Chapter 06:
For whatever reasons, he had Harry over for the entirety of the Christmas break, Sirius could not have asked for more! The Weasley brood was unusually quiet but that was understood given their father's condition, but at least the house wasn't hauntingly empty anymore! Between the Prewitts, the Weasleys, Harry, and their little swot, Hermione, Sirius at least had the promise of a large Christmas.
He was happy, well, as happy as he could possibly be given the conditions of his life.
Speaking of their little swot, though, Sirius grimaced as yet another explosive battle of wills commenced between the youngest Weasley scion and her.
After hearing the story of their come-back, and being brought up the way he was in pureblood ways, Sirius knew exactly what Hermione's relationship with the Prewitt twins was – whether she knew of it or not, not counting. And all of his pureblood upbringings, as much as he hated it from deep within his bones, was screaming to stop the insult of the Lady of another Ancient and Noble House under his roof.
"Even if I forget that for the time-being, the little swot is single-handedly responsible for keeping Harry alive all these years. I owe it to her," he spoke to himself as he climbed the stairs two at a time, thundering towards the room the two fifth-year boys were sharing.
And there stood Hermione at its threshold, the open door bringing in all the hateful words from inside, her hair crackling in the suppressed magic's static while her eyes filled with tears, though the tiny pureblood part in Sirius did make a note of how she never let a single one drop.
"If you are quite done, Ronald…." Hermione flipped her nose high in the air as she walked towards her sanctuary, the Black Library.
Just as she hastily brushed at her tears on seeing him, Sirius sent a silent thank you to all the powers above that the Prewitts were at their manor, for the time being, making it hospitable to bring the kids out for a small day trip while Molly was occupied with Arthur.
"Weasley, learn to behave better with young ladies," Sirius barked at the angry teen. "Harry! Out! We need to talk," he then said to his own godson.
As bad an influence as he otherwise may have been on Harry, Sirius would be damned if he taught him to stay quiet while someone abused his family in front of him. Even within family, certain things were just not acceptable and it was high time Harry learned that! Opening the door to his own quarters, Sirius led his godson inside and spoke at length about how a gentle-wizard is expected to behave in company, especially with respect to witches.
Somewhere up above, he just knew his best friend, his blood-brother, was laughing his ass off hearing him impart this particular knowledge to his kid! This had to be one king of pranks indeed!
…
"Hermione!" When they couldn't find her with the other children, the Prewitt twins had thought to look for her in the library, but in no way had they expected her to be laying there on the sofa, with tear streaks on her cheeks.
In unison, the twins fisted their hands. She might not be his intended, but she was his family, his brother's, his twin's wife-to-be, and Fabian was not going to stand aside and watch while some prat made her cry. If you crossed one of them, you might as well have crossed them both! They were twins – a born team!
A look at Gideon showed the torment in his eyes and Fabian, understanding what his brother needed, bent closer to the little witch.
"Hermione!" he shook her lightly, "Little dove, wake up…"
Hermione groggily opened her eyes. "Fabian," she said looking at the wizard crouching over her, her eyes then moving to the one standing tautly behind him, "Gideon."
He never knew what it was that day that had broken his resolve to let the bond thrum within him. He hadn't wanted to awaken it just yet, but the way Hermione had looked at him, or maybe it was just the way she was looking, tear-stained and vulnerable, that Gideon had forgotten his resolve to not touch his little witch.
Instead, he was by her side within a heartbeat, kneeling by her feet as his hands, of their own accord, moved to her face, slowly swiping at the tear tracks left behind. The first touch of their skin passed like an electric jolt between them, the two suddenly getting encompassed in a bright yet warm golden glow.
Hermione started at the sudden cognizance that passed within her, just as Gideon touched her cheek and then looked wide-eyed at the glow that was cocooning them. Gideon though only looked at her awed expression, a soft smile gracing his lips. When the lights faded, the brightness dissipating inside Gideon and her, Hermione looked up into his eyes, the same intriguing electric blue that she had yet to stop dreaming about, and for the first time ever she was lost.
It was only the clearing of a throat that brought her mind back to the current moment. "What just happened?" she whispered, her voice still hoarse from all the crying she had done before falling asleep.
She hadn't realized when Gideon's large warm hands had engulfed hers, but on hearing her voice he pressed them warmly, "You don't need to worry about that yet, love," he whispered in a voice so husky, it made her shiver in response.
The way she was reacting to his voice made Gideon hold on to her that much harder. For years he had avoided touching her, the dull throb of the bond slowly turning into a full-blown ache the closer she came to him and as more time elapsed since their first meeting. But he'd still somehow managed to keep it all in him, not wanting to disrupt her life any more than it already was.
And yet, here they were, hand-in-hand, staring into each other's eyes and somehow nothing in his life came even a close second to the perfection, the sheer harmony he felt within him at having her finally by his side.
Fabian just knew that if he let the two gaze like that into each other's eyes, he would soon have to leave the room, spelling the door shut behind himself. But the witch was underage, and bonded or not, his brother would never forgive himself if anything untoward happened just then, not that it would, but Fabian knew Gideon too well to believe that rot about him, but he also believed that certain theories were best-left un-tested. So, he promptly drew his brother's attention to the one thing that would bring his mind back from the cloud nine it was currently floating on. "Who did this?" he asked the little witch.
"It was nothing…" Hermione shrugged, pulling her hands back from Gideon's warm hold, both felt bereft at the lack of contact with their soul-bond and in sync they looked down at their own hands feeling the cold seeping into their skin. Hermione again looked up in question at Gideon. He simply kept looking down at his hands, doing his best to ignore the thoughtful frown aimed his way.
The couple stood, Fabian straightening himself along with them; silent communication passed between the twins.
"We are taking the kids to see their maternal Manor. We'd be honored if you accompanied us, my lady," Gideon said with a smile that made Hermione's toes curl inside her sensible converses. Honestly, what is happening?
"I…." she cleared her throat. "I'd like that."
"This way then," Fabian guided her towards the steps.
Not realizing it, Hermione walked between the duo, a few steps ahead while the twins walked behind her, their arms crossed and wands held visibly at the ready, in their hands, both showing their support towards the witch to every single being that understood the old ways. The House of Prewitt was standing behind the young witch.
The second Hermione climbed off the last step Sirius was by her side, flashing her a broad smile, his eyes alight with something more than mischief. He had taken a look at the trio descending the stairs and knew what was happening. The declaration was as sanctimonious and as old if not older than the house they were all currently living in.
The Prewitts would readily raise their wands against anyone who hurt the witch. Sirius though, for his own reasons, did not wish to take them up on that. Not only did he love and respect the younger witch who looked far too clueless to be understanding what was being done under her name, but he had seen the Prewitt Twins on the field. They were his seniors in every sense of the word. And even now, when they practiced dueling amongst the various Order members, he was yet to beat either, and Sirius was no sloppy wand-waver himself. It was just that the House of Prewitt was blessed with Defence Magic and so it always produced the best fighters, their naming style reflecting it.
"My Lady," Sirius greeted Hermione, winking sharply. "Welcome to the House of Black."
"Really, Sirius?" Hermione pinned him with a pointed glare. The three older wizards in the house were really going out of their way to cheer her up.
"Of course, my lady," Sirius replied, bowing as he kissed the back of her hand and then stepped aside, calling Harry. "I believe you have something to say to Hermione?" Sirius prompted.
"Sorry Mione," Harry rubbed his nape sheepishly. "I shouldn't have let Ron.."
"Ron?" both the Prewitt brothers snapped as one at the mention of that name. "Was he the one to make you cry, Hermione?" they asked at the same time again.
Molly had just stepped out of the kitchen to check on what was holding everyone up. On seeing her brothers and Sirius' postures, she flashed back to the time she was taught about it all at her mother's knee. And suddenly all the chips fell in place for her. Hermione. The House of Prewitt and the distinct way in which Sirius Black and Harry Potter were markedly standing by her side. The survivors of these three strong Houses were clearly making their loyalties to the young witch known.
"Oh, sweet Circe!" Molly exclaimed.
Her soft exclamation bringing the small group's attention on her.
"Molly!" Gideon's eyes flashed, his hand curling tighter around his wand. The threat was evident in his sharp gaze.
"Please, no," for the first time Molly looked at her own brothers in fear. These weren't the same men she had hugged at the Hogwarts Infirmary, these were the pureblood scions of her maiden House who were taught to love and protect what was theirs. The fact that it was now another witch instead of her or even her daughter, hurt, but Molly understood the gravity of the situation and apologized. "I'll speak to him. He will understand."
"See to it that we receive an apology," Fabian's eyes held the same gleam as his twin's, "Because I can assure you, Molly, you won't like it if we speak to the boy."
"No! No. I will. I will speak to him."
"Get the others ready if they would still like to come to the Prewitt Manor," Gideon said, informing Molly without so many words that Ron was no longer invited at his maternal ancestral property. Molly couldn't hide the hurt in her eyes at that proclamation but nodded nonetheless.
While trying to keep her ever-expanding brood properly fed and cleanly clothed, she had forgotten a few important pieces of their education. Something she would have to work on with immediate effect, especially with her youngest two.