A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to it, JK does. This is actually my first fanfic, though I had to remove it and do some work on it. Hermione's Rival is the second, though it got posted before I reposted this one. Hope you enjoy the new version of this story.
Chapter One: Home/The Burrow and Newspaper Clippings
Harry rolled over onto his stomach. He had only gotten about three hours of sleep that night. 'Why is it that I'm tired but can't seem to get any sleep?' He thought as he groaned. 'Well no use in these attempts, cause they all end the same.' Harry sat up and looked around the boy's dormitory. "At least they can sleep easily."
About twenty minutes later he was down in the Gryffindor common room. Harry sighed as he sat down in one of the arm chairs before the fire. He thought to himself, 'I hope Professor Dumbledore says yes to what was requested by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.' Harry's thoughts flowed between exam results and the hope that Professor Dumbledore would say yes to allowing Harry to stay the entire summer with the Weasley family.
He was alone for about another hour. It was completely silent when Ron came down the stairs from the boys dormitory. "Good morning Harry! How long have you been up?" Ron said, yawning to show he had dragged himself out of bed. ' I hope he didn't wake-up an hour after he fell asleep again.' he thought, a frown of worry on his face.
"I slept for about three hours last night." Harry said as Ron sat in the armchair opposite him. "I was thinking about various things."
" When do you think we'll find out about-you-know what?" Ron asked Harry for the millionth time since Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had offered to let Harry stay for the whole summer holiday. This wouldn't be the first time they had tried. They had been trying since the end of Harry's first year.
"Today, at least that's what Professor Dumbledore told me when I asked him a few days ago." Harry told Ron before hopefully thinking, 'I hope he says yes this time.'
"Well how will he be letting us know?" Ron asked as their friend Hermione came down from the girls dormitory.
"Good-morning Harry, Ron!" Hermione said brightly as she sat down on the couch. "Are you two talking about the same thing you've been talking about for the past few days?"
"Depends." Ron said earning a sharp glare from Hermione. "What? We've been talking about quite a few things!"
"You know what I mean! Where Harry will spend this summer." Hermione snapped.
Before Ron could even open his mouth to say anything Harry said, "Yes Hermione, that's what we were talking about, though we find out today if I can just go straight to the Weasley's or not. Come on, lets get down to breakfast." At that they all left the common room.
During breakfast Harry got a letter that read:
"Mr. Potter,
Come to my office after breakfast, Professor Dumbledore wishes to have a word with you.
Sincerely,
Professor M. McGonagall"
"What was that letter about?" Ron asked as Harry put it in his robe pocket.
"We find out after breakfast, though I think I should go to her office by myself." Harry said trying to finish his breakfast as fast as he could.
They left the Great Hall together. Harry headed up to Professor McGonagall's office while his classmates headed out to the grounds to enjoy their last day at Hogwarts before the train left.
A few minutes later Harry was outside Professor McGonagall's office. He sighed before knocking on the door.
"Enter," someone called from inside the office.
With another sigh Harry entered the office. He noticed that Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were there. Professor McGonagall was standing to the side with a piece of parchment and a quill in her hands. Professor Dumbledore was sitting behind the desk, though he seemed to be watching Harry as well as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley closely. They were sitting in two of the three chairs before the desk.
"Harry, come and sit down." Professor Dumbledore smiled, motioning with his hand to the seat between Mr. and Mrs.. Weasley. Once Harry sat down between them Professor Dumbledore said, "After much thought I've decided on the answer to what you've been asking since Harry was eleven." He paused and looked thoughtfully at the three people before him. "I've decided that Harry will spend the summer...at the Burrow."
"Really Albus?" Mr. Weasley asked who thought his ears were deceiving him.
"Really Arthur, I think that it would be better. I mean every summer since the end of his first year, he's found one way or another to get away from his aunt and uncle's house." Professor Dumbledore said, giving Harry an amused look. Harry had almost fallen out of his seat when Professor Dumbledore said he could go straight to the Burrow, and not Privet Drive.
Professor Dumbledore then told Harry he could go join his friends. Harry went outside to find Ron and Hermione. He found them down at Hagrid's Hut, though he was trying not to grin so big. Before Harry could even knock, Hagrid opened the door.
"Well what did Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall say?" Hermione asked as Harry and Hagrid sat down.
"Professor Dumbledore told us that I'm to go to the Burrow for the whole summer." Harry told them, guessing that Hagrid found out one way or another about why he had to talk to Professor Dumbledore.
"What do you mean 'us' ?" Ron asked.
"Your mum, dad, and me." Harry said.
"Well I'm glad your staying with them, instead of the Muggles." Hagrid growled
"You're not the only one who thinks that. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have been trying for years to have me go with them, but Professor Dumbledore kept on saying I should go back there for a bit of the holiday." Harry said stiffly.
"Well, you three should get back up to the school and get your stuff together, cause the train leaves first thing tomorrow." Hagrid said as the trio got up to say goodbye. They promised they would stay in touch over the summer and headed back up to the school.
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"Finally! That took long enough. You almost done Ron?" Harry said after getting his trunk packed.
"I'll-be-done-once-I-get-it-closed! Phew." Ron said as he got his trunk shut. "Lets go down to the common room and see if Hermione's there."
When they got down to the common room they saw Hermione in front of the bulletin board.
"Hermione, what are you looking at?" Harry asked as they walked up to her.
"Our exam results. We all passed with good marks." Hermione told them. It was no surprise when she got the best marks out of everyone in their year.
"Come on, lets get down to the Great Hall for the feast, and find out who won the House Cup." Harry said. They headed down to the Great Hall and arrived just before Professor Dumbledore announced who won the cup
"Another year gone as quickly as it came. The time has come to award the House Cup. In fourth place, Hufflepuff with 450 points. In third place, Ravenclaw with 505 points. In second place, Slytherin with 595 points. First place to Gryffindor, with 600 points. Gryffindor wins the House Cup!" the Headmaster announced. There was an explosion of cheering from the Gryffindor table, applause from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and the typical booing from the Slytherin table.
The feast started shortly after the noise died down. After the feast they all went back to their dormitories.
Early the following morning everyone was up early so they could get down to the train. Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny shared the same carriage.
"So your spending the summer with us?" Ginny asked as the carriage started to move.
"Yeah, Professor Dumbledore finally said yes after six years of begging!." Harry said with a grin on his face.
"I see you're happy." Ron said from beside Harry.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Harry asked nudging Ron in the arm.
After they reached the train station, they put their luggage in their compartment and settled down for the trip. Harry and Ron played a few rounds of wizard chess. Ron won each time. While the boys were playing chess Hermione and Ginny talked about what they were going to do during the summer holidays.
Once Harry and Ron finished playing chess all of them played Exploding Snap. Once they were within half-an-hour of Platform 9 3/4 they changed into muggle clothes.
When the train came to the platform they went over to the barrier and waited for it to be clear before they went through. They were met by Mrs. Weasley. Hermione spotted her parents and motioned for them to give her a minute so she could talk to Harry and Ron.
"You'll be going to Diagon Alley about a week before start of the term right?" Hermione asked as Mrs. Weasley came toward them.
"Yeah," Harry said. "I'm really hoping that I can see Sirius at least once this summer, too." He added before giving Hermione a brief hug.
"Hermione, see if maybe you can come stay with us during some part of the summer, okay?" Ron said as he gave Hermione a hug.
"Alright, if I can, I'll try to come in time to celebrate Harry's birthday with you." Hermione said bye to Ginny and Mrs. Weasley before going with her parents.
Mrs. Weasley led Harry, Ron, and Ginny out of the station to where two Muggle taxi's were waiting. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny got into one taxi while Harry, and Ron got into the second taxi.
A while later they arrived at the Burrow. Harry, Ron and Ginny dragged their trunks up the stairs. Ginny dragged hers to her room while Harry and Ron dragged their trunks up to Ron's room.
The room was exactly the same way as it had been the last time Harry had seen it. They put their trunks near their beds before sitting on the beds and talking.
"Harry when was the last time you got a letter from Sirius?" Ron asked as they sat down on the two beds.
"Um...its been about two weeks. He just said he'd try to see me before we left for Hogwarts again." Harry replied.
A moment later someone knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Harry and Ron asked at the same time.
"Its Ginny, can I please come in?" Ginny asked impatiently from the other side of the door.
Harry went over to the door and let an irritated-looking Ginny in. She went over to sit next to Ron while Harry shut the door and sat back on his bed facing them.
"So what were you two talking about?" Ginny asked looking from Harry to Ron.
"Sirius. Harry is really hoping to see him before the start of next term." Ron told Ginny.
"Oh...I think you'll see him before or if not on or near your birthday." Ginny said smiling at Harry.
They talked until it was time for bed. Though Harry and Ron talked until much later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Middle of July.
A week or so before Harry turned seventeen he got a letter from Hermione.
"Hey Ron! Hermione sent a response to our letter." Harry said as he removed the piece of parchment from Hedwig's leg.
"Well what did she say?" Ron asked as Harry read the letter.
"YES!" Harry shouted jumping up.
"What?"
"She said she can come over next week through the end of the holiday if we meet her at the Leaky Cauldron." Harry said sitting back down. "She also wants us to make sure its alright with your mum."
"Sure, lets go ask her now." Ron said leaping to his feet and walking over to the door. Harry at his heels as they ran down the stairs.
"Mum?" Ron said as he and Harry entered the family room.
"Yes, what do you two want?" Mrs. Weasley asked looking up from the book she was reading.
"We were wondering if Hermione could come next week and stay till the start of the next term?" Ron asked.
"Of course, but how will she get here?"
"She asked if we could meet her in the Leaky Cauldron, we could use Floo Powder to get there and back." Harry said.
"Alright, though could you stop by Fred and George's joke shop to see how they're doing?"
"Okay, Ron I'm going to send her a response to let her know it's okay." Harry said turning and heading up to Ron's room.
Ron cam in and sat down on his bed. "Well is the letter done yet?"
"Yeah, read it over and sign. That way she knows for sure both of us will be there." Harry said handing Ron the letter, a quill and ink. The letter read:
"Hermione,
We got the okay though, while we're there we'll have to go by Fred and George's. See you then.
Your friends,
Harry and Ron"
Once Ron had signed it, they tied it to Pig's leg (as Hedwig needed to rest).
Three days later, Pig zoomed through the window and landed right in the middle of table during lunch.
"PIG!" Ron shouted in surprise. Ron removed the letter from Pig's leg and read it before handing it to Harry. The note read:
"Harry, Ron,
Great! Can't wait to see you two. Harry have you heard from Sirius? Have you been following the Daily Prophet? If not, you should. Well, see you in a few days.
Your friend,
Hermione"
"Why would she ask that? I mean you'd think there was something involving Sirius in there." Harry said after reading the letter twice.
"Who knows?" Ron said
Harry and Ron woke early the day they were going to Leaky Cauldron to ensure they would get back before late evening. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny said goodbye to them before they left.
"Harry! Ron!" someone called their names from across the pub. Both of them looked up from their butterbeers to see Hermione coming toward their table, dragging her trunk behind her. "How long have you two been waiting for me?" she asked as she sat down in an empty chair between them.
"Just an hour or so." Harry replied as Ron took a sip of his butterbeer.
"Hermione do you want one before we go to see Fred and George?" Ron asked once he put his butterbeer on the table.
"Yeah, a butterbeer would be nice."
Ron then ordered a butterbeer for Hermione and paid for it. Harry then pulled out the letter Hermione had sent them a few days before.
"Hermione, what did you mean by this part of your letter? 'Harry have you heard from Sirius? Have you been following the Daily Prophet?' " Harry asked reading from the letter.
"Oh...I'll show you later, we better get going."
A few minutes later they had finished their butterbeer and went into Diagon Alley. Hermione dragged her trunk behind her all the way to the joke shop. A short while later Ron entered the joke shop while Harry helped Hermione with her trunk. One of the twins was standing behind a desk, the other was putting more things on various shelves throughout the shop. Ron walked toward the desk. His brother looked up and grinned broadly at the site of them.
"Fred! We have company." George called.
Fred finished putting the last of the jokes on the shelves and came over to them. "Ronnikins!" Ron gave Fred a disgusted look. "Harry! Hermione! Long time, no see. What brings you to Diagon Alley so early in the summer? I mean you don't start school till the first of September."
"We met Hermione in the Leaky Cauldron. Mum wanted us to stop by on our way back." Ron said.
"Oh...meeting your girlfriend to have a butterbeer." Fred said in a teasing voice.
"SHUT-UP!" Ron snapped.
"Oh, defensive-"
"I-SAID-SHUT-UP-FRED!"
They visited for another hour before they decided to Floo back to the Burrow. They left Hermione's trunk in Ginny's room where an extra bed had been set up for her. Before they headed to Ron's room she grabbed a box out of her trunk. When they reached the room they found Ginny standing there waiting for them. Harry and Ron sat on Ron's bed. Hermione and Ginny sat on Harry's bed facing the other two.
"So are you going to let us know why you asked us that?" Harry asked eyeing the box in Hermione's lap.
"Yes...read through...I think both of you-especially you Harry-will find it interesting." Hermione said this as she opened the box that had a few copies of Daily Prophet's front pages. She handed the top one to Harry and Ron. One of the article's read:
"Unexpected Guest at the Ministry
Early this morning an unexpected person showed up at the Ministry. Sirius Black. He arrived unarmed, demanding the chance to have his name cleared for what he was wrongfully accused of sixteen years ago. After a few hours, a trial date and time were set for Thursday next week'.
Next to the article was a picture of Sirius.
'So this is why Hermione asked us that.' Harry thought as he handed the article back to Hermione.
"Here's the one from yesterday." Hermione said as she handed another page. This one read:
"Day one of the trial
The trial for Sirius Black started early this morning. Each time he was asked who betrayed the Potter's and killed the twelve Muggles, he answered that Peter Pettigrew did all of that. Tomorrow he will tell his side of what happened, as well as be checked for the Dark Mark".
"Once they check him for the mark its sure to prove he's innocent, right Hermione?" Harry asked after he finished.
"Yes." Hermione said as Harry handed er the article. " Read the one from this morning." She handed the last clipping to Harry. It read:
"Day two of the trial for Sirius Black
The trial for Sirius Black continued this morning. When Sirius was called to the stand he said the following, " James and Lily made me their Secret Keeper. Shortly after, James and I thought it better to switch. We decided on Peter Pettigrew. He went straight to Voldemort and told him the exact whereabouts of the Potters."
"By the time I reached their house, James and Lily were dead. Hagrid had Harry in his arms, about to take him to his aunt and uncles. I tried to convince Hagrid to let me take him cause I'm his Godfather. Hagrid refused, so I let him take my motorcycle to get Harry to his aunt and uncles. I went after Pettigrew. You know the rest. Only one thing is wrong with the version you know... I didn't kill Pettigrew or those Muggles."
After Sirius stepped down he was checked for the Dark Mark. Even after using various methods to detect the mark, none was found. He was declared innocent and released from custody.
Harry read the last sentence a few times just to make sure he had read it right. Once he was sure he had read it correctly he handed it back to Hermione.
"Well are you two happy I've been keeping up with the news?" Hermione asked putting the clipping back into the box and putting the lid back on.
"Yeah, though what do you think he'll do now that his name is cleared?" Harry said feeling great that Sirius was cleared at last.
"Um...I don't know but..." Hermione said, looking as though she was keeping a secret.
The days flew by, soon it was the eve before Harry's birthday.
A/N: I'm sorry it took me so long to get this reposted, I wanted to make it better than it was the first time. I'll try to get chapter two up as soon as I can, but I'm starting school again tomorrow so it may be a bit more of a wait. Please be patient with me. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please R&R! And a special thankyou to Ms. Padfoot for editing this chapter.
Chapter One: Home/The Burrow and Newspaper Clippings
Harry rolled over onto his stomach. He had only gotten about three hours of sleep that night. 'Why is it that I'm tired but can't seem to get any sleep?' He thought as he groaned. 'Well no use in these attempts, cause they all end the same.' Harry sat up and looked around the boy's dormitory. "At least they can sleep easily."
About twenty minutes later he was down in the Gryffindor common room. Harry sighed as he sat down in one of the arm chairs before the fire. He thought to himself, 'I hope Professor Dumbledore says yes to what was requested by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.' Harry's thoughts flowed between exam results and the hope that Professor Dumbledore would say yes to allowing Harry to stay the entire summer with the Weasley family.
He was alone for about another hour. It was completely silent when Ron came down the stairs from the boys dormitory. "Good morning Harry! How long have you been up?" Ron said, yawning to show he had dragged himself out of bed. ' I hope he didn't wake-up an hour after he fell asleep again.' he thought, a frown of worry on his face.
"I slept for about three hours last night." Harry said as Ron sat in the armchair opposite him. "I was thinking about various things."
" When do you think we'll find out about-you-know what?" Ron asked Harry for the millionth time since Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had offered to let Harry stay for the whole summer holiday. This wouldn't be the first time they had tried. They had been trying since the end of Harry's first year.
"Today, at least that's what Professor Dumbledore told me when I asked him a few days ago." Harry told Ron before hopefully thinking, 'I hope he says yes this time.'
"Well how will he be letting us know?" Ron asked as their friend Hermione came down from the girls dormitory.
"Good-morning Harry, Ron!" Hermione said brightly as she sat down on the couch. "Are you two talking about the same thing you've been talking about for the past few days?"
"Depends." Ron said earning a sharp glare from Hermione. "What? We've been talking about quite a few things!"
"You know what I mean! Where Harry will spend this summer." Hermione snapped.
Before Ron could even open his mouth to say anything Harry said, "Yes Hermione, that's what we were talking about, though we find out today if I can just go straight to the Weasley's or not. Come on, lets get down to breakfast." At that they all left the common room.
During breakfast Harry got a letter that read:
"Mr. Potter,
Come to my office after breakfast, Professor Dumbledore wishes to have a word with you.
Sincerely,
Professor M. McGonagall"
"What was that letter about?" Ron asked as Harry put it in his robe pocket.
"We find out after breakfast, though I think I should go to her office by myself." Harry said trying to finish his breakfast as fast as he could.
They left the Great Hall together. Harry headed up to Professor McGonagall's office while his classmates headed out to the grounds to enjoy their last day at Hogwarts before the train left.
A few minutes later Harry was outside Professor McGonagall's office. He sighed before knocking on the door.
"Enter," someone called from inside the office.
With another sigh Harry entered the office. He noticed that Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were there. Professor McGonagall was standing to the side with a piece of parchment and a quill in her hands. Professor Dumbledore was sitting behind the desk, though he seemed to be watching Harry as well as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley closely. They were sitting in two of the three chairs before the desk.
"Harry, come and sit down." Professor Dumbledore smiled, motioning with his hand to the seat between Mr. and Mrs.. Weasley. Once Harry sat down between them Professor Dumbledore said, "After much thought I've decided on the answer to what you've been asking since Harry was eleven." He paused and looked thoughtfully at the three people before him. "I've decided that Harry will spend the summer...at the Burrow."
"Really Albus?" Mr. Weasley asked who thought his ears were deceiving him.
"Really Arthur, I think that it would be better. I mean every summer since the end of his first year, he's found one way or another to get away from his aunt and uncle's house." Professor Dumbledore said, giving Harry an amused look. Harry had almost fallen out of his seat when Professor Dumbledore said he could go straight to the Burrow, and not Privet Drive.
Professor Dumbledore then told Harry he could go join his friends. Harry went outside to find Ron and Hermione. He found them down at Hagrid's Hut, though he was trying not to grin so big. Before Harry could even knock, Hagrid opened the door.
"Well what did Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall say?" Hermione asked as Harry and Hagrid sat down.
"Professor Dumbledore told us that I'm to go to the Burrow for the whole summer." Harry told them, guessing that Hagrid found out one way or another about why he had to talk to Professor Dumbledore.
"What do you mean 'us' ?" Ron asked.
"Your mum, dad, and me." Harry said.
"Well I'm glad your staying with them, instead of the Muggles." Hagrid growled
"You're not the only one who thinks that. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have been trying for years to have me go with them, but Professor Dumbledore kept on saying I should go back there for a bit of the holiday." Harry said stiffly.
"Well, you three should get back up to the school and get your stuff together, cause the train leaves first thing tomorrow." Hagrid said as the trio got up to say goodbye. They promised they would stay in touch over the summer and headed back up to the school.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Finally! That took long enough. You almost done Ron?" Harry said after getting his trunk packed.
"I'll-be-done-once-I-get-it-closed! Phew." Ron said as he got his trunk shut. "Lets go down to the common room and see if Hermione's there."
When they got down to the common room they saw Hermione in front of the bulletin board.
"Hermione, what are you looking at?" Harry asked as they walked up to her.
"Our exam results. We all passed with good marks." Hermione told them. It was no surprise when she got the best marks out of everyone in their year.
"Come on, lets get down to the Great Hall for the feast, and find out who won the House Cup." Harry said. They headed down to the Great Hall and arrived just before Professor Dumbledore announced who won the cup
"Another year gone as quickly as it came. The time has come to award the House Cup. In fourth place, Hufflepuff with 450 points. In third place, Ravenclaw with 505 points. In second place, Slytherin with 595 points. First place to Gryffindor, with 600 points. Gryffindor wins the House Cup!" the Headmaster announced. There was an explosion of cheering from the Gryffindor table, applause from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and the typical booing from the Slytherin table.
The feast started shortly after the noise died down. After the feast they all went back to their dormitories.
Early the following morning everyone was up early so they could get down to the train. Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny shared the same carriage.
"So your spending the summer with us?" Ginny asked as the carriage started to move.
"Yeah, Professor Dumbledore finally said yes after six years of begging!." Harry said with a grin on his face.
"I see you're happy." Ron said from beside Harry.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Harry asked nudging Ron in the arm.
After they reached the train station, they put their luggage in their compartment and settled down for the trip. Harry and Ron played a few rounds of wizard chess. Ron won each time. While the boys were playing chess Hermione and Ginny talked about what they were going to do during the summer holidays.
Once Harry and Ron finished playing chess all of them played Exploding Snap. Once they were within half-an-hour of Platform 9 3/4 they changed into muggle clothes.
When the train came to the platform they went over to the barrier and waited for it to be clear before they went through. They were met by Mrs. Weasley. Hermione spotted her parents and motioned for them to give her a minute so she could talk to Harry and Ron.
"You'll be going to Diagon Alley about a week before start of the term right?" Hermione asked as Mrs. Weasley came toward them.
"Yeah," Harry said. "I'm really hoping that I can see Sirius at least once this summer, too." He added before giving Hermione a brief hug.
"Hermione, see if maybe you can come stay with us during some part of the summer, okay?" Ron said as he gave Hermione a hug.
"Alright, if I can, I'll try to come in time to celebrate Harry's birthday with you." Hermione said bye to Ginny and Mrs. Weasley before going with her parents.
Mrs. Weasley led Harry, Ron, and Ginny out of the station to where two Muggle taxi's were waiting. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny got into one taxi while Harry, and Ron got into the second taxi.
A while later they arrived at the Burrow. Harry, Ron and Ginny dragged their trunks up the stairs. Ginny dragged hers to her room while Harry and Ron dragged their trunks up to Ron's room.
The room was exactly the same way as it had been the last time Harry had seen it. They put their trunks near their beds before sitting on the beds and talking.
"Harry when was the last time you got a letter from Sirius?" Ron asked as they sat down on the two beds.
"Um...its been about two weeks. He just said he'd try to see me before we left for Hogwarts again." Harry replied.
A moment later someone knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Harry and Ron asked at the same time.
"Its Ginny, can I please come in?" Ginny asked impatiently from the other side of the door.
Harry went over to the door and let an irritated-looking Ginny in. She went over to sit next to Ron while Harry shut the door and sat back on his bed facing them.
"So what were you two talking about?" Ginny asked looking from Harry to Ron.
"Sirius. Harry is really hoping to see him before the start of next term." Ron told Ginny.
"Oh...I think you'll see him before or if not on or near your birthday." Ginny said smiling at Harry.
They talked until it was time for bed. Though Harry and Ron talked until much later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Middle of July.
A week or so before Harry turned seventeen he got a letter from Hermione.
"Hey Ron! Hermione sent a response to our letter." Harry said as he removed the piece of parchment from Hedwig's leg.
"Well what did she say?" Ron asked as Harry read the letter.
"YES!" Harry shouted jumping up.
"What?"
"She said she can come over next week through the end of the holiday if we meet her at the Leaky Cauldron." Harry said sitting back down. "She also wants us to make sure its alright with your mum."
"Sure, lets go ask her now." Ron said leaping to his feet and walking over to the door. Harry at his heels as they ran down the stairs.
"Mum?" Ron said as he and Harry entered the family room.
"Yes, what do you two want?" Mrs. Weasley asked looking up from the book she was reading.
"We were wondering if Hermione could come next week and stay till the start of the next term?" Ron asked.
"Of course, but how will she get here?"
"She asked if we could meet her in the Leaky Cauldron, we could use Floo Powder to get there and back." Harry said.
"Alright, though could you stop by Fred and George's joke shop to see how they're doing?"
"Okay, Ron I'm going to send her a response to let her know it's okay." Harry said turning and heading up to Ron's room.
Ron cam in and sat down on his bed. "Well is the letter done yet?"
"Yeah, read it over and sign. That way she knows for sure both of us will be there." Harry said handing Ron the letter, a quill and ink. The letter read:
"Hermione,
We got the okay though, while we're there we'll have to go by Fred and George's. See you then.
Your friends,
Harry and Ron"
Once Ron had signed it, they tied it to Pig's leg (as Hedwig needed to rest).
Three days later, Pig zoomed through the window and landed right in the middle of table during lunch.
"PIG!" Ron shouted in surprise. Ron removed the letter from Pig's leg and read it before handing it to Harry. The note read:
"Harry, Ron,
Great! Can't wait to see you two. Harry have you heard from Sirius? Have you been following the Daily Prophet? If not, you should. Well, see you in a few days.
Your friend,
Hermione"
"Why would she ask that? I mean you'd think there was something involving Sirius in there." Harry said after reading the letter twice.
"Who knows?" Ron said
Harry and Ron woke early the day they were going to Leaky Cauldron to ensure they would get back before late evening. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny said goodbye to them before they left.
"Harry! Ron!" someone called their names from across the pub. Both of them looked up from their butterbeers to see Hermione coming toward their table, dragging her trunk behind her. "How long have you two been waiting for me?" she asked as she sat down in an empty chair between them.
"Just an hour or so." Harry replied as Ron took a sip of his butterbeer.
"Hermione do you want one before we go to see Fred and George?" Ron asked once he put his butterbeer on the table.
"Yeah, a butterbeer would be nice."
Ron then ordered a butterbeer for Hermione and paid for it. Harry then pulled out the letter Hermione had sent them a few days before.
"Hermione, what did you mean by this part of your letter? 'Harry have you heard from Sirius? Have you been following the Daily Prophet?' " Harry asked reading from the letter.
"Oh...I'll show you later, we better get going."
A few minutes later they had finished their butterbeer and went into Diagon Alley. Hermione dragged her trunk behind her all the way to the joke shop. A short while later Ron entered the joke shop while Harry helped Hermione with her trunk. One of the twins was standing behind a desk, the other was putting more things on various shelves throughout the shop. Ron walked toward the desk. His brother looked up and grinned broadly at the site of them.
"Fred! We have company." George called.
Fred finished putting the last of the jokes on the shelves and came over to them. "Ronnikins!" Ron gave Fred a disgusted look. "Harry! Hermione! Long time, no see. What brings you to Diagon Alley so early in the summer? I mean you don't start school till the first of September."
"We met Hermione in the Leaky Cauldron. Mum wanted us to stop by on our way back." Ron said.
"Oh...meeting your girlfriend to have a butterbeer." Fred said in a teasing voice.
"SHUT-UP!" Ron snapped.
"Oh, defensive-"
"I-SAID-SHUT-UP-FRED!"
They visited for another hour before they decided to Floo back to the Burrow. They left Hermione's trunk in Ginny's room where an extra bed had been set up for her. Before they headed to Ron's room she grabbed a box out of her trunk. When they reached the room they found Ginny standing there waiting for them. Harry and Ron sat on Ron's bed. Hermione and Ginny sat on Harry's bed facing the other two.
"So are you going to let us know why you asked us that?" Harry asked eyeing the box in Hermione's lap.
"Yes...read through...I think both of you-especially you Harry-will find it interesting." Hermione said this as she opened the box that had a few copies of Daily Prophet's front pages. She handed the top one to Harry and Ron. One of the article's read:
"Unexpected Guest at the Ministry
Early this morning an unexpected person showed up at the Ministry. Sirius Black. He arrived unarmed, demanding the chance to have his name cleared for what he was wrongfully accused of sixteen years ago. After a few hours, a trial date and time were set for Thursday next week'.
Next to the article was a picture of Sirius.
'So this is why Hermione asked us that.' Harry thought as he handed the article back to Hermione.
"Here's the one from yesterday." Hermione said as she handed another page. This one read:
"Day one of the trial
The trial for Sirius Black started early this morning. Each time he was asked who betrayed the Potter's and killed the twelve Muggles, he answered that Peter Pettigrew did all of that. Tomorrow he will tell his side of what happened, as well as be checked for the Dark Mark".
"Once they check him for the mark its sure to prove he's innocent, right Hermione?" Harry asked after he finished.
"Yes." Hermione said as Harry handed er the article. " Read the one from this morning." She handed the last clipping to Harry. It read:
"Day two of the trial for Sirius Black
The trial for Sirius Black continued this morning. When Sirius was called to the stand he said the following, " James and Lily made me their Secret Keeper. Shortly after, James and I thought it better to switch. We decided on Peter Pettigrew. He went straight to Voldemort and told him the exact whereabouts of the Potters."
"By the time I reached their house, James and Lily were dead. Hagrid had Harry in his arms, about to take him to his aunt and uncles. I tried to convince Hagrid to let me take him cause I'm his Godfather. Hagrid refused, so I let him take my motorcycle to get Harry to his aunt and uncles. I went after Pettigrew. You know the rest. Only one thing is wrong with the version you know... I didn't kill Pettigrew or those Muggles."
After Sirius stepped down he was checked for the Dark Mark. Even after using various methods to detect the mark, none was found. He was declared innocent and released from custody.
Harry read the last sentence a few times just to make sure he had read it right. Once he was sure he had read it correctly he handed it back to Hermione.
"Well are you two happy I've been keeping up with the news?" Hermione asked putting the clipping back into the box and putting the lid back on.
"Yeah, though what do you think he'll do now that his name is cleared?" Harry said feeling great that Sirius was cleared at last.
"Um...I don't know but..." Hermione said, looking as though she was keeping a secret.
The days flew by, soon it was the eve before Harry's birthday.
A/N: I'm sorry it took me so long to get this reposted, I wanted to make it better than it was the first time. I'll try to get chapter two up as soon as I can, but I'm starting school again tomorrow so it may be a bit more of a wait. Please be patient with me. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please R&R! And a special thankyou to Ms. Padfoot for editing this chapter.