Title: Unusual Inheritance
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated
Spoilers: None
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Susan, or Su Li, or Tracey, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.
Summary: While staying at the Leaky Cauldron after his 'incident' with Marge, Harry finds out that he has an unusual inheritance. One that could change the course of his life forever.
A/N: There have been some comments over Harry describing Hermione as possibly smarter than Dumbledore. In this case, people seem to be confusing 'intelligence' with 'knowledgeable'. Dumbledore is definitely more knowledgeable than Hermione, from over a century of study, but it does not make him more intelligent than her.
Hermione sat in her bedroom going over her notes for the thousandth time. She had looked through every reference book she could find on Slave Contracts and Sworn Retainers, which of course had led her to Noble Houses, The Wizengamont and House Elves.
At first, she had been enraged when she had found out about House Elves, just as she had been when Harry had handed over the Slave Contracts, but without a convenient way to vent her frustrations, and remembering how her first impression was wrong when it came to Harry and his Contracts, Hermione's innate thirst for hard facts won out over her outrage and she had sat down and researched everything she could find on all kinds of slavery in the Wizarding World.
To her great relief, there was not a lot of Slavery and, what little there was, was highly regulated and controlled, at least when it came to humans. House Elves were less well regulated but, and this had come as a shock to Hermione, House Elves needed to be bound in service to a family, the way a human needed oxygen.
For humans, there were two ways to become a Slave. Indenture and 'Breach of Honour' and the regulations were quite detailed in what the contract could and could not impose on the slave, but the execution of the of the human slave contracts resided with the Goblins, not the Ministry, so there was very little corruption involved.
While she was not happy with the existence of Slaves, she had to admit to herself that if anyone was going to treat their slaves well it was Harry, and the conditions of the contracts of his slaves were quite fair, especially the condition that they had to have some beneficial skill, so they would not have their only worth on their backs.
Having reconciled herself to the slavery issue, both for Humans and House Elves, in that there was nothing she could do about it, so she turned to the books on Sworn Retainers. There were some distinct advantages to being a Sworn Retainer to House Potter. She would be instantly considered under the protection of House Potter and would be given the same respect and Status as the protecting House, which in this case would be an old and respected House. Also, if Harry wished it, they could have their own private apartments at Hogwarts, with each Retainer getting their own room, instead of being housed in Dorms. Hermione had never been too comfortable in sleeping in a Dorm, preferring her own sleeping space, but she had kind of gotten used to it.
On the down side being a Sworn Retainer would make her more of an outcast amongst the school population, though she would have a potential social group in Harry's other Retainers. She did not want to cause any additional friction between Harry and Harry's friend Ron. Over all she could not make a decision on if she wanted to be a Sworn Retainer, though she knew Harry would accept without hesitation should she offer her oath.
A tapping at the window drew Hermione's attention from her books and she looked up, half expecting to see Hedwig, but instead seeing Errol, the Weasley family owl. Opening the window, she retrieved the old owl before he collapsed, and took Ron's letter from the owl's leg. She scanned the letter and then went red with rage. Taking a breath, she calmed herself and re-read the letter from beginning to end.
It was a typical Ronald Rant. Chudley Cannons, Harry's fame, invitation to come to the Burrow to 'get away from those Muggles', Harry's money, Ginny being annoying, food, Quidditch, food, chores, complaining about homework.
It was the comments he made about her parents that finally made up Hermione's mind. If she was a Retainer to House Potter, then her parents would automatically gain political protection of House Potter. This was a great opportunity for herself, but it would help her parents as well, and she loved her parents.
Hermione walked up to the front door of Harry's townhouse and knocked on the front door. After a moment, it was answered by Harry wearing an apron over his clothes.
"Hermione." He said. "Come on in. I was just cooking some lunch."
Hermione followed Harry into the kitchen, sitting down at the dining room table to watch him work. Harry lifted the lid off a frying pan and stirred the contents.
"How can I help you?" Harry asked.
"I want to become your Sworn Retainer, if you will have me." Hermione said.
"May I ask why now?" Harry replied. "I figured you would have made up your mind weeks ago, what changed?"
"I had not decided until late yesterday." Hermione admitted. "But when I received this, and it crystallised everything."
She handed over Ron's letter to Harry, who scanned it and then simply nodded. In short order Hermione was Magically Sworn as Harry's Retainer. Hermione swore to advise House Potter to the best of her ability, to preserve the House's Honour as if it was her own and to keep House Potter's secrets. Harry, in return, swore to protect and support Hermione as if she were his own blood, against all threats and to bring all the power of House Potter in her defence.
"Girls, come down here and meet my new Sworn Retainer." Harry called.
The four girls came down, with Hannah and Su in the lead, with Lavender and Tracey behind them. Hermione was shocked to see who the four girls were, especially shocked at Su as she had a sword at her waist.
"Hermione, may I introduce Hannah Abbott, my Chamberlain; Su Li, my Security Advisor; Lavender Brown, my Style Consultant and Press Secretary; and Tracey Davis. Tracey is not a Retainer and will not be publicly acknowledge as having any affiliation to House Potter." Harry introduced. "Girls, I believe you know Hermione Granger. What do you think Hannah, Maester or Head Researcher?"
"Maester I think." Hannah replied. "It has more respect than Head Researcher and it kind of tweaks the nose of the Pureblood Supremacists."
"Why will it upset the Pureblood Supremacists?" Hermione asked.
"Maesters were the most learned and wise of all the Retainers. They were well respected but they were also always Men, usually Purebloods." Tracy explained.
"Welcome to the Family." Harry said. "If you want, there's a spare room on the first floor, across from my own, for whenever you want to stay over. The girls each have their own room on the top floor."
"Thanks, but I need to get home to my parents." Hermione said.
Harry and Su were in the basement of the townhouse, both dressed in slightly loose, soft clothing. Su had basically claimed the basement and turned it into her own personal gym and dojo. There were mats down in the large space in the middle of the floor, racks along two of the walls with an array of weapons and armour, as well as a number of Muggle exercise machines, such as treadmills and weights sets, in a small area in the back corner.
"As your bodyguard, I am in charge of your protection." Su said. "But in some cases, I will not be able to protect you and you will have to protect yourself. To that end, we will be spending at least an hour every day working on your general fitness and an hour of combat training."
Harry nodded, not overly surprised. Hannah and Tracy were working him an hour a day going over his general duties as a Lord and etiquette, and Lavender was working on tips and training for any Press interviews he would eventually have to give (but she was in the prep stages at the moment as they all agreed his other training was more vital).
"There are five types of traditional weapons, in addition to unarmed combat. Piercing, Slashing, Clubbing, Ranged and Exotic. For your instruction, we will be ignoring Ranged and Exotic, Ranged because you have shown yourself to be quite proficient with your wand and Exotic because, well… they are rare and very hard to use." Su explained, Harry nodding when she paused to make sure he was paying attention.
Su went over to the racks on the wall and retrieved a Spear and a long, wide dagger that tapered to a point.
"Alongside unarmed combat, these are what I will be training you in." Su explained, hefting the Spear and the Dagger. "The Spear is a good defensive weapon, usable as Piercing, Slashing and Clubbing. It is quick and easy to learn, but very difficult to master. The Dagger is primarily a Piercing weapon but can be used for Slashing attacks. Its main advantage is that it can be easily concealed and is versatile close in to your opponent."
Returning the Dagger to the weapons rack, Su began Harry on some very simple drills with the Spear. Thrust. Recover. Block. Recover. Slash. Recover. Over and over. Harry found that the hardest part was not working the Spear in his hands but getting his feet into the right position to keep him balanced and to give power when he thrusted, more speed when he slashed and stability when he blocked. By the end of the hour of combat training he was utterly exhausted and dripping sweat.
TBC…