Amazingly, following the visit from Dumbledore, life at the Grangers seemed to make more sense rather than less. None of them had expected that when they'd been confronted with the stranger who had turned their life upside down in the matter of mere hours yet that was the case.
Now Joan and Harold understood that the lights flickering when scary movies were playing on the TV or people were shouting outside wasn't faulty electricity but Hermione's—and now probably Harry's—accidental magic at work.
They had taken to the revelation of Harry's abilities and fame surprisingly well. There had been an anxiety-inducing week of stress where Harry had been sure they'd have it settle in eventually and change their minds. Famous for murdered parents? Abnormal even amongst wizards? And wow, was it so strange to think wizards existed!
But to their credit, his adoptive parents were made of tougher stuff and made their stance abundantly clear over and over. They had promised to take Harry in and they weren't backing out now, especially for things he couldn't control.
Harry had never felt so loved before in his life, at least in his memory. Still, rules had been imposed and Harry did his best to follow them. Harry never used his powers in public, keeping them to when he was inside the house and while his healing may have had a blanket pass, his telekinesis did not.
He was given two hours of practice every day, and he was allowed to use it for tasks when given permission but his mother had made it abundantly clear that he would still learn to do things the muggle way. She didn't want him out of his depth if he ever somehow lost his abilities.
Beyond that, Harry suspected another reason was to keep Hermione from getting jealous. An owl of all things had arrived outside their window a week after Dumbledore's first visit informing them they could write any follow-up questions and send it back with the owl.
They had a few and a few weeks later they even managed to convince the old wizard to return for the sake of putting some protections on the house.
(Dumbledore led the group outside, using a notice-me-not spell to avoid suspicion from their neighbours as they stood in the front yard.
"Now children, the spell I'm going to use will work even better if it is able to tell who you consider enemies and not just me. Hold on to me, please," The old wizard instructed, and the two young Grangers did so as the man raised his wand. "Introvetis!"
Both children let out gasps of amazement as a smoky grey wisp escaped Dumbledore's wand and washed over their house, forming a barrier briefly before it faded. The old wizard then turned to the children with a smile, a familiar twinkle in his eyes as he began to explain what he'd just done.
"A strong spell, a ward that draws upon the caster's own strength, that prevents anyone the caster considers to be an enemy from stepping over the threshold. I had the children hold on so their own influence could be exerted on the spell so that it will keep out anyone they don't trust as well. With it drawing upon my own power, this is the most powerful protection I can give you." Dumbledore had informed them once it was over. They all felt much safer knowing that spell was on their house.)
They had all collectively agreed it would be for the best if they kept themselves as separated from the magical world as possible until it was time for Harry and Hermione to enter it. Harold had briefly tried to investigate into other schools but ultimately decided against it upon realizing Hogwarts was universally considered one of the best schools around, and knowing Harry's birth parents had gone made it hard to deny Harry the same opportunity.
There had been no real argument between the two adults of the household, as much as they wanted their children to learn as much as possible, they wouldn't deny their magical nature just because.
They needed to learn and they'd likely have far more opportunities in later life if they could utilize their special talents. It was with this in mind the parents had made the ground rules incredibly clear to their children.
They were not letting their children go uneducated, so they wanted the absolute best performances both could possibly give before they'd send them to Hogwarts.
Hermione had of course taken to this without hesitation and seemed eager to prove herself but Harry had been more hesitant. It had taken a while for them to understand that Harry had been conditioned to be scared of ever getting a higher grade than the other children since he'd be punished for it.
It was with that in mind the two elder Grangers had vowed to teach him it was okay to be smart and remove the conditioning from him, being more patient as they understood it would take time.
And before any of them knew it, the years began to fly by.
Their first Christmas as a family had been amazing. It had just been the four of them, Harold's parents had long since passed away and Joan had no interest in interacting with her estranged mother so it had been a quiet and close affair but they had all loved it.
Harry had ended up crying seeing just one present for him, never mind the fact he'd got fifteen of them, equal to Hermione, who mainly got books. He had books as well, one particularly funny one that both kids had got being magic kits that made them all giggle. Both children shied away from the wands just to be safe, however.
Harry had also gotten a remote control car, a whole wardrobe of new clothes that actually fit him, a football, and more.
He'd even gotten a gift from Hermione—which Harry wouldn't realize for quite a while probably meant their mother bought and tagged it as Hermione's. Amusingly enough it was a tabletop game that used magnets on an armband and little metal balls to fake telekinesis. Harry thought it was hilarious.
He'd also been given a beginner's guide to Latin from his mother, who had mentioned she had seen him reading the Latin book in Hermione's room more than once despite not being able to understand it fully. It was honestly Harry's favourite present of the bunch.
He didn't use the present from his sister as much as his real telekinesis though, knowing his parents would be able to tell the difference. He felt somewhat bad hiding it but he wanted to learn his magic as much as possible now he knew he could do it.
Hogwarts would be in for one hell of an inquisitive student one day.
And he wasn't the only one. While Hermione of course couldn't perform magic yet and had no textbooks, she had dived into the Latin books. When questioned, she'd explained she'd recognized the Evaporo word from the book and figured she could get a head-start on her magic education if she learnt more of the language, which of course also prompted Harry even further into learning Latin himself.
Harold just shook his head fondly and muttered something about it being very Hermione-like to pick up a detail like that when someone was declaring themselves a wizard to you for the first time.
The year following that was mostly quiet as Harry had adjusted to his family and even with time it became apparent. Harry was neither a mummy's boy nor a daddy's boy. No, it was plain to anyone who saw them for more than five minutes that Harry clearly valued his sister most in the family. That wasn't to say he didn't value his other family members, but he put his stock in Hermione's opinion first and seemed to always be trying to make her happy.
Even if he had to risk upsetting his parents to do so, and that spoke a lot to just how loyal he was to his sister. Though Hermione being upset was actually something of a rarity, the incident on Harry's first day proving to be an exception and not the rule.
On the occasions when it did happen though—when Hermione had a test and got too worked up about her answers or someone bullied her too much at school, or even very occasionally when Hermione misjudged the steps and tripped, smashing right into the wall—Harry would sneak into the kitchen, use his telekinesis to open the sweets drawer and steal a small haul. Just a small enough amount their parents wouldn't notice. He'd hide them in his pockets and sneak back to his sister, sharing the load with her.
This always did its part to cheer the girl up and so Harry could never feel guilty for it, though it wasn't always given much gratitude at first. For all the good things Harry thought of Hermione, one thing her parents had instilled in her perhaps a little too well was rule-following.
She refused to break a single rule, no matter what rule it was. The first few times Harry had snuck her the candy, while he knew it cheered her up, it was usually also something he'd get lectured for.
("Harry! Mum and dad said no sweets! You'll be in serious trouble."
"But it cheers you up…"
"Yes but… if you do it again, I'll tell! I mean it!")
They had variations of that argument over and over for quite a while, and it rather displayed the difference between the two of them in how they thought. Harry had been there for the first PTA meeting since he had become a part of the Granger family and had heard from their teacher the supposed difference between them.
("You see, I think your daughter is what we'd call a vertical thinker. Oh, there's no doubting she's brilliant, top of the class for sure, but she is a very in-the-box thinker. She always does things to the letter, as she's instructed. She refuses to use any way than the ones she's actively taught. It is good of course that she can do so, but it does mean she sometimes stumps herself on problem-solving if there is not an immediate solution that is normal. Think of it like this, were Hermione surviving in the woods, and she needed to make a fire to cook her food, she would look for matches on her person, or a lighter, then go to sticks for starting a fire. Your usual immediate thoughts."
"Right, so that's a good thing?" Harold had asked at the time, nodding along.
"Oh, it's certainly not a bad thing. It just speaks to how she personally solves problems. Your son meanwhile is the opposite, what we'd call a lateral thinker, someone who can think outside the box. He often has to be corrected for using methods that are no longer in practice but it cannot be denied they are working methods that work for him. To go back to the fire example, if it were Harry, he might try the in-the-box solutions first if they were available to him but he would also be quick to start a fire merely by grabbing a stick and using the sole of his shoe for a base to get the fire going, despite it not being a known normal method nor taught. He can find out of the box solutions easier.")
Hermione was rigid in her rule-following, it was like she needed hard fast rules to survive sometimes. Harry however didn't mind breaking the rules, not if he thought it was for a good cause, like making his sister happy.
It was later into the year when this finally shifted. Harry had been the one to have a breakdown when Halloween had rolled around. He wasn't sure why but he'd just…. Understood his loss better now. Understood what he never had with his birth parents.
It had hit him hard a few days later and he'd cried for quite a while, yet… he'd never gotten any candy sneaked out from Hermione. She'd seen him fall asleep crying and he'd woken up to being comforted by their mother.
It wasn't until a week later, when Harry had been studying a maths textbook that Hermione had suddenly come in and dumped a few sweets in front of him, before suddenly tackling him into a hug.
("H-Hermione?!"
"Oh Harry! I'm so sorry I never got you them before! I thought it would be horrible to break the rules but… but you always do it for me and- And… Oh, I felt so guilty!"
"Hey, it's o-okay-"
"No, it isn't! Oh, I'm sorry! I swear I'll bring you as much as possible next time!")
Harry thought she was somewhat overdramatic but he noticed a definite change in Hermione after that. The guilt over seeing her brother cry must have really gotten to her, as she seemed to start to relax on her stance on rules a bit from that point on.
Oh, that wasn't to say she didn't still prefer to follow the rules when possible, but she began to relax about breaking them, and though Harry wouldn't find out for months, until the next PTA meeting, he did discover when it finally rolled around that it had even helped Hermione's grade in class even more as she learnt to be less rigid in her methods.
Speaking of grades, just as their parents had wanted, the two siblings consistently achieved high grades in class, in every class. For Hermione, it sometimes seemed like this was all natural to her.
For Harry though, it was a nightmare. He was hardly good at mathematics, he struggled with most of P.E. aside from running laps, and he was about as good at Geography as he was at keeping his hair neat. That was to say, not at all. His mother had taken him for ten haircuts in a month before she'd cottoned on that there was likely some magical reason why Harry's hair always forced itself back into its messy state.
But though he disliked Geography and struggled with the rest, he'd be damned if he got a low grade on them. He wanted to prove he was worth keeping to his parents, he wanted to go to Hogwarts one day and he wanted his sister to be proud of him, so even when he hated them he hunkered down In his room and he went to work.
And even in his worst subjects, he never went beneath a ninety percent in his grades.
As for in the playground, while Harry tried his best to keep out of trouble, not wanting to upset his parents, there was one thing that would always get him riled up and willing to fight.
And that was anyone who insulted his sister.
("Say that again." Harry hissed dangerously, glaring at the older boy who had been picking on Hermione for knowing more than him.
"I called her a know-it-all weirdo! What are you going to do about it, short stuff?" The unpleasant bully had insulted. Harry had winced a bit as he was reminded of Dudley but stood his ground.
"Make you stop." He said simply, and like clockwork ducked under a punch that came his way. Harry thought people would learn by now not to fight him where his sister was involved. He always won, even if he had to play dirty to do so.
And play dirty he did, having learnt a new trick over time with his telekinesis and poking both of the bully's eyes at once, before grabbing Hermione and pulling her away as he made the bully fall on his face.
"Harry!" Hermione hissed, but her smile betrayed her gratefulness. "You're not supposed to do that…"
"Yeah, but I couldn't just leave you."
"Honestly. I'm your older sister, not the other way around…"
"But I'll always protect you," Harry said determinedly, with a smile. Hermione just rolled her eyes.)
Harry's temperament when not dealing with those antagonizing his family, however, was much calmer. In fact, of all the Grangers, Harry was usually considered the most patient of the lot of them.
Joan was the fiercest, quick to rash action when she was angered and with the right subjects, anger was only a few words away. Harold on the other hand was calmer, but could still be very well aggravated when he was worried.
Hermione was mellow for the most part, except when something threatened her ability to learn and study. Then she became a tornado of fury until whatever obstructed her ability to learn cleared away.
Harry always found it funny really, so long as he wasn't on the receiving end of it. Fortunately, he rarely was. He wasn't sure but sometimes it felt as though they tried extra hard to not turn their tempers on him.
In fact, the only time in his memory he could truly remember his parents being angry at him had been when he'd snuck out of school. To this day, however, he maintained he'd had good reason to.
(It was lunchtime and all the children were out in the playground once more, playing happily. Hermione was reading a simplified Charles Dickens novel with her brother when they'd heard the sound of a crash.
Both had looked up before gasping in horror as they'd seen an elderly woman lying down in the street, a car stopped in front of her.
Harry had shot to his feet immediately rushing for the gate.
"Harry, wait! We're not allowed outside!"
"Yeah but she needs help!" Harry has said, not even really thinking. All he saw was someone who needed help, and the right thing to do was offer it, right?
And without a second thought, he'd subtly forced the gate open, rushing out into the street, and found himself helping the older woman onto the safety of the pavement as someone called an ambulance.
While it had ultimately turned out fine, and he'd been commended for helping the old woman, he'd also got three separate chewing outs. One from the teacher overseeing the playground, one from his own teacher when he'd been brought in and one from his mother, getting him in trouble for breaking the rules and running into traffic, putting himself at potential risk of being run down even if it was for a noble reason.
His father at least had spared him, giving him more a tired lecture about being more careful and had been the calm one to handle his punishment which had fortunately been fair with the boy's motive kept in mind.
Two weeks without being able to use his telekinesis without being actively told to had sucked but he'd agreed to it.)
His telekinesis in general had become more a part of him than ever by the time Harry and Hermione had reached ten years of age. He had learnt more ways to utilize it and while it wasn't perfect, he could use it on people to a degree. It still very much drained him but now he could pick up Hermione at least for a good five minutes before it became overwhelming.
Harry was beyond ecstatic with this, delighted to be making progress. Between learning how to do little movements like the poking move and learning how to manipulate people, even if it was super hard, Harry was proving to become quite adept with his natural abilities.
And yet, a part of him craved the chance to go further. He wasn't sure if it was even possible but he couldn't wait until he got to Hogwarts. He wanted to do more. Could he perform more magic like this? Or was he only naturally gifted with telekinesis and nothing else?
He could be seen trying to find something, anything new every day in the days leading up to his eleventh birthday though he never seemed to discover anything.
"What do you think's going to happen?" Hermione asked with a giggle when she'd caught him about a week before his birthday, throwing his hand forward in the garden with intense focus.
"I don't know… I was kinda hoping flames would shoot out or something." He retorted as his cheeks turned pink. Hermione raised a brow and looked unimpressed.
"In our very lush and flammable garden?" She asked, speaking slowly as if talking to a two-year-old. The pink in Harry's cheeks turned to red. She just tutted and shook her head. "Honestly, for someone so smart you can be so thick sometimes."
"Oi! You're not always better!" He pouted. "After all, it wasn't me who was the genius that left a teddy bear pressed right up against a lamp for two whole hours."
"That was an accident and you know it!" His sibling quickly defended herself with a glare. "I'm still the one with less incidents than you. And do you know why?"
Harry rolled his eyes with a smirk. "Why?"
"Because I'm the smarter older sister."
"And I'm the likeable younger brother." Harry shot back. Smirk widening as he knew exactly how to mess with his sister by now.
"Exactly- HEY!" Hermione glared at him fiercely as Harry chuckles. "Jerk."
Harry just waved his hand and made the girl's bushy hair fall over her face in response, making her squeal before she parted it and glared.
"Mom! Harry's using his powers to tease me again!"
"Hermione was rubbing her smarts in my face!"
"Behave, children," Joan called from the kitchen, shaking her head fondly. Before she could say anymore though there was a loud clap that resounded through the house. She heard the footsteps of her husband and then…
"Honey! Get the kids, please!"
Joan for a moment felt worried, but then she remembered the wards on the house and a sensible part of her mind reminded her the house was warded. Then she remembered what year it was and her eyes went wide.
"Harry! Hermione! Get inside!"
It only took a moment for the two to come in, looking curious. They rarely got told when to come inside anymore by their parents, who trusted them to be sensible, so they knew something had to be happening.
Both kids and their mother stepped out into the living room and came face to face with their father leading an elderly woman in emerald green robes into the living area. She had a stern face and exuded authority from her mere presence.
"Ah, here they are. Kids, this is Professor McGonagall. Professor, these are our children, Hermione and Harry," Harold said and both children nodded their heads as a sign of respect. The old witch returned it.
"A pleasure," She said, before smiling. It was odd, she didn't look the sort to smile usually. That wasn't to say it did not suit her though. "As your father has said, I am Professor Minerva McGonagall, transfiguration professor at Hogwarts and Deputy Headmistress."
The two sibling's eyes lit up.
"Does that mean you're here with our acceptance letters, ma'am?" Hermione asked excitedly. The older witch nodded.
"Indeed." She said, pulling out the letters and holding them out to each of them. Both read mostly the same with minor differences.
Mr. H. Potter/Ms. H. Granger
The Bedroom At The Top Of The Stairs (Left/Right)
8 Heathgate
Hampstead Garden Suburb
LONDON
Both children grinned excitedly.
"Normally, it would be either Professor Sprout or Professor Flitwick I'd send out to handle these house calls as I have a lot of duties as deputy head." Minerva began, pulling out her wand and tapping both letters causing them to magically open on their own. "But given the circumstances, I had thought it best to come collect you myself. I will be guiding you all through the process of collecting your items for your first year, so you know what to do in the following years. We will be going to a place called Diagon Alley to pick up your supplies."
The old witch turned and pulled out two bangles, handing them to the adults who put them on.
"They're charmed to allow muggles to witness magically hidden locations. You may keep them, and do keep them safe." She instructed firmly. "Now, we will be traveling to Diagon Alley via Portkey. That is a magical form of transportation that allows a witch or wizard to turn an item into a method of transport, traveling to wherever they need to go within the country."
She held out a long stick, sighing at the confused looks if got her.
"Please, everyone grab on. I understand it may be odd for you but this was the largest object I could find on short notice. I thought it would be best If we do not go in via the usual entrance, so as to spare you the… eccentric types who may recognize Mister Potter."
Harry winced as the adults sighed. They only just realized this meant it was close to the time where they would not be able to put the fact their son was famous aside anymore.
"Please, it is timed so grab on."
And they all did so before a swirling sensation suddenly overtook them. A moment later, they all found themselves on the floor, groaning, only the old witch was still standing.
"It takes some getting used to, portkey travel." She stated simply, walking up the brick wall ahead of them once she had helped everyone to their feet. "Children, observe carefully. Spot the rubbish bin, you then count three up, and two across. Then, with your wands, or for the adults with your fingers when you're wearing the bangles, tap this brick."
And she tapped said brick with her own wand, causing it to sink in before suddenly the whole wall parted and rolled up on either side, revealing the first magical place the family would ever lay eyes on.
A long winding street, crooked houses held up by magic, noticeable vendors outside with so many bustling along and owls swooping through the air, letters in hand.
Their escort turned to observe their reaction, satisfied to see they were suitably awestruck.
"Welcome, Mister Potter, Miss Granger, to Diagon Alley."