Hermione stood still simply observing the oddly familiar family wondering why they were in Hogwarts. They were receiving a lot of visitors since the TriWizard Tournament started, but aside from the competing schools they were mostly officials or people who were considered important in their world. She had this odd nagging feeling that she had to investigate, thus she found herself walking calmly towards the strict potions master.
"Hello, Professor Snape," she greeted formally.
While they had been having private lessons there were only a few select moments where he slightly relaxed into informality, but she knew it was only allowed behind closed doors and never to be spoken of or acknowledged in any manner.
"Miss Granger," he acknowledged the curly haired witch.
Every time he saw her he was amazed at how beautiful her hair was once her curls were tamed instead of reverting to what had been their bushy state. He didn't notice before how many shades of brown existed in those curls, nor did they hold a pleasant smell. Normally he only smelled the school's brand of shampoo, which didn't have a smell and allowed the students' hair to smell like, well, hair. It was how cat hair and human hair often got so mixed up in the castle. However somehow she had this pleasant scent in her hair and he could only imagine what it would be like if he ran his fingers through her curls. Of course these thoughts only existed in his dreams… that's what he convinced himself.
Vernon and Petunia looked keenly at the young witch. They knew the Duchess had a daughter and that she was a muggleborn who attended Hogwarts. Petunia stared at the young woman with her heart performing flips in her stomach. This pretty young witch was her niece.
"Hello Miss Granger, it is a pleasure to meet you. I've been speaking with your mother, Abagail," Petunia said, still staring at the witch.
Hermione looked at the tall thin woman with surprise. Of course it was a secret that she attended Hogwarts and her mother only had the briefest of interaction with the magical world aside from their recent holiday.
"My name is Hermione. Who are you?" she asked curiously.
"I'm Petunia Dursley, this is my husband, Vernon, and my son, Dudley," she stood straighter, proud of her family.
Hermione's heart dropped. These were the people who hurt and tormented her brother for most of his life. They were the reason why he had such confidence issues.
"Charmed," she said flatly, the change was palpable and chilly.
Petunia was able to hold back a shiver. There was a clear resemblance between mother and daughter when it came to their… displeasure.
"I'm your aunt," she blurted out.
Vernon's eyes widened, unaware of this new development. While he was aware that she was going to do that bond thingie, he didn't know when since they hadn't discussed it.
Hermione looked like she had been struck. There was no way that this woman knew about her blood bond with Harry. They hadn't told anyone but two people, their binder and Professor Snape. She looked quickly over to the tall man, who subtly shook his head.
"I – your mother and I. W-we were – we did a blood bond earlier today. We're here to see the b – Harry before his next task. I know you're friends with him…"
Hermione stared at the woman, her mind working quickly trying to understand the ramifications of this new development.
"Would you… would you like to join us while we speak with him? I know it's considered a private moment and the champions' last interaction before they perform their last task. I think it would be good if you were there with us," Petunia said, extending the olive branch.
She was a muggleborn like her sister was… she was also her niece now. She could only imagine how surprised she was when she found out that she was a witch. Lily… while Petunia secretly blamed Snape for taking her away, at least her sister had someone to help her and talk to her about the magical world. This young witch came into this world without that, without anyone there for her. She couldn't make it up to her late sister, but maybe she could be kinder to this muggleborn to make up for it in a way…
Hermione was flabbergasted, her mother never mentioned any plans about having a blood bond with Harry's aunt. Something was going on and she would find out after the tournament. Right now though, she saw the olive branch for what it was and knew her mother would ask here to at least try.
"I would like that. Thank you, ma'am," she said a little less frosty, but still formally.
"Aunt Petunia, please," she gave the young woman a small smile.
"Thank you… Aunt Petunia," she nodded slowly as her heartbeat increased tempo, "Please remember; my name is Hermione. It would seem strange if you called me Miss Granger when we're related."
The witch quickly turned to look at her professor. She didn't know why, but she was calmed just knowing he was there for her in this moment whether he wanted to be or not, he was there. Her heartbeat slowed down until it was its regular steady beat.
"Where are we going, Professor?" she asked, so it didn't appear strange that she was staring at her professor like she was dying of thirst and he was a glass of water.
Severus however noticed the change in the young witch with hazel eyes and his heartbeat increased. He didn't know why but he was pleased that she needed him. He was also upset with himself, for acting like one of his hormonally charged students.
"We are going to the side chamber of the Great Hall. We best hurry, I'm sure there was some change while I was away knowing the Headmaster," Snape grumbled the last part with a slight sneer.
He knew how much the older wizard did not want Potter's family here. He wasn't sure what he did, but he knew it would be to his benefit in some way or other. He just hoped he hadn't slipped the boy the Felix Felicis.
"Yes, sir," she replied automatically.
She stood closer to the professor than she did her… family, but at an appropriate distance. They walked swiftly; Hermione found it strangely cute that the potions master continued to walk his normal pace despite the obvious struggle from their male guests.
They arrived to hear Harry ask the Weasleys about their ambitious son, Percy.
Hermione's heart dropped at seeing the group of redheads quickly followed by anger and a bit of jealousy. They weren't Harry's family, as much as he spent time with them it wasn't nearly enough for them to be his family. A few weeks throughout the year. A bit of summer, maybe a Christmas, but that didn't make them his family.
She was his family. She was his sister. These horrible people were his family. Her mother was obviously his family, but thought it better to not surprise the boy before the third task so he wouldn't be distracted.
That was when Harry felt his sister need him. He turned and saw his sister standing next to his least favorite people in the world. He almost assumed the worst, but saw the anger and tears in her eyes as she looked in his direction. He knew how Mrs. Weasley had been towards Hermione and knew it must have seemed like a slight betrayal, with her being here in place of his family, when she was his sister.
"Hermione!" he shouted instead, interrupting whatever Mrs. Weasley was saying.
He ran over and pulled his sister into a hug, which she returned fiercely. He normally wasn't one for hugs, but he always made exceptions for Hermione. While he appreciated Mrs. Weasley, he always felt a bit uncomfortable and smothered, but it was natural hugging his curly haired sister.
A tear escaped her eye which was quickly wiped away by her brother.
"It's not what it looks like. They surprised me," he explained quietly, after pulling away.
Hermione nodded, feeling better with the explanation. She looked over his shoulder and was pleased to see Fleur and Viktor with their own families.
"What are they doing here?" he asked her just as quietly, even though he knew this was a time for families to greet the champions before watching the final task.
"They're here to see you, Harry. They're your family. Luckily aunt Petunia saw me and asked me to come with," she said, her eyes shining merrily.
Harry was surprised before he smiled, for once glad with his aunt. While she was technically their aunt he wasn't sure if she knew that though.
"Thank you for inviting Hermione along, Aunt Petunia," he said quietly, with a small smile.
Petunia watched them interact even if she couldn't hear them. She was surprised when she saw the boy smile. They were rare to come by and she knew it was their fault, but it always hurt her to see her sister's sparking eyes in his face. This time however, her heart fluttered in a sad way and she smiled pleasantly back at him.
"What are they doing here?" Mrs. Weasley asked, her face red with her famous temper.
Severus decided to intervene at this moment, having watched the siblings interact. He was relieved to see that there were no drinks in the room, so the headmaster hadn't tried to slip him some liquid luck.
"They are Potter's family, Molly. I am unsure as to why you are here," he said snidely.
The plump woman's eyes flashed for a moment. One that Harry has seen any time the Dursleys were mentioned. Once he would have gladly seen the fiery woman rip his family a new one, but they had surprised him by bringing his favorite family member with them. Even after all they did, he felt like it was the best present they could have ever given him, but acknowledging another freak as part of their family. Instead he felt a sludge of dread in his stomach and slowly inched in front of his family, Hermione discretely following him.
"Hello, Hermione," she said stiffly, surprised to see her with those awful people. She gave the young harpy a cold look.
"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," she replied with a false smile.
"Mrs. Weasley, you didn't believe that rubbish Rita Skeeter published in Witch Weekly, did you? Because Hermione's not my girlfriend."
"Oh!" said Mrs. Weasley. "No – of course I didn't!"
The witch was obviously caught off guard and did believe in that rubbish since she stopped looking at Hermione with frosty eyes. However Harry was just happy that the redhead matron stopped looking at his sister like she was a scarlet witch as she called them.
The Dursleys wisely kept quiet, Vernon and Petunia quickly coming at head with one of their fears, being defenseless against their magic. They were surprised to see the young witch and wizard walk discreetly to protect them. Petunia almost cried, it was more than what she ever did for him.
"Molly?" he asked, knowing that she had avoided the question. However he had to deal with hundreds of students a day who often tried to avoid answering his questions.
"Albus invited us saying that Harry would like to see us since we're like family to him," she said crossly, her hands on her hips.
"Yes, well as you can see Potter's family is here. So what do you think is the proper to this development?" he asked slowly.
Molly flushed in anger and embarrassment. Harry's family was here, which wasn't what Albus and her had planned for. He was going to be part of her family one day, she had a right to be here. Even if he didn't know it yet…
"I want to speak to Albus, let's see what he thinks about this matter," Molly ground out.
Bill was obviously uncomfortable with this new development. He was surprised when his mother had told him that they would be seeing Harry off before the last task in place of his family. He was aware that his mother had wanted him to be part of the family, but he didn't think they were close enough to take place of their family. He was reassured when his mother told him that Albus had thought it would be a pleasant surprise for the boy to see friendly faces before heading off to danger. Now he knew something underhanded was going on and he did not like it.
"Mum, I think we should go," he said calmly, "Harry's family is here and we came as a placement."
The matron however was unhappy with his response.
"Harry is practically part of the family! We should be the ones spending the day with him!" she argued.
"Mum, as much as I agree that Harry is practically part of the family. Harry's family rightfully deserves to be the ones to spend the day with him," he said diplomatically.
"Absolutely not! I'm going to see the Headmaster about this, don't worry Harry," she said as she rushed up to him and pat him on the face as though to reassure him.
Petunia saw how uncomfortable her nephew was and grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him closer to her. She felt him tense up and released him, but noticed that he felt better as his shoulders sagged with relief. She took careful notice in this, recognizing his unease with touch. Petunia was a shrewd woman and took notice to details. Normally it was with appearances, this time it was with his actions and responses. This could be his last day and she wanted to make it… nice for him. She didn't want to think about him possibly dying in this tournament, but there was a reason it was discontinued in the first place.
Molly was shocked that the other woman pulled the boy away from her. How dare she!? She was the one who was comforting him, how dare that bitch deny him comfort!
"Can't you see he's in need of reassurance?" she hissed.
"Can't you see he is uncomfortable with touch?" Petunia shot back with a glare.
Molly took a step back like she had been slapped. All of her children needed to be comforted with physical touch. Harry was going to be one of hers, he couldn't be uncomfortable with her touch of all people?
Hermione stepped back and leaned in towards her brother, their arms were touching. Harry was a bit taller than her or else they would be shoulder to shoulder.
"How can you say that? Hermione is touching him!" she shouted.
"Hermione is different, Mrs. Weasley," he said softly.
Molly's eyes snapped onto Harry. "How so, dear" she tried to sound motherly.
"Hermione is my family…" he said softly, looking down at his feet, "by blood."
He knew it came out tactless, but Hermione was his blood family. It made her more important, more special to him somehow. He wasn't ashamed of her, or them being related, it was just… aloud it sounded insulting.
"What? Since when? How come we never knew you and Hermione were related?" Molly asked, her voice increasing in volume.
Hermione's nose twitched. Molly was making a scene… now she knew where Ron got it from.
Of course Molly's voice crashed over the other conversations in the room so they were able to hear clearly. However that was also when Ron showed up, surprised to see his family. He was going to say something, but hearing his mum yelling caused him to keep silent. It had nothing to do with the fact that he also wanted to know the answers. He was Harry's best mate, how come he didn't know that his mate and Hermione were related?
Hermione and Harry didn't want to say anything, still wanting to keep their blood bond a secret. Petunia and Vernon also held their tongue not wanting anyone to know that Petunia was part of a blood bond, not really knowing what it meant aside from being blood relatives with the Grangers.
"Since when was it any of your business?" Snape said dangerously.
He didn't know why, but seeing Molly verbally attack Hermione triggered something inside of him. He refused to look into it, but acknowledged that it wasn't any of their business. Blood magic was tricky business, blood bonds weren't made often for a reason.
If a blood bond was made with any ill intent it could literally cripple them. Should someone be underhanded and have selfish reasons for wanting to be related to another person and trick them into a blood bond, they could be robbed of their magic or their life. If they were completely honest and in sync, it was a good match and the magic would harmonize with the bonded pair. However so many other things could go wrong, and with so many families having their own agendas, it was in their best interest to stay away from such blood magic.
He was almost surprised at finding out that Petunia had blood bonded with Miss Granger's mother. Petunia was a shrewd woman and was quite the opportunist, and in their childhood was quick to throw someone else under the proverbial bus. Yet it would appear that Miss Granger's mother was an honest woman and was clear and concise with her reasons for wanting a blood bond with the other woman.
Hermione was surprised by her professor's reaction and felt her stomach fill with an embarrassing heat. She was sure that if she stuck her hand in her knickers she'd find them wet.
Molly blinked in surprise at the tall dark wizard. The redheaded matron was sure that her heart stuttered. She knew that he was part of the Order and was technically on their side. Still, everyone knew that he was a dark wizard and he was feared and revered for a reason, even if nobody liked him. Nonetheless she knew that she wasn't really owed any sort of explanation. Her deal with Albus was a marriage contract with Harry and Ginny with a side bonus of Ron marrying Hermione. She didn't really ask any other questions since they were both sure that Harry was only related to the muggles, aside from obvious pureblood cousins. Of which no pureblood really looked deep into.
More traditional purebloods had family trees so they could make marriage contracts without having the couple be too closely related. The basic rule of thumb was no direct lineage, no siblings, no direct aunts or uncles, and no first cousins.
Bill fidgeted a bit away from his mother.
"Mum, he's right. We don't have any business knowing things like that. Realistically if word got out, Hermione could be in danger. It was probably a conscious decision for her safety," he said quietly although he knew everyone in the room was listening.
"Listen to your son, Molly. William is an astute wizard," Severus said silkily.
Hermione felt her heart beat in tune with her nether regions. She thought she was beyond this! She just hoped that no one was paying attention to her at this point aside from speaking about her instead of to her.
Molly's face grew redder.
"I'm going to speak with Albus about staying to spend some time with Harry. That's if he wants us to?" Molly looked shrewdly at the boy, knowing she was putting him on the spot.
She often did this with her own kids and knew it made them fidget. The only ones it didn't work with were Fred and George.
Harry's heart dropped into his stomach as his hands grew sweaty, even with his sister there. Hermione however could feel his need for her grow strong, and this time she was able to do something about it.
"Mrs. Weasley, while we appreciate your generosity and your support, I do not appreciate you making Harry uncomfortable like this. He is not one of your children Mrs. Weasley and you don't have to right to punish him like this. You know for a fact a tactic like that is extremely uncomfortable let alone nerve wrecking, which is why it works so often. However you don't have a right to emotionally manipulate him like this and if you continue to do so I will make it clear that you are unwelcome this day," Hermione glared at the older witch.
Molly's eyes widened in shock, how dare a child speak like that to her. It didn't matter if she was right or not, it was rude.
"Hermione! You know better than to talk to your elders that way!" she scolded instead of responding, her eyes were intense and it put everyone on edge.
"Mrs. Weasley, was it? While she could have said it in a nicer way, I believe my niece is correct. Your actions were most uncalled for. If you would like to spend the day with our family, you can start by apologizing to him," Petunia said primly.
While she had planned on keeping her mouth shut, she was upset that someone else was making the boy uncomfortable. She raised him to be kind and polite, which is what he was doing. She had high standards and expectations, and she admitted they were indeed abusive, but this woman was emotionally manipulating him! While they damaged him emotionally, they never lied to him or showed him affection only to use it against him! Lily had done that and Petunia had hated it. At least that was one thing she didn't do.
Molly flashed dangerously as she glared at the muggle. Severus however was impressed and kept a keen eye on Molly to see what her reaction would be. Her dislike for the muggles was clear for all to see. It was against the law to attack a muggle, but the Weasleys were famous for their Weasley temper.