Ch. 11
"I Solemnly Promise So to Do"
"Are they here yet?" asked Hermione, setting foot upon the ground floor landing leading up to the rest of the Burrow, hands clenched tightly to the railing.
"No, Hermione. They haven't come yet." replied Harry, keeping his gaze upon the Wizard Chess board in front of him.
Hermione sighed. She dropped her gaze from Harry and Ron to the floor. She looked at the floorboards, thinking of how she did and reciting under her breath the various grades. The only sound that could be heard was that of the various chess pieces fighting each other on the board. A few seconds passed, and Hermione let out another sigh.
"Will you let…" began Hermione.
"Yes, Hermione, we will let you know!" exclaimed Ron.
"Okay," uttered Hermione, shook her head, and went back up the stairs. Harry and Ron could hear her muttering under her breath and her feet upon the stairs. When they knew that she was out of earshot, they looked up at each other and stifled a laugh.
"I heard that!" yelled a voice from up the stairs, clearly Hermione's.
Harry and Ron burst out laughing. Ron pounded his hand upon the table; Harry clutched his stomach and bent over to the floor. When they were finished, they resumed their game and silence continued. That is until Mrs. Weasley came into the room from the outside door. She was carrying a basket with a load of clothes that had been hung out to dry. Walking over to the opposite side of the table, she began folding the clothes. While working, she hummed to herself her favorite song, "A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love". She looked at Harry and Ron playing Wizard Chess, pausing the song in her head.
"Have they come yet?" she asked, putting down one of Ron's shirts.
Ron slammed the table, standing up in the process, in frustration. Harry and Mrs. Weasley jumped a little, frightened at the sudden outburst. Ron turned to his mother, frustration and anger etched on his face.
"No, they haven't come, Mum! Will everyone please stop asking us?!" yelled Ron to the entire house.
"Ronald Bilius Weasley! Don't you ever raise your voice to me again! I am your mother!" replied Mrs. Weasley, her face with equal anger and frustration upon it. Her nostrils flared, her eyes widened, and if it was possible, a little steam came out of her ears. Ron, regretting what he had, sat down immediately and averted his gaze from his mother to the game they were playing. It was all Harry could do not to laugh at him. He stared at his pieces, thinking about his next move, a smirk spread across his face towards his best friend.
"Since you're so touchy today, I think I'll go fold the laundry over there in the sitting room." said Mrs. Weasely, laying the shirt in the basket and grabbed it up, walking over to the couch and resuming the laundry.
Silence resumed, and Ron's domination over Harry in the game continued. When Ron's Queen took one of Harry's bishops, Hermione came back down the stairs. Instead of standing on the landing, she came all of the way down to the table and sat next to Harry, watching the two play their game. She sat quietly for a few seconds, then she began counting on her fingers and muttering how many of these and those she needed for the future.
Ron growled under his breath. He couldn't concentrate with Hermione's noise. Looking up at her, Ron was about to tell her to shush, but when he saw Mrs. Weasley give him a stern look, he calmly said to her, "Hermione, we're trying to play a game. We can't concentrate with you babbling on about how many 'Outstandings' you think you got."
Hermione came out of her thinking and shot Ron a nasty look. She sat there quietly and watched the two play Wizard Chess. With a few minutes passed, Hermione began to tap her finger on the table. Finally, she uttered, "Harry, when did you Professor Dumbledore say they were coming?"
Ron rolled his eyes and bent his head so low over the board that Harry had no choice but to answer. Giving his best friend the eye, Harry then turned his head to gaze at Hermione. As soon as he did, he lost the words that he was going to say. Harry stared into her eyes, her big, brown, imploring eyes, and about melted. She looked so beautiful to him. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He shut it immediately and thought of what he was going to say. Finally, words came to him.
"Hermione, all Dumbledore said to me was that I should expect my results in about a week. He didn't really give an exact date." explained Harry in a sympathetic, heart-felt way.
Really, that was all he could say. The day after he and Sirius went shopping for new clothes for him, Dumbledore showed up the next day and went over the particulars of the adoption. What they had to do, what all of that entailed, and what normally happened afterwards. When he was finished, that was when Dumbledore told him about his O.W.L. results.
Harry continued to gaze at Hermione, even though she had turned back to the table. He was so mesmerized in her appearance. Every time he looked at her, she took his breath away. Every time Harry gazed upon her, his heart would beat just a little bit faster. So mesmerized with Hermione, Harry couldn't hear Ron telling him it was his turn. Ron leaned over and waved his hand in front of Harry's face. "Harry! Harry! Buddy?" yelled Ron.
Harry came to and looked back to the chessboard. Before he could make his move, however, Hermione shrieked so loud that the people in the next town could have heard her. Startled, Harry lost his concentration again and looked over to where Hermione was pointing. Flying straight to the house were three barn owls with medium-sized envelopes within their beaks. Hermione stood up and began whimpering with excitement and fear. Wondering what the commotion was all about, Ginny, Fred, and George ran down the stairs from the top into the living room. Mrs. Weasley opened the window to let the owls. And in they flew, right to their respective owners.
Harry grabbed his envelope no problem from his owl. Ron, however, had difficulty in extracting the letter from the owl's beak. It took him three times until he was able to pull it out of its mouth. Hermione, meanwhile, stood there, hand shaking, afraid to take hers. Harry saw what was going on and stood up from his seat. Walking over to Hermione, he placed his hand upon her shoulder and whispered, "It's okay. I'm right here."
This calmed Hermione down immensely. Her hand stopped shaking, her whimpering ceased, and she was able to grab the letter on the first try. With all three envelopes extracted, the owls soared out and away from the Burrow. Back inside, though, tension mounted as Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at their letters, afraid of what they'll find inside. Harry went over in his head all that happened last year. Of collapsing in his History of Magic exam, thinking that Sirius was in danger; of producing his Patronus to his examiner and Professor Umbridge watching; and of studying adamantly by the beech tree at the lake. He knew he couldn't have gotten all Outstandings. He also knew that he at least got one Troll perhaps. But all this standing and staring, he knew, was not going to help.
Breaking the tension, Harry turned over his envelope and broke the seal. He pulled out the parchment and then stared at it. Meanwhile, the other two followed suit and opened their envelopes. Ron and Hermione opened their parchments and looked upon their results. After scanning a few times, their faces relaxed more and more. Hermione had a broad grin upon her face, for she had attained all O's and one E for Exceeds Expectations. Ron, meanwhile, let out a sigh of relief and dropped into his chair, contentment upon his face.
Harry's hand shook violently, and sweat poured from his forehead. Would he be able to pursue becoming an Auror? Did he achieve the OWL he needed for potions? What if he didn't? What if he couldn't become an Auror? What would he do then? As all these questions swam in his mind, he felt a hand lay itself upon his shoulder. Immediately, he relaxed and felt the chill he always did with one person. He turned his around and saw Hermione smiling at him, nodding. He returned the smile and looked back to the parchment. Taking in a breath, he opened it up and gazed upon what was inside.
Ordinary Wizarding Level Results
Harry James Potter achieved:
Defense Against the Dark Arts... O
Charms... O
Care of Magical Creatures... O
Transfiguration... E
Potions... E
Herbology... E
Astronomy... A
Divination... P
History of Magic... D
Reading through his results a couple more times, Harry's heartbeat began to slow to normal and the sweat began to evaporate. He lowered the paper and saw every eye in the room staring at him, waiting. A little scared, he looked upon each one and saw an imploring look. He looked down to the ground, which made everyone else look to the ground, but lifted his head back up and said, smiling, "3 O's, 3 E's, and 1 A."
The whole room cheered, throwing their arms in the air and patting Harry on the back. Hermione, however, threw her arms around Harry and gave him a hug. The chill flowed through his whole body, as he wrapped his arms around her as well. She then whispered into his ear, "I'm proud of you."
Harry grinned from ear to ear, pulling away from her and saying, "Thank you." Hermione returned the smile and then walked over to where Ginny was standing. Harry gazed after her, feeling exactly the way he felt the night they kissed. Turning his gaze, he walked over to Ron who was being hugged and kissed endlessly by his mother.
"Mum! Mum, please!" said Ron.
"Oh, I'm so proud of you. My Ronny, seven O. !" exclaimed Mrs. Weasely.
She let go of Ron and ran over to her cookbook, grabbing it off the shelf and leafing through it. When she found the page she wanted, she then looked up from the book and yelled to the room at large, "We are celebrating tonight! Harry, I'll Floo Sirius and tell him."
Laughing, Harry replied, "Okay, Mrs. Weasley."
He turned back to Ron and both of them began laughing. When finished, they both exchanged parchments, gazing at the others results. Harry smiled at Ron's paper. He had done as well as Harry did, getting the exact grades in History of Magic and Divination. They looked back up at each other, with Ron first to say, "We did it! We're N.E.W.T. students!"
Harry and Ron high-fived each other and gave each other a hug. They gave back their respective results and Harry said, "I'm happy for you, Ron. Well done!"
Both turned to celebrate with everyone else, abandoning their current Wizard Chess game. Pats on the shoulder and hair tousled, Harry smiled widely, to himself and his friends. But what made him even happier was the fact that in 24 hours, he would become an adopted member of the Black family.
Sun flooded into Harry's bedroom. It shed light upon every crack and crevice in the room, as well as upon the red, Gryffindor bed. Upon it lay black dress pants, a button-up blue shirt, and a light blue tie to go with it. Nothing could be heard except for the sound of the shower, spraying jets of hot water upon the 16 year old boy standing in it. Harry stood under the spray, eyes closed, mind reeling. Today was the day that he would have a family again. Granted, it's just a formality. He already considered Sirius his family. But it would be nice to at least make it official.
Allowing the warm liquid to hit him still, he then began to think about Hermione. How every time he looked at her, Harry felt a chill, a powerful chill that flowed through his body. He thought about how every time he saw her, he could not help but smile. He couldn't even think of what life would be like without her. Suddenly, Harry opened his eyes, staring at the wall in front of him. Uttering quietly through the spray, he said, "I know what I must do."
He turned off the shower, got out, and began drying himself off. He now knew what he must do with Hermione. How could he not of thought of it earlier. Layer by layer Harry got dressed. When he reached his tie, however, he put it around his neck and simply stood in the mirror, figuring out how to tie his tie. He stared at it dangling, unsure of what to do. He never had a reason to wear a tie at the Dursleys, nor did Uncle Vernon ever teach him how to tie one. He scratched his head and stood at the mirror. And then, he saw someone appear by the door. It was Hermione.
"Hey," said Harry, turning around and facing the bushy haired girl whom he was just thinking about, "you don't know how to tie a tie, do you?"
Hermione laughed and smiled. Every time she did this, it would put a smile upon Harry's face. He loved seeing her happy. She walked over to the mirror where Harry was standing and took the tie around his neck in her hands. Her head was bowed, but she knew that Harry was looking at her. And indeed he was, with a smile a mile wide. Hermione fixed her eyes upon the tie, remembering how her father does his ties. Her hair fell in front of her face, covering her eyes from Harry's view. Lifting his hand up, Harry pushed the hair to the back. Hermione lifted her head to Harry to see the smile.
"Thank you, Harry." she said.
"Any time." he replied.
She went back to the tie, crossing a part over and brought another through a hole. Finally, she tugged on the tie to make sure it was tight and brought it up to Harry's neck. She turned Harry around to the mirror and said, "How's that?"
"Brilliant, Hermione!" exclaimed Harry.
She smiled and looked at Harry in the mirror. He then turned back around to face her, and for the next few minutes, both of them simply stared at each other, thinking to themselves how much they wanted the other. Harry, in particular, kept on saying to himself, "Do it! Here's your chance. Ask her!"
"Where's Ron?" asked Harry.
"Oh, he's downstairs stuffing his face already," replied Hermione, in a matter of fact tone as if to say "What else is new". She then rolled her eyes, for which Harry chuckled at. They continued to stare at each other, allowing silence to fill between them. Finally, Harry couldn't take the silence any longer.
"Hermione, I…" began Harry.
He paused. He didn't know how to say it. How do you ask something like that? He searched his mind for the right words, but the right words didn't come. His eyes began to drift to around his room, searching for something that could help him get out what he wanted to say. Hermione, meanwhile, stared at Harry, knowing that there was something going on.
"Harry? What is it?" she asked.
Harry continued to search the room. He frantically darted his eyes to every picture, every crevice in the floor, for some idea as to how to get out what he wanted to say. His eyes then rested upon the picture of James and Lily that was on his nightstand. He looked at his dad, with his mum in his arms, dancing. Suddenly, it was as if his dad were saying to him, "Just ask her."
This gave Harry all the confidence that he needed. He brought his eyes back to Hermione, stood up straighter, and said, "Hermione, will you be my girlfriend?"
They were out. The words were out, and Harry felt like a huge burden had been lifted from his chest. He could breathe much easier; he could now think more clearly. Hermione stood in front of Harry, taken aback by what he said. But then, a well of feelings rose up inside of her. She closed the gap between her and Harry and took his face into her hands. She then placed her lips on his and gave him a kiss. She pulled away from him, only slightly, finally uttering, "Yes."
Harry grinned broadly. His eyes lit up with happiness, and his arms wrapped themselves around Hermione's waist. They kissed once more, this time a little longer, and then simply held each other by the mirror with Harry looking straight at his dad who was smiling at him.
Harry stood in front of Dumbledore with Sirius standing beside him on his right. They were in the kitchen downstairs, food on the tables and a crowd encircling the three of them. Dumbledore stood in front of the mantle, with two goblets in his hands, speaking to the room at large.
"This is a special occasion, my dear friends. One in which that has been planned for many years. Harry, Sirius, please take the goblets." said Dumbledore.
He held out the cups to the two men. Taking his from the old man, Sirius then turned his gaze to Harry. He couldn't believe this was finally happening. Harry, his godson, was finally becoming a part of his family. He wasn't scared, mind you. He always knew that in the event that James and Lily weren't around anymore, Harry would be his responsibility. A smile grew upon his face as he watched Harry take his goblet. Dumbledore crossed his arms down his front and then said, "What is in these two goblets is an ancient potion that binds both families together by their collective magical properties. The Potter household and the Black household have been known for many years to be great magical families. By drinking this potion, Harry, you bind yourself to Sirius' family. You may drink."
Harry brought the goblet up to his mouth, and in one drink, he gulped the potion down his throat. He handed back the goblet to Dumbledore, feeling the potion travel down his esophagus. With both goblets in hand, Dumbledore set them down on top of the mantle and pulled out his wand. With it held high, he turned back around to Harry and Sirius and said, "Join your right hands together, please."
Sirius turned to Harry and stuck out his right hand. Harry did the same, and both now had each other's hand in a tight grip. They looked at each other briefly, Sirius smiling, and then looked to Dumbledore who was walking back to the pair. He held the tip of his wand to the two hands clasped together and uttered, "Do you, Sirius, promise to be a guardian to Harry, to protect him, care for him, and lead him along in growing up?"
"I solemnly promise so to do," said Sirius, staring at Harry with a grin, giving his hand a tight squeeze.
A string of gold light erupted from Dumbledore's wand. It wrapped itself around the two hands, still connected to the wand itself. Harry's hand twitched a little as he felt the warm glow from the light. Dumbledore then turned to Harry and said, "Harry, with this promise, you become a member of the Black family, but you are still the sole heir of the Potter line. Do you accept?"
Without hesitation, Harry replied, "Yes, I do."
One final string erupted from the wand and wrapped itself alongside the first strand. Suddenly, there was a burst of light, gasps from the crowd as they jumped back, and then the light faded, Harry standing with his eyes tightly shut. He felt Sirius let go of his hand and heard footsteps near him. He felt someone's warmth breath on him and hands upon his shoulders.
"It's okay, Prongslet, it's over. You can open your eyes now." said Sirius.
Harry obeyed and saw Sirius standing before him, arms opened wide. He hugged Sirius tightly, smile inevitably on his face, arms wrapped around his middle. Sirius placed his left hand upon Harry's head and whispered in his hear, "Just know this, Prongslet, I would never try and take the place of your dad."
Harry heard this and hugged him tighter. Finally, they let go, and applause erupted from the crowd. Some even whooped and yelled. The ceremony was done. As everyone began to dig in to the food, Harry searched for one person: Hermione. Finding her, he walked over to her, more like ran, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. He didn't care if people stared, if people talked. He wanted them to know that he was in love with his best friend.
Pushing him away a little, Hermione looked into his green eyes and said, "Harry, what about Ron, and Sirius? No one knows about us."
"Hermione, I don't care about anyone else. Right now, all I want to do is kiss you. If people happen to see, well, they'll know. All I care about is you." he said.
She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. Going in, he kissed her again and this time, the whole room was staring at them, silent as can be, mouths on the floor. Both pulled away from each other and looked around. Hermione blushed scarlet red as Harry took her hand in his and walked over to where Ron and Sam were. Both were smiling, happy for the new couple.
"Congrats, buddy!" exclaimed Ron as he approached Harry with a hug, Sam with Hermione. They then switched, and Ron asked, "So, when was it official?"
"This morning, Ron." said Hermione, smiling.
"Yeah, she came in my room and I asked her if she could tie my tie, and that was that." replied Harry, squeezing Hermione's hand affectionately.
As the four now got in line for food, Sirius was standing over by the mantle, mouth still open to the floor at what just happened. He stared at Harry, holding Hermione's hand, waiting for a plate. He then remembered the day he met Harry in the hospital. He remembered James handing him a beautiful baby boy and remembered him sleeping within his arms. Now, looking at Harry, a tear fell down his face, onto his shirt.
"Oh how they grow up." said a voice on his right.
Coming to, Sirius turned his head to see Dumbledore standing there, a solemn smile upon his face. "Indeed, Albus. I was just thinking about the day when James placed him in my arms to hold and said, 'Sirius, meet your godson.' I never wanted that moment to end. And now look at him, 16 and has a girlfriend."
Dumbledore placed his hand upon Sirius' shoulder. They both gazed upon the four, going down the line selecting food, Harry laughing at something Ron had just said. For a few minutes, Sirius and Dumbledore stood like this. Then, Dumbledore squeezed Sirius' shoulder and said, "May we talk Sirius, privately?"
Sirius turned his head from Harry to Dumbledore. Giving him a quizzical look, Sirius said, hesitantly, "Sure, Albus."
Dumbledore led the way through the crowd and to the door leading upstairs. Following him, Sirius turned his head to gaze in Harry's direction before leaving. Smiling at the laughing boy, he left the room, climbing up the dark stairs after Dumbledore. He reached the landing and looked around to see where the headmaster had gone. Seeing the door to the sitting room open, he walked over and entered. Dumbledore stood near the tapestry of the Black family that was on the wall, gazing intently at its contents.
With the quizzical look still etched upon his face, Sirius went over to where Dumbledore stood and began looking at the bane of his existence. What did Dumbledore want to talk to him about? Why was he so quiet? They stood at the tapestry, examining it for what felt to Sirius like an eternity. Finally, Sirius turned to his head and uttered, "Sir, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
Dumbledore stared at the tapestry a minute longer, until he came upon the face of one Phineas Nigellus. He gazed upon the face of the previous headmaster of Hogwarts, smiled, and then turned away to face Sirius, still with the quizzical look upon his face.
"It appears that, once again, I am short on staff for this new term approaching." explained Dumbledore.
Sirius continued to stare in confusion. He had thought that with the trip that Harry had accompanied him on, he had filled the vacant position of Defense against the Dark Arts. What did Dumbledore mean by he was still short-staffed?
"Wait, Albus, I thought you took care of that with Harry. I thought Horace accepted the Defense against the Dark Arts position?" asked Sirius.
"Oh, no," said Dumbledore in a matter-of-fact tone, "Horace did accept a position for this term, but he would never teach Defense." Dumbledore chuckled at this comment, thinking about if Horace did actually ever teach Defense against the Dark Arts.
This, however, did not help Sirius at all. Feeling more confused than ever, he tried to figure out why Dumbledore was telling him all this. If Horace wasn't the new Defense teacher, then what was he? As far as he knew, McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, and the rest of them were not planning on going anywhere anytime soon. Sirius counted in his head all the professors' at Hogwarts and their positions. Unfortunately, he kept coming back to the same vacancy, with no explanation in sight.
Having stopped chuckling, Dumbledore saw the look on Sirius's face and continued, "Sirius, all the usual positions have been filled. What I am searching for is someone to take on a new position that I have created for this year. You see, Sirius, Hogwarts may be safe, but I have feeling that someone is trying to penetrate its walls. And because of this, I am creating a class, a practical to Defense against the Dark Arts, that will help the students better defend themselves."
The fog slowly cleared from Sirius's mind. The look of confusion began to be replaced with one of understanding. But there was still one small detail that was not quite clear to Sirius: Why tell him this? As if Dumbledore knew what he was asking, he then asked, "Sirius, would you be willing to take on this new position?"
Sirius stood shell-shocked. Of all the things that he came up with in his head that Dumbledore might ask him, it never crossed his mind that this would be it. As Dumbledore stood there, waiting an answer, Sirius began thinking of why he should take the job. For one thing, he knew that finding work somewhere else was not going to be that easy. But he also remembered that he couldn't wait to get out of Hogwarts. To go back, well, it wouldn't be him. But then, another reason came to his mind of why he should take it: Harry. He would be close to him, able to watch him. But, even more, he would be able to get to know his godson even more. Before Sirius knew it, only one word came out of his mouth in response to Dumbledore's question: Yes.