...if they never found us out?
Hermione's family, it seemed, had congregated outside until everyone had arrived so that they all came in at once. Harry eyed them all, sizing them up and deciding upon impressions.
Hermione had told him, earlier that week, a bit about each of her relatives - enough for him to try and put a name to a face.
There were about 12 guests there in total, he guessed, excluding himself, Hermione and her parents. As they came in, no one seriously noticed them. A few cast their gaze their way but didn't come up to say hello. Eventually, Hermione became tired of being ignored and strode forward to greet them herself, taking Harry by the hand and pulling him alongside her.
"Aunt Susan," she said, "How lovely to see you!"
'Aunt Susan' turned, a reply beginning to form on her lips, but it died when she saw her niece. Everyone had stopped, dead still, to look at Hermione with shock evident in their eyes. They then spotted Harry and it simply seemed to deepen. Harry could imagine what they were thinking and smirked inwardly.
"Hermione!" Aunt Susan exclaimed, managing to find her voice, "How you've grown! I almost didn't recognise you." She turned her attention to Harry. "And who's this?"
"My name's Harry Potter, Ma'am. I'm Hermione's friend from school."
At the mention of the word "school," Susan's expression of interest turned sour.
"Oh," she said, disdainfully and said nothing more. Hermione squeezed Harry's hand, doing her best not to let her expression drop.
Soon enough, Harry had been introduced to almost all her relatives - except for Emma's sister, her husband and their two daughters.
"I'm Rebecca McCarthy, Emma's sister," she turned and gestured to two girls a few years older than himself and Hermione, "These are my daughters, Dominique and Annabeth."
The girls smiled brightly at Harry, gazing at him with intense, dark eyes. Their expressions caused him to shiver slightly and Hermione grasped his arm with both hands in an effort not to punch her cousins.
"Richard McCarthy," the husband greeted, "M.B.E."
Harry raised an eyebrow at the addition but didn't outwardly change his expression. He certainly didn't like the man's attitude.
Beside him, Hermione seemed to be going through some sort of epiphany. The grip she had on his arm tightened and her breath stopped for a moment. Harry watched as her gaze turned to steel.
With the same expression and lilt to her voice, she said, "Hermione Granger, C.B.E."
The whole room went silent at her announcement. Her parents' eyes were wide with shock. It seemed she hadn't told them that little tidbit. Harry, meanwhile, shrugged slightly and decided 'In for a penny, in for a pound' .
"Harry Potter," he said, "K.B.E."
Jaws dropped further. Harry was sure Richard would implode from the sheer force of his thoughts.
"What?!" Gordon, Susan's husband, questioned.
"You heard us," Harry replied, stubbornly.
"But-but how?"
Harry smirked, "That's just want happens when you help defeat the terrorist threatening the entire country."
Dan and Emma blinked at him. He-he couldn't mean Voldemort, could he? Just what was Harry up to?
"But you're only 18!" Franklin Kenwood, Emma's father, exclaimed.
"He was trying to kill me," Harry explained, "I wasn't exactly going to let him get away with it."
David, Dan's father, narrowed his eyes, "I think you had better explain yourself, boy."
Casting a glance at Hermione, who nodded in agreement, he gestured for everyone to sit down and began to tell a modified version of his life story.
"The school Hermione and I attend," he began, "is rather unique. It's a school for the so-called 'gifted' and they don't accept just anyone. Hermione is intelligent enough to get in and I am a legacy student, as both my parents and grandparents had gone there before me. We met on the train on the first day. I'll admit we weren't friends at first, but we managed to get things together in the end."
"A forest borders the school," Hermione continued, "which is home to all sorts of dangerous creatures. There are protections in place to prevent them from getting in but, somehow, that Halloween, a wolf managed it. I didn't go down to dinner that night as I'd had a bad day and went for a walk on the grounds. The wolf found me there. Harry, by that point, had heard about the wolf and realised that I wasn't at dinner, so he went to look for me. He found me about to be mauled to death by the wolf and I don't remember what he did but he somehow managed to knock it out and save me." She smiled, "We've been friends ever since."
"That doesn't explain why the terrorist was out to kill you." Helen, Dan's mother, protested.
"As I mentioned," Harry continued, "my parents also attended the same school. They eventually got jobs in the government and were the ones to expose this terrorist and his organisation. Seeking revenge, he came after them. I was just over a year old when he came to our house and killed them. He tried to kill me too but was interrupted. He disappeared that night and wasn't seen for years. He returned in our 4th year, still seeking revenge. He kidnapped me and tried to kill me, but I managed to escape."
"Then, at the end of our 6th year, our headmaster was murdered by an agent he'd planted in the school - one of our professors. Harry and I knew that we couldn't return, so we went on the run. I'm sure you'll remember that my parents went to Australia for a while?"
Everyone nodded.
"I sent them away to protect them," she explained, "by then, the terrorist had overtaken quite a bit of the government, so we didn't know who to trust."
Harry nodded, "We spent most of last year on the run, trying to find a way to defeat him. Eventually, we were forced to return to the school as one of the things we needed was there. That's where he found us."
"A battle broke out," Hermione explained, "I won't go into detail as it was quite gruesome but, ultimately, Harry was able to defeat him."
Harry elbowed her, "Couldn't have done it without you." Hermione rolled her eyes, "Keep telling yourself that."
"Wait, wait, hold on a second," Richard protested, face screwed up with the effort of trying to understand what they were telling him, "You're telling me that two 17-year-olds saved our country from a terrorist?"
"Yes," they replied in unison.
"And were knighted for it?"
"Well, Harry was knighted," Hermione replied, "but I do have a C.B.E, yes."
Her parents blinked at her.
"When did this happen?" Emma asked, "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Before we went back to school," Harry responded, "It was all kept under wraps, as the Queen didn't want the news that a terrorist had infiltrated the government coming to light. Hermione didn't tell you because she's embarrassed by it."
"Harry!" Hermione slapped him on the arm.
"What? It's true, isn't it?"
She rolled her eyes at him. Around them, her family was still gaping at them with wide eyes.
"Is there anything else we should know about that you haven't told us?" Dan asked, swallowing thickly.
Harry diverted his gaze and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. Hermione blushed and stared at the floor.
" Hermione ?"
"Um?"
Dan looked firmly at Harry who flushed.
"Uh, Hermione and I have been dating since 6th year," he admitted, "and I asked her to marry me back in August."
"You what ?!"
Emma was astounded. All this time she thought her daughter was blind but she'd been dating Harry for 2 years! And she was engaged to him!
Around them, Hermione's family had gone silent, completely shocked.
"You asked Hermione to marry you?" Dominique asked.
Harry nodded, "Yes, I did."
"Why?"
"What do you mean 'why' ?"
"Well, she's rather plain and boring, if you ask me. Why would you want to spend the rest of your life with her ?"
"Dominique!" Rebecca exclaimed, "How could you say such a thing?"
Harry meanwhile glared mutinously at the girl he was sure had verbally abused and belittled Hermione all her life. Annabeth, who was seated beside her sister, shuffled sideways to try and avoid the fury she was sure was about to be unleashed.
"Hermione is ten times the person you will ever be," Harry growled scathingly, "I don't know who you think you are, but you're nothing special. I'll bet you're terribly insecure. That's why you and your sister have always ridiculed Hermione, right? You're jealous of her. You always hated that she was better than you and acted out over it. Even now, you can't stand to think that she has more than you ever will. You disgust me."
He rose abruptly and stormed out of the room, leaving a shocked silence behind him. Hermione, wide-eyed and rather pale, hurried after him.
She found him standing just outside the hotel, breathing heavily with clenched fists, staring blankly out into the night. When she placed a gentle hand on his arm, he jumped slightly in surprise and turned to look at her.
As he turned, Harry wrapped his arms around her and held her against his chest, breathing deeply.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I didn't mean to go off at her like that. She just said all those dreadful things about you and I couldn't help it. They're not worth the air you breathe, 'Mione. How dare she?"
Hermione shook her head, a grin beginning to spread across her face, "You don't need to apologise to anyone, Harry," she replied, "It was brilliant! You were brilliant! All those things you said about both of them were completely true. How on Earth did you know they'd treated me like that?"
"When you look at them," he responded, "it's never in the eye. Not that I'd blame you for that. I certainly wouldn't want to look through the windows into their souls."
Hermione threw back her head and laughed.
"I'll never forget the expressions on their faces! They looked as though they'd faint right there on the spot!"
"Well, if you'd like, I can arrange a pensieve and some popcorn for a movie night. Being a 'sir' must count for something."
Harry's comment served to make his fiancee laugh even harder and, soon enough, only the arms they had wrapped around one another were keeping them from being sprawled on the ground.
༻✧༺
Once they'd suitably recovered, the couple made their way back into the hotel room to find that, aside from Hermione's parents, the rest of the combined Granger-Kenwood family had left. The elder Grangers were sitting, looking mildly shell-shocked in two of the hotel's plush armchairs but both looked up at the pair's entrance.
Hermione immediately went over and hugged her father warmly, "I'm sorry we didn't tell you, Daddy," she said sincerely, "With the war going on, no one even knew we were dating. Harry didn't want anyone coming after me to get to him and, once it was over, we had become accustomed to the privacy. Please don't be angry with us."
Dan blinked in surprise, "Angry? Why would I be angry? I've been waiting for the pair of you to get it together ever since you wrote about a boy saving you from a troll when you were twelve!"
It was the couple's turn to be surprised.
"You-you have?" Harry spluttered.
"That's right," Emma agreed, nodding, "Although why you couldn't have waited until graduation to get engaged I have no idea. You've gone and lost me a pot with the neighbours."
"You were betting on us getting engaged?!" Hermione cried, "With the neighbours ?!"
"Well, yes. Who else was I suppose to talk to about it? I can hardly go and discuss you with my mother or sister, can I? Mrs Albert, Mrs MacAllistair, Miss Jones, Mrs Geoffrey and I meet every week for tea and gossip-mongering. I thought you knew that."
"Yes, I know that, but I didn't realise you were talking about me !"
"Your mother just loves to talk about you, dear," Dan added, grinning, "More specifically, she loves talking about you getting together with Harry. I'm sure they'll explode on Tuesday when she tells them you're engaged."
Hermione groaned and buried her face in her hands.
"That ashamed of me, are you?" Harry teased.
Hermione swatted him on the arm but without much enthusiasm.
Emma stood from her seat and went to collect her coat from the coat rack, her husband following behind her.
"Why don't we finish this discussion at home, where it's more comfortable?" she suggested.
The young couple nodded and followed her example, slipping on their coats before the group headed out into the car park to collect the Grangers' car.
༻✧༺
Once they were snuggly settled on the couches in the Grangers' living room, serious discussions began.
"So, Mum," Hermione began, "How much was on Harry and I getting together?"
"In total, about 1 000 pounds. As I said, I had you down for graduation. Miss Jones lost last week. She had you down for Valentine's Day."
Hermione gaped "1 000 pounds!"
"You're worth much more than that to me, 'Mione," Harry sniggered.
Dan laughed, "How are you planning to tell everyone?"
The couple glanced at one another.
"Well," Harry said, "We did have a few ideas…"
༻✧༺
Ron couldn't believe it. After eight years of work, stress, near-death experiences and general turmoil, the belated Class of '98 was finally graduating from Hogwarts. With NEWTs passed and failed, Graduation Day had arrived and, with it, came a day of ceremonies and speeches.
He, along with the rest of his class, we seated upon rows of chairs in the Great Hall. The house tables had been removed to make space for the parents. Somewhere behind him, he was sure, his mother sat with tears in her eyes while his dad comforted her.
The thing that really amused him, however, was the fact that, because Harry and Hermione were the Head students, they had to give speeches. He'd been teasing them about it for weeks and had begged them to tell him what they were going to say. They'd steadfastly refused to tell him anything and had hidden conspiratorial grins behind passive expressions.
Now, the time for the speeches had finally arrived, as McGonagall announced them to a round of applause and cheers from the crowd. In the front row, Emma Granger had her camera ready and poised to capture their reactions.
Harry and Hermione strode up to the dais side-by-side and turned to face their audience.
"Good morning Professors, parents and, of course, the belated Hogwarts Class of '98," Hermione began, "It will be of no surprise to anyone that, as with most things these last eight years, Harry and I have decided to give our speeches together."
"Helps save time, you know?" Harry commented with a grin, gaining a few laughs. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Our years have been particularly special." she began, "We started as the smallest group since the war with Grindelwald in the forties. The taint Voldemort had left despite his supposed death was still evident. Prejudice was rife and we were only eleven years old. We had no idea of what was to come."
"For me," Harry continued, "every year had its subplots and deadly threats. I was never given the opportunity to be a normal kid whose only worries were completing homework and passing tests. Someone was always out to kill me and, most of the time, it was Voldemort."
"Things blew up in our fourth year," Hermione took over, "Harry was entered into the Triwizard Tournament against his will and few were willing to believe him. It all came to a head in the Third Task. Harry was kidnapped, a fellow student was murdered in cold blood and Voldemort was resurrected. Harry barely escaped with his life. The ministry refused to believe the truth and he was labelled a liar."
"The following year was the worst," Harry stated, "and I'm sure you'll all agree. Umbridge ruled with an iron fist, leaving many scarred both physically and mentally."
"At the end of the year," Hermione continued, "It was finally revealed that Voldemort was, indeed, back from the dead. Harry was a hero again in the public's eyes, despite the scorn he'd faced the year previously."
"Sixth year was tense," Harry said, "The threats weren't as obvious and there were many dark plots going on in the background. However, for me, there was one bright spot in the darkness."
"The major rumour going around that year was that Harry and I were having a disagreement," Hermione said, "which couldn't be any further from the truth."
"Hermione and I began dating," Harry continued, to gasps from the crowd, "We kept it a secret as I didn't want to risk anyone going after her to get to me and, when we went on the run last year, I was glad we had."
"You all know what happened then," Hermione resumed, "With the fall of the ministry, Harry, Ron and I went on the run. Dumbledore had left us a mission that had to be completed before Voldemort could be killed. After months of stress and tribulations, everything came to a climax at what is now known as The Battle of Hogwarts. As everyone knows, Voldemort attacked the castle and after many hours of fighting, was defeated by Harry." She turned her head towards him and smiled, squeezing his hand gently as he took over.
"We lost good people that day," he said, solemnly, "many of whom should have been with us today. It was their sacrifices that led us to victory, and they will never be forgotten." Harry bowed his head for a moment as silence rang through the Great Hall. When he looked up again, there was a fire in his eyes and he spoke from the heart, "It is thanks to them that we are where we are today. It is thanks to them that the children of today won't have to worry about some crazy plot to kill them every year, or have to fight against their peers, dependant only on themselves and those they trust, without having to look over their shoulders for someone trying to attack them from behind. It is thanks to them that our future's children will know peace."
Hermione stepped in, "The question many will be asking is, 'What happens now?' Well, there is still much reform that needs to take place - House Elf rights being one thing I could think of." She smiled, "But we won't get into that now. Suffice to say, there's much to be done."
Hermione paused briefly, looking around at the mixture of emotions around the room.
"Just before returning to school last August," she continued, "Harry asked me to marry him."
The gasp her statement drew from the audience echoed through the hall. The couple grinned madly, Harry taking notice of the smug smirks on Dan and Emma's faces, and the bewildered expressions of the Weasleys'
"Naturally," Harry continued, "she said yes. It seems she just couldn't resist my manly charms." He grinned. The audience - those who had recovered, at least - laughed.
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Yes, well, that's debatable." She smiled, "I do hope though, that it shows all of you that, despite what you've been through, it is certainly possible for you to find happiness again. So, as we embark on a new chapter of our lives, we leave all of you with the opportunity of a better, bright future that's yours to command, and yours to live as you please."
She glanced at her fiancé, who grinned encouragingly and reached down to squeeze her hand. Turning back to the audience, she looked around the room, doing her best to memorise the scene.
"That's it from us," she announced, finally, "We wish you all the best."
With that, she and Harry stepped down from the dias and back to their seats, surrounded by the sound of applause. With the atmosphere enveloping them, Harry couldn't help but think of all they had ahead of them - all the trials and tribulations, as well as the joy and successes. Looking down at Hermione, who sat leaning into his side beside him, he knew that, whatever life threw at them, they would get through it - together.
End Notes:
For those of you wondering how exactly Picnic Panic inspired this, I'll explain;
In Picnic Panic, Hermione's mother, Helen, and aunt, Penelope, have a competitive sibling rivalry going on, and Helen doesn't like her sister getting one over her. Also, Hermione's uncle is mentioned to have an MBE. Hermione later tells her mother that the Queen had made Harry a Knight Bachelor. Also, Hermione's two prissily-named cousins fawn and drape themselves over Harry, but he only has eyes for Hermione. Lastly, Harry concocts a believable cover story that shows Hermione in a better light in the eyes of her relatives.
As you have read my story, inspired by Picnic Panic, I'm sure you can see the similarities. To be honest, it was all born out of a great desire for Harry to show Hermione's uncle just who should be called "Sir".
Also, just as a side note for clarity - Emma's maiden name is 'Kenwood' - in case some were confused over where that popped up from.
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Disclaimer:
I am not British. I did a minimal amount of research on how knighthoods work and their rankings and briefly looked into the structure of the British schooling system, so please forgive me for any mistakes I may have made.