A/N: Ladies and gentlemen! It is with great pleasure we present the news that this sory is off hiatus and being composed under our pens! So here, without further ado, we give you the next chapter!
Chapter Nineteen: Meeting the Parents II
It was obvious to Harry that Hermione's parents were money if one could judge by the houses of their neighbors. Their home appeared to be somewhat understated in comparison with some of the area homes, but the long driveway and broad expanse of the yard around them suggested to Harry that a dental practice run by two dental surgeons was a very paying proposition.
He had been somewhat uncomfortable on the trip up – it marked the first time he had been in an automobile for some time and once he and Hermione had left the city, he found the open stretches of country too much of a contrast with the built up city.
Of course, Hermione's choice of car reflected her practical personality with the silver 2000 VW Jetta diesel being both economical and not flashy. He had to admit that she handled the car well – his impression of magicals in the U S suggested that they were comfortable with technology and blended in well with the larger mundane population.
However, no drive with Hermione was free of her comments and advice in trying to prepare Harry to meet her parents. The conclusions he had drawn were mixed – her mother, Emma, would be quietly rooting for him, but her father would try to play the enraged and protective father card.
"Explain to me how your mother would be rooting for me again, Hermione," he asked her, a bit of nervousness peeking through.
Hermione smiled at his hint of nerves. "Because, Harry, you are the first young man I have ever brought home. Because you are the cause of so much good coming into my life including my admission to Columbia Med School and the weekly sessions with Dr. Peter. And because, while you are a wizard, you are still studying at a mundane university with every intention of continuing to live in both worlds."
"Then, if your Mom feels that way, why would your dad want to threaten me?"
Hermione laid a calming hand on his hand even as she moved the car in front of the far garage door beside the 2001 silver BMW. "Because you are the first man I have brought home and because Dad feels that it is part of the time honored tradition of fathers to threaten their daughter's potential suitors.
"I would imagine that if we have children that you would act the same way if someone attempts to take our daughter away."
It was the occasional lapse of Hermione into expressions such as this that warmed Harry's heart. These lapses told both he and Fleur that Hermione was moving into acceptance of the strange yet friendly relationship that had been building between the three since the first awkward prophecy by Erin. No further words had been said by his youngest sister, but it was obvious to all around Hermione that she had taken his mom's words to heart and was allowing the dynamics of the relationship to just develop.
At least she was now thinking of an 'us'.
"Do I address you in any special manner, my Lady?" he quipped as Hermione stopped the car and removed the keys from the ignition.
The bushy haired witch just smirked at his comment, then waited for him to exit the car. She remained seated until he got the message and went to the driver's side to open her door.
"Now you're getting it," she smiled. "Even if you are a Lord and I am a Lady, you are the male and you must always show me courtesy.
"Mum and Dad would expect that."
Harry just shook his head. "I will gladly open doors, my Lady, but if you've noticed, there are few doors in the world below."
The door to the main house abruptly opened and Harry could see a tall, bushy haired man and a woman who almost looked like an older version of Hermione stand in front of their home.
"Your parents I take it?"
Hermione only smiled. "Oh yes, Harry. It looks like Dad wants to get the preliminary tortures started early – or Mum decided to push him out of his den. Normally he likes to read dental journals as relaxation."
Nervously, Harry moved towards the older couple now carefully looking him over and then he felt a small feminine hand slip into his. Somehow, that simple gesture removed some of his stress and, straightening his shoulders, he walked down the sidewalk to the elder Grangers.
"Mum, Dad, this is my friend – and companion - Harry Jacob Vincent Wells. Harry, these are my parents – Daniel Granger and Emma Granger."
Daniel Granger's grip threatened to break Harry's hand, but he only tightened his own grip. There were advantages to the occasional tour of duty with the tunnel repair gang – one's hands grew calloused and strong while moving rocks and timbers. Still, he didn't want to press too hard – he just wanted to make a point.
Dan relinquished Harry's hand after a few seconds while the two women embraced and then smiled at the obvious display of testerone. "Enough beating of the chest, Dan?" Emma said with a smile indicating she had missed nothing. Hermione only gave Harry an answering smirk.
Emma turned to open the door to the house even as Hermione looked around for her pesky, younger brother. Catching no sign of him, she turned to her father. "Dad, where's Ben?"
"With a sitter tonight, Princess," he replied. "With our guests coming tonight and this chance to finally meet this young man who has been monopolizing your time, we wanted to clear the deck and just have some time with you, Harry and then our guests.
"Besides our guests have suggested that we go out to the city tonight. Something about seeing a unique place."
"Does that mean we're invited too, Dad?" Hermione asked, a hint of a tease in her voice. To Harry, this was a side of Hermione he had never seen before – a teasing, playful side. She knew as well as he that they would be part of the evening's events – after all, her parents' guests were his unofficial uncle and aunt and they had plans to escort them down their own rabbit hole trip.
Here Dan looked a bit confused and turned back to Emma. "According to your mother, your inclusion was a last minute item. Care to explain?"
She only smirked back at her dad. "Why don't we wait and see?"
By now, she and Harry had followed her father to the living room where Emma had already placed the usual tea and biscuits – while the Grangers had been in the U S for some time, they still fell back on their British teatime customs. Harry was anticipating that the inquisition would start soon – and he was not disappointed. It was Emma who opened the discussion.
"Harry, I must say that it is a pleasure to finally meet you. You seem to have become a fixture in our daughter's life since last October which makes it about six months and I am pleased to see that you could make the time to come out and spend some time with some middle aged dentists," she said in a pleasant tone. Unspoken, but clear to Hermione was the message that her mother would have wanted to have made this acquaintance much earlier.
Harry looked at Hermione with some confusion. "Why wouldn't I want to meet my girlfriend's parents?"
The only hint of Hermione's surprise was the almost imperceptible sucking in her breath. While they had been dancing around the term for some time, this was the first blatant admission on the part of either of the two young people of their growing relationship. However, she did not withdraw her hand from his and Emma noted both that and her daughter's flushed cheeks. So, things were definitely moving in a romantic direction, she concluded.
It was Dan who broke the silence next. "Harry, tell me – tell us about your plans and your current studies." The formal questioning had begun.
Harry laid out his plan to both of Hermione's parents and Dan found himself being impressed by the ease in which the young raven haired man was speaking about a career in managing a family trust and in working with both the goblins in the magical world and with Wall Street financiers for the betterment of his community.
"When my father's first love died, she left a significant insurance policy and significant assets in the forms of stocks, bonds, notes and property in the hands of the leader of the community," he was saying, unaware of how his eyes were glowing with his passion. "Catherine Chandler's will stated that while the principal was to be protected, the income was to be spent to meet the needs of the poorer members of our - that is my father and grandfather's community."
Dan found himself becoming hooked by this community and its vision. "And that community is where?"
"You will actually find out this evening, Dr. Granger. Your evening guests are members of that community and they have indicated it would be good for you to see where your daughter has been spending so much of her time."
Dan looked visibly startled. "You know our guests closely? I wasn't sure that there was a strong connection even when Joe said you and Hermione might be accompanying us this evening. I just figured that Joe wanted to meet more people – he's turned into quite the politician."
Harry only smiled. "My mother works for Joe Maxwell and Joe and Jenny Maxwell became my sponsoring 'uncle and aunt' when I was formally adopted and welcomed into the community.
"But I would rather not say much more about the community – I don't want to spoil the surprise for both you and your wife for this evening. However, if I can say anything, I would simply ask you to have an open mind and to not judge a book by its cover until you have seen the whole community."
Emma had some idea of the surprises that her husband would encounter later that evening and wanted to steer the conversation away from Harry's community and towards some of the other issues that she had encountered earlier in her meeting with Harry's mother.
"Hermione, could you please share with your father what you uncovered when you went to the Gringott's New York branch a few weeks ago? As well, what you discovered earlier this week?
"Dan, this is important and we can return to learning about Harry's world a little later this evening."
Hermione swallowed and Dan noticed that Harry gave her a comforting squeeze with his hand which appeared to lend her strength. These two have it bad, he decided, but decided to hold off more inquisitorial questions until Hermione had shared her news.
"Dad, I have some news – some good and some bad. Which do you want to hear first?"
Her tone was serious and Dan would quickly see that this was no ordinary discussion. "Well, I guess that I'm much like your mother in that I prefer to get the bad news out of the way first before getting to the good news. So lay it on me."
He was startled when Emma grabbed his hand and whispered quietly in his ear, "Don't overreact, Dan. It was a shock to Hermione earlier this week and I don't think she has had the opportunity to fully digest it yet herself.
"Besides, there is nothing that we can do right now about it. But we have allies now."
Dan was bemused. What was going on, he wondered. Emma usually only played the hand holding card when it was news that would ignite the famous Dan Granger temper and they had had few opportunities for that since they had come to the U S.
"Dad, I found out why I was having those panic attacks after my first year at Hogwarts and all those times since." Hermione began, interrupting his thoughts.
"I was obliviated – my memories wiped – of an attack I suffered from a 12 foot mountain troll."
She said it calmly, but Harry knew Hermione well enough by now to realize that she was just barely keeping a lid on her emotions. He tightened his grip on her hand and moved to place his arm around her shoulder, his desire to support her through this obvious to Emma and even Dan. She seemed to take strength from him and continued with the tale of a terrified and bullied young girl of 12 on a Halloween night in Scotland.
Dan felt waves of fury wash over him as Hermione moved to conclude her tale. The old bastard – the old fool. Who gave him the right to wave his stick and just remove a memory from his daughter's mind – and then leave her to cope with the effects for years after. He could not recount how many hours he had spent with therapists, with psychologists, beside his daughter's bed holding her hand and trying to comfort a very distraught teenage girl – only to find out now that it was due to the attempt by a headmaster to preserve the reputation of his school.
"I'll kill him," he told her, Emma and Harry as Hermione had finally finished speaking, her hands shaking, but her voice and eyes resolute. "I'll kill that old fool."
It was Harry who actually took a position of leadership in the discussion. "Dr. Granger, you'll have to stand in line for that privilege. There are many others ahead of you who would love to perform that pleasure. Hermione is not the only person affected by the decisions of the old fool of Hogwarts.
"My mom thinks that Hermione is on the mend and the fact that she can finally put a name to what has happened to her will be a very positive thing."
Dan turned his eyes to Harry, scrutinizing him carefully. "It appears from Hermione's story that we owe your family and more specifically your mum and yourself a number of debts of gratitude. Her help in diagnosing this phenomena; your reference to Dr. Peter Alcott and your invitation to Hermione to come meet him: these are big things in my book and I will not quickly forget them."
He then smiled wickedly at Harry before winking at both Hermione and Emma. "I know that I am angry right now, but it is not directed towards you. Instead, I was going to tease you a bit – put you through your paces a bit more and find out what kind of man you are. But I believe I have seen enough to tell me that you care for my daughter and she cares for you.
"Plus you have already done so much for her and by extension for this family. How can I stand in the way of whatever makes my princess happy?"
Hermione's eyes shone with tears, but the smile on her face was radiant even as Emma gave her husband a squeeze of her own promising him some 'personal' time later. Harry only looked at Dan with surprise. "You mean I don't have to wrestle you for Hermione or take up insane sports?" he said with a slight twinkle.
Dan raised up a warning hand. "No getting out of that one, Harry. A man is not a man until he has learned to walk the walk – with a set of golf clubs along 18 holes. No, Harry, that rite of initiation is still before us."
Then he turned back to Hermione. "However, princess, you said you have good news as well?"
Hermione now blushed red as she tried to figure out how best to tell her father that she and Harry were 'more connected' than she had originally thought. Might as well just jump right in, she thought to herself.
"Do you remember that missing wizard who failed to turn up the first year I went to Hogwarts, mum, dad?"
Emma could see where she was going. "A Potter or something. He was some famous wizard."
Hermione was glad that she had discussed the situation with her mother already and that her mother had seemed to be able to recall all the key important details of her years at Hogwarts. "Yes, he was Harry Potter and he had been the only survival of a battle between his parents and a dark lord. The British magical world called him The-Boy-Who-Lived."
As she was speaking Dan began making connections. It might have been a coincidence, but it did not appear to be that Harry, her daughter's boyfriend, and Harry Potter shared the same first name.
"Princess, is your Harry actually Harry Potter?"
Trust her father to demonstrate that he was no slouch in the intelligence department himself.
"Yes, Dad, Harry was the missing wizard. But he died in 1994 - and then he came back."
Dan was stunned. The nonchalant way Hermione had said her words took him a few seconds to sink in. He looked askance at Harry, his eyebrows raised in a questioning glance.
Harry did not disappoint. "I was dead then. But I'm better now," he said in a deadpan expression.
Hermione and Emma could not resist laughing at Harry's comment and Dan's stunned expression. She then gave both her parents a short summary of Harry's adventures from leaving Britain to the events of 1994 and beyond.
"So you are dead to the world of magic as Harry Potter and are instead this Lord Black, and the head of the Wells family as far as magic is concerned," Dan asked, trying to wrap his head around the situation.
"That's correct, Dr. Granger," Harry replied.
"But it gets weirder than that Dad," Hermione continued. "The goblins have been encouraging all British muggleborn witches and wizards to undergo inheritance tests to find out if they are reappearances of old wizarding family lines.
"And they found out something about me - and you."
Dan found the suspense was killing him. "Well what did they find?"
Hermione just smiled for a moment and then held Harry's hand tighter. "You, I, and Harry are all related. And as I am the closest magical relative to Harry, I am now the new Head of the Potter Family.
"That makes me Lady Hermione Granger-Potter and Ben the new Heir to the Potter Family."
Of all the news that Hermione could have shared, this was the last thing Dan could have expected.
"How closely related?" were the first words out of his mouth.
"Eight generations back, Dad. Thus, even if Harry and I get hitched, there would be no problems."
Dan was trying to get a full grasp of the entire situation. "So you and I by default are related to this Harry Potter and if you two tie the knot, then Harry would be marrying into his own family?"
"You got it, Dad! I guess that makes me a Lady.
"And the funny thing is - I cannot declare this status to the non magical world because they would not accept that title or that source of funds. Thus I still qualify for some financial aid when I start Columbia in the fall."
Dan just laughed. "So my daughter is a Lady of the magical world and she is the heir and now head of the magical family from which her boyfriend comes. This is rich, Hermione, really rich."
He then gave Harry a more serious look. "What is your view on the separation of the magical world from the non-magical world, Harry? One of the biggest things I and Hermione's mother have been concerned about is the threat that the magical world would take Hermione away from us - and one of the greatest reliefs for us has been Hermione's willingness to work in both magical and non-magical situations.
"We love our daughter and would hate to lose her."
Harry gave Dan an answering smile of his own. He looked at Hermione who gave him a slight nod and then turned back to both Dan and Emma. "Drs Granger, I have no more interest and intention of leaving the non-magical world than Hermione does. She is pursuing her medical degree to match her Healer training at her magical school: I am combining both goblin financial training and my Business Admin program at CUNY.
"My family knows that I am magical - they know that Hermione is magical and that both my youngest sibling and Hermione's good friend Fleur are also magical. But we are very much at home in both worlds and we will continue to maintain this.
"We are committed to walking down our own path - that's why we are here to share our evening with you."
Both Dan and Emma felt emotion well up within as they heard the young peoples' words. This sounded as music to their ears. It was obvious to both of them that the relationship between Harry and Hermione was a strong one and to hear both of them share the same commitment to ensuring their presence in her parents' lives was a real relief.
Emma suddenly thought of the last piece of news and felt that the thought his princess was in a relationship that included one more woman would be too much for Dan to handle this evening. It also appeared that both Harry and Hermione had a built in sense of how much to share with her father and the topic of Fleur would remain for another day.
At that moment, the doorbell rang and Dan glanced at the clock. "Goodness, I guess time was flying by much faster than I was aware of. it must be Joe and Jenny."
Dan exited the room and returned with two very familiar faces for Harry and now Hermione. Joe, now with several gray hairs peppering his dark brown hair, looked with fondness on his unofficial nephew.
"Dan, I forgot the handcuffs and the uniforms back at the office," he said, winking at Harry but turning his attention to Hermione's father.
Dan quickly added his own rejoinder. "I was counting on you to save my daughter from young men who try to take advantage of her good nature. Can you press charges later?"
Harry only gave a snort at the older males' antics and comments even as the women began conversations on their own. The two groups talked for a few moments before Joe looked at his watch and turned a questioning gaze to Dan. Dan caught his stare and nodded, rising to get he and Emma's coats even as Hermione and Harry also rose. Moments later, they were in Dan's large SUV with Joe giving directions and the women quietly talking.
Dan was the first to break the silence about their final destination. "Harry tells me that you are taking us to see his community, Joe. You also suggested that we should dress casually for tonight, but hiking boots?
"Where are we exactly going, Joe?"
Joe couldn't help chuckling at Dan's questions. "Yeah, I will admit that hiking boots to an evening in the city doesn't exactly make senses. But then we are not going exactly to the city.
"We're going underneath it."
Both Dan and Emma turned surprised eyes to Joe and Jenny even as Harry and Hermione tried to hide their smiles. Figured that Joe, being a lawyer, knew how to pace his conversation and his dramatic delivery. Harry silently counted off the seconds before one or the other older Grangers would say something.
It was three seconds before Dan sputtered out a question. "Underneath it?"
Joe turned back to Harry and he knew he was up at the plate now. Who better to talk about his world and its history than he, the grandson of the Founder and the son of its incoming leader.
"Drs Granger, the world I call home is called the World Below and it grew out of the vision of two men, one of whom is my grandfather, the same Dr Wells who is working with Hermione now."
Harry did not know it, but he was a natural story teller and his words and passion began to captivate all the people in the SUV even as Joe was driving into the suburbs at the north end of the city.
"Grandpa was a doctor who had opposed atomic testing, telling all who would listen that there would be medical consequences of test participant's exposure to radiation. He was blackballed, forced to watch his engagement to the love of his life destroyed and literally forced to see his life destroyed.
"What he did, what many people in this city have done since the founding of the city, was to return to the tunnels underneath the city. He came first to escape persecution and to find a safe place to hole up for a while, but then discovered that there were other people in the tunnels - people who could use the services of a doctor such as him and who didn't care about his political beliefs.
"People have used these tunnels before - some for bad purposes such as hiding underground loot, or gangs seeking places of safety; some for purposes of seeking protection and a place to stay, to come away, to rebuild after their lives have been destroyed up top. It was the latter goal that first animated my grandfather to discover and then build the community that we call The World Below."
As the miles whizzed by and Joe began navigating the SUV towards the city's centre, Harry told his audience of the early struggles of the underground community to keep true to a focus of helping people in need and of becoming a place of safety and welcome for those who had become outcasts of the world above.
"Everything changed once they found my father. He ...was special, unlike anything or anyone that the community had seen before. He became a rallying point, something around which our community could coalesce and the mission of our world became that of a safe harbor in a storm for those who were down and out, a place of welcome for those who were outcasts from the larger world above.
"People who came and spent time with us were healed, built up and restored and many returned to the world above, desiring to help others and at the same time desiring to help us continue and expand our work.
"We call these people 'Helpers'. Uncle Joe, Aunt Jenny and Dr. Peter Alcott are some of our most prominent helpers."
As both Dan and Emma listened to this story, they felt themselves strangely moved. A secret society, living in the shadow of the city above, who had become a place of refuge for those who were rejected or hurt by the society around them - their respect for Hermione's friend Harry was growing by the moment and they felt proud that their daughter was now learning and playing a role in this world.
"Things changed in 1987," Harry continued. "Things changed when Catherine Chandler came."
Joe took over the conversation from there. "Harry never met Cathy. But she changed everything for Harry's father - and for the World Below. She changed my life, Jenny's, and Vincent's."
Joe told the story of the young debutante who had been on a path of ease and social prominence until the fateful April evening when she was attacked and left for dead in Central Park.
"Vincent rescued her, brought down to his father, Dr. Wells, where they stitched her up and saved her life. Seeds were planted that day and Cathy's life was completely changed. I sometimes wonder if it was a survivor's guilt pushing her or something like that. But a connection had been forged between Vincent and Catherine, a bond that became the stuff of legend among dwellers below and Helpers above.
"Cathy came to work for me - I was just the assistant DA at that time and I was stunned to see someone of her wealth and position wanting to come work with the rest of us grunts among the worst types of New York. Yet, she was dogged, determined, brave - and lit by a fire that encouraged the rest of us to reach a little deeper and go a little farther. And she changed lives - mine, her best friend Jenny, and Vincent.
"I didn't know about Vincent or the World Below at that time, but she threw herself constantly into situations that threatened her life - all for the sake of justice or of helping someone in need. And Vincent came through to rescue her time and time again.
"And it was I who helped set her up for her kidnapping and death."
Joe swallowed at this point as Jenny reached ahead and squeezed her husband's shoulder. "You didn't know, Joe, you didn't know."
"I know, I know. But if I hadn't had handed her the book, the whole sequence would never have happened. And Cathy might still be alive. And she would still be with her son."
It was Emma who interrupted Joe. "Her son?"
Joe nodded, even as he turned the SUV into the concrete parking lot adjacent to he and Jenny's apartment.
"Yes, just before she was kidnapped, Cathy had managed to get pregnant with Vincent's son. According to Vincent, she never got to see him for more than an instant before she died. She never got to know him - all because I handed her that blasted diary."
"And I would never have really gotten to know you and Diana would have never have been assigned to Cathy's case and Diana and Vincent would never have met...and Harry would never have been adopted by Diana and Vincent ... and so on," Jenny broke into what was obviously a familiar litany. All the other occupants in the SUV could see that Joe had never forgiven himself for the events of that day.
"Don't beat yourself Joe. It was tragic, but everything did turn out for the better in the end."
So, swallowing hard, Joe told the story of Catherine Chandler's kidnapping, the desperate but separate searches for her by both Vincent and Joe, the fatal discovery of Cathy dead in her own apartment and Joe's desperate search for answers which had led him to rope Diana Bennett in as the lead investigator of her death.
"Those were dark days for the World Below and for those of us who loved Cathy," Joe continued. "But as Jenny said, there were significant changes that resulted from it.
"I got to know about the world below; I met Jenny and eventually despite her better judgment, convinced her to become my wife; Vincent rescued his son and met Diana, and Diana shot the bastard who had kidnapped Cathy in the first place.
"And the irony was that it was with Cathy's own gun, one that she had lent the World Below in a time of crisis before."
Joe had parked the SUV by now and had handed the keys to Dan, but no one was making a move to leave the vehicle as the story had become too gripping to end. Joe paused and turned to Harry.
"And this is where Harry knows more than I."
Harry took up the tale. "Most people in the World Below felt that with Catherine dead, Vincent would never love again - that this was a once in a lifetime love and that he would raise my sibling Jacob alone with the help of our community.
"But nobody took my mom into account. She is an empath and she had somehow forged links with my dad that neither of them were aware of at first.
"Of course, it didn't help that he's an empath too."
Harry briefly filled in his audience with the story of the strange courtship of Vincent and Diana, a courtship which had helped the community draw back together again after the trauma of the Catherine Chandler kidnapping, murder, search for her son and finally her son's restoration.
"My mom took to Jacob like he was her own - but she has a big heart and underneath that rough police exterior is a very caring woman," Harry said, the pride and love evident in his voice. Emma matched this account with the picture she had formed of Diana when the two had met and nodded her head silently. Yes, the woman was much as Harry described.
"And so, after three years of dancing around each other, I appeared and somehow pushed them to do what they had been thinking about for some time anyway - they got together, got married - and voila, I got adopted into a growing family.
"Jacob's now my younger brother and he annoys me as any younger brother does; Cathy is my oldest sister - she's empathic like Mom and Dad, and now we have Erin, a budding witch and my youngest sister."
Silence descended upon the passengers in the SUV before Joe opened the door and stepped out. "Time to get going down the rabbit hole, Dan and Emma. The young people will show us the way - I still occasionally get lost down there."
Harry couldn't help laughing at his 'uncle's' comment. "It's not your directions I worry about, Uncle Joe. It's your communication skills."
Joe chuckled in turn. "Well, I still haven't got all the letters and words down pat when I'm trying to communicate on the pipe network. I think I'm doing alright."
Dan and Emma looked at the two bantering men inquisitively. "We use underground pipes to communicate with one another," Harry began. "It uses a combination of Morse Code and other short forms for common contractions and so on.
"Messages can carry quite well for great distances, but it can be lost in the chatter from other people as well. Sort of like the old party lines for telephones.
"Joe and Hermione have challenges with the code although Hermione is catching on pretty fast," he continued, a broad smile on his face. "Joe's last message suggested that he was sleeping with goats while Hermione's last message said that she was bringing down a llama.
"The children of Down Below are still waiting for the llama."
Smiles could be seen all round although Emma thought Hermione's face might have been tinged with a blush of pink. Still Harry's humor was not meant as mean, but as a gentle tease from boyfriend to girlfriend and she thanked the heavens anew that Harry was turning out to be the kind of friend he was to her oldest child.
By now, the party of six were walking towards a nondescript building and Harry turned to explain. "Entrances to our world are scattered throughout the city, but we take care to keep those entrances secret except for those in need or for our own helpers. One of our helpers owns this building and we can gain access to my world through their basement."
Once they had entered, Harry let the party down the stairs into the basement. No one stopped or questioned them although one of the residents gave a wink and nod to Harry as he passed them by. Once in the cellar, he touched a place on the wall and a panel slid open, revealing a brick tunnel on the other side.
"Drs Granger, welcome to the world of the rabbit hole - at least that is what we used to lure Hermione down here. Fleur had no understanding of the story as she is French."
It was Dan Granger who interrupted. "Fleur as in Fleur Delacour?"
Hermione nodded. "She is the one who introduced Harry to magic again after having been so long away from it. So she and her family have been here many times - and they helped Harry's community to get special hybrid community status under the American Secretary of Magic."
"Special hybrid status?" Emma asked. Then she turned to Joe and Jenny. "You know about Harry being magical?"
Joe nodded in turn. "Once Harry had connected with the Magical FBI and more specifically an old colleague, then I was brought into the loop. I had already learned that Harry was magical - once the Delacours had given an explanation to Harry's parents, it was not hard to look back on some displays of Harry's magical abilities and then understand what they really were."
"What is this special hybrid status?" Emma repeated.
"It's a recognition that a community has special characteristics or abilities that allow magicals and non-magicals to live and work together," Harry said. "We have many gifts in our world - both my parents are empaths as you may recall, I am a wizard, my sister is a witch - and we also rely heavily on keeping our own world secret except for those in need - so it was easy to convince the American magical authorities that we were no risk to exposing magic to the wider world. And voila - we have a hybrid community."
All six people by now had gathered in the brick tunnel and Harry had tapped the wall, shutting the panel behind him. To Dan and Emma, it seemed indeed as if they were beginning a magical journey and Harry's next action did not dispel this impression. He picked up a piece of pipe near the wall and began banging on an overhead pipe in a rapid, practiced hand of short, sharp staccato bursts. Moments later, they could hear banging in reply.
Seeing Dan and Emma's looks of surprise, he explained. "I was letting our sentries at this point of entry know that the Granger Maxwell party have arrived and are on their way to the Hub. This also lets those who will be sharing our meal tonight know that we are arriving as well."
They began walking down the brick tunnel and soon came to a crossway. Here Harry and Hermione each picked up a torch and moved to opposite ends of the group ensuring that they would have sufficient light along the way.
"Drs. Granger, we would ask you to please stay in the middle of our group as there are some treacherous spots here and there. We're not worried about Uncle Joe and Aunt Jenny - they've been here often enough to know their way around - or to bang away if they get lost," Harry began.
"We're about two miles out by foot from the Hub, but we may take a little longer to show you some of the wonders of our world. All I would ask you to do is to suspend your disbelief - I am fairly sure that any of the questions that you might have have already been asked by Hermione."
They proceeded down well lit tunnels for several minutes before they entered a gallery of paintings. "Elizabeth, one of our permanent dwellers, has decided to record the stories of our world and its inhabitants here, on the walls of this cavern, where the conditions are just right to preserve the paints."
Dan and Emma were speechless as they saw the variety of faces and activities carried on in this underground world. People putting up tunnel walls, building furniture, telling stories - many wearing colorful costumes and with faces absent of the tension of the rat race above. Elizabeth's attention to detail was beyond compare and there was a special vibrancy attached to the paintings along the walls. It was there that she noticed a face which appeared again and again - that of a lion faced man with features that could spread fear and terror, yet eyes which pierced the soul and shone forth with humanity. The artist must have a great imagination, she decided, to insert an obviously mythical character into the goings on of the world below.
She also saw a petite woman who was in several activities and who was often with the lion man. Then she saw Diana and someone who could only be her daughters engaging in an activity with children - Harry was obvious in the background giving his support to a strawberry blond younger boy and Emma thought that was probably his younger sibling, Jacob.
Jenny took this moment to whisper in Emma's ear. "She has to be one of the most gifted authors in the city and she has really caught the essence of my former friend Catherine. She is that petite woman you have been checking out."
"What is the significance of the lion man who appears several times throughout these murals?" Emma asked quietly.
Jenny looked at her friend with some sympathy. "All i can ask of you Emma is to have an open mind and perhaps have in your mind the story of Beauty and the Beast. You will find out soon enough."
A sudden thought crossed Emma's mind and a suspicion began to grow. Could the lion faced man be Vincent? She looked at her daughter carefully - Hermione would know all the players here, yet there was no hint of nervousness or fear with her. In fact, she gave off a sense of peace - as if she were coming home.
They had left the galleries behind and the next several minutes were taken up with awesome sights and sounds - the Chamber of Voices where it seemed every word being uttered in the city above was being spoken; the great spiral staircase where both Dan and Emma appreciated the wisdom of keeping them in the center of the group; the great waterfall where Harry told stories of young boys challenging one another to jump off into a cold pond at its base; and then finally, the library.
Once Emma's eyes fell upon the collection of books, she could feel their clarion call. Old leather bindings calling out to be loving stroked and opened; books left open scattered throughout the tables as if they had been put down gently and would be picked up again as old friends. - she stopped in sheer wonder at the sight of this temple of learning and records.
And then a soft voice which caused the hair on the back of her neck to rise up, but which promised so much more, spoke.
"You should have warned us, Miss MediWitch, that your mother inherited your same disease. Should we lock up our tomes now?" The voice was warm, yet reached down into her very being with the promise of something.
Emma turned with the others to see Diana smiling in welcome and a collection of other individuals. But she only had eyes for a tall lion faced man with intense blue eyes who radiated warmth and acceptance.
Surprising even herself and definitely Dan, she walked up fearlessly to the tall man, her hand extended in greeting. "Vincent, I presume. A distinct pleasure."
Vincent himself was at first surprised. There was no fear in this woman - even before he took her hand carefully, he could sense her acceptance and respect. No, this woman's reaction went a long way to explaining her daughter's initial reaction at meeting him in the library and the subsequent ease with which she had fit into the community of Down Below.
Her husband was much more nervous, but he did not move to stop his wife - Hermione had been right, Vincent decided. She had argued that her parents would perhaps have initial reservations, but they had already been exposed to the strangeness that was the magical world and seeing Vincent and the World Below would be no different.
And if Hermione was right about this, then perhaps the World Below were gaining two new helpers.
"Yes, I am Vincent and you must be Miss Mediwitch's mother, Dr. Emma Granger.," he said , his welcome clear. "You have already met my wife Diana and the three younger children gathered around her are Catherine, my eldest daughter, Erin, my youngest and Jacob, Harry's younger brother."
Jacob proved at this point that he was not shy. Looking at Harry, he stuck out his own chest and said, "But definitely the better looking of the two Wells brothers."
Laughter erupted at his comment and before everyone knew it, the barriers had broken down. After introductions were made, all were milling around talking and enjoying some tea that had been laid out on the tables in the library.
Emma and Dan could see that everyone there had genuine affection for Hermione although they did not understand the nickname 'Miss MediWitch.' When she asked her daughter about it during a quiet moment, Hermione only colored slightly then reassured her an explanation would follow later.
All too soon, supper was being served in the kitchen common area and other members of the community below came and made their introductions to the Grangers. For both Dan and Emma, the obvious welcome they were receiving contrasted sharply with the professional reserve with which they had been received upon setting up their practice in the city. This community's welcome was personal and genuine.
It was during the pause between the main course and dessert that Emma did what she thought later had to either have been divinely inspired or inspired by insanity. The warmth, friendship and welcome had fallen upon a middle aged woman who had left home and hearth for her daughter's safety and finally now, after all these years here, she was accepted not only for her daughter's sake, but also for her own.
She rose suddenly, a glass of water in her hand, and began speaking. "Harry and Joe told my husband and i much about the creation of this world and the trials and challenges you had to face during your journey to this point. And your welcome of ourselves and earlier of my daughter Hermione has touched my heart deeply.
"I would like to propose a toast to the people who have made and continue to make this world possible.
"To Dr. Jacob Wells for his initial vision, a toast. To Vincent and Diana, for the obvious love you have for one another and for your children, including an orphan boy from far away, a toast. And to someone whose presence is here even though we cannot see her - Catherine Chandler - a toast."
She made to sit down, but felt an unseen presence fill the room. It was not threatening- instead it was warm, inviting, and loving. It lingered over Vincent and Jacob, but then surprisingly next touched Diana with what seemed a loving caress.
She suddenly sat down, wondering what had come over her. She was never this demonstrative, never this forward. Yet that loving presence next seemed to touch each person in the group, lingering over Joe and Jenny, Dr. Jacob Wells, but also touching Jacob Junior, then the two girls and finally Harry, Hermione and she and Dan.
A silence now filled the room as a gentle wind blew and then the presence was gone. But each knew they had been blessed and that this dinner meeting was cementing something important.
It was here that Dr. Peter Alcott entered. "Please forgive the lateness of my visit here. Hospital emergencies and all that. But I wouldn't want to miss the chance to meet the parents of my newest medical apprentice and find out who they are.
"We'd like to know if you would want to get a little involved in what is going on down here."
And as the discussions turned to how Dan and Emma could become involved in the life of the community, the last challenge that Emma was worried about Dan facing that evening - the threesome between Harry, Hermione and Fleur disappeared and she decided it would wait for another day and time.
A/N: We have tried to give a bit of background as to the world below developed and some of the storyline for the original series back in 1987. Those of us who remember the original series still treasure the gifted story writing, the rich characters and the whole package that was Beauty and the Beast.
After one more chapter we move into the more action part of this story. Yes, Dumbledore's meeting with Harry, his attempts to get Harry back into the war and under his control and his final judgment and end are coming up. Much of this has already been written, but some of our characters wanted to have their own say - sort of taking over my new MacBook Air and not releasing it until their story was told.
Oh yes, the threesome will emerge soon and we may even have a glimpse into the meeting between all the parents involved.
Until next time.