Disclaimer: Not mine, don't own it — I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

Author's Notes:

» Hermione changes her name during the story. However, to make it easier to understand, I'll continue to refer to Hermione by the name we all know. The only times her new name will be used is when she introduces herself to new people, or when someone is speaking to her and addresses her by name.

» This story is has been written in full; there are only two more chapters to go after this one, so I'm going to try and post it all this week.

» Thank you to atokkota for her support and feedback.

.o.O.o.

CHAPTER 15

Hermione smiled happily when she received a letter from Severus. However, her smile quickly faded when she read its contents. It was not a happy letter from the man she loved, rather he was asking her to come back to Britain urgently.

"Arthur Weasley has had a heart attack and it's touch and go," he wrote. "If Aimée and Phoebe are ever to meet him, this might be their only chance."

Hermione immediately arranged for a portkey to Britain for herself, Aimée, Penny and Phoebe, since Penny had agreed to go with her, given the circumstances. It was time for Aimée and Phoebe to learn who their birth fathers were and to meet the Weasleys. The night before they left, Penny and Hermione told the two girls their stories, why they had left Britain and how it came about that they did not tell Percy and Ron about their daughters. Phoebe took the news philosophically but Aimée, who had been terrified of Ronald Weasley, was very upset.

"Why were you ever with him, Mum?" Aimée whispered. She was curled up on the couch, with Hermione's arms around her. Velvet was sitting on Aimée's lap, licking her fingers in comfort.

"Because he had been my best friend for many years and we had been to Hell and back together. Because I loved him once. Because I didn't want to believe he had changed so much. Because I had lost my parents and had no other family and was scared to lose the Weasleys as well. Because I was scared to be on my own. He was only physically violent with me one time and that was once too many. I left him immediately after that. I had just found out I was pregnant and there was no way I was going to put you at risk by staying with him," Hermione replied.

"Why did you move so far away, Auntie Nonie?" asked Phoebe.

"I'm a Muggleborn, Phoebe, while he's a Pureblood," explained Hermione, still carefully avoiding mentioning his name, even after all this time. "If he had known about Aimée, he would have claimed her just to spite me and he would have automatically been given full custody of her. Not because he would have been deemed a good father but because of his blood status. I wouldn't have been allowed to contest it, nor would I have been allowed anywhere near her unless he permitted it. I was too scared about what he might do to Aimée. I couldn't risk staying in Britain and letting him find out about her. As for why Canada? Well, I already had Canadian citizenship because my Mum was born in Canada, and from the research I did, I knew that the Canadian wizarding world isn't as hidebound and prejudiced as Britain and therefore wouldn't be inclined to hand Aimée over to a violent father solely because I'm of non-magical heritage."

Their portkey brought them to Hogwarts, where Severus was waiting to let them in the gates. Obviously, this was the wrong time to stay at the Burrow, and when Severus extended Minerva's offer to host them at Hogwarts, they had gratefully accepted, the only other alternative being a hotel. After greeting the four women, Severus ushered them to two adjacent guest suites.

Half an hour later, Hermione, Penny and Severus were in the Headmistress' office, with Minerva, Harry and Ginny. Aimée was taking the opportunity to show Phoebe around the school, grateful that there were no students there over the summer holiday.

"All right," said Hermione nervously. "Penny and I have something to tell you, Ginny and Harry, and we need you to hear us out and not lose your tempers."

Harry and Ginny exchanged a look. "All right," said Harry slowly. "What is it?"

Hermione reached out nervously and Severus took her hand and squeezed it encouragingly. "Well," she said. "I think you all probably imagine Aimée's birthday is towards the end of the academic year but, actually, she was born on the eleventh of November 2000."

Harry looked puzzled by this. "So?" he asked, uncomprehendingly.

"Do the Maths, Harry," said Hermione with a roll of her eyes. "When did I leave Britain?"

Ginny gasped. Not surprisingly, she had worked it out more quickly than Harry. "Dear Merlin. She's Ron's child?" she exclaimed.

"What?" Harry jumped out his seat. "How could you deprive Ron of his daughter?" he asked angrily.

Severus intervened before Hermione could. She looked as though she was about to pull her wand on Harry. "I thought you agreed not to lose your temper, Potter," he drawled with a sneer.

"Ron had a right to know he was going to be a father! How could you Hermione? I can't believe you would be so cruel!"

"Weasley had a right to know he's a father?" asked Severus incredulously. "May I remind you that he has two other daughters he's never seen, never acknowledged and never supported? Hell, he even tried to prevent George from giving their mother a job. And that's not taking into account the atrocious father he's been to his son. In what world do you think Ronald Weasley would have been a good father to Aimée? You can't honestly think he would have treated her well!"

Hermione stalked over to Harry. "Sit down, Harry," she growled.

"No, Hermione! You were wrong and nothing you can say or do will make up for the fact that Ron has missed twelve years of his daughter's life."

"Sit. Down. And shut up!" she snapped, pointing her wand at him.

"I'd do as she suggests, Potter," advised Severus.

Looking round, Harry could see that no one else in the room agreed with him. Minerva and Penny looked as angry with him as Hermione and Severus. "Ginny?" he asked, whirling around to face his wife.

Ginny shook her head. "Let's hear what Hermione has to say, Harry."

With a huff, Harry threw himself back into his chair. Hermione took a couple of deep breaths to calm down and then she spoke. "After I finished Hogwarts and moved in with Ron, he barely acknowledged my existence. He wouldn't let me unpack my books or even a photograph of my parents. Do you know how much that hurt, that he wouldn't let me put a photograph of my parents in the flat? It was all about what he wanted and nothing about my needs or desires. He went out drinking every single night. I begged him to stay in with me or to go out somewhere together and he always told me that I should just wait for him to come home. Half the time, when he did come home he wasn't drunk enough to pass out but he was drunk enough to be very rough with me. He treated me like shit, Harry. On the day of his birthday, I came home early. I had just discovered I was pregnant and I was planning a surprise for him. Instead, I was the one who got the surprise. Ron was in bed with Romilda. He said it was my own fault he had cheated on me, when I was the one who actually tried to make the relationship work, informed me Romilda was pregnant, said some terrible things to me, beat me up and threw me out."

Hermione conjured a vial and extracted her memory of the event. "You might want to borrow the Headmistress' pensieve and have a look at this one day, when you're excusing Ron's behaviour yet again. Perhaps it'll help you realise he's out of control and needs to learn to manage his anger before he hurts someone so badly — or even kills them! — that he ends up in Azkaban," she said, handing him the vial with her memory.

"Tell me Harry, what do you think would have happened if I had told Ron I was pregnant with his child? Do you think he would have allowed me to keep the child or would he have taken her away from me out of spite? Would he even have allowed me to see her? Would Ron have turned my child against me? Would he have beaten her up too? You saw Ron pull his wand on Aimée. He would have taken her away from me and as a Mudblood there is nothing I could have done about it. He would never have allowed me to see her. And he most definitely would have beaten her up every time he lost his temper, because he would never have cared for her. If you're being honest with yourself you'd admit that. I did what I had to do in order to protect my child and I'll do it again if need be. So help me, Harry Potter, if you tell Ron that Aimée is his daughter, or try to defend him to me again, I'll never forgive you."

Hermione could see that Harry was still angry with her but she could also see the effect her words were having on him. She was right about how Ron would have reacted to learning about Aimée and everyone in that room knew it. This was the last straw for Hermione, though. Yet again, Harry had defended Ron without even listening to her. Yet again, Harry had taken Ron's side, despite his despicable and unforgiveable behaviour. Hermione was no longer interested in trying to rebuild her friendship with Harry. She had given him another chance and he had blown it. She now knew that Harry would never change and that she would never be able to trust him. She turned away from him without so much as another glance. Sitting down, she looked at Penny. "Your turn," she said.

Penny explained why she had broken up with Percy and left Britain. Again, no one in the room could argue with her reasons. They all remembered what Percy had been like during the war and, with Sophie Clearwater being a Muggleborn, they could all understand why the Clearwater family had chosen to get out of Britain while they could.

Finally, Ginny spoke up. "Hermione, Penelope, I can't deny that I'm upset you didn't tell us about Aimée and Phoebe. They're Weasleys, after all. On the other hand, I can completely understand why you didn't. I don't like it, but in either of your places, I'd probably have done the same thing."

"Thank you, Ginny," said Hermione softly.

"What will you do about the girls now?" Ginny asked.

"I don't want Ron, Romilda and Reuben to learn about Aimée. I'm happy to tell the rest of the family about her, though," replied Hermione.

"I don't have the same problem as Nonie," said Penny. "I don't think Percy would cause any trouble, so I don't mind everyone knowing about Phoebe."

Ginny nodded decisively. "Well, I suggest we start with Mum. After that, we'll work out what to say to the rest of the family, not to mention what to do about Ron."

Hermione agreed with Ginny, pointedly ignoring Harry. "When should we tell your Mum?" she asked. "Is she even at the Burrow or will she be in St Mungo's with your Dad?"

"I think she'll be at home now," said Ginny, looking at her watch. "I'll go and talk to her. There's no point in putting it off."

"Would you like Severus or myself to come with you?" asked Minerva. "To help keep Molly calm."

Ginny grinned. "I'm sure she'll explode but once she's over the initial reaction, she'll be fine. If you'd like to come, though, Minerva, I wouldn't say no. I don't think we'll need both you and Severus, but if you wouldn't mind giving me a Calming Draught to take with me, just in case?" she asked him.

Severus nodded and summoned an elf to get one out of his stores. When Harry got up to accompany Ginny and Minerva, Ginny quickly told him to stay in Hogwarts. "You won't help the situation, Harry. If you'd made even the slightest attempt to understand where Hermione was coming from, I might let you come too, but as it is, you'll probably only make things worse."

Ginny flooed away with Minerva and Hermione and Penny sat back to wait. Hermione chatted with Severus, ignoring Harry who was trying to get her attention, and Penny went to round up the two girls. She brought them to the Headmistress' office, explaining that their Auntie Ginny had gone to get their grandmother.

Aimée tentatively approached Harry, who was sitting sullenly in his chair. "Does that mean you're my uncle, Professor Potter?" she asked.

Hermione watched the conversation out of the corner of her eye, ready to jump in if Harry should say something else stupid.

Harry smiled at the young girl. "I guess it does, Aimée. Welcome to the family. You too, Phoebe," he said looking over to the older girl. "Please call me Uncle Harry."

Hermione let out a breath she did not even realise she had been holding. At least Harry wasn't taking out his grumps on the two girls. Sensing her anxiety, Severus clasped her hand reassuringly. She entwined her fingers with his and smiled at him gratefully. Aimée and Phoebe continued talking to their new uncle, as he told them all about their various uncles, aunts and cousins. Hermione, who was keeping an ear out, was grateful that Harry had enough common sense not to mention Ronald, Romilda or Reuben.

It was not long before the floo flared and Molly Weasley stepped out, followed by Ginny and Minerva. Molly glanced round the room and homed in on the woman she had once thought of as a second daughter. "Hermione!" she cried, rushing over to hug her. "We were so worried about you! Arthur and I were horrified when we heard what Ron had done and we tried to write to you to apologise but we couldn't find you. Now I know why, of course. I'll have to get used to your new name," she said, as she stepped back to look at Hermione properly. "You're looking very good. Canada seems to agree with you. I know you won't be staying, but welcome back. I hope you'll stay in touch this time, dear."

Hermione had been worried that Molly would be angry with her for disappearing and for not telling her about her granddaughter. Tears of happiness brimmed in her eyes at Molly's acceptance. Molly patted her cheek understandingly and turned to Penelope with a warm smile.

"We haven't met before but it's a pleasure to meet you now, Miss Clearwater," she said. "Welcome to the family."

"Thank you, Mrs Weasley," Penny stammered. She knew Molly's reputation of being quick-tempered and slightly judgemental and was surprised to be welcomed so easily.

With a warm smile for Penny, Molly turned to the two girls, who were standing next to Severus for reassurance. Aimée was very nervous about meeting another Weasley and her fears had spread to Phoebe, who had of course heard all about Aimée's interactions with Ron and Reuben. They both felt instinctively that Severus would protect them and had gravitated to his side when Molly exited the floo. Sensing their nervousness, he had a hand on each of their shoulders, reassuring them both.

Molly held her arms out to the two girls. "Oh, my beautiful granddaughters. I'm so pleased to meet you," she said lovingly, as she enveloped them both in a hug.

Eventually, everything calmed down. Minerva ordered tea and Molly sat down to discuss practicalities with Hermione and Penny. Aimée and Phoebe were sitting on either side of their Grandma Molly, basking in the attention and love she was showering upon them. Hermione was sitting in between Severus and Penny, while Ginny and Minerva had corralled Harry between them, ready to restrain him if he should lose his temper again.

"Arthur — that's your Grandad, dears," she said to her new granddaughters, "is still in hospital. He's supposed to be coming home later this week, if all goes well, but I think I should ask his Healer when I should tell him about you. It might be best to tell him while he's still in St Mungo's, so his Healer can monitor him. He'll love to meet you but the excitement might not be good for him just yet."

"What about the rest of the family, Molly?" asked Hermione in trepidation.

Molly smiled sadly. "Ronald, Romilda and Reuben have moved to Ireland. Ronald was let go as the Cannons' Keeper but they recommended him to the Kenmare Kestrels in Ireland as assistant coach. Apparently, they feel he's a better strategist than he is player and the Kestrels were willing to give him a chance. He came over for a couple of days when Arthur first had his heart attack but had to go back. He won't get leave again for a while."

"That was very generous of the Cannons, recommending him to the Kestrels," commented Severus in surprise.

Ginny snorted. "It was the only way they could get him to go quietly. They were desperate to get rid of him!"

"Ginny!" exclaimed Molly in disapproval.

"What? Just because I'm no longer playing professional Quidditch, that doesn't mean I don't know what's going on behind the scenes any more," she protested. "Ron's behaviour, both on and off the pitch, was appalling and they would have fired him a lot sooner if they hadn't thought he would kick up a fuss and create a scandal. When they heard the Kestrels needed a new assistant coach, the Cannons saw an opportunity and they took it."

Molly just shook her head and turned back to Hermione and Penny. "Anyway," she said, pointedly changing the subject. "Those three were the only ones you would have had to worry about. Everyone else will be pleased to see you again, Hermione, and they'll all happily welcome our new family members. I'll tell you what — if St Mungo's releases Arthur this week, we'll have everyone round for Sunday lunch and the family can meet the girls then. It's been a long time since you've had Sunday lunch at the Burrow, Hermione, and it'll be lovely to see you round the table again. The rest of you as well," she added. "The more the merrier. Minerva, Severus, I expect to see you as well."

Hermione traded a look with Penny and Severus and, with a sigh, she nodded. "Thank you, Molly. We'd all love to come. There's just one thing… do you think you could call me Nonie? I changed my name magically and I really don't recognise Hermione as my name anymore. I don't think my magic will let me."

"I'll try to remember," the older woman promised with a smile. "But it might take me a while to get used to it."

Molly spent some more time talking to the girls and getting to know them. She was horrified when she heard what Reuben had done to Aimée and about Hermione's last encounter with Ron. "I really don't know where I went wrong with that boy," she said despairingly.

"You didn't do anything wrong with him at all, Molly," said Minerva firmly. "You raised seven children and all except for Ronald have grown into remarkable adults. I should know, I was Head of House for all seven of them. You didn't treat Ronald any differently to any of the others. It comes from within him."

"The old nature versus nurture debate," said Hermione softly.

"I'm sorry?" asked Minerva.

"It's a common debate in the Muggle world. Are our personality and behaviour the result of traits we inherited or have they been shaped by our life experiences, environmental influences and learned characteristics?" Hermione explained.

"To which theory do you ascribe, Nonie?" Severus asked with interest. They had not really discussed Muggle psychology before, but he was well aware of this theory.

"I don't think it's that cut and dried, we human beings are far too complex for that. I believe there's shades of grey in between. After all, there are plenty of people out there who can be used to prove either side of the theory. Either way, however, I don't accept that it excuses our behaviour. No matter if we're good or bad, if it's inherited or acquired, ultimately, we all still have a choice in the way we behave. There comes a point when what we do, who we become, is down to ourselves," she replied. "The excuse of being born that way, for example, is a cop out. It's just an excuse to absolve ourselves of all responsibility for our own actions and that, to me, is unacceptable."

Molly frowned as she considered what Hermione had said, however, Severus and Minerva were nodding in agreement. As teachers who had seen very many children pass through Hogwarts, they probably had more experience with people than anyone else in that room — even Penny, as her experience was with very young children — and they could appreciate the validity of Hermione's argument.

"Well, my dears," Molly said. "It's time I headed back home. You're staying here at Hogwarts? I'll owl you about Sunday, it'll depend on when Arthur is released from St Mungo's." With a final hug all round, she disappeared through the floo.

As everyone else got up to leave the Headmistress' office, Severus spoke to Hermione and Penny. "Would you all like to come out with me for dinner this evening? Somewhere Muggle," he added hastily. "I know you won't want any rumours of your return to reach the Daily Prophet before the Healers clear Molly to tell Arthur."

Hermione smiled. "Thank you, Severus. Aimée and I would love to join you. Penny? What about you and Phoebe?"

"That's very kind of you to include us in your invitation, Severus. We'll be pleased to accept," Penny agreed. Although she had been quite nervous of Severus previously, during the week he had spent in Montréal, she had come to realise that there was a vast difference between the Severus she had come to know and the Professor Snape of her childhood, and she was now quite comfortable in his presence.

"Hermione… Nonie…" said Harry in anguished tones. Hermione was having none of it, though.

"No, Harry. You had your last chance and you blew it. Every time you stick up for Ronald when he's treated me like dirt, it hurts me. I can't keep letting you do that to me. I can't keep putting myself through that. No more, Harry. We'll see you at the Burrow if Arthur is released from St Mungo's — I wouldn't expect or want you to be absent from a family gathering — but I have no interest in spending time with you or in trying to rebuild our friendship. Quite frankly, as far as I'm concerned, our former friendship has been broken beyond repair," she said adamantly. "Ginny, I hope we'll get a chance to talk but I'm afraid I can't be around your husband anymore. I'm sorry if that's a problem for you."

Ginny sighed. "It's not ideal but I understand," she said sadly and, with a nod of acknowledgement and her head held high, Hermione followed the others out the office.

Severus took the four women to a lovely restaurant in Edinburgh. They all spent a very enjoyable evening away from Hogwarts, where Hermione was very uncomfortable, knowing that Harry was under the same roof. Fortunately for her, Ginny understood Hermione's feelings and she packed up her family and took them to Grimmauld Place in London for a few days. It was the summer holiday and the Potters were not obliged to stay in the castle. She used the excuse that she wanted to be near her father while he was still in hospital and Harry could not argue with that reason.

Hermione began to relax once Harry was out of the castle. She showed Aimée and Phoebe parts of Hogwarts that Aimée was unfamiliar with, having only attended that school for just under a term. Hermione had spent seven years in the castle and knew it very well. With Minerva's permission, Hermione and Penelope also showed the girls the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw common rooms, while Severus let them into the Slytherin common room, so that Aimée could show Phoebe where her dorm had been. The girls were struck by how different each common room was.

"I'd have liked to be in Ravenclaw," said Phoebe almost wistfully.

"I prefer the Slytherin common room to the Gryffindor one," said Aimée thoughtfully. "All that red is a bit much. Sorry, Mum!"

Hermione laughed. "It's all right, Aimée. You were placed in the right House for you, after all. As was I."

"I've never seen the Hufflepuff common room but from what I've heard about it, I think you'd like it too, Aimée," said Penelope. "Apparently there's lots of burnished copper and plants. I've been told it's a little like a hobbit hole. Velvet would appreciate that, no doubt¹⁸." The family pets had all been left in the care of the Clearwaters while the four women were in Britain. Neither Aimée nor Phoebe had been happy about being parted from their familiars but had accepted that it would be too complicated to bring the Fennec fox and the half-kneazle cat with them.

.o.O.o.

¹⁸ Taken from/paraphrased from Pottermore and the Harry Potter wikia.