Harry had been right; Death Eaters were attacking Hogsmeade.
Harry was out of his chair and in front of Sarah before anyone else had even realized what had happened. He quickly cast the disarming jinx, a stunner, and the incarcerous hex in quick succession. Unfortunately, the masked Death Eater batted them all away with ease, asking in a baby voice, "Aww, is wee Potty having twouble wid his spells?"
Harry immediately recognized the voice as belonging to Bellatrix Lestrange, the woman who had murdered his godfather. The air around him became so intensely hot that Hermione and Sarah could both feel it from only a few feet away. Hermione desperately wanted to help, since she recognized the voice as well, but she stayed back to protect Sarah. Besides, Harry was casting spells faster than she could keep up with. There was one coming from his wand and one coming from his free hand. She could also tell that they weren't friendly spells-they looked like cutting curses, bone-breaking hexes, and other such nasty spells. She noticed that Bellatrix actually seemed to be having trouble and was no longer taunting Harry. Shifting so that Sarah was behind her, she joined the fight, casting spells that were just as dangerous as her husband's.
After what felt like an eternity, but was really only a few minutes, one of Harry's bone-breaking hexes hit Bellatrix in the thigh, quickly followed by the incarcerous spell from Hermione, then the disarming jinx from Harry, who promptly snapped her wand. Looking at each other, they both nodded and merged their minds, making them the perfect fighting pair, and headed out to see who else was there. Deciding to try something simple, he cast a powerful summoning charm for Death Eater wands, and, much to his surprise, at least a dozen found their way to him. Unfortunately, it called the attention of the rest of the Death Eaters, and half a dozen promptly began attacking them, surprisingly not using Unforgivables.
The couple didn't really have time to contemplate that, though; they were too busy being outnumbered three-to-one. Hermione was shielding against the curses as Harry tooknthe offensive threw spells out at an alarming rate. Within seconds, there were only two left, the other four having apparated away. But the two teens were tiring and were beginning to worry they might actually lose, despit their original success. That thought was quickly interrupted by their opponent on the right firing a familiar purple spell-but not at them. Sarah had followed them outside.
Seeing where the spell was headed, Harry shouted, "No!" And promptly conjured a thick piece of stone to block the spell. He was now fairly sure it was Dolohov, completely forgetting that he had been locked up, and his rage exploded at the two. Before he could actually do anything, though, the two apparated away, having felt his power wash over them. Although angry, he was grateful that they had managed to catch Bellatrix. Unfortunately, that thought was dispelled when he turned to see empty ropes. "Damn it!" Harry seethed.
"Harry!" Hermione scolded. "Children," she reminded him, gesturing to Sarah who had tears running down her face.
Seeing Sarah crying caused the anger to leave him as he knelt down and hugged the girl, who immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and began to sob. As gently as he possibly could, Harry asked, "Where's your father?"
"He...left," she answered him between sobs.
Damn it! Harry thought. How many orphans is that bastard going to make?He asked himself mentally. "Do you have any other relatives?" He asked gently. She shook her head. Sighing, he asked her to direct them to her house. After they had collected her stuff, (Sarah still clutching Harry) the headed back to Hogwarts and Harry explained, "We're going to talk to Professor McGonagall to try and find you a good family."
Harry felt the little girl tense in his arms, but he didn't know why until she asked hesitantly, "Can...can I stay with you?"
Harry could hear the desperateness in her voice, and had to struggle not to immediately say yes. Hermione was, and would always be, a part of this, and he turned to look at her, his eyes pleading for a yes. Fortunately, she had already expected this when she heard the question, and had already decided. Her eyes, and the bond, expressed acceptance with this course of action.
Turning back to look down at Sarah, he said with a smile, "Well, we'll still have to see McGonagall, but I think she'll say yes."
"Absolutely not!" McGonagall exclaimed when she heard the plan of her two teenaged students. "You two aren't old enough to raise a child!"
Taking a deep breath to keep from lashing out, Harry asked, "And who would you suggest?" He continued before she could answer, "After seeing how the Dursleys raised me and how they raised Dudley, I have two complete opposites of 'do nots' to draw from. I don't know if I can do it, but I do know that I can try. And, unlike many, I can empathize with what she's going through. Besides that, she wants me to raise her." He was glad he had decided to leave Sarah with Hermione and talk to McGonagall alone for now; they were outside the door, waiting for him to finish. "And have either of us ever acted our age?" He added. McGonagall was forced to admit they didn't act their age. "Can you think of anyone more able to protect her?" Before, McGonagall would have suggested Dumbledore, but after seeing how scrawny and feeble Harry was every time he came to Hogwarts, she could no longer believe it, and shook her head. "So do you agree?" She nodded. "Thank you," he said before walking out, glad that she had the ability as Deputy Headmistress to permit someone underage joining the school so he wouldn't have to see the Headmaster.
Before he got to the door, he remembered something else he had wanted to ask the Deputy Headmistress. He hesitantly asked, "Professor McGonagall...how many casualties were there?"
McGonagall tensed, but answered, "Of the Hogsmeade residents, ten people died, and thirty-six were injured." Taking a deep breath to steel herself, the Deputy Headmistress continued, "Three Hogwarts students were killed, and twenty-two were injured."
Harry closed his eyes, not willing to look at the Transfiguration teacher. "Will the injured be alright?" He asked.
"Yes, they'll be fine," McGonagall answered, and waited for the question she hoped he wouldn't ask, but knew he would.
"Who died?" Harry asked in a whisper.
With another deep breath, she answered, "Colin Creevey, Millicent Bulstrode, and Marietta Edgecombe."
Harry let out a pained sigh, and nodded in acknowledgement. When he opened his eyes, there was a fierce determination in his eyes. "I will end this," he swore.
McGonagall gave him a stern look. "Mr. Potter, you will leave the fighting to the adults."
Harry snorted. "You mean like all my other years here?" He asked sarcastically. Not bothering to wait for her to respond, he said, "If you'll excuse me, my wife and Sarah are getting nervous." And he left without a backwards glance, leaving a shocked Minerva McGonagall to ponder over his statements.
In the hallway outside the Professor's office, Harry was immediately greeted by a small, brown-haired missile immediately followed by a larger brown-haired missile. After giving Hermione a hug in return, as well as a quick peck on the lips, he bent down and picked up Sarah, amazed at how quickly he has grown comfortable with her.
When they returned to their rooms, Sarah looked around at them in awe. Harry told her she could look around if she wanted, but she just shook her head and clutched him tighter, causing Harry to smile. Unnoticed, Hermione also smiled, though it was more at how amazingly quickly the little girl had wormed her way into her husband's heart.
The three of them headed to the couch, and Sarah continued to cling to Harry like a limpet. "Why don't you tell me about yourself, Sarah?" Harry asked. There was no response. Alarmed, Harry looked down at the little girl in his arms and smiled gently at the sight of her sleeping. The two teens rose from the couch and placed her on the bed in what used to be the guest room. Smiling at the sight of Harry gently kissing the little girl on the forehead, Hermione cast a monitoring charm and mild light charm on the floor before the two teens quietly left and closed the door behind them.
"Is it a good idea to let her sleep alone?" Harry asked fretfully once they returned to the couch.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, not sure she understood.
"She saw her mother killed in front of her," Harry said. "And I can tell you from experience that she is almost guaranteed to have nightmares about it for a while. I don't want her to wake up alone," he finished softly.
Understanding flashed as she realized that Harry hadn't seen her cast the monitoring charm. Laying her hand gently on his arm, she reassured him, "Harry I cast a monitoring charm on her, and tied it to the locket you gave me for my birthday. Which you could have informed me had protective charms on it by the way," she sidetracked with a mock glare, causing Harry to give a sheepish grin. "But as soon as she starts having a nightmare, it will let me know, and I'll let you know."
Harry heaved a sigh, and said, "Thanks," with a gentle kiss, but Hermione could tell he was still worried.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing," Harry started to say, but the look on his wife's face let him know he wasn't getting away with it. Looking at his hands, he whispered brokenly, "What if I'm wrong? What if everything I told McGonagall is false? What if I'm a horrible father?"
Hermione couldn't help it; she laughed. Harry's head jerked up and he gave her an affronted look. "It's just...you...a horrible...father," she said between laughs. Taking a moment to calm down, she reassured him, "Harry, I saw the way you interacted with that little girl. At this moment, I can honestly say you don't have to worry about being a horrible father." Harry nodded and gave a small smile, but Hermione knew he was still a little worried. She knew only time would fully convince him, and let it go, snuggling into him. In a few minutes, they fell asleep against each other.
Hermione woke with a start to her locket vibrating against her chest. Harry, who had been forced to become a light sleeper, was immediately awake. "What is it?" He asked, looking around on high alert.
"Sarah," she answered simply. She wasn't surprised that he was halfway to her room before she could think of it. She put her hand to her stomach and smiled, wondering how he would be with theit own child if this was how he treated a stranger's daughter. For some reason, though, she suspected he wouldn't play favorites with his own children. Shaking the thought off, she got off the couch and followed Harry into Sarah's room.
She stopped at the doorway, watching as Harry comfortingly rocked a sobbing Sarah. She could just barely hear him saying, "Shh, I've got you. You're safe. I won't let anyone hurt you." Afer a few minutes of the soothing noises, Sarah eventually fell back to sleep in Harry's arms. He laid her on the bed, aan began to walk towards Hermione, but Sarah immediately began to toss and turn. When Harry picked her up, she quieted again. Smiling gently, Harry carried her over to Hermione. "It looks like I have a hanger-on," he whispered to Hermione, amused.
Hermione, also smiling, merely nodded in agreement and led him towards their room. Holding Sarah in between them, they all eventually fell asleep.