Power Paradox
Chapter 7
Harry sat on a stool next to Elizabeth, Snape and Dumbledore had taken the seats across the table from them. The Hexenbiest had directed them all to sit in order to give Harry some time to process.
Harry sat in a daze, his mind trying to put all these new pieces of himself together.
At some point Snape had served them all drinks though Harry had been too lost in thought to notice where from. The strong smell from his glass caused Harry to raise an eyebrow to the adults around him. "Is this liquor?"
"Harry," Snape said rather stiffly. "I may not know exactly what has happened but I can hazard a strong enough guess that I think we can all agree; you deserve this one."
It was obvious to Harry that his potions' professor was struggling to keep his temper, the fact the he was even trying to do so was a testament to how their understanding, though new, had progressed.
To his surprise Dumbledore agreed with Snape readily. "I think, considering the day's events, we can make an exception Harry." The elder wizard smiled reassuringly.
Elizabeth said nothing, instead she picked up her glass. Turning slightly so she could face him directly, her lip pulled to the side lightly; not quite a smirk. "A toast," Elizabeth announced with her glass held high.
She gave Harry a questioning look. He could practically hear her challenging him to be truthful about what they'd just confirmed, not one to ever back down; Harry answered her wordlessly with a nod.
She gave him an honest smile, again somehow he'd made her proud of him. Harry found that he wouldn't be averse to it becoming a regular thing.
He watched quietly, focused on what the others reactions would be. It was a gamble to tell Snape and Dumbledore the truth for certain but Harry knew he'd have to tell people eventually. This way he still had a measure of control, not too mention he had an adult that so far had proven to be on his side.
Professor Dumbledore and Snape mimicked the gesture after a brief hesitation.
"To Harry Black!" Elizabeth intoned dramatically before tipping her drink to her lips. The sound of her empty glass clacked on the wooden table moments later.
Harry nearly sniggered, seeing as his professors had frozen with their mouths open. Both proceeded to empty their drinks; Dumbledore had rested his cup down gently though shakely. While Snape had smashed his down with such force Harry was surprised it hadn't shattered in the man's hand.
"I think, Harry, that perhaps now is a good time to explain what you and Madam Lascelles have discovered?" Dumbledore asked him politely as he placed a weathered hand on Snape's shoulder.
Harry watched the dour man carefully; for moment he'd thought Snape might actually turn violent but it had been only for an instant. Still, Harry remained weary.
"I think maybe it would be best if you told them what you told me, Elizabeth. Please." Harry was still sorting it out in his own mind, he didn't think he could articulate the tale properly at the moment.
"Of course. Have your drink Harry." She nudge the glass towards Harry with an encouraging nod.
"Right. Thanks." Harry gave a weak smile as studied the drink; it didn't smell very pleasant. He didn't want to show weakness to those around him though. Mimicking the adults; he knocked the glass back so quickly the liquid didn't even touch his tongue, splashing directly down his throat.
Harry coughed and gagged. He even woged briefly as he tried to catch his breath. Merlin, it burned! How could anyone find that enjoyable? Harry rubbed the tears out of his eyes, glaring at the adults, who were all chuckling lightly at his expense.
He'd have told them off he hadn't caught the small smile on Snape lips. Maybe a little laughter was a worth the price of his sore pride.
"How in the name of… No one knew? How is that even possible?" Severus massaged his temples, maybe he could just ram his fingers into his eye sockets and be done with it. By the Gods, Lily.
Oh, he wasn't truly surprised, this smacked of Lily's wicked mind. And poor Regulus, no wonder he'd always been so secretive. And Black, taking suppressants of that nature was extremely dangerous especially for the mind. "Albus?" He turned to the old wizard expectantly.
"I'm sorry but I had no knowledge of any this." Dumbledore shook his head sadly, Snape could see the hurt in the blue eyes. It wasn't just ego, of course Albus knew he wasn't infallible but he'd been close to those five in particular. No doubt it stung that they hadn't trusted him enough with this knowledge.
"No one was meant to know. I believe not even Lupin knew. That sort of relationship isn't exactly conventional." Severus made a snorting noise despite himself, it was followed by an admonishing tut from Dumbledore.
However, Madam Lascelles ignored the interruption. "Everyone had enough problems in those days, why let yourselves be even more miserable because of social conventions? I'm sure they'd have opened up when the time was right. And safer."
Severus could see she'd spoken that last bit more for Harry's benefit than theirs. He looked at the boy with new knowledge; if the glasses were put away or even just different frames, if you took in how the hair was beginning to grow out into curls. It was all right there. Harry looked tremendously like his mother and the features that could be attributed to Potter could just as easily have come from Black.
At the end of the day though, Harry was Lily's child. It was enough.
Now there was the matter of Harry's safety. Judging from Madam Lascelles bold opening announcement, the boy did not intend to hide his new found heritage. That would bring a slew of problems he wasn't looking forward to dealing with.
"Harry, you do realise what it will mean if you tell the wizarding world that Sirius Black is your biological father?" He saw the boy look up startled by the question, no doubt he'd been lost in thought. Severus was curious to see how Harry would respond since he'd begun proving that he wasn't the dunderhead Severus had thought he'd been.
"You mean if I tell people that my mum, James Potter and Sirius Black were all together, like together together? That Sirius Black, who's my biological father -not James Potter-, who's also been convicted of murder and treason, who's escaped an inescapable prison to presumably take vengeance on me but he might be innocent so it's all okay? No need to panic every one, everything's perfectly normal." Severus sat aghast, that was not what he'd been expecting, though the slight hysterical tone near the end of Harry's rant was understandable.
Indeed, he could picture the faceless mob quite clearly.
He made to remind Harry to stay calm, certainly it was a good show of progress that the young Zauberbiest had remained mostly in control thus far but he didn't want to see another display of Harry's abilities whilst unleashed. Once had been plenty.
Dumbledore spoke before Severus could have his say. "I can certainly see why you would question Sirius Black's guilt given this new information and though I would be tempted to agree with you Harry, the evidence suggest otherwise."
Severus stared at Albus Dumbledore completely flummoxed. That was the clearest, none patronizing statement Severus Snape had ever heard from the Headmaster.
He was about to agree with the statement. He understood that Harry would want to think well of his father but it didn't change the fact the Black had become insane at best or a cruel deceitful murderer at worst. Severus knew very well the harsh truth of the world; anyone could become a monster.
"What evidence?" Madam Lascelles scorned.
When he and Dumbledore began to answer she cut them off. "Please, the evidence was circumstantial at best! The confession should have been inadmissible, how many spells were fired at him before he was taken in? I saw the file after he was sent away, I've got friends at the ministry too you know." A pale blonde brow rose towards Albus. "I read the Aurors statements; three stunners, two confundus and four to disarm him. Really Albus? Not even a trial?" Elizabeth Lascelles crossed her arms, letting the weight of the statement sink in.
Severus remembered just then that before Madam Lascelles had gone on the run with her child, she'd been a very good lawyer. He found himself skeptical but he was more inclined to listen now than a few minutes ago.
"What do you mean; he never got a trial?" Harry's outrage grabbed Severus' attention. Ah yes, there was that horrid Gryffindor streak of his.
"Harry, things were different back then and he did confess. No one else knew where your parents, where the Potters were hiding." Dumbledore explained, calm and reasonable but it was easy to see by the boy's burning gaze that Harry wasn't buying it.
Severus spoke before he fully realized he'd done so. "That's not entirely true Albus. Surely Lupin." Severus pursed his lips in frustration when Dumbledore cut him off.
"Severus, we have discussed this issue; Professor Lupin is not a danger to this school or it's students. He certainly was not caught blasting several muggles in the middle of London, he didn't murder Peter and he didn't confess. I understand this is a complicated matter but those are the facts we have." Albus turned a sad gaze towards Harry and Severus hated the pity he felt for the boy right now.
The Headmaster wasn't trying to be unkind but there was little doubt the statement had stung. "I'm sorry dear boy but with the facts as they stand, the moment the Dementors catch Sirius Black he will be Kissed."
There was a time when that announcement would have brought Severus great joy. Now, he wasn't so sure of that fact. If anything, the new knowledge only offered confusion as new variables had a tendency to do.
"What if I could get proof?" Harry asked Dumbledore, his eagerness suggesting he already had an idea of how to achieve that. No wonder the boy was always in trouble.
"I will listen to what you have to say Harry but I daresay it would take some rather irrefutable evidence to change the Minister's mind on this matter." Severus caught Madam Lascelles giving Albus a shrewd glare, it seemed he wasn't the only one who found the Headmaster's behavior suspect. Just what was the old goat playing at?
"We catch Sirius Black ourselves." Harry declared, undeterred by Snape's unbelieving stare he continued outlining his plan. "The first Hogsmeade week-end, I should to the village like everyone else, pretend to wander off on my own and wait somewhere where you lot will be hiding and wait for him to come to me."
Really, had the boy no sense of self preservation? Severus practically groaned.
"Then once we've caught him, we sneak him into the castle and give him some of Professor Snape's Veritaserum and Sirius Black will be forced to tell us the truth." The boy turned to Severus with laughing eyes. "That is, if that wasn't a bluff last year professor." That smirk, dear Gods, Severus was having horrible flashbacks right now.
"Honestly, if I can stab a basilisk with a sword out of Magical hat, I think this should be easy by comparison." Harry's stunning after thought clearly hadn't been meant to be said aloud judging by the boy's self deprecating expression.
For Severus, he was actually hoping the young Zauberbiest would keep talking. He'd been trying to get Dumbledore to tell him just what had happened last year and as usual the older wizard had been tight lipped. The kneazle was out of the bag now.
Judging by the furious Hexenbiest across the table, Severus was sure Dumbledore was about to get quite the earful.
Today wasn't going to be all bad it seemed.
"Do you think she'll keep yelling for much longer?" Harry winced as Elizabeth's growls turned to what he guessed was shouting in French. He was grateful in a way that someone was taking his safety so seriously but he also didn't believe she'd needed to go quite this far.
Snape stopped pacing in the mostly empty corridor to stare at Harry intently. "You didn't lie once in there." The professor took a few steps forward and after some hesitation placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.
Upon Elizabeth's insistence Harry had had to give a full account of his time at Hogwarts and then consequently with the Dursleys. Harry wasn't very fond of pity and the whole talk had left a sour taste in his mouth. Thankfully Snape wasn't the type to offer pity to anyone.
"If I'd known the truth, I believe things may have been different between us. To a degree." The man added the last bit with a quirk of his lips.
Harry smiled to his professor in return, "Of course, sir." Merlin forbid it become common knowledge that Professor Snape was capable of caring.
"I daresay, that had she not been so successful at chasing me out of my own classroom, I would be having a similar conversation with the Headmaster." Snape added seriously, giving Harry's shoulder a squeeze then letting go.
"Thank you, sir." Harry though surprised, was grateful for the thought. It's was strange this new respect between student and teacher, not that Harry would complain.
The shouting stopped. Harry leaned towards the wooden door from his spot on the adjoining wall, his effort in vain; he couldn't hear anything. A moment of unease passed through Harry; surely they were finally talking amicably together. What could they possibly be talking about in there that they hadn't come to tell Snape and Harry that the coast was clear.
The silence continued for quite some time with only the clacking of Snape's soles once the wizard had returned to his pacing.
Harry for his part sank down by the door and sat on the floor, content to let his mind wander and plan.
After what Harry would have guessed to be roughly thirty minutes he grew tired of waiting and was becoming increasingly paranoid. He rose while rubbing his slightly numb backside before shamelessly going to press his ear on the door. He pulled back momentarily with a frown.
Nothing. He couldn't hear a single sound. He pulled his head with a frown just as the door swung open, Elizabeth stood at the frame not a single hair out of place looking rather pleased with herself. "Harry, I believe Albus and I have a proposal for you. Severus, part of this concerns you as well, I'll ask your patience as we'll be commandeering your classroom for a bit longer."
Harry pressed his lips tightly together, his plan to get the truth from Black -his father- was good and while he was young, he'd also been through worse. He gave the Hexenbiest a nod as he walked back into the room, Dumbledore seated in the same spot he'd been in before the yelling had begun.
Harry sat opposite the headmaster, the others taking their old stools as well. He watch the elderly wizard with a tinge of regret, Dumbledore looked haggard but there was still a sparkle of hope in his blue eyes.
It was easy to see Albus was about to apologise, so Harry stopped him. "It's alright Professor, I could have told you the whole truth from the beginning. I made my choices sir just like you did, no one's perfect." He shrugged, unsure of himself suddenly. He didn't want anyone pity, he wanted to move forward.
"Thank you Harry, still I must and I shall endeavor not to repeat the mistakes of the past. I am sorry Harry, truly I wish your life could have been more peaceful." The headmaster fussed with his long white beard for a moment, seemingly overcome by emotion. Harry and the others remained silent.
Elizabeth coughed lightly, she turned to Harry and gave him a nod of approval before she spoke. "Your plan has merit Harry though not without risks. Risks no one will want you to take." When Harry made to interrupt and argue his case she shushed him. "However with the proper precautions Albus and I have come up with a plan we believe could solve several complications at once.
I was not exaggerating when I said that what your mother and I did was considered Taboo. The wesen community has it's own sort of government, and what the Council finds Taboo often results in the death of the offenders. There's little doubt that word of Harry Potter being wesen, a Zauberbiest, will have made it's way to them by now."
Harry paled, he really couldn't catch a break.
"Fear not, as I've said; we have a plan. Due to the nature of the magic I used to help your mother become a Hexenbiest, one could say I became her mother." Elizabeth smiled at Harry suspicious expression. "I'm sure the council would understand why I would have given away a daughter who couldn't have been Frederick's and why I would have kept it a secret for so long. Severus was good friends with Lily in their youth, I'm sure he could testify that she had been a Hexenbiest all along. The Council would have little interest in Black's supposed crimes, in fact I believe they would be pleased to have more wesen blood in the main branch of the Blacks." Elizabeth turned to Snape expantly.
The man frowned, for a moment Harry thought the professor would say no. Harry found himself wishing that Snape would say yes. He could see the Hexenbiest's reasoning now, he could also imagine all the potential benefits of gaining a grandmother who'd already proven that she cared about Harry's well being.
To his relief Snape nodded his head in agreement. "You would have made a terrific Slytherin Madame Lascelles."
She smiled graciously. "Thank you Severus, I understand that's high praise coming from you." Harry's not sure but he thinks he hears the Headmaster chuckle before the older wizard clears his throat suspiciously.
Elizabeth continued outlining her plan. Harry had little doubt this was all her idea even if she'd credited Dumbledore as well. "If you're amiable to the idea, I would like to make you, Harry, my official grandson. You would remain here at Hogwarts to continue your magical education and live with me in New York while out of school. I'll tell you now that I would expect you to continue some muggle schooling while not at Hogwarts. You'll also need lessons of Nobility and Etiquette, as all children of Noble houses are expected to do so.
Severus has done an acceptable job in regards to your wesen lessons but I would like to supplement those myself. There are many things about our world that you need to learn. I'd be honored to share my knowledge with you Harry."
Elizabeth placed a hand on Harry's shoulder; he was too overwhelmed to speak. "Wait until you've heard the whole plan, then take some time to think on it. No one expects you to make this sort of decision quickly."
Harry nodded, yes, he'd definitely need some time.
"The wesen teachers will be notified and told the same story as the Council, they will also be asked to keep Sirius' involvement a secret until we've established his innocence. The other members of the staff will be told that in the search to cure you of your sudden and inexplicable illness your family ties to me were discovered and that you are now under my custody, official paperwork pending of course."
Harry nodded along, it all made a good amount of sense to him.
"The wesen teachers will be asked to aid in Sirius' capture, however the part of bait will be played by Mr. Lupin. I'm sorry but even though you've gotten some experience with these sorts of things, you still require a considerable amount of training. Also, there's no telling what Sirius' state of mind will be like after twelve years in Azkaban. Dementors are terrible creatures Harry and have a powerful affect on the mind especially after such prolonged exposure."
At seeing Harry deflate slightly she took a hold of his hand and squeezed lightly.
"I'm sorry Harry, I believe Sirius is innocent but I doubt he'll be the same man I remember. It'll take him time to heal, and we'll be there to help him. First though, I ask that you let us take care of the leg work and concentrate on your studies instead."
Harry hesitated. He wanted to be part of this. On the other he could go about his life, enjoy what little bit of normal he could have and try to trust the grown ups to actually take care of things.
Dumbledore spoke next. "Take your time Harry, it has been a very long day, for all us. In truth I believe it is almost dinner time. I've invited Madam Lascelles to stay here at Hogwarts for as long as it is necessary. We have also agreed that you may return to your dorm tonight as well as your classes tomorrow. Once you've made your decision regarding Madame Lascelles custody offer, you may ask Professor McGonagall to bring you to my office. I shall inform her to expect you."
Dumbledore rose stiffly from his stool, with Snape and Elizabeth following suit.
"Madame Lascelles, if you'll follow me I shall show you to your rooms before we make our way to the Great Hall for dinner. All this excitement as me famished I must admit." Dumbledore offered his arm to the Hexenbiest, apparently unbothered by their earlier argument.
"Thank you Albus." Elizabeth made to follow the Headmaster and paused mid-step, she turn back to look at Harry. After a moment of indecision she crouched down and hugged him.
Stunned Harry said nothing, he stood stiffly in the warmth suddenly offered to him. It wasn't the same kind of bone crushing hug usually gave but as foreign as it was it was still comforting. She pulled back, her smile a little awkward this time.
"Whatever you decided Harry, you may always rely on me for help no matter the sort. I like you Harry, you're a talented young man and I believe your parents, especially your mother would be very proud of you." Elizabeth squeezed him once more. She gave a nod towards Snape before joining Dumbledore at the door without another word. They made their way out, Elizabeth coolly accepting the Headmaster offered arm.
Harry made to follow, the idea of food making his stomach growl. Like Dumbledore had said, it had been a long hard day.
"Harry." The young Zauberbiest turned to his potions professor, wondering what the man could possibly have to say seeing as he'd remained mostly silent throughout the day. "Madam Lascelles' offer is sound, she also has a strong reputation in all worlds. I believe you would do well under her care."
He paused to scribble something on a torn piece of parchment, handing to Harry with a sharp glare. "I have no doubt that you will share today's events with Granger and Weasley. I also know that subtlety is not your forte, as such I trust this will serve in saving me the task of covering up for you."
Harry nodded, slightly dazed. Looking down at the parchment he read the words aloud, "Muffliato?" He looked up to Snape, still unsure.
"Yes, for discretion." Snape said sounding exasperated.
"Right, discretion." Harry repeated doubtfully. He'd just ask Hermione later. He nodded his head. "Thanks sir. See you at dinner I guess."
Snape made an agreeable sound at the back of his throat then shooed Harry away. Once he'd reached the door, Snape called out to him once more. "And Harry. I will know if you use that spell in my classroom, do so and you'll find yourself scrubbing cauldrons until the end of the year."
"Of course, sir." Harry answered hastily as he made his escape. He couldn't wait to get back to some form of normalcy and dinner in the Great Hall sounded fantastic.
Harry sat comfortably warm and with a full stomach in his favorite chair in front of the roaring fireplace of the Gryffindor common room. As he'd predicted dinner had been amazing, especially with extra helpings of cake in honor of Hermione's birthday.
It had been easy to ignore the stares when he'd arrived amongst the last few student to the Great Hall. He shared a small subtle greeting with Malfoy before making straight for his friends who were standing and waving towards him frantically.
Most of his fellow students greeted him, stating how glad there were that he'd gotten better. A few were expectedly more chill in their greetings, Harry easily guessed those to be the wesen students.
Still he paid it no mind and enjoyed his first meal with his best friends for over a week. If they ate a little faster than everyone else and rushed out of the doors at record speed, well, no one said anything about it.
The moment they'd made it to the common room Harry had had to shush his friends. He'd promised to tell them everything but first they needed to make sure no one could overhear them.
Leading his friends to the chairs surrounding the fireplace, Harry had pulled the little piece of parchment Snape had given him out of his pocket while choosing the seat facing the entrance.
Upon closer inspection of the parchment Harry found the instruction for the spell as well as orders to burn the note as soon as he'd memorised the spell.
The directions had been easy to follow, much more concise than most of the ones from the textbooks. Once Harry was sure he'd be able to remember everything, he did the spell and threw the note in the fireplace.
He sat back down, stretching the silence out a little more. Finally once he'd settled his thoughts Harry took mercy on his friends who looked about ready to burst.
Taking a page from Elizabeth, Harry asked Hermione and Ron to wait until he was done talking to ask question, of which he knew there would be many. Harry didn't know how long they would get before their housemates started drifting back in either so timing was essential at the moment.
Ron and Hermione agreed readily, assuring Harry that he would have their complete attention. He began from the moment Lupin had arrived and did not stop until his last, not to mention strange, conversation with Snape right before he'd come up for dinner.
Harry sat nervously bouncing his leg as he wanted for the deluge of questions to begin, or worse; he feared if they decided that his parentage was too appalling to remain friends.
Ron broke the silence first, exclaiming rather loudly, "Blimey mate, you don't do things by halves do you?"
A surprised chuckled came from Harry while Hermione quietly berated Ron for his outburst.
"It's alright Hermione, with the spell Snape gave me no one will be able to tell what we're saying." Harry smiled placatingly.
"I still can't believe he would give you something like that and basically tell you you could use it in other professor's classes." The witch huffed, arms crossing as she leaned back into the plush armchair.
Ron snorted. "'Course he would, he's a Slytherin ain't he."
This time it was both Harry and Hermione who made noises of disapproval.
The eisbiber waved them off dismissively. "Honestly you two, I'm not wrong. Anyway Harry, it doesn't matter who your dad is. You're still my best mate and that's not about to change."
"He's right Harry, we don't care if you're a Potter or a Black. You'll always be just Harry to us." Hermione beamed as she leaned in to pat Harry's hand affectionately.
Harry took advantage of the slight lull to ask a question of his own. "Do you think I should accept Elizabeth's offer?"
"What do you want to do Harry?" / "Why not?" Hermione and Ron spoke at once, nervous chuckles escaping them. Ron waved for Hermione to have her say first.
"From what you've said, I think this could be a good thing for you Harry. And Dumbledore obviously trust her if he's agreeing with her." The witch shrugged, "It's really your decision Harry and we all know how you feel about the Dursleys."
"Hermione's right you know. Wesen do better when they're together, you shouldn't be out there with those muggles. This Elizabeth woman sounds pretty wicked to me." Ron began as soon as Hermione had stopped.
They were both right of course, "So you don't think I'm crazy for wanting to say yes?"
"Of course not Harry. I think it would be could for you to have an adult in your life that cared about you. And she's not wrong either, this woman is like your grandmother, of a sort." Hermione added reassuringly.
"Yeah mate, she yelled at Dumbledore for you. I don't think even my own mum would do that." Ron pouted slightly.
Harry smiled, that had been pretty remarkable. He thought of having Elizabeth as his grandmother, of living in New York in the summers and remaining at Hogwarts with his friends and Harry felt almost giddy with hope and excitement.
"Does that mean you've made up your mind?" Hermione asked, correctly interpreting his happy expression.
"I think so yeah." Harry looked into the fire, basking in this moment of contentment with his best friends.
There was a cough from Ron. "Listen Harry," the eisbiber hesitated, then looked to Hermione who only urged him on. "I've told her, it's considered rude to just ask what a wesen's woge looks like and that I can't tell her what you look like either. It's not up to me." Ron shot annoyed look towards the witch.
"What he's trying to say is that I was curious if I could see your woge, if that alright of course. It's just all Ron will tell me is that it's different from his." Hermione twisted her fingers nervously, Harry didn't begrudge her being curious but he could understand Ron reticence.
Harry knew that even he found no issues with his appearance, there would be a lot of people who would be scared and even disgusted by the Zauberbiest and Hexenbiest woges. With that in mind he found it best to warn her. "It's alright Hermione, honestly I don't mind but I should warn you, I don't think you'll find nearly as cute as Ron's."
"Oi!" Ron grumbled obviously unimpressed by the statement. "No offence mate but I'm just going to look over there while you, you know." The redhead turned his head towards the fire, at first it had hurt Harry's feelings a little but he understood now that it could be distressing to others.
"Please Harry, just once?" Hermione overcome by her need to learn new things inched closer to Harry, as much as she could while still in her chair anyway.
Harry took a look at the door, they probably still had a few more minutes. Everyone usually dragged their feet after Sunday dinner in the hopes of staving off the oncoming monday. "Just don't scream please."
She rolled her eyes. "Honestly Harry, it can't be that bad."
Ron and Harry shared a snort.
"Very well, I promise I won't scream Harry." Hermione smiled, almost vibrating with excitement.
Harry shrugged, oh well, at least the common was still empty. "Alright then, here goes." With a now well practise movement; Harry willed his woge to be visible to a non-wesen. Harry the Zauberbiest now sat in the chair.
To her credit, a sharp intake of breath was all the sound Hermione allowed herself to make. Though she did cover her mouth for a few moments, wide eyes studying all of Harry's decayed features before fixating on his empty eye sockets.
Hermione stood from her chair, slowly coming to stand in front of Harry's then kneeling down so their faces were level. She brought her right hand up, Harry was impressed that it wasn't shaking. The witch did hesitate just as she made to touch his face.
"Does it hurt?" She asked with genuine worry.
Harry only shook his head no. It didn't surprise him that that was what she was more concerned about. Hermione made another halted move towards his face.
He swallowed dryly, "It's alright Hermione, I won't bite I swear." His voice came out with a slight rasp and even he had to admit his nervous chuckle sounded a little creepy.
But his best friend only seemed relieved by his levity. She poked his cheek lightly before brushing the rest of her fingers down careful, as if she was worried she'd hurt him somehow. To him it felt like a regular touch, if only with his skin being a little dry.
Hermione pulled her hand back then returned to her seat. "Thank you Harry."
The Zauberbiest returned to his usual human features. "No worries, Hermione." He turned to Ron. "You can look now."
Ron who'd done just as he'd said turned hesitantly to peak at Harry. "Oh thank Merlin." The boy sank with relief into his chair.
"You're such a child Ronald." Hermione shook her head while she shared an exasperated sigh with Harry.
Soon afterwards, the common began to fill with other Gryffindors. The trio were soon joined by friends and classmates to make idle chit chat. The conversation eventually turned to the unknown blond woman who'd been sitting at the teacher's table next to the Headmaster.
Harry sighed, should he say something? The theories being thrown around were getting ridiculous and he didn't want it to get out of hand. He gave a questioning look to Ron and Hermione. They smiled and nodded in support.
"Actually, that's my grandmother." Well, he certainly couldn't back out now.
The common room became instantly quiet. Once everyone had registered what Harry had just said he found himself surrounded by a horde curious Gryffindors.
Author's Note:
Hey all, big thank you to everyone who's following along. You're all wonderful.
Sorry about the delay, I re-wrote this several times. I also decided to post this now even though it's likely to need some edits still. But I couldn't let y'all wait any longer.
The story is going to start picking up in pace soon and I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Questions? Request? Pats on the head? feel free to leave a review :)
*If you're wondering about my other fic, angel with a shotgun, chapter 12 is being stubborn and currently in its 4th re-write. I'm pretty sure it should be done by the end of the month*
