A week before school starts again, Harry hears one of the worst pieces of news he's ever heard... Peter the bloody traitor has escaped from Azkaban. Of course, the Ministry didn't think to add barriers against animagi transformation, knowing that this traitor was one. What's more, the Ministry intends to station dementors around Hogwarts "again", according to what McGonagall told them. Hermione had started grumbling after hearing this news, cursing the Minister, the aurors, the magical world... Oh yeah, she was so angry, it was possible to feel and see magic around her. She's bloody scary.
Before hearing this news, Harry visited France for the very first time with Hermione's family. They spent a week in Paris and the rest in Dijon. In Paris, they visited the Louvre Museum, the Palace of Versailles and other tourist attractions. Hermione and Harry also went to the Place cachée, similar to Diagon Alley. On their last day in the capital, they met Fleur Delacour, a possible participant in the Three Wizards Tournament (if that event still takes place). Fleur was accompanied by her parents, Apolline and Louis Delacour, and her little sister Gabrielle. This time, Hermione was keen to form a good relationship with Fleur from the outset, promising to write to her.
*** (Flashback)
After her torture with Bellatrix, Hermione stop being silly with her "hatred" towards Fleur, she thought a lot about it during their Hoxcrux's run. Some would think that she was jealous of the attention Fleur got from the majority of the men, but it wasn't that. Of course, she was jealous of her beauty, but not enough to feel this negative emotion. No, after a lot of thinking, Hermione was more interested to be with Fleur, but she repressed that feeling to transform it into disgust, jealousy, hate… Hermione decided she won't miss her chance again. Since They gave her a second chance, she wants to reach for her happiness.
"What about Bill? They were married." Harry asks her when she told him that she likes more girls than a boy
"When she took care of me, after you know… at Malfoy's, she told me that she needed a way to stay here since she was a "creature". The ministry has that stupid law about a creature like veelas, who needs to be own, so in a way in a marriage, the husband owns his wife," Hermione explains with anger and indignation in her voice.
"So, what you saying is that Fleur married Bill because she needed to be able to stay in the UK legally," Harry says
"Yes, exactly, and did you know that it was Headmaster Dumbledore who matched them together." Hermione continues to say.
"Oh wow, when you think you finally understand him, he does things like this and it seems you know him even less," Harry replies
"You're right, he did/does some questioning things," Hermione says
After this conversation, Harry likes to tease Hermione about her crush on their French friend.
Fleur seemed delighted to hear that Hermione was keen to correspond with her. The rest of the trip was an extraordinary experience for Harry, who had never had the opportunity to travel outside the UK. He was able to open up to a new world, he felt free, and as soon as he gets the chance he'll be going around the world.
Their third year at the school was surprisingly quiet compared with the last time. The Minister had to remove the dementors from Hogwarts, as one of the "dared" to attack Lord Malfoy's son. Remus was once again the Professor of Defense, but unfortunately, his contract was not renewed. Fortunately for him, nobody found that he was a werewolf. Sirius informed them that Remus had received a mission from Dumbledor, and that was all he could tell them. Another disappointment was that the Traitor had not been found; he was still in hiding, probably with his master. Hermione once again made use of the time-turner, she was keen to be closer to being of age. As promised, she exchanged several letters with Fleur, they discussed various subjects: the differences between their schools, their favorite color, and their favorite fields, ... At some point, Harry is sure he heard Hermione giggle and blush when she read one of these letters. He noticed that Fleur's letters seemed to bring her a different kind of happiness. For his part, he conversed with Tonks at least once a month. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't developing a crush on her, now that he knew her on a personal level, he'd discovered a truly great person, intelligent, funny, and beautiful. He's sure he could see himself in a relationship with her in the possible future, but he doesn't dare take away Remus's chance to be happy. When Sirius finally was able to leave St Mungos, he sent a firebolt to Harry as his first gift. The latter also worked with Andy to become one of his legal guardians, they still want to keep Minerva as his guardian. He also took his place as Lord Black, restoring his cousin's family to the family. This time, Harry will not inherit the status of the heir of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, it will be Andromeda's line who takes the lordship.
To be continued…
