Friday 1st September 1989.
"Can't you just go next year instead?" Hermione asked, her arms nearly crushing the metamorph as she stood on the platform. "I'm going to miss you so much."
Nym laughed at the girl. The few short weeks they'd spent together this summer had hardly been enough to get to know one another, but they were already keen friends. It had been nice to finally meet people she could be herself with, whatever form that happened to be on any given day. And finally seeing that there was more to her extended family than crazy aunts and bigoted cousins was a relief as well.
Harry had certainly been surprising. The boy had an aura about him that was obvious even now as he stood a foot away. The disguise had thrown her a bit at first, as it made him look like Hermione's brother with the brown hair and eyes. He even held himself much like Richard had whenever they were anywhere but home. Slightly rigid and ever-alert to his surroundings.
His ability to drag people into his orbit was astounding. They'd not even spent a full month as friends and already she felt like he was the little brother she'd begged her parents for.
Hermione, on the other hand, was less of a surprise and more of a handful. The questions never stopped, but they were always interesting. The younger girl craved knowledge in all its forms, and Harry and the Family at large were terrible for indulging her habit. The once small closet in her bedroom was now a fully expansive library full of books on all different kinds of magic.
And yet, Nym still felt the girl was becoming family as well. She was absolutely right that Harry just drew it in, blood relation or not and then he treated you like family. He unconsciously yearned for it and the world yielded it to him in spades.
"I'm only going away till Christmas, Hermione. And just think of all the fun stuff I'll be able to bring back from Hogwarts!"
"But that's so long. And it's so far away. You will write, won't you? I know you don't have an owl, but Nemea will be happy to bring your letters."
Nym had to use her ability to buff up her arms in order to finally break the hold the child had about her middle. "Of course. As much as I can. I'm going to miss you all, too."
Her mother held herself in her usual stoic fashion, but the smile on her face was half proud and half saddened. Nym knew she'd pushed her luck with her mother a lot lately, keeping the Black traits out of her face. But she knew that her mother cared for her, despite the now stiff hug she was giving her.
"Work hard. You know these two won't be slacking off in your absence." Andromeda warned.
"Oh, hell no! I'm not going to be beaten by a pair of little kids. I'm going to learn so many new spells. Then I'll be able to help Sirius prank you all." Nym grinned as she hugged her father.
Her mother was always prim and proper, but her father was modest and unobtrusive. The type of man who could disappear into a crowd without trying. Yet when he got going, he was a barrel of fun to be around. His influence on Nym's manner and demeanour was obvious to anyone who truly knew the man.
"Be safe, be smart, have fun." He whispered in her ear, barely audible over the din of the crowded platform. "I love you, Dora."
"Thanks, Dad. Love you, too."
"Oooooh." Came the now-familiar teasing from behind.
Nym tried a trick she'd only recently perfected, not leaving her father's arms, she morphed her entire body so that she was now facing the sneaky Marauder who looked shocked to be face to face with her so suddenly. She probably looked incredibly weird with her body now backwards in her clothing, but it was worth it to see the shock on Sirius's face.
His wand was half drawn and despite the surprise in his face, he was clearly still up to mischief.
"Don't make me set Hedwig on you again!" Nym warned, a flash of fear appearing in her cousin's eyes at the memory of the one time he'd tried to prank the bird.
"I'll behave." He mumbled, returning his wand to his pocket. "Spoilsport."
"Ignore him. Make the most of Hogwarts. Explore, learn. Get in trouble from time to time." Remus whispered as he hugged her as well once she righted herself once more. This day had been on the horizon for so long that she'd been resigned to a simple farewell from her mother and father. But being part of the Extended Potters came with a lot of goodbyes and hugs. Something she had come to enjoy greatly. "But try not to get caught."
The werewolf winked at her, and she noted the slight weight in her robe pocket. Something she would have to investigate later once she boarded the steaming train. "Of course." She smiled in return, finding herself suddenly wrapped from the side by Harry's arms.
"I'll miss you, Nym. I don't like watching family leave."
"I'm not leaving." She replied, ruffling his hair. "I'm getting professional help to get one up on you for a change."
Harry pulled back and gave her a broad smile. It was still strange looking upon his unusual disguise, and the adults had been mostly tight-lipped about why the boy always needed to wear it in public, but she was getting better at seeing him underneath it.
She winked at him and gave an exaggerated wiggle of her nose just like Samantha from Bewitched, a show the kids had enjoyed watching together a few times in the past couple of weeks. Harry raised his fingers, poised ready to snap and she gave him a warning glare.
"Don't you dare!"
His grin was disturbingly reminiscent of Sirius as he lowered his fingers and tucked in beside Hermione once more, their arms reaching out the moment the pair were close enough to do so. A shrill whistle pierced the air and Nym took a deep breath. As much as she looked ready to go on the outside, her insides were churning with nerves.
Her mother stepped closer once more and whispered into her ear. "Relax, sweetheart." A name she very rarely used, much less in public. "Your hair is changing colours on its own again. Have fun, just remember to try and learn a thing or two while you're up there, too."
"Thanks, Mum."
"Now get yourself on board before you miss the train." Andromeda gave her a gentle push in the direction of the red carriages. The rare unmasked smile she gave was more encouraging than all the hugs in the world. Well, maybe not all the hugs, she thought, glancing at her newest friends.
"I'll see you all at Christmas." She yelped, hopping up into the closest carriage and letting the door swing closed behind her as the train began to slide forward. "And I'll write loads."
She waved at the Family staring up at her. Her stomach was still churning, but she was committed now. Off to the mythical Hogwarts to learn her place in the world.
Though she was already missing everyone, even though they were standing only a few metres away as the train began to chug and shift properly. She watched until the Family were out of sight before turning and walking directly into a surprisingly stocky dark-haired boy her own age, knocking herself back into the door.
"Bugger. Five minutes! Can I not go five flaming minutes."
"Are you alright?" The boy asked, holding his head where she had bounced off of it and extending his other out to her in the stairwell.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Happens all the time." She grumbled, allowing him to help her up.
"Well, that's… um. Sorry. My name's Cedric. Did you want to find somewhere to settle in?"
Nym considered him for a moment, his bright grey eyes watching her think. "May as well. Let's get this show on the road, then."
The boy looked puzzled by her comment but shrugged it off and headed off down the walkway, Nym following along behind wondering just what this year might bring.
ϟ
Friday 22nd December 1989.
Harry was so happy to see Nym again that she had barely made it off the train before she was knocked to the platform by two babbling children. Her few short months at Hogwarts had yielded a few good friends already, but none had yet compared to the pair wrapped about her waist.
"Relax. I'm happy to see you too, but we're blocking the stairs. You don't want to be the one getting in the Twins' way." Nym advised, trying to return to an upright position without losing her newly acquired human carry-on baggage.
"Fresh meat, George, ol chap." One of a pair of smirking eleven-year-old redheads said from above their prone forms.
"Ideas, brother mine?"
"Leave them alone." A dark-haired boy warned, offering his hand to Nym and helping lift the three back to their feet.
Harry noticed that the smirks on the redhead's faces had not disappeared and the look in their eyes was far too reminiscent of one Sirius often wore. He made a note to watch them as they left.
"We missed you. Lots." Harry whispered to Nym, Hermione nodding her agreement.
Nym glanced at the boys behind her before whispering in return. "I missed you, too."
The three kids smiled broadly as Ted stepped forward and guided them away from the doorway where a large group was now looking out, frustrated at the blockage at their chosen exit and some wondering if they should just head back down the train to another.
"Where are the Tweedles?" Nym enquired as she gave her father a welcoming hug.
Harry grinned. "Grounded."
"What on earth did you do to manage that?"
"Not us," Hermione replied defensively. "And only one of them is grounded. Brought this one entirely on himself though. But there is something we want to try when we get home. An early Christmas present for you if it works." Hermione added as the small group moved towards the exit from the platform.
As soon as the whole group was inside, holding hands, Nym found herself transported not to the open area of platforms nine and ten at King's Cross station as she had expected, but to an expansive open garden she had not seen before.
"What the… Where are we?" She questioned, noticing the smiles on the faces of the others.
"Home," Harry stated plainly before running for the large house behind them. Nym was somewhat stunned at the size of it and Hermione stopped to wait for her at the entrance while Harry rushed into the library.
"We're back!" Hermione said as the two girls finally made it inside with Nym's head feeling dizzy from looking all around as they walked through the impressive house.
"Any trouble?" The painting asked as the others slowly filed in.
"Less than expected. Nym has a couple of guy friends it seems." Harry called, plonking himself in his favourite chair and watching as Hermione led a bewildered and slightly blushing Nym into the room. "We'll have to give them a talking to when she heads back again."
"Don't you dare," Nym warned before she caught sight of the enormous painting that covered the entire wall of the room. Harry grinned, so happy that Remus and Sirius had exchanged the large doorway-sized piece for this one in October. It allowed them to sit in with the whole family.
"Hello, dear. It's a pleasure to meet you again." Lily said, drawing the stunned girl's eye.
"I think we broke her," Hermione whispered as she joined Harry on their chair.
"To be fair, you were a little broken the first time I brought you here." Harry nudged in return.
"What?" Hermione replied indignantly, the smile belying the hurt she was feigning. "It's an impressive library. And it was my birthday."
"The best decision I ever made." Harry smiled.
The pair settled back and watched as Nym continued to remain still, staring at his extended family. It wasn't until her mother hugged her tightly that her focus was turned away from the wall. "Hello, Nymphadora. It's good to have you home."
"Home?" The girl wondered, staring about the large space.
"Figure of speech, dear. How was Hogwarts? Your letters were far too infrequent." Andromeda asked as she guided the young girl to a large leather couch. The few armchairs that had been there so long now proved insufficient in keeping up with Harry's growing number of regular visitors.
"It was… good. I'm sorry, are we all just going to ignore this? How did we get here? Where is here?"
"You are seated in the library of the Potter family's ancestral home." Harry's grandfather explained, stepping forward in the painting. "The Potters have lived here for generations now. As for how you got here, that will be explained in a few minutes. Your mother demanded that she be the one allowed to explain what would happen."
Nym glanced at her mother and noticed a smile spread across the woman's face. "They did it to me. I had to take the chance to do it to you."
"Did what?" Nym replied, growing more confused by the minute. "What is going on?"
"As Charlus explained, this is Harry's home. He's lived here ever since November of 1981. The Grangers have been regular visitors for some time, but before he met Hermione, Harry only had the elves for company."
Harry grinned as the four elves popped in and greeted his practically adopted sister, introducing them all. "Mipsy and Nemea you have met. The others are Tybalt, Mipsy's twin brother. And Pops. he runs things around here."
"And don't you forget it, lad!" Pops cautioned.
"Ok… there is an 'and' though, isn't there?"
"As you know from their letters, we've been tutoring these two on some basic magic since you left. They still go to muggle school during the week, but we alternate weekends with Sirius and Remus and we each try to get them up to snuff on the things that magical children learn before heading to magical schooling. Make sure they'd be ready to go."
"Yeah." Nym drawled suspiciously. "The 'and'?"
"You're so impatient, Nym." Hermione chastised, giggling slightly.
"You can talk. You were up at five this morning begging us to go to King's Cross already." Remus chimed, walking into the room. "Hello, Dora."
The girl waved halfheartedly and turned on her mother, her hair beginning to redden. "Stop stalling and get to the 'and'!"
"Fine, I started the children on basic potions prep last month, and Harry being his excitable self knocked his cauldron full of hot water off the desk. Instead of splashing very hot water over the both of them, Harry snapped his fingers and the cauldron hovered back into place without injury."
"So, Harry can focus his accidental magic? That's the big deal?"
"No, Dora," Ted interjected. "Harry and Hermione both shared magic with Mipsy and Nemea respectively. As a result, the two can manipulate magic the way that the elves do, as well as channelling it through a focus like a wand."
"What!? That's so cool, you have to show me. Wait… is that how you…" Nym trailed off and Harry smirked, knowing she realised she was about to drop them all in it.
She'd been quite put out that she couldn't figure out how the pair had stuck Sirius to the top of their four-poster the morning after he had attempted to prank Hedwig the one and only time. As if the owlet's own revenge had not been enough punishment.
"After talking it over, and Sirius deciding to be an impatient child, we realised that adults cannot share magic with elves. We think it's only the immaturity of their magic at the time that let the process take in these two."
"Wait, Sirius is grounded for trying to share magic with an elf?"
"No, Sirius is grounded for almost killing Pops by trying it while he was sleeping," Harry growled.
He loved his godfather dearly, but Pops had raised him since he was a baby. Anyone who put his family at risk would face his wrath.
"Oh. Are you alright, Pops?" Nym asked.
"I am fine, miss. I have been dealing with Master Sirius since he was your age. It'll take a lot more than him to do me in."
"Doesn't mean I can't be angry," Harry mumbled, drawing a warning glance from the aged elf.
"The family has talked it over and, should you agree, there is an elfin who has volunteered to try the process with you. Only under close supervision, however."
Every adult eye in the room focused on Harry and Hermione, who blushed slightly but refused to drop their eyes. Nym sensed there was a story she was going to be getting out of them both later that night involved in the looks, but considered what her mother and father were offering her.
"So, what you're saying is that Dad isn't the one who brought us all here today?" Nym glanced at her father and he smiled back at her, shaking his head.
"Nope." She glanced over at Harry who vanished from the chair and was suddenly sitting on her lap, wrapping his arms about her stomach and squeezing tightly. "It was me."
"Cool." A moment later, Harry had returned to his own seat and everyone watched quietly as Nym considered the offer. Several quiet minutes passed before she nodded slowly, turning to face Andromeda. "Any side effects?"
"We can't be sure. Those two have been fine ever since, but it knocked Pops and Sirius out for two days. We've been debating back and forth for the last month about it, but it's your choice. We're as sure as we can be though that it is safe for you to try. It might work. It might not."
Nym considered her options again and Harry was practically bouncing in his seat, Hermione feeling equally agitated beside him. "Ok. How do we do this?"
"You don't have to do it right now."
"If age is a factor, may as well do it as soon as possible. What do I do?"
Andromeda stood from the couch but put her arm on Nym's shoulder as she moved to follow her. "Tuck in your feet and face the side." Nym quickly did so and was soon staring into the vibrant eyes of the elfin who had appeared on the couch.
Harry watched excitedly as Andromeda guided Nym through the process he and Hermione had explained to the adults in fine detail over the past month. Several minutes later, the elfin had taken on several of Nym's features, ironically maintaining the vibrant purple colour in his eyes, and things seemed to be as complete as they would become.
"How do you feel?" Andromeda asked, kneeling beside her daughter.
Harry felt it as Nym flexed her body and her magic back and forth for several minutes before frowning slightly. "I'm trying to find the right word… stable, I guess."
"Stable?" Her mother asked, curiously.
"I've always felt in flux. It's why I trip all the time, my feet change shape of their own accord. It made shifting easier but I don't really feel that anymore." Nym went quiet and squeezed her eyes tightly for several moments. Her hair went through all the colours of the rainbow and her body seemed to shift under her robes. "Still got it. Yet, I do feel different, but still me."
"Try Popping." Hermione practically shouted.
"How?"
Hermione jumped up and rushed over to Nym, but Harry quickly interjected. "Hang on a minute, Hermione. Nym needs to give him a name first."
Hermione frowned but nodded and Nym turned to look at the elf who was watching her curiously. The metamorph cast her eyes about the room, lost in thought when she suddenly sprouted a wide grin. Her eyes flicked to Remus for a moment before she turned back to Hermione and the elf.
"I know. It's perfect. And Sirius will hate it. How about Romulus?"
Harry watched the elf consider the name, Moony groaning loudly from his chair. The elf smiled in return and nodded. "Yes. Romulus is good, Mistress."
Hermione jumped in place before hugging Nym tightly and quickly delivering a whispered crash course on how to utilise the teleporting ability. It took several long minutes before the girl was finally able to relocate herself across the room, to cheers from the gathered Family.
"Congratulations. Now try and levitate this book." Hermione appeared more excited by everything than Nym was, but Harry watched her closely. He could feel the girl's magic as she focused on the book and noticed the issue at the same time as Hermione's face fell.
"You can feel it too, can't you?" Harry asked, Hermione turning and nodding at him sadly.
"Feel what?" Remus asked.
"It didn't fully work. She can Pop, and it seems to have helped her shifting. But she doesn't have proper elf magic in her body to the level Hermione and I do. She still feels like Nym. Hermione felt different after. So do Mipsy and Nemea."
"You can feel all that?" Nym asked, still sounding stunned.
"Yeah. It was distracting at first, but now it's nice. I think it's why my magic sometimes goes off doing its own thing, like the day we met."
"You're not disappointed?" Hermione questioned, looking confused at Nym's reaction.
"Why would I be? Popping is the coolest. I couldn't do that before. I've side-alonged with Mum and Dad before. It sucks. Popping feels so much better. That's what threw me about how we got here, coz I didn't feel a thing. And it has made changing even easier. What's there to be sad about?"
Harry jumped off his chair and walked over to Nym, hugging her tightly. He pulled back and looked up at her face. His next words drew smirks from all three children.
"So, what new toys have you brought us for pranking Sirius?"
ϟ
Saturday 13th July 1991.
Nym stretched out in her bed, yawning loudly as she felt the warm sunshine filtering through the nearby window caressing her legs through the covers.
Summers were her favourite time of year.
Her first two full years at Hogwarts had been a lot of fun. Her rivalry with Harry and Hermione had spurred her to study hard and kept her near the top of her year, something that bugged the Ravenclaws as most of them were being outclassed by a simple Hufflepuff.
The teachers would often question her quick grasp of the subject material and her burning drive to master that which she found difficult. Nym would simply reply that she wasn't going to be outdone by her little cousin, drawing odd glances from most of the staff.
The friendships she had built there were great as well. She was on very good terms with her entire house, often getting praised for not only portraying the classic traits of Hufflepuff house, but showing up the other houses and proving that the Puffs weren't all pushovers.
Cedric was her closest friend at the school and had been ever since the day that she'd quite literally run into him head-first on the train. The boy was as kind as her father and very approachable, and he was turning into quite the looker as he got older as well. That thought made Nym blush and she was very glad that neither the Weasley Twins nor Harry and Hermione were in the room to see it.
The redheaded terrors had proven to be great friends as well. Being in Gryffindor had kept them from spending as much time together as she did with Cedric and her fellow Puffs, but she found time amongst her studies to assist them with their fooling around.
Her high scholastic status kept her from suspicion when they managed to get themselves caught, and they'd even promised to share the secret of their success this coming year.
And yet, despite the joy she felt when at Hogwarts, she was ever so glad to be home again.
Today more than usual as a set of dangerously honed puppy dog eyes had allowed her cousin to spend the night. Letting that thought filter fully, Nym realised she was wasting the day with him and she threw off the covers. Hermione chided her for her messiness, but ever since Nym bonded with Romulus, he had been cleaning up after her. Be it at home or Hogwarts.
Nym skipped her way out to the kitchen to find the other three already sitting down to their breakfast. They had stopped waiting for her to rise during the summers before beginning as Nym was want to have a good lie in most mornings.
"Wotcher."
"Morning, Nym. Sleep well?" Harry enquired, making himself another bacon sandwich.
Nym nodded as a plate of her favourite breakfast foods popped into place in front of her. "Sure did. Thanks, Rom."
"I do wish you wouldn't let him do that." Her mother chided.
"He wants to do it, mum. Ask Harry if you don't believe me."
"We tied him up with magic-resistant ropes one morning to keep him from helping her," Harry replied, swallowing a chunk of his sandwich. "He nearly chewed through the ropes to get free. None of our elves has ever been quite so eager before. You must have passed more to him than he did to you."
Nym replied by simply poking her tongue at her cousin and chowing down on her meal. The family ate in peace for several long minutes before the pure white form of Harry's familiar swooped in the open window and landed delicately on the table between Harry and Nym.
"Good morning, Hedwig. Don't you look beautiful today?" The bird preened under the attention. Despite being a female snowy owl, she didn't have a single blemish on her feathers. Ever since she'd lost the grey down shortly after Christmas in Nym's first year, she had been pure white head to toe. Her beak and eyes being the only exceptions. "Were you hiding at Hermione's all night? Odd of her to use you instead of Nemea to send me something."
Nym reached out to take the crisp letter from the regal bird's talons but jumped back as Hedwig barked at her and fixed her eyes on Nym's hand. "Not mine? Then who?"
Harry tilted his head until he could read the fine green ink on the front of the envelope. "Me?" He asked, confusion colouring his voice.
That was quite the surprise.
Though it was public knowledge these days that Harry had survived the attack on his family home as a baby, he still didn't get many letters. Most of the fan mail they now knew existed went to the goblins who sorted it out and summarised it, for a small fee of course.
The few dangerous ones were explained to Sirius and Remus, who had made a game out of punishing anyone who tried to harm their wards. Though Pops and Tybalt often reigned in their more aggressive ideas.
The other oddity was that Harry was so rarely anywhere that mail could arrive to him in person. The magic surrounding his home, school and the Grangers blocked post owls from coming or going. Except for Hedwig. She was far too used to the wards over the locations to be bothered by them. Often spending weeks at a time perched in the massive oak tree in the Grangers' backyard.
Protections that were not present around the Tonks's home, as Harry was unsure if they could be spread another time as they had done at the Granger home. Nor had her mother and father been unhappy with the wards that they already had. They didn't need a fortress for a home.
Nym redirected her hand to gently stroke Hedwig as she gathered a few pieces of her favoured bacon and fed them to her. There was no faster way to Hedwig's heart than fresh crispy bacon. Nym's attention was refocused on Harry as he dropped his fork loudly to his plate. His face had paled considerably and he looked scared.
"Harry? What's wrong?" Her father asked, looking concerned at the boy's rapid change in demeanour.
"I forgot. I'm sorry. I have to go home. Hedwig." The bird immediately leapt into the air and landed deftly on Harry's shoulder a fraction of a second after his jacket was secured in place. His face was still pale and his eyes were flicking back and forth.
"Harry?" Nym questioned, stepping from her chair and in his direction only for him to flinch slightly as she extended her hand.
"Sorry," he mumbled before vanishing with a loud crack.
This surprised Nym more than anything. Having been popping about herself for more than a year now, she understood that the elven magic dulled the speed with which the air tried to fill the empty space left behind when they popped. That was why popping was nearly silent while apparition had its telltale sound. For Harry to make so much noise using the ability meant he was truly frazzled.
"We have to get to Hermione's now," Nym whispered, the sound carrying in the near-silent kitchen.
"What do you mean?" Andromeda questioned.
"Please. We need to go now."
Nym had never felt so worried for her cousin.
He had wormed his way into her heart within the first week she had known him, and their collective hijinks had normally meant that life was bright and airy around his extended family. But this morning he had looked truly afraid.
Her parents wasted no more time, ducking away to their rooms and reappearing only a few minutes later dressed well enough for their impromptu departure. Nym grasped both their hands and a moment later the three were standing beneath the mighty oak in the middle of the Grangers back yard.
"Hermione!" Nym yelled, rushing for the door and leaving her parents behind again. "Hermione have you seen…"
She paused as she burst into the living room and saw four sets of human eyes staring at her and one half-kneazle. Natalie and Richard were seated at either end of their long couch, looking at her with confusion. Hermione was tucked between her parents looking at her with a wide smile as she tended to Crookshanks's fluffy belly, the cat watching her curiously as well.
"Hello, Miss Tonks. How odd seeing you here this morning."
Nym tried to settle her heart rate as she looked at her stern Transfiguration teacher, seated in one of the leather armchairs and lowering a cup of tea from her lips. The smirk on the elder witch's face concerned the girl greatly as her parents finally caught her up.
"Andromeda. Edward. A pleasure. I do say this explains quite a lot." McGonagall swept her eyes back over the faces of the Grangers, the adults blushing slightly under her gaze.
"Hello, Minerva. What brings you by today?" Ted greeted, not allowing the presence of the witch to throw his unflappable nature, taking the armchair beside her and leaning in her direction.
"It's that time of year, Edward. Young Hermione has garnered a place at our fine educational institution. As she is Muggleborn and I am Deputy Headmistress, it is part of my remit to introduce her to our world, as you surely well remember."
Andromeda laid her hand gently on Nym's shoulder, helping her remove her heart from her throat after having run into the Gryffindor head of house in the home of her closest female friend.
"I was beginning to wonder why Miss Granger seemed so unperturbed by my usual efforts. Imagine my surprise to find she knows one of my very own students." McGonagall smirked as she took another deep draw of her tea. "Explains this lovely tea as well. I had thought I might be going mad, tasting Hebron's Brew in a Muggle home."
"A gift." Andromeda offered as she took the other armchair, leaving Nym to stand, still watching the scene before her silently. "Meeting Natalie had been a godsend. Far too much testosterone around the group, and I needed another mother to heart to heart with. Imagine our surprise when Hermione showed some accidental magic a couple of years ago."
"Well, magic is a strange Mistress. She will as she does." Minerva commented, finishing off her tea. "However, it seems that you are in expert hands already, Miss Granger. I do hope you will consider our offer. The questions you have asked me so far speak very highly of your inquisitive nature. That would serve you well at our school."
The green-robed witch stood and gathered her belongings, tucking her wand back into a pocket in her coat. "I shall, of course, forward along the other materials you requested, Mrs Granger. I wouldn't like you to think we're selfish at Hogwarts. Though I personally shall regret it deeply if your daughter chooses to head across the Channel.
"Now I just need to figure out where that beautiful alabaster darling took that other letter." She mumbled to herself as she checked to see if she had left anything behind before nodding to the two families. "Good day to you all."
The woman walked to the front door, the silence of the house allowing everyone to hear as she closed the door behind her and the crack of displaced air shortly after. Nym sagged as she let out a deep breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding since entering the room.
"Bugger me." She sighed.
"Language, dear." Her mother chastised. "That was a pleasant surprise. Even more so that it seems to clarify just what Hedwig arrived with for Harry this morning."
"Where is Harry?" Hermione inquired, gently laying a complaining Crooks on the floor. "Didn't he stay with you last night?"
"He did. But this morning Hedwig arrived with a letter identical to the one your father is holding and Harry became very concerned and rushed home. It was quite… odd." Ted explained.
"Concerned? Oh! Of Course!" Hermione shouted, jumping from the couch and earning a scowl from Crooks as he ducked away from her thundering feet.
"Hermione. HERMIONE! Argh, we best head to the Manor." Natalie said, standing and moving to gather the tea supplies only for Nemea to appear and whisk them away, a look of disgust on her face that Nym assumed came from the fact she had been prevented from preparing the tea by a need for a Muggle family not to have a house-elf prancing about the house in front of the woman responsible for introducing them to magic.
"What is going on? What's with those two?" Nym asked, feeling adrift in the storm of activity.
"Come on, dear. We'll explain on the way. Harry will need you both this morning."
ϟ
Having taken far longer than she would have liked to change into something acceptable, Hermione popped into the Manor directly in front of Harry's bed, the boy clearly present under the balled-up covers. She slipped under the corner and was soon face to face with her hiding best friend.
"I'm sorry. I forgot, too."
Harry just nodded and let her hold him tightly. They'd become so caught up in the pattern of their lives it had completely slipped their minds that they were both eleven this year.
"I think our presence may be required soon. Between your exit and mine, some of the Family are probably in a bit of a tizzy."
Harry glanced up at her, his eyes were still full of fear. He had once managed to show her exactly how the pull on his magic so long ago had felt and she understood fully his fear.
There was no way that Albus Dumbledore wasn't thinking of Harry again right now. He was only safe right now under the cover of the Manor's wards. The pair lay there in silence, simply enjoying the other's presence for they knew not how long.
"I don't know what to do, Hermione."
She squeezed him tightly. "That's why we have the Family." She replied, using the nickname Sirius had given Harry's growing group after having been shown a few classic muggle movies at the Granger home. "You don't have to do anything alone, Harry."
The pair heard a rustling at the door and soon a third body joined them under the covers, only the face intruding into their space.
"What's going on here, Vincent?" Dr Doogie Howser asked, setting all three children laughing as Nym changed back to her normal appearance and shuffled further under the covers. "You gave me a fright running away like that, Harry."
"Sorry. It's a long story." Harry offered, with a weak smile.
"You don't need to tell me right now. I'm here to keep you company, not interrogate you. The parentals, on the other hand, are all chattering away in the usual place. But it's quite comfy in here, I'm happy to let them argue it out if you are."
Hermione smiled at the older girl, she always seemed to know how to cheer both of them up again. "Sounds good to me. As far as blanket forts go, it's not very roomy though."
Harry couldn't contain his laughter at the idea and Hermione felt his magic warming up again. It often reacted to his emotions like that, and the way that Hermione could feel it constantly made her able to read him like one of her favourite books.
"We have to go out there. This is something the whole family needs to decide." Harry explained, squeezing Hermione tightly before shuffling out from under the covers.
All three burst out into the light at the same time to find a panting dog standing in the doorway grinning stupidly, his eyes flicking cheerfully from one to the next.
"Not a word!" Hermione cautioned, positioning her fingers to snap and narrowing her eyes.
Padfoot barked back at them and tore off down the hallway, the sound of breaking crockery sounding down the corridor after him. The children laughed at the childlike man's antics and followed along slowly, repairing the broken vase on their way past. As one, they entered the library and squeezed into the empty chair that everyone knew belonged to Harry and Hermione, three being a very tight fit.
"So…" Harry said simply, tossing the offending letter that had triggered his panic attack onto the small coffee table in the middle of the semicircle of chairs. Hermione knew it would not have been immediate to Harry what it meant. He probably panicked once he saw the Headmaster's name written down on the letter inside.
Silence reigned for several minutes, the adults all staring at the envelope. Padfoot trotted over and lay at the base of Harry's chair, tucking his body under the boy's hanging feet.
"What are the benefits?" Hermione asked, breaking the silence. "You're already training us in magic. Will we learn any better going there?"
"Hogwarts is a wonderful school." Andromeda offered. "We wouldn't have sent Nymphadora there were it not. Every witch and wizard in this room has graduated from that school, no?"
"The school isn't the problem," Lily replied, tucked tightly against James in their painting.
"Dumbledore," James nodded, letting the word settle over the room.
"We still don't know what he wants with Harry. He appears to have been quiet since the ritual, assuming that Harry would eventually walk into his hands at Hogwarts, perhaps?" Charlus pondered aloud. "Should you go, we'd be handing you over for most of the year. While he can't keep you locked up, there are many other options he has available with you sleeping under his roof."
"I'm there." Nym squeaked and Harry smiled at her. "I can help."
"If you end up in the same house, that has merit. But if he sorted into Gryffindor. Most of the families in that house have some form of loyalty to Albus. Or he might go to Slytherin. Harry is quite cunning." Ted explained with a supportive smile at the boy.
"And you have the benefit of the fact no one associates you with Harry," Dorea noted. "Once that becomes public, you will face a lot more attention, Nym."
"We can't pull her out now," Andromeda said. "The law states once you start at a school you must complete at least OWL level there. There are a few loopholes, but it's too late to switch Nym out of there this year."
"I'm not overly fond of changing schools. I like it at Hogwarts. I have good friends there." Nym looked slightly torn.
"Minerva was at the Grangers this morning. Hermione's been offered a place as well." Ted commented. "She now knows we at least are friends with them. And we don't know what Garrick told Albus about that little trip the kids made. It's possible he could make that connection. Especially if we pull her out at the same time as these two refuse to attend."
The adults all became pensive, turning the options over in their heads as Padfoot placed his snout onto Harry's leg.
"Then I won't go," Harry stated plainly. He linked his fingers with Nym. "Keeping you safe trumps whatever I might learn there. If Dumbledore learns you know me, he might try to use you."
"Simple as that, is it?" Remus asked, smiling at him.
"Yes," Harry replied, locking eyes with the Marauder. "Family comes first. I don't want any of you being used because of me."
Harry turned and Hermione looked at him closely, inspecting him the way that Hedwig often did. She realised that his declaration could mean one of two things now depending on what she said next.
"Agreed." Hermione nodded. "Besides, we can learn faster the way we are now. We're already dealing with late second-year material in our weekend studies. Why start over? I'm looking forward to the extra subjects we'll be beginning this year. Plus, we have to keep the heat on Nym. She'll get complacent if we go to Hogwarts."
"Cheeky." The older girl laughed.
"You're sure, Harry?" Dorea asked, watching him carefully.
"Whatever it takes to keep everyone safe. I have a feeling I'm not leaving the wards for a while though." He replied solemnly.
"I guess it's a good thing you chose Wolsey Hall." Natalie smiled at the trio. "Besides it just being a fine school."
"Is there any way that we can figure out what he wants me so badly for?"
"We've been looking into it for years now, Harry," Remus commented. "Without anything concrete to work off, we have come up with nothing. We considered it might be due to your family's link to the Peverells, but he gave up the Cloak without a word according to the goblins."
"Can't believe he still had that. We could have used it back in '81." James grumbled.
"Bygones sweetie." Dorea smiled, patting her son's arm. "Let us worry about the future."
"So it is decided. We refuse." Harry asked, checking every face in the room, all of whom gave a slight nod at his glance. Hermione snuggled tighter against him and nodded into his neck. "I'll write my refusal letter then. Best to send it in and get things rolling as soon as possible."
"Me too. No matter what, you are never getting rid of me, Harry Potter." Hermione smirked against his ear.
ϟ
Sunday 14th July 1991.
Minerva worked a crick out of her neck and reclined in her chair. She truly loved working in the school, passing knowledge to the younger generations, but sometimes the paperwork was a murder. Even with the assistance of magic.
She was surprised from her thoughts by a loud bark and turned to see a familiar white figure perched on her desk.
"Hello there. Brought back my letter, have you?" She smiled at the beautiful menace.
The owl observed her silently, the eyes seeming to look far deeper than the surface before she barked again and flew out the still-open window.
Minerva watched as the lovely bird flew off into the sky before looking down to see several letters scattered evenly across her in-tray. She couldn't recall how many had been in there beforehand, but she pulled one off the top wondering whom the bird had belonged to.
It was not the letter the scoundrel had lifted from her desk a few days earlier.
Had it been later in the morning, she might have reacted in time, but she'd been too distracted by the owl's amazing plumage to notice her claw absconding with one of the many acceptance letters.
As she flipped the letter open, she considered the return address. It was familiar as she had been there only the day before. The meeting with the Muggleborn girl's family had thrown her as they barely reacted to her usual tricks, forcing her to up her game several times.
Young Nymphadora's arrival had helped clear things up. Minerva had worried she was losing her touch and would have to finally pass the torch to Filius.
She opened the letter and unfolded the paper within.
Minerva frowned as she read the polite yet wordy rejection. The letter didn't even explain which school had trumped her own, preventing her from sending a return to try one last effort to convince the young girl to attend by explaining how Hogwarts bettered the other facilities.
Miss Granger had shown such promise that Minerva was loath to lose her elsewhere.
Placing the letter aside, she picked up the next in the pile and quickly divested the letter from its envelope. If her meeting that morning had surprised her, she didn't know the words for what she was feeling right now.
For years, rumour had circulated their world about the possibility of young Mister Potter having survived the attack that took his parents from the world. And both the Daily Prophet and Albus had confirmed a few years prior that he was indeed alive.
However, rumour was a far cry from seeing what was clearly the boy's own handwriting on the paper in her hands.
Sadness soon overtook shock as she read the once again politely worded rejection. Harry Potter had chosen not to attend the school his parents had. She felt a hollowness in her chest as she considered James and Lily.
The lad had proven a whizz in her favoured form of magic and she had expected to see him achieve great heights before her own former classmate had so cruelly cut him down. Lily had been a treasure to teach. So inquisitive and always seeking more information.
Minerva smiled as she realised just how much the girl she had met the previous morning reminded her of Harry's late mother.
She sighed heavily and returned the letter to its envelope. She had no idea why, but Albus had requested she forward any response from the Potter boy directly to him.
"Ranty?" She spoke to the warm summer evening air.
A pop to her right drew her eye and she smiled at the elf, draped in a crisp Hogwarts towel. "Please take this to Professor Dumbledore's office. And a refill on the tea, if you will."
Ranty nodded and taking the note in hand, popped away, leaving Minerva to the pile of paperwork still urgently requiring her attention before the new school year could begin.