June 6th, 1998

Grimmauld Place

Helen Granger sat in front of the other woman with her hands in her lap, her mind racing. It had been overwhelmingly simple for Dorea to remove the Obliviation as someone that had practiced mind magic even before going to Hogwarts, but it left Helen and Richard with an abundance of memories slipping back into place. It was quicker than with Severus and only took about a minute in total, but the memories came with a hefty headache. "How do you know her?"

"Mia?" Dorea smiled at her. "It's a long story that I'm sure she would rather tell you herself. Let's just say… she found herself lost and in danger, and she came to stay with us until she could get back."

"Mia," Richard repeated. "Hermione despises nicknames."

"It isn't a nickname."

They turned to find Mia standing in the door, looking somewhat unsteady. She was shaking, but she had Regulus behind her and he helped her into the room to sit next to Dorea across from her muggle parents. "Oh, Hermione."

"I'll leave you be," Dorea said. She left with a supportive smile and closed the door behind her to give them privacy.

"You changed your name, then?" Helen prompted. "For… safety?"

"Essentially, yes," she agreed. Regulus held her hand silently, prepared to help, should she need it. "Do you remember how I got to all of my classes in my third year? I told you about a time travel device. It was how we helped Sirius."

"Yes, I remember," Richard confirmed. "I wrote Minerva three times before the start of term trying to convince her to cut down your classes."

"After… Obliviating you, we had less than a week before everything went to hell. We'd packed to leave, and it was at Bill's wedding that we had to go. Um… something happened in April, something bad, and I was injured badly. I spent a week healing, and then Fred - you remember Fred?"

"He came to pick you up one year with that twin of his," Helen hummed. "I thought you didn't like him."

"I didn't like him experimenting on first years," she corrected quickly. "He's fine now, usually. Anyway, there was an accident with him and the time turner- it broke, and we were sent farther back in time than was supposed to be possible. We ended up in 1976."

"You weren't even born," Richard reminded her quickly. "That's impossible!"

"Mia is impossible," Regulus commented. "I've given up on telling her as much."

"It did happen," Mia assured him. "I met Harry's parents, Sirius and Remus, and Regulus- um, this is Regulus Black, Sirius's brother."

"That's an incredible resemblence."

"Inbreeding," he said carelessly. "My family is full of pale people with black hair and grey eyes."

"He's really not wrong," Mia tilted her head. "His parents, his cousins- I didn't have the misfortune of meeting anyone else, really, but they're all very similar. Mum- Dorea, actually, she's Sirius and Regulus's… great aunt?"

"Something of the sort," he confirmed. "We were never taught about her since she abandoned the family. She'd have been blasted off the wall without Arcturus stopping them."

"Sirius mentioned his family when we dropped you off a few years ago," Helen frowned at her. "He said they'd all passed or were-,"

"In prison?" Mia snorted. "That didn't last. Bellatrix broke out, Narcissa's still alive and free, and Regulus- Reg was a complicated situation. His being alive was actually, ah, my intervention."

"And Sirius?"

"Also me," she admitted. "It's complicated magic, and probably pretty rare now. Most of the Order didn't recognize it when I showed them, but it's just a simple bond that means when either of us die, we can bring the other one back. That's why I'm not too freaked out over his death."

"Hermione, you can't just… bring someone back to life!" Helen exclaimed.

Regulus offered her a calming smile. "My family teaches the dark magic she used from a young age. I can attest to the fact that she did it correctly and it's functional because I've seen the bond used twice now. We have another friend, in fact, that can also tell you as much."

"You guys didn't wake him up, did you?" Mia asked, suddenly concerned. "I mean, we've got everything covered."

"We were already awake, Little Lion. You were hurt, remember? It woke us all up."

"Damn it," she cursed under her breath as she glanced down at her shirt. Her mark could be seen faintly glowing beneath it, and she shoved Regulus's shirt up slightly to find his glowing as well. "Great. What's Avery doing?"

"Going on a midnight hunt for Dolohov."

"He's going to get himself killed!"

"Severus went as well, if that helps."

"It doesn't."

"You're so different," Helen whispered, staring at her daughter. Mia closed her eyes tightly at the words as they hit her heart painfully. "What happened to you, Hermione?"

"I got into a lot of trouble. I'll… spare you the details, but it was pretty bad. I got hurt a lot."

"All of those scars," Richard realized. "Those all happened in the last year?"

"More like… a year and ten months," she shrugged helplessly. "But yeah, essentially. I'm not going to pretend it wasn't bad, but a lot of good came from it."

"How could anything justify all of this?" Helen pushed. "This is why we wanted you to leave, Hermione. Look what happened."

"If I hadn't stayed with them, they would've just tracked all of us down and killed us," she said plainly. "But that's not the point. Good did come from all of it, my time in the past. I've told you about how Voldemort was a Dark Lord, right?"

"Yes. Powerful and charismatic dark leaders, right?"

"Yep. There's also Light Ladies, which is the opposite. In the past, my friend Avery broke it to me that I was the Light Lady to oppose Voldemort, and unfortunately, he was more right than he realized."

"That doesn't sound good," Richard frowned at her in concern. "You said he's dangerous."

"Well my point is, Voldemort and I fought and I killed him. He's dead and his followers have scattered."

"You said there was a war. It's really over?" Helen wondered in surprise.

"Yeah. I mean, obviously there are still people trying to get to me, but that's just a part of my life. We're trying to have him arrested, and our bet is that after he's arrested, attacks from others will ease up, too."

"Who exactly?" he frowned. "Someone is targeting you? For killing Voldemort?"

Mia hesitated, glancing at Regulus. She wasn't sure she could lie to them again, but telling them the whole truth? It seemed more painful than she could manage. "Reg, I don't-,"

"His name is Dolohov," Regulus said shortly. "He's a Death Eater with an obsession with Mia. He is the largest danger to her."

"That doesn't sound good either, Hermione," Helen pointed out. "Surely, someone else could've ended this war instead."

"Mum, I'm engaged."

Both of her parents immediately looked to Regulus as if suddenly understanding why he was there.

"To this young man?" Richard asked. He was looking at Regulus as if trying to intimidate him, but it wasn't working. Regulus's focus was purely on Mia and making sure she was okay, which included focusing on their bond to keep the pain at bay.

"Regulus is, quite literally, my soulmate," Mia explained. "Also magically, we're technically already married. It's a bit complicated."

"And you're saying… what, this justifies the hell you're saying you went through?" Richard asked her, clearly upset.

"Dad, I'm saying that I'm alive," she replied plainly. "And you're both alive. That's more than what we'd have gotten, should I have not joined the war. We'd all be dead, and probably tortured beforehand anyway."

"Well, why couldn't you have come to Perth with us?" Helen wondered. "If we were safe during the war-,"

"Magic," she interrupted, frustrated. "It's my magic."

"It's always your magic," Richard shot back at her.

"What she means," Regulus cut in. The family were already frustrated with one another, just as they had been every time they discussed the war. "Is that her magic is very traceable. There are spells, tracing spells that could've found her. It doesn't always work, but it would've been a great threat, especially with how strong she is. Her magic is potent."

"I'm not well trained in warding homes," Mia told her parents. "I asked Bill to teach me, but there was never much time. I did the best I could with your house, and it was enough because you're muggles. For me… my magic is stronger than the wards around your home, and it was even before I went to the past."

"Mia had very few choices. She did the best she could and she kept you safe," Regulus told her parents seriously. "I can't say I'm exactly fond of what she's been through, but she's alive. That's what we're all trying to focus on. She's still alive."

"But she's not the same," Richard told him sadly.

"I could never be the same," Mia defended. "And maybe you guys think that this- joining this world was a mistake, but I don't. I've done a lot of good here."

"Hermione, we'd rather you be safe and happy than… whatever this life is!"

"Happy?" she shot back. "In love? Surrounded by people that care for me? I know it's dangerous, and we can fight about it for hours, but it doesn't change that I'm here, I've been here, and I'm not leaving."

"Is this because you found a new family?" Helen asked softly. Mia looked at her with a grimace.

"I didn't- I wasn't trying to replace you guys, you know. I was stuck in the past, and Dumbledore thought I'd be safest out of the spotlight and staying with the Potters. I was there for a while, and they blood adopted me. I didn't think…" Mia glanced at Regulus. "I knew them to be dead in this time. Harry had nobody growing up, you know that. James and Lily were dead, as well as his grandparents."

"So then why are they alive?" Richard wondered. "Is coming back to life a normal thing for magical people?"

"Not exactly," Regulus answered for her at the pain she felt. "Mia's just not a typical story at all, in any aspect. With Sirius, she created the bond. I'm alive because she gave me a ring that took me here, which is how she and a few others got back. Charlus and Dorea, that was their doing. They were in danger, so they had elves stop their hearts and put them under heavy stasis charms so they appeared dead until they were found by Mia, Sirius, and James."

"That's why they weren't in Harry's life," Mia nodded gratefully. "But they're alive now."

"So just explain it to us, then," Helen requested quietly. "Explain to us how this all feels worth it to you, sweetheart. You've been hurt so badly. You were shaking when you came to our door earlier."

"It's more than him," Richard guessed. Mia nodded.

"I love Regulus quite a bit, but it is more than him. I met a lot of people in the past, and fixed a lot of things. I met many Death Eaters that never wanted to be Death Eaters. A good friend of mine, Avery, he was stuck there. I helped them."

"But they're bad people."

"I'm a Death Eater," Regulus said calmly. At their stares, he pushed up his sleeve for them to see. "Mia helped me."

"I also saved James," Mia told her parents. "Harry's dad, my brother. I gave him a ring to take him to the future and told him when to use it. I gave one to Lily as well, but I knew she wouldn't… she didn't use it. Um ... beyond them, I saved Fabian and Gideon Prewett, who you saw earlier. They've got the red hair. I brought Avery to the future, because he dropped out of history. I killed Voldemort, I helped people, and I found Regulus."

Richard shook his head at her quietly. "This isn't what we wanted for you, sweetheart. We wanted you safe."

"But that's not me," she said bluntly. "And if I'm going to be honest with you, it never will be. I'm more than a Light Lady - I'm a Legendary. I'll live longer and fight more Dark Lords. This is my life, and I need you prepared for that. More than that, I just… I really need you to accept it, because it isn't going to change."

The couple exchanged a long look, during which she squeezed Regulus's hand tightly within her own. Finally, they looked back at her and nodded.

"Thank you."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The group filed out of the room and back toward the kitchen, where they found people gathered with tea, waiting. Mia was deposited into a chair by Regulus, and swiftly Avery knelt in front of her to check her over. She smacked at his hands, trying to push them away. "I'm fine, Avery. I thought you were hunting Dolohov again."

"We were, until our tracking spells led us to a large body of water," he raised an eyebrow at her. "And you have a concussion, Sano."

"And I need my potions," she added. "Does anyone have them?"

Avery reached into his pocket and pulled out three potion bottles, which she took from him and downed instantly. Quickly, some of the pain abated and she found herself sighing and letting her head fall forward onto his shoulder. He glanced up at Regulus for help.

"Mia, we have things to do," Regulus tried. "You can cuddle Avery later."

Mia let out a small snort and reluctantly leaned back up. "I'm just tired."

"Probably because you woke us up in the middle of the bloody night," James told her from the end of the table, where he was leaning over Sirius's body and checking it for other injuries they needed to be worried about. "He's good, just a sprained ankle from a curse. We can bring a splint with us."

Once Avery moved out of the way, Mia looked around the room. She saw her parents - magical and muggle both - along with James, Fabian and Gideon, Avery, Kingsley, and Harry. Her eyes settled on him in confusion. "Why are you up?"

"It's kind of hard to sleep with multiple people loudly complaining that you're hurt," he reasoned. "I think it woke everyone up."

She made a slight face at him but was quickly interrupted by Gideon.

"We had to release two of them, Pip," he said apologetically. "Ancient and Noble Houses and all."

"Who were they?" she asked tiredly. "And who do you still have there?"

"Jugson and Yaxley were released," Fabian told her. "Macnair and Bennet are still in there, but we think Jugson might bail out Macnair."

"Still, Bennet is something," she pointed out. "He's got a mean Crucio on him, and the endurance of something inhuman."

"It'd have been better if we could've kept Yaxley or Jugson," James complained. "They're both masters at the Imperius, and Yaxley is good at hiding and torturing."

"I know, but there's no point complaining," she frowned at her brother. "One Death Eater in Azkaban is better than none, Jamie."

"I'm just saying-,"

Mia sighed. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm on edge."

"Can't imagine why," he offered her a smile. "It's not like I'm standing over Sirius's dead body or anything."

"Speaking of," Kingsley spoke up. "If you're up to it, Mia, we should go quickly. I woke Croaker up for this."

"Right," she shook herself, glancing at her parents and then Harry. "Can you stay with them?"

"Sure," he agreed.

"Hermione, we've still got a lot of questions," Helen told her daughter quietly. "Who are these people?"

"You know Harry," she waved at her friend. They offered him a smile, so she moved on. "And next to him is his dad, James. Obviously you know Sirius, and I'm sure he'll be happy to see you when he's alive again. There's Kingsley in the red robes over there, next to Dorea and Charlus Potter. Next to Regulus is Avery, a good friend of mine, and the two redheads are Fabian and Gideon Prewett. They're Molly's brothers - Ron and Ginny's uncles."

"And all of these people, you're close to them?" Richard wondered. She frowned slightly.

"And more at Potter Manor. I'll introduce you to everyone when we get back."

"We'll take them home," Dorea told her with a smile. "I cannot imagine why you thought it would be a good idea to bring them here, Mia."

"I didn't want them overwhelmed by a bunch of magical stuff and people," she reasoned with a slight blush. "I'd have taken them to my house, but I don't trust twenty-year-old wards."

"Go on, then, dear," Charlus nodded at her. "James, go with her, okay? I don't want anyone in the Ministry cursing her."

"I'm not leaving her alone again," James scoffed. "Bloody witch could've died again. I'm staying with her until she starts hexing me."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

An hour later, Sirius stepped through the floo with Mia, James, and Regulus behind him. They came out in the large sitting room of Potter Manor, where many people had gathered. Fabian and Gideon seemed to have left, but everyone else was still up, along with Draco, Severus, and Rodolphus, much to her surprise.

"Rodolphus?" she blinked at him. "It's- it's four in the morning."

"Quite an odd time to get hurt," he said calmly. "I was concerned you'd been attacked at home."

Understanding passed through her. "I should probably write Leon and let him know I'm good, huh?"

"I sent him a Patronus," Avery assured her. "When we came back and found Lestrange accosting Jess."

"I'm fine," she assured the Death Eater with a smile.

"Damn, kitten, your parents," Sirius commented, ignoring the Death Eaters. "Do they remember?"

"Yep."

Sirius offered the muggles a kind smile. "Well, now that we're all out of danger for the moment, it's great to see you both."

"Incredible," Helen breathed. She got to her feet and moved over to him to touch his arm. When she realized he was really there, she stared in wonder. "Hermione told us, of course, but… to come back from death, that's unbelievable."

"It's habit for us by now," Sirius joked. "But if Mia dies again, she doesn't get to throw a tantrum when I bring her back."

"Sirius," Mia glared at him. "We don't need to share that with them."

"Yes, you do," Richard disagreed. "Hermione, we're your parents. You have to tell us-,"

"I don't have to tell you anything," she snapped at him. It took her a moment to control the anxiety and frustration she felt before she could speak without snapping more. "What he referenced was a part of the worst days of my life, and something I will not speak about. Don't ask Regulus about it, either, because it was fucking shit for him, too. I'll tell you just about anything about the war, but not that."

"But he suggested you've died," Richard pushed. "You can't expect us not to-,"

"I can and I do," she interrupted sharply. "Discuss it with someone else, not me."

"Hermione-,"

"Richard, quiet," Helen told her husband with a dark frown. She instead offered Hermione a small smile. "Severus offered us an apology for treating you so awfully during school, but I refuse to accept until you do."

"Oh, that's fine," she assured her. Sirius stepped past her since the short argument was over and made to hug his parents, who squeezed him tightly. Dorea quietly scolded him for dying while Mia spoke. "We had an understanding. I know who he is, and he's a wonderful person and a good friend."

"Even though he was so cruel to you?"

"Mia asked Severus to do that," Regulus spoke up calmly. "Because it had already happened, so it had to happen again. It's about the way time works. From what I've gathered, he's a very different person from the one that taught her."

"Well, good," Helen nodded firmly at Severus. "In that case, we accept. But if you're mean to her again-,"

"I probably deserve it," Mia shrugged carelessly. "He won't be cruel, though."

"Mia is my best friend," Severus said calmly. "I do not intend to be cruel or mean again."

"Not to change the subject," Draco said, though he clearly wanted to change the subject from Helen's gaze that had fallen on him from his godfather. "But how the hell didn't you notice them fucking with the wards, Potter?"

"My magic is fucked," she reasoned. "It's changed a shit ton lately, and I've got a lot of lasting pain. Plus, I have control over wards at Hogwarts, and those have been adjusted somewhat when I wasn't there. It's entirely possible I just… didn't realize."

"Well, when we set them up again, we'll make sure they're family wards," Dorea told the Grangers. "That means they'll be incredibly powerful and impossible to get into without a member of our family."

"You're not leaving them in that house," Draco said. When he got a few looks, he frowned. "What? Surely they set up their own private wards on a nearby home in the event that you reset the wards. They'll still know where they are."

"Stupid fucking Death Eaters," Mia complained, gaining five eyerolls from five Death Eaters. "You all suck, you know that?"

"Mia, it's fine," James assured her. "They can stay in my place in Sheffield. I haven't gone since getting here, so I don't know what state the wards are in, but they can be fixed pretty easily if they even sort of still exist."

"And in the meantime," Charlus added. "You can both stay with us for as long as you like. We're a bit full at the moment, but there's room somewhere."

"I have so many questions," Helen said, amazed. "Wards. You said something about those, dear. You told us they were why Harry couldn't come stay with us."

Mia put up a hand. "I said Dumbledore said that's why he can't stay with us. What Harry had were truthfully very dark blood wards that tied him to Lily's family through her sacrifice - basically, it meant that as long as he stayed with Petunia, he wouldn't be able to be found. Thing is, though, keeping him in the Wizarding World would've been ten times safer. More in depth and focused wards would mean he could've stayed with anybody that cared about his safety."

"So why didn't Dumbledore do that? Was he not aware?" Richard questioned. Multiple people in the room scowled at the question.

"He was aware," Severus disagreed. "But he believed that, for the sake of killing Voldemort, Harry needed to stay in an unhappy home."

"That… that bastard!" Helen exclaimed, startling her husband and daughter. "He's a child, not something… disposable! He can't just treat a child like that, no matter who they are!"

"Mum, we know," Mia said quickly. "And there are about a hundred more things Dumbledore did that we're all pissed about, but the fact is, he's dead. As much as I'd like to go back in time and assist Severus, I can't."

"Mia," Severus shook his head at her in exasperation.

"Besides," Charlus spoke up. "We've got him now."

"I am an adult," Harry cut in.

"Nah," Sirius grinned. He ruffled Harry's hair, making the younger man grimace. "You'll always be Prongslet, right Prongs?"

James smiled at his son fondly. "It'd be pretty hard to forget that."

"So!" Mia looked between her parents. "I can show you to your room, and maybe we can have some breakfast after this? I spent a lot of energy in the fight and I'm starving."

"Go on, sweetheart," Dorea nodded. "Put them in the family wing. I think we have one more set of rooms open. I'll get the elves started on an early breakfast while everyone changes out of their pyjamas."

So with those instructions, Mia led her parents from the room first. The stairs were just nearby, so she took them up the flight of stairs and down the hall to the last empty rooms. When they stepped inside, Tilly appeared in front of them.

"Missy Mia be needing things for her parents," Tilly decided. Mia nodded.

"Can you get their clothes from their house for them? You shouldn't trip any messed up wards, right?"

Tilly nodded firmly and popped out of the room, but Richard and Helen stared directly at where the elf had just been. It was Richard that managed to voice his amazement. "What-,"

"Her name is Tilly," Mia explained. "She's an elf. I might've been… wrong about house elves. Turns out, Dobby was just an anomaly. Most elves are treated very well, including ours."

"How can she get in our house?" Helen wondered. "She doesn't have a key."

"House elf magic is strange. Aside from the fact that wizards could use a simple unlocking charm, she can get through the wards for a couple of reasons. First being that Tilly is bonded with our family, so any wards that any of us have set up, she'll be able to get through with no problem. The only reason I was concerned is because I'm not totally sure what Dolohov did to the wards."

Both of her parents looked completely overwhelmed, but it was Helen that managed to speak. "You feel at home here."

Mia hesitated. "I do. There's… there's a lot to it. I still love you guys, and I'm so glad you remember everything, but… they're my family, too. Do you think… can you accept that?"

Richard stared at her. "The last time we tried to take you from this world, you made us forget you exist. We don't really have a choice but to accept it, do we?"

Mia grimaced. "Dad-,"

"I can," Helen nodded firmly. "Maybe you weren't safe, but you certainly seem loved. That's all we want for you, dear."

"I think you'll like Dorea," Mia told her mother with a slight smile. She could still feel the disapproval coming off of her father in waves, but there wasn't much to do about it. "And Charlus."

"If they're anything like Harry, I'm sure we will," Helen assured her. "But really, this is a very large house. I didn't realize Harry had money, not with the way he dresses."

"I'm pretty sure that's mostly because his aunt and uncle would've destroyed any nice clothes he bought himself. Most of the money is family money. The Potters are an old, sacred family in the wizarding world. There are a lot of businesses, properties, and things that kept the House active even when no one was leading it."

"Why are there so many people here?" Richard asked finally. "Surely they have homes of their own."

Mia sighed. "Some of them do. Severus does, and so do Fabian and Gideon. Sirius has the Black properties, but I think you'd have to reasonably threaten mine or Jamie's lives to get him to move back into one of them. Others, for various reasons, don't. Narcissa and Draco are staying with us because their home is being turned into an orphanage, and Sirius asked them to. Avery… I'm sure he's got something somewhere, but it's likely abandoned and run down. Kat and Jess, their parents were killed by Dolohov, and their family home was destroyed in the same attack."

"Oh," Helen breathed. "He really terrorizes the wizarding world, doesn't he?"

"Only if you're special enough to attract his attention," she muttered.

"What does that mean?" Richard asked her. "How did you attract his attention? I don't understand. What did you do to make him hate you?"

"Richard!"

Mia grit her teeth and crossed her arms over her chest. "He touched me without my consent and then he attacked my friend. I defended her, so he decided to try and kill me. I did nothing to warrant his obsession with me. He's just dangerously unstable."

"Well, this is just what I've always told you," Richard huffed at her. "You get hurt in this world, Hermione! It isn't safe here. All he needed was to set eyes on you, and now you're in danger. How can you really want to stay here? You'd be safer with us!"

"But my family wouldn't be!" she snapped. Both of her parents reeled back in shock. Mia took in a deep, shaky breath to try and calm herself. "I'm sorry. But they're my family, too, and I don't trust anyone but myself and maybe Regulus, Avery, and Severus to keep them safe. Thing is, if I leave those three to take care of them, no one will be here to take care of them. Aside from all the reasons I have to stay, I want to stay."

"Mia," Sirius said quietly from the door, gaining everyone's attention. "Breakfast. And you need to take your potions."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Um, Sirius will take you to the dining room. I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Hermione," Helen said. Mia shook off her hand when she grabbed it and slipped quietly from the room, leaving them with Sirius, who looked very much like he wanted to go after her and ignore what was essentially an order. "Sirius, is she-,"

"If you're going to ask if she's okay," Sirius interrupted. "Don't bother, because she isn't. The worst thing you can do is worry about her. It'll piss her off and she'll just shut you out. For months, if you don't stop."

"Sounds like you've had experience," Helen said softly. She walked toward the door with Richard following her, and Sirius started to lead them through the large house per Mia's request. "What happened?"

"Something bad," he allowed. "Pretty- really fucking bad. Everyone worried about her, so she didn't talk to anyone but Regulus for a long time. If she wasn't relying on their bond to help heal her and keep her stable, I'm sure she'd have pushed him away, too."

"You knew her," Richard spoke up. "Before. Hermione. Is she at all the same?"

Sirius scoffed. "Mia and Hermione are very different people, but they are still somewhat similar. Mia still gets pissed at small injustices, she's just a bit more open and violent than before. Mia still seeks out any and all information she can find, she just hasn't had as much time for it lately. She still hates bigots, but she sees Snape and Draco in a different light now, and she knows that they're not bigots. Snape might be an arse, but he's not… it doesn't matter."

"She's just not our little girl anymore," Richard sighed. Sirius resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"She was always going to grow up, Richard. That doesn't mean she doesn't love you. She might've left you guys for a year or two but she's back, you're back, so stop focusing on who she was and start focusing on who she is now. I promise, you'll love her, too."

"There you are," Dorea smiled at them brightly as they entered the dining room. "Where's your sister?"

"Pouting, I'd guess," he shrugged. "I sent her to take her potions first. She was shaking when I walked in the room. She'll probably be here in a second."

"Someone needs to tell her to keep her life threatening situations to day time," Kat muttered as she pulled her coffee cup to her mouth. "It's four in the morning."

"The majority of the final battle was fought throughout the night," Draco pointed out lazily. He was also holding a mug, though his had some tea in it instead.

"So what you're saying is that this shit is gonna happen a lot," Blaise gathered. A few people shrugged, so he rolled his eyes.

"You're all so… casual about the idea of Hermione in danger," Richard said in frustration.

"Mister Granger, Hermione has always gotten in danger," Harry pointed out cautiously. "Ever since first year."

"And wasn't that your fault?"

"Hey," James frowned. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, but they were both kids. Whatever happened, it wasn't Harry's fault and I bet it wasn't Mia's, either."

"If you're talking about the troll," Harry crossed his arms over his chest. "Quirrell let it into the castle. Hermione was in the bathroom by coincidence. Ron and I just went to save her. It's not our fault we were involved. Blame Quirrell."

"He can't really blame him, Pup, he's dead."

"You can hold a grudge against a dead person," Draco disagreed. "The Dark Lord, for example."

"He literally terrorized the entire Wizarding World. He doesn't count," Sirius waved him off. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"My father."

"Your father was always a bastard. Childhood hatred doesn't count. If it did, I'd still be cursing my long-dead parents."

"Padfoot, you are," James laughed. "Quite regularly, actually."

"Don't invalidate my grudges," Draco huffed. "My father and the Dark Lord destroyed my childhood and turned me into a spy and a warrior. I can hold a grudge for as long as I damn well please."

"This is all off topic," Charlus cut in. "What's this about a troll?"

"Who said something about the troll?" Mia asked sharply as she came into the room with Regulus at her side. She'd changed her clothes and seemed a bit less shaky as she went to sit next to Avery with a spot at her side for Regulus. "That was years ago."

"Your dad did," Harry said. "Or he implied, at least."

"Mia, dear, what about a troll?" Dorea pressed, eyebrow raised. "They may be unintelligent and brutish, but they are dangerous, especially for someone untrained in handling them."

"Wingardium Leviosa did the trick," Harry disagreed. "Wasn't all that hard."

"The girls' restroom was out of order in the dungeons for three months afterward," Jess disagreed. "Maybe it wasn't hard for you, but the troll definitely got some hits in, too."

"Okay," Mia rolled her eyes. She was getting curious looks from many people at the table, mostly those that hadn't been around at the time. "I was in the bathroom because I was lonely, and Ron was being a dick-,"

"Weasley being insensitive? What a shock," Draco muttered, earning himself a glare from Narcissa.

"He said some rude things that made me cry, so I skipped the Halloween feast and went to the bathroom," Mia rolled her eyes. It wasn't her proudest moment by far. "And the mountain troll that Quirrell let into the school wandered in and cornered me in there. He was in the middle of trying to beat me to death with his club when Ron managed to Wingardium Leviosa the bastard to sleep."

"That's incredibly dangerous," Charlus frowned at her. "And how old were you kids?"

"Um-,"

"We were eleven," Draco told them in disgust. "We were eleven, there was a troll in the dungeons, and Dumbledore's genius idea was to send everyone back to their common rooms. It's like he was trying to get us killed."

"Yes, we get it, Dumbledore is awful," James waved him off, staring at his son. "How in the name of Merlin did Ron use Wingardium Leviosa to knock out a mountain troll?"

"Swish and flick," Mia offered, earning a snort from Draco.

Harry shrugged with his fork halfway to his mouth, full of eggs. "Used it on the club and used the club on the troll. It worked pretty well, but my wand still got stuck up the troll's nose."

"Hermione was always in danger at school," Richard told Charlus as if he would be just as angry as he was. "It's like she never even tried to stay out of it!"

"It wasn't her fault," Harry defended his best friend immediately. "She did try, too. She tried harder than Ron and I put together. It's not her fault that the universe hated me when I was a kid."

"So, what, it's your fault?"

"Oh my god, stop," Mia snapped, irritated. "If you can't even act like you're a nice person, we'll put you in a safe house in Germany. Alone."

"Mia," Dorea raised an eyebrow at her daughter. The girl huffed and sat back in her chair, and Dorea offered Richard a concerningly sweet smile. "Mister Granger, I appreciate the concern you have over your daughter. I appreciate the danger she and you were in, and I'm sure it must have been very stressful for all of you. That being said, it is in the past and I must insist that you accept that. We will not allow anyone to berate Mia or Harry or their friends for things that were beyond their control, or being done to them."

Richard stared at Dorea and sat back, irritated, but quiet. With that over with, the group moved on and began eating in relative peace.

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