Story Number 3:

I started this as an opening for the vigilante challenge but decided not to continue it though. The challenge has limited scope for novelty and instead I came up with a different story titled 'Crusade' that would be on Harry Potter and Hermione Granger going vigilante and it's still in the planning stage. I am not sure when I would be able to start on it but please watch out for it.

Mr. and Mrs. Po… err… Smith

At 15 years of age, Harry Potter was content with his life. He lived in a small town near the North-Western part of England almost right on the border with Wales. He worked at a little diner in the town as a cook making breakfast and lunch. The diner catered to a few regulars and the occasional motorist who would stop to sample the fare the town had to offer.

Left on the wayside by his uncle and aunt when he was just 11 years old, he was very lucky to not only find work when no one would risk employing a child but also to avoid going to an orphanage or in the custody of social workers. He did not want that, he had only a few more years before he would be an adult and could not imagine settling down with a new family however accommodating they might be. On the other hand, if his own uncle was willing to dump him just because he had an extra mouth to feed even though he was the primary cook in the house, there was no guarantee that the new household might be any different.

Here and now, he could live his life the way he wanted and even earn some money until he could really make his way in the world. He was studying to enroll in a cooking school and dreamed of owning his own restaurant in London one day. He was not paid much but with enough food to eat, he did not complain and besides, any life away from his notoriously difficult to live with relatives was all good in his book. Now that he had saved some money from the job, he hoped that he could buy something for himself for Christmas which was only a few days away. Maybe some nice shoes for the coming winter and some decent clothes that actually fitted him, not the dreadful cast offs from his cousin. Looking back actually they were not that dreadful, as they lasted him about four years, if you forget that they were too big for him, that is.

With his work done for the day, he was not needed to prepare dinner as the demand for that was very less but with the weather turning worse the land lady was closing for the night any way; he hastened to reach his home. The leftovers from lunch that would be plentiful for him for dinner clutched safely in his hand, Harry hurried out of the diner. Though it was barely five, it looked pitch black with heavy clouds gathering and a thunderstorm brewing. Tugging his coat a little tighter to his body, Harry started on the brisk half a mile walk. The coat was a good one and one decent possession he had, and it was his cousin's too but his cousin's enormous girth was beneficial to Harry for once. The coat turned out to be too small for his eleven year old cousin even when his uncle bought a coat that was originally meant for a fifteen year old. Now when Harry himself was fifteen, it fit him like a glove.

So eager was he to get home that he almost missed the timid and desperate plea for help, "Sir! Can you please spare me some change or some food" a girl barely older than him called out. "I am starving and I…" here she hesitated for a fraction before continuing, "… I will do anything in return for a square meal" she finished with trepidation.

Harry paused in his walk and took a good look at the girl; she was dressed in clothes that were certainly not cheap but definitely not designed for a cold night. Judging by her countenance and by the way she held herself, Harry thought that she came from a well to do family but must have fell on bad times, he was not sure though. 'Was this all a lure to trap him?' Harry heard about such con artists, trying to rob people or worse get them to succumb to their advances and ruin them.

Still he hesitated, "I am sorry, but I do not have enough to spare" he said at last, which was true in a way and began to move.

Then he saw the vulnerability and desperation in her eyes, and finally the devastation she felt when he refused. He could not leave her like that, god knows what might happen to her at night and the storms late in December would be freezing and brutal. She might not survive the night and he did not need that on his conscience. Then he remembered his own plight just a few years ago, he might have been in the same situation if Theresa did not take pity on him and give him job, now it was his turn to do some good.

With the decision made, Harry turned back to the girl, "Alright, come with me" and resumed his walk at a slightly sedate pace than before.

He tried to hasten the pace but the girl was barely able to keep up, "Come on" he urged, "We do not want to be caught out in the storm."

His attempt to cajole some haste in her did nothing to speed them up, he also saw that the girl was shivering and barely able to put one foot before the other. He reached over and took her hand, "My god! You are freezing" he exclaimed.

The girl now stopped all pretenses and tried to hug some warmth into herself. Coming to a decision, Harry whipped his jacket off, "Get onto my back and cover yourself with my jacket" he instructed, getting down on one knee to give her better access.

"But… but…" she tried to stammer out some protest.

"We do not have much time and with you on my back, I will have some warmth. Besides if I set a brisk pace, that will warm me up too, you can barely walk…" he tried to reason with her.

The girl realized it too but had to put up a token resistance. With the new arrangement, Harry made good time, much before the storm struck. Entering his home, which was no more than a small cottage with only two rooms, he immediately fired up the electrical heater to give them some extra warmth. The cottage had a kitchen/ dining room and a bedroom/ living room with an attached bath and was the only thing he could afford with his meager pay, unless he wanted to live on the street and he was much too proud to do that.

"Why don't you clean up? I will heat up some stew and I have bread and some leftovers from lunch, it's not plenty but…"

"It's plentiful, thank you sir" she cut him off.

Harry directly her to the bathroom and began working on dinner, he was thankful for the many meals he missed before and so could spare enough for the starved girl. By now the storm was raging and he was glad that he could take the girl in; he would not want to be out in that! After about fifteen minutes she came back looking a lot better and Harry could not help notice that she was pretty in an understated way, but her face was rendered uncommonly beautiful by the expression of contentment returning to her brown eyes. Much like his black hair, her brown hair was uncontrollable and bushy adding to, in his modest opinion, her allure.

Harry put a generous portion of the leftover meat pie and stew to be had with fresh bread before her but she spoke before she sat down to eat, "I want to thank you again sir, I do not know what I would have done if you had not stopped, I had nowhere to go."

"Do not mention it, it's the least I could do" he waved her gratitude away. "I admit I was reluctant at first, worried that you may try and con me."

"Then how were you convinced that I was not going to?"

Harry contemplated for a few seconds if he should say it or not but then decided to just come out and say it, "Honestly, it was your eyes."

"My eyes, Sir?"

"Yeah, as they say 'eyes are windows to the soul', they showed me that you are a good soul, forced into a desperate situation that you had no control over and never wanted. I saw the vulnerability and the despair when I refused. It's Harry by the way, not sir; I am Harry Potter."

He did not expect the gasp of shock in reply, "No, it can't be!"

"I think I know my own name, thank you very much" he said bemused at her reaction.

The girl suddenly looked contrite, "I am sorry, I did not mean it that way." Then she sat heavily on the chair and rubbed her hands over her face tiredly, "This is too much; I don't know what to say."

Harry sat on the only other chair at the table, "Why don't we start on dinner and you can tell me all about it. Oh! If you have not eaten for some time…"

"Two days" she supplied.

"…then I suggest you take it slow" he advised.

With a nod of her head she started on the bread and stew; she took a moment to savour the taste before starting, "My name is Hermione Granger…" and she told him all about the wizarding world, about Lord Voldemort, the legacy of the 'Boy-Who-Lived', the Potter fame and his own story as was known in that world.

Whenever he could Harry interjected with his own experiences which gave him the label of a 'freak' at his relatives house; landing on the roof of his school when chased by his cousin, turning the hair of his teacher blue, talking to a snake, causing the glass from the snake's enclosure to vanish and a few other unexplainable incidents. Those events did not make any sense at that time, but may be it was this magic in him that was causing all of that?

Hermione agreed, "It's called accidental magic or uncontrolled magic, may be a better term. All magical children have such episodes in times of great stress and here in Britain, you go to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry to control it and then some more." Hermione took some time to wipe her mouth on the napkin which gave her sometime to collect her thoughts, "I am honestly surprised that you did not get an invitation, I mean you are Harry Potter!"

Harry still could not understand what the fuss about all this 'Boy-Who-Lived' was, all he did was survive, did they not realize that it cost him his parents? Now was not the time for that though, "Oh! You mean those flying letters?" he asked instead.

"Flying letters?"

He then explained about all the letters that came on his birthday and a few days after that, some of them flying through any openings they could find. "After that my uncle was so mad that he drove all the way to Devon and we lived in a shack on a rock out in the sea for a day. Then when he saw a strange man he drove us all again; after that we never stayed at a place for more than a day always on the move. I mean the man was nearly as big as a car, he must have been magic."

"Men are called Wizards and women, witches Harry; but you are right, that man must have been Hagrid. He's a half giant."

Harry's mind shut down for a few seconds, "Giants!" he asked incredulously.

"Oh yeah!"

"Any way, when it was time for my cousin to go to his new school, we returned but there were no more letters or any visits from strange people."

"Must have been after the first of September" Hermione mused.

"Yes it was."

Their dinner now finished, Hermione rose to put away their dirty dishes but was stopped by Harry's words, "Now that you have had dinner, where's my payment?"

'… and there it was' Hermione couldn't say that she did not expect that, it was too good to be true, but she was surprised, 'Merlin! He could not wait even for the dishes to be put away' she thought. What boy could resist when he had a girl all to himself and alone too, even if it was Harry Potter supposedly the poster boy for all the good in world. She hesitated but then she did promise that she would do anything for a square meal, he kept his side of the bargain and it was left to her. Steeling herself, she slowly unbuttoned the top button of her full sleeved shirt but stopped when Harry beckoned here closer.

'Does he want to undress me himself' she thought but complied.

So she was shocked when she felt his hands going around her and held her in a tight but a very warm hug. It was a long time since she was held in an embrace that gave her a feeling of security, at least not since she grew up and went to Hogwarts.

"This is the first time that someone had hugged me, at least that I can remember" Harry explained as a means of getting her to understand why he did it.

Hermione was thankful that her reaction to his shocking admission was genuine enough that it covered her relief at the realization that Harry really did not expect anything other than that hug in payment for the meal. She did the only thing she could think of at that moment and said, "No that was you hugging me" and then grabbed him and hugged the stuffing out of him, "… now this is me hugging you."

This time both of them couldn't hide their embarrassment at the position they found themselves in, "I confess this is the first time that I hugged a boy that was not my father" Hermione said trying her best to appear nonchalant but failed miserably.

They began clearing the table and Harry started to hand wash the dirty dishes while Hermione helped to dry and put them away. "So, why are you here, running and so far away from Hogwarts?" He asked.

"The school has a professor teaching us defense, who is nothing more than a Ministry appointed bureaucrat whose sole aim under the guise of enforcing discipline, was to persecute anyone, who in her opinion, were unworthy of learning magic."

"Oh! You mean people like you, what was that word… muggleborn?"

"Yes and some half-bloods who do not have influential backers. The reason she was appointed was to bridle Dumbledore who was insisting that the dark lord returned after murdering a student from Dumstrang, Victor Krum. Admittedly, there was no evidence for that but with another death eater being found in the school at about the same time, disguised as a master auror no less, you would have to believe the headmaster's word" but then she knew that you have to take some of the events on faith and the signs for Voldemort's return were all there for those who wanted to see. Hermione also had had a blind faith in the headmaster who was acknowledged as the most powerful wizard of all time after Merlin, but after the debacle of Sirius Black's unlawful confinement under his very eyes and the subsequent execution without due trail, inside the school no less, she lost some of her faith in him but on the matter of a rise in death eater activity she agreed with him.

"So this woman was mainly sent to curb the slandering against the Ministry but she is using her position to cause racial discrimination?" Harry was appalled that such beliefs were gone unchecked and one who was only a rung lower than the Minister himself, giving fire to such discrimination and going without being removed from her post if not arrested, was unheard of. But then Hermione did say that the wizarding world was struck in the Victorian era. Something serious has to be done, not only to stop such a blatant disregard of human rights but also to garner support and take down this dark lord, who was responsible for his parents' murder.

Hermione continued, "I was targeted due to the fact that I was the best student of Hogwarts and giving the purebloods a bad name, their so called superiority due to blood status holding no water before me" during her recital, she began to grow upset but now she was nearly in tears, "There were always minor irritations like name calling or mild hexes but just before the school was to close for the Christmas holidays, under the guise of a routine check for contraband, I was nearly raped by a squad of purebloods with the woman's blessing."

"No!" Harry cried out in horror, "How was this allowed to happen in a school? What were the other professors doing?"

"Everyone was trying to hold on to their own jobs, she clearly stated that anyone going against her will would be summarily dismissed and even arrested on the charge of instigating trouble against the Ministry."

Harry fumed, this was outrageous. Hermione took heart from his reaction, "Luckily, I sensed that something was wrong and even before they could lay their hands on me, I ran. I lost my wand in the process but I took refuge in an unplotable room inside the castle and at the first opportunity escaped to travel to my parents' home."

Now tears began to flow from her eyes, "I do not know if it was by death eaters or under Umbridge's orders as a warning to the others, but when I reached home, I found them murdered." She broke down and Harry instinctively moved to comfort her. Hermione clutched at him as a lifeline and he had no other option than to sink to the floor with her and pull the distraught girl into his lap and try and comfort her.

"I… couldn't even bury them, Harry" she broke down into fresh cries of anguish again. The past couple of days she kept her tears bottled up trying to survive, but now that she found an anchor she could no longer hold them away. Harry did his best to comfort her, as a child he never received any comfort in his own pain. Whether it was physical or emotional, he was always left to suffer alone, he did not wish that fate even on a mortal enemy and so he gave her all the comfort and assurances he could provide.

She composed herself enough to continue the tale, "I thought that I saw someone who looked like a wizard approaching me and so I bolted."

With him arms still around her he asked, "Don't take it the wrong way, but surely you must have some relations you could go to?"

"No, my mother was an only child and my father was an orphan, he took my mother's name when they got married."

"What about friends in the magical world? Boyfriend…" he hesitated.

She scoffed at that, "I am an insufferable know it all. Who would want to date me? I am not pretty, what with my unruly hair, boys run from me. There was a Christmas ball last year at the school and not willing to risk the humiliation of being the only girl to be without a date among those who were old enough to attend, I spent the Christmas at home; it was the last one with my parents" she sniffled.

Harry began rubbing circles on her back but he could not help but comment, "Well, it's their loss…"

"What do you mean…?"

Harry sighed, now he really put his foot in the pie, "The boys at Hogwarts are either blind or are intimidated by you. You are very pretty, beautiful even."

Even through her grief, Hermione's cheeks pinked, "You don't have to be polite Harry, It was a good attempt to lift my spirits, but I know I am just a plain Jane."

Harry snorted, "Like all those boys you too are delusional."

"Thank you Harry" she said sincerely. With her grief briefly forgotten she realized that she was nearly straddling Harry and as gently as she could without sending a wrong message to the boy whose company she was really starting to like, she got up.

In an attempt to cover the awkward situation, Harry asked, "So I am some kind of messiah for the people of the wizarding world, they are just waiting for deliverance." Getting a nod of Hermione's head, he continued in a much lighter vein, "… and there's a fortune waiting for me…"

Hermione frowned; in the little time she spent with him she could not imagine Harry to be arrogant like the Malfoy prick. Now when he came to know about money waiting for him, he was acting like that was the most important thing, "Well, not that I know for certain but at least everyone in the wizarding world believes so."

Harry correctly interpreted her thoughts verging on disappointment at his perceived excitement regarding money, "Don't get me wrong, if I really was this messiah, I would do everything in my power to end the threat. I mean this was the guy who brought much grief into my life, didn't he. You have to admit though that we could do with some spending money for clothes, books, training, and not to mention something decent to eat."

Hermione had to agree and he did admit to be willing to do the best he could do to end Voldemort but she had to ask, "We?"

She got a shy smile in response, "Well, yes, unless you have some other plans. Face it, I need all the help I can get and …." He mumbled, "… I like you a lot." Hermione blushed a bright red at that admission and merely nodded her head in acceptance.

"Do you want to have some tea?" Harry asked trying to overcome the awkward moment.

"Thanks Harry, but no, I am really tired and after my breakdown, I need a good night's sleep."

"After we get some money, we will go and give your parents a proper funeral Hermione" Harry promised her.

Though it was painful for her, Hermione had to discourage him, "No Harry, I am sure that the ministry or whoever it was, would be waiting for me. I will wait till things settle down a bit, or at least we are in a position of strength, I am sure my parents would understand."

Harry let out a regretful sigh, she did have a point. "I will have to find where my own parents were buried. If you want we could put your parents to rest beside them."

He got another hug in return, "Thanks Harry. I am sure they would like that". What else could she say; she had no one to turn to or nowhere else to go.

Harry began fretting about the sleeping arrangements and Hermione understood what it was about, "We will share the bed Harry."

There was no other option as he did not fancy sleeping on the cold floor, "But…" he tried to protest.

"But nothing Harry, unless you have a hidden room or an extra set of mattress and quilt…" his argument died a premature death after that.

Clad in his old pair of pyjamas which were a little too snug for him but still large for her, Hermione snuggled into him without preamble. Harry stiffened for a bit but relaxed under the warmth offered both by the quilt and also the soft body lying nearly on top of him. He had to admit, he liked it a lot and sleep did not look inviting at all, not with the prospect of losing the sensation of holding her like that, Hermione was soft in a lot of places.

"Please do not kill me if my hands wander to places they should not" he tried to joke.

Hermione chuckled, "I will sleep on it."

Harry's thoughts inevitably turned to the moment of his indecision when he met Hermione, "What would you have done if I walked away, Hermione?"

He did not get a response for a few moments and wondered if she fell asleep but then he heard her reply in a small voice, "I would probably have sold my body for some food. I am sure I would have died otherwise, and in retrospect it probably was the dignified thing to have happened but at that time it looked like a very daunting prospect, anything was better than dying, even the loss of my self-respect."

That was what Harry was afraid of, "I am sorry, truly sorry … sorry for even thinking about walking away. No one should be forced into such a situation and I promise you that from now on, I will take care of you to the best of my abilities as long as I can or you allow me to."

Next morning

Harry woke up well before dawn, he was used to it as he had to go to the diner early and start on breakfast. He marveled at the situation he was in, never in a million years he imagined himself holding a pretty girl while she was asleep. He dreamed about getting married one day and accepted it as an inevitable event but never really gave it a thought to it, focusing instead on more important things, like making a living. Now that he had Hermione in his arms, he never wanted to let her go.

Hermione was also feeling the same thing, she woke up as soon as Harry did; with her head on his chest she could sense the slight change in his breathing pattern from being asleep to wakefulness. She was pleasantly surprised at the ease with which she accepted this, sharing a bed with a boy she knew for less than half a day and her unabashed desire to do it every night from now on.

Her thoughts were broken into by Harry; he must have sensed her being awake, "Good Morning beautiful! Sleep well?"

She gave him a bright smile, "Yes, Thank you" and then her smile turned bashful, "Beautiful?"

"Yes, I will remind you every day that I am lucky to have the privilege of having you in my arms."

He got a serene smile in return, "a girl could get used to such a wakeup call very quickly. Did you have a good night's sleep?"

"Oh yeah, It was the best night's sleep … like forever." Seeing her furrowed brow he elaborated, "I have had nightmares for as long as I could remember; it was almost always my parent being killed. Now-a-days though, they have changed, I almost feel as if I am seeing another's perspective, and sometimes I get intense pain in my scar. Not tonight though, sleeping with you was like a boon to me, I could get used to this."

Hermione did not know what to say, on one hand she was flattered that he thought that she was able to keep his nightmares at bay, happy that he wanted to continue their arrangement but also troubled at the same time about what he revealed. She did not have any information on curse scars though so could not offer any explanation, other than, "Now that Voldemort is alive, he might have been influencing them somehow." Then she brightened and a little mischievous too, "That means you will have to hold me to sleep every night."

Harry smiled at her, his embarrassment forgotten, he wanted this and it was now or never to make it known, "… and I would not want anything else in the world."

"Why, is that a proposal Mr. Potter?" she asked pretending to be snobbish.

"No" Harry answered in complete seriousness. "I will propose to you with a proper ring" he promised.

"I will be waiting for that day" Hermione answered all pretense lost.

That was the perfect time for the perfect first ever kiss for either of them and they did not waste any time in letting their lips meet.

"This is Stella Smith, my cousin. Her parents finally traced me down yesterday and invited me to move in with them across the pond. They left to stay in a hotel at Liverpool last night, but Stella elected to stay back." Hermione was an uncommon name, with people probably looking for her they thought it would not do to use it and the name Potter could turn out to be a magnet for trouble. To prevent awkward questions about them staying together, they decided to pretend as cousins and go by Stanley and Stella Smith.

Theresa gave Hermione a knowing smile, "Take care of him, Ms. Smith; he is a good lad" and got an embarrassed one in return and an "I will Ma'am."

Despite her protests, Harry decided to help Theresa out with the bulk of the preparations for lunch and with Hermione's help made short work of it. They had a lot of planning to do but first and foremost they had to go to Gringotts for Harry to claim his inheritance and get some money out to buy some decent clothes in the muggle world for the both of them, in fact they needed a complete wardrobe; Hermione was confident that the Goblins would be discrete but the same could not be said for the merchants in Diagon Alley.

They would probably have to go to France for their wands and maybe potion ingredients and other stuff for training too but books would be a problem. She knew a little French to get by but nowhere near to read and understand from books. Harry was a different case, he knew nothing and if they wanted to keep his identity a secret, Ireland was probably out too. They might have to go across the pond after all.

The other problem was where to live, her parents' house was probably out of question, maybe she could get their attorney to sell it off along with their practice and then buy a new house somewhere in an upscale neighbourhood known for its discretion or if not, buy an out of the way estate. She was sure that Harry would ask her to save the money, but if she was to be a part of Harry's life from now on, as they both hoped to be, then she did not need the money. Pitching in the money from the sale with a part of Harry's own money, they could get a good place to live, with enough security from the Goblin wards to remain incognito for as long as they need.

Before they left the diner, Theresa had one last bit of advice to give Harry, "… and you take good care of her young man, you have a long road ahead" she had no idea how true her words were.