Meet the Parents

"I wonder what Harry and Hermione are going to be playing," Ron inquired
as he and Lavender took their seats


Todd Wennberg
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Todd Wennberg
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2002-12-06T04:14:00Z
2002-12-06T04:15:00Z
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"I wonder what Harry and Hermione are going to be playing,"
Ron inquired as he and Lavender took their seats.

 

They were inside an enormous tent "“ erected to protect
everyone in case it decided to rain. 
The seating was arranged around the massive circular ring, however, the
entire area was encased in a velvet curtain so you couldn't see what was
inside.

 

"I'm not sure, but it looks like we're about to find out,"
she answered.

 

A middle-aged man walked out from behind the curtain and
raised his hands to silence the crowd.

 

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our featured event for the
evening.  I would like to thank you all
for attending tonight, and I hope you enjoy it.  Now, on with the show!"

 

The velvet curtain was slowly drawn back, and the audience
gasped at the illustrious setup.  It
looked exactly like the inside of a medieval castle "“ stone walls, torches
hanging by metal hinges, and shields and swords displayed on the walls.  On the far side, there was an elevated
platform with two thrones.

 

"In here, lads, his Excellency is waiting for her."

 

From an erected entrance on the far side of the ring, a man
emerged in full armor and carrying a helmet under his left arm.  He was followed out a moment later by four
other men (also in armor), and two of them were half-walking half-dragging a
young woman along with them.

 

"It's Hermione!" Ron gasped, and Lavender nudged him to shut
him up.

 

It was indeed Hermione. 
She was being pulled along by the two men, and her hands were bound
behind her back.

 

"Release me at once!" she shouted, remembering the lines
that she'd been told to recite.

 

"I'm afraid we cannot do that, princess; our master would be
most perturbed if you did not see him."

 

The men continued dragging Hermione until they were directly
in front of the stand where the two thrones stood.

 

"His Excellency, Lord Narune."

 

From a maroon curtain behind the thrones, a young man
emerged.  He was also wearing mail
armor, and a silver dragon was engraved on his chest plate.

 

"Vik-" Hermione immediately shut her mouth; she couldn't say
his real name.  The man who stood before
was none other than Viktor Krum.

 

"Ah, Lady Hermione, so nice to see you; you look lovely as
ever," he said eloquently.

 

"I order you to release me at once," she spat out, thanking
her study habits for quick memorization and recollection.

 

"You are in no position to give me orders, princess.  Do you still defy me?"

 

"Yes!" Narune's face formed into an evil grin.

 

"Why not marry me? 
There are many women who would gladly take your place."

 

"I belong to another, milord," Hermione answered defiantly.

 

"I have heard of the prince who apparently won your
hand.  But he is nowhere to seen is he?"
Narune laughed.

 

 

 

 

 

"Wow, Hermione is playing this for all it's worth," Ron
gasped.

 

"Yes, but I wonder where Harry is supposed to be."

 

Lavender's question was about to be answered.

 

 

 

&nbs
&n
 

From within the same entrance that Hermione had been
brought, several other soldiers came scurrying out like scared rats.

 

"My lord, intruders!"

 

"Who dares to violate my castle!"

 

Another guard came flying threw the doorway and landed head
over heels.

 

"Narune!" a familiar voice thundered.  Hermione spun around, and her face lit up.

 

The curtains parted, and Harry emerged "“ flanked on each
side by Lawrence, Marcus, Justin, and Thomas.

 

"Harry!" Hermione cried happily.  She loved how he looked in his armor.  He'd never worn any before in his life, but she thought it suited
him wonderfully.

 

"Unhand the princess, you fiend!" Marcus shouted.

 

"I don't answer to third-rate knights like you!" Narune
hissed menacingly.

 

"Guards!"

 

At their master's command, fifteen guards emerged from all
sides of the arena and surrounded Harry and the others.

 

"You coward, can you not fight your own battles?" Thomas
growled.

 

"I will not soil my hands with such insects."

 

Hermione almost thought she saw Harry smirk.  The young wizard's arms crisscrossed, and he
drew out his twin blades.

 

"˜Wait a minute, don't tell me he's actually going to fight
with those!' she gasped silently.

 

Each of the other knights drew their swords and raised their
shields.  Narune's smile only widened.

 

"Destroy them!"

 

The guards swarmed onto Harry and the others, and the fray
began.

 

 

 

 

 

You could hear cheers from the audience as the battle
raged.  It truly looked like a real
fight scene.

 

"Hey Ron, I didn't know Harry could use a sword."

 

"I know, neither did I but look at him go!"

 

 

 

 

 

Harry parried a strike with the sword in his right hand then
swung the fat side of his blade directly underneath his assailant's waist "“
sweeping his legs out from under him.

 

Marcus and the others watched him with silent fascination;
this young man was full of surprises. 
Harry had to remind himself several times not to hit the guards too
hard, or they might get hurt for real. 
No, he just gave them a "˜very' firm tap.

 

Within minutes, all fifteen of Narune's guards lay
motionless on the ground.

 

"Is that all you've got?" Lawrence taunted.

 

 

 

 

"Give me the princess," Narune ordered. "Now, kill them
all."

 

The four soldiers who had been watching Hermione suddenly
looked very nervous and very afraid.

 

"I warn you," Harry growled, and his eyes narrowed
dangerously, "Move aside, and you will not be harmed, but if you stand in my
way, I will be forced to make you move."

 

The guards saw the four knights surround Harry, and their
knees began to tremble.  Dropping their
weapons, they scurried off the stage like a pack of frightened rats.  Harry's eyes then turned towards the man who
was holding Hermione.

 

"Let her go!" he growled, his voice dangerously low.

 

"She doesn't want you; she wants to be with me."

 

Hermione was spun around, and she suddenly found herself
directly into Victor's eyes.  She could
see the depth they held, but they could never make her tremble the way Harry's
emerald pools could.  Shoving herself
out of her captor's arms, Hermione squared her shoulders and looked at the man
who she had once thought was the man of her dreams.

 

"I don't want you, Narune; I'm in love with Harry and only
Harry!" She said the words so compellingly that it made the audience think that
it wasn't just an act she was performing, but her lover knew how much she meant
it.

 

"Very well then"¦" Narune hissed and drew out his sword, ""¦if
I cannot have you, then no one shall!"

 

He raised the blade and aimed at Hermione's chest.  The young woman backed away slowly, trying
to escape her would-be killer.

 

"Now die!"

 

A split second later, Narune found a short sword whizzing by
not an inch in front of his face.  It
embedded itself into the far wall, and he turned towards his attacker.

 

"You're not touching her you filthy piece of scum!" Harry
shouted and ran towards him.

 

"Hermione!"

 

When she saw him open his arms, she knew what he
wanted.  Hermione jumped off the
platform and landed right in the middle of his embrace.  He clutched her to his chest, and she buried
her face in the crook of his neck.

 

"Are you all right, milady?" Harry asked, gazing down at her
with warm eyes.

 

"Yes, my darling, I'm fine "“ now that you're here."

 

"Sorry to spoil the warm reunion, but neither of you is
going to leave here alive," Narune stated and walked down the steps.  Harry put Hermione down and turned back to
face his enemy.

 

"Let's finish this fight!" Harry growled and raised his
other sword.

 

The two advanced on one another, and everyone could hear the
clang as their swords met.  Moving at a
blinding pace, the two traded blows back and forth "“ neither giving an inch.

 

 

 

 

"Wow, look at those two go at it!" a member of the audience
shouted.

 

"This is incredible! 
I've never seen anything like it," another stated.

 

 

 

 

"Man, Harry and Viktor are really going at it; you'd think
they were playing for real or something," Ron laughed.

 

"Maybe they are," Lavender answered.  That did not make the young Weasley happy.

 

 

 

 

"Quite impressive," Narune growled.  Harry just remained silent. "However, this
fight is now over."

 

Suddenly, Harry could sense magic in the air.  He rolled out of the way just as the ground
exploded underneath him.

 

 

 

 

"What in bloody hell was that?"

 

"I have no idea."

 

"Was that supposed to happen?"

 

 

 

 

"Oh no, the rumors were true," Marcus said fearfully.

 

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, trying to seem as if she
didn't already know.

 

"Princess, Lord Narune"¦is a sorcerer," Lawrence clarified.

 

Hermione had to stop herself from grinning; they didn't know
who Harry really was.

 

 

 

 

"Quick on your feet, I see," Narune laughed as Harry dusted
himself off.

 

The young man couldn't believe that Viktor was using magic
in front of muggles, but when he saw the expressions on the spectators' faces,
he finally understood.  They were
enjoying themselves; they wanted to see more. 
Viktor was just trying to make the drama more colorful.

 

"˜All right, if that's the way he wants to play"¦' His mind
began to plan his attack.

 

"Cat got your tongue, your highness, I thought you would
have something clever to say at a time like this!"

 

Harry stood to his full height and extended his right hand.

 

"Accio sword," he whispered under his breath.  At his command, his sword was yanked out of
the wall and came to his hand.

 

"It ends here!" Harry hissed and narrowed his eyes.

 

 

 

 

Hermione watched the two face off and waited anxiously.  They had to be careful about what magic they
used; there was only so much you could explain.

 

 

 

 

The two men once again met sword against sword, but this
time Harry had his second blade, and he used it to press his advantage.  He forced Narune back onto his heels then
swept his legs out from under him.

 

"Yield!" Harry ordered.

 

"Never!" Narune quickly sprung to his feet, and their fight
resumed.

 

Once again, the two traded blow after blow.  Neithne sne seemed to gain any
advantage.  Narune brought down his
sword in an overhead strike, and Harry crossed his blades to block him.  The two men grunted as they pushed up
against one another, glaring menacingly at their opponent.

 

"Enough of this!"

 

Narune shoved Harry back and smirked.

 

"Exploda!"

 

Harry was thrown into the air and landed no less than
fifteen feet away.  Hermione wanted to
rush to his side, but Marcus held her back.

 

"No milady, you mustn't; his highness would be most upset if
you were injured."

 

"˜Yes, but I'll be upset if he gets injured,' she replied
silently.

 

Harry slowly got to his feet to hear Narune laughing
sadistically.

 

"And to think you believed yourself worthy of Lady Hermione
"“ how pathetic."

 

Raising his hand, he prepared to finish Harry off, but the
young man was waiting for him.  Lifting
up his blades, his whispered a spell almost silently and grinned when he saw
the swords glint slightly; now, he was ready. 
All he needed was for his opponent to cast one more spell.

 

"Die boy, Tornados."

 

The cyclone ofd bld blew toward Harry, and he waited for
it.  Quickly rising to his feet, he
crisscrossed his swords in front of him. 
The spell hit the blades and bounced backwards, heading directly for
Narune.

 

"Noooooooo!!!" The blast sent him flying backwards, and he
slammed into the side of the platform, proceeding to fall flat on his back.

 

Harry raced over before he could recover and stood over the
man with his blades aimed directly at his chest.  Hermione watched the exchange with wide eyes and finally
understood Harry's actions.  He'd
deliberately let himself get hit; then when Narune had gone to finish him off,
he'd cast a mirror or reflection spell on his swords, which sent the cyclone
back to its source, taking Narune completely by surprise.

 

"Yield Narune, or die where you are!"

 

"I will never yield to the likes of you!" he spat back.

 

"Then so be it!"

 

"Harry no!" Hermione cried, but it was too late.

 

Narune opened his eyes to find he he was still alive "“
although in a great deal of pain.  Harry's
swords were imbedded in each of his shoulders, impaling him to the ground (in
reality they were not more than inch under his arm driven straight into the
ground).

 

"No, even if you deserve it, I will not kill a helpless
human being "“ even one as pitiful as you, Lord Narune.  I want you to live with the shame knowing
that you lost to man who is your better. 
Know that you shall never have Lady Hermione as long as I draw breath.  You are a disgrace to your title, and your
men have abandoned you.  Live with the
shame of knowing what your greed has cost you."

 

Harry stepped back, leaving his opponent to lapse into
unconscious.  He took several deep
breaths, and his eyes flashed towards the audience.  They were on the edge of their seats, and several had shocked
expressions on their faces as seeing what he'd done (or more likely"¦what he
hadn't done).

 

"Harry!"

 

He turned to see Hermione racing towards him.  She launched herself into his arms, and he
wrapped his strong arms around her.

 

"Are you all right, my angel?" he asked and combed his
fingers through her brown curls.

 

"I'm fine, my hero."

 

Harry's arms tightened around her, and he drew her
close.  Hermione framed his face in her
small hands, and he leaned down towards her.

 

"I love you," she sighed and closed her eyes.

 

"As I love you," and their lips touched.

 

The audience gave them a thunderous ovation, but the lovers
were oblivious to everything but each other. 
Hermione was busy stroking the back of his mouth with her tongue, while
Harry was preoccupied with drinking in her delectable swess.ess.  You could hear catcalls and whistles coming
from the crowd; one of who belonged to Ron Weasley.

 

The curtain drew closed with the duo still locked in each
other's arms.

 

 

 

 

Five minutes later, Harry finally let Hermione's mouth go,
and he took a much-needed breath.  They
were both flushed, and their hearts were pounding rapidly.  She nuzzled her face against his neck, and
he tangled his fingers in her hair.

 

"Ahem!" They turned as Marcus cleared his throat.

 

"Sorry if we got a little carried away," Hermione admitted,
blushing slightly.  The four men
actually started laughing.

 

"Not at all, it was quite "˜entertaining'," Lawrence quipped
with a wide grin.

 

"You two did wonderfully; you'd almost think you'd been doing
this every night," Thomas complimented.

 

"Thanks, we'd hoped we wouldn't mess up the whole
performance," Harry admitted.

 

"Of course not, we haven't a show this successful in a long
time," Justin answered with a smile.

 

"He's quite right, Harry Potter," a voice said from behind
them.

 

Both Harry and Hermione turned to see Viktor Krum
approaching them.

 

"Viktor, it's good to see you again," Harry stated, trying
to hide the strain in his voice. 
Despite his "˜reputation', he always felt rather outclassed in the young
man's presence.

 

"Vell, I must commend you both.  I see you've grown even lovelier, Hermione," he sighed happily.

 

She blushed at his compliment, and Harry felt his gut
tighten.  Viktor always knew what to say
to charm people's socks off.  To his
great surprise however, Hermione leaned her head onto his chest and hugged him.

 

"Thank you, Harry often reminds me of that," she
giggled.  Her lover suddenly felt much
more relaxed, and he looked down at her.

 

"As I should, sweetheart, you get more beautiful everyday,"
he cooed softly.  She batted her long
lashes at him, and her eyes twinkled. 
They told him that she would reward him quite handsomely for that
compliment.

 

Viktor was taken by surprise at the intimacy the two
shared.  It was incredible how they
could tune out everything around them except each other, and he suddenly felt
venvienvious of Harry Potter.

 

"Well then, I believe that we all should get changed
now.  I'm sure that Harry and Hermione
have friends and family waiting for them."

 

The pair looked at one another.  They'd almost completely forgotten about Ron and Lavender!  Quickly separating, they returned to their
dressing rooms to change back into their street clothes.

 

Marcus and Viktor remained behind the others.

 

"I didn't know you knew those two," Marcus prodded.

 

"Yes, I met them back during my fifth year of
schooling.  I was quite interested in
Hermione back then, and although she was quite flattered by my advances, I
could tell that her thoughts and her heart always belonged to her best friend,
Harry Potter."

 

"I'm sorry, sounds like you were fighting for a lost cause."

 

"That I was, my friend, that I was," and the two men started
laughing.

 

 

Harry removed his armor and carefully handed it to Lawrence
to be put away.  He hadn't worn it that
long, but he'd become quite attached to the ensemble.  Pulling on his black jeans, he looped his t-shirt over his head,
and it dropped around his waist. 
Running his hand through his hair, he thanked each of his fellow actors
for a wonderful evening before departing outside to wait for Hermione.

 

 

 

 

Hermione slipped out of her dress with the old woman's help,
and she washed the excess makeup off her face. 
With a resounding sigh, she quickly put on her street clothes and looked
herself in the mirror.

 

"˜Hmmph, I guess being a princess can't last forever,' she
said silently.  She turned towards the
elder woman who had helped her.

 

"Thank you, ma'am, I had a wonderful time."

 

"Not a all, my dear, I was happy to help; you did a
wonderful job "“ not to mention that boyfriend of yours."

 

"Yes, he is pretty amazing," she giggled.  The old woman's face crinkled as she smiled.

 

"I'd hang onto that one, sweetie, he's a rare find indeed."

 

"No, he's one of a kind!" Hermione eyed the dress that she'd
worn for only a few short hours and sighed softly.

 

"Now don't fret, the dress isn't everything."

 

"I'm sorry?" Hermione asked confused.

 

"I see the look in your eyes, my dear.  Just remember, clothes make a woman pretty,
but a good heart makes any woman a princess."

 

Hermione's eyes lit up, and she couldn't resist, giving the
old woman a hug.

 

"Thank you so much."

 

"No thanks needed. 
You better get going before Harry comes looking for you."

 

"Yes, goodbye now."

 

"Goodbye."

 

 

 

 

Harry and Hermione reunited in the tunnel leading back
outside to the carnival.  Their hands
entwined, and smiles adorned their faces. 
Harry grinned as he raised her hand and kissed it.

 

"Milady, may I escort you?" His eyes glittered
mischievously.

 

"Of course, my lord, it would be my pleasure." They laughed
all the way back out of the tunnel.

 

 

 

 

"There they are!" Ron gasped as he saw his two best friends
emerge from the side of the main tent.

 

"Hi Ron," Harry called. 
He and Lavender had been waiting for them to come out.

 

"So the stars of the show have finally arrived," Lavender
chuckled.

 

"How did we do?" Hermione asked anxiously.

 

"You guys were great "“ up until the end," Ron said; his
voice lowering steadily.

 

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.  His friend grinned wryly.

 

"Oh nothing, just that you two were about to burn the place
down with that kiss."

 

"You're terrible!" Hermione cried as her cheeks tinted.  They all laughed at the joke and enjoyed the
comradery they all shared.

 

"Hey, I know, why don't we all grab something to eat?" Ron
advised.

 

"Always thinking with your stomach, eh Weasley?" Lavender
teased.

 

"I do not!" His girlfriend giggled.

 

"Normally, that would be great, Ron, but Harry and I have to
meet my parents for dinner," Hermione stated.

 

"You never told me that!" Harry gasped.

 

"Cause I knew that you'd worry about it all day." He shut-up
immediately; sometimes, she knew him too well.

 

"I guess we better say goodbye then."

 

Harry gave Ron a hug, and Hermione gave him a kiss on the
cheek.  She hugged Lavender goodbye, and
Harry gave her a gentle squeeze.

 

"Bye, you guys, we'll see you in couple of weeks," Ron
called as he and Lavender headed towards the food court.

 

Hermione leaned against Harry's shoulder, and his arm
encircled her waist.

 

"Harry, we better get going; my parents should be home
shortly."

 

"Okay, whatever you want."

 

They walked hand in hand back to the entrance.

 

 

 

 

After exiting the carnival, the pair headed back around the
side to the tree that they'd initially arrived at.

 

"Harry, thank you for bringing me here today; I had a lot of
fun."

 

"So did I, Herm, now I see why you love it so much."

 

Reaching into the knothole, Harry drew out his invisibility
cloak, and Hermione checked to make sure they were alone.

 

"All clear, Harry."

 

With a flick of his wrist, he snapped the cloak over them,
and the two disappeared.  Harry felt
Hermione's arms wrap around him, and he held onto her shoulders.

 

"Ready?"

 

"Hmm, let's go home."

 

A small pop was heard, and they disappeared into the night.