Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters.
A/N: So sorry it took so long. I've been busy. Thanks for the reveiws, Captain Oblivious, Mia Hindo, Siria, FieryInferno, Shelma, anonyMOUSE11, Priire L. Payne, Jaid Ziaen and Halfling. I'm so glad my audience is growing. Hoep you all enjoy all my future chapters. By the way, I think it might be closer to twenty chapters. Is that ok?
A Different You by Lina Shay
Chapter Fourteen: Much Ado about Harry
Hermione and Draco picked the parcels up from the ice cream parlor. Neville was glad to be rid of them, saying that his gran would be furious that he was out so late. Hermione and Draco packed the parcels into a bag which was much too small to hold them all, but they fit anyway, then mounted Draco's broom. Hermione held tightly to him as they flew through the cutting wind. Surprisingly, Hermione found them landing in front of the Black house. She wasn't sure where else she had expected them to live.
Hermione followed Draco up to the door. Draco kicked the dirt off his shoes, then walked right in. She reluctantly went in as well. It was quite different than she had known it. Instead of elf heads on the wall, there were pictures of Draco, Black and Lupin throughout their lives. There was one really nice picture of just Black and Lupin with their arms around each other. To replace the ragged curtains and drab darkness, candles lined the halls. It was quite nice.
Draco led Hermione by the hand to the living room where Black was sitting down on a couch and reading the Daily Prophet. Hermione thought this a strange scene. Sirius Black sitting on a couch in reading glasses and looking at a paper. He almost seemed like a normal anybody. Of course, this Black hadn't gone to Azkaban and all that mess.
"Uncle Sirius," Draco said softly.
Black looked up from his paper. Upon seeing them, he stood up.
"Have a nice trip to Diagon Alley?" Black asked, smiling at Hermione. "Seems so. Is this...Hermione?"
"Yes," Hermione responded, holding and hand out to Black.
He took her hand but did not shake it. "You're as lovely as Draco and Mooney said you were."
Hermione blushed.
"I'm happy to finally meet you after all Draco's said about you," he added, letting go of her hand.
That time, Draco blushed.
"Oh, Draco, you got a letter from Snivelous," Black said, taking a letter from the coffee table and tossing it at him.
Draco caught it in mid-air, saying, "Odd. I wonder why Professor Snape would be writing to me."
"Probably ridiculing something or another you did in school," Black muttered, sitting back down and turning the page in his paper.
"It doesn't seem likely that he would take the trouble to write," Draco said, turning the letter over and over as if afraid to open it would examining every inch of the outside.
Hermione looked over his shoulder at it. There was nothing intensely odd about it. It looked like an average letter. She wondered why Draco was so cautious.
"Are you going to offer your friend a seat?" Black asked, still looking at his paper.
"Of course, sorry," Draco sputtered, showing Hermione to a nice red velvet chair that matched the couch where Black sat. Draco took the seat next to him, opening the letter.
"Did I hear Draco?" Lupin asked, poking his head in.
"Hello, Remus," Draco muttered, looking over the letter.
"Good evening, Hermione," Lupin greeted.
"Pleasure to see you again," Hermione replied.
"This is mad!" Draco laughed.
"What is it?" Lupin asked, sitting himself on the armrest next to Sirius.
"I've been invited to the Snape-Potter Christmas Ball," Draco announced, still laughed.
"No way!" Lupin exclaimed.
"Let me see that," Black insisted, putting down his paper and taking the letter from him.
"Do you suppose Snivelous has finally forgiven us?" Lupin asked, looking over Black's shoulder at the letter.
Black didn't answer.
Snape-Potter Christmas Ball? They were having a ball together? The big "Wicked" party that Neville talked about at the Snape's was Harry's party as well. Hermione had to know what it all was about. All she knew was that Draco said Snape had the right to call Harry son. It was a very delicate operation. She had to plan her words out exactly.
"Harry.." she began, "he once told me that Snape wasn't his real father. I've always been curious...how Snape became his father."
Black, Lupin, and Draco looked at each other.
"Well," Black said pensively, clasping his hands together, "it was a very long time ago. After James's death, we were all in grieving, especially poor Lily."
"She took it the hardest of us all," Lupin put in. "She would cry for hours and hardly left her house."
"Then our year's reunion came up," Black continued. "We were sure she wouldn't show. Too many memories, you know. Surprisingly, she did come. She wore bright colors, a happy expression, and a Snape on her arm."
"There had to be something wrong," Lupin added. "I mean, Lily and Snape was the most repulsive idea in the world."
"I tried to get to talk to her, but Snape wouldn't leave her alone," Black went on. "Finally, he was called away by our old friend Wormtail, who you know as Peter Pettigrew. I seized the opportunity to talk to Lily. It's hard to explain what happened. She seemed so off, you know, like out of her mind or something. She said strange sort of things about smoke and laughed uncontrollably about nothing at all. When the announcement of their wedding came around, we knew she was bonkers. I tried my hardest to stop the wedding. They didn't believe me when I said she wasn't in her right mind. Every time I saw her after that, she was down and glazed. She didn't talk to anyone at all, just held on to Snape's arm and stared at the floor."
"The next we heard after that," Lupin began sadly, "she was quite ill and was for a long time."
"She died when Harry was seven," Black told Hermione. "I sued Snape for custody of Harry. The deal was that I would get Harry if James and Lily died, and they had. Harry should have been mine. But Snape had an expensive lawyer and the favor of the court. Besides that, they gave Harry the choice and he chose Snape. He didn't know me at all, since Snape wouldn't let me near him."
"Ever since that, neither Snape nor Harry will have anything to do with us," Lupin said, putting a hand on Black's arm.
Things were mournful and silent for a while. Then Dobby came in with tea.
"Blast it, Dobby!" Black yelled. "I told you not to do that anymore."
"Dobby just trying to help, Black, sir," Dobby said, quaking at Black's harsh voice.
"You can take the elf out of the house, but you can't take the house of of the elf and all that," Lupin told Black.
Black held up the Daily prophet and continued to read while Dobby served tea.
A/N: So sorry it took so long. I've been busy. Thanks for the reveiws, Captain Oblivious, Mia Hindo, Siria, FieryInferno, Shelma, anonyMOUSE11, Priire L. Payne, Jaid Ziaen and Halfling. I'm so glad my audience is growing. Hoep you all enjoy all my future chapters. By the way, I think it might be closer to twenty chapters. Is that ok?
A Different You by Lina Shay
Chapter Fourteen: Much Ado about Harry
Hermione and Draco picked the parcels up from the ice cream parlor. Neville was glad to be rid of them, saying that his gran would be furious that he was out so late. Hermione and Draco packed the parcels into a bag which was much too small to hold them all, but they fit anyway, then mounted Draco's broom. Hermione held tightly to him as they flew through the cutting wind. Surprisingly, Hermione found them landing in front of the Black house. She wasn't sure where else she had expected them to live.
Hermione followed Draco up to the door. Draco kicked the dirt off his shoes, then walked right in. She reluctantly went in as well. It was quite different than she had known it. Instead of elf heads on the wall, there were pictures of Draco, Black and Lupin throughout their lives. There was one really nice picture of just Black and Lupin with their arms around each other. To replace the ragged curtains and drab darkness, candles lined the halls. It was quite nice.
Draco led Hermione by the hand to the living room where Black was sitting down on a couch and reading the Daily Prophet. Hermione thought this a strange scene. Sirius Black sitting on a couch in reading glasses and looking at a paper. He almost seemed like a normal anybody. Of course, this Black hadn't gone to Azkaban and all that mess.
"Uncle Sirius," Draco said softly.
Black looked up from his paper. Upon seeing them, he stood up.
"Have a nice trip to Diagon Alley?" Black asked, smiling at Hermione. "Seems so. Is this...Hermione?"
"Yes," Hermione responded, holding and hand out to Black.
He took her hand but did not shake it. "You're as lovely as Draco and Mooney said you were."
Hermione blushed.
"I'm happy to finally meet you after all Draco's said about you," he added, letting go of her hand.
That time, Draco blushed.
"Oh, Draco, you got a letter from Snivelous," Black said, taking a letter from the coffee table and tossing it at him.
Draco caught it in mid-air, saying, "Odd. I wonder why Professor Snape would be writing to me."
"Probably ridiculing something or another you did in school," Black muttered, sitting back down and turning the page in his paper.
"It doesn't seem likely that he would take the trouble to write," Draco said, turning the letter over and over as if afraid to open it would examining every inch of the outside.
Hermione looked over his shoulder at it. There was nothing intensely odd about it. It looked like an average letter. She wondered why Draco was so cautious.
"Are you going to offer your friend a seat?" Black asked, still looking at his paper.
"Of course, sorry," Draco sputtered, showing Hermione to a nice red velvet chair that matched the couch where Black sat. Draco took the seat next to him, opening the letter.
"Did I hear Draco?" Lupin asked, poking his head in.
"Hello, Remus," Draco muttered, looking over the letter.
"Good evening, Hermione," Lupin greeted.
"Pleasure to see you again," Hermione replied.
"This is mad!" Draco laughed.
"What is it?" Lupin asked, sitting himself on the armrest next to Sirius.
"I've been invited to the Snape-Potter Christmas Ball," Draco announced, still laughed.
"No way!" Lupin exclaimed.
"Let me see that," Black insisted, putting down his paper and taking the letter from him.
"Do you suppose Snivelous has finally forgiven us?" Lupin asked, looking over Black's shoulder at the letter.
Black didn't answer.
Snape-Potter Christmas Ball? They were having a ball together? The big "Wicked" party that Neville talked about at the Snape's was Harry's party as well. Hermione had to know what it all was about. All she knew was that Draco said Snape had the right to call Harry son. It was a very delicate operation. She had to plan her words out exactly.
"Harry.." she began, "he once told me that Snape wasn't his real father. I've always been curious...how Snape became his father."
Black, Lupin, and Draco looked at each other.
"Well," Black said pensively, clasping his hands together, "it was a very long time ago. After James's death, we were all in grieving, especially poor Lily."
"She took it the hardest of us all," Lupin put in. "She would cry for hours and hardly left her house."
"Then our year's reunion came up," Black continued. "We were sure she wouldn't show. Too many memories, you know. Surprisingly, she did come. She wore bright colors, a happy expression, and a Snape on her arm."
"There had to be something wrong," Lupin added. "I mean, Lily and Snape was the most repulsive idea in the world."
"I tried to get to talk to her, but Snape wouldn't leave her alone," Black went on. "Finally, he was called away by our old friend Wormtail, who you know as Peter Pettigrew. I seized the opportunity to talk to Lily. It's hard to explain what happened. She seemed so off, you know, like out of her mind or something. She said strange sort of things about smoke and laughed uncontrollably about nothing at all. When the announcement of their wedding came around, we knew she was bonkers. I tried my hardest to stop the wedding. They didn't believe me when I said she wasn't in her right mind. Every time I saw her after that, she was down and glazed. She didn't talk to anyone at all, just held on to Snape's arm and stared at the floor."
"The next we heard after that," Lupin began sadly, "she was quite ill and was for a long time."
"She died when Harry was seven," Black told Hermione. "I sued Snape for custody of Harry. The deal was that I would get Harry if James and Lily died, and they had. Harry should have been mine. But Snape had an expensive lawyer and the favor of the court. Besides that, they gave Harry the choice and he chose Snape. He didn't know me at all, since Snape wouldn't let me near him."
"Ever since that, neither Snape nor Harry will have anything to do with us," Lupin said, putting a hand on Black's arm.
Things were mournful and silent for a while. Then Dobby came in with tea.
"Blast it, Dobby!" Black yelled. "I told you not to do that anymore."
"Dobby just trying to help, Black, sir," Dobby said, quaking at Black's harsh voice.
"You can take the elf out of the house, but you can't take the house of of the elf and all that," Lupin told Black.
Black held up the Daily prophet and continued to read while Dobby served tea.