CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
PADFOOT RETURNS
"They're WHAT?!" Harry asked in shock. He looked into her frightened eyes and pulled her to him. "It'll be over my dead body that they take you away from me." He said very calmly as he pulled back and stroked her arm reassuringly. "We'll talk with Professor Dumbledore before anything happens."
"YOUNG LADY! DON'T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Mr. Granger bellowed from the hall. He opened the door to the kitchen and stopped in his tracks. He looked pointedly at his daughter and took her into the hall by her arm before anyone could react to his entrance. Hermione looked pleadingly to Harry as she was summarily dragged from the kitchen.
Harry immediately started for the door but Mr. Weasley put a hand on his shoulder. "Harry, we-we can't stop them from taking their daughter with them." He looked crestfallen at the statement.
"Mr. Weasley, we need her! I need her!" Harry emphasized the last sentence so that his point was made. "If there's anything I can do, I'm going to do it."
Arthur nodded. "M-maybe we can talk some sense into them." Harry nodded and turned towards the door again. "But, don't get your hopes up, we've all seen how he has been acting around us and I don't think he'll listen."
"DAD! I NEED TO STAY! I NEED TO FINISH SCHOOL!" Hermione yelled from the hallway.
Harry looked at his adopted family then went for the door a little more cautiously than he had intended to at first. He took a deep breath and pushed his way out to join the newly instigated row between his girlfriend and her father.
"Hermione, listen to me. We're your parents and we know what's best for you." Robert said as if he were talking to a child. "We don't want you to get hurt and never have the chance to see you again!"
"You can't promise me that I won't get hurt away from Hogwarts, Dad!" Hermione shot back vehemently. "After I've graduated Hogwarts and helped the Order defeat Voldemort, I'll come and get you!"
"You're not going anywhere near that lunatic!" Her father shot back in a stern, fatherly tone that indicated there will be no further argument.
Harry settled behind Hermione and put his hand on her shoulder indicating his support in her decision. He remained quiet and allowed the two of them to work it out. He glanced cautiously at her mother and saw the sympathetic look in her eyes. His gaze returned to the red-faced man in front of the two of them.
"Dad, I can't let Harry face him alone!" Hermione pleaded with her father. "I don't know if he'd survive a fight with Voldemort if he didn't have me to help him ..."
"Oh, it's back to him is it?!" Her father said as the anger seethed from his every pore. He looked menacingly at Harry. "Get.your.hand.off.of.my.daughter." He said in a cold, even tone.
Harry looked at him in surprise but didn't move as Hermione put her hand on his. Harry glanced at her wondering if that was a good idea at the moment. He looked back up in time to see the fist of is girlfriend's father connecting with his nose and he fell to the floor with a thud.
"DAD!" ("ROBERT!") She and her mother cried out at the same time. Elizabeth Granger reached for him but he turned on her and gave her a look that forced her to step back. Hermione immediately dropped to Harry's side.
"Are you ok, Harry?" She asked with concern. Harry could see that she was worried but that worry was quickly being replaced by anger as he nodded.
"Hermione, don't do anything rash." He said quietly as she stood and turned to her father. Harry got to his feet and pinched his nose to stop the bleeding.
"How.dare.you." She said coldly in the same tone he had used on Harry earlier. "He has done NOTHING TO YOU!" She screeched at the top of her lungs as she stepped towards him. Her father didn't move or flinch but there was a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
"I won't have this boy anywhere near you. It's because of HIM that they are trying to kill you! That they're trying to KILL US ALL!" He bellowed back. The veins in his forehead nearly burst they had become so prominent at the last explosion.
"Mr. Granger, I'm sure that we can talk this over calmly." Arthur Weasley said quietly from the kitchen door. Everyone was so preoccupied with the row that they failed to notice the family enter the hall. "Harry and Hermione care a great deal about each other, as I'm sure you're aware -"
"HE WILL NOT GET MY DAUGHTER KILLED!" Robert bellowed again. "He has caused us NOTHING but misery since she's met him!" He began ticking the occurrences off on his finger. "FIRST! She gets petrified! SECOND! She nearly gets killed at the Quiblick World Cup! THIRD! She's stuck under water in a contest! FOURTH! She nearly gets killed following that damn fool to save a convicted lunatic! FIFTH! And the FINAL straw! He nearly gets my ENTIRE FAMILY KILLED!"
"Dad, Harry saved your life in that attack. I-If he hadn't been there ..." Hermione pleaded with her father again. "He's always been there for me, Dad, always! He'd never let anything happen to me, he'd die before I did!"
"Mr. Granger." Harry said sternly. "Hermione's right, I'd rather die than see her hurt and I'd die protecting her." His face softened and he looked too the floor. "I understand how you feel, about wanting her safe, and I'll do everything in my power to protect her."
"The day I turn my daughter over to a lunatic like you IT'LL BE OVER MY DEAD BODY!" He lunged for Harry again, his fist pulled back ready to strike but was suddenly pulled off his feet by someone standing behind him.
"I should hardly say that he's a lunatic." Sirius said with a wry grin as he pulled the thrashing form of Mr. Granger back from Harry. "Now it might be a good idea to calm down a little bit. I won't allow physical violence in my house."
Everyone's face lit up at the new arrival. "SIRIUS?!" Harry and Hermione exclaimed in unison, smiles crossing their faces and their anger temporarily forgotten. At the mention of the name Mr. Granger went completely white.
"Please be at ease, Mr. Granger, Mrs. Granger." Albus Dumbledore said with a stern look yet in gentle tones. "What seems to be the problem?"
Hermione sprang at the chance to explain. "They're going into the Muggle Protection Program, Professor, and they want me to come with them and leave Hogwarts." She said this very rapidly and with an urgency that clearly spoke her intentions of not wanting to leave.
Dumbledore looked sad for a moment and then straightened. "I'm sorry, Hermione." He said softly as he laid a hand on her now shaking shoulder. "But we cannot keep your parents from removing you from school."
Hermione stumbled back a step at the finality of the decision. She looked wildly from her mentor to her now smiling father. "But ..."
"There are no buts about it, Hermione." Robert said triumphantly. "Even if we did let you stay, there wouldn't be a way you could pay for the tuition and supplies."
Harry cleared his throat and took Hermione's hand in his own. He looked at Dumbledore and saw a slight twinkle in the old wizard's eyes. "Is the money the only thing that would keep her from going?" Harry asked calmly.
"The parents are the ones that pay for the tuition, Harry." Dumbledore said sadly but his eyes belayed the emotion. "They are also her guardians and it is their decision to pay her way or not."
"If-if she had a place to stay and was able to pay her own way through school, would that be an alternative?" Harry asked again in the same calm voice. Hermione looked at him curiously before understanding crossed her face.
"That would be acceptable, but I'm afraid that she cannot work and attend the school at the same time." Dumbledore comforted Harry with a pat on his shoulder. "Not to mention that she would need a place to stay during the summer months."
Harry nodded quietly and looked to Arthur and Molly. They seemed to understand and as Mr. Weasley put an arm around his wife's shoulders he nodded slightly.
Harry turned back to his headmaster and cleared his throat again. "I'll pay for her remaining year." He said calmly and felt Hermione squeeze his hand tightly.
"YOU'LL WHAT?!" Mr. Granger bellowed in shocked disbelief. "How on earth could you afford it? Just look at the clothes you had! We know what your living conditions are!"
Hermione looked pointedly at her father. "Dad, Harry is independently wealthy." She said evenly. "He lives with the Dursleys because he's underage and he's protected there. I don't like that he has to live there one bit, but he's far from what he looks, trust me on that."
Harry blushed at the mention of his financial status but didn't look away from his girlfriend's father.
"Molly and I have more than enough room to house her until she deems otherwise." Arthur added quietly. "We'll have more than enough protection with the Auror Division and my position within the Ministry." Mrs. Weasley tightened her hold on her husband and nodded in agreement.
"This can't be happening." Mr. Granger said with astonishment. "You can't take my daughter away from us!"
"Dad, either you let me stay, or I'll leave of my own free will." Hermione said steadily as tears began to well in her eyes. "I love you, Mum, and Diana, but my place is here, with them. I consider them all my family as well."
Elizabeth quietly walked to her daughter and pulled her into a tight hug. "Hermione, is this what you really want? Do you want to stay with them knowing what you know about the Program?" She asked quietly, her cheeks lined with tears as well.
A pained expression crossed Hermione's face. "I know the memory charms will-will keep you f-from remembering me." She said as a choked back a sob. "But if I don't stay then it won't even matter, Voldemort will come after all muggles and muggle-born wizards."
Harry gently placed a hand on her mother's shoulder. "I promise that I'll do everything in my power to keep her safe." He said quietly, his intense green eyes focused on Mrs. Granger's. "I'd die to keep her safe."
Hermione's mother looked at the two young adults and nodded quietly.
"What?" Mr. Granger asked evenly. "You're not going to let her go through with this tomfoolery, are you?"
His wife turned towards him and gave him a look that made him blanch for a moment. "Robert, the decision is out of our hands, either we let her go and have some chance of coming back to her, or we ruin our relationship with her forever." She said evenly. "I, for one, do not want to regret forcing our daughter to leave us."
Robert looked at his wife then to his daughter and finally on Harry. His face started to redden again but he only nodded. "Fine then." He said curtly. "Put us in the Program immediately." He turned from the room and stormed up the stairs. Hermione's knees gave out but Harry caught her before she even had the chance to fall. He pulled her into his arms and let her cry as he rubbed her back and cooed softly into her ear.
Mrs. Granger turned back to the young couple and smiled softly through her streaming tears. She crossed to her daughter and pulled her into a motherly hug. Harry heard her quietly tell her daughter that everything would turn out fine. "Your father and I love you very much, sweetie." She said softly. "That will never change. I'm glad you have such a loving man to care for you while we're away." Hermione cried harder and hugged her mother with everything she had.
"Mum, I don't want him to be mad at me before you leave!" She sobbed into her mother's shoulder.
"Come along, sweetie, we'll see if we can't talk to him before we have to go."
Hermione nodded and turned to Harry before she went upstairs. "Thank you, Harry." She pulled him into a tight hug and kissed him tenderly for the first time in front of her mother.
"No need to thank me, love." He whispered quietly after they broke apart. She smiled softly at him and then disappeared up the stairs with her mother.
Harry watched her silently and didn't look away until a few moments after she was no longer in sight. He came to himself and looked at his godfather. "SIRIUS!" He shouted happily as he suddenly remembered that he was back in the flesh. Harry pulled him into a bone crushing hug that caused the notorious Sirius Black to smile gently and wipe away a tear.
"I missed you too, Harry." He said quietly as he returned the hug. "It wasn't easy watching you go through everything and not be able to do anything about it." He admitted quietly.
Harry cleared his throat and pulled back wiping his eyes. He looked around at his soon-to-be family and smiled broadly. "Now all we need is some cake!" He said with a laugh. Everyone welcomed Sirius back home with smiles and claps on the back.
"Molly ... can't ... breathe ..." Sirius choked out to the laughter the rest of the Weasleys, Harry, and Dumbledore broke into. Harry kept glancing at the stairway and that didn't go unnoticed by many.
"Why don't you go on up, Harry?" Ron asked quietly. "I'm sure she's going to need you right about now."
Harry nodded. "I know, Ron, but she needs to be with her family now ..."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Ron said with a grin. "If anyone here is, it's us! Well, except for her parents and sister that is."
Harry smiled at his best friend. "Alright, but if she wants to be alone with them, we turn right back around."
Ron nodded his agreement and the two friends slowly made their way up the stairs to where the sitting room and their life-long friend awaited with her family. As they approached, they could hear Hermione and her mother crying and Mr. Granger speaking to them softly.
"I think they've made up." Harry whispered quietly. Ron nodded and leaned closer to the door but Harry caught him. "No, let them share their time together." He said softly and turned Ron around. Ron frowned and nodded quietly and started for the stairs when the door opened.
"Harry? Ron?" Hermione said quietly as she wiped her puffy eyes. Harry smiled softly to her and offered her a hug which she took gratefully. Ron moved closer but waited until she was ready to give him a hug as well. "Thanks for being here." She whispered to them both. The boys just smiled in return.
"How're they handling this?" Harry asked quietly as he motioned between her and him.
"Dad's still not happy. I told you he was overprotective of me." She wiped another tear as it started down her cheek. The three of them made their way back downstairs where bouts of laughter could be heard. "They're ok with me staying and want us to find them when Voldemort is dead." She added quietly.
Ron flinched but remained quiet.
"Well, of course we'll go get them when it's safe." Harry said reassuringly by putting an arm around her shoulders. "I'd have it no other way."
She smiled at him and then her expression brightened considerably. "Oh my gosh! I forgot about Sirius!"
Harry laughed. "I think we all did, but he's here!" He beamed at his girlfriend and led her into the kitchen.
Sirius was sitting in his normal seat and laughing wholeheartedly. "Harry, I just told them about Lavender's reaction!"
Harry smiled. "Hey, I tried to find you after the Professor looked, but you'd taken off!"
"I couldn't let my cover be blown." Sirius chuckled. "That man has some talent with the astral plane let me tell you! I had a hard time getting out of his range."
Harry laughed as Hermione finally shot over to his godfather and wrapped him in a tight hug.
"ACK ... Hermione ... Air!" He gasped playfully causing everyone to laugh once again. Hermione blushed slightly but joined the laughter even as her tears began to spill forth again.
"I've missed you, Sirius." She said as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "It was so hard for Harry last summer." She whispered after she planted a kiss on his bearded face. His eyes lost their twinkle for a moment.
"I know, and I tried to let him know I was ok." He said quietly in response.
"Well you're here now." Harry said as he put a hand on the man's shoulder. "Ah, do you want to share the news or should I?" He asked with a look to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.
Arthur smiled. "Why don't you, Harry."
Harry cleared his throat and looked at the three non-Weasleys in the room. "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have offered to adopt me." He said smiling broadly.
Hermione looked at her friends' parents with a shocked look then back to Harry then back to the Weasleys. "Really?!" She asked as a broad smile spread across her face. Dumbledore smiled brightly as the twinkles in his eyes returned in full force and Sirius' jaw dropped slightly at the revelation.
"You're going to have a family, Harry!" Hermione squealed and wrapped him in a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you!"
"Congratulations, Harry." Albus said with a smile, shaking his hand. "I've actually known for a few months, Arthur and Molly asked me about it after you left for summer holiday."
"This is news to me!" Sirius barked he stood and stormed around the room. "Why didn't you tell me, Albus?"
Dumbledore smiled softly at his old friend. "Sirius, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. At the time we thought you were dead and we all agreed that he needed to get away from the Dursleys." He shook his head sadly. "The attack that Lucius Malfoy instigated proved that it was just a matter of time before they could break through the wards there."
"Harry contacted us before we could do anything, Sirius." Molly added with a nod to the young man. "We got him here and everything happened so quickly that we had to put off asking him."
"We had already made up our minds that we'd adopt him before you even escaped Azkaban." Arthur put in.
"If you could forgive us for not telling you, Sirius." Dumbledore said with a hopeful smile. "This was in motion for some time, we apologize for not telling you, but as you well remember, there were many circumstances that kept those thoughts at bay."
Sirius looked defeated. "I understand." He said quietly as he walked over to Harry. "I'm sorry I blew up, Harry, I was hoping that I could have had you stay with me."
Dumbledore grinned. "He will be, Padfoot."
Harry and Sirius turned to face the old wizard. "What?" They said in unison.
"After tomorrow, you'll be staying here for a few days then go back to the school." Albus explained. "This summer, you, Hermione, and Ron will be sent into hiding for Auror training above and beyond what you'll learn in seventh year. By time you're finished, you'll be able to pass the N.E.W.T.s in your sleep."
Harry looked at his godfather then his best friend and finally Hermione in rapid succession. "How does Sirius come into this?"
"He'll be your trainer." Dumbledore smiled brightly. "So you'll be staying here, nobody can find it unless I want them to and we've already set up the training area downstairs."
"But before all of that, you three will be needed at the Ministry." Arthur said with a smile. "First, Harry needs to sign the adoption papers, second, Sirius is going to be receiving his pardon, and last, there will be some confusion cleared up and awards presented."
Harry smiled and looked at his best friend. "Hey, up for another brother?" He asked cheekily.
Ron laughed. "You know it, but I'm getting tired of all the competition!"
Hermione caught Harry in another hug and smiled at him brightly. "I'm so happy for you, Harry." She said through a laugh.
Harry looked at her seriously. "Hermione, I'm sorry that you're losing your family, temporarily!" He added quickly before she could get upset. "When I'm getting a new one. But truth be told, you're all I've ever needed."
Hermione smiled at him and pulled him into a kiss. "I love you, Harry, and thanks for supporting me."
Harry grinned lopsidedly. "I love you too and I would have done it if you asked or not, I want to be here for you."
The two of them laughed when Ron told them to get a room and they rejoined the impromptu party that was going on in the kitchen. Somehow cake had been served and shortly afterwards dinner. They all retreated to their separate rooms shortly afterwards and the night went by quickly.
Morning came and with it a nervousness that was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Dumbledore presented another portkey and soon they were all in the Ministry of Magic. There was a cacophony of sound as they approached the lobby. Aurors joined them and guided the group to a special podium that had been put into place earlier that day. The signs of the previous battle were still evident with the demolished statues and the many scorch marks along the walls and floor.
"Please welcome Arthur Weasley, the Minister of Magic." An announcer said loudly as if he were using a megaphone. He stepped aside and relinquished the stage to Harry's new father.
"Wizards and Witches, friends, and distinguished guests, I stand before you with shocking news and my first actions as Minister of Magic." He began seriously. His gaze drifted to each and every one of the spectators before he continued to a silent and rapt audience. "As you know, there was an attempt on my life this past holiday while my family and I were in Romania. The assassin was killed after the attempt but my son and fellow Ministry worker was a-also killed." There were sobs from Mrs. Weasley and some of the spectators. Harry noticed Penelope Clearwater bring a handkerchief to her eyes when the announcement was made.
"He ..." Arthur fought back a sob. "Percival intercepted a killing curse that was aimed for me and was lost. Please join us in a moment of silence." Harry could see the tears streaming down Arthur's cheeks and consoled him as best he could. Mrs. Weasley pulled him into a hug with Ron following, and Hermione hugged Harry just afterwards.
"For his actions, he will be awarded an Order of Merlin, First Class which I will accept on his behalf." He dried his eyes and handed the award case to his wife with a hug. He turned back to the podium and cleared his throat as he composed himself.
"If it weren't for the timely warning by a friend of the family's, there's no telling how tragic the event might have been." He looked at Harry and smiled gratefully before turning back to the crowd. "For his selfless act of warning us before getting himself to safety, and for helping capture and bring to justice seven Death Eaters, Harry Potter will be awarded an Order of Merlin First Class." He motioned for Harry to step forward.
He did, reluctantly as the flashbulbs of several cameras went off. He accepted the box with a handshake and a smile before returning to the back of the stage with the others.
"Also aiding in the warning and in protecting her family, Mr. Potter, and several Aurors, Miss Hermione Granger shall be awarded an Order of Merlin First Class." He motioned for Hermione who stepped forward and accepted the award with a handshake to the same flashbulb barrage that Harry had undergone. There were more pictures taken as she went back to Harry's side and took his hand.
"As you have heard, Mr. Peter Pettigrew had died in an attack several years ago, just after You-Know-Who was defeated." He lifted a silver bowl from a cubby in the podium and set it on top. A Ministry official waved a wand over the top and a large billowing silver cloud erupted from it. There was a collective gasp from the crowd at the reflected memories from the pensieve. Peter Pettigrew, obviously several years older was confessing to setting Sirius Black up with the aid of Cornelius Fudge. The confession continued to gasps and cries of outrage at being deceived by the previous minister. With another wave of their wand, the memory was gone and the pensieve taken to another part of the building.
"Despite his crimes, Mr. Pettigrew will not lose his Order of Merlin. His final act was to throw himself in the line of a killing curse directed at Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter sent by You-Know-Who." He paused to gauge the reaction of the crowd which was speechless. "It had taken a while and he may have followed the wrong path to get to where he was, but in the end he displayed the courage befitting the Gryffindor that he was."
"As you have seen from the pensieve playback, Mr. Black was seriously wronged with false accusations and the tarnishing of his good name. Without further hindrance to his freedom, I am providing him with a full pardon." He stepped aside and Sirius stepped forward. There were gasps in the crowd but that was from the news that he was still alive. Just after the first attack on the Ministry, there was a story run that had reported his death in that skirmish by Bellatrix Lestrange.
"With his full pardon, Mr. Sirius Black has the option of returning to full status as an Auror. Sirius Black, please accept the Ministry's apology for this humiliating and unfounded treatment of your innocence." Arthur said extending a hand to his friend.
"I accept." He said simply and the crowd cheered raucously at his words. He smiled at Harry and the Weasleys and looked at the crowd gathered in the room. Harry caught sight of Remus beaming at his long-time best friend from his post by the front doors.
Arthur retook his position for a question and answer session with the press while everyone else retreated to a safe room in another part of the building. A few minutes later, the Minister of Magic made his appearance with a smile.
"So, how did I do?" He grinned.
Mrs. Weasley pulled him into a loving embrace. "You were marvelous, Arthur." She said through her tears. Everyone else concurred and congratulated him on a job well done.