A/N I own nothing in the world of Harry Potter. I just play in the sandbox that JK Rowling created.

Here is the last chapter before we get to Hogwarts. My muse can finally be happy that it gets to play with the other characters.

"Are you sure she should be doing this? She's not a Black family member."

"Are you planning on telling her no, Moony, because I sure as hell don't plan on stopping her fourteen or not," Sirius whispered as they watched the two teens set up the ritual space in one of the empty rooms they'd cleaned out in the east wing. It was nearing moonrise and Remus was agitated, anxious and in no mood to leave any of them, pending transformation or not.

Hermione learned how to brew the delicate and tricky wolfsbane potion he needed and along with a few notes found in the Black library and, oddly, with Harry's help had tweaked the formula. Remus began taking it two days ago and could notice an immediate difference. The wolf inside him was calm and controlled. It was ready to burst through his skin at the start of moonrise but was compelled to stay and not move to the safe room in the cellar.

"You still feel like you need to stay close?"

"Yes. The wolf is clawing to come out but it wants to remain here. I don't know if it's the change in the potion that's doing it or the magic in the air from the kids but I don't think I can force myself to leave," Remus groaned.

"Then you stay and I'll deal with you. You won't be able to enter the ritual circle once it's closed. Only someone with Black blood will be able to open it or one of them. Worst case they're stuck in there until moonset." Sirius raised his voice. "You two about ready in there?"

Hermione looked over her shoulder as she handed Harry a pouch with seven stones in it. She had a similar pouch with different but complementary stones in her other hand.

"Yes. Is Remus staying here?" She asked with some surprise.

The werewolf nodded before grimacing. "Yes. I told you your potion made me feel differently from the one Snape brews. I didn't realize how different until now. I'll transform in the next room but like I just told Padfoot, I don't think I can force the wolf to stay in the safe room."

"You two concentrate on you. I'll take care of Moony. Hermione, are you sure you want to do this? I may have given you full Black Family rights, but I still don't know if that's enough to cast family spells. You could be seriously hurt."

"That's why you're here. You're the Head of House. If anyone can call the family magic back, it's you." She looked up at Harry. "You ready?"

He nodded.

The seven point star had been sketched in chalk on the hardwood floor. Neither thought they could conjure it from memory so chalk was the neutral party. Drawing their wands, they started at opposite points and began walking in opposite directions, wands pointed down, a whispered spell causing the wand tip to glow as they traced the chalk outline.

A faint flare of magic and a rustle of a door slamming reached their ears. Moony transforming. They ignored it as they reached their original spots again. Another whispered word and the color on the wand changed to black. They began placing the rune stones on the points of the star, again one going clockwise, the other counter, Harry's stones higher so Hermione's could fit under. Once they were in place, the two locked eyes. Here was the part neither looked forward to. Hermione had tried drawing the runes on herself with paint wearing an open blouse but the fabric wrinkled and got in the way, smearing the runes. And the runes had to be exact. So topless in a bra it was. Harry wasn't looking forward to taking off his shirt because, while the scars from his wonderful relatives weren't as plentiful on his chest and arms, there were enough to draw Sirius's attention. And his godfather planned on overseeing the whole ritual.

Nodding to each other, they tugged their tee shirts over their heads and dropped them outside the star's points. Now to close the circle. Again walking in opposite directions, wands glowing and pointing downward, Harry careful to keep his back from showing to Sirius, they closed the circle. When they were almost back to their starting point they stepped into the space in the center of the star and snapped their wands to the starting stones. Magic flared black and a circle of light surrounded the star, enclosing the two.

So far, so good, Hermione thought. She was able to call up the Black family magic to the circle. Now to see if she could direct it. Protecting Harry shouldn't be a problem. She hoped. It was the opposite that might be an issue. She wasn't a Black by blood, marriage, or inheritance. And magic was tricky. And picky. Get a grip, Granger. Blood next.

A small wooden bowl along with a ritual athame sat next to her. The athame was a Black heirloom with a high silver content and a serpent wrapped around the handle. Toujours Pur was etched into the blade. Fitting that the blood it would draw tonight was anything but. Hermione swallowed before dragging the blade over her left palm, letting the blood well up before dripping it into the bowl. She passed the blade to Harry who met her eyes as he repeated her motions. A swirl of the knife over the bowl and the blood whirled together.

Hermione leaned forward to draw the runes on Harry's chakra points - from otnala at the root to dagaz at the crown - before submitting to having the actions repeated on herself. She was surprised to find both of their hands were steady considering the amount of magic in the air. She could feel Sirius in the hallway behind her - his magic an echo of the magic in the circle around them. Moony in the room beyond, transformed, his magic tasted wild, like his wolf but protective. Something to catalog and file away as Hermione's own magic rose up to meet Harry's as the last rune was completed on her forehead. They clasped bloody hands.

As one they spoke the spell:

We call upon the House of Black, on the olde Family, on the Magic of the Realm

We call upon the Magic of Family to protect the one I have marked with my blood.

We ask that Magic protect them from harm of the mind

We ask that Magic protect them from harm of the body

We ask that Magic protect them from harm of the soul

We ask that Magic protect them from harm from Magic itself.

We ask that the Magic of the Family of the House of Black find us worthy of this gift.

As we speak it, So Mote It Be.

Sirius had to turn his head away from the resulting flare of light. He could feel the old wards rattle with the power expelled from the circle. His own magic rose up to join the family magic. He felt a nudge to his hip and noticed that Mooney joined him. The werewolf was on all fours, his ears pitched forward and a low whine escaped his throat.

As quickly as the power rose, it pulled back, centered on the two teens in the circle. Once Sirius could see again, he understood why Moony was whining. Harry and Hermione both lay collapsed in the center of the circle.

They didn't appear to be breathing.

"Damn it all and son of a bitch!"

Sirius ran into the room and hissed as the spark of leftover magic rushed over him like static electricity. Moony snarled.

"Stay back, Moony! Only a Black can get close while the circle is closed!"

He moved to the ritual circle and carefully reached out his hand. The edge felt almost like gelatin but he could pass through it. Knocking two of the rune stones away, he opened the circle wide and as soon as he did the werewolf entered and snuffled at the teens.

"Shit, shit, shit." At least they were breathing, though it was too shallow for his liking. They were ice cold though and their lips were blue. He hissed in a breath when he shifted Hermione and got a look at Harry's back. That was something to deal with later. Now he needed to keep both of them alive.

What the hell was the name of that damn elf Harry always talked about….Dubby...Bobby…

"Dobby! That's it! Dobby, if you can hear me, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger need you!"

A crack later and a green eyed elf in a Hogwarts tea towel appeared before him, bouncing on his toes.

"The Great Harry Potter needs Dobby, sir? Dobby is-"

"Yes, yes, Dobby I need help. I need to get these two in a tub of warm water. Now. There's a master suite above us, can you…?"

Dobby took a glance at the worried Sirius, the werewolf laying next to the teens whining, the remains of the ritual circle and frowned. His little bat ears wiggled before he looked back at Sirius and nodded once. He snapped his fingers and the teens and Moony disappeared with a pop.

Stumbling to his feet, Sirius ran out of the room and up the flight of stairs to the old Master suite. He could hear water running and Moony met him at the door.

"Are they inside?" He didn't even wait for Moony's yip of confirmation before running straight into the ornate bathroom. He hadn't been in the Black master suite in over two decades. He'd have thought it to be in as run down of shape as the rest of the house but Kreature must have kept this room in some sort of suspended animation - like a shrine. Or a tomb.

The bathroom was well lit, with black and grey marble tiles on the walls and black tile on the floor. A glass walled shower was off to the side while a door led to a separate water closet. By far the most impressive feature was the enormous sunken tub but that wasn't why Sirius's eyes were drawn there. No, it was because his godson and the girl who was fast becoming an adopted niece were still unconscious in the water while the little elf was hovering over them and muttering in a language Sirius couldn't quite make out. Steam rose from the water and the kids lips were no longer blue. Dobby must have cleaned off the blood from the ritual since their faces and bodies were clean.

"Dobby? How are they?" He asked as he dropped to his knees near Harry's head, one hand resting on the raised edge to balance and the other pushing his damp hair off his forehead.

"They's being very, very tired, Harry Potter's Doggy Father, sir. They's be using very powerful magic."

Sirius nodded at the little elf.

"Hermione was using a family protection spell on Harry. She says he gets into too much trouble, deadly trouble and wanted to keep him out of the Headmaster's debt."

Dobby nodded. "Bad things have happened to the Great Harry Potter and his Miss Mione."

Sirius came to a decision that he'd been struggling with since Hermione had asked him and Remus if there were any way to tell if she or Harry had had their memories altered. While neither she nor his godson would give specifics, only that certain incidents had come to light that lead to Hermione believing that not only had her memories been altered but possibly some of the professors at Hogwarts, Sirius still struggled with contacting the one person he was sure could help. He just wasn't sure she would keep his secret without having to wipe her memory.

Ironic that.

But with both teens unconscious and even a house elf concerned about them, Sirius was going to have to suck it up and send Remus to St Mungo's and convince his cousin Andromeda Tonks to come to the house. Trusting her with his secret was one thing. Trusting her with the safety of his godson and almost niece was something else entirely.

"Dobby, are you able to find the room Harry and Hermione are staying in? And get them settled in? I have some plans to make and a healer to contact once Moony is back to himself."

Dobby glanced at the werewolf who was now sprawled out at the side of the tub guarding the teens. The elf nodded and snapped his fingers, the three disappearing with a loud crack. Sirius groaned and wiped his hands over his face. He had some decisions to make. Write a letter to Andi and Ted and give them a heads up or let Remus surprise them? Reveal himself as being in the house or let Remus take the lead? Decisions, decisions.

Harry groaned as sunlight hit his eyelids. Every single part of his body felt heavy and not just because he could feel Hermione sprawled across his chest in her sleep. His arms and legs reminded him of the time Lockhart vanished the bones in his arm. Heavy and unable to follow his commands.

"I see one of you is finally awake." A woman's voice cut through his mental inventory. Without conscious thought or any words, his wand was in his free hand and he was trying to move to shield Hermione.

"Easy, pup, she's a friend." Sirius. Harry relaxed into the bed at the familiar voice and focused on the witch next to him first. Hermione was asleep half on his chest, her breathing steady but she didn't wake even with his shifting around. He looked over at the older woman sitting next to Sirius and raised a brow.

"My name is Andromeda Tonks. I was once Andromeda Black, Sirius' cousin. Sirius told me quite the story of you two rescuing and trying to prove him innocent only to have Peter Pettigrew escape. I'm a healer. I work at St Mungo's, the magical hospital."

Harry nodded. "What happened?"

Sirius ran a hand over his face. Harry noticed how tired he looked.

"What didn't happen, pup. You've been out for two days and we're really hoping Hermione wakes up today. She seems to have taken the brunt of the magic in the spell you two cast."

"What do you mean? She's okay, right?" Harry glanced down at Hermione again, pushing some of the riotous curls off her face. Her nose twitched slightly.

Andi smiled thinly. "She should be. From what I could tell from my medical scans, the ritual you two performed was to add protection - specifically to you, Harry, as everyone here tells me you to tend to be prone to trouble-"

"Right, but I wanted Hermione to have the protection too, she's almost always with me for at least part of the trouble I get into."

"And that would have worked with no problems, if the two of you didn't have so many magical bindings and compulsions already on you. Not to mention your girl here was right about having her memory altered. You both have."

"WHAT?"

At Harry's shout Hermione finally woke up with a groan and a hand to her forehead.

"Mi? Hermione, are you okay?"

"Ugh, I feel like I got run over by a hippogriff. Or a dragon."

"I can imagine. You are very lucky to be alive right now young lady."

Hermione looked over at the healer. Andromeda Tonks was tall with gray eyes and black hair. Wiry like Sirius, it was easy to see they were related in some way.

"And you would be?"

"Andromeda Tonks. I'm a healer. Sirius called for me two days ago when you two wouldn't wake up."

Hermione looked at Harry and he shrugged. "Wait, two days?! I read everything I could find on that family spell. I cross referenced it with similar spells. There was nothing I could find that would have had us knocked out!"

Andi nodded. "I've already discussed this with Remus and Sirius so their reactions should be a bit more...muted than their initial ones." At this she leveled a look at both men. Sirius raised his hands.

"It was a lot to take in, Andi!"

"What happened?" Hermione asked, sipping some water that Harry handed her from the nightstand.

"They wrecked the downstairs sitting room."

"We didn't wreck it, Andromeda." Remus sighed.

"Really? And what would you call shredding three paintings, two wing back chairs, and breaking a couch? Not to mention destroying your great grandmother's tea service."

Sirius lowered his head. "Dobby fixed it."

Harry smiled. "Dobby's here?"

"Yes, I called for him when things started to go sideways. He's off on an errand to Gringotts for me and should be back soon."

"Anyway," Andi continued, "To get back to the kids' questions, both of you had quite a few magical bindings on you. Now a binding of a magical core is not all that uncommon for a magical child, particularly one who is going to be powerful when they grow up. Most will exhibit a strong propensity for accidental magic early on. By placing a binding on the child's magical core, it helps to regulate their magic and that binding is removed once the child goes to Hogwarts."

Andi leaned back in her chair. "In your case, Harry, you not only had your magical core bound as an infant, but again at age eleven. In fact, it looks like each time you set foot in Hogwarts your magic was bound. Hermione, your core was bound the moment you set foot into Hogwarts. And again this last year. Both of you had a number of compulsion charms on you as well but they appear to have been less than effective."

"And why is that?" Hermione asked.

"The compulsions were keyed to avoid each other, to seek out authority figures, specifically Professor Dumbledore, there was also a key to Ron Weasley and Molly Weasley in the mix. I can only guess the number of times you've had your memories altered but I can say for certain that while Hermione has undergone a full obliviation at least once, Harry, you have not."

Remus picked up where Andi stopped. "From what we can understand, the reason you were knocked unconscious was the release of those magical bindings. The ritual protects each person from threats to their magic and threats to their body and the bindings and compulsions fall under those categories. So the ritual broke those bindings all at once. The magical backlash was intense and you both shared it. You were essentially hit with 13 years worth of Harry's magic at once."

"Okay, but did it work? Is there a way to tell or did we just knock ourselves out for two days?" Harry grumbled.

"Oh, it worked, pup. But I don't think it worked in the way that you guys thought it would."

"What do you mean?"

"You know I can see magical auras and not just sense them, right?" Both teens nodded. "Give me your hands a minute and you'll see what I mean."

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other and then gave their right hands to Sirius. He closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating and then opened them again.

"Look at your hands, pup."

"Oh!"

"Well, fuck!"

"Harry, language!"

"Mi, you are seeing what I'm seeing right?"

"Of course I am, Harry, but it's no reason to be crass about it."

"Are they always like this?"

"Yes, Andi."

"So, this isn't because their magical cores have merged?"

"Nope. Isn't young love grand. I'm thinking of a winter wedding. Wouldn't poinsettia look lovely in Hermione's hair?"

"I will have you neutered, Padfoot." Hermione sighed and stared at the swirling amber and green colors she could see between her and Harry's hands. Those same swirling colors danced around them everywhere she looked. If someone with Sirius gift were to see just Harry by himself, they would assume his magic was green and amber. Same for her.

"Okay, what are the ramifications of this? Is it possible for our lost memories to come back?"

"In all honesty, Hermione, we're sort of running blind here. Even Andi hasn't come across a case like this." Remus frowned.

Andi smiled. "Both of you are healthy. Your scans look good. Your magical cores are in flux, which makes sense considering the amount of magic you've absorbed in the past two days. Expect to have some trouble with casting and the power of your spells. You'll absolutely be overpowering things. You won't have to worry about compulsion spells and the like with this ritual and that's a good thing. I'm leaving some general health and vitality potions here to take for the next few days. Meditation is recommended as with this shared magical core you may end up with some shared abilities but again, I can't be sure."

Andi moved to grab her medical bag. "I'll be back to check on you before you get on the Express. Sirius, I'm leaving you some potions as well and for you, I'll be back in two days. Hermione, Harry, you did a wonderful job on the wolfsbane potion, Remus looks better than ever. Don't hesitate to owl me anytime or send Dobby."

With that, Andromeda stepped out with Remus to floo back to St Mungo's.

"So, pup, kitten, how are you two really feeling?" Sirius asked, plopping down at the end of the bed.

Hermione dropped back against the pillows with a huff while Harry flopped sideways, landing across her legs.

"Absolutely exhausted. How can we possibly be this tired if we were unconscious for two days? Shouldn't we be energetic if we just got this huge magical boost?" Harry whined.

"That's not exactly how it works, Harry. You may have gotten a huge magical boost but your body is young, it isn't used to all that power. So it's trying to acclimate to it. Hence you're tired."

"Phenomenal cosmic power in an itty bitty living space," Hermione muttered, causing Harry to burst out laughing and Sirius to frown.

"It's a muggle thing," Harry snorted out. He thought he could actually feel Hermione's amusement. That was going to take some getting used to.

"Anything else we missed?"

"Hedwig brought you more mail from the Weasley twins. And a package. I didn't open it. Dumbledore showed up the morning after you cast the spell…"

"Probably felt a disturbance in the force," Herminone muttered under her breath. Harry barked out another laugh and tried to tackle her from his upside down position across her lap.

"What is with you today? You're snarkier than usual," Harry chuckled

"Don't know. Maybe I'm channeling your brain."

"That might be closer to the truth than you think. You two were already abnormally close. Add this boost of power and who knows what you're going to find. Anyway, Dumbledore brought your book lists himself and was angling for an invite in, which I didn't give."

Sirius rose from his chair and clapped his hands.

"So, how about showers, lunch and letters." He wiggled his eyebrows. "I won't say anything if you two want to save time and share a shower…"

His laughter followed him and the thrown pillows out the door.