Fully illustrated! After his name came out of the Goblet of Fire, Harry woke to a disturbing reality. The wizarding world only saw him as an expendable pawn, his carefree attitude towards studying left him struggling to survive, and he had never tru...
The rest of the days at Hogwarts passed by in a blur. Even once he was released from the Hospital Wing, Harry and Hermione kept to themselves and spent more time in the Room of Requirement or taking walks outside rather than subjecting themselves to the whispers and stares of the student population. By the time of the year end feast, Harry was in control of himself enough to sit emotionlessly through Dumbledore's speech of Voldemort's return and not react to the half hostile, half curious looks directed his way.
Before he knew it, he was on the train and on his way back to the Dursleys.
Hermione had been acting strange all day; she urgently pulled him into one of the compartments and shut the door with a loud bam.
"Harry, I have something to tell you." She wrung her hands nervously. "When I went to ask Dumbledore if you could go somewhere else this summer and he gave that whole speech about keeping you safe, he added another condition. I'm not supposed to contact you either."
"What?" Harry's stomach sank. "Why not?"
"Apparently, it's too much of a security risk to exchange owls when both the Ministry and Voldemort's people will be keeping an eye on surveillance. Frankly, I don't buy it." Hermione lifted her chin. "Besides, there are other ways to keep in contact."
"What's this for?" Harry asked as she passed him a parchment and quill.
"Your address and your phone number. I'll be needing them." Hermione said in her no-nonsense voice. "I can't believe we've never thought to use muggle methods of communication before, but better late than never. I can always just taxi over if I need to or find something to do in your area so my parents drop me off."
"As for calling..." She handed him another paper. "That's my address and number. There's bound to be a telephone booth near your area that you can use if the Dursleys don't let you use theirs. And in the case of emergency, you can call a taxi too. Just ask Dobby to go to Gringotts with your key and convert a bag of galleons to pounds, and you're set."
Harry was dumbfounded. "You seem to have been planning this for a while."
"I'm not leaving you alone this summer, Harry." Her eyes blazed with determination. "No matter what."
_____
As Harry got on to the platform and spotted the Dursleys, he felt his heart grow heavy.
"I guess that's it then," he said, attempting to smile but not quite succeeding. "Goodbye."
"Bye, Harry!" said Hermione, and she did something she had never done before, and kissed him on the cheek.
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Harry froze for a second, unable to process the feel of her soft lips against his cheek and her scent surrounding him.
She stepped back and turned away to go, but before he knew it, he was pulling her back and into his arms.
