Ministry about her being an Animagus, but in the mean time I don't intend to stay up late worrying over her petty revenge articles. I have much more important things to worry about."
Harry looked at Hermione in admiration. He couldn't say he'd be this composed had the article been about him. He gave her a smile that relayed his thoughts and took her hand. "You're pretty amazing, you know that?"
Hermione laughed ruefully. "I appreciate your compliment, but amazing is an adjective low on a list used to describe me."
Harry shook his head, his facial expression completely serious. "No, I mean it. I've never met anyone who could go through as much as you have and still be able to survive. Certainly you have nightmares and get upset-anyone would. That doesn't make you any less courageous. People should look up to you a lot more than they look up to me. I'm not sure I could have handled all you have."
She gave him a small, sad smile and looked down. "Of course you could have handled it, Harry. You've handled Voldemort before, so many times."
"Hermione," said Harry with a sigh in his words. How could he make her see the truth? "Look at me." She didn't look up, so he gently put his hand under her chin and tilted her face up. She didn't fight him, though the oddness of the situation did hit her. "I may have come face to face with him before. I may have beaten him before. But never-never-have I ever survived through such seemingly impossible circumstances to finally destroy him entirely. Never have I dealt with the hardest, most terrifying things life could throw at me and still manage to be willing to return for one last suicidal battle with the madman who brought it all about. I don't know if I could have handled it. Maybe I could have, but there's an equal chance that I couldn't have. I know I couldn't have put aside my differences with Malfoy enough to work with him when I had no choice-I couldn't have done it under normal, everyday circumstances, let alone after what he did. You're stronger than me in a lot of ways, Hermione. And amazing is a perfect adjective to describe you."
They looked at one another for a moment before Harry realized exactly what he was saying. Reality seemed to surge up and smack him in the face. He could feel the heat rise in his cheeks as he took his hand away from Hermione and determinedly focused his eyes on another part of the room. Now was not the time for this. The heat in his face was nearly unbearable and it was hard to think of time that he'd ever felt this embarrassed.
Hermione watched him for a moment once he'd looked away. She could feel a jumble of feelings inside and she wasn't quite sure how to sort them out. Something had passed between them in that moment, something more than normal. For the first time, she'd felt something odd when he'd touched her. She wasn't sure what, but she had an idea: contentment. She wasn't sure how she felt about this, let alone what had brought it on. She'd never felt this way before. She forced herself to set it aside. She stood.
"I think I'm going to turn in," she said. She bowed her head. "This could very well be the last night of the summer I spend here."
Harry remembered suddenly that Hermione had gone down to speak with her parents about going to Sirius. "How did it go?" he asked.
She shook her head and shrugged. "They said they'd consider it. It could go in any direction at this point. Why can't everything stay the same for even a little while? Just when I begin settling down here, I have to leave again. And now these strange visions and dreams . . . and how I knew about the newspaper article . . . is someone up there just determined to ruin my life?"
"Get some sleep," suggested Harry after a moment's silence. "You're tired and aren't thinking clearly. I won't sleep for a while and we'll see if we're right or not about the dreams. I'll see you tomorrow."
Hermione nodded and turned toward the door, opening it and stepping out. She closed it softly behind her and Harry could almost feel her withdrawing. Just an hour before she'd been laughing and ready for a pillow fight and now she was quiet and sullen again. He sighed dejectedly. Every time progress was made, something happened to start them back at stage one again.
He walked over to stroke Hedwig, who had flown over to her cage and was lapping water thirstily. He wondered why she'd returned with only Ron's letter. Obviously she'd dropped off Sirius's too, or else it would still be on her leg. Maybe Sirius was using another owl. Harry didn't much care as long as his godfather replied sometime soon.
"Sirius, where are you?" he whispered into the darkness outside his window. His voice was filled was a painful longing. "We need you right now."