Chapter 2-Summer at St. Mungo's

After another four days, Dudley was released from the hospital without any limitations. He was completely fine. He even had permission to start boxing again. Harry woke up that morning, grabbed a change of clothes, and showered quickly.

As he reentered his room, he saw Hedwig sitting on his bed with a letter tied around her leg.

"What have you got there, girl?" he said. She hooted at him and stuck out her leg. He relieved her of her package, and looked at the envelope. It was from Hermione! He tore it open hastily and read:

Hey Harry, how are you. I hope your summer has been going well. I know mine has. We're visiting France again this year, but this time we're in southern France, along the Mediterranean. It's beautiful here. I really wish you could have come with us. Speaking of which, the reason I wrote you was to see if you could come and visit me at my house.

Harry's heart dropped. He knew the Order would never let him out of the house, especially after the events of last year. It really stunk, god what he wouldn't give to get out of this house.

Don't worry, it's already been cleared by Dumbledore and the Order. Write me back if you want to come. If so we'll pick you up in about a week. Hope to see you soon.

Love and Friendship always,

Hermione

Harry smiled to himself. She knew him way too well. He grabbed a piece of parchment from his desk, and hastily wrote his reply:

Hey Hermione, I'm fine. Man, what I wouldn't give to be with you on that beach and out of this house. Speaking of which, of course I'd like to come visit you. I can't wait. How about you come on Sunday around 1:00? See you then.

Sincerely,

Harry

Harry stuck the letter in an envelope, and called Hedwig over to him. "Hey, take this to Hermione, ok?" She hooted and, Harry gave her an owl treat before she flew out of the window. He then went to talk to Dudley.

"Hey, Dudley," he said, knocking on his cousin's door, "it's Harry. Can I come in?"

"Sure," he replied blandly. He had been in a sour mood since he had figured out he was going to have to miss the first boxing match. Harry entered his cousin's room.

"Hey, I had an idea," he said. "Since you missed the first match of the year, you have to win the rest of them, right?" he asked. Dudley nodded. "Well, if you want, I can help you get in shape for your matches."

Dudley brightened instantly. "Yeah, that'd be great," he said. "Oh, and Harry," he said as Harry turned to leave, "thanks for saving me."

"Anytime," he answered happily.

Harry was in such a good mood, he forgot to clear his mind before going to bed that night. Then the dreams came.

Harry was standing on the same steps he had been standing on in the Department of Mysteries. He saw Sirius battling with Belatrix Lestrange. Then almost in slow motion, Harry saw Sirius get hit with a spell. He arched almost gracefully in the air, and came down right through the veil, oblivious to Harry's screams.

"Sirius, No! NO!" he sobbed.

"Harry, Harry, wake up!" he heard someone cry. He got up. He noticed that he was drenched in sweat. He looked up to see the concerned face of Dudley. "Are you all right?" asked Dudley.

Then the dream came back to him. He curled up in his bed, and turned away from Dudley. "Go away," he muttered. Dudley didn't move.

"Who's Sirius?" asked Dudley.

"What?" came Harry's reply. "How do you know about Sirius?"

"You've been having nightmares about him almost every other day since you got back. I've heard you scream his name in your sleep at least a dozen times now," said Dudley.

Harry shuddered again. "Go away," he said. "I don't want to talk about it." Dudley sighed disappointedly, and got up to leave. Harry got up, and grabbed Dudley by the arm. "Sit down," he said. "Sorry, I know you only want to help, but it's hard to talk about."

"Sirius was my godfather. He was one of my dad's best friends. One of his other friends betrayed him to Voldemort. That's why my dad's dead. And then Sirius….Sirius died at the end of the year." Harry choked back a sob. "Sirius is dead, and it's all my fault." Tears were streaming down his face by this point. "If I would have listened to my friends, he would still be alive."

Harry lay back down, and cried into his pillow. He felt Dudley's hand on his shoulder. "You'll be all right," he said. Then he got up and left.

Harry awoke the next day after a night of blissfully dreamless sleep. He dressed and showered quickly, and went downstairs. He found Dudley already dressed, and that he had already eaten breakfast. Harry hurriedly ate his breakfast. "Hey Dudley," he said, "fancy a jog?"

"Sure," he replied. They got up from the table and went out the front door. They ran a couple of times around the neighborhood. By the time they got back to the house, Dudley was ready to collapse, and collapse he did, right in the front yard. Harry sat down next to him.

"Well," he said, "that was a good warm-up." At this, Dudley blanched. Harry laughed to himself. "Okay, no more running," he conceded, "but we still have a lot more to do." They then went down to the basement, where Dudley had installed the punching bag he had received on his last birthday.

For about the next hour, Dudley punched at that bag until he couldn't lift his arms. "Okay, Dudley," said Harry, "you're doing pretty well. Now you have to jump-rope for fifteen minutes, and then you can take a break." Dudley sighed, but knew he had to do it if he wanted to win the boxing championship again.

The next week passed in much the same manner. By the end of the week, Dudley was almost able to keep up with Harry on their morning jogs. Harry was pretty confident in Dudley's ability to win the championship, as long as he kept with Harry's workout schedule.

Harry as usual, awoke the next day to the sound of Uncle Vernon screaming at him from downstairs. He tried to ignore it, but that only made him shout louder.

"Harry Potter," he yelled, "if you don't get down here right this instant, you'll get no food for a week."

"Okay, okay," he muttered, "I'm coming."

He quickly got dressed and walked downstairs to find Uncle Vernon purple with rage. Harry almost laughed at the sight of him, but stopped, knowing that it would only get him more work. He took a seat next to Dudley, and covertly flashed him a smile. Dudley returned it. Harry went to work on his rather small breakfast, and finished quickly.

"You'll be putting mulch down in the flower beds today, and it had better be done quickly, because I've got a lot more work for you to do today," said Uncle Vernon.

Harry nodded his agreement. Arguing, he knew, would only get him in trouble. Not to mention the fact that it gave him something to do. As Harry got up to leave, Dudley spoke up. "I'll help you, Harry," he said. Vernon looked at him with a strange look on his face, but said nothing.

About an hour later, a dirty, sweaty, and exhausted Dudley and Harry pulled themselves onto the stoop to rest. Harry was really proud of his cousin. Dudley had lost a lot of weight and was now much leaner and more muscular.

Harry couldn't even attempt to sleep that night. He was just too nervous. This is stupid he thought. It's just Hermione. Why am I getting so nervous about meeting her? I've been alone with her loads of times. Why should this time be so different? Harry never did manage to get to sleep. He just sat up the entire night thinking of Hermione, and what would happen tomorrow. He glanced up at the clock and groaned. It was only 6:30. He decided that there was nothing for it, so he grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the shower.

He emerged from the bathroom around seven. He stood in front of his mirror, and critiqued his appearance. He decided that he didn't look good in these clothes, so he changed. And then he changed again…and again…and again. Eventually he came to the realization that nothing in his wardrobe was decent, so he just lay down on his bed and waited for Hermione to show up. He was so nervous that he didn't eat breakfast, but by the time lunch rolled around, he was ravenous. Harry decided that there was no point in starving himself, so he ate.

He paced around the living room for about an hour after lunch. He looked up at the clock, and it read 1:00. Harry glanced out the window, and saw a brand new black Jaguar coming up the street. Somebody got a raise he thought. But then the car pulled into the Dursley's driveway, and low and behold, out steps Hermione, followed quickly by her dad. The walked up the steps to the house and knocked on the door. Vernon waddled over to the door, and opened it angrily.

"We're not interes…" His eyes bugged out as he saw the expensive sports car sitting in his driveway.

"We're here to pick up Harry," said Hermione.

"Wh-who are you?" Vernon managed to stutter out.

"I'm a friend of Harry's from school. He's going to be spending the rest of the summer with me. Is he here, we really need to be going."

"No, please, stay," said Vernon as he regained his composure.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dursley," said Hermione's dad. "We really do need to get going. Are you packed, Harry?" he asked.

Harry nodded and ran upstairs to grab his trunk. He didn't think that Mr. Granger would like having an owl in his car, so he told Hedgewig to meet him at the Granger's. He returned downstairs with his trunk.

"All set?" inquired Mr. Granger.

"Yes, sir," he replied. "Shall we be going?" Mr. Granger nodded. "Well, I guess I'll see you all next summer," he said to the Dursley's, and with that, he walked out the door. He walked behind Hermione, and couldn't help but notice how much she changed over the summer. She was definitely no longer a little girl. She had become a woman.

"Thanks for the ride Mr. Granger," said Harry as he jumped into the car.

"No problem, Harry," he replied. "Hermione's told us all about you. It's my honor, especially after all the ways you've protected my little girl." Harry blushed at this.

"Um, sir, why is Hermione driving?" he asked.

"Oh, that," said Mr. Granger. "Well, she has her learner's permit. I'm trying to teach her how to drive over the summer."

Harry had completely forgotten about that. Dudley had gotten his too, as well as a new car that he could use as soon as he turned 16. Harry spent the next hour talking to Mr. Granger, and sneaking glances at Hermione. He couldn't believe how good she looked. Hermione was totally focused on the road. She didn't notice Harry looking at her, or join in the conversation.

Soon, they pulled into the driveway of an enormous house. Harry couldn't stop gaping. He'd never seen a house like this. It was awesome and…unique. The only other muggle dwellings he'd ever seen were the identical houses of Little Whinging. When they entered the garage, Harry was sure he was going to dislocate his jaw. There were three more Jaguar's parked in the enormous garage(Mr. Granger liked to collect jaguars, even though he didn't drive most of them). It must have cost a small fortune.

Hermione smiled at Harry, and gently returned his jaw to the proper position. "Come on," she said. "Let's go inside."

"I don't know if that's a good idea. If the inside of the house is anything like what I've seen so far, I don't think my jaw will ever recover."

She just sighed and dragged him into the house. It was exactly what Harry had been afraid of. It was every bit as elaborate, and no doubt expensive, as everything else he'd seen. Once again, his jaw hit the floor. The Grangers just smiled at him as he admired everything in the house. Hermione had told them that he had never experienced any luxury, but this had them completely shocked. The poor boy looked like a kid in a candy shop.

"Hermione, why don't you take him up to his room?" suggested Mr. Granger. "I think Harry could stand some rest. I'll call you down when it's time for dinner."

Hermione took Harry up to his room. Once they were there, Harry recovered his voice.

"Wow, Hermione," he said. "This place is amazing."

"Yeah, its home," she said.

"Hey Hermione," he said.

"Ya," she replied.

"Thanks for inviting me. You have no idea how much this means to me. I don't think I could have spent another day in that house.

"It's no problem," she said. "I've really missed you this summer. Besides, my parents were really excited by the prospect of seeing the guy who saved their 'little girl' so many times."

They shared a laugh at this. "So, tell me about your summer," said Harry. "I'm really jealous. I've never really been anywhere."

"Well, I usually think about France as being full of mountains and snow, since that's usually what we do when we're there: ski. But it was so much different. We went to this beautiful hotel. If you think this house is something, your eyes would've bugged out of your head when you saw this hotel."

"And then we went to the beach. Oh my god, it was beautiful. White sand, sparkling surf, it was all there. We swam, we body surfed, and we even got to ride on some jet skis. They were loads of fun."

"It sounds incredible," said Harry. "You're dad seems really cool. Where's your mom?" he asked.

"Oh, she's still at the clinic," she replied. "You'll get to meet her at dinner. So, what do you want to do?"

"I don't know," he replied. "Honestly, I feel kind of overwhelmed at the moment. What kind of things do you usually do around here?"

"Well, we could watch TV, or maybe we could go swimming or sit in the hot tub," she suggested.

"Okay, swimming sounds like fun, but I don't have a swimsuit, I mean the Dursley's never really bought me clothes, let alone a swimsuit." he said.

"Oh, well I wonder if my Dad has any old ones that might fit you?" said Hermione. "DAD!" yelled Hermione.

"Yes, Dear?" called Mr. Granger.

"Do you happen to have any old swimsuits that might fit Harry?"

"Ya, they might be a little big but you can tighten up the strings and they should work perfect!"

Mr. Granger brought the suit up to Harry. Harry thanked him and went to put it on. "Fits perfect," said Harry.

"Great, I'll go get changed," she said. Oh god, what have I done he thought. How am I going to stand a couple of hours of Hermione in a bikini? He quickly shook those thoughts out of his mind. Hermione's my best friend, he thought. I shouldn't be thinking about her like that. Harry quickly grabbed a towel and headed downstairs to meet up with Hermione. It was just as he had feared. She looked amazing in her swimsuit. Harry desperately searched his mind for something to calm himself down. Trelawney teaching Divination naked did the trick.

"Well, let's go," she said. He followed her to the backyard. The back of the house was every bit as spectacular as the rest. There was a four tiered deck leading down to an enormous pool at the bottom.

"I'll have to show you this place at night," she said. "There are neon lights in the pool. It looks really neat." Harry could only nod his agreement. He couldn't wait to get in the pool. It was just as hot here as it was back on Privet Drive, and that pool looked very inviting.

Harry and Hermione swam for about two hours, until they were both completely exhausted. They trudged back upstairs, showered, and decided to take a short nap before dinner.

Harry awoke from a restful sleep to find Hermione standing over him with an exasperated look on her face. "Harry Potter, I swear, you're as bad as Ron when it comes to being a heavy sleeper."

Harry just laughed. "It must be a teen guy thing," he said.

"Well, Mr. Teen Guy, it's time for dinner, so hurry and get washed up," she said. Harry hurried and got washed up for supper, and joined the Grangers downstairs. Harry was quickly greeted by Mrs. Granger.

"Hello, Harry, welcome to our home," she said.

"Thanks so much for inviting me Mrs. Granger,"

"Anytime, dear, but please, call me Jane," she said. "You've met my husband, Charles," she said, gesturing towards him. "And this is our daughter, Julie."

"Hello, Julie," he said. "I'm Harry."

"I know, Hermione's told me all about you," she said.

Dinner was incredible. Hermione's dad really knew how to cook. He made a dish that Harry had never heard of. He called it gumbo.

"When Jane and I went to a conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, we had gumbo the first night we were there. The style of cooking in that area is called Cajun. I liked it so much, I learned how to cook it."

"Well, sir," said Harry, "It's delicious."

When dinner was over, Mr. Granger called Harry over to him. "Well, Harry," he said. "I've got a bit of a surprise for you." He walked Harry into the garage. "Ok, Harry, which one of these cars is your favorite?" he asked.

Harry pondered the question a moment, and finally decided on the brand new, red, 2006 XK Jaguar. "You've got a good eye there," said Mr. Granger. "I don't normally take this thing out of the garage, but today we can make an exception." They walked over to the car. "Hop in," he said.

"You're kidding, right?" replied Harry.

"No, I'm serious," he said. "Hop in, and I'll take you for a spin."

Harry had never had more fun. Mr. Granger took him around town. Harry kind of enjoyed all the attention they were getting because of the car. They returned after about 30 minutes. After they got back, Hermione decided that it would be a good time to show Harry the pool at night.

"Wow, Hermione," he said. "This place is spectacular."

Harry went to sleep that night, completely content. So content, in fact, that he forgot to clear his mind again.

Hermione was in the next room, sleeping. That's when she heard Harry's moans. "Sirius! No!" She quietly tiptoed into Harry's room, only to Harry thrashing around on his bed. She placed her hand on his head, and he calmed down. "Harry, wake up," she said.

Slowly, Harry awoke. "Wha-what happened?" he asked.

"You were having a nightmare. Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

"It's the same dream I have almost every night," he said. "I see Sirius falling through the veil, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. It's my fault Sirius is dead!"

"No, Harry, it's not. It's Bellatrix and Voldemort who killed him, not you," she replied.

"Ya, but if I had listened to you, Sirius never would have died. If I had practiced Occlumency, none of it would have happened. Ginny, and Neville, and Ron, and Luna, they all got hurt. And gods, Hermione, you almost died. I love you, and I couldn't live if I had caused you're death."

That last comment took them both by surprise. "Do you really mean that?" she asked.

Harry hung his head. "Yeah, I do," he answered. "But you and me can never be together," he continued. "Because then you would be a target."

"Harry, I'm already a target," she replied. "And I love you too. Now, get to sleep," she said, and with that, turned and went back to bed, leaving Harry to think about what had just happened.

After breakfast the next morning, Harry decided he had to talk to Hermione. "Hey, Hermione," he said. "Do you wanna go for a walk?"

"Sure," she answered.

They walked in silence for a few moments, before Harry finally spoke up. "Hermione, we need to talk about last night."

"What about it?" she asked.

"Well, what about us? Are you my girlfriend now?" he asked.

"I don't know, I don't think I've been asked yet," she replied playfully.

"Okay, well, Hermione?" he asked. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"I'd love to," she answered.

Then Harry felt a weight drop into his stomach. "Wait, Hermione, how are we going to tell Ron?"

"I don't know," she said. "We'll think of something."

Just before they went back in the house, Harry received a bug bite, but was too happy to care. Miles away, Voldemort couldn't have been happier.

Harry awoke the next morning with a blinding headache. Moving his head sent jolts of pain through his entire body. He tried to get up, but his muscles refused to obey, and they ached like he had just run a marathon. He realized that his entire bed was drenched in sweat, and he felt really hot, but was getting chills.

Soon, he heard Hermione calling to him. "Harry, it's time for breakfast. Hurry up and come down here," she said.

Harry tried to reply that he was sick, but no words would come out of his mouth. His throat and mouth felt so dry that he could have spit cotton.

Hermione continued to call him, and Harry continued to try to answer. Eventually, he heard Hermione's footsteps coming up the stairs. She entered Harry's room with a look of slight anger on her face. She went over to Harry, but when she realized he was already awake, tried to pull him out of bed. "Harry, get up, what are you doing?" she asked. She received a small shock when she tried to touch him.

Finally, Harry found his voice. "Hermione," he croaked, "I think I'm really sick." And with that, he promptly passed out.

Harry awoke to find the Granger family peering over him. Although he was still weak, he had regained his voice.

"I need to get to the hospital," he said.

"Harry, we can't touch you," said Mr. Granger

Harry ignored him. "I need to get to St. Mungo's, it's the wizard hospital."

"All right," said Mr. Granger, "we'll take him to St. Mungo's. But how are we going to manage to get him there, we can't touch him."

"Why don't we carry him in his sheets?" suggested Hermione.

And so they did. They carried him out to the car in his sheets, and put him in the back seat of the family car. Harry drifted in and out of consciousness. Every once in a while, Harry would hear someone's voice. Sometimes it was Hermione giving directions, or Mr. Granger complaining about traffic. Then he stopped hearing their voices, and started hearing voices he didn't recognize.

Suddenly, everything went calm. He stopped hearing voices, he didn't feel his body ache, and he was rested. They must have given me a sleeping draught, he thought. And then he saw something that, had he been awake, would have made him question his sanity. Sirius? What are you doing here?

I've come to help you, Harry. You've come down with an entirely new disease, and they can't find a cure for it. Only you can heal yourself. I'm here to try to teach you how.

Heal myself? How can I heal myself when the greatest doctors in the wizarding world can't heal me?

The strength lies inside you, Harry. You have to learn how to use it, and how to control it. Close your eyes. Reach out with your mind. Can you feel your body? Do you see its currents, how it ebbs and flows?

Harry concentrated. He probed with his mind. Suddenly, he could see his body as though from the outside. He saw the disease flowing through his veins. I see it, Sirius. I can see my body. I see the disease coursing through me. But how will this help me?

You have to take the poison, and push it out of your body, one piece at a time.

And so he did. He took the toxins, and pushed them out of his body, through his pores. It was very difficult work, and many times he thought he couldn't do it, but Sirius was always there, helping and encouraging him. He would track down the disease, take the particle, and push it out. When finally he succeeded in removing it, he fell into blissful slumber, and he thought no more.

When Harry finally awoke, it was to the faces of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, Tonks, Mad-Eye, and Dumbledore. They all had a look of complete relief on their face.

"What happened?" asked Harry. "Where am I?"

"You're in St. Mungo's, Harry," replied Dumbledore. "You came down with some unknown illness, and have been asleep for nearly a week."

"What did they do? How did they cure me?" asked Harry.

"They did nothing, Harry. They could not figure out what was wrong with you. You apparently have healed yourself," Dumbledore replied.

Then it all came back to him. Everything he had done; his meeting with Sirius, and how Sirius had helped him to heal himself. The recounting of his story was met with disbelief. They obviously believed it to be a delusion. Harry didn't argue with them. After all, they may have been right.

After another couple of days, Harry was released. Tonks, Mad-Eye, and Lupin escorted him home.

"Well, Potter, it seems you've cheated death once again, eh?" growled Mad-Eye, as he limped towards the car that would take them home.

"Guess I have, sir. Though, I don't know how. By all accounts, I should be dead by now, shouldn't I?" replied Harry.

"Aye, Potter, that you should. Don't get me wrong, we're glad you aren't, but you do have this unnatural ability to escape unscathed from just about anything that gets near you. Though, it does make it a bit easier to guard you."

I'll bet it does, thought Harry as he entered the car. I'll bet it does.