Saturday, July 1, 1995

The following day, a tired looking Remus delivered two books and a packet of photos and letters to the house. His sandy hair was dishevelled and the bags under his eyes were massive. After a cuppa and a short chat about the arrangements for the funeral, he made his way out of the house. Hermione quickly commandeered both books, and sequestered herself in the room she had been sharing.

She piled her curls on her head and held them up with her wand. Opening the Adoption book, she started taking notes. After a few hours, she had her Major Ideas down:

Subject: Magical Adoption

Major Takeaways:

Protection of the "Family Magics" and Family Name

Heir to a Sacred 28 house - Wizengamot Shakeup

Access to all sorts of old spells and rituals

Questions:

How do we plan on clearing Sirius' name?

How much will my physical appearance change?

Will I be a Pureblood, Halfblood, or Muggleborn?

Dump zone for ideas (to deal with later)

"A Magical Adoption allows for Family Lines that previously didn't have an Heir (Or had no chance of having an heir), the opportunity to adopt another magical person into the line"

"There are often some physical changes to match the Familial traits that are inherent to the adoptive family. Most of the adoptee's characteristics stay the same."

The Family Magics recognize the adoptee as their own. This is often how Squib births were prevented and "Pure" lines were protected

How does this affect the adoptee's Magic?

Wandering down the stairs, Hermione pulled her mother's cardigan tighter around her. It was nearing lunch time, and her stomach had demanded that she take a break from her research. Grabbing something to eat would have to happen before diving into the book about being an Heir.

Dean and Delyse were sitting at the table, pictures and papers scattered everywhere. Each held a mug of tea and were reading a letter together. They were so engrossed in what they were looking at that they didn't hear her, clearing her throat, the pair looked up at her. Both had warm, but sad smiles on their faces.

"Welcome down, Doll," Delyse said, gesturing for Hermione to sit in the empty chair next to Dean. "I'm going to work on some lunch for us, why don't you let Dean tell you about some of the stuff that we've found."

Hermione sat and glanced at all of the pictures of a young man scattered about the table. Daniel Fawley had sandy brown hair, copious and hazel eyes. It was easy to see where Dean's freckles, smile, and dimples adorning both cheeks had come from.

Hermione grinned over at him, "Tell me everything!"

"He was- He hated pureblood ideals." Dean started, staring down at a picture on the table. "He's from the main family branch, there are some Fawleys in Hufflepuff now, but from what I remember of them they're pretty awful. The lesser branches have been trying for years to get him unlisted as the Head of House. They claim that since no Heir has stepped up, his line must be weak, but Gringotts doesn't release the vaults until the 17th birthday for said Heir."

Smiling, he pulled out another picture that showed his father with a set of twins. "Uh- he loved to play Gobstones, which I don't get at all, and apparently he and the Prewitts tried out for the English National Football team, Fawley had made the team even, but went under a pseudonym, no idea what it was though."

He beamed at her, "Here is a family tree, look at how inbred all the families are." He held up a particularly large, folded piece of parchment with names written all over it being connected by lines. "I'm related to everyone. Neville and I are like third cousins and Harry and I are fourth? Fifth?

"Hermione, he was amazing. I'm so disappointed that I never got to meet him. I just-" he sighed. "We just lost Dad, and now it feels like I've found and lost another one in less than a week. Sirius said once we did the paperwork down at Gringotts we could see if he left me anything. I'm scared, Mi."

Hermione reached out a hand to grip his, "What do you have to be scared for? He sounds brilliant. And Honestly Dean this is such an adventure. We're Gryffindors! You know Auntie Del will do anything to make this work for you. What position did he play?"

"He was a midfielder, like me…" Delyse came in just then with a plate of sandwiches.

She smiled as she heard the tail end of their conversation, "He was a good man, Dean. I always wondered what happened, I never knew if he was going to come back and then by the time I'd met Gerain, well, it felt like it was time to move on for all of our sakes. I'd scraped up enough money to hire a Private Investigator so that I could find him or have him ruled as deceased so Gerain and I could get married. No one could find any trace of him though, although that wasn't all that strange in the late 70s, especially with everything going on in Ireland. "The courts agreed. Since there was no trace of Daniel, he was officially listed as deceased and I became a widow."

Hermione and Dean had picked up sandwiches and were eating as they listened to her speak. "I loved him so very much and he was just gone. He'd said he was going to a practice for the team and then he just never came back. I know it might be hard to see the resemblance, but I see a lot of him in your smile."

"That's true. And his laugh, it looks like it would sound just how yours does, Deanie!" Hermione squealed, tickling his side. He tried to hold back his chuckle, but she'd had years of practice and soon he was on the floor trying to roll away from her tickling fingers.

When they'd finally calmed themselves down and finished their meal, Hermione excused herself to read up on all that being an Heir entailed. She sat at the desk that was getting a little too small for her for the rest of the afternoon, reading and re-reading the book, taking pages of notes. When she'd finally completed her second readthrough, she quickly compiled her "Focus Notes."

Subject: Sacred 28 Heirhood

Major Takeaways:

Secondary decision maker of Family goals

Lots of education and lots of unwritten knowledge

Access to all sorts of old spells and rituals

Questions:

How often are women/girls made heirs of houses?

What are some of the old practices that can be changed?

Who does Magical Guardianship work?

Dump zone for ideas (to deal with later)

Heirs usually start their lessons from a young age. They're taught by tutors from a young age, but start intensive training when they turn 12, and then every summer while at Hogwarts.

"While usually an Heir is born into a family, some families have chose to forgo siring the next generation and choose to adopt instead. This often leads to an infusion of magic that helps distinguish a House."

Creating "advantageous betrothals" often happens based on Magical compatibility between the Heir and the partner(s).

PARTNERS!?

That evening, after the girls had gone to bed, Hermione sat with Delyse and Dean in the small living room of the apartment and talked over the books. Hermione was wearing an old "Granger Family Dentistry" T-shirt of her dad's . Delyse wanted to read both the books they'd been sent to see what she could find. They talked about her mum and dad for quite awhile before they were yawning more than talking. By the time they were ready for bed, Dean had decided that he would accept his status, and ask Remus to be his Magical Guardian.

Hermione was still on the fence about accepting Sirius and Remus' offer of formal adoption. It felt like a really big choice, and she wasn't sure how her parents would feel about her not living with Delyse, Dean, and the girls.

The rest of the week was spent planning the Granger funeral, deciding what would happen next, and re-reading the tomes that Sirius had sent to her. Hermione had never felt so overwhelmed in her life. Even when she'd had the Time Turner and barely slept, she'd still felt more in control than she did now.

By the morning of the funeral, Hermione was feeling emotionally raw. She was only 15 for Godric's sake, she wasn't supposed to be burying her parents. They weren't supposed to be gone. She wasn't supposed to be alone.

Monday, July 3, 1995

The morning of the funeral dawned, unsurprisingly rainy. Delyse had gone out and bought everyone new clothes in differing shades of black. Before they made their way to the ceremony, Sirius and Remus arrived, Sirius quickly transforming into Padfoot before the other arrived.. The Weasleys followed soon after. Professor McGonagall and Professor Sinestra came as well with Harry in tow. Seamus and his family as well as Neville and his Gran had come to show their support. Before they left the house, Remus and Delyse went from person to person, adjusting their clothes to fit in with the Muggle mourners.

Hermione had felt a little uncomfortable with having so many magical people at the funeral, worrying about what they might think. But after a long talk with Sirius, Remus, and Delyse, Hermione realised that she needed to be present in the moment and try not to focus on what all of her friends might think.

The Grangers had chosen to keep many of the traditions from Jean's Jamaican culture in their funeral practice. They made their way to the church down the block for the ceremony, which was packed with people. Most of the community had shown up as the Grangers were an integral part of Brixton, serving as the Dental Practice for most everyone. As always, the music wrapped around Hermione, she felt tears stream down her face as the prayers and hymns to her parents helped guide them to the next plane. She stood next to Dean, clutching his hand as if it were the only thing holding her to the Earth.

After the ceremony, there was a procession to the Community Centre, Remus and Padfoot walked with Hermione as everyone danced and sang along with the band. The Magical Contingent as Dean and Hermione had dubbed them, watched wide eyed as the Muggles sang and danced around them. If Hermione hadn't been so wrapped up in her feelings about her parents, she might have laughed at their faces, as they clearly didn't know what to think.

When they got to the Community Center, the Nine Night began, as in Jamaican tradition, it took nine nights for the spirit of the slave to make its way back home to Africa to find peace.

The first dance was the Dinki-Mini, which invited the souls of ancestors from both sides to join in the event. Hermione looked at the table stuffed with food and was thankful that Remus stopped Ron when he attempted to eat before midnight. She could hear him complaining about letting a good meal go to waste, but was glad that Remus was able to handle his grumbling. The food was for her parents and ancestors to eat first, with the rest of the gathering eating later.

She almost laughed when she saw a pair of ethereal looking people standing amongst the crowd. There were spirits actually present! She ushered them to the far corner, asking their names. The small boy smiled shyly as he clasped the hand of a withered looking old woman who grinned cheekily at Hermione. "Glad to see that some of the Magic held strong," the old woman gummed at her.

"Aliou," she said, turning to the small boy. "Give her a hug, she's carrying on our Magic in ways we never could imagine." The boy reached out and hugged Hermione, something she didn't think could be experienced with ghosts. "Oh we're not ghosts, child," the woman said, even though Hermione was sure she hadn't spoken her comment aloud. "No, we're your ancestors. Aliou and I passed on the long journey over after we were stolen from our people. We'd thought our Magic had died, but here it is, in you. We've been waiting for you, child. We never got our Nine Nights or our traditional burial, so we've become the guardians and the guides for the souls that are going home."

Hermione smiled at the woman and young boy. "I'm glad you could be here, Iya Agba (grandmother). Did they-," Hermione took a deep breath when the words stalled in her throat, "they made it home, right?"

"Oh of course, quite the ruckus your father made with the family." The elderly woman chuckled, "but because of his deep respect for our traditions he was welcomed home too. Now, let us enjoy the feast, and you go and spend time with your people." She dismissed Hermione with a smile, waving towards the crowd that was still gathered to pay their respects.

"Is there anything I can do to help you pass on?" Hermione asked softly, stroking Aliou's cheek, reluctant to leave her just yet.

"No child, we find joy in our roles. We will come to you at the next Samhain, we can talk more then! I can't wait to see what Magic you do!" She pushed Hermione back to the group.

Remus wrapped an arm around her shoulders as Hermione turned back, trying to get another look at Aliou. "Are you alright? You look a bit peaky," he said, looking curiously in the same direction Hermione was.

"Can you see them?" she asked, nodding to her ancestors..

"Can I see who?" he asked, looking down at her, his sandy hair falling into his face.

"You really don't see them?" Hermione asked, to which Remus shook his head in the negative. "Oh Remus, my ancestors are here! I'll have to tell you more about them later, but it's real! They're really here!"

Remus grinned at her in a boyish way as Padfoot butted his head against her. She turned to the centre of the room just as the dances began. The dances always brought a thrill to her, and as the night went on, she felt as though she spent just as much time crying as she did laughing.

Her parents would be cremated in the morning to align with the traditional resting time, although their bodies were waiting in a funeral home and not in the living room as they would have done in Jamaica.

By the time the morning dawned, the food had been devoured and everyone was stumbling around with the strong rum they'd been served. Hermione and Dean sat and watched as an intoxicated Arthur began asking questions to an equally intoxicated neighbour. They laughed as they watched Harry pull the elder wizard away before he broke the Statute of Secrecy.

For the most part, their magical friends stuck to themselves, although Ginny and the Twins learned some of the dances and songs and picked those up rather quickly and were able to join in. The adults all seemed to have varying degrees of comfort and discomfort with the activities. Around four, the Weasleys, Harry, Seamus and his family, Neville and his Gran, and the Professors made their exit. Hugging Hermione and Dean and expressing condolences and awe at the event. It wasn't very often that she was allowed to share her culture with her friends, and Hermione was proud that she got to share this with them. She felt that she was always spending more time learning about the Magical world, so in a way this was a good introduction to just how different their worlds were.

After the guests were sent to their homes, Hermione and her family, in addition to Padfoot and Remus, made their way to the funeral home to wait for her parents' cremation to finish. The three girls were being held by Remus, Dean and Delyse as they hadn't been able to stay awake for the whole event. The seven human, and one dog mourners sat in the funeral parlour, humming hymns and talking about fond memories with the Grangers.

Sirius sat at Hermione's feet, and Remus sat on her right. Dean and Delyse sat across from them the girls spread between them, and in that moment, Hermione knew that she was going to accept Sirius and Remus' proposal. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that these people would be her family. She reached out and grasped Remus' hand and laid her other on Sirius' head.

"I've decided that I'm going to accept your offer," she said looking between them. "Now that I know my parents have moved on to the next life, I know they would want me to be safe and happy, so I think we should do the adoption. Maybe in a few weeks?"

Remus looked at her, eyes shining, "I can speak for Sirius here and tell you that you'd be making us the happiest two men in the world. If we'd ever had the luck of having a daughter, I think you'd be quite a good option." He said, leaning in to give her a hug. "Gryffindor through and through, with the perfect mix of mischief and brains."

She looked over at Dean and Delyse who were both smiling fondly at her. "It's a good decision, Hermione," Delyse said softly. "I think your parents would be quite proud. I'll make sure to sign over whatever Muggle paperwork we need to to get it legitimised in both places."

When the Mortician brought Hermione a simple urn that had two containers that held her parents ashes, she felt a sort of finality that she hadn't expected to feel so soon. She wrapped her arms around the urn and started to make her way towards the door, knowing that everything about her life was about to change, hopefully for the better.