A/N

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine… if only…

Thanks so much guys for all the love in your reviews. Keep 'em coming.

The basic idea for this chapter was given to my by pawsrule, so thank you so much! I did adapt the main idea a little, and this is what gives you Chapter 9.

Also, for those who asked, this chapter is set on August 15th. And yes, I have got every chapter and their dates worked out, so if you ever want to know, feel free to ask and I'll be happy to PM you.

Also, someone (I can't remember who, sorry!) suggested more Harry/Hermione time. Your wish is my command.

Enjoy!

Chapter 9: Heroes

The sun was setting on another beautiful August day.

I walked down Mongolia Crescent hand in hand with Hermione. A friendly gesture, I keep trying to tell myself. I tried not to read anything into the actions that she does. Though, sometimes it seems like she reciprocated my feelings for her – an unnecessary touch of the shoulder, a shy smile, and a laugh at my jokes. Then reality comes crashing back to me, and I realised that there was no way she would ever feel that way. The sooner I accepted that, the better.

"So, you're absolutely positively sure?" I asked for the umpteenth time.

"Yes, Harry," she sighed, "I'm sure. Don't shout at Vernon again."

"But he's such a jerk!" I whined. "Can't I just do it a little bit?"

"No," she said bluntly.

"Oh, Hermione, how you hurt me so! My heart bursts with sorrow to hear you utter these cruel words. Why? Why?" I placed my hand upon my chest as though ripping out my heart.

"Shut up Harry, you sound like a really bad Shakespearean character." But the corners of her mouth twitched up in a reluctant smile.

"Ahh, ok I 'spose." I sighed, ruffling my hand through my messy hair in disappointment. "But the minute, no, the second you change your mind, let me know."

"I'm not going to change my mind, Harry."

"We'll see… I can be pretty persuasive when I want to be…" I said slyly, glancing sideways at her.

She swiftly punched me in the arm. I guess I deserved that. I had been pestering her with statements like this for days, and her resolve never wavered.

"Though, I would like to know why you stopped shouting so easily. I thought I'd have to jinx you or something to calm you down." She said, looking curiously up at me.

I laughed. "How do you think? You showed up in a bloody towel! That would have shut up anyone. Did you see Dudley's face? No, Vernon's face for that matter. He went so red I could have fried an egg on his face."

"Hmm… maybe I should remember that trick for another time. If anyone's annoying me in the common room when I'm trying to study, I'll just strip."

"Looking forward to it."

The words were out before I could process them.

"What?" she asked, looking curiously up at me with a slightly abashed, and could it be… hopeful… expression, "What did you just say?"

"Erm… nothing. Just that… I think it'll work. That's all."

"Oh…" she trailed off, leaving a slightly uncomfortable silence between us.

"Hey, Harry?" Hermione asked hesitantly, "I'm glad that I came here this summer."

I looked over to see her eyes looking into mine with gratitude, the sparkled in their sincerity. The butterflies in my stomach fluttered around so violently, I swallowed convulsively to try to keep them at bay. "I'm glad you came too… Hermione."

The darkness was really beginning to set in over Surrey now, the streetlights had turned on around us and the just visible sun then sank deeper below the horizon. We continued walking peacefully through the night.

The sound of bike tires met our ears and we turned around to see a group of five people approaching us, either walking or on bikes. I squinted through the darkness and discovered that they were, in fact, Dudley's gang, sans Dudley. They seemed to spot us and began to saunter over to us.

"What do you want?" I asked with confidence, my hand twitching towards my wand. These guys had made my childhood a living hell, what I wouldn't do to get one back on them.

They began to yell out taunts to Hermione and me. They got closer and closer.

I reached for my wand, but Hermione grabbed my arm and hissed in my ear, "do you want to get expelled? We've been through this before, Harry, people never seem to believe you when you say you were in genuine danger."

As much as I hated to admit it, I knew she was right. If I wanted to stay at Hogwarts, I couldn't use magic. It was then I felt how much smaller I was then Dudley's gang. All members of the wrestling team, they towered over me. Quiddich player I may be, but I was a seeker, the light and nimble player on the field. 'Brawny' was not a word used to describe me. And there were five of them, against Hermione and me, who without the aid of magic, were just two teenagers way out of their comfort zone. We didn't stand a chance.

"Hermione, we have to move. Just run." She sense the urgency in the situation and nodded briskly up at me.

We turned to do that, but to our horror, we saw that even more were approaching us from behind. I knew Dudley's gang had always had it out for me, ever since primary school I was treated as their punching bag, I knew I could handle it. But Hermione, on the other hand, was trembling beside me. Without magic, she was in an even worse predicament as I was. She relied so much on the power of knowledge and intelligence, but this was one situation where that would be of no help to her. I wouldn't let anything happen to her, even if that meant doing something I would later regret.

"What do you want," I shouted at them again, defying my fear with the brave resonance of my voice.

"Nothing in particular," I brawny blonde boy answered, his voice dripping with the pleasure he had in the power of the situation. "Just thought we'd come and see you and your girlfriend. She's pretty cute, too."

I protectively took a stance in front of Hermione, our backs touching as my hand continuously twitched towards my wand, so close, yet due to legal implications, so far away.

"She's pretty, isn't she?" a dark one from behind us said as he came closer. "Mind sharing, do you Potter?"

That comment broke me. I could feel Hermione's tremors rocking both of our bodies. That would so not happen. A fury rose in me. Statue of Secrecy be damned, these monsters would not touch her. I reached to my pocket and pulled out my wand, ignoring Hermione's "Harry, no!" and quickly prepared some of the nastiest curses to use, when-

CRACK

A massive figure had swooped in, breaking up the neatly formed circle that was enclosing around us. The figure jumped in and punched the dark guy's nose, causing a stream of blood to come out and a shriek to ensue. It was when the figure turned around to face the other oncoming attackers that I recognised who it was.

Dudley was standing before me, his massive figure emanating power.

"B-Big D?" the blonde boy stammered, shocked by the betrayal of their leader.

"Shut up. Leave them alone. Now." Dudley's truncated sentences seemed to shake the pack.

"W-What do you mean, Dud. You want her?" A red-headed boy to the right said, indicating to Hermione.

Dudley swiftly punched the red-head in the stomach causing him to double over.

"GO! You're disgusting. The lot of you."

With that, they finally left, muttering under their breath.

I didn't know what to say. Beside me, Hermione had stopped shaking as we stared with disbelief at our saviour.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Dudley said roughly, motioning towards the house.

We followed him in silence for a while, before I decided to break the tension.

"Thanks Dud. Think we owe you one."

"Don't worry about it," he said with a nonchalant wave of his hand, "Those jerks had it coming."

"But… don't you worry that they won't take being… umm… hit… by their leader?"

"Who cares. Who needs them. I didn't know they were like that. Beating people up, yeah, but that. They went too far."

"You can say that again…" I muttered.

"Th-thank you, Dudley." Hermione had spoken for the first time. She was clearly terrified. I had hated standing by just letting her talk about her like that. I would have jinxed them all to hell if they had gotten much closer. I hated that she was frightened.

I placed a comforting arm over her shoulders as we continued on and she glanced up at me gratefully.

"No problem." Dudley said.

We continued to Number Four in silence, Dudley leading the way.

A/N

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