I was just reading what I have written so far, and although I don't have an update timeline, I will probably post a bit more because I really love the direction this story is going!
I hope you enjoy and if you're interested in being an Alpha/Beta on any of my works, please let me know! :)
The next few days were quiet in the Thomas-Whyte-Granger residence. Hermione and Dean sat in his room, under his West Ham poster and talked about her ancestors. "Dean, it was amazing. They were there! Like really there. I'd asked if there was a way to help them pass on, but Iya Agba said that this is their role. Maybe we can figure out how to meet your ancestors during Samhain too!"
Dean looked excited. "Do you think my dad would be there? I'm not totally certain how it would work, but maybe we could meet him too?"
"I'll ask Remus and Sirius and see if they know. There is so much to learn!"
"And next week I'll be a Fawley!" Dean said softly.
"No you'll be the Fawley," Hermione giggled, socking him in the shoulder.
"Dean Ajani Thomas Fawley, to you, Ms. Granger!"
She looked at him primly. "That will be Ms. Black for your information!" she stuck her nose in the air and rolled over giggling even more. "Hermione Jean Granger Black. What a mouthful."
The two of them scampered down when they heard, "Ms. Black, Mr. Fawley, it's time to eat!"
Remus Lupin ushered Dean, Delyse and Hermione into Gringotts Bank, where a pacing Sirius Black was waiting with Harry Potter. A wrinkled goblin stood next to the pair, in what appeared to be a freshly pressed suit. "Glad to see you, Kitten!" Sirius said, throwing his arms around Hermione. "We have quite a lot to do today. A wedding, a House Acceptance, a Magical Guardianship, and a Magical Adoption."
Delyse tutted and attempted to straighten Harry's unruly hair. Hermione grinned at him, knowing that Delyse worked her own magic with hair. Harry furiously blushed as she pulled at his loose fitting shirt. "Sirius, Remus, you'll have to take this boy shopping, these clothes are dreadful."
"Oh-uh, it's no bother," Harry said softly.
"You and Remus can go together later this week," Sirius chuckled. "I think he's been wearing hand-me-downs from your Uncle Vernon as well." Remus swatted at him fondly.
The goblin cleared his throat. "My name is Rockjaw and I will be handling all the proceedings today. I see that we will be starting with the Binding ceremony."
Remus turned to Dean, "As you've asked me to be your Magical Guardian, would you be my witness?" Dean nodded and sniffed. Sirius wrapped his arm around Harry's neck and winked at Hermione, moving to stand in front of Remus. Rockjaw clambered up onto a platform and cleared his throat, looking between the two men.
Delyse and Hermione stood a few paces back and watched the proceedings, Hermione gripping her godmother's hand tightly. This was her first magic bonding, well she supposed it was everyone's first one. She flattened the non-existent wrinkles from her navy sundress as she drew her attention to the front of the room.
Sirius and Remus stood, chanted their vow together:
Magic please protect the ones we love. We honour all you created as we pledge our hearts and lives together. We honour Mother Earth and ask for our marriage to be abundant and grow stronger through the seasons. We honour fire and ask that our union be warm and glowing with love in our hearts. We honour the wind and ask that we sail through life safe and calm as in Magic's arms. We honour water to clean and soothe our relationship—that it may never thirst for love. With all the forces of the universe, we pray for harmony as we grow forever young together.
With each new vow, another strand of Magic circled around them, green for Mother Earth, red for fire, yellow for wind, and blue for water. The cords spun around them blending together into a bright white. They each cut their palm and joined hands, dripping onto the certificate in front of them. When the combined blood landed, the pair gasped as a burst of Magic flew out around them.
The goblin gestured to Harry and Dean who followed suit, pricking their fingers and added a dot of their blood to the certificate. It flashed bright gold. And the goblin croaked, "Sicut Magia vocat respondemus. Sic fiat fiat." (As Magic calls we answer. So mote it be.)
Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus and drew him into a very wet kiss. Harry blushed and Dean chuckled, moving toward his mother and wrapping his arms around her and Hermione's shoulders.
"Alright, now that I've finally tied this one down, you're up, Dean!" Sirius said his arm wrapped around Remus' waist. .
Rockjaw ushered Dean and his mother to the desk that had a pile of papers on top. Remus and Sirius followed closely behind, Hermione and Harry trailing afterwards. "Claiming your inheritance is quite simple. We just need a drop of blood on the will. If it accepts, then we must follow the Fawley Rites and you will be accepted as Heir Apparent upon your seventeenth birthday."
Dean swallowed heavily and gripped his mother's hand. He slashed across his palm and watched as his blood dripped onto the will. It soaked in and the whole document glowed silver for a moment then they saw words start to scroll themselves across the pages. "Welcome to Gringotts, Mr. Fawley," said Rockjaw gruffly. "Now we will begin the Fawley Rites." the goblin lifted his eyebrow at the congregated group.
Sirius cleared his throat. "Typically this is something that is done by the Head of House and the Heir and it is quite Sacred. As Remus will be acting as your Magical Guardian and your mother is obviously your actual guardian, Hermione, Harry and I will step out."
The three of them sat in an annex off to the side. "How is your summer going, Harry?" Hermione asked softly.
"It's…well it's never great with the Dursleys and I've been having a bit of a difficult time. I'm sorry about Cedric's funeral. I didn't mean to upset you. Dumbledore won't talk to me about anything, and I haven't heard from Ron other than your parents…"
She smiled softly. "Thank you for coming, Harry. It meant so much to me that you were able to attend. I understand. Dean and I were still reeling a bit from it all and I was so tired of having to put on a brave face. Let's just move on from that. Oh! I have to tell you about my ancestors." Hermione launched into the story about meeting them and the research she'd done about Soul Guardians. Harry looked very interested and Sirius just smiled proudly looking between them.
After about an hour, they were ushered back into the main room.
"Here is your key and the will," Rockjaw croaked, "It looks like Runestone Roost will open itself to you as well as the vaults. The rest of the family will be notified of your acceptance. We recommend you assign an Heir unless you have a child."
Dean bit back a laugh, "N-no. Definitely no child," he raised an eyebrow to Hermione. "I'll have to think about that one. Mi is going to be the Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black and I'm not quite sure what would be best." The goblin nodded, leaving the line as Heir: Gemma Fawley, from the other branch.
"I'd like to request that my Magical Guardian be shifted from Hogwarts to Remus and Sirius." Rockjaw nodded. Sirius and Remus pricked their thumbs and placed it over the document and the group watched as the line Magical Guardian shifted from Hogwarts to Sirius and Remus Black.
"That is all for accepting your Name, we can make our way down to the vaults after our business is completed."
Dean and Delyse stepped back, with Harry, leaving Hermione standing between Sirius and Remus.
"Alright, Kitten, are you absolutely certain?" Sirius said, placing a hand on her shoulder and looking into her eyes.
"We wouldn't blame you if you'd changed your mind, Hermione," Remus added softly.
"I'm sure," she said, biting her lip.
Rockjaw held out a hazy looking substance and a pile of documents. "In a magical adoption, the parents will add their blood to this potion and the adoptee will drink the entirety of the potion. Afterwards we will process the legal documents to get everything filed with the Ministry and Gringotts." He looked between the three of them. "Are all of you coming into this with a fully sound mind?" They all nodded. Sirius and Remus cut the opposite palm as their binding ceremony and let their blood spill into the potion. It mixed through the potion and it turned to a bright silver with flecks of gold. "This one is strong," Rockjaw croaked as he handed the potion to Hermione.
She felt Sirius and Remus each place a hand on her shoulders and then she drank the potion down. It was like floating. It tasted like starlight and fresh grass, like a forest in the spring, and a day at the beach in summer. When she'd finished the potion she felt the world fade to black.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself slumped at the desk. The first thing she saw was Sirius and Remus blinking at her. "Thank Merlin, Kitten!" Sirius said, relief stretching across his face. Then his jaw dropped.
"Hermione, your-your eyes!" Remus said, astounded. He conjured a mirror and held it up to her. Hermione blinked at her appearance she looked physically the same, she still had her father's chin and her mother's nose, her skin still gleamed the copper tone that it always had, but her hair had lightened considerably, somewhere between Remus' blond and Sirius' black curls, and her eyes blinked back in the most brilliant grey, a perfect match for Sirius.
She grinned and pushed the mirror from her face, throwing her arms around the two men in front of her. "I can feel you both! Your magic. This is fascinating. We're connected! You're my dads!"
The men spun her around laughing giddily. "Oh Merlin, Cub. we're going to have to get this one cleared so we can show you off properly!" said Remus chuckling. When they set her down, Hermione turned to Dean and Delyse who whooped and shrieked respectively.
Harry stood off to the side, looking a bit left out, before Sirius pulled him in, throwing one arm around Harry and one arm around Hermione. "Can we get the paperwork to bring to the Muggle authorities, Mr. Rockjaw," Delyse said kindly to the goblin.
His chest puffed up at the formal address as he handed her the paperwork to legalise the adoption in the Muggle world as well. "Now we will do the Heir ceremony, '' he said. Delyse, Dean, and Harry moved to the annex so that the ceremony could begin.
"This one will be a bit more straightforward than Dean's because you aren't accepting the Head of House appointment, just the Heirhood," said Sirius grinning down at her.
She nodded looking back at Rockjaw, who turned to Sirius. He gripped Hermione's hand in his own and began to chant:
Sanguis sanguinis mei, os oris mei. Sit te ut suum recipiat Magia Niger. Per tribulationem et tribulationem, in hac vita ad te vocamus, ut togam induas haeredem domui Nigri. Sic fiat fiat. (Blood of my blood, bone of my bone. May the Black Magic accept you as its own. Through trial and tribulation, in this life we call to you to take on the mantle as Heir to the House of Black. So mote it be.)
Remus had reached out and cut along her palm, letting her blood spill onto the parchment. She gasped as she watched a Family tree come to life before her. There was her name, with her parents above, but to the other side was Sirius Orion Black and Remus John Black with Sirius' tree stretching out as far as the page would go.
"Welcome to the Family, Kitten," Sirius said, pulling her in for a hug. She found tears flowing down her face, and choked out an embarrassed sob.
"We're so happy to have you, Cub," Remus said, wrapping his arms around them both.
Hermione, Harry, and Sirius sat waiting for Dean, Remus, and Delyse to go down to his vaults. "We'll have to get you free, Sirius so that Harry and I can both live with you. We'll have to work on it so that we can both come home for Christmas. Harry, will you be spending some of the summer with us?" she asked, turning to the boy in question.
"Oh… is that allowed?" he asked.
"Well now that Remus and I are married he has as much right to you as I do. And only if you want to, Harry," said Sirius softly.
"Of course I want to!" he said with a laugh. The three of them started to discuss the plan to clear Sirius' name until Remus, Dean, and Delyse strode back in.
Sirius transformed back into Padfoot and stood between Hermione and Harry.
Harry touched down right behind her…on a patch of unkempt grass in the middle of a small square…The grimy fronts of the surround houses were not welcoming; some of them had broken windows, glimmering dully in the light from the street-lamps, paint was peeling from many of the doors, and heaps of rubbish lay outside several sets of front steps.
(They) stepped over the threshold into the almost total darkness of the hall. (They) could smell damp, dust, and a sweetish, rotting smell' the place had the feeling of a derelict building. (Hermione) looked over (her) shoulder and saw the others filing in behind (her)...
"Now stay still everyone, while I give us a bit of light in here," (Remus) whispered.
The others hushed voices were giving (Hermione) an odd feeling of foreboding; it was as though they had just entered the house of a dying person. (She) heard the soft hissing noise and then old-fashioned gas lamps sputtered into life all along the walls, casting a flickering insubstantial light over the peeling wallpaper and threadbare carpet of a long, gloomy hallway, where a cobwebby chandelier glimmered overhead and age-blackened portraits hung crooked on the walls.
With a flick of his wand, Sirius made the moth-eaten curtains by the front door fly apart, but there was no door behind them. For a split second, (Hermione) thought (she) was looking through a window, a window behind which an old woman in a black cap was screaming and screaming as though she was being tortured - the (she) realized it was simply a life sized portrait, but the most realistic, and the most unpleasant (she) had ever seen in her life.
The old woman was drooling, her eyes were rolling, the yellowing skin of her face stretched taut as she screamed and all along the hall behind them, the other portraits awake and began to yell too…
Sirius held his wand to his throat and said "Sonorus. Quiet down, you lot! I have some introductions to make!"
The portrait in front of them quieted, and the other portraits followed suit.
"Mother," Sirius said, dramatically bowing with a flourish. "May I introduce you to my husband, Remus Black, werewolf extraordinaire," she shrieked in outrage, but Sirius held up a finger, "and your esteemed granddaughter, Hermione Jean Granger Black!"
"You dare to defile the house with a half-breed and adopt a mud-" Sirius silenced her with a flick of his wand at the ratty curtains.
"That will be all from her, don't you agree?" he asked, turning toward the group behind him. "Now I welcome you to the home of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black!" he said with a chuckle, "I think some renovations are in order. Let me give you the tour and then we can settle in the parlour for some tea. Kreacher!"
A house elf popped into existence right in front of the group. Delyse shrieked, grasping her hands to her chest. "Oh Kreacher comes for the nasty Master and -" he cut off blinking at Hermione. "Kreature sees a new Master and young Mistress."
Hermione bowed to Kreacher "It is so good to meet you, Kreacher! I am honoured to be here!" He sort of gaped at her in a way unlike any House elf Hermione had ever seen.
Sirius looked down his nose at him and sneered, "Fetch us your finest tea service in the parlour."
The elf grimaced at Sirius, but nodded and popped away. Hermione frowned at him and was about to say something when Remus set his hand on her arm, "Not now, Princess."
Sirius led them into the house. The group skirted a large umbrella stand that looked as though it had been made from a severed troll's leg, they started up the dark staircase, passing a row of shrunken heads, mounted on plaques on the wall. A closer look showed (them) that the heads belongs to house elves. All of them had the same rather snoutlike nose. (From The Order of the Phoenix)
Hermione knew on some level that the Black's were known to be Dark, but this seemed to be taking it to an extreme she could not have anticipated. Sirius showed them room after room, until he led them back down the stairs into the parlour.
Kreacher, who she noticed had a very similar snoutlike nose to the House elves on the staircase was standing wringing his grimy pillowcase at in front of the tea set. "Although Kreacher doesn't approve of Master, he has made the best tea for his new young Mistress who shows him honour like Master Regulus. The three Blacks, two Thomas', and one Potter sat at the table, being served tea by an old, cranky house elf, wondering just what the future might bring them.