Promise You Won\'t Forget Me

~Chapter 2: Where All the Fun Begins~

Hermione woke up early, unused to the motion of the ship. She yawned loudly, cast another anti-seasickness spell, and took a shower. She had just stepped out when she heard a knock on her door.

"Room service!"

Hermione stifled a smile. She hadn´t ordered room service and that voice sounded suspiciously familiar. She called back.

"Just a minute!"

She slipped into a cotton sun dress and opened the door. Sure enough, Harry was standing out in the hall. He frowned.

"Damn, I was supposed to catch you in a robe. Oh well, you look nice. Can I come in?"

"I still have to do my hair," Hermione pointed out. "You could be waiting for a long time."

Harry shrugged. "Fine with me. I´ll make myself at home with your mini bar."

"Oh no you don´t," Hermione said, wagging a finger at him. "I get charged for whatever is taken from there and this trip already cost me a fortune."

Harry smiled. "It´s not like you to spend so much on frivolities. Why the splurge?"

Hermione shrugged and began to dry her hair. She had learned a long time ago that when it came to her frizzy hair, it was best done the muggle way. She coated it in gels and mousse and brushed it over and over again.

"I just wanted to do something spontaneous," Hermione said. "Why did you come?"

Harry shrugged. "To see you mostly. Three years is really too long, Herm. So, what do you want to do today?"

Hermione grinned. "I want to go shopping. There´s supposedly a mall the size of Diagon Alley on one of the decks."

Harry´s face fell. "Oh, well, if you want to..."

Hermione laughed. "Tell you what, Harry. We´ll have breakfast together, then I´ll find Alexa and go shopping with her. We´ll meet again for lunch. We can´t spend every moment together, or we´ll begin to hate one another by the time this cruise is over."

He nodded. "Sounds all right to me. Shall we go?"

They walked into the dining hall where some people where eating and talking. There were no assigned seats so Hermione and Harry found Alexa and sat with her. The friendly witch was practically bursting with excitement. She chattered away happily and Harry and Hermione exchanged amused little glances.

"So, Herm, what are your plans for today?" Alexa asked, once she took a break from her steady flow of gossip.

"I was thinking of going shopping, Lex," Hermione replied with a smile. "But Harry doesn´t want to go, so do you?"

"Sure!" Alexa said excitedly. "I´d love to."

She was going to continue, but the captain of the ship came onto the small stage and adjusted the microphone. He cleared his throat nervously.

"I´m afraid I have some troubling news," he began. "It appears that something of value has been stolen from one of our passengers." He paused while excited chatter filled the room. "I must urge all of you to be careful when locking your rooms and your safe. Each has an anti-Alohomora spell on it, but accidents do happen. And if anyone has any news of the theft, please come to me, everything will be kept strictly anonymous."

Alexa´s countenance darkened. "What a terrible thing to happen! How dreadful!"

Harry shrugged and took a bite of toast. "As long as it´s not one of us, I don´t see that it matters."

Hermione turned to him in surprise. "Why, Harry! What a dreadfully harsh thing to say!"

"I don´t see why we should worry, Herm," he replied, his mouth full. "Whoever did it won´t do it again, now that the whole ship´s been alerted, and nothing was probably stolen in the first place! Some little old lady probably lost her purse under her bed and raised the alarm."

Hermione inspected him carefully. "My, my, someone´s become awfully cynical."

Harry shrugged again. "Three years as a diplomat will do that to you."

Alexa was looking back and forth between them bewilderedly. "Er, sorry to interrupt this delightful argument, but, Herm, if we want to get in shopping before lunch, we ought to move."

Hermione shook herself out of whatever mood was hanging over her head and smiled. "You´re right, Lex, we ought to go. I´ll see you for lunch, Harry."

Harry smiled back. "Will do, Herm."

Hermione and Alexa walked out of the dining hall and downstairs to the shops. The entire deck was filled with interesting stores. Hermione and Alexa wandered into the nearest one which happened to be filled with muggle contraptions which had been "magically" improved. They were examining a toaster oven which ensured the toast was never burnt when Alexa turned to Hermione.

"So, how long have you and Harry been a couple?" she asked, grinning.

Hermione nearly dropped the toaster. "What! Harry, me, a couple?"

Alexa seemed confused. "Well, yes, aren´t you?"

"No!" Hermione practically shouted. Then she calmed and laughed. "Sorry, Alexa, but Harry and I are not together. What gave you that idea?"

She shrugged and examined a lamp. "I don´t know, but I assumed from the way you were acting at dinner and breakfast that you were dating."

Hermione smiled and picked up a back massager. "No, we´re only good friends."

"And tell me, do you always have spats like that with friends?"

Hermione´s smile slipped and Alexa could tell she had said something wrong. Hermione had paled slightly and was very quiet for a few minutes. When she spoke, her voice was soft as she spoke tenderly about an old memory.

"I used to have a friend, and we would get into the most awful rows. We fought practically all the time."

"Sounds like a terrific friend," Alexa said wryly.

"Oh, but he was," Hermione said. She and Alexa wandered into another shop, this one was clothing. "He was my best friend, along with Harry. I cared about him a lot."

Alexa noticed Hermione´s eyes had become teary. "What happened to him?"

She sighed and wiped her eyes. "He disappeared. We assume he died since there´s been no word of him for five years."

"Oh," Alexa said, staring at her feet. "I´m sorry. I didn´t mean to bring back bad memories."

"It´s alright," Hermione replied, looking through the clothes in front of her.

Suddenly Alexa gasped and grabbed Hermione´s arm. "Look! It´s her! Duck!"

She pulled Hermione down behind the rack. Hermione rubbed her arm where Alexa had yanked on it.

"Who?" Hermione hissed. "What´s the problem?"

Alexa went absolutely pale. "It´s Claudia Rampart!"

Hermione started laughing uproariously. She shook with laughter and couldn´t stop. "That´s who you´re hiding from? She´s only an actress." Hermione stood up, dusted off her robes, and waved. "Claudia! Would you come here for a moment?"

The actress looked completely bewildered; she probably was not used to being hailed in that matter. Alexa turned bright red and grabbed Hermione´s arm again.

"What are you doing?" she said frantically. "She´s coming over here!"

Hermione disengaged herself from her crazed friend. Claudia Rampart walked over to them, with a confused look.

"Excuse me, do I know you?"

"No," Hermione replied happily. What was she doing? "I just thought you looked like you could use some company. I figured, since we´re all going to be stuck on this boat for two weeks together, we ought to get to know one another. I´m Hermione Granger and this is Alexa Freiburg. Would you like to shop with us? I hope you don´t mind my saying so, but you looked a tad lonely."

Claudia was very surprised, but she handled herself well. "Well, why not? You see, this is the first vacation I´ve taken on my own. I am a bit lonely."

Hermione smiled triumphantly at Alexa. "See?" she hissed.

"What did you say your names were again?" Claudia asked, looking pointedly at Alexa.

"Alex--Alexa Freiburg," she stammered.

"And I´m Hermione Granger," Hermione replied. Claudia stared at her curiously.

"That name sounds awfully familiar," Claudia said, tapping her chin.

"Of course it does," Alexa blurted out. "She´s the one who helped Harry Potter defeat You-Know-Who!"

Hermione blushed, but Claudia looked impressed. "You´re that Hermione Granger?"

"Yes," Hermione said shyly.

"Tell us about it," Claudia said in fascination. "How did you do it? There wasn´t much information in the papers."

"Oh, I don´t really like to talk about it," Hermione said modestly.

"Oh, please, Hermione," Alexa begged. She took Hermione´s arm again and dragged her to a bench. "Tell us."

Hermione sighed. Most of the people she knew in England either knew how she, Ron, and Harry did it, or were too polite to ask. But she was already thinking about it, she might as well have an audience.

"Alright," she said. "Now, my friend Ron Weasley and I had tracked down Harry and Voldemort to this old abandoned house. Ron had run up to save Harry and left me downstairs. But when I heard his screams I ran up, too, and was caught by Wormtail. My wand was taken. Voldemort looked at me and told me I had two choices: run or die...

"Well? What will it be?" Voldemort asked, in the sort of tone that made it seem he was asking what flavor jam she preferred on her toast.

Hermione quivered. This wasn´t how it was supposed to work. She had to stall him, prevent him from killing anyone before Dumbledore arrived.

"You would kill me anyway, wouldn´t you, even if I ran." Hermione made this more of a statement than a question.

"Of course not," Voldemort replied. "I am a man of my word. Choose." Suddenly he smirked. "Actually, I have a better idea. Choose one of them."

Hermione would most likely have fallen if Wormtail wasn´t still holding her. "What?" she exclaimed.

"Choose. Pick either Weasley or Potter and I´ll let you leave with whomever you choose. Then I´ll kill whomever is left. There, that´s a fair proposition, two lives for the price of one."

Hermione struggled against the arms that held her. "You´re barking mad! I could never choose to let one of my friends live and the other die. Never!"

Voldemort shook his head and walked over to Harry who was still unconscious. He waved his wand. "Ennervate!"

Harry twitched and lifted his head. Hermione was horrified to see how bloody he was. One eye was bruised shut, but the other glared at her with piercing clarity.

"Hermione, take Ron and get out of here. It´s me he wants. Just go, save yourselves," he shouted hoarsely.

"No!" Hermione screamed. "I won´t do that!"

It was Ron´s turn. He looked at her beseechingly while clutching his ribs. His face was so pale.

"Grab Harry and run, `Mione," Ron rasped. "The world needs him, save him, save yourself."

"No!" Hermione sobbed. "I can´t, don´t make me choose!"

Voldemort´s face took on an expression of unholy glee. "I never imagined it would work so well! That only goes to show you, Wormtail, that the best plans are the spur of the moment plans. Argh!"

During his momentary distraction, Hermione took the opportunity to kick Wormtail in the shins and bite Voldemort. While he was screeching and trying to stem the blood flow, Hermione yanked Ron to his feet and they untied Harry. Both Harry and Ron looked as though a strong wind would topple them over. Hermione knew she had to do something. So she launched herself at Voldemort, shrieking at the top of her lungs.

"Crucio!" shouted a voice.

Hermione´s shriek of anger turned into a scream of pain. She fell to the floor in a crumpled ball.

"Hermione!" Ron and Harry shouted together.

That did it. As soon as Hermione could stand, the fury was unleashed. Harry jumped on the nearest Death Eater stole his wand and started whipping it around. Ron went after Wormtail. The rat took one look at the complete rage on Ron´s face and fled. Hermione grabbed his dropped wand and pointed it at Voldemort. He looked almost amused.

"Go ahead. Please."

Hermione hesitated. She had never killed anyone before. She had just made up her mind to rid the world of that filth, when a hand descended on each of her wrists.

"No, `Mione," Ron said softly.

"It´s not for you to do," Harry added, his eyes never leaving Voldemort´s snake-like face. "I have to."

"But," Hermione started to protest, but Harry had already taken the wand from her. For some reason, Voldemort was making no effort to move. He stood watching the Trio with a smirk playing on his lips.

Brandishing two wands, Harry faced Voldemort. "Stand back," he ordered. Ron grabbed Hermione´s wrist and pulled her back. She missed the look between Harry and Ron.

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry yelled. Ron yanked Hermione down and placed his arms behind his head.

There was once second of absolute silence. Then everything exploded. The room was clouded with dust and smoke, Hermione couldn´t see anything. She felt Ron´s grasp on her arm, but she couldn´t even see him. She knew she was alright and she hoped the boys were too.

When the noise subsided and the smoke cleared, Hermione pulled herself up and surveyed the room. Harry was lying unconscious on the floor in a heap, a cut on his cheek dripped blood. There was no sign of Voldemort, but there was a pile of dust where he had been standing. Ron came up behind her and together they picked Harry up.

"And that´s what happened," Hermione finished. She blinked tears from her eyes. It still hurt so much.

Alexa and Claudia were looking at her in astonishment.

"How did you ever do that?" Claudia asked admiringly. "So brave!"

Hermione shook her head. "No, we were just damned lucky. Let´s stop discussing it, it´s making me depressed. Come on, I want to shop."

They entered another clothing store and picked out dressier outfits for the big mixer the ship was having the next evening. They could either wear dress robes or muggle clothing. Most were choosing muggle dress because it was lighter and the evenings were very warm. Since all three were Muggleborn, they were quite used to muggle clothing. Claudia had excellent fashion sense which she used to help the others.

Alexa ended up with a white blouse and a pale blue skirt which fell to her ankles. Claudia chose a crimson dress for herself which ended just above the knees. Claudia convinced Hermione to buy a sleeveless green silk dress which was a little low-cut. Hermione felt a little embarrassed, but her friends convinced her she looked terrific.

"You look wonderful, Hermione," Alexa assured her.

"Yes, and you want to impress Harry, don´t you?" Claudia asked with a knowing smile.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Harry and I aren´t interested in one another. We aren´t dating."

Claudia smiled brighter. "Then he´s available?"

Hermione laughed. "I´ll introduce you if you´d like."

They paid for their clothing and went to lunch. Harry had saved them a table. As they approached, Alexa moved to another table with a wink and a nod. The very rich Frenchman seemed a trifle surprised when she sat down next to him. Hermione and Claudia laughed and sat down on either side of Harry.

"Alexa isn´t sitting with us?" Harry asked Hermione. Then he turned to Claudia. "Hullo, I don´t think we´ve met. I´m Harry Potter."

"No, she´s man-hunting," Hermione replied. "And this is Claudia Rampart. She and I shopped today."

Harry held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Claudia."

She shook it. "Likewise, Harry. I´ve heard a lot about you."

Harry glared at Hermione. "Good or bad?"

Claudia laughed. "Actually, very little from Hermione. Mostly it´s stuff from the papers."

Harry groaned. "If you´ve been reading Rita Skeeter´s column..."

Hermione had just taken a bite of her sandwich when she saw a certain person and choked.

"Er, Harry, speak of the devil..."

A familiar blonde was waving exuberantly at them from another table. Rita Skeeter, now who knows how old, was wearing an electric blue muggle pants suit and already had a matching quill in hand. When she saw Harry look in her direction, she stood up and made her way over to them. Hermione could see that Harry was dying to dive under the table, but he stayed in his chair, although he turned red.

"Harry!" Rita exclaimed in a false tone. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Harry replied cooly. Some of the red left his cheeks. "I didn´t see you yesterday."

"I was sick in bed," Rita admitted cheerfully. "The ocean doesn´t seem to agree with me. But I found a handy little spell and now I´m right as rain."

Her eyes passed from Harry to Claudia on his left. Hermione knew she was mentally composing a story at that very moment. `The Boy Who Lived Dates Beautiful American Actress´. Then her glance fell upon Hermione and her smile slipped slightly.

"Miss Grunger," she acknowledged shortly.

"It´s Granger," Hermione corrected snappily. "Hermione Granger. And I thought that we´ve already been through this, Skeeter. Put a cap on your quill."

Rita grinned, showing off blinding white teeth. "Ah, but my dear Miss Granger, I am now a registered Animagus. You have nothing. I´ll see you later, Harry, tah tah!"

Claudia stared at her as she trounced off. "That was Rita Skeeter?"

Hermione nodded grimly. "Unfortunately. She didn´t seem to recognize you, which for your sake is just as well. I wonder if that woman is as old as her outfit."

Harry grinned. "Hmm, Spiteful Hermione. I´m not sure if I like her. Relax, Herm, she can´t get to me."

Hermione relaxed. "You´re right, Harry, but I can´t help myself. She makes me so angry!"

Harry, Hermione, and Claudia chatted all through lunch. They had a wonderful time gossiping about people. When their plates were cleared, they each decided to go back to their rooms and relax before meeting again later for a swim at the pool.

Hermione decided to write a postcard to Ginny, whom she promised she´d write.

Dear Ginny,

I hope you`re well. You´ll never guess who I ran into! Harry! Isn´t that a coincidence? So far we´ve been having a smashing time. Oh, and Claudia Rampart, an American actress is also on board. I hadn´t heard of her, but you like American films, so I thought you might. I´m having a terrific time. It´s exactly what I needed to relax. Give your family my love.

Love from,

Hermione

Hermione yawned. She stumbled over to her bed to catch a quick nap. She started to dream...

Hermione woke to find herself in an unfamiliar bed. She blinked a few times and struggled to sit up. A gentle hand pushed her back down.

"It´s alright, Hermione," Albus Dumbledore said. "You`re safe."

"Ron! Harry! Where are they?" she cried and sat up again. Her head swam.

"After you and Ron brought Harry´s body from the house, the house exploded. The two of you dropped from sheer exhaustion. That´s when we found you. They´re resting in the next beds."

Hermione leapt out of bed, ignoring the throbbing of her head. She ran to the first bed. Harry was absolutely still, he looked as pale as marble. There was a long thin scar that ran across his cheek bone. He was breathing, but otherwise he didn´t move.

She turned to the other bed. Ron, on the other hand, was sleeping fitfully. He spasmed and moaned slightly. Hermione placed a hand on his cheek and wiped some of his hair from his face.

"Ron," she whispered. "Wake up. You´re having a nightmare."

Ron´s eyes fluttered open. He blinked, bemused. "`Mione? Is that you, are you alright?"

"I´m fine, Ron. And Harry will be fine too, I think." Hermione blinked back tears. "We won."

Ron yawned. "Good." He blinked again. "I´m tired. I think I´ll sleep."

His head dropped and he fell asleep again. Hermione smiled through her tears and sighed. Harry hadn´t stirred. Dumbledore placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her back to her bed.

"You can feel proud, Hermione. You persevered. You saved us all."

Hermione could feel herself dropping off. Her eyes closed and she yawned again.

"Good," she murmured. "Good."

Hermione sat up suddenly. She clutched her head and two tears dripped down her face. The dreams were so vivid. After she had spent so long trying to forget that it ever happened, everything decided to come flooding back.

She sighed and wiped her face. Then she got into her bathing suit, grabbed her bag, and headed towards the pool.

Hermione was there first. She put out her towel and her sunblock on a table and took off her robe. She felt a little more comfortable in her swimsuit now.

"Hello, Miss," a man said. He was the man Alexa had identified as the British Ambassador to the Bahamas. He was younger than Hermione had originally supposed. He had thick wavy blonde hair and was attired in swim trunks.

"Er, hello," Hermione responded, somewhat disconcerted. "May I help you?"

The man sat down next to her. "Oh, no, no, I just wanted to speak with you. My name is Martin Franklin. What´s yours?"

Hermione was taken aback, but she realized that this was no different than how she had hailed Claudia, and she had ended up with a new friend. It couldn´t hurt to be friendly.

"My name is Hermione. Someone told me that you´re the ambassador to the Bahamas." Martin nodded. "But I thought the Bahamas were under the jurisdiction of the American government. I was under the impression that there wasn´t a large magical community there."

He nodded again. "It survives mostly off of tourism, but they have an embassy. I´ve been sent to alert them about the new threat."

Hermione nearly fell off her chair. "What threat? Last I heard everyone was safe. Even the Death Eaters are lying low."

Martin peered at her. "You are Hermione Granger, are you not?"

She nodded. "I am. So?"

Martin was clearly taken aback. "I thought you of all people would know! It´s about," he lowered his voice, "You-Know-Who´s resurrection."

Hermione gaped at him. "Resurrection? No, no, we obliterated him!"

Martin placed a hand over her mouth to muffle her shrieks of distress. "Shh! Quiet. There´s nothing definite yet. Only a few rumors."

He removed his hand. Hermione bit her lip. "You must be mistaken. There´s been no trace of him for five years. And why are you telling me this?"

Martin turned and began to walk away. "I thought, considering your service to England in the past, you deserved to know. Be aware, Hermione. Trust no one."

Then he melted into the crowd and was gone. A waiter came by with her fruit smoothie, and she absent-mindedly took a sip. Voldemort just couldn´t be back, could he? Not after everything they sacrificed to rid the world of him. What about Ron? She and Harry always assumed that Ron had been kidnapped and tortured by a few Death Eaters who were upset at Voldemort´s second downfall, much like the way that group of Death Eaters tortured Neville Longbottom´s parents. But if Voldemort was alive, what did that mean? And what had Martin meant when he said trust no one? What about Harry? She could always trust Harry. And Claudia and Alexa seemed like nice people.

Martin had said he told her simply because of a service she had done in the past, but there had to be more to it than that. What was going on?

"What are you thinking of, Hermione?" Claudia asked as she approached. Hermione´s eyes widened slightly. Claudia was wearing a very skimpy red bikini. She was obviously not embarrassed, and, Hermione thought, if I had what she does, I wouldn´t be embarrassed either.

"Nothing really," Hermione replied. "Nice suit."

Claudia looked down at her bathing suit, or lack thereof. "Oh, thanks. We need to get you a bikini. Show off that flat stomach."

Hermione shook her head. "Not a chance. I´ll never wear a bikini. Ever."

Claudia sat down. Some man whistled and her cheeks reddened slightly. "Pig. What about a two-piece. That´s not exactly a bikini and it won´t make you look like such an old maid."

Hermione was about to say something nasty when Harry approached. Again, Hermione was struck by the change in him, particularly without the glasses. He was quite tan and, well, older. He seemed to have grown into his body.

"Hello, ladies. Shall we dive in?" he asked them.

They all jumped in the pool and spent a couple of hours splashing around. Hermione had just come up for air when Harry knocked her legs out from under her and dunked her. That meant war. Alexa joined them after a little while, accompanied, to Hermione´s surprise, by the rich Frenchman whose name was Jean Luc. They played around, even played a rousing game of Marco Polo. After a while, when she was so wet she thought she´d never get dry and was beginning to shrivel up like a prune, Hermione began to get out. Harry and Claudia tried to convince her to stay, but she only shook her head and climbed out.

Just as she was sitting on the ledge and was about to pull her legs out, something came flying out of nowhere and hit her head, nearly causing her to topple back into the pool. She would have, too, if a pair of strong and muscular arms hadn´t grabbed her and steadied her.

"Oh, I say, I´m terribly sorry. My friends were just playing around with me and were trying to toss my book in the pool. I´m sure they didn´t mean to hit you. If I´d had my wand, I would have stopped it, but wouldn´t you know it, I´ve left it in the room."

Hermione looked at the book floating in the pool. She scooped it up and shook some of the water off of it. It was titled Hogwarts, A History, one of her all-time favorite books.

"You´re reading Hogwarts, A History?" she said in amazement. Not many could get through it, or even bothered. She continued to stare at the cover, ignoring the arms that still held her.

"Er, yes. I´m supposed to take a teaching position there at the end of this cruise, so I thought I´d study up on it. Er, may I have it back?"

"I teach there already," Hermione replied, beginning to stand, aided by the stranger. "I don´t remember Albus saying..."

She trailed off as she finally got a good look at the man. She couldn´t speak. That hair. Those eyes. Those freckles. No. It couldn´t be!

He smiled at her. "Saying what?"

Hermione somehow managed to collect herself. "Saying we´d have a new teacher next term. He must have forgotten."

The stranger smiled brighter and Hermione felt her knees buckle. She started to fall, but he caught her again.

"Perhaps you ought to sit down," the man said with concern. "Here."

He escorted her to a chair. Then he turned and headed back to his friends. He called over his shoulder, "It was nice meeting you."

Hermione gaped after him. She sat there dumbly for a moment. When she found her voice she ran to the edge of the pool.

"Harry!" she hissed loudly. "Come here! It´s urgent!"

Harry waded over to her. "What´s wrong, Herm?"

She yanked him out of the pool with such force she thought she scraped his knees.

"Look! Over there." She pointed to where the man was laughing with a couple who must have been his friends.

"What am I looking at?"

"Ron."

Harry turned stark white.

"He´s here! He´s there!"

Harry managed to speak. "What are you talking about?"

Hermione didn´t take her eyes from the man. Then she turned to Harry and looked him right in his emerald green eyes.

"Harry," she said, "Ron is alive."

~*~