Chapter 6: Impressing the Grangers

A week before Christmas, the Hogwarts students piled onto the train on their way back to London. Ron, Neville and Hermione said goodbye at the station, with plans to meet up in a few days. They had all said goodbye to Haydrien before in private.

~XxXxX~

Three days home with her parents and Hermione hadn't stopped talking the whole time. She left out the darker history of the magical world, the more abysmal qualities of the staff, and the troll incident. Yet, she still hardly had time to communicate everything to her parents. One night, her mother was sitting on her bed while Hermione chatted away about her friends.

"So all your friends are boys?" her mum asked, attempting for nonchalant.

"Yes," Hermione answered, "but Mum, we're thirteen."

"Good," her mum released a sigh of relief. "I just don't know how things work with boyfriends and stuff in the magical world. And you're so far away."

"It's about the same, Mum, you don't need to worry." Her mum smiled at her.

"Not yet," she winked at her daughter. Hermione let out a sigh. "Which friend that is a boy was that for?"

"Mum! I mean it's not like any of them really talk to me like that, I mean Haydrien jokes and is so annoying, but—" Her mother's laughter cut her off. "What?" Hermione puffed.

"So Haydrien's the one we need to watch out for. I'm sure your father can have a word while they're here." Hermione's face went pale, only causing her mum to laugh more.

"Mum, no please, please. Mum!"

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm just teasing." Hermione took a deep breath. "But I do want to know more about this Haydrien." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"He's infuriating. He thinks he knows everything, which is only made worse by how he's usually right—don't tell him I said that. Then there is that stupid wink, that he has to add to everything he says. And the nicknames, I mean he calls Neville and Ron, Fido and Shadow." She rolled her eyes for emphasis.

"What does he call you?"

Hermione turned red and mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"Hazel," she said, barely audible. Her mum smile wide with knowing eyes. "It's not like that," Hermione insisted, "he's horrible."

"I'm sure."

"Mum." But her mum just smiled.

"Is he cute?" Hermione turned reder. "I'll take that as a yes." Hermione rolled her eyes. 'I'm the only magical person my parents know,' Hermione suddenly thought, a little panic sinking in, 'What if they think…it's normal?'

"Mum…" Hermione started, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"You know how I have all those…accidents all the time?"

"Yes, because you're a witch."

"Well…it's not exactly…normal to have them as strong as I do. So…um…don't say anything to my friends, ok?" Her mother looked a little shocked, but nodded and smiled at her daughter.

~XxXxX~

The next morning, Hermione was running around the house, dusting, vacuuming, wiping, things down, and rearranging.

"You already did that room," her dad called while he sat at the dining room table, sipping his tea while reading the paper.

"But it still doesn't look right," she called back.

"Honey, you're only thirteen and I doubt they care," her mum urged.

"Plus, they're boys, I doubt their rooms look clean," her dad added.

"Neville and Haydrien practically live in mansions and have help to that keep the place clean. Ron's room probably isn't the best though," Hermione said. Her parents exchanged a look that she didn't catch as she tried to rearrange the photos on the side table again. She grabbed a picture of herself.

"Why is this here?" she yelled. She grabbed it and rushed out of the living room, when the doorbell rang. Hermione let out a little yelp, then turned towards the door. She pulled open the door to find Haydrien standing there. With tailored black slacks, teal collared shirt rolled up to his elbows, black vest that matched the slacks, and an expensive watch, he looked every bit the prince that he was. Hermione just stared.

"Morning, Hazel," Haydrien said with a wink. Hermione's jaw snapped shut, with a small glare.

"Come in," Hermione said with a sigh. 'The picture,' she thought with a panic, and quickly hid it behind her back. Hermione went to shut the door, only to see Ron and Neville walking up the path.

"How adorable," Haydrien said from slightly behind her. Her face went pale as she felt the picture pulled from her hand. "Yellow is such a good color on you, but what are those on your teeth?" Hermione swung around reaching for the picture, Haydrien easily avoiding her hand with a simple step, while still examining the photo.

"Give that here, Black," Hermione reached and missed again.

"I think I'll hold onto this for a bit," Haydrien smiled. Hermione started daggers. Her mother laughed. "Oh forgive my manner, I didn't realize I was in the home of a goddess," he said walking toward her mother. "Haydrien Black, at your service," he said with a bow, then offered hand. When she gave him her hand, he said, "You must be Mrs. Granger," before laying a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

"Call me Emma," her mother said, smiling at him. Of course, he shot a dazzling smile right back at her.

"Here we go," Hermione sighed, then beckoned Ron and Neville in. She lead them to her parents. "Mum, Dad, this is Neville, Ron and Haydrien," she really tried not to growl the last name. "Guys, this is my parents, Mrs. and Mr. Granger." Her dad shook their hands with "call me Dan," her mum doing the same with "call me Emma."

"Now, Emma, I'm sure you have more pictures of our dear Hermione to show me," Haydrien said to her. Emma giggled at him.

"No," Hermione rushed in. "None of that." She stepped between them. "You stop that right now," she said facing Haydrien.

"Stop what?" he smiled. Hermione grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the living room.

"Mum, Dad, we're going to hang out in the living room for a bit," she called over her shoulder.

"Next time, Emma, next time," he said. Hermione could not help the growl that escaped her lips, which Haydrien met with a dark chuckle.

"So…what should we do?" Hermione asked suddenly once they were all in the living room. She twisted her fingers together, fidgeting.

"What do you normally do?" Neville asked. Hermione looked around.

"Read. Haydrien?"

"I normally annoy Odin."

"Ron?"

"We would play a bit of quiddiage in the garden, or chess…"

"You want to show us around town?" Neville offered. Hermione chewed on the inside of her cheek.

"We can take them to the mall, honey," Emma said from the entrance to the living room. Hermione turned toward her, uncertainty clear in her hazel eyes. Emma smiled at her and she nodded.

Three thirteen year old boys crammed into the back seat of the car, Hermione taking shot gun and Emma driving. Walking in the boys were blindsided by what was before them. The amount of store, the size, and that it was all in doors was a new experience for the wizards. Emma started digging through her purse.

"I know you probably don't have our money…" Emma pulled out her wallet.

"Emma, don't worry, I have it covered," Haydrien said, flashing a smile. Emma cocked her head to the side, the question on her lips. But he smiled again and she let it drop. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Meet back here in two hours. I have my cell phone, you remember the number?" Emma said.

"Yes, mum," Hermione said before pulling her friend away.

"This is amazing, Hermione," Ron said, unable to stop looking around at everything.

"I know exactly where should go," Hermione said. She stopped in front of a shop that said "Game Over" over the doorway. She pulled them inside. Ron started with his mouth hanging open. The sound of arcade games assaulted their ears. Neville and Haydrien looked around wildly, standing stiff at attention.

"This is the arcade," Hermione said with a large sweep of her arm. "These are games, you play on these machines. Here I'll show you." She pulled them towards a game that advertised "Street Fighter" on the top. She put in a token in towards the bottom of the machine and the game lit up. "So, first I pick a player. It's kind of like a piece in wizarding chess. I use these buttons to make it move and fight and it fights the other player till one wins." Ron quickly found out that the strategies of wizarding chess did not work in Street Fighter, but before long they were all playing on the games. Neville didn't seem to fully relax, yet he did enjoy himself.

~XxXxX~

They had been playing on various games for about an hour, when a few other locals came in.

"You won't believe who's here," one of the boys said to another, not far off from Haydrien. "Granger."

"No," the other boy replied. "She wouldn't dare."

"We should really go say hello," another boy commented.

Haydrien nudged Neville and pointed out six boys stalking toward Hermione, who was playing a game with her back to them. Neville and Haydrien abandoned their games, choosing to monitor the exchange. As the grew closer to the boys, Neville grabbed Ron off of his game. Ron was about to protest when he noticed what they were paying attention to. The boys were standing at Hermione's back, spread slightly out as to block any easy escape.

'I'm going to need to teach her the meaning of constant vigilance,' Neville noted in his head.

"If it isn't buck-tooth Granger," the boy in the center said loudly. Hermione spun around to face them, eyes darting between the boys, but not seeing anything beyond them. "I thought your parents got rid of you, what brings you crawling back, that school couldn't stand you either." She tried to take a step back, but the game was already at her heels. She visibly shrunk before them.

"You're not allowed in here, Granger. Might break something," the boy sneered.

"Perhaps, we should show her the way out our arcade," the boy on the left said. He took a half a step forward, when Neville grabbed his arm and spun him around, right into Neville's fist. The boy dropped to the floor. Ron caught the boy on the right with a blindside at the same time.

"Who the hell are you?" one of the four boys still standing yelled.

"We're Hermione's friends" Neville replied.

"Bullshite," the boy replied. "How much did she pay you?"

"Merlin, the wild life is thick," Haydrien commented idly. The boy's face turned red.

"Get 'em," he shouted, lurching forward. Haydrien dropped the boy with a broken nose. Another swung at Neville, who easily ducked before landing a solid blow into the gut. Ron didn't wait for the guy in front of him to make his attack.

At the same time, the fourth guy reached for Hermione. Haydrien caught his outstretched hand by the wrist.

"I don't think the lady wishes to be touched," Haydrien said, without his signature smile. With few options, and even less brains, the boy pushed forward with the only thing he knew, insults.

"Granger isn't a lady, she's nothing but a freak," he said, glaring at her with his last comment.

"The only freak here, is you," Haydrien said lowly, as he slowly twisted his wrist. The boy dropped to his knees, trying to alleviate the painful the twisting.

"Apologize," Haydrien said softly. The boy look wildly between Hermione and Haydrien and his wrist. "Apologize or I'll break your wrist."

"I'm sorry, Granger, I'm sorry," the boy cried out in panic. The crack broke through all other noise. Then Haydrien shoved the boy away from him.

"Go." The boy skidded away, holding his broken wrist to his chest.

"I thought you said you wouldn't break his wrist," Ron commented to Haydrien lazily.

"I lied."

"That's cold," Ron laughed. Good riddance, Neville thought before approaching Hermione who still had her back to the machine.

"Hermione?" Neville asked, holding a hand out towards her. Hermione launched herself from her place and wrapped her arms around Neville. He hugged her back tightly.

"Thank you," she said, then looking around at the others and repeated, "thank you." Neville and Ron started leading Hermione out, when Neville realized Haydrien hanging back. He watched as Haydrien knelt next to one of the boys on the ground.

"If any of you ever so much as say a negative word to Hermione, you will be the one no one sees again," he heard Haydrien tell the boy. "Understood?" The boy squeaked a response to which Haydrien stood. He stepped on the boys hand as he passed him. Haydrien met Neville's watchful eye. Neville nodded in approval, then they both walked away.

Outside the shop, the friends regrouped, Hermione noticeably quieter.

"Let's see," Haydrien started, "you're a girl, so would you like a little shopping spree?" Hermione's mouth dropped open. "I'm paying and Fido and Shadow will carry the bags." Haydrien winked and, for once, Hermione just smiled back.

"Wait," Ron shouted, "what do I get out of this?" Haydrien rolled his eyes.

"I'll buy you dinner."

"Deal." Neville sighed, 'I don't think he knows what he just agreed to.' And with that they set off to shop until Hermione forgot about the earlier confrontation.

~XxXxX~

Emma Granger sat on a bench with two modest bags sitting next to her as she waited for her daughter and friends to arrive. Her mouth dropped open when she noticed Hermione with a big smile, Haydrien with a single large bag slung over his shoulder, and Neville and Ron limping along behind weight down with a smattering of bags and boxes.

"What? How?" Emma stuttered.

"Hermione needed some new clothes, I just provided a means," Haydrien offered. Emma did not look satisfied with the response.

"Hermione, a word," her mother indicated and took her a few paces away. Once satisfied they would not be overheard by the boys, she started, "Hermione, tell me that you did not let that boy spend all this money on you." She set her with a stern look.

"It's really not a big deal mum, not that I had a choice. If I took interest in it he bought it. I had to convince him several times that it wouldn't fit or I hated it to avoid more things," Hermione laughed. "I tried to tell him I didn't need this much stuff, but he obviously disagreed. Though I didn't try that hard with the books," she mumbled the last part. Still Emma was not appeased.

"That is too much, honey. You cannot accept that." Hermione laughed.

"Mum, that is not a single percent of a percent of a percent of the money available to him. He has a black credit card. No limit. That should tell you how stupid rich he is. He said these were mere necessities that I had to have. When I told him they wouldn't fit in my closet, he offer to buy us a new house with 'proper sized closets.' No joke."

"Umm….ok."

"Plus, we have to hurry. We have reservations at the Italian place you always tell dad you wanted to go to."

"They are booked a month in advanced. How could we have reservations?"

"I find it best not to ask how Haydrien makes things happen," Hermione said with a giggle. Emma sighed.

"Ok."

They piled back into the car to return to the Granger residence. While the boys lugged in all the bags, well Ron and Neville did while Haydrien directed them, her parents pulled Hermione aside.

"Hermione, dear, I know this all sounds lovely, but you have to tell him 'no,'" Emma started again.

"Mum, there is no telling Haydrien Black 'no.' For one, he simply won't listen. Two, he'd do it anyways. Three, he's a Black," Hermione ticked off on her fingers. "I know Black doesn't mean anything to you, but from what I gathered they are cross between Royalty and the mafia. No one steps on their bad side. They are an ancient and powerful family with lots of money, probably half of what is in circulation. Haydrien is a good guy, though a bit eccentric. And his manners are flawless. He wants to do this and nothing, literally nothing, will stop him."

Her parents stood there gaping at her. Their experiences had been positive with the boy, but they hadn't even known him a day. Her parents agreed to dinner, if for nothing more than to find out about this boy who seemed to be a large part of their daughter's new world.

~XxXxX~

Hermione opened her jewelry box to pull out the simple silver necklace her parents gave her on her last birthday. Her dad knocked on the door and entered.

"You look beautiful, sweetheart," he said. "Let me help you with that," motioning to the necklace. Hermione stared at her father in the mirror as he managed the clasp.

"You really are growing up too fast for my liking," he said. Hermione turned around and hugged her dad tightly.

"I've missed you so much," she said.

"Why can you wear that and I'm stuck in this suit," Ron shouted from down stairs. Hermione and Dan laughed, but made their way to see what the commotion was.

"Because I'm me," Haydrien answered.

"So what? I'm me," Ron replied.

"That means nothing to me," Haydrien said, then turned to the stairs where Hermione was just visible. "Aww, the lady of the hour, breath taking as always." Hermione's cheeks turned pink. "And Dan you don't look so bad yourself." Dan chuckled.

Behind Haydrien, Neville and Ron stood in three piece suits, Neville with a red collared shirt and Ron with a blue. Haydrien, however, went for a completely different look. He wore leather pants, dress shoes, a short sleeve V-neck black shirt with a leather vest over top. Hermione gave him a once over look and rolled her eyes.

Hermione turned to see her mum descending the stairs in a turquoise dress. She smiled and hoped that one day she would rival her mother for beauty.

Haydrien looked at his watch. "Our ride should be here now, let's head out," he said.

"Our ride?" tumbled off of Hermione's tongue as he opened the door to her. And there did sit their ride. Two sleek stretch limos sat in front of her parent's house and both the neighbors. Upon the front door opening, the drivers of both limos stepped out and open the door to their rides. Hermione turned to Haydrien exasperatedly.

"Two limos, really?"

"Of course. I figured you parent might want some time to themselves," he replied innocently. Hermione turned to her mother.

"Like I said, infuriating." Perhaps Emma would have laughed if she wasn't in shock staring at the two limos.

"We best be on our way if we want to make our reservations," Haydrien said and they stepped out of the house towards the cars. Hermione tried to ignore the snoopy neighbors staring through their blinds. As they got into the "kid" limo, Haydrien had one last comment, "Fido, Shadow, try not to embarrass me." He added his wink to which both boys just ignored him.

~XxXxX~

They existed the limos at the front of the restaurant and walked through the glass, double doors. Behind a dark oak desk stood a thin man with a sever superiority complex, at least they would guess so by the way he was looking down his nose at the recently arrived guests. Haydrien stepped forward, ignoring the man's sour expression.

"Black," Haydrien said.

"Black what, sir?" the man replied, boredly.

"Black, for the private room," Haydrien said. "I do believe we reserved the finest room of your establishment," he continued, slipping a note onto the desk. The maitre d's eyes widened for a split second.

"That is correct, Mister Black, right this way." They followed him to a private room. The room was obviously the best with even a view to the garden outside. Hermione's parents sat on her left with Haydrien on her right, followed by Neville and Ron on his other side.

They opened the menus to browse, but Hermione quickly realized something was off with the items before her.

"Why doesn't any of the food have prices?" she asked. Dan mumbled something to himself.

"What was that, Dan?" Ron asked beside him. Dan looked around the table and saw Haydrien staring back with his head cocked to the side and a crooked smile. Satisfied that all were paying attention, Dan looked a little embarrassed when he replied,

"The saying goes, if you have to ask, you can't afford it." Haydrien laughed.

"I like that," Haydrien said, "I may have to borrow that sometime." Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back to the apparently ridiculously expensive menu. Once everyone had ordered, Hermione's parents really wanted to get to know more about her new friends, starting with the one who arranged their evening out.

"So, Haydrien, why don't you tell us about yourself?" Emma asked.

"I'm a Black," he replied with a grin. Hermione leaned in and whispered loud enough for the whole table to hear,

"That means nothing to them." Haydrien freighted a wounded look before chuckling.

"Well, let's see, my family has been around for thousands of years. With that comes a bit of a reputation, forgive me for forgetting that you would not already have that knowledge. I was raised by my great-grandfather at the Black manor, which is located on the coast of Wales. I enjoy History and Runes, as such am an avid reader. I also enjoy fencing. I grew up as many in our world who were raised in Ancient and Noble families," Haydrien concluded. Emma and Dan exchanged a quick glance, confirming they were both feeling a bit out of their depth.

"My life was mostly the same," Neville added, "though my interests differ slightly towards the more practical history and such and I was raised by my grandmother." Neville looked to Ron as he finished as if passing the torch.

"My life was quite different than these other two. For one, I was raised with six sibling and by my parents on a small farm. Let just say it wasn't quiet…ever," Ron chuckled. "Though my interests are a bit more specific, I love strategy and chess."

"Chess?" Dan asked. "I have a board at home, perhaps we could play a game or two." Ron's resulting smile was almost predatory.

"Not to be rude or anything, but why is Ron the only one who was raised by his parents? Is it a culture thing?" Emma asked hesitantly. A cold shiver seemed to pass around the children.

"Emma, there was a war not too long ago and it left quite a few holes in our society," Haydrien said politely. Emma's hand reached up to cover her mouth.

"I am so sorry," she replied, sincerity ringing in her voice.

"Is that why you boys act so much older than you are?" Dan asked. The boys looked around curiously.

"Dan, this is how everyone in our world act at this age, at least those raised in it," Neville said.

"Though the wars probably haven't kept anyone young," Haydrien added.

"Wars?" Emma looked near white. The three boys exchanged looks. Emma and Dan were so concentrated on the new information they were being provided, they didn't notice Hermione looking down at her hands as she twisted her fingers together. Haydrien reached under the table into her lap and clasped her hands and squeezed before addressing her parents.

"The last one ended ten years ago and there was one before that. Both were won by our government and things have settled down since." It wasn't exactly the truth, but it would pacify them.

Emma took a sip of her wine and nodded before smiling. It was time to get onto much happier subjects. The rest of the evening passed with many laughs and wonderful food.

~XxXxX~

Ron was already passed out in a sleeping bag on the floor while Neville was reading in his, when Emma brought down an arm full of blankets. Haydrien rushed forward to take the items.

"Will you boys be alright?" Emma asked. Neville and Haydrien nodded. "Let me know if you need anything else," Emma added, smiling when she recalled Dan telling them about the squeaky stairs and how there would be no sneaking around. She turned to head back upstair when a strong hand snaked around her arm.

"May I have a word, Emma?" Haydrien asked. Emma nodded and he followed her into the kitchen. "Emma, I know you have been a bit uneasy about the money I've been spending and I wanted to explain a bit about that." When Emma just nodded, he continued, "My family has a lot of money, more money than we can spend in a hundred lifetimes, and wizards live a very long time. But there are certain rules and protocols that govern someone of my…station. I cannot spend money on my friends in the magical world, but here I can and have quite enjoyed not having the same…restrictions. I hope you can forgive me for having some fun with it while I can." Emma smiled and pulled him into a side hug.

"Oh, you are fine dear. And you are always welcome here." Though a bit stiff with the hug, Haydrien smiled widely back at her.

~XxXxX~

Between movies, take out food, and Ron decimating Dan in chess, it felt like no time at all when Hermione was saying goodbye to her friends the morning of Christmas Eve.

AN: Here is your chapter of the week. I hope you enjoy. You may notice that the whole world is a little darker, including the boys response to conflict. More of their history and why they react that way will be coming bit by bit. Due to Neville, Ron, and Haydrien being raised in that magical world, they may seem to like dark characters at times, but it is an effect of the darker world. Please let me know if you have questions. I am a bit desperate to know what you think. Thank you for reading.