17 August 1991, Saturday – Two More Weeks
It was the next morning, after breakfast, when Jean asked, "So, what are your plans for the rest of the summer vacation?"
"I think we shall keep the same schedule as last week," Hermione said. "Harry doesn't want to attract attention, so we don't want to advertise our relationship, and it will be easier for you if he doesn't stay here during the week. I will only come for a change of clothes and to see you a bit before returning to his hotel room for the night. I sleep so much better when we're together, you know."
Jean smiled. "If you just 'fade' home, I think you may both join us for dinner every day. It wouldn't do to keep you apart, would it?"
Harry felt thankful. He didn't exactly know what he had expected, but he certainly hadn't expected such easy acceptance. He was still wondering about it, though. It went so easily that it was suspicious.
'I used some Legilimency to make them ready for the idea,' he sensed Hermione in his mind. 'It would have taken several tense days, or even weeks, otherwise, but they would have accepted the situation just the same. I was only smoothing the way for them.'
Harry wasn't sure this was the way others would have seen it, but he accepted her explanations. There was no going back on their bond, the way he understood it, so that making it easier for someone to accept the facts seemed a worthy idea.
"We'll come together for dinner," he agreed, "but I'll still take breakfast at the hotel."
'And give Selma her Harry Time before I join you again,' Hermione chuckled in his mind.
'Hey, that's not fair! I still think that we should also have some friends. And you know that I only love you,' he sent back.
'Sure, but you still enjoy her company too.'
'I only want you, really. It's your company, your love and your understanding that I cherish much more.'
Hermione was suddenly smiling brightly, as she jumped to Harry and kissed him passionately. Dave grimaced. Seeing his daughter kissing a boy was still difficult for him, no matter that it was her bond mate and future husband. As far as he was concerned, she should have still been an innocent child, oblivious to the other gender. Why did she have to mature so quickly? He still needed his little girl. Jean looked more pensive, though. She was becoming acutely aware of the fact that her daughter was no longer a little girl. Looking at Harry, she saw that although he was still a bit too short and quite slim for his age, his behaviour seemed more mature than that of most boys two years older.
Dave coughed a few times until the passionate kiss ended. "That kind of behaviour is best kept between the two of you, with no audience," he commented.
"Is that why you used to kiss Mum even more passionately whenever you thought I was immersed in a book?" Hermione asked innocently.
Dave blushed. "Oh!"
Jean started laughing. "I always told you that your daughter is much more observant than you thought."
They still returned to the main subject a moment later. "What will you do at school, though?"
Hermione shrugged. "This bond is still forming, so we can't officially use it to ask for special accommodation. We may still be able to fade to the other's bed, if necessary. Harry doesn't want to attract any attention, though"
"Why are you so reluctant to get attention?" Dave asked Harry directly.
It took Harry a moment to phrase his reply. "The family I was left with after my parents died, didn't love me and didn't treat me nicely. They hate Magic and didn't tell me anything about my parents, trying to pretend that Magic, and everything connected to it, didn't exist. When I found out that I could afford to stay at a hotel for the rest of the summer, I was very glad not to return to them, and they didn't want me back either."
He swallowed hard and then continued. "The one who put me there is Hogwarts' headmaster, so it seems, but I only found out at the bank. He may have his own motives for keeping me with my relatives, but I'd rather he left me alone. Now, not yet being officially an adult, I still have him as my magical guardian, but I don't want him to know anything until I'm sure he can do nothing to interfere with our emerging bond."
Dave nodded understandingly. He suspected there was more to it, things that Harry didn't want to tell, and possibly things that Harry didn't yet know, but that was alright. Dave could now understand why Harry tried to avoid attention.
"Don't you think that your bond will eventually be revealed?"
Harry shrugged. "It probably will. Once we complete it, the Ministry will know about it, like it does with any magical wedding, and the information may be passed to Hogwarts. Until then, I hope we can be ready for any confrontation on the subject."
He didn't mention their Occlumency, nor their Lordships, that could make a difference, as far as he understood. There were also all those charms they were already doing wandlessly, that could help them. For a Muggle, these were too far-fetched ideas to be of any use (It took him quite some time to come to terms with his new abilities and positions. For someone who couldn't do magic or live in the magical world, it was simply irrelevant.), but Harry felt sure that some of them would prove quite useful at the right time. He didn't worry about that.
They didn't mention this again during the weekend, enjoying their time together as any loving family would. Monday morning, when he said goodbye to his hosts, Harry felt that he was really loved by them. It was the first time he felt loved by any adults, and he felt really thankful for that.
It wasn't a long parting, though. He joined the Granger family for dinner that evening. He then faded back to his hotel room and spent some time in conversation with Selma, giving her a share of his attention. He then made ready for Hermione, who joined him for the night. They intended to keep this schedule for the rest of the summer.
Even disregarding all the other things that had happened before that summer, these were the happiest days Harry had ever had. He enjoyed sharing a deepening bond with Hermione, making everything they did together seem special and enjoyable; he had plenty to eat, enjoying better and bigger meals than he could ever remember getting; he read all that he wanted, bought whatever he fancied and didn't need to care about expenses. He could even go to a theatre, a restaurant and a theme park every day if he wanted. Still, he spent most of his time with Hermione, usually studying in the library, and when the weather was nice enough, reading in one of the public parks or just strolling around, holding hands. Harry invited Hermione to the theatre or the cinema a few times. He didn't care much about the show or the film, though. He just enjoyed looking at Hermione's face as she was watching. He was fascinated by her various expressions, finding himself admiring her beauty and feeling elated for being loved by her.
"Maybe we should try the Animagus transformation again?" Harry suggested one morning.
"Are you sure about it? This transformation was very exhausting, the first time we tried it. I'm not sure we're much stronger now."
Harry shrugged. "I have no way to check it. Even if we find a charm to measure our powers, we don't know what the results of that charm would have been at that time. I know I feel more powerful, and everything we try goes smoother and easier than before. It may only be that we're more accustomed to magic by now."
Hermione gave it a thought and nodded her agreement. "Where would you like to try it, then?"
Harry had his answer ready. "Your parents' backyard should be ideal. It is well hidden from the neighbours and from passers-by and we can rest there all we need if we get too exhausted."
Hermione smiled at him, and he felt like she was congratulating him for becoming more focused in his mind.
They only changed their schedule slightly, shortening the time they spent on reading and then fading to the Granger residence earlier than usual. Once there, they went to the backyard. They first hugged, and then took two steps back each, putting some distance between them. Harry concentrated for a moment and soon found himself on all four. Looking around, he saw the beautiful she-wolf looking at him with her brown eyes. He then felt as if he could see himself through her eyes, and was quite delighted at the sight of the majestic green-eyed white wolf that appeared in his mind.
Cautiously, they approached each other. They rubbed their heads on each other first and then started sniffing each other, the way dogs do sometimes. It was only when he reached her tail that he stopped and turned abruptly away. A moment later, he was back in his human form, blushing terribly. Hermione transformed back a few seconds later. "That's alright, Harry. Sooner or later, you'll know that area quite well in our human form. Why should it be any different in our wolf form?"
Harry still found it difficult to answer. Hermione just hugged him for a short while and he soon calmed down. "How do you feel?" she asked him.
He tried to asses his feelings. "I feel fine, only slightly tired, like after mounting the stairs running. How do you feel?"
She shrugged. "About the same as you. Shall we try this again?"
He smiled. "Sure! Why not?"
A moment later, the two white wolves resumed sniffing each other, especially at their back parts, just like dogs do. Once satisfied, they started running around, as if chasing each other. They then moved closer to the tree in the backyard and stretched out near each other. After a while, as if by some unheard command, both stood up and returned to their normal form, both sporting wide grins.
"It was fun!" Hermione exclaimed, "And I don't feel more tired than before."
"Neither do I," Harry said, hugging her and smiling.
Despite his initial hesitance, exercising their wolf form was becoming their evening entertainment, just before the Grangers returned home. As wolves, their understanding of the world was different than as people. They had a lot of fun exploring that difference.
Harry was surprised to find that these escapades were becoming more natural as time passed. He no longer felt any tiredness after transforming and felt like he could keep the wolf form indefinitely. Even his Occlumency exercises seemed to become more efficient, allowing him to exercise some alternate protection schemes, to account for various attack strategies, something they were both paying quite a bit of thought to.
"By training your mind to think both as a human and as a wolf, you gain more flexibility, and that makes your training more efficient in both directions," Hermione explained.
Indeed, Harry sometimes felt that his thinking was also influenced by his inner wolf. It made him attentive to different aspects of a situation and made him think more proactively. He still felt like there was more to his feelings than that.
"I'm not sure if it's the only cause. I think that our bond gives us more power both magically and mentally. Had I not met you, I'd still be that frightened little boy I was merely a month ago."
"And now you're a young and very powerful man and wizard. If it wasn't for you I'd still be that friendless girl, though. Meeting you changed me too."
"It changed us both, and I'm extremely glad it did."