There was something wrong with Harry.
Hermione couldn't put her finger on it, but she was certain that something was going on.
Something had happened at the end of last year, when they had broken in to the Ministry of Magic, and it wasn't just Sirius dieing. There was something else. Something else had happened that Harry wouldn't talk about…something that he didn't want to talk to her and Ron about.
As much as she hated to admit it that bothered her. She knew that it shouldn't, that Harry needed time to come to terms with things. But the feelings came unbidden, and she found herself unable to stop them.
She sighed and lay back on her bed. She was angry and she didn't like the feeling. She didn't think it was fair to be angry at Harry, but she was anyway. He had not answered her letter…again. He hadn't written back all summer and she was starting to get worried. She knew (or at least hoped) that Harry was okay. After all he was supposed to be keeping in contact with the Order of the Phoenix and none of them had said anything about Harry…at all.
She had talked to both Lupin and Tonks several times. They had talked about school, Sirius, even Ron, but Harry had never entered in to the conversation. Now that she thought about it, it seemed like the subject had been deliberately avoided. Even when she had asked about Harry, she never got an answer.
Hermione sat up and looked around her room. It seemed to get smaller and more cramped every summer. One wall was completely taken over by her bookshelves, and her school supplies, didn't take up a very small amount of space. No matter how neat she tried to keep it, the clutter seemed to spread. The one thing she liked about her room was her bay window. It made the room seem bigger than it was. She hated having such a tiny room, but as she was only home for part of each summer she really had no reason to complain. If she lived at home full time, then maybe she would have an argument.
"Hermione," a voice floated up the stairs. "You have a visitor. Come down here, please."
Hermione stood up and started to walk downstairs. She wondered who on earth could be visiting her. Almost no one from school knew where she lived. In fact she didn't think that anyone from school did. But then again she wouldn't be that hard to track down, after all most of the people she knew were witches and wizards, and they would have no trouble figuring out where someone lived. Hermione hurried down the stairs and went in the kitchen to find her mother sitting at the table reading the paper, looking tired. "Mum?" She asked.
Her mother looked up. "Yes dear?"
Hermione attempted to keep her exasperation out of her voice. Her mother could be so forgetful. "You said there was someone here to see me."
Her mother smiled, "oh sorry, Hermione…he's outside… he didn't feel like coming in."
Hermione walked back out into the living room and pulled open the door. Her mouth fell open with shock. It wasn't Ron or Harry. It wasn't anyone from school. It was… Viktor Krum.
Hermione gasped. "How…what?" she stammered. She was completely speechless/ Of all the people she knew he was one of the least expected to show up on her doorstep. She hadn't talked to Viktor since the middle of the last school year.
"You're surprised," he said unnecessarily. A smile crossed his face.
Hermione finally managed to get it together. "Of course I'm surprised, I haven't talked to you for months, and now you just show up on my doorstep…why are you here anyway?" she finished suspiciously.
What was he doing here? Has something happened? Does he know something?
Viktor leaned close. "We'll talk later…you're being watched," he whispered. He then continued more loudly, "How have you been?"
Startled at the sudden change in subject it took her a moment to respond. "Fine," she murmured. "Would you like to come inside?"
He gave a quick nod and they walked inside. Hermione shut the door behind her. She reached to lock it and changed her mind. If someone was watching her, they most likely were not a muggle, and it wouldn't help to lock the door. It would be easy enough for whoever it was to simply unlock the door using the alohomora spell.
She turned to Viktor. "Someone's watching me?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yes, someone is watching you…we think they are death eaters…we can't be completely sure, but given your close relationship to Harry, that is the most likely possibility."
"W-wait a second," she stammered. "How do you know?"
He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I forgot how much you don't know," he said apologetically. "I decided to join the Order of the Phoenix. I haven't had a chance to tell you because we haven't talked for a long time. I forgot you didn't know. I'm sorry."
" I'm not completely sure I understand," she whispered more to herself than Krum.
He squeezed her shoulder. "I know but I can't say more…We leave for headquarters tonight. We can talk more when we get there. OK?"
She nodded and turned towards the stairs. "I'm going to go pack…Give me 5 minutes and I'll be ready."
Hermione hurried up to her room and opened her trunk. Her clothes were already folded and placed neatly in the bottom. She placed her cauldron and other school supplies in the trunk and walked over to her bookshelf. She put as many books as she could fit in the trunk. She checked to make sure hew wand was in her pocket, and then shut her trunk. She grabbed the handle and started to drag the trunk downstairs. Her mind was racing. She was trying to make sense of everything that she had just been told. It was so unbelievable . It defied logic. Why would somebody be following her?
Viktor appeared and took over the job of getting the trunk downstairs. Hermione went to tell her mother what was going on. When she walked into the kitchen her mother turned to look at her.
"Well? She prompted.
Hermione looked down at her feet. She didn't want to see the hurt in her mother's eyes when she told her.
" I'm leaving," she mumbled. "In a few minutes. I'm going to London until school starts." As she said this she looked up to meet her mothers gaze.
There was hurt there. It had been there every time that Hermione had left unexpectedly. There was also disappointment and a new unreadable emotion that Hermione couldn't quite place. Disapproval? Worry? Anger? It was strange. Hermione knew that she'd only been home for 4 weeks, but what would make this summer different than the previous one? Last summer she had been home for barely a week before taking off to London. There was something different this summer but Hermione didn't have time to dwell on it because her mother started to talk.
"Of course dear," she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "Write us this year, will you?"
Hermione felt horrible. Her mother sounded close to tears. She wasn't just upset. There was something seriously wrong. "Mum?" she whispered walking over to her. "What is it? What's wrong?"
Her mother shook her head. "Its nothing dear. Don't let it bother you." Hermione reached over and hugged her mother. "Mum. You have to tell me. Its important. I need to know!"
Her mother shook her head again. " No, I can't. I'm not ready to tell you yet." This aggravated Hermione but she knew better than to say anything. Whatever was bothering her mother was important, but there was nothing to be gained by badgering her.
"Oh, Mum," Hermione whispered, bursting into tears. She put her arms around her mother and sobbed into her shoulder. "I'm so sorry I'm leaving again," she sobbed. " I miss you and Dad so much."
Her mother didn't say anything just sat there held Hermione close. Eventually Hermione's crying stopped.
She stood up and bid her mother goodbye. She was hugely disappointed that she couldn't say goodbye to her father, but she decided that there was nothing she could do, and so there was no point in worrying about it.
As she was walking out the front door, she could have sworn that she heard her mother whisper something that sounded like "Don't interfere," but she wasn't sure, and she had no idea what her mother could possibly be referring too.
Krum was waiting outside the front door when Hermione walked out. If he had heard the exchange in the kitchen he didn't say anything about it. He reached out to give her a quick hug. Hermione knew that he was trying to make her feel better but it didn't particularly help.
"How are we going to get there?" she asked Krum didn't say a word, he just beckoned for her to follow. They walked around to the back of the house. He reached into a hole and pulled out an old stick. It was dead and brittle and looked like if you simply touched it would shatter into tiny pieces. It was an odd choice for a portkey. But it rally didn't matter what it was as long as it got them where they were going.
Without saying a word they each grabbed a hold of the stick. Krum counted down under his breath and then Hermione felt a jerk behind her navel and a spinning sensation. Her feet touched the ground and she fell over. Viktor pulled her to her feet.
"Thanks," she whispered. She took a look at her surroundings. All at once it hit her. They weren't in London, they weren't anyplace she had seen before. She had no clue where they were.