Best friends reunited
Hermione was in the door of the mansion and up the stairs where she was met by a stunned Hadrian.
"Harry….Hadrian…Hade" she threw her arms around Harry crying and laughing as he just held her and sobbed. "I missed you, so much" they said together
Rebekah and Marcel both had tears in their eyes. "Wow, that's one helluva reunion right there. Do you see teenaged fluffy love there?"
"Naa, I think those two are like Brother and Sister" Marcel said with a smile
Hadrian was pulling Hermione up the stairs excitedly.
"Hi Auntie Rebekah, this is my best friend Hermione from the UK, also she is an incredibly witch who attends 'the deathtrap school' as Grandpa Klaus describes it"
"I know sweetie, Hermione, I am Rebekah, Hadrian's auntie. This my husband Marcel Gerard"
Hermione gawped at these two very beautiful vampires whilst shaking their hands.
"You are very beautiful" Hermione blurted out, then she clapped her hands over her mouth as if she had offended Rebekah and Marcel. Rebekah grinned at Hadrian happily "I like her, great-nephew"
"You shouldn't, I am so sorry, I often say the first thing that comes into my head, it's a bad habit and I am trying to curb it"
Rebekah took her hand and covered it with her other hand "Don't be sorry, I like honest and blunt people. They make a refreshing change from lying backstabbers"
Hermione agreed vividly by nodding. "You mean the walking talking dustbin we should not talk about." Hadrian burst out laughing as did Rebekah.
"Yes, the red-haired walking dustbin, I heard all about him from Hadrian. Honestly all that family he had and didn't appreciate. Jealousy is such a ugly toxic emotion"
Hermione agreed vividly "I definitely concur, he was always trying to make Harry slack off to make himself feel better about not putting any effort into his school work which was zero effort, most of the time, sorry Hadrian but I did do most of your work for you" Hadrian shook his head "No offence taken, I did take you for granted and I only did the minimum effort because I was afraid of losing Ron as a friend because I did better than him. It's because I was so afraid of Ron, he kept punching me in the arm where my broken bones were healing from the bludger in quidditch. He was becoming my cousin, a bully"
Hermione nodded and continued talking "Ron was very possessive over Hadrian, and when Hadrian wrote to me and told me that Ron was being paid from your inheritance vaults and the trust vaults by Dumbledore, I felt physically sick."
Rebekah felt emotionally sick and steeled herself for more bad news.
"I then decided to tell my parents everything from first year upwards, including being petrified by a Basilisk. They helped me realise that those things weren't meant to be happening in a place of education and that these incidents were tests for Hadrian, to see how brave he was, to see how much Gryffindor was within him." Rebekah sat up straight at that piece of information.
"You were petrified by a bloody big basilisk!" Rebekah hissed angrily
"Yes, it is one of the oldest and deadliest species of Reptile there is, It's deadly gaze already killed one young girl in the 1940's, supposedly Tom Riddle (AKA Voldemort) released the Basilisk the first time. I think it was Dumbledore who imperiused Tom knowing he spoke Parseltongue. I saw it via a mirror which is why I am alive to tell the story. If I hadn't and had looked at it directly, I'd probably be dead." Hermione said in 'a matter of fact' tone.
Rebekah's vampiric visage showed then and her fangs dropped as Hermione backed away.
"Oh, don't be afraid of me, but be very afraid for Dumbledore" Rebekah said chillingly.
"Why?" Hermione squeaked as she grabbed Hadrian's hand in fright.
"Because he is one very dead wizard when I see him next!" she hissed
"Go you, Aunt Bekky" Hadrian quickly recounted the airport confrontation and how Rebekah compelled Dumbledore to forget about Hadrian being his little pawn.
Hadrian saw steam coming from Hermione's ears and the magic crackle around her hair. "Hermione, please calm down, Aunt Rebekah dealt with him, she compelled him to think that he doesn't know me other than I went to his school and I am now living here in New Orleans for a time to attend another school, Rebekah is going to Hogwarts under a glamour, apply as a teacher, then spike his lemon drops with her blood, making sure he toes the line, that way he has to live with what he's done to me all in the name of fulfilling that bullshit prophecy"
"Hadrian, how can you be so forgiving, he abducted you from your real parents, forced you to live with an abusive aunt and uncle that you weren't related to?!"
Hadrian's eyes flashed and Hermione backed off. "Because I am a better person than him three times over!" Hermione shrank back "I realise that Hade, but he deserves prison for the rest of his remaining years. Surely, he's only got ten, twenty years left in him, he'll die in prison and deservedly so."
No-one said it, but the words 'he'll escape' came to mind.
"Hermione, I want to punish him, but I can't change what he did, I have my real mom and dad back. I have never blamed Lily and James Potter, they were manipulated and sucked into his scheming, Dumbledore played on their inability to have children, tells them I'm an orphan and magical-born, so they adopt me, Dumbledore sets them up to die and voila! I am an orphan again, ready to be manipulated and played like a good little pawn. He acts like a rescuer, my saviour, it came with a price. He wanted me to kill Voldemort for him, who is really just a person whom the buzzing bee wants to get rid of"
"Hadrian, do you really want to turn a powerful wizard into a creature blooded who more than likely has Dementia? He more than likely has members from the order of the phoenix protecting him from every viable threat. Kingsley, Moody"
"They are fools for protecting the mad meddling old coot. I'll despatch them to Valhalla if I have to!" Klaus walked up the stairs towards us.
"How?" Hermione snapped at the thousand year old hybrid.
"I am a Hybrid, Miss Granger, both a werewolf and a vampire, I am Immortal
Nothing can truly kill me, I have been shot by wooden bullets soaked in vervain, all because of a lovely looking distraction, who's now my mate and wife." Klaus smirked
"Our dear mother tried and failed to kill us, her children. She's dead" Rebekah shrugged her shoulders.
Hermione pursed her lips "Forgive me, Niklaus, sir, but your mother sounds like a real bitch"
Rebekah gawped and then chuckled "I really like her Niklaus, We definitely all need a good dose of honesty every now and then" Hermione blushed and smiled shyly.
Niklaus chuckled "Grande Soeur" Hadrian asked quietly "Can I ask something rather delicately?"
Niklaus nodded "Is your brother Elijah in a polyamorous relationship with Hayley and Jackson?"
"Well I would say yes, they are all very happy together, Elijah is away at the minute looking for land to build a mansion in Baton Rouge" Hadrian blushed "You mean they all love one another…. including Jackson" Niklaus smirked "Hey, don't knock it until you try it, I have had both female and male lovers."
"When is Hope home with Hayley and Jackson?" Rebekah asked "Oh, in about an hour" Niklaus looked at Hermione's parents "Hope is our daughter, Hayleys and mine, she's three and a half years old, after Hope's violent birth due to malicious and malevolent witches then Hayley's death and transition into a Hybrid. We named her Hope Andrea Mikaelson because she's our hope for the future" A single tear made its way down Klaus' cheek.
This made Emma Granger cry a little and they couldn't wait to meet her and coo over the little girl. Dan held Emma and Hermione as he recalled the joy that he felt when his little star was born.
"Well before Hayley and Jackson come back after their council meeting, How about a tour of the french quarter, and Rousseau's has the most excellent Gumbo and cajun chicken" Klaus clapped his hands together "Damon!" he called out
"Okay, okay, no need to shout, Papa-sire" Klaus wagged his finger "Naughty Damon, trying to hide the 'little gift' you got Elena" Damon kinda blushed and turned his most charming smile on the grangers.
"I wanna show you Rebekah's and mine own pride and joy, the best gumbo in town"
Damon and Rebekah had fallen in love with the bar the moment they had seen it, it had all the post colonial charm of the 18th century so they bought it from Sophie Devereaux so she could open up her natural healing shop.
It was immediately a hit with all the tourists and the locals.
