Author's notes: The Rotten Writer, here again ladies and gentlemen with another chapter. This one was a little easier to write than the last two have been and was rather a bit of fun for me. Not as much fluff in this one though there's a bit in there, but we're skipping about a week of time and moving plots forward. Several different points have been hit during this chapter that will all tie up eventually and it's laying the ground work for future events in later chapters. Yay for progress.
Not much else to say really without going into a routine on all the other stories I'm working on, two of which haven't even been published in any way yet, so unless you guys are curious I'll save you that and simply move on.
Disclaimer: I own no part of the Harry Potter franchise, world, characters, or anything else. Only the plot belongs to me and even that's kind of iffy.
And now, without any further ado, I give you Chapter Twelve of A Fair Life.
A Fair Life
What Happened to Prongs?
by,
Rtnwriter
Harleen trembled, what felt like every muscle in her body shaking with strain as sweat dripped down her face and off the end of her nose. Her glasses had long since slipped down her nose but she couldn't move to fix them. A loud chime suddenly rang out through the room and she groaned and dropped to the ground on her front, arms and legs akimbo.
Very quickly, she winced, and forced herself to roll over onto her back as her breasts protested being squished between her body and the stone floor beneath her. I have got to remember not to do that, she thought irritably. The first time she'd done that very thing, the pain she'd experienced had been a complete shock and she was annoyed to learn that laying on her front was probably not generally going to be considered a good idea. As a male, with no breasts to get in the way, that hadn't been an issue that now needed to be added to her list of things that she needed to take into account when considering the differences in her body.
Groaning quietly she sat up and started a set of stretches, hoping to mitigate how sore her muscles would be later.
"You're already improving," Hermione told her from where she was resting on the small couch that sat against one wall. Hermione had not been able to keep up with Harleen in the workouts they'd started on Monday morning, but luckily she hadn't taken that small failure too hard. She knew that Harleen was physically more active than she was so she simply went about her own routine each morning without worrying about trying to keep up with her girlfriend.
She'd said nothing when Harleen joked that Hermione finished early just because she liked to sit and watch Harleen moving in the tight-fitting athletic clothing they'd been conjuring before each workout, though she did give Harleen a small, secretive smile.
"It's barely been a week," Harleen responded to her girlfriend's comment.
"You've still noticeably improved," Hermione argued. "You've lessened your lap time on the runs and your numbers for sets and reps have gone up nearly across the board."
"Let's give it at least a month to see how we're doing before we get too excited, love," Harleen said, standing and moving across the Room of Requirement to pour herself a glass of water from a pitcher resting on a small table by the couch. "Are we ready for today?"
Hermione nodded.
"I've worked out a general outline and all we need to do is finish getting the other champions on board before we approach the staff."
"Do you think it'd be better for us to approach Professor McGonagall in private, or should we try to present the idea to the entire staff?" Harleen asked curiously, dropping onto the other end of the couch from Hermione.
Hermione hummed quietly to herself, her eyes distant as she thought over the question for a moment. "Approaching Professor McGonagall might be easier, a smaller audience to deal with, but we might have a smaller number of required meetings if we asked to address the entire staff and ask for their help in sponsoring and overseeing the meetings. Even if we present the study group meetings as a student-run club, of sorts, there will need to be a staff member on hand for each meeting to supervise considering the number of students we're hoping to have."
Harleen nodded her head, expecting that answer.
"Alright, I'll ask the Headmaster if we could have a meeting this afternoon? If they agree to let us start it up we might be able to announce it at dinner."
"We're going to have a busy weekend, then. Talking to the other champions this morning, meeting Sirius in the village, then the staff discussion, if it's approved so quickly. Possibly announcing the club tonight. Tomorrow Augusta wants to get started on those lessons that you're supposed to be taking on being a proper Lady of your House."
Harleen grimaced. "Ugh, don't remind me," she groaned, letting her head drop against the back of the couch. "I'm really not looking forward to that crap."
"I know, hon, but it is important that you at least know the rules and etiquette and all of that. It'll make navigating society easier in the future. And maybe it'll help give some insight on why some people are acting so weird."
Harleen's grimace turned into a frown at that. Over the last week there had been an increasing number of strange occurrences with some of the other students. Most notably being Malfoy. Monday morning they'd gone to Potions and she'd been prepared for a confrontation. If she wasn't mistaken that was the lesson that he'd shown off the 'Potter stinks' badges in the previous timeline, but there'd been nothing. He had passed her and Hermione in the hall heading into class and had actually cordially greeted her on his way by, calling her 'Heiress Potter'. Of course, he'd pretended that Hermione wasn't standing right there next to her but before she'd been able to muster a response he was already in the class and sitting down at his preferred desk near the back of the room.
"Yeah, Malfoy's behaviour is really freaking me out."
"You don't remember him acting like this?"
She shook her head. "No. He was still just as much of a jerk as ever. He'd had these badges made that more than half the school were wearing that said 'Support Cedric Diggory, the Real Hogwarts Champion' but when you tapped them the wording changed to read 'Potter stinks'"
Hermione snorted. "Really? That's the best he could come up with?"
"That's what I thought at the time but it still pissed me off." Harleen let out a long sigh. "I think I was just so angry that year. Everyone either hated me or they were congratulating me for tricking the goblet. Almost no one really believed that I didn't do it."
She lifted her head from the couch and glanced over at the bushy-haired witch. "Except you. You never doubted me for a second."
Hermione's cheeks flushed but she smiled brightly.
Harleen sat up and turned more toward the other girl. "About… about today," she started, fiddling nervously with the glass of water she was still holding.
"If you're nervous about how Sirius is going to react to you being a girl," Hermione interrupted, "I don't think you have any reason to be. He'll have known that you were born a girl and when the fidelius broke he'd have gotten those memories back."
Harleen blinked, her train of thought completely derailing for a moment before she offered a rueful smile. "I actually hadn't even considered that… though now I kinda can't stop thinking about it."
Wincing, Hermione could only mutter a quiet, 'sorry'.
"No, it's okay. It's logical, actually and I'm not surprised you'd have considered that possibility. I don't mean that I thought it through and realized he'd know, I just hadn't actually considered the difference at all. It barely even occurred to me…" She trailed off for a moment contemplatively. "Think that means I'm getting used to being a girl again? That I didn't even think about the fact that the last time he saw me I was a boy?"
"Maybe. It's possible, I assume. But, what was it you were going to ask?"
Harleen nodded and took a deep breath. "I was just… well we're not supposed to meet him until two o'clock or so, right?"
Hermione nodded. "According to what you told me."
"So… I was wondering if you'd… if you'd like to consider the time before we go meet him as-as a… a date?"
Hermione straightened up in her seat, her eyes fixed on Harleen who was starting to feel as if maybe she should have kept her mouth shut until the other girl smiled softly and a sense of relief washed through her.
"I'm already your girlfriend you know," Hermione pointed out. "You don't need to be nervous about asking me out on a date."
"Maybe, maybe not. I just thought that we kind of missed a few steps. We got right to the 'relationship' part of things and we kind of missed the 'going on a date' part and I thought it could be fun. Just because we're already together doesn't mean dates aren't… maybe not 'necessary', but it could still be nice, right?"
Reaching out Hermione took hold of one of Harleen's hands and she gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.
"You don't have to convince me," she said. "I'd love to consider this our first date."
Harleen could feel her smile growing as she leaned in to give Hermione a quick kiss, intentionally keeping it short as she was aware she was a sweaty mess, and in desperate need of a shower. Standing, she quickly pulled the other girl to her feet.
"Come on," she said. "The sooner we get everything done, the sooner we can get down to the village."
Hermione's only response was to laugh at her girlfriend's sudden enthusiasm as she let herself be pulled from the Room of Requirement, both girls looking forward to the day ahead of them.
#####
I'm not really sure this is the best way to do this, Harleen thought later as she sat at the Hufflepuff table with a growing group of friends. At least not so soon, what if they changed something?
Angelina sat to her right with Hermione on her left. Neville held the seat directly across from Harleen, with Alicia and Katie on either side of him. For the last week the three chasers had taken to joining them for most of their meals and she had to admit, watching Neville try to stammer his way through a conversation while bracketed by the two gorgeous girls was fairly amusing.
Her attention shifted down the table to the other three champions where they were leaning in to better hear Hermione, who was in the process of outlining her plan for their study group.
"... so, the tournament rules say that teachers and staff can't help their champions because it would be considered cheating. However, there is nothing to say that the champions can't train and learn from each other," she was saying as Harleen tuned back into the conversation.
"But we are still supposed to be competing," Cedric pointed out. "Doesn't cooperating kind of defeat the purpose of the competition?"
"By all means, keep your plans or strategies for the tasks themselves to yourself," Hermione countered, "but that doesn't mean you can't still train with and teach each other."
"Eet could be 'elpful," Fleur mused, quietly. "Zough…" She glanced at Harleen. "I am sorry to say, 'Arleen, but would you be able to keep up? We are all older and 'ave learned more zan you."
"Don't worry about me," Harleen said. "I can hold my own." She was confident, but the other champions didn't appear to be convinced.
"Headmaster Karkaroff would not allow it, I am afraid," Viktor informed them, regret in his tone.
"Madame Maxime 'as been insisting zat I spend more time practicing and less time wiz all of you," Fleur admitted.
"I don't want to see anyone get hurt," Harleen said. "The tasks ahead of us are going to be dangerous and we will all have a better chance if we help each other train."
Leaning forward she studied the three of them carefully for a moment before turning her head to her girlfriend. Hermione simply shrugged and arched one brow in her direction. Harleen let out a sigh and pushed herself to her feet. "All right, come with me, I have something that I need to tell the three of you."
She stepped over the bench and moved down the table to a clear spot and sat again, waiting for the three older students to join her.
"What's this about, Harleen?" Cedric asked and Harleen motioned for him to wait. Her wand shot into her hand and she waved it, muttering the incantation for a muffliato under her breath.
"What was zat spell?" Fleur asked as Harleen put her wand away. "I deed not recognize eet."
"Privacy spell. No one closer than a couple of feet from us will be able to hear our conversation." Harleen paused, taking a moment to collect her thoughts as she considered how best to present the information she wanted to give them. Finally she decided to go with a direct approach. "I know what the first task is going to be."
She waited a moment to let that sink in then continued speaking before any of them could cut in.
"I can't tell you how I know, and I mean that literally. Not that I won't, but that I can't. I swear that I am not lying, or trying to trick you, or anything like that, and unless they suddenly decide to change the task now with two weeks to go it should be exactly as I say."
"And you vill tell us vat task is if ve come to group?" Viktor asked, his scowl more pronounced than ever.
"No, I'm not trying to blackmail or coerce you guys either. I'll tell you whether you agree to come to the group or not. I'm just hoping that, once you know, you'll see that we all need all the help we can get. Our group would be good for that."
The three of them exchanged a look for a moment before they turned their attention back to Harleen.
"Well?" Cedric asked. "What is the task supposed to be?"
"It's dragons," she said. I hope. If my actions have caused them to change the task for some reason this will all blow up in my face, but I can't wait another week to confirm it, they need the extra time to work on what they intend to do.
She glanced to Viktor and Fleur, both of whom looked pale. "Your Headmasters should learn about it in a few days to a week, I think, but I didn't want you guys waiting until the last minute to start working on your strategies. It's going to be hard enough as it is and we could use all the time we can get to prepare."
"Dragons?" Cedric questioned weakly.
"One for each of us," Harleen confirmed with a short nod. "We don't have to fight them, just steal something from them. There will be a golden egg in the nest with the dragon's real eggs and we each need to steal it. The egg has a clue that will be important to the second task."
"Nesting mozers!" Fleur shrieked. "Zey would have us steal from nesting mozer dragons? Are zey insane?"
"I've thought so for years now. Wizards are nuts!"
"I think I haff been insulted."
Harleen shot Viktor a grin at his deadpan comment. "Says the guy that rides his broom at full speed straight at the ground while dodging flying cannon balls," she quipped.
A moment later he cracked a small grin and nodded his head. "Fair," he said.
"You're serious, Harleen?" Cedric cut in. "This isn't a joke? Nesting mothers, they really want us to steal from nesting mothers?"
"I'm being completely serious," she answered. "I wouldn't joke about something like this and we'll be able to confirm it maybe a week before the task itself."
As long as my information is still good.
"Why waste our time with this study group, then?" he asked. "Sounds like we should be focusing on what we need to do to get through the task.
"Teaching is one of the best ways to learn. We can all work together, help each other, and that work will further our own understanding of the magic in the process."
Fleur had an amused smirk on her lips as Harleen finished. "'Ermione said zat, didn't she?"
Harleen grinned, unashamed. "She's always had a better way with words than me," she admitted, "and I've learned that she is very nearly always right, so it's usually best to listen to her."
The three of them exchanged another look, each still slightly pale from the bombshell that she'd just dropped on them.
"I'm in," Cedric finally said as Viktor and Fleur silently nodded their agreement. "It sounds like it could be helpful and the way Hermione explained it, it honestly wouldn't take that much time for us, leaving us plenty of time to work on our own strategies."
"Great! Hermione and I will present the idea to the staff, hopefully later today, and with any luck we'll announce it tonight at dinner."
Harleen canceled the muffliato and the four of them rose and walked back toward their previous seats. As the three older students sat, Harleen kept walking toward the Head Table, flashing Hermione a bright smile as she passed.
She came to a stop in front of the Headmaster and politely cleared her throat, pulling several of the nearest professor's attention toward her.
"Miss Potter?" Dumbledore asked, leaning forward slightly in his seat to peer over the table at her. "Is there something that I may help you with?"
"I hope so, Sir. Hermione and I have been talking and we would like to discuss the possibility of starting a student club."
"House Clubs should be discussed with your Head of House."
"This wouldn't be a Gryffindor Club," she replied, shaking her head. "The hope is for it to span all four houses and all years, as well as the visiting students. A number of students from different Houses have already expressed an interest and Cedric, Mister Krum, and Miss Delacour have all said that they would like to be a part as well. We were hoping that we could present the idea to the staff later today, hopefully before dinner? It would require some staff supervision considering the size and number of students we're hoping to have but we have an outline that should keep disruptions down and we feel it could be beneficial to the school as a whole."
Dumbledore hummed thoughtfully, absently stroking his beard with one hand as those professors who were paying attention leaned closer in interest.
"An interesting proposal, Miss Potter," Dumbledore finally murmured. "I do believe that most of the staff will be available in the hour before dinner. Will that give you sufficient time?"
"That should be plenty of time, Sir, thank you."
"You are most welcome, Miss Potter. You should return to your breakfast, we wouldn't want you to miss your first chance to visit Hogsmeade, would we?"
Harleen caught herself before she frowned, remembering that as far as most people knew, she'd never been to the village before. Last year she didn't have a signed permission slip so she hadn't been able to go, officially.
"Yes, Sir."
Returning to the table, she was able to finish her breakfast with minimal interruption, right up to the point that she and Hermione both stood to start making their way to the village.
At the same time that they stood up, a figure in the crimson robes of the Aurors appeared in the doorway leading out of the Great Hall along with an elderly witch carrying a large handbag with a stuffed vulture perched atop her hat.
"Madam Bones? Augusta?" Harleen asked as they approached the two older witches, confusion evident in her tone.
"I'm glad we caught you girls," Amelia Bones commented. "I really need to speak to you, Miss Potter. Augusta is here as your guardian and I need her permission to speak to you in an official capacity."
Harleen exchanged a worried look with the girl beside her before she sighed and turned her attention back to their visitors.
"Well, let's find somewhere quiet where we can talk."
#####
After the abrupt meeting with Madam Bones, Hermione found herself hard-pressed to help keep her girlfriend focused on their date. Normally she might have been annoyed that, after asking her out, Harleen hardly seemed present as they walked around the village, looking in shop windows and occasionally going into one shop or another to take a closer perusal of what was on offer. She could have been annoyed, but Hermione Granger was not that self-absorbed. Amelia's visit was plenty enough to throw Harleen entirely off balance and Hermione simply resolved to do her best to distract the other girl until it was time to meet her godfather.
"I'm really sorry, Hermione," Harleen muttered as the two of them made their way toward the Shrieking Shack that afternoon, a heavy basket filled with food and bottles of butter beer from the Three Broomsticks held between them. "This was supposed to be our first date and I've pretty much ruined it, haven't I?"
"It's perfectly fine," Hermione argued. "After seeing Madam Bones earlier, no one could expect you to be focused on much else right now."
Harleen looked unconvinced and Hermione pulled her to a stop. "Hey, this was never going to be a romantic outing, not with us keeping our relationship quiet. Really, it was just the idea that we would consider it a date that made it special beyond just spending time with my best friend." Harleen opened her mouth when Hermione kept going right over whatever she was going to say.
"Yes, you've been distracted, but you have a pretty good reason for it, so I'm not at all upset. But… if it really bothers you that much, you can make it up to me later."
Harleen was looking considerably more thoughtful as she considered that and Hermione started walking again, gently pulling Harleen along with her.
"Come on," she told the other girl, "Snuffles is waiting for us."
They reached the shack fairly quickly after that. Hermione noticed that Harleen didn't even appear to be aware of their surroundings as she seemed lost in thought, right up until they arrived at the fence that bordered the property. Hermione looked up at the dilapidated structure, a delayed thought occuring to her that she hadn't considered before.
"How are we going to get inside?" she wondered aloud.
"I can take care of that."
Harleen shifted the basket they were carrying to her left arm, grumbling under her breath about the weight, then held her right arm out to Hermione. "Grab on," she said.
Confused, Hermione nevertheless complied with her girlfriend's strange request and took hold of the offer arm, looping their arms together and clasping the other girl's hand in her own. Harleen closed her eyes in apparent concentration. A moment later Harleen seemed to twist slightly and suddenly Hermione's world dissolved into darkness and she felt as if her body were being compressed and then sucked through a straw, or maybe a rubber garden hose. She couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't hear, coul-
Whatever happened, ended as suddenly as it began, and Hermione staggered for a moment as her feet seemed to slam into the ground. Though no part of the experience was painful, it was damned uncomfortable, and only the tight grip she had on Harleen's arm kept her standing as she hunched over, free hand on her knee in an effort to keep her stomach from expelling whatever might have been left of her breakfast all over the cracked and broken floorboards under their feet.
Wait… floorboards?
She blinked several times and did her best to swallow down her nausea as she slowly pushed herself into a more upright position, her eyes scanning the room around them.
"Are… are we inside the Shack?" she asked.
"Yeah. I figured that apparating inside would be the easiest way so I pulled you along with me. Sorry I didn't warn you," Harleen added the last bit sheepishly as she set the basket down.
"You apparated without a license!?" Hermione practically shrieked. She really wasn't certain what she was most surprised by. The fact that her girlfriend had just broken the law, or that she knew how to do something that they hadn't been taught. Memories were one thing, but could she really know everything she learned in her extra years worth of memories? Did that translate into actually being able to do everything she'd learned?
Harleen shrugged. "We did it a lot while we were on the run. Getting a license to apparate wasn't exactly high on our list of priorities when the government was out to kill me," she muttered absently, her focus mostly on the room around them. A few silent waves of her wand had the majority of the dust and cobwebs cleaned up and the broken furniture repaired.
There she goes again, Hermione thought. Sometimes she talks about remembering things, and other times it's like she actually lived it, not just remembering it, but that would mean…
Harleen was tapping her wand against her chin in a contemplative manner as she continued to study the room, an action that terrified Hermione to no end, as the door opened behind them and they both spun toward the noise, wands pointing at the figure that now stood in the doorway.
"Nice reflexes," Sirius said as he stepped the rest of the way into the room. Smiling, Hermione lowered her wand. Her smile turned into a frown a moment later when she felt Harleen's hand grip her arm, her own wand still pointed at the bedraggled wizard.
"Last year," she said, "what did you tell me that we could do after we got your name cleared?" Harleen's voice was hard, and there was a steely look in her eyes that greatly surprised Hermione.
"What are you talking about?" she asked only to be ignored by both of the other people in the room.
For a few seconds, Sirius just stared at them, a shocked look on his face. Eventually however, he broke into a broad grin.
"Smart," Sirius complimented, his eyes never leaving the tip of the wand still pointed unwaveringly at his chest. "We used to use security questions all the time, to make sure the person we were talking to was actually who they appeared to be. That's very smart of you to insist on, though I think you're being a little paranoid."
"Someone entered my name into a competition that was originally abandoned because of the growing death toll," Harleen countered. "I don't think I'm being paranoid enough. Answer the question."
Sirius nodded. "I said that you could come live with me, if you wanted to, instead of going back to your relatives home."
Hermione held back her surprised gasp through sheer force of will. That was something she hadn't realized. In the few minutes they'd been able to spend with Sirius last year she hadn't heard that offer and Harry had never mentioned it. The blow that losing Pettigrew really was finally sank in. Losing the rat hadn't just been losing a chance to get Sirius his freedom, it had also been Harleen losing the chance to live with someone that actually wanted her. Someone that wouldn't treat her as horribly as the Dursleys had.
Beside her, the rock steady wand that had been pointing at Sirius wavered for a moment. Less than a second later it shot back up Harleen's sleeve and the girl was racing across the short distance to throw herself against her godfather, arms wrapping tightly around him as he caught and spun her around.
"I missed you, Padfoot," Harleen muttered, her voice muffled against the man's chest.
Conjuring a table and moving a few chairs, Hermione started setting out the food they'd brought with them in an effort to give the two of them a few moments of privacy. In Harleen's memories, the last time she'd seen her godfather he was falling to his death through that Veil at the Ministry. According to the raven haired witch, it had been a couple of years since then, memory wise, but that didn't make the pain any less. On top of that, Sirius might have felt he'd only seen Harry a few months earlier, but to Harleen it had been nearly two years and Hermione was well aware the girl was going to be a little overwhelmed for a bit until she managed to get herself back together.
Eventually, Sirius placed his hands on Harleen's shoulders and gently pushed her back, just far enough that he could get a good look at her, dropping to one knee at the same time to better bring him closer to her height.
After their discussion in the Room of Requirement, Hermione knew that Harleen had put a significant degree of thought into her outfit for that day, both because of their intent for part of the day to be their first date and because of Hermione's own comments on Sirius' possible reaction to Harleen being a girl again. As a result of that, Harleen was wearing a pair of black shoes with knee high socks, a knee length skirt and another of the scoop necked blouses that showed enough cleavage to leave no doubt that she was decidedly female, but without having the overall effect of being slutty. Her hair was loose and brushed into some semblance of order but still had that messy look to it as it fell around her face and across her shoulders and upper back.
All in all, Hermione thought she looked incredibly cute.
"How?" Sirius choked out in a hoarse whisper, his eyes filling with tears as they roamed over her face. "I held you when you were born. I was there the day your parents took you home. I changed your nappies. You… you're m-my goddaughter, for Merlin's sake! How did I just forget that? What is going on, Harleen?"
Harleen threw her arms around the man's neck, hugging him tightly again as a small, relieved sob burst out of her.
"It's a long story, Mister Black," Hermione offered from where she had just finished setting out the last of the food.
"Hermione, right?" Sirius asked, turning his head slightly toward her.
Hermione nodded.
"None of that 'Mister Black' crap," he told her, smiling softly at her as he stood with Harleen still clinging to him, her feet now dangling above the ground as he carried her toward the table. "You helped this one break the laws of time to save my tail last year, I think you've more than earned the right to call me Sirius."
It took another minute or so, but Harleen finally released her godfather and let Hermione lead her to one of the chairs. Sirius sat across from them while Hermione took the seat next to Harleen.
"Eat, Sirius," Hermione told the man. "You can't have had a decent meal recently."
He shook his head. "I haven't. Mostly been living off of rats when I can catch them. Luckily, as a dog, I have a dog's taste buds, so it's not quite as awful as it sounds."
"So eat and we'll explain."
"You need to promise me something, Padfoot," Harleen cut in, her voice thick.
"What's that?"
"You're going to be upset. In fact, you're going to be pissed, but you can't run off like you did when you went after Pettigrew. I don't mean to be harsh but I need my godfather right now. I've got a very small number of adults that are actually on my side and I really need my godfather on that list. There are some things I'm going to need to do but I can't from school and I'll need your help to get them done. They're very important, not just for me but for the rest of the world too."
In the act of filling his plate, Sirius froze, his face going blank as Harleen spoke and Hermione could visibly see the tension filling the wizards body.
"I'm not blaming you for anything, and I'm not trying to make you feel bad, Padfoot. I just… I really, really need you to understand how serious this is."
Slowly, Sirius placed his hands flat on the table on either side of his plate. "I made a stupid mistake. Instead of taking care of you, like I should have, I decided to focus on revenge and we missed twelve years that we could have had. I'm not going to do anything stupid anymore. You have my word, I won't go tearing off. Do you want to hold onto my wand while you explain? Just so I can't run off like an idiot?"
Harleen's smile was small, but genuine.
"No, your word is enough," she assured him. "Just… eat, and we'll explain what we can."
Over the next hour, Harleen, with Hermione helping whenever she could, filled Sirius in on what had been happening over the last week and a half since Halloween night. They made a point to stick to what Dumbledore did in regards to her life, her entry into the tournament, and what they'd been trying to do to make friends with the other champions to, hopefully, help each other survive what was coming in the tournament. When they finally finished, Sirius spent several minutes staring at his empty bottle of butter beer, his hands clenching and relaxing, almost convulsively, around the glass.
"That was smart," he finally said, his voice tight, as if he was physically restraining himself in some way. "Asking Augusta to place you under the protection of her House. That was damned smart. She won't take any crap from anyone and she'll do her best to protect you with everything that House Longbottom can bring to bear."
He blew out a long sigh.
"You're positive I shouldn't kick Dumbledore's wrinkled old arse all over the castle?"
Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes while Harleen burst out laughing.
"No, Sirius. He made a lot of mistakes but he seems to honestly be trying to make up for them. I may not be willing to forgive him yet, but I'm not going to keep shoving it in his face either. Not when we're going to need him in the future."
Sirius grumbed a bit but he nodded and his posture relaxed relaxed a touch.
"This is a mess, kid," Sirius muttered. "The old man wasn't wrong that the orphaned heiress of a House like yours would be sought after in a big way by a lot of different factions in our society."
"Several people have said that at this point," Hermione pointed out. "But what exactly does that mean? How would anyone be able to get anything from Harleen?"
Sirius grimaced.
"Depending on who your magical guardian was they could arrange a marriage contract in exchange for any number of things, and as a minor you'd have no say in how your life was handled. I was supposed to be your guardian but they threw me in prison, that should have had you in some form of legal limbo. The Ministry would most likely have had you as a ward of the government, and we all know that Fudge can be bought pretty easily. It is possible that if Dumbledore hadn't done what he did you might have had a magically binding contract written to bind you to the Malfoys before you were even two years old."
Hermione was reasonably certain that the look on her face told clearly just how disgusted she was by that suggestion, she couldn't begin to imagine how Harleen must feel about it.
"Okay… for the sake of my lunch, I'm not going near that," Harleen muttered, swallowing thickly. "Back to what you were saying, yes, this whole situation is a hell of a mess. To be perfectly honest though, that's not even the half of it."
Sirius' eyebrows rose toward his hairline at that.
"There's a lot more going on, things we need your help with, but we can't explain that yet," Hermione told him.
He began to protest until Harleen cut him off.
"Even when we do tell you, we can't explain how we know what we know. I understand it's asking a lot but I really need you to trust us."
Sirius eyed them both carefully for a minute before he let out another long sigh and slowly nodded his head.
"After what you two have done for me, I'd be the idiot that Snivellus thinks I am not to trust you, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt here."
Hermione could hear Harleen's relieved sigh, even over her own and she reached for her butter beer to wet her suddenly dry mouth and throat.
"So… how long have you two been an item?"
Hermione managed to turn her head in time to spit her drink across the floor instead of directly at the now hysterically laughing wizard sitting across from them, but only just.
"W-wh-what?!" she stammered out, her eyes wide and mouth hanging open, completely oblivious to the spilled drink dripping down her chin.
"Don't try to deny it," Sirius crowed gleefully. "There's something going on between you two. I thought I saw something last year when you were busy saving my mangy hide and it's only more obvious now. "
"How?" Harleen demanded.
With a broad grin on his face, Sirius pointed at the space in between the two girls. "You've been holding hands for the last twenty minutes or so."
Looking down, Hermione realized that she did indeed have Harleen's hand clasped tightly in her own and immediately let go. Or, she would have if Harleen hadn't tightened her grip and pulled Hermione's hand up to place a soft kiss on the back of her knuckles.
"Harleen!"
"What? Sirius is about the closest thing to family that I have left," she said in response to Hermione's knee-jerk protest. "You already said you don't intend to hide our relationship from your parents, why should we hide it from him?"
Immediately, all protest died and Hermione found herself staring into a worried green gaze. "Oh, love… I'm sorry, I didn't mean that we should hide it, I was just surprised. You know I don't do well with surprises." She directed a small glare at the grinning wizard. "A little warning would have been nice," she huffed, to which Sirius only grinned wider.
"This isn't going to be a problem, is it, Padfoot?" Harleen asked, a hint of worry poorly hidden behind an attempt at a stern tone.
Quickly, Sirius raised both hands in a placating gesture.
"Absolutely not," he said. "Why would you even wonder about that?"
"We've heard that wizarding society isn't very accepting of relationships like ours."
"No, no they're not, but when did I ever let what others accept dictate how I behave?"
Harleen and Hermione exchanged a look. "Well… we haven't exactly known you long enough to know how you feel about most things," Harleen pointed out dryly, causing Sirius to wince.
"Fair point, well made," he conceded with a sigh. "Well, for a quick explanation, my family have all been in Slytherin and as dark as our name in various ways going back centuries. I was the first Black sorted into Gryffindor in who knows how long and my mother never let me forget just how much of a disappointment I was to the family. I rejected everything my family preached, for the most part. Something like what you two have would set my mother spinning in her grave, so I say, 'go for it'. If this is what you want, don't let anyone try to tell you different."
He paused for a moment to let that sink in then leaned forward in his seat.
"That being said, I do have to ask, are you sure this is the kind of relationship that you want?" he asked, his eyes holding Harleen's gaze.
Harleen nodded emphatically. "Absolutely," she said. She glanced over at Hermione, a light pink dusting her cheeks. "I have for a long time."
Sirius offered his goddaughter a small smile then turned his dark eyes toward Hermione, who felt Harleen tense beside her and she gave the smaller girl's hand a gentle squeeze. Hermione had suspected this possibility and had warned Harleen about it during the last week, though she hadn't expected the topic of their relationship to come up quite so soon. Were Harleen still male and the two of them were together, Hermione suspected that Sirius would simply congratulate 'Harry' on getting a girlfriend and then probably make sure to teach him some contraception charms.
With a daughter, or daughter figure, men tended to think differently, even if they didn't mean to or were consciously aware of it. She figured that, in the absence of James Potter, Sirius would likely take up the perceived responsibility of ensuring any potential suitor was 'worthy' of Harleen's attention, for lack of a better term.
"What about you?" Sirius asked in a surprisingly gentle tone, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Are you certain?" He jerked a thumb in Harleen's direction. "The way I hear it, that one's done almost nothing but drag you into trouble since you two met. Sure she's worth the aggravation?"
As Harleen's mouth dropped open, Hermione blinked several times in surprise before she noticed the amused glint in Sirius' eyes and the way his lips continued to quirk up into a sly smirk before he'd quickly smooth it away.
"Oh, yes," she said, a small smirk turning up the corners of her own mouth. "Harleen really does get herself into a lot of trouble. The thing is, she seems to need my help getting out of it once she's there." She glanced at Harleen, who was looking back and forth between her and Sirius with a bewildered expression on her face.
"Even if I wasn't already in love with her, I'd want to keep close to her, just to keep an eye on her."
Sirius burst out laughing, leaning back so far in his chair that the front legs came off of the ground and, for a moment, he looked to be in danger of falling backward onto the floor.
"You're lucky I love you, you know that, right?" Harleen asked, scowling slightly at Hermione though there was little real heat to her expression.
"I do know that," Hermione quipped, "and I'm sure I'll pay for that later." Leaning over she pressed a gentle kiss to her girlfriend's lips. "I hope you know that I love you, too." she whispered, watching carefully as the annoyed look in those expressive green eyes softened and Harleen leaned in to give her a longer, more lingering kiss in answer to Hermione's question.
By the time Hermione was settled fully back in her own seat Sirius was smiling softly at the both of them, all four feet of his chair firmly on the ground and Hermione blushed in spite of herself for the affectionate display she'd just engaged in in front of the older wizard.
"Hermione, I imagine that you expected me to pull the overprotective godfather routine, maybe ask what your intentions are or something like that?"
Somewhat sheepishly, Hermione nodded her head.
"If it was anyone else our girl had ended up with, I admit, I probably would have. But last year, even in the short time that I managed to spend with you, it was obvious to me that there was something incredibly special between you two. Even if you didn't end up together, I saw a friendship and loyalty to each other that was truly amazing to witness.
"I have no doubts that neither of you would ever intentionally do something to hurt the other, and if, for some reason, your relationship as a couple doesn't last long term, it's clear to me that you will be the closest possible friends for the rest of your lives." He reached across the table and took their free hands in his own. "You don't need it, but as the closest thing Harleen has to family, you absolutely have my blessing. And I think I can say that James and Lily would approve as well. Both of your relationship and just you as a person, Hermione."
Hermone was honestly surprised to find herself feeling an immense sensation of relief that Sirius was so accepting of her and her relationship with his goddaughter. She hadn't thought that she had been particularly worried about how he would react, but obviously there was some hidden concern at the back of her mind that she hadn't been consciously willing to acknowledge until that moment.
Tears stung her eyes as that relief swept through her, overpowering and nearly all-encompassing. Both of the girls found themselves needing a minute to get their emotions under control. In those few minutes Hermione rushed around the table to deliver a fierce hug to the man. Sirius' laugh was warm and cheerful and it seemed to fill the room.
Lunch completed, they banished the table and an hour of light discussion later found Sirius sitting in a conjured armchair with Harleen and Hermione cuddling together on a freshly cleaned couch as they chatted.
Finally, Harleen glanced at the battered watch on her wrist and sat up with a disappointed sigh.
"We should get back to the school," she said, "but before that, we have one last thing we need to discuss with you, and I think this is probably going to be the hardest one for you to trust us on."
"Just spit it out, pup. No sense delaying the inevitable."
Reaching out, Hermione placed one hand on her girlfriend's shoulder, offering what comfort she could but remained silent, letting Harleen handle the information to come.
"On Halloween, after I got my body back and the fidelius broke, I set Madam Bones onto the fact that you're innocent of betraying my parents or killing Wortail... that you never even got a trial in the first place for either of those incidents… she's the Head of the DMLE, by the way."
Slightly shakily, Sirius nodded, though whether that was meant to indicate that he knew that about Madam Bones, or simply to acknowledge that he'd heard Harleen, she couldn't say.
"She was up at the school earlier with Madam Longbottom, just before we came down this morning, and let me know that she'd looked into things and found confirmation that you never got a trial. Right about now she should be waiting outside and has asked if you would talk to her."
Sirius was looking incredibly pale by this point.
"She swore that she has no intention of trying to send you back to Azkaban," Harleen assured him.
Sirius grimaced. "Kiss-on-sight order. No reason to send a soulless husk back to Azkaban."
"She just wants to talk to you," Harleen insisted. "No Dementors. She said that even without Wormtail in custody she might be able to get you your freedom."
Sirius' knuckles were white, both hands clenched into tight fists on his thighs. He flinched when Harleen moved over to him and took one of his hands in both of hers, gently straightening his fingers so she could clasp his hand properly.
"I promise, everything will be okay. She was livid when we told her what happened to you, how Crouch treated you. You can trust her, Sirius.
"I know Amy. Or, I knew her at least. She was my mentor for a while after James and I graduated from the Auror Academy. Always knew her to be an honest, and basically incorruptible sort of woman."
"Then you know you can trust that she's not out to get you? That she just wants to talk to you?" Harleen pressed and he looked up into her eyes.
"I trust that you trust her, but after so many years, she can't be the same woman that I once knew anymore. If you say that she's on the up and up, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt." Gently, he took his hand back and placed it on the arm of his chair, pushing himself to his feet and drawing his goddaughter into another long hug.
"Come on you two," he whispered thickly, "let's get going."
#####
Dumbledore's expression was unreadable as Harleen and Hermione finished presenting their initial argument for forming the study group. Well… his face showed the same grandfatherly expression that he typically wore. A gentle smile, mostly hidden by his long beard, with his blue eyes twinkling full blast and his long fingers laced together, his hands held flat against his chest.
Harleen had long since learned that that congenial mask was the aged wizard's version of a poker face. It gave away nothing of what he was actually feeling while giving the impression that he was on your side when you spoke to him. As such, she ignored the old wizard before her and instead let her eyes move over the rest of the staff, hoping to have a better chance to judge their reactions.
Professors Vector, Babbling, and Burbage looked interested, while professors McGonagall and Sprout appeared curious, but cautious. Snape's sneer said more than enough, but it was professor Flitwick that was the real surprise. The diminutive little professor was practically vibrating in his seat, an excited expression etched onto his face.
"Well," the Hadmaster spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to him. "It is clear that you have put a great deal of thought into this, ladies. I personally feel that this is an excellent idea, however I shall call upon my colleagues to further their own understanding. Do any of you have any questions for our young students?"
"How many days per week were you hoping to run your club?" asked Professor Sprout, leaning forward in her seat as she spoke.
"Hopefully most evenings immediately after dinner," Harleen answered. "First through fourth year students one day, then fifth through seventh the next day. This way those with an evening Astronomy class that might wish to skip a club night in order to get in a nap before the late class can do so without having a long wait before the next club meeting for their year."
"Why that year breakdown?" Professor McGonagall inquired.
"Ostensibly, first through fourth year students have the easiest work loads. By encouraging the older students to help the younger, both groups will be able to benefit," Hermione said.
"How so?"
"The first and second year students will be able to benefit from the third and fourth year student's experience. They can offer more one-on-one instruction than can be found in a formal classroom setting to help in the specific area where a student might be having trouble. Pronunciation, wand movement, or lack of understanding regarding the proper theory. By the very act of teaching, having to explain and demonstrate, the older students will increase their own understanding of what they are teaching, which will help them with their own studies as that work is simply expanding on the basics that we are taught in our first two years."
"And the same could be said for the fifth through seventh year students," Professor Vector muttered thoughtfully. "Fifth year has OWLs and the other two years have already been through that. Those three years benefit each other more than if we placed years four and five together."
"Exactly," Hermione confirmed with a nod of her head.
"I would be happy to offer my services as a staff supervisor," Flitwick squeaked excitedly. "This is a very well thought out idea and I feel that we will see a marked improvement in grades across the board from those students that choose to attend."
"You claimed this morning, Miss Potter, that there were students from multiple Houses that had already expressed an interest. Which Houses and Years?" queried the Headmaster.
"Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw students from third through sixth year, as well as the visiting champions from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons."
Snape sneered again when Harleen finished speaking.
"I see you intentionally left out my students, Potter," he snarled. "Trying to disadvantage my Slytherins? That is, of course, the only way you can make yourself seem better than your superiors."
Most of the staff turned surprised looks toward the seething man. Even Dumbledore was frowning at him, kindly image gone in his irritation with the Potions Master.
Before anyone could say anything, Harleen scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Once again, you prove yourself to be a small minded fool with an ongoing victim complex, Snape," she drawled lazily.
The silence in the room would have been complete if not for Snape huffing like an enraged bull, his face purple and his teeth almost audibly grinding together.
"I am still a professor at this school and-"
"You have to actually teach to be considered a professor, Snape. Please be quiet and stop making assumptions so that we can finish explaining," Harleen snapped, cutting the irate man off.
A gentle touch on her arm had her biting her tongue against the rest of what she wanted to say and she took a step back, letting Hermione take over again.
"We have not intentionally excluded anyone and have already said that we want the group to encompass the entire school, that includes Slytherin, " Hermione smoothly continued before Harleen could lose her temper.
"Why do you presently not have any prospective students from Slytherin?" Dumbledore asked. "And how do you propose to include them going forward?"
"The general animosity between the two Houses and lack of social interaction outside of class meant that we weren't sure who might be receptive to learning about a study group from us, so we were unable to approach any of the Slytherin students. In order to include them, we were hoping that you, Headmaster, might make the first meeting mandatory for the entire school. That way they get a chance to attend one meeting and can then decide for themselves if they wish to continue attending after the fact."
Several of the staff members were nodding their heads while Snape simply glowered at Harleen.
"What I don't understand is how the two of you intend to run this group," Vector commented. "With three year groups ahead of you and holding meetings nearly every evening, how could two fourth year students be in charge?"
"Oh we have no intention of being in charge, not in an official capacity," Hermione answered.
"We have some ideas for spells that we could teach some of the younger students, and hope that a few of the older ones may take a similar stance, holding lessons on specific spells that they've learned. It is intended to truly be a school endeavour, not the work of a particular student or House. We see this as an opportunity to get the entire school working together, regardless of which House they've been sorted into." Harleen stepped forward as she spoke, carefully ignoring Snape and focusing her attention on the rest of the assembled faculty.
"I said something similar to Cedric on Halloween morning. In the three years I've been here, I've barely interacted with other students outside my House and I just don't see why we do that. With so many other students here I think we all might find good friends in the other Houses and this could be a good way to try to break down some of the walls we've all put up between ourselves, look outside our usual circles, and improve on our classes at the same time."
"For that reason alone I am inclined to give approval for this endeavour. The sixth year prefects can help to keep order during the lower year meetings by simply rotating out which House prefects are present each night. We might even imply to the fourth year students that assisting during the meetings could go toward our decision for next year's prefects, and with Professor Flitwick so enthusiastically offering his support we have our staff supervisor covered," Dumbledore spoke, his eyes twinkling more actively than ever.
"I'd be happy to sit in on occasion as well," Professor Burbage offered. "I couldn't possibly attend every meeting but as often as possible I'd like to see how this all goes."
"Very good. Are there any doubts about allowing this project to proceed?" the Headmaster asked of the room at large and when no one spoke up, he turned his gaze back to the two girls in front of them. "Well, congratulations, ladies. You have convinced us. Dinner is just about to start so let us head into the Great Hall and I will let you explain to the students about your project. And… yes, I think thirty points each to Gryffindor, for coming up with such an inspired idea."
As the staff filed out of the room, lead by an irate Potions Master, Harleen and Hermione followed along behind them, Hermione bouncing giddily as they walked.
"This is brilliant, Harleen," she gushed excitedly as the staff took their seats at the Head Table. A glance across the room showed that the entire student body appeared to already be in the Great Hall and Harleen found her throat suddenly feeling dry at the prospect of having to speak in front of the entire school. She'd had enough trouble talking to the original members of the DA in the first timeline and now she had to talk in front of everyone?
Oh sure, she'd made a few announcements on Halloween in front of everybody, but she hadn't exactly been paying attention to the students staring at her at that time. She'd been pissed at Dumbledore and the pain of her transformation had certainly been distracting her from the attention she'd been gathering to herself at the time.
She felt a hand slip into hers and squeeze gently and turned her attention to the girl standing at her side, a knowing look in her eyes.
"You'll do fine," Hermione assured her. "I'll be right there with you and you won't have to do all of the talking yourself; Don't worry."
Gratefully, Harleen offered a small smile and squeezed back before reluctantly letting go of her girlfriend's hand. As much as she didn't want to let go, the fact that Sirius had so quickly seen through them reminded them both that they needed to work harder at not advertising their new relationship, not just yet. It wouldn't do for other people to figure it out as her godfather had.
"... first meeting, to be held at an unknown time at this point, will be mandatory for all students attending this institution. After that first meeting attendance is entirely voluntary, though I do hope that many of you will avail yourselves of the potential opportunities offered by this endeavour," the Headmaster said, drawing Harleen's attention back to him where he was standing and addressing the crowded Hall. "Our visiting students are welcome to attend as well while you are our guests. The staff and I have high hopes for this group. Now, let me turn things over to the two young ladies that brought this idea to us and I will allow them to explain how things will work. Please, listen carefully, and hold any questions until after they have finished with their presentation."
Taking a deep breath, Harleen squared her shoulders and walked out in front of the staff table with Hermione right by her side until the two of them stood front and center, a sea of eyes fixed squarely on them.
"Evening everyone," Harleen said, raising her voice slightly. "Can everyone hear me?" A general murmur swept through the crowd but no one spoke out in the negative so she took that to mean that they could all hear her properly and simply continued.
For ten minutes, she and Hermione outlined the group, how it would work, which days would be for which individual year groups and so on with little to no interruption from their audience. As they spoke, Harleen's confidence grew as many of the faces she could see appeared interested, or at least curious. Very few seemed outright upset or against the concept they were outlining and she saw that alone as a win given the separation between the Houses.
"Now, I understand that having the first meeting be required doesn't inspire confidence, so we'll get it out of the way as quickly as we can and hold it tomorrow evening immediately following dinner," Harleen ended their announcement. "The way the group is intended to operate won't really work for tomorrow's meeting since there will be too many of us, even with having the meetings here in the Great Hall so instead tomorrow will be a special presentation to start teaching a new charm. Mostly just explaining the charm and letting you all give it a try. That won't be how the group should operate on the whole, but I do hope that some of us will be willing to hold smaller classes during our year groups days to teach spells to other students that might prove useful in the future."
"What spell are you going to show us?" someone yelled out, to which Harleen exchanged a look with her girlfriend for a moment.
"We've been thinking about that, and we've decided that I will be demonstrating the Patronus Charm," she announced. That statement was followed by a marked rise in the noise in the room as murmurs swept through the crowd. Harleen noticed the Drumstrang and Beauxbatons students looking shocked with even Viktor dropping his usual scowl fie wide eyes and raised eyebrows.
"Can you even cast a patronus?" someone else shouted. "That's a NEWT level charm."
"I learned how to cast it last year."
"Prove it!"
With an inaudible sigh, Harleen let her wand shoot from the sleeve of her robes and into her hand, closing her eyes for a moment as she thought back to that second morning that she woke up in her girlfriend's arms. She felt safe. She felt loved. She felt happier than she'd ever felt in her life.
Raising her wand, she opened her eyes, smiling softly as she spoke the incantation.
"Expecto Patronum."
Gasps rippled through the crowd as a brightly glowing shape bulged outward from the tip of Harleen's wand. Warmth and joy spread through the room as silver light shone from the large figure as it silently cantered its way up the walkway between the two middle tables.
Warmth and joy that Harleen barely noticed through the shock of pain that filled her. She felt as if a fist had clamped itself around her heart and when she spoke, her voice came out as though it belonged to a lost, scared, little girl.
"But… what happened to Prongs?"
As if to answer her, her patronus spread its large wings and turned, launching itself into the air to do a circuit around the room before the thestral came in to land right in front of her. It towered above her, folding its wings along its sides before it bowed its head to her and slowly faded out of existence.
