DISCLAIMER; HP belongs to JKR. The story line and all new characters, new character development, new developments are my intellectual property

Molly's folly

Molly had instructions from her husband to, never, ever answer any scrolls asking for information concerning Hermione. At Hogwarts, she had been registered as a Magical Muggle, and even her children thought that to be the case.

Hermione had never told the Weasleys that her mother had been a witch. Count Granger had sold his palace, the one he owned when married to his late wife, and had moved to this Manor by the time Molly had met him. But she had heard him talking to Duke Black years before, and found out that Hermione's mother was a second or third cousin of his. Thus, answering the scrolls, was exactly what she was going to do, everyone of them. As she answered them all, they vanished, good.

Preparations- Intrigues and expectations

Half of the kingdom was in a flurry of excitement over the ball, no surprise there; many single witches thought they had a chance to the prince. His portrait hung in all the wealthy homes, and was the object of his subjects' adoration. He was finally looking for a bride, ready to choose her.

It was all working according to plan, and exactly as it was intended. For most of the citizens that was, because there were some smarter wizards. At the very least, they were better informed by their paid spies who lived inside the castle walls, or received scrolls from unexpected sources. Thus, it was likely that they had already received a confirmation of their suspicion. They knew that Prince Harry had found a wife whose parents were none other than the late Lady Jane and the dashing Muggle noble, Count Granger, an agent for the crown and an alleged pirate roaming the high seas.

Yet, others just sought to verify that she really existed and to get ready for an unexpected pleasure, to meet the child made from the Dark Lord's seed, personally. Of course, not everyone's intentions were in her best interest, because she was indeed sought by more than a few, and some with rather nefarious intents; namely, they wanted either her hand in marriage, or to murder her. Unfortunately, the queen and king had been right, the news of her existence was waking up many sleeping dogs, and some poisonous and deadly villains as well.

Ironically, Molly Granger could have long ago rid herself of the young witch, if she had been a little more informed and had spent her time to better use. She should have found out the rest of the story behind Hermione's mother real identity. She had sat on the proverbial goose of the golden eggs, had failed to pay attention, and had not inquired about her stepdaughter; but one of her sons had... And he had taken action to prevent a disaster should Molly find out, but nothing was simple during those times, and it was taken him longer than anticipated.

At the Castle-

P-gree had finally returned to his goddaughter's room, and he knew what to do for her. Yes, shall we say that he found proverbial dirty rats in the castle. Although, it was more of a case of bad relatives, specifically of conniving and deceptive sisters. As for himself, he had secured the perfect job for the evening, one which would allow him to roam in plain sight as a human, even if disguised. It was too bad that he still didn't have the stomach to talk to his former friends; they really believed that he was a traitor. Soon, the cowardly rat promised himself, not knowing that time was short.

Meanwhile, a meeting was being secretly held. The five conspirators sat close together.

"Do you want my mother into your life? She only loved Ursas, and we never measured up to her. My father was an original Dark Knight, and I remember Voldemort was at our home for the last time was when Ursas left for her final trip. Anyway, mother was never the same after Ursas died. I believe that she would be willing to forget that Hermione was a Halfblood in order to take over her life. Really dear Harry, you have seen my mother's portrait...Do I need to say more?" Sirius finished, and each one of them shivered at the prospect of Wallburga into their lives.

Harry shook his head, he didn't want Wallburga Black meeting Hermione.

"Or how about if she is taken, I would imagine we aren't the only ones who know that she is the only descendant of the Dark Lord." Severus was worried; he wanted the young witch kept away from the others forever. This ball was pure idiocy, not one of Lily's brightest ideas. After all, he knew of the darkness and had nearly given his soul to it, and he would have, had James not made the deal with him.

Severus didn't wish any harm come to Hermione, and most of all, he wanted to see Hermione and Harry's babies; he smiled imagining a child that would be part of Lily and would also have his blood, how perfect.

"I don't get two things, why wasn't she attacked later. Who was protecting her? And why Lady Jane was never sought by the Dark Lord?" Regulus asked no one in particular.

"I have the answer to the first, he didn't know about the Lady Jane or the child until the day of the attack. Or maybe he recognized Lady Jane, somehow. I imagine that Bella was behind it. Or, perhaps after the lady was killed, Bella told him, she is crazy after all. Voldemort was obviously upset that day that many found out, or at least suspected." Sirius answered.

"Yes, and remember that many believed that the baby had been killed during the attack. Ah, I heard today that Riddle had nearly killed Bella afterwards. Albeit many thought that he'd wanted Lady Jane for leverage against the King, nobody is absolutely certain that was the case . Besides, Granger cut all social ties with the castle, sold the palace to move farther away from the Queen and King, and lived as a Muggle, he thought it safer; I believed he passed Lady Hermione as a Muggle. As for the Lady Hermione, maybe one or more of the Weasley wizards has protected her. They are all powerful wizards; you must remember their fighting skills during the war." That was Severus' opinion.

"Yes, during the war they all fought in except for Percy, who joined us during the final battle. They saved many lives, and Ron saved mine. We need to think of the punishment for those who deserve it; those who hurt our Lady Hermione, must pay. I wish we had a reliable witness to find out what went on. And has anyone located Charles?" Harry didn't want to be unfair, but he wanted the guilty ones punished.

"He is a dragon tamer, and we know that he left his home after a terrible fight with the mother. After that, nobody knows what happen to him," Regulus who was in charge of the Aurors informed them.

"Harry one last thing, remember to care of her; you don't want us as enemies." Sirius warned him, and his voice was dark and not one bit friendly.

Harry laughed with mirth; he thought it was a joke, but nobody else laughed. He wasn't comfortable with the way they treated him; who did they think he was. What was going on, had they all had gone feral on him once more? And would he be able to even touch her again? He wasn't too sure judging by their stance. And that couldn't be, he was dying to have her and would have her, no matter who tried to stop him.

Just last night Sirius was joking about his found bride, and now, it was no longer a joyful event, nobody was laughing over his romantic adventure; it was about blood, rights, and old feuds; it was all about protecting the witch. They forgot that she belonged to him. He had an idea, and he needed to talk to his parents.

He looked around the room for support, he had none, even Remus had sided with Sirius. Fools, was Harry's assessment, one thing was for sure he was going to try a bit more.

Preparations

Hermione was getting ready for the ball, but her dress was yet to arrive, and she was getting anxious.

Lily entered the room, her face showed consternation, "My dear, Madame Malkin's shop has burned down. All the dresses, the fabrics are all gone. A witch or wizard casted an old powerful fire hex, and it was over in minutes. She and two witches were the only ones to escape the fire, and only because they were here taking your measurements. Yours was one of the only dresses not yet picked up."

"It is all well; I could wear one of yours, or maybe one of my mother's. They are all at the house. It is the one thing nobody has touched; they are under lock and key, and I charmed them to keep them safe. My father would kill whoever damaged them, or dared to wear them, he even warned Molly." Hermione offered.

"I am not good with seamstress spells, are you? I will ask the master elf to find us a seamstress, if we need to." Lily asked.

"I know a little," Hermione lied, thinking that she would try to call P-gree. He must be missing her as he was missed. Besides, he was rather good great at tailoring. Dear P-gree he dreamed of having a tailor shop to dress the king and queen and all the important nobles. The noble houses employed professional tailors and seamstress, and he had aspired to be the best in the land.

"That might help us, let me bring you a few of my ball gowns; however I am a little taller you and will need to make them smaller in most every place, except at the top," and she laughed and Hermione blushed.

She came back within a few minutes with several gowns to choose from, and Hermione choose one in made of dark red velvet, with gold trimmings. It had a few Gryffindors embroidered around the neckline trim. The bodice was very narrow, and the skirts full. It would look good on her.

"I was a Gryffindor, but I—." Her voice broke.

"I know darling," Lily didn't want her to be sad and to dwell on the bad times, "I will send your ladies in waiting; they are waiting in their rooms. There is third one, Lady Pansy, but she has left to ready for her nuptials with an Italian noble, Lord Blaise, I think. " She squeezed Hermione's arm in reassurance.

The Godfather, a Magic Wand, a Dress, the Glass Slippers, and a Pumpkin.

P-gree decided to make his entrance as soon as Lily left. Hermione told him that she was about to call him.

"I have been here for a while, you are my job. And as your godfather, I am going to transform your clothes, you have nothing to worry about, and I have a present for you."

Hermione wondered if he had seen her kissing Harry or any of the other things, and the blush reached her hair roots. P-gree swiftly took notice, and equally fast, he pretended he hadn't.

With his superb tailoring skill, he fixed the gown not only to fit, but to flow around and drape perfectly. It defined and hugged her curves to perfection. He also made a few modifications of his own; he left part of the shoulders bare, just a peak, and put a tiny rose above each one; he lowered the back collar a little, and, critically raised the front. No sense in feeding the Prince's fire; not indeed, it was already too hot.

He made the skirts lighter by combining velvet with silk pleats in matching colors; the silk that he conjured was an Indian silk that he had purchased long ago as a gift for his mother; it was red with gold highlights. And for the perfect touch, he conjured a pair of dancing slippers made out clear leather, appearing as if they were made out glass, and added small shiny pebbles with protection and other valuable spells.

"Have fun at the ball: keep watch for a servant that looks a little like me. You must be careful, please don't talk long to anyone you don't know. Don't trust anyone with confidences of any kind until you know them well, don't forget. And be careful to not go anywhere alone, or with someone who isn't from the Royal family, not even with a Weasley, especially not with them, stay away from them. If something goes wrong, touch this charmed piece to call me."

He gave her a small brooch shaped like a pumpkin, it was from his mother; the gold engraved pumpkin's leaves were emeralds. "Ah, forgot, and here is a wand, it was your mother's, I found it before coming here. Well, I knew where it was and was finally able to take it. I must go, someone is at the door, until tonight."

Ladies in Waiting

Lily had just opened the door, she had a wand delivered from Oliver the wand-maker, he wasn't there earlier and had sent her one similar to the one she had before, it was written on his scrolls

"My dear, your ladies in waiting will be here in a few minutes, and—" she stopped staring at the magnificent ball gown, "how did you manage to fix the clothes? I thought you didn't have a wand, and one of your ladies was going to help."

Hermione hadn't hidden the wand; it was still in her hand. That wasn't smart.

"It is so strange after you left I found over my bed. It is but it actually suits me, and I was able to do the job." Hermione didn't like to lie, but she also couldn't tell them about P-Gree. She knew of his enemies and knew they were here at the castle.

"Let me have it. It seems so familiar." Lily held the wand, "Dear girl this was your mother's wand. Look at this, her initials were carved by Regulus," she pointed at a crudely carved JB, "Master Oliver was crossed. I think Regulus must have been around twelve or thirteen when he did it. Maybe it was her ghost who left it here for you." And Lily dried a tear at the corner of her eye. Hermione hated lying, more than ever.

Lily left for a few minutes, and upon her return, Hermione saw the ladies waking behind the Queen. She had seen them before. They were remarkably pretty and elegant, and all at once she was terribly shy.

"My Lady," both bowed.

"Please, call me by my—" and she saw Lily telling her no, it wasn't proper to call her by her first name. So she didn't say anything else on that subject.

"I have seen you both, Lady Luna, and Lady Astoria, I am glad you will be with me."

She noticed Lady Astoria's eyes fixed upon her hands, the healing charms had not been too effective, they were used sparingly not to damage while trying to fix. She should wear gloves tonight, she was sure they were in the pile of garments on top of the bed. The lady was covering her mouth with horror, maybe the gossip was true, poor princess.

"I leave you with them. A light repast will be brought here. Your Ladies will help you with bathing and getting ready, your house-elf Emi will be here in a few minutes to assist."

As soon as Lily left, the witches helped Hermione to get ready; they all took the bath together in deep wooden tubs in the adjacent room fixed for dressing and bathing. Hermione was used to bathing with cold water and not often, so this was a luxury. Her life had changed much after her father left. They washed her hair with fine soaps and added salts and oils in the bath water.

"Prince Harry will appreciate your lush body and even more when you gain a little weight. Wizards love soft flesh on their witches," Lady Luna told her and made her turn the color of a beet.

"You shouldn't say things like that," Lady Astoria remarked, but she giggled," Yes, Lord Flint tells me that I need to eat more. It is true wizards like lush maidens. He likes to pinch my arse." And they all laughed.

"My Lady, we heard you are already bonded. Is that right, have you shared the marital bed?" Lady Astoria asked full of curiosity, so much that it made Hermione apprehensive, she found it too personal.

"Yes, I think so, I mean the bonding, not the sharing, I mean—," she stuttered.

"Astoria, you forgot that we are not to ask any questions." Lady Luna spoke in that breathy voice that Hermione was certain the Lords must love. However she could tell that Lady Luna wasn't happy. Queen Lily had forbidden them to inquire into personal matters. Besides, she didn't want to know if Harry had bedded his bride, and they hardly knew the lady.

"I am sorry, I am curious, I will soon be married, and wanted to know, you know." Lady Astoria blushed.

"Astoria you should wait. At least you will find out soon, not like me, I don't have a suitor." Luna admonished her.

"Ah, that. I don't know, not yet, not really, you know, touching, and a few kisses." She laughed nervously, and at this, they all laughed.

"I think it shall be glorious, I have read about it, your aura says you already love Harry, I mean Prince Harry, sorry, we grew up together, my name is Luna Lovegood. And I know he can be impetuous."" Lady Luna told her. Just allow the pleasure of the union to bless your bonding, I hear is the best experience one can have.

Hermione looked at her carefully and saw a beautifully curvy witch, with light-blond, wavy locks to her waist, which she wore half-braided, and with all types of pins in the shape of insects and unusual bubbles adorning her head. She trusted her and felt a kin bonding with her.

"Lady Hermione, I just have a quick question, forgive me for asking, is Lord Percival promised to anyone?" Lady Luna asked, and her faced blushed all kinds of red. "Please understand that I am not asking for myself but for a friend."

"No, he isn't with anyone. He was betrothed to a Lady who was killed during the war. But I am not sure he is anyone's type; he is much too serious and dedicated to his work." Hermione answered.

"Err, my friend, err, saw him at the bathhouse by mistake, and err, she told me that he was most enticing. I think she meant his lance. She said his was quite large and handsome, a mighty weapon to love his lady with," Lady Luna closed her eyes dreamily and sighed deeply.

They all laughed. Although, Hermione felt a little uncomfortable thinking about what she might have meant. Why should a Lady wish for a large, err, lance on her Lord? She would ask someone later, perhaps Harry? Was the lance... Nah...Hermione blushed aagain.

Once they were dry, the ladies helped her with her under garments; she was amazed with the way the corset fit, it neither hurt nor pinched her.

Lady Astoria laughed, "It was made by Madame Lulu, and charmed not to pinch or hurt. It also makes you look your bustier and trimmer all at once, wizards like that." They all nodded. It was starting to look to Hermione that all the dressing and looking good was for the wizards. It seemed as it might be a lot of work, and she wanted some time to read and learn some more.

They finished getting her ready, then Emi fixed her hair in curls piled on top of her head. Prince Harry had sent her a present, it was a gold circlet decorated with small flowers made of rubies and emeralds, earrings and necklace made of the same. They all made girly comments about the beauty of the present while they applied a little kohl around her eyes, a salve with berry color to make her lips redder, and some on her cheeks.

Once they finished with her, all agreed she looked beautiful, and that Harry would have eyes only for her. The ladies ran to their rooms to finish getting ready, and before, leaving the room, they went on their knee and kissed her hand. Hermione was going to tell them not to do it, but Lady Luna was her voice of advice and said, "You are the Princess, and this is the way it is done."

A couple minutes after they left there was a knock at the door, and she said, "Enter," thinking it was Prince Harry, but nobody answered. She went to open the door, and nobody was there; not even the guards. She could feel a set of eyes looking at her with possession. She looked all around but didn't stop past the threshold. She thought she had seen some sort of vermin scurrying along the walls, which made her jump back.

A strange feeling of foreboding overcame her, she felt eyes still staring, but the hallway was empty, so she backed into the room with stealth, P-gree's training had paid. At once, she locked the door and warded it, exactly as P-gree had taught her. Her heart was beating loud and fast, and she was able to sense something amiss. She heard a hissing sound but wasn't sure whether was outside or inside the room. Her training kicked in, and instead of being scared she held the wand in her hand.

A/N Most of the actors are in place, and maybe we haven't met all of them.

And here we are, the wicked step-mother, wicked step-sister and ...brothers, the counselors, a magical godparent, rodents, a beautiful dress, slippers, and even a pumpkin.