A/N: Thanks to all those who have reviewed, followed, and favorited this story. I'm glad that people have been enjoying it. And a special thanks to Bonnie and Mainsail for beta reading this and thus improving on the original. If you have questions or concerns about what's going on, feel free to include them in a review or a PM - I'll try to answer.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does.
Recommendation: This chapter's recommended fic is "The Challenge of the Goblet" by Luan Mao. Harry just knew that someone was going to try to enter him into the Triwizard Tournament, but no one believed him. So he's taking matters into his own hands - because that's always worked out so well before, right?
Italics: a person's thoughts.
Chapter 09 - Paint it Black
Friday, August 6, 1995, Morning.
Jasmine and Hermione hadn't gotten as much talking done Thursday evening as they probably should have - the emotions surrounding their new-found knowledge about their relationship had inspired the sort of personal interaction that didn't involve words. It was only their desire to not use Fleur's bed that had ensured they talked much at all.
So on Friday morning, Fleur shut the two of them up in her room again, and it was only then that they had calmed enough - mostly - to have a serious conversation about what they knew, what they could still only speculate about, and what it would mean for their relationship.
"It's an awful lot to take in," Jasmine said, "and I'm still going to have to think about it for a while. I mean, it's just too big to be able to instantly accept." Hermione nodded, feeling the same way. "At the moment, though, I'd say that I'm mostly okay with it."
"Mostly?" Hermione asked, a bit of worry edging her voice.
Jasmine raked a hand through her hair, a sure sign of her nervousness. "You've got to understand, Hermione, that I've spent most of my life being manipulated and having all of my choices made for me by others. I've only rarely been given a voice in anything that's happened to me. Being with you is one of the few serious choices I've made for myself. While I know that we can technically choose not to be with each other, the bond would make such a choice really costly. I guess... I mean, even if I never wanted to choose not to be with you..." Jasmine trailed off, feeling at a loss for words.
"It's the principle of the thing," Hermione offered. "Even if you can't ever imagine making a certain choice, you don't like the idea of having it taken away from you - especially by impersonal forces beyond your control."
"Exactly," Jasmine said with a wan smile. "I can't imagine not being with you, but just on sheer principle I don't like being told that I can't not be with you. That's why I said 'mostly' - I'm not okay with being denied a choice, regardless of whether I'd ever take it or not."
Hermione nodded and smiled back. "I don't feel quite so resistant to the idea of that choice being denied me, or even just made a lot more difficult. That's probably because I've had an easier time in making choices for myself than you. I understand what you're saying, though, and it doesn't bother me."
"Thanks," Jasmine said with relief, "I was worried you might take it wrong. It sounded a lot more reasonable in my head than when I said it."
"As I've thought about it, I can understand better now why couples like us aren't allowed to know about the bond," Hermione observed. "Looking back, I can feel confident that even though the bond was encouraging us along the path, it was still our own choices that brought us to this point. If we had known about the bond, though, I'm not sure I'd feel quite so confident. I'd probably always have doubts, and doubts like that can poison a relationship in the long run."
Jasmine nodded. "Yeah, definitely. This relationship only works if we choose to make it work, not if we're compelled to. I mean, take marriage, for example - marriage wouldn't have nearly as much value if you were forced into it and simply had to make the best of the situation because you couldn't get out of it. I can accept magic… or I guess, Magic, encouraging and helping, but not forcing."
"In many ways, learning about our having a bond is a relief. It explains so much of what's been happening to us..." Hermione started to say.
"Our increases in power," Jasmine continued, "our ability to use each other's wands..."
As they talked, they came to the realization that while they might not yet fully understand what a soul bond was, they definitely knew that it wasn't yet complete, and that completion required "going all the way" - something that they were still uncertain about when it came to two witches.
"Well," Hermione said, "I guess I can see two options. First, we could do one new thing at a time, one night after another, until this bond is fully formed. Then we'll know."
Jasmine nodded, thinking that that sounded like Hermione's typical, methodical approach. "And the second?"
"We pick a night and do... everything," Hermione answered. "Or at least everything we can think of. As long as we don't miss or forget anything, we'll get it right sooner or later."
"That gets my vote," Jasmine said immediately.
The corner of Hermione's mouth twitched. "Aside from the obvious, why do you say that?"
"Well… it's like our decision about going to Beltane, isn't it?" Jasmine explained. "You argued then that we shouldn't go into Beltane unless we were certain that we wanted something to happen between us. That we shouldn't let something like that be a random event - that we should embrace it, otherwise we might regret it. Now, while I'm sure we'll never regret completing the bond, I still think it's better that when it happens, it happens because we've made the conscious decision to do it at a particular time - not because we just happened to hit on the right combination of body parts."
Hermione blushed slightly at Jasmine's choice of words, but after a moment agreed. "You're right. I won't deny that I'm really curious about which, uh, combination is the key, but that's still the best approach. And maybe when it happens, we'll know quickly enough that I'll still get that answer."
"Any idea of when we should do it?" Jasmine asked, but Hermione shook her head.
"I really don't know when would be best, I just know that I'm not quite ready yet."
"Ready for that, at least," Jasmine agreed. "But in the meantime…."
They smiled at each other for a long moment... that went a bit longer... and soon any further hope of conversation was laid to rest while Fleur's bed was finally put to use.
Which was exactly what Fleur had been expecting from the start. She was French, after all.
While Jasmine and Hermione were talking upstairs, Hermione's parents stayed in the kitchen after breakfast chatting with Tonks. Her metamorphmagus skills fascinated them, and her personality was far livelier than the adults they'd met so far. She was also much more willing to share information about the magical world - warts and all - than most of the others were.
"I hope we didn't cause any serious problems by revealing the return of You-Know-Who," she said at one point. "Back when Dumbledore, Lupin, and I visited you three."
"Oh, that," Lindsey responded. "It did lead to some rather difficult conversations, but they were discussions that we really needed to have. Hermione was keeping quite a few things from us."
"I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of muggleborn do," Tonks observed. "And that's not taking into account the fact that she's a teenager, and it's pretty much a rule that teens have to keep all sorts of stuff from their parents. Hell, there are lots of things my mum and dad still don't know about what I got up to when I was Hermione's age."
Lindsey put his head in his hands as Emma said dryly, "Not helping, Tonks." Tonks just grinned mischievously while morphing her eyes to make them much larger than normal, her expression radiating cute innocence.
Lindsey shook his head and continued, "I can understand keeping some things to herself, like her mysterious boyfriend, but not the dangerous things she got into."
"Mysterious boyfriend, huh?" Tonks asked with obvious relish. "Do tell!"
"I would, but she won't even tell us his name," Lindsey complained. "She insists that she hasn't broken up with him, but she won't share anything about him."
Emma sighed as she took a sip of her tea. "I was actually concerned for a bit there that she might have been sexually assaulted."
"What?!" Lindsey blurted, understandably upset.
"Don't worry," she replied quickly, "I got some books and did some research. In the end, I concluded that she wasn't showing the common symptoms of someone who had been the victim of an assault. Early in the summer, though, it seemed like it - being secretive and not telling us anything while also insisting that they hadn't broken up."
"Well, that's a relief." Lindsey relaxed visibly, then almost immediately started getting worked up again. "But it still doesn't make any sense. Why is she so secretive about him? Is he a lot older than her? Is there something wrong with him?"
Emma put her hand on her husband's arm, trying to get him calm again, while Tonks stared off in the distance, her curiosity piqued. "I wonder if I can figure out who he is and what's really going on," she murmured to herself.
Saturday, August 7, 1995, Morning.
On Saturday morning, Jasmine and Hermione didn't even wait until breakfast before seeking out Fleur, knocking on her bedroom door shortly after they knew she'd taken her shower. Once the veela had let them in and spelled her door, she asked impishly, "So, did you two need me, or did you just want to use my room to 'talk' some more?"
Jasmine went a bit pink at that. "No, uh, we just wanted to discuss things - with you, I mean!" she added hastily, blushing even harder. Fleur smiled at her reaction, so Jasmine tried again. "Look, I don't know how comfortable we are with this bond, but I think we're as comfortable as we're going to be for the foreseeable future. Getting used to it will simply take time - time that I'm not sure we have."
"What is ze problem?" Fleur asked, sobering now.
"Yesterday, while we were talking about the soul bond," Hermione said, "Jasmine finally told me everything that the serpent's head on the staff said during the Imbolc ceremony back in January."
"Really?" Fleur asked, trying to restrain her eagerness. She'd been wanting to get that information for months.
Jasmine nodded. "I'm really uncomfortable with being a parselmouth and prefer to forget it most of the time - that's why I avoid talking about it. And besides, the snakes I've heard rarely have anything interesting to say, so it's not like I'm holding much back." Hermione snorted in amusement, but Jasmine soldiered on. "Yesterday, though, I remembered that some of what the snake said makes sense now in light of our bond."
"Other things it said worry us, though," Hermione added.
"Will you tell me what ze snake said to you?" Fleur asked. "I have been very curious."
"Yes, if you tell us the rest of what's going on," Jasmine replied.
"Oui, I intended to do zat anyway," Fleur assured her, "and now seems like a good time. But perhaps we should do zis in ze library?"
Once they were sitting at their table in the family library, Jasmine pulled out two pieces of parchment and handed one to Fleur. "I wrote this down a couple of days after Imbolc because I couldn't stop thinking about it, and it seemed like it might be important. The first thing the snake said was: 'You, there! It's about time you have come. We have awaited the arrival of you and your mate for many an age, and now the hour grows late. Two great fates create heavy burdens for one so young, yet bear them you must. I see great power in you, and great love as well, but there is also much fear and uncertainty.'"
Jasmine gave Fleur a chance to consider that, then she continued, "Next it said to Gabrielle, 'Speak now, fledgling!' and after Gabrielle said whatever it was that she did, the snake said, 'You, Chosen One, must overcome your fears, your doubts, and the burdens of your past before you can face the trials that lay before you. Only then will you be able to finalize the bonds and make possible the resurgence of the feminine in magic. Only then will you have the power to do what must be done to eliminate your enemies. Trust in your mate and heed the words of the goddess, Speaker, for if you fail then we will all burn.'"
Once Fleur had read through the text a few times, she asked, "And zat is it?"
Jasmine nodded, and Hermione chimed in, "Obviously the comment about her 'mate' referred to me, and the comment about finalizing bonds is pretty clear, except for the plural - I mean, what other bonds are there? Then there are parts that have us very worried, like Jasmine having 'heavy burdens' - not to mention this whole 'burning' thing. Can you shed light on any of that?"
Fleur inclined her head. "All of zat sounds consistent with what I know. May I send zis to my maman? She will want to read it." When Jasmine agreed, Fleur continued, "Zere are two parts to what I have to tell you. First is what Gabrielle said zat evening." She then gave them a piece of parchment on which her sister's words were written:
The time of the Great Prophecy approaches.
The maidens have arrived.
Their magic must unite.
Their power must emerge.
Their love must flourish.
The Feminine must ascend.
The Great Prophecy must come to pass.
"Zis was a genuine prophecy, and it refers to ze two of you - two maidens who must unite so ze Great Prophecy can come to pass. A thousand years ago, zere lived a veela prophet by ze name of Cassandra Predire. She was ze greatest prophet ever to appear among ze veela, and ze contents of her prophecies are known to only a few. Zis is to prevent people from tampering with zem - either to hinder zem or to force zem to a particular resolution."
"Is it really that dangerous?" Jasmine asked.
"Oui," Fleur said emphatically. "Whenever someone does zat, zings turn out badly for everyone involved. Because Predire's prophecies are so accurate, ze veela leaders chose to keep zem secret in order to avoid such consequences. Predire's most important prophecy, one which only a few even know ze existence of, is called ze Great Prophecy."
She then handed them another piece of parchment:
The ones with the power to restore the goddesses approach.
Two maidens, alone and isolated, will rise out of Albion
And bind to themselves two shieldmaidens tempered by fire and air.
A Speaker of mixed blood who fights against the Dark,
A Scholar of new blood who lights the Path ahead,
Together bound in heart, mind, magic, and soul,
They bear the key to power others know not.
United, their power and love shall grow.
With power comes strength,
And the oppression shall be ended.
With love comes creation,
And the Eternal Feminine will flourish.
Or all will be lost and the Feminine suppressed forever.
The ones with the power to restore the goddesses approach.
"Zis prophecy is definitely about ze two of you," Fleur explained. "You are ze two maidens, and zis is Albion." At Jasmine's confused look she added, "It is an older name for Britain. So, one of you is a speaker - a parselmouth - while ze other is a scholar. Both of you are soul-bonded, and according to Predire, you have a destiny to restore ze feminine aspect of magic to its rightful place - to put an end to how ze feminine aspect of magic is treated by so many as dark, superstitious, or unworthy."
Jasmine just stared open-mouthed at Fleur for a long moment, then she slumped forward with a groan, putting her head in her hands. Hermione reached over to give Jasmine's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Eventually the green-eyed witch looked up and said, "You have got to be kidding me. Why us? I mean, it isn't like I don't already have enough to do. Why did some veela chick who lived a thousand years ago have to go and mess up our lives like this? Why do we have to be responsible for... what was it again? Oh, yeah: we save magic or everyone burns. No pressure or anything!"
Both Hermione and Fleur scooted around and wrapped Jasmine in a hug from either side to give her a little comfort - though in truth, her words probably did more to depress them than their hug managed to console her. Hermione had been so focused on the details that the magnitude of the task was only just now dawning on her. Caught up in her own training and preparations, Fleur herself hadn't really thought about the larger issues since shortly after she had learned about the prophecy.
They sat there for quite some time before any of them were ready to speak again. Unsurprisingly, it was Hermione who took the lead, hoping that by breaking the prophecy down into more manageable pieces, they could better understand what was being asked of them.
"A lot of this is obvious, especially when all three items are put together - the two prophecies and the statements from the snake," she said. "The bonding is clear, which also explains all the instances of the two of us uniting - magic, love, etc." Fleur nodded, having already given all of this a lot of thought.
"What I don't understand," Hermione continued, "is what is meant about 'the feminine aspect' ascending or the 'resurgence of the feminine in magic.' Is that the same as restoring the goddesses? And this goddess that the snake said to heed - is she getting restored, too? Or is that a different goddess altogether?" She grimaced in annoyance. "This really could be clearer, you know…."
"And what about overcoming my fears, doubts, and burdens?" Jasmine piped up.
Hermione gave her a sympathetic look. "I hate to say it, but that part isn't too hard to understand - the question is how to do it."
"Maybe zat is something you will do with ze portrait your godfather told you about?" Fleur suggested.
Hermione's eyes brightened. "That's a great idea! We were going to do it anyway, but maybe that will help in more ways than we realized." Jasmine nodded in agreement, though she didn't look nearly as thrilled by the prospect.
"But what about the rest?" Hermione pressed. "And what's this about Jasmine having two great fates?"
"Zat is more complicated, I zink," Fleur said slowly. "I do not know what ze snake meant by two fates. If it simply mentioned 'fate' in ze singular, I would assume it was referring to ze prophecy, but..."
"You don't suppose there is a second prophecy, do you?" Hermione interrupted.
Fleur's brow furrowed. "Not zat I know of, but I will write and ask my maman to do a search among ze veela prophecy records."
After jotting down a few notes, Fleur continued, "Ze references to ze goddesses and to ze feminine aspect of magic are all probably the same. Ze goddesses... well, whether zey exist as independent beings or are simply different aspects of one goddess, zey are ze feminine in magic. Veela do not honor any gods or a masculine aspect of magic, but witches and wizards once did so together. So we recognize zey exist, but zey have no role in our magic like zey should in ze magic of most witches and wizards."
Hermione frowned, clearly unhappy about so many unknown variables. "Relax, Hermione," Fleur said with a smile. "Ze details may be interesting in some ways, but zey are not so important here. What is important is zat for centuries, wizards have slowly marginalized ze feminine aspect of magic, including honoring the goddesses. Ze disappearance of ze rituals is only ze most obvious example. It's gotten to ze point where ze feminine aspect of magic has become not merely inferior or neglected, but is increasingly labeled as dark. It is a trend all over ze world, zough to different degrees in different places. If it continues, ze feminine aspect of magic could be lost entirely. Zat would cause incalculable harm to ze practice of magic as we know it."
Hermione considered that. "So the scales have tipped too far in one direction... and if they keep tipping, the scales will fall over completely. Our job is to start shifting the scales back in the other direction - to make, well, make it safer for more feminine forms of magic to be practiced? Female-only rituals? To make them more popular? Or maybe to encourage rituals with both wizards and witches?"
Fleur shook her head. "None can say in advance exactly what must be done to fulfill ze prophecy, and we shouldn't presume to force ze prophecy in any one direction. Any of zose zings might fulfill it, but maybe none would be ze best outcome."
"That doesn't really make much sense," Jasmine objected.
Fleur snorted. "Prophecies often don't make much sense, or at least not until after zey have been fulfilled. I will admit zat I personally zink all of zose zings would at least help fulfill ze prophecy, but I do not know for sure. Do not forget also zat while the goddesses must be restored, ze prophecy says nothing about suppressing ze gods or overthrowing them. We three are naturally focused on ze feminine side of magic, but zere are still wizards in ze world, and it may be zat zey have a part to play as well. You must be open to all possibilities."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Hermione asked plaintively.
"My best advice is zat we focus on learning, understanding, and celebrating ze feminine aspect of magic," Fleur said. "When ze opportunity to do more presents itself, you take it - like you did with your friends at Midsummer's Eve. Do not force it. Instead, be mindful of ze prophecy and how zings zat happen to you might enable you to follow it. If you simply assumed zat you must be doing certain zings, like making certain rituals more popular, zen you might become so focused on zem zat you miss something even more important."
Hermione pouted, clearly not liking the absence of an unambiguous answer, but she finally nodded. "I guess we can do that. I'd prefer a more clearly defined plan, but I've seen worse." This last was said with a pointed look at her girlfriend.
"What about you, Jasmine?" Fleur asked. "Did you have any other questions?"
"Yes," she replied, "What is meant here by shieldmaidens?"
Fleur smiled, "What two people do you know who have been tempered by fire and air?"
The girls' eyes went wide as realization sunk in. "But… no…" Jasmine stammered. "We haven't bound…."
"Oui, you have," Fleur responded. "After ze second task you kissed, activating ze soul bond, causing Gabrielle and me to be caught up in it."
"Oh, was it when we were in the castle after the fight with Malfoy?" Hermione suddenly said. "I felt something weird when Jasmine and I kissed…."
"Yeah," Jasmine added, "I think I remember feeling something then, too."
Fleur shook her head. "Ze bond between us was probably stabilized zen, but I am talking about when you kissed immediately after ze task. Gabrielle and I felt changes shortly after zat."
"Oh, right," Hermione said, "I remember now. Jasmine was starting to get angry and I kissed her, but I pulled the blanket over us so we wouldn't be seen. Gabrielle was there, but she was dozing off in Jasmine's arms and wouldn't have noticed anything."
Fleur nodded. "Fortunately, everyone was yelling at Dumbledore at ze time, so no one was paying any attention to you. Somehow, your kiss created a bond among all four of us - not a soul bond, obviously, but a bond nonetheless. Gabrielle and I feel very protective of you, and we both fell ill when you two were attacked because we could not be zere to help. I think zis is also why we all feel so much closer and more comfortable with each other."
"I'm… I'm so sorry, Fleur," Jasmine said softly. "I'm sorry you've gotten mixed up in this."
"Non, don't apologize," Fleur insisted. "I will admit zat it was difficult to take in at first, but Gabrielle and I have come to accept it. We will play a significant role in something very, very important to all veela, so we are actually honored. We are your protectors, your shields, and your swords. You have a great destiny, and we will make sure you are able to fulfill it."
"Is this prophecy why you disappeared for so long after the second task?" Hermione asked.
Fleur nodded. "Zat was when I finally learned all of zis - before, I only knew small bits and pieces. After zat, our maman, Adrienne, Areto, and Phoebe trained ze two of us very intensively. I will be using some of what I learned in ze Defense classes I teach, but I zink Gabrielle and I will teach you more in private. She and I may not always be zere to protect you, after all."
Jasmine and Hermione looked at each other for a moment, then as one they surged forward and pulled Fleur into a tight three-way hug. It was a very long, very loving hug that they desperately needed.
Sunday, August 8, 1995, Morning.
After having spent a lot of time talking about their upcoming move to France, Emma and Lindsey decided that they really needed to ask Fleur some more questions. They had wanted to talk to her on Saturday but were unable to find any of the girls until dinner time, and by then none of them looked like they were in the mood to talk about anything. Emma and Lindsey assumed that it was due to the stress of preparing the the trial, so they made a point of trying to catch them after breakfast before they could disappear again.
That plan hit a stumbling block in the form of a tapping at the kitchen window.
"Hedwig!" Jasmine cried out happily, racing over and opening the window to let her familiar in. "I missed you so much!" she said as she let the owl land on her arm, then proceeded to stroke her feathers.
Eventually she removed the two letters that Hedwig had brought from Neville: one for Ginny and a second for Jasmine and Hermione. The letters they tucked away for later, and Hedwig was let back out the window so she could fly up and rest in the portion of the attic set aside for owls.
After finally getting a chance to talk about France for a little while, Lindsey decided to ask something that he hadn't discussed earlier with Emma.
"Fleur, if we make this move, would Hermione be able to transfer to Beauxbatons like your sister is transferring to Hogwarts?" Dealing with their current practice was a huge complication, but leaving behind their daughter was an even bigger one - and given how many problems there were in both Hogwarts and Britain, he felt that moving her out of the country as well made a lot of sense.
It would have made even more sense to have mentioned this to his wife first.
He couldn't miss the gasps of shock that came from Hermione and Jasmine, but what he focused on was the unexpected frown from Fleur herself. "Why would you want to do zat?" she responded. "You need to move for your safety, but Hermione should be safe in ze castle, and I will promise to watch out for her. She would have trouble getting up to speed with classes and magic in French, and for what?"
Lindsey frowned himself, thinking that it was obvious why his daughter would be better off being closer to her parents rather than going to school in a country where there was an insane magical terrorist running around. He ignored his daughter's cry of "Dad, no!" and was about to rebut Fleur's comments when Emma put her hand on his arm and squeezed. Hard.
"That's alright, it was just an option we wanted to keep open," Emma said. "After all, if things start getting even worse here in Britain, we'd like our daughter to have someplace to go. It would make us all feel much better." She turned to him and added, "Isn't that right, dear?" with a look that promised dire consequences if he didn't agree.
"Oh, uh, yeah," he quickly replied, not having any idea what was happening.
"Ah, in zat case, a transfer is possible," Fleur responded. "She will need to improve her French, but ze classes in Beauxbatons are similar to what she has in Hogwarts."
Emma smiled. "Thanks, Fleur, what you've told us will help a lot with our transition." Patting Lindsey's arm now, she added, "C'mon, dear - we should leave the girls in peace to read their letter."
Once back in the bedroom, Lindsey asked angrily, "What the hell was that, Emma? I thought it was obvious that Hermione would be better off in France with us."
"Language!" Emma said reflexively, then sighed deeply as she sat on the bed. "The reason I stopped you was because you were about to create a huge problem. There's something you don't know. Something... very important." It was then that Emma finally told her husband about what she had seen a couple of days previously in their kitchen - the kiss, the magical glow, and the unmistakable passion that existed between the two girls.
Lindsey didn't know how to react any more than she did - and she'd already had a few days to try to come to terms with it. "Is it... well... I mean..." Lindsey said. "Are you sure about what you saw? I mean, maybe it was just an especially close hug?"
"No, dear," Emma responded. "I'm quite sure. There was no misunderstanding a kiss like that. If you had given me a kiss like that, I'd have dragged you off to the bedroom and had my wicked way with you." Lindsey gulped audibly at that, and Emma went a little pale when she realized the implications of what she'd said.
"Do you suppose they've, uh, you know...?" Lindsey asked.
Emma shook her head. "I don't have any idea, and quite frankly I don't want to. I really don't want to know the details of my daughter's sex life no matter who else is involved. Do you?"
"Uh, no, good point," Lindsey said nervously as he fidgeted, then started pacing back and forth. "I guess it explains an awful lot, though."
Emma nodded. "That was just about my first reaction, too. So many things not only make sense now, but actually seem really obvious in hindsight. I almost feel like I should have figured it out on my own."
"Maybe you shouldn't have mentioned in that letter that you were married to your best friend," he said a little wistfully.
Emma froze as she suddenly remembered that other letter Hermione wrote - the one about a female friend who had trouble with touching herself and being touched in certain places, and thinking at the time that she was probably talking about Jasmine. Suddenly, that request for help took on whole new dimensions of meaning.
Emma was now very happy that she had never mentioned that letter to Lindsey.
"What do we do now, though?" her husband asked, feeling completely out of his depth. "I... I don't know how to react to a daughter who's, uh, you know. Like that."
"Yeah, I know. It makes me uncomfortable, too," Emma agreed. "It just doesn't seem right."
"Do you suppose someone did something to her?" Lindsey asked. "You know, magically? To make her like this?"
Emma frowned. "That doesn't seem very likely. I haven't seen anyone else here with that... preference. I don't see what the point would be."
"Well, that girl would have a reason to do it," Lindsey protested. "Maybe she did it to seduce our daughter or something?"
Emma's frown deepened. "Don't forget that 'that girl,' as you put it, saved all of our lives - and got injured while doing it, too. I hardly think she's the type to force herself on someone else, magically or otherwise."
"Yeah, I know," Lindsey conceded, his shoulders slumping a bit.
"What's more," she continued, "given the self-esteem issues that emotionally abused children can have, and knowing our daughter's personality, I think it's far more likely that Hermione has been the aggressive one in the… uh… actually, forget I said anything, okay?"
Lindsey nodded, only too happy to oblige. "It's just... I don't understand where this came from. I mean, why? Why girls? Did we do something wrong? Well, aside from what we've already talked about, of course. You don't suppose that had something to do with it? Is it my fault, not being around enough to provide a good male role model?"
Emma shook her head. "I don't think it works like that. Lots of girls grow up with fathers who aren't around much - or at all, for that matter - and they don't all... well, prefer other girls to boys."
"I suppose," Lindsey said grudgingly. "I just wish I understood what the appeal of other girls is."
Emma raised one eloquent eyebrow. "Really? You can't figure out the appeal of girls? Is there something you want to tell me, dear?"
Lindsey cleared his throat and stammered out, "No, I mean for her. It makes sense for me, but, well…."
"Right now, it doesn't really matter," Emma said as she slid back on the bed to lean against the headboard. "But I don't think we should say anything. This is something that she needs to tell us herself. I know we recently had a big argument with her about her keeping secrets from us, but this... well, this is different, I think. It's something a lot more personal, and while I wish she would open up and tell us, I can't say I'm shocked that she hasn't. I think we'll need to build some more trust between us first."
"You don't think we should take her out of Britain because of that?" he asked as he shifted on the bed. "I mean, to put an end to the situation?"
Emma sighed as she rubbed her eyes. "I thought about that… for about five seconds. Given the way she flipped out at being separated from Jasmine for what she knew would be a limited period of time, how do you think she'd react if she were separated from her indefinitely? Do you really think she'd simply accept it and move on? We're trying to bridge the distance between her and us, remember, and forcibly separating the two of them would put an end to that - probably irrevocably, too."
Lindsey nodded reluctantly in agreement as he moved to sit next to her against the headboard. "I guess you're right. We risk losing her completely if we try to break them up, even if we don't say that's what we're doing. We'd face something similar if she were dating a boy we didn't like and we tried to interfere."
"And we don't even know for sure if separating them and putting an end to that sort of relationship is the right thing to do," Emma pointed out. "Risking losing our daughter completely in order to end something that we think might be wrong and which makes us uncomfortable… I just can't accept that. I'm not sure I'd be willing to accept it even if we were certain that their relationship was wrong. Looking back on the experience of being distant from her for several years, and probably due in large part to our own mistakes, I really don't want to make another mistake that pushes her away completely."
Lindsey put his arm around his wife and the two of them sat in silence, wondering what had happened to their little girl.
Sunday, August 8, 1995, Evening.
Susan Bones dropped into her bed, exhausted. She wasn't even sure that she'd be able to get up for dinner later, she was so tired. She had only thought she had been tired when she came home in the evenings after working all day with Hannah in the Ministry archives. Ever since Mad-Eye Moody had started coming by to train her and Hannah, the two witches had been run ragged with exercise and drills.
Originally she imagined that maybe she'd learn some cool new spells or interesting tactics. She really should have known better.
Instead, Moody put her and Hannah on a rigorous exercise regimen, followed up by drills that focused on dodging and spellcasting accuracy. When they told him about how Jasmine and Hermione had already started them on accuracy, instructing them about the importance of repetition so they could cast without thinking and hit a target every time, she thought the old auror's face would break in half, his grin was so wide. He was even heard muttering something about knowing those two were good witches. The smile was gone as quickly as it came, though; then he redoubled his demands.
Her last thought before drifting off to sleep was to consider whether she should tell Jasmine and Hermione that Moody had a huge crush on them. When her aunt found her in bed a short time later, she wondered what her niece was dreaming about that would cause her to have such a big smile on her face.
A/N: I suspect that some readers may be disappointed in the reactions of the Grangers, but you should keep firmly in mind that the date here is 1995, not 2016. The Grangers are, if anything, quite liberal and tolerant for that era. It was only in 1992 that the first Europride festival was held (in London, actually) - the same year that the Isle of Man ended its criminalization of homosexuality (and even then, not entirely, as Pixel and Stephanie Forever has pointed out). It won't be until 1997 that the first lesbian MP comes out publicly. Section 28 of the Local Government Act still banned local authorities from "promoting" homosexuality and schools from presenting homosexuality as an acceptable "pretended family relationship."
The Grangers aren't finding it easy to adjust, but give them a little time. Maybe they'll surprise you.