Chapter 1

Year 2012 Common Era

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"A teaching placement?" Hermione turned to look, startled, at Dumbledore. The man was more than old- he was ancient. His eyes had lost all pigment, becoming the pale blue of age, and now were beginning to cloud over also. Wizards may live longer than normal men, but the magic didn't make them immune to aging.

"Yes, Hermione. Again, we are in need of a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher." He was still well spoken, but his voice was raspy, the crackled voice of paper-thin skinned elders. His thin mouth stretched outwards in the equivalent of a smile. "I will be resigning at the end of this year, and I'd like to see you settled before that. I understand about your girls," Hermione didn't even ask how the man knew- he seemed to keep invisible tabs on all the happenings of past as well as present students. "I don't expect it to be easy, but you're the best for the task- you always were, and always will be." Dumbledore looked intently at her with his watery blue eyes.

"I know, Albus." He had insisted that she call him Albus. It seemed very odd for her to be calling him by his first name. "I just don't know that I'd be able to spend sufficient time with the girls if I'm teaching as well."

"My dear, I know it will be hard, but you are my only chance. This is my last act as Headmaster, officially. And Minerva will love having you here. All the staff will adore the girls, and think of the library…" Albus' eyes twinkled, and Hermione smiled wistfully. The books were a good drawcard.

"Okay, Albus. I'll come on Monday." Albus smiled, and patted her maybe-just-slightly-too-fleshy arm with his alarmingly thin hand. The skin sagged, as though his flesh had simply melted away, leaving him bones in a skin sack. Hermione placed her hand over his, reassuringly. "And I'm sure the girls will love having you as an honourary grandfather." Albus smiled even wider, and Hermione had the fleeting thought that his skin may split. It held, and the smile was worth it. Albus stood, and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm glad, Hermione." And he apparated back to Hogwarts.

~*~

Lianna on one side, Adrienne on the other, Hermione trundled up the once-familiar path through the Hogwarts grounds. Lianna, her tininess at five still a mystery to her mother; and Adrienne, already up to Hermione's waist. Both complained of the walk, though, and Hermione wasn't exactly upset that she was made to pause regularly in the uphill climb. She seemed a little out-of-shape. Oh well, nothing like a huge, drafty castle to slim you down to size, she supposed.

"Mama," Lianna tugged on Hermione's hand, "it's so big!"

Hermione had to smile at her daughter's obvious statement. It was large, and must seem even larger to the tiny little girl. She pulled both girls in for a hug, whispering little assurances to them that they wouldn't get lost, that the magic itself wouldn't allow it. Hermione kept her face sure, even though it was her greatest fear. Adrienne grasped her hand a little tighter when they stood to continue, although whether this was to give or receive comfort, she didn't know.

Far too soon, Hermione and her twin daughters were standing in the huge entranceway to the castle.

"It is big," Adrienne finally said. Her warm dark eyes scanned the huge staircase, and squinted to try and see the roof, which Hermione was still unable to make out. Lianna huddled in closer.

It certainly was a change from the tiny apartment that they had all lived in for the first five years of their lives. Hermione hustled her little family down the large hallways to the Great Hall. She was sure that the other teachers would be in there.

The doors opened to a very empty Great Hall. The tables were not set, and looked remarkably bare for it. The teacher's table had only a few settings- apparently most teachers went elsewhere for the summer holidays. Hermione felt her shoulders slump in relief. She took the girls, and sat down in the settings that she was sure were for her and the girls. After a few minutes of silence, Minerva walked in.

"You're here!" She exclaimed, and almost ran to her. "Oh, I wasn't sure if you'd come. I'm so glad you're here… and these must be your darlings?"

Single parents were frowned upon in the Wizarding Community, by and large, but Minerva seemed to be a closet liberalist. That, or she knew of the circumstances of her pregnancy.

Either way, Hermione knew that she had an ally, and possibly an aunt for her children. Both girls had shied away from this strange-looking woman with pointed hat and long robes, but as Hermione introduced them, seemed to begin to work off their apprehension.

"Minerva, this is Lianna," Hermione motioned to the tiny elfin-faced girl, and Minerva stroked the girl's cheek. Lianna smiled, lighting up her immediate area. "And this is Adrienne," Hermione indicated her tall, dark girl, and Minerva put on a face of mock-seriousness.

"Adrienne," she said, holding out her hand solemnly. Adrienne pulled the smile out of her face, and firmly shook the woman's hand. But after a moment of this, Adrienne also broke out into an all-out smile. Minerva unbent slowly.

"My dear, I do believe that you need to eat. Most of the teachers go home for the holidays; or at least on holidays. There's only myself, and Albus, and Poppy and Argus. Albus is rather restricted in his movements- and Poppy is clucking over a new batch of Pepper-Up; I don't think that Argus is pleasant company at the best of times- and believe me, holidays are the best of times, no children to mess up his halls," Minerva chuckled at this, "so I will stay with you. As it so happens, I am rather hungry myself- reviewing the syllabus will do that to a person." She pulled out the chair beside Adrienne and seated herself.

"I'm not young anymore. Not that I have been for a long while. But I'm beginning to feel it more and more. My bones ache.

"Lunch," she commanded her plate. Hermione was struck with the picture of her first ever Transfiguration class, where Minerva had transfigured the desk into an animal with just such a commanding tone. Hermione watched her girl's startled faces as lunch apparated onto their plates- thick stew with crusty bread, hot from the oven. Hermione reminded herself to introduce her children to the House Elves later.

Conversation flowed, and soon enough, all four were full and feeling lethargic.

"I'll take you to your rooms. We just had them transfigured this week- I hope that the furnishings are okay. I didn't know quite what to do with them, so I took a few liberties. I also put in a bookcase- I'm sure that the fees that we pay you will enable you to buy a few of the things." The woman stood, placing a hand on the table to help herself. Hermione longed to help her former Head-of-House, but knew that the gesture, though appreciated, would be turned away.

They walked through the winding passages, and although Hermione knew vaguely where she was, she knew that the girls were getting hopelessly lost. 'Tour Guide' would be her appointment for the next few weeks, she supposed.

Finally they arrived at a spot of blank wall. Minerva turned to the wall, and to the astonishment of the children, spoke a password ("Home sweet home"), and the stone seemed to melt. They stepped through, and the wall re-formed behind them. The girls were wide-eyed, both.

Hermione was instantly pleased with what Minerva had made for them. There was a main room, with a round mahogany table and six chairs ("In case of visitors, dear"), cupboards and sink to the back, facing a window, showing a small garden outside, with a small tiled strip, then warm dark-red carpet running through the rest of the rooms. There was a ceiling-to-floor bookcase against the left-hand wall, and in the right wall were three doors. There were comfortable chairs beside a fireplace in the wall beside where they had just entered. The girls ran to see their rooms, and exclaimed when they saw them.

Hermione walked to look into Lianna's room- it held a raised double bed with whispery curtains and white linen. There was a chair beside a beautiful desk, with shelves above it, on the wall. On the opposite wall was a walk-in robe and an apparently fake window, as the direction of that wall should have faced the corridor. Hermione smiled at her child's delight. Lianna jumped onto the bed, and Hermione pulled out a tiny suitcase from her pocket. She expanded it back to normal size, and Lianna ran to put her things in the robe, suddenly more than willing to do housework.

Hermione moved to see Adrienne's room, and encountered her tall child still standing in the doorway. Hermione looked to see what was holding her there- and saw that the room was just perfect for her child.

The bedhead was settled against the left-hand inner corner, instead of in the middle of the back wall, as Lianna's had been. There was a walk-in robe on the very left-hand side of the back wall, and a desk beside this. There was a rather large bookcase, already with a few books, and beside that was another door, that turned out to be the entrance to the girl's shared ensuite. Lianna's head poked through the door,

"There's a door through my robe!" She exclaimed quietly. "Oh! How come you get a fireplace?" Lianna immediately queried, and, sure enough, in the right-hand wall was a fireplace, complete with chair. The entire room was warm reds, which made the room look like a furnace while the fire was going.

"Well, dear, I gave you a window, and I gave your sister a fireplace." Minerva's eyes sparkled. Hermione expanded Adrienne's suitcase on her bed of plush red fabric. Adrienne pulled back the coverlet, and discovered that the sheets underneath were white. Adrienne's face was beaming. She looked up at Minerva, too enchanted for words.

Hermione left the girls to their rooms, and went to explore her own. Minerva, it seemed, had done her homework.

Hermione's room was larger than the girls'. The bedhead was pushed up against the right-hand wall, and there was a large desk beside that. There was a large bookshelf in the right-hand corner of the back wall. A door led to her ensuite. A door led to her walk-in robe. A door led to the outside garden; apparently it wasn't a fake window in the kitchen. A fireplace burbled quietly in the wall to the left of the entryway, and a large window looked out into the garden. Hermione walked dazedly into the garden.

The path was cobblestone, and the garden was well established with magical as well as normal herbs. There was a fountain, and a paved area with chairs and table. Hermione looked around, not quite sure whether to believe her eyes or not. The garden was full of medicinal plants- Hermione would have no trouble teaching the girls all about Herbology and Potions well before they came to school officially.

Hermione turned to look at Minerva, eyes and mouth wide open.

"Enjoy it, Hermione. We want you here for a long time." Minerva just smiled sadly at the gawking girl. Hermione managed to close her mouth and stumble forward to hug Minerva. "Meals are prepared by the house elves- just ask for dinner, and they'll give it to you. You're too thin, darling." At this, both Hermione and Minerva began to chuckle.

Hermione pulled back from the comforting embrace of her employer. "Thankyou," was all she could manage to get out. Minerva just smiled, and left Hermione to her girls.

~*~

Hermione Granger was nothing if not driven. Within the next three weeks of summer holidays, she had her entire year's syllabus planned out. Lianna and Adrienne had become friends with the house elves almost as fast as they could eat, and Hermione no longer felt bad about letting them roam the castle, so long as they were rugged up. The girls loved this, and were soon more acquainted with the castle than she was, despite having been here for her entire schooling. She just hadn't had the time to explore as thoroughly as they; besides, why would you need to, when you've got the Marauder's Map to help you out?

All meals were held together, and Hermione loved to see her girls happy: they were eating well, and had endless hours of amusement playing with Peeves (he ended up with just as many things thrown at him as he threw himself- but he acquired all the blame, of course). Argus was horrified at this turn of events- children? All year round? Who had thought up this torture? It wasn't like he was getting any younger! – But even he learned to deal with the girls, if he didn't like them overmuch.

Minerva had her share of visits from the girls (often from behind tapestries into her rooms that covered secret passageways). They both giggled when they told Hermione the stories of their visits- it seemed that Minerva was a more than adequate baby-sitter.

And Albus loved to see them all, sitting by his bedside. He told them stories; ones that made Hermione blush, leaving the children with blank, confused faces; and ones that had all of them chuckling. And Hermione loved to see his face light up, just as it always used to. The defeat of Voldemort seemed to have taken all out of him, but he continued on for the children's sake. Now he was fading away, as all magical people do, his skin almost translucent already.

"I won't stay a ghost, you know. I'll keep fading right out." He had told her one afternoon. "And when I fade away completely, then I'll finally be able to sleep properly." Hermione knew that Albus' dreams were still haunted by visions of that final, bloody battle. She knew: she had them as well. She had patted his hand, kissed his forehead and gone- she didn't know what to say. What do you say to a man who has seen more summers than she ever would? A man who lasted to the end?

~*~

--The first chapter of many. Don't forget to review so I have some idea of what's going on inside your lovely head. Yes, even your review can count! Thanking you in advance,

*kitten