The rest of summer passed by without much fanfare. They exchanged a few letters with Ron that summer, who seemed rather miffed that Harry hadn't woken him up in time to pack, but Harry decided to mention that Neville, Dean, and Seamus had all tried to wake him, too. Ron, apparently had to Floo home from McGonagall's office, so he never noticed they weren't on the train, either. Ron was just as excited as before to invite them over to the World Cup, and Harry and Hermione debated whether or not they should go. They knew there was going to be an attack, but Harry also knew that Cedric didn't seemed to be destined to suffer any harm, and nor would the Weasleys, in the attack. They turned down the invitation, which, according to the twins' letter a few days later, left him catatonic for at least twelve hours as he couldn't comprehend anyone who would turn down free tickets to the World Cup.
Instead, Harry decided to thank the Grangers for having him over the summer by treating them to dinner at an expensive waterfront restaurant with a fantastic view. They were reluctant to have him pay, but Harry insisted, especially since he knew he was filthy rich and the Grangers were some of the nicest people he had ever met in his life, and he just had to thank them for their hospitality. When they got home, Harry surprised them with an owl. It was a long-eared owl of moderate size, strong enough to handle small parcels as well as letters. "Her name is Kerris. I've also bought you a year's worth of food, treats, an indoor stand and outdoor stand, and a cage for transportation. Now you can send letters to Hermione whenever you want!"
For the first time all summer, both Dan and Emma hugged Harry.
The day before they were to leave for London, Dan and Emma were talking in hushed whispers down the hall to Hermione's room.
"We should do it now, Dan."
"What? What makes you think she's going to... I mean, she's a smart girl, and she's only fourteen!"
"Nearly fifteen, Dan. And a lot can happen in a year. You saw how close they were already this summer. In fact, they were probably hiding a lot more from us."
Dan's eyes widened. He was always protective of Hermione, but the idea of her trying to deceive him was new. "You're right. In fact, they live in the same dormitory at school, don't they?" He sighed. "Do you want to do it, or should I?"
"I'll do it, Dan. The two of us can have a little girl-chat afterwards, as well. Maybe I can get some more details about Harry, too."
Emma walked down the hall and knocked on Hermione's door. "Hermione? Can I come in?"
"Sure, come on in, mum."
Hermione was, as usual, meditating while sitting on her bed, like she did every night. Emma walked in and sat down beside her.
"Hermione, I want to talk to you about... um... your relationship with Harry."
Hermione opened her eyes. "You like him, don't you? He's such a great friend..." she began.
"Oh, no, no, honey. It's not that we... disapprove. It's... well, we're worried that you'll be gone all year, and... that your relationship will develop further. We want to make sure you know what you could be getting into..." she tried to explain it slowly.
"Oh, you mean sex? Don't worry, mum. Harry won't push me that quickly. We both love each other and he'd never try to push me further than I'm comfortable," Hermione was grinning mischievously.
Emma was taken aback. "Oh... alright, so I don't have to explain about that... I'm glad you two can trust each other. When did you learn about it? Anyways... um... if you do, you still need to make sure you're using protection..." she continued.
"I learned this stuff when I finished Biology last summer, mum. And don't worry about STDs or pregnancy. There's several spells that protect against disease and pregnancy, and they're all more reliable than condoms or birth control pills. I've already got my Hep A and B shots when I was in school. I actually got my HPV vaccine at the doctor this summer, too. And after all that, magical potions can cure nearly everything short of AIDS. They might have a cure for that too, I'll have to look it up."
"Oh... well then... thank you honey. What's the HPV vaccine, by the way?"
"It's a new vaccine, it helps against the Human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical cancer. It's good for younger girls to get it."
"Oh... thank you, honey. That was most informative." Emma walked out of the room, shaking her head. Weren't the education supposed to go the other way around?
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