Advent's Calendar 2023 - Fate's Fairy Tale
by teddylonglong
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
Warnings: Completely AU! Partly OOC, time travel, soul bonds
Hermione and Severus only returned to Hogwarts on time for dinner in the Great Hall. From Gryffindor, only the time travellers and Severus had remained at Hogwarts over Christmas. They were sitting at the head table together with the professors and a lone Slytherin third year. Smiling happily, they showed their OWL certificates to their friends and teachers – much to everyone's amazement.
"From now on, I will make you brew sixth-year potions during class time, so that you will be able to take your NEWT in no time," Slughorn boomed in apparent pride of his students.
Right after dinner, Hermione and Severus penned their letter to Damocles Belby, and the young Potions master, who was only about ten years older than themselves immediately replied and promised to visit them at Hogwarts at ten o'clock in the morning of December 28.
HP
The following day was Christmas Eve, and while everyone else was still asleep, Ginny and Luna headed to their head of house's office.
"Professor, may we perhaps be allowed to go to Hogsmeade today?" Luna asked, airily. "We need to buy Christmas presents for everyone."
"You know that we're not your usual first-years, and Harry and I are even considered adults in the magical world," Ginny added, giving the professor a puppy-dog look.
McGonagall let out a small scoff; however, decided that she would accompany the group. "I was going to do my own Christmas shopping this morning, so we can as well go together. Be ready to leave at ten o'clock."
HP
'Harry, are you awake? We're going to do Christmas shopping at Hogsmeade today,' Ginny's voice penetrated Harry's mind.
'Oh, that's great. I was wondering if we could do such a thing,' he thought back.
'McGonagall is going to take us at ten o'clock, so you need to get ready.'
"Thank Merlin the Unspeakables have given us time off until after Christmas," Harry said aloud, causing Severus to quietly quirk an eyebrow and Sirius to mumble something sounding like "Shut up."
"McGonagall is going to take us to Hogsmeade to buy Christmas presents at ten o'clock. Are you both going to come?"
"Of course," Sirius replied, letting himself roll out of his bed.
"That's a great idea," Severus said, seemingly deep in thoughts.
HP
'Thank Merlin the headmaster paid us for our work as student assistants. I can afford to buy presents for my friends,' Severus thought, feeling delighted at the idea. The thought 'I could simply brew something for them,' crossed his mind; however, he decided to discuss the matter with Hermione.
"Why don't we buy something for our friends and brew something for Poppy and the professors?" Hermione suggested on their way to Hogsmeade an hour later. "For example, a flavoured liquid to put into their tea or something like that?"
Severus nodded, eagerly.
HP
In front of The Three Broomsticks, the six students separated. Hermione went to the Potions shop together with Severus, Harry and Sirius headed to Zonko's to buy something interesting for their Unspeakable colleagues, and Ginny and Luna joined Professor McGonagall in the bookshop. They agreed to meet back at the pub at one o'clock in the afternoon and separate into different groups for the afternoon, so that they all would have the chance to buy a present for everyone else.
"Hermione?" Severus cast her a thoughtful look, once they exited the apothecary. "Would you be interested in heading to Gringotts for a genealogical inheritance test to verify that you're a descendant of Hector Dagworth-Granger?"
"Now?" Hermione stared at the boy, wide-eyed, inwardly grinning at the question crossig her mind what the Professor Snape from her former future would say to this blatant rule-break his younger self was suggesting.
Severus shrugged. "Why not? Provided that you don't mind me accompanying you?"
Hermione smiled. "Of course not, but we don't have much time, and we need to be back punctually."
Five minutes later, they strode through the Three Broomsticks and travelled to the Leaky Cauldron.
HP
"I am Hermione Granger, and I would like to open my own vault and also speak to one of the account managers please," Hermione told the first teller available.
"I will call Buckbean for you. He is the account manager of House Granger. Please wait a moment." The goblin ushered them into a small waiting room.
Hermione could not help feeling excited at the idea of possibly having magical relatives. It seemed to take ages, before a young goblin came to fetch them. He seemed friendly – much to her relief.
He ushered them into a small office that was void of furniture apart from a large desk and two visitor chairs. A lone plant was decorating a corner.
"Please take a seat. I am Buckbean, the account manager of House Granger," he introduced himself.
"I am Hermione Granger, and this is my friend, Severus Snape," Hermione replied. "I am not sure if I have any genealogical connection to House Granger though. In fact, I have never heard of them."
"Seeing how brilliant Miss Granger is at Potions, I assumed that she was a relative of Hector Dagworth-Granger and suggested checking it out," Severus spoke up, only to add, "We have recently taken our Potions OWL as first-years."
"That is indeed an achievement," Buckbean offered. "Congratulations to the two of you." He took an empty parchment out of a drawer and laid it in front of Hermione, before he handed her a small knife. "Please take one drop of your blood and place it on this parchment."
A moment later, small black lines filled the parchment, and Hermione leaned over it with interest.
"Yes," she thought in disbelief, not realising that she voiced her thought.
Buckbean nodded. "Your grandmother Mathilda was a Squib and kicked out of the family. She kept the family name but did not have any contact to the family anymore. Hector Dagworth-Granger is your great uncle, and as he is the head of House Granger, I suggest that I contact him and inform him that he has a magical family member. I am sure that he will be happy to add you to House Granger, especially as he does not have an heir."
"Thank you so much. That would be wonderful," Hermione replied, looking from Buckbean to Severus in excitement. A sudden thought crossed her mind. "Severus, are you not a descendant of the Prince family?"
Severus shook his head. "When my mother married my father, who is a muggle, she was kicked out of the family."
Looking pensive, Buckbean pressed a small button on his desk. A moment later, another goblin hurried into the room, and Buckbean gave him what seemed to be instructions in a language Hermione could not understand. After an instant, a thick folder popped up in front of Buckbean, and the goblin studied it for a moment, before he turned his attention back to them.
"Mr. Snape, I am sorry to say that the current head of the Prince family, ninety-five year old Tiberius Prince is not willing to add you back into the family and has marked the family as extinct after his passing. How far into the future this may be, you will be able to apply for membership of the Prince family respectively the head of the family's position at that time."
Severus nodded in apparent understanding. "May I ask you to send me a note, whenever this time may come?"
"Yes, I can do that," Buckbean promised, scribbling a short note onto an empty parchment, which he filed into the folder.
After the goblin promised to contact Hermione as well, as soon as he heard from Lord Dagworth-Granger, Hermione and Severus hurried back to Hogsmeade, where they arrived just on time to meet their friends and Professor McGonagall.
"I am so sorry about your family. I hope Hector Dagworth-Granger will accept me as his relative," Hermione whispered to Severus, while they were waiting for the others to arrive. "It would be nice to have a relative in this time, especially a magical one."
"That would be great," Severus agreed, "and I'd also love to get to know him."
"If I get to know him, you will as well," Hermione promised, smiling.
tbc tomorrow...
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