Chapter 7
The four children were walked and in Harry's case carried to the infirmary, they were greeted by a wall of shouting.
"What in Merlins balls is fucking happening in your school"
"Sirius Orion"
"Sorry Amelia, but I want to know how a mountain troll got near the kids. A normal life , we all agreed. This is not a normal life. "
His tirade was broken by the headmaster looking towards the door where four children stood or floated in the case of Harry. He was levitated to a bed. Hermione stepped aside to allow a running Sirius and Amelia to embrace their family, She was immediately pulled into the group hug.
"Hermione you brave, clever girl. Thank you, you saved him"
The blushing girl started to look down
"what are we chopped liver mum"
Amelia turned to Susan
"we all know she is the brains, in your bunch"
The girl chuckle "very true"
Harry spoke next, as he tried to sit up
"It's all my fault, if I had not wondered off to be on my own this would never had happened, I just hope Mr and Mrs Granger don't stop her from being around us"
"Harry James, I told you to lay still and wait for the matron. And you can stop all that nonsense my parents will be angry, but I will sort it"
"Sorry Hermione"
The young boy lay back down, it had been immensely painful to sit up. Madame Pomfret rushed over to examine Harry.
"Broken collar bone and a concussion, Young man just because you are your father's son, you do not have the right to give me as much work as he did"
She raised her wand and summoned a vile of potion
"Drink this, it will taste horrible but will ease the pain when I fix your shoulder"
Downing the vile liquid he reached for Hermione with his good arm. Taking his hand, she looked into his eyes.
"Episki"
"Fuck that hurt" Harry shouted
"Harry James"
He was admonished in unison by Hermione and Amelia. Hermione's mirror chimed, she opened it to see her very angry Mother looking back at her.
"Hermione Jean Granger, what the hell do you think you were playing at, running into danger. Not an Adult in sight, no call we had to hear from Harrys parents what happened. I want and explanation now"
"Sorry Mum"
"Is that it sorry Mum, do better now"
Hermione told the whole story from the moment professor Quirrell the DA teacher had entered the hall. She tried to play down the danger and size of the troll, her Mum was having none of it. She was then told to talk to her farther. The Man's face replaced his wife in the mirror
"Hello Princess, are you OK"
"Sorry Daddy, I didn't think, I just reacted to the situation"
"Don't apologise, assess your actions and decide where you were right and wrong"
"Daniel Granger you are not a soldier anymore and she never was"
"My darling Emma we need to understand if she recognises her errors, before we decide to pull her out"
The shock of his last statement rocked Hermione to her core.
"Daddy please no"
"Hermione your safety will always be our top priority. Saving Harry was the right thing to do, the question is was it the best way to do it"
Sniffing and nodding she spoke
"I tried to call Harry on his mirror, second Sue and Nev tried. We all got no answer so we rushed from the hall. I did a point"
Her farther stopped her
"Your first instinct was correct contact, is the package in danger. But you then rushed off, where was contact a superior, Follow the chain of command. Your headmaster and faculty already new who was missing from the feast. Its their JOB"
Seeing the distress in his daughters face he threw her a life line
"your just lucky your mother is in love with Harry"
A small smile passed Hermione's lips when her mothers garbled comment could be heard
"Yeah right , there is no way Hermione will share him"
They all laughed at Dan's next comment
" Why thank you darling wife for your commitment to our marriage, don't poke your tongue out at me Emma Granger "
Hermione's farther finished speaking to his wife and turned back to face his daughter through the mirror
"Amelia is going to do some trick so we can see all your memories, Harrys parents will be joining us later. We love you be safe, understand"
Hermione nodded told her parents she loved them and closed the mirror.
Harry was released into Hermione's custody the following day with orders to do as she said and not to over use his arm. The young witch took her job very seriously, the others carried his bag and doing the best they could to mother him. Harry had enough when Neville went to follow him to the toilet.
"I think I can handle this Nev"
"Madam Pomfret said you was not to lift anything to heavy"
They both laughed, Neville took Harry's bag a left him to his business. The first two weeks of November passed in relative normality. The rumours about the third floor corridor started to spread, a locked door and a pack of wild dogs. The meeting of the parents had happened, but very little was passed on to the children. They were sure that whatever was discussed was deemed to important to share with them. Hermione was given the benefit of the doubt, they had not gone looking for the troll just checking on a friend. Apparently the wards of the castle had been checked and double checked, their had been no reason a mountain troll could have gotten in. Harry and Susan were starting to get frustrated from the lack of information. They wanted to explore the castle, the unspoken fact that this included the third floor was the concern for Hermione and Neville.
"Please Hermione, are you not the tiniest bit curious"
This had been the constant for the last two days and she had had enough
"You don't need my permission to do something stupid" she said with a scowl
"I really want to know, but not if it upsets you"
This shocked Hermione
"so your telling me if I say no you won't even try"
Harry looked at her with total sincerity and nodded. The thought that she was this valued shocked her. She new the reason she was so annoyed was when he looked at her with those green eyes she would give him anything he wanted. To know that she still had the control was heady and powerful.
"OK but we do it properly, we research and recon the site before we take action"
Harry grabbed the girl in a hug and spun her around . Hermione laughed and enjoyed the feeling of mild dizziness.
Susan turned to Neville and looked him straight in the eye, they were wide and her bottom lip had a slight tremble. Neville new what she was doing, he was also aware that he would give her exactly what she wanted. He waited the appropriate 3 seconds of staring into those blue eyes, smirked and rolled his own. Susan lept on him wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She then slapped a wet kiss on his cheek.
"Nev your the best, when I decide I'm old enough for a boyfriend I'll let you know"
"couldn't let the New Marauders do something stupid without me" He smirked.
They all laughed and then Hermione yawned "l think its time for bed" she said. They all agreed and made their way up to their dorms.
As the two girls sat brushing out their hair Hermione asked a question
"Sue if Neville is your cousin then how can you marry him"
"Sorry Hermione we said we would explain, Are you paying attention"
Hermione nodded and Susan continued
"You know Harrys story, but mine starts a little earlier. Two weeks before that Halloween some crazy death eaters attacked my parents home, they were killed but I was spending the night with my aunt and her boyfriend. She was my only living relative, they didn't hesitate they just made us a three."
Hermione continued to show her understanding so Susan continued
"Then Halloween happened, Harrys godfather was my aunt's boyfriend. So they went and got him and our 3 became 4. Professor Dumbledore turned up thinking he had to rescue us. Instead he apparently found him self baby sitting as my mum and dad shot away to help Neville's parents. Neville is a distant cousin of Harrys and all the parents had grown up together. The others we adopted on the way"
Hermione now understood the family dynamic.
"So Neville is your cousin by adoption and Harrys by blood"
"yep I'm pretty sure I'm in love with Nev but I'm 11" she shrugged
Hermione got it, it was easy to form a crush at their age but to fall in love is another thing.
The other girls started to enter the dorm room so Susan and Hermione stopped their chat and finished preparing for bed.
The following day the new marauders met in the classroom the troll had obliterated. Neville spoke
"What's first Spitfire"
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, she was fully aware that the nickname would stick and liked it a lot. She just had no intention of telling them.
"first we map our route to the location, carful of all pitfalls and traps. Then plan on how to gain access, you don't want to rush in blind. Then we plan an escape route in case of danger. After that there is also plan B"
The other three asked in unison "what's plan B"
Hermione grinned "Drop all other plans and run away"
The four then proceeded to concoct the most ludicrous plans as they worked through the alphabet. Harry's favourite was plan I, that involved a frozen dinner, a golf ball and a hockey puck.
Two weeks later the four were sprinting away from the third floor screaming "DEFINITELY PLAN B"