Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.
35 - Cousin Jeannette
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Mon Aug 25th 1977
This was a typically miserable, wet English summer day, they had missed most of the bad weather this summer while flitting back and forth between Hogwarts, The Burrow, Privet Drive and Oxford. By the time the teens thought about getting out of bed Dan and Emma were at their office, working through their lunch break. The Grangers had a full day booked at their Dental Surgery and loads of new stories to tell their patients.
The balance of the week went by quickly, the teens revisited the house they had rented for Aunt Petunia, talked with the ghost and got to know her as well as one afternoon would allow. Her name was Violet Caruthers and other than being a ghost, she was very pleasant and appeared easy to get along with, although quite lonely. Ghosts apparently could only venture a certain distance from their assigned haunts and there were no other ghosts or Wizards close enough to provide any company. Violet assured Harry that Muggles couldn't see her and she wouldn't do anything that would upset Petunia as long as she could talk to someone occasionally.
Minerva was still being thwarted by the Wizengamot in her attempts to obtain Ravenclaw's wand from Ollivander's shop window. News of this prompted the teens to revisit Myrddin Castle, the proper Welsh name of Dumbleodre's home. They had no trouble apparating in and Dumbledore's House Elf met the pair moments after they arrived. Twitchie escorted them into the Library, interrupting a heated debate between Frisel and Florean. Hermione explained their thoughts about the old wand in the window of Frisel's shop, the old man confirmed immediately that the wand once belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw and had been in the window for several hundred years. It was well protected with charms and jinxes that would take a skilled curse breaker to deal with, or a blood heir of Ravenclaw like himself. This of course started Hermione thinking, Harry as well, no one else had heard Rowena call Hermione, her daughter, except Harry.
"If I can come up with a blood relative of Ravenclaw, what would that person have to do to take the wand and return it to Rowena in Hogwarts?" Asked Hermione to the room in general.
"If your intent is to return the wand to its rightful owner the wand will allow you to take it. If you are not Ravenclaw's heir, you won't be able to enter the shop." Stated Mr. Ollivander.
"The back door of my shop will open to anyone with Ravenclaw's blood. The trick is to make it through the next door." Frisel went on to only a basic explanation of the procedure because it required wandless magic that would take someone at least as powerful as himself or Dumbledore to get past the second door. The two older gents had, of course, no idea of the capabilities of the teens they were talking to. The four talked well into the evening, Twitchie served up a supper that Molly Weasley would have been jealous of, and as daylight faded to twilight Harry looked around the Dining Hall, they had moved there from the Library to eat and had remained there after the meal. Harry looked at each gas light in turn and each lit as he concentrated on it. Hermione did the same to the candelabras at each end of the table. Florean, though he hadn't as yet said much looked like a fish out of water while Frisel smirked as if thinking 'I might have guessed'. Frisel now knew he wasn't the only other one in the room that could do wandless magic … well, if you knew anything about wand making it was obvious … you couldn't use a wand to make a wand, the process could only be done with wandless magic, which explains why there are so few wand makers.
The next morning the teens went to Hogwarts to visit Minerva and talk about retrieving the wand. Mr. Ollivander had told them where to find a look-alike copy to put in its place. Minerva wanted to have Shacklebolt, Moody and Remus attend in case there was trouble, it would be up to Hermione alone to enter the shop, swap the wands, retrieving Rowena's real wand that might also be a horcrux. Hermione's parents were at their Surgery so there was no need to return to Oxford until supper time. They had been scolded for not showing up the previous night as there was no note or message indicating their whereabouts. Since the day was still young, Harry wanted to visit Gryffindor Castle and possibly Godric's Hollow. Fawkes appeared ready and willing to take them and they were soon on their way. Minerva would notify them when she had all the arrangements in place to retrieve the ancient wand.
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Author's Note:-) Why was the image was removed?
In approximately this location I intended to have an image of Camelot that I found on Wikipedia. I did place the image here and was told several weeks later to remove it due to a Portkey rule banning pictures, that the Fanfic Moderator could not produce. I have removed the image. I emailed both James and Nappa to verify the ruling. It is curious to note that neither of them backed up their Moderator's claim. I have yet to see the written rule.
A point to note is that with the html code I used, the image was never stored on Portkey's servers. It was called by the Web Brouser in the readers computer, directly from its source on the web and inserted into the text as it was displayed.
You may find the image at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelot
I can't see there being a copyright issue in an image this old.
Gustave Doré's illustration of Camelot from "Idylls of the King", 1868
: Source Wikipedia
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There was one written rule that I did eventually give in to:
The Moderator's decision is final.
Otherwise I'm certain that this story would no longer be here.
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Moments after leaving Hogwarts they arrived outside the gate to the grounds of Gryffindor Castle. Fawkes almost instantly popped off again. Hermione could see only a grassy meadow with scattered bushes and trees, she didn't understand why Fawkes had left them there. Harry could see much the same meadow that Hermione saw except that there was a stone wall three or four meters in front of them that went off past the horizon in both directions. A gate directly in front of them and a castle against the hill in the distance.
Harry couldn't understand when Hermione asked why they were left in the middle of nowhere. It took a few questions and answers for him to determine that Hermione couldn't see the man made structures in front of them. Harry tried his best to explain what he could see. When he talked about the gate in front of him he told her there were words chiselled into the stone archway. The words on the archway read, 'Welcome to Camelot', in sixth century Welsh script.
Hermione, more so than Harry remembered her Muggle history from Public School and this Camelot is no where near where it was supposed to be, it should be somewhere in Wales. The pair began discussing the possibilities of this actually being Camelot … or just a copy of the original … or perhaps Godric Gryffindor's idea of a personal Camelot when a Witch, a Wizard and a House Elf with both Gryffindor and Potter coats of arms on their robes, suddenly flashed into being on the other side of the gates … Fawkes was with them. Hermione could see the new arrivals, but still no gate, wall or castle in the distance.
The two groups looked at each other briefly before Guinevere, the House Elf bowed and said, "Lord Gryffindor, if you would please to carry Lady Gryffindor through these gates she will forever more be allowed free access to your lands. You will have to repeat the process at the Castle gates to allow her free access to Camelot. Lady Gryffindor," Guinevere continued, "you will experience some minor discomfort this first time as you pass through this gate and the next … it is merely the magic changing to accommodate your presence. Lord Gryffindor went through this process as a baby."
Harry looked up at Fawkes who was now perched on the Wizard's right shoulder, the two communicated briefly … enough to give Harry a confident feeling that everything was as it should be. Harry explained to Hermione that once she was accepted by the wards she would be able to see everything that he could. In one fluid motion and without any thought process that Hermione could have picked up on, Harry scooped Hermione up in his arms causing her to squeak in surprise, then he walked through the closed gates. The iron gates seemed to twist, move and be pushed or morphed around them as the couple passed through. Harry felt an interesting tingling sensation and Hermione felt a mild pain pass through her body that went away almost as fast as it came. Harry came to a stop soon after passing through the gate, Hermione's arms had wrapped around his neck and he gave her a bounce to adjust his hold on her. Hermione looked around again, the wall, the archway and gate were now visible to her, but when she looked where Harry indicated the castle to be, there was only a hill. The thought of putting her down never crossed his mind until Hermione said, "I think you can put me down now … Lord Gryffindor."
"As my Lady wishes," Harry responded and feigned dropping her … she dropped about an inch before he stopped her descent. By that time she had a stranglehold on his neck and was screaming bloody murder in his ear. Harry leaned his head back and his sparkling eyes and bright smile helped calm her down, she loosened her stranglehold on his neck and he gently let her down onto her feet.
"Good morning My Lord … My Lady," said the Wizard, "My name is Howard Bedivere, this is my wife Anna-Morgause and over here is the Lead House Elf, her name is Guinevere." He said motioning with his arm. Anna-Morgause curtsied and softly said good morning, Guinevere bowed and backed up a step.
Hermione did an Umbridge imitation of clearing her throat, causing Harry to sharply turn his head in shock only to see her smile back at him. Now that she had eye contact, she could make him aware that their greeters seemed very nervous, perhaps unsure what to expect from the new Lord of the Castle, so to speak.
Harry caught on and started to speak, "Howard … please call me Harry and this is Her…" he was interrupted.
"Your Lordship, that would not be proper, you are Lord Gryffindor." Said Howard, "And everything you can see and a lot more is yours." Harry took a deep breath, closed his eyes and started counting.
Hermione could feel the frustration growing in him, she knew it was just a matter of Harry … wanting to be … 'just Harry' and not being allowed to do so. Hermione took one of his hands in hers and with her other hand, thumb and index finger on his chin, directed his face towards hers. When Harry opened his eyelids and their eyes locked together, all of Harry's frustrations melted away and a small grin broke out on his lips. She had always had that effect on him, just as soon as he looked into her eyes, all his troubles melted away. "Let's find out all we can before we start changing the way things are … some things might have very valid reasons.
The apparently long walk to the far away Castle took no more than a five minutes and Harry was again carrying his Lady through the next set of gates. A shorter walk took them to the main doors of Camelot where Harry asked, "Would my Lady allow me to carry her over the threshold of her soon to be home?"
Hermione giggled, she seldom giggled, but this time she did, before she replied, "If it pleases my Lord." She couldn't help breaking out in giggles again as Harry scooped her up and carried her through the open front doors. Howard and Anna smiled at each other, Guinevere was noticeably happy too.
They spent the day touring Camelot from the lowest dungeons to the highest spires of the towers learning the highlights of the Potter and Gryffindor family history. In the midst of the tour and shortly after lunch the teens were left alone for a few hours with a portrait of James and Lilly that they came across in, of all places, the Library. The portrait had been rescued from the Library in Godric's Hollow after their death and the near destruction of the cottage. After Hermione was introduced to his parents and they talked about how they came together, Hermione could sense that Harry wanted some alone time with them. She was also impatient to nose around a library as old as, or older than, Godric Gryffindor himself. When Harry eventually broke away from his parents and looked for his Lady fair, he spotted a bushy brown mop of hair behind a stack of books on a table. She had settled into a comfortable looking arm chair by the fire and looked as if she was prepared to stay for the winter. By the time he was facing her and taking the scene in completely, he was smiling and chuckling at his classic image of Hermione, curled up with a book or books almost larger than herself. He was also shaking his head in disbelief that she could have found so many books of interest so quickly, but then … she was Hermione … need anyone say more.
"I'm sure Howard and Anna are waiting for us to continue the tour, Mother said that the house in Godric's Hollow has been restored and kept up for us … if we want to live there. Mother said she likes you and Father likes you too … I don't think we'll have time to see it today if we continue with the castle tour." Said Harry as Hermione conjured a bookmark to save her place in the overly large tome.
She carried the book with her as she and Harry made their way out of the Library. "Do you think Howard will mind if I ask to take those books with me, I think they might be useful?"
"I'll ask when we find him," said Harry, and … no sooner said than done … Howard was waiting with Anna a short way down the hall from the Library door. The question being asked and answered in the affirmative, the next question being, "My Lady, where would you like the books delivered?"
"I'll keep this one with me, the others can go to …" and Hermione thought for a moment, then continued, "Our room in Hogwarts."
Harry called silently for Dobby and about ten seconds later the strange Elf appeared. The requests were made and the books moved, Dobby even took the one book Hermione wanted to keep to Hermione's bedroom in Oxford.
The tour of the castle continued for a few more hours and finally ended in Howard's office on the fourth floor. In that office the teens spotted a familiar looking portrait frame … that looked suspiciously like one of the ones in Rowena's Common Room at Hogwarts. Though there was at the moment nothing in the scene but a tree and a grassy field, Harry went up to it and cast a revealing spell on it. In almost no time at all a familiar red and gold Phoenix flew into the picture then transformed into Godric Gryffindor before stepping out of the Portrait and into the room. Howard and Anna were in complete shock, never before had they seen anything like this. The office was previously used by Charlus Potter, Harry's grandfather, and from here he ran the estate. When Charlus died, and shortly after James and Lilly went into hiding, Howard assumed the responsibilities, but that painting had always been a scene with a lonely apple tree. From time to time people from other portraits would come to eat some apples, but they always went back to their own portraits.
"Hello Harry, Hermione … I'm very happy to see you finally made it to Camelot," said Godric as he looked around and saw the other two, "Oh … hello Howard, Anna, you and the others are doing a fantastic job of keeping the estate up, my thanks to you all." Howard and his wife were still standing there in total disbelief that Godric Gryffindor was actually there and talking to them.
"Sir …" Said Harry tentatively while looking at Godric.
"No need to call me Sir, young man, after all you did accept the title of Lord Gryffindor and you do hold title to Camelot. Just call me Godric, I never was much for titles and fanfare."
"Godric …" Harry started, then paused for a moment, "If we were to follow you through your portrait here … would we come out in Rowena's Common Room … in Hogwarts?"
"You mean the place where we first met face to face," said Godric, "Yes, and there and a few other places you could end up including your parents home in the hollow south of here."
Hermione could see Harry's eyes light up and quickly threaded her arm through his saying, "Harry wants to see that." And Harry nodded his head. After thanking Howard and Anna, then saying good-bye, the three stepped into the portrait and moments later, stepped out into the Library at James and Lilly's house in Godric's Hollow. Hermione looked around and was amazed, this Library looked almost as large as the one in Camelot. Harry looked back at the portrait they came out of. He could see a grassy path winding down the middle separating a flower garden from a vegetable patch and a few gnomes watching him curiously. Guinevere appeared with a loud Pop, between the three of them and the door leading out of the Library. Godric, who, as himself, couldn't venture out of sight of his portrait, suggested that Guinevere should show the teens around the house, and they ventured forth leaving Godric behind.
The tour of the house was fairly quick, taking about twenty minutes and quickly covered everything from the root cellar to the Nursery upstairs. Guinevere made sure to tell them that the house was completely restored to the condition it was that fateful Halloween night that Voldemort came. Hermione thought to herself that this was a wonderful house and although Castles are quaint and historic this would be a place she could make a home … if Harry could somehow forget what happened here. Oh well … not likely … she had felt Harry's emotions peak and pitch a few times as he seemed to recognize some places in the house. The Nursery, where his crib was, was the most obvious recollection, she could even see it in his face. They returned to the Library to say goodbye to Godric who was now in his portrait where he was kneeling down and appeared to be having a conversation with a garden gnome. The House Elf told them they could now apparate to or from anywhere in Camelot including here.
When they left Godric's Hollow, they apparated directly to Hermione's bedroom in Oxford. They knew they were later than they promised so they burst out of the bedroom into the hall and Harry crashed into … Jeannette … Hermione's cousin, from France. Harry grabbed onto Jeannette in an attempt to keep her from being knocked over and Hermione had to grab onto Harry to keep him from overbalancing and falling onto Jeannette. Jeannette had also grabbed onto Harry's T-shirt with a death like grip and her long fingernails had already made some holes that began to rip before Harry had a firm grip on her.
As they recovered their balance, Jeannette looked up at Harry's torso and her eyes gorged their way up to his face before she whispered in her sexiest voice, "Ohhh, 'allo 'ansome … where did you come from and why don't I know you?" Jeannette was still holding onto Harry tightly, not letting him go, she thought she could see part of a scar under the black tousled hair that came half way down his forehead.
Hermione ripped her cousin's fists away from Harry's shirt … that further tore his T-shirt, exposing enough of his well muscled chest for Jeannette to start drooling before Hermione could move between her cousin and the love of her life. The glare Hermione was giving her cousin had been enough, in the past, to cause Ron to flee, not wanting to risk her anger.
Jeannette tried to counter with, "And where were you two 'iding, I've looked in all the rooms up 'ere and you weren' d'ere? I 'erd a popping zound before you came out … like someone … oh my …"
Emma had made her way to the bottom of the stairs after hearing noise and talking from upstairs. She could see Jeannette and Hermione, and behind Hermione a head of not as messy as usual, black hair. "Girls, wash up, it's time for supper … you too Harry." There were two 'yes Mum's' and a 'yes' that made it to Emma's ears before she left for the kitchen.
The 'yes Aunt Emma' had been cut short due to the state of shock that settled in when Jeannette realized that standing in front of her, with part of his shirt in her fists, was none other than 'The Harry Potter', The Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One, The Tri-wizard Champion, the one that Gabrielle, her younger dorm-mate wouldn't shut up about. Jeannette still had her gaze focussed on Harry and never noticed, or couldn't sense, the magical surge building up in Hermione. Harry felt the energy build up and quickly spun Hermione to face him then hugged her to his chest while watching her cousin closely. The eye contact they maintained allowed Harry, unintentionally, to enter Jeannette's mind and find her current thoughts.
Jeanette was a witch, about five years younger than Hermione, she was almost 12 when she started her first year at Beauxbatons due to her birthday being early in October, but she was not shy when it came to boys. She was now as tall as most fourth year girls and well proportioned with a tanned complexion, and … Harry had to admit … she was very pretty. If you took the Vela heritage away from Fleur, Jeannette would give Fleur stiff competition in the looks department.
Hermione had calmed down in Harry's arms; he had been slowly moving his hands over her back as he was gathering information about Jeannette. Jeannette shook her head, breaking Harry's eye contact and his access to her memories. "Were you just in my mind?" Asked Jeannette.
"Sorry about that," apologized Harry, "It just happened, I wasn't trying to pry, our eyes met and I seemed to be flooded with images." Jeannette looked shocked that he could slip into her mind so easily and almost undetected. "Wash up … suppertime," Harry said as he directed Hermione ahead of him into the upstairs bathroom.
Jeanette ran downstairs two steps at a time, her long black hair trailing almost straight out behind her, and ran into the dining room at full speed announcing loudly to her parents, "Hermione's a Witch and Harry Potter's here too!" Dan and Emma froze in surprise, and shock, they were sure that the neighbours could have heard that outburst. Robbie and Janet LaMonde were also in a state of shock that their daughter would make such an open announcement. Janet's eyes quickly found Emma's while Robbie and Dan looked strangely at each other until Harry and Hermione walked into the room almost unnoticed. Harry, in the last few minutes while washing up, had managed to update Hermione on the images he had seen in Jeannette's mind.