AN; A new chapter for you all! Thank you for reading!
Chapter warnings; Still unbetaed, the last part might be icky but it's nothing graphic.
Disclaimer; Not mine, it all belongs to JK Rowling and her affiliates. I make no money of it.
IV
Spending time at Ran's reading and playing Pantheon made the days until Harry was to go to Sirius fly by, the added bonus of it was that he was fed. Harry had never eaten so well outside of Hogwarts for as long as he could remember. It showed as well, he actually looked healthy. Still a bit thin, but then again so was Ran, so he didn't worry about it. He'd also gotten a nice tan from sitting outside reading just about every day.
Last week Petunia had gotten the letter from Sirius and Harry had been hard pressed not to laugh at her expressions as she read it. Harry had been cleaning the kitchen when she had gracelessly dumped down into a kitchen chair, her entire focus on the fancy looking letter. That weekend all Petunia and Vernon had talked about was how they were going to handle the request from the Duke of Suffolk and if it were even possible to get him to pay for their expenses throughout the years. Harry had made a mental note to tell Sirius about it, and just how much their expenses had been. It would mean telling his godfather of how living with the Dursleys had been, but he refused to let them get away with something they didn't deserve.
Those plans where soon forgotten however when Vernon returned home the Monday after. He barged in the front door while shouting for Petunia. Harry had thought he looked ill, ruddy faced and sweaty. Once Petunia had come downstairs, the walrus proceeded to tell her about the sudden, but very important business trip he had to go on. It was all so very important and he was the only one at Grunnings who would be capable to reel in such an important deal. Harry had listen from the kitchen, where he was finishing their dinner, how Petunia stroked Vernon's ego and he had decided that he needed to ask Sirius if they could get a full report on how the Dursleys had reacted once they got rejected. When Vernon had divulged that Petunia were to come with him to Paris... Harry had been sure that if there were any actual crystal in the house it would have broken.
The next two days had been both amusing and exhausting for Harry. Petunia had gone into a kind of frenzy, she had needed to go shopping for her self and Vernon, it wouldn't do to arrive in Paris in last years fashion, she needed to make sure everyone knew about the trip and how very important it was. She also had to make Dudley go to his Aunt Marge happily, which meant bribes of such that had never been seen before. It had left Harry wondering how they were going to afford it all, they probably thought that Vernon would be given such a massive bonus for the deal that it would cover it. Fat chance, but it would be their problem, not his.
But Harry had also been forced to clean the entire house from top to bottom, and he was sure that he'd never get rid of the smell of chlorine that clung to his skin. And the gardens... Everything had to be perfect before they left early on the morning of the tenth.
Harry had been woken at three am that night by Petunia who barked at him to make breakfast while she made her self ready for the trip. He'd seen Vernon huff and puff up and down the stairs, carrying their brand new suitcases out into the car. And then to his eternal surprise forced Dudley to carry his own things down!
Now Harry was standing in the hallway clutching the handle of his trunk, his book bag slung diagonally over his chest and Hedwig in her cage clutched tightly against his torso with his free hand.
"Just so you know boy, I'm not giving you a ride anywhere!" Vernon barked as he stood in the doorway to the kitchen.
"No need." Harry snorted. "Sirius gave me my own transport."
"If they try to blast through my wall again..." The fat walrus looked to be way on his way to a good rant and Harry couldn't be bothered to listen to it. Whispering the activation code for the bracelet, he was treated to a minute glimpse of shock on Vernon's purple face before the spinning colours took over.
§§§
Hermione stared at the grimy shop window wondering if she actually had the right address. The glass in front of her was grey and gritty and from what she could see of the interior it was definitely not a hospital. Not that she had really thought it would be, but she had assumed it would be more like the private clinics in the muggle world, a nice front room, looking more like an office, and the doctors offices and surgeries further inside the building. But this was just dust, rubbish and mannequins dressed in something possibly from the seventies, most of them missing a limb or two.
Frowning she looked down on the parchment from St. Mungo's, reading the address again and the instructions. Sweet Merlin, why couldn't witches and wizards do anything straight forwards! Talk to the mannequin with the blonde wig!? Hermione took a deep fortifying breath and closed her eyes for a moment, struggling with the urge to curse and cuss. Only once she'd battled down said urges did she open her eyes and lean in towards the glass.
"Hermione Granger to see Healer Storm." She said evenly as she could, this was just so ridiculous. It was even more ridiculous when the mannequin just nodded and nothing more happened. Now what? Growling, she was about to slam her hand against the window, when it went through the glass. She overbalanced and stumbled forwards, almost falling flat on her face in the mint green reception.
Hermione could feel her face heating up, but it didn't look like anyone had noticed her less than graceful entry, so she stood up straight and found the queue to the welcome witch. It took about ten minutes before it was her turn and she plastered a pleasant smile on her face.
"God morning, Hermione Granger to see Healer Storm." She smiled, only for her smile to start to slip as the young woman behind the counter didn't even look up, just blew a bubblegum bubble and pointed to the waiting area.
"Sit down and wait to be called." The woman sighed before she called out; "Next!"
Blinking, Hermione stepped out of the queue and walked over to where most of the people in the reception was waiting. There weren't any seats left so she ended up standing next to a wilting piece of foliage, a strange sense of sympathy for the greenery going through her. Checking her watch she saw that she still had five minutes before her appointment were due, so she tried to discretely look around, mainly curious as to what brought witches and wizards to a hospital.
A woman with neon pink skin was sitting in a chair with her laughing toddler in her lap, a look of resignation on her face as the child kept poking her cheek and gleefully laughing. An elderly wizard was slumped in another seat, his right arm bundled in a red sheet and a small pool of blood had gathered on the floor between his feet as it kept dripping from the sheet. He was every so often sipping from a potions vial with red liquid. An old woman and a younger man kept arguing, or more precisely it seemed like the man was trying to talk her into something and she rather loudly insisted she was perfectly fine, no one died from Scale Rot. The young man then seemed to more or less explode in frustration yelling that yes, people died from Scale Rot and no she was not perfectly fine, it didn't matter how many times she's had it in the past, she was not a young lady any more.
"Miss Granger?" Hermione snapped her head in the direction she'd heard her name. A plump witch of an indeterminable age with golden blonde hair and brown eyes were gesturing for her to follow her. Quickly, she hurried over and gave the blonde a relieved smile. "Good morning, Healer Storm is on the first floor, if you'd follow me."
"Thank you." Hermione nodded and followed the witch up the stairs. "Are you a healer too?" She asked, her never-ending curiosity coming forwards.
"Sweet Hecate, no luv, I'm a mediwitch with a speciality in magical beings and creatures." This caused Hermione to frown, she didn't know there was a difference, Madam Pomfrey was referred to with both titles.
"There is a difference?" She asked as they stepped into a long cream white hallway.
"Of course. A healer requires five more years of study after you get the mediwitch certificate." The mediwitch smiled at her. "And they only accept the best into the healer program."
"Fascinating." Hermione mumbled, her brain busy comparing it to what she knew of the muggle system. It seemed that instead of going straight to medical school, here one had to get a nursing degree first. Although she didn't know enough about mediwitches to accurately label them as nurses. But it was none the less interesting.
"Here we are luv." Her escort had stopped in front of a door labelled; Dane Storm, Healer in Charge, Black ward. She proceeded to knock and opened the door when a deep voice told them to enter. "Miss Granger to see you Healer Storm."
"Thanks Skyr." The man behind the desk nodded with a smile before he got up, holding out his hand to Hermione. "Dane Storm, please have a seat." Hermione smiled and shook the man's hand before seating her self. She had no idea what she had imagined the healer to look like, but it was nothing like the man she was seeing. His hair was messy and white as fresh snow, tall and really muscular with a healthy tan and a long scar slashed diagonally across his face. He was dressed in what she recognised as green surgical scrubs, an oddity among robe wearing wizards. "So what can I help you with today?"
"Um, right." Hermione pulled her self out of her thoughts, focusing on the reason she'd come. "A friend of mine made me aware of some rather important changes that happens to a witch and a wizard when they turn sixteen. Changes I was not aware of and quite frankly didn't really believe until I took his advise and went to Gringotts. Imagine my surprise when not only did I find out it was true, but that Hogwarts no longer felt the need to educate us of these changes! I understand that for the most part this is rather harmless, but I would certainly have freaked out had I awoken and found my self several inches taller and with ehrm... enhanced attributes!" She could feel her face flushing bright red, but she refused to let her self become embarrassed, she was talking to a healer after all!
"Yes, I can understand that. I take it you are muggleborn or muggle raised then?" Healer Storm asked neutrally.
"Yes." She answered, although she didn't specify which. "I got the book that the goblins referred me to, and while I feel like I understand what will be happening to me, I do not understand how some can get this creature inheritance. I'm not sure I actually believe that part. How could someone have children with a hippogriff?!" Hermione grimaced.
"How indeed." The healer smiled, his blue eyes betraying his amusement. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume that you are an intelligent young woman, and I make that assumption based on the fact that you've taken the steps to find out about this on your own." Hermione bristled at his words, but her integrated respect for authority figures stopped her from interrupting. "Not many would have bothered, they would either believe blindly what they've read or completely disregard it as nonsense." He leaned forwards in his seat and fixed her with a serious look. "The ability to question everything, seek out more knowledge on your own and form your own conclusions based on that is a sign of a scientific mind. However one must always be aware that one don't know everything and be ready to adjust ones opinions once more knowledge on a matter is presented."
"Um, yes." Hermione blushed again, not sure why her stomach was behaving like a swarm of butterflies had taken off in there. It felt like she had been praised and reprimanded at once.
"Now, for why you came here today. What I am about to tell you won't be easily verified and the reason for that is also a bit complicated, but I will do my best and hope you are as scientifically inclined as I believe." He gave her a pointed look, before he picked up a piece of parchment and flicked his wrist sharply, his wand appearing in his hand instantly. It made Hermione's eyes widen, she had no idea how he had made that happen. She watched as he enlarged the parchment and stuck it to the wall behind him, then with a flick of his wand the words 'Creature Inheritance' appeared on the top. "Now you assume that this," He gestured to the headline. "is the results of a magical human having a child with a hippogriff, griffin, unicorns and so on."
"Yes." She nodded, sitting straighter in her seat.
"Can you think of other such creatures that perhaps is more humanoid in appearance?"
Hermione frowned, furiously thinking of her Care of Magical Creatures course book. "I can only think of mermaids and centaurs." She replied.
"Yes, but do you know why those are classified as creatures?"
"Oh! Because they declined the offer that was made in 1811 of gaining Being status." Healer Storm nodded at her and she smiled brightly back.
"In essence, yes. So can you then think of any race of Being?"
"Hags?" She frowned, still not sure what this had to do with her original question.
"And?" He asked, an expectant look on his face. "Come on Miss Granger, think!"
"Vampires?" Hermione tried, she had never read anything on something classified as Being, there were only the centaurs and mermaids mentioned in her course book, the other two she assumed because she'd heard them being spoken of at Hogwarts. Healer Storm sighed and looked sad for a moment.
"Alright, I had hoped to lead you to your own conclusions, but I guess I'm just going to have to tell you. The term 'creature inheritance' is misleading and didn't come onto existence until seventeen ninety eight. Before then it was referred to having been blessed or partially blessed by the Divine and Hecate. Such a blessing was always dependent on what kind of blood that ran in your family. If your bloodline is purely human, then gaining a blessing would be impossible, you would only gain your magical boost. But if your bloodline had been strengthened by the, then called, favourites of Hecate, you had a chance of being blessed." The parchment behind him had steadily filled in the important parts of his speech and Hermione had dug out her notebook and pen to take notes. "Hecate's favourites have always and will always be magically stronger than witches and wizards, which is why their joining in a family was so highly respected and desired, their blood strengthened the bloodline and magics. Now for the races of Beings, most of then are by the British Ministry today labelled as Dark creatures or Beings, but I will give you a few examples; Dryads, Dwarves, Goblins, Undines, Satyrs and Rakashas." The races appeared on the parchment, but Hermione had just had an epiphany.
"OH!" She exclaimed as understanding dawned on her. "But goblins aren't creatures! Not really. I mean they might be called that, but they aren't beasts! No matter how rude they can be." Healer Storm just chuckled.
"I told you you were smart." He smiled and Hermione blushed again.
"But I still don't really get it." She huffed, partially annoyed with her self and the reactions she was having to the healer. "Firstly why are they calling it a creature inheritance and how does it work, what happens?"
"Well, let's say that you have Satyr blood in your bloodline." He started and Hermione nodded to show she so far followed what he said. "It is impossible to say which of the three inheritance options you will get, so lets talk through each of them. You might get the standard one, more magic, more power, a change in heigh, weight, body shape." She nodded, having a researched it rather thoroughly and had a pretty good picture of the possible changes. "Then you might get a partial blessing. And since you have Satyr blood, we need to take a look at what does Satyrs posses of abilities, skills, appearances and so forth. Partial blessings can give you any combination of this, in addition to a bigger boost to your magical power of the standard inheritance. You might find your self with a pair of horns, the ability to play the flute so well it will enchant any listeners into a frenzy, sleep, arousal, contentment and so forth. You might come into a talent of dance where as you before only had two left feet, or the ability to truly appreciate the subtle differences in drinks. You might even find your self becoming a flirtatious admirer of physical beauty. All of these are traits of a Satyr and you might get any combination of these and not just restricted to one or two. Which is why it is so important to research as much as one can about the bloods in ones bloodline."
Hermione swallowed, suddenly glad she was a muggleborn. "And the full blessing?" She was almost afraid to ask.
"Full blessings are uncommon these days, but in essence, you would become a Satyr."
"But, but..." She was floundering and she knew it, but her brain just couldn't comprehend it. "That would mean there should be hundreds of people walking around that doesn't look like humans! I've never seen any, and even if they are uncommon, there should at least be a few in Hogwarts. There aren't any!"
"How sure are you about that Miss Granger?" Healer Storm asked gently. Hermione frowned, her first and immediate answer was that she knew for a fact, but from the way he had asked she was forced to think twice.
"How could they conceal something like that, why would they conceal it? Glamour charms are a constant drain and the more it needs to hide and the bigger the illusion is, the bigger the drain."
"Most of these families developed special glamour spells or were taught skills to hide their true appearances, but if you were to go back two-hundred years in time, you would see a whole different society. Back then one didn't hide like today."
Hermione was chewing on her bottom lip, it was still such a fantastical tale that she had trouble believing it and she really wanted to see someone who had such a blessing, to see for her self that it was truly real. But Healer Storm's explanation of the mechanics were helping her to understand the clinical side of it. And yet there was something about it that was bothering her.
"But you said that having such marriages and blessings in the family was considered just that, a blessing. And thus more status and prestige. So why are they now hiding it? What happened to the magical world in order for the term Blessing to be turned into Creature inheritance?" She asked, slightly frustrated.
"Ah," He gave her a slight smile. "here you are getting close to the heart of the matter. It's a tragedy what happened and perhaps for you an even bigger tragedy seeing as it all started here in England. I have travelled the world and the story remains the same where ever I go. In seventeen ninety a growing group of religious witches and wizards started campaigning against what they saw as bestiality and a mortal sin against their god. They felt that it was wrong to pollute the bloodline with unclean blood, that to breed with anything not purely human mean they them selves were nothing but beast. Such abominations was not to exist and it was their solemn and sworn duty to cleanse the wickedness out of witches and wizards. Can you guess what happened Miss Granger?"
Hermione was almost in tears, she could very well imagine what had happened, it was Hitler, Grindelwald and Voldemort all over again. Blood purist hell bent on ridding them selves of anything that wasn't their perfect ideal. Clearing her throat, she told him and got a sad smile back. "Indeed, war broke out, a civil war that have had massive consequences all over the world. But the thing I think you will find most hard to swallow is that this group of witches and wizards weren't purebloods. It was the purebloods that was massacred, as it was them that were the unclean, the ones with tainted blood. Muggleborns slaughtered anyone with even a hint of a blessing, even being just slightly above average magically was enough to get labelled as a beast and executed."
"No." She chocked. It couldn't be. "Why?"
"Because according to their god, no man or woman was to lay with anything other than their opposite sex, nor were they to bear offspring of a beast or anything not of human blood. It was a crime against their god and had no rights to live. So in the short span of eight years, any trace of blessings vanished from the British Isles, the few pureblood lines left had learnt to hide and resentment towards the muggleborns started to grow. The British Ministry declared all Beings as Dark Creatures in order to appease the muggleborns and the term Creature inheritance came into use instead of Blessings in the introductory classes taught at Hogwarts and other schools in the country. A discrediting term to imply that the old blood was tainted and not as pure as the new blood." Healer Storm sighed and handed her a box of muggle Kleenex. "The attitude have slowly spread, mostly due to the British colonies but there are a few countries that still hold to the old beliefs."
"It's horrible!" Hermione sobbed. "And that they still blame muggleborns..." She sniffed.
"Wouldn't you do the same? If you saw that slowly but surely everything about your culture was abolished to cater to a culture who made a mockery out of yours? That you no longer were allowed to celebrate the sacred day of Samhain, that the day of silent reflection and communication with the dead were replaced by dressing up as muggle monsters, muggle versions of witches and wizards and gorging on candy? Just because the government is terrified that the muggleborns may take offence and start murdering again."
"But it's not right! I had nothing to do with that yet they blame me! And how could I know when no one teaches us!" She cried, she was shocked, upset and angry, but she was also horrified of what had done to the purebloods. How could someone do such things, think such things about others? It was Voldemort and his pureblood rhetoric all over again, it was Hitler and Grindelwald and yet this happened before their time. But the heart of the matter was the same, a group of people had been considered unworthy of life and so they were prosecuted and killed without remorse.
"I'm sorry Miss Granger, you came to me wanting to learn about the so called creature inheritance, not to be given a terrible history lecture." Healer Storm gave her a small apologetic smile.
"No," Hermione shook her head, pushing down her emotions enough for her to think again. "thank you. I... I don't think anyone else would have been willing to tell me all this" She made a small gesture to encompass what they had talked about. "in fear of my reaction. I have much to think about, and while I would really like to actually see someone with a Blessing or a partial one, I now understand why such things would be difficult." She swallowed and drew a deep breath. "In the book that Gringotts advised me to buy, there was a small section on the Old Ways, and... and I think perhaps it would be wise to learn more..."
"More knowledge is never a bad thing Miss Granger." He smiled. "It is how we chose to act on it that determines if it's a bad thing or not."
"Yeah... I've come to realise that I might not be as clever as I once thought my self to be." She sighed before straightening her spine and giving him a thankful look. "I've got a lot to think about and I've taken up enough of your time. Thank you so much Healer Storm, I really appreciate it!"
"It's fine Miss Granger." He stood up as she did and shook her hand again before gesturing towards the door. "Will you be alright finding your own way down, or should I call Skyr back to escort you?"
"No, I'm fine." Hermione shook her head. "I remember the way."
§§§
Harry landed on a highly polished, dark brown, hardwood floor. His trunk skidding in one direction, his legs in another and the next thing he knew, he was staring up at the ceiling, Hedwig in her cage firmly held against his chest. The roof was decorated with gorgeous crown mouldings but at the moment Harry couldn't really appreciate the view, his glasses were askew and he wasn't sure if there was one or two chandeliers.
"Spectacular landing there Prongslet." A voice full of laughter came from behind him, although he couldn't really hear much due to the racket Hedwig was making. Someone took the cage from him and he gingerly straightened his glasses as he sat up.
"I truly hate portkeys." He grumbled, turning so he could see behind him. Sirius was leaning sideways against the door frame, looking better than Harry had ever seen him and Remus was opening Hedwig's cage, quickly getting out of the way as she rushed out with an angry hoot. "So where are we?" He asked, looking around the room. It was a circular room with a large crest on the wall opposite the massive, marble fireplace.
"At the House of Black's London town house, Grimauld Place." Sirius answered as he came over to help Harry back on his feet. "That's the family crest." He nodded to the large crest Harry was looking at.
"Neat." Harry grinned.
"Come on, Kreacher will take your things up to your room, breakfast is ready in the dining room."
The dining room was nothing like Harry had thought, it was light, bright and airy, yet there were a definite sense of masculinity. He had thought that in a house filled with antiques and such it might look a bit more frippy? Was that even a word? Harry was seated on Sirius' right hand side, Sirius him self at the head of the table and Remus on the left of him, but with a seat free between them.
"Remus can't sit in that chair, we're neither bonded, engaged or dating." Sirius chuckled and Harry remembered having read something about table seating in one of the books. Just not exactly what it had said. "You are on my right hand as my heir and I think you can guess who is supposed to be seated on my left."
"Right, yeah." He blushed, stuffing a piece of toast into his mouth. All summer he had been starting to get these strange feelings whenever something slightly intimate happened or someone mentioned something that could be intimate. It was a bit annoying to be honest, blushing at every turn and he didn't even want to think about the dreams. Dreams that left him sweaty and panting and hard. Heat rushed hotter to his face and he tried desperately to hide it, gulping down steaming hot tea only to choke and cough.
"Hey! Easy." Sirius laughed, thumping Harry's back as he wheezed and coughed. "No need to inhale your tea, it's not going anywhere."
Grimauld Place was massive, or so Harry thought. Sirius had given him the tour of the place after breakfast and Harry had trouble believing that a ballroom with room for hundred and fifty people was necessary in what Sirius had called a private town house. He'd been shown the basement with it's small wine vaults, small being the size of the Dursley's living room and there were three of them, a modest potions lab and storage room, the boiler room and a family ritual room. The ritual room had been fascinating, the stone wall were just about covered in tiny runes etched into the stone. Harry had wanted to take a closer look, but Sirius had stopped him, he wasn't allowed inside unless he had purified him self, what ever that meant, but he was certain his godfather would teach him about it later. Then there was the kitchen and Kreacher's room which was situated on a half floor, between the ground floor and the basement on the left hand side of the house. Harry thought the kitchen was rather nice, stone walls and flagstone floor with thick wooden beams in the ceiling, from which pots and pans, dried herbs and a salted ham hung. The kitchen table was large and sturdy, dark wood that spoke of years of use and care, it could easily seat twelve people. Harry got a rather distinct feeling of kitchen that belonged in the eighteen hundreds, the large heart for spit-roasts and cauldrons full of stew, a large wood burning range in cast iron and cupboards and shelves filled with anything one might need in such a kitchen.
The ground floor held the entry hall, floo room, where Harry had portkeyed into and where the apparation point was, the ballroom and formal dining room, the gentlemen's parlour and the ladies conservatory. Again Harry didn't quite see the need for it all since Sirius kept telling him that this was mostly a family town house and that all the big and important events were held had the ancestral seat of the Blacks, Ravens Hall. But he guessed that the old pureblood families had a very different opinion of what was necessary than him.
The first floor had the guest rooms, four doubles and two suites, a drawing room, a music room and a small library. Harry thought the first floor seemed smaller than the ground floor, but then again the basement was even smaller. It didn't make sense that there was even room for it all but he guessed witches and wizards had the means to have room for what they wanted. The second floor was the family floor, six bedroom suites and a nursery, a living room and the family dining room, a large family library and Sirius' study.
Harry was sitting in the window seat of his own living room slash study, looking down into the back garden and the greenhouse. Kreacher had just served him afternoon tea and since he had missed lunch, he had taken a nap after the house tour, the elf had made him turkey sandwiches as well as the usual fare to go with his tea. It was strange, but Grimauld felt like his home, the only other place he had felt the same had been Hogwarts, but here it was more intimate, the very air felt comforting and he felt like he could relax and breathe. There was a knock on the door and once he had called out for whom ever it was to enter, Sirius came in, a happy smile on his lips.
"How's the room pup?" His godfather asked as he dumped down into the couch, snatching a crumpet from the tray.
"Brilliant, thanks Sirius." Harry grinned as he turned to face the animagus.
"It's yours Harry, if you want to change the colours or..."
"No! It's perfect!" He shook his head, he didn't want to change a thing about it, he loved the earthy, but light colours and that it was so airy. It was so far from the room he had at the Dursleys or the cupboard under the stairs that it was hard to imagine how it could be better.
"Alright pup." Sirius laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. "I just wanted to see if you were happy with your room and talk to you a bit about what's going happen in the next weeks. Most of it is up for discussion, so feel free to speak your mind, okay?" Harry nodded, still smiling softly. "Right, well I've tried to keep your weekends free, but lets see what you think first. Tomorrow I thought we could go over what you remember from the books, it'll give me a better idea of what we need to cover. I know we wont have time to go over it all, at least not in depth, but I think we'll be able to give you the basics and a bit more to build on. It would be best if you could become friends with a pureblood heir that could help you through the year, but we'll talk about that later." Sirius looked strangely serious Harry thought. He had always gotten the impression that his godfather was one of those that always took things lightly and never bothered to worry too much. "I'll give you lessons after breakfast until lunch, after lunch we'll either continue or you can self study, though I expect for the first week we'll continue. After tea you'll have a few hours till dinner to do your correspondences, managing of your estate, homework and other kinds of study you want to do. After dinner you have the evening free. Sounds good?"
"Yeah..." Harry chuckled, it was a really packed schedule but he guessed it was needed, he really wanted to learn what he had to in order to be able to do his best at this lordship thing. "I'll probably grumble and complain, but I'll promise to do my best."
"That's all I can ask pup. And before I forget, if you want to go school shopping with some friends you're going to have to organise it and clear it with Remus. He's agreed to go with you since I can't at the moment."
"Cool, I promised Ran to go shopping with him and he'll probably bring his otosan along. He's a ward master, and Hermione probably want to meet up too." Harry grinned, moving from his window seat to sit next to Sirius.
"Otosan?" Sirius asked, looking puzzled.
"It's father in Japanese. Ran is half Japanese and since he has two dads he calls Mr Storm dad and Storm-san otosan." He replied as he fixed him self a cup of tea.
"No Weasleys?" His godfather gave him a pensive look as Harry sighed.
"I... you won't tell anyone?"
"Of course not pup. You can tell me anything and I won't say anything to anyone unless I think it's for the best for you. But I will let you know first. I only care about you and your well-being Harry." Sirius gave him a gentle smile and the hand on his shoulder was warm and comforting. Harry swallowed and nodded, absently stirring his cup of tea.
"I'm not sure I want to trust Ron any more, or can trust him any more. He never actually apologised for how he treated me at the start of the tournament and I'm starting to feel like I can't be my self around him. I'm always reconsidering what to wear, what to say, how to act so he won't be mad at me. It's getting tiring. And after spending most of the summer with Ran, who doesn't care if I'm famous, rich or want to study, I'm wondering if it's worth it, just to keep Ron happy."
"Friends grow apart Harry, it happens. If Ron is your friend, it shouldn't matter to him how you dress or any of the other things, he would want you to be happy." Sirius said gently. "And if he doesn't, it is time to move on. Don't hold on to something that will later make you resent him, it's better to just let it be and remember the fun times."
"Yeah, I like the twins though. They are cool and don't treat me any differently." Harry said softly. "I don't know Bill or Charlie well, but they seem like nice blokes."
"Well, pup, if things don't turn out with Ron there are plenty of other kids at Hogwarts to befriend. Some might even surprise you." Sirius smiled comfortingly at him and Harry nodded, deciding he'd try to do more what he wanted and see what would happen. If Ron turned out to be a total loss it would hurt, but he would try to move on, try to follow Sirius' advise.
§§§
Hermione was standing on the steps of Gringotts trying to spot her best friend and Professors Lupin in the crowds She was dying to get her hands on Harry so that he could tell her all that he had just hinted at in his letters. Like why he hadn't written more than one letter before last week... She had been surprised that Harry wasn't staying with Ron and his family, but with Sirius and Remus, and that he had only asked her and his new friend Ran to go shopping with. There was so much she wanted to know but he refused to tell in writing, just saying he'd explain once they were face to face.
"Hello Hermione, Mrs Granger." Hermione spun around, gaping. How had Harry managed to sneak up behind them?!
"Harry!" She threw her self at him, hugging him tightly. "How did you sneak up on us? I've been watching for you for at least ten minutes!"
"Air!" Harry squeaked and she let him go, scowling at the large grin on his face. "Remus and I came an hour ago, I had an appointment with my account manager." He smiled. "You look good, nice tan and I think your hair have lightened as well."
"Thanks." She smiled happily, Harry always noticed things like that, not like anyone else she knew. "You're not to bad your self. You look better than ever!"
"Spent a lot of time at Ran's before I left." Harry grinned. "His dads are great cooks." Hermione gave him another once over before she nodded. She had always hated how he came back from the Dursleys looking like he hadn't eaten in months, something she suspected was the truth as well, he could never stomach much food once he arrived at Ron's, no matter how much food Mrs Weasley tried to feed him. And it always took him a few weeks into term before his portions reached normal sizes. If nothing else, she would be grateful for Harry's new friend for feeding him.
"So when are you going to tell me everything that you've promised me?" She poked Harry's chest a few times, giving him an impatient look.
"When we have time to sit down and talk without much interruptions." Harry sighed. "I know you want to know, and I'll tell you all I can, but Diagon isn't the place." Hermione huffed and mock glared at him.
"Fine, I'm claiming talk time on the train then! Oh! But I forgot to tell you! I made prefect!"
"Really?! That's great Hermione!" Harry beamed at her. "Now you can dock points off of Malfoy!"
"Only if he does something against the rules." She sighed and Harry laughed.
"Tell you what, I'll buy you a book of your choice for making prefect." He grinned, putting an arm around her shoulders, giving her a sideways hug.
"Thanks Harry." She smiled back.
"Hey, there's Ran and his otosan." Her best friend started waving his free arm. She spotted a short boy with really long, dark blue hair waving back and a tall, Asian man with black hair pulled back walking up the steps towards them.
"Great, everyone is here. Everyone, this is Ran and his otosan, Storm-san." Hermione did a mental double take, there was no way that that was a coincidence, and hadn't Harry said something about two dads? She took a closer look at the two while Harry continued the presentations. Storm-san was a tall man, dressed in loose linen pants and a oversized, loosely knitted sweater, his hair was pulled back in a small ponytail. He looked relaxed, yet his face seemed a bit blank and if it hadn't been for the small, slightly shy smile he gave Harry, she would have thought he was a standoffish, arrogant pureblood. As if was now, she would have to reserve her judgement until she'd seen more. Ran wasn't what she had thought though, based on Harry's letters she'd pictured a bookish, pale boy that dressed in slacks and short sleeved button up shirts, not a short, skinny boy with an almost glowing tan, baggy pants, flip-flops and a washed out Led Zeppelin tee shirt. She had certainly not envisioned the long hair or the piercings. There wasn't much she managed to interpret of his personality, he did seem friendly, in fact he reminded her a bit of the healer she'd talked to at St. Mungo's and if her suspicions were correct, it would be natural.
"Where to first?" Harry asked and Hermione pulled her self back to the conversation.
"Hermione needs new school uniforms." Her mother sighed with a smile at her. "And I know it's best to just get it done with."
The seven of them barely fit in the front room of Madame Malkin's, not because it was such a small shop, but because there were so many others that were waiting. It was two weeks until school started and it seemed to Hermione that everyone had waited until the last minute to go shopping this year. She didn't see anyone from their year, but she did spot the woman from the bank who had had a pith helmet under her arm. Again she was dressed elegantly, but practically, with a definite air of Indiana Jones about her. Those films had been some of her favourites, it showed that one could be book smart and clever and still be exciting. When she had been younger it was what she had dreamt of achieving, although she'd never really envisioned all the death defying stunts. And as she thought about it, she realised that she had done those as well. Who would have thought that being friends with Harry would have resulted in her own Indy Jones-esque adventures. It made her suddenly want to hug her friend and thank him, but it also made her wonder about her future. She had never really thought about what she would do after school, all she had focused on was getting the best grades so that when she did graduate she could pick and choose. But looking at the woman, she thought that maybe she could be an adventuress... A nudge from behind pulled her out of her thoughts and she realised that it was her turn.
The measuring didn't take long, and while she stood there both Harry and Ran came in to stand on the measuring stools.
"What kind of uniforms does Hogwarts students wear anyway?" Ran asked as he watched the enchanted measuring tape slither about him.
"The standard kind." Hermione replied. "Trousers, shirts, sweaters, ties and robes. Why?"
"The last school I went to had tunics and loose linen trousers and the one before that had dragon hide trousers and fur lined battle robes." He shrugged, only to receive a slap on the shoulder from the tape measure.
"Where did you go to school?" Harry asked. "I've been meaning to ask."
"I've been to Universitas Magicae Romanus and Durmstrang."
"That's you done, dear." The witch taking her measurements patted her on the arm and Hermione was led back to the front room before she could ask any more questions. She heard Harry talking about the Durmstrang students that came to Hogwarts last year, but not what Ran replied to it. The Universitas hadn't been mentioned in the book she'd read on magical education in Europe, but then again that book had only contained boarding schools. Victor had told her much about Durmstrang and how it worked, what classed they had and so forth, so she didn't feel the need to find out more about it, but this Universitas... Now that was a different story. She did however curb her curiosity when she saw them exit the measuring room, Harry seemed so happy and the beaming smile he sent her made her grin back. She could wait until later to ask about the school, right now she wanted to enjoy the day with her best friend.
Remus was curious about the Storms, Harry had spoken much about them and the time he had spent with them during the summer. As far as he and Sirius had been able to understand, the Storms was the sole reason Harry hadn't starved this summer. But they also seemed to have given him some confidence, some spirit that had been sorely lacking. So all in all, the Storms seemed like good people and it wasn't that they didn't trust or believe Harry, it was just that they both felt like it was too good to be true and wanted to make sure on their own. The fact that they seemed to have moved a lot counted against them, but that could just as easily have a perfectly innocent reason as it could be otherwise. So he kept a casual eye on the two and hoped he would get a chance to ask questions without it being suspicions. Remus had carefully sniffed out their scents, some magics left distinct odors but the only strange element in their scent was the smell of burnt ozone that seemed to be a sort of base scent. It was puzzling, but not necessarily bad, so he'd just noted it as interesting.
"Why are you only buying two sets of school uniforms for your son?" He asked when he heard Storm-san order at the counter.
"My Ran-chan turns sixteen in about two months, he will not fit these uniforms after." Was the answer he got and Remus wondered how he could be so sure. He knew that gaining a few inches was normal, but paying for the right kinds of charms to be added to the clothes would easily fix it. And considering how short and skinny the boy was he didn't think much of a change would happen.
Once they had all their clothing purchases they headed to the apothecary and Remus opted to stay outside, his nose didn't go well with the overall smell of the place.
Harry watched with amusement as Ran seemed to try every quill Amanuensis Quill and Stationary shop had for sale. He kept grumbling over the fact that his favourite quill had vanished in the move and non of the other he had were as good to write with.
"Ran, you only ever write with a quill when you're handing in assignments." He chuckled.
"Only... you don't take notes?" Hermione, who had been admiring a handsome, plum coloured quill, asked, sounding shocked.
"Of course I take notes." Ran snorted, picking up a quill made out of just the hollow shaft of a feather, about the length of a pencil. "I just use a fountain pen or a pencil, and I use notebooks, not rolls of parchment for it. Parchment is expensive, why waste money on parchment for notes when I can buy paper note books for a fraction of the price. No one cares about what your notes are written on or with what, just that your assignments are handed in on parchment and written with a quill." Hermione was gaping and Harry wanted to bite his hand to keep him from laughing, especially when he saw the looks Mr and Mrs Granger was giving their daughter.
"And they accepted this at Durmstrang? And that University you went to?" Hermione's voice was almost a whisper.
"Yes." Ran gave her a frown. "They always asked why I used such methods for note writing, but once I explained no one cared. The only reason they insists on using parchment and quill is the slight magical trace it leaves. It allows the teachers to identify the work as genuine."
"Wait, what?" Harry blinked. "So if Hermione corrects my essay, they'll know it was her and not me?"
"Well apart from the difference in handwriting, yes." His friend rolled his eyes at him and Harry gave him a sheepish look back.
"And why haven't anyone told us about this before." Harry sighed, it would explain why his grades hadn't been more than average even if Hermione helped him.
"Wait, let me guess." Hermione sighed. "This is something that would have been explained in the class we don't have?"
"Probably." Ran shrugged. "I know because otosan told me when I started Durmstrang."
"And since it won't affect your school work, from now on you'll get normal notebooks to take to school." Mrs Granger told her daughter firmly and Hermione just nodded.
"Oh, I'll need ochre red sealing ribbons and neutral wax!" Harry exclaimed, he had almost forgotten and Sirius had been quite insistent he get it.
"Why?" His best friend turned to look at him, he could see worry growing in her brown eyes, worry that this was yet another thing that had been left out.
"Now that I've officially accepted I'm Heir Potter, I need to do things the..." He grimaced slightly and ran a hand through his hair. "the traditional way. Which means using the Potter colour on the ribbon holding the scroll together and using sealing wax imbued with my family's magic. Sirius tells me this is important, so..."
"Oh, Harry." Hermione breathed sadly, before she hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry."
"What for?" He asked, puzzled at her reaction. He loved her as the sister he never had, but he was quite certain he'd never be able to understand the emotional workings of her female brain.
"I'm just so worried about all this new and important information that's been surfacing and for a moment I thought there was more and..."
"Hey, it's okay. Really. I'll tell you all about it on the train, when we can speak more freely." He hurried to assure her, he didn't want her to worry.
"Okay." She murmured into his shoulder and he gave her a final, awkward pat on the back before letting go of her.
"Come on, you still need parchment and ink for your homework."
All in all, Harry thought that the day of shopping had gone great. It seemed like Ran and Hermione got along well, no one had bothered them or tried to start a fight, no one had gotten lost and the only big surprise had been when Hermione had showed them Heraldick Alley. Remus had looked a bit sheepish when she had turned to him and berated him about not telling them there was more to the district than just Diagon and Knock-Turn. It had been funny to see his best friend take on the role as tourist guide and showed them around. When Ran had noticed the shop where Hermione had gotten Harry's birthday gift, he'd rushed inside after a quick shout of "Be right back!". He came out five minutes later and handed Harry a stack of brightly wrapped, small and thin packages, accompanied by a "Happy belated birthday!" and a wide grin. Harry had looked down and ginned widely as he saw the word 'Phanteon' written in glowing letters across every package.
"Booster packs." Ran had grinned. Remus had gotten curious and Harry had spent a good while explaining to the man the card game and when they'd gotten home Remus had made him go get his cards so he could show Sirius and him self how it worked.
§§§
The rhythmic sound of dripping water echoed through the darkness. It was cold, white misty breath could have been seen had there been any light to see by. She knew she was naked, but it didn't matter any more, she was so tired. It had been a long time since she'd stopped being cold, hungry or even cared that she was licking the moisture off the stone. If she could only stop waking up. She did sleep more now and there had been a time when she managed to hold the bowl under the dripping water so she could have mouthfuls of it, but she hardly remembered that any more. There had been someone here in the beginning, someone whose hand she could hold when it became to much, but they had been just as cold as the walls and after a while there hadn't been anything left to hold.
Had she been terrified when she came here? Maybe, she didn't remember. Her mind was like treacle, slow and dark, like this place, slowly becoming nothing. She knew she would join the others, maybe be a cold comfort for a while, before she became the floor. Oh, the floor, it wasn't very stable, it was deep and sharp. Every time she moved it would echo, hollow and rattling. She guessed it was displeased, it always cut her. Sometimes the walls would sing, but she had stopped listening to it, every time she had she had felt sick, filthy, bad. Every time she listened she would see and the urge to claw out her own eyes almost became too much.
Did the walls taste different? She wasn't sure, she couldn't remember any other taste than the dark musty one. No, that wasn't right, she used to taste different. Sharp and warm, one bitter and the other thirsty. She licked the wall again, no longer remembering why, but only knowing she either licked the wall or she slept. Maybe it was the clawing inside her, the sharp stabs that raked her insides. Or maybe that was the floor? It often tried to keep her from the wall, pulling her down. Would it help if she did what the floor wanted? Would she stop waking up then? Probably not.
There was another sound in the darkness, sluggish and painful. It made her want to cry, it burned behind her eyes and in her throat, made her chest hurt. Did it come from inside of her? Why couldn't she hear the water any more? One beat... white noise buzzed in her ears as her eyes closed. A shudder on the inside and she knew. She wouldn't wake up this time. And there wouldn't be anyone else here, she was the last. She could see them all, all like her, and they were so many! But they had to be in order to fill up the pit. Another beat, hesitant and scared. The darkness waiting for her wasn't peace, she could hear them now, agony and horror. She was sorry, so sorry, for what she would now be a part of.
The sound of dripping water had stopped.