Harry Potter and the Jacobite Elves

Rating: M

Summary: Harry takes possession of the Black family's castle in the Highlands of Scotland. Up to and amidst the celebration of Hogmanay (New Year's), he discovers that there is some very old business to attend to.

Disclaimer:

I have not claim to characters or scenes from the Harry Potter series, which belongs to JK Rowling and associates. I get nothing from this except the enjoyment of imagining and writing the story. I am making no money from this (rats).

Morning Discussions of a Personal Nature

Hermione awoke the next morning to the sensation of a somewhat familiar arm draped over her back, feeling much more comfortable and warmer that the last time she had had that same arm around her and they were running for their lives. She opened her eyes to see a rather out-of-focus face very close, and a pair of green eyes looking at her.

Harry smiled and said "Good morning, Brown Eyes. What would you like to do today?"

She smiled and replied "Good morning yourself, Emerald Eyes. I don't know yet, but I know I need to go someplace else briefly. I'm going to go have a shower and think about it."

Harry smirked and asked, "Would you like some company?" Hermione gasped at this suggestion. Harry continued, "I could wash your back."

Hermione looked slightly shocked at Harry's implication, until she saw the smirk, and said "You have definitely been hanging around the Weasleys too long" as she got up to leave the room. "I'll see you downstairs for breakfast in about a half hour."

As Hermione approached the table in the dining room, Harry was munching some toast with bramble jelly on it, with a cup of tea in his other hand. As Hermione sat down, an elf appeared at her side and asked "What would Miss like for breakfast today?" Hermione faced the elf and said, "Good morning, Marsha. May I have some multigrain toast and some black coffee, please." The elf smiled at this courteous request, and disappeared, reappearing with the desired food. "Would Miss like butter, honey, jam, jelly, or Marmite?"

Hermione thought about her discussions with Winnie, and asked "Is the honey from Sandy's bees?" When Marsha nodded, Hermione said, "Then I would like to try the honey, please." Marsha smiled, appearing a second later with a small pot of creamed honey.

Harry looked across the table, and asked, "Who's Sandy?" Hermione looked back and said, "You've met Winnie, the elf who is looking after me. Sandy is her husband, and the chief bee-keeper on the estate."

Harry shook his head in amazement. "There is so much going on here that I have absolutely no idea about. I could spend my life here and not know everything about the place. I feel I have missed out on so much of the world."

Hermione thought for a minute and said, "How would you like to come to Australia with me then. You could see some more of the world. I have to go retrieve Mum and Dad, and I think I need to do it soon. Ron and Ginny were right in a way. I think I need my family back too. Since I went to Hogwarts, and then stayed part of each summer with the Weasleys or at Grimmauld Place, I haven't seen much of my parents for years."

Harry was surprised, and not surprised at the same time. "As much as I hate to leave here, I am coming with you. You've always been there for me; it's the least I can do for you. When do you think we should go?"

Hermione was stunned at Harry's immediate agreement. She said, "How would it be to go in three or four days? There are still a number of things I want to check out around the castle, but we need some time to make arrangements." Her eyes lost focus, and she started speaking very quickly as if to herself, "For instance, how do we get to Australia? Is there an international floo connection? How do wizards and witches travel internationally? I'll have to ask Fleur. If we go the muggle way, you would need to get a passport, I would have to get mine from the bank's safety deposit box, and we would have to get tickets and all that. Do we need shots? That would take time. I would have to get some sundresses and swimsuits - I arranged with them to be in Cairns, in Queensland, where it is tropical, and I don't think our clothes for the English and Scottish weather will be suitable."

At this statement, Winnie and another female elf appeared at Hermione's side, and Rudi appeared at Harry's elbow. The younger female elf looked at Hermione with glee in her eyes, and asked "Miss wants some more clothes?" Winnie laughed her bell-like laughter, and said to Hermione, "This eager one is my daughter Elspeth." Hermione shook hands with the elf and said "I am very glad to meet you, Elspeth. I am delighted with the dressing gown you made me, and yes, I would like some more clothes. Can we talk about it after lunchtime, to give me time to think of what I will need?" Elspeth nodded vigorously, as she had obviously not had an opportunity to supply a young lady with new clothes for quite some time.

Rudi looked at Harry. "Clothes?" Harry looked down the table at Hermione who was looking back at him, and then said "I get the impression my answer is going to be yes." Rudi laughed and said resignedly, "the lassies will have their fashions."

Harry looked at Hermione, and could see the wheels of her brain turning as she began planning the trip. He said, "You know, we do have some friends at the Ministry nowadays. Maybe we can get some travel information there, and get them to expedite a passport for me. I've never travelled outside England and Scotland, or even to Wales or Ireland."

Hermione had been staring at her teacup, in concentration rather than (having dismissed Divination as a load of rubbish) expecting any answers to come from it. She looked up at Harry and said, "Good idea. I am just thinking that we are going to have to travel the muggle way, or else it will be hard to bring them and us back into the country, what with international security and all. There will be records of them leaving, and if they just show up without having legally entered the country, there may be questions. I suppose we could get our connections to smooth things over or forge papers, but if it make it difficult for Mum and Dad to get their credentials and everything straight, that would not be good."

Harry looked at the young witch, watching her mull over the logistics and implications of their coming actions – she was thinking not of the extra efforts she would need to accomplish, but only of making life better and easier for those she loved. It suddenly stuck him that he loved her, and not just as a sister in all but blood, and that he wanted her to always be part of his life, and always be part of her life.

Harry said softly,"Hermione?"

Hermione looked up at him, puzzled by the soft tone of voice. "Yes, Harry. What is it?"

He told her of his feelings for her and wanting her to be part of his life, forever. She scowled slightly and said, "Well, that complicates things a bit." This, of course, was not the reaction Harry expected or wanted.

Hermione looked at Harry's stunned and hurt expression. She shook her head and said softly, "I'm so sorry, Harry. That came out so very badly. I was concentrating of figuring out how to get Mum and Dad back, and it just struck me that of we took your comment to its logical conclusions, I might have to change the name on my passport, and that would take extra time. Although a lot of girls keep their maiden names these days."

Harry was stunned at how fast Hermione's mind had worked through the ramifications of what he had thought was a relatively simple declaration of his love for her.

Hermione looked at Harry and said "Don't look at me like I am some sort of super-computer. I have to admit I have been mulling over a lot of things the last few months, since the Battle. You may have noticed that I have been sort of sweet on Ron for some time." Harry pretended to look shocked, and gasped "No, not Ron!"

Hermione laughed "Yeah, kind of obvious. I am ashamed to say that I really didn't expect you to survive the battle, and I was very doubtful about Ron and me too. I guess I thought that if I wanted a boyfriend with any kind of longevity, it would have to be Ron, as you two were the only boys who would give me the time of day. That was incredibly stupid of me."

"Yesterday, when Ron was shocked that I wanted to learn something new, it struck me that we are wrong for each other. Then, last night, Winnie the elf suggested that I should not tie myself to someone who cannot respect my love of learning."

"I love Ron dearly. I owe you and him a life debt for saving me from the troll, among other things, and he has stood by us both through the long years of strife. He is a good man, a brave man and a true friend, and if he asked me to go to bed with him, I would agree in a moment. But I don't think I could spend my life with him and him only, and I know I can't dump him the way things are at the moment – he is hurting too much with Fred's death. But Fred dying does not oblige me to stay with Ron."

Harry said, "Surely having a 'life debt' doesn't oblige you to sleep with Ron."

Hermione snickered, "Actually it can, in a way, and don't call me Shirley." She and Harry recalled an evening at her parents' house watching a movie on the 'telly', and both smiled at the memory.

She continued, "I don't know how much you know about 'life debts'. Okay Harry, what are you grinning about?"

Harry smiled and said "This is where Ron and I would look at each other and say 'Here comes the lecture'. He got to hate it, but I noticed how many times the stuff you told us saved our lives, and I started looking forward to them. Please continue with the lecture. I am dying to hear about life debts."

Hermione grimaced "Well, dying comes into it, all too often. When you save someone's life, they have a magical 'life debt' to you. It binds you together. You can cancel out a life debt only by some major personal action, like dying for them, or sleeping with them. You and Ron and I have saved each other's lives so many times and incurred so many life debts that there is no way that we cannot stay in each other's lives. It's still very sweet that you want to do so voluntarily." Her face took on a wicked smile, and she said "You know, with all the life debts between the three of us, I could demand that Ron come to bed with me, and he couldn't refuse. I would like to see his face if (or when) I tried it; I think he would explode!"

"However, the life force is so important magically that there are limitations on life debts. The force of love, and its practical aspect, sex, are so important and powerful, that someone with a life debt owing might demand sex, but could not demand that this occur without protection. Also, and very importantly, having such a life debt cannot oblige you to spend your life with someone."

Harry looked puzzled "Protection?"

Hermione looked disgusted at him "You really should have paid more attention in Charms class. Do you remember when they broke the boys and girls into separate classes? Well, they taught us girls some contraception spells, so we wouldn't get pregnant unless we want to. Talking with Lavender and Parvati later, I gather the boys were taught something similar." At Harry's puzzled look, she said "I gather that sometimes, their boyfriends would do the contraception spells, rather than them. Nice that they took the responsibility; a lot of boys wouldn't have done so. There are some spells for girls and some for boys; they work a bit differently with the different body parts and functions."

"Anyway, one example of how powerful 'Love' is, as a magical force, is the fact that you carry that scar on your forehead. Your mother's love saved your life when she died protecting you, and that life debt to her prevented old 'Moldy Shorts' from killing you. "

"Ginny incurred a life debt to you when you saved her in the Chamber. Gabrielle and Ron did too when you saved them in the lake during the Tournament."

Harry asked "Does that mean I have a life debt to Ginny or Gabrielle, too? Ginny has been in love with me for a long time."

Hermione shook her head. "Her loving you does not invoke a life debt on you. Guilt, maybe, if you take advantage of it, and her, but not a 'debt'. The debts are theirs, not yours."

"There was an old song my parents used to play when I was little, called 'Wishing and Hoping'. They pointed out to me that the girl in the song talked about all the things she was advising another girl to do with the result that 'You will be his'. Mum and Dad pointed out the logical fallacy in the song (Yes, Harry, we talked about logical fallacies in my family! It's that kind of family.) that, although the girl was convincing herself that she belonged to the boy, these actions clearly did not cause any sense of obligation on his part to belong to her! Mum and Dad were very clear that, unless the feelings went both ways, there was no real commitment and it was very dangerous to think there was. At the end of the day, a girl has to look out for herself."

"Actually, since the battle, with the change in your outlook on life, mainly in that you were actually going to have one, Ginny has started questioning her feelings towards you. That doesn't mean Molly will change her mind about wanting you as a son-in-law. There may not be a life debt, but there would definitively be a death threat if you dumped Ginny."

"Anyway, getting back to Ron and me. Ron has always been jealous of you, your money, your fame, and all the stuff that you really didn't care about. That has been a sore point between you two for as long as I have known you both. If I dump Ron right now, for you, that would devastate one of my best friends, and his entire family. On top of which, I don't think Ginny or Molly would ever forgive me." Her eyes winkled as her sense of humour surfaced "That is, of course, unless you marry me and Ginny both. Think you could handle that? You seemed rather keen on it last night."

Harry laughed. "I have to say that last night was a bit difficult on my self-restraint. Here I am, eighteen, supposed to be at my sexual peak, and the only 'peaking' I get to do was staring at you and Ginny in your nightgowns last night, and last winter peeking at your silhouette on the tent walls when you were changing clothes. Of course, growing up as I did, I thought I was supposed to feel guilty about doing that. Sometimes I think I must have been the only virgin left at Hogwarts with all the activity in the broom closets and the Astronomy Tower. Do you think anyone actually went there to look at the stars? And how many broom closets does a castle really need?"

Hermione giggled, "Do you really think that the builders of the castle weren't aware of what would go on there? They were the most powerful and clever of their age, after all. They obviously, shall we say, made allowances and provided suitable accommodations." She pursed her lips, and said "Well, as to the number of virgins, I know of at least seven girls in our year, if by virgins you include the girls who have never been with a boy, but may have been with another girl."

Harry snickered, "And I thought Hamish asked the hard questions!"

Hermione paused, looked down at her teacup and said coyly "Harry, if you want to peek at me, with or without my nightie, I am quite willing. I understand a lot of men like to watch a woman undressing."

Harry gulped.

Hermione continued "And if you want to make love to me, I am okay with that, too."

Harry looked at her with the feeling like his head and heart were about to explode as he said "No, Hermione".

Hermione looked shocked at this apparent rejection, but before her hurt could show fully, Harry continued in a quiet but intense voice, "Not 'to', Hermione. 'With'! You are one of my best friends. If we make love, it cannot be something I am doing 'to' you. It has to be something we are sharing. Hermione Granger, I would be honoured to make love with you."

Hermione's teacup crashed to the stone floor as Harry found his arms suddenly full of a bushy-haired witch kissing him fervently.

Hermione awoke to see a rather out-of-focus face very close, and a pair of green eyes looking at her. Harry smiled and said "Good afternoon, Brown Eyes. So, any idea so far how we are going to make this all work? "

She smiled and replied "Good afternoon yourself, Emerald Eyes. You know, last night and this morning were the first times you said anything even vaguely suggestive to me – I guess I'm just easy to fall for a slick line so quickly. I know I'm not the prettiest girl in the world, but it was still nice to think that you see me as a desirable woman too." She smiled at her best friend and companion.

Harry smiled and said, "Well, I would think that I have just demonstrated that I do see you as very desirable. I gather my efforts were inadequate on this point. And as to your idea of not being pretty, that's rubbish – you may not be conventionally pretty like your airhead dorm-mates, but you are one of the most gorgeous women in the world."

Hermione laughed and smiled coyly. "Do I detect a note of personal bias? No, I think your efforts to convince me were quite satisfactory. Also, just because Lavender and Parvati aren't interested in stuff you are interested in, they're no dummies, even if they do tend to giggle a lot like little girls." She paused, and her brow wrinkled as she thought for a moment. "You know, I think it's going to make things a bit more complicated. I guess it depends on whether we marry Ginny as well. If we do, I want my fair share of time with her too."

Harry burst out laughing at this scenario. "I hadn't thought of that aspect. You're right, of course. Fair is fair."

Hermione paused, and then said, "You know, we have another very serious complication. Luna has told me and Ginny in no uncertain terms, that whichever one of us bagged you, she wants visiting rights."

Harry gulped, and said "Bagged me? What am I, game?"

Hermione smiled, and looked at him through lowered eye-lashes "Seems to me you were pretty game just now. Besides, your patronus is a stag."

Harry kissed her eye-lids, "Okay, my little otter, Luna can come over and play too. Any other arrangements I should know about?"

Hermione seemed to be thinking about it, and appeared to be counting her fingers. "No, I think that's it. Neville and Hannah seem pretty committed to each other. We could check with Lavender and see if she's interested." She laughed as Harry started gagging, and then his stomach rumbled. She said "I guess we missed lunch. I am sure we can find a snack, or have Marsha whip us up a sandwich or something. Oh, my gosh, I was supposed to get together with Elspeth to talk about clothes for Australia."

Hermione also realized that, for the first time in her life, someone had just come up with a nickname for her that she didn't mind. "Your little otter, I like that. Us otters are very playful, you know." She cuddled up to Harry, giving him a tight hug.

She became very serious. "Harry, I don't mean to be unappreciative, or to break the mood, but I don't know if this will be temporary or permanent. I don't want to hurt you in any way, ever. But as Winnie mentioned, we have both..., we have all, come through a lot, and we have a lot of growing to do. I don't know what I want to do with my life yet, and I'm pretty sure you don't either. We need room to grow. If we grow together, so be it and it will be wonderful. If we grow apart, I guess that is to be too. I know we are going to be part of each other's lives, we couldn't do otherwise. I just have no idea what part."

"When I was a little girl, I had visions of the future, where I was sitting in a comfortable chair, reading stories to a little girl or little boy, and sometimes both. In recent years, sometimes the child had red hair, and sometime they had green eyes. They may be mine, my own children, or nieces and nephews, I don't know. I would enjoy that future, but not yet. There is so much to do. And first, we have to get my parents back to England." With that, she got up and went to get dressed. Harry's eyes followed her retreating figure, with a contentment he had never felt before.