"Hey! Who's a good boy?", Hermione greeted the shaggy dog that came to meet her in Eel Brook Common Park in London as discussed. Sirius jumped up at her delightedly and Hermione had to laughingly remind him to behave like a dog. "Okay, I know a secluded spot where you can transform," she said quietly.
They walked for a few minutes through the part of London Hermione knew like the back of her hand. Sirius followed her heel, behaving like a perfectly trained dog. She praised him as he obediently sat down at every traffic light and looked at her. She signalled him as they turned into a small alley formed by two bare, windowless walls of houses. Sirius glanced over his shoulder once more before transforming.
Wordlessly, he handed her a small piece of paper with an address written on it in handwriting she didn't know. Then he took Hermione's hand after the note had dissolved in her hand and a second later she felt grass beneath her feet after being pulled through the narrow tunnel. Apparating was her preference over Floo Powder, but travelling as a raven was still the most pleasant. Hermione gasped as she caught sight of the large manor house surrounded by neatly trimmed ornamental trees and hedges.
"Welcome to Black Manor! You look stunning, by the way," Sirius exclaimed, pulling Hermione into a hug.
"And so do you, Sirius. Thank you for inviting me! This is amazing! Did you buy the manor?" she asked and Sirius shook his head with a grin.
"Built it," he said, crossing his arms in satisfaction as he looked at his property from afar. Hermione looked at him with wide eyes and followed him as he immediately began a tour of the garden.
"How are things with Harry?" asked Hermione, noticing immediately that Sirius' expression was changing. Harry had described to her in a few letters how pleased he was not to have to live with the Dursleys anymore and that Sirius and he were slowly getting used to each other but would need a little more time in some matters.
"It's okay, I guess. I'm not really sure about him. He seems really happy and exuberant most of the time, but sometimes he's very introverted. I don't know if it's just puberty or if I'm doing something wrong," Sirius replied.
"Okay, I'll talk to him later," Hermione said, who could read the silent request for clarification on Sirius' face even without her powers.
"Thanks, Hermione! I really am doing my best, but sometimes it's still hard."
"I bet it is," she replied, smiling encouragingly at him. Sirius thanked her, though looked past her a moment later and grinned.
"And there you see the very centrepiece of the manor," he said, pointing into the distance. Hermione giggled as she realised where he was indicating. Harry shot out from behind the house on his Firebolt and when he caught sight of the two of them, he came flying towards them like an arrow. Sirius dodged the approaching broom with a leap to the side, but Hermione, knowing Harry's flying skills, remained on the spot, laughing.
"I hate when he does that," Sirius said, picking himself up off the ground. Hermione grinned and stormed towards Harry, who had come to a halt laughing just a metre in front of them.
"Harry! You've grown!" she exclaimed, hugging him tightly. She had to look up at him because he seemed to have had a growth spurt in the few weeks they hadn't seen each other.
"Hi, Hermione, where's your broom? I was hoping we could do some flying," Harry greeted her and Hermione lifted her shoulder bag.
"I couldn't walk all around Fulham with a broom over my shoulder," Hermione said with an apologetic look.
"Take it easy, Harry! Shall we show our guest the inside of the manor first? How about a cup of tea?" asked Sirius and the two of them followed him through the large portal door into the entrance area of the large house. Hermione shook her head with a laugh when she saw the interior. "'You don't like it?" asked Sirius with a grin.
"I do, but it's obvious that two boys decorated the house. It looks like you tried to make a whole house look like the Gryffindor common room."
"I don't see anything wrong with that," Sirius said, still grinning and the three of them laughed as they walked into the lounge, which looked almost one-to-one like her common room at Hogwarts, except instead of being decorated in blue and bronze, it was red and gold. Sirius pointed to a long table and the three of them settled down at it on the comfortable chairs. Hermione was slightly startled when a house-elf appeared beside the table with a loud bang.
"Miss Granger! Dobby is so pleased to see you! Dobby has been baking in the kitchen all morning because he knew Miss Granger was coming to visit!" the elf exclaimed, hopping from one leg to the other so that his bat ears wiggled beneath his cap.
"Hello, Dobby! What a surprise!" said Hermione, shaking Dobby's hand after he had bowed deeply to her.
"We hired him after we tried to cook something ourselves the first night," Sirius said with a grin and everyone laughed. Hermione looked down at the beaming elf, who looked as if he had won the lottery twice in a row. She was happy for him because she knew how much he adored Harry since he had freed him.
Dobby placed the large tray of tea and some biscuits on the table and Hermione was pleased to see that there were four cups on the tray. With a glance, she thanked Sirius and Harry for treating the elf like a full member of the house. Dobby sat down with them and looked as if nothing better could happen to him in life than to sit here with them.
"Thank you so much for the invitation! I have also brought a guest gift," she said, performing a summoning charm on the two rolls of parchment with her hand in her pocket.
"You don't have to give us a present," Sirius and Harry said as if from the same mouth, but Hermione put her finger over her lips with a smile.
"You'll be the first to receive a finished copy," she said mysteriously, sliding them both a rolled parchment sealed with a ribbon. They both unrolled the parchment and then looked at her in confusion. Hermione, who had in the meantime retrieved two pots of ink and two quills from her bag, pushed the writing tools towards them and winked at Dobby, who was watching the proceedings intently with a biscuit in his hand.
"Harry, write something on the parchment," she prompted Harry, watching excitedly as he dipped the quill into the ink and, after a moment's thought, wrote something. Sirius' eyes widened as his still blank parchment turned green.
"What happened?" asked Harry with interest, eyeing Sirius, who by now was looking at Hermione.
"What did you write, Harry?" asked Hermione, smiling at Sirius, who already seemed to have understood more than Harry.
"'Something'," Harry said with a grin and Hermione giggled. "What's the matter with you? Let me see it, Sirius," Harry said, reaching for the still green parchment. "It's green. Hmm," he said, perplexed.
"You can't see it?" asked Sirius, glancing at Hermione who smiled at him.
"Now you write something on your parchment, Sirius," she said, looking intently at Harry to watch his reaction. Harry's eyes widened as this time his parchment turned green.
"What the?" exclaimed Harry, looking at Hermione with wide eyes. "It says 'Sirius: Hello Harry!' And at the top of the page, it now says 'Sirius Black' too," Harry read out what was on his parchment for only him to see.
"You're absolutely brilliant, Hermione!" exclaimed Sirius, beaming at her enthusiastically.
"Thank you," Hermione said, smiling and giggling as Harry looked at the two of them, still confused, as if they were speaking in a different language.
"Okay, please explain. Did Sirius write this on his parchment?"
"Exactly. The parchments are linked together. You can use them to exchange messages. But since you don't really need it because of your mirrors, I have another one for you," she said, pulling two new rolls of parchment out of her pocket. "You can use them to communicate with me. I have already written the first greeting. It will be registered to you as soon as you reply to me for the first time."
"You have more of these? Where did you get them?" asked Harry, and Sirius grabbed his forehead.
"Harry! She made them herself!" he exclaimed. "You are reading the Daily Prophet. Don't you think you would have noticed if someone had put something like that on the market?"
"But when did you enchant them? At Hogwarts?" asked Harry and Hermione had to strain her powers to keep from blushing.
"That's trade secret," she said with a smirk, to which Sirius laughed.
"Never mind, that's absolutely brilliant!"
"Don't mention it," Hermione said, feeling herself turning a little pink around the nose now. "I got the idea when I saw your mirrors."
"Thank you so much, Hermione! Can you explain what the parchment can do? I'm sure that wasn't all," Sirius said, looking at his two parchments as if he had found a treasure.
"Gladly. As you've figured out by now, the parchments are linked together and transfer the written words of one to the parchment of the other. When one has a new message, the parchment turns green. The reason Harry couldn't see anything on Sirius' parchment is privacy protection. Since Sirius wrote on the parchment first, it belongs to him and only he can see what is written on it. The identity is also displayed on the other person's parchment so you know who's writing."
After Hermione returned from her city trip to Vancouver, she had made a few tweaks in the last few days, such as putting the name of the person writing in front of the messages and at the top of the parchment.
"That is truly masterful magic that Miss Granger has worked," Dobby said with wide eyes.
"Thank you so much, Dobby! The tea is delicious, by the way!" she replied, watching happily as the elf took a leap of joy in his chair.
"This is going to take the wizarding world by storm! That's what I said to Remus back when he created the mirrors. But he could only make the one pair. You did it, Hermione. How long does it take to make a pair?"
"It took me half an hour to make the three pairs here. Once you've done it a few times, it's not hard. But before I can go to market with them, I have to get the idea protected first. And that brings us to why you are the first to get a parchment. Sirius, would you support me in getting the patent off the ground?"
"Do you really even need to ask that? Of course! I'll get everything ready!" exclaimed Sirius, jumping up. She thanked him and, giggling, looked after Sirius, who left the room with his eyes on his news parchment. Harry eyed Hermione intently, which embarrassed her after a few seconds.
"You're incredible."
"All right, all right. I'm glad you like it. Will you show me the rest of the Gryffindor common room?"
"Sure!" said Harry with a laugh, carefully rolling up his parchment again.
"Don't worry, there's a protection rune woven into it too. You can throw the parchment in the fire or dip it in soup, it'll still look the same afterwards."
"Wow," Harry said and Hermione laughed as he then stuffed the parchment into his trouser pocket without care. He led her through the various bedrooms, showing her where she would be sleeping for the next few days before the three of them would leave for the Quidditch World Cup. As she had already guessed, the rest of the house was also decorated in Gryffindor colours and the more Hermione saw of the house, the more she liked it. It was very inviting and she was already looking forward to spending the next few days here.
Harry's room was still a little sparsely furnished, but the two copies of the Quidditch trophies from the first two years at Hogwarts were a real eye-catcher. She immediately recognised that he had fulfilled some of his childhood dreams, because in one corner there was a large television and a video game console that Hermione knew from the commercials. She sat down cross-legged on his bed and pointed with her hand to the empty space next to her.
"How are things going with Sirius?" she asked as Harry sat down opposite her. He looked at her over his glasses for a moment before looking down at his hands folded in his lap. He looked hesitant and Hermione waited patiently until he looked her in the eye again.
"Mixed. He's super nice, of course, and after the Dursleys, I'm not really entitled to complain about anything, but sometimes he gets a bit carried away," he said, looking down at his hands again. "He calls me James at least once a day without realising it. And he makes some pretty mean comments sometimes too."
"Hmm, I'm sure that's not pleasant for you, but I think you need to give him some time, Harry. Put yourself in his shoes. You're the spitting image of his best friend, who he lost fourteen years ago. And thirteen of those fourteen years he spent in Azkaban. He still has to learn that you're not your father just because of the way you look. But you have to give him the time to realise that on his own."
"I know. Most of the time it's not so bad either. Since we finished decorating, though, he's been having a bit of a crisis, I think."
"What do you mean?"
"He's pretty bored and he's not getting back into wizarding society as well as he thought he would, I think. Since we finished the house, he's really just been hanging around. I think he could do with some work. That's why he jumped right up when you asked him to help, I guess."
"Hmm. Sounds like he could do with a girlfriend, too," Hermione said, giggling as Harry blushed. "But seriously, Harry. I'm sure he just needs some time to find his place and get to know you properly."
"Thank you," Harry said and Hermione pulled him into a hug. She sensed in his emotions that he had a strong desire for physical closeness. She pulled him a little closer, but let him go when he suddenly gasped.
"What's wrong?" asked Hermione, following his gaze. Harry had already got up and walked over to his desk where he had placed the two scrolls of parchment. Hermione realised that one of them had turned green and smiled as Harry unrolled the parchment and wrote a short message on it.
"We're supposed to come downstairs," he said with a grin, rolling the parchment back up. "This is really great! Sirius is quite excited about it. He could have just used the mirror like he usually does."
"I'm glad you like it!" said Hermione, following him through the corridors to the drawing room. She was flattered that her invention had been so well received. Sirius was waiting for them at the table where they had been having tea and had spread out in front of him the two parchments Hermione had given him.
"There you are! I've been talking to my lawyers. They are preparing a list of questions to best prepare the patent. If you follow it, you shouldn't have any problems with someone stealing this idea here," he said, pointing to the parchments.
"Lawyers?" asked Hermione in surprise.
"Of course. I don't know anything about magical law, so we'll take all the assistance gold can buy."
"Sirius, I don't want to put you in too much trouble," Hermione said reflexively, but Harry snorted.
"Hermione, take a look around. Sirius alias Lord Black is one of the richest men in England. You don't have to feel bad if he wants to help you. After all, you made it possible for us to be here together in the first place."
"Thank you, Harry," Sirius said with a grin and a twitch of his eyebrows.
"Okay, all right! Thank you very much, Sirius!"
"You're welcome. Anyway, my people are getting everything ready, so we can wait and see for now. If you want, you can fly for a bit before it gets dark. Hermione, you can take my broom until we get yours. We shouldn't have any trouble apparating straight to your house in the dark and packing everything up."
"That sounds good!" exclaimed Hermione and then followed Harry to a room where two brooms hung in mounts on the wall and Harry's Quidditch clothes floated in the air as if they were being worn by an invisible mannequin.
They flew until it was time for dinner and Hermione enjoyed finally being able to sit on a broom again. Despite her visit to Severus and the short holiday, she had spent the last few weeks mainly in her own four walls or as a raven in the air. Harry had a practice snitch that they took turns pursuing. He had much better reflexes due to his training and inherited talent, but Hermione also managed to catch the snitch a few times. Dobby's dinner was excellent and consisted of five courses, one of which surpassed the other. Dobby shed a tear of joy when Hermione praised him for the great dinner. When night finally fell, she followed Sirius into the garden, where he took her by the hand and apparated with her to London.
"Nice house," Sirius said as he looked around the Granger house a little later, while Hermione gathered the rest of her things and her broom. When Hermione returned to the ground floor, he was just sitting on the sofa, zapping through the channels of the TV, to Hermione's surprise.
"You know how a telly works?" she asked.
"Lily and James had one back then. James wouldn't give it up once he had watched telly at Lily's parents' house," he said with a melancholy expression on his face. Hermione smiled and joined him on the couch.
"Sirius, can we talk for a moment before we apparate back?" asked Hermione cautiously. He immediately turned off the television and turned to her. "It's about Harry. You said earlier this afternoon that things were still a bit difficult between you sometimes."
"Yeah, have you spoken to him?"
"Yes. I don't quite know how to start," Hermione said uncertainly. She didn't want to hurt Sirius.
"Just say it, don't worry," Sirius said, giving her an encouraging nod.
"Harry's not James, Sirius," she said, taking his hand as she saw him look sadly to the side. "I can't even imagine how tough it must be for you. But it's really important that you don't see Harry as a clone of James."
"I know, but like you said, it's really tough. Every day since Harry came to live with me, I feel like it was all a dream, that Azkaban was just a nightmare and I'm waking up in my best friend's house. I force myself every day to look into his eyes and see Harry."
"I know. I've also told him before that you need time, but it's also little things that aren't immediately obvious. Harry hasn't received any love at all for most of his life. I don't think anyone except Mrs. Weasley ever hugged him until last year. It's evident that you're doing everything you can to make him feel good, but Harry has yet to get used to being loved, rather than just tolerated, himself. He is sensitive. I noticed the other day at Hogwarts that teasing affects him more than he shows on the outside. He also said to me earlier that you often call him James and make somewhat mean comments. I'm sure you're not being mean to him on purpose."
"Of course not! But it's good that you say that. It's always good to have someone from the outside to give an assessment. I hope it's not too late."
"I don't think so. He knows perfectly well how hard the last thirteen years have been for you. Don't worry too much. I am firmly convinced that there is no one better for Harry."
"Thank you, Hermione. I'll do my best. I also have one more thing I want to talk about."
"Oh, okay."
"I have a suggestion. You don't have to decide right away, but I'd appreciate it if you'd at least hear me out for a minute. When you have the patent for the parchment, you will need someone to help you sell it. Assuming you want to sell it. You said earlier that it took you half an hour to make three pairs of parchment, so 10 minutes per pair. Maybe you can make it a little faster if you have practice with it, but it's still not manageable for one student to meet the high demand, which there will be 100%. You don't have to decide right now, but I'd like to offer to take care of getting your product to market and making sure no one steals your idea."
"That sounds really good!" said Hermione. She hadn't given much thought to selling the parchment before. Sirius' offer sounded like a perfect opportunity for both parties. According to Harry, Sirius was looking for work anyway.
"As I said, think it through. But first, let's get you a watertight patent."
"Thank you for your help, Sirius."
"You have done so much for me, Hermione. I will do everything in my power to make sure you have a good life. But you'll take care of that yourself. You're the most brilliant witch I've ever met. And I've met Lily Potter."
Hermione felt herself turning pink and looked down at Sirius' hand, which was still clasped in both of hers. She squeezed it tightly and smiled at Sirius. He stood up and helped her with her bag and broom. In the darkness, they could just disapparate in the living room, which made carrying the broom much easier.
"Oh, one more thing," Sirius said, holding her for a moment as they arrived on the damp grass of the garden outside Black Manor, lit by the waning full moon. Hermione turned her head towards him and looked at him questioningly. "How did you manage to get the Trace off your wand?"
"What?" asked Hermione, perplexed. Had she used a spell and given herself away? Immediately the words of the Elder came to her mind. Her powers were only to be revealed to those she trusted. But already her anxiety was subsiding. There were few people she really trusted and Sirius Black was one of them.
"Come on, I won't tell anyone. It was obvious you'd been working on the parchments all holiday. Remus told me you asked a few questions about his mirrors just a few days before the holidays. Even someone that brilliant takes a lot of attempts to pull off such a complex enchantment."
"Oh. Okay, but you have to promise me that not even Harry will find out from you. If he finds out, he'll find out from me."
"Understood. Padfoot promise," he said, raising a hand, which made Hermione giggle.
"I still have the trace on my wand. I just don't need one," she said, silently shrinking her broom to the size of a pencil in her hand. Sirius' eyes widened and he stared at the small broom in her hand for a moment. Then he threw his head back and his barking laughter echoed across the garden.
"Absolutely brilliant, as I was saying," Sirius laughed. "Your secret is safe with me."
"Thank you, Sirius," Hermione said and went after him to the huge mansion where a single window was lit by candlelight. As Hermione walked down the corridor to her guest room after brushing her teeth, Harry's door opened.
"Hey, do you have a minute?" asked Harry, letting her in when Hermione nodded. She walked past him and sat down on his large four-poster bed, which was enchanted like the ceiling of the Great Hall at Hogwarts, showing the night sky. Hermione gazed enviously at the multitude of stars for a moment until Harry, who had sat down beside her on the bed, cleared his throat and brought her back from her longing.
"Everything okay?" asked Hermione anxiously.
"Yes. What took you so long?"
"I was talking to Sirius. He's really trying hard to make everything perfect for you, but he's going to need time to get used to everything. Thirteen years of Azkaban isn't something you forget in a few months, like I said earlier today."
"I know. I feel bad for talking about him like that."
"You don't have to, Harry. Just like him, you've suffered a lot over the last 14 years. Believe me, I know all about it. Every joke and every little thing is a little sting and the wound gets bigger and bigger."
Harry looked at her with wide eyes and nodded.
"You and I, we have a lot in common in terms of our past before Hogwarts. The difference being that I experienced love at home and had a refuge. Just like you, I didn't make any real friends until I got to Hogwarts. Magic changed my life, but old wounds heal slowly," Hermione said and Harry nodded again.
"It's so... unfamiliar. Everything. It feels like..."
"Like you didn't deserve it?"
"Yes. The Dursleys didn't just ignore me, they made my life hell. I was the freak to hide from the neighbours. Here with Sirius and Dobby, it's the complete opposite. Sometimes I feel like a normal life in a normal Muggle house would suit me better than this," he said, gesturing towards the room. "But when you think about it, it doesn't really make any difference as long as Sirius is here."
"What do you mean?"
"I'd live in a cave with him too before I went back to the Dursleys. That's why I've felt bad. It really has been complaining at a high level."
"Don't say that, Harry. It's important to talk about anything that makes you unhappy. Promise me you'll always talk about your feelings. No matter who you talk to. If you don't talk to Sirius, it will take much longer for you to really find each other."
"Thank you, Hermione. Why are you so good at everything?"
"I don't know. As far as feelings go, I can only tell you what works for me, hoping it's the same for you."
"Thank you. Were you just talking about us?"
"No, Sirius has also made me an offer, which is really quite tempting. He wants to take care of selling the parchments and all matters related to that, because I don't have enough time to do that when I'm back at Hogwarts."
"That would be a really good occupation for him. What did you say?"
"That I think it's a great offer. We have to finish the patent first, of course. We agreed to work out everything else after that."
"Cool."
"Pretty cool, yeah," Hermione said with a smile, pulling her knees to her chest. She glanced around Harry's room and, after a closer look at the bookshelf, noticed that it was almost entirely Muggle novels. "I didn't know you owned books, Harry! You like fantasy?" she said and Harry, knowing she was alluding to his lack of motivation at Hogwarts, gave her a guilty sideways glance and turned pink.
"Yes. I used to snatch the books Dudley got for his birthday. He didn't read those anyway. Fantasy novels always gave me a haven in my stair cupboard. And now I live in what Muggles would call a fantasy world myself."
"For me, it was the Arthurian saga. I was quite amazed when I read that Merlin was in fact a wizard and just as powerful as the legend describes him to be."
"I enjoyed reading those too. Have you read Tolkien?"
"Not The Lord of the Rings, but my dad used to read The Hobbit to me. That book was cute," Hermione said. They chatted for a while about their time in the Muggle world, reminiscing about the few good times of their childhood. Hermione appreciated the fact that Harry, like Severus, had been part of the Muggle world and didn't see it as strange and alien.
"We should go to an amusement park sometime, as Muggles," Hermione suggested and Harry's eyes began to light up. The Dursleys had never taken him to one, instead showing him the pictures after their visits with Dudley to humiliate him even more.
"But without Sirius then! He'll get us to the Wizarding Gamot," Harry joked and they both laughed. "But that would actually be a good idea for tomorrow. I'll try to find out where the nearest amusement park is."
"That sounds great!" said Hermione and stood up. She hugged Harry and didn't let go until she read in his emotions that he was on the verge of becoming uncomfortable. They wished each other a good night and Hermione put herself into a trance full of anticipation for the next day.
When the two of them told Sirius about their idea the next morning, he was a little sad that they were going there without him, but he also understood that they could move around the Muggle world without worrying about him. He promised to arrange the portkeys while Hermione went through the list of questions that had been sent by Sirius' lawyers.
She was amazed at how minute and extensive the multitude of questions were. She herself wouldn't have thought about half of them, which, after reading through them, seemed completely sensible and necessary to protect her parchment in the best possible way. When she had answered all the questions, she was sure that she had the right person at her side in Sirius. After they had sent the list of questions back with an owl, he came to them with a pencil and an eraser and pressed them into Hermione's hand.
"The pencil will be going in twenty minutes, so think about whether you have everything with you. The eraser leaves at just after six tonight. Remember, no one can see you when you take the portkey back."
"Thank you very much, Sirius," Hermione said, and like Harry, set off to change. "Hey, that looks really good on you," she said as Harry came down the stairs ten minutes later in clothes Hermione would describe as skater fashion. She could see in Sirius' eyes that he had a line on his lips, but he stifled it when he met her gaze.
"Lookin' cool," he said, grinning at Harry, who was obviously pleased by the words. "Have fun, you two. And don't eat too much junk food! Dobby will be crushed if you're not hungry later!"
Hermione and Harry rolled their eyes and went out into the garden laughing, where a few minutes later they were taken by the Portkey to a small forest area from where the two could already hear the noise of the amusement park.
"Flamingo Land? That's cute!" exclaimed Hermione, pulling Harry by the hand towards the ticket office. The two spent a wonderfully relaxing day in the world they had grown up in. Hermione enjoyed being free and unthreatened among Muggles with Harry. They ate fish and chips and candyfloss while laughing at the idea of how Sirius, Ron or Susan would react to the attractions, mascots and animals. Hermione also caught the looks Harry was getting from many girls around their age. Harry, who didn't seem to notice any of this, was beaming all day as much as she usually only saw him after winning Quidditch games. Hermione too caught a few obvious glances from Muggles her age, but ignored them and enjoyed her day with Harry.
"Sirius is asking if we can still cope without him," Harry said with a grin as he closed the book he had opened as a cover for the message parchment.
"Let him dream," Hermione said with a laugh.
"He'd definitely be good company here, but I think he'd also quickly feel uncomfortable among so many Muggles," Harry replied and Hermione nodded.
"We could take him into the Muggle world with us as Padfoot. Then he won't stand out so much."
"Great idea! I'll suggest going for a walk with us later."
"But don't tell him like that or he'll be offended," Hermione said with a laugh. Harry nodded with a grin and leaned back in his plastic chair, relaxing. "This is a really great day so far, it's been a lot of fun!"
"I agree, I've never had so much fun in the Muggle world," Harry replied and Hermione tried not to let the pity she felt show in her smile. "And it's cool to spend some time alone with you, too. Usually there's always someone around, Susan, Ron, Sirius..."
"True," Hermione said, leaning on her hand on the table as she looked into his green eyes. "So, how's your holiday been so far? Apart from all the new impressions and getting used to each other between you and Sirius, I mean. Did you invite all your house mates to the new common room?" she asked and Harry chuckled.
"Nah, but Neville visited twice and Ron once," Harry said, making a face that Hermione couldn't really interpret. Actually, she would have thought he would have been happy to see his best friends, but he didn't give that impression.
"And that wasn't good?" she enquired.
"It was cool with Neville, it took us a bit to find some stuff to do, but we talked a lot and I showed him some video games. He hasn't liked flying that much since the first lesson with Madam Hooch."
"Understandable," Hermione said, remembering the fall on Neville's first broom flight that she had had to cushion to prevent worse.
"Yeah, but we got to talk and do a lot outside of Quidditch, so it was all cool. With Ron it was... Hmm."
"What was wrong? You guys are usually the best of friends."
"I don't know, he was in a pretty bad mood and made some condescending comments about the house, Sirius, and Dobby. I don't know what's wrong with him, to be honest, but we got into quite a fight. Harder than we ever did at Hogwarts."
"Oh. Hmm, do you think he was just having a bad day?"
"I don't know. He's been having quite a few bad days lately if you ask me. Gets mad at me for no big reason and treats me like air for days on end."
"Hmm, sounds a bit like puberty too, but it's strange that he'd pick his best friend of all people to fight with."
"I don't know. Somehow I get the feeling it's because of what happened with Pettigrew and the fact that I live with Sirius now, but I don't know what's bothering him so much."
"Good question. Hmm, I hope you two make up then."
"We'll see. Anyway, I'm glad we're getting on well."
"Me too," Hermione replied, smiling at Harry. Curious about his feelings, she made a mental connection and was pleased to have her feeling confirmed that he perceived her as a really close friend. She sighed contentedly and smiled at Harry, who returned it shyly. "This would be our chance to tell each other some secrets," she said with a grin and giggled when Harry blushed.
"I don't have any secrets."
"Oh Harry, come on, just one teeny tiny one?"
"I really can't think of anything."
"Hmm, if you don't have any secrets, then surely you can tell me if you fancy anyone at Hogwarts, can't you?" she asked in a casual tone, grinning knowingly as Harry glanced to the side and blushed even redder. When their eyes met, he had to laugh too and Hermione gave him an encouraging nod. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she said, trying not to let her curiosity show too much on the outside. Susan had really infected her with her favourite pastime. Harry shook his head with his lips pressed together and Hermione was almost in tears, he looked so cute as he tried to get out of the conversation.
"Ok, I'll start a little easier. Do you like girls or boys? Or both?" she asked quietly so no one at the neighbouring tables could hear their conversation, even though no one here knew them.
"Girls only," he replied, blushing again.
"Okay, is there a girl at Hogwarts you're interested in?"
"Hmm, there is, yeah," he said quietly after a few seconds in which he seemed to be struggling with himself. Hermione looked at him tensely and giggled when he pressed his lips together again.
"Do I know her?" she enquired and Harry nodded. Hermione couldn't suppress a quiet euphoric sound that made Harry chuckle.
"You definitely know her better than I do. But she's out of reach anyway."
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Hermione with raised eyebrows.
"That someone like me wouldn't have a chance with her. Satisfied?" replied Harry and Hermione felt anger flare up inside her.
"Someone like you? Bullshit!" she said loudly, lowering her tone as she noticed a few heads turn to look at her. She would love to instantly fly to the Dursleys and turn them into pigs forever. "Harry, even though you've been told otherwise in your past, you're a really pretty boy. Don't look at me like that, I mean it. You might not have noticed, but quite a few girls our age that we've walked past today have taken an interest in you. And I'm not saying that to make you feel better, but because it's true."
"Come on, stop it. No one has ever been interested in me, except for my scar."
"Believe what you want, but if you were to turn around right now and smile at the blonde girl back there, I guarantee she'd blush," Hermione said, glancing over Harry's shoulder at the girl who had been eyeing them furtively ever since they sat down to eat. Harry turned around instantly and Hermione had to stifle a giggle as not only did the girl blush bright red and turn away embarrassed, but also Harry turned back around with a red face.
"That doesn't prove anything," he said and Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Believe what you want, I don't care. Then at least tell me who this girl I know is. Maybe I can help you," she said and twitched her eyebrows. Harry shook his head and Hermione squinted her eyelids. "You really are a hard nut to crack. Is she in our circle of friends?"
"No."
"Hmm, Ravenclaw?" she asked further and Harry nodded. "Come on, it's like pulling teeth with you!"
"She's on your Quidditch team," Harry said after a moment's hesitation and finally Hermione knew who he was talking about.
"Ooooh, Cho! She's really cute," she said with a wink. "But why would she be out of reach for you? As far as I know, she broke up with Roger before the holidays. And don't say you're not good enough again!"
"Really? Hmm, well... And besides, she's constantly hanging out with her flock of girlfriends," Harry said, turning pink around the tip of his nose again.
"Something could definitely be done about that. If you want me to, of course. But then you'd have to be Gryffindor enough to approach her," she said with a grin, giggling as Harry looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Cho Chang it is then, really interesting," she said, pleased that Harry had allowed himself to be drawn into a smirk.
"What about you?"
"What about me?" asked Hermione, grinning.
"Boys or girls, or both?" asked Harry in the same tone she had asked him earlier.
"Both," she said confidently, giggling as Harry's eyes widened. "I hope you don't have a problem with that?"
"Of course not! The Dursleys have often called random people on the telly gay and Dudley has pretty much claimed my whole life to his friends that I'm into men and teased me about it."
"Oh man, they really didn't leave anything out. Then I'm glad it didn't rub off on you."
"Never," Harry said seriously and the two began to talk about how different and in many ways better the wizarding world was for them both. Of course, there were things they both missed at Hogwarts, but they agreed that the wizarding world was the better place for them both. When it was time to leave the park, they walked a little way along a field back to the patch of forest where the first Portkey had already taken them. "This has been a really great day!" said Hermione as they both touched the eraser and waited to be taken back to Black Manor.
"Oh yes! We need to do that more often. Do something in the Muggle world, I mean. You're the only one it really works with."
"Gladly! Next time we could..." said Hermione, but before she could fully utter the sentence, she was pulled with a strong yank behind her navel into the sea of colours through which the Portkey transported them towards Black Manor. After a few seconds, it was all over and the two rolled through the grass laughing as the Portkey spat them out over the garden.
"Master Potter! Miss Granger! Dobby is here to tell you that dinner will be ready soon. Guests are coming!" chirped Dobby, greeting them at the front door.
"Aunt Andy?" asked Harry and the elf nodded, his ears wiggling. Hermione looked in surprise at Harry, who briefly explained that she was Sirius's cousin and the two of them quickly went upstairs to change before the guests arrived. Hermione, after her shower, opted for one of the dresses she had bought on holiday in France with Amelie. She braided her hair into a wide Dutch plait and was already met at the door by Harry.
"You look handsome," Hermione said when she saw Harry in his dress robes. She hadn't had time, in all her busyness, to get a dress robe from Madam Malkin.
"You too. Yellow suits you," Harry said, letting Hermione lead the way.
As they descended the stairs to the entrance hall, Hermione first caught sight of the slender legs of a woman wearing a dark green evening gown. Her eyes wandered along the curves and when Hermione caught sight of the woman's face, a switch flipped inside her.
"Get back Harry!" she cried, stopping abruptly and standing protectively in front of Harry. Standing in the entrance hall was the woman whose image she had seen more than once in connection with horrific crimes while researching the historical Daily Prophets. Her body began to tremble with tension, ready to fire a counter-spell at the slightest stirring of the woman.
"Relax! That's Aunt Andy. What's got into you?" said Harry from behind her and Hermione only realised that the woman was actually making no move to attack her when she took a closer look at her face. The large, soft eyes looked at her sadly. Her face was framed by wavy and neat brown hair, diminishing her resemblance to Bellatrix Lestrange by the second.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" exclaimed Hermione, giving the woman an apologetic look. Harry walked past her and hugged the witch. Hermione stood on the stairs still embarrassed by her mistake, not knowing if the witch would forgive her.
"Don't worry, my dear! If it had actually been my sister standing here, that would have been the appropriate reaction," the witch said, calling Hermione over with a wave of her hand.
"You have a sister?" asked Harry with interest, and Hermione walked up to the two of them to introduce herself.
"Two sisters, to be exact. I don't keep in touch with them anymore though, they both joined You-Know-Who when their husbands joined him. Bellatrix looks a lot like me, so I often get mistaken for her. Don't worry, my dear. My name is Andromeda."
"Hermione Granger, pleased to meet you. My apologies again. At second glance, you don't look much like her," Hermione said, taking the witch's outstretched hand. Harry looked at them both curiously and it was obvious that he had only met Andromeda a few times. Hermione smiled shyly at her and was glad she smiled back.
They heard a call from the dining room and started walking towards the room from which they could now hear peals of laughter from Sirius and another man. Hermione introduced herself to Ted, Andromeda's husband, and raised her eyebrows in surprise when he introduced himself with his last name, "Tonks". Hermione immediately had to think of the young witch she had spent some lovely nights on holiday with when working on the parchment had become too much for her. She glanced around the room and noticed that Harry was also on the lookout for another person.
"Where's Nym?" he asked.
"Coming in a little late because she was called out on an urgent mission just before the end of her shift. Things are crazy at the Ministry before the World Cup Final," Andromeda explained, sitting down next to Sirius at the table, which immediately magically expanded to accommodate the number of people seated. Hermione wondered if it was just a coincidence or if they were really waiting for Tonks. She resolved not to show outwardly that the two of them had already become closer, in case it really was her.
"Oh, I didn't know that. Dobby!" said Sirius, asking the elf, who appeared with a loud pop, if it was possible to wait until dinner. The elf nodded and immediately brought drinks for everyone present, who arranged themselves once more in the cosier drawing room before eating. Hermione chatted for a while with Ted, who was also of Muggle descent. He was telling her how Professor Dumbledore had shown him magic at his parents' house for the first time when the fireplace flared green and a young witch Hermione knew quite well stepped out and looked around the room.
"Oh my god! Hermione!" she cried, rushing towards her while Hermione was still busy trying not to blush at the stunning-looking Tonks in her black dress, which was deliberately tattered at the bottom of the hem above her knees, giving her a rebellious look. "You look hot," Tonks whispered in her ear as she hugged Hermione and giggled when Hermione whispered back the compliment.
Tonks greeted Harry next, who blushed deeply as she pressed his face into her cleavage. Andromeda cleared her throat but joined in Sirius' peals of laughter when she saw Harry's face, which had a mixture of annoyance and happiness written all over it. Tonks winked at him and explained to the interested group that she had met Hermione in the Auror's office during her day at the Ministry. She joined Harry and Hermione at the dining table after the greetings, which once again expanded for them, and sighed gratefully as Dobby made the plates of appetisers appear. Hermione could tell by the look on Tonks's face that the stress was getting to her more than she wanted to let on. Besides the Quidditch World Cup, the young witch had to prepare for her exam that would make her a full Auror.
"Are you on duty at the Final?" asked Hermione.
"Fortunately I'm not! The trainees have been given time off to study for the exams. But there's no way I'm going to miss the game!"
"Of course, you won't! Who would even cheer without you there?" asked Sirius and everyone laughed.
"Thanks again for the ticket!" said Tonks, beaming, blowing a kiss to Sirius. "Are you coming too?" she asked Hermione, throwing her arms up in the air when Hermione nodded. "We'll have to make sure we have male company then, or Harry will feel like the only rooster in the yard," she said with a wink and a giggle as Harry choked on his bite. "Isn't he adorable?" she asked and Hermione grinned. The meal turned out to be one of the most fun dinners Hermione had ever attended, thanks to Tonks. She entertained Harry and Hermione with numerous outrageously funny changes to her body, which was usually met with an amused shake of the head from her parents.
"Harry called you 'Nym' earlier, is that your real name?" asked Hermione with interest as they settled happily into the armchairs in the drawing room after dessert. Tonks gave Harry a sideways glance and grinned.
"No, it isn't, but Harry has quickly learned what's good for him. Nym is just about tolerable," she said, at which Harry blushed. Hermione looked at him questioningly. He made a definite motion with his thumb across his throat with a genuine look of fear and Hermione laughed. "Just keep calling me Tonks and we'll never have any problems with each other."
"Nymphadora! I told you not to threaten Harry!" exclaimed Andromeda, causing an instant change in Tonks' appearance. Her hair immediately lengthened, turned a deep red and curled dangerously around her head as if flames were rising from it. "Behave!" said Ted and Tonks pressed her lips together in resignation as her hair turned pink again, but she kept the length. Hermione giggled, which earned her a warning look from Tonks and she decided to respect her wishes and not call her by her real name, even though she thought it was very beautiful.
"Let's go for a walk," Tonks said, taking Harry and Hermione by the hand.
"So, are you shagging?" asked Tonks when they had arrived in the garden, glancing between them with a twitch of her eyebrows. Harry blushed heavily and Hermione was so surprised she looked like a deer in headlights before she laughed out loud.
"We're good friends, there's nothing going on," Hermione said after she had caught herself and giggled when Tonks put on a disappointed look.
"That means you won't be jealous if I keep snogging Harry?" she said, pulling him close to her side, to which Harry rolled his eyes.
"Stop it, Nym! She'll end up believing it!" said Harry, breaking free of her, at which Tonks and Hermione laughed. Tonks gave him a kiss on the cheek and tousled through his unruly hair.
"I guess I'll have to find you a pretty girl at the World Cup then," Tonks quipped and Harry rolled his eyes again. Hermione checked his emotions to see if the jokes were getting too much for him and was pleased to find that he wasn't taking Tonks seriously and was enjoying her presence. They walked around the garden some more and Hermione kept catching herself admiring Tonks' body in the saucy dress. She noticed that she didn't change her body as much as before when she had met her at the Ministry. When they arrived back at the house, Tonks yawned heartily.
"I really need to go to bed, but it's so much fun with you guys," she said as Harry and Hermione escorted her to the dining room. Andromeda and Ted came to meet them and said their goodbyes, apparating home. Hermione hugged Andromeda and was glad to see the witch give her a motherly hug despite her misunderstanding.
"You look really tired. I'll see you again in two days, after all," Harry said and Tonks sighed theatrically.
"Well, come here, you two," she said and pulled Hermione and Harry into a hug, stroking Hermione's bottom, which gave her goosebumps. Tonks grinned at her and Hermione was glad Harry and Sirius hadn't noticed. They said their goodbyes and Tonks waved, yawning, before she disapparated. They sat by the fireplace with Sirius and Dobby for a while longer, talking about their day at the amusement park, until Harry also yawned heartily and soon said goodbye.
"Do you have a few more minutes?" asked Hermione of Sirius, who nodded and was handed another glass of wine by Dobby. The elf seemed to have interpreted her tone and took his leave, giving them both privacy. "I want to work with you."
"Wow! That's great! Thank you so much, Hermione."
"I have to thank you, Sirius."
"To the parchment and the most brilliant witch to ever see the light of day!" exclaimed Sirius, raising his glass. Hermione gave him a warning look at the exaggeration, but raised her butterbeer and toasted him. "I've checked with the patent office, there would be one date before the final and several after. I would suggest doing it while the attention is still on the sport. That way we can prepare everything in peace and drop the bomb when we can meet the demand."
"That all sounds very good. Let's do it before the final then. I also had a few ideas to improve the parchment even more, but haven't dared to experiment here yet."
"Why not?"
"Harry doesn't know I can do magic without a wand and it's important to keep it a secret for now."
"Hmm," Sirius grumbled thoughtfully and took a sip of wine. She could tell he was wondering why she was keeping it from Harry, but he didn't probe further.
"If you perform the spells I tell you to, we could work on the improvements together without me having to do any magic."
"That's not a good idea," Sirius said, chuckling and shaking his head. "I'm nowhere near as good as you and I have no experience with enchantments. How about Remus?"
"Of course! A wonderful idea," Hermione said, beaming. She had been very sad the last few days before the holidays that Professor Lupin would not be teaching next year.
"Very well, I will instruct Dobby to deliver the message to him. The appointment at the Patent Office is the day after tomorrow, so if he is free tomorrow you could tinker together. I will, of course, have him swear an Unbreakable Vow that he will not have the parchment protected himself before our appointment."
"Sirius!"
"I'm only joking! Seems like I really am a bit rusty, if that didn't come across. No wonder Harry doesn't like it when I tease him a little."
"That actually sounded very serious," Hermione said but smiled at the grimace Sirius made. "That's great, I'm really looking forward to tackling all this with you!"
"Thanks, Hermione. I won't let you down."
"I'm sure you won't. I'm going to bed too," Hermione said, draining the rest of her butterbeer. Sirius stood up, looking a little indecisive. Hermione checked his feelings and, like Harry, recognised the need for physical closeness. Smiling, she reached out and hugged Sirius, who embraced her tightly.
"You should hug Harry more often, he craves it as much as you do," she said when he let go of her again.
"Isn't that uncool?" asked Sirius worriedly and Hermione shook her head laughing. "Actions speak louder than words. Show Harry that he can rely on you and that you love him. I know you love him as if he were your own child."
"Thank you," Sirius said in a choked voice and wrapped Hermione in his arms again. "Okay, enough family therapy! Sleep tight!" he finally said and they both chuckled.
The next day, Hermione greeted a curious Remus Lupin in the drawing room after breakfast. She shook his tentatively extended hand, which was covered in freshly healed welts. He looked shabbier than she had ever seen him at Hogwarts.
"Hello, Professor Lupin! Didn't you take any Wolfsbane Potion?" asked Hermione and Lupin chuckled.
"Hello, Hermione. First of all, please call me Remus, I'm not your teacher anymore. But you're right, I can't afford the ingredients, which is why I had to endure the transformation, unfortunately."
"What, and you don't say anything? You told me you could live well on your salary for now!" exclaimed Sirius, thunderstruck, glaring angrily at his friend as if he had deeply offended him. Lupin looked down at the ground in embarrassment, it was obvious he was uncomfortable. "Okay, you know what? You're going to show up here before every full moon, or I'm going to send my people out to find you. Don't argue!" said Sirius firmly, and it was obvious that Remus was going to resist at first, but then nodded with a sigh. "Good, that's settled then. You two have fun. If you need anything, don't be afraid to call Dobby," he said and left the room, not without giving Hermione a commanding look to let her know that he expected them not to hold back.
She nodded and led Remus into the fireplace room, where Dobby had prepared a work area for them. He gazed with interest at the spread-out books and parchments on which her notes were recorded. Remus marvelled at her progress and praised her effusively for her invention once she had described the process of enchantment to him. He immediately agreed to take over the engraving of the runes for Hermione, first making a new pair of the parchment that was registered to the two of them.
"That's amazing, Hermione," he said after they had exchanged a few messages on the successfully enchanted parchment.
"That was really good runic work too. Are you ready for some new ideas?"
"Go ahead, I'll see what I can do."
"Okay, Harry had a great idea at breakfast yesterday. So far, only one person can communicate with the other. So as soon as you want to discuss something with several people, it gets complicated. I was thinking that with a few more runes we could make it so that you can integrate several parchments into an existing connection."
"Great idea. Should the connection be completed before registration or should it still be possible afterwards?"
"Good question. Intuitively, I would have said that you should also be able to add a person afterwards. I first thought of 'group' and 'attachement', but I'm sure we need more."
"Hmm, let's see," Remus said, flicking through Spellman's Syllabary.
"Hang on. I have another idea. How about we modify the sequences of the connection so that we don't have to enchant a pair, but can link to any number of other parchments?"
"That sounds reasonable, that way the enchantment is more flexible and you don't need different sequences."
"'Alright, let's do it," Hermione said, leaning over the rune book next to Remus. The two of them spent the rest of the morning working out the rune sequence, and just before lunch managed to link a single parchment to another after the enchantment was complete, so that it worked the same as the parchments they had made in pairs before.
"How are you two doing? Dobby has called for lunch for the second time already," Sirius said, poking his head through the door. The two followed him to the dining room and Hermione excitedly told him about her improved rune sequence. "Sounds like we need to go through the question set again," he said, chuckling, and Hermione giggled.
"I don't think it needs much changing. But we should still include that the connection is achieved by touching the parchments and can be extended as many times as you like."
"Okay, I'll hold off on the owl until you're done today. Well Remus, did I promise too much?" he said laughing and Lupin chuckled.
"In fact, you understated. The idea is so good that it took someone like Hermione to think it up and then make it happen."
"Okay, enough already," said Hermione, who was getting tired of the compliments. Harry laughed and confirmed that their praises were appropriate. They enjoyed lunch and Hermione and Remus then immediately set about testing the sequence with new parchments. Harry also joined them and watched with interest.
"Here, write something on this," Hermione said after placing one of the new parchments in his hand and waited anxiously to see if the third link worked as planned. All three cheered as both the parchment in front of Remus and the one in front of Hermione turned green as Harry wrote on his parchment. There were now three names at the top and the messages were displayed on all three parchments.
"What if I don't want someone in the group anymore?" asked Harry after they had tested for a while whether all the features of the rune sequence were still working.
"Then you'll have to buy some new parchments," Hermione said, sticking her tongue out at him teasingly.
"Spoken like a true businesswoman," Remus said with a laugh, agreeing with her that it was certainly good for business not to make the parchment too flexible.
"But seriously, you could destroy the parchment or vanish it."
"I thought it was protected?" asked Harry, pulling his first parchment out of his trouser pocket, which immediately smoothed out and looked like new.
"It's not indestructible. I haven't tried it yet, but it won't be able to keep fire out forever, for example."
"Hmm, looking at the spells and runes, it should withstand about five to ten minutes of destructive elements," Lupin said. Hermione took Harry's parchment from the table and went to the hearth, but was held back by a protesting Harry.
"You'll get another one, don't worry," Hermione said with a laugh, but Harry shook his head.
"I want to keep this one. It's the first one you gave me and Sirius."
"Oh, that's sweet! Okay, let's test this morning's, then, if you don't mind, Remus?"
"Sure," Remus said with a grin, levitating one of the parchments lying on the table into the fireplace and lighting the wood. It took a little over five minutes for the parchment to turn black at the corners and finally crumble to ash. To Hermione's surprise, the parchment to which the destroyed had been connected then changed. Since it had been registered to Remus, it had been unreadable to Hermione, but after the other had been destroyed, she too could read all the messages that had previously been hidden from her.
"That's not good," Hermione said, examining the parchment. She explained to Remus what had happened and he pulled up her notes.
"It could be that our new sequence has already sorted it out, look. Before, 'connection' was linked to the sequence involving identity and security, but in the new sequences, the runes are not linked. Try it," he said, handing her one of the parchments enchanted with the new sequences just before. Five minutes later, she took a breath when the remaining parchments still worked as they should. She then worked with Remus to produce accurate documentation of the new enchantment.
"We could do some more range testing. Actually, I don't see any loophole in the runes that should limit the range, but you never know," Remus finally said when they had finished.
"Good idea. Dobby!" called Hermione and the elf immediately appeared with a loud pop. He nodded when she asked him if he could apparate with his magic indefinitely and Harry immediately volunteered to test different places with Dobby. He held Dobby's hand and with a loud pop, the two disappeared.
"Okay, let's see," Remus said as the parchment turned green after about two minutes. "Cornwall. That's not particularly far away yet," he read out, scribbling a reply on the parchment so Harry knew it had worked. After a few minutes, it turned green again. "Ah, France, not bad. Morocco! Very good."
One by one, countries and continents further and further away were added at minute intervals and Remus' hunch was confirmed. The parchment worked worldwide.
"This is going to revolutionise the international communication of ministries," Remus said, chuckling and shaking his head. "It's really important to have this well protected."
"Would you take a look at the list of questions and my answers? That would definitely help," Hermione asked, startled when Dobby and Harry reappeared in the room with a loud bang. They made a most comical sight, both wearing New York Yankees baseball caps and various other items of clothing from the various countries they had visited. Remus and Hermione burst out laughing and Sirius, attracted by the loud laughter, spluttered when he saw his godson and Dobby in their outfits. Remus reviewed the list of questions with Hermione afterwards and managed to come up with a few more suggestions that would fill in any perceived gaps. He took his leave after dinner and Hermione suggested to Sirius that he hire Remus as soon as he was ready to sell the parchments. Sirius was excited and hopeful that his humble childhood friend would agree to a working relationship.
She wrote a little with Severus in bed and told him about her day and the new parchment she had worked on with Remus. He congratulated her on her success but was habitually terse when it came to his former classmates. She finally wished him a good night and that night, in a trance, went through all her notes and memories about her invention again to make sure they hadn't missed anything.
The next day was the day. Tonks picked Harry up in the morning to travel with him via portkey to the Quidditch World Cup grounds. She was in a good mood, as always, and with her easy-going manner managed to curb Hermione's excitement a little and calm her down. Sirius then took her to the Ministry of Magic via Floo Powder, where they visited the Department of Magical Patents. They met Sirius' senior lawyer, Mr Finch-Fletchley, the uncle of one of her classmates, and Hermione's heart lightened when he assured her that they were well prepared. A friendly young wizard asked her into the conference room where two wizards and two witches sat at the head of a long table.
Sirius whispered encouragement to her and Hermione spread her prepared paraphernalia on the long table before first the head of the committee for the acceptance of magical patents officially welcomed them and first clarified some formalities with the lawyer. Then Hermione presented her invention. The panel asked some detailed questions, which Hermione had no trouble answering thanks to the list of questions, and Mr Finch-Fletchley recited the definition of the patent application while Hermione handed out a parchment to each member of the panel. After listening to the lawyer's explanation, they tested out the parchment and whispered excitedly to each other. Hermione could hear her heart beating in her chest as the four wizards and witches turned to her.
"No wonder the O.W.L. examiners spoke so highly of you, Miss Granger. If any invention in the last ten years deserves a patent, it's this one," said the smiling witch sitting at the far end of the table.
"Thank you so much," Hermione said with relief, beaming at the group. "If you can use the parchments for your communication, you are welcome to keep them," she said and the committee thanked her. Sirius and Mr Finch-Fletchley congratulated her and the lawyer sat down with the panel members to read through the certificate that one of the wizards had conjured. After everything was settled, Hermione was given a copy of the certificate, signed and bearing the seal of the Department of Magical Patents.
After they left the office, Hermione fell into Sirius' arms and thanked him for his support. She practically floated down the entrance hall and to top it all off, they also ran into Dolores Umbridge and the Minister, to whom Hermione gave her brightest smile. Umbridge scowled at her at first but put a fake smile on her toad face at the sight of Sirius. Hermione was glad that the minister, who seemed very hustled, only gave a curt greeting and immediately moved on.
"Do you know that witch? She wasn't happy to see you at all," Sirius asked.
"Don't ask," was all Hermione said, laughing when she saw Sirius' puzzled face. She didn't want to deal with Dolores Umbridge any longer than necessary, so the two of them put on something comfortable when they arrived at Black Manor. Hermione, once in her room, scribbled 'Patent!' for Severus on the parchment and put it in her bag. Sirius then apparated them to the edge of the field where the campsite was housed.
They paid the very confused muggle who owned the field and as Hermione stepped through the viscous wall of protective spells that lay around the huge campsite, she was hit by a hammer blow of colours, lights and sounds that left her staggering for a moment. The air crackled with magic and the exuberant mood of the supporters of the respective nations were already at their peak even the day before the final match.
It took a few minutes of Hermione silently taking it all in until she felt comfortable in the surroundings. Sirius shook many hands and Hermione was also approached by a few classmates and their parents who congratulated her on her O.W.L. results. Hermione was eventually knocked over by a flash of green, which turned out to be Tonks in a green dress, who had dyed her hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, irises, lips and fingernails in the green of Irish shamrock.
"Did you get it?" she asked and Hermione nodded, beaming. Tonks let out a whoop and hugged Hermione tightly. Harry must have at least told her that she had been in the Ministry for a patent. She immediately pulled Hermione along by the hand. She laughed and followed her to the small tent, which, like the rest of the tents in the large field, seemed far too small to accommodate this mass of people. Her premonition of an expansion charm was confirmed when she crawled through the small opening and arrived in a palace that looked like a small version of Black Manor. Harry came up to her and hugged her as she nodded at his questioning look. Sirius walked in and immediately asked Dobby for a bottle of champagne and glasses.
"We'll have to drink to that. But just one glass for the two of you," he said brightly, pointing admonishingly at Harry and Hermione, who nodded with a smile. "To Hermione Granger, the most brilliant witch of her time. I wish Remus were here to toast us, but the old wolf just wouldn't be persuaded. Here's to Hermione!"
"To Hermione!" replied Tonks and Harry in chorus and they toasted. Harry screwed up his face after taking one sip of the champagne and passed his glass to Tonks, who took it from him with a laugh. Hermione grinned and thought of Severus, who for her was also missing from this round. However, when she thought of his relationship with Harry and Sirius, it seemed better to celebrate her success with him alone in the next few days.
Author's Notes: Hey everyone, I hope you are doing well and that you enjoyed reading this Chapter! It's hard to comprehend that I've written 30 chapters (counting the prologue), wow! As always, thank you so much for reading and also thank you to all the people that already left reviews, favourites and follows, it really means a lot!
See you next time!
Kasing