HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR FAVORITE GIRL!
Here's a post just so you know that I haven't abandoned you!
There is an edited excerpt in this chapter from Order of the Phoenix. Obvi that's not written by me...
Friday, July 14, 1995
The next morning, Hermione woke up to someone jumping on her bed. "Mi!" Ginny shrieked as she bounced on the bed. "Get up! Mum made us get here so bloody early to clean," she sneered.
"I can't believe you live here now! Your room is gigantic!" Hermione whacked Ginny over the head with the pillow next to her.
"Shut up, Gin. Can't you see I'm sleeping?"
"Yes! That's why I came to wake you up. Professor Lup- Remus said that if you don't get up your coffee will get cold, because he told Kreacher he can't use a warming charm on it."
Hermione groaned. "I hate bloody mornings, and since I've moved into the blasted house we have to get up at the crack of dawn almost every day!" she groaned and rolled out of her bed." Instead of changing into her clothes and taking off her bonnet, Hermione slid into her slippers and robe and stomped down the steps, plopping down at the kitchen table.
"Good morning, Cub," said Remus with a chuckle, handing her her coffee, with the exact right amount of cream and sugar.
"Good morning, Cub," she mocked with a pout. "I just want to bloody sleep in, but noooo I have to clean, again!"
"Is it that time of the month?" Ron asked Remus, mouth full of food. But before Remus could respond, Hermione had sent a stinging hex toward Ron. And although he tried to look disappointed, Remus couldn't hold back a small chuckle.
"Look at my marvellous girl!" Sirius said loudly from the doorway. "I couldn't be more proud of the young, powerful lady you've become!" he pecked a kiss on her cheek and stuck his tongue out at Ron.
The twins and Ginny were laughing at Ron's punishment, while Harry was looking at his plate, smothering his laughter in his hand. Mrs. Weasley was arguing with Kreacher at the stove.
"This is Kreacher's House!" the elf shrieked. "The Meddlesome Woman thinks she can take better care of Kreacher's Masters and Young Mistress than Kreacher can!"
"Molly, sit down," Remus said, tiredly. "Let Kreacher do his work."
Kreacher popped up next to Hermione, "Is Kreacher making the Young Mistress happy?"
"Oh Kreacher, you're doing wonderfully! Your breakfasts are my most favourite!"
Kreacher glared at Mrs. Weasley who huffed and sat down at the table between Fred and Ron. "Darlings!" trilled Andromeda from the hallway. "I came a bit ear-" she stopped abruptly when she saw the five Weasleys at the table. "Oh hello, Molly. I didn't realise you would all be here so early."
"Well yes, well I wanted to make sure they were feeding Hermione properly," Molly said snidely.
Kreacher shrieked. "The treacherous Witch be saying that Kreacher doesn't take care of his Masters and Young Mistress!"
"That is ENOUGH! (She) is not your (daughter)," said Sirius quietly.
"(She's) as good as," said Mrs. Weasley, fiercely. "Who else has (she) got?"
"She's got me!" said Andromeda angrily.
"She doesn't need any more parents, Molly. She's got us looking after her!" Sirius ended, a note of finality in his voice.
" Yes," said Mrs. Weasley, her lip curling. "The thing is, (it'd) be rather difficult for you to look after (her) while (you're) locked up in Azkaban, (won't) it?"
Sirius started to rise from his chair.
"Molly, you're not the only person at this table who cares about Harry (and Hermione)," said (Remus) sharply. "Sirius, sit down."
Mrs. Weasley's lower lip was trembling . Sirius sank slowly back into his chair, his face white.
(OOTP, page 90).
The children at the table were looking between the adults in shock. With a huff, Andromeda, swept toward the table. "Right, well, I think that the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black can take care of their own now, if you don't feel like helping, you're welcome to leave."
"Andi, it's fi-" Sirius started.
"It is NOT fine, Sirius! You were wrongfully imprisoned and no one tried to help you. Then they let Harry be abused by those Muggles, and Hermione's parents just died!" Andromeda said, stomping her foot. "If you only came to criticise my cousins, then you can show yourselves out!"
Molly sat and stared at her. "I-Well I'm sure that's not necessary, I just wanted to make sure Hermione was safe." Andromeda scoffed.
"We're here to help!" said Ginny loudly before either woman could say anything else. "Just tell us what you need and we'll do it!"
Everyone at the table finished their food as fast as they could and were given jobs from Andromeda. The adults all went to the library to continue with the books, while the teens were sent to start deep cleaning the rooms.
"Well she was out of line!" said Ron when they got to the parlour. Hermione started to smile at him, glad that he was standing up for Hermione's family. "She just talked to Mum like she was attacking you all."
Hermione gaped at him. Harry pretended to be busy with the broom. The twins were whispering, making bets if Hermione had a guess. "Excuse me!?" Hermione shrieked. "Your Mother attacked my family. She threatened my Pere and essentially said that my Papa wasn't able to take care of me! Then she told my Aunt she wasn't enough either!"
Ron sputtered. "That's not what happened, Mum was just trying to look out for y-"
"I don't need her to look out for me. I have my family! Pere, Papa, Aunt Andi, Uncle Ted, Dora, Auntie Del, Dean, his sisters, and Harry if he'll have us!"
Harry jerked up and looked at Hermione, seeming surprised that she considered him family. Sirius and Remus were standing in the doorway, beaming at her. She ran to them and wrapped her arms around them.
"They can't take you away, Pere!" she said, turning to Sirius. "I just got you!"
"They couldn't take me away from you and Harry if they tried, Kitten!" he said openly weeping now. "Pere, eh? I like it!"
She turned to Remus, "Is it alright if I call you Papa?" she asked quietly.
"I'd be honoured, Pup," he said softly, kissing her forehead.
The rest of the afternoon was stilted for everyone in the house, but all the cleaning got done for the furniture delivery in the morning. Hermione refused to talk to Ron and didn't so much as look at Mrs. Weasley for the rest of the day. Remus had somehow convinced Molly to let Ginny, Ron and Harry spend the night as they had Etiquette lessons in the morning, and Sirius wanted to go over some of the Potter Heirship things with Harry.
That evening, Ginny lay in bed next to Hermione. "I'm sorry about my Mum, she was out of line. Sometimes she is so overbearing. It's like she forgets that there are other people who care in this world."
"It's not your fault, Gin," Hermione said with a sigh. "Sometimes I wonder why I'm even friends with your brother. He never seems to get me."
"I think he likes you," Ginny said, wrinkling her nose.
"I used to think I liked him too, but I keep being reminded of just how awful he can be to me," Hermione said softly. "I don't want to have to force someone to understand me. Can't who I am be enough?"
"I think it should be," Ginny said thoughtfully. "I feel that way about Harry pretty often," she continued. "It's like he only sees me as a little kid, even though I want him to see me."
"I think you need to stop focusing on him and just try to explore. There are so many people out there, Gin. What do you even like about him?"
"Well I-" she cut off and scrunched up her nose again. "He's quite cute, isn't he? And he's such a good seeker, plus he's quite brave and cares a lot about his friends. I see how conflicted he is about the whole You-Know-Who thing. Did you know he's been having nightmares almost every night?"
"He is?" Hermione fretted. "What about?"
"Ron is always grumbling about Cedric and Harry's nightmares. I'm a bit worried about him, Harry that is."
Hermione looked at Ginny carefully. "Gin, I think that you should try dating some people other than Harry Potter. He has a lot on his plate with Voldemort coming back, I don't think he's thinking about dating."
Ginny stared at Hermione for a few more seconds, contemplating. "But Mione, I think I love him."
Hermione had to bite back her smirk. What did any of them know about love? "Yes, but look at Sirius and Remus," she said softly. "They were apart for years and look at them now, they're finally both in the same place and I guess I figure being a teenager is for exploring, you know?"
"How modern of you!" Ginny giggled. "I was always told that I should save myself and only be with one person, Mum always told me I'd understand when I was older."
"Well that's just old fashioned! Virginity is just a Social Construct!" Hermione said, affronted. "I'm going to straighten this out with Andromeda as soon as possible!"
"Please let me be there when you do, Mione! I have so many questions!" The two of them peeled off in giggles, Hermione didn't grow up with many friends outside of Dean. When they'd gotten to Hogwarts, her relationship with Harry and Ron had flourished but she'd never gotten close to the other girls in her year. Maybe she was missing out on girl friendships.
Saturday, July 15, 1995
The following morning, Hermione was blessedly allowed to sleep in a bit. Sirius bounded into her room at 930 as Padfoot and leaped on her bed. "Padfoot!" she shrieked. Playfully pushing him away as he licked her face repeatedly. "Get off! I'm getting up!"
He transformed back. "Good! The furniture is coming soon and I wanted to make sure you had a cup of coffee in your hand so you can be a proper little Heiress and direct the Elves around to complete your vision!" he clasped his hand to his chest and pretended to faint on her bed. Ginny and Hermione giggled at his theatrics.
"Is he always like this?" Ginny stage whispered to her.
"Pretty much," Hermione chuckled back, walking to her wardrobe and trying to decide which robes she wanted to wear. When Hermione opened the doors, Ginny gasped.
"Mione! You didn't tell me you had gotten all new clothes too!" Ginny shrieked, coming up behind her. "They're so beautiful!"
Hermione grinned down at her. "You'll have to come on my next torture shopping marathon with Andromeda. I like shopping better than I used to before the Adoption, but it will never be my favourite thing in the world."
"That'll be the Remus in her," Sirius said snootily while he perched on her bed. "He despises shopping, which I'll never understand. I can't wait to be cleared so I can go out and spend galleon after galleon on all sorts of useless things!" Hermione rolled her eyes and threw a set of socks at his head, and laughed as he transformed into Padfoot and caught the socks in his mouth.
When she'd finally gotten changed, and lent Ginny a set of robes to parade around in, they bounced down the stairs, accepting the mugs from Kreacher. The furniture started appearing right on time, and Hermione began directing the Elves around to get everything set up in its proper place. Ginny followed behind with a notebook pretending to be her assistant.
"Ginevra, please note that we'll need to get some fresh flowers for this room," Hermione said, nose high in the air. Ginny, playing her part beautifully, took frantic notes and followed Hermione around looking harried. Remus and Sirius stood in the doorway of each room chuckling at the girls' theatrics.
When the furniture was all set up in the proper places, Hermione and Ginny collapsed into the newly upholstered silver couches and admired the upgrade. When the boys finally clomped down the stairs around noon, the six of them sat around the dining room table and ate lunch, attempting to follow Andromeda's first set of Etiquette rules. Ginny did excellently, but Ron was hopeless.
The rest of the early afternoon was spent playing games and joking around, although Hermione was still a bit put out at Ron. When Andromeda arrived for Afternoon Tea, followed shortly by Dora and Dean, Hermione greeted them all with big hugs.
Andromeda sent them all up to change into Formal Tea wear, Hermione gripped Dean's arm as they walked up the steps. "Missed you, Deanie," she said, smiling. "It's odd not being able to see you whenever I want. When you all get set up in the Manor, we'll have to connect the Floos so I can come over whenever I want."
"Yeah, the girls are being such pests. 'Where's Mi!?' 'How come Mi isn't here!?'" Dean mocked good naturedly. "It's good to be back among the sophisticated-" he stopped when he saw Ron yawning with his mouth wide open, "er mostly sophisticated masses."
Ginny peeled out a tinkling laugh that Hermione had never heard before. The boys and girls split at the bedrooms. Dora and Ginny followed Hermione into her room and pulled out their Tea Dresses, changing and adjusting their makeup and hair. With a wink, Dora adjusted her eyes to their natural grey colour and let her hair fall in loose pink curls that matched the flowers on her dress perfectly. Ginny was wearing a set of pale green robes that made her brown eyes sparkle and had pulled her hair into a high bun.
Hermione pulled out a set of robes that had silver accents that made her eyes pop. She grinned at herself in the mirror as she pulled her hair into a braided style. "Gods, it's so much easier to do my hair the Wizarding way!" she chuckled, shutting the book she'd found last summer with Hair Spells from a Witch who'd graduated from Uagadou the year before.
Hermione did the finishing touches on her eye makeup and then made her way downstairs. Andromeda, Sirius, and Remus were standing in the hallway waiting for her. Dora came flouncing down the stairs on Dean's arm smiling at Hermione, who greeted them just as Andromeda had shown her.
"Heir Fawley, Cousin, it is lovely to see you. I am delighted to welcome you to my home," she reached out her hand to Dean who leaned over to brush his lips against her hand. Hermione leaned in and kissed each of Dora's cheeks. "May I introduce my Fathers, Lord Black and his husband." Sirius shook Dean's hand firmly then leaned over to kiss Dora's cheek, a greeting only appropriate for family. Remus followed suit. "And my Aunt, Andromeda Tonks née Black." Again Dean brushed his lips over Andromeda's hand and Dora kissed her mother on each cheek. Andromeda ushered the pair into the parlour, discussing the weather.
Harry came down the stairs looking uncomfortable in his robes. "Heir Potter!" Hermione called cheekily. "It's a delight to have you home again! We've missed you so!" he leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Pere, Papa, Harry has come!"
The two men chuckled and Sirius pulled him into a hug. "Good to see you, Godson!"
Remus shook his hand and grasped his other shoulder with an eye roll, pulling Harry into the room with Dora, Dean, and Andromeda. Remus and Andromeda came back out after depositing their charges.
Ron came stomping down the stairs, looking annoyed at the whole charade. Ginny was trying to keep the whole thing going, but kept shooting her brother disgruntled looks. "Mr. Weasley, Miss Weasley!" Hemione said, trying to ignore the way Ron gaped at her as she reached out her hand to him. When Ginny elbowed him he bent over and with entirely too much saliva kissed the back of her hand. She leaned over and kissed each of Ginny's cheeks. "It's so good of you to come to tea, we were so hoping you'd be able to join us this afternoon. May I introduce my fathers, Lord Black and his husband." Sirius and Remus shook Ron's hand and brushed their lips against Ginny's. "And my Aunt, Andromeda Tonks." Andromeda reached her hand out, waiting for Ron to lean over and kiss her hand. After a frustratingly long amount of time with no response, Andromeda sighed and turned to Ginny kissing each of her cheeks.
"Aunt Andi," Hermione said, politely. "Ginevra here was telling me how much she loved the robes we purchased for the season, and is ever so interested in coming along on our next excursion!"
Andromeda took Remus' arm and led the Weasleys into the parlour, discussing the latest styles with Ginny. Sirius held his arm out to Hermione, "You're doing well, Kitten. Don't worry, the next tea I'll be the lead, since it's my first meeting with Cissa, but after that they'll mostly be on you."
Hermione grinned up at him and kissed him on the cheek before they entered the parlour. She saw the guests milling about. Dora was talking with Harry about her career, Andromeda was discussing the shopping trip with Ginny, Remus standing at their sides with a soft smile on his face. Ron and Dean were standing next to each other, looking a bit awkward.
The rest of the tea went fairly smoothly, with only Ron really not following the Etiquette rules laid out by Andromeda. When it was finally over, they all made their way to the dining room to complete the final part of their etiquette lesson for the day, dinner. Andromeda had conjured a second chalk board to go next to the first one.
Etiquette 101
- Silverware
- Start with the utensil that is farthest from your plate and work your way toward the centre of your place setting.
- If you see the host or hostess doing something different, you may follow their lead. The important thing is to remain as inconspicuous as possible. You don't want to call negative attention to yourself.
- Food
- For dinners where food is served at the table, the dishes should be passed in a counter-clockwise flow.
- Never reach across the table for anything. Instead, ask that condiments be passed from the person closest to the item.
- Salt and pepper should be passed together.
- Always use serving utensils and not your own to lift food from the serving dish.
- Eating
- Table manners were designed to keep people from scarfing food down like animals, so learn them before you eat with others.
- One of the most important things to keep in mind is that you should never call attention to yourself by blatantly breaking the rules set by society.
- Additional Rules
- Never talk when you have food in your mouth. Even if someone asks you a question, wait until you swallow before answering.
- Taste your food before you add salt, pepper, or other seasoning. Doing otherwise may be insulting to the host or hostess. If you are dining with a prospective employer, the person may perceive you as someone who acts without knowing the facts.
- Don't cut all your food before you begin eating. Cut one or two bites at a time.
- Never blow on your food. If it is hot, wait a few minutes for it to cool off.
- Scoop your soup away from you.
- Some foods are meant to be eaten with your fingers. Follow the lead of the host or hostess.
- If you are drinking from a stemmed glass, hold it by the stem.
- Break your bread into bite-sized pieces and butter only one bite at a time.
- Try at least one or two bites of everything on your plate, unless you are allergic to it.
- Compliment the hostess if you like the food, but don't voice your opinion if you don't.
- Use your utensils for eating, not gesturing.
- Keep your elbows off the table. Rest the hand you are not using in your lap.
- Eat slowly and pace yourself to finish at the same approximate time as the host or hostess.
- Avoid burping or making other rude sounds at the table.
- When you finish eating, leave your utensils on your plate or in your bowl.
- Never use a toothpick or dental floss at the table.
Ron sputtered when he saw everything listed. "Bloody hell! How do you expect us to remember all of these things? Who cares?" Ginny, Hermione, and Andromeda frowned at him. Dean rolled his eyes when Dora elbowed him in the ribs, Hermione could swear that she saw the glint of galleons exchanging hands.
Sirius looked disappointed and Remus and Harry just looked down at the table, not saying anything. "Well, Mr. Weasley," Andromeda said in her most patient voice. "Seeing as three of the people at this table are heirs to Noble Houses, one is the Head of his house, one is married to the Head of the house, and two are daughters of Pureblood Houses, who will be expected to at least minorly participate in society when the time comes,, it seems quite relevant."
Ron blushed a dark red, but just nodded and didn't make eye contact with Andromeda for the rest of the meal. The meal went surprisingly well after Ron's first outburst. Once they had finished, and Hermione had formally said goodbye to all of the "guests" they all collapsed onto couches in the parlour.
"How often do we have to do these things?" Remus asked tiredly.
"Once a month or so, but if we want to impress people we'll have to do it more often, but until my name is cleared it will just be our tea with Cissa and her boy," Sirius said grinning when Remus shuddered at the idea of more formal teas and dinners.
Around 930, Arthur Weasley appeared to retrieve Ginny, Ron and Harry. Sirius informed him of the Heirship classes that he'd be starting with Harry the following week. Harry was expected to be at Grimmauld every day from one to three to join Hermione and Dean in their lessons. Arthur grinned at him and nodded.
The men made their way to the study for a glass of Firewhiskey before Arthur took them home. Andromeda and Dora gave Hermione a hug and after saying goodbye to everyone.
When it was just Ron, Ginny, Harry, Dean and Hermione, Hermione collapsed onto Dean with a groan. "That was exhausting!" She whined. Dean started playing with the braids on her head grinning down at her.
"Yes, but dahhhling," he said with a smirk, "you were excellent, these Purebloods will have no idea what hit them when the Muggleborn and Halfblood Heirs come a'knocking."
Ginny, Harry and Hermione laughed at his eerily Malfoy-like impression. Ron, again looked put out. "I don't get why we have to participate in all of this," he said, gesturing between him and Ginny. "We're not Heirs."
"Leave me out of your petty jealousy, Ronald," Ginny said with a huff. "I'm quite excited to learn about how the other half live."
Ron looked at her like he was annoyed that she'd disagree. "Look mate," said Harry quietly. "I know it's not exactly the most fun, but Sirius thinks it's important so I figure why not learn?"
Ron just scoffed at him and rolled his eyes. Ginny lifted an eyebrow at Hermione who just sighed heavily, would Ron ever get over his jealousy? Hermione thought back on the past four years of school and how jealous Ron was about the attention that Harry got.
"Ronald, there is no need to be jealous, we're just doing as is expected," Hermione tried, but Dean caught her eye and subtly shook his head.
But it was too late. "I DON'T BLOODY WELL CARE ABOUT WHAT IS EXPECTED. EVER SINCE YOU WERE ADOPTED YOU'VE CHANGED. ALL YOU TALK ABOUT IS BLOODY BEING THE HEIR OF HOUSE BLACK. AND NOW YOU'VE ROPED HARRY AND GINNY IN TOO! And don't even get me started on that," he said, gesturing to Hermione's head on Dean's lap. "If you wanted to shag Dean just admit it."
Hermione couldn't help it, when she burst out laughing. "Shag Dean? That's disgusting. That would be like me telling you that you wanted to shag Gin!" Ron's face grew even more red.
"Sure, how come I've never seen you two hang out or talk about each other then?" Ron asked petulantly.
"I talk about Mi all the time?" Dean said, confused. "We eat lunch by each other almost every day and Seamus and I often spend time with her and Neville in the library."
Harry looked at her curiously as if he was connecting the dots all of a sudden as well. "I always figured you just stuck together because you're both well…"
Hermione peered at him. "Black?"
"What's that got to do with anything?" Ginny asked, looking between Harry, Hermione, and Dean. "Everyone knows that Hermione and Dean grew up together."
Harry sputtered and with an eyeroll, Hermione turned to Ginny. "In the Muggle world people aren't prejudiced based on blood, but on skin colour. Since Dean and I are both biracial we got called a lot of names growing up."
"When Auntie Jean asked McGonagall about the racial prejudice at the school, she told us we didn't have to worry about that. Until bloody Malfoy came along and taught Mi about that slur, we just thought people thought we were a bit weird."
Ginny gaped at Dean and Hermione, while Ron pretended to ignore them. Harry just looked at them sheepishly. "I dunno I guess I always just assumed you stuck together cause you were Black and Muggleborn?"
"Nope, we were raised together, in Brixton," Dean said, proudly. "Mum, Dad, and Auntie Jean were shocked when we both had magic, but Mi and I both knew ages ago, didn't we?"
Hermione laughed. "We always thought we were playing pretend when things were flying around, but little did we know we're magical!"
"But thinking that someone's skin would change anything about them is-" Ginny started.
Hermione looked at her, "A bit like someone thinking blood changes anything?"
Ginny grinned at her. "A fair point there, Mione."
Thankfully, Remus and Arthur came in just then, leading Harry, Ginny and Ron out through the floo. Sirius came in and slumped on the couch across from the teens. "Now what kind of dad would I be if I didn't give you two your first sip of alcohol?" Sirius said playfully.
Hermione and Dean looked at each other. "Should you tell him or should I?" Dean said with a laugh.
"I'm his precious daughter, this one's on you," Hermione chuckled back.
"We've been having rum since we were in nappies," Dean said grinning.
Remus sputtered from the doorway. "Did I just hear the words 'rum' and 'nappies' in the same sentence about my daughter?"
"Er-" Dean rubbed the back of his neck.
"Oh come on, Papa you were at my parents Nine Night. You watched me drink rum!" she said with a laugh. "Plus you lot drink Firewhisky," she said, crinkling her nose. "It's so uncultured!"
"Unc-" Sirius started. "I'll have you know that this is a hundred year old whiskey, young lady! Every pureblood Heir will be drinking it!"
"Well it's a good thing Dean and I aren't Pureblooded, isn't it?" she said sticking out her tongue.
Dean reached his hand out for a high five at the two men's shocked responses. After a bit longer, with a glass of rum for everyone, the four of them shuffled off to bed.
The following morning was the first actual lazy day they had had since the funeral. When it came time for dinner, the four of them prepared for Dean's sisters and Mum to come for dinner that evening, but spent most of the day reading and lounging about the house. When dinner came, it was a lovely affair after the girls had calmed down at the sight of Kreacher. They thought he was a lovely new friend and were so excited to play with him.
When Remus and Sirius brought Dean and his family home for the evening, Hermione made her way up the steps to her room. She pressed a kiss to her fingers and touched her parents' pictures before she got herself ready for bed. The rest of this week was going to prove to be stressful, she already knew. Heir classes and tea with Narcissa and Draco Malfoy were going to be quite the tall order.
What do we think? I love the whole family's energy!
Thanks as always to bam2305 for being you and always sending me instagram videos that make me laugh.
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