As Harry tumbled out of the fireplace, he thought of the importance of first impressions. As he lay on the floor covered in soot in a messy heap, he thought the first impressions the Grangers would have of him would not be good. He prayed that they hadn't noticed him like this, but those hopes were dashed when he heard Hermione's voice. "Mum, Dad, I'd like you to meet Harry Potter!"
Mrs. Granger seemed to be amused, while Mr. Granger was apparently having some reservations. Quickly getting up, Harry dusted himself off and held out his hand. Don't act nervous, he said to himself. Stay calm, be confident..."Hello Mrs. Granger, Mr. Granger," he said in a flat monotone as he shook their hands. He knew he was utterly failing to impress Hermione's parents. To his surprise, Hedwig flew in at that moment to land on his shoulder. She hooted in greeting.
"So you're the one that owns this beautiful snowy owl," said Mrs. Granger. "She's remarkably intelligent, you know. My name's Emma, and this is Dan. Don't be afraid, we won't bite." She gave a welcoming smile. "Hermione's mentioned to us in her letters that there always seems to be a lot of excitement surrounding you. Would you care to explain?"
Harry looked at Hermione, who was standing behind her parents, shaking her head furiously. He looked back at Emma, and said, "Um... well, you see... I play Quidditch. I'm the seeker on the house team. It's the position that gets the most attention... so... um, things kind of get hectic around me." Hermione was nodding in approval in the background.
Dan Granger became a bit more interested with this. "Oh, it's a sport then? How often do you practice? And are you any good?" He was a bit more gruff when asking his questions, almost like it were an interrogation.
"Dan! Don't be so rough on the boy!" exclaimed Emma. "Sorry, but he's quite protective of our dear little Hermione." He's not the only one, thought Harry.
"I'm not little any more, mum!" Hermione complained.
"You'll always be our little Hermione as long as we live," said Emma, smiling.
While the two women were having their little argument, Harry decided that it was the best time to get on Mr. Granger's good side. "Well, to answer your questions, sir, um... Yes, Quidditch is the main sport for wizards. The practices change depending on the school schedules, but Captain Wood gets us out on the field about four times a week. And... well, I don't mean to brag, but I've only lost one game out of all the ones I've played so far. Our team won the Quidditch cup this year." Harry relaxed a bit, now that they were talking about a subject he could be rather confident about. Hedwig noted his tension fade and decided to be a little friendlier, as well. She nipped his ear, as if asking for an owl treat. Harry looked at her, and said, "Later, Hedwig! I'll buy you the freshest ones from Eeylops, alright?"
"Oh, don't be so modest, Harry!" exclaimed Hermione, hopping over to his side. "He's the youngest seeker Hogwarts has ever had in a century! In fact, he's still the youngest player out of all the teams at Hogwarts!" she said, rather proudly.
"It looks like our Hermione has found herself quite an accomplished young man, hasn't she?" Emma whispered to her husband. Dan simply whispered back, "We'll see. He'd better not just be some jock type who's playing with her feelings."
Hermione led the way out of the Leaky Cauldron, and said to her parents, "Mom! Dad! Harry and I need to stop off at the bookstore to grab some textbooks before we head home... Is that alright?"
"Oh, we'll have to stop off at both the normal and the wizard banks, then. We didn't bring much cash with us..." said Emma.
"Don't inconvenience yourself, Mrs. Granger," said Harry. "I can just take some gold out of my account."
Dan replied, "Harry, we can't have you buying things for our daughter..." He was still looking at Harry questioningly.
"Oh, that's not it, Mr. Granger. The textbooks are for both of us. Hermione and I wanted to learn some more about things that the school doesn't teach, so we're going to study ourselves over the summer. It's as much for me as it is for her. My parents left me my trust account for my schooling, so it'll be fine." Harry explained. To be honest, he really wanted to get in their good graces as quickly as possible, and saw this as a way to do it.
"Well, Harry, just make sure you don't spend too much of your money. You need to have a budget, to take care of your finances," said Emma. "Textbooks aren't cheap. We don't want you to have to explain to your parents why you suddenly spent a good chunk of the money they're giving you."
Harry paused, wondering how he was going to explain his parenting situation. Hermione was giving him an apologetic look- it seemed she hadn't told her parents, and wasn't expecting the subject to come up, at least not in this manner. "Umm... I'll tell you about my parents later," said Harry. They made their way to Gringotts, and Harry told Hedwig to wait for him outside Eeylops. She took off when they stepped inside the bank. Dan and Emma followed Harry as he walked up to the counter.
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