The usual legal disclaimer: I own nothing. I'm just playing with other people's toys. Thank you all for reading, reviewing, the favorites, and the kudos.
Chapter 16 A Moment of Calm
The courtship period flew by as Hermione refined and tested her new approach. The deadline to submit her list snuck up on her. She played it off as a protest similar to the questionnaire, waiting until the last possible second. She used the same prank wax as the last time. Edith Duncan personally accepted Hermione's list. "The minister and I agree that I and my assistant, Morwen, will be handling the high profile results."
"That is very sensible of you." Hermione nodded. "I expect you will be very busy over the next several days."
Hermione flooed home from the ministry, only to be immediately turn around by Harry. He grasped her shoulders to spin her around. "Hello to you, too."
"Hello, head to St. Mungo's. Fleur's had the baby. She's ready for visitors."
Hermione threw in the powder and let the flames whisk her away. She waited for Harry in the reception area. Together they made their way to the Labor and Delivery floor. "This area's about to be popular."
"They might want to consider expanding," Harry remarked dryly.
"Think it will occur to them before the baby boom?"
"Doubt it."
"If only someone sensible felt inclined to suggest it."
"I don't. Do you?"
"Not even for a second. Sometimes I enjoy watching the chaos when the world burns."
"Overflowing maternity wards aren't quite end of the world events, Mione."
"Ah, Harry, wait until they are filled with screaming women and no place to put them. You might change your tune."
"Possibly. Bill said they are in room sixteen." He pointed down the hall.
Hermione knocked on the door before pushing it open slowly. Expecting noise from the exuberant family, the waiting silence concerned her. "Is something wrong? What happened?" Seeing the empty room, she asked, "Where is everyone?"
Fleur giggled, "Relax, m'amie. We asked you, and by extension, Harry, here before the others. We wanted to ask you something."
Bill took over, "Charlie and Gabby are Victorie's godparents. And we wanted to ask Freddie to be Dominique's," he gestured at the bundle of lilac blankets on Fleur's lap, "godfather, but he's going to need someone to help rein him in."
"Me?" she gasped.
"You." Bill nodded, "Hermione will you be Dominique Renee's godmother?"
"Of course." She moved closer to the bed. "Hello, sweetheart. May I?"
"Of course." Fleur handed her Dominique. The newborn regarded her godmother solemnly with crystal blue eyes. Tufts of strawberry blonde hair sported a tiny silver bow. "Aren't you the cutest thing?" Hermione cooed at the baby.
"Have you asked Fred yet?" Harry asked.
"Ask me what?" Fred and George entered the room carrying several bundles. "We come bearing flowers for beautiful mother, balloons for the lovely new one, and a stuffie for our niece so she doesn't feel left out."
"We considered a pony, but realized the time of retaliation presents is close at hand," George told them. He looked at his older brother, "You don't get anything, because Fleur did all the hard work."
"I assure you something was hard."
"Hush," Hermione scolded. "The baby is right here."
"Not understanding a word we are saying." George rolled his eyes.
"That is beside the point."
"Ask me what?" Fred repeating, cutting off the fight before it could begin.
"If you wanted to join Hermione as Dominique's godparent?" Bill smiled.
Fred bounced in place, "I would love to be a godmother!"
"Nope, that position is taken," Hermione told him. "You have to be godfather."
"No fair!" Fred protested.
"Too late, so sad. I already have a fridge magnet, mug, and t-shirt declaring me the World's Greatest Godmother."
"Those are from Teddy."
"Doesn't matter. I can't have them feeling they need to compete, they can both have the best." Fred pouted mulishly. "I can sweeten the deal by promising godparent outings will include theme parks once she's old enough."
"Deal," Fred cried, "Come to your god daddy, gorgeous." He took Dominique from Hermione. "I promise to make sure you have all the fun, while Auntie Mione helps you get the best grades."
The rest of the family trailed in. Victorie and Teddy looked more impressed with her new stuffed pony than her new sister. The adults each took turns holding and admiring the newest Weasley. Molly smiled fondly at her brood. "Soon enough we'll be here for all the rest of you."
Ron wrinkled his nose, "Let us get engaged first, Mum."
"Of course, sweetheart." She patted his shoulder, "But once the weddings are over..." she trailed off.
"The clock starts ticking," Hermione sighed. A random thought hit her and she began to giggle to herself. Once she got started he couldn't stop herself.
George eyed her, "And just what is so funny?"
"All of Hogwarts' worst trouble makers in the last 50 years will be sending their children to school around the other same time."
"Worst?" Remus looked at Tonks, "Or best?"
George looked at Fred with wide eyes, "A moment of silence for the Hogwarts staff."
"We should start working on our apologies now," Fred responded.
Humming cheerfully, Hermione made her way through the crowds in
Diagon Alley. Now that the dating period is over she felt like an enormous weight has been lifted off her chest. Which also made her feel guilty. She knew she was the first choice of her first choice, but a lot of people didn't have that luxury. And some were going to have to start this process all over again. She knew some people who had an idea, but that wasn't a guarantee. The Department of Marriage announced they would begin meeting with wizards as soon as they finished tabulating the results. They had not indicated in what order they intended to schedule the meetings.
Katie reported an increase in requests for consultations. Hermione asked Cassius to help her wade through them. "Refer anyone looking to lift curses to actual curse breakers. Don't waste our time any more than it already has been."
While they fended off last minute panic, Hermione completed the work on her experiments. She reviewed the results of all the tests. When the first three were similar she reminded herself not to get too excited. When the tenth was within the margin of error, she allowed herself to be hopeful. At fifteen near exact matches for results, Hermione ran to the floo at the Haven, bursting into the office. "We did it!" she cried, startling Katie and Cassius. She hugged both of them. "Fifteen out of fifteen, all test within an acceptable margin of error!" Cassius leapt to his feet scooping Hermione up in a bear hug and spun her around.
In their celebration they missed the chime of the shop door, so the sudden commentary surprised them. "Look, Nevena, happy English people. I wondered if they exist."
"Da, da, sad people under marriage yoke, I know."
"Sigurd! Nevena! You're here!" Hermione took a second to straighten her clothes before greeting her former masters. Both swiftly embraced the tiny witch.
"You promised exciting breakthrough, of course, we come," Sigurd assured her. "Boris heard where we were going and pouted for days."
Hermione blinked, "Please tell me you did not bring a reindeer with you."
"Of course not. He hates London." He told her matter-of-factly. Nevena rolled her eyes.
"Where are my manners? Cassius, Katie, this is Sigurd Holgersson, master of runes, and Nevena Mihov, mistress of rituals. Sigurd, Nevena, my research assistant, Cassius Warrington, and my office manager, Katie Bell."
Sigurd sprang forward to hug both of them, "Hello, hello, so please to meet you. Thank you for helping our Hermione."
Cassius chuckled, "It has been our pleasure."
Nevena greeted them more sedately, "Wonderful to meet wonderful people from Hermione's letters."
"Where are you staying?" Hermione asked, just realizing that detail might need to be dealt with.
"With Sigurd's great-grandchildren. They are nervous for their results." Nevena told her.
"You were celebrating when we came in." Sigurd pulled their attention back to the revelry.
"Our experiment achieved perfect results. Fifteen out of fifteen, meaning I can write this up while Cassius and Katie replicate it. And start designing a fertility ritual. Then reaching out to begin the real testing."
"So exciting, I cannot wait to see your research." Nevena grinned.
"Will be breaking ground," declared Sigurd. "But for now we shall go. We intent to sightsee."
Nevena rolled her eyes again, "I have no idea how he talked me into this." She hugged Hermione again. "Pray for me," she whispered into her protege's ear. "Alright, you oversized toddler, let's go see this giant eye you keep on about."
"One of my great-granddaughters went there on date. Sounds marvelous."
Hermione laughed, "It is fun. You be careful, remember you aren't twenty anymore."
"I am old enough to be any age I want." He smirked.
"Make sure you have plenty of muggle money." Hermione reminded Nevena.
"I followed your example and went to Gringott's to obtain one of those cards that work in both worlds. Wonderful for international travel."
"Isn't it?" After waving farewell to her mentors, Hermione turned back to Cassius and Katie. "I'm headed back to Grimmauld to type this up. Once I'm done, I want each of you to follow the instructions and replicate it." Katie looked pained. "I know you were hoping this would prevent the marriage law, Katie, but I'm sorry. We have to be sure. I can't risk my reputation for maybe."
"I understand, Hermione I really do."
"I thought you liked Ades?" Cassius sounded surprised.
"Sure, I do. But what if I'm not his first choice, and she selects him, too?"
"His exact words were, 'if I'm lucky she wants in as much as I do.'"
"I am so in." Katie grinned foolishly, then her face fell. "Until Edgecombe confounds him and has him picking someone else."
"Impossible," Hermione assured her. "Kingsley anticipated something like that already. None of the ministry workers know the results, or rather they can't remember them once they leave the office. And the rooms themselves have magic nullifying fields inside. This is unpopular enough without adding the malcontent tampering would generate."
"I suppose that's reassuring." Katie frowned.
"But that isn't our issue. So, you guys keep wading through misinformed requests, and I'll go write up our findings."
"Don't you love how on some level she hates taking all the credit?" Cassius asked Katie.
"You helped with the research, "Hermione protested.
"To support your ideas. This was all you, Hermione. Don't even think of offering to share credit," he mocked glared at her. "Don't even try and deny it. You were going to. You can mention us in the acknowledgments. Now, shoo, you have writing to do." He made shooing motions with his hands.
"Did you just shoo me?" she asked incredulously.
"Yes, you made keeping you on task part of my job. No more stalling, go write. Katie or I will bring you dinner. Any requests?"
"Um, shepherd pie, maybe?"
"Home styling cooking got it. Now scoot." Laughing at him, Hermione obeyed flooing home.
Hearing the floo, Harry poked his head out of the suite he was renovating. "Hermione? What are you doing home so early?"
"I prefer to use the computer to type up articles. We had success with the new technique. Now to publish and start working out the kinks for a fertility ritual." At his hopeful look, "No, this isn't enough to declare a solution. It means the method I want to build the solution on is sound."
"I know, I'm just nervous. My appointment is Monday afternoon. Everything feels surreal."
"I understand. We should go out Saturday and have mindless fun."
"I'll let Ron know to spread the word."
"Sounds like a plan."
Seated at the keyboard the words flowed through her fingers. The sun set in the autumn sky, when a tentative knock interrupted her. Cassius extended the plate through the door without entering like a white flag of truce. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Essay or article writing Hermione is not the singular focus hellion research Hermione is."
He entered the room, "So safe to enter?"
"Entirely. What's for dinner?"
"Hannah's shepherds pie from the Leaky."
"Yum." She held out her hands for the plate. "Thanks."
"No problem. How far did you get?"
"Nearly finished." He looked surprised. "Typing goes so much faster for me than writing it out by hand. I don't have to stop and check my spelling, I can do that when I'm finished." She took a few bites. "Watch." Her fingers flew over the keys taking mere seconds to to finish the remainder of the paragraph. "I'll be finished this evening easily." She took another bite, chewing and swallowing before continuing. "And really it is a short article, and not terribly complicated."
"That is true. Then you need to proofread?"
"I use this mouse here to click this button and it alerts me to misspellings and grammar issues. But I do have to check I used the right word, but I won't proofread until tomorrow morning. I know what I wanted to write. I'm likely to see what I meant. I have to distance myself from it for a bit. That's why I always finished my essays early, so I could proofread them properly."
"Makes perfect sense."
"Thank you," Hermione finished off the plate. "Do you know when your meeting at the Ministry is?"
"Thursday, why?"
"Just wondering, Harry mentioned when his was. We're going out Saturday, interested?"
"Always."
Hermione wandered downstairs, marveling at the renovations Harry had finished over the last five and half years. Gone were the gloomy hallways, cobweb-filled corners, and doxy nests. Amazing what new floors and a fresh coat of paint could do. Free from the toxicity of Walburga Black, and doing better mentally with constant social contact, Kreacher took pride in making the house shine again. Once foreboding and sad, the house felt inviting and happy. Knowing how petty and immature it seemed she still stopped to make faces at the silent Walburga. She wondered if the spells that prevented her removal also kept the woman from leaving her portrait since she had never done so.
When she asked him about it upon finding him in his portrait, Phinneas Nigellus Black let out a bark of laughter. "No one wants the odious toad in their portrait. As in life, she's a spoiled shrill shrew of a woman. I admit to my prejudices and admit you have provided amble evidence I was wrong, but that woman took things to an intolerable extreme. I sought out my son and apologized for disowning him, Had my great-great-grandson survived you would have made a fine addition to the family."
"I'm going to ignore the age difference and laundry list of reasons for no, and accept that for the compliment it was meant to be. Thank you, Phinneas."
"You are most welcome, Hermione. And all the portraits wish to thank you for silencing Walburga."
"I was happy to help."
"I believe Harry and Kreacher are in the kitchen if you were looking for them?"
"Thanks, again." Continuing her house tour, she took an indirect route to the busiest room in the house. Harry looked up from a furniture catalog. "Still redecorating?"
"We're both on the verge of serious life-altering commitments. I do not intend to ask my future bride to sleep in any bed that may or may not have had other witches in it engaging in those acts, even those acts weren't with me. And I intend to extend the same courtesy to Krum."
"But catalog shopping?" Hermione wrinkled her nose.
"I'm looking for ideas, the shops are closed at the moment."
"Fair enough, Mr. Sarcasm. I'm open tomorrow afternoon. Want to go crazy? We could go to Harrods and try to spend through a tiny portion of what Sirius left us."
"He'd approve of both the use of the money and the location it was spent."
"We'll have to be sure to let Walburga know where all the new furnishing came from." Hermione gave him an evil little grin.
Katie eyed the thin folder nervously. "But I don't have a ritual space. I live in a tiny flat."
"Which is perfect. Cassius will be using the circle we created for his family. You'll be using a corner of your bedroom. Not everyone needing this will be moneyed purebloods. And the technique isn't just for this particular ritual."
"I get it, stop being a fraidy-cat and just do it."
"Exactly. So, you guys go home and get started, then take the rest of the day off. Monday we'll go back to business as usual."
"Then you'll evaluate everything in three weeks?"
"That's the amount of time I used, so yeah."
Katie huffed, "I will never understand how you enjoy any of this. It seems so tedious."
Hermione shrugged, "And I never understood the appeal of flying on a stick of wood chasing after a ball, while other balls chased me, yet, here we are." Both girls laughed.
"Does that make me the odd man out, since I enjoy both?"
"Nah, just makes you weird," Katie told him. He pretended to be offended. "Lucky for you, we like weird."
Hermione pointed her wand to lock the doors and raise the 'Out of Office' sign when the Weasley twins rushed in. "We don't know," Fred said between pants.
"Why Malfoy wanted it," George finished, also breathing heavily.
"But he didn't bat an eye."
"At 500 galleons."
"For the memory of Saturday."
They grinned, "Drinks are on us tomorrow night!" they finished together.
George flashed Hermione a toothy grin, "And he said to let you know we weren't the only pranksters in town."
"We feel sort of insulted and challenged at the same time," Fred said leaning his arm on George's shoulder.
"Might declare it ferret hunting season."
"Oh Merlin, you two go play, we have work to do."
"Harry said you two were going shopping," Fred protested.
"Fine, these two have work to do, and I'm going to abuse my position as boss."
"This must be the benefit of having employees," sighed George feigning wistfulness.
"You baboons have employees. Go bother them," Hermione ordered.
"I am feeling a distinct lack of love, Gred." Hermione put her hands on her hips and glared.
"While I agree, Forge, I think retreating will be the healthier course of action in the long run." Both men raised their hands and backed out of the shop.
Shaking her head at their antics, Hermione turned back to the other two. "Right, before anyone else interrupts," she flicked her wand at the door. "Any last questions?" They both shook their heads in the negative. "Well then, I'd say see you Monday, but I think we're all planning to close down the clubs together, so see you tomorrow."
