Chapter 2 London

Harry Potter was so exhausted. He lay on the couch in the living room of his Godfather's new apartment, covered in blankets. A saucer and a cup of steaming chamomile tea sat on the coffee table along with a box of tissues. "Do you need anything, Harry? I'm going to head to the grocery store and do some shopping for the week."

Harry shook his head. "I'm fine, Sirius. Thanks."

Sirius smiled. "I wish you'd feel better, kid. After all-your birthday's coming up in two weeks, and I thought we should do something fun for it."

This was one thing Harry had been looking forward to. For the past fourteen years of his life, he'd been stuck living with his Aunt Petunia Dursley-his dead mother's sister-her husband Vernon and son Dudley. Having Harry with them seemed to be a serious burden, and as a result, they never took the liberty of giving him a decent birthday party, let alone presents or even a cake.

"Sounds good. I hope I feel better too." Harry paused. "Thank you for taking care of me, Sirius. I'm not too much fun when I'm sick."

Sirius ruffled his hair. "Don't worry about it. Just take it easy and I shouldn't be more than an hour or so."

Sirius turned to head for the front door of the small apartment when he heard a few knocks.

"Who could that be I wonder?" Harry asked, sitting up and trying to look healthier. Since he couldn't see the door from where he lay, he strained to listen as Sirius answered it.

"Well what a surprise! Come on in!" Harry heard Sirius call. "Harry- someone's here to see you."

Harry raised an eyebrow in confusion-he hadn't been expecting any visitors. Suddenly, his heart leapt when the visitor entered the living room.

"Hermione!" He gasped. "I didn't know you were coming! Oh geeze-I'm sorry-I look awful." He attempted to climb off of the couch, but Hermione's glare kept him from doing so.

"Don't you dare move, Harry." She told him. Then she came over, knelt down and wrapped her arms around him. "God, I've missed you." She whispered, burrying her nose against his shoulder. "My parents are taking me shopping in town today so I thought I'd stop by and see how you were feeling."

Harry laughed after kissing her hair. "Where are your parents now?" He asked, as she had come in alone.

"They wanted to go to this furniture store a few blocks down and they're going to pick me up in about a half hour," She replied, joining him on the couch. She caught Sirius' eyes, and smiled softly. "He looks a little better today," she announced, and Harry's cheeks turned a light shade of crimson.

Sirius nodded. "He was up half the night coughing, though. But yeah, he does look better today." he pocketed his wand, and gave a quick glance about the room. "I'm glad you could stop by, Hermione. But I have to go out for a bit-our pantry is getting low."

Hermione giggled. "Hey-have you heard anything from Ron this summer?"

"I did," said Harry, who still had his arms around her waist. "He's just spending the summer at home this year-taking a few trips to the seashore. His family is still greiving over Charlie." Harry couldnt help but feel guilty over Charlie's death; if it hadn't been for him, Ron's brother would still be alive. Of course, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley did not blame him in the least, but that did not quite change things in his mind.

Hermione kissed him. "Poor Ron. I think we need to spend a week together-just the three of us."

Sirius folded his arms. "Well--I was thinking of having a party for Harry's sixteenth birthday," he pointed out, and Harry felt Hermione hug him more tightly.

Hermione giggled, nodding her agreement, and was thrilled when Harry's eyes lit up at the idea. "Definitely," she replied. "Let me know what you guys decide to come up with."

"Certainly. Well-have fun, you two! Don't do anything I wouldn't." Sirius winked at them as he headed out of the apartment. When he was gone at last, Harry reached for a tissue and sneezed loudly.

"Bless you." Said Hermione, shaking her head.

"Thank you." Harry let Hermione settle him into a comfortable positon on the couch, keeping him warm by wrapping the blankets around him up to his neck. For a few moments, neither of them spoke. They had not been going out for that long-they had only declared their relationship the previous Christmas, so it had only been about seven months. Ron, also, had found a girlfriend-Lavender Brown-another sixth year Gryffindor.

"Hey-would you like to come with us when we go shopping? I think you need to get some fresh air." Said Hermione.

"I would have to have let Sirius know, and he said he'd be about an hour food shopping," Harry told her. "Trust me-I'd love to go."

"We'll leave him a note, then. I'm sure he won't mind-he trusts me-or at least I hope he does." She giggled.

"Of course he trusts you. Otherwise he wouldn't have let you past the doorway."

"Well then?" Hermione asked, arching her eyebrow questioningly.

"Let me see if I can get up first," Harry laughed. "If I accomplish that much and can stand on my feet for more than five minutes without falling down, then I'll let you take me."

Hermione helped Harry untangle his body from the blankets and grinned. He was wearing a pair of baggy sweatpants and an old t-shirt. She stood aside and held her breath as he stood slowly. "There-you see? Not so hard-whoa." She caught him as he swayed a bit when he took the first step. "I've got you." She helped him straighten up and watched as he took a deep breath and walked a bit around the living room. When he was ready to sit down again, she helped him back over to the couch. "Hmmm-maybe you shouldn't go out quite yet." She replied, shaking her head, watching as he leaned back.

"I'm sorry." Harry whispered, embarassed.

"Don't be. You've been sick-you need your rest." She smoothed his untidy, jet-black hair and kissed him. "So when are you planning to go to Diagon Alley to get your school things?"

Harry hadn't even thought about school lately, so he had no idea, and told Hermione so. "Hopefully in a few weeks-probably the last few weeks of August I'm guessing."

She nodded. "Sounds good. I'm not sure if my Mum and Dad had a vacation planned-certainly not out of England, of course-or maybe-but they probably would have told me about it earlier this summer." She shrugged. "Plus they both know how sick you've been and think I should be keeping a close eye on you." She winked.

Harry laughed. "So what were you planning on buying in town today? I wish I could come-you look so beautiful in everything." He caressed her cheek with his frail hand. Hermione reached up and clutched his fingers tightly, bringing them to her lips in a small kiss.

When Hermione's parents came to retrieve her, she was sad to leave, but told Harry she'd be in contact with him soon. "I'm sorry you're not feeling well, Harry." Mrs. Granger told him as they stood in the living room with Hermione.

"I'm sure I'll be all right," Harry insisted. "Once school starts up again and I'm distracted."

Hermione quickly kissed him, reluctantly letting go of his hand. "I love you," She said. "I'll make sure I model whatever I buy. Plenty of sexy things, of course." She turned to her mother and father who were both looking at each other with smirks, and then she turned back to Harry with a wink. Harry waved as she left, and settled back into his blankets with a sigh.