fresh - a harry and hermione story

The Burrow

Harry scrambled to throw his belongings clumsily in his trunk, making sure that the marauders map was tucked carefully in the bottom, underneath his socks. Ron's owl pig had clambered in through his bedroom window just a few hours before with a tiny scroll tied tightly to his ankle. 

In Ron's writing was scrawled,

"Hey Harry,

Sorry for the late notice but mum says you're welcome to come stay for the summer whenever you want, Hermione just arrived here last night actually. Fred and George are here sometimes but they're bloody busy with their new joke shop, seems to be going better then any of us would have thought. Mum says that we can go into Diagon Alley soon and buy our school stuff, so I really hope you can come, she says she'll buy me a broomstick this year if my OWL's are good, but I'll tell you more when I see you. Dad and some of the order are gonna come to pick you up tonight around 7 so warn the ruddy Dursley's they'll be getting a clump of wizards on their front lawn. See you soon mate.

Ron."

Harry glanced over to the small ticking alarm clock, that used to be Dudley's, sitting on his bedside table as he dove under his bed to retrieve the 'Broomstick Servicing Kit' that Hermione and given him for his birthday just three years before. The small clock was always an hour behind (which was probably why it had been given to Harry), and read 5:45pm, meaning it was actually 6:45pm and the pickup party was due to arrive soon. 

Harry heaved his trunk onto the top of his small single bed and forced the lid down overtop of the overflowing pile of clothes, books, school materials, knickknacks and random items he'd collected from his few years in the wizarding world. This included a pocket sneakoscope, his toy broomstick, the mirror Sirius had given his the year before and a couple dozen packages of mixed Treacle Tarts, Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans and Chocolate Frogs. 

No matter how hard Harry tried, he couldn't jam his trunk shut, until he eventually resorted to dropping his full weight onto the top and buckling up the latches as quickly as he could. Just as he heard the gasp of breath come from Uncle Vernon's pudgy mouth that surely meant there was magic in his presence, he snatched Hedwigs cage and thundered down the stairs.

He was met with the friendly smile of Nymphadora Tonks and her ever changing hair, which currently was a shade of bubblegum pink. She ran towards Harry and sort of tripped into giving him a big hug.

"So happy to see you Harry, I imagine it's been a difficult summer for you, with um-" Her voice faltered for a second, "- you know everything that happened at the Ministry at the beginning of the summer. I mean if you ever need anyone to talk to, um, I'll always be here."

"Thanks." Muttered Harry, who suddenly had becoming very interested in studying his sneakers. 

It was true, the summer hadn't been easy. Harry had lost one of the most important people in his life, his godfather Sirius, and he had watched it happen right in front of his eyes. Harry couldn't help but feel more then responsible for Sirius' death. If he hadn't been foolish enough to believe the lies Voldemort had projected into his mind then he might have been returning to Sirius' house to spend summer vacation, or talking to him about all the questions he still had about his own fate.

He looked up from his feet and saw Remus Lupin standing behind the Dursley's spotless couch. Remus gave him a brave smile, and Harry could have swore that he saw a single tear glint in the light of the lamp on the table that stood beside Lupin, after all Sirius was his best friend, and Harry had always thought that their relationship stemmed deeper than just friendship. 

Mr. Weasley cleared his throat and Harry looked towards him. So did the Dursley's, who seemed apparently shocked that Mr. Weasley had the nerve to even utter a noise in their sacred house. 

"Hullo Harry." Mr. Weasley said, "Nice to see you again, hope you've enjoyed your summer so far."

"Um yah, it's been good I guess" Harry said quietly, again becoming interested in playing with his shoelaces. 

No one seemed to want to bring up the topic of Sirius' death, which results in some awkward small talk before Mr. Weasley motioned towards the fireplace, suggesting that they head back to the Burrow, and he muttered something about it getting late. 

Remus, with a flick of his wand, send Harry's belongings, along with Hedwig, off to the Burrow to await their arrival. Harry stepped into the Dursleys fireplace (much to the appalled looks on the faces of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia) and shuddered as he remembered his first trip by Floo Powder, which ended with Harry being shot out in one of the most dodgy shops in Knockturn Alley, called Borgin and Burkes. 

Making sure to speak as clearly and he possibly could, Harry grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and threw it to the base of the fireplace at his feet and he yelled "The Burrow". He felt the licking of the green flames up his body and he shot off to the Weasley's home.

Within a few seconds he was blasted out of the fireplace at the Weasley's house covered in soot and coughing smoke out of his lungs.

"Harry!" yelled a girl, who's voice Harry definitely recognized.

He felt the familiar feeling of one of Hermione's 'Knock-You-Over-Squeeze-You-Extremely-Tight-Until-You-Lost-Your-Breath' hugs, and wrapped his arms around her, enjoying her embrace for a second, wishing it would last for a few more minutes, before they broke away with the sound of Ron's loud steps pounding down the stairs.

"Hey Harry! Mum was starting to get worried, but of course she was, no surprise there that's all she seems to do lately." Muttered Ron, his voice trailing off towards the end of his sentence. 

"Well on that cheery note..." murmered Hermione, "why don't you grab something to eat Harry, I'm assuming the Dursley's haven't exactly been feeding you plentifully. I'll make you up something."

Hermione bustled over to the kitchen while Ron sat on the stairs up to his room and leaned back against the railings. Harry sat on the love seat right outside the Weasley's kitchen and watched Hermione searching through the cabinets and occassionly muttering 'Accio' whatever ingredient she needed. Harry smiled when she leaned over to grab something she had dropped on the floor of the kitchen and the carrots she had summoned came flying and bumped into her head. He chuckled audibly and Hermione shot him a death glare that eventually turned into a grin.

After 15 minutes or so she summoned a plate out of the sink and placed a sandwich she had carefully crafted onto it and carried it over to Harry.

"I cut the crusts off because that's how um.. I like to eat them usually it makes them look nicer I think but it's just a sandwich my mum used to make when I was a kid but-" Hermione's sentence was cut short.

"Itz perfect 'Mione, tfanks." Harry said through a mouth stuffed full with sandwich. 

She looked up from the ground and smiled toothily at him, and Harry grinned back. 

"Well Harry, I've been meaning to talk to you about Sirius. I know you probably don't want to talk to anyone but I um just want you to know that if you ever need someone to talk to about it, I'm always here to listen and uh help you out you know? Well um, have you also thought more about what Dumbledore said to you at the end of last term?" Hermione sputtered out all in one breath.

Harry looked at her for a moment and looked into her deep brown eyes, and could see her looking at him pleadingly, begging him to tell her some of the things that have been haunting him.

He smiled at her, and he began to open his mouth, intending to only talk more about what Dumbledore had explained to him at the end of the year, but ended up pouring out all of the things that had been bothering, and all the thoughts that had keep him up late at night, the images that played over and over in his head, not allowing him to sleep peacefully. 

When he finished, and he cheeks were stained with tears, and his eyes were red and puffy, and his voice felt like it was almost gone, he looked up from his hands he had been fiddling with in his lap and saw that Hermione's eyes shone with tears too.

"I'm sorry Harry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She kept stuttering under her breath. 

She leaned in towards him and embraced him in another one of her hugs and he felt almost as though he wasn't the Chosen One, almost as though he didn't have to face the world alone, as though he hadn't watched his loved ones die one by one in front of his eyes.