Not a Goodbye

Chapter 7

     The rest of the summer passed quickly, and before they knew it, Harry and Hermione were bidding the Grangers farewell. The four stood at the door of the two story house as Harry and Hermione drug their luggage to the muggle cab. "Oh Harry, I'm gonna miss you dear! This summer with you was so great, and I do hope you come visit again with Hermione!"

Jean Granger hugs Harry and then turns to her daughter who was watching in amazement. "Hermione, don't give me that look. I'm just appreciative that you finally found a good man in your life!"

Hermione scoffed then looked at Harry," He's been in my life this whole time, Mom."

Harry couldn't think of a better way to spend his summer. Not only did he get to spend the summer with his best friend, who just so happened to be his girlfriend now, but he also met two people he would never forget. "We will definitely come back and visit. Thank you for having me."

   The two teens finally separated from Hermione's parents and loaded themselves and their luggage into the muggle cab. Harry threw his arm around his girlfriends shoulder and smiled warmly at her, "You're amazing you know that?"

     Hermione kissed Harry quickly and straightened up in her seat. "So I've been told."

Hermione had already given Harry his birthday present; a new broomstick, a photo album of their memories from the summer, and a small locket that held pictures of his parents, Sirius, and Remus Lupin. It was easy to say that Harry loved all of it, picking Hermione up and showering her in kisses.

    The ride to the train station wasn't that long, and yet Hermione still felt that time dragged on. She had missed Hogwarts dearly, and she was more than ready to spend at least one more year at her second home. Harry was lost in thought, staring at the girl before him. He had been so fortunate to meet her when they were in their first year at Hogwarts, even luckier to have been able to call her his best friend since then, and the luckiest because he could now hold her in his arms as his girlfriend. It was sad to leave the Granger's behind seeing as he had such a lovely time in their home, seeing where Hermione had grown up, but as the train station came into view, all thoughts of the previous summer left his mind. 

    When they passed through the wall at King Cross Station and entered the platform, immediately people surrounded the pair. "Harry Potter returning for Hogwarts! Is there anything that you can't do?"

   Harry chuckled at this and grabbed Hermione's arm gently to try and usher her through the crowd of reporters. Hermione got the message and ducked her head down, pushing until they finally saw a sea of red hair. "Oh my, Harry! Hermione! It's so lovely to see you again, we missed you so much over the summer!" Both of the teenagers hugged Mrs. Weasley, and let her kiss their faces, missing her just as much. Harry let himself hug her longer, knowing that other than Mrs. Granger, Mrs. Weasley was the only mother figure that he had left in the world. 

    "Yeah we missed you so much since somehow neither of you could pick up a quill and owl your best friend!"

   Hermione rolled her eyes, hugging Ron and ushering him onto the train, bidding the rest of the Weasley family goodbye. "Honestly Ronald, we would have but we were just a little - uh - preoccupied."

  Harry let out a loud laugh at Hermione's sentence, knowing farewell that being preoccupied meant involving themselves in a new relationship and spending lots of time together. "Right, the Grangers sure kept us busy the entire break."

  The trio found an empty compartment on the back of the train and for a second it almost felt like their previous days at Hogwarts, when Harry was still "The Chosen One" and the threat of Voldemort lingered in the air. But somehow Hermione felt as if a pressure had been lifted off of her shoulders, and she thought that maybe, just maybe, they would finally get a normal year at Hogwarts. The three spoke of the upcoming year, how Hermione and Harry had managed to become Head Boy and Head Girl together, and how Ron was pursuing a relationship with Lavender. "You know she's quite lovely-"