Chapter Five - Grimmauld Place
Harry and Bob Granger stepped out of the fireplace at Number 12, Grimmauld
Place, and were immediately assaulted by the two women in their lives.
"Harry, " said Hermione as she threw her arms around him and kissed him,
ignoring the fact that her parents were watching the interchange with bemused
expressions on their faces.
Harry was also aware that Remus Lupin and Arthur Weasley were watching in the
background as well.
"Um, Harry, " said Remus, "would you two move out of the way so you don't get
run over by the next batch coming through?"
Right after Harry and Hermione flopped down on a couch, Ginny came through with
Hermione's trunk and cat carrier. She was then followed by Ron, and Fred, and
then Molly Weasley, whom Arthur immediately swept into a hug.
"Harry," said Hermione, "does your scar always hurt that much?" They were
quietly holding hands on the couch. Her parents had been dragged into a corner
and were having a conversation with Mr. Weasley. He was undoubtedly indulging
his fascination with Muggles with them.
"When Voldemort is around, yes." He looked at her for a moment. "When you took
my hand, the pain went away."
Ron dropped to the floor in front of them. "You two okay?"
Harry nodded tiredly. "I think we're just a little tired, is all."
Molly Weasley had been standing nearby and overheard his comment. "That's
probably a good idea, children. Up to bed with you." She smiled at Harry and
Hermione, who were still holding hands and hadn't moved. "Hermione? Harry?" she
said.
They looked up at her. "Bedtime, you two, and it had better be separate rooms!"
Hermione and Harry both blushed. "I'd better say good night to my parents, "
said Hermione. "You go on up, Harry. I'll see you tomorrow."
He nodded. "I love you, Hermione." He paused. "It's been an interesting day,
hasn't it?"
She smiled, "Yes, it has. Good night, Harry."
"Night." He turned and went upstairs to the bedrooms.
Hermione went over to her mother. Her father seemed to be having a very involved
conversation with Arthur Weasley about Muggle dentistry, and she didn't want to
disturb them. "Mum, " she said.
"Yes, sweetheart?" said her mother.
"I'm going up to bed now--it's been a very long day."
Her mother smiled, "Yes it has." She frowned, "You aren't sleeping with Harry,
are you?"
Hermione blushed. "No, mum. Ginny and I share a room."
"Well, that's alright then." She looked around, "Where are your father and I
sleeping?"
"There are plenty of bedrooms, mum. Although you might find some of the contents
a little strange."
"Whose house is this, dear?" she asked.
Hermione frowned. "It used to belong to Harry's godfather, but it's Harry's
now."
"What happened to his godfather?"
"He was killed at the end of school." Hermione paused, and sniffed back tears,
"you know mum, when I think about all that Harry's had to go through--losing his
parents, the Dursleys, constantly in danger from Voldemort, and then losing his
godfather, after only being able to know him for two years; I'm surprised that
he's as strong as he is."
Elizabeth studied her daughter for a moment, and then said quietly, "You really
love him, don't you?"
Hermione stared at her mother for a moment. "Is it that obvious?"
Her mother looked back at her daughter and said, "Yes, it is." She paused and
blinked back tears of her own. "You know, Hermione, I think I always despaired
of you ever finding someone to love. You were always buried in your books, or
studying. And don't get me wrong, those things are important, but they aren't
everything."
"And then you went off to this wizard school, and things changed a little bit.
But you were still studying all the time, and even though your two best friends
are boys, you never acted like a teenager in love."
Hermione grimaced. "You weren't there fourth year when I was dating Victor
Krum."
"Who?" asked her mother.
"He's a Bulgarian Quidditch player, but it was never serious. I acted like a
complete twit."
Her mother laughed. "Well, I wasn't there to see it." She turned serious again,
"And then you came home from school a few weeks ago, and I could tell that there
was something wrong. You couldn't concentrate on your studies, you were always
distracted, and you kept sending owls off, at least daily."
She took a deep breath, "And then we have yesterday and today. Can you imagine
my reaction when I turn on the five o'clock news and see my daughter, who I love
very much, being pushed out of the way of a madman's bullet? Who then drops in
the next day to tell me she's magically engaged to a young man I know nothing
about, and that she can't stay in her own house because she's in danger from a
psychotic racist--is racist the right word--wizard?"
She pulled Hermione into a hug. "I love you, your father loves you " she said,
"and to be honest, after seeing you two together today, I think that Harry
really loves you too." She paused and then smiled wickedly. "Don't you dare tell
your father this, " she whispered, "but if you and Harry happen to wind up in
the same bedroom this evening, I promise not to get upset about it." She paused
and looked serious for a moment, "I also don't think that you should go off and
get pregnant, either. You aren't married yet."
Hermione blushed, and said, "Actually, I doubt that Harry and I would do that.
Dumbledore warned us that there are some dangers associated with..." She paused,
embarrassed, and then squeaked, "...making love when our bond is so new. It's
quite possible that Voldemort might be able to hurt us, because that's the one
time every defense you have is completely down, and you are extremely
vulnerable."
"That's interesting, " said her mother. "Well, what I said still goes, I think I
can trust you to know what's right."
Hermione looked up at her mother, "Thank you. You don't know how much that means
to me." She giggled. "You might want to let Mrs. Weasley know it's okay. She's
already warned us to sleep in separate bedrooms."
"I'll speak to her, " said her mother. "They are a little...odd, aren't they?"
"What do you mean?"
"They're different. They're so fascinated with things that you and I take for
granted. I've never heard anybody discuss the mechanics of a root canal, of all
things, with such interest, unless they were a fellow dentist. Most people don't
even want to think about them."
"Well, part of that is just Mr. Weasley, " said Hermione with a smile, "He's
simply fascinated with Muggles--he actually collects electrical plugs, if you
can believe it."
"They're good to you, aren't they?" asked her mother quietly.
"Oh yes, " said Hermione, smiling, "they're my home away from home. I mean,
they'll never replace you and dad, but if I have to be away from you, then with
Harry and the Weasleys is where I want to be."
Her mother smiled, "I understand, dear. Well, go say goodnight to your father,
and then head up to bed."
Hermione turned, gave her father a hug, and said, "Goodnight, Daddy."
He smiled, "Goodnight, sweetheart. Pleasant dreams."
She turned and ran upstairs.
-*~*~*~*~*-
Elizabeth Granger wandered out to the kitchen, where she found Mrs. Weasley
waving her wand around and apparently cleaning things by shouting something that
sounded like "scourgify" at them.
"Well, that would certainly be a useful thing to be able to do," she said.
Molly laughed, "Yes it is."
Elizabeth smiled. "Hermione asked me to mention to you that I told her it was
alright if she and Harry wound up in the same bedroom tonight. She'd mentioned
that you'd warned them about that."
Molly looked at her and smiled, "Well, they are teenagers, you know. I've raised
quite a few--except for Ginny, they've all been boys."
"That must have been interesting."
Molly could tell that Elizabeth wanted to talk. "Shall we have some tea?"
"That would be lovely." They sat down together at the kitchen table, and Molly
conjured up a pot of tea and two cups.
"There's no way you could teach me to do that?" asked Elizabeth Granger with a
hint of wistfulness in her voice.
"I'm sorry, dear, but it just wouldn't work for you."
"I know." Elizabeth picked up her teacup and took a sip. "Molly, may I call you
Molly?"
"Of course, " answered Mrs. Weasley, sipping her own tea.
"Molly, what can you tell me about that young man that my daughter is so in love
with? Oh, I know he loves her enough to save her life at risk to his own, but I
really don't know much else. Hermione never talks about what happens during the
school year with me, but I get the impression that there is a lot she's not
telling me."
Molly nodded. "There is that. I don't know how much I should be telling you
without violating her trust in me, but you are her mother, and you deserve to
know more." She took another sip of tea.
"Harry is without a doubt the most amazing young man I know. He's suffered
through so much, and yet he still manages to keep being largely cheerful. I
don't know how he does it."
"Hermione mentioned that he lost his godfather a few months ago..."
"Did she tell you the whole story?"
"I doubt it."
Molly nodded, "Well the short version is that Sirius, that was Harry's
godfather, was falsely accused of the murder of Harry's parents and a number of
Muggles and wound up spending 12 years in Azkaban prison." Molly shuddered,
"Azkaban is not a nice place. How he maintained his sanity, I'll never
understand..."
"Anyway," she continued, "he escaped two years ago, and was trying to protect
Harry from the real murderer, who believe it or not, was hiding as my son Ron's
pet rat. Harry eventually discovered the truth--he initially thought, as we did,
that Sirius would try to kill him. But the real murderer, Peter Pettigrew,
escaped in the confusion, and so there was no way we could clear Sirius's name.
So he had to stay in hiding." She sipped some tea.
"You have to understand that Harry had grown up despairing of ever meeting
someone who would simply treat him as Harry, rather than the prophesied savior
of the Wizarding World. Sirius did that, but Harry almost never got to see him
because it was too dangerous for Sirius to be seen in public. And then he died
last month, after promising Harry a home with him away from the Dursley's."
"How was he killed?" asked Elizabeth as she took a sip of tea.
Molly sighed. "Harry was tricked by He Who Must Not Be Named into thinking that
Sirius was a prisoner of his. He was going to go off and rescue Sirius by
himself, but Ron and Hermione wouldn't let him. Instead they gathered up a bunch
of friends of theirs who had been teaching each other how to fight dark wizards,
and charged off to the rescue." Molly took a sip of tea, noticing that her hands
were shaking.
"Are you all right?" asked Elizabeth, concerned.
"Yes. You just have no idea how close we came to losing all of them that day.
You see, they charged off into a trap that had been set for them, and we had to
come riding to the rescue. Sirius was one of the wizards there that day, and he
was killed." She paused and sipped some tea. "Harry still blames himself for
that to this day."
"Hermione was there?" asked Elizabeth, concerned.
"Oh, yes, those three are inseparable. They never do anything without each
other." She paused and looked at Elizabeth, "And before you get mad at Harry for
putting your daughter in danger, understand that she and Ron most likely forced
him to allow them to come. Harry hates to put his friends in danger, because
he's lost just about everybody he cares about, and he wants to hang onto what he
has left."
"Okay, " said Elizabeth. "Do you think Harry really loves my daughter?"
"Without a doubt. I think they've been feeling that way for a while now, but
neither of them could recognize it for what it was. These last few days have
simply brought to the surface what was already there, although I must admit it
was a particularly spectacular way of doing it. Those two never do anything that
isn't less than impressive."
"Umm." Elizabeth took another sip of tea, and was surprised to find the cup
empty. "How much danger are they in?"
"Harry? Hermione?" asked Molly.
"All of them, your son as well."
"Well, He Who Must Not Named wants to kill Harry, it's that simple. Everybody
around him is in danger; even you are, look at what happened tonight. We try our
best to protect them, but we aren't always successful."
"It just bothers me, " replied Elizabeth, "They are only children."
Molly smiled, "Well, you daughter is only a few months away from being an adult
in the Wizarding World."
"I know, and that frightens me more than you know." She shook her head. "Tell me
more about Harry."
They talked for another half-hour before their husbands came to drag them away
to bed.
-*~*~*~*~*-
Hermione noticed that the light was already out in Harry and Ron's room, and she
decided, as much as she liked the idea, that she wasn't going to wake Harry just
to share his bed. He needs his rest, she thought.
Somebody had already brought her trunk up to the room she shared with Ginny, and
she rummaged through it quietly until she found a nightgown which she slipped
into, and then slipped into bed.
Ginny came in a moment later. "So, " she said, "what's it like, being bonded?"
Hermione sighed. "I've been bonded all of a day. I can't say that I really
know."
"There is that," replied Ginny. "So...you want to tell me what got you so upset
at Harry today?"
"I'm worried about him, Ginny. I asked him about why he's been so upset this
summer."
"Isn't it Sirius?"
"It's more than Sirius, Ginny, but he just won't talk about it. Anyway, he
snapped at me and told me that it was his problem." She sighed. "I suppose I
should have been more understanding and rode it out; Merlin knows, I've done
that a thousand times before. But I was just so angry at him."
"You've put up with Harry's mood swings before, what was different this time?"
"I'm not sure, Ginny, " replied Hermione, "I think it might have been the bond.
I was feeling his own anger without realizing what it was, and it just added to
my own." She sighed, "But I'll never tell him that, and it certainly couldn't
have turned out better."
Ginny giggled. "That is so true. I thought he was going to faint for a moment
there."
"He's so cute when he's like that, " said Hermione.
"That is some ring he got you," said Ginny, "And from Taliesin's no less."
"Taliesin's? What's that?" asked Hermione, "I've never heard of them before."
"You've never heard of Taliesin's? They're only the MOST exclusive jewelry store
in the wizarding world. They say he only sells to very select people. Not just
anyone can shop there."
"Wow," said Hermione, bemused. "So how did Harry..."
"He's Harry; things like that just happen to him. Of course, this time it was a
good thing instead of a bad one," said Ginny. "Actually, Ron told me, that Harry
told him, that apparently Dumbledore told Taliesin that Harry might be by
today."
Hermione laughed, "Somehow that doesn't surprise me." She yawned. "It's been a
very long day, Ginny. I think I'm going to go to sleep now."
"Okay. Goodnight, Hermione."
The girls turned the lights out and went to sleep.
It was a couple hours later that Hermione snapped awake. She knew from the
turmoil in the back of her mind that Harry was most likely having a nightmare.
She got out of bed, threw on her dressing gown, and quietly slipped out the door
and down the hall to Harry and Ron's room.
She quietly opened the door and went inside. In the dim moonlight coming through
the window, she could see Harry tossing and turning in his bed, quietly mumbling
in his sleep. Ron, on the other hand, was sleeping like a rock, flat on his
back, and snoring rather loudly.
She went around to the right side of Harry's bed, removed her dressing gown, and
slipped under the covers next to him. Almost as soon as she touched him, the
tossing and turning stopped, and the feelings of panic and fear that she was
feeling through the bond ebbed away to nothing. She spooned up against his back,
whispered in his ear, "I love you, Harry," and went back to sleep.