PART 10
After bidding her parents a tearful farewell, Hermione joined the little family as they returned to the manor and set her up in a bedroom suite near Harry's. She was given another chance to thoroughly thank her potion's professor for his assistance to her family and silently snickered through another of Harry's pitifully distressed pleas for Sev's promise to not go after the Death Eaters. The girl had to smile at the obvious display of love and affection from the normally stern man as he hugged the teenager and vowed on his honor to remain safe.
When the men went downstairs to start lunch, Harry drew his best female friend into his rooms and introduced her to the portrait of his parents before they settled side by side in the window seat to talk.
"I have to admit, Harry, that was well played."
Dark brows rose to disappear under his fringe of hair as the boy asked, "What was?"
"Getting Sirius, Remus, and Professor Snape to promise what they did for you."
"You CAN call him Sev you know, Feather."
"Quit trying to avoid the topic, Istar."
The young man grinned at her, "Turnabout is fair play, 'Mione. Sirius wanted me to make such a promise; I was going to make sure that all three of them stayed safe, too."
Hermione abruptly bumped him with her shoulder, "And did I hear you call Sirius 'dad'?"
A huge smile swept over Harry's face as he turned his head to meet the girls' eyes, "Yeah. I hadn't had a chance to owl you to let you know; Sirius formally adopted me, Blood Adoption. He's as much my father as James Potter was, maybe more so since I don't actually remember James."
"Oh, Harry, that's wonderful! I'm so glad that you have a real, official family now!" Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight hug which he reciprocated.
The two friends talked for a while longer about the adoption and Harry was hard-pressed not to say anything about the painting of Merlin but he knew that his father was planning on talking to her about it over lunch. He was eager to see her reaction to the ancient mage when the time came, knowing how much she loved to learn about such things.
"Are you two hungry?"
They looked up at the soft question and found the canine animagus leaning in the doorway smiling in their direction. The smell of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and some type of soup slithered into the room, causing both teenage stomachs to rumble. They were quickly on their feet and followed the man down to the kitchen where Remus was setting the food on the table while Severus poured drinks for everyone.
As the small group finished up, Sirius turned warm grey eyes on his new house guest and smiled, "Hermione, there are some things that you need to know about while you're staying with us this summer."
The young witch finished swallowing the last bite of her sandwich and gave the new father of her friend her full attention, "Of course, Sirius; I figured that there would be rules to follow."
He chuckled softly, "As Sev and Remus will tell you, I'm not the rule-giver in this house. Yes, I expect certain things to be followed, but I'm more into making sure Harry has had the opportunity to rest, learn, and have fun while he's here." The other two men snorted softly at the understatement. Sirius ignored them and continued, "I know that you and Harry are friends and have no interest in each other romantically…" Both teens goggled at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter at the thought. The handsome Lord joined them, "Yes, yes, I know. However, some rules of propriety must be followed."
"Such as?" Harry inquired.
Severus spoke up instantly, "Such as, if you are in the same room with only the two of you present, please leave the door open or at the very least cracked. We trust you, but we want to make sure no one can cast aspersions on your characters. Also, the Ministry is unable to track the use of underage magics here at the manor and on its lands. This is not, however, a license for you to use magic and spells whenever you feel like it. With proper supervision, you may use your animagus form and fly with Istar." Both kids grinned at that idea.
"When there is a full moon, we expect you to take the proper precautions," Remus inserted his two cents. "I know that you have spent enough time around me to know what to expect, but I do not want to ever find either of you becoming lax in your vigilance around me when I'm Moony. Understand?"
Both heads nodded in agreement with the two professors before turning to lock gazes with Sirius as he rejoined the conversation, "As I'm sure Harry has told you, I did formally and officially adopt him by Blood and name him my heir. What we didn't realize at the time was the possible repercussions of joining his bloodline to mine. As such, we've had to ask a…an unusual source for assistance in training Harry to control his much empowered magic." He saw the girl's eyes light up at the potential chance to learn something new and smiled, "I must ask that what you see and hear in this house remains here when you leave for school. Can you do that?"
Hermione almost looked insulted at the question, but she gamely responded, "Of course, Sirius. I know how to keep secrets." She sent Harry a smirk that he returned as the two visualized all the trouble they'd gotten into over the past few years together.
Grey eyes rolled in exasperation, "And I'm sure that the three of us," he indicated himself and the other two men, "will never know just what you've done while not under our protection." When the kids laughed and shook their heads, Sirius heaved a put-upon sigh and continued, "Hermione, I need to ask you to take a Wizard's Oath that what we are going to share doesn't go any further than this manor. I know that you are young in years, but you are extraordinarily intelligent and able to understand things many adults would have troubles with. I want you to know that you do not have to do this if you choose not to; no one will think less of you."
The girl sat up straight in her chair, met his eyes squarely, and softly stated, "Sirius Black, on my honor as a witch, I will never betray this family or home. I know and trust each and every one of you, so I have no fears in making this oath."
"Well done," Snape murmured quietly.
Harry bounced out of his chair, "NOW can I introduce her to my grandfather?"
Sirius responded with an affirmative even as Hermione demanded, "Grandfather?"
The boy caught her wrist and tugged her out of her seat, down the hall, and into the library. He stopped in front of the fireplace and pointed up at the huge painting on display, "Isn't it beautiful?"
"Oh, Harry, it's amazing!" The young woman admired the workmanship on the frame, sensing the magic it contained, and exclaimed over the detail in the painting itself. Having grown accustomed to the pictures at Hogwarts moving about from frame to frame at will, she was not surprised when an imposing man suddenly entered the setting. She was, however, staggered when she recognized him from other pictures she had seen and turned to her friend for an explanation.
Harry grinned as he bowed formally to the commanding presence on the canvas, "Merlin Taliesin Ambrosius, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Avalon, Chief of Bards and Druids, and father of Vivienne, the Lady of the Lake of Avalon, may I please present to you my dearest friend, Hermione Jean Granger, Muggle-born daughter of John and Jean Granger? 'Mione, meet my new grandfather."
The Merlin smiled warmly down at the disbelieving girl, "So you are my young grandson's friend. He has told me much about you, your intelligence, and your fascination with learning."
Hermione blushed at the flattering tone as she dropped a charming curtsy, "My Lord Merlin, it's an honor to meet you, to speak with you, I…I mean…"
A deep rich chuckled filled the library with warmth, "Be at ease, child. You may address me as either Taliesin or grandfather as young Harry does." The pale blue eyes were filled with sincere concern and gentleness as they fixed themselves on the slender teenager, "Sirius informed me of what occurred in your dwelling, my dear. I am grieved that adult wizards would do so foul a thing to anyone, but especially to a magical child. I do hope that they are dealt with in the proper manner."
"They have been," came a dark voice behind them. The teens turned to find Snape watching them from the doorway. He moved in closer to the fireplace as he continued, "We just received word from Kingsley Shacklebolt; all of the Death Eaters were found guilty of numerous crimes and sentenced to life in Azkaban. Apparently the Ministry has learned from previous mistakes and has also imposed a greater punishment: the loss of their magic. They invoked an ancient ritual that cuts a wizard off completely from magic so that they can never again use it to harm others."
Merlin nodded in understanding, "That would no doubt be the rite I created in my era due to some of the wizards under my tutelage becoming dangerous. As I was Lord of Avalon and Arch Druid, I was both judge and executioner so it fell to me to extinguish their bond to the arcane. Though, many of them begged for death when they were cut off from magic as it feels as though a part of you has died from within." Taliesin's eyes darkened, "I found it a much more suitable punishment to let them live cut off from their powers, knowing what they had once been and never would again exult in." The man shook his head, banishing his morbid wanderings and smiling again down at the children who watched him with trepidation on their faces, "But no matter. The ones responsible for the misuse of their magic on a young one have been punished. Tell me, child, would you like to join in Harry's lessons each day?"
"Of course!" Hermione enthused before backtracking slightly, "What is he learning?"
Her friend burst out laughing, "I told you she would accept before actually knowing what she was getting into!"
The druid was chuckling as well, "Aye, so you did, lad, so you did. Harry and Sirius will explain all to you, Hermione, and you are welcome to join us tomorrow. Now, if you will forgive me, there is something else needing my attention; so I will bid you farewell and good rest."
"See you tomorrow, grandfather," Harry chirped.
The painting was again vacant when Hermione turned to her companion, "Well?"
Swallowing back another laugh, Harry caught her hand, "Come on, 'Mione, let's go outside and I'll tell you all about it."