Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe isn't mine, it is the property of JK Rowling and those she deems worthy. Sadly to say, I am not one of those select few.
The aftermath of Harry's announcement and proposal at the Wizengamont meeting was quick and astonishing. The Daily Prophet ran a special addition the morning after the meeting, which was delivered to Hogwarts in a storm of owls.
Lord Potter-Black spearheads new Ministerial Department
Harry Potter takes up his family's seat as well as the House of Black
The Wizengamont seat for the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter has been vacant of a Potter since that fateful Halloween night when You-Know-Who murdered Lord James Charlus Potter and Lady Lily Rose Potter, the parents of Harry James Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. Well that seat is no longer vacant; Harry Potter has taken up his rightful seat among the Lords of the Wizengamont and immediately turned heads by also taking up the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black's seat. However, one Lord cannot hold two seats so Lord Potter-Black named Andromeda Tonks nee Black as his proxy for the House of Black, deposing Lady Narcissa Malfoy nee Black.
This news however wasn't the biggest shock. Lord Potter-Black made waves by shooting down Lord Parkinson's proposal for a law that was in Lord Potter-Black's own words 'utter rubbish and the most bigoted piece of parchment ever conceived.' The proposal would have allowed the Ministry to locate new magical families, 'firstbloods' as Lord Potter-Black called them, and purge them for our world by binding the child's magic and Oblivating knowledge of magic from the family's minds.
Lord Potter-Black used a cunning twist of words to out Lord Parkinson as a follower of You-Know-Who, also known as a Death Eater before suggesting a twist on Parkinson's proposal. Lord Potter-Black suggested the creation of a new Ministry Department that would seek out firstblood families and inform them of their child's magical abilities allowing the families to slowly ease into our world rather than being thrown into the dragon's den just before the child were to turn 11.
When asked how the Ministry would possibly pay for such an undertaking, Lord Potter-Black suggested that the Ministry use the vaults of convicted Death Eaters, another cunning idea that seems out of place from the Gryffindor Golden Boy that many say Potter is.
Harry groaned as he threw down the copy of the Daily Prophet and looked around the Great Hall. Nearly every eye in the Hall was either glued to the paper or searching for him. Over at the Slytherin table, Harry saw Malfoy trembling with rage as his gray eyes sought out Harry's green ones. When they spotted one another, Malfoy's eyes narrowed to slits.
"Harry, did you really do come up with this idea? To have a Ministry representative come meet with muggleborn families before they get their Hogwarts letter?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded. "That's a wonderful idea! Why hasn't anyone come up with it before?"
"Probably because no one has really cared for new magical families before," Harry said. "Look at what Pansy's father tried to do, that is more of a measure of wizarding Britain than anything. And don't use the word muggleborn, it demeans new magicals, think about it. Half-blood, pureblood, they both have blood in their titles but not muggleborns. Why should new magicals have something different?"
"You know Harry, you're right," Neville said. "If you go back far enough, our lines had to have started somewhere. The first member of our family lines had to have been a firstblood, no magical line is truly pure."
"But Harry, you know that the pureblood extremists are not going to take this laying down," Hermione said.
"I know," Harry said. "Hermione, I have a favor to ask you."
"Anything!" said Hermione quickly. Harry raised an eyebrow at the bushy haired witch before cutting his eyes toward Ron who was watching the exchange with a blank look. Hermione blushed when she noticed her boyfriend watching her. "I mean…"
"Don't worry about it," Harry said. "I know what you meant. However the favor I need from you is I'm afraid that Malfoy and Parkinson is going to try and get back at me and possibly through the DA. I want you to perform a Fidelius Charm on the member's list for the DA. I don't want anyone to know who is in it."
Hermione's eyes widened. "But if we do that, no one will know that they are in it!" she exclaimed.
"Not quite," Harry said. "I will be the Secret Keeper and I will tell each member who else is in it, and people will know that the DA exists but not who. This will protect us from anyone who wants to try and get back at us."
"That might work," Hermione said. "Give me some time to word it correctly and we should be good to go."
"Thanks Hermione," Harry said. Then Harry noticed something hanging from around Hermione's neck and dangling between her… Harry looked away as he felt his cheeks start to warm 'Stop it!' Harry's inner voice snapped. 'Hermione is off limits, she's dating Ron for whatever reason and besides, she's broken my trust too many times for me to forget. I know that she didn't mean what she said about Sirius but she still said it, Hermione knows me, she knows that I tried to contact Sirius and that I knew it was a trap but I had to go anyway. Her parents are alive, she hasn't had anyone close to her die especially right in front of her, at least I don't think she has. Come to think of it, what exactly do I know about Hermione aside from that her parents are dentists.'
"Hey Hermione, what's that around your neck?" Harry asked. Hermione looked down and her face softened into gentle smile. She fingered a sliver necklace in the shape of a cross.
"It was my grandmum's," Hermione said. "My parents gave it to me over the summer, she passed away recently and we were close."
"I'm sorry Hermione," Harry said though alarm bells were ringing in his head. Hermione had told him and Ron that she had only been with her parents for a few days at the beginning of the summer. 'Now you're just being paranoid, they could have given it to her then,' Harry thought. 'But I just can't shake this nagging feeling. Maybe I should send her parents a letter, give my condolences about her grandmum.'
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"Hey there Hedwig, whatcha got for me?" Harry said as Hedwig fluttered down into the Great Hall. She nuzzled her head against Harry's head as he unfurled the letter from her leg. His eyes lit up when he saw that it was from the Grangers. Opening the letter, Harry's eyes narrowed as he read it.
Dear Harry,
We must say that it quite past time that we get to talk, so to speak. Hermione has told us so much about you and we are quite surprised that she has never introduced us before, then again we haven't seen much of Hermione since she left for Hogwarts. You wrote that Hermione had received a necklace from her grandmother who had passed away recently, one that we gave her when she was home for the holidays. She's wrong, both my mother and Matthew's mother are still alive. Matthew and I are quite concerned about Hermione. Ever since she went to Hogwarts, she has gotten more and more distant with us and not just physically. We haven't seen her for more than a few days since before your fourth year. And even then, we haven't spent an entire holidays together since her first year. Both Matthew and I are extremely worried that we are losing our only child to a world that we can't follow. Please tell Hermione that we love her, and want to see her this Christmas holidays.
Matthew and Juliet Granger
Harry looked up and saw Hermione entering the Great Hall with Ron, their fingers intertwined, causing Harry to frown. It wasn't like Hermione to lie, the only times that Harry had known Hermione to lie was back in first year to Professor McGonagall about the troll incident and then last year to Umbridge but those instances were both to protect him. Why would Hermione lie about something like this? 'Something isn't right,' Harry thought. He rose to his feet and approached the couple.
"Hermione, do you mind if we have a word?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded instantly. "A private word," Harry added as Ron made to follow.
"Why?" Ron asked, narrowing his eyes.
"It has to do with the charm we're placing on the list," Harry lied smoothly. "The less people who know about this the better."
"So you don't trust me to keep my mouth shut," Ron argued.
"No Ron," Harry said. "But quite a few times you speak before thinking, while Hermione, despite recent occurrences, has more tact than you."
"It's fine Ron," Hermione assured her boyfriend. "I'm sure that this won't take long. Where should we go?"
"Just out into the entrance hall," Harry said. Hermione gave Ron a peck on the cheek, which cause Harry to grimace, before following Harry out into the entrance hall. "All right Harry, what was that all about? I know this discussion doesn't have anything to do with the Fidelius Charm."
Harry had to fight back a grin, even though they were on fragile terms she could still read him like a book. "I wrote a letter to your parents," he said simply.
"What! Why?" Hermione asked.
"I wanted to offer my condolences for their loss," Harry said neutrally. "And I just got a letter back. They said that your grandmothers, both of them, are still alive."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, her eyes widening. "That can't be right…" her voice trailed off as her eyes gained a distant quality, as if she were trying to remember something. "No, my parents said that my mum's mum passed away while we were at school and she left me her necklace in her will."
"Hermione, I'm only telling you what your parents wrote to me," Harry said. "They also said that they wanted you to come home for the holidays, they're afraid that you're drifting away from them."
Hermione's head dropped slightly. "I know," she said. "But they're Muggles, they can't understand my world now."
"Hermione," Harry scolded, a frowning marring his face. "There is no wizarding world and muggle world, there's only one world and we all, magical or not, live in it. And they're your parents, if you don't talk with them then how are they supposed to understand what is happening in your life. Sometimes I think that you and Ron take your parents for granted, you each have people who love you unconditionally and without reserve not matter what you do. If I could have one more day with my parents or Sirius, I don't know what I would give to do so."
Hermione's face crumbled. She knew that Harry was right, she had been drifting away from her parents ever since she had entered Hogwarts. She didn't think that they could understand what the magical world had to offer. They couldn't share with her the excitement that filled her when she performed a spell correctly for the first time.
"You're right Harry," Hermione said softly. "About everything, my parents, everything. I know that you would give anything to have your parents back and I don't think I could imagine how painful it is for you to see me just ignoring mine. I'm also so sorry about the Ministry comments; the truth was I was scared. My best friend was once again going to put himself in harms way without a second thought. You had to know it was a trap and you were recklessly going to charge right into it."
"You're right," Harry said. "I knew it was most likely a trap but I couldn't just not go Hermione. Sirius was as close a father figure that I had. If your father were in that situation, what would you do? We tried to figure out if he was at Grimmauld Place, Kreacher lied to us about it and I had forgotten about the mirror that he gave me for Christmas. I will never forgive myself for forgetting that, if I had just remembered that, Sirius would still be alive. Hermione, you and I can never go back to the way things were before this year, you and Ron have hurt me too much to just forget about it. Now, I've done some stupid things as well, no question there. We've both done and said things that can never be taken back." Hermione felt tears well up in her eyes. "Hermione, why don't you spend time with your parents, go home for the holidays, talk with them. Don't lose them just because you think that they wouldn't be able to understand what your life is like, let them make that choice."
"But I was going to the Burrow for Christmas," Hermione said. "I mean it was going to be Ron and I's first Christmas together." Harry flinched slightly.
"Just tell the Weasleys that you want to spend time with your parents, I'm sure they'll understand."
"What about you? Where are you going for the holidays, the Burrow as well?"
"No," Harry said. "My dad had a flat in downtown London that he and my mum lived in for their first year out of Hogwarts so I'm going to stay there."
"Why don't you come over to my house for Christmas, that is unless you're going to the Burrow?" Hermione suggested. "I mean neither you nor Ronald have ever met my parents before, and we nearly always spend Christmas here at Hogwarts or at the Burrow."
"Going to scare the boyfriend with meeting the parents," Harry chuckled. Hermione blushed.
"They don't know that we're dating," Hermione admitted.
"When was the last time you wrote to your parents Hermione?"
"Not since the start of the year."
"Why not?"
"I'm not sure, I haven't had the time," Hermione said.
"Well make time," Harry scolded. "They're your parents, they want to hear from you. I would go right now and write a letter, tell them that you're going home for Christmas."
Hermione nodded.
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"What do you mean you aren't coming to the Burrow for Christmas?" Ron shouted.
"I told you already Ronald," Hermione said. "I haven't spent any meaningful time with my parents for years. I want to spend Christmas with my parents, is that so much to ask? I've asked if you and Harry can come visit as well."
"You invited Harry too!" Ron boomed. "Why would you do that, he's coming to the Burrow as well, aren't you mate?"
"No Ron," Harry said. "I'm staying at a flat that my parents owned in London, and if Hermione's parents agree, I would be glad to accept their invitation."
"Honestly Ronald, I haven't seen my parents since last summer, what's so wrong with me wanting to spend some time with them?" Hermione asked.
"You're my girlfriend, that's why," Ron shouted.
"That doesn't give you the right to control my life," Hermione shot back. "I can do what I want Ronald, my life doesn't revolve around you. Now if you don't want to spend Christmas together fine, but I will be spending it at my house!"
Ron threw his hands up in the air and stormed off down the train.
"That didn't go very well," Harry said.
"No shite," Hermione said. Harry's eyes widened at Hermione's language.
"You probably shouldn't have told Ron that I was coming as well," he said. "You know that how he gets jealous of me, probably thinks that I'm trying to steal you away."
Hermione laughed, Harry soon joined in though it sounded hollow to his ears. "I'm going to try and talk to him," she said. "Save my spot."
Harry nodded and watched as Hermione left the compartment. A moment later, Luna walked in with Neville trailing behind. Harry grinned at the pair, it wasn't known by very many but the pair had been dating since the first Hogsmeade weekend, Harry thought it had something to do that Hermione and Ron had gotten together at pretty much the same time.
"Hermione is a very level headed and logical girl Harry," Luna said. "She makes decisions using facts, logic even in matters of the heart. And when is love ever logical? She is also a very insecure person; she has had a lonely childhood much like the three of us. She hid herself away by using books and knowledge to protect her."
Harry nodded. "You're probably right Luna but she has made her choice," he said. "I can only hope that Ron treats her right."
It wasn't until the Hogwarts Express had nearly reached London when Ron and Hermione had returned to the compartment, Harry's sharp eyes caught that both of their clothes were slightly rumpled, causing him to shiver in disgust. He didn't want to think about Ron and Hermione snogging. When the Express finally pulled into King's Cross, the group spilt up, Neville and Luna heading toward Madam Longbottom and Mr. Lovegood while Ron, Hermione and Harry headed toward the barrier that separated Platform 9 ¾ and the rest of King's Cross. However, another red train, this one in the form of Molly Weasley, cut them off.
"Harry dear, Hermione!" Molly cried, scooping the pair up in a tight hug. "So good to see you again, now come along we better get going. I'm sure that you two are excited to get back to the Burrow…"
"Mrs. Weasley, I'm sorry to say but neither of us are spending the holidays at the Burrow," Harry said. "Didn't Ron tell you? I'm staying here in London at the flat my parents owned due to some family business."
"And I'm spending the holidays with my parents," Hermione said. "I haven't seen them in nearly a year."
"You'll do no such thing," Molly snapped. "You can't be running around unsupervised, you're just children."
"Mrs. Weasley," Harry said sharply. "I'm an adult, I've been an adult even since I was left on a doorstep in November and Hermione has the right to see her parents. You are not our mother, so please stop acting like it."
"Now see here young man…" Molly began; building up for a rant but Harry cut her off.
"Mrs. Weasley, we have already made ourselves clear," Harry said. "Thank you for your gracious invitation but both of us have other plans."
Molly narrowed her eyes. "Well then, I expect to see you Harry for Christmas then," she said.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible," said Harry. "I'm spending Christmas with Hermione and her family."
"What!" Molly cried.
"Harry nor Ron have ever met my parents," Hermione said. "I invited Ronald but he didn't seem to want to come."
Ron cringed as Molly shot him a look that sent a message of 'we're going to talk later'.
"Well then, I guess if your minds are made up then I can't stop you," Molly said. "Harry dear, if you don't wish to spend time with your family that's fine. Hermione, have a wonderful Christmas. Come along Ronald, Ginerva!"
Harry watched in stunned shock at Molly led her two youngest back to the Floo on the magical side of the platform. "Who the hell does that woman think she is?" Harry growled.
"Calm down Harry," Hermione said. "Though you are right, she was well out of line. Are you sure that you want to come to my house for Christmas, I mean you've always stayed at Hogwarts or at the Burrow?"
"I already said that I was coming Hermione," Harry said. "It will be nice to get away from the magical world for a time."
"Well then, let's go meet my parents shall we?" she asked. Harry nodded and let Hermione lead him through the barrier to the muggle side of King's Cross.
"Hermione!" a voice called out over the din. Harry looked around and blinked. He spotted an older looking Hermione with blue eyes racing toward them with a tall man with Hermione's brown eyes trailing her with a broad smile on his face.
"Mum! Daddy!" Hermione cried as she dropped her trunk and raced to her parents. Harry felt a pang in his chest at the sight of Hermione's parents embracing their only daughter. "Harry, get over here. Mum, daddy, this is Harry Potter, my best friend."
"Nice to meet you ma'am, sir," Harry said extending his hand to Hermione's father. Matthew Granger gave the black haired youth a once over, instantly recognizing the stature that this young man had. It was one of a soldier. "And I can see where Hermione gets her stunning looks from ma'am, you two could pass for sisters," Harry added as he kissed the back of Juliet Granger's hand.
"Harry!" Hermione cried as she blushed while Juliet giggled.
"Such a charmer," Juliet said. "Well it is very nice to meet you Harry, we've heard so much about you and yet haven't met before now."
"Yes unfortunate that," Harry said. "Circumstances have conspired against us for quite some time. And thank you for inviting me for Christmas, you didn't have too."
"Nonsense Harry," Matthew boomed. "It is our pleasure, we finally get to met the young man who has got our daughter in such a dizzy."
Harry's smile froze as he looked over at Hermione. Hermione's own face had turned quite red.
"Actually daddy, mum there's something you should know," Hermione said. "Ronald and I have started dating, actually we started dating about six weeks ago."
Matthew and Juliet's eyes widened. "Well, that's certainly unexpected," Matthew said. "Where is this Ronald?"
"He couldn't make it," Harry said quickly. "He asked me to apologize but his mother really needed him to come home but he said that he truly missed having a chance to meet you."
"I see," Matthew said, narrowing his eyes. Harry knew that Mr. Granger hadn't believed a word that Harry had said.
"I tried to invite Ronald for Christmas but he said he couldn't get away from his family," Hermione said. "Maybe after the holidays you can meet him."
"Perhaps," Juliet said. From her tone, Harry suspected that she didn't believe Ron's excuse either. "Oh Hermione, is that the necklace then?"
Hermione looked down. "Yes," she said. "It was nana's don't you remember?"
"Hermione, I've never seen that necklace before in my life," Juliet said. Matthew shook his head.
"But," Hermione began.
"Perhaps this conversation should be taken somewhere else," Harry said. Matthew nodded and the two men led Hermione and Juliet over to a café. Harry flicked his wand and raised several wards to ward off unwanted attention.
"Harry!" Hermione scolded but Harry just looked at her.
"Hermione, would you mind taking off that necklace?" he asked. "I want to check something, and since I'm the only person here who can use magic without getting in trouble."
Hermione looked like she wanted to say no but a look from her parents had her reaching up to her neck and slipping the necklace off. She laid it on the Formica table and sighed. Harry raised his wand and waved it over the necklace, muttering under his breath. His eyes narrowed tightly as he recognized the ghostly symbols that floated above the necklace.
"What's going on Harry?" Hermione asked, her voice snappish and sounding more like her own voice than in previous weeks.
"This necklace had several charms on it," Harry growled. "An Attraction Charm, and several Loyalty charms."
"But who would have done something like that?" Hermione asked quickly as her stomach began to fill with dread.
"Wait a moment, what's going on?" Juliet asked.
"It seems that someone wanted your daughter under some sort of spell," Harry said. "I can't tell who these charms were keyed too, the caster was too thorough but then again that's a clue right there. There aren't many witches or wizards that have the skills to pull this off."
"Harry," Hermione asked in a small voice. "I feel so different, it's like there was this other person controlling me. I mean, I was in control but also not if that makes any sense."
Harry nodded. "Believe me it does," he said.
"Sounds a bit like an out of body experience," Matthew Granger said. "Like you're watching your body from another perspective."
"That's almost it exactly daddy, though there were some times that I wanted to say something to you Harry but then I would just get angry at you," Hermione said. "I'm so sorry," she cried, throwing herself into Harry's arms.
"It's all right Hermione," Harry said, rubbing her back. Matthew and Juliet watched as a handsome boy who wasn't her boyfriend consoled their daughter. 'That's going to change soon I hope,' Juliet thought. 'All of Hermione's letters had Harry in them, and how she admired and respected him while whenever this Ronald was mentioned it was always after the boy had done something to upset Hermione.'
"Well I think it's time for us to be getting home," Matthew said once Harry had dispelled the charms on the necklace as well as put his own protection charm on it before taking down the wards surrounding the table. "Traffic is going to be bad enough as it is, and if we want to be get home before dawn…"
"All right Daddy," Hermione whined though she was smiling. She turned to Harry. "Thank you again Harry," she said softly. "I don't deserve a friend like you.
"That's not true Hermione," Harry said. "It's me that doesn't deserve you, sure we've both made our fair share of mistakes but I don't know how many times I've taken Ron's side of an argument even though I knew that you were right. I was just scared of chasing Ron off, he was the first person my age that I could call friend but now I don't know what to think. We still don't know who gave you that necklace and who put the charms on it."
"We'll figure it out Harry," Hermione said.
"Come on Hermione," Juliet called out.
"Bye Harry," Hermione whispered before giving him one last tight hug and a soft peck on the cheek.
"Bye Hermione," Harry answered, returning her hug.
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Harry sighed as he fell into the bed in his flat. The ride from Hogwarts and the revelations regarding Hermione's necklace had been draining to say the least. He was just happy that the day was finally over. However, he couldn't fall asleep, not with all the thoughts running through his head. Who had charmed Hermione's necklace and why? Why was Mrs. Weasley so adamant about getting the pair to come to the Burrow? Sure, Harry had enjoyed spending time with the Weasleys but the past couple of years, Mrs. Weasley had subtly changed from the caring mother figure that Harry had desperately craved to a domineering and controlling woman who would shout and browbeat anyone who went against her plans. Harry had noticed this the previous summer when Molly had taken control of Grimmauld Place, even though it was Sirius' house and what was worse was that Sirius didn't do anything to stop her. Looking back and from what his parents had written in their journals, Sirius was the type who wouldn't back down from anyone, he had gone against his entire family by being Sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin but Sirius had just let Molly run roughshod over him. Could it have been the years locked up in Azkaban finally catching up to him? Dumbledore did force Sirius to a place that he had hated, and right after escaping from the wizarding prison, and wouldn't let him leave.
Groaning, Harry rolled out of bed and headed to the medicine cabinet. He grabbed a vial of Dreamless Sleep Potion before returning to the bed; Harry had ordered Dobby to make sure the flat was fully stocked up on food, supplies, potions and medical supplies before the beginning of the holidays. The ever-excitable house elf had only been too happy to fulfill his master's orders. Harry had found a message from his superiors waiting for him when he got to the flat. They wanted to meet with Harry over the holidays for a situation report.
Harry thought back to the fall term, this past term had been one of the toughest yet, only first term of fourth year and all of last year were tougher. He had learned that Dumbledore was just as responsible as Riddle for the horrible childhood that he had suffered through, Ron and Hermione had turned away from him, thinking him a cheater just because he used someone's notes, and then there was this necklace of Hermione's. Harry thought who could have enchanted the necklace with the charms. Neither charm were particularly strong, Harry suspected that they were just adding on to whatever feelings were already there. Harry had known that Hermione and Ron had been circling around each other for nearly two years, though Harry thought that they would never work as a couple. They were too different in personalities; Ron was a goof, though he had started to take things more seriously but all he really cared about was food, Quidditch and girls. Ron was a typical teenager while Hermione was anything but typical. She was studious, caring and a bit of a know-it-all though she had mellowed out over the years. Hermione was much more mature than Ron, mainly out of necessity, she had had a lonely childhood like Harry but still had a loving family to support her. However, Hermione was also very naïve to the workings of the world, she had a tendency to too readily believe in authority figures, thinking that they were always right and would always do the right thing. She sometimes forgot that authority figures were also humans and that they make mistakes.
Harry heard people talking about how Ron and Hermione bickered like an 'old married couple', he always had to hold in a snort. Ron and Hermione didn't bicker; they argued and fought like a couple going through a divorce. Harry had seen two married couples in his life; Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the Dursleys, and neither couple fought like Ron and Hermione did. Harry was sure that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley argued sometimes, even the Dursleys did when they hadn't been shouting at Harry.
Harry shook his head at the thought of Ron and Hermione getting married, unless Ron grew up and Hermione mellowed out even more, they would turn out one of those couples that ended up killing each other after the first month if they lasted that long. They were just too different.
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Harry kicked out the kickstand to Sirius' old motorcycle as he came to a stop outside Hermione's two-story house. Harry noticed that each of the houses around the Granger's each had their own personalities. Unlike the cookie-cutter houses on Privet Drive, the houses surrounding the Grangers' didn't have picture perfect lawns, neatly manicured gardens and gleaming expensive cars in the driveways. They actually looked like a home rather than a show home. It gave off a welcoming feeling, which was expanded upon as the front door was flung open and Hermione came barreling out toward him. She skidded to a stop when she realized what Harry had been riding.
"Harry! What is that?" she asked. "Is that?"
"Yep, it's Sirius' bike," Harry said. "I found it in Grimmauld Place's garage, who know that hovel had a garage."
"When did you learn to drive?"
"Over the summer," Harry said. "I took your example from third year."
"Third year…you have a Time Turner!" Hermione cried.
"Quiet Hermione," Harry hissed. "I don't want anyone to know but yes. It helped me go through basic training and since I didn't use it for an entire school year I didn't burn myself out like you did."
Hermione flushed. The Time Turner incident was something that Hermione didn't like being reminded of, she now knew that she had been too stubborn to use it effectively. Harry chuckled as he noticed the look on Hermione's face. "Don't worry about it Hermione, it wasn't your fault," he said. "Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore should have told you all the consequences about using it. Didn't Percy Weasley take all 12 OWLs, but I don't think he used a Time Turner to get to all his classes."
"You're right," Hermione said. "Professor McGonagall said that it was an honor that wasn't bestowed lightly and hadn't been given to a student in years."
"I wonder why McGonagall and Dumbledore would give such a restricted item to a third year, I mean, this was a favor to you," Harry said. "Dumbledore never does anything without a reason."
"You don't think he's going to try and use me or something?" Hermione whimpered, remembering what Harry had told her about what Dumbledore had done to him.
"I don't know, who knows what goes on in Dumbledore's head," Harry said.
"Come on Harry, let's not talk about this sort of thing," Hermione said. "Come inside, my parents are waiting. Oh and my parents surprised me, they invited all my aunt and uncles and my cousins."
Harry arched an eyebrow. "I thought your parents were only children," he asked.
"No," Hermione said. "My mum is but my dad has two younger brother and an older sister."
"Oh," Harry said.
"Harry!" Juliet Granger's voice called out from the front doorway. "Hermione, bring him inside and show him off."
The pair blushed as they turned to see Juliet and several others standing in the doorway or pressing their noses to the glass of the front windows.
"Mum!" Hermione cried as she buried her flaming face in Harry's chest.
"Come on Hermione, we better get inside before your parents decide to make everyone think I'm your boyfriend or something," Harry said with a chuckle. Hermione hit Harry across the chest before turning back to the house.
Harry was introduced to the rest of the Granger family, Hermione's uncles Ben, Daniel and Roger, and her aunts Charlotte and Lauren along with Hermione's cousins Danny, Beth, Lucy and little Anne.
"Who are you?" five-year old Lucy asked. "Are you Mione's…"
Harry chuckled. "No," he said, kneeling down to match eye level with the young girl. "I'm just her friend."
"My best friend Lucy," Hermione said. "His name is Harry."
"So Harry, how did you and Hermione meet?" Charlotte Duncan nee Granger asked.
"We actually met on the train to school when we were eleven," Harry said. "She barged into the compartment I was in and left quite the impression." Hermione blushed deeply to the roots of her hair. "But it wasn't until Halloween when we became friends."
"Yes this elusive boarding school that Hermione attends, what was the name of it again?" Ben Granger asked.
"Hogwarts, it's an exclusive boarding school in Scotland," Harry said. "Most of the students are children of former students but Hermione was obviously exceptional enough to warrant admission." Harry sent a wink toward the gobsmacked faces of Hermione, Matthew and Juliet Granger.
"Hermione, why don't you show Harry around while Matt and I get dinner ready?" Juliet said. Hermione nodded and grabbed Harry's arm leading him toward the stairs.
"What in Merlin's name was that about?" Hermione hissed. "You can't go around and tell my family about Hogwarts, they don't know that I'm a witch."
"Relax Hermione," Harry said. "One of the things that Dumbledore has done right is make a Department of Education entry about Hogwarts, marking it just as a private boarding school in Scotland. This allowed firstblood families to tell their relatives about their children's school without exposing it."
Hermione blinked at Harry's statement. He was right, Dumbledore's doing that allowed new magical families to actually talk about Hogwarts.
"So about this tour?" Harry asked with a grin. Hermione nodded and led Harry down the upstairs hallway, showing him the guest rooms, the master bedroom, the study and finally her bedroom.
"You know, I would have never thought that you would be showing me your home bedroom," Harry chuckled. "If Ron were here, he'd be so red."
Hermione flushed as she caught Harry's meaning. "Ron wouldn't be able to handle my family," she said. "He doesn't seem to understand or even want to understand anything remotely Muggle. I mean, remember what he said when we said that we wouldn't be coming to the Burrow for Christmas. He was affronted that I wanted to spend time with my parents."
"Ron takes his family for granted," Harry said. "He has always had his family around him while I've had mine taken from me and you spend most of the year away from your family. We're alone, cut off from the world that we grew up in for nine months of the year while Ron is perfectly happy staying in the magical world."
Hermione nodded. While Ron wasn't a bigot like Malfoy or several Slytherins and others, he did seem to look down on the outside world and thought that muggles were beneath wizards and witches. He never wanted to learn about the world outside of Hogwarts, Hogsmeade and the Burrow it seemed.
"Hermione, Harry, it's time to come back down," Juliet's voice called up the stairs breaking Hermione from her thoughts.
"This looks wonderful Mrs. Granger," Harry said as he and Hermione entered the dining room and took in the scrumptious feast that had been set out on the long dining table.
"Oh thank you Harry," Juliet said with a bashful blush.
"Let's eat!" Danny shouted as his sister nodded furiously. The adults laughed as the young children drooled over the lamb, potatoes and other fixings.
After dinner, the family and Harry retreated back to the family room to open presents and settle their full stomachs. Harry sat on the floor, surrounded by Hermione's young cousins, a childish grin lighting his face. Hermione watched as her dark-haired best friend play with her young cousins.
"He's going to be a wonderful father someday," a soft voice said from behind Hermione, causing her to jump. It was her mother.
"Yes," Hermione agreed. "I've never seen him so utterly content and happy."
"Why didn't you spend Christmas with your family Harry?" Hermione's aunt Lauren asked as she watched Harry play with little Lucy. Hermione froze and the atmosphere in the room became stifling.
"My parents were killed when I was one," Harry said bluntly. "I'm actually the last of my family."
"Oh!" Lauren gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth. "I'm so sorry Harry, I didn't know. You must think…"
"It's ok Mrs. Granger," Harry said. "You didn't know. I haven't had the best life but Hermione has been a shining light in it ever since she entered it. My friends have become my family now."
Hermione felt her eyes water at the sincerity in Harry's voice. Was she really that important to Harry? Was he truly important to her? Well the answer to the second question was a resounding yes, Harry was the most important person in her life outside of her family, and Ron didn't even come close. While she and Harry might have arguments, they were nothing like the rows that she had with Ronald. Harry might disagree with her point of view; he would at least listen to her, while Ronald would just call her 'mental'. Slowly, thoughts of why Ronald began creeping into her mind. Why was she dating Ronald Weasley when she could barely stand him? Sure he was one of her best friends, and he was cute and funny and…and that was it. He was jealous, petty, and insecure. He only cared about Quidditch, food and girls; he didn't care about her wants or dreams. A light bulb went off in Hermione's head; she had just realized what Ron was. He was a teenager, and he acted just like a teenager. She was trying to treat him like a man when he wasn't. She wanted to mold him into her perfect spouse but Ron was still growing, he might grow into that man but right now, he was just a child.
Then she remembered the necklace that had the attraction and loyalty charms on it. Could they have been the reason that she agreed to start dating Ron? No, it wasn't that, she had been attracted to Ron before getting the necklace but ever since getting it when she arrived at the Burrow, her feelings for Ron had grown.
'The charms didn't create anything that wasn't there already but did they change how I truly felt about Ron?' Hermione thought.
"What's on your mind princess?" Matthew asked his daughter when he caught sight of the pensive look on her face.
"Too much," Hermione answered dryly.
"We always knew that you would date one of them," Juliet said. "It was only a matter of time before we got a letter or you came home and said that you were dating. They are the only two boys that you know, right? All of your letters were always about Harry this, or Harry that, and when Ronald was mentioned, well it wasn't very flattering to say the least. We were quite surprised last week when you told us that you were dating Ronald and not Harry."
Hermione nodded. "I know, it surprised me too," she said. "But…"
"But nothing princess," Matthew said. "This is your decision and we will respect that. As long as you are happy, we're happy."
Hermione nodded once more and turned back to the sitting room where Harry was now watching television with her cousins. A warm feeling welled up inside Hermione's chest as she remembered Harry's words from over a month previous 'are you truly with Ronald Weasley because you want too or is it because everyone expects it? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life as Mrs. Ronald Weasley?' Suddenly, Harry's head snapped around as if he had been struck.
"Harry, what's wrong?" Hermione asked as he rose fluidly to his feet and crossed the room quickly.
"We've got company," Harry said in a dark tone. Hermione's eyes widened as she realized what Harry meant. Death Eaters!
A/N: If I was really evil, I'd end the chapter here but since I'm not here you go.
"Harry!" Hermione cried as Harry whipped out his wand and cast several spells at the doors and windows. "What are you doing?"
"Reinforcing the windows and doors," Harry said. "Get your family into the basement, there are about 10 of them out there and no offense to your family but they'll be more of a hindrance in this fight than a help."
Hermione nodded and quickly relied the news to her parents.
"Come on everyone," Matthew barked. "We need to get down to the basement now!"
"What's going on Matt? What was that thing that Harry was using?" Daniel asked.
"Everything will be explained later but right now, I need you all to go down to the basement," Harry ordered. "And Mr. Granger, if you have any weapons around the house, now would be the time to get them out. And don't open the basement door for anyone unless they give the password, which will be…God Save the Queen."
Matthew nodded and he and Juliet herded the rest of the Granger family out of the sitting room and down to the basement. Once the Grangers were out of sight, Harry turned to Hermione.
"Hermione, this isn't the time to hold back," Harry said. "They came here to cause harm to you and your family, let's return the favor." Hermione nodded grimly as her eyes steeled over. Harry tapped his pocket. Hermione's eyes nearly popped out of her head when Harry reveled his Glock 17 pistol.
"Harry!" Hermione cried. "What in Merlin's name are you doing with that?"
"I'm in Her Majesty's Service Hermione," Harry said. "And I had a feeling that Riddle might try something so I brought my gear along, I also brought a second vest. Here put it on." Harry handed over a spare Kevlar vest; Hermione looked at it warily but sighed and slipped it on.
"Harry, what if the Death Eaters just sit back and seal the house and bring it down on top of us," Hermione whispered as Harry killed the lights around the room.
"I don't think they will," Harry said. "They came here for a reason. But I did place some fire-fighting wards around the house that should protect us unless they use Fiendfyre. Just incase, Expecto Patronum!" A brilliant silver stag erupted from Harry's wand, the stag cantered around the room for a moment before turning to Harry. "Go to Hogwarts and tell Dumbledore that Death Eaters have attacked the Grangers, there are ten of them. Go now!"
The stag nodded imperiously before fading out of sight. Harry turned to Hermione. "We're going to have to hold out for a while," he said. "You ready?"
"No," Hermione answered honestly. "But these monsters came here to hurt my family, they've terrorized my friends and the world for years, I think its time to repay the favor."
"That's my girl," Harry grinned as he snuck a look out of the window. The Death Eaters had stopped casting spells at the doors and windows, and had begun advancing toward the house. Harry rose to the window and used his elbow to break the glass. In rapid succession, Harry fired off three Blasting Hexes toward the approaching Death Eaters. The ground in front of the Death Eaters erupted into plumes of dirt and rubble. Harry ducked down behind the window as a streak of green lightning sped through the window and slammed into the back wall of the room, setting it ablaze. Hermione yelped before extinguishing the flames with a flick of her wand.
"Get down!" Harry barked as he threw himself on top of Hermione, knocking her to the ground just as another volley of Killing Curses crashed through the now broken window and crashed into the opposite wall.
"Come on out Mudblood," a very familiar sneering voice called out through the broken window. "Come out and spare your disgusting Muggle family." Several other voices laughed darkly.
Harry and Hermione locked eyes. 'Malfoy!' they both realized.
"Oh come now Draco," Harry called out. "Do you really think that we'd believe that? That you'll just leave if we give ourselves up?"
"Potter!" Malfoy crowed. "Oh this is brilliant, Scarhead and the Mudblood spending Christmas together, what would the Weasel say? The Dark Lord will reward us greatly when we bring him the corpse of Potter's Mudblood and his own broken body."
"Draco, last time we fought I beat you without using any magic," Harry challenged. "Do you think that you could possibly hope to beat the smartest witch of her age? And remember, there's no Daddy-dearest here to bail you out when you get in over your head."
"Confringo!" Malfoy roared as a bolt of blue magic spat from Malfoy's wand and raced toward the house.
"Protego!" Harry shouted, conjuring a silvery shield in front of Malfoy's spell. A large DONG echoed around the room as the shield easily held against Malfoy's curse.
CRASH!
Harry and Hermione whirled around as they heard the front door splinter and come crashing down the hall. Harry turned to Hermione, and saw the fear in her eyes. "Don't worry Hermione, just stay here and keep Malfoy busy. I'll deal with the others," he said in the most soothing tone that he could manage.
"Just be careful Harry," Hermione pleaded.
"Of course." Hermione turned back to the window and shot several spells out at Malfoy and the three other Death Eaters. Harry slid out of the room and into the front hall in time to see two Death Eaters rush into the house. Harry brought his arm up and his firearm spat twice. The Death Eaters didn't even have time to utter a single syllable before two bullets tore through their robes and sent them crashing to the floor, blood pooling beneath them. Harry silently summoned their wands and bound the dying Death Eaters. With a contemptuous sneer, Harry snapped the captured wands. He tossed the broken fragments to the floor and quickly conjured a stonewall that replaced the destroyed door.
"Potter!" a crazed voice out from behind Harry. Harry dove sideways as a Killing Curse sped overhead. Spinning to his feet, Harry faced down the crazed Bellatrix Lestrange, the woman who had killed Sirius.
"Bellatrix," Harry snarled. "I thought I smelt your foul stench, where's Tommy boy? Isn't he the one holding your leash?"
"You dare insult the Dark Lord! Insolent half-blood blood-traitor!" Bellatrix screeched as she sent a Cruciatus Curse at Harry. Harry ducked under the curse and sent a Blasting Hex at the crazed witch, who casually blocked the spell.
"Oh is little Harrikins missing cousin Sirius?" Bellatrix taunted. Harry's eye twitched at the crazed witch's taunt.
"Yes I do miss Sirius," Harry admitted. "But I know that he'd want me to kick your ass, oh and how are those payments to Riddle coming? Oh that's right, you no longer have any money since Sirius made me his heir and told me to annul your marriage. I'm sure that Tommy boy wasn't very happy when he found out that he no longer had any access to the Black family funds."
Bellatrix screamed out hoarsely as she shot several Dark spells toward Harry. Harry weaved his way around the spells, pulling his gun from his holster and fired two shots toward Bellatrix. The crazed witch howled in pain as the first bullet shattered her raised shield and the second cut right through her shoulder. Her wand clattered to the ground before she dropped to her knees, clutching her injured shoulder.
"You half blood bastard!" Bellatrix screeched. "What did you do to me?"
"Let me introduce you to a very ingenious non-magical concept," Harry said. "It's called a gun, and it is quite like a wand, a deadly weapon when used properly."
"A gun?! You shot me with that muggle contraption! How dare you?" Bellatrix screamed.
"Harry!" Hermione screamed behind Harry causing him to whirl around in time to see the stonewall that had replaced the Grangers' front door explode into fragments.
"ARGH!" Harry cried as he felt something white-hot slash across his face, from hairline to his jaw. Clamping a hand to his now bleeding jaw, Harry looked back and saw that Bellatrix had snatched up her fallen wand and was now backing away from Harry, toward the back door.
"Avada Kedavra!" a voice hissed. Harry threw himself to the ground just as a green bolt of lightning passed by. Rolling onto his stomach, Harry fired two more shots at the approaching Death Eaters. The two bullets hit Death Eater that had tried to curse Harry, once in the stomach and the other in the chest. The Death Eater dropped to the floor with a thud, dead. His friend froze as he looked at Harry slowly get to his feet, dropping pouring from a slash on the wizard's face. Harry's eyes flashed emerald and the Death Eater screamed as he felt something slash at his hand. Looking down, the Death Eater was stunned to see that his hand and forearm were no longer attached to the rest of his body.
"Harry!" Harry heard Hermione's voice scream once more. Stunning the 'disarmed' Death Eater, Harry cast a quick Suturing Charm to knit the skin of his face back together. Harry didn't know much healing magic. 'That's something I need to get the DA working on' Harry thought as he rushed toward the sitting room. His heart leapt into his throat when he saw Hermione battling two Death Eaters, using quick Transfiguration to gain allies usually in the form of small animals made from odds and ends that had populated the Grangers' sitting room. If the situation wasn't so dire, Harry would have commented Hermione on her magic but as it were, he quickly darted into the fray, slamming his shoulder into the closest Death Eater sending the burly man crashing to the ground. Harry quickly summoned the man's wand and Stunned and bound him, before snapping the wand.
The sound of broken glass and wood alerted Harry to the fact that more Death Eaters were attempting to enter the house from the back. Harry realized that Bellatrix must have slinked out of the house and rallied her troops. Harry conjured a boulder and Banished into out the back door just as several Death Eaters attempted to enter the house. The flying boulder crashed into two Death Eaters that had charged toward the open door and sent them careening back into the yard.
"Crucio!" a sneering voice hissed and a blood-curdling scream rent the air.
"Hermione!" Harry gasped. He felt a tsunami of anger wash over him as he recognized the voice holding Hermione under the Torture curse.
"MALFOY!" Harry roared as he bulled his way into the sitting room. Malfoy was standing above Hermione, his wand pointing down at the trembling witch. Three familiar figures flanked Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson. The trio of Slytherins spun around to face Harry and tried to bring their wands to bear, key word tried.
Harry's wand flashed and three wands clattered to the ground as three Piercing Curses struck the trio of Death Eaters in their shoulders. Malfoy whirled to face Harry, a curse on the tip of his tongue but Harry was faster as his Flamma Scutica (Flame whip) curse sliced through cloth, flesh and bone, separating Malfoy's hand from his arm. The spell also cauterized the wound, making it impossible for someone to reattach the hand to the arm.
A Bludgeoning Hex brought Malfoy to his knees in front of Harry. Summoning the quartet of wands, Harry caught them with one hand and snapped them. Malfoy and Pansy looked on in horror as the shattered remains of their wands. Crabbe and Goyle were staring stupidly at Harry, as if they were surprised to see him.
"I guess Riddle must be scraping the bottom of the barrel if he has you four in his little club," Harry sneered. With a flick of his wrist, the four were bound head to toe in chains. Without looking back, Harry rushed over to Hermione who was still struggling with the after effects of Malfoy's curse.
"Hermione, are you all right?" he asked softly. The sound of several pops from outside the house drowned out Hermione's answer. Harry spun around, his wand and gun tracking for targets.
"Ms. Granger, Mr. Potter!" the Headmaster's voice filtered through the doorway.
"In here!" Harry called out, holstering his gun but keeping his wand out. Dumbledore quickly appeared in the doorway following by Kingsley, Moody, Remus and Tonks.
"Harry, what are you doing here?" Moony asked.
"Later Lupin," Harry snapped. "Hermione's been hit with the Cruciatus from the ferret over the and she needs medical attention. The rest of her family is in the basement, Kingsley can you get them? Oh and tell them, 'God Save the Queen'."
If Kingsley thought this was weird he didn't say anything and quickly left the room.
"Harry, this Portkey will take Ms. Granger to the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. "And perhaps you should go as well to get yourself looked at."
"I'm fine," Harry grunted. "And Hermione isn't going anywhere without her family. They deserve to know what has happened here tonight."
"Damn right we do!" Matthew Granger shouted from the doorway.
"Hermione!" Juliet screamed as she spotted Hermione trembling on the ground next to Harry. "What happened?" she asked Harry, after rushing over to her daughter.
"She was hit with the Cruciatus Curse from this sack of shite," Harry snarled, glaring a hole in Malfoy's head. "It's a very Dark curse that causes unbelievable pain by firing off all nerves at once. Luckily Malfoy can't cast for shite because she was under for very long but she'll need medical attention."
"How do you know about this spell?" Matthew asked.
"Because I've been put under it," Harry said flatly. "Twice from Tom Riddle, or Lord Voldemort. Trust me, Malfoy has got nothing on Riddle which is a good thing."
"Mr. and Mrs. Granger, this will take your daughter to Hogwarts for treatment," Dumbledore said, holding out a sock. The Grangers looked to Harry.
"It's a Portkey, a type of magical transportation, close to teleportation but without a pad or anything," Harry said. "Don't worry, Madam Pomfrey is the best. She'll make sure that Hermione is taken care of. But first, Engorgio." The sock grew to three times its normal size. "Each of you put a finger on the sock and the Headmaster will activate it."
"What's going on here? Who are all you people, and what happened to Hermione?" Ben Granger barked. Matthew and Juliet looked at one another before nodding.
"We'll explain everything when we get to Hogwarts Ben, just do what Harry says," Matthew said. Ben Granger looked like he wanted to argue but after seeing his oldest brother's face, decided to hold off on his questions for the moment.
"What the hell took you so long?" Harry shouted once the Granger family had vanished in a swirl of blue light.
"My apologizes Harry but it took some time to gather enough Order members," Dumbledore said.
"Damn right it did," Harry snapped. "We got lucky that Riddle sent the baby squad here rather than the big guns, though Bellatrix was here."
"Bellatrix!" Lupin, Moody and Kingsley shouted.
"Damn straight," Harry said. "Gave me this when I wasn't looking," he added pointing to the scar on the right side of his face. "Don't bother sending me to Hogwarts, I want to keep it. It will remind me to never turn my back on an opponent again."
Moody nodded. "Finally learning are you Potter?" he growled.
"What happened here Harry? And why aren't you at the Burrow or Hogwarts?" Remus asked.
"I was spending the holidays at my parents' flat in the city but Hermione invited me to spend Christmas with her family," Harry said.
"You said that there were ten Death Eaters in your Patronus message," Dumbledore said. "But there are only four children here, and you mentioned Bellatrix."
"She must have escaped after I got her shoulder," Harry said. "There should be two more dead Death Eaters by the front door, and at least two more either dead or injured in the backyard after I Banished a boulder into them. Bellatrix must have taken the other one and left, or the other Death Eater took her back."
"Aye Dumbledore, the boy's telling the truth," Moody grunted. "I can see four bodies. Adding those four to the others tonight, I'd say we've made quite the impression to You-Know-Who."
"Other attacks?" Harry asked sharply.
"Yes Harry, I'm afraid Voldemort decided to use this joyous time of the year to launch a large-scale attack," Dumbledore said.
"Who else?"
"The Burrow, Longbottom Manor, Ms. Lovegood's home and Privet Drive," Dumbledore answered.
"What aren't you telling me Dumbledore?" Harry growled. "There's more to this than just saying that my friends and relatives were attacked."
"You are correct Harry," Dumbledore said. "I'm afraid the Light suffered several casualties tonight. Percival, Mr. Lovegood and your family were all killed this night."
Harry felt a pang in his chest for what Luna and the Weasleys must be feeling, though he didn't feel much of anything for the Dursleys death. Sure he was sad they were dead but they didn't truly care for him at all so why should he have to care about them.
Dumbledore seemed to misinterpret Harry's silence as mourning for the Dursleys. "I'm sorry Harry," he said. "To hear of the last of your family…"
"They weren't my family Dumbledore," Harry interrupted. "They were people I had the misfortune to be related too, and that's all. After all they did to me, they don't deserve my tears."
"Are you so cold Harry?"
"We are at war!" Harry growled. "When this is all over, I'll have time to grieve but until then, I won't shed a tear and especially not for the Dursleys. Now what are you going to do to these scum?" he finished glaring down at Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle.
"There isn't much we can do Harry," Dumbledore said. "They are just children, and will have to be treated as such. They were most likely forced to come here by Tom and Bellatrix."
"ARE YOU BLOODY MENTAL!" Harry roared. "Malfoy was holding Hermione under the Cruciatus Curse for Merlin's sake, that right there is life in Azkaban! And what do you know, they all have the Dark Mark!" Harry added, after slicing off the left sleeves of the Slytherins' sleeves, reveling the pulsing black tattoo.
"Ministry Aurors!" a new voice called out from the front lawn.
"It's clear," Moody barked out. "Code green."
The Ministry Aurors, dressed in their scarlet red uniforms, poured into the room.
"What took you all so long?" Harry snapped. The lead Auror frowned.
"There have been more important attacks than some muggle house boy," the Auror snapped. Kingsley, Remus and Moody shook their heads at the stupidity coming from the man.
"What is your name Auror?" Harry growled.
"Johnson, Brendan Johnson," the lead Auror said as he swelled up his chest. "And who do you think you are boy?"
"Lord Harry James Potter-Black, Auror Johnson," Harry said sternly. The Aurors blinked at Harry's tone. "And it seems that Auror standards have fallen since my father and godfather were part of the Corps if they are giving out bars to just about anyone."
"Why you little?" Johnson snarled.
"If you even think of pulling that wand, I'll have you stripped of your badge faster than you can blink," Harry said imperiously. "Now do you jobs and get this scum out of my presence. I want you to charge them to the fullest extent as they had the audacity to attack a family under the protection of the Houses of Potter-Black."
"Yes my Lord," the Auror lieutenant said stepping forward. "Rodgers, Davies, Proudfoot, cuff these Death Eater scum."
"Gentlemen please, let's not be hasty," Dumbledore said stepping forward. "Surely you don't mean to arrest these children. They were coerced into turning away from the Light and must be given the chance to redeem themselves."
"I'm sorry Professor Dumbledore, but I have to do my job, and that job is to arrest Death Eaters and these 'children' as you say, are suspected Death Eaters. They have the Dark Mark and are wearing Death Eater robes, and I'm sure that once we check their wands, we'll find some interesting spells."
"Oh, actually you won't be able to check their wands," Harry said with an embarrassed grin.
"Why not?"
"I snapped them," Harry said. "What? I learned my lesson from last summer, when you put someone down, you make sure they stay down and don't let them get their wand back. I can give you my memories, and I'm sure they'll have some interesting things to say when you give them some Veritaserum."
"I'll make sure that they have Veritaserum pouring from their ears when we are done with them, you have my word, my Lord," the lieutenant said. Harry nodded. The Aurors quickly rounded up Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle, slapping magic-suppressing cuffs on three of them (Malfoy only had the one hand, so they didn't bother), before dragging them out of the house and taking a Portkey back to the Ministry.
"Harry, who are you to condemn children to such hardships?" Dumbledore asked in a disappointed tone.
"Save your platitudes for someone who cares Headmaster," Harry growled. "They attacked someone who couldn't defend themselves, Malfoy used a bloody Unforgiveable for Merlin's sake. These aren't the actions of children, they have chosen their path and now its time they see the consequences of their actions."
"I think it's time for you to return to Hogwarts Harry," Dumbledore said, sensing that he wouldn't win their argument. "Your friends are already there."
Harry nodded and took the new Portkey before vanishing in a swirl of blue light.
"Harry is becoming most difficult," Dumbledore said as he turned to the others. "He no longer listens to me, and is seemingly turning Dark."
"Bollocks to that Albus," Moody grunted. "The boy is finally starting to wise up. He knows what it will take to win this war and he's doing his part. The boy has realized that you're just trying to control him and he doesn't want to be controlled. You've lost touch Albus, you keep going on and on about your 'Greater Good' but what does that get us when we're all dead because you would rather protect the guilty than the innocent."
Dumbledore frowned at his old friend. "We should return to Hogwarts," Albus said. The five Order members vanished from the Grangers' home.
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"Harry!" Harry heard Ginny's voice cry out as he stopped spinning and appeared in the middle of the Hospital Wing. "What happened? Madam Pomfrey won't let us see Hermione, and who are all those people?"
"Madam Pomfrey needs to concentrate, and the more people hounding her will only hurt Hermione," Harry said. "And 'those people' are Hermione's parents and the rest of her family."
"Why didn't you come to the Burrow for Christmas Harry?" Ginny asked. "It's not like you, mum was furious."
"I wanted to spend some time away from the magical world," Harry said. "Also Hermione invited me to spend Christmas with her family."
"You did what?" Ginny cried. "Why did you want to spend time with muggles?"
Harry growled. "Hermione is my best friend Ginerva," he said shortly. "And I have never met her parents or been to her house. I've always appreciated what your family has done for me but I wanted to meet the Grangers. Too bad Malfoy and his goons had to ruin it. Where's Ron?"
Ginny's face fell slightly. "He got hit by a curse from some Death Eater," she said. "Madam Pomfrey has done all she can, and has called for some specialists from St. Mungo's. It seems that the curse interacted with whatever those brains did last summer."
Harry felt the ground fall out from under him. Ron was hurt, ever dependable Ron. Sure he could be a prat, jealous and annoyingly dense sometimes but he was like Harry's brother, the brother Harry never had. "Who?" Harry growled.
"We're not sure," Ginny said. "It was all so fast. They just appeared out of thin air and started firing curses all over the place. Per…Percy got hit and just collapsed to the ground." Harry gently pulled Ginny into a hug, and rubbed her back as she sobbed into his chest. He saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley standing at the beside of their youngest son, Arthur holding Molly up while Fred, George and Bill hovered nearby.
"Ginny, where's Luna?" Harry asked. Ginny looked up from Harry's chest.
"I'm not sure," she said. "She arrived here with her father, talked with Madam Pomfrey and ran off."
"Her father was killed tonight," Harry said bluntly. "She shouldn't be alone right now. Do you have any idea where she could be?" Ginny shook her head, Harry sighed and pulled out the Marauder's Map. Activating it, Harry quickly scanned it and found the dote of Luna Lovegood alone in the Astronomy Tower.
"Got to go Ginny," Harry said as he tore out of the Hospital Wing. Harry dimly heard Ginny call after him but paid it no mind. He wasn't to go make the same mistake that Dumbledore did with him after his fourth and fifth years. If you see someone die, you shouldn't be left alone. It allows doubt to creep into your mind and makes you believe that there was something different that you could have done.
"Luna!" Harry cried as he rushed into Astronomy Tower. Luna was huddled in the corner of the room, arms wrapped around her knees rocking back and forth, eyes starring off into space making her look even more spacy than usual. "Luna," Harry said softly as he crossed the room and sat down next to Luna, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling the diminutive Ravenclaw into his lap. "It's ok Luna, it will be ok."
It was as if a dam burst inside Luna. The small blonde buried her face in Harry's chest and began sobbing, drenching Harry's shirt with her tears. Harry whispered soothing noises in Luna's ear and rubbed her back gently.
"Why Harry? Why did he have to die?" Luna whispered, her voice barely audible. "Why did he have to leave me?"
"Oh Luna," Harry responded. "Your father didn't want to leave you, he wants you to be safe. I might not have known your father but I know that he wouldn't want you to cut yourself off from your friends. You have people here that care about you Luna; you are not alone in this fight. I know that my parents and Sirius wouldn't want me to cut myself off from my friends. I made that mistake last year and it cost me something more precious than anything. Let us help you Luna, and I promise you, we will find justice for your father."
"You promise?"
"I solemnly swear," Harry quipped. "You and I are in the same boat Luna, we both want to avenge our parents. But I know that they also would want us to live our lives, for us to be happy to live our lives to the fullest." Harry smiled down at Luna when she nodded into his chest. "Better?"
"Yes," Luna said, her voice somewhat stronger than before. "Thank you Harry."
"Of course little one," Harry said. "Come on Luna, I'm sure that the others are worried about you."
Harry led Luna back to the Hospital Wing where she was dragged away from him by Neville, who had arrived while the pair were away from the Wing. Neville nodded over the head of his girlfriend to Harry, who nodded back.
"Harry?" Juliet Granger's voice pulled Harry from Neville and Luna.
"Hello Mrs. Granger," Harry said as Hermione's mother walked over. "How's Hermione?"
"She's recovering," Juliet said. "Madam Pomfrey has given Hermione some potion that made her fall asleep, she said that the only way to recover from that curse was to let it run its course."
Harry nodded. "A Dreamless Sleep Potion," he said. "I know it well. She did the same thing when I was recovering from the curse two years ago. Madam Pomfrey is the best there is, Hermione will be right as rain in a few days but I know that she will want her family around her. I know that I would have wanted that."
Juliet nodded. She looked over to her daughter, who was sleeping peacefully. "That red haired boy lying next to Hermione, that's Ronald Weasley correct?"
"Yes," Harry said.
"I also heard that Molly said that they were dating, is that true?" Juliet asked. Harry had to hide the miniscule flinch that crept up at the question. He didn't think he did it well enough when he caught the gleam in Juliet's eyes.
"Yes," Harry said. "Ron and Hermione have been dating for about two months. I don't know why she never told you."
"You don't agree with it, do you?" Juliet asked. "Don't lie to me Harry, I know that you care for my daughter. I could tell the minute we met. You were willing to spend Christmas with her family, a family that you had never met, for a friend who isn't your girlfriend. You respect my daughter; you were willing to allow her to fight alongside you when those things showed up. From what my daughter's letters, that Ronald boy has never truly respected Hermione, whenever he featured in her letters, there was very little positive about him. And now that necklace that Hermione was given and those charms, it makes me wonder…"
"Ron had nothing to do with those charms," Harry said forcefully. "I know Ron, he might be an immature prat who gets jealous too easily and sticks his foot in his mouth too often but he would never do anything like that. Ron has had a crush on Hermione for years, though I don't know if that crush is truly a crush. Hermione is the only girl that Ron and I regularly spend time with, and I think that Ron is honestly confused about his feelings for Hermione. He treats her like he does his sister Ginny, coming off as the protective brother whenever someone tries to get too close and they argue about pretty much everything. Ron is maturity wise, still a child. He hasn't had to go through the childhoods Hermione and I have, and his mother doesn't want her children to grow up. She wants them to remain her children forever, even though they will never stop being her children, Molly won't let them grow up."
"I've noticed," Juliet said.
"Let Hermione make her choice," Harry said. "I think also Hermione is confused about her feelings toward Ron. So many people talk about them arguing like an old married couple, that she might have started to believe it and is only doing what is expected of her. This is her mistake to make, if it is a mistake. You are right though Mrs. Granger, I care for Hermione more than I can say and that's why I have to let her make her own decisions, as long as she is happy, I'll be happy." Juliet smiled at Harry's answer before giving him a warm hug and making her way back to her family.
A/N 2: And it's done! Wow, over 12,000 words and in only four days! Don't think this update schedule will continue, I had to hit while my muse was hot and man was she ever. Also, thank you so much for all your amazing reviews, 40+ in three days! And, you can stop throwing stones at me for my blasphemy, look me having Ron and Hermione getting together is part of the story. I didn't like how JK just threw them together without any real substance, so I decided to use my own interpretations for the pairing. Don't worry, all will 'most likely' be right on the HMS Harmony in time. I've had a couple people ask about the oath that Hermione gave Harry in the previous chapter and why she still has her magic. The reason is, I don't consider what Hermione has done as a true betrayal. I might be using a strict definition of betrayal but unless Hermione were to deliberately cause Harry harm, either physical or emotional, or turn against Harry in some, I won't consider it a betrayal.
A/N 3: Sorry about the extended A/N but I want to get this out there. I will be using a new writing method of striking when my muse is hot, whether it be this story or any of my other ones. And I will try to write out at least two chapter outlines before posting one. I hope this schedule will allow me to stay in front of the stories, though it might spread out my updates.
Until next time,
S.R.W.M.O
