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Harry was thoroughly sick of number 12 Grimmauld Place and he’d only been there three days. He couldn’t imagine how Sirius was coping with not being allowed to leave the dark and dingy townhouse overrun with loud, hyper redheads. He’d received one letter from Ron shortly after he was unceremoniously deposited with his Aunt and Uncle saying he was safe and staying somewhere Dumbledore picked out and he couldn’t talk about it but would see him sometime this summer.
Struggling with the trauma of Cedric’s death and Voldemort’s return, Harry was slipping further and further down the rabbit hole of depression when Dobby popped into his locked room. Dobby brought with him a packed cooler of food and a real letter from Hermione full of what she was doing and pleas for him to keep his chin up. She’d been requested to join Ron at the “safe house” for the summer but declined after hearing Harry wouldn’t be there and there was no set time for him to join them. Those letters Dobby brought probably saved his life.
Now, however, he was playing Hide Harry with Molly Weasley and so far he was succeeding. He refused to stay in a room with Ron, not because he was angry with the lanky redhead for not trying to stay in touch more, or because he acted like everything was just fine and dandy with the world after Harry watched Cedric die in front of him and Voldemort rise up like some demented jack in the box but because he just needed space to think for himself. And Mrs Weasley was not happy about it.
He’d been avoiding her since lunchtime and she’d twice bounced off the wards to the third floor where the ‘family’ rooms were located trying to see if he was there. Finally, Sirius told her Harry wasn’t in his room. Molly tried the library (disturbing Hermione and forcing her to clean the lounge with Fred and George), all the bedrooms on the second floor and even the attic before Buckbeak chased her out. Harry managed to stay a step ahead of her but it was getting late and he was tired.
“HARRY JAMES POTTER YOU WILL CEASE THIS INFERNAL HIDING THIS INSTANT!”
Okay, that was too close for comfort. He could hear her footfalls on the stairs and grabbed the first door handle he could.
Unfortunately, it was the second floor bathroom. And it was occupied.
The running shower steamed up the mirror and started to fog up his glasses but he knew almost immediately who was in the shower from the clothes on the floor.
“Harry Potter! What are you doing in here?”
Hermione popped her head around the shower curtain. Luckily for Harry, her face showed more confusion than anger at the moment.
“Sorry, Hermione,” he whispered before pulling out his wand and tossing up locking and silencing charms on the door. “Molly was on her way up the stairs and I needed to hide. I just grabbed the first open door.”
Sighing, she let the curtain drop and continued what she was doing.
“You’re forgiven. At least she won’t come in here looking for you.”
“I know, rig -”
BANG BANG BANG
The curtain shifted again and wide brown eyes met startled green.
BANG BANG BANG
Hermione shook her wet head and gestured to Harry to hand her his wand. She dispelled the silencing charm before calling out, “Mrs. Weasley, I’m in the shower. Do you need something?”
“Open this door, I’m looking for Harry.”
“What? I’m in the shower. Harry isn’t in here with me, Mrs Weasley.”
“I’m looking everywhere and I can’t find him. Dumbledore will be here shortly and I can't find him so open the door.”
Both teens stared in horror as the doorknob began jigging and Molly’s pounding got louder.
“Hermione Granger, I am ordering you to open this door! This is the last room in the house and I refuse to leave until I know Harry is not in there!”
Harry took a deep breath and resigned himself to meeting his fate when he felt a sudden draft. Hermione vanished his clothes and tugged him into the shower behind her without so much as a ‘how do you do’. The next flick of her wand unlocked the door and moments later the red faced Weasley matriarch burst into the room.
Harry’s mind was spinning in a hundred different directions at once. One minute he was just hiding in the bathroom, the next minute he was hiding in the shower with his very naked, very wet, female best friend. A female best friend he had just had his eyes opened to how attractive she was. He was desperately trying to keep the blood flowing north when he noticed Hermione holding the curtain in a death grip.
“MRS WEASLEY! You are not my mother. You have no right to barge in here. As you can see, Harry is not here. Now, I’d like to finish my shower in peace.”
“You are under my watch for the summer, so you’ll do as I say. Now move aside.”
“If you so much as touch this curtain, I’ll yell for Sirius.”
“Now, see here young lady…”
Harry watched in slow motion as Mrs Weasley’s hand appeared above Hermione’s on the curtain. The second her hand touched the material Hermione let out a shriek that nearly sent him stumbling.
“SIRIUS!!! SIRIUS I NEED HELP!!!”
Molly took a step back in shock but didn’t release her grip on the curtain. Harry stepped up close behind Hermione so he could fold himself into the curtain to avoid being seen and silently whispered an apology for certain body parts reaching out and saying hello without his express permission. He debated closing his eyes but his brain refused for two reasons; the first being he was terrified of Molly finding him in the shower with Hermione and the second was the view of Hermione’s smooth sloping back and very pert looking bum. He shook his head. Crazy redhead first, then scary naked witch who dragged him into the shower with her second.
A moment later an out of breath marauder burst into the room and saw Mrs Weasley fighting over the shower curtain with a red-faced and upset Hermione.
“Molly Weasley, what in the name of Merlin is going on here? I told you to leave Harry alone. I asked you to stop bothering Hermione and now you’re doing Merlin knows what to her! Leave. Now.”
“Not until I find Harry and this is the last room in the house.” She crossed her arms under her ample bosom.
“And I don’t see him in here, Molly. Let’s go.”
“Not until -”
“NOW, MOLLY.”
Sirius stopped before pulling the door all the way closed, “Hermione, I’m having your things moved. Stop by the third floor landing and call for me or Harry and we’ll show you around. Lock the door behind me. There’s a meeting in a few minutes and I don’t trust Dumbledore not to send someone else up to look for Harry.”
Once the sounds of Molly yelling disappeared down the steps, Harry stepped away from the warm spray and Hermione until he noticed her shoulders shaking. ‘Fuck, she’s crying. Suck it up, Potter, you can control your hormones long enough to comfort your best friend.’ Trying desperately to ignore the situation that was happening below his waist, Harry stepped forward and wrapped Hermione in a hug. She was so distressed with Mrs Weasley bursting into the room, she paid no attention to being naked and went willingly into the hug.
“I cannot believe she just burst in here! And while I was in the shower, too.”
“You know Molly, she thinks she’s always right and has to have the last word no matter what. It doesn’t matter if we’re her actual kids or not, we’re here and so she’s going to take charge of us.”
“Why was she even looking for you?”
“I refused to share a room with Ron for one. For another, I refused to clean the house by hand once Sirius told me that the Fidelius Charm hid the magic being performed in the house. If I’m going to be put to work for the second time this summer then dammit I’m using magic if I can.”
“She’s been upset with me since I refused to come here at the beginning of July but you weren’t here and I had only had a few days with Mum and Dad. Ron didn’t understand why I wanted to spend time with ‘those Muggles’ not even listening to me that those were my parents! And I couldn't not write to you! It was killing me not having Dobby pop me over to you.”
“I know but I couldn’t risk the Dursley’s catching you.” He pulled her away slightly so she’d look up at him. “You really did save me though with your letters. I was spiraling big time and was sure I was going crazy and with no one to talk to…I’m not sure what I would have done. It was genius to think of using Dobby.”
“Yes, well, Dumbledore had me swear an oath I wouldn’t owl you…Harry? Um, we’re still, um, well, I mean, I couldn’t think of anything else to do at the time…”
Harry stepped back and ran his hand through his wet hair in embarrassment but didn’t turn around. They’d both pretty much seen everything anyway and he was enjoying the view…
“I’ll step out and grab a towel and then hand you one. Where did you banish my clothes to?”
“Your room.” Hermione hurriedly wrapped the towel around her before exiting the shower. “How are we supposed to get out of here? I know the adults will be in the order meeting but you can bet the rest of the Weasleys will be lurking around up here waiting on you showing yourself. Us waltzing out of here like this is hardly going to seem innocent.”
“Who says it is?” Harry teased. “I didn’t mind the view.”
“Harry Potter!”
“What?! I didn’t. We’ll talk about that later. For now, let’s have Dobby pop us upstairs before anyone is the wiser. I can show you around the family floor and we can relax until Dumbledore decides I’ve had enough peace and quiet and then you can come with me and find out what he’s up to.”
Hermione raised an eyebrow. It was strange seeing her without a halo of wild, bushy hair surrounding her face. She looked more innocent like this. Less like she had the weight of keeping the-boy-who-lived alive and out of danger after he just rushed headfirst into it.
“Alright, but no funny business.”
Harry called for Dobby and then wrapped his arms around Hermione from behind.
“Maybe a little funny business?” he breathed in her ear before asking Dobby to pop them to his room.
Ron pushed the door open to the lingering steam and faint echoes of laughter but nothing more just a moment later.