Here's the third chapter! It's short because I'm sick of staring at this chapter. Took out some stuff like possible places and other adults. Ah well. At least now I can go to the next chapter!

Ok so I decided this story will also have Gilderoy Lockhart, because he's cool! I get annoyed at reading how much hate he gets. Plus how his character is portrayed in other fics. I don't comment my thoughts if I come across that, though. That's mean to do that to an author.

I don't own Harry Potter. That belongs to J.K Rowling and various publishing companies including Scholastic Corporation, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, Raincoast Books, or any other company that has to do with the movies or merchandise.

The Cleaning Crew – Chapter Three

Even though he hadn't thought of it consciously, Harry had expected to wake up the same way he had fallen asleep. Sharing warmth next to Hermione. Smiling and peaceful. What he got however, was not that.

His eyes shot open when he heard Hermione scream. Looking around wildly for the threat, he soon spotted a small owl flapping and screeching wildly. That was about a second before it violently slammed into the wall in front of Harry. He watched as Hermione's body began to tremble.

He quickly got up and made his way over to her.

"Are you alright, Hermione?"

She startled in surprise before turning to him.

"I'm ok, Harry."

"I'm glad."

His voice was relieved.

Hermione spotted something white nearby. She carefully moved forward and bent down. Hopefully the owl wouldn't wake up. But it didn't. So she grabbed what she knew now were envelopes. Addressed to both herself and Harry.

While this was going on, Harry was ruminating.

When he said that, he truly meant it. He took a moment to wonder why the hell an owl of all things was in a library, about to accost Hermione to boot. But overall, he was happy she was alright. Harry then realized – with a woosh of breath leaving him – that she was very important in his life already. She was the first friend he ever had, and he rapidly was starting to care for her.

Which was surprising, what with yesterday being the first time they met. But Harry was happy that he felt this way about Hermione. He would protect her from now on. And be there for her too.

She waited a beat before asking a question.

"Is it dead?"

"No, just unconscious."

He saw her shoulders sag in relief. It made him feel the same.

He was about to ask what she held in her hands but before he could, he was interrupted by the sound of a car pulling up on gravel asphalt. He stepped closer to her and whispered.

"We should probably get going. I don't want to be here when other people come, wondering why we're by a knocked-out owl. Plus, we're not supposed to be in here alone. They might call the authorities."

She straightened up and nodded. He turned and went over to his backpack. Shrugging it on, Harry looked at Hermione. Seeing as she had a big backpack and a small suitcase, Harry reached over and grabbed one. She gave him a wide smile.

"I'm ready."

"Me too."

Free hands locking together, both kids made their way to the back of the library. After using magic to not make a sound with the door and to wipe evidence of themselves and the owl off the cameras, both Harry and Hermione went out the door and into the parking lot.

Walking over and onto the playground area, the kids sat on the small bench nearby. Setting their things down around them both.

"May I ask you something, Hermione?"

"Of course, Harry."

"How come you didn't use your magic to kill that bird?"

"Well, at first I was surprised to see it fly through the window. Then it came down at me and I was scared. That's why I screamed. But I didn't want to hurt it. And then I thought of how it might turn and attack you while you were sleeping. So I lashed out with my magic. I hope it's ok."

"I think it will be, don't worry."

Harry grabbed her hand and rubbed the top of it with his thumb.

"What have you got there?"

Hermione's voice was unsure as she answered him, even though he could hear curiosity in it.

"Letters sent to both of us. But how did anybody know we were there? Even the both of us only met last night."

That set him on high alert. His voice was an intense whisper.

"Do you think someone was watching us? Are they still?"

He looked around the playground and parking lot, his turquoise eyes narrowed. Whoever it was, they would be sorry if that were the case. Harry saw Hermione's honey eyes follow his scans. The library was still closed, so there were no cars in the area. Even though it was a Saturday and opening hours were earlier, looking up towards the sky showed the sun had barely risen in the sky. He was grateful there wasn't anyone here yet besides the librarian.

"It would be hard to tell. Well, at least without our magic coming forward to protect us."

Hermione's voice relaxed him a teeny bit. That was true of their magic, at least so far.

"True. But I also like to think I'm pretty observant. And we haven't seen anyone skulking about since we left the building."

"Yeah. It'd be hard to hide since there isn't really any cover besides the sides of the building and the couple big bushes around the front. And even then, we'd see the person coming from afar. Plus there aren't really any houses nearby."

Both nodding, they agreed they weren't being watched at this moment.

"We should probably come up with a plan though. We don't want to have anybody stop and question why two kids are all alone and not in school."

"Yeah. Plus, I don't trust any kid from our schools. If anyone sees us, they'll probably rat us out to the adults."

Hermione nodded, agreeing with his statement.

"So is it a good idea to get out of town then?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Alright. How much money do we have?"

"I took things from Julius and Arielle's room. Money and my passport as well as ID. I have about five hundred dollars. Those two were a little paranoid, and they kept some cash in different spots in their room. I overheard them talking about money once, when I was eavesdropping around the corner. What do you have, Harry?"

"Uh mostly just food and water. I did manage to get forty dollars that was under the ash tray on the hall table. Vernon kept some spare cash around sometimes. I didn't think about getting their credit cards or anything."

Harry rubbed the back of his neck with his hand before lightly tugging at a few strands of hair in frustration. But then Hermione put a stop to that by grabbing his hand and pulling it down to rest on the bench between them.

"Sorry about that."

"Oh no need to worry, Harry. You did just fine."

"Do we have enough to cover a train ride?"

"Yes, more than enough. We could save your cash for other things? Once we get to a destination."

Her words made Harry feel better.

"Good idea, Hermione."

As Hermione nodded at what Harry was saying, she opened her bag to get her required things. Her suitcase resting at her feet. As she shifted her body to get her hand farther down (since her was on the ground in front of her) both the letters on her left side of her body fluttered down to the ground.

Harry bent down and retrieved them.

"Here you go, Hermione."

"Thank you, Harry."

She also began to touch the two envelopes, their hands grabbing opposite ends. A second passed before they were suddenly whisked away.