Hermione was really surprised when seeing the clock that morning.
"10:30." She read. "Have I really slept this long?"
"It shouldn't surprise you." Naoko spoke as she peeked into the room. "After what happened yesterday. It is to be expected."
Hermione nodded.
"Ah, yeah. Breakfast is ready." Naoko added before leaving the room.
Hermione went to her closet and took a look at some clothes. The previous night she had phoned her parents and they had let her spent a few days at a friend's house. But she didn't have spare clothes. And Tomoyo told her that was not a problem, she and Sakura would leave her a few clothes in the closet, and so they had done.
Hermione finally chose some white capris, and a sky blue three-quarter blouse with bare shoulders, along with a pair of white sandals with blue straps around her ankles. Her hair she pulled it up in a messy bun; and then ran downstairs.
"Good morning!" she called to everyone as she entered the dinning room.
She remembered her first impression the moment they arrived to the mansion the previous night, she had stayed in awe for almost a full minute. She had truly never seen such a big place, at least not besides Hogwarts castle.
"This morning for breakfast, my specialty!" Sakura announced proudly as she emerged from the kitchen carrying a couple of trays full of something.
"Hai!" Shaoran seemed to know exactly what it was.
And in the moment she put the trays down they could see it:
"Chocolate-chip pancakes!" Nakuru cried out.
It had taken Hermione a bit of time and patience to understand exactly what Nakuru and Suppy were, and why they acted the way they did. Suppy wasn't too difficult, always serious, reading some old book; but Nakuru…well, she's quite a case.
.---.
That morning Harry Potter woke up like always, although he knew that day was very different from any other. That day was his seventeenth birthday; which meant that according to the Magical Laws he was officially off-age, he could leave the house he had lived in until then, and use magic without being punished. There was also the fact that he wanted to see his beloved girlfriend, he hadn't seen her in almost a month, and missed her terribly. Even when Hermione had managed to phone him one night, they had been talking in a low voice and fast, just promising to find a way of seeing each other in Harry's birthday.
Harry was already planning on leaving Privet Drive, although he first needed to make sure he had somewhere to live. Professor Dumbledore had told him that Sirius's house wasn't a good idea, as some Death Eater might know about it. He didn't want to get Hermione in more danger than she already was, fighting those strange disasters that happened almost everyday; he had heard of the most recent one, on a mall, the strange fire no one could explain. So he was thinking on asking Ron to help him, or probably Eriol.
Harry was still deep in thought when suddenly he heard a cry.
"Aunt Petunia!" Harry yelled and ran down the stairs.
He didn't even stop to think what was happening, he just saw some dark figure getting over his fallen aunt, raised an arm, and his mind was even faster than the words, the figure was sent flying and crashing into the wall. And that was when Harry recognized them.
"Death Eaters…" he murmured.
"Harry Potter…" the leader of the DE looked at him.
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked with all his senses on high alert.
"Isn't it obvious?" the DE asked.
"My aunt and uncle have nothing to do with this." Harry said.
"Oh, but they do." Another DE stepped in. "After all, they kept you all this years."
"We have to accept the Incantation old Dumbledore made on this house was a good one." Another cloaked man said. "To be invisible to us as long as you called it home."
'So this is my fault?' Harry wondered. 'As this morning I woke up considering this house would no longer be my home, I broke the Incantation.'
"Crucio!" one of the DE attacked a cowering Dudley.
"No!" Harry cried out.
It happened so fast, the DE couldn't understand exactly what had happened, and didn't have time to either.
Harry just stepped in between the attack and his cousin, creating a shield with his own aura, just in time. Then he concentrated and made a move with his hand, some of the last tricks he had learned when he had been taught how to be a Sorcerer, to summon his wand with the thought, the wand appeared between his fingers.
"You want a fight?" Harry asked getting in stance. "A fight you shall have."
The DE didn't stop to ponder how the boy had gotten his wand out of thin air. There were three of them, and the three attacked.
"Reflectus!" Harry used one of the high-level spells Hermione had taught him recently, with it he created something like a mirror-shield that sent the attack back to his enemy.
It worked, one of the DE was sent crashing into a wall and then fell unconscious.
"One less, two more to go." Harry said with a bit of humor.
"You won't get us that easily." One of them said, sure of himself. "Inferno!"
"Oh no, I'm sure I won't." Harry said sarcastically.
He had the idea of extinguishing the fire with a water spell, but then he would probably have to endure his aunt yelling at him for having spoiled the tapestries, and everything in the room; so he changed his tactic.
"Evaporum!"
The spell, very much like the Evanesco spell was used to vanish what he wished, the difference was this spell was used for more complicated things than the Evanesco.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry attacked again before giving his opponent a chance of doing it first. "Second down, just one left." He added with a smirk, very much like Eriol's.
"Impossible." The last DE murmured, trying to hide his astonishment. He couldn't believe a boy had just defeated two of the best DE with nothing but a couple of spells.
They began a duel, Harry noticed the last DE was tougher than the other two, but didn't matter, he still fought hard.
"Expelliarmus!" the DE attacked him.
Harry had had to jump to dodge the previous attack (which as a consequence had just broken one window), and he wasn't prepared for this spell. His wand flew out of his reach, and he could barely keep his footing.
"You're lost." The DE said self-confidently.
"You might not want to bet on it." Harry said calmly, raising his bare hand. "That trick might work with any other wizard, but not with me."
"No man can do magic without a wand boy." The DE told him roughly.
"Well, I'm quite a case." Harry said with a bit of humor, and before the DE could understand what was happening he added. "Desmaius!"
The DE didn't even have time to stare in shock, he just dropped unconscious.
"After all, I am half-sorcerer." Harry added to his unconscious opponent.
With one more move of his hand his wand returned to him, and then he let himself fall on a coach.
"Well…" he sighed as he took a look around.
Uncle Vernon began getting off the floor slowly, as if not being quite sure it was all over. Dudley had fainted, so it was to be expected he would remain on the floor for the time being. Aunt Petunia on the other hand, she immediately got on her feet, and took a look around, her face contorting in a serious of anger-disappointment-shock-panic…etc. And Harry knew why, besides the broken window one of the coaches was burned, a tapestry too, and there was a hole in the part of the wall the first DE had collided into.
"Harry James Potter!" Petunia yelled enraged. "Look what you have done to my house!"
"You…you are supposed to have your magic forbidden boy." Uncle Vernon added.
"You would have preferred having those men destroy us instead of me using magic?" Harry asked sarcastically. "Besides, I'm off-age already."
Uncle Vernon stayed silent, knowing his nephew was right.
And Aunt Petunia continued her charade.
"Aunt…" Harry interrupted her. "It can all be easily fixed."
"Easily fixed?" his aunt seemed to have smoke on her ears by now. "You know how much this is gonna cost boy? You…"
"Reparo!" Harry flicked his wand one more time.
Instantly his aunt's mouth shut.
And while both Dursleys tried to find something else to scold Harry about he was thinking hard.
'I know Eriol taught me something about sending things on teleportation. I'm not sure how big those things can be, but this DE definitely can't stay here any longer. And Hedwig is away so I have no way of contacting anyone from the Order of the Phoenix.' He thought. 'I must remember…'
.---.
And while Harry was in deep thought Hermione suddenly felt what had happened.
They were in the mansion, getting the biggest room adorned for Harry's Birthday Party. With magic and the help of everyone it wasn't too hard.
"Guys!" Hermione yelled to get everyone's attention.
As soon as there was silence in the room all the Sorcerers could feel it.
"Dark magic…" Sakura murmured.
"By Harry-san's house." Eriol added, standing from his place in the piano, he had been helping Tomoyo practice a song.
"Then we must get there, quick." Tomoyo said standing up too.
"Sakura-chan can get us there fast." Shaoran said as a matter-of-fact.
"But Privet Drive, the street where Harry lives is full of muggles." Hermione noted.
"Then we take the car." Eriol resolved.
"You know how to drive?" Shaoran asked, not too sure.
"Hai." Eriol nodded.
No one said anything else, they just ran outside. Once in the car Eriol took the driver's seat, with Tomoyo in the copilot side. Behind was Hermione, and there was still space for one or two more. Sakura, Shaoran and Naoko preferred to stay behind with Nakuru and Spinel to finish the preparations for the party.
.---.
Eriol didn't lie when he said he knew how to drive, what he missed to add was that he drove fast, really fast. Not that they mattered much, but they almost gave a few kids their life's scare.
Once in Privet drive Eriol lowered the speed, so they could try and pick up Harry's aura. It wasn't needed. Just as they were trying to sense it they noticed how the door of one of the houses turned on, and they heard some yelling.
"This is all your fault boy!" Vernon yelled.
"They almost killed my precious Dudders!" Aunt Petunia wailed.
"You've bothered us for the last time!" Vernon declared.
"But Uncle Vernon…" Harry began.
"Nothing!" Uncle Vernon threw out the trunk where Harry had been packing everything.
And behind his trunk came Hedwig's cage, and a suitcase with the rest of his little possessions.
"We should have never accepted you in our house!" Aunt Petunia. "They asked us to do it. For the memory of my sister, Lily, for the love I had for her but…"
"Love?" Harry asked sarcastically, and with a bit of grudge. "You know nothing about love. All this years you treated me more like a slave, or a wall. Even Aunt Marge treats her dog better. If you really had any love toward me I would feel this place as home, but I do not. That's why the shield around this house fell, that's why those Death Eaters attacked. And even when I just saved your lives all you can say is I'm a bother, and kick me out." He sighed. "I don't know how I can expect anything else from you. I don't know how I ever wished this could be my home."
The last words really hurt the Durleys, but hid it. They closed the door on Harry's face.
"Fine." He said. "I'll call the Nightbus, I was planning on leaving today this house anyway. Just hope the DE get the notice of my leaving too, the last thing I would wish is for them to attack you while you have no one to protect you."
In the inside of the house Vernon and Petunia doubted. They knew it was true. If they were attacked without Harry there, it didn't mean they would be forgiven, it would be the other way around. They would all be killed, without even having a chance to save themselves.
Vernon was already thinking twice, and he turned around to open the door again. But an awe of Dudle got his attention away.
"Just look at those babes!" Dudley said with side eyes.
When Vernon followed his son's gaze he took in the image of a young woman of about seventeen, wearing a blue blouse and white capris, jumping out of the back seat of a Sports Car, and running to their front lane.
And the next scene they saw almost made Dudley faint again: that 'gorgeous girl' kneeling next to Harry, hugging him for a second, and them kissing him!
.-.
Hermione recognized Harry immediately.
"They're kicking him out!" she cried out angrily.
"Then we came just in time." Eriol said as he stopped the car.
Hermione immediately jumped off the car, it was not a problem for her after all the training. In seconds she was kneeling next to her boyfriend.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Harry was kneeling down, making sure all his things were on the trunk. When he heard the voice he didn't recognize it immediately.
"Yes miss, thank you." He said without looking up. "Who are you looking for?"
"My handsome boyfriend, he told me he lived in Privet Drive, number four." Hermione answered with a smile.
"Privet Drive is here, number four…" Harry wasn't paying much attention yet, but as he spoke, he understood.
"I want to tell him how much I miss him, and love him." Hermione went on.
"Hermy!" Harry raised his head immediately, a mix of shock and great happiness adorned his face.
He immediately crushed her in an embrace.
"Good to see you too." Hermione added, surprised by his actions.
"I've missed you so much Hermy…" Harry whispered. "You have no idea."
"I do." Hermione replied, breaking the embrace for a moment. "Because I've missed you just as much."
No more words where needed. Their lips looked for each others', and found what they were looking for: love.
.-.
Vernon gasped, and Petunis could do nothing but stare. Who was this woman, and why did she treated Harry like that? They obtained their answers shortly afterwards, when the couple that was still in the car talked.
.-.
"Hey guys, I know you're really happy of seeing each other again, but maybe we should be leaving." Tomoyo suggested, opening the door of the car and getting out.
"Right." Hermione nodded.
Harry closed the trunk and got to his feet, helping Hermione up on the way. He was about to take hold of his things when…
"Let me, I'll take care of that." Eriol said walking around the car.
After taking a quick check to make sure no one was spying them (no one besides the Dursleys that is) Eriol moved his hand and the things levitated to the back of the car.
.-.
"They're wizards too!" Dudley gasped.
And just to confirm it they saw Harry's companion as she drew out a wand, flicked it, and immediately Harry's clothes were arranged.
"All of them!" Dudley added.
.-.
Harry, with his clothes arranged courtesy of his girlfriend, and Hermione got in the back seat of the car. And then Tomoyo and Eriol got in their places too.
"You would want to fasten your seatbelt." Hermione told Harry as she did the same.
"Why?" and even as Harry asked he did as he was told.
"Because we're gonna break the wind!" Eriol exclaimed as he turned on the car and pushed the accelerator deep down.
Hermione and Tomoyo laughed as they heard him, and Harry couldn't help but cry out as he felt the force of gravitation push him into his seat.
After a hard u-turn and a few seconds going at that break-neck speed they were out of sight.
.-.
Both women were still laughing when they got out of the car, in the mansion.
"This place Eriol is…wow." Harry didn't really know what to say.
"Yeah, I reacted just the same way." Hermione said.
Harry said nothing more as they walked over the steps that led to the entrance.
"You do know the Dursleys were spying on us, ne?" Eriol asked just as he opened the door.
"Hai." Tomoyo nodded. "Just to see the way that boy, Harrykun's cousin was looking at Hermy-chan."
"What?" both Harry and Hermione were taken aback by this.
"Well, I would have loved to see their faces the moment we blew the dust on their faces." Eriol said with humor.
"Right!" Hermione couldn't help but double in laughter again.
"Hey." Just then Harry noticed the place was really quite. "Eriol, didn't you say Sakura, Shaoran and other friends were here."
"Right…" Eriol began.
Just then there was a high exploding sound, followed by a rain of sparkles, confetti, serpentines, balloons, etc.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!"
A chorus of voices chimed in at a time.
Harry just stood there, frozen in shock. He had never expected something like that.
"Just the effect I wanted." Sakura said emerging from the shadows, carrying on her hands some of the Sakura Cards.
Tomoyo immediately got her camera out-of-nowhere and began filming everything.
"Good surprise, ne?" Shaoran asked with.
"The best I've had in my life." Harry replied sincerely.
.-.
Some hours later they were having dinner, and opening gifts. From Tomoyo clothes, a book from Eriol, a sword from Shaoran ("You'll learn to use it." Shaoran told him.), a protecting-charm from Naoko, hand-made candies from Nakuru, a box from Sakura…
"What's in here?" Harry asked as he opened it.
He gasped.
The box was full with different photographs, photographs of his family.
"How?" Harry couldn't get enough voice to ask anything more.
"Lets just say it pays to be one of the most powerful sorceresses." Sakura said with a smile. "The truth is that I took yesterday to do some researching, some of the photos are from the Daily Prophet, or from Hogwarts Journals, others are copies of some that friends of your parents have." She sighed. "And some of them are my mother's. Since she was a model she learned about photograph, she took a lot of them."
"Thank you Sakura." Harry said almost in tears. "This means so much to me."
Eriol began playing the piano, Tomoyo sang. Naoko made choirs to Tomoyo's song. Nakuru served some candies and then tried to get Suppy to eat them. Sakura and Shaoran began dancing to the compass of the music. Hermione and Harry remained sitting.
"I'm sorry." Hermione said. "But I still don't have your gift ready, you'll have to wait a bit more to get it."
"Don't worry about it Hermy." Harry embraced her. "You're the best gift I could ever ask for."
Hermione smiled at him warmly.
And for the umpteenth time that evening…they kissed.
I'm back! For those who wonder, I wasn't dead, just partying! No, that's not true. School has been hell, and my computer broke down. Also I'm having loads of homework and next week I'll be in a Chess contest. But anyway, you don't need to know that.
I have some questions, you'll have to vote. You want Severus Snape to continue being a good person, or yo want him as bad (Really I never had the intention of making him a good guy it just happened, and just the same way it can be undone. The second: you want Draco Malfy to be antagonist or in te good side. I really need to know that soon, before they o back to Hogwarts.
Thanks for your reviews, keep them coming!
See you later.
