I Won\'t

'Happy birthday, Harry,' Hermione said as she sat down next to him for breakfast. It was the summer before their seventh year, and Hermione's parents had agreed to let Harry stay with them for the summer.

'It's your birthday!?' Mrs. Granger said.

'Yes, mum, his seventeenth,' Hermione informed her mother.

'Why didn't anyone tell me?' she asked. 'I didn't make a cake or buy anything!'

'Mrs. Granger,' Harry cut in. 'That really isn't necessary. I understand.'

'Oh, hodgepodge,' Mrs. Granger said, grabbing her keys off of the counter. 'I'll just grab my purse and I'll be off to the bakery.' With that, Mrs. Granger hurried upstairs.

'She really doesn't have to do anything for me,' Harry told Hermione. 'I'm used to not having a real birthday.'

'It's no use fighting it,' Hermione told him, rolling her eyes. 'Once she gets her mind set on something, there's no changing it.'

'I'll just be off then!' Mrs. Granger called from the hallway. 'Hermione, your father will be home in an hour or two!'

'I know, Mum!' Hermione called back.

'I'll be back around then, too,' she continued. 'Behave yourselves!'

The door shut tightly behind her and they heard the door lock behind her.

'Well,' Hermione sighed. 'What shall we do today?'

'We could go to Grimmauld Place,' Harry suggested.

'Harry, you know we can only use the portkey for emergencies,' Hermione said. She was referring to the portkey Dumbledore had made so that they could get to headquarters if Voldemort attacked.

'Doesn't boredom count as an emergency?' Harry whined.

'No,' Hermione said sternly.

Pop!

'Ron!' Hermione squealed excitedly. 'You passed your apparating test!'

'First try,' Ron said, beaming. 'Happy Birthday, Harry.'

'Thanks, Ron.'

'So, Hermione,' Ron said, looking around eagerly. 'Are you going to give me the grand tour?'

'Oh!' Hermione said, remembering that it was Ron's first time there. It was amazing that he had managed to apparate here. 'Well, this is obviously the kitchen. And through there' - she pointed through an archway - 'is the parlour. And then, there' - Hermione pointed to a room across the hall - 'is the dining room.'

'And does this lovely house of yours have a second floor?' Ron asked suspiciously. 'Or do those stairs lead to nowhere?'

'Well, yes, but -'

'Let's go then!' Ron said, dashing up the stairs.

Hermione ran after Ron, followed by Harry.

'What's in here?' Ron asked, pointing at the door to the right of the staircase.

'My parents' room,' Hermione said.

'Here?'

'The bathroom.'

'So this one must be...' Ron began to open the door to the left.

'Ron, stop!' Hermione said, but it was too late.

Ron opened the door to a light purple room. Clothes were piled on the floor and bureau, along with books and even a few magazines.

'This is nice,' Ron commented, sitting down on her bed. He gently stroked Crookshanks, who had settled himself on Hermione's pillow.

'Shut up, Ron,' Hermione muttered angrily.

'No, I mean it,' Ron said.

'Oh,' Hermione said, slightly embarrassed.

'I never would have guessed that this was your room,' Harry commented, looking around. 'It's so unorganised.'

Hermione glared at him. 'Shut up,' she breathed.

'I like it like this,' Ron told her. 'It makes you seem more... normal.'

'Are you saying that I'm abnormal?' Hermione asked angrily.

'Yes, I think I am,' Ron said rather cheerfully.

Hermione made a move toward Ron, obviously to cause him great pain, but Harry cut in.

'Why wouldn't you show me your room earlier?' Harry asked. 'Like when I got here at the beginning of the summer?'

'Well, Harry, a girl's room is private,' Hermione explained casually. 'I mean, you can tell a lot about a girl from her room.'

'Then why did you let Ron in?' Harry asked.

'It's not like I had much of a choice now, is it?' Hermione asked, glaring at Ron, who was bouncing on her bed.

'You could have stopped me,' Ron protested.

'I said, "Ron, stop," how much clearer could I get?' Hermione argued.

'You could have said, "Ron, don't go in my room,"' Harry offered.

Hermione snatched a big purple pillow from her bed, the one Crookshanks hadn't been lying on, and hurled it across the room at Harry's face. He picked up the pillow and threw it back, but Hermione had been expecting this and ducked just in time. The pillow hit Ron in the head.

Ron charged at Harry and knocked him to the ground. Crookshanks hissed at the boys disapprovingly, but remained on his pillow contentedly.

'Boys,' Hermione muttered as she sat down on the bed, scratching Crookshanks behind the ears and watching them wrestle each other.

The boys rolled over the books and magazines on the ground, not complaining about the pain they were in, until Harry managed to wrestle Ron into Hermione's bookcase, causing some of her belongings to fall to the floor all around them.

'Sorry,' Harry apologised as he got to his feet and began picking up the books that had fallen off of the shelves.

Ron, on the other hand, was rolling on the floor, clutching his knee, which had collided with the bookcase in the midst of their wrestling match.

Hermione shook her head at Ron and proceeded to help Harry pick up everything that had fallen to the floor.

She picked up several books when she realised what Harry was moving toward. A black CD case was lying face down, open on the floor. Hermione quickly moved toward it, hoping to reach it before Harry. But she didn't get there in time.

Harry picked up the CD case and several things fell out, things that Hermione didn't want Harry to see. Harry looked up at her upon seeing what had been in there.

There, on the floor, lay a razor and a few rubber bands. He looked inside the CD case and found that that wasn't the half of it. A pocket-knife, an exacto-knife, and a half-full bag of rubber bands took up the space in the case, instead of CDs.

Harry stared at her in awe. And just when he look like he was going to say something, the door to Hermione's door flew off the hinges. Crookshanks let out a low meow.

There, standing in the doorway, were Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy. 'Prepare to die, Potter,' Lucius sneered.

Crookshanks hissed viciously from the bed.

'Hermione, Ron, get out of here,' Harry said quietly.

Ron didn't need telling twice; he instantly disappeared with a pop.

'Hermione, go,' Harry ordered, pulling his wand out and pointing it at Lucius.

'I'm not leaving you, Harry,' Hermione protested, pulling out her own wand, which she had grown used to carrying around for protection.

'Oh, isn't that sweet,' Bellatrix cooed. 'She wuvs him.'

'This is for Sirius,' Hermione muttered. She pointed her wand at Bellatrix and shouted, 'Expelliarmus!'

Bellatrix fell back into the wall, cursing under her breath.

'Why, you little Mudblood,' Lucius hissed.

'Stupefy!' Harry waved his wand at Lucius.

A jet of red light hit him directly in the chest, sending him flying backwards into the wall next to Bellatrix.

'C'mon,' Harry said, before Bellatrix or Lucius could get up. He grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her down the stairs, into the kitchen. Crookshanks followed quickly after them. Crookshanks jumped into Hermione's arms just as Harry grabbed the cookie jar. And with a jerk behind each of their navels, they were off to #12 Grimmauld Place.