While Hermione was with her master in Bulgaria Harry was bonding more with his new family. Abagail was gently teaching him court manners, Leeroy only interjecting when asked, which was usually at the dinner table when they all congregated for the night. Thimi was often asked to sit with them, but it was obvious that the little house-elf was missing her mistress. When she was fussing over her new family her words were often peppered with "Mistress would want" or "Mistress would be most displeased if".
It endeared her all the more to the Granger family, instead of annoying them. The one thing they all had in common without a shadow of a doubt was their love for the curly haired witch. It was also nice to see someone else caring a great deal about the often overlooked girl, now young woman.
Leeroy continued to teach him how to keep a firm frame of mind, lightly stressing that it was important for The Family to know how to do so at all time. In response Harry did his best to learn, wanting to live up to his new family's expectations and not disappoint them. The green eyed wizard was surprised that once he kept up at it, it was easier to maintain. It also made things easier to remember from his new mum's lessons.
While he missed his sister, he was also slightly glad that she was away in Bulgaria as it made both of his parental figures pay him more attention and had time to spare to get to know him, and he them. Sometimes it was daunting, but well worth it. All the while he worried in the back of his head how his parents would react when he came out. He trusted Hermione to know their reactions better than he did, but he was worried that it would be different because he was a guy. Still he knew he had to do so before she came back from her trip.
He thought back to his birthday, which was nearly a week before she left, and smiled. He was sure it would help him cast a patronus when he needed to.
Harry woke up to someone knocking loudly on his door. Reaching over he grabbed his glasses before remembering what day it was. He smiled to himself, he didn't tell his family his birthday since he didn't want a big affair. Harry was used to small birthday presents from his friends since he started Hogwarts, but he had never been comfortable with the idea of a party.
He did when he was younger, but soon learned that when too many people focused on you, it usually wasn't for anything good. It was practically the same at Hogwarts. He knew it shouldn't apply to all aspects of his life, but he couldn't help it.
The knocking got louder.
"I'm coming!" he yelled, so whoever was on the other side of the door could hear him.
As soon as the words left his mouth, his door opened and a mass of curly brown hair launched itself onto his bed before pulling him into a tight hug.
"Happy birthday, Harry!"
As his body didn't immediately tense up he knew who it was, even without the sound of her voice.
"Thanks, Hermione," Harry said with a small smile, turning to look at her.
Upon sight, he noticed her face was lit with a bright grin that he had seldom seen on her face he noticed. He couldn't help but turn his smile into a grin.
"Get dressed and come downstairs," she instructed as she would at Hogwarts when she took the time to wake him up.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied exasperatedly.
Hermione smiled at him knowing it was said in jest. The witch was excited as it was her brother's first birthday with his new family. Her parents already knew it was his birthday as she had reminded them plenty of times when they were just best friends. It was impossible for them to forget when she'd fuss about it for a full week, worrying what to get him. They even went so far as to take her to the owl post so he could get her presents. She always limited herself to one or two things at max so his aunt and uncle wouldn't confiscate them, or in case Ron found out as she'd usually just get him candy or a jumper. She stopped worrying about weight so much after seeing the owl deliver Harry's first broom, and after ordering a few books via wizarding catalogues.
With that she flounced out of his room, with a bounce in her step, stunning him that she actually flounced.
'She looks like she's more excited about my birthday than I am,' he though with amusement.
Hermione made her way into the kitchen with a giddiness that came to her only a few times a year, one of them being shopping for a new school year.
It was the first year that she didn't have to hold back and contain her excitement and affection for the young bespectacled wizard. So she had went ahead and bought as much as was reasonably possible, her mother went with to set the limit. Abagail didn't want Hermione to shower the young boy in as many things as she could possibly buy to make up the many years for him, or overwhelm him.
The older woman was sure that he would be overwhelmed anyways, but it was expected. They had shopped in both muggle and magical shops for the boy. They also contacted a few people for a small party.
Finally dressed for the day, Harry made his way downstairs for breakfast as was now routine. He was the last one to be seated, but the first one to be served, which was surprising since Thimi usually served them all at once. He was given a small stack of pancakes with a single candle in it.
"Happy Birthday, Master Harry. For your birthday I wanted to make you something special, so you have can celebrate by having cake for breakfast and dessert," Thimi grinned.
Harry blushed and smiled. "Thank you, Thimi. It smells wonderful," he replied knowing he would have to accept the house-elf's gift lest he upset her. He was aware that she didn't want money, and was happy to serve her family, and if that was how she wanted to gift him, he wouldn't stop her.
His parents also wished him a Happy Birthday after he thanked the house-elf. It was a pleasant affair and just as they were finishing up Abagail spoke up.
"Harry, since it's your first birthday with us we planned a small party. Family and Master Snape," she smiled before her face twisted, "Rather, just us, Hermione's Master, my sisters and their families. So Petunia and hers will be arriving in about an hour while my other sister will be arriving with hers…"
"Mum loves her sister, Aunt Carol, but she's a bit like Malfoy. She likes to brag a lot, exaggerates about most things, and turns everything into a competition. But like Aunt Petunia she goes on about her daughter, Phoebe," Hermione finished with her face scrunched up.
Harry's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why would you invite her if you don't like them?" he asked.
Leeroy sigh good-naturedly, "Because from what I've noticed that's how they are. They love each other, but everything has always been a competition between them for as long as I can remember. Carol can be quite tactless at times, and other times just flat out mean, but she's still family. However your Mum gives as much as she gets, and with the whole secrecy thing, as Carol is unaware, she doesn't get to brag as much as she used to. So now she gets to brag about you and Hermione now," he finished with a grin.
"Phoebe is an airhead. She's pretty and from what I understand, popular. She enjoys being social… Gossipy, focuses on her looks, keeping up with fashion, and generally has good luck with most things. If something bad happens, Aunt Carol 'takes care of it'. However unlike Aunt Carol, Phoebe doesn't really care. I've never been pretty enough for her, I don't care for fashion or socialites, she's jealous that I can and I'm often invited to social parties with the upper classes, I just don't. Mum and Dad do, but they always make an excuse for me such as lessons. Most of which are true, but I'd rather be learning something new than politicking. After a while Phoebe stopped trying to connect with me. Especially when she found out that I got my high school diploma before leaving for a boarding school."
"So, Carol – Aunt Carol, is Aunt Petunia with a daughter," Harry surmised, "And Phoebe is jealous enough to not care about you just what you have access to."
"That's Carol's fault, but yes. Hermione would rather talk about a book, and Phoebe would rather talk about fashion. Carol would then talk about how Phoebe was more fitted for fitting in, and I'd remind her that people wanted to fit in with Hermione. Carol would talk about how Phoebe was rubbing elbows with the right people, and I would remind her that Hermione is one of those people who others want to rub their elbows with."
The more Harry listened the more confused he got.
Leeroy seeing that, lightly put his hand on his shoulder, "Ladies are all about politicking. Hermione doesn't care for it, but she can put on her big girl knickers and outclass them all. You saw at the Yule Ball."
It took Harry a second before his eyes lit up with understanding. Hermione didn't have many girl friends, more acquaintances from what he could tell. The girls in his year preferred to talk about fashion, boys, and other things that Hermione didn't care for. He'd seen the way they laughed about her hair, how she bothered more with her books than her looks, and how she would never get a boy 'looking like that'. Being friends with him she didn't have to do any of that. Him and Ron didn't care about any of that. Even Neville didn't care about that, just about Hermione being herself.
At the Yule Ball however she cleaned up so well that it left half the school speechless. She could put up with the best of the girls, and still beat them all around at everything. Like with school, it wasn't a challenge for her.
"What can't you do?" he asked his sister.
"A few things. I'm still learning how to knit, even though I don't have much motivation to do so now. But I guess if I can make something nicer than Mrs. Weasley, that would be nice. I can't play table tennis, I'm bad at woodcarving, I'm horrible at sculpting, I can't do yo-yo tricks to save my life. I'm horrible at football, kite-flying is completely laughable. I can't powerlift, I'm a poor fisherman, and believe it or not, I'm bad at most board games," she grinned.
"Our Hermione isn't perfect, but she takes lessons to learn as much as she can. She seems like it, but that's only because of how much time she puts into learning those activities. For some reason though most 3-D art forms escape her. You should watch her attempt to fly a kite. She is pants at chess and checkers, even though she memorized the plays," Abagail continued, "and she has poor dice rolls on the other games."
"We had to throw out all of her woodwork attempts. They were all just… sad," Leeroy said.
Hermione at this pointedly folded her arms in front of her chest and blushed with a firm put out look on her face. Harry however smiled at her.
"Anything else other than some art and sports?" Harry asked.
Hermione pouted and gave him a stern side glance, "Drinking, I can't hold my liquor. I can handle some wine, but nothing harder… and I can't ride a bike."
"Is that why it's so hard for you to balance on a broom?"
She nodded petulantly.
While he knew she wasn't all that great at wizard's chess, and disliked the idea of playing quidditch, she seemed to excel at everything else she put her mind to. Well… her knitting attempts were atrocious, but she was getting better. It was nice to know that while she had this secret side, and she seemed to be good at everything, she wasn't perfect. It was hard to tell when she was at the top of their year, but thinking about it she didn't play exploding snap, gobstones, or board games, and they didn't do much of anything else at Hogwarts. So it was understandably hard to miss. His perfect sister wasn't perfect.
Herbology taught them how to garden. Potions was like cooking. Astronomy made it so you were able to make star charts, which in turn made it so you could chart most things; that was all year 1 stuff. Most things that were taught at Hogwarts made witches and wizards proficient in most things. Getting the hang of wand movements was great for wrist and hand dexterity. Those who didn't, honestly he noticed, didn't practice enough. He wasn't anywhere near the top of their year, but he was in the top 20. As for athletics, it was hard not to be fit walking all the stairs at Hogwarts, especially if you lived in one of the towers.
Suddenly he didn't feel inadequate next to the brightest witch of their generation. She studied hard, practiced hard, at things they were all taught. She put forth the effort making her seem perfect, but in the end she was still just human.
Instantaneously he wasn't so confused at meeting this competitive Carol and Phoebe. While it seemed like they tried to put Hermione and his Mum down, they were able to hold their own and even gave better than they got. Now he understood while Malfoy's behavior didn't bother Hermione as much as the blond ponce's attitude bothered him and Ron. She was used to that type of behavior before she went to Hogwarts.
"What about your side?" Harry asked, looking at Leeroy.
Leeroy shrugged, "We don't bother with the rest of The Family more than we have to. There are some events we have to, and we keep up correspondence, but we try not to be all together any more than we have to. It's a safety precaution. The more of us there are, the more security we need."
"That and the more of The Family that are here, the more risk there is that the public will find out, and someone who isn't happy with The Family in general, the more of a target we make. It's not as bad as it was about a hundred years ago, but there are still some people out there who would rather we didn't exist at all," Abagail finished.
"What about a ward?" Harry asked, thinking about the blood wards that were around Privet Drive. They had yet to make him aware of the wards they already had up.
"While The Family can know about the wizarding world, if they bothered to look or ask, others still can't. So if we have a ward here to prevent that from happening, people will begin to question if there's a force field or something like that, most likely a large scientific discovery that we're keeping to ourselves, which would also cause a huge backlash – "
"What Hermione is trying to say is that it would raise too many questions. That and my side of the family don't know about magic. Phoebe and Carol are big gossip hounds and wouldn't be able to keep it to themselves. So those presents will be given to you after they leave," Abagail cut in and finished.
"What about Thimi?" Harry questioned.
"I will be invisible, and everything will already be served before the guests arrive," Thimi answered.
The young wizard nodded accepting it for what it was.
"Dave is fine though," Leeroy put in, finishing his breakfast.
As informed most guests arrived within the hour. Hors d'oeuvres were set up in a buffet style, a marvelous 3 tier treacle cake with toffee topping was made and displayed on a cart by itself next to the food.
Greetings were exchanged and people milled about, Dave actually talking with his new nephew for a bit before he started talking about sports and girls. As Harry had come off as shy, Leeroy had taken control of the conversation while letting his new son make his escape.
Eventually the 3 teens made small talk. Harry was telling Dudley about all the lessons he had to go through and how he was getting on with his new parents, and Dudley was telling them about the new atmosphere in their home. Phoebe was in between as Abagail tactfully shunned her without appearing to be rude, with Petunia following her lead. Carol kept trying to integrate her daughter in their 'adult' conversations, as the young woman was now 19 turned 20, instead of being allocated to speaking with the younger circle, without success.
For her part Phoebe was embarrassed and upset that she wasn't the center of attention and the other women simply waived her off. While her mother tried to include her the other women wanted nothing to do with her. She wanted to bring her fiancé along, but was told he was not invited. If she hadn't wanted to go to shopping in France so bad, she would have stayed home in England.
Her new cousin was cute, with gorgeous eyes, but had a wild mop of hair. The other part of his family was beneath her notice. Hermione surprised her, being put together in such a casual way that it almost made her jealous. Her hair wasn't the rat's nest it usually was, she wasn't wearing her frumpy jumpers (surprising her as she'd never seen her cousin's body shape), and her teeth had been fixed (she had been sorry she didn't have pictures of that mess). Instead her cousin's hair was in beautiful wild, but tamed curls, her dress was loose and a warm brown, with brown flats to match. She didn't have any make-up on, so aside from her hair (which she thought was permed) it looked natural. Moreover it looked effortless.
She refused to engage with her younger cousins in conversation. She was an adult now and would prefer to have adult conversations. Besides they were all probably talking about books, she scoffed. Ignoring how Petunia was going on about her son being a boxing champion.
It was after the fifth failed attempt that the door was opened, and a man dressed in all black with black eyes to match glided into the room. His hair was long, but pulled back tastefully. His nose large and slightly hooked, but fit on his face. While the black made his skin look extra pale, he had some color about him. The man, who was obviously not family, greeted her Uncle Leeroy and Vernon before walking towards the 'kids'.
Hermione saw him and glided over to meet him half-way. She placed her hands on his chest and lifted herself up on her toes, as he leaned down and kissed her cheek softly. Nothing that could be deemed inappropriate, especially in France.
Harry had mixed feelings, but settled on contentment. His sister was practically glowing softly with happiness. The dour man obviously cared for her with the tender way he greeted her, even in front of strangers. It wasn't something he expected, knowing the image would change as soon as they were back at Hogwarts, but he was happy that this was how his sister would be treated in private.
They separated and joined different circles again, Severus with the men, and Hermione back with them. Carol narrowed her eyes at the strange man before the ladies walked over to them.
"Severus, so glad you could make it," Abagail grinned pleasantly, pressing her cheek to his in a kissing motion.
The potions master nodded when she pulled back.
"Ah where are my manners, Severus this is my sister Carol and her daughter Phoebe."
"Severus, it's a welcome surprise to see you here," Petunia said before anyone else could saying.
Meanwhile Harry, Dudley, and Hermione watched to see what would happen as Phoebe had made it quite clear that she was so disappointed her fiancé couldn't be there.
"And who are you? One of Harry's relatives?" Phoebe questioned, her tone confrontational.
In response the dark wizard raised an eyebrow at her while looking down his nose, "No. I am Hermione's Master, as she is my apprentice," he said smoothly.
His voice filled their bellies with a pleasant, but extremely surprising warmth, causing every woman but Abagail to blush. Phoebe was extremely embarrassed by her body's reaction to a man who didn't fall under her definition of handsome. His voice was positively sinful.
"And what is she apprenticing in?" Phoebe asked, a slight glare accompanying her blush.
"Pharmaceuticals. It's for a private company," he answered with a slight sneer.
"I thought she was in a boarding school. Besides you behaved awfully friendly for a professional relationship," Carol said with her own sneer.
"Our personal and private life are separate I assure you, Madame. It is not unusual for a master and their apprentice to form a close bond."
"Then why are you here?" Carol seethed, "Phoebe's fiancé couldn't be here, but you're not even close to family."
"I'm a close family friend. Isn't that right Petunia?" Severus implied.
Petunia lightly cleared her throat, "Yes. Sev is a childhood friend. We've known each other since he was 8 or 9, around there."
"Oh? That still doesn't explain Hermione and Severus' obviously close relationship," Carol said.
"Indeed? It's been discussed that when she is of age, it is possible we may consider courting. Abagail and Leeroy have approved, as has Hermione herself."
Carol and her daughter immediately curled their lips in distaste, "So you're a pae-"
"Don't you dare accuse of him of such a foul thing," Hermione hissed. "It's not uncommon for two intelligent minds to be attracted to one another. As he said, when I'm of age, we may consider. It."
"Indeed. Need I remind you of what happened when you accused Lee of that as well?" Abagail sneered at her sister, "Besides, Hermione already told you we approve. Severus is a very intelligent, honorable, man who will challenge and care for our daughter in every way that he can should they decide to date," she crossed her arms practically looking down her nose at her sister.
"It's no wonder she's confused about a proper age gap in a relationship," Phoebe sniffed.
"Considering the people we go to school with, it's not uncommon to have a betrothal contract before they even attend school. So half of them are betrothed to older people already," her cousin said with her arms crossed like her mother and an eyebrow raised, eerily similar to Snape's Harry noticed.
Carol and Phoebe's eyebrows furrowed in scandalized confusion.
"Ah. Of course the people Hermione are talking about are heirs to lords and ladies with very large and very private companies. It's not uncommon among the higher class. Most of the arrangements are business mergers," Severus said silkily.
Harry thought about that for a moment before it finally clicked into place why there weren't as many couples in Hogwarts that he thought there would be. Granted Hogsmead was a go-to for a date, and there was even a tea-shop that seemed practically made for snogging, but aside from perhaps a handful of each year 3 and above, not a lot of students seemed to date or try to get a date.
"And what would you know about the school? I heard it was extremely private," Carol said, hoping to wheedle some information out of the tall man.
"It is. It's a school for the gifted. I attended there when I was younger, along with Petunia's sister. As an alumni I was requested to help students learn how to make natural medicines. Hermione has proved herself more than gifted in this area and I've taken her as an apprentice," Severus said smoothly.
While he acknowledged he was more of a chemist, most potions that he taught were cures or could be used as cures, so it wasn't that far off. They were the magical versions of medicines that a witch or wizard could brew in their home, if they weren't complete dunderheads. So he wasn't lying. He was asked by Dumbledore to teach, but left out the part of being an actual core teacher, lest he give them any more ammunition against him.
Harry stood there and tried not to stare at how masterfully Snape took care of the situation without snarling at them. He was even telling the truth without giving them details. He even made it sound like his class was optional so he wouldn't look like more of a dirty old man to them.
"Lee how do you feel about this," Carol asked, hoping to get something else instead of a united front.
"Believe it or not, I approve of Severus. If they decide to date down the line they have my blessings. No one else would be able to keep up with Hermione. As much as I want grandkids through immaculate conception," he shot a look at his daughter and wife, "I want her happy. I know she'd rather stay an old maid than be unhappily married to a buffoon. If Severus can make her intellectually happy, so be it," he said with a bored look upon his face, "Besides we're not here to talk about Hermione and her future relationship. We're here to celebrate Harry. It's his birthday, and his first one being part of this family."
Hermione grinned, "That's right. He's finally 15 and if he does well this term he'll finish core classes before getting advance classes," she said walking away and latching onto his arm.
"If he does better he'll either end up in an internship or his own apprenticeship," Abagail said.
Carol blinked slowly while Phoebe blinked rapidly trying to catch up to speed. Gifted indeed.
"Are you done posturing Carol? You've barely said 4 words to the lad besides 'happy birthday'," Dave said, finally speaking up.
Carol blushed in both embarrassment and also a bit of shame. She had come for a birthday party, just to try to squeeze her daughter into being accepted as an adult and completely ignored the main reason they were there to begin with.
Aside from his looks, his name, his birthday, and now how old he was, she didn't know anything about her new nephew.
To keep up appearances Severus reached into his cloak, and pulled out a small tattered book, "Happy Birthday, Harry," he said. The name felt weird on his tongue, but he forced it out anyways to prevent suspicion.
"Thank you, Sev," Harry said cheekily, holding the book gently.
With a stern look the potions master let it slide. It was obvious the boy had caught on to the game of 'old family friends', he was lucky that they boy hadn't deigned to try to call him uncle. It would make their future co-existence awkward, with Hermione being his sister.
Harry looked down at the tattered book that was brown and bland on the outside, obviously well-worn and read. He opened it and saw on the very front page: "Lily and Sev's Idea Journal", in curly hand writing.
His heart both filled up and dropped at the same time. It was true. His mum was friends with Snape. The green eyed wizard turned the page and skimmed the first page. It was an idea to find a way to play muggle music at Hogwarts along with a list of who they liked. He was surprised at the bands that were listed: Queen, The Who, Judas Priest, The Clash, Sex Pistols, and ABBA. He was surprised to see names like David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Cat Stevens, and Elton John.
Even though half of it was Snape, the other half was his mother. This was the most personal item he had of her, a way to get to know her rather than about her through stories. He could see both their handwriting on it, with some hearts next to Snape's choice of musicians.
"Thank you, I'll take good care of it, Sev," Harry said quietly with a soft smile, his eyes shining with heartfelt sincerity.
"Indeed," Severus replied, slightly uncomfortable. It was nice to see Lily's eyes happy for once, and it made him feel better that he was the cause. He hoped she was proud of him if she was still watching over her son.
"What is it, Harry?" Abagail asked.
"It's an idea journal Sev and my mother wrote together," Harry said with a large smile.
Abagail and Leeroy beamed at the dark wizard.
"Maybe you and Hermione can pick up where they left off," Abagail suggested.
Harry grinned at his new mum, "Yeah. I would like that."
Severus also allowed a quirk of his lips before fixing his face.
"If you need any extra help with those ideas, you are free to ask me. I can tell you some of what we tried to do and where we failed," he said.
Surprise lit in his eyes, but it was the brightness in his sister's eyes that tied up any loose thoughts he made have had.
"Thanks, I'll do that," he smiled brightly at the pair.
An olive branch from his least favorite professor, an idea journal from him and his mother, and support from his new parents. It was more support that he'd received from an adult figure that wasn't obligated to support him.
"Mum… Dad," Harry said softly from the doorway.
The pair were sitting on the couch, Abagail resting her head on her husband's lap while reading a book. Leeroy was playing with her hair, looking at the book every so often.
"Yes, son?" Leeroy replied, curious. There was only a handful of times Harry had called him that and he wanted to positively reinforce it.
"I…," He took a deep breath, "I have something to tell you."
Abagail sat up, "What is it?"
'Gryffindor courage.', He braced himself.
"I'm gay," he mumbled.
"I'm sorry? I didn't hear that," Abagail admitted.
"I'm gay," he repeated, his face burning bright with embarrassment and a little shame.
"There's nothing wrong with that, son," Leeroy responded in his normal tone.
"You're not… upset or… disgusted?" Harry asked, a bit timidly.
Abagail furrowed her eyebrows, "Of course not! It's who you are. We accept Hermione for who she is; why would we not accept you?"
Leeroy nodded his agreement, "Now we just know to pester you about whether you've found a boyfriend yet or not," he said impishly with a congenial smile.
Harry smiled, a weight lifted off his chest. It went much better than expected. He should have known to trust Hermione, she would be happy when he told her.
"Was that all?" he asked.
Harry nodded, "Yeah. That was all," he finished with a smile.
"We should go robe shopping soon then," Abagail said absentmindedly.
"Hm," Leeroy agreed as his wife laid back down on his lap with a smile on her face.
"What?" Harry asked, confused.
"You'll feel better about yourself. That and you're growing like a weed," she said with a grin, while opening her book.
"Don't worry she'll make sure you look handsome enough to catch a bloke's eye," his dad threw out with a lopsided smile.
Harry stood in the doorway dumbfounded before his senses came back to him, "Yeah. I'd like that. Just let me know when," he beamed, before taking his leave to go practice the wand movements for the spells in his new defense book. He couldn't wait for Hermione to get back.