It Could Have Gone That Way; A Harmione Fanfiction

Chapter 39: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

"And if you dare touch the television while we're out, I'll hold your breakfast until the end of Summer!" Vernon shouted before slamming the front door right in Harry's face.

"Lovely." Harry sighed.

Things had been quiet in the Dursley residence that Summer. Nothing much had happened. Nothing, at least, until the day Harry's relatives decided they wanted to go to Aunt Marge's house for dinner. Harry had been forbidden to come by Marge after what he had done to her the previous year, so Harry was alone. He had spent the first hour of his 'alone time' reading some of Dudley's old comics and listening to the radio, but at about three thirty in the afternoon, the phone started ringing.

Jumping up and peering at the screen, Harry almost had a heart attack. The number displayed was the only one aside from the Dursleys' that he knew: Hermione's. Harry picked it up.

"Hello?" Hermione said through the receiver.

"Hermione?"

"Harry?"

"Hi!"

"Hello!"

"How are you?"

"Um..." Hermione paused,"I-I'm not so good."

"What's happened?"

"I...c-can we maybe m-meet up in a park somewhere? I w-want to talk to you in p-person." It sounded as though she was crying.

"Of course. Er...how about the park that does the Christmas fireworks displays we used to watch?"

"I-isn't that a bit f-far away from you?"

"It's fine. The Dursleys are out and they won't be back for hours. I can borrow Dudley's bike. You'll probably get there before me, but I shouldn't be too long."

"Okay." Hermione sniffled.

"Don't worry, Hermione. It'll be all right."

"Th-thank you."

Harry hung up, pulled on his trainers, grabbed Dudley's bike, and began to cycle down the road. It was only when he reached the end of it that he realised he had no idea where the park was. Turning around, Harry raced back towards number four, stopping just short of it so he could knock on Mrs. Figg's door.

"Good lord!" Mrs. Figg looked very surprised to see him,"Harry! I haven't seen you in years! Come in, come in!"

Fiddling with his jacket sleeve, Harry said,"Um...actually, Mrs. Figg, I need your help. D'you remember when I used to come here on Christmas Eve and we'd watch that fireworks display?"

"The one that had the present at the end?" Mrs. Figg asked.

"That's the one. Where was it? I need to get there as soon as possible." Harry glanced anxiously at Dudley's bike. If anything happened to it, Harry'd be for it.

"Hmm..." she thought for a moment,"it's in Little Whinging, I think."

"Mrs. Figg," Harry tried not to get annoyed at her,"we're in Little Whinging already."

"Oh, I see, you want directions. Well, I think you need to take a left out of our road and keep moving until you get to the old sweet shop on Arlington's Corner. If my memory is still intact, you can cut through the bramble field on the right to get to the park. As long as you keep to the dirt track whilst you're in there, you should make it in about fifteen minutes with the shortcut if you're on your bike."