AN: I want to thank my readers for placing such wonderful reviews. I love putting the bad guys in a good light and the good guys in a bad light. It's fun to make them do as I want. LOL.

Chapter 3

Luicus quietly stepped out of the fireplace and into the Granger's living room. Helen stood up and hugged the wizard. He smiled and returned the hug. He shook Sean's hand.

"Uncle, what is going on?" asked Helen. "Is Hermione and Harry in danger?"

Lucius sat down on the loveseat. Sean returned to the couch and Helen sat down next to husband. They waited for him to answer the question.

Sean always found it interesting how the Malfoy and Snape families were connected. Luicus's older sister apparently had an affair with Severus's father three years before Severus was born. Luicus's sister died giving birth to Helen. The family got along well despite how they became connected. Sean was snapped out his thoughts when Lucius spoke.

"Puppet, I fear Dumbledore has a plan up his sleeve, but that plan we have no clue what it is. But this isn't for sure but I think he wants a Potter heir. The baby will be powerful. Yes very powerful with the Malfoy, Snape and Potter lines will be beyond our wildest dreams. Than Hermione being half blood. No offense Sean." He shook his head. "The child would have been even stronger if it was full blood."

Helen only stared at her uncle not wanting to believe what she was hearing. She knew he or Severus were rarely wrong when it came to their conclusions. They were spies and learned what to look for. Severus had brewed the love potions many times for Harry to be dosed with by Mrs. Weasely. He had no choice because, Dumbledore dangled the Unbreakable Vow in front of him each time he'd protest.

"You're telling us we have no choice but to let our baby girl go through this?" Sean said trying to make sense of it all. Even with Severus's letter it was still hard to believe.

"Yes. Sean we're all family here and we protect our family. The kids will be protected. Severus has protected his niece many times over the years. We'll just have become more protective if Hermione is to carry the Potter heir. Dumbledore will do everything in his power to get the child."

"But the baby thing is just a guess. It might not happen that way." said Helen not wanting Hermione to be a mother at eighteen or Harry a father at seventeen.

"Puppet, I want you ready for anything." Luicus rose from the seat. "I bid you farewell. I just wanted you to hear it from family and in person. Severus wasn't able to make it." He bent over kissed Helen on the cheek and shook Sean's hand. "Be careful," and he left the way he entered.

~*~

Harry walked into the bathroom just as Hermione was wrapping a towel around herself. "Oh sorry, Mione. I'll remember to knock next time." Hermione smiled at her best friend and closed the door.

Padfoot let out a bark of a laugh and rolled on his back his four paws up in the air. Harry tackled the shaggy black dog and pinned his paws above his head. He laughed at his godfather who had transform into human form.

"You walked in on Hermione. Your face was priceless!" Sirius gasped out in uncontrollable laughter. Harry stood up and threw pillows at him. "Wait until I tell Moony. He'll love it!"

"Harry shower's free." Hermione said sticking her head into his bedroom. "You, Sirius Black are suppose to be in animgus form. Bad doggy." She returned to her room.

"She's loosened up a lot. She's gotten extremely pretty."

"Chill Padfoot. Paws off. That's my girl." Harry told him walking into the bathroom. He winked at his godfather who shifted back into dog form.

~*~

Helen set the table for breakfast and Sean kissed his wife and sat down. Harry walked into the room followed by Hermione and Padfoot. Helen sat sausage, bisects and eggs on a plate. She sat it down in front of Padfoot. She joined the trio at the table.

"So what do you have planned for today?" Sean asked Hermione and Harry.

"I thought," Hermione turned to Harry, "if it's ok with you that we'd do some homework for an hour or maybe two at the most. Just to get it slowly out of the way. You know get into a routine like we do with our workouts. Than have fun rest of the day. Is that alright?"

Harry chewed some eggs in thought. "I love the idea. It will keep us from arguing over who's done what. We should work on one subject at a time. So we won't misplace anything."

Hermione smiled at her best friend. She had noticed over the past school year that Harry had became more engrossed in his studies than before taking them more seriously. She was pleased at how he had grown up. Sirius had told her that he was seeing more Lily in him as he got older, but still held strong to James's traits.

Sean and Helen bid the kids goodbye and they headed off to work hoping nothing major would happen. They knew Sirius was with them for protection. The idea of Dumbledore taking control of the kids weighed heavily on them.

~*~

Remus sat at the small round kitchen table. He turned the page of the morning edition of the Daily Prophet. Their had not been an report of a death eater attack in several days. It got him wondering what had kept Voldemort quiet.

Remus looked up when Arthur walked into the room. The red head smiled weakly and joined him at the table with a cup off coffee. Remus could tell Arthur didn't sleep well last night. He saw the twins in the same state. Remus knew that things would get worse before it got better.

Fred and George were so caught up in their own thoughts that the kitchen wasn't surrounded by active conversation or laughter. They didn't want to believe that their mother was capable of dosing Harry with a love potion. He had given them the money to start up Weaselys' Wizard Wheezes. Hermione was always there to make sure that they stayed out of too much trouble as possible. They had asked on several occasions if a product was too dangerous or if it met the qualifications to be sold. Fred and George knew that they were lucky to have Harry and Hermione as friends. They were one of kind.

Fred and George bid their father and Remus goodbye and went to work. They could escape from the reality of their family's doing. A place that always made them happy.

~*~

Harry and Hermione sat in her room. They had just returned from a swim in the pool. They decided to finish up their transfiguration homework since they had nearly finished it earlier. Padfoot laid down on the end of the bed and watched the young couple. He wondered when Harry would take action and tell her how he felt.

Harry would glance at Hermione every so often. Padfoot rolled his eyes. Harry moved closer to work easier next to her. The Marauder knew it was only to be closer to her. Hermione looked at him and blushed slightly when Harry winked at her.

Hermione looked at Harry and smiled. He had told her about him being dosed with love potion by Mrs. Weasely earlier that day. She couldn't believe that the kind woman would do that to someone she thought as a son. Than it got her wondering if he felt anything towards her. She had kept to herself that she had a crush on him since her third year. She didn't have the courage to ask him if he liked her. She didn't want to ruin their friendship.

Hermione took a deep breath and asked, "Harry," he looked up from his book, "did you at one point in time ever see me more than a friend?"

Hit the button and leave me shout out!