Summer

Chapter Three Harry Shops the Muggle World and More!

Hermione and Harry settled into a corner table at the Leaky Cauldron, and Harry put the box on the seat between them. "I don't know what's in this box, but I'm not taking any chances on someone besides us seeing. I wonder if there are any more boxes like this in the vault."

"You said you didn't see this one before now. Do you think this box might have some kind of spell to make it appear or disappear." Hermione was looking doubtfully at the box.

" I don't know about a spell, but I'm sure hoping what's in these papers will help me know my parents a little. Let's check this small box first."

Harry pulled out the little flat crystal box and opened the catch. On a piece of velvet lay a small gold bracelet with a green stone. There was a letter folded beside the bracelet, which Harry unfolded to read. "Hermione, this is from my mom. I… I'm not sure I can do this. Can you read it to me?"

"Are you sure? She wrote this to you."

Harry nodded, not trusting himself to speak. "Well... OK. "Harry, the stone on this bracelet is almost as bright as your eyes. It was a gift from Albus Dumbledore to me when you were born. If you are opening this box without me, our plan to hide from Voldemort was not successful. You can read these letters I've written since I knew I would soon have a child, and you'll be able to feel a little of the love I will always have for you.'"

Hermione was very careful not to look at Harry, his head was down, and she didn't know whether to go on or not.

"I think maybe I should, um, look to see whether mom and dad are here. I'll be right back."

She slid out of her seat, and disappeared into the crowd. Harry sat for a few minutes, trying to blink away the tears. He felt really strange... sad, but at the same time happier than he'd ever felt. For the first time, he could know some of what was in his mother's mind when she was alive. He felt the same kind of ache he'd felt the night he discovered the Mirror of Erised, half joy and half terrible sadness.

'I'm older now, and this was written for me,' he thought. 'I'm going to finally know my mum, a little.'

He picked up the paper Hermione had dropped in his lap and began to read again.'You may someday want to give this bracelet to someone who's important in your life, someone you feel you can completely trust. You'll know her when you meet her Have fun reading my letters. I will always be with you.'

Harry folded up the letter, and put it back in the crystal box. He knew who the bracelet was for.... Hermione had never let him down and had been there for him, even before he wanted her to be. It was strange that the box had been found today, just as he discovered how important she was to him. He remembered something Hermione had said when they were in the vault, '"maybe you weren't supposed to find it until now."

How did she KNOW these things? Until today he wouldn't have been able to see himself give this bracelet to Hermione or anyone, but after holding her protectively in the vault, and remembering all the times she'd been looking out for him, he knew his mom would have meant Hermione to have it. Now if he could get brave enough to tell her about it without sounding like an idiot.

"They're here," Hermione hissed in his ear. "Where's the box? Don't you want to sort of keep it secret for awhile."

"No, I don't care. Your parents are the first people I've met in the Muggle world that I felt I could trust. It's a nice change not to feel I have to hide everything about who I am as soon as I leave Hogwarts"

Harry gave Hermoine a really big smile, and she felt her heart turn over. It was so good to see him happy after all the bad and frightening times he'd been through. She felt she'd go through a lot to see that smile more often.

"Gee, Hermoine, thanks for today, it's was about the best I've had. Sorry you got so shaken up going to the vault. I'd forgotten how some people get in the carts. Hagrid doesn't like riding in them, either."

"If Hagrid had someone to, um, steady him the way I did, he might like them better." Hermoine said, blushing a little. "I don't think I'll be bothered by the speed if I ever go in again."

"Oh that's what I did, steadied you? Well, we'll have to find some more unsteady places soon, won't we?" Harry said very softly, just as the Grangers came to sit down with them.

'Great wizards!', Hermione thought, 'Is this really Harry?'

Fortunately for Hermione and Harry they were so busy after that, ordering dinner, telling Hermione's parents about the afternoon, and just laughing and having fun that Hermione and Harry were able to behave as if nothing unusual had happened, except for an occasional look. Hermione told about running into Draco at the bookstore.

Her mother laughed and said, "Some things never change, do they. Lucius Malfoy apparently has made his son as disgusting as he's always been himself. I suppose he struts around the school as if he owns it?" They nodded and Ivy continued, " Malfoy, senior, was never a modest man, and he never really had much reason to be proud of anything. He was one of the first to go over to the other side. It's a pity they let him come back after....," she lowered her voice slightly, "well, after Voldemort was gone."

Harry and Hermione stared at her, startled," Mom, no one, well, except Harry and Dumbledore uses his name..... it's kind of a forbidden thing for most people."

"I imagine Dumbledore told us something similar about using the name. I had a bad time after your parents were gone, Harry. I had dreams that he would come for me after Lily was.... gone. Chris asked Dumbledore to help me regain my strength. "

"'Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself,' right?" Harry said remembering the conversation. "And, speaking of evil, did Uncle Vernon say I could stay over with you tonight?"

"Oh sure, he said they were busy with Dudley, apparently he's having some of his tantrums since finding he has a dental appointment tomorrow. Better get lots of rest tonight, Ivy. He's going to put you through a time, just as he did last time."

"Maybe not Chris," said Ivy. I think I have a way to keep him calm. and it's really for his own good. The boy needs to be taught a lesson."

This was really a switch, thought Harry. Usually it was Uncle Vernon bellowing that he, Harry, needed to be taught a lesson about something. He had a very strong feeling Hermione had gotten her stubbornness from her mother, and he'd found from experience that when Hermione was determined about something, you could just as well forget changing her mind. If he didn't have all those memories of Dudley using him for a punching bag, he'd almost feel sorry for his cousin.

(A/N: The bracelet thing is a little weird, I admit, but bear with me here, OK? This bracelet is going to have some significance down the story line. It's not going to be a declaration of undying love thing anyway. That's still far away, so who Harry "ends up" with is not an issue here.)

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It was late by the time Harry and the Grangers returned to their house. They'd spent a long time eating and talking, and many of the people who came in were amazed but happy to see Ivy. No one seemed surprised to see Harry there as if he were a part of the family. It was almost unbelievable to him though, just sitting in the Leaky Cauldron with no one trying to kill him, as they had all thought Sirius was trying to do the past . He wished Sirius could see him now, and know that he was with friends, instead of stuck with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon.

Once everyone settled down for the night, Harry realized that he was still hungry. He sat for a few minutes, wondering if he could go in and find something to eat without waking anyone. Hermione had shown him where everything was kept, in case he wanted anything. At least he wouldn't need the Invisibility Cloak here. He opened the door very carefully and stepped into the hall, going slowly down the stairs to the kitchen. When he stepped into the room, he immediately bumped into a table in the dark room, and jumped in the air when he heard a voice say "I thought you'd come down."

A small light came on and with relief he saw Hermione, sitting at the table.

"You know, it's not such a good idea to startle someone with a past like mine, Hermione," Harry shook his head and grinned as he sat down opposite her at the table. " I could have done something really stupid and hurt you. What happened to that famous caution?"

"I just knew you'd be down here before long. You're hungry, aren't you? I figured you would be, and that you'd want some company. It always feels strange to be in a different house the first night." as she spoke, she was getting out some crackers, and cheese and fruit, holding each thing up to see if Harry wanted it. Naturally, he wanted everything she showed him.

After they'd eaten, they both started to feel sleepy, but Harry figured this was the time to talk to Hermione about the bracelet. If he carried it around for very long, he'd lose his nerve.

"Um, Hermione, you know there was a bracelet in that box?" She nodded, looking a little nervous."Well, my mom said in her letter that I should give it to someone who's important to me, and that I know I can always trust. She told me Dumbledore had given it to her when I was born." he felt his voice shake a little, but made himself keep talking. "She must have known that someday I'd have a friend like you, would you like to have it?"

Harry couldn't remember many times when Hermione hadn't been able to speak, usually she spoke more than he and Ron wanted to hear. Her voice seemed to have left her now, though, all she could do was nod again. He dug into his pocket and brought out the bracelet.

"OK, put out your hand." When he had slipped it around her wrist, and fastened the clasp, Hermione finally seemed to find her voice again.

"It's beautiful, Harry. Look how green the stone is. You know it looks like your eyes. Didn't people always say you have your mother's eyes? You're sure you want me to wear this?"

"Who else? As soon as I looked at what she'd written, I knew who she meant" Harry looked across at Hermione, grinning with relief."It seems to be right, just like sitting here in the middle of the night with you There have been a lot of times in my life when I didn't feel so lucky, but y'know, suddenly I feel like I have some good luck in something besides Quidditch"

"Well, I don't know what I can say, Harry. Thank you doesn't seem quite adequate. I guess I'll find a way to thank you as the summer goes on though."

'You already have, you and your family have made a big difference in the way I feel. Usually by now in the summer all I have to look forward to is marking another day off the calendar toward going back to school."

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When Harry woke up the next morning, he looked around him, a bit startled. Then he remembered - he was at Hermione's house, he had the letters from his mother, Ivy had been his mother's best friend and Hermione, wow, what a change there had been in their friendship since the holidays started. It was hard to believe the bossy know it all had turned into-he shook his head. Better stop thinking along those lines, or Hermione's dad would send him back to Privet Lane Quickly he got up and dressed in some of the new clothes he'd gotten yesterday. What a change there too, something that had been bought for a person his size instead of Dudley's. Life was definitely looking up.'

As he entered the kitchen, Ivy was sitting down with her breakfast. " 'Morning, Harry, did you sleep well?" she asked him, looking very pleased that he was there. She pointed to the breakfast things that were out, and he helped himself.

"Yes, great. I felt a bit confused at first. A lot has happened to me since we got back from Hogwarts. I don't think I thanked you properly for the clothes. I can't believe how much better I feel. How did you know I felt so, well, grubby?" Harry said.

"Partly from Hermione and partly from what I could see. The Dursleys haven't exactly gone overboard providing for you, have they." She seemed to shiver a bit, "When I think of Lily's son, wearing clothes from that Dudley. Well, fortunately they didn't know you had anything from your parents at Gringotts or they'd have taken that too."

"Did Hermione tell you about the box I found?" Harry asked, and Ivy nodded. " I couldn't believe it when I opened it, all those letters from my mom."

"That reminds me," said Ivy, I found something that I think you'll like."

She went to a drawer and pulled out a cassette tape, which she handed to Harry." This is your mom singing some of the songs she liked to sing for you. I made one for Lily too, so that we could sing to our babies together, even though we weren't able to be together."

Harry couldn't help it, he knew he must have looked pretty stupid, because he felt his mouth drop open, but nothing came out in the way of sound.

Ivy pretended not to notice and went on, "You'll probably need some time alone with your new treasures. Hermione's told me what a bad time you've had hearing your parents' voices in your head. You'll hear a bit of your dad on that tape as well. Lily had to coax it out of him, but his voice is there. James was never a singer though so it's really more talking and laughter."

Harry didn't quite know what to do, but Ivy made it easy for him- she gave him a big hug, handed him a tape player and said, "OK, disappear! You know where we are if you need us."

"What about Hermione? Where is she?" Harry asked. He wanted to be alone but hoped Hermione wouldn't be too far away. He realized not much of importance had ever happened that he didn't share with her.

"I don't want her to feel...left out. You see, except for Quidditch, we do most things together."

"She's busy, Harry, don't worry about her. We have a few things to take care of that you and Chris would have no interest in." Ivy grinned and continued. " You know how Hermione is, when she's got something on her mind, she won't stop until she's found out everything .She seems to have decided her appearance is somewhat more important this summer."

Harry could feel himself turning pink, and he muttered something that sounded like "she looks good now".

Sounding stupid to himself, he ducked his head and said, "I'll be upstairs then." And he found himself on the steps. Boy, what an idiot, he thought. It's a good thing she's so decent. Most people would probably have laughed out loud. He thought about Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil at the end of the year, trying to wear makeup. He shuddered when he thought of it. Fortunately McGonagall had forbidden it, but he hoped Hermione wasn't going to try something like that. She'd been one of the first to scoff at the other girls, but he thought of the magazine she'd bought yesterday. Hermione always looked so fresh and clean, he hoped that wouldn't change. Well, they were best friends first, he'd just find a nice way to tell her she'd looked better before.

After a few hours spent in the room the Grangers had given him, Harry knew the Dementors wouldn't affect himas badly again. Listening to his parents' voices he knew he'd strenthened his Patronus now, and that the screaming voice he'd once heard in his head would now be quickly covered by his mother's voice singing lovingly, with his father's laughter in the background. He could even hear soft sounds that must have been his own voice. It had been an emotional morning, but surprisingly, instead of feeling drained, he felt stronger than he'd ever felt. He now had a real way to feel close to his family,and the thought gave him a feeling of power. In a way he missed them more than ever but also he could feel they were really with him.

Harry was folding the letters and putting everything back in the box, when there was a soft knock at the door.

"Just a sec,"he called as he took a quick look in the mirror to be sure his eyes weren't red, then went and opened the door. Hermione stood there, beaming at him .

"Did you have a good morning? I did! Mum and I have had so much fun! It must have been great to read the letters, I'm so glad you found them." As usual, when Hermione was excited all of her words rushed out in one breath, but Harry was glad, it gave him a chance to take a good look at her. He couldn't quite figure it out, she still looked like herself, only more so. Whatever she and her mom had been doing hadn't resulted in anything like what Parvati and Lavender had done. She looked as fresh as ever, and standing behind her to open the door further, he could smell something he'd never noticed before. Her hair smelled wonderful. Suddenly he realized he'd never answered her questions and was just standing there, smiling at her.

" I... I really did, Ivy even gave me a tape recording of their voices. My mom's letters were great, I feel like she's really here with me now. Um, Hermione, I don't mean to sound, er, mushy, but you smell and look really nice. I mean you always do, but now you're even more that way. I'm sorry, I don't exactly know what I'm supposed to say."

"You don't really HAVE to say anything, Harry, your face pretty much says enough. But thanks, that makes me feel good. I mean, I never could make myself go in with Lavendar and Parvati when they started acting so silly. You, and Ron and I always had lots more important things to do. Instead of looking better like most of the girls were doing, I wound up getting knocked around by the Whomping Willow, looking like a hunk of seaweed or growing beaver teeth." Hermione shook her head, remembering how beaten up she'd looked while Cho Chang and some of the other girls were always coming up to Harry, looking so perfect.

"You never thought about acting the way they do, I hope. Hermione, you're worth a hundred of them." He moved closer to her and for just a minute she thought he was going to kiss her. At that moment, they heard Hermione's dad calling them down for lunch.

"What timing! I guess your dad has X-ray vision." They laughed a little awkwardly and Hermione said,

" But now we've got Dudley coming in a while."

As they went downstairs she told him some of what they planned. "You'll help my dad in another room, so they won't be able to see you. Once mum has him quiet, she's going to make your aunt leave the room. I think you'll find Dudley a bit changed when you see him again."

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After they'd had lunch, Hermione took Harry into her parents lab and showed him how some of the Muggle machines worked. "Ron's dad would love to see these," Harry told her as she showed him the way her dad made plastic things that straightened teeth. There was one thing that was almost like a wand, a small blue flame shot out the end. "This is used for melting things, Harry, so don't plan on grabbing it. We don't need to have to re-grow your skin!," Hermione warned him sternly.

" What about Dudley. Who's going to fix him?" Harry asked, grinning.

"He won't be ... no, Harry I'm not saying anything else. You'll just have to wait".

A short time after that Harry heard Aunt Petunia and Dudley come in, though he couldn't see them. True to her word, Hermione had hidden him on the opposite side of the house. Still, it was impossible to miss Dudley's roar and his aunt's high pitched whine.

He heard Ivy raise her voice once, sharply, and thought, "She must have learned that voice from McGonagall!" Nothing more was heard but he went and peered out to the couches and chairs. Aunt Petunia was sitting there, quietly reading a magazine, looking more pleasant than he'd ever seen her. Harry reluctantly went back to the supplies Hermione had asked him to put away. He didn't mind the work, but the idea of his cousin in there with Hermione was not a pleasant one.

After what seemed to be a long time, she came back to the door with her finger over her lips and beckoned for him to come to the door. It was hard not to burst into laughter at what he saw. Dudley was floating upside down, while Hermione's mom did something to his mouth.

"It's all right now, he'll never know you're here. I'll be putting a Memory Charm on him before he leaves, anyway"

"Um, do you always work on people in that, er, position?" Harry asked. He wondered how the Ministry of Magic felt about that.

" Oh, no, Harry. I have a special license for your family. You see, Albus Dumbledore never expected you to be treated the way you were, living with them. After last summer, it was decided something had to be changed if you were to spend any more time there. Luckily, because of my friendship with Lily and James, I was allowed to be the one to make certain, ah, alterations." Ivy had an extremely satisfied look as she told Harry this. "Vernon Dursley and his sister will also be paying me a visit."

"Does this mean I'll be going home with them?" he tried not to, but Harry knew his face must have fallen as far as his heart did. He'd thought he could say good-bye to Privet Drive. Hermione laughed and patted Harry's arm.

" You must know Mum wouldn't do that," she said in a comforting voice " if you could hear how angry she's been since I told her about the Dursleys. She wanted to go and get you when I came home the first Christmas."

"Harry, you'll have to be with them some of the time, not often, but enough for me to know what I'm doing has succeeded. If ever the need should arise, we have to know you'd be able to go back there," Ivy shook her head as if to clear it of any unpleasant memories, and continued briskly. "Things will be fine though, I feel certain of it. I've rather surprised myself, I haven't lost my knack for any of the things I loved so much in my Hogwarts days."

She sat back away from Dudley, tapped his forehead with a small mirror and muttered "Reversarius" , and Dudley slowly floated back around to lie on a long chair. "Now we'll just let him wake up on his own, and see how things seem. Now, if you two will help me pick up a bit?"

"Of course," they said together, eager to stay in the room to see how Dudley acted when he woke up. Ivy showed Harry how to make some adjustments in the chair so that he could return it to fit a normal size person when Dudley got up. Hermione was loading and unloading small bags of metal instruments. He wasn't surprised to see her moving so confidently, but wondered again how she managed to be so clever about so many things. Well, that was Hermione, always the expert. He wondered how Ron was going to react to the new side of their friendship, and whether he ought to write to Ron. What would he say though, that wouldn't make Ron roar with laughter, which he'd no doubt share with the twins. No, better just let Ron notice for himself. Then a horrible thought occurred to him. Suppose Ron noticed Hermione the same way he had begun to? For a reason he couldn't tell, the thought made him want to punch his best friend and hold Hermione the way he had in the cart at Gringott's.

He was relieved when he heard her hiss "Mom, Harry.....he's moving."

She grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him back into a small closet-like room. "We ought to stay here for a minute or two, till Mom is sure it's safe for him to see you're there."

"Fine with me," Harry whispered, pulling her closer to him."

"This makes me think of the time we used the time turner together. Only then I was really confused, now I know better than to waste time in the dark with you talking". He bent his head over and began to rub his face against her hair, feeling her shiver a little at his touch.

Unfortunately, almost immediately he heard Ivy say in a slightly louder voice than she would normally use, "Oh, yes, they're nearby someplace. I'm sure they'll be right back."

"Sorry, Harry, maybe later?" Hermione whispered into his ear, making him shiver.

He stepped back a step from her, took a deep breath and muttered , " Okay, just a minute, all right. D'you think I'll be able to kiss you before our seventh year though?" in a frustrated voice. They both laughed softly as Hermione opened the door.

"Here they are now, " Ivy said, smiling at them in a knowing way. Harry felt his face go red as he remembered Ivy was a clever witch too, and probably knew what had just happened, and what was worse, what was in his mind. Hermione didn't seem embarrassed though, she smiled happily at her mom, and nodded her head slightly. What did that mean?

It suddenly hit him that Hermione was probably going to be more mysterious than any of his wizarding subjects at Hogwarts.

"Harry! Good to see you!," Dudley was saying in a voice Harry could hardly believe. When had Dudley ever been glad to see him, unless he wanted to beat him up. And he was smiling, Great Wizards! he looked friendly. "We sure missed you at home last night. You aren't going to be gone every night, are you? I've got a bunch of sweets from the place I'm working, I want to give you half. And Dad got a new video game that we can play. You'll be home tonight, won't you?"

Hearing all this, Harry felt his mouth drop open. Hermione elbowed him and he snapped it shut , then he more or less croaked," I , uh, whatever the Grangers say. I don't really know......."

" We need Harry to stay one more night, Dudley, sorry, you know, he's really been so helpful. Especially to Hermione, so good for her not to have to work alone." Ivy had her back turned when she said this, but Harry could hear laughter in her voice.

'Work alone', he thought. 'Yeah, it's really been hard work'.

"I'm sure he'll be home tomorrow. Your dad will be coming for a treatment tomorrow, Harry can ride home with him." Ivy continued, turning around, and patting Dudley's arm. "I want you to be sure you follow my instructions. We need to try to get that mouth healthy."

"Oh, yes Dr. Granger, I want to. I'm afraid I've got a lot of work to do this summer. Harry, you sure are lucky to have Hermione for a friend-she's so smart and pretty. Maybe you could come over with Harry and have dinner sometime, Hermione."

"Sure, Dudley, that would be nice,." Harry couldn't believe his ears, Hermione coming to the Dursleys, she hated them! And she was smiling at Dudley in a very friendly way. There it was, that same feeling he'd had when he thought of Ron noticing the changes in Hermione.How he'd laugh if he knew.

" You know, Dudley, Harry is one of my two best friends in the world. If I ever thought anyone was not being good to him, well, I just don't think I could stand to be around that person. Ready to go out to your mum?"Hermione was looking at Dudley a bit sternly, and Harry saw a nervous look cross his face. He nodded, and followed her and Ivy out of the room.

"Come on Harry! " said Hermione, "You know your aunt wants to see you."

' Oh Yeah?, thought Harry. 'When pigs fly' But he followed Dudley out to where Petunia sat.

" Oh, mum, Harry won't be home again tonight. It's going to be so boring without him." Dudley told his mom. (Like she cares!, Harry thought.) "Dr. Granger says he'll come home with Dad tomorrow evening."

" Well, Dudley, you'll just have to get along without him, won't you. Actually it's a good thing he's staying. You'll be spending the evening cleaning your room ,and getting all of your old things out of Harry's room. He's had to put up with your rubbish far too long."

By now, Harry thought he had to be dreaming. He reached down and pinched his leg hard, but he was still standing there, staring at Aunt Petunia.

"You aren't working too hard, are you, Harry, dear? Don't forget, you need some rest after the hard work you've done at school."

Harry stood there dumbly but managed to shake his head "No", and get his mouth closed this time.

"We'll be careful with him, Petunia. We know how much you care about your nephew. He and Hermione are enjoying learning together" Ivy turned around and winked at Hermione and Harry as she said this. "And you know I want only the best for my dearest friend's son."

'Oh, no, here it comes,' thought Harry. His aunt always hated hearing any mention of his mum and now she'd probably be the same way about Ivy. He'd probably be back on Privet Drive by dark, and back in his room for the summer! Amazingly though, his aunt didn't look angry at all. In fact, she looked as if she might cry.

" Yes, poor Lily, she'd be so proud of her son. I never understood her when she was here, maybe now I can make it up to her through Harry." Aunt Petunia moved over to Harry, and for the first time since he'd lived with her, touched him with something other than anger or disgust. She hugged him, and said." Just can't keep this hair neat can we? Well, it's just part of our Harry!"

Petunia handed Ivy an envelope and took Dudley's arm." You people have a pleasant afternoon. Say thank you Dudley."

"Yes thank you, Dr. Granger.You took good care of me. Hermione, don't forget about coming over soon, Harry, can't wait to share the new game with you."

And with that they were gone, leaving an incredulous Harry, a grinning Hermione , and Ivy trying not to look smug.

TO BE CONTINUED...