Disclaimer: I do not own any content relating to Harry Potter. I am strictly a fan fiction writer and do this only for my own enjoyment. I do not make any money from my writing.
Chapter 4: Potter Manor
The rest of Saturday night, the Granger family spent in discussion about Harry Potter's offer. Hermione made it clear that she absolutely wanted to continue her education, and this seemed like a dream come true for her. Mr. Granger voiced a few concerns about her living alone with a boy that she barely knew. Mrs. Granger seemed to take her daughter's side but said that the ultimate decision would come after they toured Potter manor. They had to make sure that everything Harry told them was truthful and even though Harry seemed genuine, they had to trust but verify.
When Hermione went to bed that night, her mum visited her in her room and closed the door. "Honey, I wanted to talk to you without your father. He is looking out for your safety and that is his number one concern. While I understand his concerns, I wanted to talk to you about a different kind of safety." Emma said.
"Muuuum! I know what you are going to say. I know that living with a boy my age is frowned upon, but I don't want to miss out on this opportunity! I also know that you'll tell me to be…careful, but I don't think that will be an issue. I don't see me 'Hooking Up' with Harry or anyone else" Hermione said with a large sigh.
"You know that your father and I trust you completely, Hermione. But we don't know much about Harry or his godfather, and the fact that we won't be immediately available if you get into any trouble, concerns us a bit. We know how important this is to you. I won't deny that your education is very important, and we definitely want you to be happy, but we are just a little nervous about the living situation. Hopefully we will have those fears alleviated tomorrow. For now, though, get some sleep, sweetheart. We can talk again tomorrow." Emma said, turning out the light and closed the door.
The next morning, the Grangers sat at their dining room table eating a light breakfast of mixed fruit and porridge. Hermione was nervously twirling her spoon in her bowl, continuously looking around the room, expecting Harry to suddenly appear. Instead, a knock on the door a few minutes later, startled Hermione and she ran to the door. She opened it and saw Harry grinning at her.
"Good morning, Hermione!" Harry said, offering her a handshake. Hermione nervously shook his hand and giggled.
"Uh, hi Harry! Good morning. Won't you come in?" Hermione led him into the house.
"Good morning, Harry. How are you doing?" Emma asked, standing in the front hallway with Robert.
"I'm well, thank you for asking. Are you ready to go or do you need some more time?"
"Nope, we are ready to go!" Hermione said excitedly. Her parents grinned at her and nodded.
"Well then, if you will grab my arm, we will be off!" Harry said, extending his arm.
A few moments later, Harry, Hermione, and her parents felt themselves spinning rapidly, being pulled through a tight space. After a few seconds, they all landed on the front lawn of Potter manor. The Grangers looked around the grounds and were in awe of the massive space. The front yard was immaculately cared for, with neatly trimmed bushes lining the front walk, and a very large fountain with a statue of a phoenix. The house itself was the largest the Grangers had ever seen. It seemed to go on forever. It was at least four floors, with large columns in the front and a wrap-around porch. The main house had two wings that extended out from it.
"Wow! This is your house, Harry?" Richard asked.
"Umm…yeah, it is. I know it's a bit much, but its been in my family for over 300 years. Sometimes it feels like such a waste since it is only me here." Harry looked sheepishly at the house. He had often wondered why his family needed such a large place. From everything he knew about his parents and grandparents, the manor always seemed like overkill.
"It's a very nice house you have, Harry", Emma said, while glaring at her husband.
Quillby suddenly popped in and welcomed them to the Potter manor. She opened the double doors and gestured them to follow her. The small elf first showed them around the ground floor.
"The main floor consists of the main dining room, which can comfortably seat 40 guests, the main kitchen, a large family room, library, and several rest rooms and offices", the elf stated proudly.
Hermione's ears perked up quite noticeably when she heard that there was a library. "Oh! Can we see the library please?"
"Hermione dear, please don't be rude. I'm sure we'll see it soon", Emma scolded her daughter.
"Oh, umm… sorry Harry", Hermione blushed.
"No worries, I'm sure we can head to the library now if you'd like", Harry suggested.
Hermione nodded her head vigorously and Harry chuckled. Quillby lead them down the marble hallways to a set of double oak wood doors. She opened them and Hermione found herself in her personal heaven. The library was two stories tall, the room lined completely with tall shelves filled with all manner of books. There was a massive fireplace on one wall and a couple of comfortable couches. The large picture windows let in a lot of natural sunlight. A few large conference room tables sat in the middle of the room.
"Harry! This library is incredible!" Hermione shrieked. "I could stay here forever!"
"Well, you will have plenty of time to spend here, Hermione. This is the primary space that the tutors use to teach. We also have a few other areas we use to practice spells. I suppose we should continue the tour though" Harry led the group back to the hallway and Quillby continued.
After going through the rest of the first floor, the group continued the rest of the tour of the numerous bedrooms, and a whole wing of the house dedicated to guest quarters, before they ended up on the back patio which overlooked the large sprawling gardens and a gigantic pool off to one side of the gardens.
The Grangers and Harry took a seat on the patio chairs and was served a tray of small sandwiches and afternoon tea by another house elf. Harry spoke to them about the rest of the grounds and all the outbuildings that were spread around the property. The Grangers occasionally asked a few questions about the property, but they were astounded when Harry told them that he actually had a few other manors around the world, including a small island off the coast of South America. Harry didn't want to flaunt his wealth, so he tried to keep the details limited to general facts.
After an hour of relaxing and speaking about the property, a few people exited the main house and approached Harry and the Grangers. Harry introduced the witches and wizards that made up his tutors.
"This is Eliza Fitzgerald, my transfiguration and charms professor" he gestured towards a younger, short witch with blonde hair. She gave a small curtsy and smiled at the group.
"And this is Duncan Hornbeak, who teaches defense and also physical fitness", Harry said. Duncan shook hands with the Grangers and gave a few details about his profession.
"Walter Smith is my potions master, and he also teaches basic healing if you are interested" Harry said while looking at Hermione, who nodded her head.
"And finally we have Priscilla Webster, herbologist extraordinaire" Harry introduced a middle aged witch, with grey hair and brilliant blue eyes.
"Mr. Potter is too kind", Priscilla said, bowing slightly to the group.
"If you are interested in any additional classes or topics, we also have a few other tutors that can be called upon" Harry added. He wanted to make sure that Hermione got a well-rounded education.
Hermione sat and thought about what other classes she might be interested in while her parents questioned the tutors that were there. After a few minutes Hermione spoke to Harry.
"I think I might like to take ancient runes and possibly a course on wizarding law, if that were an option" Hermione said, looking at Harry. "Maybe arithmancy and care of magical creatures if that wouldn't be asking too much", she added.
Harry chuckled and shook his head. "Whatever classes you want to take, we can get a tutor for. It wouldn't be any trouble at all. You can even practice magic here on the grounds of Potter manor, since the wards and Fidelius charm block the Ministry's ability to detect underage magic."
Robert and Emma suddenly looked slightly affronted at their daughter. "Hermione, that would be asking a lot of Harry, dear. We shouldn't ask too much, especially considering the cost of hiring so many tutors" Emma said with a slight scolding tone.
Harry quickly waved them off. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger, please do not worry about any cost or other considerations. I want to help Hermione as much as I can. Besides, I am not hurting for money."
"Even so, I can't figure out why you are willing to do all of this for our daughter. It's not like we expected this help from you" Richard spoke up.
Harry shifted around in his chair and seemed at a loss for words for a moment. He bowed his head a little and then promptly dismissed his tutors. Only after the tutors left, Harry finally spoke.
"From the time I was a baby, I grew up completely isolated from anyone my age. I have had an excellent education and many adults who watched over me and cared for me. However, I have never had the opportunity to make any of my own friends", Harry suddenly paused. He continued pulled out his wand and conjured a perfect Protronus charm in the form of a stag. The brilliant light of the stag bounded around the gardens and then disappeared.
"I have trained so hard from such an early age that I can easily hold my own against any manner of dark wizard or anyone that would wish to do me harm. But the one thing that I missed out on was having my own friends."
Hermione nodded in solidarity with Harry. She easily recognized the slight pain that Harry had on his face. She too often wore the same expression on her face.
"When I met Hermione in Dumbledore's office and learned why she wanted to leave Hogwarts forever, I knew I had to set in and help. Seeing her so utterly broken because she only wanted to make some friends was something that I could relate to."
Robert nodded his head and felt a sense of relief. He now understood Harry's motive behind wanting to help his daughter. He knew the boy was well trained. He could see that from the first time he watched Harry at the train station. Now he finally knew why Harry would be so willing to take his daughter in and help her to complete her education.
"Harry, would you mind if you and I spoke privately for a moment", Robert asked.
Hermione suddenly looked worriedly at her father but was escorted away by her mum. They took a stroll through the vast gardens. Once they were far enough away, Robert addressed Harry again.
"First, I want to thank you for the offer to help Hermione. It is exceedingly generous of you to offer your home and the use of your private tutors. Emma and I are so thankful that Hermione has this option available to her. It utterly broke our hearts when she decided to leave Hogwarts", Robert said.
He stopped for a moment and seemed to collect his thoughts. "Hermione has not had an easy life when it comes to making any friends her own age. Before learning that she was a witch, she went to a primary school just down the road from our house. It was there that she first became ostracized for her…uniqueness. We tried to intervene at the school but that only seemed to make matters worse for her. I cannot tell you how many times Hermione came home crying, sometimes with ripped clothes or damaged books. It was far too often."
"Hermione is our only child and it pained Emma and I to watch her struggle so hard. We thought about moving her to a different school, but we realized that she would most likely have the same experiences there as well. We were at a loss for what to do. When professor McGonagle visited us a few summers ago and told us about Hermione being a witch, we were understandably shocked at the news. But we realized that this might be the blessing that we were looking for. A new start for Hermione and the chance that she might be with other kids who might be like her". Richard took a sip of his tea and continued.
"Try to imagine our heartbreak when she would write us letters home, letting us know that nothing had changed. She was still being teased and sometimes even abused by her classmates. We wrote to Dumbledore, and he tried to address the other students, but it didn't seem to help. In fact, it again made matters worse. We were all devastated." Robert had tears falling from his face now.
Harry felt a bit of anger rising in him when he thought of the horrible time Hermione faced at Hogwarts and even before then. "Mr. Granger, I promise that I would never hurt your daughter. It makes me angry to hear how others have treated Hermione. I cannot tolerate bullies and I will do everything I can to protect her. I am hoping that Hermione and I can become good friends. I think we both need that".
Robert nodded his head. He took a moment to collect his emotions and looked out into the gardens where he saw Emma and Hermione walking and talking.
"Harry, it is a father's responsibility to protect his family. I trust you know that. However, I want to make one thing clear to you before we accept your offer", Robert looked at Harry who nodded. "Hermione is a young woman, and you are a young man. You may be considered an adult in the wizarding world, but to us you are very much still an adolescent. You will respect Hermione's privacy and keep boundaries where she is concerned. If she ever tells me that she is uncomfortable in your house, I will find you and hurt you. Do you understand?" he asked, looking at Harry with a look of immense seriousness.
Harry nodded his head and extended his arm to shake Robert's hand. "I promise you on my life, sir, that I will never hurt your daughter and I will respect her space and privacy. I will never make Hermione uncomfortable or do anything that displeases her."
Robert stood and shook Harry's hand firmly. "Then we have an agreement, Harry." Robert motioned for his wife and called her back. A minute later, Emma and Hermione returned to the patio. Both looked slightly nervous, waiting for someone to speak.
Harry approached Hermione and suddenly gave her a small hug. "Welcome to Potter manor, Hermione. Your new school."