Soul Searching/End Game
SS Chapter 3 - Initial Preparations
By Chem Prof
Chapter 3, Initial Preparations
Sunday, June 15, 1997
On Sunday morning Harry accompanied the Grangers to church services. Since he had nothing appropriate to wear, Dan had loaned him a nice shirt and pants and a pair of dress shoes. Fortunately, he and Dan were nearly the same size. Harry knew that the Dursleys were members of a church, but he suspected that it was only for appearances sake since they hardly ever attended. On those occasions he had been left at home, so this was his first time ever inside a church.
Unlike the Dursleys, the Grangers seemed quite sincere about it all, and Harry found the minister’s message interesting and enjoyed the singing. He was surprised that Hermione had a lovely singing voice. He decided that he had never heard her sing except during the school song at the beginning of each year, and that was such a bedlam that you couldn’t really make out any individual voice.
On Sunday afternoon they planned to go shopping. Harry hesitantly asked if he could borrow some muggle money, assuring them that he would pay them back as soon as he could get to Gringott’s. Emma initially told him not to worry, that it would be their treat, but Harry was so insistent that she let it drop.
Harry quickly changed and hurried to the kitchen to help with lunch. When Hermione came down a little later wearing a spaghetti strap tank top and shorts he looked at her in surprise. Harry thought that Hermione’s clothing revealed an amazing amount of skin. He certainly didn’t remember her dressing like that at the Burrow last summer. Hermione pointed out to him that wizards generally dressed very conservatively, and she covered up more when she was with the Weasleys, but when she was living as a muggle she dressed as a muggle.
Later when they went shopping Harry saw that other girls were dressed similarly, or even more outrageously. He saw more bare midriffs and piercings than he thought were possible. Some of the girls’ outfits made him think of his friend Tonks. He wondered if the young Auror had any piercings. He would have to ask Hermione about that sometime.
Their shopping trip was a sales clerk’s dream. They essentially outfitted Harry from scratch, buying some of absolutely everything. Dress and casual shoes, pants, and shirts, socks, underwear, a few ties, and a couple of jumpers and sweatshirts.
Hermione also got workout clothes for him and for herself and had him pick out a swimsuit. In addition to the baggy one that Harry picked out, Hermione made him get a couple of racing style ones. In response to the startled expression on his face she simply replied that these were better for swimming laps, which was good for conditioning. She would have liked to pick out another bikini for herself, but refrained, reasoning that Harry was embarrassed enough. She could always get one another day.
-ooOoo-
Dan and Emma had engaged in a serious conversation while Harry and Hermione were out shopping. Their daughter was not the only intelligent one in the family, and they were fairly certain where last night’s discussion had been heading. They wanted to see if they could come to an agreement before the teens returned.
From reading between the lines of Hermione’s frequent letters, and from things she said during her stays at home, they were aware of the prejudice against muggleborns in the wizarding world, and that Hermione was facing not just discrimination, but outright loathing from the so-called purebloods. The monster that they had heard about last night followed the same strategy as despots like Hitler, who rallied supporters by fanning the flames of ethnic hatred. By her very existence, Hermione would be a prime target to be killed, whether she was with Harry or not.
Every instinct they had told them to take Hermione and run as fast and as far as possible. But they knew, especially after last night, that Hermione would refuse to come with them and nothing would change her mind. It was a mixture of unabashed admiration for her character and overwhelming fear for her life that filled their minds as they contemplated their daughter’s decision.
It was clear to them what the children’s plan for them would be. (No, they had to stop thinking of them as children. From what they heard last night, they had not been children for some time.) They were going to be asked to leave the county, leaving their daughter behind, for their own safety. The question was, were they going to do it? It was frustrating, but they had to concede that in this war they were powerless, they were actually the helpless infants and Harry and Hermione were the concerned parents trying to protect them.
They made their decision. If there was anything they could do, however insignificant, to help Hermione and Harry in this quest, they would do it. If the best thing they could do for them was give them peace of mind by leaving the country, they would swallow hard and do just that.
Once the decision had been made, their course of action began to fall into place. They would need to make arrangements for their practice. It was not unheard of for professionals like themselves to take a year off, to recharge their batteries or to further their education. It would be difficult, but not impossible.
They would need to make arrangements for someone to take care of their house and property. That was easier. They already had a service that did just that during their month long holidays, they would just have to have it done for a whole year. They made a note that they would have to give the houseminder schedule to Hermione. She and Harry might want to stop by occasionally and wouldn’t want anyone to know they were there. They already had a forwarding service for their post that they also used while on holiday so that was no problem.
Finally, they needed to decide just where they wanted to go. They settled on North America. They had been to much of Europe, and had often talked of seeing Canada or the States. They would tour Canada during the summer months, then the States, gradually moving south as the weather turned colder. If they stayed through the winter, they would check out Mexico or some Caribbean Islands. They would stay flexible, making decisions as they went. They were veteran travelers after all and had plenty of experience with trips of that kind. The only problem with the plan was its cost. While they were comfortably well off, a trip of this magnitude would severely tax their resources.
With their own plans outlined, they turned their attention to how they might be able to help out. Harry had mentioned hiding out, and disguises. Emma would look into hair color products, correctly reasoning that they would prefer color that was easy to remove. Harry would undoubtedly want to hide his scar. Emma had a friend from University that had been in theatre productions; she would consult with her this week.
Dan would look into renting a flat for their use; he would check with them to see how big they wanted it to be and start on it tomorrow. He winced as he thought about the additional expense, but they were resolved to do whatever it took. Emma thought they might want to do something about Harry’s glasses. She would make an eye doctor appointment and see about contact lenses. After these decisions had been made they were feeling much better, now that they were contributing something to the effort.
At this point Harry and Hermione returned from their shopping spree. Dan and Emma were pleased to see that they were in a good mood; Hermione was teasing him about some of his purchases. If Harry could tolerate shopping with Hermione, they must have a very solid friendship!
“…and I still don’t see why we had to look in every store in the mall. Why couldn’t we have just picked up everything at the first store?”
As they entered the room Hermione looked at Emma and rolled her eyes. “What is it about males and shopping? Harry’s as bad as Dad.” She turned to Dan and gave him a sweet smile, forestalling the retort he was preparing. Then she marched Harry to the middle of the room and started sorting through the packages. Dan and Emma glanced at each other and grinned. They knew what was coming. After every shopping trip that Hermione had ever been on, she had made a big production out of showing off her purchases. They wondered how Harry would react.
“Presenting, the new wardrobe of Harry (I only like dark colors) Potter.” First, we have a lovely suit, in scintillating navy blue, perfect for boring meetings with lawyers or bankers.” Hermione held up the suit against Harry, while he tried to scowl but failed. Her cheeriness was just too catching.
“Next, we have dress slacks, this time in black, navy, and charcoal gray.” Hermione held everything up in turn. “To go along with these we have a half dozen dress shirts in blue, white, and blue and white plaid. For a really bold fashion statement, we add in ties in red or red prints.” Harry couldn’t help smiling. She was enjoying this way too much.
“For our casual wear we have jeans in two colors, yes you guessed it – black and blue. But we also have Dockers in brown and khaki – a daring fashion leap for young Mr. Potter.”
“And my arm is still sore from being twisted behind my back,” chimed in Harry, now getting into the mood himself. Hermione giggled at him before she continued.
“Moving along to summer outdoor wear, we have two pairs each of jean shorts and khaki cargo shorts, with ten (yes ten!) casual shirts in blue and green solids and prints. And for our well-dressed male’s feet, we have a pair of dress black shoes, a pair of brown Doc Martins, and a pair of beige deck shoes, plus two pairs of trainers. Going with the shoes we have a dozen pair of athletic socks and a dozen pair of dress socks, in black, blue, and brown.” Hermione was on a roll now.
“And no male should be without fashionable undergarments of course, so we have five 3-packs of BVD’s, in assorted colors.” Hermione smirked at Harry, who had turned bright red. “And to conclude our presentation, a dozen T-shirts in black, white and blue plus,” she hesitated a moment, “Mr. Potter’s own signature line of slogan T-shirts!”
Here Hermione unwrapped three bright yellow T-shirts with dark brown lettering and held them up in front of Harry. The slogans were:
If Found Unconscious, Treat With Chocolate
Chocolate Is The Answer
What’s The Question?
I’m Moody Without My Chocolate!
Dan and Emma broke into applause, laughing all the while, as Hermione curtseyed and Harry bowed. As they gathered up the clothing and returned it to the bags, Hermione added that Harry now also owned three swimsuits, and that they both had bought workout gear; track shorts and tank tops for him and stretch shorts and crop tops or sports bras for her.
“What, no swimsuit for Hermione?” teased Emma. “When was the last time you went shopping and didn’t buy a swimsuit?” Hermione stuck out her tongue at her mother, and Emma with a gleam in her eye continued, “I’m sure Harry wouldn’t have minded helping you pick one out.” Hermione suddenly blushed and quickly became very busy picking up bags.
“Now remember,” insisted Harry, “as soon as I can we have to go to Gringotts so I can get some money to repay you.”
As they finished gathering up their bags, they noticed that Dan and Emma were standing patiently with expectant looks on their faces, so they quickly took their purchases up to their rooms. When they came back downstairs they headed back into the family room and resumed their positions from the night before.
Harry and Hermione were very uneasy. How were they going to broach the next subject? How do you tell your parents to leave home? To their surprise Dan and Emma had not only figured out what they had been about to ask, but had also decided to acquiesce to their request. Furthermore, they had even thought about things that they could do to help them out. For a change, Hermione was speechless. Smiling at her dumbstruck daughter, Emma outlined the decisions they had made, first with regard to their own plans, then those relating to how they could help out.
Harry just shook his head. Did this kind of analytical and organizational ability run in families? He determined that these plans might be quite expensive, and quickly offered to pay for the Grangers’ trip. Despite their concerns about finances the Grangers immediately refused his help. Harry just decided that he would find some way to help them out.
Enormously relieved, everyone agreed to continue the planning process over dinner.
“How can I help?” Harry offered immediately. “I can cook quite a few things.”
Emma smiled at the polite boy. “Thank you Harry, that’s very thoughtful, but we’ve already decided to order pizza.” Emma was surprised at the disappointment on Harry’s face. Hmm, a man who actually likes to help out in the kitchen and cook? Hermione, you better snap this one up as soon as you can!
“I didn’t know you actually enjoyed cooking, Harry. I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you cook during the week on days that I have to work?” Harry agreed so eagerly that she had to struggle to keep from laughing. She raised her eyebrows at Hermione, and Hermione, figuring out what her mother was thinking, rolled her eyes back at her in the universal daughter language that said, ‘Oh Mum!’
By the time dinner was over they had come up with the following schedule:
Monday morning
Dan – contact houseminder service, contact mail service, contact real estate agent, go in to their office and initiate the process of arranging for other dentists to take over their patients.
Emma – make appointment with eye doctor, contact travel agent, contact her friend about makeup, check into hair color products.
Hermione and Harry – go to Gringotts, check in with Remus, Tonks, and Ron
Monday afternoon
Dan and Emma – see patients at their office
Harry and Hermione – teach Harry to swim, study, make supper
Harry decided that it would be a good time to call Dobby, and in an instant the little elf appeared. Harry introduced him to Dan and Emma and asked him to tell Remus and Tonks that they were doing fine and would like to talk to them tomorrow morning. He asked him to also give the same message to Ron, and see if Ron had any information for them.
Feeling like they had made some good progress, they all spent the rest of the evening teaching Harry to play euchre.
-ooOoo-
Monday morning Dan headed off to the practice while Emma made some phone calls. As Harry and Hermione were finishing breakfast, Dobby appeared. He told them that Remus and Tonks would be by at 9:00 and handed them a message from Ron.
Good to hear that all is going well. Having Dobby as a messenger is pretty cool – much faster than Pig. I’ve told the family as much as we decided they needed to know. Mum’s not very happy about it, but Dad’s not too bad. Fred and George are thrilled. They want to help you out any way they can. They went crazy over the mirrors. They said to tell you to drop in at their shop anytime. You can apparate directly into the back room, and no one will know you’re there.
Bill is working on a way for you to get into Gringotts without attracting attention. For some reason the goblins want to meet with you, but he won’t say why. He’ll let you know when he gets something set up. In the meantime he says to stay away from Gringotts. Fred and George say that if you need some gold in the meantime you can get some from them.
I haven’t contacted Charlie or Percy yet. I’m thinking of waiting until we can talk to Charlie in person instead of using an owl. If you think it’s important you can send Dobby to him. We agreed to keep Percy out of the loop for now, right?
I won’t be able to work at Fred and George’s until after the wedding. There’s just too much work to do here. Mom even wants them to close down and help us. It’s times like this that it would really be nice to have a house elf (sorry Hermione).
Ginny has some news and wants to tell you herself. She’s going to add to the bottom of this note.
Ron
P.S Don’t apparate to the Burrow when you come. We’re putting up anti-apparation wards for better security. You have to apparate to the road and walk up the lane to the house.
The note continued in a more feminine handwriting.
Hi Harry, I miss you! (you too, Hermione)
They decided to have us take our OWL’s that we missed after all. (I’m sure Hermione will be happy to hear that!) We have to go to the Ministry to take them. They’ll be the first two weeks of July so I’m spending all my time studying until then. Wish I had you here to help me study. (smile)
I can’t wait to see you again at the wedding. You’d better be there or I’ll come and hunt you down myself!
Love,
Ginny
“Well, that was interesting,” mused Hermione. “It sounds like Ron’s been working hard. And that’s good news about Ginny getting to take her OWL’s. Oh stop that!” she scolded, noticing Harry rolling his eyes and pausing to hit him on the arm.
“I can almost guarantee you that you’re the only student at Hogwarts who thinks it’s good news that someone gets to take OWL’s,” teased Harry, ducking as she tried to hit him again.
“That’s a good point about apparating,” noted Harry once they had settled down again. Having a secret place to apparate to at Fred and George’s gives us a secure entry to Diagon Alley. We should plan on having several of those.”
“Well, my parents’ backyard is secure. And our safe house when we get it will be one. How about the Dursley’s?”
“I don’t think they’d be thrilled with people suddenly popping into their living room. Maybe my bedroom. I’d only want to use it as a last resort. How about Grimauld Place?”
“I’m not sure what the status of that is. Is it still under the Fidelius charm? Dumbledore was the secret keeper and he’s dead. Plus, Snape knows about it. Has the order even been using it this year? I’m going to have to research Fidelius charms and ownership transfers.” Hermione was clearly slipping into research mode and Harry decided to head her off.
“OK, maybe that’s a project for later. In the meantime we have to get ready for Remus and Tonks. I wonder what the goblins want.”
“I don’t know but that means we have to put off our trip to Gringotts,” Hermione pointed out. “What shall we do this morning instead?”
“Let’s wait until we see what Remus and Tonks have to say. Are we going to tell them about the Horcruxes?”
“I think we should. They might have an idea of who RAB was, or where else Voldemort might have hidden some. Here they are now.”
Remus and Tonks did indeed have useful information. Tonks informed them that the ministry had not noticed Harry’s absence, and was not searching for him. They were currently in a panic about Dumbledore’s death, worrying about where the Death Eaters would attack next.
Remus had an idea about why the goblins were interested in Harry. “You have some estates to make decisions about.” At Harry’s surprised look he explained further, “you inherited more from Sirius than the house. There’s a Black family vault that’s yours now, and no one can get into it until you take possession. The same is true with the house, actually. You have to take possession. No one has been able to get in since last summer. In case you’re wondering, the Fidelius charm ended with Dumbledore’s death. So everyone knows where it is now but no one can get into it.”
“Ohhhh.” Harry turned to Hermione and leaned back, knowing she was about to launch into explanation mode. “That’s why we’ve been able to say ‘Grimmauld Place.’ If the Fidelius charm was still working we wouldn’t be able say it out loud.”
“Kreacher could get in,” Harry pointed out. “I sent him to look for the mirror.”
“Kreacher is Black family property,” Remus explained. “He’s actually part of the house.” Harry winced at these words; he didn’t want Hermione to go off on a rant about house elves.
Remus continued before Hermione could say anything. “There’s also a Potter family vault that you’ll inherit next month when you turn seventeen. The vault you’re using now is just a trust vault for your use until you come of age.”
Harry nodded. He hadn’t thought of that, but it made sense. “Just how big of an estate are we talking about?”
“Well, the Blacks and the Potters were both established wizard families. I imagine the estates are pretty big. Let’s put it this way. With the Black and Potter estates combined you’ll be one of the richest if not the richest seventeen year old wizard in Britain.
Harry just sat dumbfounded, so Hermione decided to lighten the mood. “Harry, this will probably get you on Witch Weekly’s 10 Most Eligible Wizards list,” she simpered in a high pitched voice, batting her eyelashes at him. Harry glared and threw a couch pillow at her, and Tonks roared with laughter.
Remus explained a little more about estates and they discussed their need to learn more offensive and defensive spells and practice their dueling. Remus and Tonks agreed to come to visit on alternate days, Remus to teach them spells and Tonks to work on dueling. They all agreed that communicating through Dobby was working well, and Harry mentioned how helpful the Grangers were being, which earned him a grateful smile from Hermione. With all the other things they had to discuss, they never got around to talking about Horcruxes.
-ooOoo-
After Remus and Tonks had gone, Harry decided to take a risk and bring up something that had been on his mind since reading Ron’s letter. “Hermione, I’ve been thinking about what Ron said about needing a house elf.”
Hermione glared at him. “Harry Potter, don’t you even think about buying them a house elf!” If you do I’ll never speak to you again!”
“Come on Hermione, give me a break. You know me better than that. At least give me a chance to explain what I’m thinking.” Hermione said nothing. She folded her arms across her chest and continued to glare at him, conveying the unmistakable message that this had better be good.
“Between studying for and then taking OWLs, Ginny won’t be able to help out with the wedding preparations at all. And if we’re going to make this work we really need Ron and the twins to be in Diagon Ally doing stuff for us.”
Hermione’s glare had not abated in the least. Harry took a deep breath and plunged on. “Maybe Winky would like to go work for them. You know she’s unhappy at Hogwarts. Dobby’s told us more than once that she really wants to work for a family. You know that the Weasleys would treat her right. Isn’t that what being free is all about, being able to decide who you want to work for? I’m saying let’s ask her if she’d like to do it. By refusing to even consider the possibility you’re saying you know better what’s good for house elves than they do themselves. Isn’t that presumptuous and treating them like inferior beings? Let her make the decision.”
Hermione did not like Harry’s argument one bit, but could find no fault with it. She had been sure that she had been right about freeing house elves. It just wasn’t right that they were slaves. It was certainly true, though, that Winky was unhappy now. And she really wouldn’t be a slave at the Weasley’s, and she would be able to leave if she wanted to. Grudgingly she gave in.
“Can we at least make some conditions that she has to get paid and wear something other than those rags?”
Harry wanted to hug Hermione but restrained himself. He knew how hard it was for her to give in on this issue. “We can try. Let’s talk to Dobby and see what he thinks.”
Dobby, of course, thought it was an excellent idea. He disappeared and shortly was back with Winky. Winky was overwhelmed that Harry Potter was concerned with her, and was so grateful that Harry was able to persuade her to take a small salary and wear nice clothing like Dobby, but only after assuring her that the clothing would not mean that she was being disciplined or dismissed. Hermione reluctantly consented to write a note to Mrs. Weasley explaining their idea and the conditions that Winky had agreed to, but she reminded Winky several times that she was free to leave and go back whenever she wished. Winky, of course, had no intention of leaving the Weasleys since she had been wishing for such a situation ever since being dismissed by the Crouches.
After it was settled they decided to get some lunch. Harry had the inspired idea of asking Dobby and Winky to eat lunch with them. After much protesting, especially from Winky, that it was not proper for house elves to eat with their masters, Harry prevailed. Eventually the two elves relaxed and they had an enjoyable meal together. After the meal Hermione was clearly considerably happier about the arrangement, which Harry noted with some satisfaction. They gave Dobby and Winky the note of explanation and sent them off to the Burrow, then decided it was time for a swim.
-ooOoo-
Harry was excited as he went into his room to change. It was his first time ever in a swimming pool. He looked at the suits he had bought the day before.
What did Hermione call these, racing suits? They look like underwear, he thought, trying one on. Well, it feels pretty good, but I can’t go out in front of Hermione in this! Better stick to the bigger one for now. He took off the racing suit and tried on the regular one. This looks pretty baggy on me. I need to eat more and fill out some. Maybe I should try lifting weights like Dudley.
Harry wondered what Hermione would wear. He had never seen a girl in a swimsuit, but had seen pictures in the newspaper of people at the beach and knew that women wore either 1-piece or 2-piece suits. He smiled as he realized that either way he would be seeing a lot more of Hermione than he ever had before.
Harry’s thoughts turned to the day at the lake during the second task. He had never seen what Fleur wore. He had been too nervous at the start, having just arrived in time for the task, to notice anything about the other champions, and Fleur had never made it to the hostages. He recalled that Cedric wore a suit much like the one he had on now, but had filled it out much better. Krum had worn a suit more like the racing suits that Hermione had picked out, but it covered more than these did.
His thoughts returned to Hermione. Whatever she wore, she ought to look good in a swimsuit. Harry thought that Hermione was attractive, but wondered if it was just because she was his friend. The other guys never mentioned her when they talked about good-looking girls at Hogwarts. He thought that maybe they couldn’t see past the bookworm image. He shrugged and went out to the pool. His eyes lit up as he saw Hermione waiting for him wearing a bikini.
-ooOoo-
Hermione grumbled to herself as she tried to decide which bikini to wear.
I bet guys don’t spend this much time picking out a swimsuit. Harry probably just grabbed the first one he saw. At least I made him get a color that looked good on him. He’ll probably wear that baggy one he picked out. I hope he gets comfortable enough to try one of the others sometime while we’re here.
Hermione had worn only bikinis since she was 12 and bought two or three a year so she had lots to choose from. She smiled as she looked at the bikini on the top of the pile – the thong she had bought just last summer. Better not expose him to that just yet. Best to go with a more conservative one. He’ll still get an eyeful.
She picked out an older suit that was a mint green color with a pink floral print. The bottom had one inch sides instead of string ties like her more recent ones and a triangle top that covered her more or less completely. At least, that had been true when she bought the suit three years ago. She realized as she put it on that she had grown in some areas since then, and now the top revealed a fair amount of cleavage. It would just have to do. Actually, she almost never wore the tops of her suits at home, and she wondered if Harry would get comfortable enough with her during this summer that she could resume that practice. Somehow she doubted it.
She sat out by the pool waiting for Harry, and got up as she heard him come out. Why would it take him longer to change than me? she wondered. He only had one piece to put on. Those thoughts vanished as she saw the look on his face as he walked out to the pool. It made her feel good inside that he enjoyed the way she looked. She nodded toward the pool and he dropped his towel on the chair and they both jumped in.
She started Harry off with floating on his back. While that was a fairly standard way to start teaching swimming, in this case it was unfortunate because Harry’s face was exactly even with her chest. The first few times he turned to look at her he suddenly had trouble breathing. Since he had almost no body fat, whenever he stopped breathing he started to sink. Then she had to lean over and try to catch him, which made things even worse. He’d inhale water and start choking, then they’d have to stop and start over.
Consequently, it took Harry twice as long to master a skill that most children picked up in five or ten minutes. It didn’t help that Hermione couldn’t stop giggling. She felt a sort of perverse sense of satisfaction in his reaction to her. No one at school had ever paid attention to her figure, and here her best friend was having trouble breathing at the sight of her cleavage. Finally, someone’s noticing. Too bad it’s not the person I wanted to notice.
Eventually Harry got used to the facts that 1) his best friend had breasts and 2) they looked pretty good in that bikini top. Once he had that out of the way he relaxed a little and concentrated on the swimming lesson.
All in all it turned out to be the most fun Hermione had had in a pool in years. And Harry, despite having consumed a fair amount of pool water, had enjoyed the experience as well and eventually started getting the hang of swimming. Afterward they sat out on the pool lounge chairs for the rest of the afternoon, enjoying the summer sun and each other’s company and discussing the day’s events.
As they went inside to change, Hermione thought about the afternoon’s swimming adventure. She was well aware of Harry’s reaction to her bikini, and she didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable, or be confused about what was going on between them. She decided that they would have to talk about their relationship soon.
For dinner that evening Harry and Hermione prepared spaghetti with garlic bread and a salad. Dan picked out an appropriate wine. The adults reported on their activities and the teens did likewise. Dan and Emma had a busy day lined up for them tomorrow. In the morning they would go with a realtor to look at possible rentals. They had decided on four bedrooms, one each for Harry, Hermione, and Ron, and one for a possible guest. Hermione insisted on two bathrooms, and they decided they could get by with a large living room without a separate dining room. While Emma had initially been concerned at the cost of something that large, the news of Harry’s wealth allayed those fears. Harry again offered to pay for part or all of the Granger’s trip, and this time Dan said he would consider it.
Emma had called in a favor to get Harry an eye appointment in the afternoon, and suggested he should probably come in for a dental checkup also. She had found some temporary hair color rinses they could experiment with, but had not yet had a chance to meet with her friend regarding makeup. Harry and Hermione thought that if they had time they would also go see Fred and George.
After dinner Hermione took her mother aside and told her that she and Harry needed to have a long private discussion. Emma took the hint and let Dan know that they would be going to bed early that night. Emma was dying of curiosity to know exactly what the relationship was between her daughter and this young man she and Dan had come to admire, but decided that she would have to wait until another day.
-xox-XOX-XOX-xox-
Author Notes:
Harry’s slogan T-shirts were inspired by similar T-shirts in Sunset Over Britain by Bob and Alyx. I refuse to apologize for any puns, bad or otherwise. I do hope the chocolate shippers enjoyed the chocolate reference.