A/N: Ok, first off, this is a Harry/Hermione fic. It might end up being a Draco/Ginny, Ron/Lavender, Fred/Angelina, George/Katie, and will probably be an Oliver Wood/ OC. Now that that's out of the way, let me warn you that I've messed with a few people's ages. Fred, George, and Oliver are all 2 years older than Harry, as are Alicia, Angelina, and Katie. Some things may seem odd at first, but they all will be explained later.
Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT THE STUFF THAT'S MINE!!!
Chapter 1
Escape From a Horrid Holiday
Harry Potter looked happily around his room as he finished packing. No, it wasn't time for the school year yet! On the contrary, he was going to stay with one of his best friends, Hermione Granger, for the rest of the summer. His other best friend, Ron Weasley, was also going to be there. This was going to make the holidays even more fun. Of course, Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Cousin Dudley, his "family", were thrilled he was leaving. Hermione's parents, who were dentists, were coming to pick him up around noon.
Harry lugged his trunk, filled with both his Hogwarts things from last year, and some Muggle things, his Firebolt and the birdcage containing his pet owl, Hedwig, down the stairs.
"Now, they'll be coming the normal way, boy? Not like those loonies from last year?" Uncle Vernon inquired. As much as Harry would have loved to use magic on Uncle Vernon for calling the Weasleys "loonies" he stopped himself. It was already 11:50 and there was no reason for him to let them get him angry when he was so close to leaving.
"Vernon, dear, the car looks lovely," Aunt Petunia declared. Uncle Vernon had just bought a new car. It was a vintage '50's convertible. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Harry, who was luckily standing closest, opened it.
"Harry!" Hermione said, giving him a hug. "Mum and dad are out front." She moved out of the way so Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia could see her parents' car. It was a brand new red convertible. Uncle Vernon's jaw dropped.
"Hello, you must be Harry's Uncle," said Mr. Granger. Uncle Vernon still hadn't recovered, so he just nodded. Dudley, who had just come outside, saw the car and his jaw dropped as well to reveal severely yellowed teeth. Mr. Granger cringed, as did Mrs. Granger.
"Harry, I'll put that in the trunk for you," Mr. Granger said. After loading up the car, and releasing Hedwig, who was going to follow them from above, they all got in it.
"See you next summer!" Harry yelled. He was sitting in the back with Hermione. The wind was pretty bad back there so they couldn't hear each other. However, when they reached the midday traffic, Hermione turned to Harry.
"We're staying at my grandma's old house," she explained. "I actually live in the city, but mum and dad thought it would be more fun for us in the country." She smiled.
"That's neat," Harry said.
"So how have you been?" she asked.
"Oh, ok. The Dursleys are still afraid of what Sirius might do if they aren't nice to me, so they haven't done anything," he said. "How have you been?"
"Great! I've been reviewing the things we learned last year so I'll be able to learn everything new easily," Hermione explained. They got out of the traffic jam and were soon speeding through the country. The scenery was very pretty. After a little more than an hour, they reached a large farmhouse. They pulled into the long driveway, leading into a recently built garage.
"Hermione, why don't you show Harry around the house and maybe the yard? After he sees his room, of course," Mrs. Granger said kindly.
"Sure, mum," Hermione said. She turned to Harry. "Follow me." She led Harry through the garage and into a back hallway. "It's a little hard to navigate through here," Hermione explained apologetically. "When my great- grandfather bought it, it was smaller, and he thought that he'd just add on a couple of rooms. He wasn't really that into symmetry, so wherever a room could fit, and the outside would still look good, he put one. Then my grandfather did pretty much the same thing. Of course, he and my grandmother decided that they wanted to go on a world tour, so they're letting us use the house. Well, here we are," she pointed to an open door. The room was larger than the one he'd had at the Dursleys'. It also had a homier feel to it. Harry deposited his stuff in his room and met Hermione outside in the hall.
After receiving a quick tour of the house, there was a noise emitting from the living room that contained a large fireplace. The Grangers and Harry went to see what had happened. There stood Ron and his mother!
"Sorry for the racket, dears," Mrs. Weasley said. "Hello Harry, Hermione, how are you?"
"Fine thanks," they said in unison.
"Arthur wanted to come, but you know how he gets when he sees Muggle things," Mrs. Weasley said. She turned to Ron. "Now, behave yourself. I'll be in Diagon Alley on the twenty-fifth. Maybe we can meet there?"
"That sounds splendid," Mrs. Granger declared.
"Well, I'd best be going then," she said. Then she left via Floo powder.
"C'mon Ron. We'll show you where you're staying!" The three teenagers climbed the stairs. Ron's room was right next to Harry's, and, after he put his stuff inside, they went down to dinner.
After eating, Hermione showed them around the yard, which was huge. Her grandparents even owned the woods in back of the house. Around 7:00, Hermione gasped and looked at her watch.
"What?" Harry asked, alarmed.
"I'm missing my favorite TV program!" Hermione declared, and she turned and hurried off towards the house. The guys sighed and followed her inside and into the living room. Ron sat in a cozy armchair while Harry and Hermione sat on the couch. Hermione clicked on the TV, using the remote.
" Hello and welcome to Teen Scene LIVE, the show where we interview all the teenagers making a name for themselves in music, movies or TV. I'm your host, Annie May," said a lady with short dark hair sitting in an armchair on a stage. "Today on our show we have a girl who has conquered the Movie scene of the US and now has the prospect of becoming an international star, not just for her acting, but also for her singing in the movie, Witches of England. Please give a warm welcome to Mara Astri!" The crowd broke into loud applause as a girl with long, wavy dark blonde hair walked on stage. She sat down in the armchair next to Annie May. Hermione gasped.
"I don't believe it!" she said.
"Don't believe what?" Ron asked.
"That's Mara Astri!" Hermione said.
"Who's Mara Astri?" Harry asked.
"She's my favorite actress!" Hermione declared.
"We'll be right back, after the break, when we get to hear exclusive info about Witches of England," Annie May said. Hermione turned down the volume.
"I can't believe she's gonna be in a movie called Witches of England," Hermione said sadly.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"It's probably just going to be a stereotypical movie about witches! I can't believe my favorite actress is going to be in a movie like that," Hermione declared.
"Hermione, she doesn't even know that there's real witches and wizards," Harry pointed out..
"Still! She should know better," Hermione said. "Now shh! It's back on!" Hermione turned up the volume.
"Mara, what's Witches of Europe about anyway?" Annie May asked.
"Well, it's about this American guy that comes to live in Britain in this really small town with his parents. While he's there, he notices that there's this one group of girls that always hangs out together. Rumor around town is that they're witches. Well, of course, he falls in love with the head witch, me," Mara smiled. "Everything's going great until this evil wizard decides to kill all witches and wizards who don't have pure-blood. So all these other witches and wizards move in. Of course, they all act completely like the other inhabitants of the town. However, this witch hunter comes at the same time as the evil wizard discovers this town and the American guy has to help us save the day."
"Oh, come on. It's not too bad. She's right about a dark wizard who only likes pure-bloods!" Ron said. Hermione glared at him.
"Well, that does sound interesting. Now, why does your character sing in the movie?"
"My character, Clara, has powers that help control elements with her voice. In the scene where the dark wizard attacks, they're all at this out door school concert, and the choir runs away. Well, I get on stage, grab the MIC and start singing. It's really funny. Everyone thinks that I'm singing in English, but actually I'm singing a spell in Latin! Of course, they're both on the soundtrack, but the English version is the one that we made into a music video." Mara laughed.
"Now, we understand that the American guy is played by your ex-boyfriend, Kevin Edwards. Was it hard to do this movie with him in it?"
"Not at all. We didn't break up until after we finished the filming. The hard part is going to be going to school with him this year."
"Oh, yes, I forgot. You go to The Academy for Gifted Students, right?"
"Yep, it's a junior high school through high school and a college."
"Now, Mara, I understand that Astri is just your stage name. It's your mom's maiden name, correct?" Annie May asked. Mara looked a little uncomfortable, yet she smiled anyway.
"Yes, that's right," Mara said.
"Your father is English right?" Annie May asked. Mara nodded. "I don't want to pry, but why didn't you use his last name?"
"Well, um, Astri sounds a little more exotic," Mara said. It sounded as though she was just trying to make up an excuse.
"Really? Well, remember I don't want to sound impertinent, but isn't your father that English murderer who escaped from some prison two years ago? Isn't his name Sirius Black?" This seemed to touch a nerve.
"Miss May, Sirius Black is my father. However, he didn't kill anyone. I was born before he went to prison and I know that he didn't," Mara said slightly coldly.
"Have you seen him since he escaped?" Annie May asked curiously.
"Now, I mean no offence to anyone, but if I had seen my father, what makes you think that I would say it on television?" Mara now had a very strained smile. As though finally getting the message, Annie May smiled brightly.
"Well, it's been really nice having you on the show." she said.
"It was nice to be here-" Hermione turned off the TV.
Hermione and Ron looked at Harry. As though reading their thoughts, he shook his head.
"I'm as stunned as you are. Sirius never mentioned having a daughter," he declared.
"She looks like she's Fred and George's age," Ron mused.
"That means she's two years older than you Harry!" Hermione said. "Do you think that anyone knew?"
"I don't know," Harry said. Had anyone known? Why hadn't Sirius told him?
"Wait, her mother's American, right?" Hermione asked. The boys shrugged. They had no idea. "She is, I think. That means that probably she was probably born in America. I say we should do some research."
"Or Harry could always ask Sirius!" Ron declared.
"What if he doesn't want him to know?" Hermione asked.
"Forget it! I'll ask him, and we can research, ok?" Harry said. The other two nodded.
"We'll start as soon as we can, Harry," Hermione said. Still, that night, Harry went to bed wondering why Sirius hadn't told him.
The summer went by faster than any had before. In no time at all, it was time to go to Diagon Alley. They traveled through the Leaky Cauldron, where they ran into the Weasleys.
"I thought that you'd come this way!" Mr. Weasley said. "Molly wasn't keen on letting the kids come this way of course."
"What's the matter with you two?" Ron asked Fred and George.
"Look at this!" George handed them a copy of the Daily Prophet.
"Professional Quidditch canceled!" Ron said.
"You don't think they're going to cancel Quidditch at Hogwarts do you?" Harry asked.
"No, I don't think so I mean they just did last year," Ron trailed off. He hadn't meant to mention last year, because last year was the Triwizard Cup. Because last year Voldemort had returned. And because last year, Cedric Diggory had been killed before Harry's eyes. There was an uncomfortable silence.
"Maybe we should enter the Alley, mum," Ginny Weasley said.
"Oh, right. Of course dear. Come along," Mrs. Weasley said. After entering Diagon Alley they headed to Gringotts, where they got money to buy their supplies. Then they headed to Flourish and Blotts, to get their books. Fred and George declared that they had to go to the robe shop and made Ron come with them. When they returned, Ron was smiling.
"I got new dress robes!" he told Harry and Hermione. After this, they all left Diagon Alley. Ron, Harry and Hermione went back through the Leaky Cauldron, where her parents were waiting. The other Weasleys used Floo Powder to get home.
Harry tried to contact Sirius a few times. He never asked in the letter, he just asked Sirius to write back. Sirius did, but his replies were very short. Soon Harry remembered that Dumbledore had sent him to find Lupin and their old friends. He decided to forget it.
However, he changed his mind two days before he was going back to Hogwarts.. Hermione had just subscribed to the Worlds Wizardry Network, a TV channel for witches and wizards who had TV's. They sat down and decided to see what was on. It was a talk show.
"Hello everyone, and welcome to The Crystal Cosmos Show, I'm your host Crystal Cosmos!" The lady on TV said. She was youngish with long auburn hair. She was wearing a robe, as were the rest of the audience.
"Today, on our show, we have a very exclusive interview with an American witch who is making Muggle headlines. Despite not having the best home life, she's a huge mega-star. With her newest movie coming out next week, and her first album hitting stores in and out of the Wizard world, we wonder what could she possibly do next? Here's Mara Astri with her answer."
"They've gotta be kidding!" Ron said.
"It doesn't look like it," Hermione said.
"Hi Crystal," Mara said.
"Mara, I'm just gonna cut to the chase. Why are you doing this movie?"
"Well, I guess you could say, it was because I wanted people to understand a little better. Before I signed on, the script was atrocious; most of the stuff was so stereotypical, it was laughable. I tried to change as much as I could, without giving away too much."
"Well, honestly, I thought you were crazy! I saw you on the Muggle talk show Teen Scene LIVE and I couldn't believe that lady asked you all those questions! I mean, actually bringing up your father like that."
"Well, Crystal it was the perfect time to make sure that everyone knew that my dad is innocent. I don't care that hardly anyone believes me."
"Actually, Mara, a poll taken in the wizard world, right after your interview, showed that 28% of people believe that Sirius Black is innocent. And, I happen to have here a poll taken just yesterday. It says that 35% think that he's innocent, 12% aren't sure, 1% don't care, and only 52% think that he's guilty! Look at the paper." Crystal handed Mara the paper. She read it and looked shocked. She read it two more times before handing it back.
"Now if you remember, 99% of people thought that he was guilty before he went to Azkaban."
"Wow."
"Now, on to other topics, is it true that you and Kevin Edwards broke up because-"
"It was because he flat out lied to me, Crystal!" Mara said. "When we were working on the movie, we obviously didn't go to classes. Now, I'm sure you know that we have the same houses in America as Hogwarts has, right?" Crystal nodded. "Well, he told me he was in Ravenclaw. We started dating and, later, I found out he wasn't. He was not only in Slytherin, but his parents had been Death Eaters, as was his uncle!" The whole audience gasped.
"That must've been shocking!"
"It was. However, I wasn't going to just dump him because of that. I mean, people aren't always exactly like their parents. However, when I told him, he laughed! He was all, they were just getting rid of those stupid Mudbloods! So I dumped him."
"I'm sure everyone here agrees with you, sweetie!" The audience applauded. Hermione turned off the TV.
"I'm thinking that you should owl your godfather," Ron said.
"I'm going to," Harry said.
"Harry, maybe you should wait," Hermione said. They looked at her like she was insane. "I mean, we're going back to school the day after tomorrow! We might as well wait. I bet that Professor Dumbledore knows something!" The boys agreed. The next day was spent packing. It took awhile to make sure they had everything. Then, the morning after that, it was time to go back to Hogwarts.
TBC..
A/N: Well, thank you for reading chapter one. Chapter two will contain some starting traces of Harry/Hermione. I hope you'll keep reading! Please review!
