Ch 2
Sunday 3 May 1998
The next morning, Harry woke up to crying. He didn't understand what was going on until his brain began functioning properly and he realised that Teddy's crying was coming from closer than Tonks' room. He got up and went to investigate.
He found Sirius' door open and walked in to see his Godfather dead asleep with Teddy tucked under his arm. How can Sirius sleep with that racket next to his ear, Harry wondered as he tried to figure out a way to extricate Teddy from Sirius without waking Sirius. "Bloody hell! This is impossible." He muttered as Ted noticed him and ratcheted up the noise level. "Okay little man." He whispered soothingly as he carefully moved Sirius' arm from around Teddy. He put the arm above Sirius' head and picked up Ted. "Okay little one, let's go get your nappy changed." He murmured into Teddy's head as he moved him to Harry's shoulder.
After a much more successful change, Harry got him a new outfit and swaddled. "Dobby?" he whispered as Dobby popped in.
"Yes Harry Potter Sir. How cans I help?"
"Can you please get another bottle for me so I can feed little one here?"
"Of course, Harry Potter Sir but I can do it if you need to do something else."
"No thanks Dobby. I want to spend some time with him."
"Okay Harry Potter Sir." He popped away and almost instantaneously was back.
"Thank you, my friend." Harry said as he started feeding and rocking Teddy. "Little one, you don't know this but your dad was a good friend of my dad. Now both our dads are gone and we have to figure out how to live without them. Why don't we make a deal, yeah? I'll help you and you'll help me. We'll work through this life together. I'll always be there for you and you just keep being your normally giggly self and that'll help me, yeah?" All during this little talk, Godfather and Godson just stared at each other, Teddy holding on to Harry's pinky as he drank his milk. "What do I do with my life, now that Riddle's dead?" He asked his Godson as he started to burp him. "I mean I know that I'm going to spend my life with Hermione if she'll let me but what comes next little one? I don't want any more life or death nonsense so being an auror is out. What do I want to do?"
"Whatever you feel like love." Hermione answered for Teddy. "And I'll be there for it all."
"It's just so hard to figure out. I can't help thinking of all the orphans that have come out of this war. Maybe I can do something with them?"
"Maybe. Maybe you could teach. We know you have a talent for that." His bushy-haired girlfriend suggested as she followed him to his room.
"Could you watch him while I take a shower?" He asked.
"I can take him Harry." Tonks said as she came to the door. "Thanks for cleaning him up." She smiled tiredly.
"No problem. He and I had a good talk." Harry smiled as he handed Teddy back to his mum.
"Well thanks. I got a nice long shower and was able to do it without worrying about this little guy." She smiled at her son. "I heard Dobby say breakfast was in an hour." She advised the teens. "And I'm sure we're leaving after that so I'd hurry up."
"Will do." Both teens said as Hermione gave Harry a kiss. "I'll go take a shower now." She let her boyfriend know.
HP
An hour later everyone was sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. "Why aren't we eating in the dining room like we did last night?" Harry asked, curiously.
"We've always had breakfast and lunch in here. Dinner was always in the dining room. Habit, I guess." Sirius shrugged.
"Makes sense." Hermione said as she wiped her mouth.
"After we're done here, we're going to Madam Malkins for formal wear. Then we'll go to Gringotts for portkeys to Australia. Then we'll go to the Ministry to take the oaths for the Wizengamot. Then we'll go to the Burrow." Sirius laid out the day. "By that point a listing of all the upcoming funerals should be at the ministry and we can get a copy. I'm sure there will also be some meeting of Wizengamot tonight. So, we'll have to go to that." Sirius finished.
"We should also go to Crawley to get in touch with a friend of my family's who's a realtor so we can start looking at houses tomorrow." Hermione added.
"Okay. Let's do that this morning if possible." Sirius planned. "Dobby, we won't be home for lunch and I'll let you know about dinner."
"Yes Master Dogfather." He smiled up at Sirius. With that everyone left to floo to Madam Malkins.
"How may I help you?" a twenty-something redhead asked as they gathered at the front of the shop.
"We all need dressrobes." Sirius began as he put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "And my Godson here and I need sets of Wizengamot's robes made." He smiled at the girl.
She blushed and stammered out, "Of course, sir. And your name is?"
"Black. Sirius Black." He turned up the wattage on the smile so much so the girl was actually drooling.
"Sirius! Stop it this minute!" Hermione hissed. "You're not here to flirt!"
"Of course, Hermione." He turned down what he called his "charm factor" as Madam Malkin sent the girl away and began helping them herself. The girl was useless if there was a charming man around!
Soon everyone was measured and the robes were ordered. "Please give me an hour to get them ready for you."
"Of course, Madam." Sirius looked at his family. "Let's go to Gringotts." He started walking down the Alley. As they walked, they began to gather a crowd. It started with "There's Harry Potter! He killed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! Thank you, Harry!" or some variation thereof. At this Sirius just laughed.
"Why does this happen all the bloody time?" The boy in question muttered as he held his head down.
"Language Harry."
"They don't know how to thank you kiddo—so they mob you." Sirius smiled at the horrified expression on Harry's face. "You're going to have to learn to deal with some of this for a long time to come. They see you as having stopped the war and this is how they express their gratitude."
"But I only stopped Voldemort. A lot more people died fighting the Death Eaters. Why don't they care about those?" Harry asked, thinking of Remus and Charlie.
"You're a recognizable figure so they'll glom onto you." Tonks contributed.
Then began the horrendous catcalls. "Marry me Harry!" "I'll have your children Harry!". At this Harry took Hermione's hand and kissed it, trying to get them to realise he wouldn't be interested.
Finally, they walked into the safety of Gringotts. Harry took a deep breath and stopped. He turned to Hermione and hugged her. "That was a bloody nightmare! Are you okay?" He asked as he pulled away from her.
"Language Harry. But yes. It's just a bit overwhelming I guess." She smiled. They sat down in the lobby as Sirius got the portkeys. "Look up Harry. They're already fixing the mess we made!"
"Yeah and it looks like it's almost done." The dome was almost completely repaired.
"I got the portkey for this Saturday morning at 9." Sirius said as he came back a little while later. "Let's floo back to Madam Malkin's. It's been 45 minutes. And I'm thinking Harry doesn't want to go outside." They looked out and saw an even larger crowd waiting.
"Nope!" Harry agreed emphatically. They floo'd back to the dress shop and changed into the dress robes—even Teddy had baby dressrobes to change into. After that, they floo'd to the ministry and went down to the Wizengamot office. Once there, Hermione and Tonks took seats in the waiting area.
"So, how are you doing Hermione?' Tonks asked as they sat down, Teddy being put on a blanket on the ground.
"I'm fine- I think. I'm a little confused with processing everything that's happened these past few days. I was really scared going into Gringotts because we stole a horcrux from their vault and made off with their dragon. I didn't know whether they'd let us in again"
"Yeah. Goblins are prickly little buggers but I bet Sirius made some deal with them. We'll have to ask tonight." She laughed.
As the women kept up a conversation, Sirius and Harry walked up to the receptionist. "Hello, I'm looking to claim my family seat on Wizengamot and so is my Godson." He smiled as she looked up from the Daily Prophet.
"Of course, Lord Black." She replied as she got up. "Please follow me." She took a look at Harry. "Hello Mr. Potter. Thank you for doing what you did." She said a little shyly.
"It wasn't just me ma'am. A lot of people fought and died in this war." He countered.
"Yes. My own brother died but you stopped that evil man. Thank you."
"You're welcome." He said. "My condolences on your loss."
"Thank you. Here we are." She waved them into an office.
"Thank you, ma'am." Sirius responded as he strode into the office.
"How may I help you?" a man in his 50's asked as they sat down. They filled him in on what they needed. He had them sign a bunch of documents after providing blood to prove who they were. Then they took their vows.
"I, Harry James Potter, solemnly swear to uphold the laws of Wizengamot. I affirm that I will protect and defend those that are under Wizengamot jurisdiction to the best of my abilities. I take this vow of my own volition as I take up my Hereditary seat passed down through time by my forefathers."
After they each swore their vows, they received a document with the dates and times of the sessions for the summer. They also received a list of trials and when they might be needed as witnesses.
"I haven't even been to one session yet and they're handing out homework already?" Harry asked his Godfather as they returned to the family.
Sirius laughed. "Yep kid. Wizengamot is known for their proliferation of parchment. We'll get a house with a large enough study for both of us to use—you'll need it." Harry just groaned as he came up to Hermione.
"What's wrong love?" she asked.
"This!" Harry waved the file at her. "I've got homework and I'm not in school!"
"Stop sounding like Ron." She said. "I'll help you tonight." She put the file in her bag.
"It's 11 o'clock." Sirius looked at his watch. "Why don't we go to that realtor's place Hermione?"
"Okay. Hold on." She said as she apparated them to an alley next to the building. "Come on."
After introductions were made and Hermione assured the agent, Emily, that her parents would be back soon, they got down to brass tacks. "What we're looking for is something like my parents have. A large house, preferably more than 10 bedrooms, that has a pool, guest house with 3 or 4 beds, as much land as we can get because we like to be outdoors." Hermione rattled off.
"That's going to be expensive Hermione." Emily worried her lip.
"Price doesn't matter. We'll be paying cash." Sirius contributed.
Emily's jaw dropped as she processed that. "Well, if money's not an issue, I have a few places that will fit the bill. Would you like to go now?"
"How many are there?" Tonks asked.
"Four or five."
"Why don't we go tomorrow?" Harry suggested.
"Of course. Tomorrow at nine then?" she asked.
"Sounds good." Sirius got up as they all prepared to leave.
The next stop of the day was the Burrow. As they walked down the trail to the house, Harry took Hermione's hand. Hermione was biting her lip so Harry pulled her aside.
"What's up love?" he asked.
"Ron. I'm worried about his reaction to us. I'm afraid he'll cause a scene."
"Well, if he does, we'll let Arthur handle it and do whatever he wants. I want to be there for them but I won't be a distraction." He replied as he put his arm around his beautiful girlfriend. "Just remember that I love you with all my heart." With that, they walked through the front door and followed the noise to the kitchen.
"Hello Harry, Hermione!" Molly came around to give them hugs. "How are you two? Welcome back." She said in a very false chipper tone.
"We're fine." Hermione assured the Weasley matriarch. "Can I help with anything?"
"Of course, dear. Can you please move these platters into the tent on the right?" She asked as she pointed to the wide array of foods.
"This looks amazing!" Harry's eyes were wide as he looked at the food.
Molly gave a loud laugh as she batted away his hand. "And you can eat it later young man!"
As Hermione was moving dishes out, Harry looked up the stairs to see Ron coming down. "So, you're here to try and sneak my family like you did my girlfriend" Ron said sulkily as he came into the kitchen.
Harry took a deep breath and counted to ten-twice. "I'm here to support people I see as family Ron."
"They're my family Harry, not yours. Yours are dead, don't steal mine!"
"Ronald Bilius Weasley! How dare you say something like that! On today of all days!" Molly screamed as Arthur ran in the house. Not needing to be told what happened, he took his wife in his arms and said. "Go to your room now Ronald and stay there until you're ready to be civil to everyone. How dare you cause your mother heartache today!"
Hermione walked in just at that moment and went to Harry as he went rigid. "Should we leave?" she asked Harry. "I heard it all out there." She sighed as he looked a question at her.
"Please don't leave Harry." Arthur pleaded. "Ronald will either come down or not. It's his issue, not yours. You're as much part of this family as he is."
Harry nodded his head as he walked out the back door where he went to the tent to sit down.
"Harry, we need a greeter at the entrance to this tent, could you be one?" Fred asked a little while later.
"Sure." He got up and went to the entrance of the tent. "I figured you would have somebody for this duty." He looked at Fred.
"We did. Ron. But he's being an arse."
"I'm sorry, Fred." He truly didn't want to cause this family any more trouble but it seemed just being here caused a problem. He couldn't leave though because that would upset Molly even more. Gods, can't anything go right? He asked the universe.
"Not your issue, mate. Ron's just being the child he is." Harry was surprised that Fred actually seemed angry at Ron. After that there was no real chance to talk to any of the Weasleys as they got busy with guests.
The service was heartbreaking for anyone who knew how close this family usually was. Each sibling of Charlie's, except Ron who had not attended, stood up to speak.
Bill began by saying, "I will not start off with my brother's full name. He never liked it. Charlie was an amazingly lax person who enjoyed the simplicity of life on the dragon reserve or the solitude of being a seeker."
Then each sibling went on to discuss their brother.
After the service, everyone trooped out to a tree with a hole dug for Charlie's body. Bill, Percy, the twins, Harry and Arthur took the coffin from the sitting room, where it had lain with the top open, to the tree and set it in the ground. Arthur was there because Ron was not. Instead of being there to comfort his wife, he was having to deliver his son to his grave. No father should have to do that.
Molly was sitting crying on Ginny's and Hermione's shoulder because she was not only grieving her son's passing but her youngest son had abandoned them. Harry was livid.
After Hermione handed Molly over to Arthur, she saw Harry headed towards the house. "That's not good." She muttered as she signaled to Sirius. He jogged over and she just pointed to Harry.
"Shite!" He grumbled as each of them could see the blow-up brewing on Harry's face as they ran to catch him.
Once in the house, Hermione yelled, "Harry!" He turned around and the look on his face actually scared his best friend. He turned back around and they all started climbing the stairs.
"Don't bother. I won't hit him and I'll put up silencing charms so we don't disturb the guests but I can't not say something Hermione. Molly deserved to have everyone with her not having to be com-" He took a breath before he opened Ron's door. "Hello Ronald." He said in a very cold voice as Ron looked up belligerently.
"What do you want Potter? My room?" He stood up.
It was as though a light went on in Harry's head—Ron had no concept of others unless it related to him somehow. It was useless to yell and scream because he could never see past his own needs to see what others might need from him.
"I'm sorry Ron." He said as Hermione and Sirius looked at each other skeptically and began putting up silencing charms. "I came up here to yell and scream about how your mother had to cry into Hermione and Ginny's shoulders while we laid your brother to rest because your dad had to help carry the coffin. However, I realise now that'd be a waste. You don't care about anyone or anything unless it affects you. If you need something, you ask and whine if you don't get it. But if something is required of you, you never do it." Harry closed his eyes against the realisation that Ron couldn't care about Harry and never would because he was just that selfish. He took a breath. "Good bye Ron." He turned around and walked out on a man he had loved like a brother.
"Well, at least I get my family back." He yelled as Harry was about to shut the door. He came back in.
"Oh I'll be back to the Burrow and your family will be at our new place." He said nodding to his companions. "However, you will not."
"You won't come when I'm here!" He screamed as the new family members left for the kitchen and said good bye to the rest of the Weasleys.
As Harry said good bye to Bill, he said sadly. "We're moving out of Headquarters but once we're settled and get Hermione's parents back, we'll have you all over. We're done with Ron though."
"I'm sorry Harry." He responded as he gave Harry a hug. "We'll see you soon."
"Thanks Bill."
HP
By the time they apparated to Grimmauld, it was 5.30. Everyone settled in the drawing room as Dobby popped in to take overcoats. "Dobby could we have a light dinner soon? I think we're all pretty tired and would like to decompress then go to bed."
"Of course, Master Dogfather. Sandwiches and drinks will be in here shortly" Dobby returned.
"So Harry," Sirius started. "When did you go from wanting to kill Ron to just scaring the pants off of him? By the way, let me know before you ever get that angry with me, I want to head it off before you blow!"
"Don't worry Sirius, I'll let you know when he gets near that level. I can read him like a book. That's why I followed him." Hermione chuckled.
Harry laughed. It was true, Hermione knew him best out of everyone he knew—and she knew how to calm him down too. He reached for her hand and smiled "I realised on the landing that Ron would never think of others." Then he told them of his epiphany about Ron.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Hermione shuddered. "And I kissed him. Yuck!" At that they all laughed as Hermione meant for them to.
They ate a quick dinner and were ensconced in their own beds by 8.00.
Monday 4 May 1998
Next morning, it was the same as yesterday. Harry woke up, found Teddy with Sirius and got him up. Everyone was at the kitchen table by seven thirty in the morning. They eventually apparated to Emily's office.
"Why is Teddy always with you in the mornings?" Harry asked his Godfather.
"Because he wakes me up around two for a feeding and I don't take him back upstairs afterwards. He also gets a feed around four." Sirius laughed as he shrugged. "I'm lazy and the kid's adorable so it works."
"Okay. But why don't you wake up at six with him?"
"I usually wake up but you've gotten to him faster these days."
"When did you start this?" Hermione inquired.
"A few days before the battle." He responded as they walked in.
"Hello everyone." Emily greeted brightly. "I think I've found some good prospects for us to look at. Now, none of them are in Crawley proper but they're not too far from here. They're all within five miles. There's even the property right next to your parents Hermione."
"Which one?"
"I believe it's the Tilgate property."
"That one's amazing." She looked excitedly at Sirius and Harry. "It's got nearly 20 acres to it, a pool, 2 guest houses with like 3 bedrooms each, stables for horses, a party pavilion that they used to hold New Year's parties in. I've never been in the actual house though." By this time, she was bouncing up and down in her seat.
"Okay. I guess we need to see that one." Sirius laughed as he put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Harry just laughed and Teddy giggled in his arms.
"There are a few more like that. Why don't we get started? I'll take you through all four of them, leaving the one in Grinstead until last." She said as they all got up to leave.
When they got in the people mover and on the way, Harry was enthralled with the beauty of the countryside they were driving through. "You know, Hermione. You are so lucky to have grown up with all this open space." He said as they got out at their first house.
"Yeah. I'm lucky my parents have so much land I can hide away from them to read my books." At that everyone, including Emily, burst out laughing as they got out at the first house.
The house, or more appropriately called a mansion by Harry's standards, was beautiful and almost exactly what everyone wanted—except it had no place for a Quidditch Pitch. Harry and Sirius nixed it for that reason.
The next mansion was nixed because it didn't have a bedroom on the ground floor, which Tonks wanted in case older people came to stay and didn't want to be levitated to their room
By the third one, Sirius was starting to get grumpy. Hermione had started taking notes on what they liked and didn't like about each property as they had decided to see all of them today and decide this evening.
The fourth place didn't have a guest house but had plenty of bedrooms in the main house and everyone loved it.
The fifth place was next to the Granger place. It had a long drive where the house was set in the middle of the property.
"This is a 16th century house that's been renovated over time." Emily began her spiel. As they came in the entrance hall, they saw a sitting room to the left but the entrance hall was split at the back with a glass half-wall. Behind that was a small vestibule with a staircase going up. As they went into the hardwood floor sitting room that had a fireplace, they noticed a much larger sunken drawing room a few steps further on. This also had a fireplace. At the back of the sitting room, there was a door that led to a huge study. "Well, we've found our study Harry!" Sirius joked. It had a large desk, another fireplace with seating around it, walls lined with bookshelves and a door to the back garden on the back wall. The door on the right wall led out to a hallway and there was a utility room door across the hall. There was a door to the outside there as well. Next to the utility room was a bathroom. Both the utility room and bathrooms had doors to the stairwell or rear hallway. There was an entrance to the kitchen/dining room from the rear hallway. There was a small bedroom off the kitchen.
On the first floor, there were 7 bedrooms with en suites and fireplaces. On the second floor, there were four en suites with sitting rooms attached. Two had a small nursery or office attached as well. On the third floor was the half attic that was a game room. "We can get a pool table up here." Harry exclaimed.
There was a four-car garage with a two-bedroom apartment above. "This place would be great for you Harry when you're single and want to live out of the house." Tonks suggested.
Out back there was a patio that went across the whole back side of the house. Off the left side of the house, there was a pathway to the enclosed pool. Two small (4 bedroom) houses were seen in the distance. This back part of the property had a party pavilion which had its own driveway and enough room for the Quidditch Pitch as well. Luckily, the area to use as a pitch was between the main house and the smaller houses.
"Okay, this place is brilliant!" Harry enthused. "We don't even have to leave the property when we want our own house."
"And Grandparents, Aunt Tonks and Grandad Sirius are all here." Hermione grinned as Tonks and Sirius grinned at each other. Though they doubted the youngsters had talked about the future, they were certainly acting as though they would be married sooner rather than later. That Tonks and Sirius were included in that made both feel pretty good inside.
After they got back to the office, Sirius asked for a recommendation for a restaurant for lunch. Emily mentioned Charlie's Deli, so they walked there.
Once they were seated, Hermione started the conversation. "So what'd you think guys? Should we go through each property's pros and cons?"
"You don't want to do that." Harry chuckled. "I could see you decorating the house in that beautiful brain of yours."
"And which house was I decorating?" She replied stiffly.
"The one we saw last."
"And you weren't picturing the Quidditch Pitch?"
"Of course I was. That place was amazing!"
Sirius just chuckled at the affronted look on her face. "Hermione, it was obvious which house you liked and Harry and I liked the same one." He then turned to Tonks. "And which one do you like?"
She swallowed and said. "The last one. The hardwood throughout and the beautiful kitchen. Dobby's going to love it!"
"So it's settled. We'll tell Emily this afternoon and she can start the paperwork. Can you phone—is that the word—her Hermione and let her know?" Sirius asked. He really didn't know if he got that term right. He hadn't been using muggle technology since Lily was alive.
"Yes, I can and yes, it is." She laughed at the relieved expression on Sirius' face.
"Hermione tell me if I get something wrong. I need to blend in better and I'll need your help for a while."
She looked at him thoughtfully. "You really do want to learn about muggle life, don't you?"
"Yes." He said as he got up to pay. "I don't want to be one of those purebloods who think they're above muggle technology. I remember when Lily first introduced me to lights, I was amazed. That's part of why I want to live here. I want lights not candles." He growled playfully as everyone laughed as they left the deli. "So, let's apparate home and you and I need to go to the Wizengamot session that starts at three." He looked at Harry.
HP
At 2.55, Lords Potter and Black apparated into the Ministry. "Harry, remember, don't talk just watch, okay?"
"Sure Sirius." Harry said a bit nervously. Sirius put his hand on Harry's shoulder which always seemed to calm him down. It had ever since Harry was a baby. "Thanks Sirius." Harry smiled weakly at his Godfather
The Wizengamot session started out extremely boring. Roll call, basic bureaucratic stuff. Then it got interesting. Sirius began the melee. Harry realised later that he should have recognised the signs of a prank of epic proportions.
"Lords and Ladies, may I be allowed to speak?"
"The Chief Witch recognises Lord Black as having the floor." Chief Marchbanks intoned.
"Lords and Ladies, as you probably know, I fought on the side of Light not only in the last war but also this one. I was there at Hogwarts trying to keep Voldemort from killing our children. On that day, I witnessed much death—even some students died—but the biggest devastation for me was losing my best friend Remus Lupin. I will never forgive Voldemort and his servants for what they've taken from me." He said harshly. "To prevent this from ever happening again, I would propose 2 statutes: first, that everyone in the ministry from the Minister to the lowliest clerk—including all members of Wizengamot—prove they are not a Death Eater. All they have to do is raise their left forearm. There is a spell in the Black Library that will bring out the Dark Mark if it is being masked by any magical mean. We run this spell over every single person. Those that have it get a fair trial—something I was never afforded—and if their crimes are severe enough, they get put through the Veil. Secondly, anyone claiming the Imperious Curse be given the same trial. They may have been cursed to take the slave mark, however, their actions afterwards are their own. We cannot have those susceptible to the curse as our lawmakers and officials. Those are my two suggested legislations."
At that, the hall burst into chaos, so much so that some seemed to be simply blubbering. It was actually quite funny to Harry and Sirius. It seemed they all knew someone who would lose their seat or go through the veil.
"How dare you suggest anyone on Wizengamot would be a Death Eater!" someone shouted.
"There is nothing wrong with believing the Pureblood cause." At that Harry started getting angry. He kept clenching the arm of the seat he was in until his knuckles were white.
"That's incriminating yourself!"
At that Harry stood, cast the sonorous charm and shouted "QUIET!" as everyone promptly shut down. "Anyone that believes Voldemort promoted the pureblood cause is stupid. Voldemort—oh stop hissing every time we say his name—is actually a half-blood with a witch mother and a muggle father. His—"
"Lies! Lies!" was heard throughout the chamber. Harry just raised his voice.
"His real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. He changed his name after Hogwarts." At that point, he raised his wand and showed everyone the anagram Harry had learned in second year. "His mother died in childbirth and he was sent to an orphanage instead of his muggle father." By this time people were actually listening. "He killed off more pureblood heads of house than Grindelwald. He didn't care about purebloods, he cared about power—nothing more. And anyone who follows him is a slave pure and simple. When he called his slaves on the night he gained a body, they had to come, no matter what they were doing. Do we really want people in government who can be called at any time to do a mass murderer's bidding or are weak willed enough to let themselves be Imperioused?"
"It's impossible to overcome the Imperious!" Someone shouted.
"I did. At fourteen after being Imperioused by Voldemort himself! This was after being Crucio'd twice!" Harry repeated. And it went round and round like that until they adjourned at 7.00 deciding to vote on it tomorrow.
The next few days were filled with buying the new house, getting to know Sirius and Tonks without the threat of war and generally trying to stay out of the public eye for Harry.
After the vote for the two laws Sirius had submitted had passed, Sirius and Harry decided to not attend any more sessions until they got back from Australia. It had been decided that the Ministry would administer the Dark Mark Test in the next week and would work towards starting the trials on May 18th.
Both Sirius and Harry were the first to take the test, then retreated home because they knew Remus' funeral was in two days' time.
Wednesday 6 May 1998
On Wednesday morning, like every other morning, Harry woke up to Teddy crying. Unlike previous days, he didn't bother trying to be careful of waking his Godfather. As soon as he walked into the room, Teddy went from bawling to giggling. "Come on squirt, let's leave Uncle Sirius to sleep on and you and I can get up." He told the little man as he climbed the stairs to his nursery. "Okay, let's get the dirty stuff over so we can feed you." He started to change Teddy. "See little man, I'm learning how to do this, right?" He asked as he swaddled Teddy back up and took him to the rocker where there was a warm bottle sitting ready for feeding. "And what would we do without Dobby, little man? I can tell you, this would not be the seamless procedure it is. Thank Merlin for the little guy." He said as he rocked Teddy as he ate breakfast.
Usually, after Teddy's breakfast, Tonks showed up and took him off Harry's hands. However, today she didn't so Harry took him down to his room. He conjured a Moses Basket to put Ted in as he was back asleep, grabbed his clothes and went to the bathroom for a quick shower. As he was about to barge in, his lovely girlfriend came out.
"Hey love." She smiled as they kissed good morning.
"Hey yourself." He smiled as he took her more firmly and grabbed her mouth more deeply than the simple peck. Both bundles of clothes dropped as they wrapped their arms around each other, trying desperately to make themselves one person. As Hermione moaned into his mouth, Harry pushed her back against the door. Their tongues exploring each other and dancing about, along with Hermione running her hands through his hair, was making him very hard.
"Excuse me. Some of us might want to use the bathroom for its intended purpose." Sirius sniggered as they nearly bounced apart. Sirius' sniggers went to full out laughter at the looks of guilt on their faces as they moved aside for him. As he went in, Harry and Hermione looked at each other shyly. Both were bright red but were smiling.
"We should do that more." Harry said lightly.
"Yes, just not out here in the hall." Hermione returned as they both started laughing.
"Since you're dressed Hermione, do you mind checking in on little one as I take a shower?"
"Sure. Where is he?"
"My room in a basket. Thanks." He said as Sirius and he switched places.
"Soooo Hermione, how're you doing today?" Sirius asked with a crooked grin on his face and his eyebrows wiggling suggestively.
"Something seems to be wrong with your eyebrows Sirius. Are you okay?" she asked innocently as she went to Harry's room.
"Hmmmph" was all she heard in response as she opened Harry's door. To her surprise, Tonks was sitting on Harry's bed watching Teddy sleep.
"You know, he is so much like his daddy." Tonks said as she motioned to her son. "He's always looking around, trying to figure his new world out. He has this one expression that is pure Wolfie. It's the look he gives right before he giggles." She smiled at her sleeping little prince. "I wish Wolfie were here. He loved Ted so much." She began softly crying.
"I know." Hermione hugged Tonks. "You should have seen the look on his face when he told us Teddy was born. He looked so much younger than we'd ever seen him."
"Yeah. This little man brought Wolfie alive. He was quite willing to help with night feeds. That's why I started using bottles. He'd wake up even though I needed to do the feeding. After the first few days, I just let him at it." She smiled.
"Those are the things you've got to remember so you can tell Teddy."
"Yeah." She said as she wiped her eyes. "So what are you doing today?"
Recognising that Tonks was done talking about Remus, Hermione replied. "I was thinking we'd take Harry into the muggle world for clothes. Would you like to come?"
"Sure. Let's talk to Sirius about leaving Teddy here though." She smiled.