31 July 1992
While Harry was ushered into the house and treated like a welcomed guest, the rest of the Weasley children were sent out to the garden to deal with pesky gnomes. Molly kept her children on a short leash for the next fortnight, making sure the troupe had plenty of chores. Arthur made a quick trip to the Dursleys to apologize for his children essentially kidnaping Harry. He was utterly baffled when Vernon Dursley made him a strange offer, the Weasley family would keep Harry every summer holiday and in return, Vernon would not call someone called 'Bobby'. Luna was banned from the burrow for two weeks as punishment for her part in the daring rescue. Harry repeatedly tried to help the Weasley children but was redirected to the table where Percy was helping Ron with his summer essays.
Hermione sighed happily as she sat with Luna by the pond, reading Break with a Banshee. Buying 5 complete sets of Lockhart books was very expensive and after having her father review her vault statements, her parents agreed to use some of the gold to pay for her brothers books as well. Her parents received a very modest stipend from her vault each month to care for her, while her schooling was paid for and she could access her trust vault at any time. It was not to say she was by any means rich but her grandfathers patent royalties padded her birth parents estate quarterly and allowed her parents a little more freedom in their budget.
In Diagon Alley, Lucius Malfoy decided he would antagonize her father publicly, right outside Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor. Drawing a crowd, he mocked Arthur about the extra raids he was busy with and the Muggle Protection Bill he had been pressing the Wizengamot for 5 years. All the while, Draco Malfoy stood beside her, smirking as he looked down his nose at her. Hermione hated Draco Malfoy, not for who his father was like his brothers, but because he was a bigoted wanker who had a constant stream of insults for anyone who crossed his path. With only his thuggish bookends and that simpering pug faced girl, he acted as though he ruled the school. How she wished she could smack the smirk right off his face.
"Do you think anything in this book is true?" Hermione asked Luna who was currently engrossed in Travels with Trolls.
"Not sure, it says here that he managed to trip up the troll with a knock back jinx then shrink his head." Luna said speculatively, as she lowered the book to look at her best friend with large blue eyes.
"Rubbish, trolls skin is nearly impervious to magic. Mum says he's brilliant but..." Hermione chewed her lower lip, deep in thought. Ever since meeting Harry on the train, Hermione was skeptical about everything she read. Needing to cross reference her own history text.
"Well, he doesn't go into much detail on the spells used but talks about about his hair maintenance while traveling quite extensively..." Luna giggled, looking very much like the friend Hermione remembered just a few years ago. "Maybe the wrackspurts are buzzing around him while he writes."
"Definitely a female DADA professor this year." George's voice interrupted their laughter as he came to sit by them.
"I dunno, might not be. He is an Order of Merlin recipient?" Hermione asked with a hopeful tone.
"Spitfire, please don't tell me you really believe this..." George's face scrunched up in disgust as he picked the book, only to have portrait Lockhart wink at him. "Gormless, manky, knob head?!"
"Well, no, not really. Although, he must be good at charms...look at his smile." Hermione smiled cheekily as she reached out to snatch the book back. "Why aren't you flying with them?"
"It was fun for a bit but I wanted to see how my favorite sister was on Harry Potter Day!" George smirked.
"Poor Harry, how are you celebrating?" Hermione giggled while Luna smiled serenely beside her.
"Ah, nothing too much, love. We did blow up a picture of him to hang on the goal posts...we may have fireworks for tonight. Mum made him a cake, Ron told us he's never had a birthday party before. Never even had his birthday acknowledged in that house." George's face darkened as he talked about the muggles Harry lived with.
"I hope he can stay with us every summer. Mum's already trying to knit for him and he can play chess with Ron all day without destroying the sitting room." Hermione smirked as she fingered the bristles on George's old Clean Sweep.
"Yeah, mum's invited Healer Strout to dinner tonight, none too subtle, is she?" George smiled devilishly, making Luna blush crimson.
"Let's go help mum with dinner! Last one there has to gag the ghoul!" Hermione smiled mischievously as they all hopped up quickly. Just as George reached down to collect his broom, Hermione snatched it up, mounting it quickly. Flying through the air she laughed at her brother already running to the house while Luna smiled serenely up at her. Diving to the ground, she hooked her arm around Luna's to help her best friend agilely climb on the back of the broom with no hesitation. They leaned low together as they raced through the air, passing George on their way to the kitchen door.
"HERMIONE CEDRELLA WEASLEY!" Molly's screech drew the attention of the boys playing on the pitch nearby. Fred came up and hit Harry in the back of the head as he hovered, gaping at the tiny red head zooming through the air.
Healer Strout left right after dinner, she was alone with Harry for only 20 minutes. When she left, her face was red and angry as she muttered under her breath. She came back just just as the Weasley children were finishing up. Molly took the healer outside as they had a whispered angry discussion. The healer left Molly with a large black bag filled with potions and a strict regimen for the next 3 weeks.
After the healer left, Molly brought out a large emerald green cake that was slightly lopsided. She placed it in front of Harry with a bright smile, watching the young boys eyes light up at such a simple gesture made her heart break. Bill was right behind his mother, with a simple flick of his wand, 12 candles were lit and Harry was frozen, staring at the cake in aww.
"C'mon, mate! Blow out the bloody candles!" Ron yelled with a grin. Molly smacked him in the side of his head with a warning look.
"Make a wish, Harry!" Hermione nudged him with a small smile.
Harry looked at the family of red heads with that tight feeling in his chest, he paused closing his eyes to try and make the wish perfect. The applause thundered in the small kitchen as he blew out all the candles in one breath, Fred and George clapped him on the back, pushing his gifts towards him. From Ron, he received a tattered book on the Chudley Cannons. Fred and George gave him a fanged frisbee and some candy. Molly knitted him a red and gold scarf, Arthur a rubber duck that flashed colors when tapped. Bill bought him a simple wrist wand holster. Hagrid sent a parcel of rock cakes. Neville gave him a book on rare plants only found in the moors of Scotland. Luna made him a bottle cap necklace. Hermione baked him more miniature treacle tarts and a book with the best seeker moves of the the century.
Harry sat alone in the sitting room that night at half 11, thinking he just had the best birthday ever. He woke up to a large breakfast, which he didn't have to cook. The Weasley boys all dragged him out to the pitch for a 3 on 3 game. After lunch Bill told him all kinds of crazy stories of breaking into the tombs of Egypt then dragged him off to fly some more. Harry flew through the air, occasionally looking over at the girls reading by the pond. This was the first time Luna was allowed back to the Burrow since he had been there so Hermione was spending the day with her. After dinner, he saw a healer for the first time. She examined him, asked him a few questions and then stormed out when he showed her his back. While he was completely humiliated, Fred and George were quick to distract him by dragging him back to the kitchen where he had his first birthday party.
"Harry Potter, sir!" A small pop drew his attention to a small creature with bat like ears and big eyes the size of tennis balls.
"Err..hello" Harry said awkwardly. "Who are you?"
"I'm Dobby, Harry Potter, sir!" The small create squeaked. "I's comes to warn you, Harry Potter, sir!"
"Okay...sorry..umm, not to be rude, umm, what are you?" Harry asked hesitantly.
"Harry Potter, sir worries he is being rude to Dobby! Worries he being rude to a house elf!" Dobby wailed, smacking his head on the coffee table. Upon closer inspection, his fingers were badly bandaged and he was wearing nothing but a filthy tea cozy.
"Hey! Stop that!" Harry whispered harshly, afraid to wake someone.
"Dobby must be punished, Harry Potter, sir! Dobby has come to warn the great Harry Potter! Great evil is happening at Hogwarts!" The house elf wailed even louder, his body shaking. "Harry Potter, sir must not be going back to-"
"What's going on down here!" Hermione cried as she reached the last step. She was standing in a blue night dress that went down to her knees with a black battered journal in her hand. Dobby quaked at the sight of her before disappearing with a loud pop.
"What was that?" Harry asked, still staring at the place Dobby once stood.
"A house elf. What was a house elf doing here?" Hermione demanded as she moved into the room.
"Dunno, said he was here to warn me about some great evil." Harry said, blinking owlishly. "What are you doing up?"
"Well, I was just going through some of my books when I found this journal.." Hermione blushed as she brandished the black journal in her hand. "Think Voldemort is coming back to Hogwarts?"
"Hope not, the headmaster says Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain...how come you're not scared to say his name?" Harry looked up at her for the first time, blushing slightly.
"Ah, well...mum and dad told me about him a few years ago when they told me about my birth parents. They've tried to tell me how dangerous it is to say his name but...I think it's kind of silly. Who names their kid Voldemort?" Hermione giggled as she settled on the couch beside Harry.
"Yeah, I don't see what the big deal is. Then again, I don't understand a lot of the magical world..." Harry frowned as he grabbed the photo album Hagrid gave him at the end of term. "Your mum gave me a potion to help me grow up a bit. Tastes awful, couldn't sleep so I was down here looking at the photos of my parents."
"Did Hagrid tell you stories about them?" Hermione asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, apparently my dad was a prankster and mum was a prefect who thought my dad was a berk." Harry chuckled. "My dad loudly embarrassed my mum everyday, trying to get her to date him for years."
"Really? That worked?" Hermione asked with a small smile. "Maybe you should tell Percy, he's been trying for 2 years to get the courage to ask out Penny."
"I guess my mum finally saw the light in their seventh year when they were heads together. Hagrid wasn't very close to them but he was there, in the background. What about your birth parents?" Harry asked.
"I know they were tooth healers, dad was a squib, mum was a muggle...they died when I was 6 months old." Hermione sighed sadly.
"Your parents can't find out anything else?" Harry sat back, chewing his lip thoughtfully.
"Nah, didn't even know what they looked like till Christmas. They had no family or anything." Hermione shrugged. "How was your birthday?"
"Brilliant!" Harry said enthusiastically, Hermione smiled brightly at that. She picked a quill to start writing in her journal, suddenly overcome with urge to write down something important. "That's an awfully old journal to be blank."
"Hermione Cedrella Weasley" Hermione spoke as she wrote down her name. "I thought it was odd, especially since it's-" Hermione's voice died in her throat as the letters disappeared, neat, loopy writing was taking its place.
"What's that?" Harry scooted closer to look. "Hello, Hermione. My name is Tom Riddle." Harry read quietly. Hermione moved her hand to reply when Harry voice made her pause. "Is that normal?"
"No." Hermione voice shook. Her hand was itching to reply, let Tom know she was there but she knew she shouldn't.
"Hey, kids!" Bills booming voice made them both jump. He walked over to the couch, half angry half amused as he thought he caught his sister on a couch with a boy in the middle of the night. That was until he saw her shaking hand and pale face. "Mi, what's wrong?"
"It..wants.." Hermione had tears in her eyes as she looked up at her brother. Harry sat by her side, thoroughly confused.
"The book?" Bill asked sharply as he snatched the book from her. Hermione seemed to relax as her brother cast revealing spells on it. "Where did you get this?" He demanded.
"It was in my transfiguration text book." Hermione dropped the quill, the impulse to write was gone and she felt like she could breathe again.
"What did you write in this?" Bill demanded harshly as he stuffed the diary in a mole skin pouch on his waist.
"She just wrote her name." Harry answered for, not liking the biting tone her brother was using. "What's wrong with the diary?"
"That was a piece of very dark magic that no 12 year old should ever be around. No, no one should be around it. I need to wake mum and dad." Bill let out a harsh breath and swept his shaken sister into a tight hug.