The Dream

Harry Potter was sitting across, playing wizard chess with his blonde, narrow faced nemesis, Draco Malfoy, in the school library. Looking down, he noticed that Draco's chess pieces had the same robes, the same cold white face and the same narrow, red slitted eyes as Lord Voldemort. His own pieces, he realized, didn't look like regular pieces at all, but like...Hermione Granger. Looking to his left he saw her, yes the same bushy brown hair, the same beautiful deep brown eyes, the same soft skin and the same smile that made his heart melt.

"Hurry up Potter, I don't want to be near this mudblood all day," came the sneering voice of Draco Malfoy, jerking Harry to his senses.

"Don't listen to him, Harry," Hermione said in a soft voice, one Harry wouldn't mind hearing again. He returned his gaze to the chessboard, too embarrassed to look at Hermione's face. He was reluctant to put any of his “Chess Hermiones” in any danger, but he knew he just had to wipe that sneer from Draco's face. Harry made his next move and to his delight, Draco made a mistake, which he easily could take advantage of, hopefully winning this stupid match. As he moved his knight to take Draco's rook, Harry realized only too late that Draco's queen would take the knight, placing him in check. To Harry's surprise, a strange thing happened when Draco made his move. Hermione seemed to be injured. As Harry glanced over at her…yes it did look like she was getting weaker.

"What's wrong Granger?" Draco jeered. "Can't stand to see your Scarhead loose?"

Hermione, who looked to be on the verge of tears, said nothing. His temper getting the best of him, Harry reached for his wand. He wasn't going to let Malfoy get away with what he just said, but as he put his hand into his pocket Hermione whispered fearfully, "Harry don't! Just, please beat him, for me?"

Harry wasn't sure what the look in her beautiful eyes meant, but he sure wasn't going to let Malfoy win now. However, when he returned his focus to the chessboard, he knew it was too late. Draco, being so much better than him, had already won. What would Ron do to get out of this mess?

"I'm sorry, Hermione, I don't think I can win," Harry said looking defeated. "I'm just not as good as Ron. You should have picked him to play instead."

Tears welled up inside Hermione's eyes. A quick pleading look flashed in her eyes before finally saying, "It's okay Harry, you tried your best, and I love you for it."

"Shut it mudblood" Draco spat, as he took Harry's king. Harry, feeling defeat, glanced over at Hermione…she was fading away.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" He shouted at Draco. But before he could answer, a loud tapping filled the library. Harry, sure the whole building would collapse, ran to the door before he woke up with a start.

"Wha?" Harry blurted out, now sitting upright and looking at the blurred image of his window. He reached for his glasses, before trying to see what was making such a racket. He thought for a fleeting moment it could have been Ron, but then he remembered that the Weasley's Ford Anglea was in the Forbidden Forest. Once his room came into focus, Harry realized an was owl hovering before his window. He jumped up and let it inside. Noticed that the owl had some parchment tied to his leg, he untied it before unrolling it and reading:

Dear Harry,

How's your summer going? I know that we didn't leave things on the best of terms, but I was hoping we could get back together. If I don't hear from you, then we'll talk at school. Okay, well, love you!

Love, Cho

Harry read the letter over twice before snorting. `Yeah like I want to get back with her, especially with Hermione…' Harry thoughts drifted off. He shooed the owl away as he remembered his dream. If he wasn't having a nightmare about Sirius, Harry was having strange dreams about Hermione. He had discovered his deep feelings for the girl he had called a best friend of five years only recently, but he knew that his feelings traced back even deeper. He opened up his trunk to reveal a picture Collin Creevey had taken for him. It was a photo of Hermione in their third year. It was taken during a time when he and Ron weren't talking to her. The guilt he had felt just made him want a picture of her. If he couldn't talk to her, he wanted something to remind him of the wonderful witch she was. Sighing, he closed the lid on his trunk. He thought that was when it started, but he wasn't sure. Frowning over this, he resorted to falling back asleep (or at least attempting to). Maybe he would have a normal dream about Hermione…

* * *

Two days after receiving Cho's letter, Harry was sitting at his desk, bent over a set of transfiguration notes on Animagi and what he would have to do to become one. It was another one of the things that he would have to wait for until he was 17, if he wanted to do it legally that is. A sharp tapping, however, broke him from his thoughts. He peered out of his window, expecting to see Hedwig returning from her hunt, but instead he saw an owl…that looked like Hermione's. Wondering what Hermione would be sending him, he reached for the parcel tied to its leg. `It's not my birthday until next week,' Harry thought to himself, `why is she sending me a present? I surely didn't ask for one. Maybe she's sending me something to help get over Sirius. That could be it…' he thought, `but she doesn't need to'…

“I'm dealing with it,” Harry said to himself as he unwrapped her parcel. He allowed the wrapping to fall to the floor and to his shock; it was a picture of them both. After a moment he flipped it over and saw a piece of parchment. Harry unfolded it and read:

Harry, I know that Sirius dying must be tough on you, and I want you to know that I will always be here for you. Also, I have something, very important, to talk to you about when term starts, but I would love to see you before that. Would you like to come over and stay with my family for some of the summer? Well, I await your answer.

Love, Hermione

Stay with Hermione's family? Harry was shocked. He had only stayed with Ron's family before. Her letter didn't even mention Ron…could he already be there? No, she would have said `join Ron and I for some of the summer'. Is Ron even invited? Harry wondered about all of this for some time. `Great, even more stuff to pile onto my endless list of worries' He had to worry about his guilt over Sirius and now if Ron found out that Hermione had invited him over and not him. Another fight with Ron like during the Triwizard tournament…Harry wasn't very fond of that again. Thinking about it didn't help matters, so he thought he might as well ask her. Reaching for some spare parchment and his quill, he started to write:

Dear Hermione

About the invite, what about Ron? Is he invited? I don't think he would be too keen on getting left out. I mean, well, couldn't we all just meet up at Diagon Alley? I don't want to sound harsh, but I don't want Ron feeling like we left him out. You remember our fourth year. Well just send your owl back and we'll have to work it out, I guess.

Best, Harry

Reading it over, he sounded way too harsh; almost like he didn't want to see her, and that simply wasn't true. He really wanted to see Hermione, but he didn't exactly know why. He just didn't want to leave Ron out. Thinking about it, he decided to rewrite his letter:

Hey Hermione,

Umm I would really like to see you. Is Ron coming? If not, we should plan to meet up with him in Diagon Alley. Or maybe we should stay at The Burrow. It would be nice to see him before school. I bet both of you are really worried, it's not exactly okay, but I'm dealing. Anyway I hope to hear more about your invite, and hopefully see you soon.

Best, Harry

This letter was a lot nicer, he thought. He then called over her owl, tied it to her leg, gave her some water from Hedwig's dish, and sent her on her way. After a moment, he remembered the picture she had sent him. Picking it up and looking it over, he realized when it was taken. It was right after the Triwizard tournament when she had kissed him. He shifted his gaze to her beautiful face. She seemed really happy after the kiss; his face on the other hand, was blushing. He was shocked, once again. A friendship kiss from one of his best friends made him blush redder than Ron when he played Quidditch. But was it only a friendship kiss? Or was he digging too deep into the moment he and Hermione shared? But still, she didn't have to kiss him. But then again she had also kissed Ron before his first Quidditch game…

Why are girls so weird?! He wanted to ask someone for advice, but now that Sirius was gone…Harry attempted to suppress the tears, threatening to escape. It was his fault that Sirius had died…Sirius had died because he loved him so much…too much…he had rushed to his aid and it had killed him. Just like his mother, Harry thought. All of those he loved were taken away from him, and before Dumbledore had told him about Professor Trelawney's first prophecy, Harry had no idea why. But now he did. Voldemort would kill whoever got in his way to Harry. Anyone Harry loved would be considered to be “in Voldemorts way”. Harry knew what he would have to do, but this meant getting away from Hogwarts, Ron, and Hermione. He would have to get away from all the people he loved. His two best friends Ron and Hermione. The two people that helped him conjure a Patronus last year in the face of a Dementor. He couldn't leave them. He could never leave them.

Hedwig returned from her hunt with an unlucky mouse in her beak. Harry snapped out of his trance and turned his attention to her. She placed the mouse in her cage and looked at Harry. He forced a smile at her. He wasn't too keen on having mouse skeletons in his room more so because Aunt Petunia would undoubtedly get…upset, granting him yet another punishment…another burden. But if Hedwig got irritable, she wouldn't be too keen on Harry sending letters. So, with a small smile, Harry left her to her food. Before she started eating, she nibbled his finger affectionately. Harry watched her eat in the afternoon light and sighed. Hagrid, a half giant who worked at Hogwarts as both a Grounds Keeper and Care of Magical Creatures teacher, had bought her for Harry's 11th birthday. Harry smiled as he thought of his 11th birthday. His first truly happy birthday.

* * *

Two days had passed since Hermione's letter. Lately, staying with the Dursleys seemed so much worse. Dudley who was always…well, quite hefty, now sported quite a lot of muscle in replace of his flab. Despite his amazing ability to consume inconceivable amounts of food, his love of boxing, more so beating things to a pulp, had certainly paid off. Knowing that Harry couldn't run and tell Sirius now, Dudley felt that his last five years of fear meant that Harry had to be punished, both physically and emotionally. His Aunt and Uncle obviously didn't do much to stop this; in fact they probably saw this as their little Duddykins and Harry bonding.

So, as a result, Harry endured two whole days of being treated horribly, however his depression was never really triggered by this. Dudley's nagging was commonplace by now. He felt depressed because he could no longer hold Sirius over them, forcing them to treat him normally, and it was entirely to blame. It was his fault Sirius had died and Dudley had felt that it was his duty to remind Harry about his “filthy godfather” throughout the long, painful days at the Dursley's.

Little did Dudley know how truly bad this made Harry feel. He didn't dare tell the Dursleys about how Sirius had died, all they knew was that he was undoubtedly gone. Ascending the stairs that night, Harry felt that for the rest of the summer, he didn't deserve happiness; that the punishment the Dursleys were inflicting on him was entirely justifiable.

As he opened his door, he saw that Hedwig was back from her hunt, Hermione's owl had returned with her answer, and Ron's owl, Pigwidgeon (Pig for short), had all arrived. He looked over at Hedwig and forced another smile toward her. In response, she hooted happily and hopped into her cage. Harry looked over at the two other owls, noticing that both had parchment tied to their legs. Harry chuckled and untied Pig's letter first, allowing the tiny owl to flutter around happily, free from the parchment that was entirely too large for him to carry. Rolling it out he read:

Hey Harry,

I was wondering if you and Hermione would like to come to the Burrow for the last two weeks of summer. Me and Parvati (you know Parvati Patil, you two went to the Yule Ball together) are here, and guess what, she likes me! Turned up during the first week, said she couldn't wait until we got back to school to tell me. Well anyway, have fun with Hermione and her family, and I hope I see you at the end of summer. Oh yeah, I made Quidditch captain too! If you want to play this year as seeker, I think I just might let you on without tryouts…if you're good enough. (Harry smiled at this)

Best, Ron

Well whatever Harry was expecting, this certainly wasn't it. Ron, who was always tall for his age, with a mop of red hair and freckles, had a girlfriend. This wasn't surprising for Harry. Ron had bulked up a bit playing Quidditch, and now he was Quidditch captain. It was a shock, but he would obviously let Harry play on the team. Harry felt his stomach do a little flip of joy. He could play Quidditch again, and he would be going to the Burrow and seeing Ron. Maybe Harry could even borrow a broom and fly for a bit…his broom was still locked in the dungeon at Hogwarts thanks to Umbridge…but he would hopefully be getting it back when he started term. Harry hadn't felt this happy all summer, for a fleeting moment he had forgotten everything that had happened in his life recently. He then looked over at his window and saw Hermione's owl. This sight quickly brought him back to reality and he reached over, before carefully taking the parchment and unrolling it:

Hey Harry,

You really want to come! I'm soo excited. I didn't invite Ron because, well, he's busy at the Burrow with Parvati. I'm surprised it took her so long to tell him, but hey, they seem really happy, or at least Ron is. Anyway if you really want to come, my parents and I can pick you up on Sunday. That is if it's okay with you? Oh Harry, I can't wait to see you. I heard Ron got Quidditch captain, are you going to play? I really enjoy watching you play. You seem so happy when your flying, and by what Victor has said, you could become a professional. I hope you're happy about playing. I promise I won't make homework come before Quidditch this year, and only because of what that awful Umbridge woman did to you. So I'll see you in a few days.

Love Hermione

Harry, after reading the letter, couldn't be sure of what to think. He turned his attention to the picture of the two of them on his nightstand. Maybe the feelings he had for Hermione might be shared…`If only I could figure it all out', he thought glumly. Realizing that both Pig and Hermione's owl were waiting for their answers, he pulled some parchment toward him.

Hey Ron,

You know I'd love to come to the Burrow, but are you sure you want me and Hermione cramping your style? And of course I'll play on your Quidditch team. Even if they burned my Firebolt and I had to use a muggle broom I would play. See you at the end of summer mate.

Best, Harry

After tying this to Pig's leg, the tiny owl shot out of the window. Harry looked at Hedwig and she seemed to understand that he wished for her to watch over Pig on his way home. She elegantly flew out the window as Harry called, "I'll be over at Hermione's when you get back!" She hooted in reply and set off to catch up with Pig. Harry then reloaded his quill with ink and started on Hermione's letter.

Hey Hermione

Of course I want to come, a nice muggle family, who wouldn't want that? Hey, thanks for the picture you sent me, it's really sweet. But then everything you do is for the best. So I guess I'll see you on Sunday, I can't wait.

Best, Harry

Harry read over this letter, hoping that if Hermione didn't share his feelings, she wouldn't feel too weird about by this letter. Feeling safe about this, he tied it to her owl and said, "Next time I see you. I'll be at your house." She hooted in response, however it was in a way that he couldn't tell if she really liked that or not. 'Well to bad if you don't like me', Harry thought as he watched her flying away towards Hermione's house. `I'll still be at your house with the only girl who makes me fell happy'. Harry thought on this as he went down to dinner. At least the Dursleys will be happy Harry was leaving in two days…

"What are you smiling about, boy?" snapped Uncle Vernon, his face turning purple as he saw Harry descend from the stairs.

"Umm, one of my friends from school asked me to go stay with them. So…I…Uh…I was wondering if I could go?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Is it that Weasel lot?" Uncle Vernon shot, his thick moustache twitching over his lips and many chins.

"No, it's Hermione Granger. She has Mug…uh, non magic parents, their dentists…" Harry said quickly holding back his harsh feeling towards his uncle.

"I DON'T RUDDY WELL CARE WHAT THEY DO, AS LONG AS THEY DON'T DESTROY HALF THE BLOODY HOUSE!" Uncle Vernon shouted, bits of steak spouting from his mouth, while his face went a deep scarlet. Harry remembered the Weasley's last visit…

"Oh no, they will be using a car to get me…soo can I go?" Harry asked as he started on his own, small, burnt piece of steak.

"Well if you can get the drains cleaned without doing…you-know-what, then I don't see why not. When are they getting you?" Uncle Vernon said after finishing off his steak, a small but vindictive smile crossed his face.

“On Sunday.”

"Alright, you get the drains cleaned then, and I don't want to hear from you till next summer. Do I make myself clear, boy?"

"Fine!" Harry said quickly as he went to gather the plates of the table. He hurriedly washed them, before going off to bed, knowing that tomorrow he would be working his knuckles to the bone to get those drains clean by Sunday. He didn't really mind, it was just that they seemed to instill more chores on Harry now that Sirius had passed away. He probably deserved it. If he had practiced Occlumency properly, Sirius would be alive instead of well…gone, and none of his friends would have been hurt. It was all Harry's fault and to top that off, Hermione nearly had been crushed by Hagrid's “little” brother, Grawp, before they had even gone to the Department of Mysteries.

Thinking of this, he remembered how he had pulled Hermione out of Grawp's grasp, and how she clung to him in fear. Sure, friends did that, but Harry couldn't help feel that there was something else there…something that Harry would hopefully be experiencing after Sunday. 'Don't be stupid', he thought 'If she liked you, wouldn't she have said something by now?' This thought deflated the bubble of hope in Harry's stomach somewhat, realizing that she would have undoubtedly said something by now. Harry glanced over at his broomstick servicing kit she had given for his birthday. Smiling, Harry went over to his bed, climbed in, removed his glasses and fell asleep almost at once.

* * *

The next day, Harry climbed to the roof of Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging. He looked at the drains with a mix of relief and disappointment. The drains luckily weren't too bad, but this meant that Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia would eventually give him yet another chore to get on with.

"Hey, Potter, when you're done there you can clean my room," someone shouted from below.

Looking down, Harry saw a few of Dudley's gang standing around waiting for him to come down. The one who shouted up at him, was a weedy, little, hooked-nose fellow, named Piers. Piers had always been on Dudley's good side, never getting in an argument with him, in fear of Dudley turning his back on him.

Smirking, Harry thought of whom that reminded him of: Little Peter Pettigrew, the man who betrayed his parents when someone bigger came to play. This thought didn't really give him much joy, but if Piers betrayed Dudley, well, maybe Dudley would get what he deserved.

"You shouldn't talk to the help like that, Piers" Dudley's booming voice floated up. "You should never make it seem like a request, you always just tell him his dead parents would have wanted him to help out the family."

A roar of laughter followed this as Dudley's gang walked out of his yard. Tears forming behind Harry's eyes, 'How can he make fun of my parents when he's got Vernon and Petunia…' Harry thought bitterly. He decided to clean the muck out of the gutter into a bucket that he would strategically leave above Dudley's door on Sunday. Smiling, he couldn't help but think of the Hogwarts' poltergeist, Peeves, and his similar “pranks” around the school. Unfortunately, Harry couldn't afford to get into trouble, not when he was so close to staying with Hermione for the summer.

The sun was setting as Harry climbed down the ladder, his clothes (which were always to big for him) were covered in muck, and his hands and face were grimy. 'If Hermione only knew what I'm going through to see her.' Harry thought. In reality, he realized that she probably didn't like him more than a friend and thus would have said not to bother. With this realization, Harry glumly set off to the shower to clean himself up.

When Harry walked down to the table that night for dinner Aunt Petunia was actually looking grateful.

"Vernon just told me that you did a fine job on those gutters," she said as she thrust his dinner towards him. Harry looked down and saw that he, for a change, didn't get the smallest bit of pork tonight. His meal was actually going to fill him up for a change.

"Thank you, Aunt Petunia," Harry said, hesitantly; now thinking that maybe setting up that trap for Dudley wasn't the best idea, now that his Aunt and Uncle were treating him like a human being rather then a germ.

Aunt Petunia sat next to his uncle looking rather hawk-like and said, eyes narrowed, "This, Hermione Granger, her parents are…normal?" she asked.

"Wha? Oh yeah, Dentists, so no need to worry about anything weird, they'll pick me up in a car like normal people" Harry answered.

"Good." Uncle Vernon exclaimed, though he wasn't his normal shade of red tonight, in fact Harry thought, he looked rather normal.

"So, on Sunday then?" Aunt Petunia asked, though her eyes weren't quite as narrow as before. She was probably relieved that they wouldn't destroy her overly sterile house.

"Yeah…" Harry answered, not quite sure where the conversation was going.

"Alright then, well as you have finished the gutters, would you mind in making sure your room is clean before you go?" she asked, in an almost to kindly manner.

"Umm…yeah sure" Harry said, as a quizzical look crept across his face.

Uncle Vernon seeing this quickly said, "Well we can't have you covered in muck and grime when these normal and respectable people come over to get you, now can we?" shooting Harry a look practically challenging him to say that muggles weren't “normal”.

"Right," Harry answered, much to the surprise of Uncle Vernon, "I'll just be in my room then."

He then got up and took his empty plate over to the dishwasher.

"Oh don't you worry about that. Dudley said he would be happy to put the dishes away when he gets home." Aunt Petunia called.

In a state far beyond confusion, Harry thought to himself, `Probably just happy I'm leaving so quickly…Yeah that must be it' before ambling up to his room.

He opened the door and Hedwig hooting politely. Noticing that she had a parchment tied to her leg, Harry went over to her, stroked her head, and took the parchment. Unrolling it, it read:

Hey Mate,

Look, me and Parvati would love to see you guys. (Don't worry we don't get much privacy here at home anyway) We might be going to headquarters though, when you guys get here. Mum understands if you don't want to come over, but I'd be bummed if you didn't. Anyway mate, just send Hedwig back with your answer.

Best, Ron

Harry realized what Ron was getting at. Headquarters, 12 Grimmauld Place, was Sirius' home. His guilt regarding his godfather's death had driven him to be quite reluctant about going back there. However, seeing as Ron, and most likely Hermione, would want to go back there, Harry pulled a piece of parchment out, loaded up his quill and wrote:

Hey Ron,

Well I'm glad to hear you guys want to see us, so I guess we'll come over then. I want to see Buckbeak anyway so, yeah…don't worry, I won't have a problem about going to headquarters, see you there then.

Best, Harry

He knew it was a lie, about going to 12 Grimmald place, but he did want to see his best friend again. `It won't be too bad. At least we wouldn't have to clean again', Harry thought, as he tied his reply onto Hedwig's leg.

She hooted affectionately and hopped onto the windowsill. Looking back, she hooted what Harry thought must have been a goodbye as she took off toward the Burrow. He did feel bad about Ron and Parvati not getting privacy, but they would get plenty of time to do whatever at school over the next year.

Smiling to himself about how they might try to sneak around for empty classrooms to snog, he pulled on his pajamas. Tomorrow Hermione would be picking him up and he could hardly wait.

Yeah, she might not share his feelings and she probably only invited him over so Ron could get some privacy, but Harry was happy about spending time alone with Hermione. Very happy indeed.

* * *

Harry was running through the Forbidden Forest, being chased by the irate centaurs that inhabited the darkened area. He wondered desperately where Hermione was. They had been separated when Grawp had turned up to play with the, “Horsey-men”, as he called them. Harry chanced a breather as he racked his brain for where Hermione might be. He was worried, his heart hammering in his chest. What if the centaurs had caught up to her? Thoughts continued to rush through his head as he set off in the direction she had ran. Sprinting around hoping to hear her, he sprinted through to thick forest, not thinking about anything else. Even if he had to fight off the whole herd of centaurs to get to her, he would. As he ran into a clearing he saw her, leaning against a tree with her bushy brown hair cascading down her face. He jogged over to her, not wanting to scare her into thinking he was a centaur or anything worse. As he came closer to her, she looked up. Her beautiful brown eyes were full of tears. When Harry saw this he quickened his pace. She tried to stand but her ankle gave way under her. When he reached her, he was breathless. She looked up at him; with her eyes full of love, Harry felt his strength returning to him.

"Oh Harry, I thought you would never come," Hermione whimpered.

"Hermione, I…I would never let anything happen to you," Harry gasped.

Hermione just smiled and tried to stand. Harry reached down and helped her up.

"Thanks," she said, fully appreciating what Harry had done. He turned his gaze to her face, and couldn't pull his attention away. What he saw in her beautiful brown eyes made his insides feel like jelly. Harry found himself slowly leaning closer to her and to his surprise, she didn't back away, but instead, leaned closer as well. Their faces were inches away from each other, closer than ever before, and they leaned closer still…

And then, Harry woke with a start, hearing Aunt Petunia rapping on the door, "Get up, Get up, they're here to get you," she called.

"Ugh…Okay I'm up, I'll be down in a second," Harry called back. Reaching for his glasses and walking over to his mirror, he saw a skinny, but slightly toned 15-year-old boy, complete with messy raven-colored hair, emerald green eyes, and a lightning bolt scar, a gracious gift from Lord Voldemort. He quickly got dressed into his best clothes, or at least as good as he could fins out of his “vast” selection of Dudley's hand-me-downs. It was at least an attempt to try to impress Hermione, who, if Aunt Petunia wasn't lying, was most likely waiting downstairs right now. He quickly packed his trunk and reached for Hedwig's cage. `How am I going to cart all this down stairs and look good in front of Hermione?' Harry wondered.

*Knock Knock*

"Uh…who's there?" Harry called, more nervous than he should be.

"It's me silly," came a sweet and sensual voice that could only belong to Hermione Granger.

"Oh come in then, I'm just packing."

The door opened and in walked Hermione. Her bushy brown hair now was light and curly making her look, if anything, even more beautiful in Harry's eyes. She was wearing jeans and a tight pink sweatshirt, the same clothes she was wearing when they saved Buckbeak three years ago.

"Wow, oh h-h-hey H-H-Hermione," Harry mumbled.

"Hey yourself," Hermione answered, her tone uncertain.

"You...er...Look great," Harry said before he could stop himself. Hermione quickly looked away, but Harry was sure she was blushing. Harry quickly buckled up his trunk and reached over for Hedwig's cage.

"Oh no, I'll carry it for you." Hermione offered, sounding more confident.

"Oh…yeah thanks" Harry replied.

They walked down the stairs together and Harry saw Hermione's parents beaming at them. Harry looked over at the Dursleys, who sported looks of shock and jealousy. Harry also noticed that Dudley was paying an awful lot of attention to Hermione as they came down the stairs.

"Hey, c-c-can I carry th-that?" Dudley stammered to Hermione, indicating the cage she was carrying.

"Oh, I don't know," Hermione answered with humor in her voice. "It's Harry's after all. I would have thought you wouldn't want to touch anything a wizard owned…"

"Oh…yeah, I just thought, you know, I'm the Junior Heavyweight Inter-School Boxing Champion, so I thought you could use my muscles," Dudley retorted, flexing his arms toward Hermione. Obviously Harry wasn't the only one who had notice how attractive Hermione was.

"Mmmm, but Harry is the best and youngest Seeker in the last century to be on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and I've already got his muscles carrying the heaviest thing he's bringing, so I don't think I need you to help me with an ickle birdcage, thank you very much…" Hermione replied, this time with an unmistakable humor in her voice. She walked past Dudley, who was blushing furiously, and out to the car.

Harry followed behind her, but as he passed by Dudley, he was jerked over to Dudley's side before his cousin furiously whispered, "Now that she's seen real muscles, I can't imagine how your little scrawny body can keep her happy."

Harry only smiled in return as he walked out to the Granger's station wagon. No matter what Dudley said, Harry was spending a lot of the summer with Hermione, while Dudley would be stuck in Little Whinging with only his pathetic gang of cronies for company. He couldn't have felt any happier.