Meet The Godparents
a/n – With trembling hand, I shook the Magic 8-ball and the mystic message that floated into view was this – "Everything recognizable from the Harry Potter universe is the property of JK Rowling and her various and sundry corporate partners. The Magic 8-ball was invented by Albert Carter and is currently manufactured by the Mattel Corporation. Never trust sushi from an establishment that sells camel stew."
Why do I always get the crazy ones?
Chapter 36- Letters for the Heart
Stepping out through the front doors, Harry and Hermione were greeted by an ideal late spring day in Scotland. A few wispy clouds drifted lazily across the sky, but the sunshine was bright and the morning air was pleasantly warm. Without looking back, Hermione and Teddy headed for 'their' spot along the shore of Black Lake with a bemused Harry following along behind.
As they approached, Harry could see that someone had setup a blanket, a basket and a portable cot underneath the tree that the Golden Trio had long ago staked out as 'theirs'. Sitting on a lower branch of the tree, an eagle owl rested, regally ignoring its surroundings as if waiting for something.
As Hermione gently lowered Teddy into the portable cot, she looked up and smiled.
"I thought that this would be a nice spot to sit and talk." Looking down at her watch, she smiled. "Ten thirty isn't too early for a nice brunch, and I invited Ginny, Ron, and Luna to join us at eleven." Gracefully folding herself onto the blanket, she pulled one of the pillows onto her lap and transfigured it into a lapdesk.
"I don't think that will be nearly enough if we're expecting Ron to join us and actually have something left for the other four of us to eat." Shaking his head, Harry was peering into the basket skeptically.
"Have faith Harry. Winky provided us with small food platters connected to the school kitchens. It's only a between term weekend menu, but it should be enough to satisfy even Ron."
Reaching into the basket, she removed a teapot, a square serving tray and a small dish. Tapping the three in rapid succession with her wand, she said "Caravan tea, scones and butter" with a clear distinct voice. Within seconds, steam was coming out of the spout of the pot, the tray was heaped with a variety of scones and the small dish contained butter.
Levitating plates, cups and flatware out of the basket, Hermione arranged five place settings for the eventual arrivals. Smiling at Harry, she nodded at the plate of scones while she proceeded to pour tea. Setting his cup in front of him, she smiled as he looked at it dubiously.
"I know Kreacher suggests drinking it as is, but do you think I could wheedle some sugar out of that basket?" Trying to look stern, Hermione smiled at Harry's obvious attempt to get her to indulge his sugar habit.
"You do remember my parents are dentists, don't you?" Smiling at the wary nod he gave her, she continued. "That includes my dad. Tall bloke, served in the Royal Marines, boxed at uni. Still works out twice a week. The one that owns dental drills and sharp pointy things.
"The one you need to explain exactly why you're sleeping with his 'Precious poppet' while we're explaining what in Merlin's name they're doing in Australia." Seeing his wary nod turn to full-blown panic, Hermione's heart melted and she smiled.
"Harry, I was just teasing. How many sugars do you want with your tea?"
Shaking his head, Harry looked at the cup of tea as if it were about to transfigure into something dangerous.
"I think that drinking it as is will be fine. No reason to give your dad yet another excuse to want to turn me into your recently departed husband."
Shaking her head, Hermione bit her lower lip to keep from smiling. Leaning over and rooting around in the basket, she pulled out a small jar of dark, lumpy crystals and a set of tongs.
"Honestly Harry, here's a trick my mother uses."
Taking the top off the jar, she fished out several of the larger crystals and dropped them in his tea.
"Rock sugar crystals, my mum picked it up in Germany and uses them all the time with her tea. Daddy won't say anything and Mum will think you're a genius. You do need to cut back a bit on your sugar, but this will let you enjoy your tea." Eyeing him severely, she nodded. "However, when we go to find them, let's leave off packing any sugar quills or chocolate frogs."
Smiling appreciatively, Harry cautiously sipped his tea.
"That's rather good."
"Always the tone of surprise, Harry. You'll find that you need less sugar with these to get your tea the way you like it, they're pure cane sugar."
Smiling at her, Harry reached over and squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry. I'm not certain why the thought of meeting your dad makes me so nervous."
Sighing, Hermione reached into the bag she had been carrying and pulled out the two scrolls Albus had given her.
"It's supposed to, I expect. Just like meeting your mum worries me." Holding up the one addressed 'Hermione', she nodded. "I'm afraid that she doesn't like me and doesn't think I'm good enough for her only son."
"Hermione, my mother most likely adores you. They've been able to keep up with goings on, and they've seen what we've been through together. They know exactly how much we love each other, and what you've been willing to do for me." Taking her hand, he raised it to his lips and gently kissed the back of it.
Lowering her head, Hermione whispered. "That's just it. She knows how horrible I was to you our sixth year. How I was snogging the living daylights out of your best friend two weeks ago and now I'm with her son. She probably thinks I'm a shameless, brazen hussy." Shaking her head, she added. "A scarlet woman."
Sitting his tea down, Harry moved over beside her and wrapped his arms around her.
"She knows that you only did those things sixth year because you cared and were worried about me. She also knows that I was being a royal git and prat that year about that bloody book and she's probably waiting patiently to explain exactly how much of an idiot I was. And I was snogging Ginny while you were snogging Ron, so neither of us has the moral high ground on that one." Putting his hand beneath her chin and raising her face so he could stare into her chocolate brown eyes, he nodded.
"And besides, what's the worst thing that happens if she is mad at you? She'll not watch the wedding. We have a century or two to worry about it after that. Dad will love you, and if Mum is annoyed, he's got the inside track on bringing her around."
"And just how do you know that tidbit of information, Harry?" Smiling faintly, Hermione reached up and took Harry's hand from beneath her chin and placed a kiss on his palm.
"Simple. For seven years everyone's been telling me how much like James Potter I am. Stands to reason we have the same taste in woman."
"If that were true, then you would be having this conversation with Ginny, not me. She's the redhead, like your mum." Shaking her head, Hermione started to worry again.
Laughing, Harry kissed her gently on the forehead.
"Please, he may have been one of the infameous Marauders, but he's not quite that shallow. He didn't pursue a redhead simply because she was a redhead. I'm certain that there were quite a number of attractive redheads who would have quite willingly gone out with him. Instead he pursued my mum for years; all the while she kept saying 'no'."
"Harry, when you get to the part of your explanation that's supposed to make me feel better about this, you will let me know, won't you?" Looking rather cross, Hermione was staring at the scroll with trepidation.
Smiling, Harry took her hands between his. Looking deep into her eyes, he projected all of the love he felt for her so she would know exactly what she meant to him.
"James Potter fell in love with the smartest, cleverest, most incredibly caring, loving, warm hearted, and talented witch around. Who just happened to be muggle born and not overly impressed with all of the things that everyone else thought made him great. One that was capable of making him want to be a much better person than he was, and equally capable of helping him do it.
"And just who does that sound like to you? The fact that you're both incredibly beautiful women is just an added bonus."
Smiling, Hermione kissed him. "Harry…" Whatever else she was going to say was interrupted by an excited oohu-oohu-oohu from the eagle owl perched above them. "Drat, I forgot Evangeline."
"The owl's name is 'Evangeline'?" Looking up, Harry looked dubiously at the apparently male owl sitting above them.
Sighing, Hermione began to look in her bag, pulling out a sheaf of official looking parchments.
"The owl is from Evangeline. When I flooed her, she said she would send an owl from a local Ministry office to Hogwarts so that we could get these parchments to her today. She wants to get all the preliminary parchmentwork out of the way before we meet her for tea on Wednesday."
"How many times do I have to sign?"
Blushing a bit, Hermione fiddled with the parchments on the lapdesk.
"Well, there were eighty-seven places for you to initial along with me to indicate we understood what each paragraph was saying, but I took care of that for you and initialed for us both." Looking up apprehensively at him she relaxed at the smile on his face.
"Dear, consider it an assignment for Binns' class and you'll give me the thirty second summary later. If you found everything satisfactory, then I do. So I just have to sign once at the end?"
Still a bit wary of the level of blind trust Harry had in her, she nodded.
"Just the one signature is needed. And then a drop of blood to seal the papers so no one can alter them without us being there."
Shaking his head, Harry took the quill from Hermione and scrawled his signature next to hers, smiling as he read 'Hermione Jane Potter' in her careful script. Looking up, he grinned.
"Finally decided, eh?"
"It seemed right. But I probably won't go to the Ministry and do the formal change until after the public wedding. That way Daddy won't feel he missed too much if I'm still 'Hermione Granger' when we find them."
Smiling at the way she went from being a confident young woman to daddy's little girl in the blink of an eye, Harry nodded. Seeing the indicated spot on the edge of the parchment beside his name, Harry drew his thumb along the stiffened section of the parchment and felt the paper cut sting as his blood was drawn into the document. A pale silver sheen surrounded the parchments for a second, and then faded quickly.
Tapping his thumb with her wand, Hermione watched the small cut disappear in a second. Rolling up the parchments as securing them with a scarlet cord, she stood and began affixing the roll to the leg of the eagle owl. Hearing Harry rustling around behind her, she looked over her shoulder in time to see Harry tapping another serving plate while saying "Toad in the hole"
"Honestly Harry, you're getting as bad as Ron. Couldn't you have waited until we sent this to eat?"
"It's not for me." Shaking his head, Harry smiled. Using a fork, he speared one of the sausages from its resting place and pulled it loose. Standing up he smiled at the owl on the branch.
"That's a good fellow. Here's something for you because you had to wait for us so long."
Eyeing the proffered sausage for a second, the owl nodded, took the sausage and quickly made short work of it. Nodding again, the owl launched itself into the air and started heading towards the south.
Wrapping her arms around Harry, Hermione shook her head. "Can you forgive me for being a horrible shrew?"
"It's not your fault. I haven't really been too much to do with any owls since I lost Hedwig. She was more of a bacon girl, but that fellow looked like someone who liked his bangers."
"You really haven't talked much about her since that night."
"You're right. With everything that's happened to us recently, I feel that I can start to put down some of the things I've been carrying around up here." Tapping his temple, he smiled. "And the fear that I'm going to lose someone simply because I love them is one of those things that I need to get beyond."
Looking down at the pair of scrolls lying on the blanket, he nodded.
"What's say we read our mail and see what my mum has to say to us?"
"You're right, Harry. Promise you'll still love me if she doesn't like me?" Biting her lower lip, Hermione nodded apprehensively.
"She loves you almost as much as I do. And nothing could make me love you any less, so you have nothing to worry about. Stop driving yourself mental and read." Shaking his head, Harry snorted at the irony of him having to tell Hermione to read something.
Smiling, Hermione sat gracefully and picked up the scroll. Sliding her finger under the seal, she unrolled the parchment and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes, and began to read.
Dear Hermione,
I hope this isn't too presumptuous, coming from a witch you've never met, but I thought I'd try to allay your fears before you could get too worked up wondering what I thought of you. I tried to tell you that you were the one Harry needed through Severus, but there were limitations on what I could say to you until the two of you figured it out for yourselves.
I'm horribly jealous. Not of your place in my son's heart, but of the fact that you are responsible, in large part, for the wonderful man he has become. So much of what Harry has become is due to the love you have shown him these past seven years. If I could have searched the entire world for a woman for my son to love, I couldn't have done a better job than the two of you did that moment on the train going to Hogwarts.
The irony is, James and I also met on the Hogwarts Express, but I was much less receptive to him than you were to our Harry. I'm very relieved that you two were finally able to overcome the barriers you both had constructed around your hearts. One of the greatest regrets I have is not being able to help my son see exactly the treasure that was by his side all along.
I would ask that you have patience with our Harry. He loves you very much, and he worries too much about the people he loves. James can be a bit irrational about being overprotective at times and I can see that Harry is the same way. Neither one thinks that we're incapable of protecting ourselves, it's just in their nature to be gallant. It must be the Gryffindor in them.
Remus and Dora are both very happy about the plans you two have regarding Teddy. James and I have no qualms at all about what the two of you are in the process of doing and I'm confident you'll love all of my grandchildren equally.
Before I go much further, I must caution you about Albus. Harry is much too trusting and prone to forgiveness. Traits that make him an admirable man, but he wants to see the good in people, even when it isn't there.
Albus is hiding something, and I'm not certain what it is. It, indirectly, involves this new prophecy, but from what I've been able to suss out from his half-truths and non-answers it's referenced in the prophecy and not actually a part of it. Whatever it is, it's something that a normal person would feel guilty about and it involves the two of you. Albus has sworn an oath that he has divulged everything pertinent to finding Slytherin's tomb, but he refuses to give up the exact wording of the prophecy.
While there are literally pages of things I could write about, I'm going to end this now before I overwhelm you with too much. Both James and I are very pleased with the two of you being together and we're looking forward, some day, in the very far future, to having the two of you over for tea so I can finally thank, in person, the woman who saved my son. The love you give to him, and he has for you, has made him the person who was able to survive that dreadful night.
You are the daughter of my heart, and I love you as much as I love that rascal son of mine. Remind him I love him, from time to time, and that he and I are going to have a very long talk about why he didn't take you to the Yule Ball. Of course, you and I will discuss your reasons for not asking him.
In closing, I wish the two of you a long life filled with love, children, and accomplishments. Love saved both of you, and I'm expecting to see the two of you astound the world with your love and courage.
With all my love,
Lily
'Merlin's Oath,' Hermione thought to herself as she smiled. 'I can't begin to imagine what Harry would be like today if this woman had raised him instead of her sister.' Looking up, she could see Harry was totally absorbed in the letter from his mum. Shaking her head, she smiled at the look on his face.
Watching him, it was as if every holiday for the past seventeen years just caught up with him. Eyes bright with tears, Harry had a smile that wouldn't quit. Suddenly, he looked up, and she was caught in those emerald green eyes, held captive by the emotions she could see and feel. Nodding to him, she smiled and waited for him to speak.
Harry swallowed once, and still nothing would come out. He got up from where he was sitting and wrapped his arms around her. Holding her tight, he began to whisper in her ear.
"They both love you very much. Apparently, she's been waiting for us to get ourselves sorted out since we met on the train." Shaking his head, he smiled. "Talk about pressure on a pair of eleven year olds."
Smiling, Hermione nodded to the letter still in his hand. "Switch?"
Shaking his head, Harry grinned and held up the parchment. "Of course."
Looking a bit puzzled at the mischievous look in Harry's eyes; Hermione made herself comfortable with her head in Harry's lap and began to read.
My Son (and Hermione after you've switched letters with Harry)
You father and I couldn't be more proud of the two of you. We've watched you grow together and become two outstanding adults. It's impossible for me to express how happy we are that you two have finally realized what the rest of the world has known for years.
Harry, you're my son and I will always love you. Any advice I give you about your life would either be too much or not enough, so I'm going to just tell you one thing. Listen to Hermione. She won't always be right, but she will very seldom be wrong. On those occasions she is, as was the case with Sev's potions book, remember that your conflict stems from the fact she cares about you and worries about you. Also, part of the problem just might be that you're too concerned about being right and not worried enough about explaining your point to her.
The worst thing you can do is taking for granted the fact that she's madly in love with you. There will be times when the two of you will disagree. Neither of you will be wrong; it's merely a matter of opinion or preference. I'm not saying you should always accede to her wishes, but you should ask yourself, "Is this really important enough to quarrel with Hermione/Harry about?"
The two of you have sacrificed so much of your young lives for the sake of others; your father and I pray that you will be able to regain some of what you lost through each other. We will try to be as much help as we can, you can trust Sirius to look out for the two of you.
As I'm writing these letters, I have no knowledge of how your conversation with Albus is going to resolve itself. While I hope he listens to reason, I'm making arrangements in case you choose not to deal with him for a period of time.
Severus is always willing to assist. If you are on the outs with Albus, I might suggest you utilize Sev's portrait down in the DADA classroom. That way, you can give him a message to pass along without rubbing Albus' nose in it.
I've also spoken to Phineas Nigellus. In his portrait at Grimmauld Place, there is a loose sheath of parchments and he will be willing to transport messages to us, if you need him to. He is not a particularly nice person, but he is an honorable one. Since you're the Head of the House of Black, he would consider it a privilege to serve in such a manner. The fact that he seems fairly partial to my mother's gooseberry pie recipe is simply a coincidence. Just remember, anything you give him, he will, most likely, read.
I've written to Hermione regarding Albus and this new prophecy. I won't go over the same ground with you as I did with her, other than to say that I believe he's revealed everything pertinent regarding Slytherin's tomb and your abilities to find it. Be careful, nevertheless. One of Albus' innate failings is that once he starts meddling, he rarely knows how to stop. Or when.
I asked your father if he has any advice regarding being in love with a witch who has a tendency to be a bit headstrong and is a bit too organized and structured. While he professes to have no idea what I'm talking about, he mentions that a good rule of thumb is to listen a great deal, consider what's actually important in life, and remember that foot massages are a wonderful way to say that you're sorry, even if you had the misfortune to be right. I'm certain I have no idea what he's talking about, but he does give a sinfully wonderful foot massage.
Harry, don't fret too much about Hermione's parents. Her mother almost certainly knows about your feelings for each other (I imagine that every letter the girl has written home mentioned you a dozen times, so she knows) and her father will see that his daughter is madly in love with you. Don't lie to them or gloss over the soul bonding, but I wouldn't hit them with it first thing, either.
And at least make the appearance of sleeping in separate rooms when you meet them. It won't fool them, but it will indicate that you're willing to consider their feelings. Your father spent the night in the attic room every time he came to visit my parent's house. I still snuck up the stairs (merely to talk, of course), but your grandmother appreciated the thoughtfulness.
Our hopes and blessings go with the two of you. We're very proud of both of you and we'll be watching the two of you with love. Expect Sirius within a week with the first round of ideas about where to start looking for Slytherin's tomb. That is, if he can tear himself away from this Maeve person long enough to drop by the house.
All my love
Mum
Shaking her head, Hermione looked up into Harry's eyes. Harry was watching her with a puzzled look on his face. "Harry, what is it?"
"How did I find the most perfect woman in the world?" Smiling, he leaned over and kissed her tenderly on the lips.
As Harry pulled his lips a few inches away from hers, Hermione smiled and whispered. "We found each other, silly. Apparently, your mum knew it that day on the train." Shaking her head, Hermione sighed. "You're going to write a letter back to your mother after dinner tonight. I'm going to include a note, but the letter is going to be yours."
Moving his lips closer to hers, Harry smiled as he brushed his lips against hers. "Any suggestions on what I should say?"
Hermione's answer was lost when they suddenly broke apart at a loud whistle. "Oi, I thought we were invited to lunch." Bumping their heads together, the looked up to see Ron, Luna, and Ginny standing a few feet away, smiling at them.
Shaking her head, Hermione sat up slowly. "Ron, your timing is impeccable as usual."
Smirking, Ginny shook her head as she knelt down beside Teddy's cot. "He's just annoyed because mum walked in on him and Luna up in his room." Reaching in, she lifted Teddy out and started making faces at him. "How's my little cutie?" Smiling, Teddy's hair turned red as he started to laugh.
Smiling serenely, Luna nodded to Hermione. "Ron's a bit out of sorts, I think he swallowed one of the nargles that were flying around when his mother walked in this morning." Shrugging, she whispered in Hermione's ear, "Or it could be that we were both half starkers when she came in."
Blushing madly, Hermione shook her head, trying to clear the vision of Ron and Luna cowering in front of Molly Weasley from her mind. Trying not to look at Ron, she replied, "I'm certain it was the nargle, Luna. I imagine they are very hard to swallow."
Patting her arm, Luna nodded. "I knew Harry would be good for you. You just needed to let him show you how to not think so much." Ignoring the sputtering Hermione, who was casting horrified looks at Harry, Luna gracefully got up and went over to where Ginny was playing with Teddy.
Sputtering in disbelief, Hermione stared at Harry. "Harry?" Seeing him look up, she shook her head. "Luna? You? Me? Thinking?" Try as she might, she found herself unable to form a coherent sentence.
"Mi, are you all right there?" Looking concerned, Harry reached over to take her hand.
Smiling, Luna looked over her shoulder at Harry. "I think it's a wrackspurt attack. I told her that you were doing well with getting her not to think so much, and then the wrackspurt took over." Blinking at Harry with her silver eyes, she shrugged.
Turning a shade of Weasley red to rival Ron at his best, Harry looked quickly from Luna to Hermione. "Hermione, it's all right. She's just talking about wrackspurts, just take a deep breath."
Looking confused, Ron shrugged. "Is lunch ready? Getting caught by mum killed my appetite for breakfast." Shaking his head, he peered into the basket, looking disheartened at the lack of food inside.
Handing Teddy to Luna, Ginny shook her head. "You only polished off two plates of eggs. I'd say you're in severe danger of wasting away after a starvation diet like that."
Smiling, Luna was gazing intently into Teddy's eyes. "Ron spends a lot of energy attracting nargles; you shouldn't try to limit him." Without blinking, Teddy's eyes began to turn a silvery hue to match hers, and there was a feeling that there was a connection between the two. "Teddy's almost ready to be introduced to the gernumblies, you should take him to the Burrow next week."
Pulling herself together, Hermione smiled at Luna a bit shakily. "Why don't we eat and Harry and I can tell you about the idea we have. We need your help with something."
Passing the plates around, Hermione began filling the serving trays with food from the Hogwarts kitchens while Harry explained their idea. The only one who wasn't drawn into the seriousness of the conversation was Teddy, who constantly laughed and waved at the nargles only he and Luna could see.
a/n2 - The last line of the Magic 8-ball's message was actually a warning I got from a staff member of the US Embassy in Tunis years ago. Not certain what the connection was, but I managed to get through two weeks in Tunisia without food related mishap.