Chapter Three:
"Daddy and Mum, I am so excited; I get to go to Hogwarts and start learning about magic early," Hermione Jean Granger gushed, as she led her parents along Charring Cross Road about two blocks from the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron.
"Now, sweetheart, remember, we have yet to make the decision whether or not to permit you to take these early classes," said Hermione's father, the Dr. Lionel Granger.
"I know Daddy, but you almost always say something like that before you let me participate in educational opportunities," replied Hermione.
"Lionel, luv, she's had you all figured out for ages now, and you have to admit, that you've hardly ever denied her the opportunity to learn something new," replied his wife, the Dr. Jean Granger.
"Am I really that easy to figure out?" asked Lionel.
"Yes, Daddy/luv you are," replied Hermione and Jean in perfect unison, causing mother and daughter to lapse into a fit of giggles, as Lionel smiled warmly at the two most important people in his life.
Three
"LUNA!" squealed, ten-year-old, Ginevra Molly Weasley, seeing her best friend stepping gracefully from the Leaky Cauldron's public fireplace.
"Ginevra, we saw each other just yesterday, so you really do not have to be so boisterous," replied Luna Selene Lovegood, giggling at her best friend's antics.
"But, you're my best friend in the whole wide world, and I always like being with you," stated Ginny, as the two you witches hugged each other. "Besides, later, we get to meet Harry Potter, 'The-Boy-Who-Lived.'"
"I know that, Ginevra, and do not forget we get to meet Professors Minerva McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore, another girl named Hermione Granger, and her parents, as well," replied Luna. "Additionally, you must remember what your mother always tells us when we mention Harry James Potter."
"I know, just because I have a crush on him doesn't mean I'm going to marry him," replied Ginny.
"Xeno, do you have any idea what this meeting Albus wants to have with us is all about," asked Ginny's mother, Molly, to Luna's father, Xenophilius, as they stood conversing out of hearing distance from their respective daughters. "You don't suppose it might have to do with you know what, do you?"
"That, Molly, is something we shall have to wait until Albus tells us why he has called us together," answered Xenophilius.
"Molly, dear, you do know that someday we must tell them the truth," said Molly's husband, Arthur.
"I know, but I've always been afraid she'll reject me as her mother when she learns the truth," said the tearful Molly.
"Molly, there is a greater chance of Fred and George going through a full year at Hogwarts without receiving any detentions than there is of Ginny rejecting you as her mother," replied Arthur, embracing his wife. Looking up, he said, "ah, I see Albus and Minerva have arrived, let's gather the girls and go over to meet them."
"Good afternoon, Minerva and Albus," said Molly leading, the two wizards and their respective daughters over to where the two Hogwarts professors were standing.
"As soon as the Grangers have arrived, and I see they've just entered through the Muggle entrance, we can depart for Hogwarts," said Minerva.
"Ginevra Molly Weasley and Luna Selene Lovegood, come back here," said Molly, seeing the two ten-year-old witches streaking across the Leaky Cauldron towards the Grangers. "Minerva and Albus, you'll have to forgive our daughters; there's not a shy bone in either of them, most especially Ginny."
"That's quite alright, Molly," said the chuckling Dumbledore. "I always enjoy seeing the exuberance of youth."
"Hello my name is Ginny Weasley, and this is my best friend Luna Lovegood, are you three the Grangers?" asked Ginny, bounding up to Hermione with Luna right behind her.
"Yes we are," replied the equally enthusiastic Hermione. "These are my parents, the Drs. Lionel and Jean Granger, and my name is Hermione."
"Will you be our friend, as well?" asked Luna.
"Y-Y-You really want to be my friends?" questioned Hermione with tears glistening in her eyes.
"Of course we want to be your friends," said Ginny, as she and Luna embraced Hermione, causing eleven-year-old Muggle-born to burst into tears.
"What's wrong, Hermione; we did not intend to make you cry?" inquired Luna.
"I'm crying because I'm happy," answered Hermione. "I've never had any friends my own age before, and you two are the first ones near my own age that wanted to be friends with me."
"Well, that's all changed now, because we're your friends," said Ginny.
"Thank-you, Ginny and Luna," said Hermione, as the three girls shared a group hug.
"I do not wish to be rude, but, Professor McGonagall, could you please introduce the older members of our group?" said Lionel.
"I would be delighted to," said Minerva before introducing the adults to each other.
"Portus," Dumbledore said tapping his wand on a six foot piece of rope several minutes later. "If everyone would take hold of this rope we can be off to Hogwarts. Xeno, Arthur, and Molly, if the three of you would each please hold on to one of the three young ladies while Minerva and I hold on to the Drs. Granger, we will soon depart. For those of you who have never traveled via Portkey, in about twenty seconds you will feel a sensation of being pulled by your stomachs, and whatever you do, please do not let go of the rope or the person steadying you. Additionally, I must warn you that you will have a bit of an upset stomach when we arrive at our destination, but it will pass within five to ten seconds."
Three
"Wee, that was fun!" squealed Ginny, landing with the others about ten feet from the Hogwarts front gates. "Can we do that again?"
"I agree with Ginevra, that was fun," added Luna. "Daddy, why don't we have a rope like Professor Dumbledore has so we can go places like we just did?"
"My angel, unfortunately, only high ranking government officials like Professor Dumbledore are allowed to make Portkeys, the method in which we just traveled," answered Xenophilius.
"If I had my way dear child, all qualified wizards or witches, such as your father, would be allowed to make Portkeys," said Dumbledore. "Many times I have put forth such proposals to the Wizengamot; however I have yet to garner enough support to get such a measure passed into law."
"Professor Dumbledore, is tha' the three girls n their parents wit' yeh n Professor McGonagall?" asked Hagrid, strolling up to the group with Harry running to keep up with the half-giant.
"Wow, he's really big," giggled Hermione, gazing up in wonder at Hagrid.
"Look, he's got Harry Potter with him!" shouted Ginny, running, as fast as she could towards the 'Boy-Who-Lived.'
"Ginevra, wait up, we want to meet him, as well," said Luna, as she and Hermione ran giggling after Ginny.
"Hi, Harry, my name is Ginny Weasley and these two are my best friends Luna Lovegood and Hermione Granger, would you like to be our friend, too?" inquired Ginny as the three girls ran up to Harry.
"I've never had a friend before," replied Harry timidly.
"Then, you really need to be our friend, because everyone should have friends," stated Ginny. "Please say you'll be our friend."
"Okay, I'll be your friend," said Harry, causing the three delighted young witches to rush at the young wizard all intending to hug him.
When Harry reflexively jerked back at the sudden movement towards him, Luna asked, "What's wrong Harry? Don't you want us to hug you?"
"No, it's not that," answered the young wizard timidly, looking down at the ground. "I'm not used to being hugged, and the only times I remember being touched is when someone hit me."
"Girls, for now, leave Harry alone and all shall be explained once we reach my office," said Dumbledore.
Three
"Now, that we have all gathered, I will not delay, and get right to the purpose of this meeting, but first I wish to introduce all who are present," said Dumbledore, after everyone was seated in his office.
"You mean people in your world can actually put enough of themselves into a portrait that they can actually think and hold intelligent conversations," said Jean, after Dumbledore had introduced everyone present, including the portraits of all four founders.
"To put it simply, Dr. Jean, yes we can, and we ourselves actually did," said Helga. "I hope you don't mind, but calling both you and your husband Dr. Granger could be wee bit confusing."
"Then, please drop the use of the honorific, and refer to us as Lionel and Jean," replied Jean.
"Lionel and Jean, it shall be," stated Rowena. "Now, that we've dispensed with the pleasantries, let us discuss why we've all assembled together. Young Harry, it is not our wish to embarrass you or cause you any more pain, but, as your circumstances are why we've all been assembled, we must explain your dilemma."
"That's okay, Ma'am," replied Harry timidly. "I know all you want to do is help me, and I don't mind if tell everybody why I'm here."
"Thank-you Harry," said Rowena, smiling warmly at the shy young wizard. "The crux if the matter is, that Harry is here, so we can correct the fact that the cretins who were responsible for his well-being abused, neglected him, and prohibited him from going to school."
"Did they not even home-school him?" asked Jean.
"Them horri' Muggles din' let Harry learn nothin' n 'cause o them, he can' read, wri'e, do math or any o wha' yeh need ta know 'fore startin Hogwarts," said Hagrid.
"Whoever did something like that should be punished to the full extent of the law, but I don't understand what Harry's plight has to do with our daughter and these other two young ladies," said Lionel.
"We have a method by which Harry can learn enough to start Hogwarts with his age group," explained Rowena. "As Harry is a direct descendant of one or more of the founders, we can teach him enough to start at Hogwarts in one month's time. However, we need the presence of at least three more direct descendants to accomplish this, and the three young witches present are all direct descendants of at least one founder, as well."
"How can that be?" asked Hermione. "How can I, as a Muggle-born, be a direct descendant of a Founder of Hogwarts?"
"In our secret chamber hidden within the wall of Hogwarts we have a book that we charmed to write the names of all direct descendants of the four of us," said Helga. "Included in another book in our chambers is a genealogy of all direct descendants, and we can show this to you when you visit our chamber later today."
"You mean Luna's name and my name are written in your books, too," said Ginny.
"Yes, my dear, yours and Luna's names are written in our books, as well," said Salazar Slytherin, speaking for the first time. "However, how your names are written is something we must ask permission of your parents to tell you."
"Is this the time Luna and I are finally going to be told we're really twin sisters?" asked Ginny.
"How, how did you know that?" asked a completely flabbergasted Molly.
"We've known from the first time you let us have a sleep over together and we slept together in the same bed," answered Luna.
"We had the same dream that night, and, in the dream, this beautiful lady with really dark black hair down to her knees came to us, told us she was our mother, we were twins, and our birth names were Chloe and Zoe," added Ginny. "When I woke up the next morning, I just thought it was a dream, but when I learned Luna had had the exact same dream, we realized our dream must be true."
"Why didn't either of you tell anyone of your dream?" asked Xenophilius.
"You, Mummy, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley never showed us anything but love and kindness, and, because of that, we realized that someday you would probably tell us the truth about ourselves," said Luna, standing and hugging her father.
"All we know is what we learned from our dream," added Ginny. "We don't even know which one of us was which name, which one of us is older, nor do we know what our family name was."
"Ginny, you are the eldest and were born Chloe Sophia Prewett, Luna, you were born Zoe Sophia Prewett, and you were the twin daughters of my brother Fabian and his wife Sophia," explained Molly.
"So, that means you're really our Aunt Molly," said Luna.
"Well, to me, you're still my mother and Daddy is still my father," stated Ginny, rising and hugging both of her parents.
"Thank-you Ginny," said Molly, embracing her daughter tightly.
"Mum, no matter what happens, to me you will always be my mother, and Daddy will always be my father," said Ginny. Furrowing her brow, she asked, "Since not one of my brothers is here with us, does that mean Luna and I are direct descendants of the founders through our mother's family?"
"Your birth mother, Sophia, was James Potter's older sister, and after your parents and my other brother, Gideon, were killed in a Death Eater raid, James brought you to us to be adopted with the instructions to one day tell you both the truth," answered Molly.
"So, does that mean Harry is our cousin, and we're direct descendants of at least one of the Founders through the Potter line?" asked Luna.
"Yes, dear, it does," answered Rowena.
"Is Harry really being our cousin why you always told me, that just because I have a crush on him, doesn't mean I'm going to marry him?" questioned Ginny.
"Yes, dear, it was," answered Molly.
"Molly, dear, now that they know the truth about themselves, I believe it best to share how they came to be adopted by the Lovegoods and the Weasleys," added Arthur.
"Of course," said Molly. "Fabian and Gideon Prewett were my younger twin brothers, and the two of you were born to Fabian and his dear wife Sophia on February 1, 1981, however due to the dark times in those days I was unable to meet you. When I learned the my brothers and Sophia had been killed on April 12, 1981 I was devastated, and I thought you two had died along with your parents and Uncle Gideon until the day James Potter and Sirius Black brought the two of you to us to be adopted later that same year on August 19. As Sophia was James Potter's older sister, he and his lovely wife Lily had taken you in, but eventually decided to secretly adopt you away in an attempt to help preserve both the Potter and Prewett lines. I cannot tell you how much joy I felt inside when Sirius and James brought the two of you to us and told us you had been with them on the night my brothers and James's sister had been killed. I immediately wanted to adopt both of you, however James and Arthur convinced me that adopting Luna out to Xenophilius and Selene would help us better insure the Prewett and Potter lines survival."
"Is that why you've home-schooled us together and encouraged us to be best friends forever?" asked Luna.
"Yes, my angel, that is why we have encouraged the two of you be such close friends," answered Xenophilius.
"Harry, we're so glad we found out you were our cousin," said Ginny, rushing to hug her cousin. When he jerked back instinctively at her sudden rush at him, she added, coming to a sudden stop, "Harry, all I want to do is hug you. I'm sorry if I made you nervous."
"It's okay, Ginny, you can hug me," answered Harry guardedly opening his arms.
"Will you let Hermione and me hug you, too?" asked Luna. Seeing him nod with tears in his eyes, she added softly, "Thank-you, Harry."
"That's the first time I remember anyone ever hugging me," commented Harry, as the four tweenagers returned to their respective seats.
"While we are delighted to see family members reunited, you have yet to tell us how having Hermione, Ginny, and Luna here will allow young Harry to attend Hogwarts with his age group in just one month's time." said Lionel.
"We intend to use what we can time-turners to allow these four a full year's time being taught by us in one month's time," answered Rowena. "These time turners, which we have hidden in our chambers in a secret location within the walls of this castle, will allow someone to travel up to twenty-four hours back in time for every hour of normal time with an hour break in between."
"That means we get to learn things twelve days for every day we spend here," said Hermione.
"Will these time-turners be harmful in any way to our daughter and her friends?" asked Jean.
"As each block of time consists of twenty-four hours, each block of time will seem like a full day has passed," said Rowena.
"Will they age a full year in a month?" asked Jean.
"Yes, they will, but the aging process will be like normal," said Rowena.
"Does that mean Luna and I will be old enough to start Hogwarts in a month?" asked Ginny.
"Yes, dear, it does," answered Rowena.
"I am quite certain Ronald would not like that at all," commented Luna. "Remember how much he was making fun of you and me for not being old enough to start Hogwarts this year?"
"Oh, he was, was he?" asked Molly. Seeing the Ginny and Luna nodding their heads yes, she added, "After his father and I warned his brothers and him against making fun of you two for that very reason, he still saw fit to do it anyway. Well, now I know who's going to be Ginny's share of chores while she's here."
"Oops, I did not intend to get Ronald into trouble," said Luna, looking guilty.
"That's okay, Luna, dear; you're not the one at fault for our youngest son's lack of caring and manners," replied Molly.
"Aside from teaching Harry the basics, what else were you planning to teach these four?" asked Lionel.
"Mostly what they choose to learn," answered Rowena.
"You mean, Luna and I could learn about Muggle things," said Ginny excitedly.
"Yes, dear lass, you may," said Salazar.
"No, Arthur, you can't join them," admonished Molly, seeing the smile on her husband's face. "This month is for Harry and these girls, and they don't need you in their way."
"Yes, Molly," said Arthur.
"Actually, we were planning to ask all adults present in this office to assist us, as we can have one adult per youngster use the time-turners with them," said Godric. "We realize with your busy schedules you'll not be able to attend all sessions with them, but you are free to, and, as it is often said, to go along for the ride every now and then."
"When will the begin using these time turners?" asked Jean.
"Later this evening, if that is acceptable," answered Godric.
"We agree to allow Hermione this opportunity, so we can help Harry," said Lionel. "However, we do have one request. Would it be permissible for our daughter to continue, as you call them, her Muggle Studies, so she could attend a university after she graduates from Hogwarts?"
"Using our chambers and the time turners on the weekend, Hermione would be able to continue with a self-study program, but Harry, Ginny, and Luna would be required to be with her to do so," answered Rowena.
"I'll do it, because, if I learn enough, I'd like to study something Muggle, too," said Harry.
"Could we choose what we want to study?" asked Luna.
"Yes, dear, you can, as long as you have the required materials you may study what you wish," said Helga.
"Then, I'd like to study Muggle animals," said Luna, beaming. "What about the rest of you, what do you want?"
"I don't know," said Ginny. "Could I tell you what I want to study after I've learned more about the Muggle world?"
"Yes, you may, dear child," answered Helga.
"What do you want to study, Harry?" asked Ginny.
"I don't know, yet," said Harry. "Like you, I'll wait until I learn more."
"I think I'll wait a few more weeks to decide, as well," added Hermione.
"Is there anything these four will need to start the time-turning this evening?" asked Lionel.
"They will all require their Hogwarts first years' supplies, as well as, a basic Muggle curriculum covering the first six years of school," said Rowena.
"We can let you use the books for the curriculum we used to home school Hermione, but you're going to need all the workbooks that go with it," said Jean. "The bookstore we purchased them from is on Charing Cross Road about a block from the Leaky Cauldron, so you could purchase them when you go to Diagon Alley to purchase their Hogwarts supply list items."
"At what time will you be starting this evening's time-turner block?" asked Dumbledore.
"We can begin this evening session whenever you can all return to Hogwarts," answered Rowena. "If the hour is too late to being teaching this evening, the first part of this evenings' time-turner block will be spent sending these youngsters and the ones sharing this block with them to bed."
"Arthur, we don't have enough left in our vault to pay for more Hogwarts supplies," Harry overheard Molly say to Arthur, as they were preparing to leave.
"That's okay, Mrs. Weasley, I can use some of the money Hagrid told me was in my vault to pay for Ginny's things," said Harry.
"No, Harry, we can't, you're parents set that vault aside for your education," said Molly.
"Molly and Arthur, and Xeno, too, Phillip and Moira Potter set up Hogwarts trust vaults for all of their grandchildren, and, as such, you as the adoptive parents should have access to said vaults," said Dumbledore.
"My darling Selene and I set up such a vault for Luna the day after we adopted her, so whatever is in Sophia's vaults Arthur and Molly can use for Ginny," said Xenophilius.
"No, Xeno, one of those vaults is for Luna, we'll just use the one for Ginny and Ginny alone," said Molly.
"As you wish, Molly," said Xenophilius, winking discretely at the smiling Dumbledore.
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