AN: And here's the next one. I'm going to gradually be chemistry testing the kids in the next few chapters. No pairings for a while yet, but trying to figure out who gels with who. If you have any particular inkling for a couple let me know.

Chapter 43: When Harry Met Hermione 2.0

Bern, Switzerland

It was snowing here. She was flabbergasted it was August and it was snowing.

"It's year-round here," Uncle Remus said looking at her face. "I thought I mentioned that to you already."

"You did," she said. "But it's still a little different actually seeing it."

She didn't know if it was the fact she was in the hospital for months, but the magical community of Bern completely took her breath away. She still couldn't quite believe she was here. Or had agreed to come here. She had hoped she would be able to fade into the abyss again, but that hadn't happened.

Instead, they deemed her fit to be released.

Physically she guessed she was fine. Better than before. She no longer looked like a rat. Her teeth were now smaller than before, and she could see even better than she had before she was attacked. Even the excess weight she had picked up from those months in the cage had melted off for the most part. The little that she left from it had settled in parts of her body where she had desperately wanted curves. She inwardly blushed thinking of how Mummy had bought her a couple of training bras to wear when she was released from the hospital She even had hair now. It wasn't that long, but she could style it in a bob now and it was Mummy's color now rather than the color of Uncle Remus hair.

Oddly enough, she found she looked a lot like the man more so than both Mummy and Daddy in a way. Genetics could be strange, she guessed, though a part of her suspected something else.

She knew Daddy wasn't her biological father. Had overheard her parents fighting about it. He didn't seem to care because biology didn't make a family, but he thought Mummy held it over his head at times. Even though Hermione disagreed with Daddy's assessment on that. She did wonder though if Remus was him. He and Mummy didn't exactly act like brother and sister.

She hadn't asked though because she knew that Mummy didn't know she had overheard that particular argument. Plus, she didn't want to deal with everything that would come from finding out the truth right now. She was still dealing with a lot.

She liked her maybe uncle a lot. He was quiet like her. He didn't try to talk about what happened…she didn't want to think about what happened or go back to that school, but she knew education was important which was why she was glad he had offered to tutor her with his friend's son.

Harry.

Hearing that name still hurt. It probably always would. She was told she'd be seeing a mind healer while she was in Bern. Honestly, she didn't know what the point was but she didn't argue. She knew she had no choice in the matter.

"This is my cabin," he said as he showed her around the little house. "There's a bedroom for you in the back. I didn't know what you'd exactly like so I had Narc…a friend help me decorate it. If there's something you want to change we can go to the wizarding village today."

She nodded as she looked at the room. He may not have known what she liked, but his friend had done a good job. There were several large bookshelves in the room filled with all sorts of books including her favorite, Jane Eyre. The room itself was painted a nice soothing lavender color and the canopy bed looked to die for.

"It's perfect."

"I'm glad you like it," He said.

"Your friend has excellent taste."

She thought she saw her uncle blush, but it may have been her imagination.

As lovely as her room, it was nothing compared to the penthouse at the lodge she went to the next morning. She had never seen anything so luxurious in her life. It was borderline obscene.

Uncle Remus rolled her eyes at her expression, "I know, but that's Sirius for you. He bought the place believe it or not."

"He owns this?"

He nodded. "Indeed. He was staying here for a while, and I guess he just liked it. To be fair, it's nice than most places in magical Britain."

"That must be…"

"He's ridiculously wealthy." Remus said. "Always have him buy you dinner. Seriously though, you'll get used to it."

"Granger?"

She turned around shocked to see Draco Malfoy of all people staring at her.

He seemed different than she remembered. Paler maybe. There was something about his eyes, she just couldn't pinpoint what was going on.

"Malfoy."

He gave Lupin a weird look.

"Didn't your mother tell you about our new guest?" Lupin said looking at the boy.

There was something about the way Malfoy was looking at Uncle Remus that she didn't like. It eerily reminded her of how he had looked at her all-last year except for that day she had turned into a rat.

He had been different then.

Almost human. Which was silly to say because Draco Malfoy was a human even if sometimes he seemed inhumanly pale. Yet, no one ever commented on that like they commented on her hair.

"She's gone," he said looking at Uncle Remus. "Guess she didn't tell you goodbye either."

Uncle Remus looked like he was about to say something but stopped himself. Draco turned his attention toward her. She thought she saw him eying her chest, if only for a second. "You look better."

She shrugged. "Sort of hard not to be."

Out of all the people to run into….

She didn't exactly have a strong dislike for Malfoy. Or at least as strong as a dislike as she had before, but she wasn't a fan of the boy by any means. He was spoiled and was acting a bit rude to her uncle. He seemed different though she couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was about him.

"Do you know where Harry is?"

"In the dueling room with Claire." He said rolling his eyes, "He's throwing out baby spells per usual."

Her uncle's eyes darkened, but he didn't say anything.

She guessed Malfoy really hadn't changed that much.

"Don't let him bother you," Remus said once the boy was gone.

She shrugged. "He's no worse than usual."

"I mean it, Hermione. Draco is going through a lot but if he mocks you or does anything to do you that you don't like or you see him do the same sort of shit to Harry let me or Sirius know."

She gave him a weird look.

"This isn't Hogwarts," Her uncle said.

No. No it wasn't.

Dueling with Claire was fun. Although, she was way better than dueling than she let on and was sort of a hard teacher.

"You can do better than that," Harry she said as she threw a stunner towards him which he dodged.

He quickly threw out a leg locking hex that she dodged quite easily.

Watching her dodge curses was a masterclass in itself. He didn't understand why she said she was bad at dueling when she clearly wasn't.

Then again, he was still only working with mainly first year spells though he had learned a couple of second year ones too.

Her dueling classes were a mix of a little everything he had learned. Different from what his uncle taught him and even the Transfiguration lessons he had with his dad. He probably enjoyed those the most since he finally got to meet Padfoot.

He smiled thinking of his Father's dog form. He really liked dogs. Maybe he could ask for a pet of his own. He'd make sure it wouldn't be too much of a bother.

Pet.

He had a weird image of a snowy owl in his head that caught him off guard as Claire hit him with a stunner.

"Harry, are you okay?" She asked when she revived him.

She had been oddly protective of him lately. He didn't know if it was because she and his dad were involved or that Aunt Cissy…well, hadn't really been there to watch him.

He frowned thinking of his aunt. His father had told him last night she had went in confinement. He had read the book that she had given Draco that he had thrown on the floor. He knew what that meant.

He really didn't want to think of his aunt as a harpy. He didn't really want to think of her as a veela either even though that was what she was. Lord, it was like a different person had come to be staying with them the past few weeks rather than the delicate aunt that had pretty much raised him since last fall.

He knew she was still Aunt Cissy, but she was different. Even acted different. Which he knew was a part of the change. He could sort of understand why Draco was acting like Draco. Though he still hated being called a firstie failure. And now that the adults knew apparently, he had to tell them every time Draco was bothering him.

"I don't want to be a tattle tell," He told his Dad when he was confronted about it last night. He guessed Claire had squealed about it. To be fair, she had mentioned she was telling his father as much.

"Draco does not need to make fun of you." His father said. "He knows better and it's hardly being a tattle tale for letting me know since I'm now his guardian."

"You're Draco's guardian?"

"I'm head of his house," Sirius said. "So, by default, yes. Your aunt actually listed me and Aunt Andi as co-guardians in her legal documents, but he'll be staying with us since Cissy would prefer that he doesn't go back to Britain."

"Because of Lucius." He said, "What…what happened?"

He knew something bad had happened that night they had left the manor. She had barely even given him time to pack anything and given how pregnant she was even then it was sort of surprising how fast she moved.

His father sighed. "Lucius does not like veela."

"Even though he's part veela?" Harry asked.

Sirius nodded. It was sort of ironic that technically Lucius was a carrier for the gene and hated veela so much to the point he tried to kill his own children.

"Did he hurt her?" Harry asked. He had wondered. His aunt had the same sort of air about her that he did every time his relatives…

Sirius nodded. "She didn't really want anyone knowing, especially Draco. But…well, I think that it needs to be said."

"Draco worships Lucius." Harry said. "He always talks about how he wants to write him a letter."

"And there are wards preventing him from contacting Lucius," Sirius said.

"Do you think his own father would hurt him?" Harry asked.

""I don't know. I didn't think Lucius would hurt your Aunt Cissy or try to hurt her babies either. But he did."

"I'm fine," he told Claire even though he wasn't just remembering what his Dad had told him about Aunt Cissy made everything suck even more.

"You seemed distracted," she said as they heard someone clear their throat.

He turned around to see Remus with a girl.

Hermione.

He had mentioned she was coming here. He had also mentioned that she thought that Remus was his uncle not his father. For reasons Harry did not know.

Harry tried to see if there was anything recognizable about her, but there wasn't. He recognized nothing about her. She was admittedly pretty, he guessed. Her eyes were brown, large, round, and nice looking, and she was starting to develop a figure. She had dark curly hair that was cut in a bob. He bet her curls would be fun to play with when they were longer. He blushed even thinking that. What was wrong with him. He had just turned twelve for Merlin's sake.

"Harry," Remus said. "This is my niece Hermione. Hermione this is Harry?"

She didn't seem to recognize him either, he thought as he took her hand. He wasn't surprised. He really looked nothing like he had looked. Harry Potter had been short with glasses, he was getting to be on the taller side and had no need for glasses. Plus, his eyes were grey. Harry's had been green. His hair laid flat. Harry's was a bird's nest.

"Nice to meet you," he said looking at the girl and holding out his hand which she took. Somehow he hoped touching her hand would reawaken those memories, but it did not.

"We were dueling," Claire said decided take charge of what was becoming a rather awkward exchange. "Do you duel, Hermione?"

She shook her head. "I read some books before I left school, but really never had any instruction on it."

"Then maybe it's time you learned," The woman said. "I find it's more practical than changing a needle into a matchstick."

Hermione grinned when she heard Claire say that, "Finally, someone who understands."

"When did it happen?" Remus asked Sirius when he entered his office.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at him, "Where's Hermione?"

"She's with Claire and Harry. They're dueling." He said. "When did Cissy…"

"A couple of days ago," Sirius said. "Claire was with her. She's safe. She's at the coven. I'm sorry I did not write to you when it happened. I figured it was something you should be told in person. I haven't even told Andi yet…was waiting for you before I flooed over there."

He was right. It probably wasn't something that should be put in writing. He knew it was going to happen even before Cissy told him. He had studied dark creatures after all and some groups of people considered veelas to be dark, but still he hadn't expected it to happen so soon even though he knew very well Cissy had just entered her third trimester even though she looked like she was already due. He was still surprised how much she had increased in size the past few weeks.

"You and Cissy were close?" Sirius asked. "I know you were seeing each other but..."

"It wasn't just for the sex," he said. At least he hoped it wasn't. They really had never fully said what they were and weren't. He knew Cissy thought they were moving too fast, but she had urges and well he did too to be frank. If anything they had enjoyed each other for the past few weeks and he was going to miss her.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You know it's only been a couple of months since…"

"Since Lucius hit her, told her to kill her children, and then tried to kill her children. I know." Remus stated. Cissy was very frank about what happened in her last relationship.

"I'm surprised she said anything," Sirius said. "She…seemed so closed off about it. Especially when it came to telling Draco. I thought she was taking the veela thing a little hard core. Claire said she was insistent about learning everything she could."

"Do you blame her after what happened?" Remus asked knowing that Cissy was different than the woman he had originally…well, the woman he originally had feelings for. Yet, the same.

"No," He said. "I suppose not. I just don't want either of you to get hurt. It just seemed so fast."

"I know," Remus said. "Though you could say the same about you and Claire."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "It's not the same thing. Besides…she."

Remus raised an eyebrow before changing the topic. "You told me you found something out about the potion?"

Sirius nodded. "I did. Nasty, nasty, stuff. I confirmed whatever Snivellus provided Lucius is in my bloodstream but it was altered somehow."

Remus looked at him.

"She tied it to Harry's blood," Sirius said. "That was how I was able to remember everything when the ritual was undone. Not that she did it right since she didn't have consent."

"Which is why it was reversible." He said.

He nodded.

"What a nasty piece of work," He thought thinking of Lily Potter. "Do you think it's the same thing that was done to me?"

"We could check," he said. "Honestly though, Remus, I don't know if you're going to get those memories back."

"I…I'll be okay." He said, "Even if I don't. The past is in the past. I have my daughter and that's enough."

"But don't…"

He groaned knowing that Sirius was referring to Emma.

"We've been through this Sirius, I've moved on."

"I know with my cousin of all people." He said, "But you do realize Cissy might not be the same even if she survives."

He was well aware. She had warned him as much.

"You have to realize I don't know what will happen after…" She pointed to her large stomach.

The elephant in the room so to speak.

"It doesn't matter," he said kissing her belly which seemed to have even gotten bigger than it was only a few weeks ago. "I want to be with you now."

"It may be the allure," She said. "It…it happened so fast. I'm…"

"I want you, Cissy. I don't care about anything else. I care about now. Can't we just enjoy each other."

She moaned as he began to pleasure her.

"Remus," She moaned. "But…"

He turned to look at her eyes they had become increasingly more violet as of late. There was just a hint of grey in them. Even their shape her thought was starting to change.

"I'll want you no matter what happens," He said.

"I hope you mean that."

He did. He just hoped that she would still want him when she came back to him. She had to come back.

Andromeda knew what happened as soon as Sirius stepped into her floo. There was only one reason he'd be traveling to see her and not the only way around.

"When?" She asked.

"A couple of days ago," He said. "I would've come sooner but someone needed to be there to watch the kids. Especially with Draco being…"

Andromeda shook her head, "A little shit?"

"More or less," He said. "He's been bullying Harry."

"Can't say I'm surprise," Andromeda said as she pulled back a curl. "I know she was having issues with this before everything else….did you see it?"
He shook his head.

"No, Claire took her to the coven before it happened. They say it would be useless for me to try to be there when she does give birth."

"Probably," Andromeda said with a sigh. "She is more or less a magical beast at the moment. Not sure how much helped you'd be to help with the process since her anatomy is totally different now. I hate this. I…I didn't really want to think this was going to happen, Siri. It's been hard enough losing…"

She hadn't really let her grief regarding Bella show around him. She knew he was dealing with his own grief so most of the time she bottled it up and let him lean on her for support. She couldn't today though. Not when she more or less lost another sister.

"Andi, I know." He said with a sigh. "I have to tell myself she will be okay."

She gave him a look. "You and I both know there's already complications with her having multiples. She's already so big too."

"Part of having multiples," He said though it was true that Cissy's size rapidly increased even more over the last few weeks. Alarmingly so in fact. If she would've remained human he might've suggested inducing her sooner than later once the babies were developed enough. He could tell the pregnancy was putting great strain on her body, despite her efforts to remain healthy.

He had wanted to run additional scans on her before she left since he hadn't checked her out since the beginning of her recent stay in Bern but that hadn't happened. Maybe he could see if Claire could at least get him invited to the coven to run said scans. Not that he was sure it would even work on what Cissy had become.

Andromeda shook her head. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

"I know," he said. "But there is not much we can do now except wait. And deal with Draco…"

Andromeda groaned. "What did he do to Harry?"

"Called him a firstie failure," He said. "I had to put him under a silencing spell most of the day since he decided its cute to make fun of Harry. Harry didn't even tell me it was Claire."

She groaned, "He's probably jealous. You know Cissy and Lucius coddled him most of his life. Between their breakup, her hooking up with Remus and her doting on Harry like he was another child of hers it's no wonder…"

"He shouldn't be a little shit to my kid."

"I agree," she said. "Though be aware you're probably not going to be that objective concerning him around Harry."

"Was the silence charm too much?" He asked. "I thought it was better than the stinging hex. And I did have him write an essay."

"You had him write an essay?"

"It was something McGonagall always made us do in detention. I can understand now how she was able to deem some of my essays half-hearted."
Andromeda laughed.

"It's not funny," Sirius said. "I don't want him to, well, turn into I was at that age. But let's face it, hitting him with a stinging hex like Cissy was wasn't doing anything either."

"I know," She said rolling her eyes. "I think that was Cissy just trying to react after not doing anything for years. I did mention to her that she might want to explain the Lucius situation to him. I still think that needs to be done."

"Do you think he'll even believe me if I tell him what happened?" Sirius asked.

Andromeda sighed, "Probably not. He idolized Lucius. I understand why Cissy didn't want him around him after what happened, but…it's not right for the boy's mental health at the same time."

"You know Lucius will twist and contort everything." He said.

"That's why I suggest having a supervised meeting," Andromeda said. "You and I can either monitor it."

"He'll ask about Cissy."

"We'll just simply say she does not want to be present. It's as simple as that." Andromeda said. "If you want I can even make the request look like it's from Cissy."

He gave her a look. "Seriously?"

"Believe it or not, we all mimicked each other's penmanship at some point, Siri. Some of the 'Dearest Cousin' letters you received from Bella in your school years were written from me and Cissy."

"Good thing I never read those," He said remembering how he threw away all the obligatory correspondences Bella had sent him back then.

"To be fair, the only reason she sent them then was because of Mother." Andromeda said with an eyeroll before she added. "I miss them. Both of them. I hate being the only one left."

"I know, Andi. I know."

Chapter 44 Preview: Someone duels.