Delta's Drabbles: Harry Potter

by EDelta88

A collection of fics and ideas that I started but didn't get far with. Welcome to my madness kiddies, it's gonna be a wild ride! Anyone interested in adopting one or more of these ideas should PM me for notes and further information.

5. Harry Potter Pulls a Runner

Harry Potter: Runner Runner

By: EDelta88 and Silentmagi

Rated T for... REASONS!

Insert Disclaimer Here

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Background and Beginning Notes:

Basic concept: Harry gets sick of the Dursleys and runs away... only for magicals to bring him back. He runs away again, they bring him back. This process repeats a few times until Harry finds a way to hide/escape from the wizards, then the real story begins.

Now for the long version. This fic started as a conversation between myself and silent. How it started I'm not really sure anymore but somehow we got onto a plot bunny of mine that essentially boiled down to Harry developing Assassin's Creed style abilities from years of running away from OP magical meddlers, at some point it morphed into something more along the lines of "What would happen if it was a catalyst for not so accidental magic?" We started playing with it... and it sort of took on a life of its own before wandering minds and clashing schedules caused us to lose steam.

This is the result.

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Chapter 1: Run Harry Run

Harry frowned as he looked over the book at the sound of a crack filling the air, they were back. Those idiots with the robes that kept dragging him back to his Uncle, and making things worse. This would be the sixth time they returned him, and to be honest, he was a little sick of the whole ordeal. How could they always find him? Why couldn't they understand they hated him in that house? Why were they so insistent on bringing him back?

"I think he's over here..." a voice said.

Well, this time, he wasn't going back.

Lowering the book he was reading as quietly as possible, the black-haired boy slipped out of the backdoor that he had left open for just this situation. Slipping out into the hall, he moved as quickly and quietly as he could. Getting to the outer doors, he smirked as the sound of the two robed idiots tripping over his little surprise. Using a pole to hold open the door wasn't a bad idea after all, he just had to make sure not to trip over it. Now that they would be busy untangling themselves, he had a slight opening to get some distance, and that is just what he did. Running through the hole in the fence let him out into a back alley, where he could bolt into the main street and get lost in the crowd for a little while.

Honestly, who wore robes to chase someone? He was only nine and a half years old and he knew that that was a stupid idea. The robes would almost be guaranteed to trip you up. There was a reason robes were never considered fashionable, outside of those guys at the churches that was. Hiding with a group of children about his age heading towards the Paddington Train Station he smiled as he heard the ruckus of his two pursuers creating havoc.

"Serves them right," Harry muttered to himself as he moved with the crowd.

"Serves who?" asked the girl next to him, obviously confused if the way she was staring at him was anything to go by.

"The um... the-" Harry fumbled. This wasn't how it had happened on the telly. When the people in Dudley's shows snuck into a crowd no one ever took any notice of them!

"I don't recognize you... are you from Ms. Hamilton's class?" the girl asked, squinting at him.

Harry swallowed hard against the lump in his throat figuring that it was time to hedge his bets and reveal the truth. "No, I'm a local, but I'm trying to avoid some people. Don't worry, they won't hurt you, but it's like uh... that game..."

"Trying to avoid people?" she wondered with a frown. That didn't sound right...

Harry gave her a hopeful smile as he put a finger to his lips. "Yeah, like that game... you know the one where people count to ten and then go try and find their friends? Please don't tell anyone though."

"Well why ever not?" she demanded, her hand on her hip as they waited for the train. "I could tell my teacher and then she could call the police. That's what you're supposed to do when you're in trouble."

"It's just a game!" Harry insisted with an attempt to sound honest about the people following him. "Besides, you don't want to get in trouble with the police for troubling them, do you?

"No but..." The girl frowned, deep creases appearing on her forehead as she tried to reconcile her view of the world with what the odd boy was telling her.

"I swear he went in here!" the old man with his freaky eye snapped at his disheveled companion. "Find him!"

"Oh bugger it's him again," Harry muttered, his shoulders slumping. Why did it always have to be the one with the lazy eye that could see through walls? It wasn't fair!

"You're the one with the eye," his companion grumped back as he tried to weave through the assembled people at the station.

"And we are in a station with several thousand people in it, you foul smelling layabout!" the older man grunted.

Suddenly the girl next to Harry, who had apparently been eavesdropping with him, let out an involuntary squeak as she tried to stifle her giggle.

The old man's lazy eye swung around focusing on the girl for an instant then snapping to Harry. The boy gave him a timid little wave with a sheepish smile as the train doors closed on them, sealing him inside the train and leaving them on the station. "Umm... Where are we going?" he asked as the train began pulling away.

"Might as well sit down, we have an hour until our stop at Reading," the girl explained as she settled into a seat alone, with the others from her group purposely avoiding her. "I'm sure you can call your parents to pick you up from the station and those men won't get you."

Harry looked away, mumbling something under his breath and refused to meet the girl's eyes.

"Sorry, didn't catch that," the girl offered pointedly with her frown returning

"I don't have any parents," he repeated sullenly.

Now it was his companion's turn to look away, turning a very interesting shade of red in her embarrassment. "I um... I didn't mean to..."

"You didn't know," Harry offered as he sat down next to her, watching the walls of the tunnel passing them quickly. "My relatives sent those men after me... even if they don't care about me."

"Well, surely they must care about you if they send people to find you..." the girl offered hopefully.

"They get money if I'm there, not a pound if I'm missing," Harry explained with a sigh.

"That's... that's horrible!" his companion shrieked, suddenly furious.

"Hermione!" the teacher called. "Quiet down, please. We don't want to disturb the other passengers."

"Sorry, Mrs. Jenkins," the girl now named Hermione called back with a slight blush to her cheeks as she tried to hide in her seat. "My name is Hermione."

Harry smiled, extending a hand toward her. "Harry Potter," he replied.

After spending the hour passing time with small talk, mostly spent discussing books and school, they finally arrived at the station in Reading. Harry frowned as he spotted a familiar scarred face waving cheekily at him while his companion looked around shiftily.

"Oh, that's just not fair," Harry groused, scowling as the old man gave him a gruesome parody of a smile.

"What do you-" Hermione started, following his gaze only for her eyes to go wide as she caught sight of the men that had been chasing her new friend. "How did they get ahead of us?" she wondered out loud as the train slowed to a stop.

"They have their ways," Harry grumbled as he looked at the various exits, noticing that they had people in robes standing next to them. Oh how he wished he could just disappear, to get away from all these idiots that kept taking him back to the hellhole that was his home.

Harry's groan was covered by the sounds of the train's brakes being applied. "Hey Hermione, if I don't see you again, it was great talking to you. I'll try and stop by again sometime..." Harry offered as he stood up and began to get lost in the crowd of departing passengers.

"Okay," she replied sullenly before suddenly perking up and digging in her satchel.

Harry blinked staring as his new friend rifled through her bag with ruthless abandon. "Um, Hermione? What are you-" he asked only for her to shove something into his hands.

"Have you ever used a spray can before?" she demanded.

"Sure," Harry answered, remembering the cooking spray his aunt had him use once.

"This works the same way," she told him quickly. "Just hold it like that... and press there. Aim for the face."

"Got it," Harry answered before being swept away by the press of bodies heading for the exit.

His departure from the train afforded him one luxury he hadn't expected. His least favorite pair were currently half a train away and in the opposite direction he was going to run. Weaving through the crowd, he smiled to himself as he spotted a greasy haired man in a set of robes standing at the exit, sneering at everyone that passed him.

"Him too?" Harry whined as the day just seemed out to bring about all his least favorite people. What did he do? Kick a black cat through a mirror that was resting under a mirror?

Well... if he was going back, he was sure going to get his licks in first.

So, using one of the larger groups to block his approach, Harry took a running start straight at the sallow faced man.

"There you are you little-"

Shhhhh!

"Ahh! My eyes!" the man cried, clutching at his face and rubbing furiously.

'Well that worked out nicely,' Harry thought as he sprinted out of the train station and toward into the city. Hearing a commotion behind him as others began trying to help the man writhing in agony on the station floor.

Suddenly there was a sound like a firecracker exploding somewhere to his left.

"Bugger," Harry muttered, continuing his reckless dash into the milling throng of people, recognizing that sound from his previous encounters with these robed yahoos. One of them just appeared nearby and was probably chasing him as he ran.

"Oy! Get back here!"

'The dirty one then,' Harry reasoned. Lucky for him the dirty one was also the stupid one. Now all he needed was something to distract the filthy bugger as he slipped away. With a smirk on his face, the idea came to him.

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO GO IN YOUR VAN!" Harry yelled just as the smelly jerk caught him by the shoulder. This caused a bit of commotion from those around them, including one man cold clocking Harry's assailant with a terrific left hook. It looked like he would owe that kid in class his dessert for a week if he ever got any. It actually worked.

So, with another of his pursuers taken care of, he quickly made his way across the street before anyone could get a hold of him, hoping to put as much distance between him and the scarred old man as he could.

Ducking into a side alley he let out another groan as he found it was a dead end.

"Poor choice, laddy," a rough voice growled behind him. "Ne'er use alleys unless you know them or have no other place to go."

Eyes widening to the size of dinner plates, Harry charged into the alley, hoping against hope that one of the doors would be... As if in answer to his desires one of the doors sprang open. Slipping inside, he found himself in what appeared to be a kitchen that hadn't been cleaned for the past decade or so. But it did provide him with an escape route, especially after he wedged a chunk of wood under the door before looking around for another way out.

One of the cooks blinked staring down at him. "Hey what're you doin-"

But Harry was already on the move, sprinting toward the emergency exit next to the bathroom and crashing through the door, setting off the alarm as he emerged into another alley. This time, thankfully there was two exits, and the one he ran towards was the closest to the main roads. Unfortunately his chase was cut off by a hand catching him by the collar and pulling him between two buildings. "Impressive, lad... I think I might start to like you."

Harry glared up at his grizzled captor. "If you treat people you like the way you treat me, I'd hate to see how you treat people you don't like," Harry grumbled petulantly.

"Orders 'r orders laddy..." the old man grumped as he scratched his chin. "Tell you what... I'm feeling generous and I haven't had this much fun in ages so here's what I'm gonna do. In a moment here I'm going to let you go. Then you have twenty seconds from when I let you go to get away before I start chasing again. Then it's time to hunt you down again."

"Like I have a choice," Harry mumbled staring at the ground. What was the point, they'd just catch him again.

"You always have a choice," the old man growled as he drew the boy closer, looking him in the eyes with his good one. "So long as yer still breathing there's something you can do and don't you e'er ferget it. Remember, so long as you fight, yer don't e'er let them win."

Harry glanced up, staring at the old man in surprised confusion as he digested what he'd just been told.

"You hear me, boy?" the old man growled.

"Yeah," Harry muttered.

"Then why don't you jest vanish?" the old man snarled as he freed the boy.

Running out of the alley, Harry's mind worked furiously as searched for a way to evade the old man. He couldn't outrun him. Despite the limp and his advanced years he'd always managed to get ahead of Harry so he needed to...

Vanish...

It couldn't be more ridiculous, he couldn't just vanish could he? It wasn't like he had some magic powers that wou- well there was the fact his hair always grew back no matter what his aunt did to it. And then there was the time he somehow got onto the roof of the school. Or... well there were several weird experiences that seemed magical in hindsight. Not to mention all the strange things that the guys chasing him seemed to be able to do...Getting away from the weird man took precedence over weird memories. If only he could do that weird firecracker thing that the robed guys did, that'd really help.

'Wait,' Harry thought. He could do that firecracker thing. That was like how he'd gotten on the roof of the school, wasn't it? How had he done that again? He remembered running away from Dudley and his friends and wishing to be somewhere else and then-

Wham!

"Ow," Harry groaned as he hit the roof after rebounding off the billboard on the roof of the building he had been running towards a second ago. So... that was something.

Crack!

"Apparition at your age? That's impressive," the old man offered with a smirk as he appeared.

"God a pladder for my node?" Harry asked, holding his nose in pain.

"Why the bloody hell would I use wall putty to fix a broken nose?" the old man asked, genuinely confused as he stared at the bloody mess.

"Whad was dat? Dat thing with being dere and den here..." Harry asked as he pointed between the two places.

"Apparition, kind of travel our sort can do," the old man replied. "Now why would I use wall putty to fix your nose?"

"Um, cus dats whad da nurths does for me ad school?" Harry asked, confused and stalling for time.

"Tch, let me get that for you..." the old man growled as he pulled out a stick and waved it over Harry's face, instantly the blood and pain vanished. "Now, what's this about getting plastered at school?

Harry blinked, staring cross eyed at his nose. "That's bloody awesome..."

"Quite handy that," the old man said smugly. "Now then, it's time to-"

Crack!

And Harry was gone…

The old man sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. "Bugger, this just got a whole lot more annoying," he grumbled scanning his surroundings with both eyes.

Harry for his part wasn't about to stand still long enough for the old man to catch him easily, after his head cleared from the weird dizzy spell he'd gotten he took off like a shot towards what looked like a shopping area, it was always easier to lose people when in a crowd he'd found.

Crack!

'Note to self: Teleportation is awesome but not nearly as helpful when the other guy can do it too!' Harry thought ruefully as he slipped into the outermost edges of the crowd of the shopping center.

What followed next was a good half hour of cat and mouse as Harry ran from stall to stall, dodging the wheezing old man. As he ducked into an alley to catch his breath, he found the scarred man storming towards him.

Crack!

"Should ha' just stunned the little bastard when I had the chance," the old man growled to the companion that had just joined him, drawing an amused laugh from the red-haired man.

"Come now, Alastor, you would never do that to a kid, again," the redhead offered with a laugh as he turned to look at the various stalls. "Oh, look, rubber ducks..."

"Not now, Arthur!" Moody barked, his eye spinning madly in his head as he searched for the bothersome little... where the bloody hell did he go? "I know I saw him bolt down here..."

Harry didn't understand it, he was standing directly in front of the two of them, there was nothing he could hide behind in the alley, and yet it was as though he wasn't there.

Vanish...

Harry's eyes widened as the two men entered the alleyway, drawing closer. He'd done it! He had vanished... and now it was time for some payback. Winding back his leg, he kicked forward with all his might, leaving Alastor crumpled on the ground, clutching his manhood in pain.

"Alastor? What-" Arthur started, only to be cut off as he spotted the boy holding a cylindrical device in his hand. "What is that?"

The sound of the spray escaping and covering his face in a fine red mist was his only answer, before a new experience caused him to shout out.

"Ahh! My eyes!" Mr. Weasley cried, clutching his eyes as he stumbled backwards. Sadly this assault cost the boy more time than he realized, as before he could make good his escape, he was hit by a red flash.

"Walk it off, Arthur, it's just a muggle pepper spray," Alastor growled as he hefted up the quarry that had cost him most of the day, and a good deal of pain. "Let's get our little prince home, and then to the debriefing with us. Hmph... good show, kid... when I told yer to vanish, I didn't actually mean fer yer to do it."

What neither realized was that this was the last time anyone from their group would ever catch Harry Potter. But for now they had to get him home with his relatives.

---

Omake: The After Party

"So... would anyone like to explain how a nine year old boy managed to evade four fully trained wizards?" Albus asked, incredibly amused despite the relatively dire situation they found themselves in.

"That thing is no boy, it's a demon in child's clothing," Snape groused as he brooded near the wall.

"Yer just sore that 'e got the drop on you," Moody snickered as he pointed to his magical eye. "Got a bit of red there..."

"Got the... drop on you, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling madly as he attempted to hold in his laughter.

"He's not the only one..." Moody stated with a smirk as he nodded to Mundungus who was holding an ice pack to his eye and a wad of tissues to his nose.

Dumbledore's eyes went wide with surprise. "Harry did-"

"Nah, 'e yelled something about Dung having... less than honorable intentions when Dung tried to grab him. One of the muggles laid him flat after that," Moody explained with a laugh to his voice. It wasn't every day that you got to see two of your least favorite members get taken down by a lucky brat. Maybe that's why he ended up doing what he'd done.

"And how did he get past you, Alastor?" Dumbledore asked, genuinely curious.

"I don't want to talk about it," Moody grumped as he adjusted the ice pack between his legs.

"Oh but Mad-eye they've both-"

"Shut yer trap, Weasley," Moody growled menacingly.

---

Chapter 2: Lucky Number 7

"Welcome everyone," Dumbledore greeted, smiling kindly at the gathered remains of the Order of the Pheonix. "We are gathered here today to-"

"We are gathered here today to figure out just where we screwed up," Moody snarked while looking at the various magical populace gathered together for the meeting.

"I beg your pardon?" Molly demanded, affronted at Mad-eye's crass description of the situation.

"Oh you heard me, Molly," Alastor smirked back at the woman that put the mother into smothering. "Sneaky little bastard's been gone for four weeks, and none of us can find him. So who let him through their watch... oh right it was you."

"Why I never-"

"Qualified for stakeout duty but took it anyway despite my expressed doubts on your ability to keep track of a child that nearly got away from four of our best?" Moody finished.

"Alastor..." Dumbledore sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. As amusing as his old friend's frustration with not being able to catch a child had been at the beginning (especially when Alastor had admitted to giving the boy some good advice on the subject), it was growing rather tiresome. Especially as he kept taking it out on the others, particularly the ones he blamed for letting the boy out of their guard. "None of our tracking devices work together."

"You mean none of them are working at all," Moody grumbled.

"Alastor..." Dumbledore groaned.

"It's true and you bloody well know it!" the retired Auror barked. "Every time we get close they stop working and then won't work again for several days. I tell you that boy is getting help or has found a way around us."

"But he's just a boy..." Molly started with a slight whimper to her voice as she dabbed at the tears cheeks.

"Hence why I said he might be getting help, you unimaginative homemaker!"

"Alastor!" Dumbedore roared, briefly showing just why so many people believed he was the most powerful wizard alive. The lightning flashing in the background was something no one else had ever been able to pull off before. "Now... let's calm down and think about this..."

"I told you this would happen, Albus," McGonagall hissed, glaring bloody murder at the aged headmaster.

"Minerva, you got the closest to him last time..." Alastor stated with a curious look on his face. "Did you see where he went?"

"No, and I wouldn't bloody well tell you if I did," she growled at him, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly.

"Oh, I think I know why you got closest," Moody offered with a chuckle. "He knew he could trust you, until your backup arrived."

"Perhaps it was because I was the only one not planning on forcing him back into a cupboard under those thrice damned stairs?!" she suggested sarcastically.

"Good point, Minerva, good point," Alastor offered with a laugh in his voice. "Now... about that cupboard Albus... I did some investigating of it. No insulation, exposed nails, and spiders by the by the bucket. He even wrote Harry's Room, in there. That's just not acceptable."

"...Where is Snape?" Mundungus asked, glancing around.

"Severus is-" Albus started with a heavy tone to his voice.

"Probably in physical therapy after the boy tricked him to walk off a building, again..." Alastor stated with a laugh.

"No... he is having a short break after he found out about Harry's surroundings. I am investigating his relatives and his treatment," Albus stated with a regretful look to him.

"You mean Severus flew into a towering rage and tried to kill you after he found out what Harry's home life was like," McGonagall corrected with a smug smile on her face as she held up a wizarding picture of Albus with a black eye and missing front teeth. She had never been more proud of her old student turned fellow professor.

Dumbledore blushed to the roots of his beard as most of the room turned to stare at him. "Ahem, yes well..."

Somewhere Near Reading...

Harry sighed as he leaned back in the abandoned warehouse that he'd turned into his new home. It was in far larger than the cupboard back... at that place, and he had almost everything he needed. He had a bed made of old clothing scraps some place was throwing out, chairs made from tires, and a table made from this huge door he'd found leaning against the wall in the warehouse when he first moved in. He even had clothes that somewhat fit him and didn't look like they lost a fight with a moth army now! The small stack of books he'd borrowed from the library was stacked neatly next to his bed, where he could read them at his leisure. If only he could find a fridge to store some food in, he'd be set.

To be honest, he never fully understood what had drawn him back to Reading, save it just felt a little safer than Little Whinging ever did, and was a LOT safer than London. Besides, it was also one of his favorite hobbies, especially after his bold and daring escape from the cesspit that was his relatives' house. It was easy to lose the large red-headed woman that was his current jailor, especially after Vanishing and doing one of those Cracking things silently. He should come up with a new name for it... like Tele-hopping or something. After all, what type of name was Cracking if it didn't make the crack? Besides, the crack was whack.

There was only one problem with his new home...

He was bored.

Sure he had everything he needed and a whole library to get through but... well, he could only read for so long. He needed something interesting to break up the monotony. And there was the fact that he couldn't really live on the stuff he took from the Dursleys much longer, either they'd go bad or he'd eat it all. So he'd have to go out and get more.

"What to do... what to do..." Harry mused as he stared up at the ceiling. He could always turn to stealing, his two talents would make that incredibly easy, but it just didn't feel right somehow. He could try begging, but that'd just make him an easier target to be found.

Maybe it would be a good idea to get out and about a while. He might be able to see something new to inspire him to finding a solution to his little dilemma.

"I could go to the park?" he wondered aloud.

There was a pretty nice one a couple miles down the road... which wasn't very far considering he could just jump there.

Harry blinked. "Jumping?" he wondered. It sort of fit... and it certainly sounded better than cracking or Tele-hopping. Might even be a suitable explanation. But instead of just jumping there, he decided to stretch his legs and test just how good his vanishing powers were.

So, with nary a whisper of sound, Harry vanished from sight, started walking towards the park. It was a lovely day out, especially without some insane group of robe-wearing nut jobs chasing him.

30 Minutes Later...

Hermione sighed as she swung back and forth on the swing, letting it rock her as she thought about various things. First there was the fact that her classmates refused to try talking to her, calling her names like Bookworm and Know-it-all. Then there were the strange accidents that had been growing more frequent around her lately. A bully's underwear suddenly being yanked above his head, a book coming down off the top shelf, and then the... incident... with the football that stopped mere inches from her face and just hung there.

She was a smart young girl, despite being nine-years old, she knew that things like floating footballs and Self-Wedgying underwear weren't normal.

And so she began limiting common factors until she came to one conclusion to all these strange occurrences, she was doing something. Her parents brushed it off, but she could see in their shared glances that they suspected much the same thing. She was doing something far beyond what was normal. However, instead of being afraid or worried... she liked it. There was a sense of power to this discovery. She was doing these strange things. She was special.

She was going to change the world, but first she had to figure out how to get it to work properly. She almost had the floating thing down, but it wasn't nearly as easy as they made it look in the movies or sound in books. Maybe she had to work on it a bit more first? And then she could work on some of the other things her fertile mind cooked up while reviewing the odd occurrences.

All of this was horribly new and exciting but at the moment she couldn't have cared less. Right now she was thinking about what had happened two hours ago. Two hours ago the scarred up old man who had been chasing that boy, Harry, had found her in the park. She hadn't wanted to talk to him at first but he had flashed a badge like the ones she saw the police carrying and asked if she'd seen him since they'd been on the train together nearly a month ago.

The man had said that Harry was missing again and that they couldn't find him. But Harry had said on the train that he didn't want to go back... well, perhaps it didn't matter. She hadn't seen him since and it wasn't like he was just going to appear out of thin air, right?

Apparently not, he was just going to walk through the main entrance to the park as though he wasn't being hunted by some super secret police force that wouldn't even give her the name of their organization should she see him again. What really was interesting to her was the fact that the ice cream salesman that had been pushing his wares on everyone else entering the park completely ignored him. In fact the way he sidestepped people, it was as though he knew no one could see him. But... but that didn't make sense, since she was watching him right now.

Hermione frowned, staring at the strange boy that liked books and got chased by weird people. He was weird, nearly as weird as what had been happening to her. Could he be related? But they didn't look anything alike. And there was something off about the way he moved, the way he stood and watched people talking as though they didn't even think he was there at all. And... now it was almost like she could see the bushes through him. It was almost like...

"No one else can see him," she realized, her eyes going wide as she sat there watching him make a very funny face at one of the parents without them seeming to notice.

It was official now, this was beyond weird, and she couldn't figure it properly. Was he some sort of ghost? But then why were the men hunting for him? Were they Ghostbusters? No, that didn't make any sense at all. She'd been able to touch him on the train so he couldn't be a ghost... right?

Biting her lip, she watched as the boy walked around. She didn't know what she was supposed to do right now, if the police were looking for him, she should contact them. But if no one else saw him, she'd be in trouble for wasting their time.

And it wasn't as though he wanted to be found...

---

Chapter 3: The Ghost of Reading

July 1991...

It was a beautiful clear day in Reading as Hermione Granger relaxed under her favorite tree in her favorite park, minding her own business, and quietly reading about Greek Mythology. Not that she could enjoy it much with the recent group of people that had taken to following her around. Apparently she was just as much a part of the mythology of the recent tabloid spectacle that Harry caused as the boy himself. The "Ghost of Reading" indeed, just because they couldn't see him, he was moving objects around and everything!

This latest batch at least weren't ghost chasers from the world over, asking for her help in spotting ghosts for them. No, these were the quieter, but more annoying, people. These were the occult fan boys and fan girls.

Somehow the local coven of crazies had gotten it into their heads that she was some sort of demigod or something, and now they were following her in solemn reverence. Her parents had even put up a blanket ban of every person that had tried to camp out on their yard, even gone so far as to call the police to have her... admirers removed.

Alas, the park was public property and her parents hadn't been able to make the restraining orders stick so she was stuck with her coven of crazies.

And it was all Harry's fault!

Yes, he was her friend. Yes, she understood that he was an incredibly reclusive person. Yes, she understood that he easily got bored. What she didn't understand, was why her best friend had to be such a mischievous little prat!

"Perhaps because you don't talk to me anymore... I have to read you like a book?" Harry's voice asked tauntingly in her ear from where he'd been sitting for the past ten minutes. The one thing he preferred doing to pranks was sitting down and reading with her, for a little while, and then he began to watch her.

At first, she'd enjoyed the attention, but lately he'd started playing this game where he would spend all day trying to fluster her or scare her or make her laugh or... well, you get the idea.

Suffice it to say that she was not happy with him.

"Come on, Hermione, just say something... no one'll hear you this time..." Harry whispered, ignoring the fact that there were several dozen of the weirdoes mere feet away.

'Oooooh, one of these days Potter,' she thought to herself. Curse that vanishing trick of his! She'd never been able to get the hang of it but because of it he could get away with almost anything while she had to stay out in the open for the most part. But one of these days... one day there weren't going to be people watching, and then she was going to get him soooo badly...

At least she'd gotten down that little jumping thing, he could do it silently, but hers always made this horrendous cracking noise. At least no one had seen her do it, or else those crazies would have been clamoring for her to constantly be doing something for them. Instead, they just followed her around hoping to get a ghost spotting.

Whoosh!

Suddenly Hermione's brooding was interrupted by the arrival of a large Tawny Owl landing on the spine of her book. What was most surprising was it was looking her square in the eyes and holding out a scroll.

Harry blinked, staring at the owl unwittingly mirroring the dozens of fans that were hanging around. "Well... that's different."

"Things have been different since I met you on the train," Hermione grumbled as she took the scroll from the owl. The owl turned to the left, as though looking at Harry for a moment before it almost seemed to smirk and take off.

"She speaks!" one of the cultists cried, a cheer going up from his companions as the owl winged its way out of sight.

"Sod off, you tossers!" Hermione barked at them hotly as she slammed the scroll into her book and stood up.

"Such language, you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Harry snickered as she stormed off, following a moment later. "You know they're not going to leave you alone... you have to lose them..."

"Perhaps the ghost should make an appearance and scare the piss out of them?" she suggested through clenched teeth as she stalked up the street.

"No way, that's..." Harry started only to pause as what appeared to be a flock of owls swooped down upon them. "Uhh... Hermione... what was in that scroll?"

"No idea. Why do you... uh oh," she mumbled as she caught sight of the incoming owls. Each and every one of them bearing a scroll in their talons.

"Hermione... run?" Harry asked, only to notice she was already several lengths away and gaining distance. This only seemed to draw more attention from the owls, as they formed a single file line and trailed after her like a kite's string.

"I don't know how, but this is your fault!" Hermione shouted between pants for breaths as they ran off towards the hideout that Harry had called home for the past few years. Turning a corner, she closed her eyes and focused on the warehouse, summoning up her super special powers to Jump there before the owls could catch her. A crack of the air splitting later and she was trying to slow down her run before hitting the wall.

"Gotcha," Harry gasped, catching Hermione around the waist and pulled her off to the side where two old beanbags broke their fall. "What was that about?" Harry asked after they caught their breaths.

"This. Is. All. Your. Fault!" Hermione raged, punctuating each word with a solid punch to Harry's shoulder.

"OW! Hey, it all started when you took that scroll thingy from the owl... why don't you read that and see wha-" Harry started, only for his eyes to bulge as he noticed something new about the warehouse. "Don't look... but we...have company..."

Due to the rules that govern such commands, Hermione looked, and what she saw caused her to squeal softly in terror. The wing of six or so owls apparently were back, and had brought some friends, thousands of them, covering every beam of the rafters, every window, every doorframe, and even one that was sitting on the loo peeked out from behind the privacy curtain.

"Uh... Hi?" Harry asked lamely as he stared up at the gathered birds who proceeded to ignore him, in favour of focusing on Hermione. The girl held up the scroll she'd gotten earlier as a defensive weapon. One owl flitted down, the very Tawny owl from earlier, and landed on Hermione's shoulder, looking around curiously. Harry blinked, switching his gaze from the rolled parchment to the owl and back. "Maybe they want you to open it?" he suggested.

The Tawny tapped the girl's scroll with one of its talons before tapping Hermione on the shoulder. A moment later it held up the other one and looked around curiously, as though searching for someone.

"Harry... unvanish..." Hermione whispered, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place quite neatly for her. The owl had given her the scroll, and the other was meant for someone they couldn't find. So when they found her talking to someone they couldn't see, it only made sense for them to assume that she knew where the delivery should go. And it was apparently a rather important delivery if the sheer number of owls were any indication.

Harry returned to the visual spectrum with his hand wrapped around the scroll the owl was holding. As the owl passed out from its heart stopping for a moment, he turned it over carefully in his hands, reading the address label with a curious expression.

To: Mr. H. Potter

Residence of Mr. H. Potter

Somewhere in Great Britain

Europe... we hope.

"Well it would seem that someone wanted to get a hold of me..." Harry suggested lamely as Hermione read her own letter addressed to her from where she was reading under the tree in the park.

To: Miss H. Granger

2rd bedroom on the left, 27 Field Road

Reading

Berkshire

"Well that's rather specific..." Hermione muttered staring dumbly down at the letters neatly scrawled in bright green ink.

Harry smiled as he turned over his letter, "I think they tried that with mine, but well... Vanishing hides me from them rather well."

"Apparently it hides you from every method of detection known to man," Hermione mumbled, remembering the many complicated contraptions that the ghost hunters had used to try and locate Harry with no success.

"Well seriously, that one guy's tactic was to put bubble wrap on the ground," Harry offered with a shrug of indifference.

"And thus Harry Potter learned to fly," Hermione muttered. The only talent of his that she didn't envy in the least. Get her in the air with nothing but her mind to support her? No sir, not happening.

"I could teach you, Hermione... you could even hold my hand... we'll just use faith, trust, and pixie dust," Harry teased gently as he hugged her around the shoulder. "Besides, you are better at floating other things than I am."

"Prat," she growled playfully, hitting him one more time in the shoulder. "And it's telekinesis, not 'floating things', you uncultured ruffian."

Harry pouted playfully as he settled down next to her, eying the legion of owls watching them closely. "So... we can guess that the scrolls are from the same source, right?"

"Well, what does yours say? Mine's an acceptance letter for some school... for magic?" she asked holding out her letter with a puzzled frown.

"I got one of those too," Harry muttered in agreement as he showed her his matching acceptance letter. "Didn't even apply to attend... Might just give it a miss... also there's a personal note rolled inside from some guy with a lot of names, but I'm going to go with Dumbledore, asking where I am and that I should contact him. With no return address."

Hermione frowned, scooting closer to peek over his shoulder. "Did he give you a phone number?" she asked, scanning the letter

There in plain black ink on yellowed parchment was just a note that read.

Dear Harry,

My name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, and I am very concerned about you. Please send me a letter with your location so that I might talk with you.

A. P. W. B. Dumbledore, Order of Merlin First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Hermione's mouth fell open. "How many bloody titles does this man have?" she wondered incredulously. His abbreviated signature was longer that the entire letter!

"Hermione Granger used foul language, again! Oh I have to get a calendar to mark this day," Harry cried dramatically as he tossed the letter from Dumbledore aside. "So are you going to accept? Seems a bit boring for your standards."

"Turn down a chance to learn magic?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow as if questioning his sanity.

"Yeah, you can already do magical stuff, you don't need them to hold you back to other students needing to have their hands held," Harry offered sounding worried about something.

"Perhaps we should wait for the representative of the school that they said they'd be sending?" Hermione suggested.

"What representative?" Harry asked.

"The one that's supposed to come and introduce me to the magical world?" she tried, frowning as she held up her letter and pointed to where it was stated. "Weren't they going to send one for you?"

"Didn't say anything about it in mine," Harry offered with a shrug as he dug out some snack cakes, tossing one over to Hermione. "I don't think they expected me to get a letter."

Hermione frowned deeper, reading and rereading Harry's letters. "This doesn't make any sense..." she mumbled as she glanced around at the still present flock of owls. Why would they go through all this trouble over one boy when they didn't expect him to get the letters?

"What are you thinking?" Harry asked, staring at her as she paced the floor.

"I thought you could read me like a book?" Hermione snapped with a bit more heat than she had intended.

"You're reading like Quantum Physics at the moment, very convoluted and frustrating," Harry answered petulantly as he settled into his beanbag chair again. "Come on, Hermione, I don't like this any more than you do... There's probably other schools we can go to..."

"Then why haven't they asked us to apply?" Hermione countered as her mind continued to turn things over. "Also... if we didn't apply, why would they send us acceptance letters?"

"You have a point..." Harry mused, rolling that around in his head as they fell into a contemplative silence. Everything was off about this, and his bad feeling just continued to grow worse. "Hermione? When is your meeting?"

"Um..." she mumbled, scanning her letter. "Tomorrow, why?"

"I think I want to tail after you..." Harry offered quietly as he looked down at his feet. "C-could I meet your parents?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed dangerously as she observed her friend suspiciously. "Define 'meet,' Harry," she ordered.

Harry swallowed the lump in his throat and smiled warmly. "Hermione Granger? C-can a friend sleep over tonight?"

"Define 'sleep over,'" she demanded. She had had far too much experience with Harry's pranks not to approach this cautiously.

"I curl up on the couch, we both sleep the night, and then tomorrow morning, I go with you and the representative... fully visible," Harry stated with a steadiness to his voice that he had when he was serious.

"You won't put anything creepy or crawly in my bed?" she asked suspiciously.

"I happen to like breathing, Hermione," Harry answered flatly, remembering the last time.

"You won't try to spook me or make me look loony in front of my parents?" she pressed.

Harry sighed and nodded, holding up his hands in surrender. "I promise, Hermione, if I'm lying... I will go back to the Dursleys..."

"No mischief?" she asked hopefully.

"I will be on my best behavior the entire time," Harry answered with a nod.

"Okay... now what was this about meeting my parents?" she asked, a sneaky little smile playing on her lips.

"Can't ask to sleep over if they still think I'm a figment of your imagination, can I?" Harry countered with a smirk of his own. Technically he had met them almost a week after Hermione stalked him to his warehouse the first time, when they dropped Hermione off at the park and she tried to get them to see him. It was not one of her better ideas, as he was still rather wary about anyone seeing him at the time.

"I suppose not," she allowed through perfectly clenched teeth. "I suppose you can just Jump over to the street where we wait for the bus then... I still can't believe you've never seen my house."

"Hm? I've seen it loads of times... I've just never gone inside," Harry replied.

Hermione blinked. "You haven't?"

"Nope."

"Why not?" she blurted before she could stop herself.

"Poor form," Harry said, nodding as though he had just imparted the meaning of life to her.

"Poor... form?" Hermione repeated, confused.

"Well, it would be horribly rude to just waltz in unannounced and dump a cup of ice water on your head while you're sleeping in those special bunny footie pajamas your auntie bought you for Christmas last year..." Harry explained casually as he inspected his fingernails.

"You've been spying on me!" Hermione cried, pointing a finger accusingly at him.

"Correction, I spy on everyone," Harry replied cheekily.

"You spied. On. Me," Hermione stated flatly, hurt in her voice. "How could you?"

"The curtains were open when I walked past and... well, I was curious, ok?" Harry said lamely as he tried to not picture Hermione in the adorable pajamas. Her aunt had really horrid tastes, but Hermione managed to pull it off. "Besides, I was trying to thank you for the scarf you knitted me."

Hermione blinked, all her anger draining away in the face of Harry's candid response. "Oh... um, you're welcome," she mumbled.

"Yeah... So... can I meet the folks? I promise not to repeat last time... I think... I think they would be nice..." Harry asked in a tiny voice, one that said he meant safe above anything else.

A small smile worked its way onto Hermione's face. "It will be interesting to see the looks on their faces when they realize that I really do have an invisible friend," she mused, tapping her chin in mock thought.

"Can I-" Harry started with a hopeful tone to his voice.

Hermione cut him off with a dark glare that promised him much pain and humiliation if he finished that thought. "No."

"You never let me have any fun..." the boy who could vanish whined with a petulant pout to his lips. Sometimes she found it hard to remember that the boy she was sitting with was younger than her, but at times like this, it was all too apparent.

---

Chapter 4: Meet the Parents and McGonagall

For some reason, despite Harry's promise to behave, Hermione was still sweating bullets when it came time to introduce the boy to her parents. There were just so many undefined variables that she couldn't account for everything. This was almost as bad as the time she had to go to the principal's office to explain why she was seen yelling at the dumpsters behind the school. Oddly enough, the investigation into the area turned up several cartons worth of cigarettes and liquor, which were linked to a few of the upper classmen that had been causing trouble in other areas of the school. It was the one time that her status as the girl who could see the Ghost of Reading actually proved useful.

But this was different, this was introducing a boy that her parents currently thought to be her imaginary friend that she made up because she was lonely. A boy that lived in a warehouse, all alone, with no one taking care of him, and no one to tell him what to do after running away from an abusive situation with his relatives. Not that she'd told her parents that part, but it was something she had to keep in mind when revealing him.

"Mum, dad I'm home... I brought a friend..." Hermione called out as she ushered Harry in through the front door.

"We're in the dining room dear," Emma responded over the sounds of a tea kettle being put onto the stove. "I'm putting on the tea, will your friend be having some?"

At Harry's nod, Hermione called back affirmative. Making their way to the dining room, they found her father reading the paper, which had a front page article about strange owl activity yesterday. In the picture she could almost make out herself running away from the swarm of owls. "Mum... Dad... this is Harry..."

"Oh, we've met your imaginary friend before Hermione," Dan offered from behind his paper, "Strange thing about these owls, isn't it? Flying about in the daytime... reminds me of... what was it? Nearly eleven years ago? Day after Halloween..."

"He's not imaginary," Hermione protested without much vigor, showing just how old this argument was to her. "He's just... invisible at times... well, most of the time."

"That's nice dear, now would you two care for some biscuits with your tea?" Emma asked as she walked in, wiping her hand clean on a tea towel before stopping dead in her tracks. Her eyes locked on the boy standing next to her daughter with a mischievous smile on his face.

"I would love some, thank you ma'am," Harry offered, causing the paper to snap down from in front of Dan's face. His eyes locked upon the boy silently for a moment.

"Sweet baby Mauve!" Mrs. Granger shrieked, jumping back and clutching her chest in fright as her husband leapt to his feet.

"Harry~" Hermione whined, her head falling into her hands. Did he really have to scare them?

"Uh... hi?" Harry tried lamely with a sheepish grin.

"My word, he really is here, isn't he?" Mrs. Granger said in wonder as she came closer to the boy and put a hand on his shoulder, checking to ensure he was real. "I dare say Hermione was far more accurate in describing you than I imagined..."

"Thank you?" Harry offered with a weird look towards Hermione, as though completely lost at what was going on. It had only been his promise not to be a prat that kept him from Jumping away from the older woman's hands. The sudden hug that he got from her caught him entirely by surprise, and by the looks of it, Hermione as well.

"Oh I'm so glad that my little girl isn't as lonely as we feared!" Emma cried out as she hugged the boy that had befriended their daughter. "Wait... if Hermione sees and talks to the Ghost of Reading... and you turn invisible..."

"Yes mum, he is the Ghost... just as I've been telling you," Hermione explained in exasperation as she was finally vindicated for her past couple years. "We're actually here to talk to you about something that happened today..."

"You're not pregnant are you?" Dan asked, keeping a perfect poker face as his wife and daughter whirled on him.

"Dan!" Emma shrieked, staring at her husband with a scandalized expression as Hermione turned chalk white.

"Well, it broke the ice didn't it?" he replied cheekily.

"I like your dad," Harry said, turning to Hermione.

"HARRY!" Hermione shrieked as she thumped him on the shoulder.

"You and I are going to get along just fine kid," Dan chuckled. darkly as he held out his hand to the boy. "Name's Daniel, you can call me Mr. Granger or Dan."

"Harry Potter," the boy offered taking the hand. "A pleasure."

Dan blinked, his eyes becoming unfocused. "Potter... Potter... Why does that sound familiar?" he wondered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Those owls earlier were looking for him, had a lovely note asking for him," Emma explained just as the pot began whistling out that it was ready for tea.

"No. Well, yes, but I've heard... weren't you on the news last year?" Dan asked, turning his quizzical gaze on Harry.

Harry just shrugged. "Ran away from home, ran away from the bobbies too when they tried to take me back."

"No, the authorities captured the men that were attempting to take you... apparently they were seen in public a few months later, and identified from the cameras in the station where you escaped them. The authorities also arrested your Uncle and cousin... I don't remember much about your aunt..." Emma explained as she returned bearing a tin of biscuits and a full tea set.

Harry blinked owlishly at the man. They'd actually gone after Vernon? After all the times he'd complained at school he never thought anyone would have bothered...

"Now, what did you two have to tell us?" Emma asked as she poured out the tea and passed out the cups. "Does it have to do with the owls?"

"Yes... they delivered letters for us to attend a special school of sorts..." Hermione explained with a nervous tone to her voice as she turned over the letters to her parents. "Harry was hoping to spend the night since they only offered for me to receive a guide.

"But... magic?" Dan asked skeptically as he lowered the letter.

"I can turn invisible," Harry pointed out helpfully between sips of tea.

"And I'm telekinetic," Hermione added casually as she stirred some sugar into her tea.

"Touche," Dan muttered.

"There's loads of other things we're working on, but that's what we're best at," Harry explained with a smile as he pulled a biscuit out of the tin. "Well aside from Jumping, but we're still working on that."

Several hours of explanations, thinly veiled excuses, and an excellent roast for dinner later, Harry found himself staring at a bed. "I thought... the couch..." he muttered, trying to put things together.

"Oh Harry, we're civilized people here, you'll have the guest room for the night," Hermione chided as she turned down the sheets. "Besides, my parents are worried about you. I could see it in their eyes as they talked with you."

Harry blinked at her, confused. "Why would they be worried about me?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, I don't know. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that my best friend lives on the streets and has had no adult supervision or help of any kind for over a year?"

"I've had plenty of help, her name is Hermione Jean Granger, and she's the only person I know that can see me for all that I am," Harry stated calmly as he sat down on the trunk at the end of the bed.

Hermione blushed scarlet at that, suddenly realizing that her shoelaces were an incredibly interesting shade of yellow. She was about to say something until Harry cut her off and utterly destroyed the mood. "Hermione... if... if they come for me... don't fight them."

Hermione froze. "What?!" she demanded.

"Those guys that chased me when we first met... They might try and get me if we go somewhere where our magic is more common. I don't want you getting hurt."

"And I don't want you going back to those tossers that beat you black and blue if you scorched the bacon!" Hermione shrieked, flying instantly into a towering rage. Leave him to whatever nonsense they decided for him? Not bloody likely!

"No Hermione, I won't go back, no matter what. You know how I am, I'll be able to get away," Harry offered with his hands trying to placate her from raging. "I know that I'll be fine, but you... if they tried to hurt you, I don't know what I would do."

Hermione looked stricken. She wanted to help. She wanted to throw the biggest things she could find at the people that wanted to take her friend away. But, at the same time, she knew he could hide better than she could... and he'd gotten away before. "...You're sure you'll be alright?"

"I'm sure Hermione, I'll never let them take me back," Harry lied, his eyes averted from her as he couldn't find it in himself to reassure her against the fear that had lingered in him since they day they became friends.

"Promise?"

"I-" Harry started, before cutting himself off. "No, I cannot, they know this magic stuff better than us. I don't even understand how I hide from them as is... and they might use you to get me to come out. I'm sorry Hermione, but this is one promise I can't make."

"Then I'm not promising anything either," she told him, crossing her arms stubbornly.

Harry looked at her with a slightly started expression for a moment before a wide grin split his face. "I suppose then we'll just have to use that thing we were working on... the 'Force Push' I think you called it?"

Hermione nodded. "I still can't believe you've never seen Star Wars..."

"Think about the relatives I grew up with... hey maybe we can watch them tonight?" Harry asked hopefully as he realized that there was the actual chance of that happening.

Hermione blinked, staring at him uncomprehendingly.

"Um, Hermione? Are you-"

"Dad!" she cried, streaking out of the bedroom and yelling down the hall. "Harry hasn't seen Star Wars!"

"What blasphemy is this?!" Mr. Granger squeaked as he appeared at the door almost like he Jumped from downstairs. "Haven't seen Star Wars?"

"Well no but-"

"Unacceptable!" he thundered.

"I'd love to watch them if you don't mind..." Harry offered off-kilter as he tried to figure out just what was going on.

"Hermione, get a blanket. I'm making popcorn," Mr. Granger ordered, stalking out of sight muttering darkly about heresy and rites of passage.

"What just..." Harry started as Hermione guided him downstairs again, where Emma was waiting for them.

"Dan is a big Star Wars fan... at least you didn't mention not seeing Star Trek, you'd miss your meeting tomorrow watching every series," Emma commented as she pointed Harry towards the den, which had tons of movies and figurines all over the walls. "Don't worry if you don't get everything, just sit back and enjoy it."

"Umm... I hav-" Harry started, only to be silenced by Emma's finger to his lips.

"We'll deal with that after your meeting tomorrow..." Emma stated calmly, with a smile that could chill even the heart of a volcano. As she pushed him down onto the couch, she gave him a weird hand sign where her fingers were paired off and her thumb stuck out. "Live long, and prosper young Potter."

That was the last coherent memory Harry had of the night that wasn't dominated by movies about some awesome Jedi Knight and saving the galaxy from the cruel Galactic Empire. The next thing he realized there was sunshine burning his eyes, causing a slight start as he realized that he was not in the warehouse, and something was holding him.

"Oh good, you're awake. Well, one of you at any rate," an unfamiliar male voice said softly.

"I didn't do it! Please don't hit me!" Harry called out weakly, trying to cover his head from the blows he was expecting in his half-awake state.

"Harry?" Hermione mumbled blearily as she lifted her head to stare around. Then she noticed his current state. "Harry! What's wrong?" she gasped, crawling up to stare at him.

"What?" Harry asked, coming back to his current surroundings, his eyes locking on Hermione's as they finally cleared. "Where... what... Hermione?"

"Everything alright in here?" Emma asked with a worried expression as Dan backed up towards her, pulling her into the kitchen gently.

"Harry had a nightmare," Hermione explained while pulling the boy's arms down so he could look her squarely in the eyes. "Harry, listen, you're safe. You're with me and my family..."

"That was no nightmare," Dan muttered sadly.

"I know dear, but he has to come to us about it," Emma stated calmly as she pulled out a couple boxes of cereal. "You saw it the same as I did... the reluctance to make physical contact... the way he woke up... there's more about what happened with his relatives than what's printed."

"I hate feeling useless like this," Dan muttered.

"Don't worry, worse comes to worse, I'll take care of them," Emma growled, a thunderous look flickering across his face.

"Emma... we've talked about this, you're not in the Royal Marines anymore, you can't solve problems with a bullet anymore," Dan chided.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about darling," Emma said, an absolutely chilling smile spreading across her lips.

"Never date a sniper my dad said..." Dan muttered darkly. "'They're bloody mental,' he said. Did I listen? Noooooo..."

"Oh quit your whining Granger and go make us some pancakes," Emma snickered as she poured out cereal for the kids.

"Your mum is sorta scary," Harry observed as he watched all this over Hermione's shoulder.

"Isn't she brilliant?" Hermione asked with a smile.

"Yeah... in a 'I'll gut you like a fish and smile doing it' sort of way," he muttered under his breath as he made sure to avoid any sharp, pointy objects.

"Coward," Hermione snickered, sounding remarkably like her mother.

"Well, at least I know where you get your mean streak from now," Harry grumbled darkly as he looked to Dan.

"Vicious creatures they are, best to join the other team while you can laddy," Dan started with a laugh.

Whack!

"I rest my case," Dan finished, smiling smugly as he massaged his abused rear end.

"I said make pancakes!" Emma mock-scolded as she laughed, pushing Dan into the kitchen. Playfully winking to the kids as she gave parts of his anatomy a healthy squeeze, which caused the man to squeak.

"You know... I'm starting to reconsider my thoughts on your parents," Harry muttered around a spoonful of corn flakes. "Any idea when this show should get underway?"

"The letter said that they'd be here around ten to provide a demonstration and introduction," Hermione supplied as she dolloped a large amount of honey on her cereal. "Not getting nervous are we?"

"A little, mostly what if they're part of that group, and whether or not I should show myself," Harry answered while looking down into his cereal. "Hermione... are we making a mistake?"

Hermione looked at him like he was stupid. "Harry, if you're so nervous, why don't you just stay invisible until you feel comfortable showing yourself?"

"Your parents trust me to be here..." Harry started, looking deeper into his bowl of corn flakes. "They want me here... I... I don't want to vanish and lose that."

Dan looked over from the stove. "Harry, just because you don't want someone to see you isn't going to make us think any different of you."

"I-" Harry started only for a knock on the front door to cause him to vanish from sight, bowl of cereal and all.

"I'll get it!" Hermione cried, suddenly very excited as she Jumped from her chair to the front door with a louder crack than normal.

Emma blinked, staring at the spot where her daughter had been sitting a moment ago. "That would have been so useful in the Sudan," she murmured as the possibilities of teleportation ran through her head.

Meanwhile…

It was shaping up to be a rather dreary day for the old lady who was approaching the fine two-story. So far, of the students she'd interviewed, she'd had three go to Beauxbatons, one outright refuse magical training, and five skipped appointments. But still Scottish pride forced her to soldier onward. Knocking sharply on the door, she adjusted the business suit she always wore when talking to muggle born students. It might not have the impact, nor practicality of robes, but it did stand out far less, and she didn't need glamours or notice-me-not charms.

Crack!

"What the bloody hell was that?" the Scottish woman muttered as the sound registered to her brain. It sounded almost like an apparation, but there was no magical persons here trained in how to do so. Slipping her hand inside of the opposite sleeve, she wrapped it around the base of her wand. It wouldn't have been the first time she found out that the remnants of the Death Eaters had gotten to a muggleborn before her, and she would be damned if she was going to let them catch her unawares.

The sounds of the door unlocking and being swung open almost caused her to draw her wand and hex the person on the other side of the door on instinct, only the control of having been a teacher for many years allowed her to stay her hand. It was good, as she would have likely lost a student if she had blasted her away.

"Hello!" chirped a little bushy haired eleven year old girl that had just opened up the door.

Minerva blinked, staring down at the enthusiastic little ball of energy. "Hermione Granger I presume?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow curiously.

"You're from the school?" Hermione asked hopefully, her eyes shining as she stared up at her.

A smile graced the matronly woman's face as she nodded, at last there was a student that seemed to be interested in attending classes. "I am Miss Granger, are your parents ready for me? I can return if they need some more time," she offered, honestly hoping that the parents were ready, but not wanting to press the matter.

"No, now is fine," Dan answered a pleasant smile on his face as he came up behind Hermione. "Please pardon my daughter's enthusiasm. Won't you come in?"

"Yes, thank you," McGonagall offered as she entered the house, smiling warmly and giving the wife a polite nod.

"You're welcome, I'm Daniel Granger by the way," he said, leading her inside. "You've already met my daughter and this is my lovely wife, Emma."

"My name is Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," the woman stated formally, using the shortened version of her full title since she hated wasting time with the cumbersome series of titles.

"Yes, about that," Dan started. "I'm sure you can understand that we are rather..."

"Sceptical?" Minerva offered.

"Hesitant to commit to a school without proof of scholastic accreditation... we know magic exists..." Emma corrected as she poured out a cup of tea for McGonagall.

Minerva blinked at them several times. Well, this was a novel experience. "You... are already aware of magic?" she asked, seeking clarification.

"Well not that it was something to be taught," Dan stated as he sipped his tea before nodding towards his daughter. "Hermione here can levitate objects, and what was it you called it earlier Hermione? The teleporting..."

"Jumping dad... I'm pretty sure that they might have other names for them," Hermione explained as she floated over the cereal box to her outstretched hand.

Minerva's jaw dropped. "You... can apparate?" she asked, staring incredulously at her prospective student.

"Apparate?" Hermione asked.

McGonagall regained her composure and arranged her thoughts before continuing. "Right, earlier, when there was that loud thunder clap noise, was that you 'Jumping' as you call it?"

"Oh, yes that was me," Hermione answered with a heavy blush burning on her cheeks. "I was a little overexcited..."

"You are a marvel, able to perform such magic at such a young age, and wandlessly at that," Minerva muttered as she studied the girl with a thoughtful expression on her face, "And this is all learned on your own? Wait... you look familiar..."

"Familiar?" Hermione repeated, doing her best to sound confused.

"Yes... have you been in the papers recently?" Minerva asked, getting a little tickle of memory, "Ah, yes... you were in the muggle news about the swarm of owls. Sorry about that, we have no idea why they reacted so."

"What was that about anyways?" Hermione demanded.

"The owls thought that... what did the muggles call it... The Ghost of Reading? Yes, that's it, a particularly bothersome and elusive poltergeist that seems to have taken up residence near here. Anyway, the owls thought that was a prospective student we have been searching for over the past few years," McGonagall explained with a frown on her face. "He ran away from home you see, vanished without a trace. And all because that bumbling old fool couldn't bother to listen to me..." she explained, growling the last bit under her breath.

"Didn't listen to you?" Hermione prompted.

"Well... I suppose you'll hear the story from someone eventually," Minerva sighed. "A little backstory first though. Firstly, the magical community has existed separately from the muggle, that is our term for non-magicals, community since the middle ages when the muggles began to distrust and fear magic. There is a whole world of people like you and I hidden away all across the world. Naturally, with a population that size there will be quite a few children and so a number of schools have been set up to teach them. Hogwarts is the oldest and most prestigious of these schools. Now then, to the point, Albus Dumbledore, our current Headmaster, is a great hero in our world. He is very old, very wise, and nearly everyone makes sure to remind him of it regularly. This had the unfortunate side-effect of also making him rather..."

"Set in his ways?" Emma offered.

"That is a significantly kinder description than what I was going to use so we shall go with that," Minerva sniffed. "At any rate, we had been at wars for years against a Dark Wizard that called himself Voldemort and his followers. It was... very bad. Most had given up hope until one night eleven years ago, someone stopped him."

"Mr. Dumbledore?" Hermione asked.

"No, Harry Potter."

"Who is this Harry Potter?" Dan asked, covering up the shocked expressions of his wife and daughter. He couldn't be certain, but he could swear that there had been a gasp that hadn't come from either of the Granger women, and he was hoping McGonagall had missed it.

"The son of some friends of mine... former students that I kept in contact with," McGonagall supplied distractedly. "He showed up to their house Halloween night... killed Lily and James then tried to kill Harry. When all was said and done, Harry was still alive and Voldemort was gone."

"By 'gone' you mean dead, right?" Dan asked, noting the hole in the story. "This isn't a matter of him becoming 'Stronger than you could possibly know.' correct?"

"We have no idea," McGonagall sighed. "Most people believe that he's dead. Albus didn't, so he hid Harry away. Placed him with his mother's relatives despite my vehement objections. Small wonder the boy didn't find a way to kill them on his way out," she hissed.

"There was an article in the paper a while back about a boy named Potter going missing..." Emma commented as she stacked the empty plates and bowls. "These people wouldn't happen to be the Dursleys, would they?"

"That was them," McGonagall agreed, looking none too happy. Then she frowned, eyeing the bowls and glancing at the table. "I apologize, but were you expecting someone for breakfast?"

"No, why?" Emma asked while Hermione helped her take away the dishes.

"Oh, it's just that you are clearing away dishes for four places, but there are only three of you," McGonagall commented as she smiled behind her own cup. "Perhaps the rumors about the Ghost of Reading following your daughter around are true?"

"To be fair, she followed me first," a new voice commented from beside her, causing her head to whip around. What she saw caused her heart to stop for a moment while her jaw started to drop in surprise. Only years of control prevented her from showing more of a surprise then her eyes bulging. "Hello, I'm Harry Potter, the Ghost of Reading."

Directly in front of her was a boy of nearly eleven years, with messy black hair, and a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. McGonagall blinked several times, staring at the boy who had escaped from some of the greatest magical minds in the world. After a few minutes of her brain attempting to find the right words, she could only laugh and shake her head. "Oh if only your father could see you now... he'd be fit to burst with pride."

"Eh?" Harry wondered, looking completely lost and confused.

"You hardly seem surprised, considering," Emma commented as she returned from the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel. "One would think you're used to people appearing out of thin air... or someone that has been long missing just show up before you."

"After seven years of dealing with Harry's father and his father before him, there is very little that surprises me anymore. Especially where a Potter is involved," Minerva sighed, shaking her head tiredly.

"You knew my dad?" Harry asked in surprise as he leaned in curiously.

"As I said before, he was a student of mine," McGonagall confirmed with a fond smile as she shook her head ruefully.

"And my granddad?" Harry continued, wondering just how far back up the tree this went.

"I went to school with him, he was a... a very good friend," the professor stated with a slight taunting tone to her voice. "You might say we were the predecessors of your father and his friends."

"Excuse me, but that sounds rather ominous," Emma stated with concern.

"Well, I'd thought that Charlus just told James about all the shenanigans he and I got up to but apparently, mischief making runs in the family," McGonnagal replied.

"And Harry's vanishing act?" Dan asked rather curious about that highly useful talent.

"I haven't the vaguest idea how he does it... no one does. Like I said, we have been searching for Mr. Potter for several years now. No method of detection, tracking, scrying, summoning, viewing, spying-"

"See Harry? It DOES hide you from every method known to man!" Hermione laughed, as she smirked victoriously at her friend.

"I still say infrared might detect me," Harry protested petulantly as he crossed his arms.

"The batch of ghost hunters last winter tried that, remember?" she pointed out.

"Yes, I was standing behind them the entire time," Harry countered deftly, as though this was a verbal fencing match they'd been through before.

Hermione frowned. "They said they had overlapping fields of vision to avoid blind spots, how didn't they get you at least once?"

"And then they tripped over their own shoelaces," Harry smugly pointed out.

"You didn't even go in front to test it?" Hermione asked, having found the flaw she'd missed previously.

"I... yes, I did... but no one was there to view..." Harry answered after a moment of thought. "They'd given up for the night, and were out picking up pizza when I walked in front of it and..."

"Harry, they had round the clock teams," Hermione pointed out with a glare.

Harry gave off a little laugh before waving it off. "Sorry Hermione, but I did walk in front of them. It was while they were in their first hour of filming... before they approached you about getting me to appear."

Hermione's eye's narrowed dangerously. "You were winding me up!" she accused.

"Well, it was-Whoa!" Harry cried, skipping out of Hermione's reach as she lunged at him, only to disappear with a crack as she lunged a second time.

"Are you alright ma'am," Emma asked as she poured out the tea again, like there weren't two kids disappearing and reappearing around the house at seemingly random intervals.

"Quite, just... just having a powerful sense of deja vu, that's all," McGonagall replied, shaking herself.

"Harry! Get down here!" Hermione shouted as she batted at Harry with a broom, trying to knock him off the banisters from upstairs.

"Where did she get that broom from?" Dan wondered. It certainly didn't look like theirs... How odd.

Harry kicked away the broom once again, barely holding onto his precarious perch upon the banister. "She's been pulling these things from thin air for months now... at least it's not that freaking sledgehammer this time! Even if it's filled with air, that thing hurts!"

"It would seem your daughter has a knack for conjuration as well... I dare say her years at any school would be filled with boredom, if Mr. Potter does not attend as well," the professor commented casually as she was already planning out their wedding day.

"Good luck getting the lazy bum to do any schoolwork," Hermione huffed, giving Harry dirty glances every few seconds as she stood beneath him broom in hand.

"I did those assignments!" Harry protested as he stuck his tongue out at her. "We just couldn't submit it since I didn't technically attend the school."

"Or stay in class," she added.

"Well you told me to get lost," Harry explained while stepping over a sweep with the broom. "How was I to know that I was going to stumble upon the principal doing that with the wife of the school board president?"

Minerva sighed, massaging her temples. "This is going to be a very long..." she started darkly only for a strange smile to spread across her face. "Oh... that could work..."

"Uh oh..." Dan muttered, recognizing the smile as the same one his wife got when she was planning something incredibly troublesome.

"Well now, we haven't agreed to join," Harry stated, suddenly appearing at McGonagall's side, with Hermione on the opposite side. "What pray tell could work?"

"Before I get to that, perhaps a quick lesson is in order," the professor explained as she cleared her throat. "As you have discovered, there is magic in this world. However, due to the exceedingly rareness of the skill outside of magical families and numerous complications as a result, there is a separation of the Wizarding World, and muggle society. That is what we refer to the non-magical populace as, muggles."

"Exactly how big of a population are we talking about?" Emma asked suspiciously.

"The entire Wizarding World, all of the nations in the ICW would be about the same as all of the rest of the British Isles put together, however that does not include the magical nations of the far east, the Americas, or Australia. From what I am told, those three each have a population that rivals that of our Wizarding World individually. Unfortunately... due to politics, we do not talk nor share ideas."

"Politics?" Harry asked in confusion.

"The Old World has a long memory," Minerva sighed. "The Americas rebelled, Australia was a place for criminals and the unwanted, and the Far East... well, the Asian magical community wasn't particularly kind when it didn't accept the metaphorical olive branch."

"Something like the mundane world," Emma commented as she put aside her cup. "However, it would seem that the wounds did not heal as they did for us."

"Like I said, long memories," Minerva sighed.

"Excuse me ma'am, but our lesson?" Hermione asked pointedly.

"I'm more interested in 'What could work,'" Harry said again

"Yes.. yes.. all in due time my young padawan," McGonagall replied with a smirk as she patted the boy on the head. "Most of the Wizarding World wouldn't get the reference I'm afraid."

"What, are you to be our Jedi Master?" Hermione joked as she poked at Harry's arm.

"That's one way of looking at it..." McGonagall said as the evil smile played on her lips.

"Darth McGonagall, I presume?" Harry asked as he sensed dark vibes rolling off of the woman.

"No, merely a humble teacher. I instruct the art of Transfiguration, and am the head of house for one of fourth of the student body," McGonagall explained while sipping her cooling tea. "And I will also be your private tutor in making our esteemed Headmaster's life very... eventful, for the duration of your education."

"Eventful?" Dan asked in concern as he leaned in. That sounded like trouble.

"Albus has a great deal to answer for," Minerva explained with a dark glare. "As an educator he should push their students to excel, however since he took control back in the fifties the school has gone steadily downhill. Now, here's what we are going to do…"

And so began a plot that would shake the magical world to it's very foundation and make Albus Dumbledore lose what little hair he had left.

---

Hermione: Mum... dad... meet my friend Harry...

Dan: Now Hermione, we've met your imaginary friend before...

Hermione: He's not imaginary, just invisible at times...

Emma: That's nice dear, now would you two care for some tea? I just put a pot on...

Harry: I'd love some, thank you ma'am.

*gears stripping can be heard as the parents both look away from their distractions to see a real, live Harry Potter standing there*

Harry: err... hi?

Emma: Ten Quid Dan, I told you there was no way her level of detail was for an imaginary friend.

Hermione: Mum... dad... meet my invisible friend Harry... *waves to the very much visible Harry*

Emma: *turns to Dan* I told you her description was far to detailed to be imaginary

Hermione: Wait... you can see him? *turns to look* You're not Vanished! Why did you have to appear when I said you'd be invisible?!

Harry: Because it was funny?

Hermione: You bloody goat poking insensitive prat! You said you wouldn't prank them!

Grangers: *Jaws drop*

Harry: Yeah... I kind of have that effect on her sometimes. And Hermione? For the record, you ordered my not to prank them, I never said I wouldn't

Harry: Hermione... your parents...

Hermione: I don't fucking care Potter! Now get over here so I can beat you properly!

Harry: *cracks out of her path, hiding behind her parents*

Hermione: Get back here you coward!

Harry: Hermione, come on now, let's talk about this... I mean at least this time you weren't flying...

Hermione: Flying? You dropped me from the sky!

Harry: ...I caught you

Hermione: Come here! *stamps foot points at floor*

Harry: *Eeps and cracks over*

KATHWACK!

Emma: Hermione!

Dan: *winces*

Harry: I'm okay, the birdies will fly away soon...

Hermione: See? He says he's fine.

Dan: He's talking to the wall Hermione... I'm pretty sure that's not fine...

Hermione: He's had worse...

Harry: Hermione cares for me too much to near the worst I've had... though that time with the flying incident might be close... How was I supposed to know being a bird was terrifying?

Hermione: I say again, you dropped me from at least twenty-thousand feet! You deserved everything you got!

Harry: I regret nothing.

Hermione: (growling) Oh, you're about to regret something...

*two hours later*

Harry: How... how did you get me to agree to come back here with you?

Hermione: I appealed to your baser nature.

Dan: Baser nature? *eyes narrowing*

Harry: Survival instincts. I come with her, she doesn't rip my boys off and force feeds them to me rectally.

Emma: *turns and glares at Dan* This is all your fault. Letting her read those horrid war novels.

Harry: So that's where you get blaming me from...

Emma/Hermione: Shut up Harry!

Harry/Dan: And the shouting.

---

Alternate For Chp 2

'Well, only one way to find out,' she decided, hopping off her swing before marching right up to Harry and poking him in the arm. This had a strange effect on the boy, who nearly jumped out of his skin.

"AH!" Harry shouted as he clutched his chest and whirled on the girl. "Hermione?! You... you can see me?"

"Well of course I can see you, you dolt. You're standing right in front of me!" she chided.

"Mommy? Who is that girl talking to, does she have an imaginary friend like I used to?" a little boy asked his mother as they passed.

"She's just playing make-believe dear. Now come alone."

Hermione blinked staring after the little boy as his mother pulled him away, turning to Harry he gave her a sheepish grin before shrugging. "I should mention that you're the first person to see me when I've Vanished... It's pretty cool... I can even do Jumping, you should see it."

Hermione blinked again, staring at her friend as she tried to puzzle out his words. Vanished? Jumping? What could he possibly be talking... about...

Suddenly an answer came to her as the world shifted around her, reverting to her and Harry standing next to the swing she had just abandoned moments before. "This is Jumping... it's awesome!"

Hermione's mouth fell open. He could... He was... "You're like me..." she whispered in complete fascination. Was that why those strange men had been chasing him? Not because of his family but because he was special like her?

"Like you? You can do this too?" Harry asked in excitement, relief echoing through his voice as though he'd found a kindred soul. "I learned this from running from those guys... they could do it too, so maybe we are like them too? Can you Jump? How about Vanish?"

"I um... no, I can't but..." she blushed slightly as she looked down and scuffed her shoes against the ground. "I can... make things float... I can't do those things... but I'd like to try and learn..."

Harry gave a slight start as his eyes focused on her, regarding her with a huge grin. "You... you can make things float?" he asked, getting a shy nod from the girl. "That's awesome!"

"Not as cool as teleporting or turning invisible," Hermione pouted, not feeling nearly as special anymore.

"But much more useful! Think about it, you don't have to worry about something being too heavy for you to lift," Harry pointed out with a huge grin. "And I was hoping to figure out something new to work on... do you have other ideas?"

Hermione blinked as she realized he was asking for her ideas, something they could research together. "Well... there are a few things from some books, but..."

"Tell me about them, maybe we can figure it out together..." Harry offered as he settled into a swing, patting the other one invitingly. "You're amazing Hermione, I'd never have thought of making stuff float..."

"You would have," she argued. After all it was one of the most common powers in movies and on television. How could he not think it up eventually?

Harry leaned back, looking up to the sky. "Do you think we could fly? Maybe turning into birds or something... I'd love to be a bird..."

"Nope, no flying!" Hermione squeaked, suddenly very stiff and refusing to look anywhere near Harry.

"But it'd be cool..." Harry mused with a sigh. "How about turning into animals, do you think we could do that? I was going to try working on making my body different, since I remember doing it when my aunt shaved off my hair last year..."

"Making your body different?" Hermione asked excitedly. She might be able to change her hair? Or her teeth?

"Yeah, my aunt shaved my hair save for my bangs, and the next morning it was back to... well this..." Harry explained while pointing at the wild and untamed mess he called hair.

"That's useful," Hermione mused, thinking of all the times that bullies had put gum in her hair. It would have been so nice to be able to just cut it out and grow the hair back.

"Yeah... hey what about doing something like that? Think we can?" Harry asked hopefully, a huge grin on his face.

"Um... could we make you visible first?" Hermione asked, blushing at the looks she was receiving from some of the other park goers.

"Umm... not here... somewhere safer..." Harry answered while looking around cautiously. "They can find me if I become visible out here... maybe at my place..."

"What about my parents?" Hermione asked, looking into the distance. "They're supposed to come pick me up after their work's finished... I think it's supposed to be about six."

"Um..." Harry glanced at the watch he'd nicked from Dudley before leaving the Dursleys. It was nearing six, and that meant their time together was coming to an end. "How about we both write down ideas and share them next time? We can practice what the other can do until then?"

Hermione thought about that for a moment then nodded. Yes, that made sense.

"This is going to be great! Thanks Hermione... now about the Jumping... if I'm not Vanished, there will be a sound like a firecracker going off... so might want to do it in like a basement or somewhere without a lot people around..." Harry offered with a slight shrug. "They don't seem to like people knowing about the special powers, so if we aren't seen it might be better."