Moments in Love

Parents!

Starving and shivering from weakness as he lay on a bed of straw, Harry looked at the faces in the crowd beyond the cage. Many eyes stared at him as the spectators gawked at the underage wizard. Among the crowd were several people he knew. Aunt Petunia was waving the heavy iron skillet with which she had tried to wallop Harry on the head the other day; Harry had dodged it before being put in the zoo. Uncle Vernon was rolling up his sleeves and balling up his fists.

"Dodge this now Boy," Uncle Vernon laughed nastily, waving his fist menacingly.

Dudley chortled and rattled the bars of Harry's cage.

"Where's your girlfriend Harry?" taunted Dudley. "Why hasn't she come to rescue you?"

The strange looking zookeeper with the bat-like ears and long pointy nose goggled at Harry with his enormous bulging eyes.

"Don't worry sir! Harry Potter is much safer in here!" squeaked the bizarre looking keeper.

A bright spotlight snapped on, glaring in Harry's eyes. The rumbling murmur of the crowd grew louder as they got a better look at Harry.

"Stop it, leave me alone! I'm trying to sleep," Harry shouted at the onlookers.

Harry bolted upright in bed when he realised that the blindingly bright light was blazing through the bars on the window of his bedroom on the second floor at Number 4 Privet Dr. And the rumbling sounded suspiciously like a car. He hurriedly put on glasses and ran to the window to see what was going on.

Someone WAS goggling at him through the window. Someone with bushy tawny-brown hair, a cute overbite, and big anxious eyes.

"Hermione," gasped Harry, "What... how...?"

"I told you I'd come and get you if I didn't hear from you," said Hermione as she leaned out of the car window. "When Ron told me you hadn't answered any of his letters either, I asked my parents if they would let me visit the Weasleys. I got there this afternoon and we worked out a plan..."

"...And Dad told us that you'd been sent a warning for doing underage magic outside of school..." said the freckled redhead whose face suddenly appeared next to Hermione's. "You know you're not supposed to do spells outside school."

"What about the flying car?" Harry snorted with amusement, "Won't that get you in trouble?"

Another window rolled down and Fred and George grinned at Harry from the front seats.

"Oh, this...?" chortled George, "This isn't doing magic. We just borrowed Dad's car..."

"Mind you, if Mum finds out, we'll probably be in worse trouble than if the Ministry catches us doing spells..." Fred added. "She'll probably murder us!"

"Anyway, tie the end of this rope to the bars Harry. We're breaking you out of here." George passed Harry the rope, and Harry did as he was told.

Fred revved the motor of the turquoise Ford Anglia. There was a creaking, grinding sound and the bars pulled free of the window; then Ron reeled the bars into the backseat. Harry couldn't believe that the Dursleys were still asleep.

"Where's your trunk Harry?" asked George.

"Locked in the cupboard under the stairs," Harry groaned. "We'll never get it out without magic."

"Oh ye of little faith," snorted George as he pulled a hairpin out of his pocket. George and Hermione leapt through the window into Harry's room.

"I'll get your clothes and things together and pass them to Ron," said Hermione. "You go with George to get your trunk - and hurry, before your relatives wake up."