It Could Have Gone That Way; A Harmione Fanfiction

Chapter 25: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Finally, Harry had unwrapped a small bottle with a cork in the top. Inside the bottle, he noticed, was a tiny curled up piece of parchment. On the bottle's side was a sticker saying,'Open when all seems lost,' in Hermione's swirly handwriting. He slipped it into his pocket before reading the note,'If you ever feel lost or alone, just open the bottle for advice. There is, of course, a little bit of magic to it. See if you can figure it out. Have a wonderful birthday!' After that, Harry really did.

***********

"Thanks!" Harry called to the innkeeper as he opened the door to his room. Exhausted, he dropped his trunk onto the floor by his bed, leaving the door open. He wasn't going to be expelled for blowing up his aunt and he now faced three Dursley-free weeks. For the first time in ages, Harry felt lucky.

"Harry?" A voice came from the door.

Harry turned around, startled, and moved towards the figure.

"Oh, Harry, it is you!"

"Hermione?"

"It's so good to see you!" Hermione beamed, and then, she did something she had never done before, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hermione!" Harry protested, growing very red in the face, but no one was watching. For what it was worth, Hermione looked rather pleased with herself. And, though he didn't say it, Harry was very pleased with her too.

"Are you all right? I heard about what happened with your aunt, and they simply can't expel you! You didn't do it on purpose, we all know that, and-"

"-they aren't expelling me, Hermione." Harry chuckled,"Fudge said it was usual to accidentally do magic when faced with strong emotions at a young age, so they understand."

Hermione looked relieved,"Well, thank goodness for that."

"But," Harry frowned,"why are you here?"

"Oh...well, you see, I ran away too."

"You what?" Harry asked incredulously. Then, realising he had done the exact same thing, he calmed down,"Why?"

"My parents - well, they didn't want me going back to Hogwarts this year. Or ever again. I told them they had no right to stop me and my dad threatened to burn all of my school things if I tried to go back. So, last night I got out my trunk, packed a few spare clothes, took all of the Muggle money I had been saving up for the future and caught the Knight Bus here."

Harry stared at her open-mouthed,"Why didn't you write to me?"

"Because," Hermione sat on Harry's bed,"I think Mum and Dad knew I was writing to someone from school. Yesterday, they locked the window and hid the key. Hedwig couldn't get in."

"I'm sorry." Harry plopped down next to her.

"It's fine, really. I left them a note. I'm just not sure where I'll go next Summer."

"I'd offer you a place at mine, but I don't reckon that'll go down too well with the Dursleys..."

Hermione smiled at him,"I suppose I'll just have to face them, won't I?" Looking anxious, she changed the subject,"Do you need help unpacking?"

"Oh, no. I've not got much. Just some clothes and school stuff." Harry explained, walking over to his trunk and unclicking the locks. He pulled out Hedwig's brush, the jar of Mr. Spindle's Lick "O" Rish Spiders that Stan had given him on the Knight Bus and the photo of his parents he had gotten from Hagrid in his first year. Harry stared sadly at the photo, watching his parents dance happily. He hadn't noticed Hermione standing behind him.

Placing her chin on Harry's shoulder, she breathed,"She's beautiful and he's you."

Harry nodded and set the picture on his bedside table. He let Hermione brush Hedwig's feathers as he offered her a Lick "O" Rish Spider.

***********

The pair spent long, sunny days exploring the shops and eating under the brightly coloured umbrellas that dotted the cafés. Hermione (who had - of course - already completed all of the homework that had been set for the Summer) helped Harry with essay after essay and diagram after diagram until they were all completed to a reasonably high standard. They would make each other tell the story of how they had run away again and again, Hermione trying to make sense of the black dog Harry had seen and Harry trying to make sense of the change in Hermione's parents' behaviour. Then, the pair visited the shops to buy the things they needed for school. They had both grown a lot over the holidays, and needed new grey Gryffindor jumpers. Both of them also bought red and gold knitted Gryffindor Quidditch jumpers, which Hermione vowed to wear to all of Harry's matches in the future.

Surprisingly, a week before September 1st, Ron wrote to Harry to tell him that he would be going to Diagon Alley the following Tuesday - the last day of the holidays - to get his school things if Harry wanted to come. He replied explaining to Ron that he and Hermione had already been there for weeks and had bought all their things, but they'd meet him in the Leaky Cauldron anyway.

The day before Ron was meant to arrive, Hermione decided that she wanted a pet. Harry was surprised by how much money she had saved up and converted into galleons, so happily went along with her, eyes wide and jaw dropping at the many creatures inside of the pet shop. As soon as she went in, Hermione fell in love with a fat, fluffy, ginger-furred, flat-faced cat that was apparently half Kneazle.

"I was going to get an owl, but I really want-" she read the name on the cat's cage,"-Crookshanks. That name suits you, doesn't it?" Hermione stroked the grumpy-looking ball of fur and handed some money to the old witch behind the counter,"Thank you!" Hermione beamed brightly.

"Come on," Harry said,"It's getting late. We should head back."

"All right." Hermione picked Crookshanks up and carried him all the way back to Harry's room.

"Goodnight, Hermione."

"Goodnight, Harry."

Harry could have sworn he saw a flash of silver on Hermione's right wrist before she buried it under Crookshanks.