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Chapter 14
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—If You Can't Beat Em', Join Em'—
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—Sometime in the 1930's—
Scamandrius Granger-Dagworth was sitting at home, studying laws and citations for a case he had been working on, when suddenly he dropped his quill, and knocked over his ink well. Had he not bent down to try and right the mess he had just made, he would have seen the flash of light that heralded the arrival of a cylindrical object upon his desk.
As it was, he remained oblivious to its presence until he lifted his head once more, and moved to put the displaced objects back in their proper places. I'm doing so, he inadvertently knocked over the object.
Instantaneously, he had the notion that life was just too complicated in general. Why did he have two last names? He wondered. Wouldn't it have been more simple to simply have one? He decided that from now on he would simply be a Granger.
As Scamandrius had always favored the simple things in life, it was not exactly a thought he would think twice about having. However, he probably should have, seeing as he had never thought of it before.
When I have a son, he thought, he will not have to deal with any of this quill and ink pot nonsense. I bet the muggles have a better way of writing, maybe it would be more simple for his son to just live like the muggles.
Unthinkingly, he opened the cylinder, and peered inside. Seeing they contained some type of what appeared to be thin wafers, he took one out and bit into it experimentally.
At that precise moment, the door to his office opened, and in walked his longtime friend, Albus Dumbledore. "Scamandrius," the man greeted him, fidgeting with his plain black robes, and eying the tin in Scamandrius' hands, "Oh! What do you have there! You know I love sweets!" He said, reaching out and snagging one before Scamandrius could stop him.
"Help yourself Albus," he mumbled belatedly.
Around his mouthful of wafer, Albus responded, "No, thank you. One is quite plenty, they don't seem to be as sweet as I imagined them to be."
Scamandrius couldn't help but to chuckle. He had been trying to warn the man, after all. Albus was so predictable. He wished that his friend would do something different for a change. Maybe wear a bit of color, or crazy socks, maybe even grow out his beard a bit. Something to make his life a little more interesting.
Although looking at his friend, Scamandrius could tell something was different than it had been when he walked into the room. There was a distinct twinkle in his eye, like he was full of great ideas all of the sudden that he had to bring to fruition, like some massive game of chess was building itself to a crescendo behind his pupils.
"If you'd excuse me," Albus said, "I don't seem to remember why I stopped by, but I have the sudden urge to buy some socks... maybe a new set of robes too, we'll see. Oh, I know, I came to see how you were doing on the case. Making the founders private lives, well, more private is a fantastic undertaking. I wish we didn't have to hide why they disappeared. Making it seem like they went without a trace, leaving no records or descendants just seems so anticlimactic. If only they could have had another way. A failsafe, or what have you.
Scamandrius nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.
Unnoticed by both men, the tin of wafers had vanished in another flash of light.
Mumbling their goodbyes, the friends parted ways once more. Scamandrius back to his work, and Albus to his spur of the moment shopping trip.
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Back at Griffin's Keep, Hermione was vaguely aware of the sound of scraping assaulting her senses. She had fallen asleep after the boys had formed a search party, looking for her, when her elfin companion had gone back to work after imparting a variety of invaluable stories.
After a few moments, the annoyingly repetitious noise became more then she could bear, so the curly haired witch sat up to see what could be done to stop it. Opening her eyes, just enough to get a sense of her surroundings, Hermione noticed she was still alone in the gathering room. But the noise continued.
As her senses returned, she noted that as annoying as it was, the source of the noise was not as close as she initially thought. Gingerly stretching muscles sore from sleeping on the couch, Hermione stood and followed the sound. It led her to the dining room, where one Ronald Bilius Weasley was sitting alone, in silence, slowly eating his supper.
"Ronald," she greeted her ex boyfriend sleepily. "Where is everyone else?"
He looked up, surprised at the interruption. "Well hello there sleeping beauty." He chuckled, "Have a nice nap? You had everyone worried there for a while!"
She grimaced, bowing her head so that her now flaming cheeks were hidden from sight. "Sorry. I hope they weren't too worried. I just went to the loo to freshen up, and when I got back... no one was here. I talked to the elf a little bit, got a couple stories, then decided to take a time to rest, since everyone was gone."
"Ha, you've changed you know?" He stated, smiling softly at his best female friend, "Don't give me that incredulous look, Hermione. I don't know what it is, exactly, but ever since you made that product with George you've been... happier? I guess. More expressive, laid back too."
"Tell that to Regulus!" She muttered. And then, suddenly, it was like the dam broke, and everything just came pouring out. "He kissed me, Ron. He and George were teasing me, and then he went and did that... and I just lost it. Suddenly my self confidence flew out the window, like a snitch and me the one who doesn't fly, left unable to catch it again. I may have been a little hard on him. On myself too..." she admitted, trailing off.
Ron was waiting, patiently, for her to continue. He knew she wasn't done, and had to get it all out. So, he reached for a dessert at random, and began to eat once more.
"I just... I hate when he teases me. He knows how bloody attractive he is, and just like Sirius, he knows how to use it. But he can't know how it affects me. That man is smart, well read, he knows all this magic I couldn't even think to even dream of, and I'm just me... little bookworm Granger." She sighed, sitting in a chair, "I know he says he's changed..."
"Maybe He has," Ron threw in there, hesitantly, "Harry certainly thinks so. I mean, if I didn't know he was in love with Ginny, I'd think he had a hard on for the snake! And Harry usually has pretty good instincts about these kinds of things."
"Ok, so say he has changed." Hermione said, resting her head on her hands. "He's a blood purist, or he was rather. If someone like him can change and suddenly think someone like me is worth even a grain of salt, then where does that leave me? I mean I grew up a Muggleborn, only to find out that I'm probably not," Ron looked confused, but stayed silent. "If their side is not who I thought they were, and I'm not who I thought I was, then I've suddenly lost both my identity, and my sense of direction in the world! It's like... everything is suddenly backwards, but I can only walk forwards, so I'm out of sync with the rest of life."
Her ex boyfriend was not who she pictured having this conversation with, actually she hadn't planned on having it at all... with anyone. But here they were. He had a way of making her rant, usually at him, but apparently they'd progressed to actual deep conversations in which he was the one that listened. See, even he had changed!
Emotional range of a teaspoon no more, the red headed man opened his mouth. "Hermione, I don't know anything about half of what you were just talking about," he admitted, "but what I do know is that everyone changes. Sometimes you just don't see it, because it happens so slowly, or because they simply don't want you to know it's happened until they are ready to let you know.
Regulus, not that I like the bloke, or even know much about him, but he grew up in a difficult situation. Unlike Sirius, he didn't have a James Potter to save him.
He had Lucius Malfoy, and Professor Snape of all people! But he grew up with Sirius' influence as a major factor in his life, so chances are that he may have held the same beliefs as his brother, just was unable to show them.
And so what if you do turn out to be not a Muggleborn. Granted I never experienced growing up as one, I was the youngest child from a poor family with little social standing, so I was looked down on a lot too. It doesn't matter how you're born, or to who you're born, really. You're still the same person deep down, right?
If you were pure blooded you'd still believe in house elf rights, because forced servitude is something you see as wrong. Even if you were a halfblood, you wouldn't think that Muggleborns were suddenly less than you. You know good and well that they have no less power than any other witch or wizard, and their blood isn't dirty or magic stolen.
You wouldn't suddenly be a bigot or friends with the death eater wanna be's because they were "like you" all the sudden. Because you disagree with who they are in general, and how they look down on people.
It doesn't change a thing, other than a record somewhere in an old dusty office."
Somewhere during his speech, Hermione realized he was right. She was overthinking, over reacting, overly in denial. Silvertongue had laid information at her feet and she had simply said "it's got to be wrong because I don't feel any different."
When, in reality, she really should have accepted the truths presented with proof, and realized that, while unexpected, this news changed nothing about her personally. Except maybe everything that didn't actually matter.
She reached out and grabbed Ron suddenly, making him poke himself in the face with a fork full of pie, and smearing whipped cream across his cheek. Hugging him tightly, she spoke from the heart, "I'm so lucky to have you as a friend, Ron. You've really changed too, by the way. This whole listening and prompting thought thing was new, and much appreciated."
"Anytime Herms!" He smiled broadly, as she recoiled from the nickname, "Anytime."
She shook her head, glad that at least some things would never change, before realizing he hadn't answered her other question. "So, where exactly is everyone?" She asked again.
"Oh," he waved her off, "Regulus and Kingsley found something, I guess. Harry went to go check it out, but Neville and Percy were already with them. I guess the twins and Sirius were also on their way."
"What did they find?" She asked, suddenly wishing she hadn't been wasting time being an overly emotional girl.
Ron shrugged, standing up, "I have no idea." He smiled, "but I bet we could find out! What do you say, up for another adventure milady?" He held out a hand for hers, then pulled her up to standing.
Leading the way, he cast the charm that would, with any luck, lead straight to their group. "And Hermione," He said, looking over his shoulder, "you can come to me for anything, you know? I care about you. I want you to be happy. No matter if it's with the snake boy."
She laughed and smacked him on the shoulder, "Hush, now! We have a discovery aching to be found!"
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Harry had caught up with the group fairly quickly, after winding through the maze like corridors of the Griffins Keep. Unfortunately the point me spell had not recognized that they were indeed directly above him, so he walked around the building several times needlessly, before discovering the stairs, and thus finding his friends.
They were immersed in an old library. Every one of them looking like Hermione, studying for a test, surrounded by piles of ancient texts and staring at one in amazement. Percy was conversing softly with Regulus, both wide eyed and excited.
It was Neville, arms laden with what appeared to be old weaponry, who noticed him first. "Harry! How's Hermione?"
Harry ran his hands through his hair, mussing it further and chuckled, "Sleeping. Turns out she never went anywhere." Neville joined him in his laughter as Harry asked what exactly he was holding.
His friends eyes lit up, "Obviously weapons," he started. Neville had become a bit of a collector in the years since the war.
He had used Gryffindor's sword to slay the horcrux that was Nagini, after all, and it seemed to have an unexpected effect on the formerly shy Gryffindor.
He now lived for all things defensive; swords, knives, shields, even bows and arrows. He'd even learned how to properly used them, and become a bit of an expert in the field, thus his position in the Auror Department.
Along with his extensive knowledge of all things Herbology related, this made the man an invaluable resource. "They're unlike anything I've ever seen, Harry! There's enchantments all over them, and the guys have found records of every one, they're legendary." Neville exclaimed.
Myths and legends and prophecies, oh my, Harry thought. "That's amazing, Neville. I'm glad you were able to be part of all this excitement." He patted his friend on the back, and made his way to where Sirius and the twins were huddled over something in the corner of the room.
"Boo!" He yelled, clapping his hands on his godfather's back, and causing the man to jump.
The older man stared at his godson, making him worry for a moment that he was mad. Just as Harry was about to open his mouth to apologize profusely, he was wrapped in a hug, followed by a violent mussing of his hair. "Hey pup. Come to look at some dusty old books?"
Harry, desperately trying to right his hair, huffs. "No, I came to scare the life out of an old man."
Looking around, Sirius zero's in on a target, "Oy, Shacklebolt," he calls, "Harry says he's here to scare you to death."
"I'm ready, let him do his worst." The Minister shoots back, clearly enjoying the informal setting.
Harry just shakes his head, "Cute, Sirius."
"I know, I'm positively adorable, but you're not my type pup." His godfather jokes, "Seriously though, I'm actually doing something, so either go harass the Minister, or make yourself useful!" He says, gesturing to the stack of what appeared to be ledgers in front of them.
The twins look up, wide eyed and exclaim, "Run while you can!" Before George elaborates, "The sheer amount of numbers in these pages are eating my brain alive." And Fred adds, "There's so much aristocratic melodramatic bull— yeah, there's so much lunacy in here... thankfully Sirius speaks the language of the natives, and is able to translate."
Clearly uninterested, Harry thanks them for the warning, and heeds their advice, walking instead over to Percy and Regulus. Hopefully they found something a little more... useful and-or interesting. "Please, tell me you have something fun to look at? Something not aristocratic red tape or rusty weaponry, preferably." He says in lieu of a greeting.
Percy scoffed, while Regulus laughed, "Sit, Harry. We found the blueprints to the Keep, we think. And Kingsley fancies that he's found the books about wizarding history who's only copies were thought to be lost to time, or destroyed by the ministry decades ago." The Minister waved distractedly from a table in the corner, clearly hearing his name.
"Blueprints. What do we know so far?" Harry inquired.
Percy took charge, per usual, "Well, there appears to be four levels, and a cellar or dungeon. Whatever you want to call the down below bits. The first level we saw before, is mainly for entertaining and general day to day activity. Kitchens, parlors, dining hall, gathering room. The second is for more official use, such as keeping of records and the like. The armory is also on the second level. Third level appears to be training areas? We think. And guest spaces, for visiting soldiers or knights, I suppose. The final floor looks to be living quarters, presumably in case they ever needed to defend the Keep, they would do so from the roof, which all of the rooms open on to. The dungeon is unmarked, but probably was used for storing prisoners and goods. Like a root cellar where you could shove your enemies, should the need arise, one turret is also a owlery, and a second is unlabeled but it seems to be positioned to be like an observatory, probably for keeping an eye on advancing armies, but maybe for stargazing as well." His attempt at humor fell flat, but he continued as if he didn't notice. "The whole thing is built like a bit of a maze. Presumably to slow down intruders should they ever make it through defenses. There's also some sort of bathing house that's technically both outside and in the cellar at the same time? And massive gardens, with a separate house that may actually be a greenhouse, come to think of it."
Harry whistled, "WOW, this is some place huh? Lucky the twins found it."
Percy nodded, still gazing intently at the paper in front of him.
"You know," Regulus said to the oldest Weasley in the room, "just because your younger brothers were named heirs and you weren't, doesn't mean they won't share all of this with you. You will have the ability to see all of this, probably as many times as you would like."
The redhead sighed and looked dejected. "Truthfully, I wouldn't deserve their kindness in that case. I've been nothing but a selfish... jerk, a pompous, selfish jerk, to them for as long as I can remember. I put their dreams down, I refused my own family."
"Pot, meet the Kettle named Black," Regulus said, gesturing to where his older brother was conversing with the other mans younger brothers. "Sirius and I had our ups and downs, he denied our family as well, and I joined forces with an evil megalomaniac. Yet, here we are."
Harry saw fit to add to this conversation, it seems they were both forgetting an important piece of information. "Percy," He said, laughing at the older boys face, "the twins wanted you to be here today. They said if anyone they knew would be able to make sense of any of this, it would be you. Would they seek you out and force you to see all this if they didn't want anything to do with you?"
He had the decency to look sheepish. "I suppose not." Then the look changed to one of determination. "I think I may have taken a wrong turn at some point, in life. I got so wrapped up in power and accomplishment, tried to be the same as the people I surrounded myself with. I lost what was really important. I'm glad I was here today, to have this, apparently much needed, reality check." He smiled, "If the Slytherin former death eater can make up with his Gryffindor order member brother, then I suppose I may have a shot at it with mine."
Regulus chuckled, "Actually the hat wanted to put me in Gryffindor too. I had to beg and plead and spew all the crap my 'dear mother' fed me in order for it to put me in Slytherin. In the end, it was the fact that I was so afraid of a simple house placement that made the hat relent. Because Gryffindor's are brave and I was showing cowardice."
Eyeballs almost popping from their heads, the two other men just looked at him for a moment. Only coming back to their senses when Regulus told them to shut their mouths, or they'd ingest all the dust flying around.
The room descended into hushed conversation once more, as the groups were immersed in their own projects. So intent were they, in their discussions, that when a huge commotion sounded, they all nearly died of fright!
"Owwww!" A muffled groan echoed from the stairway.
"Ronald! Get off me! Now!" Another voice complained.
Another moan, "Sorry Mione, I tripped!"
"Ob-visually!"
Harry had made his way to the stairs and was watching them with amusement as Ron tried to maneuver his way off of Hermione, without crushing any of the many scrolls that were scattered throughout the length of the staircase.
He couldn't help it, he had to comment, it was just... funny! "Messing around I see? Ronald, I thought better of you. And you Hermione? First sleeping on the job, now this?!"
Hermione was not amused, although Ron was smiling. "Ha Ha, help me up Harry, while Ronald gather's the scrolls he made me drop... everywhere.
He reached out to help her with one hand, using his other hand to cast a silent accio. "Are you a witch or what?" He teased, as all her scrolls started to float and make their way towards him.
She stuck her tongue out, before tackling him to the ground. Now Harry was the one groaning. "What was that for?!"
"Look around and you tell me!" She gasped through giggles. "Say, did you specify which scrolls you were summoning?"
Looking around him, he noticed that they were surrounded by piles and piles of scrolls. He swallowed nervously, "Uh, no. Noted for next time." She patted him on the head, then helped him up. And the two of them began following Ron's voice to pull him from the pile of scrolls he suddenly found himself buried in.
"Accio My scrolls," Hermione said clearly. Oddly, more than she had started with flew over to her, but she would deal with that later. She waved her wand, banishing the remaining scrolls back to wherever they came from.
Brushing the dust off her skirt, Hermione turned to Harry, and commented about her newly multiplied scrolls. "Thanks to you, I no longer know which ones I took down when Tiny was telling me about the house and all the history. Now, I also, apparently, have previously unknown scrolls from somewhere in this ancient manor that apply to me."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "Really? That's weird. Maybe we should sort them first? Give the ones you wrote to, uh, maybe Percy and Kingsley? To go over. Then you, me, the twins and the other brothers can go through the others."
She nodded, adding, "maybe you should see if there are any about you, while we are at it. The twins would probably be hit by a mountain of scrolls if they tried, as everything related to any past Lord Gryffindor would react. Sirius and Regulus would be ok to try too, I think."
"Good points, but let's get through you first." He answered, while gesturing for everyone to gather round, "You're the one with the prophecy pending, after all."
Hermione nodded, and began sorting the old looking scrolls from the newer looking ones. The had just finished verifying that she had all the scrolls she had written that night separated from the others, when everyone was finally gathered together.
She smiled at the group, then explained the interruption, "Earlier, I had a nice talk with the head elf, she told me all about the castle, it's inhabitants, related families, history that could be relevant to anything we need to know. I took the liberty of writing it all down.
On our way up to meet you all, there was a bit of a mishap, and the scrolls were scattered all about. When I summoned them, specifying the ones relevant to me, more than I originally carried into this room were brought to me. I would like for my scrolls to be looked over by Kingsley and Percy, maybe Ronald and Neville could assist you if you need to find anything in the castle or library to research further?" All four wizards nodded, accepting their tasks.
"The rest of you, if you would kindly join me at the big table near the center of the room, I'd like to go over what is contained in the rest of the scrolls. Hopefully no more nasty surprises today!" That being said, Hermione made her way to the specified location, and set down the remaining scrolls.
They really could be anything, she mused, tall tales that related to someone that was distantly related to her, lists of properties that she was allowed access to as a friend of the new Lord Gryffindor's, anything to do with Merlin or prophecies. Not looking was maddening, but the thought of looking was no less so either!
As if sensing her unease, Harry laid a hand on her shoulder. "Breathe," he chided gently, "it's all going to be okay!"
Suddenly she felt, rather than saw the presence of the rest of her group. It was a rather odd sensation, if she was telling the truth. Still not looking up from the pile of scrolls in front of her, she reached out to grab one, when a hand landed on her own, pausing her actions.
She dared a glance, and her breath caught in her throat when she found herself staring into the blue gray eyes that haunted her dreams. "Hermione," Regulus breathed, "you aren't doing this alone. We are here with you, to help you, because we care about you. We care for you, and we want to be here with you."
"Don't stand there and be strong, when we all know you're terrified." George spoke from somewhere to her left.
"Let us shoulder some of the burden. You've always done it for us." Fred added from her right.
"I second all those opinions," Sirius contributed, coming to stand beside his brother, "I know I'm not alone in this, but I owe you my life. I'm not just going to sit here and watch you open ancient scrolls that could literally contain anything." He grabbed the scroll she had been about to, sliding it right from under her hand, swallowing hard he said, "This one is mine."
The others followed Sirius' lead, and the pile was almost halved. As soon as Hermione had retrieved her own scroll, they shared a tense nod. Then, collectively, they opened the scrolls.
"You have got to be kidding me!" She exclaimed loudly, looking down at the parchment as if it had personally offended her. "Your castle has your sense of humor my Lords" Hermione stated dryly, showing the group the scroll she had opened.
It contained nothing but the enchantments for a bunch of ancient beauty charms. And some nonsense about how females were best seen, preferably at their best, rather than heard.
"Ha, oh that's priceless." Fred responded, while laughing so hard tears streamed down his face. "Mines some junk about relics of time."
This perked Hermione up, "That May be a useful read though, we should make a 'Keep' pile and a 'Banish' pile." She suggested.
"Fantastic idea." Harry commented, "Me next! I have here, ladies and gents, the complete never ending scroll of Merlin centered fairy tales. Mainly centered on someone known as the Lady of the Lake. Sounds like a mermaid, if you ask me!"
"Nah," Sirius corrected, "gotta be the giant squids sister." Laughing at his own joke, he mock opened his scroll with much fanfare. "A missive about ancient wizarding families involved in 'the great pact'. Keep, I presume?" At her answering nod, George took his turn.
He cleared his throat dramatically, "I have the very important document, from one Achilles A. Emerys Pendragon Granger to Lord Gryffindor, regarding a dinner invitation that, and I quote, 'need be rescheduled, as (his) headstrong wife (was) currently holding him hostage by immobilizing him in a vat of jam, after he dared one taste without permission.' Something about Ravenclaws being too smart for their own good. Etc etc etc."
"Keep!" Regulus shouted, "She needs that over her bed, so she knows just where she gets her attitude from!" He continued, despite her offended muttering, "Ladies, because there are certainly no Gentleman here at the moment, I have a history lesson in my hands.
About Hogwarts herself. A precursor, it seems, to Hogwarts a history... much abridged, obviously. However, it does include many tidbits I've never heard of. One, for example, alleges that the hidden entrance to Avalon is on the grounds of the very school we all attended."
Hermione was practically salivating. "Keep!" She shrieked, "Keep, keep, keep, screw that, give it to me now!"
He chuckled, clasping it to his chest. "Mine." At her heartbroken look, he relented slightly, "You, me, talk later. After, the scroll is yours to ogle as you please."
She pursed her lips and glared at the man daring to keep such precious information from her.
"Alright lovebirds, that's enough of that" Sirius interrupted, "my turn again. Finish your creepy bibliophilic staring contest on your own time. I..." he situated the scroll in front of himself, "have a history of Morgana." He placed it into the 'Keep' pile.
Fred grimaced, "Better than mine, I've got a scroll on house elves and how they came to be how we know them to be. Warning: it's pretty graphic." He handed it to Hermione to decide which pile, eager to have the offending document out of his hands.
Knowing full well Hermione was going to keep the document in question, Harry rushed ahead. "This one is a study of the differences between 'man and wizard', as seen from the apparent Middle Ages version of a Blood Traitor... also pretty graphic, unfortunately. A blood traitor may have written it, but he appears to have been a bit of a sadist as well."
Hermione gestured to the 'Keep' pile, and George took his turn. "I've got a note about the prophecies. Supposedly transcribed from an original, written by Merlin himself. Good news, we know for sure this one is yours. We also now know the order of the others, so no one has to get shocked trying to figure it out. Bad news, they're not transcribed completely." He shrugged, "But maybe there's more to it than meets the eye."
"New pile: Keep and study immediately." Hermione instructed.
Regulus was next, however he wasn't looking like he wanted to. He actually looked a bit like he had swallowed a lemon. "I'm not reading this out loud." He declared, finally.
George grabbed it, took one look, then burst out laughing. "Love and s— hahaha! Sex magic! Ha! Hermione! You summoned a scroll about— hahaha! Aww poor Hermy." He teased.
Hermione banished the scroll directly from his hands, with a threatening look and a mention that she could banish other bits as well if he would like. "Thank you boys," She deadpanned looking between Regulus and the now very frightened Weasley twin. "My scroll details Merlin's resting place. Oddly, I don't see the word 'final', so I'm unsure if it is about his grave... or somewhere he lived..." she tossed it into the 'Keep' pile.
The last scroll was in Sirius' hand. The group watched with baited breath as he unrolled it with caution, and not just because it was so old and ragged. "It's about the keys, and markings from the ritual. I'm not sure it's specific to our ritual though... as it mentions marriage several times. There are probably variations, right? Because as much as I love Harry, I'm sorry, but I don't wish to be bound to him in matrimony!" He chuckled, tossing it in the 'Keep' pile.
Hermione reached out and moved it into the more pressing 'Keep' pile, managing to make a joke about un-banishing the sex magic scroll should she be unwittingly married. Because, why not, right?! Regulus and George made strangled noises from their respective spots around the table, being the two men involved in her portion of the ceremony, everyone else laughed heartily at their expense.
Scrolls sorted, they briefly discussed summoning scrolls pertaining to Harry, Sirius and Regulus, but as it was getting late, they decided another day would probably be better. They had had an awful lot of excitement for one day.
The twins set out to find Tiny, to ask the proper way for everyone to return to the Keep. And to catch some badly needed peace and quiet. Everyone else received a briefing from Kingsley on the information Hermione had handed the 'research group'.
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