A/N Welcome to a story I've had running around in my head since I started writing FF. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the story. Like always, I make no money doing this and JK owns everything but my OCs.

Ch. 1 Abandoned

Hermione pushed her trunk laden trolley in front of her as she made her way to the barrier back to the muggle side of King's Cross Station, her best friend Harry Potter beside her with his own trolley. Hermione's feelings were warring inside of her, and she couldn't decide what to feel as she made her way to the normal world. On the one hand, she was glad that it was summer and she would be able to see her parents again. She had missed them greatly during the Christmas Break, but she had needed to stay at Hogwarts to help Harry and Ron with the polyjuice plan. In her weekly letters home she had explained it away by saying that Harry would have been staying all alone as he didn't go home to his family. Their letter back was full of understanding and even a few questions she couldn't answer, like why a twelve year old boy never went home for Christmas and seemed happy about it. Hermione didn't have any answers for them, and whenever she broached the subject with Harry, he always changed the subject and ignored all attempts to gather more information. Nothing in Hermione's experience gave her any insight into her best friend's actions.

Her best friend was another reason that she was conflicted. She noticed that as the train moved closer and closer to London, Harry would close in on himself more and more. Almost like he was dreading what was waiting for him at the train station. She decided that she needed more data before she could form any type of hypothesis.

"Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" said Hermione as they moved with the crowd flowing toward the enchanted barrier. "When they hear what you did this year?"

"Proud?" said Harry. "Are you crazy? All those times I could've died, and I didn't manage it? They'll be furious..." Hermione could tell he was trying to make a joke but something in his eyes told her that part of what he said was true. Hermione could not comprehend the idea of family members having so little regard for one of its members, and she worried about her friend and the type of home she was starting to suspect he lived in. She wished there was something she could do, and resolved to talk to her parents about it when she got home.

Her parents were the third and final worry in her mind that was stopping her excitement for summer. When she was unpetrified, she found a pile of letters waiting for her from her parents wanting to know why she had not written in a few weeks, each letter more anxious then the last. When she was finally able to reply to her parents, she had tried to explain it all away that she was busy studying and just didn't have enough time to write to them. Their reply indicated that they didn't believe her, and that they would be talking about it when she got home. She had no idea how she was going to explain her petrification to her parents in a way that ensured that they wouldn't panic and pull her out of Hogwarts and away from Harry. He was her best and first friend after all, and she didn't want to be separated from him.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Harry and her passing through the barrier and the sound of her mother calling her name. Hermione looked around the crowd and saw her mother and father standing off to the side, her mother waving at her excitedly. She gave Harry a nudge and indicated her parents as she steered her trolley towards them, with Harry beside but slightly behind her.

"Hi mum, hi dad" she greeted her parents happily wrapping each in a hug. "I missed you so much this year."

"We missed you too princess" her father replied looking over her shoulder. Hermione noticed that he was looking at Harry, who was standing slightly away from the Grangers, and Hermione could have sworn she saw a look of longing pass across his face before it was quickly replaced by his normal neutral expression.

Hermione waved her friend forward, remembering that when they met during the summer they really hadn't had a chance to really meet Harry. "Mum, dad, I would like you to meet my best friend, Harry Potter. Harry this is my mum and dad, Hugh and Jane."

Hermione could tell that her friend was nervous as he extended hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you Doctor Granger, and Doctor Granger" he greeted shaking each of her parents hand.

"Please call us Jane and Hugh, Harry" her mother said, smiling at Harry. "With both of us being doctors, it can get confusing. Hermione has told us so much about you, it's like we have known you forever."

"Hermione has told me a lot about you as well."

"Where is your family Harry?" Hermione asked looking around the train station. She remembered the Dursleys from after first year, but couldn't see any sign of them now.

Harry looked around also, a small frown marring his face. "I thought my relatives would have been here by now. Maybe they are just running a little late, or are stuck in traffic."

Hermione saw a look pass between her parents, and her mother gave her father an expectant look. "Well we are in no hurry" he said. "We can wait with you until they come, and if they don't show we can give you a lift home."

"Oh you don't have to do that sir. I'm sure they will be here soon, and I suspect you have more important things to do than wait around with me."

Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry's tendency to keep people from going out of their way to help him. "Nonsense Harry, what kind of people would we be if we just left a twelve year old boy in a train station by themselves?" Hermione winced at her father's reply. That was the exact wrong way to go about this, as Harry was completely self-reliant and hated being treated like a child. "Anyways, we are staying until either you get picked up or we take you ourselves."

Hermione was about to open her mouth to say something when her mum jumped in, obviously seeing the stubborn set to Harry's jaw and remembering a few of the stories Hermione had told her in her letters. "Besides Harry, it will give us a chance to get to know you better. You wouldn't want to deny us that now would you?" Hermione's mum finished with the same smile she used on both Hermione and her dad that always ended up getting her what she wanted.

The smile seemed to work on Harry also, as he looked down at his feet. "No, I suppose not." Harry mumbled out. "Thank you."

"Wonderful" her dad, said clapping his hands and looking around the station. "Let's go sit down in that café over there while we wait and have a bite to eat. I suspect you two haven't eaten for a while.

Hermione could tell Harry was about to object again, but a rumble from his stomach combined with her mother's smile silenced him and the four got a seat facing the entrance of the station. While her father went and got sandwiches and drinks, the other three got comfortable. When her father returned, he handed out sandwiches and drinks to everyone and took his seat beside her mum. "So Harry, Hermione says that you play Quidditch. She has tried to explain the sport, but sports have never been her strong point, can you explain exactly how the game works?"

And that opened up the flood gates. Hermione knew that nothing made Harry as happy as flying, and any chance he had to share his love for it he took with both hands. He was thankfully not as bad as Ron, who seemed to know more about Quidditch than anybody alive, along with stats, past games, and league standings; while Harry on the other hand seemed to love the flying aspect of Quidditch more than the actual game, and it showed in his explanation. He briefly spoke about the rules and the positions, but mostly focused on things that he did while on his broom, going so far as to use his hands to demonstrate to her father a particular maneuver that he performed during the last time he was in the air.

Talk moved from flying to muggle sports, and Hermione was surprised to find that Harry was a football fan. "You never told me you enjoyed football" she blurted out.

Harry shrugged and gave Hermione an apologetic look. "Sorry, I guess it never came up. The Dursleys never allowed me to play, but I was able to catch Match of the Day, as my Uncle watched it in order to be able to talk about the matches over the water cool at work."

"What team did you support?" Hermione's dad asked.

"Arsenal."

"Ah, now we are going to have a problem. You see, this is a Tottenham home and I'm not sure I can allow my daughter to associate with a Gunner fan." Hermione giggled behind her hands at Harry's face. Her dad burst out laughing along with her mum. "I'm just teasing you Harry."

Hermione saw her mum glance at her watch. "We've been waiting for over an hour, how about we just give you a ride home Harry?"

"Ummm I guess, if it's not too much trouble" Harry replied losing his good mood. "Let me try calling first just to double check."

"Use this Harry" her father said, handing Harry his new mobile phone. After thanking her father, Harry picked up the phone and dialed the number from memory. Hermione watched as a confused look came over his face before he hung up and tried again.

"It says that the number is no longer in service, but I know this is their number." He handed the phone back to her dad.

"Well I guess that settles it" her mum said. "We will take you home then." Without waiting for an argument, Hermione's mum stood up and started walking towards the car. Hermione followed close behind her pushing her trolley, with her father and a reluctant Harry bringing up the rear.

Hermione spotted her father's silver Mercedes in the parking lot, and after loading both trunks into the boot, got into the back seat with Harry. "Ok Harry," Her father asked as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Where are we going?"

"Little Whinging Surry, sir."

"Excellent, and none of that sir stuff. It's Hugh and Jane."

Harry nodded and settled back in his seat. Hermione watched him and could tell that he was nervous and confused as to why the phone number didn't work. Reaching over the middle of the seat she took her friends hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. When he looked up in surprise, she flashed him a reassuring smile. The drive passed by rather quickly with her parents asking Harry simple questions about school and his likes and dislikes. When they began to get closer Harry guided her dad to where he lived, and when they pulled in front of the Number 4 Privet Drive, Hermione could tell something was wrong.

Whenever Harry described his home, which admittedly wasn't often, he spoke about the perfectly manicured lawn and well cared for garden. The house they had parked in front of had neither of those. The biggest thing though was the sign out front that read 'For Sale'.

"Are you sure this is the right place Harry?" Hermione's mum asked.

Harry only nodded, his mind not comprehending what he was seeing. Hermione squeezed Harry's hand tighter but he didn't seem to notice, he only continued to stare at the house. Hermione looked at the house also, and she thought she could see what looked like the remnants of bars in front of one of the windows on the second floor. She remembered Ron telling her about the bars, but had assumed Harry just lived in a dodgy neighborhood. Seeing it now, she wasn't so sure. "I'll be right back." Her father said, getting out of the car. Hermione watched as he walked up the garden path and knocked on the door, and after a minute he moved to one of the side windows and peered in before making his way back to the car.

He leaned into Hermione's mum's window and tried to whisper with no success. "The house is completely empty and it looks like it has been for a while."

Just then a middle aged woman passed by the car pushing a pram down the sidewalk. "Excuse me," Hermione's father asked. "Do you know what happened to the people who used to live here?"

"Oh you mean the Dursleys? They moved almost eight months ago. I heard he got a promotion and transfer across the pond. Good riddance I say, that family was no good. The wife was a nosy gossip while her son was a bully. And don't get me started on the delinquent of a nephew. I heard he was sent to a school for criminal boys."

Hermione could feel Harry start to pull away from her and curl in on himself at each word the woman had said, as he stared ahead blankly.

"Did they leave a forwarding address or anything?" her father asked.

"No, I think the company is handling the sale of their house. You can try calling them if you want."

Hermione heard her father thank the woman before she walked away and he got back in the car. For a few moments the silence in the car remained, until it was broken by Harry in a voice Hermione hoped never to hear from her friend. "They left me, they just up and left me." Hermione looked over at her friend to see him staring blankly at the house. "I knew they hated me, but I never imagined they would just up and leave me. Beat me, starve me, lock me in my cupboard and go on vacation, yes, but they always came back." Hermione watched in horror as Harry brought his knees up and hugged them to his chest. She was in such shock that she didn't even resist when he removed his hand from hers.

Hermione looked to the front seat hoping her parents knew what to do and how to help, and saw them having one of their silent conversations. Whatever they talked about was agreed on quickly, as her father started the car and drove away with Harry paying no mind, still lost in his own head. The drive home was silent, and Hermione fidgeted between looking to her parents for help and looking at Harry trying to find a way to help him herself. Finally they returned to their home in Crawly, and her mother was the first one out of the car as she practically ran into the house. Her father was next, and came to Harry's side and opened the door.

"Come on Harry, Jane is preparing a room for you. You will stay with us for as long as you need it."

Harry simply nodded and got out of the car. He moved towards the back only to be stopped by her dad and redirected into the house. Harry went without complaint and went inside. Hermione jumped out of the car to run after her friend, but was stopped by her father. "Just let him be for now princess. The poor boy is in shock and will not register anything you say. We have to let him come out of it on his own, and then be there for him when he is ready."

"How could his family do that to him daddy? Don't they know what a wonderful boy Harry is?"

"Sometimes people refuse to see what is right in front of them. You have been lucky to have two loving parents and adults who support you. It seems like Harry hasn't had any of that since he lost his parents."

"How did I miss that he was from an abusive household? You and mummy taught me how to recognize the signs."

"It is probably a combination of two things. The first is you didn't want to see it. It is easy to see the signs when you are an outside observer. Both your mother and I had our suspicions from things you wrote about and then again meeting him today. Second is he didn't want you to see. Abused children will sometimes go to great lengths to hide the fact that they are abused, especially from their friends; they see it as an embarrassment and weakness. Also, I suspect that Harry has tried to tell someone at one point, and as is the case sometimes, the child is not believed and ignored. You heard what that lady said; it is believed Harry is a delinquent who spends the majority of the year in a school for criminal boys. If that is the prevailing belief amongst neighbors and teachers, then it is most likely any claims of abuse were ignored. Then, to make matters worse, if news reached his relatives it most likely resulted in worse punishment."

Hermione and her father entered the house just as her mother was coming downstairs. "Well, he's asleep in the guest room." Her mum said. "I don't think he even took off his clothes. He just collapsed on the bed and fell asleep."

"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked her parents. "Do you think we should inform Professor Dumbledore?"

"Why would your headmaster have anything to do with this?" her father asked.

Hermione was a little surprised at the indifference her father said Professor Dumbledore's name with. She was so used to everyone saying it with a bit of awe. "Well, he is the one who placed Harry with his relatives. I assume he had his reasons."

Hermione's parents shared a look that Hermione was sure spoke volumes before her mum shook her head. "No sweetie, we will not be informing the headmaster. If he was so concerned about Harry's wellbeing he would have put that poor boy in a better home, or at least checked on him."

Hermione wanted to argue that Professor Dumbledore was a great man and always looked out for the students, but she couldn't form any valid arguments to support this statement, and thus kept quiet.

"And don't think that this is getting you out of telling us about why you stopped writing for two months young lady" her father said sternly. "And this time I want the truth and none of this I was busy studying." Hermione could only nod, still looking at her feet. "Now it's been a long trying day, and it is quite late. Let's head to bed and we can talk more in the morning. I put Harry's trunk in the living room for now, and we can move it to the guest room later. I'll take yours up while you get ready for bed." After a round of hugs, Hermione went upstairs and changed into her pajamas before climbing into bed.

-(=)-

Hermione was awoken in the middle of the night by a strange sound. Crawling out of bed, she donned her bathrobe and slippers and followed the noise into the hall. As she got closer to the source of the noise, she could distinguish the sound of crying coming from the guest room. She poked her head in and found Harry curled into a ball, crying into his pillow in an effort to muffle his cries.

"Oh Harry" Hermione said, rushing over to her friend. She quickly crawled onto the bed and drew the distraught boy into her arms. "It will be ok Harry."

Harry continued to sob harder. "Why did they leave me? I tried so hard make them love me for the longest time, but everything I did just made it worse. I tried to do my best in school and got top marks, only to be punished. I then did worse than Dudley and was punished. I tried so hard to do my chores the best, but nothing was ever good enough. In the end it didn't matter, as I'm just a freak and no one will ever want me."

"That's not true Harry." Hermione said hugging him tighter. "You're not a freak, and if your relatives can't see what a wonderful person you are, it's their loss. I'm sure that my parents will be more than willing to let you stay for as long as you want."

"You sure?" Harry asked his sobs receding. "I don't want to be a burden."

Hermione was surprised by her mum's voice at the door. "Of course we want you here Harry. We have plenty of space, and would love the opportunity to get to know you better. You will not be a burden to us."

"I can earn my way. I can cook, and clean, and am quite good at gardening."

Hermione's mum waved her hand as if swatting away his concern. "We can talk about that later Harry. Just know that you will never be expected to do chores, or 'earn your way' here with us. If you end up staying with us you will be treated just like a member of this family, just like Hermione." Hermione could feel Harry nod and she saw a watery smile break out on her friends face.

"Thank you ma'am, you have no idea how much that would mean to me."

"Jane, Harry, my name is Jane." Harry smiled and nodded. "Good, now to bed with both of you. We have a long few days coming up and you need your sleep." With that her mum turned and left Harry's room, leaving the two kids.

"Now I see where you get your big heart from Hermione" Harry said, still in her arms. "Your parents are amazing."

"They are Harry, and they mean what they say. Do you think you can get back to sleep?"

"Yeah I think so. Thanks for being here Hermione."

Hermione laid Harry into bed and pulled the covers around him, tucking him in. "Goodnight Harry. Sleep well, I'm glad you're here."

"Me too" came Harry's quiet reply as he fell asleep. Feeling bold, Hermione bent down and kissed the forehead of the sleeping boy before rushing off to her own room and her bed.