That was how Dan and Emma found them when they got home.
Harry woke up almost as soon as the adult Grangers were in the living room, and looked at them a bit fearfully. Emma gave him a soft smile, and pulled Dan up the stairs, whoreally looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't want to wake his daughter.
Once upstairs, Emma whispered, "Behave!"
"He has his arms wrapped around our little girl, Emma!" Dan whispered back fiercely.
Emma rolled her eyes. "Yes, he does. And she wasn't tossing and turning in a nightmare like she usually does. In fact, she looked very peaceful."
Dan looked a bit stunned by this. That boy is helping my little girl through nightmares? He couldn't wrap his head around the thought. "He's not good enough for our daughter!" He whispered, half-defiant, half-pleading.
To his surprise, Emma looked sad at that. Instead of arguing, she said, "Tomorrow, ask Harry if he thinks he is good enough for her, and why. Now, let's get some sleep." Dan nodded and followed his wife into their bed, thinking about his daughter and what he would say to Harry tomorrow.
The next morning, Harry was the first one in the Granger household awake. He just lay there, holding Hermione, and trying to figure out what was going to happen today. He wasn't pondering for long before Hermione began to stir in his arms. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, whispering, "Good morning, love."
Hermione smiled, truly enjoying being woken up this way. "Good morning, Harry."
Harry decided to just get it off his chest. "I think your dad wants me dead," he said by way of an opening. He was not anticipating her reaction.
Hermione started laughing. "So does Voldemort, but that doesn't seem to bother you," she said, still laughing. She laughed even harder at his mortified expression.
"It's not the same," he insisted. He couldn't understand why Hermione just laughed harder, but it was infectious, and he couldn't help but start to smile as well. "What's so funny?"
"It's just…so…true!" She said, still cracking up. "Voldemort…the most powerful….Dark Wizard…ever…doesn't…bother…you…but…a muggle…" She couldn't finish, she was laughing too hard.
Harry chuckled with her. "Yeah," he said, "but I can't fight back against your dad! He's too important to you!" Hermione, practically in tears from laughter, could only nod.
"Alright," Dan said, hiding his amusement when the teens jumped, "what's the ruckus?" Hermione, who had been startled into silence at her dad's entrance, just started laughing again. Harry's stricken expression didn't help her. He turned to Harry, confused, and said, "Okay, you tell me then." Harry just looked down, blushing. Dan was now truly perplexed and went to make coffee while he waited for his daughter to calm down.
Hermione had managed to stop laughing as hard by the time Dan finished his coffee, but she would still giggle if she looked at either of the two men in the room. When Dan was about halfway through his coffee, Hermione finally managed to say, "Harry's terrified of you." She managed to not laugh as she said it. It was made easier when Dan gave a very serious growl that sounded like 'he should be'. All humor was gone from Hermione's eyes, now. "No, he shouldn't be!" She shouted at her father, standing up. "His parents were murdered by a Dark Wizard; he was sent to live with abusive relatives-as you saw; those relatives have been killed by the same Dark Wizard that killed his parents; and now that Dark Wizard wants him dead! He really doesn't need the added pressure of being afraid of you!" She finally gave in to Harry's insistent tug on her arm and sat back down on the couch with a huff.
Dan was shocked by his daughter's outburst; they hadn't been told about his relatives' deaths, just that he needed a place to stay. They had just assumed it was to get away from his relatives. However, the most shocking part was seeing his daughter defend him; she had rarely argued with her parents that way, and it had never been in the defense of someone else.
"Mr. Granger," Harry interrupted his thoughts, "I can go somewhere else if you want me too. I don't want to become between Hermione and you." He rose from the couch. "I'll go get my stuff and head to Grimmauld Place. Goodbye, Hermione, Mr. Granger. Please tell Mrs. Granger I said goodbye, as well."
The two watched Harry for a minute, too shocked to think of anything to say or do. He had grabbed his trunk and was halfway out the door before Hermione finally collected her thoughts and bolted after him. Unfortunately, she made it just in time to see the Knight Bus disappear, and fell to her knees, sobbing.
Mr. Granger had come out to find his daughter sobbing on the doorstep. He reached down to comfort her, but she whirled and smacked his hand away, screaming, "Don't touch me!" She then turned away from him and ran down the street, still crying.
Emma had heard the ruckus and had come downstairs to find out what was going on, like her husband had. She found the front door open, with her husband standing outside staring down the street. "What's going on?" She asked him, still tired.
"Our daughter ran away," Dan answered his wife in a stunned voice. Emma suddenly didn't feel so sleepy.
"What do you mean, 'she ran away'?" She asked her husband dangerously, dragging him inside; he didn't seem capable of moving himself, and let himself be dragged into the living room and pushed onto the chair he had been sitting on a few minutes ago.
Dan was staring into space as he explained what happened. He didn't seem able to comprehend it. Emma had no such difficulties. "You chased our daughter away from us?" She asked testily. Dan seemed shocked about it being put like that, but nodded and burst into tears. "You better hope she comes back so you can apologize," Emma said venomously; it took a lot to anger her, but when she was mad, only someone really brave or really stupid messed with her.
At 11 Grimmauld Place, a messy-haired wizard got off the Knight Bus and walked next door. No one saw him enter 12 Grimmauld Place, and no one heard him collapse, sobbing, just inside the door.