The Granger couple couldn't spend more than four weeks on vacation. While the cost was irrelevant, especially since they were invited by the Delacour, they couldn't abandon their patients. They had to regretfully leave the sunny beaches and return to cloudy and rainy England.
Sirius and Marlene also left a day later. Sirius had to build his position as Lord Black and reform the position of House Black. Marlene still had her muggle job to consider, although she was already planning to resign as soon as they finished the wedding plans.
The Delacour could only spend a few more days on vacation. "You can stay here if you like," Claude told the Potters, "since we actually own this villa. You're also invited to come and stay with us at our home if you like. It's not near a beach, but we keep it 'clothing optional' there as well, as long as the weather permits. We also have a large swimming pool."
That made the young couple smile.
"Still I think it would be wiser for you to return to Britain. You need to get ready for school, of course, but you also need to be seen in the end-of-summer events, where all the high society is mingling. You may have noticed that we made sure you both had some appropriate clothes." Harry felt like Claude was slightly teasing him about the shopping.
Hermione grimaced at hearing about the social events but then her expression changed, showing determination. "I think you're right. We need to be seen and Dumbledore already knows he can't control us. Will our rings protect us well enough?"
Claude hesitated. "Lord and Lady rings normally protect their bearers well enough. He will surely be unable to bind your minds and your magic again, but he may have learned some compulsion or other charms that can affect you despite the rings. They also can't protect you from the Unforgivables, you know, and Imperio is one of them."
Harry had another problem nagging at him. "Where shall we stay until school starts?"
Claude smiled, but Hermione answered first. "With my parents, of course. It's too short a time to start checking all the other options and we also have a beetle to feed, don't we?"
"That may prove the best, for now," Claude agreed, "and I've already noticed you've got a few invitations. Can you dance?"
Harry's grimace was answer enough.
"I'm sure that Fleur will enjoy teaching you both for a day or two. She also needs to go back to Britain. Gringotts accepted her as an apprentice and she also seems to like a certain red-haired curse-breaker," Claude added.
–..–
Fleur proved to be a very good teacher. In less than two days, both Potters learned all they needed for the coming events, and not merely dancing. Fleur still enjoyed teasing Harry while teaching him to dance properly, brushing her naked body against his 'by mistake'. Harry couldn't really mind, and since it also made Hermione hornier, that only added to the pleasure.
Still, three days later, with a little help from Gringotts, the two Potters and Fleur arrived in Britain.
–..–
The Hogwarts letter was waiting for Hermione when they came back to the Granger house. She frowned at not finding Harry's Hogwarts letter there. Harry wasn't surprised, though.
"Just another trick to try and force me back to the Dursleys. I'm sure he has somebody stationed there to not allow me out, once I go there to take the letter."
Hermione's expression changed. "Magical people keep forgetting that the muggle world already has other means of communication. I'm sure you can ask your uncle to fax the letter to my parent's office from his, costing him nothing. Do you want me to handle the conversation?"
Harry nodded. "Yes, please. I hope he'd be politer with you."
It turned out alright. Vernon didn't want to cooperate, at first, as expected. "Why should I even do anything for him? The boy can come and take his mail without bothering others."
"We suspect that once he comes there, somebody will make sure he stays there for the rest of the summer vacation, at least. That's illegal, of course, but some people don't let legality bother them, you know."
Harry, who was listening on the extension, could almost see his uncle fighting conflicting emotions. On one hand, he wanted nothing to do with "the freak". On the other hand, if he didn't cooperate, he'd have to host that same "freak" for who knows how long. The best way to act was clear, although he didn't like it.
"Alright! I'll take the letter to the office and fax it from there. Now, do you intend to bother us some more?"
"Not quite bother, sir. But can you open the envelope and see if there's anything else there but the papers? If there is, we may need to find a different way to get it."
Vernon huffed loudly, not liking it at all, but they could hear him tearing the envelope open and shuffling through the contents. "Nothing but those too-thick papers. I'll send it by fax tomorrow at ten, as requested. Bye!"
Hermione turned to Harry with a sad smile. "What an agreeable person… Not!"
He shrugged. "And he was quite nice to you, for him. I'm glad not to live with them any longer."
–..–
That evening, they met Fleur again at the Longbottom end-of-summer Ball. Sirius was also there, with a beaming Marlene on his arm, while Fleur came with Bill Weasley.
"I'm staying with the Weasleys, for now. Molly doesn't like me much and that makes Ginny act the same, but I plan to only stay there for a few more days, until I can rent my own apartment, probably in a muggle neighbourhood," the young woman told them.
"And I hope she'll invite me to stay with her," Bill added with a wink, gaining himself an elbow to his ribs, not too hard.
It wasn't too bad, really. Harry danced mostly with Hermione, as expected, but he also danced shortly with Dowager Longbottom — their hostess — and with Fleur. Some other young women also eyed him with interest but didn't do more than that.
Some of the Lords wanted to talk to Harry, and some were also interested in Lady Ravenclaw, mainly since that position had been vacant for almost a millennium. Since it was just polite chit-chat with no politics, both accepted it stoically.
–..–
The next morning, Hermione made sure to arrive at her parents' office a few minutes before ten. The receptionist knew her, of course.
"Welcome, Hermione. Finished your vacation in France?"
"Sure, Perla. It was a very enjoyable vacation, and I also met my good friend Harry there, quite unexpectedly. Now, don't you want to take a break while I can take your place for a short while? I'm sure you'd like to leisurely drink a cup of coffee or tea."
Perla smiled knowingly. "Don't keep the line busy talking to your boyfriend. How long can you stay?"
"Fifteen to twenty minutes, I suppose. I'll call you if I can't handle something and when I need to leave. You can take your time."
Perla went to the staff room, where a well-equipped kitchenette was available. Harry removed his cloak as soon as she closed the door.
"You can guard the fax machine. I'll answer any phone call," Hermione instructed.
They didn't need to worry. The fax machine got a call as soon as the clock showed ten. It took a bit for the four pages to arrive and be printed, but it all went well enough.
The phone rang a moment later. "Granger dental clinic, Hermione speaking."
Hermione listened and then raised a questioning glance at Harry, who checked the pages and nodded.
"Yes, all four pages arrived clearly."
She listened some more. "Sure, you can dispose of the originals, if you like. Thank you…"
She turned to Harry. "He hung up before I even thanked him. I'm really glad you no longer need to suffer him. I'm not sure I could stay there more than a few hours."
Harry folded the papers and put them in his coat pocket. How he missed the warmth of the Mediterranean beaches…
–..–
When they returned to the Granger house, Hermione read the four pages attentively and compared them to hers. Something was missing in Harry's as she already knew. Her letter had an additional page that made her a prefect and the envelope held a prefect's badge. Harry's had neither.
"I don't understand why they didn't make you a prefect this year. You're certainly the most suitable among the boys," she said.
"Another of Dumbledore's tricks, I suppose. He either wants me to beg for the position, which I'll never do, or has some idiotic excuse. Do you know who they chose instead?"
She shook her head. "No, but only Neville could even be considered, The others don't seem to mind their grades or the rules. Well, maybe Dean, just a bit."
Harry gave it some thought. "I think they made Ron a prefect. Molly would love it. The twins — not so much."
Hermione looked alarmed. "But that's madness! He acts almost opposite to everything a prefect should do!" She then took a calming breath. "I think I'm going to return the badge. As a married woman and a Wizengamot member, I have no time for dealing with petty school roles."
Harry turned worried and took her hand in his. "You don't need to give up your position for me, dear. You worked hard to achieve it."
She shook her head. "It lost its attraction for me when I realised it was used for petty manipulations. I won't take part in that!"
She then wrote a short letter.
"Dear Professor McGonagall,
Due to my new position as a married woman and a member of the Wizengamot, I feel that becoming a prefect would put too much burden on me. I therefore return the badge and hope you find another worthy student to wear it.
Sincerely,
Lady Hermione Potter-Ravenclaw-Granger."
Hedwig seemed quite eager to carry the letter.
Despite her spoken and written words, Harry did not doubt that Hermione would have not rejected that position had he been the other fifth-year prefect.
–..–
They spent the rest of the morning on school shopping. Harry frowned when he saw the book required for DADA. "This is complete rubbish," he said after leafing a bit. "I suggest we ask for the book used last year for the fifth-year students. It would serve much better."
Hermione wasn't so sure. "I agree it's rubbish, but we may need one, at least. Maybe we should interest Rita in that?"
Harry smirked. After giving them her vow, Rita was allowed to retain her human form and resume her work. An incompetent teacher, whoever he or she may be, could make some nice headlines. Harry was also agreeable to that idea.
He then had another idea pop into his mind. "Do you know who the Hufflepuff heir is? If we cooperate, we may take control of the school, I suppose."
Hermione gave it some serious consideration. "Yes, according to the Hogwarts Charter, we need all four heirs to take control from the Board of Governors. I think I heard Susan mentioning that she had that title but it was worthless, since without the heir of Slytherin, there was nothing to do."
"Then, we should contact her soon. Well, we may meet her at one of the events we're expected to attend. She was yesterday at the Longbottom party but left early, looking a bit pale," Harry noted.
"It was her period, I believe. She may feel much better tonight. Where are we expected to go?"
Hermione had already prepared a clear list, only Harry was holding it. "Davies town-house. It's in Nottingham, or maybe near it. They have a Floo address, so we can go from Sirius's house, like yesterday."
–..–
Like Harry, Minerva McGonagall wasn't fooled by Hermione's words. She had fought to give the other position to Harry, but the headmaster overruled her, giving the position to someone whom she considered the least suitable for it. Well, with Hermione not even in the dorms, Ron would have to cope on his own both with his prefect duties and his homework. She had a feeling that he'd do very poorly at both.
She was really glad when she found out about the bond. These two seemed to belong together since the first year, despite some misunderstandings. Well, many couples have occasional misunderstandings and such young ones were not expected to have less. She had chosen for them a married couple's apartment near the Gryffindor tower, to let them keep in touch with their classmates, although they seemed to only be close to Weasley, for some unexplainable reason. Well, from what she had heard, they seemed to get closer to Mr Longbottom, who was certainly a better choice, despite his less than stellar performance in class.
–..–
Albus didn't like that letter at all when Minerva showed it to him. Although the brat seemed to slip out of his control, he still needed to be the one directing him to his destiny, as glum as it would be, according to his plan, yet the brat was turning the plans more and more irrelevant. He first befriended that bookworm, who turned out to be smarter even than Lily Evans had been, and not as adoring as her. Their loyalty to each other seemed complete, and nothing he tried to do had any lasting effect. And now they got themselves a soul-bond. It helped a bit in Sirius's case, at least. With the brat staying away, Sirius had no way to have any significant influence, and that fit Albus's plan, or he would have made sure to keep Sirius a fugitive, at least.
And now, his friend… eh… his wife was defying him, the greatest wizard alive, by refusing to act as he had planned. That was unacceptable. He was also wondering how the brat managed to get his letter without falling into the trap he put at his relatives' house, one that would have kept him there for two weeks, until the wards were recharged. Why was nobody considering his opinion any longer? Even Minerva was questioning each and every instruction he was giving her, at least those concerning Potter. He just couldn't let her know the plans! Nobody could know, or they would have considered him dark, him — the leader of the light. That should never happen!