After a week with Sirius, Harry felt a bit relieved to go back to the predictable and orderly house on Privet Drive. "Sirius is a lot of fun," he told Petunia, "but he's as unpredictable as a toddler. He may wake up with some fun idea and insist on acting on it. Most of his ideas are pranks, and we had to be extremely attentive." He then smiled mischievously. "Well, I can prank him back, if I like, and he should have known better than try to prank Hermione. She kept him in his dog form for most of a day and warned him to behave, or she would neuter it. He didn't try more pranks on her."
"But he pranked you, didn't he?" Petunia asked.
"Oh, I didn't mind, especially since he tried nothing while I was with Hermione. This left him very few opportunities for pranks, and I retaliated nicely. Hermione helped me, of course."
Petunia smiled knowingly. "You didn't..."
Harry didn't let her finish. "We did nothing except sleep. We're still too young for sex, I believe."
She smiled with evident relief and ruffled his hair. "Alright. Go unpack. Dudley should be back shortly."
\/\/\/
Harry's twelfth birthday was celebrated very nicely. His aunt made his favourite portions for lunch and invited his friends for the afternoon. Harry made sure that none of his magical friends would dress in a way that could seem weird to Muggles and none would mention anything connected to Magic or the magical world. He invited Neville, Hannah, Susan and Daphne, along with some of his friends from his previous school. Hermione didn't need an invitation, of course. She came along with her parents and they also collected Sirius.
The adults enjoyed watching the children have fun for a while. As customary at birthdays, they played some games, listened to some music and talked about their lives, and mainly school. Harry made sure that none of the subjects at Hogwarts would be mentioned, only the teachers' names.
"McGonagall is very strict but kind. Binns, on the other hand, is so boring that he practically puts the class to sleep. Only Hermione stays somewhat awake. Luckily, he never pays attention," Harry told his old friends.
"We also have a boring teacher at Math, but he moves all the time, searching for pupils not paying attention. He's a nightmare, really," one of his old friends told him.
It went quite well, and there was no discernible difference between the two groups, not any more than any two groups of children of similar ages. The local children left shortly before dinner. The magical children stayed only a few minutes longer, so their parents could side-along them without being noticed.
\/\/\/
A few days later, Harry faded to the Granger residence with all he needed for a vacation in France, including his new passport, that Vernon helped him get. A few hours later, after a pleasant flight, they landed in Nice. This was the first time Harry took a flight and the first time he went out of Britain, as the few times he had joined his relatives for vacations, these were spent in Britain. Harry was fascinated by everything he saw. The multitude of new experiences tired him so much that he fell asleep as soon as they reached their hotel. Dave took him tenderly in his arms and set him on the bed, where Jean removed his clothes, leaving him in his underwear only. Hermione joined him later, after having dinner and watching some television programs.
He woke up in the middle of the night due to pressure in his bladder. He smiled feeling Hermione at his side and then crept out of bed, trying not to disturb her. He thought he did alright, yet when he returned to bed, Hermione was awake. "Where did you go?" she asked sleepily.
"I needed the loo quite badly. It looks like I fell asleep soon after we reached the hotel. Did I miss anything?"
She smiled. "Not really. We only watched some French television. It's not any better than the British. Now, lie down. I need my cuddle toy."
He quickly obliged. Hermione cuddled into him and fell back asleep. He smiled, caressing her wild mane for a moment, and then followed suit.
\/\/\/
After breakfast, Dave explained their vacation plan. "We're going to stay here for three more nights, enjoying all that Nice can offer – mainly a nice beach, restaurants and some shops. Then we're going to travel west and north, stopping at various attractions and winding our way to Paris. Some of the nights, we're going to sleep in tents at camping sites. We've brought two tents, as one is too small. We'll have a hotel suite in Paris, though."
As they reached the beach, only a few minutes' walk from their hotel, Harry was surprised and a bit embarrassed by the attire of most women on the beach, namely – no tops. He was even more surprised when Jean and Hermione removed their gowns, revealing similar attire. "Eh… Is it even legal to wear… so little?" he squeaked.
Hermione laughed. "This is normal on most European beaches. Some don't require even the bottom. Maybe we shall visit one or two such beaches."
Harry wasn't sure if she was teasing him or not. After growing up with the Dursleys, this was certainly something he hadn't expected. Hermione wouldn't relent, though. "Don't you like the way I look? There's not much to see up here at the moment, but next year there will be more."
He had to swallow hard. Twice. "You look very nice, really, and it's just natural that we change as we grow up."
She smirked. "Good answer, Mr. Potter. Now, we need smear some sun blocker lotion, if we don't want to burn in the sun. I'll do your back and you'll do mine."
He thought it was a delicious torture. She first had him turn his back to her and made sure to cover his shoulders and his back, including the back of his legs. She then let him smear his front, and made sure he didn't miss any exposed skin. She then let him treat her back. Harry had to use all his Gryffindor courage to touch her legs, especially as he neared her bikini bottom. He still liked every second of it.
Since this was their first day in the sun, Hermione's parents made sure they didn't stay too long. An hour later, they insisted they all put their beach gowns on and move under the parasols. They still allowed the children, after smearing some more sun lotion, to take a short walk along the beach. "I'm glad you're at my side," Harry told her, while they walked among the topless women.
She raised a brow. "Aren't you always?"
He chuckled. "I'm especially glad right now. With you at my side, I tend to look at you more than at these almost naked women. It wouldn't have been polite had I gawked at them, would it?"
She smiled. "It wouldn't, but you can look at me for as long as you like. I don't mind."
"Forever!" he said.
Her smile widened. "I think it's that bond thing in work. I really can't wait to resume sleeping nude. It's just that you're such a prude..."
"I'm not!" he insisted.
"Then, do you mind if we sleep nude? It's more than hot enough for that even during the night."
He felt like the sun was suddenly much hotter. "Alright. We just need to make sure your parents don't catch us that way."
She smiled teasingly. "We should lock the doors. It doesn't really matter, though, since Mom actually expects this."
"And your Dad?"
"He'll do nothing to upset her, After all, he likes sleeping with his naked wife too."
Eventually, Harry got his "prude test" soon after lunch. The sun and the fresh sea-air seemed to tire the adults, or so they said. They retired to their room to rest and suggested the children do the same. Hermione faded into Harry's room wearing only a smile a few minutes later. Harry boldly stared at her budding breasts and then at her feminine crack, with some fine hairs starting to grow around it. He failed to notice Hermione staring at his genitals just the same. After a while they looked at each other and started laughing, ending in a tight hug on the bed.
Harry felt less tense when they visited the beaches after that, and even the nude beach didn't bother him. He still gave Jean a thorough check with his eyes, thinking that Hermione might look quite similar when she finished growing up.
Once they started their trip to Paris, Harry felt even more relaxed. They visited some castles that were more like palaces, with exquisite gardens, unlike some he'd seen in Britain. "I don't mind the castles too much, after living at Hogwarts, but I don't think any British garden can rival theses, if only due to the different weather," he told Hermione.
"Yes, it's really much warmer here," she agreed.
\/\/\/
Paris was a different experience. While the buildings didn't interest Harry much, the paintings at the museums fascinated him. "I once thought I had a bit of talent at drawing. Maybe I should try again?"
"Do you want to make a nude painting of me?" she teased him.
He pretended to check her over with a critical eye. "Well, maybe in a few years, when you gain the right proportions. Doing it right now would be considered child pornography, I think."
She playfully hit his shoulder, "Oh, you..."
\/\/\/
Too soon, their vacation ended. They reached the airport early in the morning. By lunchtime, they were back in Kent.
Hedwig arrived with a letter from Ron as soon as they settled back. Harry took it reluctantly. After discussing all his grievances with Dumbledore, even the way the Weasleys acted at the train station on his first day started looking suspicious. He was wondering if Ron's insistence on friendship had some ulterior motives. He still read the short letter.
"Hi, Mate,
Mum has asked me to invite you to stay with us until the end of the summer vacation. You may take the Knight Bus, as you've already done, or we can make a different arrangement, if you prefer. Mum intends to take us shopping next Wednesday, so I hope you can join us before that."
Harry thought this was typically Ron: no interest in how he had passed his vacation, no information about anything that might be interesting to Harry and no mention of anybody else. How could he befriend such a self-centred person? Well, Ron wasn't actually a friend, but living in the same dormitory made them quite close. He still didn't like Ron, as his egoistic and childish behaviour and his lack of manners made him less than desirable.
"You should send a reply anyhow," Hermione urged him. She then helped him phrase his reply.
"Ron,
Thank your mother on my behalf for the invitation, but I don't think I can make it. I've spent several weeks in France with Hermione's family and I also want to spend some time with my relatives. I'll go shopping when it's most convenient for them, of course, so I can't promise even to join you for that. I'll probably see you only on the train." And he wasn't looking forward to that either.
He gave the letter to Hedwig and then turned to Hermione. "When do you think we should go shopping?"
She shrugged. "Tomorrow, or the next day, so we can read ahead at least the first few chapters of the books."
Harry smiled. Reading ahead was an idea he agreed with, although he knew that Ron would call it "mental". He was really wondering if he could ever consider Ron a friend.
They went shopping for school the next day. When seeing the advertisement in the book shop, Harry was glad for choosing not to shop on Wednesday, when the store would probably be full of fans. He also wondered about the multitude of books requested for DADA, all by the same author. He had a strong suspicion that the author would turn out to be their DADA professor, trying to cash on his position.
Hermione checked the books. "They seem to be more anecdotal than real study books. Maybe we can share a single set and buy the book used the previous years for the subject? It could be more helpful, I believe."
Harry agreed wholeheartedly. He was a bit annoyed by the way Hermione was looking at the moving picture of the author, one Gilderoy Lockhart, promptly displayed on the front cover of each book, that was winking at her. He had to admit that the man was good looking, no matter what faults he might have.