As I lay in bed trying to go to sleep, my mind would not stop running. I could not stop thinking about how we were going to get Harry to my house so that he could spend the summer with me. I knew that he had already made plans with the Dursleys to pick him up the next day, so they would be at the station waiting as always. I also knew that normally there were a few well meaning witches and wizards, all from the Order of the Phoenix, that kept an eye on Harry from the time he got off the train until he left the station, and then followed him home.
I remembered Harry's comments from the dementor attack about how he was supposed to have a guard outside of Privet Drive at all times. I wondered what the guard's job was. Were they there just to make sure that Harry didn't get attacked? If that were the case, then does that mean that Dumbledore does not trust the very blood wards that he claims is the reason Harry has to return there every summer? The wards ( that I still were not sure existed) and the guard sure were not doing their job with keeping Harry from being attacked, as evidenced by the dementor attack last summer.
Or were they more of a watch to report to Professor Dumbledore what Harry was doing and how he was treated by the Dursleys? However, this didn't seem to be the case either because they must be pretty blind to not see how Harry's family treated him. How they could not see that Harry was being mistreated and be treated more like a servant than anything is beyond me. I did not even see him while he is at his family's house, I just knew what Harry had told me, and I could tell that they did not treat him right. And also, why would Dumbledore consider Harry important enough to have someone watching over him reporting his very moves? I am almost certain he does not do that to all Hogwarts students, so I wonder if he just singles out Harry or if he has all children that are from non magical families followed. If he is being watched and followed then does that mean that Harry is not supposed to have visitors?
Aha, I had an idea on how I could get Harry to my house. I had already decided that there was no way that we could get Harry out of being picked up by the Dursleys, so I would just have to talk my parents into going and picking up Harry at his house. This would allow my parents to see how Harry is treated to convince them that he should not be there in the first place, and also test my theory about being able to receive visitors and the purpose of the guard that Harry has. It would appear to any onlookers that me and my parents were coming for a visit to check on Harry, when really we would be doing that then taking him home with us. As much as I didn't want to, I knew we would have to wait a few days before we could go so that no one would get suspicious, so we could wait until Saturday, which would be 4 days away. Me and my parents could spend some time there and when we leave pretend to be saying bye to Harry and his relatives, when really Harry would follow us out to the car under his invisibility cloak and leave with us. Hopefully Mad Eye Moody will not be one of the guard members watching the house and no one will realize he is gone for a day or two.
Now with that dilemna out of the way I realized that I was the last one asleep which meant that it must be late as Lavender and Parvati normally are up half the night talking and giggling. So, I got comfortable under the covers and went to sleep.
The next morning I woke up and was slightly disoriented from my stay in the hospital wing. After realizing that I was in my bed in the dorm, I then noticed that I had overslept and everyone had already left for breakfast. This was not at all like me. Normally, I only sleep a few hours a night as I stay up half the night studying my homework and reading ahead to be better prepared for class. Then, after staying up late, I normally am up earlier than anyone else so that I can sit down with a good book and relax before the day gets started. I have, after 5 years, adjusted to this sleep schedule and no longer have to set an alarm to be up with the sun and have some me time before the day starts. That is why I was so startled to see that all the other girls had already left. Normally, they get up kinda early so that they can take a shower and primp in front of the mirror forever before they are ready to leave, right as breakfast is getting ready to sleep. I must have really been sleeping if I slept through all the noise that they make while getting dressed for the day.
I quickly took a shower and got dressed and practically ran down the stairs to the common room. I thought that no one had noticed I had not come down for breakfast, so was shocked to see Harry pacing in front of the stairs leading to girls dorm. He heard me come thundering down the stairs and looked up with a smile on his face which quickly turned to a frown when we saw me running.
"I thought you were told no strenuous activity?"
"I was in a hurry to head to breakfast as I overslept. Have you already been down to breakfast?"
" You did not oversleep, everyone only went down about five minutes ago. I have been waiting on you the entire time. I asked the other girls and they told me that you were still asleep, so I was trying to figure out how I was going to get you up."
That made me feel better that I was not running too far behind if I was only a few minutes behind everybody else. I also was happy to know that Harry had been waiting on me and was worried that I would miss breakfast. We left the common room together and walked down to breakfast. As we were walking, and all while I was eating, I was reviewing in my mind everything that I had packed the night before to make sure I had not forgotten anything since we would leave for the train as soon as breakfast was over. Once I was sure that I had packed all my belongings, I listened to the conversations of everyone around me. Most people were starting to say their goodbyes and making plans to visit during the summer. As everyone started to leave the Great Hall to head to the carriages, I leaned close to Harry and told him that I had came up with a plan on how to get him to my house for the summer and would tell him during the trip home. He looked relieved to know that I had a plan and smiled at me.
When we reached the carriages, Harry and I managed to get one to ourselves, so I filled him in on my plan on how to save him from his relative's house. He seemed to think that I had a good idea, even if he would have to deal with the Dursley's a couple days. He was just worried that he would not be able to leave when we came to pick him up. I told him not to worry about that, I would make sure that nothing would cause him to have to suffer there the entire summer.
As we got near to the train, Harry looked nervous all of a sudden, and as he leaned close to me said, "In case I don't get to be alone with you before we get back to London." I knew what was going to happen, and didn't know what to do. I had wanted to kiss Harry for so long, but was nervous now that it was getting ready to happen. Harry put his hands on my shoulders and pulled me to him. He bent his head slightly, opening his mouth and looked me in the eye. Once I smiled at him to let him know that this was okay, he leaned in close and the next thing I knew, his lips were on mine. We only stayed there for a few seconds, but during this time I forgot how to breathe and didn't want the moment to end. However, we pulled apart as we heard the whistle on the Hogwarts Express and felt the carriage start to slow. As we came apart, he gave me a hug and a smile that I could not help but return.
I felt like I was walking on air as we got out of the carriage and walked to the train. We ended up sharing out train compartment with Luna, Ginny, and Neville. As we got settled in the carriage, I pulled out a book and let Crookshanks loose to roam. I spent the majority of the trip thinking about our very short kiss and what it might mean for the future. I also was trying to make plans of how Harry and I would spend our summer together. I knew that we wanted to do some research, but I also wanted to enjoy the summer. I then thought of a problem. My parents and I always took a trip during the middle of the summer, and I would find out tonight where we would be going. However, they always made reservations while I am still in school, so that they can get a good deal and have everything planned out to go over with me upon my return home from school. I was afraid that Harry would not be able to go with us, because my parents would have had no idea that Harry would be with us so would have only made reservations for the three of us. I decided though that I would just have to see where they had plans for us and see if we could squeeze Harry in as it would not be fair that he would have to miss out on a trip out of the country.
Before it seemed like it was time, the train was pulling into the London station. Everyone that had not already done so pulled off their robes and stowed them into their trunks and said their goodbyes as the train came to a stop. I loaded Crookshanks back up into his trunk and promised to write everyone and then joined the mass of people leaving the train. After crossing through the wall back into Muggle London, I watched as Harry went to meet the Dursleys with a frown on his face. It took me a minute to see the reason for the frown, but then I understood. Mad Eye, Tonks and Kingsley were all standing around the Dursleys talking to them in a low voice, but the look on everyone's faces made it clear that it was not a social conversation but rather them intimidating the Dursleys. I just shook my head at the logic of wizards and went to meet my parents who I missed after not getting to see for an entire year.