Disclaimer: Rowlings owns Harry Potter
Morning came too soon for Harry. Disoriented, he sat up in bed allowing his body time to wake up. After several minutes, confusion hit him. The bed he slept in was long enough to support his body and the blankets were soft and warm. He felt as though he may have had a full night's worth of sleep and there were no heavy footsteps crashing on the hallway floor. The Dursley's never allowed comfort to be top priority when it came to him so why was did he have such a restful night? He looked around himself to find his room's walls changed from plaster to wood.
The room itself released its fresh pine and oak scent. 'Where am I?' He looked out the window to find snow and mountains. Finally fully awake, he remembered. 'That's right, I'm in Switzerland.' He smiled. Grabbing his glasses, he swung his legs over the bed and stood up. The cold surface of the floor shocked him.
He quickly dressed and headed downstairs toward the strong scent of breakfast in the making. It reminded him a bit of the Weasley's home when he stayed over during the summer in the past. "Good morning, Harry. Would you like some bacon and eggs?" Mrs. Granger offered. Harry happily nodded as a plate full of steaming food was placed before him.
He thanked his kind host before digging in. The moment the food touched his tongue, he felt like he was in heaven. The eggs were so light and fluffy and the bacon was cooked to perfection. His thoughts drifted to a far distant future of Hermione cooking for him in their own house. A smile continued to visit him when he suddenly felt a stark coldness behind him.
The fork halfway to his mouth, he paused. "Good morning, Hermione. Have a seat." Her mother placed a plate before her and Hermione sat next to him. Harry grinned at her, fully aware that she was still angry he had avoided her. Even from the distance, he could feel the electricity crackling through the air between them. She seemed to have just showered, for the fresh scent of lilac tickled his senses.
"So Harry," Hermione's father started, just having plopped down his own plate across the table. "Have you ever been skiing before?" His sandy eyes twinkled at the two friends across the table.
Harry shook his head and put down his fork, wishing he could talk and eat at the same time. "I can't say that I have ever had a vacation before in my entire life." Harry stated, glancing back down at his steaming plate. "I went to the zoo once with my aunt and cousin but they just couldn't find anyone to push me off on."
Hermione's father's eyes widened at this confession, but he kept silent as Hermione said, "His aunt and uncle aren't the friendliest people…"
Hermione's father nodded and clasped his hands together. "Then I take it you lack proper ski clothes?" Harry nodded in response and suddenly was enveloped by two arms from behind.
"Oh dear!" Mrs. Granger sniffled, "then we'll just have to make this the most memorable vacation of the rest of your life!" She gave him a soft squeeze before releasing him and turning to Hermione. "I think I know of a couple of shops down the mountain. We passed by them on our way up."
Hermione nodded and smiled, not having touched her breakfast. "We'll go right after breakfast. I guess you and dad will be busy with the agent?"
"Agent?" Harry echoed, again wishing he could eat and speak at the same time.
"We're buying a summer home here, Harry." Hermione's father stated, grinning.
"You see," the mother began to say, "our family comes skiing so often and we spend almost all our vacations here anyways, we thought we should at least look into some kind of second home here."
"Anyways," her father continued, reaching for his heavy jacket on the chair next to him, "we're heading out now to meet her. You two enjoy your morning and meet us at the lodge for lunch. We can make our evening plans from there."
"Goodbye, mom, dad!" Hermione chimed, reaching for her glass of orange juice.
Harry nodded and smiled. "Bye Mr. and Mrs. Granger." Looking back down at his still steaming plate of breakfast, he realized just how wonderful Hermione's parents had been to him. He stood up and looked Hermione's father straight in the eyes. "Thank you sir, for including me in your family this summer."
A strange look briefly passed through Hermione's father's eyes, but it was not missed by Harry. It was reminiscent of compassion, sincerity and something still mysterious and unknown to him. "You," Hermione's father gently stated, "are always welcome among us." He turned towards the door and put his arm around his wife. "Call me Aaron, Harry."
Harry sat back down to his wonderful breakfast and glanced over to see a grinning Hermione. He slowly sat down, gazing at her mysteriously cheerful expression. Was this happiness, or had a clever plot blossomed inside her head? Harry decided to ignore the latter possibility and grinned back. Digging his fork into the scrambled eggs, he stopped, just a moment, to savor the pleasant aroma.
"I swear Harry," Hermione said, in awe, "I really only thought you looked at food like this with the chocolate frogs on the Hogwarts Express!"
Stuffing his mouth full, he turned his head to face her and swallowed. "It's food….it's wonderful home-cooked food! I haven't had food...like this, all summer." He smiled and turned back to his meal. Today was starting out to be a wonderful day.
AN: I know, not much Harry/Hermione in this one, but it will definately be there in the next chapter! Don't forget to review. Always accepting constructive criticism!