Granger Yet
Teeth

"Hermione, what have you done to your teeth?"

Regulus, at first, wasn't sure how he noticed, given his eldest was correct in pointing out he was struggling to focus on anything because his head hurt. Yet, there was a part of him that wondered if he was so desperate for his girls to be alright despite everything that was going on that Regulus found himself latching onto the smile coming from his eldest.

And what he noticed took him back, given how he and Olivia told Hermione they didn't want her fixing her teeth with magic, nor had he ever imagined his eldest doing anything rebellious. " Lizzy, maybe, but not Hermione. "

"Oh," Hermione responded, not blinking an eye. "That."

"What do you mean by that?" Regulus felt his body tense, and his head ached, not helping his ability to wrap his head around what she just said, although he might not have been able to do so had his head not hurt. "Why do I think this isn't going to go well, no matter what I do?"

As if on cue, Hermione's tone changed, making him tense up as her voice rose slightly, not to mention he thought he could pick up on a bit of disgust in her voice, not that he blamed her given the fact she just learned that he was a Death Eater. "Well, you're one to talk."

He froze, his mind trying to work through the confusion as he sat only a few inches from her while another part of his mind was trying not to brush off what he saw as his imagination, particularly after hearing Hermione admit that he'd not imagined what he saw. "I'm one to talk? Is this about me hiding the fact I was a Death Eater from you?" He looked down at his hand, now bandaged with one of his old handkerchiefs, thinking of how Walburga would throw a fit if she saw, deciding as he'd done many times that he didn't want to be that kind of parent. "I am sorry about that."

"Not that," Hermione said. She then sighed for some reason. "Although that is still something I'm trying to wrap my head around."

"Not that?" Regulus said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "What then is comparable to you not telling us that you got your teeth fixed with magic after your mother and I said we didn't want you to? And I'm also a bit confused, given I know Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have done something without parental permission, even if the student was Muggleborn—technically Muggleborn, of course. She is still the one who runs the infirmary?"

"Yes, but don't be mad at her," Hermione said. "But for your information, my teeth got cursed, so when they were being fixed, I decided not to waste the opportunity. I mean, it's not as if Madam Pomfrey paid attention to what my teeth looked like in the first place." Hermione lowered her voice. "Unlike my dad, who's a dentist."

"Wait? When?" He croaked out, his mind whirling, thinking he would have noticed, should have noticed. "Did I really not notice?

"I—no," Hermione sighed. "I mean, I was hoping you and mom wouldn't notice and think the braces finally worked, given that you've not seen me an entire year, but you noticed. How, when you're usually oblivious, I don't know."

"I noticed because I'm your dad," Regulus said.

"Then I would have explained the situation to mom, and she would have explained it to you," Hermione said. "And I would have insisted on talking to her, because," she sighed. "And that's what I don't get?"

"What you don't get?" Regulus said. "I don't get why you would have felt the need to explain things to her so she could explain things to me, either."

"Dad!" Hermione—for some reason, there was a laugh, which he didn't understand why she was amused at that moment. "No." And then she took on a more serious tone, the tone she took on when she was trying to act older than she really was. "I guess I'll get straight to the point again, although I've been trying to. I'd thought you were terrified of magic because you were a Muggle, but you're a Wizard."

Regulus looked up, almost looking her in the eye, or perhaps he did. "You thought that?"

"Yes, well, mom put down her foot regarding me talking about anything magical after that trip to Diagon Alley. You were out of it for quite a few days after we got home," Hermione said.

"I remember," Regulus said. He took a deep breath. "Lockhart was there for one thing."

"Yes. You said something about him being overly friendly," Hermione said.

"I saw your friend Harry and thought Potter or Sirius would have been there as well. And I thought Lu would recognize me."

"Lu?" Hermione said. "Who's Lu?"

"Lucius Malfoy," Regulus felt a grin work its way onto his face. "He hated being called Lu." And then it faltered as he caught her staring at him as if he'd gone insane. "Him recognizing me wouldn't have been a good thing."

"No. It wouldn't have been a good thing," Hermione said, and then, "You were worried about James Potter being there?"

"Why wouldn't he be?" Regulus said. "Well, I guess the answer to why he and Sirius weren't there was because the Weasley family offered to take him. The two of you are the same age as their second youngest, right?"

"Um. Right," Hermione said.

"But you could have talked to me about magical things," Regulus said but then paused. "Or maybe not? Your mom did tell you not to, so I guess she was worried I might have heard something that stressed me."

"You mean like Sirius escaping Azkaban?" Hermione said, her voice straining.

"What? Sirius was in Azkaban?" Regulus rolled his eyes, shaking his head only to let out a groan and lift his one good hand to touch the back of his head. "Actually, I don't want to know what idiotic thing he did so that he could be the first person ever to escape that damned place. Black family madness, I say."

"Uh," Hermione said.

He paused, then said. "Sorry. I really don't know what's been happening the last few years, Hermione. So I really didn't know Sirius did something stupid so he could do something even stupider."

"You really don't think highly of Sirius, do you?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, I think very highly of your Uncle Sirius," Regulus said, pointing to his head. "He may not be as smart as me, but he actually is no idiot. I mean, come on. Only Sirius would be crazy enough to want to use those smarts of his to try and escape a place like Azkaban." He closed his eyes. "I told you. He's my brother, and I love him."

"Uh," Hermione sounded hesitant. "Really?" And then, "Ever think of telling him that?"

"Why? It's not as if he'd ever believe a word that came out of my mouth," Regulus said.

"Well, there's that," Hermione said. She then held up her hands. "Okay. We got off track of what we were talking about."

"Really?" Regulus closed his hand, the one that was injured, only to open it back up, closing his eyes. "I wouldn't know, as I didn't know where the conversation was going in the first place."

"That I am well aware of," Hermione said. "I'm talking about how you're always lecturing us to be true to ourselves, not to change who we are for other people, yet there you were pretending to be a Muggle when you're actually a Wizard. You're not being true to yourself. That's what I have a problem with."

"That," Regulus frowned, folding his arms across his chest, only to backtrack on that movement upon realizing his left arm wasn't reacting the way he wanted. He looked down at both hands that he placed in his lap, continuing to frown. "I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion."

"Because you don't use magic. You don't use magic despite magic being a part of you," Hermione said.

Regulus frowned, tilting his head, finding himself slightly confused. "Where did you get that idea from?"

"Oh, come on! Up until now, I've thought you were a Muggle dad!" Hermione let out a sigh. " I mean, come on!"

His head tilted further, only to come back as his head spun in a way he didn't like. "So, wait. Let me get this straight. Because you've never seen me use magic, you think I haven't ever used magic?"

"Not to mention, I've never seen a wand," Hermione said.

"Oh," Regulus titled his head, thinking it over, and then held up his hand, looking in her direction. "May the force be with you?"

She stared at him. "Wait? What?"

"Uh," Regulus frowned, waving his hand again, his brain not functioning the way he wanted it to, although that wasn't a new thing in some ways. "May the force be with you?"

"Dork," Hermione said.

He winced. "Sorry. I didn't," he started to say, only for his entire body to tense when Hermione reached out, pulling him into a hug that, at first, he didn't return, but then. "Hey. Are you crying?" He lifted his hands—both hands, to embrace his daughter, even though hugs weren't his strong point. "Hey. I'm sorry. Whatever it was…."

"No," Hermione said, burying her face into the crook of his neck like she did when he was younger, the tickling sensation making him tense up again right before he relaxed. "You're my dorky dad. You're still my wonderful, dorky dad. I'm so relieved."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," Regulus said, finding himself slightly confused, thinking the interaction way too easy, that he might even be stepping into things. "I'm still worried about your teeth, though."

Hermione pulled back, letting out a sigh. "That? Really?"

He lifted his hand, his left hand up to her chin. "I don't have any tools to remove your braces," he said, making Hermione's eyes go wide, her mouth twisting into a frown. "Or did Pomfrey remove them? Are wizards even familiar with lingual braces?"

"Dad, calm down," Hermione said as they heard something pop into the room, making both turn to look at Sirius, who looked at them wide-eyed.

"Bloody hell," Sirius said. "I don't want to know." He turned his head to look away. "I knew you had issues, but…."

Regulus narrowed his eyes, lowering his hand. "You. What are you doing in my room again so soon?"

"What is she doing in your room?" Sirius asked.

"She's my daughter," Regulus said.

"Which just makes it even more creepy!"

"And I don't want to know where your mind just went," Regulus said, although he knew despite typically being oblivious. "It's Sirius, after all."

"Never mind!" Sirius said, turning to look at him. "I messed up."

"Well, duh," Regulus said, pushing his lips together to fight back the urge to roll his eyes. "She's my daughter, so you even thinking…."

"I'm sorry!" Sirius said, pointing to Hermione. "To her."

Which made Hermione glare at her uncle, tilting her head. "Really?"

"And that's not what I'm talking about when I said you messed up," Sirius said.

Regulus frowned. "Sirius, you're always messing up."

"Oh, thanks, Reg," Sirius said, rolling his eyes, a roll that Regulus caught. "But I need your help because I messed up."

"And what reason should I help you?" Regulus said, his voice firm as Hermione cleared her throat, shaking his head and making him turn his head, wondering what she was getting at.

"Yeah. Well, kill me for it later," Sirius said, stepping over. "I need your help downstairs." He grabbed onto both of their arms.

"Wait. Are you…"

And Sirius Apparated them both.