Chapter 2 – Telling Each Other
It was now the thirtieth of August, and neither Harry, nor Hermione had plucked up the courage to tell each other they would be going away for school.
Hermione had read, and re-read her school textbooks, and had squeaked and dropped the book that was in her hands the first time she had seen Harry's name on the page.
"Could this really possibly be him?" she thought to herself, as she pondered everything he had ever shared with her. He had told her that his aunt and uncle had told him that his parents had died in a car crash, but now she wasn't so sure about that.
Seeing his name in several of their school books made her feel kind of funny.
"What else could he be possibly hiding from me?" she asked herself many, many times.
Harry Potter knocked on Hermione's bedroom door, ready to tell her.
"May I please come in, Hermione," Harry asked, as she opened the door, and motioned for him to enter.
"I've got something I need to tell you," he said quietly, looking at his feet. "I know we were both looking forward to being in high school together, but as it turns out, I have been accepted unto another school, so it looks like I won't be able to see you for an entire year," he said, before he was stopped.
"I've also been accepted into another school, instead of Stonewall," Hermione told Harry, "but, I have no idea where it is, but from what I've read, it should be a good place to study.
"Is that all you ever do, Hermione?" Harry teased. "Everyone keeps asking me the same question. When am I going to ask out my book worm friend, and I keep telling them that we are too young for that right now, but when I do ask her, I want it to be the perfect time for it.
Hermione blushed, and started crying after hearing Harry say that. She was not sure if Harry could or ever would return the feelings she held in her heart only for him. Now she knew for sure, that he did have feelings for her.
"I'll miss you Harry," she sobbed, as he pulled her into a hug.
"We will be able to write to each other, you know. It's not like we will be out of touch forever, and then, at the end of the school year, we will both be back here on Privet Drive, me with my relatives, and you here, and we will be see each other again, and be able to tell each other about our new schools.
"I suppose that's true," Hermione admitted. "Can you stay for a while though? I have something to show you.
"I have to pack to be ready to go early tomorrow, so it's got to be quick.
Several hours later, Harry Potter had finished packing. The stuff Hermione had shown him had made him feel happy. One of the few times he had ever felt happy, in fact. He had been given half of a heart shaped locket by Hermione, and had been told several times to keep the locket safe, because as long as either of the two of them held it close to themselves, they would always have each other, and when it was connected together again, they would never be apart.
Harry was not sure about what she had meant from anything she had said, but she had looked so happy when he had accepted his half of the locket.
"It's always touchy feely stuff with girls, isn't it?' he asked himself, not expecting an answer back, but receiving an answer from uncle Vernon nonetheless.
"What are you going on about with all this rubbish?" Vernon bellowed. "Who would ever want to be with a good for nothing like you?
Harry ignored his uncle, as he knew his uncle Vernon would like nothing better than to make him angry.
It was all for naught however, as his uncle grabbed him, and started to shake him, demanding that he be answered.
The shaking was long in stopping. Vernon Dursley seemed to be venting all of his rage out towards Harry, and he didn't even stop when he realized that he was being watched by the girl next door.
Hermione looked out the window of her bedroom, and felt her heart stop in her chest. She could not believe what Vernon Dursley was doing to his own nephew.
She thought of going over, and trying to stop him, but knew that he might only hurt her, and that would hurt Harry more.
She phoned the police, hoping they would be able to stop Vernon hurting Harry, and it took them only moments to arrive.
As they arrived on the doorstep of number four Privet Drive, the shaking stopped, and Harry stood still as they entered the house. He knew that his future depended on what happened next. As the police tromped up the stairs, he knew what he should do. He wouldn't do anything, he decided.
"Good evening," a burly, sandy haired officer said to Harry. "We received a report of a disturbance here. Is everything alright?
"Yes officer," Harry lied, safe in the knowledge that he would soon be away from the Durselys.
Hermione looked over again, and noticed that Harry was smiling impishly at her. It was his small way of saying, "it's alright."
She had never felt less heartened by that smile than she felt right then. They had always used that smile before as a signal between the two of them. They had used it to cover up stuff, but never any thing like what had just happened.
The day was finally here. They both said their goodbyes to each other. Hermione and her family left Privet Drive first, and then the Dursley's pulled out, heading towards King's Cross station, and then to who knows where.