Harry Potter and the Lost Prophecy

Chapter Three: Going Home Again

The next morning Harry awoke bright and early, feeling refreshed. He'd somehow managed to sleep through the whole night, uninterrupted by nightmares. He lay in bed for a moment, savouring the feeling of not waking from having relieved the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

Cedric Diggory had died, and despite what his friends had said to the contrary, Harry still felt it was his fault. If only he hadn't suggested taking the cup together....

Harry quickly shoved those thoughts back, ignoring the wave of guilt as he did this. Sometimes that was the only way to get through the day.

He climbed out of bed and dressed, smiling suddenly as he realised what day it was. He hurried down to breakfast, ignoring the usual snide comments from his relatives, and then cheerfully did the washing up. He was back upstairs, packing, when Hedwig returned. There was a note from Hermione.

Dear Harry,

I feel a bit silly writing this since I'll be seeing you in a few short hours. I thought you'd like Hedwig back. And I wanted to tell you how much I've missed you this summer. I've been worried. See you soon!

Love from,

Hermione

Harry smiled as he read, idly stroking Hedwig's feathers. She gave an affectionate nip of his finger then swooped over to her cage for breakfast. Harry glanced down at the crumpled letter to Dumbledore, wondering if he should have sent it.

Harry quickly packed his trunk, almost forgetting to check under the bed, where a loose floorboard provided storage for anything he wanted hidden from prying Dursley eyes. Downstairs his uncle was shouting for him to hurry up so he grabbed his trunk downstairs, struggling to get it into the waiting car ("Hurry up boy, I haven't got all day!") then ran back up to get Hedwig's cage. He had sent her straight to the Burrow after breakfast, as he doubted she'd enjoy travelling by Floo anymore than he did.

They sat in silence for most of the journey. Harry stared out of the window watching the countryside flash by. Uncle Vernon sat rigidly behind the wheel, taking his eyes from the road to occasionally glare at Harry. As they were approaching London, Uncle Vernon broke the silence.

"You'd better behave yourself this year, boy. Don't go getting into trouble. I don't want any more letters from your Headmaster."

Harry looked up in surprise. "Professor Dumbledore wrote to you?" he asked, feeling half-amazed and half-worried.

His uncle nodded grimly, "Something about a tournament where a student died. He seemed to think you needed special care this summer. Insinuating that I don't know how to raise a child..." He trailed off, looking indignant.

Harry just stared at him.

"He didn't say what part you played in all this, but knowing you, you were probably the cause. All I'm saying is that you'd better keep your nose clean this year- or else."

"Or else what?" Harry asked, annoyed.

"Or else you're on your own. We won't support you anymore. You'll have nowhere to live, no money."

Harry thought of the money his parents had left him, sitting in his vault at Gringotts and didn't feel too worried about his finances.

"Okay," he said complacently.

Not another word was exchanged until they reached the Leaky Cauldron. Uncle Vernon parked the car, having followed Harry's directions (He couldn't see the pub as he was a Muggle.) and Harry unloaded his trunk.

"Well, see you next June!" Harry said unenthusiastically. Uncle Vernon nodded, looking around suspiciously, and turned to head for the car.

"Harry!"

There was a flurry of movement as Hermione Granger threw herself at Harry, wrapping him in a tight hug and kissing him quickly on the cheek. Harry coloured and hid his face in her bushy hair. After a moment she let him go and smiled up at him.

"Oh Harry! I've missed you so much!"

"Me too," he replied with a smile. She looked different. So grown up compared to when he'd last seen her. She was less a girl and more a young woman. Her hair was pulled back from her face and her eyes shone brightly behind a light tan. Out of her school robes and without the usual dozen books she looked less like a forty year old in the body of a teenager and more like a normal girl. Like she had been at the Yule Ball.

She squeezed his hand and turned towards her parents standing behind them.

"You remember my mum and dad?" she asked. Harry shook hands with them shyly. Hermione had walked over to Uncle Vernon, stopping him before he could climb into the car.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Dursley," she said with a bright smile. "Harry's told me so much about you."

Uncle Vernon looked like a deer caught in the headlights. His eyes flickered between Hermione and her parents. Harry suppressed a grin, thinking his uncle must be remembering last summer when he'd met Mr. Weasley. After a moment's hesitation his uncle stuck out his hand and shook each of the Grangers in turn.

"W-well, must d-dash," he stuttered, doing a surprisingly good Quirrell impression, "N-nice meeting you all."

He jumped into the car and with a squeal of tires he was gone. Harry smiled apologetically at Mr. and Mrs. Granger.

"Sorry about my Uncle," he said with a grin, "He's a Muggle and he's a little wary of our world. Thinks we're all nutters or something."

Mrs. Granger laughed but Harry couldn't help thinking Mr. Granger seemed to agree with Uncle Vernon.

Having said goodbye to Hermione's parents they stowed their trunks at the Leaky Cauldron and headed out into Diagon Alley. As they stepped through the archway, Harry felt a strange sensation of coming home. They strolled along, heading for Gringotts, the wizarding bank. It was run by goblins and was reputedly the safest place to keep anything in the wizarding world. Harry had his own vault there which contained the money his parents had left him. Hermione needed to change Muggle pounds into wizard currency: golden Galleons, silver Sickles and bronze Knuts. Harry waited patiently while she did this then they headed down to Harry's vault. When his vault was opened Harry hastily shoved handfuls of coins into a bag. Hermione didn't say anything about the contents of his vault, and Harry smiled in relief. He still felt awkward about his inheritance from his parents, especially around the Weasleys, who didn't have much money.

Back on the street they headed to the shops. Neither had received their school lists yet but they had both grown a great deal and needed to be measured for new robes at Madam Malkins. Next they purchased basic potion ingredients and then parchment and quills. There was a large group of people clustered around Quality Quidditch Supplies but when Harry tried to get a closer look Hermione grabbed him by the hand, and pulled him away, laughing. They continued around the shops, stocking up on things they would need.

Finally, exhausted from shopping, they collapsed at a table outside Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour and ordered sundaes.

"Well, that just leaves our books," Hermione announced, smiling over her kiwifruit and caramel sundae. "But we'll have to wait for our Hogwarts letters for those."

"I want to get the Weasleys a gift to say thank you," Harry said through a mouthful of lemon fudge banana split. "I'm just not sure what."

Hermione nodded, "I've been wanted to get them something too. It's so great of them to let us stay."

"I thought maybe an owl?" Harry suggested.

Hermione nodded slowly. "Well, Errol is on his last legs," she said thoughtfully. "And it would be ever so practical..." she trailed off, gazing horrified at something

over Harry's left shoulder. He started to turn around.

"Don't turn around!" she hissed. "He might see us!"

Harry stared at her. "Who?"

"Herm-own-ninny!" a voice behind them exclaimed.

Hermione groaned, "Oh no."

Harry looked up to see Victor Krum approaching. He was waving enthusiastically.

Victor had been one of the other contestants at the Tri-Wizard Tournament last year He had also taken Hermione to the Yule Ball, which had driven Ron crazy with jealousy.

"Herm-own-ninny!" he repeated when he reached their table. "Vy have you not come to visit me?"

Hermione plastered a fake smile across her face. "I'm so sorry Victor. I've just been so busy lately. Haven't I Harry?" she asked, giving him a meaningful look.

"Oh--yeah." Harry responded. "They gave us so much summer homework..." he trailed off, unsure what to say.

"Hello Harry," Victor said, "How are you?"

Harry cringed inwardly. It seemed that everywhere he turned he was reminded of the final task.

"I'm okay," he said, attempting a smile. "What are you doing in Diagon Alley?"

"I vill be playing seeker for Chudley Canons!" Victor replied proudly. He had played for Bulgaria in the recent Quidditch World Cup. Harry wondered briefly how Ron would feel now that Victor was playing for his favourite team.

Victor had turned his attention back to Hermione. "May I join you?" he asked politely.

"Oh!" Hermione said, "That'd be lovely. Unfortunately we were just about to go."

She stood up, gathering her shopping.

"Come on Harry," she said pointedly, "We'll be late."

Harry stood up reluctantly, looking at his half-eaten sundae.

"It's been wonderful seeing you again Victor," she said with a smile. "We'll have to meet up sometime." She grabbed Harry by the arm and hurried him away. Harry waved apologetically over his shoulder at Krum who was watching them leave, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed when they were out of earshot. "That was rude!"

They turned a corner and Hermione dropped his arm. Harry turned to look at her.

"I thought you were supposed to go to Bulgaria for the summer?" he asked.

Hermione glared at him. "I'm not ready for the kind of relationship Victor wants. I even wrote him a very nice letter explaining why, but he doesn't seem to get the hint! Besides, I couldn't go to Bulgaria anyway."

Harry frowned. "Why not?"

"Didn't you know?" she asked in astonishment, "Dumbledore didn't think it would be safe for us to leave the country now You-Know-Who's back. My parents were planning a holiday to Spain, but instead we ended up going to Glastonbury"

Harry felt awful. "I'm sorry Herm."

She looked at him in surprise. "Why? It's not your fault. Besides, Glastonbury was really interesting. There's a huge wizarding community there and they have this incredible bookstore..." Hermione chatted away happily as they walked along but Harry's mind was elsewhere. He still felt incredibly guilty. Aside from Cedric's death, which was bad enough in itself, was the guilt of having been a part of Voldemort's rebirth. His thoughts moved on to the book Voldemort had given him. He still hadn't looked at it. He glanced at Hermione, still talking animatedly about a book she'd read. Maybe he should tell her.

"Hermione?" he interrupted.

"Yes?" she replied, looking slightly miffed at being cut off halfway through a sentence.

"I--" Harry began, and then stopped. He looked at her for a moment. "We're at the Owlery." he finished, wondering what was stopping him from telling her. Hermione looked at him strangely, then followed him into the shop. They wandered up and down the aisles, peering into cages. Harry stopped in front of a large owl. She was almost entirely coal black, except for the tips of her wings, which were snowy white.

"Oh Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "She's beautiful!" Then she looked at the price-tag and blanched.

"Isn't she a bit expensive?" she asked hesitantly. "I've only got a few Galleons saved..."

Harry shook his head. "She's perfect. Don't worry," he added, "I'll pay for her for both of us."

Hermione tried to protest but he wouldn't listen to her objections and she finally ceded. Five minutes later they were heading back towards The Leaky Cauldron, carrying a large cage containing the owl.

"Lunch?" Hermione asked, "And I'll pay?" she added with a grin.

Harry nodded and soon they were tucking in to roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. They ate in silence for a few minutes. Harry took a sip of his butterbeer.

"I guess we'll need to get the Knight Bus," he said, trying not to look too pleased about not having to travel by Floo. Hermione agreed and they continued in silence. As they finished she put down her knife and fork and looked at him, smiling.

"What?" Harry said, alarmed, "Do I have food on my face?"

Hermione shook her head, laughing softly. "I've missed you Harry. I've spent the whole summer wondering if you're ok." She laughed again. "There's something about you that makes me worry." Suddenly she leant over and gave him a hug, then unexpectedly kissed him on the cheek.

Harry patted her hair awkwardly. "I've missed you too--" he began to say but was interrupted by a blinding flash of light. He let go of Hermione and raised his hand to shield his eyes from the rapid succession of flashes that followed. Blinking in the harsh light he could just make out the hazy shape of a man holding a camera.

"Mr. Potter!" a voice said by his ear and he spun around finding himself looking at a woman who looked vaguely familiar.

"Veruca Savage," the woman said, grasping his hand and shaking it manically. "Reporter for the Daily Prophet."

Harry realised with a sinking feeling that she reminded him strongly of Rita Skeeter, a reporter who had pestered him last year, making up wild stories until Hermione had cleverly put a stop to it all. He turned to look at his friend who seemed flustered by the camera flash, which was still clicking away madly in the background. Veruca followed his gaze.

"Ah, you must be Hermione Granger," she said acidly, before turning back to Harry.

"Now, Harry- do you mind if I call you Harry?" she asked, sitting down next to him. "I'd just like to ask you a few questions." She paused for breath, leaving Harry bewildered as she rifled through her bag. This gave Harry a chance to look at her. She was middle-aged, with mousy brown hair set in a ridiculously tight perm. Her clothes were so similar to those Rita had worn the previous year that Harry wondered if perhaps there was a uniform for reporters that no one had ever mentioned. He was pulled from this train of thought by the sudden emergence of an acid green quill from the depths of Veruca's bag. He recognised it immediately as a Quick-Quotes Quill, which tended to embellish the facts rather fantastically. He stood up quickly, grabbing Hermione by the arm.

"I'm terribly sorry," he said, gathering his shopping, "But we really must be going."

Taking Hermione by the hand he began to push his way towards the door.

"Just a few questions!" Veruca shouted after him, causing heads to turn. "How do you feel about winning the Tri-Wizard cup last year? Is there any truth in the rumours that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned? How do you react to claims by the Minister of Magic that you are mentally unstable?"

She paused for breath again. Harry was nearly at the door. They had almost escaped, and then:

"Would you say that you were partially responsible for the death of the other Hogwarts Champion, Cedric Diggory?"

Harry froze. The crowd of people in the pub grew silent. Harry clenched his fists angrily, and Hermione pulled on his arm.

"Are you declining to comment?" Veruca asked maliciously, "Do you have something to hide?"

Hermione swung around to face her, eyes flashing. "Why don't you just leave him alone?" she asked in a quietly dangerous voice. Then she turned and dragged Harry by the hand out onto the street. The door slammed shut behind them.

After a moment she took Harry in her arms.

"It's not your fault Harry," she whispered soothingly, "No one blames you."

"I do," he said softly, pushing her away. He raised his wand arm and with a loud BANG the triple-decker, violently purple bus appeared.

Hermione gasped in astonishment. Written across the windscreen in gold lettering was The Knight Bus. The doors opened with a hiss and they scrambled aboard.

"'Ello 'Arry!" a voice greeted them, "Or is it Neville again?" The voice began to laugh loudly.

"Hello Stan," Harry said. Stan Shunpike was the conductor of the bus and Harry had met him 2 years earlier when he had been travelling incognito, as Neville Longbottom.

"Oo's this?" Stan asked, indicating Hermione.

"Oh, this is Hermione Granger," Harry said, quickly introducing them, "We're going to The Burrow. It's in Ottery St.Catchpole."

Stan looked at them curiously. "That'll be firteen sickles each. Unless you want 'ot chocolate. Then it's fifteen."

Harry handed over their fares and Stan elevated their trunks up the steps.

"Upstairs alright 'Arry?" Stan asked. Harry nodded, then said hello to Ernie, the driver. They followed Stan up to the top deck, stashing their trunks underneath their beds. Then there was another loud BANG and they found themselves hurtling along Charing Cross Road. Hermione looked terrified for a few minutes, holding onto a bedpost for dear life, but gradually began to relax.

"This is amazing!" she exclaimed.

Harry glanced out the window. They appeared to be somewhere in North Wales. Hermione watched excitedly as lampposts and letterboxes jumped out of the bus's way as it hurtled along. Eventually she turned to look at Harry, who was staring unseeing out the window oblivious to the amazing scenes taking place just outside.

"Harry?" she asked, walking over to sit next to him. He tore his gaze away from the cloudy sky and looked at her. She could see the hurt in his eyes.

"Are you ok?" she asked gently.

After a moment he nodded. "I will be."

He rested his head against hers and they sat in silence until they reached the Burrow.

They climbed down the steps of the bus, waving goodbye to Stan and Ernie. With yet another BANG! it was gone, and Harry turned to gaze at the Burrow. It was lop-sided and several storeys tall; Harry could tell where extra rooms had been added, making the house look wobbly and unbalanced. Harry loved it. To him this was how houses should be. Privet Drive was so boring by comparison.

Suddenly the front door flew open and four flame-haired teenagers hurtled out. The Weasleys were, in Harry's opinion, the best wizard family in the world. His best friend Ron ran up to him, clapping him heartily on the shoulder before hugging Hermione quickly. The twins, Fred and George, who would be starting their final year at Hogwarts, stood nearby grinning. Their younger sister Ginny froze for a second when she saw Harry, then gave a loud sob and threw herself into his arms. Harry was shocked. Usually Ginny avoided such displays of emotion around him. He looked questioningly at Ron, who shook his head in exasperation.

"See, Gin?" he said to his sister, "Harry's fine."

"She had a dream or something," George explained, "She thought you were in grave danger and that something would happen to you." He shrugged and then grinned, "I tried to tell her that you're always in mortal peril, but it didn't seem to cheer her up much."

Harry laughed and patted Ginny awkwardly on the back. She let go and stood back, wiping her eyes.

"Sorry," she said quietly.

"S'okay," he responded, with a smile.

Mrs Weasley appeared in the doorway, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Hello Harry, Hermione," she said, smiling kindly at them both. "It's good to see you both. Now why don't you come inside? Harry dear, you'll be in Ron's room as usual, and Hermione, you'll be in Ginny's."

Between the six of them they managed to carry everything inside and up to their rooms. Then they headed back downstairs, Hermione carrying the large cage, which they'd covered with a cloth. She set the cage down on the table and looked at Harry expectantly.

"Oh, umm, Mrs. Weasley?" Harry said, feeling flustered. He didn't enjoy public speaking, even if it was in front of his friends. Having caught everyone's attention, Harry continued, "Hermione and I wanted you all to know how grateful we are for letting us stay here. This is like a second home to us both and we wanted to say how much we appreciate you letting us visit," he paused and smiled, "So we thought we'd give you a token of our appreciation."

Hermione whipped the cover off the cage. "We've called her Ebony," she said, "But you can always change it."

Mrs. Weasley pulled them both into a hug. "That is so sweet of you!" she said, wiping a tear from her eye, "But you really shouldn't have--"

Harry cut her off. "We wanted to do something nice for you. You've all been so kind to us."

Mrs. Weasley buried her face in her handkerchief.

"That's really nice, guys," Ron said, smiling, "I think Erroll's ready for retirement."

"She's beautiful," Ginny added, "Ebony's a good name for her."

"I bet Pig will be jealous!" Ron added with a laugh.

They sat and talked for awhile until Mr. Weasley came home from work. He thanked them profusely over dinner and engaged Harry in a lengthy discussion about the differences between Wizard and Muggle communications. He was particularly impressed when Hermione explained E-mail to him.

Soon it was time for bed. Harry lay on his mattress in Ron's room, smiling to himself. This was the happiest he'd been all summer.

"Ron?" he whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I missed you, mate."

There was silence and then. "I missed you too. G'night Harry."

Harry smiled again. "G'night Ron."