It wasn't the most exciting summer ever. In fact, it'd probably had to of been the most uneventful summer aside from last year. Nothing much happened ,well, in the Muggle world anyway.
The magical was a whole different story. Random assaults were made on Muggles, people disappearing and the constant threat of Voldemort re-emerging. But no actual sign of him had been witnessed since his attack on the Ministry of Magic at the end of Harry's 5th year and a small rumored site of him near Bristol.
Maybe we should explain who Harry is before we continue any further. See, there's a boy, an extraordinary boy, who survived one of the single worst events in anyone's life. He survived the death of his mother and father. They were murdered, by the most evil and dark wizard to ever come into existence, the before said Voldemort. This boy, Harry Potter, escaped that sinister wizard with nothing but a scar. And ever since then, his life had been nothing short of dramatic. It was only until last year that Voldemort was hidden in the shadows, a mere silhouette of what he used to be, before he regained his original strength and showed himself to his followers and Harry. That was when he tried to kill Harry again, but failed miserably.
Now, enough of that. Lets get onto what Harry's life was like now.
See, over the summer he had grew into his frame. No longer an awkward young boy, Harry had grown into quite a handsome teenager. His hair was as black and unruly as ever, nothing could change that. A curse ,you could say, from his father. He was rather tall now, approaching a good 5"9'.
With nothing better to do in order to restrain himself from going mad with boredom, Harry began taking part in several Muggle activities. For weeks now, he'd been sneaking into Dudley's bedroom, playing on his new computer, lifting weights and practicing on one of Dudley's old guitars.
So now we find this boy, The Boy Who Lived, laying lazily on his bed.
Harry rolled onto his stomach and rubbed his emerald green eyes. A quick glance at the clock said it was 9:24 PM, much too early to be tired already. He sighed heavily and reached over to grab another book and few pieces of parchment.
He'd put off homework for the majority of the summer, and all too soon he'd ran out of excuses to procrastinate. School would be starting in about two weeks and he hadn't even touched the pile of essays and research papers he was required to do for his professors.
Aside from the homework, life had been ok for once. The Dursleys kept their promise to start treating him better, especially with the weekly inspections still made by The Order members. He had actually started to enjoy watching Uncle Vernon squirm whenever Lupin or Moody came to check up on Harry. The examinations of Harry's care seemed to be quite fruitful. So fruitful in fact that when Uncle Vernon received a new car from his company, he had gone out and bought Dudley a brand new BMW and gave Harry the family's old Volvo V40,most likely out of fear of what Harry might blab to the Order.
Granted, he wasn't LEGALLY allowed to drive it in the Muggle world, but as a birthday present to him, the Weasley brothers, Fred and George ,with the help of Mr. Weasley, had taken it and had a flying charm done to it along with an Invisibility booster. It wasn't shocking to hear what they had done to his car, though it did greatly please Harry. The possibilities were many and very tempting.
But the fruitfulness didn't stop there. The Dursleys let him do what he wanted and even gave him an allowance. Granted, it was very small, but it was a start. On top was the first ever birthday present the Dursleys had ever given Harry, a cell phone.
Harry could only imagine the reasons they gave him a car AND a cell phone. His thoughts lead him to believe they intended to convert him yet. What with Muggle money, a cell and a car he'd have more reason to do without magic than with. This assumption only made Harry chuckle to himself.
The cell phone actually served more useful than he originally thought. Hermione seemed to take quite a pleasure in calling him on it and talking much longer and quicker than with the owls.
Hermione...He missed her. Not seeing her since school let out was making Harry crazy for some reason. He always just thought it was because of his boring home life now. Either way, he missed Hermione and Ron greatly.
Suddenly, a sharp but muffled tune of "London Calling" came tinkling out from beneath a pile of clothes beside his bed. Harry reached down and blindly searched through the masses of tangled shirts and pants finally finding his green Nokia. Pressing it on he heard fuzzy street noises as cars honked and rushed past whoever had called him.
" 'ello?" He asked into the mouthpiece.
"Hello? Harry? Hello?"
"Um, yeah, 'ello?"
"Oh! Harry! Thank god! Its Hermione!"
Harry rolled back onto his side switching the phone to his other ear smiling," Oh, hey Hermione."
"Look, Harry. I know you can't drive really, but its an emergency.. and.. well....do you think you could come and pick me up?"
Harry frowned and sat up," Why? What's wrong?"
"I..I can't tell you now, just hurry, ok? I'm at Mama Dina's cafe in London, a few blocks away from the entrance to St. Mungo's hospital.."
"Oh, yeah, I know where that is...what are you doing there?" Harry inquired, already on his feet and hopping into some jeans.
"Ugh, just come GET me, Harry!" Hermione snapped and hung up.
Harry stared at the phone as if it was a purple rat, then shook his head and grabbed the car keys. He'd have to make sure not to draw any attention to himself because he doubted the Dursleys would appreciate a phone call at night from the police saying they'd arrested a Harry Potter for underage driving. He sighed quickly sliding on some sneakers and tucked the cell into his back pocket on his way down the stairs. Glancing at the half opened door leading to the kitchen, he could see Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia arguing about something. No doubt me, Harry thought to himself as he shrugged on his black thin jacket and closed the coatroom door.
"Actually having a normal sense of style, I see"
Harry grimaced and turned to see Dudley waddling out of the kitchen door closing it behind him.
" At least one of us have style," Harry rebutted, looking over Dudley's much too tight white shirt ,sweatshirt with the sleeves cut off and black slacks.
Dudley looked himself over and rolled his eyes," Fine, look, I don't wanna fight-..hey.. where are you going?"
Harry could see his cousin's eyes search his jacket, shoes and car keys clutched in his fist. "Out..."
"PLEASE take me with you!" Dudley exclaimed rushing over at an alarming rate for his size.
Harry stumbled back startled, "Wha- Why?"
"Mum and Dad are driving me NUTS. They saw my grades and are giving me hell. Saying my teachers should've applied themselves more and are incompetent. They're actually considering making me switch schools!"
Harry held back a smile tugging at the corner of his lips," What's wrong with that?"
Dudley gawked at him like he couldn't have asked a more stupider question," It took me six years to establish my reputation, I'm not about to start over!"
Harry took his turn to roll his eyes and made for the door.
"Aw! C'mon Harry! Let me come! If you don't, I'll tell Mum and Dad you're taking the car out when you're not supposed to!"
Harry sighed and glanced at Dudley. His intuitions telling him otherwise, Harry nodded and held the door open as an excited Dudley grabbed his large coat and raced out practically knocking Harry over as his wide body passed.
Once on the highway, Dudley looked over at Harry's profile and asked above Harry's music," Where are we going? Not some freak convention I hope."
Harry shot him a cold look making Dudley's smile quickly vanish, "No...I'm picking up Hermione.'
"Oh, your girlfriend?"
Harry frowned as he merged off the highway and onto the bustling Saturday Night streets of London, "Um…no...just a friend."
"You're kidding, right? Its just not possible for a boy and girl to be JUST friends. Its just inevitable that they start going out." Dudley replied as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Well, you're wrong. Me and Hermione are JUST friends. We've been JUST friends for over six years now. Besides, Ron's friends with her too and they haven't been going out."
Dudley looked over at his cousin and sighed shaking his head, "Poor Harry...Haven't entered the world of Dating, have we?"
Harry blushed furiously thinking back to his one date with Cho Chang, and how horribly that turned out.
Dudley smirked smugly," I figured...Aren't you supposed to be something of a celebrity in your world? You'd think with all that fame, you'd ATLEAST get some action from some fans."
Harry pondered this silently as he pulled up to the curb a block away from Mama Dina's, quickly spotting Hermione waiting by a phone booth a few feet away. She rushed over to the car and climbed in.
"Thank you SO much Harry," She said as she went to close the door.
"Any-"
" 'Mione!"
Hermione and the two boys looked at the sidewalk as an older teenage boy came running," 'MIONIE! WAIT!"
"Drive, Harry." Hermione ordered from the middle of the backseat.
"But-" Harry started but was quickly interrupted by Hermione's angry face.
"Drive!"
Harry pulled out, leaving a guilty looking boy with dark brown hair to his ears and very Russian features on the sidewalk alone.
Driving down the street Harry chanced a glance at Hermione in the rearview mirror. Wow, she looked different. Aside from the upset look chiseled into her face, she looked very pretty. She wore a nice amount of makeup and her hair was slicked straight falling softly against her cheeks.
"So, where to now?" He asked.
She blinked, like she barely realized she was in a moving car with two other people, "Oh, umm…anywhere. I just don't wanna go home right now."
"May I ask what that was all about?" Harry questioned.
"Maybe...later.." Hermione replied, eyeing a curious Dudley in the front seat.
"Oh, yeah…Hermione, this is Dudley, my cousin. Dudley, that's Hermione." Harry offered.
They nodded at each other with a silent 'Hello'.
"Is anyone hungry?" Dudley suddenly asked.
"Not really..." Harry answered.
"I lost my appetite," Hermione responded.
"Well, I am. Harry, can we go to Patty's House of Pancakes? I'll even buy you guys drinks."
Harry reluctantly agreed, not really looking forward to having to watch Dudley consume food. Not that he ever really enjoyed it, just with Hermione along, he was almost...embarrassed.
But all too soon they were sitting at a small table witnessing Dudley's talent for mass consumption. Just watching made Harry's stomach twist uncomfortably. "Its just not possible for a human being to cram THAT much food into their mouth all at once."
Hermione scrunched her face up looking away from the eighth Wonder of the World, and settled her eyes upon Harry instead. Her stomach gave a tiny flip as she finally REALLY noticed him.
"Oh my god, Harry! You got contacts!"
Harry looked at her taken aback and realized what she was talking about, "Oh. Oh yeah. About three weeks ago. I actually talked my Aunt and Uncle into getting them for me. Just seemed about time to retire the ol' grandpa specs."
Hermione grinned looking him over. Without the glasses, a person could really SEE his eyes and just how green they were. She also noticed the new way he fixed his hair. He had it parted slightly on the side so most of his hair hung over his lightning scar. The back was trimmed obviously since it no longer teased his neck and shirt collar. Adding in his apparent growth into his frame and how muscles seemed to have swollen to fill in his shirts, overall, he looked GOOD, "Well, it certainly paid off..."
Harry smiled sheepishly and blushed, as did Hermione. Dudley peered at them, holding the forkful of syrup-drenched pancakes poised just outside his mouth, then suddenly dropped the lot and stood up, "Well, I need to use the loo. Be right back."
Harry watched him teeter away and turned back to Hermione finding her looking straight at him. He flushed surprised, "What?"
She simply shook her head and sighed.
Harry kept his eyes on her, practically seeing the wheels in her head churning at a shocking rate. "What's going on Hermione? Wasn't that ...Viktor I saw chasing after us?"
Hermione shifted in her seat, letting defeat show in her face, "Yes...it was Viktor.."
Harry put down his glass of coke and folded his hands waiting for her to continue.
"Ok, well...We hadn't seen each other all summer because of his Quidditch practices and such. So, we planned a date for tonight. Well, anyways, it was going fine and all up until he asked why I had been so busy...I told him I was studying and spending time with my parents. Obviously, he didn't believe me and started on some rant about me seeing another guy. He said 'I know you are, Hermione. You've had your hair straightened all summer and all of a sudden started wearing more provocative clothing. You haven't been seeing me, so its only apparent you're doing it for someone else.' We got into a huge fight and I ran off and called you from that phone booth. I guess he barely found me when you came..."
Harry frowned and reached out taking Hermione's hand in his own. If he hadn't of just heard her upsetting dilemma, he might've noticed how soft her skin was or how she started to tremble soon as he touched her.
"I'm SO sorry, Hermione. But I'm sure he'll get over it and you guys can reconcile..."
Harry frowned more as she shook her head, making glints of light catch in her brown sugar hair.
"Why not? I mean...there ISN'T another guy...is there?"
She looked down at their hands biting her lip. Her silence was all the answer he needed.
"Hermione...no...Who?"
Hermione squirmed more in her chair, "Well...its not REALLY another guy…just…kind of...the CHANCE..."
"huh?" Was Harry's only reply.
"I mean…well...its not like I'm going out with him or anything. Its just...you know...I think I'm in love with him..."
Harry kept staring at her, not really fully understanding her ,"Does he know?"
"Oh, GOD no! At least...I don't THINK Its not like I've been obvious or anything."
"Well, tell him." Harry offered letting his features soften.
"Oh god, I couldn't! Its just as well...he likes some other girl, anyways."
"Is he dating her?"
"Well, no...."
"Then? Tell him. Let him make the next move. I mean, at least you won't be regretting never telling him."
Hermione looked up at him and actually smiled, "You know...you can be pretty smart sometimes, Mr. Potter."
Harry smiled back giving her hand a gentle squeeze, "I try."
Soon, Dudley returned looking rather pleased with himself. After he paid the check, they piled into the car, Dudley taking the backseat this time.
"Hey Harry, just drop me off at the bowling alley, alright? My friends are there and they'll give me a ride home."
Harry complied and deposited Dudley where he asked, then headed towards Hermione's house on the other side of London.
"I don't want to go home just yet...is that all right?"
Harry checked the dashboard clock, seeing it read 10:57 PM. "You sure your parents won't be worried about you being out so late?"
Hermione frowned thinking this over, " Yeah, I guess...Hey! Do you have your cell with you?"
Harry nodded and motioned to his back pocket, "I'll get it soon as we come to a red light."
"Oh, don't bother," Hermione replied, reaching over and shamelessly probed her hand into Harry's pocket.
With a gasp, he lifted his bum from the seat to give her easier access and turned the brightest red he'd ever turned before. Making just a small side glance at her, he caught what looked like a smile.
Hermione dialed her home number and proceeded in a brief chat with what sounded like her father. After pressing the phone off and tucking it back into Harry's back pocket, she said ,"I just told them we're running late and don't expect me home until one at the latest."
Harry, barely recovering from Hermione's forward rump-grabbing, replied, "Well, what should we do till then?"
Hermione smiled and turned in her seat, "There's this park near the grammar school not too far from here. Can we just stay there until I have to be home?"
He nodded and aimed at the park. Not too long after, they arrived and climbed out of the Volvo.
Hermione chanced a longer peek at Harry as he got out. Being around him was intoxicating, and the more she watched him, the more her insides started to burn.
"Lets walk," Harry suggested as he started on along the cemented path that lead directly through the park.
Hermione followed and they walked in silence the whole way there. Upon arriving, Harry hopped onto the apparatus that contained several slides and access to the monkey bars.
Hermione leaned against a pole opposite him, wanting an excuse to keep her gaze on him constantly.
"So, what's gonna happen with your love life?" Harry inquired, climbing to the top of the lowest slide and sat down.
Hermione moved so she could keep an eye on him, "I'm not sure...Why?"
Harry shrugged and pushed himself off, sliding to the bottom, "Just curious I suppose. You're the only one after all who actually HAS a love life."
Hermione laughed lightly watching Harry drift over to the empty swings, "You're forgetting Ginny."
Harry chuckled leaning back on the swing starting to gently pump himself back and forth, finding this rather challenging since his feet kept dragging in the sand, "AH, yes…Ginny...So much for her being taken with me."
"Oh, Harry. You couldn't expect her to be drooling over you the rest of her adolescent life." Hermione replied wandering to a swing besides him.
Harry faked a pout, "Why not?"
Hermione giggled and smacked him on the arm as she sat down on the swing and began to sway herself.
"I know, I know. It was just...nice, yanno? Having someone like you.." Harry answered to his feet.
"Yeah, but what about Cho?"
Harry groaned. Cho Chang. The object of his affection for almost three years now," I don't think I'll be continuing that...er...possibility."
Hermione looked over at him, hiding her slight gasp at his profile in the moonlight. "Um...w-why?"
"Well...apart from her going out with someone else. I think it would just be too weird. She's in love with Cedric still…and I can see it in her eyes whenever she looks at me. ..She wishes it was him staring out at her, not me.."
Hermione looked over at him. This was one of the few times he'd actually brought up Cedric. The pain was still near, she could see it scrawled all over his smooth features, "Oh, Harry...."
Harry looked down as she slipped her hand into his. He felt himself starting to like it. Other than the time Hermione had been petrified and just an hour ago in the diner, Harry had never held her hand before. It was nice.
"Look, I have the BEST idea...Why don't we go to the beach tomorrow?"
Harry looked over at her beaming face. She raised her eyebrows, making an irresistible face, "Well...all right..."
"Great! I'll ask Ron tonight and see who else wants to come. We can take the train there and everything."
Harry couldn't help but smile, her excitement was contagious," That sounds like fun."
Hermione grinned and got up. Slyly, she got close to his swing, quickly grabbed the chain and twisted it around catching Harry by surprise and causing him to topple backwards onto the sand.
Hermione reeled with laughter and dashed away as Harry got to his feet and gave chase.
After a night of childish games of chase, swinging, sliding and riding the tiny plastics animals poised on thick springs, Harry drove Hermione home.
With a smile, Hermione leaned over and gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek, "Thanks again Harry...See you tomorrow."
Harry touched his cheek lightly, watching Hermione disappear through her front door. As he headed home he couldn't start to seriously wonder who the 'other guy' she was in love with was...and considered putting an acne curse on him.
The magical was a whole different story. Random assaults were made on Muggles, people disappearing and the constant threat of Voldemort re-emerging. But no actual sign of him had been witnessed since his attack on the Ministry of Magic at the end of Harry's 5th year and a small rumored site of him near Bristol.
Maybe we should explain who Harry is before we continue any further. See, there's a boy, an extraordinary boy, who survived one of the single worst events in anyone's life. He survived the death of his mother and father. They were murdered, by the most evil and dark wizard to ever come into existence, the before said Voldemort. This boy, Harry Potter, escaped that sinister wizard with nothing but a scar. And ever since then, his life had been nothing short of dramatic. It was only until last year that Voldemort was hidden in the shadows, a mere silhouette of what he used to be, before he regained his original strength and showed himself to his followers and Harry. That was when he tried to kill Harry again, but failed miserably.
Now, enough of that. Lets get onto what Harry's life was like now.
See, over the summer he had grew into his frame. No longer an awkward young boy, Harry had grown into quite a handsome teenager. His hair was as black and unruly as ever, nothing could change that. A curse ,you could say, from his father. He was rather tall now, approaching a good 5"9'.
With nothing better to do in order to restrain himself from going mad with boredom, Harry began taking part in several Muggle activities. For weeks now, he'd been sneaking into Dudley's bedroom, playing on his new computer, lifting weights and practicing on one of Dudley's old guitars.
So now we find this boy, The Boy Who Lived, laying lazily on his bed.
Harry rolled onto his stomach and rubbed his emerald green eyes. A quick glance at the clock said it was 9:24 PM, much too early to be tired already. He sighed heavily and reached over to grab another book and few pieces of parchment.
He'd put off homework for the majority of the summer, and all too soon he'd ran out of excuses to procrastinate. School would be starting in about two weeks and he hadn't even touched the pile of essays and research papers he was required to do for his professors.
Aside from the homework, life had been ok for once. The Dursleys kept their promise to start treating him better, especially with the weekly inspections still made by The Order members. He had actually started to enjoy watching Uncle Vernon squirm whenever Lupin or Moody came to check up on Harry. The examinations of Harry's care seemed to be quite fruitful. So fruitful in fact that when Uncle Vernon received a new car from his company, he had gone out and bought Dudley a brand new BMW and gave Harry the family's old Volvo V40,most likely out of fear of what Harry might blab to the Order.
Granted, he wasn't LEGALLY allowed to drive it in the Muggle world, but as a birthday present to him, the Weasley brothers, Fred and George ,with the help of Mr. Weasley, had taken it and had a flying charm done to it along with an Invisibility booster. It wasn't shocking to hear what they had done to his car, though it did greatly please Harry. The possibilities were many and very tempting.
But the fruitfulness didn't stop there. The Dursleys let him do what he wanted and even gave him an allowance. Granted, it was very small, but it was a start. On top was the first ever birthday present the Dursleys had ever given Harry, a cell phone.
Harry could only imagine the reasons they gave him a car AND a cell phone. His thoughts lead him to believe they intended to convert him yet. What with Muggle money, a cell and a car he'd have more reason to do without magic than with. This assumption only made Harry chuckle to himself.
The cell phone actually served more useful than he originally thought. Hermione seemed to take quite a pleasure in calling him on it and talking much longer and quicker than with the owls.
Hermione...He missed her. Not seeing her since school let out was making Harry crazy for some reason. He always just thought it was because of his boring home life now. Either way, he missed Hermione and Ron greatly.
Suddenly, a sharp but muffled tune of "London Calling" came tinkling out from beneath a pile of clothes beside his bed. Harry reached down and blindly searched through the masses of tangled shirts and pants finally finding his green Nokia. Pressing it on he heard fuzzy street noises as cars honked and rushed past whoever had called him.
" 'ello?" He asked into the mouthpiece.
"Hello? Harry? Hello?"
"Um, yeah, 'ello?"
"Oh! Harry! Thank god! Its Hermione!"
Harry rolled back onto his side switching the phone to his other ear smiling," Oh, hey Hermione."
"Look, Harry. I know you can't drive really, but its an emergency.. and.. well....do you think you could come and pick me up?"
Harry frowned and sat up," Why? What's wrong?"
"I..I can't tell you now, just hurry, ok? I'm at Mama Dina's cafe in London, a few blocks away from the entrance to St. Mungo's hospital.."
"Oh, yeah, I know where that is...what are you doing there?" Harry inquired, already on his feet and hopping into some jeans.
"Ugh, just come GET me, Harry!" Hermione snapped and hung up.
Harry stared at the phone as if it was a purple rat, then shook his head and grabbed the car keys. He'd have to make sure not to draw any attention to himself because he doubted the Dursleys would appreciate a phone call at night from the police saying they'd arrested a Harry Potter for underage driving. He sighed quickly sliding on some sneakers and tucked the cell into his back pocket on his way down the stairs. Glancing at the half opened door leading to the kitchen, he could see Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia arguing about something. No doubt me, Harry thought to himself as he shrugged on his black thin jacket and closed the coatroom door.
"Actually having a normal sense of style, I see"
Harry grimaced and turned to see Dudley waddling out of the kitchen door closing it behind him.
" At least one of us have style," Harry rebutted, looking over Dudley's much too tight white shirt ,sweatshirt with the sleeves cut off and black slacks.
Dudley looked himself over and rolled his eyes," Fine, look, I don't wanna fight-..hey.. where are you going?"
Harry could see his cousin's eyes search his jacket, shoes and car keys clutched in his fist. "Out..."
"PLEASE take me with you!" Dudley exclaimed rushing over at an alarming rate for his size.
Harry stumbled back startled, "Wha- Why?"
"Mum and Dad are driving me NUTS. They saw my grades and are giving me hell. Saying my teachers should've applied themselves more and are incompetent. They're actually considering making me switch schools!"
Harry held back a smile tugging at the corner of his lips," What's wrong with that?"
Dudley gawked at him like he couldn't have asked a more stupider question," It took me six years to establish my reputation, I'm not about to start over!"
Harry took his turn to roll his eyes and made for the door.
"Aw! C'mon Harry! Let me come! If you don't, I'll tell Mum and Dad you're taking the car out when you're not supposed to!"
Harry sighed and glanced at Dudley. His intuitions telling him otherwise, Harry nodded and held the door open as an excited Dudley grabbed his large coat and raced out practically knocking Harry over as his wide body passed.
Once on the highway, Dudley looked over at Harry's profile and asked above Harry's music," Where are we going? Not some freak convention I hope."
Harry shot him a cold look making Dudley's smile quickly vanish, "No...I'm picking up Hermione.'
"Oh, your girlfriend?"
Harry frowned as he merged off the highway and onto the bustling Saturday Night streets of London, "Um…no...just a friend."
"You're kidding, right? Its just not possible for a boy and girl to be JUST friends. Its just inevitable that they start going out." Dudley replied as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Well, you're wrong. Me and Hermione are JUST friends. We've been JUST friends for over six years now. Besides, Ron's friends with her too and they haven't been going out."
Dudley looked over at his cousin and sighed shaking his head, "Poor Harry...Haven't entered the world of Dating, have we?"
Harry blushed furiously thinking back to his one date with Cho Chang, and how horribly that turned out.
Dudley smirked smugly," I figured...Aren't you supposed to be something of a celebrity in your world? You'd think with all that fame, you'd ATLEAST get some action from some fans."
Harry pondered this silently as he pulled up to the curb a block away from Mama Dina's, quickly spotting Hermione waiting by a phone booth a few feet away. She rushed over to the car and climbed in.
"Thank you SO much Harry," She said as she went to close the door.
"Any-"
" 'Mione!"
Hermione and the two boys looked at the sidewalk as an older teenage boy came running," 'MIONIE! WAIT!"
"Drive, Harry." Hermione ordered from the middle of the backseat.
"But-" Harry started but was quickly interrupted by Hermione's angry face.
"Drive!"
Harry pulled out, leaving a guilty looking boy with dark brown hair to his ears and very Russian features on the sidewalk alone.
Driving down the street Harry chanced a glance at Hermione in the rearview mirror. Wow, she looked different. Aside from the upset look chiseled into her face, she looked very pretty. She wore a nice amount of makeup and her hair was slicked straight falling softly against her cheeks.
"So, where to now?" He asked.
She blinked, like she barely realized she was in a moving car with two other people, "Oh, umm…anywhere. I just don't wanna go home right now."
"May I ask what that was all about?" Harry questioned.
"Maybe...later.." Hermione replied, eyeing a curious Dudley in the front seat.
"Oh, yeah…Hermione, this is Dudley, my cousin. Dudley, that's Hermione." Harry offered.
They nodded at each other with a silent 'Hello'.
"Is anyone hungry?" Dudley suddenly asked.
"Not really..." Harry answered.
"I lost my appetite," Hermione responded.
"Well, I am. Harry, can we go to Patty's House of Pancakes? I'll even buy you guys drinks."
Harry reluctantly agreed, not really looking forward to having to watch Dudley consume food. Not that he ever really enjoyed it, just with Hermione along, he was almost...embarrassed.
But all too soon they were sitting at a small table witnessing Dudley's talent for mass consumption. Just watching made Harry's stomach twist uncomfortably. "Its just not possible for a human being to cram THAT much food into their mouth all at once."
Hermione scrunched her face up looking away from the eighth Wonder of the World, and settled her eyes upon Harry instead. Her stomach gave a tiny flip as she finally REALLY noticed him.
"Oh my god, Harry! You got contacts!"
Harry looked at her taken aback and realized what she was talking about, "Oh. Oh yeah. About three weeks ago. I actually talked my Aunt and Uncle into getting them for me. Just seemed about time to retire the ol' grandpa specs."
Hermione grinned looking him over. Without the glasses, a person could really SEE his eyes and just how green they were. She also noticed the new way he fixed his hair. He had it parted slightly on the side so most of his hair hung over his lightning scar. The back was trimmed obviously since it no longer teased his neck and shirt collar. Adding in his apparent growth into his frame and how muscles seemed to have swollen to fill in his shirts, overall, he looked GOOD, "Well, it certainly paid off..."
Harry smiled sheepishly and blushed, as did Hermione. Dudley peered at them, holding the forkful of syrup-drenched pancakes poised just outside his mouth, then suddenly dropped the lot and stood up, "Well, I need to use the loo. Be right back."
Harry watched him teeter away and turned back to Hermione finding her looking straight at him. He flushed surprised, "What?"
She simply shook her head and sighed.
Harry kept his eyes on her, practically seeing the wheels in her head churning at a shocking rate. "What's going on Hermione? Wasn't that ...Viktor I saw chasing after us?"
Hermione shifted in her seat, letting defeat show in her face, "Yes...it was Viktor.."
Harry put down his glass of coke and folded his hands waiting for her to continue.
"Ok, well...We hadn't seen each other all summer because of his Quidditch practices and such. So, we planned a date for tonight. Well, anyways, it was going fine and all up until he asked why I had been so busy...I told him I was studying and spending time with my parents. Obviously, he didn't believe me and started on some rant about me seeing another guy. He said 'I know you are, Hermione. You've had your hair straightened all summer and all of a sudden started wearing more provocative clothing. You haven't been seeing me, so its only apparent you're doing it for someone else.' We got into a huge fight and I ran off and called you from that phone booth. I guess he barely found me when you came..."
Harry frowned and reached out taking Hermione's hand in his own. If he hadn't of just heard her upsetting dilemma, he might've noticed how soft her skin was or how she started to tremble soon as he touched her.
"I'm SO sorry, Hermione. But I'm sure he'll get over it and you guys can reconcile..."
Harry frowned more as she shook her head, making glints of light catch in her brown sugar hair.
"Why not? I mean...there ISN'T another guy...is there?"
She looked down at their hands biting her lip. Her silence was all the answer he needed.
"Hermione...no...Who?"
Hermione squirmed more in her chair, "Well...its not REALLY another guy…just…kind of...the CHANCE..."
"huh?" Was Harry's only reply.
"I mean…well...its not like I'm going out with him or anything. Its just...you know...I think I'm in love with him..."
Harry kept staring at her, not really fully understanding her ,"Does he know?"
"Oh, GOD no! At least...I don't THINK Its not like I've been obvious or anything."
"Well, tell him." Harry offered letting his features soften.
"Oh god, I couldn't! Its just as well...he likes some other girl, anyways."
"Is he dating her?"
"Well, no...."
"Then? Tell him. Let him make the next move. I mean, at least you won't be regretting never telling him."
Hermione looked up at him and actually smiled, "You know...you can be pretty smart sometimes, Mr. Potter."
Harry smiled back giving her hand a gentle squeeze, "I try."
Soon, Dudley returned looking rather pleased with himself. After he paid the check, they piled into the car, Dudley taking the backseat this time.
"Hey Harry, just drop me off at the bowling alley, alright? My friends are there and they'll give me a ride home."
Harry complied and deposited Dudley where he asked, then headed towards Hermione's house on the other side of London.
"I don't want to go home just yet...is that all right?"
Harry checked the dashboard clock, seeing it read 10:57 PM. "You sure your parents won't be worried about you being out so late?"
Hermione frowned thinking this over, " Yeah, I guess...Hey! Do you have your cell with you?"
Harry nodded and motioned to his back pocket, "I'll get it soon as we come to a red light."
"Oh, don't bother," Hermione replied, reaching over and shamelessly probed her hand into Harry's pocket.
With a gasp, he lifted his bum from the seat to give her easier access and turned the brightest red he'd ever turned before. Making just a small side glance at her, he caught what looked like a smile.
Hermione dialed her home number and proceeded in a brief chat with what sounded like her father. After pressing the phone off and tucking it back into Harry's back pocket, she said ,"I just told them we're running late and don't expect me home until one at the latest."
Harry, barely recovering from Hermione's forward rump-grabbing, replied, "Well, what should we do till then?"
Hermione smiled and turned in her seat, "There's this park near the grammar school not too far from here. Can we just stay there until I have to be home?"
He nodded and aimed at the park. Not too long after, they arrived and climbed out of the Volvo.
Hermione chanced a longer peek at Harry as he got out. Being around him was intoxicating, and the more she watched him, the more her insides started to burn.
"Lets walk," Harry suggested as he started on along the cemented path that lead directly through the park.
Hermione followed and they walked in silence the whole way there. Upon arriving, Harry hopped onto the apparatus that contained several slides and access to the monkey bars.
Hermione leaned against a pole opposite him, wanting an excuse to keep her gaze on him constantly.
"So, what's gonna happen with your love life?" Harry inquired, climbing to the top of the lowest slide and sat down.
Hermione moved so she could keep an eye on him, "I'm not sure...Why?"
Harry shrugged and pushed himself off, sliding to the bottom, "Just curious I suppose. You're the only one after all who actually HAS a love life."
Hermione laughed lightly watching Harry drift over to the empty swings, "You're forgetting Ginny."
Harry chuckled leaning back on the swing starting to gently pump himself back and forth, finding this rather challenging since his feet kept dragging in the sand, "AH, yes…Ginny...So much for her being taken with me."
"Oh, Harry. You couldn't expect her to be drooling over you the rest of her adolescent life." Hermione replied wandering to a swing besides him.
Harry faked a pout, "Why not?"
Hermione giggled and smacked him on the arm as she sat down on the swing and began to sway herself.
"I know, I know. It was just...nice, yanno? Having someone like you.." Harry answered to his feet.
"Yeah, but what about Cho?"
Harry groaned. Cho Chang. The object of his affection for almost three years now," I don't think I'll be continuing that...er...possibility."
Hermione looked over at him, hiding her slight gasp at his profile in the moonlight. "Um...w-why?"
"Well...apart from her going out with someone else. I think it would just be too weird. She's in love with Cedric still…and I can see it in her eyes whenever she looks at me. ..She wishes it was him staring out at her, not me.."
Hermione looked over at him. This was one of the few times he'd actually brought up Cedric. The pain was still near, she could see it scrawled all over his smooth features, "Oh, Harry...."
Harry looked down as she slipped her hand into his. He felt himself starting to like it. Other than the time Hermione had been petrified and just an hour ago in the diner, Harry had never held her hand before. It was nice.
"Look, I have the BEST idea...Why don't we go to the beach tomorrow?"
Harry looked over at her beaming face. She raised her eyebrows, making an irresistible face, "Well...all right..."
"Great! I'll ask Ron tonight and see who else wants to come. We can take the train there and everything."
Harry couldn't help but smile, her excitement was contagious," That sounds like fun."
Hermione grinned and got up. Slyly, she got close to his swing, quickly grabbed the chain and twisted it around catching Harry by surprise and causing him to topple backwards onto the sand.
Hermione reeled with laughter and dashed away as Harry got to his feet and gave chase.
After a night of childish games of chase, swinging, sliding and riding the tiny plastics animals poised on thick springs, Harry drove Hermione home.
With a smile, Hermione leaned over and gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek, "Thanks again Harry...See you tomorrow."
Harry touched his cheek lightly, watching Hermione disappear through her front door. As he headed home he couldn't start to seriously wonder who the 'other guy' she was in love with was...and considered putting an acne curse on him.