Hey everyone , this is just a very simple chapter with not too much drama. But in the long run this will be an important chapter since the events happening in this particular chapter are bound to happen so that the story could excel to its next phase. I hope you all like it all. Pardon the typos and grammatical errors.
Hermione paced in her room as she heard noises in the hall downstairs. She could hear Molly greeting Remus and Sirius while complaining about how thin Harry had become.
Some people never changed. Despite having fought in a war and killing a sadistic bitch of a woman , she was still the warm motherly woman , Hermione had met in her third year for the first time. She had missed the Weasleys a lot, not to mention Ron, her best friend of years. She couldn't bring it in her to face any of them. These past few days having seen how much her absence had hurt Harry, Remus and even Sirius who had just spent three weeks believing in her supposed death, she felt guilty.
There was a knock on her door as a face appeared.
"Everyone has appeared." He said. "Are you sure you all right, Mione?"
Hermione looked up at Sirius who had a worried look on his face. She looked at her daughter who was playing with her toys, floating them around her as they danced.
"Mione?" He asked again. He came in and took her hands in his, "What is it? What's going on inside that beautiful brain of yours."
"They will be angry. I have caused so much pain to everyone by disappearing on them. I can't look at everyone in their faces. And Molly!" She sighed heavily, "she always thought I will marry one of her sons, I can't afford to see disappointment in her and Arthur's face. They are the only parents figure I have left in my life. What if they don't like Liv?" She looked in his eyes, tears brimming in her own.
"You will give yourself grey hair worrying about nothing. First, it is and always will be your decision who you want in your life. Molly or anyone for that matter can hope but it is ultimately your decision , your life and everyone will have to accept it. And as far as anger is concerned , let me tell you a secret, now that you said about it, I think I should have been angry and given you a proper telling for disappearing on us. But when we saw you, we couldn't think anything but happiness to have you back." She chuckled and he looked pleased to have made her smile. "And who can stay angry when you brought such a precious bundle of joy with you. She is special child and everyone will love Silly."
"Sirius seriously?" She said at the nickname.
Sirius gave her an amused look and she realized what she had said, " I mean are you ser… kidding me?" She corrected as he snorted. "You can't call my daughter Silly."
"You named her Silvia." He countered.
"But Silly! As is silly silly." She curled her nose at the name.
He laughed and picked Liv in his arms, "Don't you like your name Silly?"
She giggled as she said, "Paddy." Taking his black locks in her fist and trying to magically transfer it to her head.
"Hey you are stealing my hair." He said dramatically, "Mine." He took it back from her hands but she simply took another fistful of hair and laughed, "My."
"Now Missy it means a war." He said in mock offence and gently pinched her nose and then placed his hands on his own nose. "See you don't have a nose now." He shook his head at her in mock disappointment.
"Paddy No." She said looking for her own nose on her face.
Hermione laughed at the cute scene in front of her. The men in the house each played a different role with Liv. Sirius usually turned into a child himself with her, mock fighting and teasing her. Harry was the best godfather for her daughter, always spoiling her, bringing toys and gifts for her. And Remus was, however much it pained her to say, he was like a father to her. It was usually she, Remus and Sirius at home and while Sirius entertained her often when Hermione cooked and cleaned the place, Remus had taken to taking care of her when Hermione wasn't around. At times she had returned from some chore to feed her daughter to already find her sitting in the baby chair and Remus feeding her. Often, she wondered if she should ask Remus to stop. She didn't want her child to suffer the same heartache that she did. What if Remus finds someone and then marries, a wife and children that he would love more than her. Then, what would happen to her Liv who considered him as her father right now. Many times she wondered what everyone thought about her father, did anyone had suspicions and should she tell everyone the truth but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Like she couldn't bring herself to ask Remus to stop being so fatherly with Liv.
"Lets go." Sirius said pulling her out of her thoughts and extended his hand to her which she happily took. She needed something to give her confidence.
Meanwhile…
Harry looked at the two other men nervously as the fire turned green for the first time that evening and the plumped redhead woman emerged from it. Within a minute the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place was filled with people. There were Arthur and Molly with all of their children, Bill had arrived separately with his own family. They were followed by Severus Snape, Minerva Mcgonagll, and the Minister Kingsley Shackebolt. Harry had considered informing only these people to be sufficient. He didn't wish to overwhelm Hermione and Liv with many people. He would later have to inform the Prophet to inform the rest of the people.
Ron immediately took the seat next to him as George and Fred attacked the bowl of cookies that sat at the table. Hermione had baked them earlier that day.
"This is"
"Amazing mate."
" We had no idea"
"You could bake
"so well." The twins said in twins speak and Ron took one for himself unable to stop himself.
"Don't tell me you called us all to show your culinary skills." Snape drawled lazily.
"No Severus." Harry said. After the war he had taken to calling the man with his given name. "Beside I didn't bake them."
"Then who?" Ron said looking at the two older men.
"Who is cooking in this household is of no importance to us right now. If you want the recipe Mr. Weasley, you can ask Mr. Potter later." Mcgonagall said, "Mr. Potter why did you call this meeting?"
Harry turned his head at Sirius and nodded with which Sirius left the room.
"Where did you send Black?" Kingsley asked.
"I want all of you meet someone." Harry said nervously pulling on a lose thread on his jumper. No one but Ginny saw it. She knew when Harry was nervous.
"Your girlfriend?" She asked trying to mask her voice but like she knew Harry, Harry too knew her. He had heard the sadness in her voice and it seemed like Molly and Bill had too as she shot her daughter a sympathic look. Bill went to stand next to his sister and placed his hand around her. Since their breakup Bill had been cross with him and Harry couldn't blame him. He loved his sister and like his other brothers he had no reason to like him.
"Go bless us. I am not interested in meeting your girlfriends. Entertain the dog and wolf with you love life." Snape said but didn't leave the chair he was sitting on. Like everyone, he too had believed that the Boy who lived and the weaslette would end up together. He was curious to know who else had come into the equation that Potter had kept hidden for so long.
"I don't have a girlfriend." He said, "But yes, it is the woman I had been meeting all this while." He saw everyone listening carefully and felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Remus behind him and gave him a thankful nod.
"I will start from the beginning." He said and received several nods, "I met her during the christmas after the war when I had been in Barnton."
"You were gone for longer than necessary. After that you would always leave once a week." Ginny said and again received several sympathic looks.
"I am sorry Gin." Harry said and continued, "but yes. I was after a child smuggler working for Greyback. Following them I got in a tight spot. I was stunned and the man had his wand pointed on me." He heard several gasps and the hand on his shoulder tightened. He had not told the story to Sirius or Remus and knew that Remus would worry knowing he was left vulnerable in presence of the man who bit him in his childhood. "A witch appeared out of nowhere and attacked them but she left and I couldn't see her face. I traced her and found out that she was a widow whose husband had died during the battle. She was pregnant."
"Poor girl." He heard Molly say and saw Ginny looking at him with understanding in her eyes for first time in years.
"I was curious as to why she helped me and ran away and so I got to the hospital she visited and there I saw her. She panicked on seeing me and went to labor and had a child that day." He had left her name out of it for so long.
"Why would she panic on seeing you?" Ron asked.
"Better question is…" Fred said.
"Who is she ?" George said.
"You see…" Harry said but he couldn't bring himself to say it so Remus said it for him. "She will come downstairs in a minute, but you need to know no one will ask about the father of the child?"
"Why?" Severus asked.
"Because this was her one condition for agreeing to come here with me. No matter what you are feeling at the moment don't ask her who it was? You all must remember that."
Everyone nodded. He called Sirius and heard the door of her room close as the sound of Liv laughing echoed in the hall.
"Its Hermione." Ginny was the one who said her voice a whisper but still everyone heard her. She was there standing at the door looking nervously at everyone once and then stared down at her shoes.
"WHAT!" Several voices said at the same times. If it wasn't a serious matter it would have been funny seeing so many shocked faces. Even Snape looked with widened eyes before schooling his features back to an emotionless face.
"Hermione!" Ron said, "Our Mione?"
"Hermione Granger?" Kingsley asked.
"Miss Granger?" Mcgonagall joined them.
"Know it all." Said George.
"Bookworm." It was Fred.
"Bushy haired."
"Bossy?"
"Miss Perfect?"
"Yes, its me." She said with a small uncertain smile on her face and suddenly was drowned in the embrace of several red heads which included Ron, Ginny, and the twins. Molly followed and pulled her from them to her own arms.
"Hermione dear. You look so grown up." The woman had motherly tears in her eyes as she examined the other woman whom she still remembered as a child.
"I missed you all." She said through her own tears.
"Why would you…" Ron started but was silenced with a glare from Molly.
"At least you are here now." She said, "I heard you are a mother now?"
Hermione nodded.
"Where's my grandchild?" she said looking around her for the baby, then remembering what she had said looked apologetically at Hermione.
"I don't have my parents Molly. You are the only mother figure in my life. I cannot think about anyone else as her grandmother."
It was this moment that Sirius entered the room with Liv in his arms. "Meet Silvia Remiel Granger." He announced.
Molly immediately took the baby in her own hands while Arthur hugged Hermione and said, "That's a beautiful name Hermione and look at her she looks so much like you."
"I am your Grandma Molly." She said to the child. And soon the Liv was transferred from one hand to another as everyone took turn to hold her. Even Severus held her for a while in which she grabbed his nose and it made everyone laugh. Harry would bet that he saw his lips twitch in a smile. Liv was enjoying all that attention too much. A while later, Molly announced that everyone is staying for dinner and she went to cook with Hermione and Ginny.
Remus picked up Liv in his arms as she crawled to him from George's lap who had been showing her magic tricks with his wand. "She must be hungry. Its her dinner time and besides Hermione, I feed her." He told a pouting George who was disappointed that Liv had left him. He doesn't seem to remember that among all the guests she had stayed with him the longest.
Thanks a lot for reading. Don't forget to tell me your opinions on it.
