Love Heals

Harry silently vowed to himself that the second he leaves this hellhole, he's never coming back... not for anything. He had no intentions of ever missing this place. He hated it here. He will always hate it here; but it had been the place he grew up. He groped around in the dark of the night for the handle. The door of his cupboard swung open. He wanted to take one last look around before leaving the house forever. The cupboard had returned to a broom storage space and Harry had to duck down to get inside the small room. The small cot he had slept on was still there. Sitting on the floor, he leaned against the wall and thought about how he spent the majority of his life in here. This had been the place he'd hide, or escape, and he had never before thought about how it would feel to know he'd never see it again. He guessed the feeling was a good one. This brought back too many horrible memories, and he will be glad to finally leave Little Whinging as a whole.

He was completely oblivious to the rest of the world as he leaned against the wall, lost in his thoughts and memories. He didn't know how much time had passed before he finally decided to head back upstairs. With one last glance inside, he closed and re-locked the door.

***

"So this is The Marden?" Harry said as he readjusted his bag on his shoulder.

"Yup," Hermione answered, taking in a deep breath. Clutching Crookshanks tightly in one hand, and holding her bags in the other, she glanced at Ron. He was looking at the elegant hotel before them in utter amazement. Smiling slightly to herself, she turned to Harry for direction. Clearly, they should be heading through those beautiful doors, glistening with diamonds, but something was holding them back. It was a mixture of confusion and anticipation. They were going to be staying here, in Godric's Hollow, because they needed a place to reside while they were out meeting destiny. This gorgeous, elegant, sparkling hotel did not match the emotions that were burning inside each of them. For some reason, it felt as though the entire place should be in ruins. That was how Harry felt. This was where his parents had been murdered, in this town. This was where Harry's life had truly begun. This should not be a place of elegance.

Catching Hermione's glance, Harry nodded and cautiously led the way up the stone steps to the huge entrance. The doors sensed their presence and opened without their assistance. They revealed a lobby, more vast and open then anything Harry had expected. The check in was over to the side, but could not be missed for a second. It was as long as three large desks put together. Two people, dressed in gold, were minding it. They shared identical grins as the trio walked up to it.

"Hello. Welcome to The Marden. My name is Alison. Can I help you?" She spoke almost robotically. The tight blonde knot of hair at the top of her head looked as though it was plastered on. Ron and Hermione looked at Harry in the way they had grown accustomed to. They were silently asking him what to do next. The only problem was that he really had no idea. He had never been in a hotel before, as the Dursleys had never taken him on their vacations. Hermione seemed to sense his thoughts, and she took it on herself to lead the way. She had stayed in a few hotels before, and she thought she knew what to say.

"Yes," she choked out, turning toward Alison. Her next words were spoken more strongly than the first. "We are Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley. We have a suite reserved for us."

Alison began to type rapidly at the computer in front of her. Ron was very interested in this action, for he had never seen a machine like this before. The woman standing next to Alison eyed him curiously as he craned his neck to get a better look, but Alison seemed to not notice. "Ah, yes, here it is," she said and the sound of the pounding keys that was starting to irritate Harry stopped abruptly. "You're in suite 2300, on floor twenty-three. That is where all of the Grand Suites are located. If you leave your luggage here, a bellhop will bring it up for you. Here are the keys to your suite." She handed them each a gold card with the words "The Marden" written in maroon. There was an arrow at one end that indicated the direction the card should be swiped. "If you have any questions, please feel free to ask," she concluded.

"Can I leave my bird here?" Harry asked as he realized Hedwig was still with him.

"I suppose. Leave them both. With the cat, though, you're on your own."

Leaving their bags and pets where they were, Harry, Ron, and Hermione proceeded to find their suite. A sign glistened in front of a doorway. The words were unmistakable, but odd nonetheless. "Hall of Elevators?" Hermione read, and Harry was relieved to see that he wasn't the only one who found this strange. Glancing at each other peculiarly, the three continued through the doorway.

Well, it was easy to see why this was called the Hall of Elevators. There were so many of them, lining the walls. There were all different kinds, leading to different places in the hotel. Some were glass, some were gold, some were glazing with the brightness of a thousand diamonds.... There were more than Harry could take in.

Hermione was first to come out of her reverie. "Well, I suppose we better...." She trailed off. Harry nodded, understanding even so. They awkwardly walked along the colossal Hall, searching for a sign that would lead them the right way. This was not an easy feat, for there were signs everywhere. There was no limit to where these elevators could lead. There was an elevator for every location, from the Library, to the Gift Shop, to the Roof. There were so many, that Harry was only mildly surprised to find a few leading to underground tunnels. Finally, after what seemed like hours of searching, Hermione suddenly shrieked excitedly. "Floor 23!" The other two ran down the hall to where she was standing. "Oh wait...." She said.

"What?" Ron asked her. Hermione pointed to a smaller sign next to the elevator. "Are we east? This one goes east...."

She hurriedly pulled out her card from her pocket. "Oh, good," she said, and pushed the shimmering button. The elevator was there in a second, and they entered. It must have been luck that this elevator happened to be glass, for they had all been hoping that would be the outcome. With glass walls, they got a good look at a descent portion of the hotel. They clutched onto the golden railing that lined the walls, and peered out into the area beneath them. As they got higher, the images became smaller, and they could make out tiny specks of gold that were the workers, pushing along luggage carts and mingling with some of the guests. It came as somewhat of a shock that there were so little people in the lobby. The Marden was much too huge to only accommodate a few people.

The lobby vanished as they were suddenly pulled into a new setting. Here, as opposed to the lobby, there were guests all over. It was a wide space, with doors everywhere. Harry assumed those doors lead to people's rooms. This seemed to make more sense, and Harry relaxed a little. The fact that the lobby was nearly empty did not settle well with him. It was unnerving, the irony of it. This new area now vanished as the one before had done, and they watched a new scene before them. The places were changing quickly now, and all three were starting to feel a bit dizzy. Just when Crookshanks looks ready to pounce in frustration, the doors opened.

Heads spinning, they exited. They looked around awkwardly, but had not stood there for long before a man dressed in gold showed up. "Hello my name is Wes, is that your card? Let me see, yes, you're this way, follow me." Quite unlike Alison, this man spoke so fast they could barely comprehend him, and their dizziness did nothing to aid them. He seemed to be a bit on the hyperactive side. Wes led them along at such a quick pace, they had to adopt a run every once and while along the way in order to keep up. Harry almost ran into Wes as he suddenly stopped. Ron and Hermione obviously had the same problem, and they both took a step back to avoid falling forward into him, and Crookshanks made his unhappiness known. "Here's your room," Wes said, turning. "If you need anything I'll be somewhere out here. Have a nice stay." Before they could even blink, he had disappeared in his rapid strides.

The bizarreness of this place did not go unnoticed to any of them. Swiping his card through a slot in the handle, Harry led the way inside. The room was stunning. It was far beyond their expectations. Their first view was of a huge room, with couches, a kitchen, and a big screen television that took up almost the whole wall. There were five doors leading to different places in the suite, but they'd explore later. Now they just wanted to find a bedroom.

Crookshanks was now on the floor, and seemed to be following a scent. It took a few minutes to figure out that he had been looking for the owls, and Hermione instantly scooped him up. There were five rooms for sleeping, and thankfully they were all next to each other. It was not hard to locate them, with a map Hermione had found. Their luggage was waiting for them on the floor, and Hedwig and Pigwidgeon had survived the journey unscathed. They each chose a room, and carried their bags in. Harry settled Hedwig onto the dresser in the new room, and threw his bag off to the side.

*

Harry was recumbent on his bed, which was incredibly comfortable. The covers were hanging loosely around him, and he envisioned Hermione unpacking her bags furiously in an attempt to get organized before the night ended. He smiled slightly at the thought. Sometimes Harry wondered if Hermione had O.C.D., for obsessive compulsive could definitely describe her at times. He'd known her long enough to realize this was not the case, however. Harry hadn't even bothered to open his bag yet, except to get out his pajamas. He was too tired right now. Besides, he knew that the hard times weren't far ahead; in fact, they were already there. He needed to be ready. He closed his eyes sleepily, not allowing the thoughts to swallow his mind. He wanted to enjoy these last few moments of tranquility before the adventure, if you want to call it that, would begin.