~*~HARRY POTTER AND THE SAVAGE GARDEN CONCERT~*~ ~*~Chapter One~*~
"...and remember, complete all your holiday homework. Have a nice summer!"
It was the last day of another school year at Hogwarts. The Leaving Feast had just ended - Gryffindor won again - and the students were scrambling high and low, either celebrating or finding a way out. Everyone couldn't wait to go home - well, almost everyone.
"Aargh, I hate summer," groaned Harry. "I can't stand the Dursleys anymore, they're driving me nuts!" The Dursleys were Harry's only living relatives, and from experience, Harry sometimes wish they were unrelated. They would treat Harry as nothing more than useless junk, especially after finding out that he was a wizard.
"Hey, don't worry, Harry," reassured Ron, Harry's best friend. "You can always write to us!"
"Yeah, and guess what," continued Hermione - Harry's other best friend - making Ron and Harry's ears perk up in curiosity.
"WHAT?" asked Ron and Harry.
"I've got a surprise for both of you," replied Hermione. "Tell you later on the train."
The trio managed to find a compartment all to themselves on the Hogwarts Express, and not a second was spared as Harry and Ron prodded Hermione to tell them her surprise.
"Come on, you said you'l tell us here!" said Ron, buying a Chocolate Frog from the tea trolley lady. "Or do I have to bribe you with candy first?"
"Don't bother," replied Harry, glancing at Hermione's bag. "She's got enough candy to feed a country!" It certainly seemed so, as Hermione had bought bag after bag of Bernie Bott's Every Flavour Beans - she had a cherry bean while Harry had a steak bean, filled with real gravy - and was stuffing her bag with pumpkin pasties.
"They're not all for me, you know," replied Hermoine. "Some are for...er...someone special..."
"Ooh, someone special," mocked Ron. "Who exactly - new boyfriend?"
"I wish," said Hermione inadvertedly. She noticed Ron and Harry's strange looks and looked away. The boys, though, wanted to know...
"What's with the surprise?" asked Harry. "Tell us - we can't wait all summer!"
"Oh all right," said Hermione, taking out three slips of paper from her pocket. "I've got tickets to Savage Garden's concert this summer, and I'm bringing you along!"
"SAVAGE GARDEN?!" exclaimed Ron. "No way..."
"You mean that band who did I Want You? And Truly Madly Deeply?" asked Harry, getting a nod out of Hermione. Ron, though, was surprised.
"You listen to WWN?" asked Ron, referring to the Wizarding Wireless Network.
"No, but Dudley keeps his radio on loud, and that's where I heard them - they're kinda cool, but I don't think Dudley likes them that much..." replied Harry. He then noticed Hermione looking strangely at both him and Ron.
"Wait a minute," said Hermione. "Harry, you've heard them on Muggle radio, and Ron, you've heard them on WWN..."
"Where did YOU hear them?" asked the boys.
"Muggle radio too! I don't get WWN, remember? I live in a Muggle house!" replied Hermione. "They're on both...but how..."
"Exactly!" continued Harry. "Has any of you got their albums or anything?"
"I do, that's how I became a fan," said Hermione. "Well, anyway...do you wanna come?"
"Definitely!" replied Ron, with a huge grin on his face. "When and where is it anyway?"
"...a day before my birthday!" continued Harry, joining in all the happiness. "Perfect birthday present! But how..."
"How what?" asked Ron.
"How am I gonna get Uncle Vernon to let me go?" asked a dejected Harry.
"Don't worry, I'll tell him," said Hermione. Seeing the shocked look on Harry and Ron's faces, she added, "Hey, I'm of Muggle descent, I know how to use the telephone...and I'll get my Mom to drive you."
"How about me?" asked Ron.
"Oh, right," said Hermione, thinking. "Well, you could always use Floo powder..."
"I have an idea," said Harry. "Ron, go to Hermione's house using Floo powder, then the both of you come to my house by car. They'll never know you two got together via fireplace. Hermione, you could pass yourself as Ron's sister or something, my relatives' met the Weasleys."
"Oh, all right," said his friends. Not long after, their train, the Hogwarts Express, had reached Platform Nine And Three-Quarters. As the Hogwarts students departed from their train and walked towards the barrier, the trio looked at each other and shouted before setting off for home.
