Chapter Two Hermione and Harry
Crispin Granger was a half-blood wizard who grew up in Muggle America. His Witch mother tutored him at home while he went to St Mary's Academy, at the insistence of his father. When his aunt died, he attended her funeral and burial in Godric's Hollow, England. He had wandered away from the group towards the end of the service, mostly because his cousins' grief was tangible and overwhelming. Marcus, who was fifteen, Samantha, then only twelve and even Edwin who was twenty-five wore their heartbreak on their faces.
Crispin, at the very knowledgeable age of twenty-two, hadn't been as close to his Uncle Jacob's second wife. He had regarded her as backwards, her devotion to her family line, family history, and the regard British wizards held to their nobility were foreign concepts to the American boy. Not to mention he had really adored Rachel Carter, Edwin's mother who had left her husband when Crispin was five. For some reason he couldn't recall by the time Elizabeth Griffindor died, both he and Edwin had blamed her, even though she and Jacob hadn't even met until a year later. Edwin got over it by the time Marcus was born, but Crispin held out until he witnessed the grief of her family. He wondered why she had never told him how stupid and immature he was being.
Before he knew it, Crispin had wandered into the mundane side of Godric's Hollow, and into a book store. Without looking, really, Crispin grabbed a few books for his three cousins and walked up to the counter to pay. The woman he saw there was absolutely gorgeous. Her hair was honey golden and she had deep brown eyes. On a whim he asked her out, and then asked for her name. She giggled as he mentally beat himself for being stupid and introduced herself as Cwenberg Brightmore. Three years later they were married, and two years later, they had a daughter. A daughter named Hermione who was already doing accidental magic.
July 31, 1981 Potter Manor, Godric's Hollow, England
Crispin was surprised to receive an invitation to a party Samantha was throwing. Her grandmother had just died at the beginning of the month and she had taken her place as Lady Griffindor. Fortunately Samantha had given birth to twins six weeks prior, assuring her ailing grandparents that she would have an heir. The Twins had been "honeymoon babies", born 10 months after Samantha had finished her PhD and nine and a half months after she and Jonathan had been married in the mundane world. Little Draco Malfoy was a giggling toddler now, and little Harry Potter was turning one, thus the party invitation.
Samantha and her friend Lilly Potter had brought the two boys out to muggle London to buy them clothes. At the mall they had, literally in Samantha's case, ran into Cwenberg, who had taken Hermione to the same store. They agreed to have lunch together, and it happened. In the middle of a semi-crowded restaurant, Hermione and Harry began to pass a ball back and forth to each other. The problem was not the game; it was that the ball bouncing between them was a small ball of light that one of them had conjured. Samantha's mind was made up that moment.
The entire month of July had seen Crispin, Samantha and James Potter in negotiations over a marriage contract. At first the Grangers had balked but Samantha had calmly explained how this was a benefit to both children. "It isn't like we are actually making this decision for them," she pointed out, "they can back out at fifteen if they want. But this way Hermione is protected from the wizarding world's politics. You are an American wizard, Crispin, who doesn't practice magic. They have Hermione listed at the Ministry as a Muggle-Born! They don't recognize you as a wizard because you haven't used your wand since you moved to England and as far as they can tell, Cwen is muggle.
"Betrothal to Harry, the Heir to an Ancient and Noble house, will elevate her to Pure-Blood status. As distasteful as the concept is, England's wizarding communities are prejudiced against non-pure-bloods and creatures. If we don't provide her with protection now, when her Elven heritage comes out, she will be classified as a creature and her wand snapped. The blood testing and registering happens at age 17, so they would need to be married by Harry's sixteenth birthday. As the future Lady Potter, the ministry would not be able to touch her.
"Harry has his own problems. James and Lilly have told me about a prophecy that may concern Harry or another boy. This will be a big burden on the boy it speaks of, and I, for one, don't trust Albus Dumbledore to do right by Harry. If something were to happen to James and Lilly, and for some reason Sirius, Harry's godfather, could not care for him, He would come to live with his intended and her family. I know you and Cwen want other children of your own, but you can't deny that if Harry were an orphan you would take him in."
"That's true, Samantha, but what does this have to do with you? And couldn't you take him in?" Crispin asked feeling a little overwhelmed.
"As Lady Griffindor, I can arrange marriages for the children of my Vassals as well as my own children. Unless James has another child, Harry is the last of the Potter line. I cannot betroth Roxanne to him because doing so would end the Potters. All of the other Potters were killed in the war with Grindewald and World War two. I could take him in, but if something catastrophic happens to his family, the safest place for him would be the mundane world. And I would help you as much as I can, including educating the children in Societal customs. Whether you agree to betroth the children or not, I will extend House Griffindor protections over house Granger until Hermione reaches her majority. Starting when they are five, every summer will be spent with me. There is a lot for them to learn, including the true history of the wizarding race."
Crispin agreed to the betrothal and the initial contract was drawn up, signed, and filed with the ministry and with the Wizarding Bank Gringots. The Ancient and Noble House of Potter had agreed to pay for Hermione's wand and school supplies for all seven years of Hogwarts, plus 45 galleons per month in spending money starting her third year and ending the day after the wedding. Apparently the Potters believed in a bride price rather than a dowry. James told him that he had essentially paid for Lilly's sister's wedding as his bride price. He had wanted to do more but Sir Richard Evans had informed him that 20000 pounds was more than enough. The Most Ancient Most Noble House of Griffindor was to pay Hermione's full tuition to both a primary school and Hogwarts, as well as summer tuition in Wizarding Etiquette starting in her fifth summer.
Harry's first birthday party went along the same lines as all first birthdays go, with all the small children playing with the wrapping paper and boxes. The toys lay forgotten in a small pile as the four toddlers present threw paper at each other. Crispin stood next to Frank Longbottom as they watched their children play. He had just finished explaining to the other man exactly what a dentist did, and had a similar summery of Franks job as an Auror when there was a burst of rainbow colored lights from the children. Both men stood with their mouths open as Harry, Draco, Hermione, and the Longbottom's son Neville proceeded to change the brightly colored wrapping paper into something akin to fireworks.
The lights had gotten the attention of the only two professors from Hogwarts invited to this party, McGonagall and Flitwick. The diminutive man squeaked at his Scottish colleague, "this is a stunning display! Four babies performing magic that we didn't master until our late teens!" McGonagall could only nod. Samantha, upon seeing the display, softly ordered her vassals to bring their children to her castle. "please bring Hermione," she added to Crispin. He could only nod, his daughter was already more powerful than he ever had been, and it meant that the Granger family could not remain solely in the muggle world. That fact alone terrified him.
Griffindor Hall July 31, 1981
Samantha led the now subdued party through her great hall, down some stairs and into her dungeons. Griffindor Hall's dungeons hadn't been used for prisoners since Godric Slytherin's marriage to Lizbet Griffindor was contested by Godric's younger brother Richard Slytherin. Then the two elder brothers of the Slytherin line, Salazar and Godric had used Griffindor Hall as a base of operations for their campaign against their youngest brother. They also had the aid of their sister Lady Gwenevere Greengrass and her husband's family, Godric's future in-laws, and the Ravenclaw clan. The five families crushed the small army Richard had brought against the Griffindors. Slytherin, Griffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Greengrass stood firmly together for eighty more years against many Dark attempts to control the small wizarding community. They even founded Hogwarts to help educate young witches and wizards in the path of the light. Contrary to popular belief, it was Richard Slytherin's son who opposed mundane-born students. It was he who created the chamber, and his heir who could control the monster within. Richard had been held in Griffindor Hall dungeons for five years, friendless and angry, until Griffindor had an heir. He never forgave his brothers.
Now the dungeons are used to store artifacts of the wizarding world's ancestors, including the proving stone. Samantha knew she was breaking a dozen Griffindor bylaws, but the power displayed could mean nothing else. As the party, which included the Potters, Longbottom, McGonagall, Sirius Black and the Grangers, reached the doors to the deepest dungeon, they were met by Jonathan, who had just apparated home from his duty station. He was dirty and tired from his latest mission but he smiled and opened the door anyway. What nobody except Samantha and Jonathan knew was that the Proving stone had several functions, including detecting the gene for using Alterran technology in infants. Jonathan called for their children's nannies as Samantha worked the controls. Once the Griffindor twins, Roxanne and Elizabeth, had been brought down, Jonathan ushered the group of people loitering anxiously in the hall into the large room.
To prove to the other anxious parents that the artifact was safe, and what it did, Samantha took her first born, Roxanne, and laid the eight week old baby in front of the stone. Suddenly the stone began to glow, vibrant blue. When Lilly saw that Roxanne was unharmed, she maneuvered her now sleeping son into Samantha's waiting arms. She had barely set the boy down when the same vibrant glow filled the room. James had carried Draco, who was also sleeping, over and placed him in the same spot. His glow was not as bright as Harry's, but, it was still there. Neville and Hermione also activated the light. Lastly Elizabeth, the younger twin, had to be tested. House Griffindor did not choose her heirs, in the case of twins, by order of birth but by strength of the gene. Elizabeth's glow was brighter than her sisters, and the Griffindor crest embossed itself on her dress, Lady Samantha Griffindor had an heir to present to the Queen.