Unofficial Portkey Archive

A/N: Well I am officially done with my first year of college! I would have updated earlier but I just acquired a summer job so free time has not been easy to attain. One more chapter until the end, you guys! I hope to have it up soon along with links to the possible score and soundtrack. I always enjoy making those and I hope you guys like listening. I also hope you are all having a wonderful summer/end of the school year. Until next chapter!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine, blah, blah, blah.

Enjoy!

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Magique
Chapter 22: Reunion

"Do you really think these are legitimate?" Hermione asked, looking down at the table where they had set down the only pile of evidence they had found in their hours of searching.

"They're in my mother's handwriting." Clara confirmed, spreading out the pieces of parchment so that each was clearly visible. "I can't vouch for Sondheim's, though. I'm sure a vile of Veritaserum will sort that bit out."

Hermione nodded and scanned the documents. After hours of searching they finally had a breakthrough while searching Elizabeth's office. Hidden in a secret compartment in her desk (of which Hermione found after performing a complex compilation of charms) was a pile of letters tied together with a black ribbon. They went through and read them all to discover they were letters of correspondence between Elizabeth and Dmitri Sondheim dated all the way back to the days preceding Hermione's trial. The connection between the dates was foggy at first but the context of the letters mentioned both the trial and upcoming election in the Court right after it was announced. Apparently there had been talks of Kingsley's retirement before the announcement had been made and Elizabeth wanted to take that opportunity to help aid in her own schemes.

The letters had been in chronological order which made them that much easier to decipher. Clara had been gob smacked when she began reading them, seeing her name along with Harry and Hermione's mentioned many times. Elizabeth had been scheming behind her own daughter's back for quite some time and Clara couldn't help but feel used and victimized.

Hermione sympathized with her. Although she had caught the worst end of the deception, it was Clara's own mother who had done the plotting without Clara ever finding out. The young Ravenclaw not only began to blame herself but chastise her blatant ignorance of the situation overall.

"I just thought it was my mother wanting the best for me - to marry me off to a rich king and help get our lives back together." She had said, nearing tears with every word. "And I just… I just believed her and wrote it off as her being her normal self. I should have questioned her more about it. I should have-Ë®

"Clara you can't blame yourself." Hermione had said, trying her best to sooth her. "You had no way of knowing your mother would go to these extremes. None of us knew. You shouldn't feel responsible because you're her daughter. You cannot be held accountable for her actions in any sense."

It had taken some convincing but Hermione had finally gotten Clara to calm down after three kettles full of tea and approximately a dozen raspberry pastries. After which Clara profusely apologized and settled down for further examination of the letters. Now as they hovered over the table they could begin to analyze the situation.

"Why do you think your mother kept her own letters?" Hermione asked. "It's very unsafe to have them together like this."

"My mother doesn't trust others with large things like this." Clara explained, pulling up a chair for both herself and Hermione in front of the table to sit. Hermione thanked her softly and they both sat down. Clara continued speaking. "She also holds herself to be quite brilliant with concealing secrets. When she wants to, she can hide anything from anyone. Which I suppose holds true for this whole series of events. Who would have thought that it was some lowly Lady from Ravenclaw who sought to attain the Gryffindor crown?"

"She's not all high and powerful if we found her out." Hermione pointed out. "Which begs the question: How did she make a mistake?"

"She didn't." Clara said, looking over at Hermione with a tired smile. "You never lost faith in your intuition. You didn't like us from the moment we set foot in Gryffindor and you held onto that feeling until it turned out to be true."

"Well, for one-half of the Fowl family." Hermione said off-handedly. She smiled at blonde witch. "I think you've safely earned my trust after today."

Clara's smile widened. "I'm glad to hear it. I've always admired you, Hermione."

"Really?" Hermione asked, somewhat befuddled.

Clara nodded. "Even before I met you. Your story is almost as legendary as Harry's as far as Hogwarts is concerned. Both you and Ron stuck by Harry's side until the end. But you especially… you overcame your blood status and became a Lady of Gryffindor. You're more famous and admired than you give yourself credit for. And your story isn't even over yet! You have so much more to give and you're going to do it with Harry by your side."

Hermione had tear in her eyes by the time Clara was finished singing her praises. "I don't… I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything because I know in a few moments you're going to become too modest and deny everything I've just said." Clara said with a knowing smirk.

Hermione knew she was right. She had never seen herself as anything more than normal Hermione, doing whatever she thought was right and always following her heart. Well, in most instances anyway. And now her heart was telling her to accept Clara's praises for once. Because not only did they come from someone she once despised, but someone who accepted her afterwards. She may not believe Clara in the long run, or ever consider herself as an inspiration or role model, but to be regarded so highly by someone like Clara still meant something to her - something wonderful and flattering and all-around good.

It was then she realized that Clara was unintentionally giving her faith that everything would be alright. That it would all work itself out and she would get her happy ending. She had said her story wasn't over and that she would live out her days with Harry and she believed her. For some crazy, unknown reason she believed every word she had said. Pressing her lips together, she let the first teardrop fall down her face.

After she reached this epiphany this epiphany, she leaned over and embraced the blonde tightly.

"Thank you." She whispered.

Clara wanted to ask her what for, but knew that it was better if she just remained silent. For now she was just thankful that she took her words without protest.

After a minute or two Hermione let go and wiped away the tears from her eyes and cheeks. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, my unborn child is insisting I make yet another trip to the restroom."

Clara giggled. Before she exited the room, she stopped her when a question popped into her head. "Hermione."

"Yes?" She asked, turning around.

"I forgot to ask - when are you due?"

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment as she did the math in her head. "Three months, give or take."

"You must be excited." Clara said with a wide grin.

"I'll be more excited when all of this is over." Hermione replied solemnly.

Clara sensed she wanted to say more but refrained from doing so as she turned back around and made her way out of the room. The Ravenclaw sighed and looked over to the letters on the table once more. This was sufficient enough evidence to bring to the Court. With any luck, they could get a trial set within the week's end. It was a bittersweet though, sending her mother to trial like this. But it was for the best. After all of the pain and suffering she had caused, Elizabeth Fowl deserved to be prosecuted for it.

Her reverie was interrupted by a loud banging on the door. Taken aback, she nearly fell off of her chair. She faintly heard one of the staff answer the door as she calmed herself. Moments later, one of the younger maids, Danielle, entered the room.

"Excuse me miss." She said softly. Clara motioned for her to go on. "There is a man at the door who is anxious to have a word with you."

"With me?" Clara asked, surprised. She rarely had people asking for her at the door.

Danielle nodded in affirmation.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"He did not give his name, miss." Danielle said, playing with the hem of her uniform. "But he sounded very urgent. He said it was a matter of life and death."

Clara narrowed her brow. "Very well. I'll see to it, Danielle, thank you."

Danielle curtsied and made her way back to her regular post upstairs.

Clara got up from her seat and made her way quickly to the door, eager to see who this visitor was that was so desperate to see her. She opened the front door slowly and peeked out before opening it fully. On the other side was a tall man dressed elegantly in black robes dotted with golden trim. His hair was the color of weathered parchment and he had a strikingly handsome face. She felt a strange sense of familiarity as she looked at him - as if she had seen him before.

"Good evening." He said, his voice a low baritone.

"Good evening." She replied. "How may I help you?"

"I'm a friend of Hermione's." He said. "My name is Cedric Diggory."

Her face fell a little. "Oh."

"I'm afraid there isn't much time to explain my unexpected intrusion." He said in a hurry. "Harry is on his way here."

"He's what?" She asked, her voice getting uncharacteristically higher. "Why?"

"I'll explain later." He said, though she could see his cheeks becoming red. "May we come in?"

"We?" She asked.

To answer her question, a second figure appeared out of the shadows, dressed in similar fancy clothing to Cedric. This was a face that Clara recognized immediately.

"Your majesty." Clara said in astonishment.

"Not anymore. It's the real king you have to worry about now." Sirius said with a playful grin. "May we come in?"

"Oh yes. Yes, of course!" Clara said as she opened the door further to let them inside.

She led them into the parlor where she and Hermione had been spending most of their time. Cedric turned to her and spoke. "Where's Hermione?"

"In the washroom." Clara said. "Now would you mind telling me why Harry is on his way to my house?"

"Pinhead here let it slip Hermione was here." Sirius said, jabbing Cedric in the side.

"It was an accident!" Cedric defended, though his cheeks burned a noticeable shade of scarlet. "Anyway, it doesn't matter now. He's on his way here and should be arriving at any moment. We only beat him here because Sirius knew a shortcut."

"Well what do we do?" Clara said.

"Keep him from entering while we sneak Hermione out. We can't risk him seeing her in her condition. Hermione said if it were to happen he was at risk of going into a frenzy." Cedric explained.

"I'd say he's already in a frenzy. Seeing her would just make it worse." Sirius added.

"Make what worse?"

The three heads in the room snapped up and saw Hermione standing in the doorway with a confused look on her face. She took a few more steps into the room.

"Cedric? Sirius? What are you doing here?" Her voice was wavering. "Is something wrong?"

"Depends on your definition of `wrong.'" Cedric said.

Hermione's brow furrowed and she turned to Sirius. The older wizard sighed and explained hurriedly. "Harry's on his way here and we need to get you out before he sees you… you… Hermione… are you with child?" His eyes were now glued to her stomach.

Hermione followed his gaze and nodded. "Yes."

"My god. This is worse than I imagined. We must hurry before he arrives."

"Here? Why is he coming here?" Hermione asked, her voice speeding up as her worries began to increase.

Cedric hurried to explain, though he spoke so quickly it was hard to understand what he was saying. "Imayhevtoldhimyouwerehere."

Hermione heard him loud and clear, though both Clara and Sirius shared looks of puzzlement at what had just come out of his mouth,

"Cedric!" She scolded, her voice high and agitated.

"No time for that now." Sirius said, waving his arm about to get their attention. "We mustn't waste any more time! At the rate he was running he could be here any-Ë®

Bang. Bang. Bang.

"-minute."

The noise of fist against wood echoed throughout the house and Clara went to the door to fend off any servants from answering. Hermione's heart rate increased to an alarming amount and she felt herself beginning to grow dizzy. She placed a hand on a nearby table to balance herself.

Here. Harry was here. Right now. He was on the other side of that door.

"It's him all right." Clara said as she peeked through a nearby window. "He looks pretty crazed to me."

"Hermione, you have to get out. Now."

She had to get herself together! She needed to get out of the house before he could see her. They were so close to finally ending this heartache and now he shows up! That was just like him. Always coming into her life in the most inconvenient of times and screwing everything up. It was part of his charm. And she loved him for it.

But now was not the time to be sentimental. She had to keep herself focused.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Cedric asked.

She nodded just as it started. His voice rose up from the other side of the door.

"Hermione! HERMIONE!"

Oh, it felt good to hear him call her name.

"I know you're in there! Come on, Hermione! Hermione!"

"With those lungs he's going to stir up the whole neighborhood!" Cedric said. "Clara, tell him to stuff it before he causes a scene!"

"But what if he barges in?" She asked in a loud whisper.

"Sirius, stand close to her." Cedric said. "Hermione, sweetheart, we have to go."

Hermione nodded and walked over to his side. She was still a bit light-headed but the adrenaline pumping through her veins was making her forget all about it. They began making their way to the back of the room where another door was located when she heard to door open and Harry's voice echo throughout the house. She forced herself to continue forward, Cedric's grip on her hand serving as a grounding force to keep her focused.

"Harry, now is not a good time." Clara said.

"I know she's in here, Clara. Just let me see her."

"I can't do that, Harry." She said sadly.

"Why not?" He asked in exasperation.

His face was so torn and heart wrenched that she almost let him by. Sirius must have sensed this because he came to stand next to her. Harry's face turned stony.

"Sirius?"

"It's best for everyone if you leave now, Harry."

"But why?" He asked, his voice becoming as frantic as his ragged appearance. "Sirius, I haven't seen her in months. Please let me at least see her."

"I can't."

Harry's jaw tightened. He looked past the two of them and raised his voice once more. "Hermione! Hermione it's me! It's Harry! Please, I need to see you! PLEASE!"

Hermione tugged on Cedric's arm and stopped him. She turned around and looked down the corridor where they had just come from. She could hear his voice reverberating against the walls. It sounded so lost. So heartbroken. He needed to see her just as desperately as she needed to see him.

"Hermione, no." Cedric said. "You said yourself it was dangerous for him to see you in this conduction. He could go mad. He could revoke his title and send the kingdom into mayhem."

"I know, I know. But we're already so close. What's a little glance going to hurt? I haven't seen him in months and he believes he hasn't seen me for much longer."

"Hermione, you can't. You said-Ë®

"HERMIONE!" Harry's voice sounded from across the manor. It sent shivers down both Cedric and Hermione's spines.

"Forget what I said!" She said harshly. "Cedric, with the evidence we found today we could easily get a Court hearing and send Elizabeth behind bars for good and have everything set back to normal. Seeing me today wouldn't do as much harm as it would have last month or even last week. If he does anything drastic, we can hold him at bay for a few days or even weeks if necessary. We are so close that it doesn't matter anymore."

Cedric looked at her with stony eyes. "Are you saying this as logical Hermione or as love struck Hermione, unable to think straight?"

"Does it matter?" She asked. "When have I ever been able to not think straight?"

Cedric opened his mouth to counter but shut it promptly after. She was right. She was always right. Even in her love struck manner she still managed to think the situation out before acting. And for being in love, that was quite a feat indeed.

"If this doesn't work, I reserve all rights to gloat."

She grinned. "Thank you, Cedric!"

"Go get him, tiger." He said, giving her a slight push. "But be careful!"

She was already hastening down the hallway.

"I will!" She called behind her.

Careful not to go too quickly for risk of falling, she walked as fast as she could. She could barely hear his voice now. They must have calmed him down. But he was still here! She quickened her pace, desperate to not miss him. They had come this far together (or, rather, apart) already. It was time for their reward, damnit!

She reached the parlor and heard a quiet conversation. She slowed down, picking out three distinctive voices. Catching her breath, she walked the final steps into the entrance hall. Harry's back was to her and Sirius spotted her before anyone took notice. His eyes widened, though not enough for Harry or Clara to notice, and he looked at her as though silently telling her to run, to get out of here as quickly as she could. She ignored him.

"I just don't understand why she doesn't want to see me." Harry said, his voice soft and broken.

"She does, just not now." Clara said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You'll understand in time."

"But I want to understand now! What could possibly be keeping us apart now? After all we've gone through together?"

Hermione's hands drifted to her stomach where she felt the unborn child growing inside of her kicking like crazy. It could feel her heartbeat increasing, which was always a side effect of Harry being around. It didn't make sense to be apart after all they'd been through, especially because of something that should be regarded as a miracle. She took her final few steps forward and called his name softly.

"Harry."

She saw his back stiffen, as though someone had just smacked him over the head and awoken him from a daydream. Looking back, after she spoke it seemed as though the next few minutes went by in slow motion, though it felt like no time at all while it was actually happening.

Harry turned fully around and saw her, his slackened features fading into a look of pure joy. He ran over to her and embraced her long and tight. It was apparent he hadn't noticed her obvious change in appearance until after he wrapped her up in his arms and felt the large mound of space that was lodged between their bodies. He pulled back and looked down, seeing her rounded belly for the first time.

"Hermione you're… you're…" He sputtered.

Hermione nodded, tears of happiness rolling down her face in a cascade. She saw similar wet spots on his cheeks as well as well as a new light behind his eyes. "I'm pregnant."

"You're pregnant." Harry repeated. "You're… oh Merlin… you're pregnant!"

Hermione couldn't think of anything to do other than continue nodding. He sputtered around with his words for a few seconds before forming a coherent statement.

"Is it… it is mine, isn't it?"

Hermione smacked him hard in the shoulder. "Dolt! Of course it's yours!"

"W-why didn't you tell me?" He said, a look of hurt beginning to form in his teary eyes.

"I think you bloody well know why." She said hardly.

Sirius and Clara exchanged worried looks as the couple continued talking. What should they do now? Hermione had broken the original protocol and now they were just standing here watching the lover's exchange like a bunch of confused baby ducklings.

"Why do you think Cedric let her go?" Clara asked.

"I think Hermione has a way of talking her way out of any given situation - even one she's placed herself in." Sirius said with certain wispiness in his voice that Clara couldn't place. It seemed, after a moment of thought, to be a cross wisdom and humor.

Clara looked back over at Harry and Hermione and spoke more to herself but loud enough for Sirius to overhear. "Looking at them now you wouldn't have ever thought to keep them apart in the first place."

Sirius let out a grunt of agreement. "They've been glued at the hip since they first met. It would take a deadest force to even consider splitting them up in the first place. Someone truly conniving."

Clara's eyes focused on the ground. "My mother is one of the most conniving people I've met."

Sirius looked over at the young girl and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I realize this must be difficult for you. But I trust you know that what is going to happen will be for the best."

Clara nodded. "Of course. It's just a bit difficult to process, that's all." She looked back over at the couple. "But I know it's for the best. Who are we to keep two halves of a heart from beating together?"

Sirius let his hand drop from her shoulder as a wisp of a smile crossed his face. He followed her gaze. "I couldn't agree more."

Both of their hands were now atop the rounded mound that was Hermione's stomach. After a few moments, they both felt a faint bump. Feeling his unborn child kick for the first time almost sent Harry back into tears.

"I just can't believe it." Harry said. "I never would have thought this was the reason you were being so secretive."

"I never wanted to keep it from you, I trust you know that." Hermione said softly, looking deep into his eyes.

"Of course I do. But I still wish… if we weren't forced apart like this…" He said, his gaze dropping from hers.

"I know. But we're here now. We're together and we're so close to ending this hell that fate has placed us in." Hermione said, cupping his face with her palm. "Can we focus on that now? We've been through too much heartache these past few months to focus on the bad the moment we see each other again."

Harry nodded. "Of course. You're right."

"Good." She said. "Now shut up and kiss me."

Harry grinned. "Yes ma'am."

Their lips barely touched when a reverberating bang sounded throughout the hall. All heads turned towards the entrance where a very angry-looking Lady was staring at Hermione with daggers in her eyes.

"YOU!" She shouted. "What are you doing in my house?!"

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