The Parent Trap
Chapter Six
-dutchtulips-
Dinner was over for the evening at the Granger household, and now the family was gathered in the den, doing various activities. Dr. Granger had already excused himself to his office for a bit of work that needed to be done, so it was only Hermione, Amy, and Harry who were there now. Hermione was at her desk, working on some very important number charts for a meeting at the Ministry the next day, and Amy and Harry were seated across from each other at the chessboard.
It was Amy's turn and had just moved one of her pawns forward, and she said offhandedly, "Who taught you to play chess, Harry?"
She couldn't be sure, but Amy thought she saw Harry and Hermione flash a quick glance at each other.
"Oh, I just, er, learnt it around," Harry replied, directing his knight to where he wanted it to go.
She merely nodded, having a good feeling what her mum and Harry were hiding. This thought brought on another, which had her thinking about Holly and what she was doing and how everything was going with their dad.
As if on cue, an eagle owl swooped through the open den window, landing softly in front of the chessboard and holding out its leg to Amy. Quickly, she removed the roll of parchment.
Hermione looked up her brown eyes warm behind her reading glasses. "Did you get a letter, Holly?"
"Yeah, yeah," Amy replied distractedly as she stared at the words on the paper. "Friend from school."
"That's nice." She smiled and looked back down at her number charts, completely unfazed by the owl or the letter.
On the other hand, Harry had a strange look on his face as he watched the eagle owl extend its wings and glide back out the open window, and he seemed to stare at the disappearing bird for a long while. And then, too quietly for anyone else to hear, he murmured, "Odin."
Meanwhile, Amy stared down at the note, which bore nine single words in the penmanship of her sister's: Be stile at the phone at seven o'clock tonight. After reading it, she crumpled the paper and stuffed it into the pocket of her skirt. Looking up at the clock, noticing it was five minutes to seven, she said, "Er, Harry, do you think we can stop the game? I'm not feeling so good. . .I think I'm going to go lie down for awhile."
Hermione looked over at her daughter, concerned. "Are you all right, Holly, dear? Would you like me to owl for the nurse?"
"Oh, no, no! I'll be just fine. . .I just, uh, need a bit of rest," Amy stammered, awkwardly getting up and walking out of the room.
But she didn't go to Holly's bedroom. Racing through the hallway to the other side of the house, Amy discovered her grandfather's office was empty; apparently he'd gone up to bed early. Letting out a sigh of relief, Amy snatched up the phone that was lying there and squeezed herself under the desk to hide.
A few quiet moments passed and then the telephone jingled in her hands. Quickly, Amy plucked up the receiver and pressed it to her ear. "Holly?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"What's up?" Amy exclaimed, out of breath.
Holly's voice wavered. "Ames, Dad's getting married."
Amy couldn't believe her ears. "What? What are you talking about?"
"Everything! The wedding's in two weeks, so you know. . .if there's any hope of getting Mum and Dad back together, it's gotta happen super fast!"
"All right," Amy sighed. "Mum has a meeting with some people in the Ministry tomorrow, so I'll let the cat out of the bag tomorrow evening when she gets home."
"Okay, thanks, Amy. And hurry!" With that, Holly hung up.
Amy followed suit, and then took the phone in one hand to place back up on the desk. The moment she set it down, however, someone grabbed her wrist, gently pulling her out from under the desk. Startled, she looked up into the intense green eyes of her captor.
"H-Harry! I was, uh, just, er. . ." She stammered, searching for an explanation.
To her surprise he was smiling at her. "C'mon." He helped her up and then they walked out of the office and down the hall, turning into the downstairs library. After having her sit down in an armchair in front of the fireplace, Harry said, "You're her, aren't you?"
She knew she was caught. "You mean am I Amy, and I'd have to say. . .yes, I am." And then as an afterthought, "How did you know?"
"Well, Odin, of course. I recognized him. He's your family's owl, is he not?" Harry asked.
"Y-yeah, but. . .how did he help you figure it out?" Amy wanted to know.
Harry sat down next to her and was quiet for a moment before responding. "Your dad Ron. . . is my best friend. I've known him for nineteen years."
"No, no way!" She exclaimed. "You've never come to see us, you've never visited, Dad never mentions you! How could you be?"
"We write letters to each other, ever since your parents separated." Harry had seemed to close that part of the conversation with that. When he spoke again, he was smiling once more. "You two met at school, did you?"
Amy nodded. "Yeah, yeah, it's a very long story."
Harry looked around for a moment. "Well, I'd say since this place is already so full of them, it wouldn't mind hearing one more."
Amy smiled back at him, and then opened her mouth to explain everything.
* * *
She'd been nervous before, but the past was nothing compared to now as Amy was pacing back and forth in front of her mum's study, waiting for the right moment to burst in and lay on her that she was the daughter Hermione hadn't seen in twelve years.
As she peeked through the door, Amy could see her mum sitting at her desk in front of the fire, scratching away on a roll of papyrus, occasionally stopping to dip her quill in the inkwell. Her reading glasses were set at a professorial angle on the bridge of her nose, and her nutmeg-colored hair was pulled back into a braid away from her face.
Suddenly there was a faint dull pop behind her, and Amy turned around curiously, which brought Harry into focus. "Harry! When did you get here?" She whispered.
"I Apparated." He smiled, and then said reassuringly, "Now, just go in there and tell her."
Amy shrugged. "I dunno. She looks sort of busy. I don't think the meeting went well."
Harry shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He reached over and pushed the door open wider. "Now or never."
Amy nodded and, swallowing a lump in her throat, slowly stepped into the study, tentatively approaching Hermione. "Er, Mum?"
She looked up, her tired face immediately lighting up with a smile. "Holly, there you are! Did you have a nice afternoon with your grandfather?" She looked back down at the papers on her desk, simultaneously patting the chair beside her. "Here, come sit down."
Amy hesitantly sat, watching her mother scribbling away on the papyrus. Upon closer examination, it seemed to be another number chart. "Did the meeting at the Ministry not go well?"
Hermione looked up, tousling her hair. "Oh, as wonderful as it could ever be, with some members of the Ministry in France not knowing a word of English, along with me in the crossfire having to translate their terrible arguments back and forth." She sighed, smiling wryly. "But never mind. How about as soon as I finish up with this, you and I go out to dinner at the Three Broomsticks?"
"I, er, can't Mum. I have to leave somewhere tonight," Amy replied, her voice uneven.
Hermione looked over at her, a smile tugging at her lips. "Oh, do you? And where might you be going, if I may ask?"
Amy squinted her eyes shut and shook her head violently.
"Holly!" Her mum laughed, seizing her shoulder and shaking it. "Holly, you silly!"
Through the crack in the door, Harry suddenly appeared, peeking through.
"That's where I have to go tonight! I have to see Holly tonight!" She covered her face with her hands.
"Oh, I see." Hermione was still smiling. "Where could Holly be tonight?"
And in a low voice, Amy said, "In Manchester, England with her dad, Ron Weasley."
The laughter in Hermione's eyes dropped away and fell victim to utter surprise, her heart dropping into her stomach upon hearing the words, "Ron Weasley." She turned her piercing gaze to Harry (who was standing in a now opened door), her cinnamon brown eyes full of question.
"It is," he replied, smiling.
She turned back to her daughter and pried Amy's hands away from her face. "You're not Holly? You're Amy!"
She nodded slowly. "Yes." Amy paused, considering her words, and then continued. "Holly and me met at school. We're in the same House and everything, and once we figured out who we were, well, we decided to switch places."
Hermione pulled off her reading glasses, and looked back at her daughter, encouraging her to go on.
"I hope you're not angry, but I've dreamed of meeting you my whole life, and Holly felt the same about Dad, so we just decided to. . .be each other. Except that I'm Amy, and that's who I'm best at." Amy watched her mum intently. "So now all I'm hoping for is that you can love me as Amy Weasley, and not because you think I'm Holly Granger."
Impulsively Hermione reached over and wrapped her arms around her daughter, feeling a tear or two leak out of her eyes. "Never worry about that, Amy. I always have."
Amy hugged back hard, a happiness swelling inside of her. As she let go, she said disdainfully, "Well, I guess you have to change us back now, don't you?"
Hermione sighed, nodding. "Well, you're your dad's daughter, and. . .Holly's mine."
The young girl's shoulders dropped. "I have to say this once, Mum, that I think this family arrangement is completely horrid."
"You're not the only one," her mum said wryly.
Amy smiled out of nowhere. "So do you know what? We should gather up our luggage, get to Manchester and see Holly and Dad, and. . .straighten things out."
Hermione managed a smile in return, saying, "I reckon you're right. Don't worry about a thing, Ames. I'll take care of everything."
Instinctively Amy embraced her again, feeling at last what it was truly like to have a mother.
* * *
Crickets chirruped outside Hermione's bedroom window the next morning, though such a peacefulness was not echoed within. Inside, she had a trunk open on her bed, and was thrashing about the room, marching in and out of her wardrobe, trying to pack clothing.
Harry was standing nearby, trying to mask the amused look on his face as he watched his best friend as she plucked up robes and put them down again, all while she had a towel draped around her shoulders and a bottle of Sleakeazy's Hair Potion in her hand, trying to rub it into excessively bushy parts of her nutmeg locks.
"My stars, Harry, I can't do this," Hermione said nervously to him. "I haven't seen or heard from Ron in practically twelve years and suddenly I've got to Portkey halfway across the country and jauntily pop in on him and -" She stopped herself, tossing some dress robes into the trunk and looking back over at Harry. "I haven't got the courage in me for this! We decided our separation be this way so we'd never have to see each other again! I mean, look at me, Harry! Have you seen me so crazy like this before?"
He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, Hermione waved him off dismissedly. "Forget I asked." She started off for her wardrobe again for more clothes.
Meanwhile, Amy was giggling to herself outside the door as she listened to her mum having the hysterics. Suddenly, she heard Hermione murmur, "God, I still remember that lopsided smile he always like to throw at me. Made my heart go faster than a Firebolt, if you can imagine it."
Amy chose that moment to step into the room, toting a rucksack with her. "Hey there, Mum! You ready to go?"
Hermione regarded her hair a moment, it still saturated in Sleakeazy's Hair Potion. "Er, well. . .almost. Did you, er, write to your dad, love?"
She nodded vigorously. "Yeah, yeah, I owled him last night, actually! He wrote back that's he's really antsy to see you!"
"Er, like he's antsy because he's dreading it, or because he's really looking forward to seeing me?" Hermione stammered, rummaging on her vanity for a hairbrush.
"He's looking forward to it, for sure!" Amy replied quickly. "He said he'll be meeting us this evening at eight o'clock at the Leaky Cauldron."
Her mother let out a long breath she'd been holding. "Oh stars, that's quite soon, isn't it?" She turned to Harry, "You fashioned the Portkey for us, didn't you?"
Harry rummaged in his robes for a moment, and then pulled an old empty soup can out of his pocket. "Did it early this morning."
Hermione took it and handed it to Amy, saying, "Why don't you take this downstairs and wait on us, and I'll be ready in a few moments, all right?" She gave her daughter a watery smile.
"Sure!" Amy said brightly, taking the can and disappearing down the staircase. As she did so, Harry whispered at her, "Liar, liar!"
She shushed him quickly, and then started away again. Once she was gone, Hermione abruptly turned to her best friend.
"Harry, er, I have a very stupid request to make of you, but please, just humor me." She smoothed back her hair and attempted to twist it up into a knot. "I honestly do not believe. . .that I will be able to go to Manchester and face Ron without you. Would it be a lot to ask if I. . ."
He laughed softly, already knowing what she was going to say. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he said reassuringly, "Herm, of course. You need me for moral support, and I'm more than happy to oblige."
"Except, I know you've kept your contacts with Ron. I see your letters from him when I drop by your house. I hate asking that you should, by any means, be taking sides," she said.
To her surprise, Harry smiled. "Don't look at it that way. I'm not."
At last Hermione nodded and smiled back. "You're right. And thank you for accepting to come along."
He chuckled out of nowhere. "Anything. But, may I make one small suggestion?" Harry started for her wardrobe. "Unbury that lovely red velvet Muggle dress that your dad gave you last Christmas and bring it along to wear. It'll surely knock Ron off his feet."
Hermione sort of rolled her eyes, saying wryly, "And that's my ultimate goal."
* * *
With their three trunks downstairs in the front foyer and the soup can in the middle of all of them, Hermione, Amy, and Harry were bidding farewell to Dr. Granger.
Hermione gave her dad a huge hug, as if she didn't really want to let go. Anxiously, she mumbled, "Well, wish me luck, Dad."
He grinned at his only daughter. "Good luck, love. And perhaps you can mend old wounds with Ron while you're switching Amy and Holly back, hmm?"
"Er," she replied, starting for the foyer and their luggage.
"See you soon, Doctor," Harry smiled as he stood next to Amy while she gave her grandfather a farewell embrace.
"You as well, Harry." Dr. Granger wrapped his arms around his granddaughter. " 'Bye, bye Ames."
"G'bye, Grandpa," she replied, and then in a lower voice, "You know what to do, right? The Three Broomsticks?"
He winked at her. "You've got it, Ames." They let go, and he said, "Say hello to your father and Holly for me!"
"Sure thing," she grinned, and started for the foyer after her mum. Harry joined them a moment later, they all held their trunks and touched the soup can, and they were off with a pull of the navel.
* * *
To Be Continued