Wizards In Winter
A/N: Title is taken from the music by the Trans Siberian Orchestra.
Genera: Romance/Drama Ships: Harry/Hermione Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the characters, settings and the bits of dialogue that is recognizable
Chapter 6: Meeting Her Parents
As the Easter holidays approached, Harry became increasingly nervous. Sure, he trusted Hermione when she assured him that her parents would love him, but Hermione was the only one that had loved him, so he was a bit skeptical. Of course, Sirius had loved him and certainly his parents had loved him, but only Hermione had that special kind of love that a young man needed more than life itself. He knew she would put him above all else; she'd proved that time and again. He would do the same for her without hesitation. Still, he worried. What kind of reception would he get when he stayed there? Would her father have second thoughts about welcoming a strange boy into his household, knowing that he loved his daughter? He was prepared to bolt at the least sign that he was not welcome. But Hermione wouldn't stand for that. She'd as much as said so, telling him that where he went, she would go as well.
Finally, Hermione took matters into her own hands, after reassuring him for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Harry, stop! They. Will. Love. You! I know my parents, they are the most loving people I can think of. Even the Weasleys don't compare. Come on, we need some alone time together. We leave tomorrow on the Hogwarts Express and I need my boyfriend in a proper state of mind."
Harry followed her outside to their favourite tree by the lake, but she kept walking. Wondering where they were going, he followed her until the trail wound around and up a secluded copse of woods. Steadily rising, the trail led to a lookout that Harry had never seen before. Hogwarts lay in majestic splendour below them. They had risen almost four-hundred feet by his reckoning and he could spot students like ants, far below. The view was breathtaking.
"When did you discover this?" he asked in wonderment. "It's beautiful." The lookout flattened onto a steep meadow with wildflowers and soft grass set amid the rough boulders of the mountain. Trees surrounded three sides, leaving the lookout open.
"I found this last year when I needed time to myself after a particularly nasty day with Umbridge. I should have brought you with me, it's really peaceful up here."
It wasn't quiet, as there were birds in the trees and soft rustlings of animal life just out of sight. Harry wondered if there were magical animals about and was startled by whistling. It seems that someone else knew of this place.
"Hello Luna," Hermione greeted, when the quirky Ravenclaw strode into view. "I didn't expect to see anyone else up here."
"Hello Hermione, Harry, isn't it nice up here? I often come up here to get away from... never mind," she trailed off.
"Luna," Harry coaxed. "Get away from what? You can tell us, we're friends."
Luna sputtered incoherently for a moment before sighing in defeat. "It's nothing, Harry. I keep losing things. They eventually turn up, but it's annoying. My dorm mates think it's funny, but even after I took my revenge, things still go missing. I suspect Marietta Edgecombe, but I can't prove it. She's a bit vindictive, after Professor Flitwick grounded her. She's best friends with Cho Chang and I suspect she wasn't happy losing her Prefect Badge. So either of them are my prime suspects. Don't worry about it, Harry. I'll figure out a suitable retribution. Their bodies will never be found," she joked, laughing merrily.
"Luna! Don't joke about things like that!" Hermione admonished.
"Oh poo, you're no fun. Anyway, what are you two doing up here? Private snogging? More intimate 'discussions'?"
Hermione and Harry blushed bright red at that suggestion. "LUNA!" they both said in unison."
"Oh, was I closer to the truth than I thought? You know, you both have a bright gold aura around you when you're together. I can tell you've bonded and I suspect Hermione is ready to take it to the next level. Snogging will only take you so far, you know. A bond needs much more."
Both teens were beyond scarlet now. The blushes had reached far down their necks and threatened to become a full body blush.
Stuttering, Hermione started to deny that they had any intention of going beyond kissing, but then caught herself up. Luna was correct, she decided. She had decided to bed Harry at the first opportunity. This of course increased her blush even more. She was almost glowing and Luna spotted it instantly.
"You know, Hermione, your aura is almost too bright to look at. I suggest you get Harry alone... mmff."
She didn't finish as Hermione had clamped a hand over her mouth. "Luna Lovegood! Enough. You're a terrible influence on us. You'd have us rutting like animals right here if you had your way."
"Now there's a naughty idea," she replied. "Of course I couldn't watch that, much as I'd like to," she teased, not embarrassed one whit. She continued on a much more sober note. "I see your Grimoire has protected Harry well. My own wouldn't have done half as well."
Startled, Hermione replied. "Y-you know? How is that possible?"
"Hermione, all witches and wizards descended from a true line have a family Grimoire. Harry has one, Neville has one and the Weasleys have one. I know about the Paquette line. My daddy has researched it quite thoroughly, along with Harry's and Neville's. All three of you can trace your magical ancestors back many generations. Malfoy, not so much. Harry's is the oldest line, followed by Neville, then you and then me. Dumbledore, despite being a very powerful wizard is way down the list. Even the Greengrass family is older. Susan Bones ranks close behind me with the Weasley family somewhere in the middle. It's all well documented, but the lesser families like the Malfoys like to keep it quiet. By the way, Harry, did you know you're related to Sirius Black?"
Harry, quiet until now, nodded. "Yes, Sirius told me before he... died. I didn't know about the rest though, and I don't know the details."
"Has his will been read?" she asked.
"I don't know, I suppose so since Dumbledore told me that I now own his house. Disgusting place really, I wouldn't live there under any circumstances. I don't really know what he left me since I spent all my summer at my relatives and nobody told me there was a will reading."
"Well, your magical guardian should know. I assume that would be Professor Dumbledore, since your parents are dead. You don't have any magical relatives, do you? No, of course not, Daddy would have known." Luna replied.
Harry came to the conclusion that Luna was a lot smarter than he gave her credit. Of course, she was annoyingly truthful as well. He had been thinking of some of the things Luna mentioned... naughty things involving Hermione and the location they were presently at, until Luna showed up, that is. By the looks and glares Hermione had given Luna, he suspected she had the same ideas. He filed that for future reference.
"I'll just leave you two to your machinations then," Luna said brightly. "But we must talk and sooner rather than later. 'Bye."
Luna waved and proceeded farther up the trail, disappearing in the dark trees. She had resumed her whistling, a somewhat off-key tune that Harry had heard somewhere before. He suspected it was called Wizards in Winter and was an instrumental, but he couldn't be sure since she whistled it off-key.
The mood ruined, Harry and Hermione lingered awhile before starting back. They promised themselves they'd return, for it was a truly magical place.
Somehow they got through the rest of the day and packed lightly for the holidays. The next morning, Harry was a wreck. He hadn't slept at all and couldn't eat breakfast. Hermione's urging was met with "I'm not hungry" as a response.
"You have to eat, Harry. There are only sugary snacks on the train."
But harry resisted, even when she tried to spoon feed him a bit of oatmeal. "Not hungry, Hermione. I'll only chuck it if I eat."
Hermione gave in and secreted a couple of sandwiches that Harry favoured into her robes, meaning to pack them for ready use when he finally got hungry on the train.
They finally boarded the train for the long run down the spine of Great Britain. London was hours away as they settled in to a compartment. The train was half empty, as students in their OWL year and NEWT year opted to stay at Hogwarts and study. So it was with some surprise that Luna showed up and asked if she could join them.
"Luna," Hermione greeted. "I thought you'd stay at Hogwarts to study for your OWL's."
"Oh, I've already studied and I'm confident I'll breeze through the exams. Do you mind if I join you?"
"Not at all, we were just getting settled," Harry replied, inviting her in.
"So, Harry, did you enjoy your 'alone time' with Hermione yesterday? I'm sorry I teased you, you two are so easy to tease."
Hermione huffed in annoyance, but allowed that Luna was pretty smart to have figured out their relationship.
"It's all right, Luna. We had a wonderful time in spite of it all. The view is spectacular from that lookout. You surprised me that you knew about all the old families. No one ever bothered to tell me that before."
Hermione agreed. "I didn't know that either. I'd like to keep my family name quiet, if you don't mind, Luna. Most think I'm a Muggle born witch, which is how I'd like to keep it. If they found out that I'm related to the Paquette line, I might not like the attention it garners. Even Dumbledore doesn't suspect, and I definitely don't want him to find out. He's controlling enough as it is and I shudder to think what he'd do with that bit of information. He'd know I have my grandmother's Grimoire, and he absolutely can't know about that. So, the Potter Grimoire, how does Harry get his hands on that?"
Luna turned thoughtful for a moment. "He probably can't unless his magical guardian releases it to him or he comes of age. I don't think Dumbledore would want Harry to be in possession of that. The Potters are a very old family and the Grimoire is sure to be packed with old and forgotten spells and information. It's basically a history of the family and can only be read by a head of family. Well, Harry is head of the Potter family, but wizarding law prevents him from claiming his rightful place as head until he reaches seventeen or graduates, whichever comes first. Of course if he marries, then he can also claim head of house."
Luna was proving to be a treasure house of wizarding information, and Harry and Hermione were most appreciative. As the discussions continued, the train rapidly rolled south on its journey to King's Cross station in London. Eventually, a loud growl could be heard from the direction of Harry's stomach. Luna giggled, but Hermione reached in her bag and produced two sandwiches for the blushing boy.
"I knew you'd eventually get hungry, Harry. Fortunately, I came prepared. Here," she thrust the sandwiches at him. Your favourite; Hippogriff and Ferret on Rye!"
Eyes wide open in shock, he almost missed the smirk from his girlfriend. "You're kidding, right?"
"Yeah, I made you a couple of ham and cheddar's on pumpernickel."
"All right! I guess I am hungry, thanks Love."
The rest of the trip passed quietly, with Hermione cuddling into Harry and Luna happily reading her father's Quibbler and doing the puzzles inside.
Soon, the late afternoon sun reminded them that they were close to their destination. It had been a quiet ride with nobody bothering them and as they departed the train, they bid Luna farewell and promised to keep in touch.
The crowd at King's Cross Station swirled around arriving and departing passengers as the teens exited platform 9 3/4. Hermione finally spotted her parents and dragging Harry behind her, finally let go of his hand and ran to her mother. Wendell looked on bemused, as Harry was momentarily forgotten by his daughter. Monica and Hermione were totally absorbed in a quiet but furious discussion and Wendell smiled at the scene. 'How typical' he thought. 'Like mother, like daughter. Two sides of a coin.' Moving closer to Harry, who seemed lost in the scene, he extended his hand in greeting.
"Hello Harry, I'm Wendell Granger. I see the two women in my life have forgotten about you." His smile was warm and welcoming and the knot in Harry's stomach eased a bit.
"Hello sir, I'm happy to meet you. Hermione's told me a great deal about you and her mother."
"Yes, I'm sure. Let's break up the conference those two seem to be engaged in. I'll wager they've all but forgotten you."
Walking up to the pair, Wendell wrapped his arms around his daughter in a typical Hermione hug.
Harry now knew where she got that particular trait from.
"Daddy, she squealed. It's so good to see you! Oh my God, Harry! I'm sorry Love, I see you've already met my father. Mum, this is Harry Potter, my bonded."
Monica Granger was a soft-curled older version of her daughter. Harry could see most of her mother's features in Hermione, except the eyes. Monica Granger's eyes were a startling blue. He glanced at Wendell and saw Hermione's eyes. Having figured out her parents, he was unprepared for the patented Granger hug he received from Mrs. Granger.
"Welcome, Harry. I feel that we've known you for years." She seemed to reluctantly release him from her hug and stood back, examining him closely.
"No, no, that won't do! Hermione, we need to take him shopping, as soon as possible. It's too late tonight but first thing tomorrow. Harry, Hermione told us that your relatives treated you badly, but I'm frankly shocked that they allowed you out of the house in those clothes. You must have something better."
Both Harry and Hermione blushed in embarrassment at that. "MUM! Those are his best clothes!"
Indeed, Harry had chosen carefully what little half decent clothes he had. True, they were frayed and worse, but at least they mostly fit. Hermione had used a resizing charm to fix the most obvious problems of fit, but she could only do so much.
"I'm terribly sorry, Harry, that was very rude of me. We'll get you looking like the proper gentleman I'm sure you are," she said warmly.
"Come ladies, Harry, let's go home," Wendell commanded. "We can catch up on the way."
Harry had been ready to bolt when Mrs. Granger criticized his clothes, but the strong grip of Hermione's hand in his prevented that. Now that the introductions were over, he realised where Hermione got her bossiness. The Granger women were 'take charge' women. Harry followed to a very nice BMW 7 series automobile parked in a lot close by. The Grange's apparently had money as would befit dentists. Settling in the rear of the roomy sedan with Hermione, Wendell quickly and expertly guided the auto through the maze of London streets and headed north on the A1 to Broom, about forty-five miles to the north in Bedfordshire.
The conversation was light and comfortable, with Hermione relating their adventures so far, but avoiding direct mention of the invasion of the school by Death Eaters, instead concentrating on the effect the deep snow of winter had on classes.
"It was very different Mum," she told Monica. "We couldn't even leave the castle and had to use warming charms on our clothes to keep from freezing. Food was no problem, since the House Elves could obtain it easily enough, but the owls suffered a bit. Only Hedwig seemed to thrive."
"I see you left your owl at school, Harry," Wendell mentioned. Crookshanks was curled up happily on Hermione's lap.
"Yeah, Hedwig prefers to fly rather to be cooped up in a cage. She'll come tomorrow."
"She can find you?" Monica queried.
"Oh yes, she's a very smart bird. We have a familiar bond that ties her to my location. I think Hermione has one with Crookshanks as well." he replied.
Broom was a very small town, almost a suburb of Biggleswade where the Granger dental practice resided. Harry appreciated the smallness of the town, although in the dark, he couldn't see much.
The Granger residence was a very nice two story stone clad building on High Street. Wendell related that Broom was a farming community and had attracted them for the quietness and serenity of the small town.
Entering the home, Hermione directed him to the first floor bedrooms.
"You'll have this one, right next to mine, Harry. Mum and Dad's is at the back on the ground floor, so we'll have loads of privacy. The loo is through this door," and she opened a spacious bathroom that was larger than the Dursley's. Harry was impressed. The bedroom was twice as large as his aunt's and gigantic compared to his smallest bedroom at number 4 Privet Drive. His relatives would be envious. "There's a bookcase that may have enough room left for your books, Harry. Unfortunately, I've utilized most of it for the overflow from my room. What did you bring with you?"
"Well, the usual, Transfiguration, Charms, Defence, Herbology and Potions. I left Hagrid's Creatures and Astronomy. What did you bring?"
"Well, all of them, of course. After all end of year exams are approaching. I've started to set up a study schedule for us."
"Woah, Hermione. We'll take care of homework here but I don't want to spend the whole time studying."
Hermione frowned at that. "But Harry..."
That was as far as she got as Harry pulled her into his arms and kissed her thoroughly. They were interrupted by an "Ahem!" that caused them to break apart.
"Mum. Err, I was just showing Harry his room," she squeaked.
Monica smiled. "I'm sure you were dear, it's late, I think you two should say goodnight and retire for the evening. And no sneaking into each other's room during the night," she admonished.
Hermione blushed lightly and murmured, "Yes Mum. Goodnight, Harry."
Left alone, he prepared for bed, noticing the luxurious bed and furnishings. Warm colours permeated the room, soft browns and deep walnut accents for the walls, Warm oak furnishings for the bed, nightstand and desk, and a deep cherry for the bookcase. The bed clothes were soft gold with creamy white floral designs. Changing into his sleepwear, he slipped between the silky sheets, luxuriating in the feel of the cool sheets on his skin. Harry usually only wore bottoms and sometimes not even that, but for proprieties sake, he wore tops and bottoms tonight. He was soon asleep.
During the night, he had vivid dreams, but found he couldn't remember any of them in the morning.
Hermione was first up in the morning and bounced into Harry's room, pulling the covers back and shaking him awake. "Up!, Get up, sleepyhead!" she commanded. "The day is waiting and we have a lot to do today."
"Mmff, wazzat?" he moaned, trying to pull the covers back. It was warm and comfortable and he didn't want to leave the bed just yet.
Hermione would have none of it and started tickling him.
"Hermione! (haha) Stop," he begged between squirming, trying to get away from her.
Hermione relented briefly to allow him to get up. Seeing him sink into the covers again, she renewed her attack.
"No, Hermione, please, I'll get up," he gasped between bouts of laughter.
Hermione eyed him suspiciously and finally resorted to dragging all the bed clothes off the bed.
Grudgingly, Harry got up and headed for the loo.
"I'll expect you downstairs in fifteen minutes Potter," she intoned, wanting very much to join him in a shower.
Harry had just finished dressing for the day and wandered downstairs. Monica was already putting the finishing touches on what promised to be an excellent breakfast, if the delicious smells were any indication. "Mmm, smells good," he remarked.
"Thank you Harry," Monica replied. "I'm cooking one of my mother's famous French recipes: Crepes with Salted Butter Caramel and Honeyed Fruit Salad. I squeezed some fresh orange juice and there's fresh coffee. There are some fresh rolls as well."
Harry came up behind Hermione and held the chair for her as she sat down. Monica noted the sweet gesture and Harry's stock just went up a notch. "May I help, Mrs. Granger? I've cooked since I was quite young and it's one of the things I enjoy."
"Harry, I'll insist that you call me Mum or Monica, Wendell isn't up yet, but I'll bet he feels the same. Dad or Wendell will be fine with us. No, I've pretty much everything under control, sit down and enjoy."
Wendell made his appearance at that moment and after a quick buss on his wife's cheek, a kiss on his daughter's head and a smile at Harry, he sat down. "Good morning Harry, did you sleep well?"
"Wonderfully, sir, that is until Hermione bounced me out of bed."
Hermione snickered, trying to hide the grin at the image of Harry struggling to stay in bed. "Harry, it's already half seven, we have lots to do today. Daddy is going to take us shopping, aren't you?" she spoke with authority.
Wendell sighed, the sigh of the long suffering. "Shopping, honestly Hermione, it's torture. Harry, you'll soon realise that shopping is a distinctly female brand of torture inflicted on the male of the species. Get used to it."
Both Hermione and Monica huffed at that. "Wendell," Monica warned. "Harry needs a complete outfit. We'd planned a nice dinner out this evening and I think he would want to look his best. Now Biggleswade has clothes, but I think a quick trip into London by train is in order. We'll leave the car at the station."
Agreement was reached and after a delicious breakfast, they drove into Biggleswade, parking at the car park.
"There's a down train at 10:19," Wendell informed them. "Should be plenty of time for shopping."
As they waited, Harry glanced around the busy station. There were crowds waiting for various trains and he was a bit uncomfortable seeing so many people he didn't know. Hermione stayed close, holding his hand, lending comfort and a sense of safety. In fact, between Hermione and her parents, he was well screened from prying eyes.
"Here she comes," Wendell announced, as the train approached and braked to a stop.
The trip was short and uneventful, taking under an hour with intermediate stops. As they exited King's Cross, Harry wondered if any wizards would recognize him, but they made it into downtown without a hitch.
Eventually, Monica spotted the clothing store she had in mind. "Oliver Spencer has a store close by, as I remember; we'll try there first and if we don't find it suitable, well, Saville Row isn't too far."
That, apparently decided, they walked the few blocks and browsed the selection. Monica wasn't satisfied and off they went again. Seven stores later, Harry was exhausted but he now had several new outfits that fit him well. The longer they'd shopped, the happier Monica and Hermione were. Of course they hit a bookstore on the way back, but that seemed to be normal for the Granger women.
The bills were taken care of by Wendell, who insisted that no daughter of his would be seen with a scruffy boy. If he felt that he needed to repay them, they would insist that he continue to care and protect their daughter as fair payment.
Harry tried to argue to no avail. Even Hermione stuck with her parents on this. "Harry, you've been treated very badly by your relatives, it's the least we could do."
Giving it up as a lost cause, he followed them back to King's Cross and they caught a late up train back to Biggleswade and drove home. All in all, it was an exhausting day. They'd had a late supper in London, and did a bit of sightseeing. Harry had never really seen London before.
Falling asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, Harry dreamed again. He couldn't remember it the next morning, but it seemed familiar, as if he'd had the same dream over and over lately. Why couldn't he remember? He was sure it was important, but there was nary a hint.
He awoke to Hermione once again urging him to get up. He moaned, "Ten minutes, Hermione, please; just ten more minutes."
"No, Harry, we've got a full day ahead of us. Plus we have to make a start on our homework."
Growling in frustration and general tiredness, he grudgingly got up. 'The damn bed is so comfortable, why can't I just sleep a bit more?' he thought.
"Come on Mr. Grumpy Face, Mum has waffles this morning."
That got him moving. Monica's breakfast yesterday was to die for. After a quick shower and dressing in one of his new outfits, he entered the Granger dining room, only to find everyone out on the back patio.
"Good morning sleepyhead, we let you sleep in a bit this morning. Breakfast is ready and we'll do something we haven't done so far this year." Wendell greeted him. "Tell me, Harry, have you been horseback riding before?"
"Sort of," he replied and Hermione grinned as they remembered Buckbeak.
"Sort of? Care to explain that?" Monica questioned.
"Well, it wasn't a horse, per se, but it was close enough. I rode a Centaur once and Hermione and I rode a Hippogriff."
"A what?" Wendell exclaimed.
Hermione filled them in on their little adventures with magical creatures. "We saved Harry's godfather using a magical beast that is a cross between an eagle and a horse. I was terrified when we flew. Harry, of course, was in front and I hung on in fear of my life. We actually saved two lives that day, the Hippogriff and his godfather. Both would have been killed, and as it happened, Harry saved both of our lives at the same time. I'd rather not go into that though, it was very scary."
Wendell was intrigued. There was obviously more to the boy than Hermione had let on. "Well, anyway, we own a couple of horses that we ride to unwind and relax with. If you'd like, we can go riding."
"That sounds great, Mr... err, Wendell." Harry still hadn't gotten used to calling Hermione's parents by their first names. It was even more awkward to call them Mum and Dad.
When they finished breakfast and wandered back into the house, the telephone was ringing.
Monica answered and called Hermione. "There's a Luna Lovegood that's asking for you dear. Have we met her?"
"No Mum, Luna's a dear friend; a little strange at times, but very smart. Thanks Mum, I'll take it upstairs."
"Luna? How did you know how to find me?"
"Hermione, there is Directory Services, you know. I mean, how many dentists with the last name of Granger can there be?"
Hermione shuddered at that. If any Death Eaters found out about that, her parents wouldn't be safe. "I didn't even know you had a telephone, Luna. It's good to hear from you."
By this time, Harry had wandered upstairs and had quirked his head in question, wondering why Luna was calling.
"Hermione, you need to get Harry to Gringotts. The Daily Prophet has a story that says that if Sirius' heirs don't claim his estate, the Ministry will confiscate it."
Harry had been listening on an extension and was confused. "Hi Luna, it's Harry. What do you mean when you say Sirius' heirs? I'm not really related to him, he's just my godfather. He did mention it but didn't provide any details."
"No, Harry, you are related, Dorea Black married into the Potter family. You need to do an inheritance test at Gringotts, plus you have to see his will. Dumbledore should have made you aware of that. You did say you inherited a house, didn't you?"
"Yes, and an old House Elf, but I thought that was the extent. Luna, thank you for telling me. I would have never figured it out by myself."
"Luna," Hermione interrupted, just how hard was it to find me? Could Death Eaters find me?"
"Hermione, I'm afraid you are very exposed. Death Eaters don't need to know anything about telephones, all they have top do is bribe someone in the Ministry records department for your home address. The Ministry isn't as safe as it once was. Father keeps complaining about infiltrators, but they don't pay him any attention. I'd contract the Goblins and see if they'll put up wards. They're not cheap, but death is forever."
Both teens shuddered at that. Luna was right, Death Eaters would find it easy to take the Granger's lives.
Harry made up his mind. Since he had to go to Gringotts anyway, he'd see about protection for the Grangers.
"Luna," Hermione worried. "I-I... thanks, I need to think about that. Do you have a number where I can reach you?"
Luna recited a number that was evidently unlisted and rang off.
"Love, we have to go to Gringotts. Preferably today," Harry stated. I'll see if the Goblins will ward your parents home and at the same time, find out about this inheritance."
A/N: There is some controversy about Harry's relationship to Sirius Black, but I'll go with how I've written it for convenience.
...