*NOTES* Another chapter for everyone to read. Hope you enjoy.
The four of them followed a goblin into a private meeting room. As soon as the goblin heard their request he smiled at Hermione. "I see you brought the right person. We were just going to send a letter out to you, Miss. Granger, to inform you of the need to come in for the hearing of the will."
"Me," Hermione squeaked out.
"Yes, Mrs. Malfoy had a sense of humour. Not to mention she didn't want to continue on with the legacy. As this being under her name it was her right to give it to whomever she chose."
"And she chose me?" Hermione had gone wide eye and pale at his words. Mrs. Malfoy and she had met twice. Once when she saved the women's life and the last time when she found her body along with her son's. Both were times Hermione had hoped to forget, but they lingered like a bad after taste.
"She said it should cover the life debt she owed you," Hermione hadn't noticed she was gripping the chair's arms so tightly her knuckles had turned white until her body started to shake. "I understand how hard this must be for you…"
"You've got to be kidding me…I mean this is ludicrous. And why the hell haven't you contacted me before?" She avoided looking at Harry and Ron for she couldn't answer their questions yet.
"We couldn't," The goblin was old and balding, and Hermione felt terrible for yelling at him. She just didn't even think this would happen.
"Well, what about the Malfoy wealth?" Remus asked.
"It will be passed down to Mr. Potter and the Weasley family and the Tonks family. Oh, and to Draco Malfoy-Black, equally divided of course. The Malfoy Manor is to go to Arthur Weasley, also."
"Draco is dead," Ron said softly. At this the goblin just gave him a nod of dismal.
At this they stood up to leave, "Oh, Ms. Granger, you need to fill out this paperwork to have the vault put in your name."
"Vault," Hermione didn't know how much more this she could take. First a house and now a vault…she wouldn't be half surprised if the next thing she inherited would be a house elf.
"Yes, the house comes with a vault. It holds a sufficient amount of money in it."
"Of course it does." Hermione whispered as she stayed right where she was rooted. "You guys can wait for me outside."
"Hermione saved Malfoy's mum's life," Ron watched as Harry paced in the waiting room off of the private meeting room. "When, no wait, WHEN?"
Just as Ron was about to say he would have to wait for Hermione to answer that question because he didn't know the answer Hermione came out of the room. She looked stricken, and generally shaken Ron noticed. He also noticed that Harry stopped pacing the minute she came out of the room. The two seemed to look at each other for an enormous amount of time before Harry pulled Hermione into a hug.
"I'm sorry-I didn't-it wasn't," Hermione squeaked out in-between sobs, and Harry just held her as she cried. Finally she calmed down enough to squeak out, "I've got the key, and Mr. Rodfang told me we could move in as soon as possible if we wish."
"So, when will that be?" Ron asked.
It was early morning as three people sat around the kitchen table at the Burrow. Yesterday still seemed so surreal to them, and they had told Remus to keep the news that Hermione owned the house to himself and Tonks. He agreed rather reluctantly, and, now, they were going to see the house.
"Explain it all to me one more time, Hermione?"
"Well, Ron, this is how it all came to be," she couldn't help but sigh at him. "We were in Diagon Alley during that surprise attack. You know the one where Lavender lost her leg?"
"Oh! Yep," Ron went slightly pale as he looked down at the leg he almost lost during the final battle.
"Okay, so, I had just gotten my arm shattered by a curse when protecting a little boy, and all the sudden I recognise Malfoy's mum in the shop behind me."
Hermione suddenly found herself back inside a horrid memory. It was a fact that during the last year she had been the one to come up with the most injuries for she was always jumping in front of curses that weren't meant for her. This situation was one of those times.
The boy just wouldn't stop crying, she thought as she caught her breath behind some trash cans. If he just stopped crying he wouldn't have been noticed but now he had a vicious murderer after him. Boys, she sighed as she waited for the perfect moment. And then it came.
Hermione jumped out from behind her hiding place and as she did she remember Harry warning going through her head, "Stay safe and hide if needed." So much for that, she thought as she grabbed the little boy and pushed him out of the way. She saw Dolohov smile out of the corner of her eye as the curse hit her left arm and shattered all the bones in that arm. Hermione let out a strangled cry as she flew through window of the shop behind her. She landed on her left arm, felt all her body scream, but fought it off as she whipped out her wand. Thinking quickly she put up a protective shield around everyone hiding in the shop.
"Not a situation you wanted to be in either," Hermione said someone grabbed her good arm.
"I need to get out of here," she whispered frantically, and Hermione immediately noticed who was talking to her.
"Mrs. Malfoy?"
"They can't find me. It would mean huge loss of life for the Order."
"The Order?" Hermione had her wand trained on the lady. "What do you know about the Order?"
"It is me they are after. One thing I did to get Draco free was to tell the Dark Lord I knew everyone who was in the Order." Her pale features went paler as a shadow feel across them.
"I get to kill two birds with one stone," Hermione whipped around to find herself once again facing Dolohov. She gave an involuntary shudder when she saw his blackened, rotting teeth.
"I'm not letting you kill anyone, Dolohov." Hermione spat at him, and he laughed at her. If there was one thing Hermione hated most in the world, beside the unjust treatment of other magical beings, was being laughed at. She fingered the portkey she had in her pocket, programmed it to go to the Shrieking Shack, and thrust it in Mrs. Malfoy's hand.
"Go," She shouted as she fired off a reductor curse at the ceiling above their heads.
"You deserve to die mudblood," He snarled and Hermione saw that almost all the death eaters were getting their butts handed to them. Before she could comment on this Dolohov let out a cry of pain, "Until next time, love." He said as he disapparated.
"Damn," She said as she looked down to her arm, and to the little boy who was cowering behind her.
"So, when you found Mrs. Malfoy and Draco in Riddle Manor that is why you freaked?" Harry's voice brought Hermione back to the present. She gave him a half smile before nodding. "The things we have done," he whispered as he brought her close and kissed her forehead.
They sat in silence for a while before Mrs. Weasley came down to the kitchen to start breakfast. She barely spoke to the three of them as she whipped up eggs, bacon, and toast. All of them ate in silence before Harry, Hermione, and Ron stood up to leave and go check out the house.
"I can't believe we got out without her nagging us," Ron said as soon as they were in the middle of the backyard.
"Ron," Hermione could tell Harry was silently agreeing with Ron. "I think your mum has realised that we are grown-ups, and she can't force us to do anything we don't want to do."
"We are talking about my mum, right?"
"Oh, shush," Hermione smacked both boys on the back of their heads. She then took out the portkey (which was also the key) Rodfang had given to her that would get them to the house. "On three," Hermione's statement immediately made Harry think of Dumbledore. "One…Two…Three," Harry felt something pull right below his navel, and they were being pulled through a rush of wind and colours.
"Wow," Hermione said as soon as the three of them had fully untangled themselves and stood up. "This is like Mr. Darcy's house in Pride and Prejudice. Just a smaller version."
"Who," Harry and Ron chorused together.
"Honestly, don't you two read?"
The two boys didn't even think that questioned warranted the answer it always got. Hermione looked at the stone building for a few more seconds, and then made her way up the pathway leading to the gatehouse and then the house. The grounds were covered in trees and grass, there was a lake right beside the west part of the house, and Hermione could make out stables in the distance.
"It is really peaceful here," Harry had caught up with her. "I'm not saying anymore until we see the inside though," Harry said as he saw Hermione's slight smile.
When they reached the iron gate Hermione pulled out the key. Here goes nothing, she thought as she inserted it in the slot. An electric jolt went through her body as she turned the key to release the lock. Slowly Hermione pushed open the gate, and released a sigh when nothing happened.
"I, Hermione Jane Granger, take this house to be my own, and consent to Harry James Potter and Ronald Billius Weasley to enter."
With that the two boys entered the grounds. They had watched as she had inactivated the old wards and the new ones set up to allow for a new owner. It was almost scary to watch for a few seconds Hermione had glowed blue. They had seen this done only one other time when they had done their own ward activation right before entering Hogwarts for the final battle.
"Let's go check this house out," Ron entered the property, and they were off.
"Probably unfit to live in," Molly Weasley spoke at dinner time. "Just like Sirius's house."
Harry's stomach still clenched at the mention of his godfather. He felt a comforting hand on his arm and turned to stare into the brown eyes of Hermione. She gave him a soft smile which he slightly returned before turning back to his food.
The Black Manor was a complete one-eighty compared to the Black ancestral house. They had entered into a huge foyer which show cased a marble staircase on the far left side and had four doors leading to different rooms (if one didn't count the two huge oak doors leading to the outside). The four doors led to a parlour, a billiard room, a hallway to the kitchen, and a formal dinning room. All the furniture was covered in white sheets to keep the dust away, and there wasn't a screaming portrait in sight.
As they had finished exploring the downstairs they were interrupted by a knock on the door. All three had their wands out as Hermione cautiously walked to the door. She flung them both open to be met with the sight of a middle-aged woman.
"Oh goodness I knew I was late but I didn't know I was this late," The woman rushed inside practically barrelling into Hermione to give her a hug. "I'm Martha, the housekeeper of the Black Lake House. Rodfang told me you would be arriving sometime today to check out the property." Martha said this all very quickly as she let Hermione go and pulled back to arms length to scrutinise her. "Oh you poor dear."
"Excuse me," Hermione had finally regained her senses enough to react to that last comment.
"And who are these young gentlemen you have brought with you?"
"Well, I'm Hermione Granger, and the red head is Ron Weasley, and that is Harry Potter." Hermione pointed to each of her boys respectively. She watched Martha carefully and finally gave the nod for the boys to lower their wands. "Now, Martha, how long have you been the housekeeper?"
"Oh since before you were born," Martha said smartly. "I had just come on, replaced my own mum, about a year before Narcissa decided to close the place up. I've been coming once a week to do the dusting and vacuuming. Four times a year I air the place out so it doesn't smell too musty."
"You're not a witch?" Ron's voice seemed to echo in the foyer.
"Oh no, I'm a witch, it is just that here at the Black Lake House we like to keep up appearances."
Hermione was instantly taking a liking to Martha. She studied the older lady for a moment to find her features, while not stricken, very pleasant to look at. She very much reminded Hermione of a slightly younger and less stressed Molly Weasley. It was as she decided this that she noticed Martha had been talking the whole time and now had stopped.
"Well, then I guess you would like to start the tour?"
The tour had taken them most of the day to get through. For not only did they tour the house but the also the parks and was even shown the village. Now as Hermione sat in the backyard at the Weasley house she wanted to go back to the quiet of it all.
"I've see you've made up your mind," Harry's voice startled her. She looked up at him and nodded. "Okay so we start moving in tomorrow." At this Hermione launched herself into his arms. She giggled as he spun her around. "I love you," Harry said softly as his lips touched hers in a soft kiss.
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