Chapter summary: Hermione's last days of the summer.

Word count: About 4300.

Author's note: I'm ashamed how long it has been since I last posted. One of the reasons of this massive delay was my indecision how to approach this chapter and what to do with the Weasleys. Eventually I decided what I wanted and I even managed to get to like ¾ of the chapters length and by that time February was getting towards the end. And that's when everything went to hell in a handbasket. In case someone, somehow missed it, that's when Russian aggression on Ukraine had started. I'm Polish, I live in Poland and nowhere near to Ukraine border and I have absolutely zero grounds for complaining because I still have roof over my head, my entire family is alive, I have work and… It's safe to say that with everything that had been going on, is still going on, my focus on writing had been non-existent. Because it's hard to concentrate on anything creative when you're anxious whatever or not your country might be next to be attacked. And by the time my anxiety level managed to settle down slightly (because I trust the leaders of my country to not get us into that as far as I can throw them, which isn't very far) my health decided to act up, with vengeance reminding me that I wasn't taking a very good care of myself. By the end of March I undergone a minor somewhat surgical procedure that was accompanied with an infection of the site and by the time that cleared out my body decided to react to the stress of the last couple of months and went 'let's catch some shit gentlemen'. Which I did, I'm still unsure what it was, felt a bit like a mild case bronchitis with accompanying sinuses infection. It was mild but bad enough to put me on sick leave for two weeks. And what a sick individual can do with an abundance of free time?

I returned to writing, sorted out the missing part of chapter 22, decided that I was happy with how it had turned on, started puttering around with chapter 23, finished chapter 23. And because chapter 23 put me in a mood I decided to hash out the template to continuation of it which somehow turned into writing chapter 1 for the new part of the series and because the place where I wanted to end the part was trying to get away from me I concluded that one where I thought was best before I moved to chapter 2, then chapter 3 and chapter 4 (which I had in mind for you have no idea how long). Chapter 5 didn't exactly need to be written, or chapter 6 for the matter, because I had source material for it for months (from the time when in an attempt to get myself out of a writing funk I started making tentative plans for the continuation). Now I'm on chapter 7 and my beta is a saint. I mean, it's one thing if you receive a 'you know I finally managed to finish chapter 22 and here it is' kind of email which is a day later followed by 'here's also chapter 23' which a day letter is followed by… Well, I dumped quite a lot of work in her lap within barely a couple of days. And she delivered, big.

As for the posting schedule (because I have one when I'm consistent). Chapter 23 of Entropy will go up traditionally on Tuesday, 10th May to be exact. I'm uncertain about the next part though and I'm keen to listening to your opinion on the subject. I might post it on schedule, on Tuesday, 17th May or if you wish so on Thursday, 12th May and on 17th May chapter 2 will go up instead. Updates of that should remain on schedule for as long as I have source material and right now I'm in a better head space so I should have plenty of that.

And along with chapter 23 I will post the template for the next part of the series. I'm very keen to share it but last before the last chapter of the part isn't exactly a best spot to share it.

Dedicated to all of my readers who stuck with me for so long in spite of my shortcomings. Thank You, I hope that You will find this story enjoyable. I adore seeing your reactions because not only they're thought provoking but also can be so inspiring that I will go out of my way to write a nearly 100k words spin-off. Not that I'm seeking validation but I do enjoy dialogue.

Beta read by nexandvinny.


If the whole world were put into one scale, and my mother in the other, the whole world would kick the beam.

~Henry Bickersteth, Baron Langdale

Secrets & Keepers – Entropy

Chapter twenty-two: Mother Mine

Hermione Granger, 31st August 1993, Diagon Alley London

Naturally she knew that there was no way in which Arcturus would be able to accompany her and Mum to Diagon Alley and later to Platform 9 ¾. After all he was supposed to be dead. There was also no way to easily feature in the trip the Greengrass contingent without attracting the attention of Mrs Weasley which on extension meant attracting the attention of Professor Dumbledore. Harry's, a bit unexpected, confirmation that he was grounded until the school year began in Snape's company didn't help either.

At the very least that titbit of information sparked a quite long discussion between Hermione and Arcturus whether or not Snape was in the known or replaced by the sympathetic Metamorphmagus or one of the brothers under Polyjuice potion. With no clear evidence towards either they left it to conclude at a later date.

The issue with her other father had also been discussed. As far as Mum was concerned Mark Granger had his memory wiped clean of ever being married and having a daughter. The wipe out was thorough, done by Hecate, who although not a mind healer was the best equipped to leave no trace of herself. Their household had also been cleared of any personal effects and Hermione and her Mum discovered with unhidden relief that all of the family photographs had survived the purge. They just did not have Dad in them.

Continuing with dads, Hector Greengrass after sleeping off his around the world flight politely excused himself from the firmer grasp of his own family and had taken Arcturus open invitation to take residence in the guest wing until the summer would end. Eleanor wasn't too happy about losing her nieces to spoil but agreed with Hyperion, Arcturus and Damocles that Hector needed to take care of his girls and sort out his head before dealing with the family of his soon to be not-wife.

Daphne, Astoria and Tracey were delighted with the temporal move, access to Hector, Hermione and the grounds of the Black mansion. Melly adored having more young girls to look after and was only mildly put out by the presence of Tina, the Greengrass elf, but it took them only an afternoon of grumbling at each other to hash out their duties. And truth be told Tina had amazing hand when it came to hair care and what mattered to Hermione the most was that she took an immediate liking to Mum and did her best to pamper her too, at the very least as much as Louise, Arcturus's chief elf healer allowed.

Mum was getting better with each passing day. She was up and about as soon as Hecate deemed her as stable enough to leave the bed, with a stern warning to take it easy. Which she did, usually with support of whomever had been around her. Mostly it was Hermione but Astoria accompanied her with the same frequency as Hermione with more reverence in her eyes than Hermione ever saw on a person.

"I'm not surprised," said Daphne when one afternoon Tracey headed off to spend it with her brother and Astoria perched herself by Mum's feet while Mum and Hector discussed healing practices of various tribes.

Daphne and Hermione remained in their sight and, somewhat limited, hearing range.

"She misses your Mum, doesn't she?" asked Hermione. "You all do."

Daphne nodded slowly before she said cautiously, "Mum was Mum. She was a gentle creature, delicate and very creative and she could always make you feel good. Astoria was seven when she died and…" she paused. "It was ugly, so ugly that the elves were pulling their hairs out of worry. That's also when Astoria's malediction flared for the first time, she always had it, just like Mum had but before that bouts of it weren't serious. Aunt Ellie helped a lot but Guinevere… she undid all the progress that Tori was making."

Hermione nodded.

"I'm not sure she realises that she's doing it," added Daphne after a moment. "Not that it's..."

"I don't mind," said Hermione simply, and she didn't, truly. "I was raised as an only child because of the circumstances but one thing they both agreed on was that I was not supposed to be a spoiled brat."

"You're miles away from a spoiled brat," agreed Daphne. "Over-achiever, yes, that you are…"

"Easy for you to say with a benefit of magical upbringing," replied Hermione sourly. "It sucks that there isn't some primary level schooling for Muggle raised kids. No, it's let's throw them out straight into deep water and make them learn magic without teaching them a shit about magical society," she added grimly. "I learned more from interacting with Arcturus, Larry and your lot through the summer than I did at school through previous two years. And I realise that I'm lucky enough to have you all. And without looking too far for example from Gryffindor only Lavender, Parvati, Neville and Ron have a benefit of magical upbringing. I'm unsure about Seamus…"

"His mother is a O'Leary by birth," interjected Daphne. "That much I know and that she's a family disgrace. Old Irish families are a bit peculiar. Some don't mind blood status and choosing a Muggle spouse as long as they're Irish. Some value blood status over Irish descent. But both types are fairly adamant about proper marriage. Ms O'Leary ran away from, can't say that it was her engagement party, from what I heard it was a presentation of courting gentlemen, then she disappeared for three years and reappeared in the family way and with no ring on her finger."

"So she had been cut out," muttered Hermione.

"From family money for certain," agreed Daphne. "She certainly has the proper wizarding upbringing but like the Weasleys lacks finances for proper cultural upbringing. Or, and that's more probable, she doesn't really care for it."

"Do you?" asked Hermione curiously.

"Do I care about wizarding culture in its entirety?" asked Daphne. "Customs I know, as well as important names of artists, composers and writers. But with wizarding culture is like with Muggle culture, everybody has preferences. I find wizarding art as too intrusive and too loud to contemplate. I like Muggle art better in that regard, it can be very expressive without being eyesore or headache-inducing. Theatre and ballet…" she paused, "that depends from a lot of factors. Same with music, there are good performers amongst wizard just as much as Muggles and then there are the peacocks."

"Peacocks?" asked Hermione sceptically.

"Have you ever heard a peacock?" replied Daphne.

Secrets & Keepers – Entropy

They vacated the Black manor eventually. Hermione with the girls for the upcoming term and Mum and Hector only temporarily as they both had an open invite to take their time. Mum was sceptical about it, worrying that she was overstaying her welcome until Arcturus assured her that she and Hermione would always be welcome here and that divorcing a portion of wealth that she was owed would take time.

There was of course house at Grimmauld Place that was bequeathed in a will to Hermione by her aunt. It was a London based house and from what she saw Muggle enough to put Mum at ease. But the idea of Mum being away from anyone that could check on her and on her own for months didn't exactly sit well with Hermione. Not that Mum needed supervision. Getting a break on the other hand was exactly what she needed.

As was huge, bright-eyed and insanely smart protector with a jaw full of sharp teeth. Arcturus insisted on sending one of his best dogs with Hermione and Mum to Diagon Alley. Unlike Astoria's puppy, the dog was a grown one and upon first glance was quite intimidating animal but Mum and Hermione quickly learned that he was a sucker for having his ears scratched.

The only problem with the dog was his name which Tommy mentioned when he introduced the beast to Hermione, Mum and the Greengrass contingent. It was called Grim which earned Mum and Hermione a lecture on wizarding superstitions over death omens.

"Does it actually work like that?" asked Hermione sceptically.

"Of course not," replied Hector. "There's no such a thing as a death omen, at the very least a definite one. There are signs of impending demise though, especially in individuals of weakening health or particular age. Unless you're enough of an idiot to drop dead at the sight of a black dog," he added and snorted. "Arthur Weasley's brother died like that, Weasley's wife at the very least believes so. The official reports though speak differently. On the night of the incident Weasley was drunk and in a combative mood enough to start throwing things at the dog of the owner of the house opposite to the pub. He was drunk, so he was mostly missing and the dog was an old one and according to witnesses, Muggles the lot of them, didn't appear and that's a direct quote 'to be arsed to move'. Which didn't suit Weasley, so he picked up a particularly big rock and in his drunken genius decided to get closer. Thing is, he stepped into the path of an upcoming lorry."

Hermione grimaced before she said, "So he wasn't killed by the dog."

"One could make an argument that he had," said Mum. "He had seen a death omen and he had chosen to engage it."

"And that's wizarding world to you," concluded Hector with a smile.

The most curious thing about Grim however was that as free as he was to wander around the mansion he avoided Arcturus's presence successfully and not once Hermione had seen both Arcturus and the dog in the same room. However in all the chaos of the upcoming departure she didn't pay too much attention to that curiosity. Especially since she already said her thanks and goodbyes to Arcturus and Melania long before she, Daphne, Astoria and Tracey flooed to the Greengrass manor.

The Black manor had a fireplace that was connected to Floo network in a limited form with the only entry points being the Greengrass manor and Larry's shop. And while Larry's shop was in the desired area it was too far the Leaky Cauldron to make the trek with their trunks. Hence the stop at the Greengrass manor where they succumbed to the chaos of greetings and farewells.

The latter as it turned out were redundant because as it turned out all of the Greengrass family members were heading to Diagon Alley and later the platform to send them off.

And she found herself infinitely grateful for that and that Hyperion had enough foresight to book for them an entire floor. Hermione even got a room for herself and Mum, and Grim. Rudimental unpacking however occupied her long enough to miss and by a longshot the meeting hour with the Weasleys.

Which wasn't exactly a huge loss. Mum admitted at some point of the summer that she found the Weasley family a little too overwhelming. Not that the Greengrass family hadn't been overwhelming to certain extent but even with her inability to do magic they never made her feel inferior or like a specimen under heavy if not ill meant scrutiny.

Besides it was the last day of the summer, the last day she had with her Mum until Christmas break (or until Hector would find a way to smuggle Mum to Hogsmeade on the weekend as he already promised). Ron and Ginny, she would be able to see tomorrow during the train ride and right now what mattered to Hermione the most was what put her Mum at ease.

Which was a last minute mother-daughter shopping and they might have gone a little over the top with that to Mum's embarrassment. She didn't feel particularly comfortable with spending money that weren't hers, but Arcturus was a headstrong opponent in a discussion and convinced Mum to accept the pouch of gold and to treat herself and her daughter to something nice. He also made a threat that if she wouldn't then he would sic Hecate after her to do that.

Which was how they found themselves in Twillfit and Tatting's, with Hecate hovering around (and at first pretending that she wasn't interested in getting herself involved with their business). Hermione's robes were done quickly, and she got herself talked into splurging on tights after which Hecate sworn by to keep warm even in extreme cold.

Hecate together with the shopping assistant from before talked Mum into complete revamping of her wardrobe. The result hadn't differed vastly from what Mum usually wore but it gave her a certain, whimsically magical edge which suited her admirably.

"Of course, it does," said Hecate simply once Mum disappeared in the changing room with another outfit when Hermione told her what she was thinking. "People like her often do. Especially if they know what makes them different from other people of similar upbringing. She's embracing it and that's all the difference."

The shoes they got from Larry who beamed at Mum when she told him that she never had as comfortable shoes as the one which he made her. Hermione whole-heartedly agreed and wasted good twenty minutes at trying to convince Larry to take their money. On that front she failed miserably.

"Next time," concluded Larry simply. "Meeting you had changed my life for the better, Hermione. In fact, you gave it back to me. You helped me find my purpose, old friends and introduced me to a woman who I'm hoping one day will make an honest man out of me. I can't take your money for that. Consider it a gift, early birthday perhaps or extremely early Christmas one."

"Larry," said Hermione swiftly. "I got to know you and I know you well enough to want to ask you for that statement in writing. At the very least allow us to pay for the cost of the materials."

"Especially if you're contemplating a change of marital status," added Mum slyly. "You might wish to save up some money for a ring or wedding. This is lovely job and deserves to be fully charged."

"Next time," replied Larry with a smile. "No, my dears, you will not talk me into giving up."

After Larry's shop they decided to head to a Magical Menagerie with the intent to buy Hermione an owl. Arcturus already had offered both Hermione and her Mum the use of the Black family owls, of which he had quite a handful, but Mum managed to convince him that she wanted to buy Hermione a birthday gift.

At the shop they nearly ran into Ron, along with Ginny and Mrs Weasley, whom Hermione managed to spot before Mum did and in the spirit of putting Mum at ease she quickly drawn Mum's attention to the toy cart on the opposite side of the pavement to the shop. The toys weren't as impressive as she made them sound, they were wizarding variations of trinkets that could be found at carnivals. They lacked the quality of The Beady Bunch, but they caught Mum's attention for long enough for the Weasley contingent to leave the Magical Menagerie.

Once they headed inside, they were greeted by a slightly frazzled looking clerk and an overly friendly red-haired cat. Within two minutes he climbed Hermione like a particularly easy to climb tree and started purring insistently. She tried to put him down because they were there to get an owl, but it took the clerk roughly a couple of minutes to spill the sad tale of the cat.

Crookshank, because that's how the cat was called, also somewhat affectionately referred by the clerk as Crooky was supposed to be a mix of Persian and Kneazle and arrived at the shop over a decade ago with a collar and nametag Himself. He was kept around in hopes that his family would be found but after a year or two the owner of the menagerie had lost hope at locating his family and had given into calling him Crookshanks. The name he got not only due to his bandy legs but also to his disdain to crooks trying to shank the staff, he was very selective with bestowing his attention to other people and had never really taken a liking to any prospective customer.

The clerk practically had Mum and to certain degree Hermione at orphaned, aged cat even though she hesitated slightly at sight of Grim who didn't appear to be bothered by the cat's presence and in an uncanny for a dog way was sitting still at Mum's feet without as much as a twitch of his tail. The stare down between Crookshanks and Grim continued for several minutes and concluded with Crookshanks snuggling up in Hermione's arms and Grim filching a snack from one of the easily accessible containers.

Crookshanks himself came for free unlike cat-adjacent necessities like brush, bowls, food, snacks, and bed. They didn't break the bank, but Hermione allowed Mum to talk her into a sturdy and properly padded container instead of a weaved one and they both allowed Crookshanks to pick his own bed (and of course understanding surprisingly well what they were talking about the cat had chosen the fluffiest and biggest one of them).

After the Magical Menagerie they returned to the Leaky Cauldron and did a little bit of repacking before returning to Diagon Alley for a stroll and maybe a little book shopping. They attempted to leave Crookshanks behind to let him acclimatise himself with the room and Hermione's things, but the cat decided to follow them. Curiously enough outside Crookshanks mostly behaved much like Grim, resolutely treading by Hermione's side as they walked or parking himself by her feet when they stopped by in front of something.

Mum, the usual voice of reason when it came to limiting sugar intake fell in love with Mr Fortescue's ice-cream and almost cloyingly sweet, iced coffee (with even more ice-cream in it). And Hermione couldn't resist but ask where that sudden change came from.

"Don't get me wrong, I still believe that sugar is a white death, for teeth as much as internal organs. I was never particularly fond of overindulging intake of it but it was mostly because his," Dad's Hermione immediately realised, "family had a history of diabetes. Now that I no longer have a reason to worry about it, I can be a little more frivolous and those ice-creams are a marvel. There's also one place we need to stop by before we go book shopping."

That place turned out to be a clinic that Hermione visited earlier in the summer where Mum said to the receptionist that they were here for a minor cosmetic treatment. Which turned out to be fixing her overgrown front teeth to match their length to the others.

That almost made Hermione weep from the intense relief and joy. She wanted it so badly since she figured out that magic could fix the issue without involving braces. The healer made a very good impression on Mum and vice versa and they had been chatting happily about the state of wizarding dentistry within a minute it took Mum to present Hermione's problem. The woman didn't ask the most obvious and intrusive question, which was why Hermione's Mum hadn't fixed the issue herself.

Their discussion eventually concluded with the arrival of a new patient, a frazzled looking young Mum with a little boy with a broken front tooth. The boy appeared to be getting more agitated as his Mum descended into hysterics, something about his birthday and mother-in-law that would surely see the incident.

While the healer was calming the mother down Mum focused on her attention on the boy and with her usual inner charm and easiness calmed the boy down and by the time the healer explained the procedure to the mother Mum was helping the boy watch his own teeth.

The procedure itself was simple enough, a spell with a smear of strengthening paste. The healer explained that the binding should hold until the exchange of primary tooth into a permanent one.

The mother profusely thanked both the healer and Mum for their assistance which sparked another albeit brief conversation on the subject that concluded with the healer thanking Mum for her help and what seemed like an invitation to return. Whatever it was for a chat or something more than that Hermione didn't know and decided not to needle Mum about it.

On their way out they picked up Crookshanks and Grim that waited for them in the waiting room, undisturbed by anyone (likely thanks to Grim's 'grimness') and they headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. Hermione managed to talk Mum out of getting her a Bottomless Bag by finally admitting that she had one on her own a gift left to her by her deceased Aunt. Hermione's bag, unlike the Bottomless Bag had a Feather-light Charm on it (whereas for the Bottomless Bag that particular charm was optional and quite costly).

When they entered the Leaky Cauldron the Weasleys were already seated at the biggest table and causing a somewhat familiar chaos. Mrs Weasley was alternatively chiding, mostly Fred and George, and handing out the purchases while Mr Weasley tried to read a newspaper (Quidditch section judging by the looks Ron and the twins were giving to the paper).

Hermione and Mum's arrival had gone unnoticed by them, unlike the Greengrass contingent that gave them a quick wave and for a briefest of moments Hermione wanted to screw it and just head to their table. But she squashed that desire, for the time being it was the best for everyone if her connections to the Greengrass family would remain a secret. And they were supposed to meet with the Weasleys.

Ginny was the first one to notice them and she made a beeline to Hermione and her Mum with a skip in her step and a breathed out, "Hermione, thank Merlin" before she hugged her tightly. Which was weird because in spite of Hermione's efforts (made on Mrs Weasley's suggestion) she and Ginny weren't exactly bosom friends. Granted Ginny's possession and Hermione's petrification didn't help the matter.

"That bad?" Hermione asked quickly as she hugged her back.

Ginny didn't reply, only hugged Hermione a little tighter before she let her go and greeted Mum. In a less exuberant but a cheerful manner, complementing Mum on her hair, dress and general demeanour on the same breath.

"You look great, Mrs Granger," she concluded.

"I feel great," Mum replied contently as Ginny started leading them to the table.

The next couple of minutes were lost to rather exuberant greetings. Mrs and Mr Weasley were excited to see them, especially since Hermione and her Mum 'got delayed' and didn't make it to the earlier meeting. Mum made a bold lie about problems with the car that delayed them (and was also the reason why Dad wasn't there). Fred and George also greeted them exuberantly while at the same time climbing to the heights of etiquette (likely to make a point to their Mum). Percy acknowledged their presence and greeted them before returning to the book he was reading.

And then there was Ron. For the briefest of moments Hermione thought that the reason why Ron was scowling at her was because instead of focusing her attention immediately on him she did so on the rest of the family but it wasn't until she sat down and Crookshanks happily clambered into her lap and Ron scowled harder that she got it.

"What is that?" he asked sourly.

"Crookshanks," replied Hermione tetchily. "My cat."

"Cats eat rats," Ron replied.

A true statement.

"And Crookshanks will be the only cat in Gryffindor tower, won't he?" asked Hermione pointedly. "Never mind about a twenty other felines that were running around the place the last time I counted. Not that I actually bothered to count them very accurately back then."

"It tried to eat Scabbers," Ron pointed out. "I can't believe you."

Hermione from the start of the summer would have likely huffed and rolled her eyes at that comment. But that Hermione was a naïve little girl who put her friends (and their problems and their businesses) before herself. Because who was Ron, aside of being a supposed friend, to police the pets Hermione was allowed to bring to school? At the very least her cat was on the list of allowed pets and didn't have to be smuggled into the school.

She opened her mouth to say as much but over Ron's shoulder she spotted Elijah and Astoria, seemingly conversing with the others while for a brief moment their gazes settled on her.

The Greengrass family as whole, along with Arcturus, Larry and Josephine had taken her in and accepted her as she was upon getting to know her and while the adults tried to instil in her certain behaviours they didn't hide that they were etiquette related and wizarding etiquette didn't differ that much from Muggle one. They made her feel at ease, well mostly, she could do without the disasters that plagued the preparations to the party but Arcturus's lessons had stuck.

She was better than descending into petty arguments that would achieve nothing but put everyone in a foul mood. She owed Ron nothing except keeping Crookshanks from the boys' dormitory and it wasn't that she was a frequent guest there in the first place.

"Well, you better do because Crookshanks is coming to Hogwarts with me," she replied with a smile. "But I promise to not let him into your dormitory," with that she concluded and turned to Ginny to pester her about Egypt.

TBC


Next: The capture of Peter Pettigrew.