"Then I can take him to Blishwick's for custom wands." Kannan said.
"Oh… I hadn't thought of that. Yes, that would work well." Kingsley nodded. "Perhaps Miss Granger should do the same?"
"Probably." Kannan nodded. "When did you tell Percy to take her to the conference room?"
"I said an hour, but I'd like to reunite you with Bla- Padraig, first."
"I'd like that very much." Kannan let a tear run down his cheek.
Kannan sat in the conference room, his leg jiggling up and down, nervously. He was waiting for Kingsley to return with Sirius.
Who wasn't Sirius anymore, just like he wasn't Harry anymore. Talk about a mind bender.
He heard footsteps coming closer, one set strong and firm while a second set seemed softer. The door opened and Kingsley stepped in, holding the door for a second man. Kannan's eyes sought and clung to this man.
It was Sirius… but at the same time, it wasn't.
"Kannan. This is Padraig. "
"Hey…" Padraig whispered.
"Hey Pads." Kannan let his arms reach for the confused man. "I missed you, you irresponsible mutt." He hugged the man tight before loosening his arms and guiding the man to a seat.
"Huh?" Padraig frowned. "I know you're helping out, but… you do get that I wasn't born with the name Padraig, right?"
"Of course. But I could say the same." Kannan grinned.
Padraig looked at him, blinking as he tried to work it out. "I give up. Who are you?"
"Now? I'm Kannan Grimm, your nephew. Before that? Even then, I was the closest thing you had to a nephew."
"But…" Padraig eyes widened, as he made the connection. "You… Harr… but… what the hell... pup?!" Padraig leant back in his seat, looking at Kannan in shock before turning to Kingsley. "I thought Harry was Exiled? Did you get approval to end his sentence?"
"I did, but I didn't get much of a chance to act on that. I had thought to inform Miss Granger and let her bring him in. But I didn't get any further than the Cauldron, Kannan was there having breakfast." Kingsley replied.
"I was filling in time while Blishwick's made my new wands." Kannan added.
"Hold up." Padraig held up a hand. "How…? They bound your memories and core. How did you get them back?"
"I had a little help… in the form a most unusual bird." Kannan hedged.
"A bird?" Padraig exclaimed. "What type of bird?"
"A bird that belonged to an old friend of ours. You remember the twinkly old bugger, the one that never really answered when you asked a question?" Kannan answered, by providing a description rather than a direct answer.
"Oh…" Padraig huffed in surprise. "Kingsley says the bat got him."
"Kind of. Yes, the bat got him, but it was on his orders, not the bat's choice."
"Why?"
"He'd picked up one of the snake's things and it cursed him, he was dying, the idea was that the bat would secure his position with the snake. But the stupid old idiot didn't tell anyone, but the bat. So, we all assumed the bat had turned."
"But he hadn't?"
"Nope, very definitely not. He was mum's, from the moment snaky threatened her, the bat changed sides." Kannan assured him.
"Well… I wasn't expecting that." Padraig huffed.
"What were you expecting then?" Kannan grinned.
"I have no idea, pup. What… What happens now?"
"We're waiting on Mione. Then we'll made a few decisions. Kingsley tells me the healers want you to go somewhere warmer for the rest of your convalescence." Kannan started.
"Yes, that what I'm told, too."
"Well, Mione obliviated her parents and sent them to Australia. Kingsley's thinking that you and me will go with her, maybe stay there, maybe not." Kannan paused. "Did you hear about this morning?"
"No… what happened this morning?"
"Shite… Um… Ron and Mione were in the Cauldron, arguing like normal. About Mione going to get her parents. Ron was set against it. The argument escalated and Ron… Ron… he hit her…" Kannan whispered.
"He what?" Padraig voice was hard.
"He hit her. I stopped him when he went to hit her a second time. He snarled and she handed him back his ring and told him to consider himself single."
"She is pressing charges, isn't she?"
"No, but only if Ron, Ginny and Molly stay away from her."
"Why? What did they do?"
"Beats me." Kannan shrugged. "Kingsley? Do you know?"
"Ah, that was hushed up."
"What happened?" Padraig growled.
"The day after the battle, while Kannan was still sorting out what was going to happen with vaults and the like, Molly tried to sneak a lust potion into his drink, Ginny had already taken a fertility potion."
"They what?!" Padraig screeched.
"Was that when Malfoy kicked them out?" Kannan asked.
"Yes, the potion and charm detectors in the DMLE holding area, picked up a mind-altering substance. They were both charged, even though Molly was the one to come up with the plan, her idea was for Ginny get seduce Harry, become pregnant with his child and get her happily ever after family, that way. Molly is prohibited from brewing most potions, she has a list of approved potions and if she deviates from that list, she faces time in Azkaban. Ginny was charged with attempted line theft, but as she still underage, even if only by a few months, she had her core bound and was expelled. Her wand wasn't snapped, as she only received a five-year sentence, partially due to the fact that she wasn't thinking about stealing from Harry, she only wanted his child and partially as she agreed to weekly visits with a muggle-trained mind healer from St. Mungo's. She should have seen someone after her first year, but Dumbledore convinced Molly that it wasn't necessary. It was and it's made a difference, already." Kingsley told them. "But it created a rift in the family. Arthur supported Molly and Ginny, he couldn't see a reason for Ginny not getting what she wanted, as Harry would have eventually married Ginny, anyway. Percy went with them. Bill, Charlie and George supported Harry, saying that it should have been Harry's choice and they tried to take that away from him. Ron stayed neutral, he and Hermione both refused to take sides. This morning may have changed that."
"Oh, it will." Kannan said. "It's only a matter of how."
"What do you mean?" Padraig asked.
"Well… Bill and George… and probably Charlie, seeing as Bill had so much influence on him. They're good men, they don't stand for abuse, or being cruel. That's probably why they didn't support Ginny. And why they'll support Hermione, after this. Nothing to do with m- with Harry." Kannan said. "It's all to do with them being inherently good people."
"Ah." Kingsley nodded. "I see. Well it could be the ingredient the blew-up the potion, for them."
"Why" Kannan asked.
"George isn't happy, he said everything reminds him of Fred and Fred's not there. Bill got fired from Gringotts for breaking his contract of non-involvement, got a good payout, but the goblins had no options, the contract was magically bound. And Charlie's already been offered a position in New Zealand as Second-in-Charge of their dragon rescue facility. If they back Hermione over Ron, Arthur may make it formal and cast them from the family." Kingsley answered.
"Oh, geez…" Kannan whined. "Weasley's are better at drama than even the blasted Malfoys."
Padraig snorted. "Hell, yes."
Before anything else could be said, more footsteps were heard in the hall, followed by a tapping at the door.
"Come." Kingsley's deep voice boomed.
The door opened. "Minister? You wished to speak to Miss Granger." Percy's face was tight, and his lips thinned in anger.
"I did, Percy, thank you. You may return to your office. This meeting will take many hours and Miss Granger, or Kannan can take any notes that are needed."
"Certainly, Minister." Percy opened the door wider and gestured abruptly for Hermione to enter, before closing the door a little harder than necessary.
"I'm going to guess that he knows about this morning and isn't happy about it?" Kingsley said.
"Yes." Hermione replied shortly, crossing to a seat. She dropped her beaded bag on the table and settled the baby in her arms a little more securely, before sitting down. "What do you want, Kingsley? I've got a lot of things to do and I still need to buy tickets for Teddy and me, for the flight to Australia."
"Actually, that partially what I wanted to talk to you about." Kingsley said.
"Partially?" Hermione picked up on the odd phrasing.
"Partially. Allow me to introduce Kannan Grimm, he was your rescuer this morning, and his Uncle Padraig Grimm. "
"Good morning." Hermione greeted them.
"Hello." Padraig nodded.
While Kannan grinned. "Hey."
"I take it that they're also part of what you wanted to speak to me about?" Hermione frowned at Kingsley.
"They are. Kannan? Why don't you explain to Miss Granger, who you were, how you met, that sort of thing?" Kingsley answered.
"Hmm… Where to start?" Kannan bit his lip in thought.
"The beginning is usually a good place." Hermione said, a little bit of sarcasm leaking into her voice.
"Yeah, we're not going that far back." Kannan shook his head. "Let's try… '94? Yeah, that should work. Let's see… what did you say? Oh, yes, 'awful things happen to wizards that meddle with time' and then a few minutes later, you asked, 'is that really what my hair looks like from the back?' Oh, there were a few other things, too, but that should get you thinking." He grinned at her and the look of confusion on her face. Confusion that slowly turned to understanding, then to shock, before settling in disbelief. "Ask me something, something only I, or the person I'm suggesting I was, should know."
Hermione glared at him. "If you are… him, what did you say when you stood in front of your… their grave?"
"Merry Christmas, Hermione." Kannan answered.
"Where did yo- he say, 'you've outdone yourself, this time, Hermione'?"
"Forrest of Dean. You went there once with your mum and dad, it was just how you remembered it, the trees, the river, everything."
"How did the wand break? And what did you say?" She asked.
"As we were leaving godric's Hollow, you cast a curse and it rebounded. You tried to fix it, but wands are different. I replied, 'it's done… leave me yours', it was my turn to sit watch."
"You… you… I should hex you…"
"Not while you're holding a baby, Mione. Which raises the question. Why are you holding the baby?" Kannan replied.
"Oh, dear…" Hermione grimaced.
"Hermione?" Kannan's voice went flat. "Why do you have Teddy?"
"Who is Teddy?" Padraig asked.
Hermione and Kannan exchanged wide eyed looks, before they both turned to Kingsley.
"You didn't tell him?" Kannan squawked.
"No, not all of it." Kingsley answered.
"Why the bloody hell not?" Kannan snarled.
"He wasn't ready. The healers are still not sure he's ready."
"Well, we really don't have much of a choice, now, do we? Give him a blasted calming draught, Kingsley." Kannan's snarl deepened to an almost growl.
"Here." Hermione handed over a phial from her bag.
"Pads, take it." Kannan ordered and after looking at the young man with alarm, Padraig reached out a trembling hand and accepted the phial, unstoppering it and drinking the contents. Kannan waited for the loosening of Padraig's shoulders before continuing. "After the DoM, Pinky was Moony's support, she was right there for everything. She was goo-goo over him and I think he was enamoured with the idea of her and being a couple, but he did have a few rough patches about it."
"Yeah, he would have." Padraig snorted.
"When the old club came to get me, the month before I turned seventeen, Pinky told us, they'd eloped. Teddy was born the following April, a week before Easter. They asked me to be his godfather and Hermione to be his godmother."
"He's… he's… he's Moony's son?!" Padraig squawked, gaping at the four-and-a-half-month-old baby.
"He is." Hermione sighed.
"So, why have you got him?"
"You know that Moony died at Hogwarts? Right?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, Kingsley gave me a list of the fallen." Padraig said sadly.
"Right, well, Pinky's mother wasn't coping, she fell apart, went crazy, whatever you want to call it. She was admitted to St. Mungo's, to the permanent care ward. And Kingsley had her give Teddy to me. Molly whinged that she should have him, she's got more experience with children, but Teddy screamed his head off whenever she came near him, and add to that, her trying to dose you? No, Kingsley made sure he came with me. It did help that I'm his godmother." Hermione sighed.
"And that's another issue we need to delve into. As far as both the muggles and the WFS are concerned, Teddy doesn't exist. Remus did, Tonks did, but due to the war and Remus' lycanthropy, they didn't register Teddy at all." Kingsley told them. "He'll be considered a muggleborn, because of that."
"I don't suppose that we could… doctor his records before backdating his registry?" Kannan screwed up his nose.
"Hmm…" Kingsley hummed in thought. "I suppose we could but…? Who would he become? Not to mention that we'd be taking his heritage from him."
"Kingsley, you know as well as I do, that as the son of a werewolf, Teddy has less value to the British wizarding world than a muggleborn." Kannan huffed. "Both his parents were half-bloods, Pinky-"
"Why are you calling Tonks, Pinky?" Hermione asked.
"I don't want to use names, Mione, we don't know who's likely to take offence." Kannan answered.
"But-"
"Umbitch." Was all Kannan had to say, to have Hermione huff and nod.
"Fair enough."
"Thank you. So, Pinky's mother is a pureblood, while her father was a muggleborn. Moony's father was the pureblood while his mother was a muggle."
"Yes, that's right." Padraig nodded. "What's the plan, pup?"
"We will always remember Moony and Pinky. But Teddy needs more family than just a godmother and a godfather. He needs a father." Kannan said.
"Pup?"
"How would you like a son, Pads? Your condition could easily be attributed to the war, not the… arch. That would give him a living father and a cousin, me that is. And of course, Mione is his godmother, who's been caring for him while you are recovering from injuries received in a battle during war." Kannan said. "Once he's older, enough to know to keep quiet on the subject, we can put together a whole heap of memories for him to watch in a pensieve, that way he can still get to know his 'other' parents."
"That…" Padraig breathed.
"That just might work." Kingsley nodded. "We'd need to find a suitable mother, someone that died around the same time as Nym- Pinky."
"We could.. but I had a different idea." Kannan grinned. "Keeping it in the family, let's go with adoption, instead. Pads wanted a son,he's been on the waiting list to adopt a muggleborn orphan, so when his cousin Nymphadora, died, Pads approached Kingsley and Hermione about adopting Teddy. It stops Molly from trying to claim that Hermione isn't capable of caring for Teddy."
"Ooh, yes, that would work." Hermione sat forward and adjusted Teddy in her arms. "We could that Padraig has been in contact with Ton- Pinky and Moony. Do you think we could get a falsified muggle-lodged Will in place? And what about…?"
For the next few hours, the three wizards and one witch laid out a plan and the paperwork needed to support it, then Kingsley called in a pair of deeply shrouded beings from the DoM. The Unspeakables did whatever is was that they needed to, but when they left the conference room, they left behind a father and his son, his son's godmother and godfather, the later also being his own nephew.
Due to Padraig's ill health, Teddy lay in his godmother's arms, while his cousin, Kannan, provided whatever physical support Padraig needed. Teddy was named Theodore Remus, after the father of woman that donated eggs for his conception and her husband. It would be easily accepted, especially seeing as both were fallen heroes of the Battle of Hogwarts.
"Excellent." Kingsley said. "Now, St. Mungo's have released Padraig, he's under the care of Madam Pomfrey. Where are you going to stay? If you're going to accompany Hermione to Australia, next week, you'll only need somewhere to stay for this week."
"Me." Kannan said. "I've a two-bedroom flat, they can stay with me. Mione can have one room and Pads, Teddy and I can share the other. Particularly, as we can add a minor expansion charm, something that requires a pass-phrase to dismiss, that way we know it won't collapse, accidentally. It's only a week, after all."
"That would be good." Hermione said.
"There'll always be a space for you in my life, Mione. Never doubt that." Kannan gave her a soft smile.
"Thank you, Ha- Kannan." She caught herself before she finished the first name, then frowned. "You're going to have to charm me to remember that you're Kannan, now."
"I'll do that before we leave." Kannan said, nodding.
Footsteps came down the hall.
"That's likely to be Bill and George." Hermione said. "I asked them to go to the Burrow and get my stuff, I'm not going back there to be hit again."
The footsteps stopped at the door and someone knocked.
"Come." Kingsley called.
The door opened and a clearly disgruntled Percy Weasley stepped in. "I apologise for the interruption, Minister, but Mr William Noname and Mr George Noname insisted on attending Miss Granger, immediately." Padraig and Kannan sucked in a sharp breath at Percy's sneer when he said Bill and George's names.
"That's fine, Percival. George, Bill, come in, please. You may go, Percival, I shan't be needing you, again today." Kingsley's voice was cold, but Percy was oblivious to the icy response.
"Of course, Minister." Percy nodded to the Minister and closed the door behind him, but not before Kannan saw the expression of anger on his face.
"Come in, gentlemen, and sit down." Kingsley directed.
"Are you alright?" Hermione asked, reaching a hand out towards George.
"They disowned us." Bill whispered. "They cut us from the family, when we turned up to get your things."
"They took our names from us." George whispered.
"They even disowned Fred, just to make sure that George has no connection to them." Bill looked lost.
Kingsley sighed. Padraig closed his eyes, seemingly in pain. Hermione gritted her teeth to stop from saying something, that she wouldn't be able to retract. While Kannan growled low and viciously.
"Here goes, nothing." Padraig took a deep breath. "I, Padraig Nyle Grimm, eldest living member of the Family Grimm, do herby claim the title of Head of our House. May Lady Magic hear my plea and judge me worthy of her blessing." The others looked on in shock as a brilliant golden light surrounded Padraig, before slowly fading. "Well…" He said. "I guess that worked." He looked to Kannan. "It's your call, pup. I can adopt them as sons, nephews, brothers. Yours or mine."
Kannan looked at George. "How would you like your silent investor as a brother? Or would you rather have Padfoot as a father?"
George gawked at him. "Har-?"
"I'm Kannan, now, but I'm still your silent partner." Kannan cut him off. "Don't say the name, we don't know what ears are listening."
"If you're Ha- were him, who was he?" George pointed at Padraig.
"He was the one to give me the firebolt." Kannan answered.
George and Bill blinked as they thought through what that meant. Bill realised it first and his jaw fell open in shock. George figured it out a few moments later.
"Holy crap…" The older redhead gasped.
"What he said." George jerked a thumb in Bill's direction.
"What about Charlie?" Hermione asked. "Where is he? Did they disown him, too?"
"He's at the shop, but… Yeah…" Bill sighed. "Him, too. Just because we didn't agree with them."
"Kingsley, we need a floo connection to the shop. Now." Padraig demanded.
"There's a floo-fireplace here, but no floo powder, I'll go and get some from the reception desk." Kingsley said. "Be back in a few."
"Thanks." Padraig turned to the redheads, again. "So, who's going where?"
"I'll be Kannan's brother." George said.
"I think Charlie and I would prefer to be your brothers, I would, anyway. Charlie could go either way."
"We'll ask him, which he'd prefer." Kannan said.
"I Padraig Nyle Grimm, head of House Grimm, do welcome George Fabian and Fredrick Gideon Noname into my family, I claim them as sons to my brother Nigel Patrick Grimm. They shall be brothers to my nephew, Kannan Evan Grimm. To them Kannan shall be brother. As I offer, so do I swear. George Fabian, do you accept my offer?"
"I, George Fabian, on behalf of myself and my deceased twin, Fredrick Gideon, do accept the offer from Padraig, head of House Grimm. We shall be brothers to Kannan. As I accept, so I do swear."
A soft flare of blue-ish purple lightning arced from Padraig to George and from George to Kannan. George's hair darkened from his normal burnished copper to a warm chocolate brown with streaks of copper and his eyes faded from dark brown to light brown streaked with Kannan's brilliant green.
Kingsley re-entered the room, holding a pot of floo powder.
"Who's going to do this? Just be aware that from this room, you will only have call capabilities, no transporting." Kingsley told them.
"I'll call and explain it." Bill said. "Give me five minutes. Please?"
"Go for it." Padraig waved at the floo-fireplace and Bill took the floo-powder from Kingsley.
Ten minutes later, when they all left the conference room, Padraig had with him a son and two brothers, two nephews and his son's godmother.