Chapter 19: Normality
A/N: As a portkey public service, I'm rushing to post this chapter next to "Circle's End," in the hope that a bit of my fluffy fluff and
a joke or two might ease the sting of madscientist's brilliant, but tear-jerking update. So go read that first (if
you haven't already), and then come back here with some tissues…I need some right about
now.
Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.
The Trio arrived at Number Four to find that the goblins had already completed Harry's portfolio transaction. They also discovered that Harry's delivery instructions should have been much more specific - the coffee table in his Aunt and Uncle's living room had been replaced by Sirius's motorcycle.
Harry couldn't decide what was funnier; his Aunt Petunia's shock over the new piece of furniture, or the fact that the goblin who had made the delivery had forced her to sign for it. With more empathy than she knew she possessed, Hermione shrank the motorcycle just enough for Ron and Harry to roll it out the door and onto the drive.
The arrival of the classic motorbike brought Wally, Steve and Roger out from Number Five for some fawning. Harry, who had only half-believed that the motorcycle would really materialize, balked when they encouraged him to go for a spin. Hermione saw his hesitancy and had grabbed his hand in support.
"You know, guys," she told the men, "there's a good chance that the previous owner installed some rather nasty theft deterrence charms." Her warning caused the men to back up and give the motorcycle some space.
"Thinking about Sirius?" she asked Harry, rather quietly.
"No," he replied, "well, yes, but more than that…I was thinking about the last time this motorcycle was in front of this house."
Hermione realized what he was alluding to. "Hagrid used this bike to bring you to the Dursley's all those years ago, the day after your parents…."
"Yeah," Harry said, cutting her off before she could complete that sentence.
Hermione let go of Harry's hand and pulled him close, reaching under his arm to grab his waist. Harry responded by wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"You need to learn how to ride this, and quick," Hermione said.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Because this is how you got to your Aunt and Uncle's, and by Merlin, this is going to be how you are going to leave it….how we are going to leave it…when the time comes."
Harry looked at her and kissed the top of her head.
And Hermione's father, who had seen and heard all and was always quick with a snarky quip, for once held his tongue.
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Neither Harry nor Hermione were surprised when Ron later announced that he wanted to pay Luna a visit that night. They all agreed it was a good time for him to do so…it gave Ron a chance to process both what he'd heard at the bank and in the Bentley. Hermione suggested that it'd also be a good time for him to patch things up with his mum. Ron, however, seemed hesitant to lose his excuse for needing to use the Lovegood's floo connection.
Ron had the bright idea of using his wand and portfolio to transfer fifty galleons from his vault to his school trunk. He had originally wanted to write down "left front pant pocket" as the delivery address, until Hermione suggested that a less than accurate delivery might be rather painful. With more than enough "date money" for the first time in his life, Ron whistled a happy tune all the way to Arabella's house. Had it been more on-key, Harry and Hermione would have recognized it as "Weasley is our King."
With Ron gone Harry and Hermione were faced with a number of competing uses for their time. Tempted to either set up the tent or dive into Dumbledore's pensieve, they instead chose to take advantage of the sunny weather and walk hand-in-hand about the neighborhood. Of course, Hermione thought of a way to justify their choice. She wasn't entirely happy with the apparition spot she'd been using, so they walked the neighborhood scouting potential alternatives, using a spell that Tonks had shown her that identified the limits of an anti-appartion ward. They then marked this boundary on a neighborhood street map that also showed Wally's camera locations within his monitoring network.
The charm that Hermione used turned her wand into a sort of dousing rod that twitched whenever it encountered an anti-app ward. This allowed her not only to hold Harry's hand, but to hold a conversation with Harry while the charm was working.
"So I hope that you didn't mind too much that I proclaimed myself your consort," she said with a smile.
"I'd be a daft git if I did," Harry replied. "Besides, I was the one that decided I was a Clan Chief in the first place."
"You had to do that, you know," Hermione said. "Ragnok wouldn't pledge cooperation with anyone that he didn't consider his equal in rank."
"Yes, I know," Harry said, "I just don't like it very much…makes it sound as if I buy into this 'Chosen One' business."
"Well, with Dumbledore gone…" Hermione said relatively tentatively, "Look, I know you don't feel worthy to lead the forces of Light, but it's not as if the Ministry is instilling confidence in too many people. And besides, there's a lot of people that do think you're worthy, and would support you in a heartbeat."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, sweetheart," Harry said, as he gave her hand a small squeeze. He got a bit nervous when his endearment caused Hermione to blush. "I hope you don't mind that I, erm…well, Hermione do you think things are going too fast between us?"
She stopped and turned towards him with a smile. "Too fast? It's only been, what, six years now that we've been nearly inseparable."
"Yeah, but, you know what I mean," Harry replied. "It's because of that that I want to make sure that I don't muck anything up…I feel like such a git sometimes, not knowing what to do or say around you, and I'm terrified that if I screw this up that we'd lose our friendship as well."
Hermione gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and backed that up with a tender, if brief, kiss. "So long as you're my 'just Harry,' you don't have anything to worry about," she said. "It is a bit backwards, I suppose."
"How's that?"
"Well, think about how a lot of relationships begin," she explained. "Couples swapping spit in the Common Room before they bother to find out if they're compatible over the long term…not to mention the 'three date rule.'"
"What's that?" Harry asked.
"Something I read about," Hermione said., "Supposedly, when you are young, single, and sexually active, if you don't shag a person by your third date then the relationship isn't going anywhere."
"Oh," Harry said, "so remind me how many dates we've had?"
Hermione gave his shoulder a punch. "Officially, none, you prat…my point is, instead of shagging then finding out if you could live with the other person's faults over the years, we've already gotten the second part out of the way. Our level of compatibility is, well, off the charts, in my opinion."
"I agree," Harry said. "Which bring us back around to the original question...what do we do now, and when do we do it?"
"I don't know," Hermione said. "I love where we're at right now, and I love the thought of where this is going. But most of all, I love the idea that I can trust you utterly and completely."
"Thanks, Hermione," Harry said. "Not to test that level of trust, but does it bother you that we've started something so soon after I broke up with Ginny?"
"Didn't I just say I trusted you utterly and completely?" Hermione asked. "Would you like the aid of a Sonorus charm?"
"No, it's just…well I just wanted you to know how incredibly different I feel with you," Harry replied. "I mean, Ginny's a sweet girl, but my time with her was just an escape I'm afraid. I feel bad for her, actually…she wanted a lot more than I felt comfortable giving her."
"How was it an escape?" Hermione asked.
"Well, I've been trying to figure that out," Harry replied. "The time I spent with Ginny…it was like I was a normal teenager, with normal worries…that sense of normality that I've always yearned for. But my time with her…I couldn't integrate that with my real world."
"So Ginny is normal, and I'm abnormal?" Hermione asked.
"No, silly," Harry smirked. "I'm talking about what I've wanted, what I thought I've wanted…when I was with her, I felt normal…But we were both deluding ourselves, I think."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because when it comes down to it," Harry said, "I'm not normal, and Ginny wouldn't have wanted to date me if I really was."
"You think so? Even if Voldemort hadn't marked you you'd have been captain of the Quidditch team."
"Nah, I'm pretty sure Ginny would be looking for a knight in shining armor, and I'd…I'd still rather be out the spotlight."
Hermione thought for a moment. "So if she made you feel normal, then I make you feel how?"
"You mean besides the warm fuzzy-butterflies in my stomach-luckiest bloke in the world feeling?"
"Sorry, guess I was fishing for a complement."
"You shouldn't have to fish," Harry replied. "This might sound strange, but you make me feel capable…like I can love someone and kick Voldemort's bum at the same time…like I have a fighting chance to survive…like I have the motivation to survive."
Hermione's eyes narrowed a bit as her heart skipped. "And when Voldemort is gone, won't you want to go back to normal?"
It was Harry's turn to punch Hermione's shoulder. "Will you stop, already? Why would I want to settle for normal, now that I'm feeling the way I am right now?"
Hermione cocked her head sideways a bit with a smile. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Sir Clan Chief."
"Will it get me past the third official date?" Harry asked, waggling his eyebrows.
"Let's work on the first one, sweetheart," Hermione replied.
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They completed their neighborhood tour without finding any better spots to apparate than the small copse of trees Hermione had used near the playground. There was, however, a rather nice vacant home for sale just beyond the wards, a few houses down from Arabella's (which, not surprisingly, was just inside the wards). Hermione suggested that they could apparate inside the home to contain the noise, but worried about spooking the neighbors. Harry, recalling the newfound extent of his wealth, suggested the simple solution of buying the house. Hermione thought that a tad extravagant, given how long they planned on staying in Little Whinging, but Harry thought it worth checking, and asked her to start looking into what it would take to maintain the wards beyond his birthday.
Having already promised to eat dinner that evening with her parents, Hermione sent Hedwig to Tonks and Remus with a request to meet later that night. They wanted to talk about their goblin meeting with magical people they trusted, and thought that Remus might be able to show Harry how to use the charmed motorcycle.
They enjoyed another fine meal on the backyard patio of Number Five that evening, with Harry and Hermione's visit with the goblins the main dinner table topic. Until, of course, Hermione's parents decided it was time to drop their own bombshell.
"So, Hermione," her father started out, "your mum and I have had a few days to sort things out."
"The past few days have been exciting," Emily Granger added, "and we're a little reluctant to pick up our dental drills and go back to our old lives."
"Wouldn't being hounded by Death Eaters wear thin after a while?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, I'm sure it would," her father replied. "Not that we aren't confident that the two of you will take care of that problem in the very near future. We're talking about what to do right now, though…about starting our new lives."
"You thinking about new identities…moving to the States…something like that?" Hermione asked.
"Well, not quite," her dad replied. "The government has offered to put us into a long-term protection program…new house, new identities, new jobs…it's very generous, but they've also given us a much more appealing alternative."
"What's that?"
"They've made us a job offer," her mum replied.
"Work for the government?" Hermione asked, a little nervously. "What…the Queen's men need some dental work?"
A light bulb flipped on above Harry's head . "You are going to help Wally and Steve, aren't you?"
"That's the idea," Roger admitted.
"Oh my…erm…just what….MI-5 ¾?" Hermione stammered. "No offense, but you two will need more then dental drills to fight Death Eaters."
"That's what we tried to tell them when they made the offer," her mom said with a smile. "But they said that we possessed a few key qualities that made us perfect for what they had in mind."
"What's that?"
"Well, for one thing, the perfect cover..."
"Cover?" Hermione asked with alarm. "My parents, the dentists, working undercover?"
"Well, not exactly undercover…" her father replied. "We are your parents, after all, it's nothing we aren't already doing now."
"But you don't know the first thing about security, or defending yourself against attack, or any number of things."
"True enough," Mr. Granger said, "but we do have eyes, ears, and a strong incentive to pick up the rest as soon as possible."
"So what will you need to do," Hermione asked, "attend some training academy?"
"Ordinarily, yes, we would," Roger replied. "But given the circumstances, they're going to bring the trainers to us, so that we'd be able to stay with you."
"So what kind of training would you receive?" asked Hermione. "I can't believe it'd be enough to keep you out of harm's way."
"Don't know exactly what kind of training," Roger admitted. "Imagine we'll find out soon enough. Look…we know you'd be worried, and we thought about not telling you, but…well, your mum and I have no intention of being helpless muggles, and I was serious the other night when I said that we wanted to do whatever we could to help you two."
"It's our fight too, now." Emily said. "It has always been so…ever since you and Harry were targeted for attack."
"You've been pretty quiet about all this, Harry," Roger noted. "What do you think?"
With all three Grangers looking for his response, and one in particular looking for some support, Harry decided to tread carefully.
"Well," he began, "you might think that you have limited job opportunities given present circumstances, so I was thinking that I'd like to offer you both an employment alternative."
"My parents working for you?" Hermione asked. "Don't you think that'd be a little…weird?"
"No, Hermione," Harry replied, "I don't. Look, it's because of me that they've lost their house and employment, it's the least I can do, and you know I have the means to offer."
"Harry," Emily said, "we appreciate your offer, but it really isn't necessary."
"Why don't you hear what I'm offering first?" Harry said. "Look, it seems like every day there are at least two or three 'top priority' things added to our 'To Do' list. Hermione and I could really use your help."
"Harry, I thought the idea was keeping them safe?" Hermione stated, with a bit of exasperation.
"They could work within the wards, or otherwise be with one of us," Harry explained.
"What sort of work do you have in mind?" Hermione's father asked.
"Well, Mr. Granger," Harry replied, "I learned this morning that I'm even wealthier than I
imagined, but I really have more important things to do than manage that money. I could use a financial manager to keep
track of things for me. And you also saw yourself that we could use some sort of personal trainer for physical
fitness…we also need to learn how to drive, and to do so just a little better than the average teenagers that don't
have bad guys chasing after them."
"So I'd be your personal assistant?" Roger asked.
"No, more like my Dad, only you'd get paid for it," Harry replied with a smile.
"Any specific ideas on who'd be providing this training?" Roger asked with the beginning of some understanding.
"Mr. Granger, have you ever heard of the term 'plausible deniability'?" Harry asked. When Roger nodded his head Harry continued. "I don't think I really need to know where the trainers come from, though it sounds like you've already got a good handle on where to look…and maybe you could even get a group discount, so that you and your wife could join us as well."
Hermione looked at Harry a little crossly. "Harry, I don't think this is helping…"
"Hermione," Harry said with some seriousness, "your parents want to help, and since they're your parents I'm guessing that I'll have as much luck pushing them away as I had leaving you behind last week."
Hermione signed, seeing the logic in Harry's argument and silently cheering that he'd taken one more step away from his misguide notion of meeting his fate alone.
"Mum, Dad, are you sure about this?" she asked.
They both nodded.
"Well, then, mum, unless Harry has a better idea…we need your help organizing all of the muggle-born Hogwarts students and their families into a support group/network. Set up e-mail lists, arrange for computers for those that need them, maybe even a secure web site."
"Sounds like a plan, dear," her Mom said with a smile, "although you know that computers aren't my strong point."
"Yes, I know," Hermione replied. "But I imagine you might be able to find someone in the neighborhood that could give you some pointers." She looked at Harry and grabbed his hand tightly. "Not that Harry and I need to know who that person is, or whom he might work for."
"Great," Roger said with a smile. "Now, there's just one more thing that your mum and I would like to ask you and Harry."
"Oh, Merlin, what now?" Hermione asked with a chuckle.
"Are the parents of the Clan Chief's Consort automatically members of the Clan, or do we have to fill out an application form?"
Hermione did a "fish out of water" routine while Harry gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"I don't think we need to mess with paperwork," he told them. "Speaking as Chief and on behalf of my Consort…welcome to Clan Potter."