Severus had apparated to his home at Spinner End before walking to the old mill where his father worked. He knew that it was locked and abandoned, which made it the perfect place to apparate a whole family. He wasn't stupid enough to think he could apparate two strangers so he planned on doing it in trips, he just hoped Petunia wasn't stupid enough to throw one of her famous fits. Her nephew was in grave danger and didn't need a bitch fest before going through one of the worst trials.

He would have assumed the dragon was bad, but they had Hagrid get the creatures for the maze. Hagrid had a knack for picking some of the most dangerous creatures, he was sure if the half-giant could he would have picked another young dragon or three, but was declined.

Severus arrived a bit early so he could magically unlock the old mill's door and wait inside. Minerva had reminded him to hold his tongue and to refrain from antagonizing the horrid family. So his face held one of his famous scowls. He would behave if they did.

Petunia fretted, the day had finally come, they would be going to Hogwarts. She packed what she felt they needed; thus they were dressed so they would fit in…

It was 10 o'clock in the morning and it was less than an hour's drive to the old mill. She looked at the phone number from Abagail once again. She couldn't help but look at the number at least seven times a day. The thin woman was shaken about the petite woman, but was startling comforted by how nice she was to her son. As much as she loved her son and turned a blind eye to all of his faults, she knew that he was main tormenter to her nephew. It would seem as though the woman was telling the truth where she said it would be best to keep the bridges open, the best way was being polite…

She took a deep breath, she had been putting it off, but it would be for the best if she was… bonded to the scary woman before going to see her nephew.

Petunia picked up the phone and slowly dialed the phone number.

Ring Ring… Ring Ring…

Her nerves were started to fray.

Ring R-

"Hello?" came the calm voice that had been in her nightmares.

"… Hello. If you have the time… would today be good for you? I'm going to meet one of the professors for one and I thought it would be for the best if we were… b-bonded before I left for the school."

Abagail smiled pleasantly.

"Yes. I'll be over soon. I'm glad you came to your senses, Petunia. It will make things much easier. It might almost be pleasant," she replied.

The blond woman was unsure how to respond for a moment, "I'll be ready."

"I'll see you soon, dear. Bye."

"Bye."

The woman had hung up, so she put her phone down and wiped her sweaty palms on her dress. She walked slowly to her living room, sank onto her couch, and closed her eyes. She felt a tear escape and wiped it away quickly. It was for the best.

She knew her sister would haunt her if she knew what she had done to her son. Her temper would be as hot as the color of her hair.

Petunia knew she would be just as mad and upset if she had died and her sister treated her son the way she treated the boy… Harry. They hardly called him his name, barely in public…

Abagail quickly called Chalice. She had spoken with the lawyer about what she wanted and how she would go about. The woman instructed her to call her as soon as possible. She agreed to be the bonder and agreed it would be for the best concerning Harry. Being a half-blood had its benefits even if obtaining a job in the magical world was hard.

A soft pop announced her arrival.

"Shall we?" the young lawyer grinned, holding out her arm for the other woman.

Leeroy had decided he would go to the office and handle the patients. There were only a handful and he would be able to take care of them himself.

Abagail grinned back at the witch and grabbed her arm.

"This will be a bit unpleasant, so hold on," Chalice warned the Duchess, holding her arm tight against her.

She gave the petite woman three seconds before apparating to the backyard of the house on Privet Drive. They let go of one another, so Abagail could gather herself together. Apparating was most definitely unpleasant, it was like being squeezed through a tube of toothpaste. It had made her stomach a little queasy, so she was glad they arrived outdoors. Taking a few deep breaths calmed her, before she was able to shrug her shoulders and walk confidently to the Dursley's backdoor and knock.

Petunia heard the knock and was surprised, but realized she shouldn't have been. Lily was able to appear in a second's notice because of her… magic. She got up and went to open the door for her… guests.

She smiled shakily at the fine dressed woman and was glad that her neighbors weren't about to see them.

"Come in, please."

Chalice could see the unease in the woman and was slightly glad. Harry Potter was seen as a hero and celebrity in the magical world, but in the muggle world he was less than a nobody because of this woman and her family. She was glad for the Grangers after she saw all the evidence they had gathered, it was basically an airtight case.

"Mrs. Dursley, I'm Chalice Burming of Burming & Burming," she introduced herself.

The two shook hands, and the witch could feel the woman's weak grip and sweaty palms. It gave away how nervous she was, but also how she saw herself. She was dainty. The lawyer had to refrain from rolling her eyes. However she was here for business.

"Let's get down to business, I brought the knife. While you're both muggles, my magic will heal you afterwards, so don't worry about that. Mrs. Granger I know you know what is expected and what to do. Mrs. Dursley, just say what feels natural, don't think about it. It'll cause a bad bond and leave a slight blood feud between you two making later relations hard. All you have to do is follow my lead."

Petunia nodded, scared. However she knew how serious this was and for the sake of her son, she would not let something like that fester. She had a pension for being petty, but magic was not something she could turn off since she herself was not a witch.

"Now you're both going to have to cut your palms and hold hands. Whatever you feel would your wand hand. Then I'm going to wave my wand and start the ritual."

She handed Abagail the dagger first, she knew that calling it a knife would calm the women down slightly in case they were feeling a bit of anxiety. The petite woman dragged the knife across her right palm, unaware that she was mimicking the way her daughter had cut her hand. She barely winced, wanting to appear strong to the other woman. She then passed the dagger to the taller woman with her hand up.

Petunia shook a little when she grabbed the dagger and cut her own right palm, and whimpered a bit from the pain and her concern about blood. She was a germaphobe through and through, the thought of sharing a bloody knife was unsettling, but it was what the ritual called for. She then weakly grabbed onto Abagail's hand, which the other woman gripped tight.

Chalice took the dagger from the woman and place it on the floor, not wanting to get blood on her robes. She took her wand and wave it gently over the muggle women's hands, a gentle blue light came out.

"Do you Abagail Marsha Granger, take Petunia Dursley to be your sister in blood?"

"With patience and forgiveness, I accept Petunia Dursley as my sister."

"Do you Petunia Dursley, take Abagail Marsha Granger to be your sister in blood?"

"I accept Abagail Marsha Granger as my sister with respect and reverence."

"Do you accept Petunia Dursley's claim?"

"With great respect."

"Do you accept Abagail Marsha Granger's claim?"

"With patience and forgiveness."

The gentle blue magic glowed peacefully and glittered as it sunk into their joined hands. They slowly pulled their hands apart and looked at their hands, amazed that they were scar free.

"Congratulations ladies, you're now sisters. This will make things easier in your future."

Abagail smiled gratefully at the witch as Petunia looked at her hand in amazement. Magic felt… warm, nice. It didn't hurt like she thought it would, like the knife did. Her hand was clean and it felt a little tingly. She was glad that this left her a better impression on magic than losing her sister did, if marginally.

"Shall we, Mrs. Granger?"

"We shall. Good-bye, Petunia. We'll see each other soon," Abagail smirked at her new sister.

Petunia nodded, speechless.

She sat there for another hour, surprised that the bonding took less than twenty minutes. Vernon and Dudley were making a quick stop at the market for a snack on the chance they didn't like the… wizarding food.

When they returned though, time seemed to move faster and they had to go meet Snape.

Vernon huffed at the rundown mill while Dudley scrutinized it. Petunia looked at it with nostalgia, walking slowly to the door. She was sure it would be locked, but knew with magic it would be easy to undo something as simple as a lock.

Opening the door, leading her family she spotted Snape, her sister's childhood friend. She took in his appearance, not much had changed facial wise from what she could see, but he was impeccably dressed and stood tall and proud. He had put on some healthy weight, but he looked… old. He was younger than her and she knew wizards aged slowly, but she could tell he was under a great deal of stress to look the way he did… She almost felt bad for him. Almost.

"Snape."

"Petunia."

She was almost startled by how smooth his voice was. Puberty had done him a world of good and gifted him at least something attractive. His voice over the telephone did him no justice. It was deep and seductive. She was embarrassed at feeling a light moisture in her undergarments and the way her belly flopped in pleasure.

"How will we be arriving?"

Severus smiled almost nastily at them, "By apparating. We shall arrive at the Shrieking Shack and walk from there. It's less than a ten minute walk. It would be faster if we could take the secret tunnel, but I'm afraid your… husband and son are too large."

Petunia was nearly offended, she knew her boys were overweight, but surely they could fit.

"And why would that be," she sneered.

"It's underground," he said almost acidly. He was trying to behave after all.

Vernon wanted to yell at the freak that knew his wife, but was instructed to behave and be civil. They spoke at night at how to behave around them since they would be surrounded and at their mercy. It would do to be on their good side.

Petunia's nose twitched in irritation.

"Well then? Let's get on with it." She said instead.

"Indeed, lets," he replied.

The potions master walked closely before offering his arm in a gentlemanly fashion to the woman, lifting an expectant eyebrow.

Petunia blushed and grabbed onto his arm the way he offered. She was loyal and her husband was right there, she was embarrassed that this man had aroused her with his voice, especially she greatly disliked him.

Severus gave her no warning before apparating her to the shack and letting go. They arrived with a soft whisper. Something he picked up as a Death Eater that he was grateful for. He left the woman as she hunched over feeling ill, to grab her son.

He reached out and grabbed the boy tightly by his collar and disapparated to rejoin him with his mother. When he arrived he noticed the woman was still gasping in large amounts of air as her son proceeded to vomit on his shoes. Severus rolled his eyes and evansco-ed the putrid mess before leaving again to grab her walrus of a husband.

He sneered at the large man before grabbed the back of his sleeve tightly so he didn't have to touch the man more than he had to and disapparated quickly. When they arrived it was clear that his body did not agree with the mode of transportation. Vernon was left light headed and groaned slightly from his discomfort.

"Once you're all finished, we can leave for the castle," Severus said smoothly.

Hermione was going through advance transfiguration books, opening them specifically to sections that focused on animagi. She was cross checking them for references so see which ones had lists of possible animals, and ones that had confirmed animals.

Then she found a footnote, and the witch was so glad she could have kissed the author of the book.

'Despite the name, an animagus could take the form of a creature that is not specifically a mundane animal. An animagus could take the form of a beast or even an insect. They cannot take the form of a sentient creature such as a centaur, merman, goblin, etc.'

Hermione's heart beat erratically in her chest. She had discovered Rita Seeker's secret. This was how the journalist was able to get her information for her articles! This was how she was able to get 'inside' information!

'And that horrible witch is going to find herself in a position she'll wish she never put herself in.'

With that Hermione quickly returned the books to their proper shelves by hand. She knew how Madam Pince preferred the books to be cared for and as a regular it did well to stay on the librarian's good side. Then the witch grabbed her bag and ran to her History of Magic exam like hell hounds were at her heels.

She was out of breath, but she made it on time.

Hermione was a bit disappointed that the exam didn't deviate much from the book and didn't ask any hard questions. She still double checked her book after the exam just to be sure that she wrote down the correct answers.

Ron of course was groaning about how long, boring, and impossible the exam was. Hermione tuned him out knowing that if she listened she'd be too annoyed to focus later on. So she excused herself from his presence saying that she had to go to the loo.

The young witch wasn't sure why, but she felt like she simply had to make a beeline for the loo closest to the Great Hall. So after setting about her business, Hermione left the girls' lavatory and spotted Professor Snape escorting a vaguely familiar group of people.