Disclaimer- I own nothing. Thank you, J. K. Rowling, for creating this magical world for us to play in.
a/n: Sorry for the long wait people! My muse has been in over drive lately between my two stories and I have been busy writing! Life has also gotten in the way a little with caring for my father in law who is finally home after a 4 month stay in the hospital Post Transplant. Add that into the fact that I have been doing a lot of traveling for work, and it has been incredibly busy.
You are all amazing! I have been working very hard on trying to correct all you have said to me. I do plan on going back and fixing my errors in the earlier chapters. Even better news, I have a beta! Woo Hoo! Thank you The Ghostly Minion for agreeing to help me. Words can't express the amount of gratitude I have for your help. Rock on with your bad self.
If anyone has any ideas they would like to see, please feel free to PM me. If it fits into the story, I will gladly put it in and give you all the credit for it.
Chapter 21
"Normal speech"
thoughts
'mental conversations'
Morning Room-
Harry and Hermione eventually made their way downstairs and into the morning room. Despite the early hour, Narcissa was already in there along with Luna. Hearing their footsteps, Narcissa looked up and saw the two come in with a little glow, causing her to give them a knowing smirk. She waited for the two to sit at the small table and asked without looking up from the book she was reading, "How are you feeling this morning Hermione?"
Hermione blushed a little at her smirk but replied, "I'm still a little sore, but otherwise I'm well. Luna has been truly amazing." Narcissa felt a wave of magic wash over her, and looked up with her brow lifted slightly as she focused on the two.
"Did you two get older overnight?" She asked with wide eyes that carried a certain amusing glint in them.
Harry and Hermione gave each other questioning looks, but it was Luna who said, "They did. Their cores haven't finished maturing." Luna seemed to stare off into space and tapped her finger on her lip before adding, "I would give it another day or two before you both have finished." Luna went back to reading The Quibbler as if nothing had changed.
"Luna, can we ask you a question?" asked Hermione as she was grabbing a muffin. Luna looked up, and Hermione went on to say, "Is that the reason why I have been so angry lately? Or should I ask, why our emotions have been all over the place lately?"
Luna gave her a dreamy smile and said, "Yup. You know Hermione, you're a nicer person than the wrackspurts give you credit for."
Narcissa wanted to ask what a wrackspurt was, but saw the look on the teens' faces and decided to ask those two later. "What do you two have planned for today?" She asked while taking a sip of tea.
"We were hoping to train, but I think trying to use our magic today would be a bad thing." Replied Harry. "How is Emma doing with all that has happened?" Hermione visibly stiffened at Harry's question, but seemed to relax when Harry grabbed her hand.
Narcissa's face fell a little bit, "as best as can be expected. She is resting as well as possible. As you can imagine, she had some difficulties relaxing last night. I don't expect her to leave the house anytime soon." Emma's ears must have been ringing. As she walked into the room, her eyes fell on Narcissa's and the smile that came to her face seemed to make it glow.
"Good morning everyone." Emma went over and gave her daughter a kiss on the top of her head and Harry's shoulder a squeeze before making her way over to the chair next Narcissa. She gave Narcissa a warm smile and you could tell that she wanted to lean over and give her a warm kiss good morning. Hermione and Harry saw the hesitation but didn't say anything. Bess popped a plate full of egg's, fried mushrooms, tomatoes, potatoes, and a separate plate of bacon and toast. Emma was about to ask for some coffee when a cup of tea materialized in front of her. Narcissa saw the frown develop and added, "Sorry darling, but you know that you can't have coffee right now. Just be happy that Bess allowed you to have a cup of tea."
"Just because I'm pregnant, does not mean I'm incapable of caring for myself." She barked back. Almost immediately she blushed and apologized, mentioning something about the damn hormones. Narcissa gave Emma a sympathetic smile. Hermione saw the entire exchange and was unsure how to feel.
'Are you ok love?' asked Harry.
'Yea. I'm just wondering what is happening there.' repliedHermione as she looked over at Harry and saw a small smirk on his face. Her face darkened a little as she squinted and said, 'What aren't you telling me?'
'You should really talk to your mum about all of this.' Harry suggested
The two were interrupted when Emma said, "Hermione, if you have something to ask, please just ask me instead of having a private conversation in front of everyone else."
Hermione blushed and dropped her head a little and replied, "Sorry mum."
"It's alright my little humming bird. Let me finish my breakfast, and then we can talk." Everyone slipped back into a comfortable silence as they all ate their breakfasts.
Draco came walking in with Susan a few minutes later. Draco went over and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek and wished her good morning. He pulled a chair out for Susan, and after helping her he took the seat in between her and her mother. "Good morning Mrs. Malfoy, thank you for letting me stay over." Said Susan as she was pouring a glass of pumpkin juice. Susan was about to ask what was for breakfast, but Bess popped a plate full of waffles in front of her.
"Miss Bones, I believe Harry has already told you the rules of staying with me. Call me Narcissa. If etiquette dictates formality, then please call me Lady Black."
Susan blushed a little at this, and Draco chuckled. "Of course Narcissa, and please call me Susan." She replied as she elbowed Draco in the ribs.
Narcissa and Emma looked at each other a smiled before Emma looked to Susan and said, "I'm Emma Granger, Hermione's mother. It's nice to meet another one of Hermione's class mates."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs.…" Susan was suddenly stopped with what she was saying with the look that Narcissa gave her. "I mean it is a pleasure to meet you Emma. Is your husband going to be joining us later?" Emma's shoulders dropped and her face fell as the tears began to form in her eyes. Narcissa put her arm around Emma's shoulders and pulled the chair a little closer. Susan looked around, her eyes landing on Hermione's and silently asked what happened.
"There was an accident at the beginning of the summer." Replied Hermione as Harry grabbed her hand and saw the tears in her eyes as well.
Susan's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. "I am sorry for bringing it up. I had no idea." As Emma was going to wave her off and tell her it was ok, the vase of flowers that were on the table seemed to levitate and then fly across the room. The vase flew towards the wall, and just barely missed Amelia's head. Amelia watched as the vase sailed into the wall before turning to look at the group of people seated at the table. She lifted one brow and saw Emma turn a little red at the unasked question. "Sorry apparently, my magic has a mind of its own. I'm just not sure if I'm the one causing it or if it's from this little one."
Everyone saw Emma place her hand on her abdomen and Narcissa place a hand on top of hers. Harry felt Hermione's anger spark and went to stand. "Hermione, can I talk to you outside for a moment?" He not only grabbed her hand, but took her by the elbow to steer her to the terrace before she said something she would regret.
Emma wanted to run after her daughter, but was stopped by Narcissa who said, "Just give them a few minutes Em." Emma looked like her heart was breaking a little bit. Narcissa stood up and took Emma in her arms and held her close.
"What if she is against this? Against us?" Emma whispered.
Narcissa kissed her head and replied, "She won't be. You have raised an amazing young lady. I know you think that she will be against us, but that is a lie. Trust me."
During this whole exchange Amelia went over a greeted her niece and sat next to her and watched a cup of coffee appear in front of her. "Long night Auntie?" asked Susan as she watched her aunt take a deep breath in as she smelled her cup of coffee.
"Extremely. What did I miss here? Hermione looked upset when I walked in." Amelia took a sip of her coffee and closed her eyes as she savored the taste. Emma excused herself after she was able to collect herself and quickly went to check on her daughter. Narcissa went back to the table and decided to fill Amelia in on everything that had happened that morning. "I believe you deserve an explanation." She said as she sat back in her chair.
"What explanation is that?" asked Amelia who was slightly confused.
"We have finally figured out why Harry and Hermione have been so on edge. Perhaps we should wait for them to return to explain it themselves." Narcissa looked up thinking that at least one of them would have already made their way back in, but saw no one was there. "I'm just going to check on everyone."
Luna chose this moment to speak up and say, "I wouldn't worry about it just yet Narcissa. They will work it out on their own. Have a little faith. If you go out there now, it could ruin everything. We all know that Harry and Hermione are not themselves at the moment."
Out on the terrace-
Harry was still pulling Hermione towards the center of the terrace when she started to blow her top. He grabbed both of her arms and held them down at her side. "Hermione, I need you to breath for a moment." Harry saw her starting to turn bright red. Harry shook her slightly and said, "Love, before you say something you will regret, I want you to find your center. Just like we were taught." Harry saw that she wanted to argue with him, but he quickly added, "We will talk after you have found your center, not before. I'll do the exercise with you."
Knowing that they would just go in circles until they found their centers, Hermione closed her eyes and started to try and relax her body and go to her happy place. After a moment, she saw that she was sitting under her favorite tree beside Black Lake back at Hogwarts. True to his word, Harry did the same thing, and found himself sitting beside Hermione. After a few minutes, Harry felt all the anger and tension leave Hermione's body. She opened her eyes and stared deep into his emerald eyes as he said, "Now, do you want to tell me what all of that was about love?"
Hermione slumped her shoulders and replied, "I don't really know. I guess I got a little upset with the way my mum and Narcissa were acting with each other. I feel like she is cheating on my father." Neither of them knew that Emma was just on the other side of the door listening to everything that was being said.
"Maya, you know that your mother loved your father deeply." He gently said.
"So what did I miss yesterday? Something happened between yesterday and today. I feel as if a chunk of my life is missing." Replied Hermione
"Luna happened yesterday." Harry never got a chance to finish what he was going to say.
Emma decided to come and speak to Hermione about what was going on. "Maya."
Both the teens turned and saw Emma walking towards them. "I'll give you two sometime alone." Hermione pulled Harry back as he turned to head back inside.
Hermione took another deep breath before asking, "What?" at the same time Emma said, "I know you have questions." Both of them stopped and smiled at each other. Emma went on to say, "Hermione, I heard what you said to Harry. I want to know that I loved your father very much." No one knew that Narcissa was listening just outside the door.
Hermione was a whirlwind of emotions. Angry at the thought that her mother was trying to replace her father, and worried that Narcissa was going to break her mother's heart. Anxious that not only her mother would get hurt, but also her baby brother. Narcissa chose that moment to walk out onto the terrace. She was very nervous with how this could go. Granted Hermione couldn't help the mood, that didn't make her feel any safer. "Is everyone alright out here?" she asked as she slowly made her way over to everyone. Emma looked over and smiled at her, causing her heart to skip a beat. Harry felt Hermione's anxiety spike a little after Narcissa spoke.
Trying to prevent a blow up he took her hand and said, 'Talk to her love. You need to tell them how you feel. I know this is scary and hard for you, but you can't run from this.'
'What if she hurts her? What if this is all some kind of lie?' she replied.
Harry smiled at her and said, 'Besides, I'm supposed to be the one with the temper remember?' Hermione snorted at this, causing her mother to pale a little from the fear that her daughter was not only going to reject her, but also the woman she cares deeply for. Hermione saw Narcissa calmly walk to Emma's side and watched silently as Narcissa put a gentle hand on her mother's arm to try and offer her comfort and support. Hermione took a deep breath and tried to tell her mum that she wasn't angry with her, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came out. Harry started to rub circles on her back while trying to send her the strength she needed and to try to calm her. She met Harry's eyes and saw him nod. She knew he was trying to gently urge her to speak.
She looked over and saw that her mother was pale and looked terrified. Hermione shook herself and tried to gather her thoughts. "Mum, I'm not upset. I just need some time. Harry and I are still going through some changes and I don't think it would be a good idea to talk about…issues involving the heart."
Before Emma could even respond, she watched Hermione turn and walk back towards the house. As soon as Hermione was out of sight, she threw herself into Narcissa's open arms and silently let the tears run down her face. For a moment, they forgot Harry was still standing there. Harry gave a little cough to get their attention and said, "Hermione is right. Our powers and emotions are still uncontrolled, and it would be better for everyone if we talked about this in a couple of days." Harry took a step towards the two witches and placed a gentle hand on Emma's arm before adding, "She doesn't hate you for this. She just needs some time to get herself together. You already know that she loves you with all her heart. Just give her some space. For what it's worth, I'm happy for the two of you. But let me warn you now Narcissa Black, if you hurt my mother in law, I will make sure Hermione is the least of your worries."
Narcissa gulped a little at the power behind his words hit her and Emma gasped as she felt it as well. "I would never intentionally hurt her; I care too deeply for her to let anything happen to her or her family." Satisfied with his threat, Harry turned and went to join the others, leaving Narcissa and Emma alone in each others arms.
As Harry was walking back towards the morning room, he felt Hermione's anger blast through the bond as he felt the floor begin to shake. He took off at a run, and skidded across the door way to see Hermione standing on the other side of the room with her hands clenched into tight fits and her eyes squeezed shut. He heard her trying to calm herself down, but saw it wasn't working. Looking around he saw Amelia Bones trying to move back from the table, but was frozen in place. He was about to have one of the elves get Hermione out of there when he heard a Phoenix start to sing, and land on her shoulder. Eilidh was rubbing her head on Hermione's cheek as she sung and saw his wife finally start to relax. Amelia gave her leg one last tug and ended up falling backwards due to the effort. Susan and Draco were too stunned to move. Harry ran to Hermione, and placed his hands on her cheeks and forced her face up so that she could look him in the eyes. They were so absorbed with looking at each other, neither of them saw Fawkes land on Harry's shoulder or that Luna walked up to them. Harry looked around and saw everyone staring at them and asked, "What happened?"
"I don't know love. I was walking back over to the table when I saw Madame Bones. I remember closing my eyes, and trying to keep my emotions under control. That was the last thing I remember."
Still cradling her face he said, "Why don't you head back up to the bedroom with Luna. Perhaps she can help guide you through some meditations. You may be able to connect with the others and get some answers." He gave her a passionate but quick kiss and guided her over to Luna who helped lead her out of the room.
As soon as she was gone Amelia asked, "What exactly is going on here?" Harry motioned for her to take a seat and saw that everyone else was getting up to leave.
"Please, you all need to hear about this too." He waited for everyone to get comfortable and saw that Emma and Narcissa had snuck into the room. Just as Harry was about to start speaking, Sirius came stumbling into the room with Remus. Harry saw his Godfather's face light up as he eyes landed on Amelia. Seeing her stone like features, Sirius gave her a quick peck on the forehead before taking the seat next to her and fixed a cup of coffee for both of them. Harry waited impatiently for him to finish.
Harry finally got fed up with waiting and actually growled. Everyone jumped a little and Sirius just lifted a brow, causing Harry's temper to climb even further, causing the temperature to drop several degrees. Fawkes started to sing and instantly stared to sooth him. Once Harry was able to get his temper under control, the temperature in the room started to return normal. Draco started to say, "What the bloody hell…" When Narcissa smacked the back of his head, effectively shutting him up.
Everyone chuckled at the show, but Harry growled out, "If I could get everyone's attention." Harry gave everyone a stern glare as he waited for everyone to settle. "Now, I am sure you have all noticed some changes in Hermione and myself over the last few days. In fact, over the next day or so our cores will have finished reaching their maturity. That is the reason why our emotions have been all over the place lately, and also the reason we have been growing so quickly. We are essentially maturing over about a week versus years." Harry paused for a moment to make sure every word was taken in. He looked to Susan and said, "I don't think you will go through the changes Hermione and I are, but I am unsure at the moment." He went to take a sip of juice but stopped suddenly as his rings vibrated and he heard, 'She will go though some changes, but they won't be as severe.'
Sirius looked concerned and as he asked, "Is everything ok pup?"
Harry shook himself as he was brought back to reality. "Sorry, Godric and Salazar wanted a quick word. They said you would though some changes, but they won't be as severe."
Susan paled slightly at this but didn't say anything. Amelia saw this and as she took her niece's hand said, "It will be alright. If this is what you truly want, we will get through this." She watched as her niece sat a little straighter in her chair and noticed she took a deep breath before replying, "I'm going through with this. I can't put my finger on it, but I have this feeling that this is what I am supposed to do."
Susan looked directly at Harry and cocked her brow while saying, "Besides Potter, I can't let you have all the fun now can I? I already know that Dumbledore will be… trying, but you will need someone in your corner who has the ear of the head of the DMLE. And to top this all off, I will get to experience one of your adventures first hand, and I suspect that I will not only have to keep Malfoy here in line, but also help Hermione keep you in line as well."
"Oi!" exclaimed Draco as Harry gave a hearty laugh at this.
"Well, good luck with that. I should warn you that my life is far from normal, and since you will be closely associated with me, yours will never be the same."
Susan snorted at hearing this and replied, "Besides, haven't you figured it out yet? Being normal is so overrated." All the adults watched the exchange with an amused glint in their eyes. Who would have thought that these teens would be getting along so well? Draco's true self was shining though without the influence of his father. But the biggest transformation was Harry. Not only was he growing at an alarming rate, he was becoming very confident. True that no one really knew him as well as Hermione, but they could all see that being around those that not only cared for him, but truly loved him for him, not the boy who lived crap was doing wonders for him as a person.
"I hate to break up this charming banter," stated Remus, "But could I suggest we adjourn to the reading room for a more comfortable discussion. I am sure Amelia would love to get a few hours sleep before returning back to the office." Sirius and Amelia quickly refilled their cups and Emma was trying to argue with Narcissa about having another cup of tea.
"I really don't believe another cup of tea will really make that much of a difference." Replied Emma as she was walking with Narcissa towards the reading room. Harry and Remus were the last to leave the morning room. "Should I have Hermione come and meet us?" asked Harry as they were half way down the hall.
"I think that would be for the best Harry." Replied Remus. Harry quickly sent a message to Hermione asking for her and Luna to join everyone in the reading room. A few minutes after a calmer Hermione and Luna came walking in. As the girls took a few steps into the room, Luna put hand on Hermione's arm to stop her and said, "Remember to keep your temper under control. It will all work out." Hermione gave her a little nod and went to sit next to Harry.
Harry looked over and asked, "How are you feeling?"
Hermione smiled as she took Harry's hand and replied, "Much better. But honestly, I can't wait until we have finished maturing." She leaned to whisper in his ear and added, "I really do hate all this PMS. It's as if my visitor is trying to kill me and take every anyone around with us." Harry blushed a little at this and Hermione gave a beaming smile. She accomplished her main goal, making Harry uncomfortable.
During this exchange, Sirius leaned over, pulling Amelia with him to say to Remus, "Lily use to do the same thing to James." The three of them chuckled quietly to themselves as they remember their dear friends.
As soon as Harry was able to get his blush under control he asked, "Do we need to wait for Bill and Tonks to be here before we move forward?"
"I believe we can move forward without them. The three of us have been working very closely and already know what we are going to discuss today" replied Remus. "Now, let's complete the task at hand. I'm sure we all have plenty to do once we are finished here. We have been discussing our network of eyes and ears. We want to have students from all the houses for this task. It will make sure we are aware of any potential threats not only from the students, but also from Dumbledore. Besides the students, the professors will also help. If any of you have any trouble while in the castle, go to your head of house." Remus looked around to make sure all the teens were actually listening to what he was saying.
"Who did you have in mind?" asked Hermione.
Remus smiled at her question. He knew Hermione never liked to have only half the information. "Well, we have already assigned Fred and George Weasley and plan on asking Neville if he would help. If you want to bring anyone else from Gryffindor on board, we can discuss that later." Remus looked over to Luna and asked, "Will you keep us informed with Ravenclaw?" Luna gave Remus as dreamy stare and replied, "Of course. I can tell you now that quite a few will have several problems. Several people tend to view Harry as a piece of meat. Just watch out for the wrackspurts this time of year." Everyone knew at this point not to ask Luna questions about these… creatures.
"Draco, would you handle Slytherin house, and could you think of anyone else we could enlist?" asked Remus as he tried to steer the conversation back on track.
"Of course. I will put together a list of those we can trust. Although, we should meet with them before we return to Hogwarts. In fact, I would recommend having a little get together as well. It would be good for all of us to get to know one another. The other Slytherins will be worried about trusting other houses." Remus tapped his finger on his lip as he thought about what Draco said.
"I think it's a good idea, but I will need to discuss it with Tonks and Bill before we plan it." Remus looked to Susan and asked, "Will you cover Hufflepuff house and come up with others as well?"
Remus expected Susan to look to her aunt, but without skipping a beat she replied, "I'll do it and will try to have a list put together for you by the end of the day." Amelia looked over to her niece and felt overwhelmed with pride. The Bones family always did what was right and never what was easy. She was proud to see that the apple did not fall far from the tree
"I have a suggestion," said Harry, "Instead of having each student contact you directly Remus, why don't we have them bring their information to the one student who is in charge of said house, and then we can deliver it to Tonks or Bill who could send it on to you. We can even set up times for quick meetings. We could call them war councils." Hermione gave Harry's hand a big squeeze and an even bigger smile. The more time he spent he spent away from the influence of a certain potion mistress and traitor, the more his intelligence and confidence shined through.
Sirius and Remus both sat a little straighter in their chairs, both sported huge grins as both men swelled with pride hearing this. "I think that is a fantastic idea!" replied Remus, "I'll bring this up to the others, but I can almost guarantee they will be as excited as we are. Who did you want to put in charge of Gryffindor house?"
Harry and Hermione looked at each other and at the same time said, "Neville Longbottom." Harry smiled and went on to say, "Not that I don't trust the twins, I feel that putting Neville in this position will help his confidence."
Susan seemed to brighten at his idea since she knew the real Neville and added, "That is a brilliant idea! We just need to make sure he gets his own wand." Everyone looked at Susan as if she had three heads.
"What do you mean get Neville his own wand?" asked Amelia.
Susan paled slightly under her aunt's watchful eye and hesitantly replied, "He uses his father's wand." Seeing that this wasn't enough for her aunt she quickly finished with, "His grandmother refuses to believe that the wand is the problem and says that his father was a great wizard. The wand should work just fine for him since it also works so well for her." Susan saw her aunt turning as red as her hair, but before Amelia could blow, Susan saw Sirius put a hand on her arm and gave very small shake of his head.
Amelia took several deep breaths before saying, "I will have a discussion with Augusta later today. In fact, I will do it before bringing Neville here. Harry, would you join me when I go to Longbottom Manor? The House of Longbottom has been a long-time ally to the House of Potter, and I believe Augusta needs to be reminded of that. It would help if you would share with the Lady Regent what the Longbottom heir is really like while at school."
"That sounds like a brilliant idea. All I ask is that Susan accompany us, while everyone else stays here. Perhaps after our visit, we could head to Diagon Alley. We can visit Ollivanders and then head to Gringotts." Harry felt Hermione's annoyance about being excluded from the day's activities. He chose to ignore the glare from Hermione and went on to say, "I will also talk to Madame Longbottom about Sirius' case. From what I hear, Augusta Longbottom is a formidable foe."
Sirius snorted at this statement and added, "That is an understatement. Knowing her personally, once she catches the scent of fear it's all over." Amelia sent a swift elbow at him. Harry was amused at his Godfather's antics but felt Hermione's anger spike a little more through the bond.
'You really plan on leaving me here?' Hermione asked with a disappointing sigh.
Harry took a deep breath and replied, 'Yes. I won't put you in danger. We don't know if someone will try to attack us and if you remember what Luna said earlier, you can't use any magic for at least 24 hours.'
'Nothing is going to happen Harry. Stop being paranoid.' Hermione's anger was quickly starting to rise to a dangerous level. Everyone saw it written all over her face, but no one dared to tell them that it was rude to have a private conversation in front of them. Narcissa put an unseen hand on Emma's arm, knowing that she wanted to help her daughter.
Harry's face darkened slightly as he said, 'You will stay here Hermione. Besides the danger, you can't even keep your emotions under control. In fact, Luna even warned you before we started.'
Hermione snorted and angrily bit back, 'Smooth Potter, coming from you.'
Harry's face immediately went blank and he quickly stood. He firmly grabbed her elbow and forced her to stand as well. "If you will excuse us for a moment." He quietly said. Hermione paled very slightly, recognizing Harry's tone and realized her mistake. Hermione let Harry steer her towards the terrace. They both knew this conversation would be best in an open area where there was little to damage. They reached the end of the terrace and Harry dropped Hermione's elbow and started to pace.
Hermione went to speak but was silenced with a look from Harry. She watched Harry while he paced, knowing that he was trying to gather his thoughts. The longer she watched, the more her temper started to rise. "Harry" she called, but he ignored her. "HARRY!" she screamed, forcing his head to snap up.
He narrowed his eyes and said, "You really have no clue how dangerous this all is do you? Not only has Dumbledore tried to kill you once and then tried to kidnap you, Lucius Malfoy is also running around and wishes to hurt me by taking away the one thing closest to my heart. Now, add into the fact that you can't use magic to protect yourself. Tell me how I am supposed to feel. Let's also add in the fact that you can't seem to keep your emotions under control at the moment. You have already insulted one of our allies, which who thankfully has forgiven you and understands what is going on. I will not let that happen again."
Harry was standing directly in front of Hermione at this point. "Do you really want to bring up dangerous situations?" she replied. "Alright, first year besides the Troll, how about the Stone? Second year, facing a Basilisk with a sword, Sorting Hat and Fawkes. Third year, Dementors. Tell me, who was by your side for most of that?" Hermione was shouting at this point and since both of them were concentrating so much on each other, they never saw when everyone gathered to watch.
Harry had enough and replied in a low and menacing tone, "That is enough! You WILL stay here. I refuse to put you in any danger for the time being. I will enlist the help of the house elves if I must. This discussion..." before he finished his sentence, an unknown owl screeched and dropped a red envelope in front of Harry and Hermione.
Amelia jumped forward and screamed, "DON'T TOUCH IT!" She came running over to the teens and said, "It potentially could either be cursed or a port key." Amelia flicked her wand and lifted the envelope. She looked over to Harry to make sure it was alright for her to open it. He gave her a quick nod, and positioned himself next to Hermione. Before Amelia opened it, she did a quick check for curses. Finding none, she gave another flick and the envelope exploded, revealing Lucius' voice:
"You will pay for what you have done Mudblood. I will make you suffer more than your muggle bitch of a mother. Your half-blooded bastard won't be able to save you this time. Not only will I torture and rape you, I will rip you to shreds and send the memory along with your head back to the bastard. By the time I finish with you, I will have destroyed all that you hold dear."
Harry was holding onto Hermione when he felt his rings vibrate and hastily cast his shield just as the howler shot a blood boiling curse directly at Hermione. He wandlessly made the howler burst into flames as the curse was absorbed into the shield. As Harry finally lowered his shield, Hermione's legs started to give out. He carefully helped her fall to her knees. She clung to him, and when Harry looked up, he saw that Narcissa was holding on to Emma who looked like she was ready to be sick and pass out.
Harry waited for Hermione to stop shaking before asking that everyone to head back into the reading room. Once they were alone he said, "Maya, I will do my best to keep you safe. Once you can use magic, we will train." He waited a moment to see if Hermione was going to try and argue with him. He pulled back a little and cupped her face while looking into her eyes. "Hermione, I promise not to be overbearing and try not to act like you can't protect yourself. All I ask is that you trust me."
"I trust you darling. I never stopped." Hermione replied, "I'm sorry for losing it back there. I hate to admit it, but you were right about staying here today." Harry leaned in and gave Hermione a passionate kiss, curling her toes. He pulled back and helped Hermione to her feet and said, "Let's head back to the reading room to talk with the others. I have an idea on how we can spin this recent development to our advantage."
Harry and Hermione were walking hand and had to the reading room and stopped just before the door. "Hermione, before we go in there I want you to be prepared to seeing Narcissa supporting your mother."
Harry waited to see Hermione's reaction. Her shoulders slumped a little as she said, "I know Harry. I really am ok with them, but right now I don't really have control." Harry gave her hand a quick squeeze before pushing open the door, and realized it was a good thing he warned Hermione. They saw that Emma was all but in Narcissa's lap. When Emma looked up she saw Hermione heading towards her, and she jumped up to take her daughter into a strong embrace and started crying all over again. Hermione held her mother for a few minutes before steering her back towards Narcissa. She tried to get Emma to sit, but found she was unable to get her to let go and Hermione looked over to Narcissa and silently pleaded for a hand.
Narcissa was trying to unlatch one of Emma's arms and said, "Emma darling, Hermione needs to breath." As Narcissa managed to get one arm free, Emma threw her other one around Narcissa, who was about to call for a calming draught when one instantly appeared.
Once Narcissa managed to get Emma settled, Harry said, "Right, I have an idea. With proof that Hermione is in danger, are we able to now have our own security team present while at Hogwarts from the start of term?" No one expected Harry to respond like this.
"I think that may be possible." Replied Amelia after she finished another pepper up potion.
"But what of Dumbledore? He will try to say that Hogwarts is perfectly safe" replied Sirius. Harry and Hermione looked at each other before they both started laughing.
"He can try to argue that all he likes. Let me give you a quick breakdown of the last three years. Year one, I battled a fully-grown Mountain Troll on Halloween, followed by protecting the Philosopher Stone from dork lord who possessed a professor. Year two, battled a Basilisk with only the Sword of Gryffindor, the Sorting Hat and Fawkes, Oh and also another form of the Moldy Shorts. Year three, one word. Dementors."
Hermione picked up with, "We can provide the memories if necessary and he can try to argue all he likes, but he won't win. We have proof that ever since Harry Potter came to Hogwarts, life has become very dangerous. Now, how do we go around the old goat?"
"Well that is simple, the Board of Governors." Replied Amelia with almost a feral grin. "I take it we are keeping your ownership under wraps?"
"Yes. We hope we can keep it quiet till the start of the tournament." Replied Harry and saw the questioning glance from the other teens. "I'll tell you guys later about it". Harry turned back to Amelia and said, "Isn't Augusta Longbottom on the board as well?"
"She is and we can speak to her later about it." Amelia replied as she went to stand. "Now, since I won't be getting any sleep any time soon, let me go up for a quick shower and change. I'll even send a quick note to Augusta to let her know that we are going to come by. Harry, change into your best robes since we will be discussing house business."
Sirius went to follow Amelia out of the room but was called back by Harry. Sirius met him half way and saw that Harry called Remus over as well. "What is it cub?" asked Remus as he got to the little group.
Harry cast a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure Emma was far enough away and said, "Should we worry about Lucius coming here? That howler found us, what's to say he won't either?"
"I don't think he can, but I'll make sure Narcissa brings all the wards up to full power, and will make sure you are all keyed in 100%." Replied Sirius. Seeing the concern in Harry's eyes he added, "We will keep her safe pup. Besides myself, Remus and Narcissa, we have the house elves and your Phoenix's as well." Harry let some of the tension in his shoulders go after hearing this.
Remus put a hand on Harry's shoulder to offer his support He knew this was all stating to weigh heavily on his nephew. "It will all work out cub. I'll send a message for Tonks to come as well. If things head south, we will get everyone out. We can head to Andy's house if that is the case."
Harry thought on this for a moment and then said, "No. Lucius may look there. What about that small cottage we first went to? That could be a staging area until I can fix the wards at Potter Manor."
"Sounds like a solid plan pup!" replied Sirius. The three of them were very happy with the contingency plan. Harry saw Hermione walking over and quietly added, "Hermione is not to do magic." Just as she got to the trio, Harry turned and kissed her on the cheek and said, "Hello love."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him and said, "What are you three up too?"
Harry slammed his hand over his heart and said, "Your words wound me milady."
Hermione playfully smacked his arm and replied, "Oh no you don't. I know you three are up to something and I want to know what is going on". At this point Hermione had her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face.
Harry said, "I need to go and get changed" as he reached for Hermione's hand. She turned her smirk into a smile and took it, knowing that he would explain as he got changed. And if he didn't, he knew that there would be hell to pay.
A/N 2: Sorry for the long wait everyone. Life has been incredible crazy. I hope you all enjoyed the latest installment. The next two chapters are already written, I just have to edit them and then send them over to The Ghostly Minion. I won't tell in what is to come, but all I can say is that you should love it!Please review! It helps brighten my day during the dark times.