And here comes the third interlude of The Bloody Ashikabi! Some might think it's a long chapter for almost nothing, but I wanted to write a chapter about how Harry does things at this point in time, and I figured that this was as good as anything else a subject. Besides, Hermione will have a role to play in the story, even if I haven't quite decided what it will be yet.

Anyway, here it is, and I hope it'll be good enough to have you interested in the next chapter that should be out in around three weeks (sorry, but I'm busy at the moment, and I'm trying to write longer chapters to compensate).

I don't own Harry Potter or Sekirei.

Just this plot and my original characters.

18

Meeting Hermione

It was a rather cold day, as the grey sky seemed to be happy raining, as it had been since earlier that week, not that it mattered much. In the Granger household, the mood was somber, as it had been since the first of November, since the day Minerva McGonnagal had come to deliver the news to Dan and Emma Granger: their daughter would never be able to walk again. Oh, they had been angry, livid even, they had been assured that Hogwarts, the school where they had sent their daughter to allow her to learn more about her special gift, would be perfectly safe. Yet here they were told that a troll of all things had somehow found their daughter in the castle, and had hit her with its' club. And all that, without the teachers doing anything! Dan had almost shot the remorseful Dumbledore, but had instead opted to kick him out of their house. They didn't care that their daughter was "allowed" to remember about magic despite no longer being able to attend a magical school, she shouldn't have been crippled in the first place! They could only watch as their usually enthusiastic daughter refused to leave the house, and barely touched her food. Both of them felt red hot anger at the thought that the esteemed headmaster had endangered their daughter, and even if he seemed remorseful, that simply wasn't enough.

They were drawn from their gloomy thoughts by the bell ringing, and Dan slowly made his way towards the door, opening it and staring at the people in front of him. He had thought he had seen weird things when his daughter had been younger, but it had merely been magic, however the people in front of him were definitively among the strangest he had ever met, and he had met Dumbledore.

Standing in front of him was a teenager, he would guess around thirteen or so, with long, grey and lavender hair, clad in black, with a sword at his side. His eyes were of the deepest green he had ever seen, and were staring at him coldly, as if weighing his worth. His face was rather androgynous, thing and aristocratic, and he briefly wondered how many crushes this teen had caused.

Then he glanced at the boy's companions, and his eyes widened upon seeing the three gorgeous ladies behind the teen.

The first, quite frankly, scared him a little, not an easy feat considering he had served his country for a while before becoming a dentist, his instincts were screaming at him to stay clear of that woman at all costs. Long ashen hair fell on her back, as one of her hands rested on the hilt of a still sheathed sword, while her eyes glared at him as one would a particularly disgusting insect. While beautiful, it was a savage beauty, the one of a predator, and he had no doubt that this woman had killed before.

The second was also grey-headed, though her hair was shorter that her companion. She was wearing a black coat over a white shirt, black pants, and seemed rather nervous. While not beautiful in the same way than the sword bearing woman, she held another sort of beauty, softer, gentler, perhaps a bit tomboyish even.

The final woman was the one who was, in his opinion at least, the strangest. She was wearing a white oriental-style dress, held by a black belt made of cloth instead of leather. It was cut in a way that allowed most of her very large cleavage to be seen, and seemed to be held by chains wrapped around her neck. Her face was neutral, though he was intrigued by the strange sigil marked on her forehead.

"Dr. Granger?" asked the teen. "Father of one, Hermione Granger?"

"Himself, who asks?" Dan cautiously asked. He had an inkling that these people were part of that world, and he didn't know how to feel about it. On one hand, his daughter belonged to that world, but at the same time he didn't have the best experiences with it, what with it almost costing him his daughter's life.

"My name is not important, for the moment at least. I would like to speak to your family, if you don't mind. It's about your daughter's condition."

The dentist felt himself grow angry at that. His daughter's condition, as this teen called it, had been caused by the magical world's own incompetence, and he had to refrain from throttling the boy for having so little tact.

"I don't know who you are, but I'm not letting you see my daughter until you've told me who you are, and what you want with her!" he growled, showing the teen his fist.

The next thing he knew, there were two blades on his neck, and much to his shock, the woman with chains in her clothing seemed to have icicles hovering behind her. Very sharp icicles.

"Threaten Harry-chan again, and I'll make you eat your intestines, worm." came the cheery warning from swordswoman. "Now, why don't we go inside, and have a nice chat?"

It may have sounded like a request, however the cold steel he felt on his neck made it clear that it was anything but. Now, Dan may no longer have been in the military, but he still kept himself in shape, and occasionally spared with some old friends. However, for some odd reason, he felt it was a very bad idea to try anything with these people. While from what little he had learn of the magical world, wizards were completely inept when it came to anything physical, it was clear that these people, whoever they were, were quite competent when it came to handling a fight, and he was in no hurry to try their patience.

With an irritated growl, he stood aside, letting the four visitors in, not that it prevented him from glaring at them, not that any of them, save for the one with short grey hair, seemed to mind.

"Darling, who was...Oh, who are these people?" asked Emma, walking out of the kitchen and coming face to face with the odd group.

"Mrs. Granger? I will introduce myself once everyone is here. For the moment, could you get your daughter? What I am here for today concerns her the most." was the pleasant answer from the teen.

"No, certainly not, young man." scowled Emma, who had crossed her arms. "Hermione has had a lot to deal with recently, and I will not disturb her until I know why you are here."

At her words, both the teen and the swordswoman's hands shot towards their swords, only to be stopped when the more masculine woman stepped forwards, her face showing nothing but concern.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger, please. We might be able to help your daughter."

"Help her?! Stop lying! Don't you think we haven't asked around? The damage to her spine is too extensive to be healed, even with magic!" growled Dan. "Now, stop lying and tell us why you're here, before I call the police!"

The teen simply chuckled, as if the idea of the policemen being able to stop them was laughable at best.

"If you think that threatening me will solve things, then you are quite mistaken. In fact, it will only make me more likely to threaten you to get what I want. Now, could you please get your daughter before I grow tired of waiting and ask Karasuba to get her? Because I'm quite sure that she won't be anywhere near as gentle as you would be."

At that, the swordswoman grinned, her hand gripping the hilt of her sword, and the Grangers finally understood that whoever these people were, it was in their best interest to comply with their wishes, at least for the moment. While at least one of these people seemed uncomfortable, the three others seemed perfectly fine threatening them, and they'd rather not have a fight inside their house, especially when the people involved might be able to cause far more destruction than what they thought reasonable.

Swallowing, Emma complied.

"I will get her." she said, looking at her husband who powerlessly nodded. There wasn't much they could do at the moment, while she knew Dan could handle himself in a fight, things changed when magic was involved. She had almost lost her daughter, and she certainly didn't want to lose her husband.

She was surprised when the woman with the shortest grey hair joined her, but didn't comment, as she didn't know what might set these people off. Motioning for the woman to follow her, she walked up the stairs, feeling tense at the idea of someone whom she knew nothing of, safe for the fact that she was with someone who had threatened both her husband, her daughter and herself.

As they stepped on the first floor, the woman suddenly grabbed her arm and put an arm on her mouth to stop her from screaming.

"Shhhh!" she hissed, "Don't scream! I want to have a few words with you before we get your daughter. If you understand and won't scream, nod twice."

Emma nodded twice, and took in large breaths as the hand was lifted from her mouth.

"Sorry." whispered the woman, looking contrite, "I figured the best way to explain things to you without Harry hearing would be now. I apologize if I scared you."

"You certainly did!" hissed Emma, glaring at the woman.

"Sorry again. Anyway, we don't have much time so I'll be blunt. Harry wants to help your daughter, and if anyone on this planet can help her, it's him. However, I know him well enough to know he doesn't do charity."

"Then what does he wants? Money? We have a bit saved, but not that much." whispered Hermione's mother, looking a bit distraught. Here was a chance for her daughter to recover the use of her legs, but now they might not be able to pay enough.

"Don't worry, Harry won't ask for money, he's probably rich enough to buy the entire town if he wanted. Anyway, I'm not sure of what he'll ask, but my bet would be that he wants Hermione to return to Hogwarts once she's healed."

The woman hastily put her hand on Emma's mouth as she opened it to scream indignantly, and continued:

"Listen before refusing!" she hissed."I'm aware that you probably don't want your daughter anywhere near that place after what happened there, but it's the only way for her to walk again."

"And what good would it be to have a daughter who can walk again if she ends up dead because of the headmaster's mistakes?!" hissed Emma, pushing the hand muffling her away. "That man not only allowed a troll to enter the school and harm our daughter, but if what Hermione has told me was right, he allows bullying in the school, and some of the teachers aren't fit to teach at all!"

She was confused when the woman gave her a wan smile. She seemed very sad, Emma noted.

"Harry would probably share your opinion. He was also a victim of the man's actions, though how exactly isn't my place to tell. Anyway, I can assure you that he'd never ask your daughter to go back without giving her a means to escape any threat that may arise."

However, as the woman was about to say more, a raspy voice from behind the two of them, causing them to jump in fright.

"Mom? Who's that?" asked the eleven-years old Hermione Granger, leaning on her crutches as she stared at the two of them.

Emma felt a familiar sadness seep in her heart at the sight of her daughter. Hermione had once been a very energetic girl, always eager to learn more, and who despite her social isolation had been rather happy. Now she was staring at the pair with pain-filled eyes, her bushy hair having lost its' shine, and dark bags under her eyes. Ever since her return from Hogwarts, it had been frequent for her to wake up screaming, not that her parents couldn't understand why, being attacked by a troll had been a grave trauma for her.

Quite a few distressing things had been discussed when Hermione had come back, and most of them had made her parents very angry with most of the school's teachers and students. To hear that during the two months she had been away she had been insulted, belittled, sometimes cursed in the back, and that none of the teachers had done anything, hadn't been pleasant. At least there had been the one Hermione had called Professor Potter, from what they had heard the woman had tried to help Hermione integrate once she noticed how alone she was, unfortunately it had been only two weeks before she had been attacked by the troll, and as such had borne little results.

There was also the fact that from Hermione had told them, one teacher in particular was unbelievably nasty to his students, biased towards his own house, and overall completely unsuited to be anywhere near impressionable children. Instead of encouraging his students, he downright terrorized them, and even insulted them. And when they had told the McGonnagal woman of their findings, they had been shocked to learn that the man had gotten away with such behavior for more than a decade, as he was apparently protected by Dumbledore.

Damn that old man!

-Break-

Homura stared at the girl with a wince. It was clear that she wasn't doing well, not that she couldn't understand. From what Karasuba had admitted (after almost an entire month of prodding by Rin), Harry had had regular nightmares for an entire year after the Dursleys' deaths, and from what Takami had said, it had been a fast recovery. Still, the girl looked horrible, and was far from reflecting what Harry had told them about Hermione Granger, having learnt it based on some of her teachers' comments (relayed through Flitwick to the Goblins who in turn told Harry).

Seeing that the girl was still staring at her, she shook herself and walked towards the girl.

"My name is Homura, it's a pleasure to meet you Hermione."

"Thank you Miss Homura, but how do you know my name? Do you know my parents?" asked the young witch, after shaking the Fire Sekirei's hand.

"Actually, I believe you'd better come down, Harry wants to talk to you, as well as your parents."

"Oh..."came the slightly scared voice of the witch, causing Homura to seethe inside. Nobody so young should react like that!

Hopefully Harry's offer would help her get over what happened.

-Break-

Hermione stared at the odd people who had, apparently, forced her parents to let them in, though apparently there had been no violence, only threats. She idly noted that of the four, three were women, very good looking women, and the last one was a teenager, perhaps three years older than her or so. Almost all of them had odd hair colors, what with two of the women having perfectly uniform grey hair despite being in their twenties at most, while the boy had grey hair with streaks of lavender in them, how that kind of color could be natural stumped her, yet it didn't look artificial. Then again, she mused, perhaps it's a cosmetic charm or something like that.

After her accident, and despite her less than satisfactory amount of sleep, she had taken her obsession with studies to a new level, in this case the study of magic. She still had nightmares of that night, of the tall, looming form of the troll as it stared stupidly at her. She had been completely helpless, only able to run to avoid the club swung her way, when she had realized, after having gotten home, that she could have simply levitated the troll's club over its' head and let it knock it out. She had loathed the feeling of helplessness she had felt that night, and she had sworn to herself that she would never be so helpless again. However, she was still afraid of her own shadow, and she hated it, feeling ashamed of her cowardly behavior. Even earlier, when Miss Homura had spoken, she had felt the icy feeling of fear settle in her stomach, her heart clench and her heartbeat increase. She knew it was only natural, after all reading as much as she did she had learnt quite a lot about human behavior, but she still hated it nonetheless. She wanted power, to be acknowledged for who she was, not judged because of her parentage like the idiotic students at Hogwarts had done.

She had also learnt, the hard way, that not all authority figures were perfect. Dumbledore and McGonnagal may have thought she was asleep when they had argued, but she hadn't been. At first she had thought about speaking up, if only to make them know she was awake, however in the end she hadn't dared interrupt them. And in a way, she was glad she did. She would never forget how betrayed she had felt when she had learnt that the very reason she was now crippled, what had "caused" the troll to enter the castle, was a plot hatched by the aged Headmaster to catch some Dark Wizard, she hadn't heard who. However what had marked her had been the fact that it was painfully clear that this plot had never accounted for the students' safety, she was, after all, the prime example of that. She had been devastated to realize that the man she had idolized was in fact far from the perfect, infallible hero she had thought, and was in fact a man who made mistakes, and grave ones. Even she, and she was eleven, could have told the man that baiting someone who didn't care about the lives of others in a trap by using a school full of children was a bad idea. At least, from what she had seen, Mrs Potter hadn't been aware of said trap, if the angry screeches the whole castle had heard, or the fact that Dumbledore hadn't eaten in the Great Hall for several days afterwards had been any indication.

"Hey, brat, Harry-chan's talking to you." came a voice in front of her, startling her and shaking her from her thoughts.

It was the scariest of the three women who had spoken, the one with the long grey hair. She simply couldn't shake the fact that this woman was scary, in a different way that Snape had been. While the man was definitively scary, it was mostly because he was intimidating and prone to anger. This woman though, there was something about her that simply screamed predator, something that made her instinctively shy away from her. The way she looked at her family was the same way one would look at disgusting bugs, and it quite scared her, since this woman was clearly dangerous. If she was a Pureblood, then odds were good that she loathed what Hermione represented, or had represented.

"Y-Yes?" she squeaked, her voice shaky, before she saw the teen sigh and hit the woman on the head.

"Karasuba, would you mind not scaring her yet? She won't listen to anything we say if she's too busy trying to avoid angering you."

Hermione gulped nervously at the teen's actions. Couldn't he see that the woman could kill him? OhmyGodIdontwantodiePleaseIdontwanttodie! she thought as she saw the glare the woman was giving the teen.

"Oh, come on, Harry-chan!" she whined, catching Hermione, and her parents apparently, by surprise. "I don't see why you're so interested in her anyway! She's just a fucking human cripple!"

"Excuse me?!" shouted her father, looking outraged, her mother looking equally offended.

She felt grateful to have parents willing to stick up for her, even in those circumstances, but a bitter part of her, one who had only grown since that night, knew it was the truth. She was a cripple. Oh, she knew that some great people were crippled in worse ways than her, Stephen Hawking couldn't even speak without assistance, however at the moment she was still trying to come to terms with her new condition.

She could vaguely hear her parents shouting, however everything stopped when something happened. She didn't know how, she didn't know why, but the second she felt the wave of...whatever was coming from the teen, it was as if the air had thickened and become syrupy, clinging to her skin, while her whole body stilled, her stomach sinking and utter terror gripping her heart.

She hadn't realized that she was hugging her father for all he was worth until the feeling disappeared, allowing her to relax slightly, while she took deep breaths.

What was that?! What happened?!

"Now that everyone has calmed down, perhaps we could start?" drawled the teen, looking at her family, who all (even her) nodded quickly. It was clear that whatever he had done had shaken her parents almost as badly as it had her.

-Break-

Harry massaged his temples, feeling his irritation grow. He should have known that bringing Karasuba with him would cause trouble, after all his first Sekirei didn't care for what other people thought, and did whatever she wanted unless he stopped her. He had also known that she wouldn't like the idea of "recruiting" Hermione Granger.

He could still remember his surprise when he had read the Daily Prophet at the beginning of November, he had found, well-hidden in the newspaper, a short article about a student in Hogwarts having to leave the school because of "family reasons". It was so unusual that he had asked the Goblins if there was anything they could tell him about it. He had not been disappointed.

Apparently, somehow a troll of all things had managed to find its' way into Hogwarts, despite the numerous protections placed around the castle to avoid such an occurrence. It had caused him to reevaluate the British Wizards' intellect, putting it even lower than it had already been, and with good reason. As far as the Goblins had been able to tell, most people had believed the lies in the Prophet and thought that the student sent back home had suffered from an "accident", never mind the fact that Poppy Pomfrey was known to be able to patch up almost any injury within a day or two at most.

It was obvious to him that someone had let the troll in, it was clear as day that something as dumb as a troll couldn't have found its' way past the protections like that, and his bet was currently on the new DADA teacher, Quirinus Quirrel. Not only was he the newest teacher, but if what the Goblins had relayed to him was true, then he was a complete joke, afraid of his own shadow, making him the most likely suspect for letting the troll in. After all, who would suspect a fool, who stuttered so badly you could hardly understand his words?

Anyway, it was not his problem, however after getting a few records of one Hermione Granger, he had gotten an idea. He needed someone to keep an eye on Dumbledore for him, and while the Goblins helped him tremendously thanks to Filius Flitwick working as a teacher at Hogwarts, he simply didn't want to rely on them too much. Besides, he had to admit that the girl had potential, even if she was apparently a complete bookworm. Helping her now could prove very profitable in the future.

After fishing for information, he had learnt where she lived, and why she had been sent home, despite Hogwarts never allowing a student to go home unless in particular circumstances. He was quite sure that Dumbledore had used whatever pull he had left after losing two of his political positions to make sure that Hermione hadn't had her memories erased and her magic sealed. Not that he would have put it past the Ministry to have done so, after all the girl was the best student of her year despite being born in a non-magical family, something that was bound to have made the Purebloods tick. The attack of the troll and her subsequent crippling would have provided the perfect excuse for having the girl's and her parents' memories of magic erased, though he was satisfied that it hadn't happened. After all now, Hermione, from what little he could read from her, and thanks to some passive Legilimency, was even more driven to prove herself, and had developed a rather satisfying distrust of most authority figures, particularly Dumbledore.

"Well then, since we're all here now, I'll introduce myself. My name is Harry Peverell, and I have a...proposition for you, Miss Granger."

He saw her swallow nervously, and he inwardly rolled his eyes. Sure, he wanted to help her, but if she was such a scaredy cat then he might have to reevaluate his decision. After all, what he had in mind was quite more difficult than having a polite conversation with him, then again she seemed to be absolutely terrified of Karasuba, so perhaps there was hope for her. It wasn't as if being scared of the Black Sekirei was abnormal, if anything it was something than anyone with a working brain would feel.

"Don't worry," he sighed, "Karasuba won't kill or maim you. She just likes to scare the shit out of people." That, and bathing in their blood, he mentally added, though he avoided saying that to the already tense Grangers.

"Right..." said the man, Dan he believed, still looking uncomfortable, "...You said you had a proposition for my daughter?"

He could see both female Grangers perk up at that. Neither of them probably understood just what he could offer them, after all unlike Dumbledore he wasn't limited by silly morals, the Ministry, or the fact that he had no contact with the mundane world. After all, even with all his more esoteric training, he had still managed to keep his studies in more normal subjects going, and as such was at college level. Of course, he didn't have a diploma yet, but with a bit more time, maybe he would get one, if only to avoid being suspicious if he needed to lead MBI. A director who had no school record or any papers to his name would undoubtedly be a juicy target for the media, after all.

"Yes, I did. I believe you might be interested." he grinned. "You see, I have access to resources nobody else can boast of, and I believe I can heal your daughter. While I don't know if she will ever be able to run, I am quite confident that I am able to give her back her ability to use her legs."

There was a moment of silence, before Hermione's father suddenly snarled and tried to grab him, only for him to find himself unable to move, as he had suddenly been frozen solid, though his head was, thankfully, not encased in ice. Killing her father certainly wasn't what would endear the young witch to him.

"You shall not harm Harry-sama." stated Akitsu, her voice carrying a very real threat as her eyes narrowed towards the three humans.

"Thank you, Akitsu." he smiled, causing the Sekirei to gain a slight pink tinge on her cheeks. "Now," he added, waving towards the still frozen man, "would you mind unfreezing him? I'm sure he'll behave. Won't you?" he mockingly asked.

"Y-y-y-y-ye-ee-sss-ss." stuttered Hermione's father, shuddering violently as the ice encasing disappeared, leaving him very pale and shivering, that is until Harry cast a warming charm on him, making him sigh in contentment.

"Warming charm." he explained to Hermione, who had opened her mouth, probably to ask what he had just done. "Something you would have learnt in fourth year. Very useful when it's cold. Now, since we've gotten sidetracked, allow me to repeat myself: I can heal you, Hermione. As I said, I cannot guarantee you'll get back everything, but at least you should be able to walk again."

"You could do that?"

Her voice was barely a whisper, and her hands had tightened into fists in her lap, not that he couldn't understand, after all he had been in a similar situation years ago when he had learnt that Karasuba would raise him. It was so unexpected, so beyond what they both thought they would get, that Hermione had the same reaction than him: disbelief, mixed with hope.

"Yes, I could. However, I will warn you, IF I do give you back your ability to use your legs, there will be a price, I don't do charity."

"Harry..."came the sigh from Homura, who was looking as if she was going to have a headache, "Perhaps you could have been more subtle?"

"What? That won't change the fact that I would ask something of them anyway, so there's no point in sugarcoating it." he shrugged. Truth be told, he could be subtle if he wanted, but considering that the Grangers weren't people he considered valuable, he didn't really care about offending them or not. Besides, even if he offended them, what could they do? He was the one with the cards, he could heal Hermione (well, with some help from Akemi, but he was the only one able to communicate with her at the moment, even if Homura had expressed a lot of interest in the AI), nobody else could, so they could either take his offer or kiss any chance their daughter had to be healed in the foreseeable future goodbye.

"And what would this...price be?" asked the only male Granger, looking as if he had swallowed a lemon. It wasn't as if Harry couldn't understand, after all he basically told the man they could either take his offer or have to see Hermione stay a cripple for the foreseeable future, and perhaps even her entire life. Few people took well to be put in front of such a choice, but he quite frankly didn't care about these people's opinion, save for Hermione's. While her parents had quite literally nothing to offer him, she had much to offer. She was a very intelligent young girl, very driven, and from what little he could glimpse by using passive Legilimency on her, she seemed to love authority figures, reliable ones. As such he firmly intended to appear as such for her, after all she would be a great asset if she remained loyal to him (which he had every intention of ensuring).

"Well, let's say that your daughter's case is sadly not unique. In fact, you could say that I am a victim of Dumbledore's actions too, in a way. I have come to believe that he is slowly going senile, but unfortunately, even after what happened with the Potter Scandal and the accident with your daughter, he is still far too respected for anyone to even think about not listening to him."

For a moment, the two adults seemed a bit puzzled, and Hermione's mother asked:

"The Potter Scandal? What is that?"

Quirking an eyebrow, Harry looked at Hermione. He had expected a girl like her, who loved to read, to have heard about the media coverage concerning his disappearance, and while it seemed a bit conceited from him to think that, he thought that something with as much coverage would have been among what Hermione had told her parents in her letters home.

"The Potter Scandal is the name the media have given to what happened to Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived." explained the young witch, seeing that her parents seemed a bit lost.

"You mean the boy who somehow defeated a Dark Lord when he was still a baby, right? You said he was about as old as you. Now that I think about it, you couldn't wait to meet him, but you never told us anything about it." mused the girl's mother.

"Well, that's because I didn't meet him. Apparently he's been missing for several years, but Dumbledore didn't notice. So now everyone's looking for him, but they say that the odds of finding him are very low, since it's been years since anyone saw him. So Dumbledore has been stripped from his positions as Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump. It has also made a lot of people angry, especially both Professors Potter. They don't like him very much now, and I remember Professor Potter, Harry's mother, screaming at Dumbledore after what happened to me. She said that if she had anything to say about it, Dumbledore would be ousted as Headmaster." she finished, folding her hands in her lap as the end seemed to remind her of what had happened on that night of Halloween.

"You mean the man is responsible of neglect of someone who was supposed to be some kind of wizard superstar? And even after that and what happened on Halloween, he hasn't been fired from his position?! What kind of fools are these people, that they leave someone like that in charge of their children?!" ranted the only male Granger, looking ready to march on Hogwarts to punch Dumbledore.

"That's a good summary, Mr. Granger. Unfortunately, you see, the man defeated the wizard responsible for World War II, and has been hailed as some kind of wizard Christ ever since. Even with blunders like those, it isn't easy for those people to see him as anything but perfect. In fact, I'd hazard that it even endeared him to a portion of the population, since it makes him more human. I wouldn't be surprised that if he did something worthy of attention, good one, like finding who was responsible for setting the troll loose in the castle, everything would be forgotten by most of the people not directly concerned, like the Potters or your own family."

At that, the two older Grangers seemed ready to have an attack, their face looking a mixture between disbelieving and angry.

" You mean to tell me the man basically doesn't even need to respect the law? I mean, in the norm..excuse me, non-magical world, even with his track record he'd be arrested and judged. But you are telling us that instead the wizards would simply pretend that nothing happened?" asked Dan. His tone was clearly disbelieving, not that Harry couldn't understand. After all he too found the lack of intelligence and common sense of the wizards hard to grasp, but he had given up trying to understand what happened in the minds of the highly inbred magical population of Britain.

"Basically? Yes. The wizards of Britain aren't that bright, I'm afraid. I think it comes from how they spend their schooling."

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione, who seemed to shake off her gloomy thoughts at the prospect of learning something.

"Well, and do correct me if I'm wrong since I don't go to Hogwarts, but from what I've heard, the very first thing they do at school is separate the new students in Houses based on their dominant personality traits, right?"

"Yes, that's the Sorting. You put on the Sorting Hat, and once it's done reading your personality, he sends you to the House you belong to. Though it told me I'd do well in Ravenclaw, but I wanted Gryffindor, so it put me there..." explained the witch to her parents.

At her explanation, Harry snorted, drawing the attention back to him. Seeing the questioning looks from the Grangers, he elaborated:

"And that's strike one against the magic users of Britain. You are an intelligent girl, Hermione. Tell me, how do you think the Hat knows your personality?"

At his question, the witch seemed to freeze, before racking her brain, looking for an explanation. Then her eyes widened and looked back at him in shock. He could see that she had guessed right, and that she was silently begging him to disprove what she had, unfortunately, come to conclude.

"Yes, I see you've understood. The Hat doesn't sense your personality or whatever, it rummages through your memories to build an opinion. It essentially mind-rapes you, and the wizards consider the fact completely normal, if not mandatory to attend their school. And it doesn't even have to rely on its' examination of your mind to sort you, from what I've heard, it places you where you want to be placed, regardless of any predisposition you may have for a house or another, which basically makes the mind-rape useless."

Harry grinned at the outraged looks of the elder Grangers, while Homura sighed next to him, probably not liking how he was painting things. Oh, he wasn't lying, no, however that didn't stop him from showing the harsh truth, instead of sugarcoating it like his Sekirei wanted him to.

"Now, before you start, allow me to continue, after all you wouldn't want to start a rant without at least knowing the full situation behind your daughter's situation, right?" he grinned, making Dan swallow nervously at how dangerous and evil he looked when he grinned that way.

"Thank you. Now, as I said, you can basically ask for the House you want, yet as soon as you are Sorted, you are instantly classified by the entire school. Gryffindors are considered brash, courageous though I'd rather call it stupid since they tend to charge in every situation without a plan. Some might be able to adapt on the fly, but most usually end in trouble for that. From what I've heard, that was the House you're in, and quite frankly I'm disappointed in you, Hermione." he said, while looking at witch sternly, making her parents shield her and glare at him.

"And why would you be disappointed in our daughter?" growled Dan.

"Why? Because she acted like an idiot. She knew her House was where she would be for her entire schooling, yet she chose Gryffindor, instead of listening to the Hat, who probably wanted to put you in Ravenclaw, right?"

Seeing the guilty look on the young witch's face, he knew he had been right. After all, he had been very puzzled when he had learnt that someone, whose behavior was that of the typical Ravenclaw, had ended up in Gryffindor. He knew people sometimes blossomed in unexpected Houses, however putting someone who was basically a nerd in the House of people who weren't known for their intelligence or their stellar grades was just asking for trouble.

"Hermione?" soothingly asked Emma, "Dear, why did you ask for that House?"

"Albus Dumbledore was a Gryffindor", she whispered, making both parents sigh.

"Hermione, you know you aren't Dumbledore." said Emma, grabbing her daughter's hands and rubbing them with her thumbs. "You didn't have to choose a House that didn't suit you. If this Hat wanted to put you elsewhere, perhaps it was right."

"Oh yes, that is was." cut in Harry, making Homura glare at him at his interruption in the family moment. "Did she tell you why she wasn't with the other students on Halloween's night? No? Well then, let me tell you: apparently, earlier that day, she had tried to help a student in her year, who didn't like it and told her she was a know-it-all and that it was why she had no friends. Now, while what this boy said was certainly rude, I have on good authority that you are quite...bossy, Hermione."

From the looks he was getting from both parents, they both knew about it, which was good. He himself would welcome someone willing to help him, so long as they weren't rude, but not everyone was as willing as he was to listen to another.

"Now, you were trying to help him, and that is very noble, however your behavior would certainly have been better tolerated in another House, since most Gryffindors are quite headstrong and proud, unwilling to listen to opinions of other people. Hence why I think Ravenclaw would have suited you better.

Now, we've digressed quite a bit, so perhaps I will sum up my grievances with Britain's magic users. As I said, they're separated in several Houses. Now, while at some point it might have been beneficial, now each House tends to see others through colored glasses. Gryffindors are seen as brash idiots, Hufflepuffs are seen as useless duffers, Ravenclaws are seen as nerds, and Slytherins are seen as aspiring Dark Wizards. Basically, no matter the individual, people see each other as belonging to a House first, and as themselves later. It isn't unheard of to have very good friends become enemies when sorted in different Houses, especially Gryffindor and Slytherin, who both have a profound enmity towards each other. Add to this that they are in competition for the House Cup, and you end up with people willing to do almost anything to get one over each other."

"So, what you are saying," tried to sum up Dan, "is that these people hate each other based on the Houses they belong to, which only really show their character at one point of their life? And that it isn't accounting for the fact that people can ask for a House?"

"Exactly that. Do you understand now why I consider most of Britain's magic users as complete morons? They don't think, they go with the flow. So long as the majority believes one thing, nothing will make them change their minds, save for having the hard truth shoved in their faces, and even then I'm not sure they wouldn't ignore it altogether."

"That's...good, but now, can we go back to what we were talking about? Namely, the price you're asking for giving back her legs to my daughter?" asked Dan, who was looking pensive. After all, learning that an entire society, one he and Emma had planned to let their daughter in, was made of mostly spineless sheep, didn't sit too well with him, but there were still more pressing matters at hand.

"Right." nodded Harry. At least Dan seemed determined to hear him out instead of trying to dodge the question of what he would ask in exchange for Hermione's ability to walk. "I'll be blunt, since there's no point in sugarcoating it anyway: if you want me to give Hermione her ability to walk back, then I'll ask that she returns to Hogwarts to keep an eye on Dumbledore."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" instantly reacted Emma, leaping to her feet. "I will not have my daughter return to that place! How dare you even think of asking us such a thing?!"

"Why?" he asked, his voice showing how much amusement he was feeling. After all, despite what the Grangers may think, they couldn't refuse him, despite the fact that they didn't know that. Of course, he was already aware that they wouldn't be very happy about it, but quite frankly the only one he cared to keep even moderately happy was Hermione, as she was the only one of any value to him. "Because, as I said, Dumbledore is going senile, and nobody is doing anything. And nobody will do anything until someone shows them how far the man is gone, which won't happen anytime soon if we don't do anything.

Besides, if using your daughter as a spy means that nobody else has to go through what she did, do you think it is that bad of a trade? And it isn't like I'd just send her back without taking precautions to ensure that she is safe. Not accounting for what you can ask of Dumbledore to ensure she is safe. With both my insurances to make sure she will be fine, and with what little the Headmaster can provide, your daughter should be quite safe from anything like what happened."

"What about the other students?" asked Dan," She told us how she was treated, and I have no wish of sending her somewhere where she is made fun of simply because she wants to help and because of how some bigoted idiots see her."

At that, Harry cocked his head to the side, surprised. Truth to be told, he hadn't expected Hermione to even breach the subject of blood status to her parents, after all he had pegged her as a girl who'd do anything to learn more about magic, which meant downplaying whatever bad sides the magical society had, lest her parents refuse to let her attend Hogwarts anymore.

Sighing, he explained:

"That particular aspect, as I previously pointed out, is mostly because of her choice of House, and of her character. When she goes back, all she has to do is ask to be re-Sorted, it happened before, even if it's rare. She can easily explain why she wants that by telling her teacher about the reason why she was alone on Halloween night, they can't really refuse with a reason that good. However even if she is Sorted in Ravenclaw, it also means that she'll need to learn to curb her know-it-all tendencies and tone down her bossy attitude."

Seeing that both parents seemed to want to say something, he made a stopping gesture with his hand as he continued to explain:

"While I am aware that the other students' reactions to your daughter can be over the top, it doesn't mean she isn't at fault either. She can't complain about having no friends if she makes no efforts to integrate herself. And before you say anything, I do not count bossing other people around, even if it is to help them, as trying to integrate yourself."

"I don't boss other people around!" suddenly intervened a rather red Hermione, who looked rather offended he even said such.

"Really?" he asked, an eyebrow cocked in question, and his voice laced with sarcasm.

Motioning to Akitsu, the Ice Sekirei passed him a stack of papers, that he put on the table, causing the Grangers to look at him in question.

"Your daughter's school files from her previous school. I read them, and oh so surprisingly," he started, looking at Hermione with a deadpan look, "all teachers say the same thing: Hermione Granger is an excellent student, very eager to participate in class and help others." he started, causing the young witch to puff out her chest in pride, before he continued:"However, she does not let other students answer questions, and when trying to help them, she seems to forget that not everyone understands or remembers things as easily as she does. As such most other children have started to avoid her. So, you don't boss other people around, Hermione? Because so far all your school teachers pointed out the same things."

He could see that the young witch didn't appreciate being put on the spot like that, however it was for her own good. First, if she really intended to have friends one day, then she would inevitably need to learn how to control her bossy attitude, lest she drive away those she tried to get close to. After all, precious few people tolerated having their personal space invaded, especially by someone whose attitude, while not condescending, could easily appear so to them. Of course, the other reason why he was even trying to help her was for his own gain, by helping her getting what she wanted he made her feel grateful to him, and considering her character, he knew that doing so would make her feel indebted to him. It was also to make sure that she would blend in easier with the other students, after all what good was a spy who was unable to mingle with those she was supposed to spy on?

Hermione had lowered her head, and he could see that they were moist, probably either because she had just only realized that she was indeed bossy, and regretted her actions, or because she was angry at herself, he didn't know, nor did he care.

"Is that why the other students were so mean to me?" she asked, her voice breaking.

"It's part of the reason, that's a given. Though not everything was. I think most Purebloods were putting you down because you represent what they hate."

Seeing the confused look in the older Grangers' eyes, he sighed and explained:

"The magical society is a bit...bigoted. In essence, people like your daughter, who comes from a non-magical lineage, are regarded by most of the oldest magical families in the same way the Jews were seen by the Nazi."

By the look on the two adult Grangers, he could easily tell that they had trouble believing his words, not that he couldn't understand. They lived in the twenty-first century, where the idea of segregation based on one's parentage felt wrong, especially after the very bad example set by the Nazis during World War II. While they could accept that some countries still had trouble with the concept, mainly in Africa, it was mainly because as far as they knew, it had always been like that, the different populations disliking each others for reasons that Europeans didn't care to know. So to hear that there was a magical society in England, one where pretty much each citizen had a weapon of mass destruction with them in the form of their wand, of people that downright hated what Hermione represented, came as a shock to them.

Finally, Dan seemed to snap out of his shock:

"Is it really that bad? I mean, from what I heard from Hermione, there were a few students that were particularly nasty to her, but I thought it was mainly because they were children."

Sighing, Harry explained:

"Actually, it more or less depends on the family. Some see non-magical people as animals to be enslaved to do their bidding or be killed for sport, while some are more subtle, and do not dislike you per say. In their case, it is just as bad however, as the way they see you and people like your daughter is like adults see children: they feel you need to be guided, molded to integrate in their society, because they "know better". Dumbledore belongs to this category. He welcomes people like your daughter, who have talent and a thirst to prove themselves, and subtly pushes them in the direction he feels they should take. It's easy for him to do, since as Headmaster, he can easily help the students, and with his reputation as someone who defeated a Dark Lord, newcomers tend to think of him as a great man.

It also helps that out of the teachers, a good part are his stooges, so whenever someone points out his flaws, they offer an explanation that satisfies the student."

By now the Grangers looked mortified, Harry guessed the idea of a magical world had made them see it through rose-tinted glasses, so to hear that in essence what they had seen as an ideal world was in fact a society neck-deep in racism, bigotry and intolerance came as a shock to them. Of course, he knew that knowing that, they were unlikely to send Hermione back to Hogwarts, however he still had some arguments, and he was quite confident that they would listen to him. And if they didn't listen, well he had ways to ensure their cooperation. He didn't even need to ask Karasuba to threaten them or do it himself, he knew that Hermione would need medical treatment if she refused his offer, and seeing that he was the son of MBI's CEO, he had quite the pull on what hospital got the latest medical supplies.

As he expected, Dan looked up and stared at him, and he knew before the man even opened his mouth that he was going to refuse his offer. In a sense Harry was a bit jealous of Hermione, he had never had anyone to worry about his safety, Takami cared of course, but it didn't feel the same, and she had asked him to save Musubi and Kaho when he was ten, against people decades older than him, who had military-level training, which showed that she didn't care that much about his wellbeing.

Making a stopping gesture with his hand, Harry gave the man a pleasant smile. Or it would have been pleasant if it hadn't been a perfect imitation of Karasuba's own smile, one that promised untold amounts of pain for those who didn't listen to them.

"Now, Mr. Granger, it seems you wish to refuse my offer. A noble action, you don't wish for your daughter to be sent somewhere as dangerous for her as Hogwarts is. I can honestly say that I can appreciate the intention, unfortunately, you see, I don't think you really have a choice in your decision.

You see, I need someone at Hogwarts, and your daughter is the perfect person for what I have in mind. Plus, you see, there are a few things you aren't aware of. You see, in the magical society, people like your daughter have a magical guardian, one whose authority supersedes the one of their parents. At the moment, the magical guardian of your daughter is Albus Dumbledore, and considering how promising your daughter was during her time at Hogwarts, I would be very surprised if he didn't try to bring her into the magical society again, possibly by way of a marriage contract."

"A marriage contract?!" shrieked Emma, looking appalled at the very idea, while Hermione had gone very pale.

"Yes, a marriage contract. You see, wizards still use them, though mostly among old families. However, unlike normal marriage contracts, their own have added features that makes it almost impossible to ignore them. You see, one of the most common punishments listed in them should one of the betrothed, mainly the woman, refuse to comply, she will lose her magic. And losing your magic for someone like us is the same as a death sentence. Basically, someone who loses their magic can end up in different situations, the most common being dying, ending in a coma with no way of waking up, or going insane. And should Hermione comply, the basic marriage contract prevents her from cheating on her husband, and makes her little more than a housewife with no say over the way her eventual children are educated.

Of course, it is possible that Dumbledore won't go to these lengths to keep your daughter in the magical society, but I wouldn't be surprised if one of the Purebloods tried to take advantage of her situation. They have very little regard for basic human rights of people who aren't Purebloods, and considering that Hermione is a bright girl, as well as fairly powerful if her time at Hogwarts is any indication, I wouldn't be surprised if one of them tried to get their hands on her.

What you have to understand, is that the British magical society is stuck in the eighteen hundreds, and that the government is corrupt, which means that anyone with enough money can get away with whatever they wish. Hermione should know that if she studied a bit of the last War, numerous people known to be Death Eaters, terrorists who have killed hundreds of people, non-magical and magical alike, claimed to have been put under the Imperius, a curse that controls people and were let off scott free after bribing the right officials, when the simple use of a truth potion would have been enough to get them condemned for their crimes."

"Wait," started Dan, looking disbelieving again," what you mean to tell us is that people who were known to have murdered in cold blood weren't so much as bothered by the police, because they bribed people in power?"

"Why, yes. Which means that a fairly good deal of people who love to commit atrocities on non-magical people are still living their everyday lives without having to worry about the risk of getting caught, so long as they are discreet about it. You know, all those "missing" people you see in police stations? They were either killed by wizards, or, if they were female, abducted to be used as sex-toys and slaves.

This is what may await your daughter if she isn't prepared. So be careful with your choice, because your daughter's life may quite be a stake here. She can either return to Hogwarts after I make sure that nobody will ever be able to harm her again, and train her to be able to defend herself, or she can stay here, stuck using crutches and wheelchairs, doing self-study until someone decides to exploit her weaknesses."

-Break-

Homura wasn't exactly happy at how Harry was doing things with the Grangers, unfortunately, and despite his methods, she had to agree with him. She had seen what horrors the Death Eaters had done in the First Wizardry War thanks to Harry sharing the memories he had received from the Horcruxe in him, and most of what her Ashikabi was pointing out to the distraught humans was unfortunately true. Dumbledore, from what she had seen from the memories Harry had shared with her, had come across as someone genuinely concerned with the wellbeing of others, however she had noticed that he had a rather disturbing obsession with what he called the "Greater Good". She had seen that despite his grandfatherly airs, he was indeed someone who could sacrifice people with a smile on his face if it meant to help the majority, and while some of the times he had so, she could admit there had been no other solution, there had been times where she didn't agree with what the man did at all.

She remembered a particular instance during the war, when the Order of the Phoenix, the vigilantes that the old man led, had learnt about an impending attack on an orphanage. However, they also knew that the next day Voldemort planned to attack Diagon Alley at the moment where it would be crowded. Instead of simply evacuating the orphanage, they had done quite literally nothing after Dumbledore had convinced them that they would need to be at their best the next day, while mourning the deaths of the children at the orphanage. In the end, the children had never been seen again, and the attack on Diagon Alley was cancelled when Voldemort learnt that the Ministry had deployed Aurors to protect it. This was what had angered Homura. She could admit that the old man's arguments had been sound, however she knew, and Harry had agreed with her, that they could have simply evacuated the orphanage or used a mass-compulsion charm to make the children stay away from it until the attack had ended.

She also agreed with her Ashikabi that Hermione was a potential target for the Purebloods, since she was a very talented witch, and better at magic than most of the other students had been during her stay at Hogwarts. Now that she was crippled, she was a very tempting target, since her house didn't have any of the protections that would keep hostile magic users away, or even warn her of an attack. They could quite literally walk in, kill her parents and abduct her, and the most it would cause would be a few articles in the Prophet about her disappearance, nothing more, as the Aurors would either not care to look very hard for her, or be bribed to leave the matter alone.

However, if she accepted Harry's offer, she would get her legs back, to what degree not even he knew, however she would at least be able to walk again, but she would also be trained in a way that would ensure that she could take care of herself. From what Harry had told her, he planned to go easy on her until Christmas if she accepted, tutoring her in what the first year of her curriculum should have been, after what he would spend the remaining months of the school year teaching her either martial arts, or how to fight using magic. With around six months of that kind of instruction under her belt, she would easily be able to deal with just about anything the Purebloods would be able to throw her way once she returned to Hogwarts for her second year. And that was not accounting for the protection of House Peverell, which Harry intended to use to his advantage by putting Hermione under his protection. Of course, he could have used all the Houses he was Head of to protect her, but frankly it would be overkill and worse, it would tip the wizards off about Harry being the Head of those Houses, when he had taken pains to ensure that nobody knew about it.

No, really it was in the young witch's best interests to accept.

-Break-

Hermione was thinking. Truth be told, the offer she was presented with was tempting, almost too tempting. Not only did she get to get her legs back, but she would also be able to keep studying magic at Hogwarts, a place that she admired, despite her past experience there. If what Harry had said was true, then part of the reason why she had been bullied had been her own faults, and now that he had pointed it out, she had to admit that he was right. Asking for Gryffindor had been something she had done because she had wanted to follow in Albus Dumbledore's footsteps, convinced that she was that being in the same House than him would allow her to grasp what had made him the great wizard he was (or had been, in her changed opinion). Ravenclaw had indeed been her first choice, but after reading books on the great wizards and witches of the twentieth century, she had thought that Gryffindor wouldn't be so bad. How wrong she had been. Perhaps at one time the House had embodied the concept of bravery, however from what she had seen during her time there, now the students were loud, brash, obnoxious and rude. Some might be better than others, namely Neville Longbottom, who hadn't mocked her, but she was quite sure that it was mainly because he was trying to be as discreet as possible.

She was aware that changing Houses would put a lot of attention on her, but quite frankly from what she had seen from the Ravenclaws in her year, they were far better than the Gryffindors, nowhere near as loud, and in her case, probably easier to deal with. She was quite sure that unlike the people of her previous house, she would be able to have an intelligent conversation, one that didn't revolve around Quidditch, makeup or God forbid, boys. Trying to explain things to her classmates had been a disaster, as none of them wanted to listen to her, and even insulted her when she tried to help them.

Now she understood why though, she had never realized that by acting like she did, she had appeared as a bossy know-it-all, and, thinking about it, she realized that if anyone had acted the same way she did with her, it would have made her angry. When she tried to help others, it had been by bluntly stating they were doing things wrong and showing them how she did things, which she now realized could be very well seen as her rubbing in their faces that she was better than them. That was something she would have to work on, as she had no intention to have a repeat of what happened in her time at Hogwarts when she returned there.

Besides, she had to admit, she wanted to agree with Harry. From what she had seen, Dumbledore was slowly going senile, and nobody seemed to be doing anything about it. The very idea that the other teachers knew that he was baiting a Dark Wizard and let him do so made her sick, it showed just how much they believed in the old man that they listened to him, when the safety of their students should have been their primary concern. The fact that he also allowed Snape to teach also was a bad point for him, the man clearly had no business teaching impressionable children, it was a wonder than anyone even managed to get their OWLs with him as a teacher. If helping Harry meant helping put the old man down, then she would gladly do so. Dumbledore may have been genuinely sad for what had happened to her, it didn't change the fact that he was one of the people responsible for her ending beaten within an inch of her life in what was supposedly "the safest place in England".

Looking up at the teen sitting in the living room, and disregarding the hushed conversation from her parents, she nodded.

"I accept your offer."

-Break-

"I accept your offer."

As soon as those words left Hermione's mouth, her parents had turned their heads towards her, looking surprised that she had taken the decision, and considering their faces, more than a little unhappy with the fact that she had completely disregarded their own input.

"Hermione!" admonished her mother, "Sweetie..." she started, before he coughed, making the woman glare at him for the interruption.

"Before you start arguing with her, I came here to hear her decision. Not yours. So do shut up, she made her choice, she didn't rush into things, she carefully thought it out, and then she accepted my offer. So you have no business telling her to let you make the decision. It's her life, not yours."

"Now see here...!" started Dan, angrily standing up.

A simple gesture from Harry dissuaded his Sekirei to intervene. If he wanted to have some credibility with the Grangers, he couldn't rely on them. Gracefully standing up, he gave a bloodthirsty smile towards the man.

"See what? In case you haven't realized, the decision was never yours. The moment your daughter discovered she was a witch, you lost any and all rights you had to make decisions for her when it comes to matters related to magic. Despite what you may think, what you probably want to think, you and your daughter belong to two different worlds. Any decision about her future as a witch belongs to her, and her alone. "

With a growl, Dan lunged towards him, only for Harry to catch his punch with a single hand. He had to admit though, the man certainly wasn't half bad compared to what he expected of a dentist. Too bad for him, Harry was used to far, far worse from Karasuba. Gripping the fist he had caught, he quirked an eyebrow, grinning in a way that reminded his Sekirei of a certain someone when she was in a blood high.

"T-t-t-t. That wasn't nice. Now, sit down before I cut you in tiny pieces and feed you to some stray dogs."

His voice may have been cheery, however it was clear for all those who had heard him that it wasn't absolutely not an idle threat, and the Grangers all shivered, wondering how a thirteen-years (in their minds) old boy could casually threaten to kill someone without any remorse whatsoever.

Once he was sure that Dan was seated, and would not try a stupid stunt again, Harry relaxed and sent a warm smile towards Hermione, who seemed a bit unsettled by his change of behavior.

"Well then, now that you've taken your decision, perhaps it is time for me to fill you in a few things..."

I hope you liked, and as usual, reviews and constructive criticism is welcome!