Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **As usual, I do not own anything

**A/N2: **I would like to thank my Shade. of .Grey13 for taking some time off to read through this**  
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><p><strong>ONE<strong>

**King's Cross Station**

**London, England**

"Hope you have – er – a good holiday," said Hermione, looking uncertainly after Vernon Dursley, shocked that anyone could be unpleasant.

"Oh, I will," said Harry, and they were surprised at the grin that was spreading over his face, "they don't know that we're not allowed to use magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer…"

"Oh" Hermione replied as a smile also crept up her face. She waved at him as she and her parents moved to the opposite direction of where the Dursley family was heading. For a few seconds, Harry watched as she moved away from him, her father dragging his luggage as she held hands with her mum and they animatedly talked – Harry imagined that she would be talking about things that she had learned with her parents.

A heavy feeling crossed through Harry as he felt his chest getting heavier and heavier the longer that he looked at the family scene in front of him. He could not deny that he wished that he would also be welcomed back the way that Hermione was welcomed back by her parents.

At the corner of his eye, Harry saw the Weasley family as they moved away from the entrance to the hidden platform. He had no idea how they were going to return to their home, but Harry was sure that some magic would be involved in it.

Before the Weasley's completely disappeared, Harry saw Ron and his younger sister talking with each other with serious expressions on their faces. As Harry was watching, Ron turned his head up and looked toward Harry, who waved back.

Ron hesitated, before he smiled and waved back at the person who was supposed to be his best friend. Harry – inexperienced with the ways of people that he is – failed to see the glimmer of envy and expectation in the face of the red-haired youth as they walked away to rejoin the rest of their family.

"Hurry up boy!" Vernon Dursley shouted.

Unlike Hermione's father, Vernon did not offer to take Harry's luggage from him. Unlike Hermione's mother, Petunia Dursley did not take Harry's hand as they slowly moved away from the entrance to the magical platform, and unlike the Granger family, there were no happy faces in the Dursley family – on the contrary, there were gloomy faces – as they walked out towards where they had parked Vernon Dursley's company car.

Before the Dursley family – and Harry – could leave the station, however, they found themselves – or more accurately, Vernon Dursley found himself – blocked by two gentlemen wearing dark two piece suits with matching sunglasses and what appeared to be earpieces on their right ears.

"Mr. Vernon Dursley of Number Four Privet Drive, Magnolia Crescent, Little Whinging, Surrey?" one of the two men – the one to the right who appeared to be bulkier and more dangerous looking than his partner – asked.

"Er…" Vernon began, "Yes sir, that is me, is there is something that I can help you with?" he asked, sounding like an employee who was appealing to his boss by stroking his ego – in other words, he sounded like an ass-kisser.

The second of the two gentlemen inclined his head towards Petunia and Dudley, "your family, Mister Dursley?" he asked.

Before Vernon or Petunia could answer, Dudley – who was taught to respect those who looked better off than him – nodded, "Yes sir, we are" he replied. His face hopeful, he asked before anyone can intervene, "Did we win some kind of award or something sir?" he asked, his eyes practically gleaming with greed as he asked that question.

The two gentlemen looked at one another for a few moments, and Harry could have sworn that a faint smile was exchanged between both men. Harry was sure, however, that both men shook their heads almost imperceptibly before they turned their attention back towards the Dursley's.

The first man spoke, "In a manner of speaking, you have earned an all-expense paid vacation" the man said, his smile broadened as he subtly regarded Harry before he said, "At least"

Vernon and Petunia looked at one another in surprise, before they turned to regard the two men in front of them. Petunia was about to ask where their all-expense paid vacation would be but before she could open her mouth, the second gentleman said, "We would be heading to our office as soon as we have established your identity so that we may book you ma'am," and then he turned towards Harry and inclined his head towards him, "Your nephew?"

"Er…yes sir" Vernon replied, "Would he be coming with us?"

The first gentleman smiled as he shook his head. His smile was interpreted by the Dursley's as a sad smile, as if he was regretting the fact, but Harry was sure that the smile that the gentleman had was, although regretful, had nothing to do with the fact that once again, Harry Potter would be left behind while his foster family enjoy another summer vacation.

"I am afraid not" he said, he inclined his head towards Vernon and the Dursley's, "I am afraid that the accommodations would only be for your family sir, you, your wife, your fine son here," he inclined his head towards Dudley, who – like his parents – was not smart enough to detect the sarcasm in the voice of the man, "and your sister, Marge Dursley, whom we believe is already waiting for us at our office"

"Then we best be on our way sir" Vernon replied, he withdrew his wallet and handed Harry a note for one hundred pounds, easily the most that he had given the lad in the nearly twelve years that he had been living with them, before telling the lad, "You can go home on your own, you know where we keep the spare keys"

Before Harry could reply in the affirmative, Vernon, Petunia and Dudley started to follow the two retreating gentlemen. They were about to cross the threshold into the outside world when both gentlemen suddenly stopped and whirled around to face the Dursley's.

At the same time that they turned, their hands dove into their pockets and retrieved their wallets, which they opened, revealing their Police Badges, before they showed it to the Dursley's.

All of a sudden, several uniformed officers of the London Metropolitan Police Force were surrounding Harry's foster family, while two female uniformed police officers stood on either of his flanks without Harry noticing.

"Mr. Vernon Dursley, Mrs. Petunia Dursley, I am Lieutenant Maurice Harker and this is my partner, Lieutenant Michael Daniels," the first gentleman said as he eyed the Dursley family with undisguised contempt written in his very body movement, "You are under arrest for child abuse of one child under your care, one Harry James Potter, whom we are all sure is the child that you just asked to return to your home – nearly twenty miles away – on his own"

Lieutenant Daniels, unlike his partner, decided to dispense with the pleasantries that used to make his life as a senior investigator in the Criminal Investigative Division so interesting and proceeded to read the two Dursley adults their rights, after which, he asked them if they understood.

Shocked by what was happening, both Vernon and Petunia could only nod, "Excellent" he said, before turning towards one of the several police sergeants that had accompanied them for this arrest, "Sergeant" he said, using a tone of voice that suggested to everyone who was listening that he was pleased with this arrest, "the cuffs please"

**Magnolia Crescent Primary School**

**Surrey, England**

**Two months ago **

Leonard Hunt was not your typical primary school teacher. This was because he was not pleasant in the eyes, he intimidated all of his students – and quite a few of his co-teachers as well – and he rarely assigned homework in the traditional sense – since he demanded that the homework that he gives his students be passed to him before they return home, a legacy of his years teaching in Oxford University.

He was, however, one of the best teachers in the primary school where he was teaching, located on the intersection of Privet Drive and the road that would take one to London.

Also, unlike most teachers, Leonard possessed the rare ability to read his students accurately, without bias, and without really looking at them. More often than not, he could also tell whether a student of his would succeed or not just by looking at them while they were growing up.

In other words, Leonard Hunt is a scout – scouting for the future leaders of the country, even though said future leaders are unaware of it. In a smaller sense, he is also the perfect bully stalker, able to discern who among the thirty or so students inside his classroom is prone to become a bully.

As he sat at his newly acquired desk inside the faculty room of the one thousand two hundred student school, he suppressed a sigh. Before him were two jackets containing scholastic files, personal files, pictures and the evaluation papers of two students.

Picking up the jackets, he opened both of them and laid the files side by side on the top of his desk as he pondered what to do next. The file jacket to his right was labeled Dudley Dursley, while the file jacket to his left was labeled Harry Potter.

Just by perusing the pictures included in the jackets, Leonard Hunt was able to discern that there were several irregularities in regards to these two students. Although he knew better than to judge a book by its cover, he still could not deny that a picture is worth a thousand words.

With care, Leonard removed the staples on the 1x1 pictures of both kids and laid them side by side over the two jackets and compared them.

According to the reports that he had received from his co-faculty, the Dursley kid was the favorite victim of the Potter kid in his bullying. In addition, the Potter kid was a known delinquent in the neighborhood, though a quick check with the local constable station failed to turn up any pertinent documents that would support this claim. Both kids have moved on from the primary school with Dudley Dursley going to Smeltings, an elite private school where his father apparently graduated, while Harry Potter was labeled as heading to St. Brutus School for Incurably Criminal Boys.

'What the hell?', Leonard asked himself as he read the name of where the Potter kid was supposed to be going to, there is no school in the entire United Kingdom with that name, at least, there was not one five months ago.

At that moment, Leonard knew that something was wrong with the files that had been given to him after he finished that phone call, which is why he requested the secretary to bring the files of both kids to his desk as soon as possible.

He just needed to look at the two pictures to know that something was very, very wrong. The Dursley kid was huge while the Potter kid was scrawny at best. Also, the Potter kid was wearing glasses that looked as if the only thing that was keeping them together was tape.

'Something's not right', Leonard thought as he began to flip through the personal files that were included in the jacket. A quick perusing of the documents revealed that both kids lived in the same house, which was not really that surprising to the teacher since most bullies start at home, but what was surprising was the fact that the house where they were living in was not the Potter house, rather, it was the Dursley house. 'Something is definitely not right', he thought again.

"How could the Potter kid be a bully when he is living with his so-called favorite victim in the house of the victim?", he asked himself, surely, this Mrs. Petunia Dursley would have done something to prevent it, yet, it appeared as if nothing was being done.

Leonard sighed and opened his diary to an open date the following week. Without really thinking about it, he decided that he needed to pay a visit to the Dursley home and he scheduled it for that day. If he was lucky, he would be able to catch the two kids at home as well and he would be able to personally observe their interaction with one another.

That done, he whistled to himself and prepared to close the files when something else hit him. Quickly flipping through the academic records of both kids, he easily spotted another irregularity.

According to the academic records – and Leonard was sure that there was no way that this would be cheated since this was being checked by the Department of Education – the Potter kid was first in his class for the first two years, in his entire grade level, before he suddenly dropped to bottom of the class in the final three before he left. 'That does not make sense', Leonard thought to himself.

Although it is true that most kids find the work in later grade levels harder than their previous levels, someone who was top one in his first two years going down to the bottom was not supposed to be possible. Since the Potter kid was top one in the first two years – years when he is still adjusting to school and therefore should have been unable to perform at his best – he should at least be in the top twenty, if not the top ten, of the entire class.

By contrast, the Dursley kid was constantly at the bottom. In fact, if not for Potter being so thick, Dursley would be dead last. Leonard blinked, 'Could it be?', he asked himself.

Flipping through Potter's medical records in an attempt to confirm his hunch, he was disappointed when all he saw was a blank medical form with only the name of the student and other irrelevant – relatively – information were filled out. Simply put, the entire paper was blank which meant that Harry Potter had not had a single medical examination while in Magnolia Primary.

'This is interesting', Leonard thought as he wrote his latest findings in a scrap of paper that he had found in his desk, his faculty advisor should have reminded him to take the medical examination, but that did not appear to have been the case at all.

Still, without the medical information, Leonard conceded that there was not much that he could do. He could ask for an investigation with Child Services, but if the Potter kid had been beaten up because he had received better grades that the Dursley kid, then all the wounds and other indications would be long gone, it had been more than three years after all, Leonard thought to himself.

With a sigh, he decided that he would inform Child Services and request that they investigate, and he would also request a copy of the foster child papers that saw Harry Potter as a foster child of the Dursley's. He was sure that he would be able to find the reason why Harry Potter was in Number Four in the papers since it was required before the papers were accepted by the department. Without the papers, Harry Potter should not be in Number Four.

Roughly forty five minutes later, Leonard Hunt was convinced that Harry Potter should not be in Number Four simply because his papers that allowed him to be fostered did not exist. It was as if someone just turned up in the front porch of Number Four and left the child there with nothing more but a blanket, a basket, and a letter.

'It doesn't make sense', Leonard thought as he struggled to keep himself from shouting in frustration.

"Mr. Hunt?" the secretary asked as she approached Leonard. Leonard turned towards her with a questioning look and saw that she was carrying a compilation of documents that had been marked with the seal of the Head Nurse of Magnolia Primary, "The excuse letters of one Harry James Potter"

"Thank you Elaine, please leave them with me" Leonard replied pleasantly, controlling himself from showing his natural tendency that intimidated everyone – even the principal sometimes – in the school.

Thankful that she was not on the receiving end of a tirade from the most intimidating man in the school, the secretary just nodded after she left the compilation and nearly run out of the faculty room.

Flipping through the letters, Leonard noticed that the notes were handwritten in the same flowery script.

Leonard removed the first note – dated September 18, 1985 – and laid it on his desk before he flipped through and removed a random note – which he noticed was dated September 18, 1986 – and placed it beside the first excuse letter. Flipping through, he was surprised when he saw a third letter that was also dated Sept 18, though this time, the year was 1987. Leonard took that note as well.

When he came across a fourth note with the same date – September 18, 1988 – he was no longer surprised. He also laid that note on the table.

Although he could not be sure, Leonard thought that the papers were written on the same day. Either that or someone copied it so well without using a photocopier, which Leonard knew was impossible.

'Why these same dates?', Leonard asked. He suddenly had a hunch and he opened his drawer to pick up a school calendar. Sure enough, a quick peek on the activities for the month of September confirmed that that day was indeed the day for the medical examinations.

'So he was absent during medical examinations', Leonard thought to himself, he still should have been informed.

Suddenly, Leonard blinked as he looked at the reason for the absence of the Potter kid. The first note said that he had a high fever and Leonard wrote that in his pad before placing a tick beside it. The second note claimed that he was having a cold, so Leonard wrote that down and placed a tick beside it. The third note claimed that Potter was suffering from measles that day, so Leonard wrote that down and placed a tick beside it and so on and so forth until he was able to go through all three hundred letters in the compilation.

Leonard looked at his notes after he managed to go through the compilation and blinked when he realized that something was very, very wrong.

Whoever wrote these pieces of crap must not be aware that chickenpox only hits a child once, twice at the most, Leonard thought, and how many left legs does this Potter kid have? I mean, broken nearly fifty times? In a span of five years, that is impossible, and it is even more impossible when you look at how many times his right leg had been broken, fifty times as well.

What was most disturbing for Leonard, however, was the fact that the reasons – all twenty of them – had equal number of ticks. Looking through the compilation again, Leonard was horrified to see that the reasons followed a pattern.

Leonard sighed as he put the compilation of letters on the surface of his desk. With another sigh, he picked up his phone and called Child Services again. This time, he was sure that there was a kid being abused in Number Four, and his name is not Dudley Dursley.

**King's Cross Station**

**London, England**

**Present Day**

Harry watched with a sense of trepidation as his aunt and uncle were led away. Part of the reason why he was afraid was because of the way that his cousin was looking at him. Harry was sure that whatever it was that was happening with his aunt and uncle, his cousin was blaming him for it.

Dudley saw his parents being handcuffed and led into a police car – a shiny new Ford Crown Victoria sure, but a police car nonetheless – and turned his ire towards his cousin. His slow and small brain might not be able to comprehend what was happening, but at least he was right when he decided that Harry had something to do with it.

"You freak! You got my parents into trouble!" he shouted as he lunged towards his cousin – ignoring the onlookers and the other police officers who were now surrounding him and Harry – with his right fist raised in a punching motion.

Unfortunately for Dudley, while Harry might have felt pain every time his cousin gave him a knuckle sandwich, his first did not hit Harry, rather, it hit the thigh of the ready and waiting Lieutenant Harker, who felt as if a mosquito had bitten his thigh.

"Assaulting a police officer, Mister Dudley Dursley?" Lieutenant Harker asked.

"You got in the way" Dudley replied, much to the surprise of the police officers, "Freaks like him get hit all the time!" he said.

There was a shocked silence among the assembled people – although most of the people had no idea what the hell was going on, they still wanted to watch, after all, it was not every day that they see the London Metropolitan Police put up a show – and a loud shriek from one of the young girls with the assembled throng.

The girl who shrieked just begged Harry to look at her with her action, and when he looked at her direction, he was surprised to see Hermione and her mother looking at him. Harry was also sure that Hermione would have ran forward – never mind the police officers who were now surrounding him – and engulfed him in a hug if not for the fact that her mother was keeping a firm grip on her hand.

Noticing that the young witness was looking at the girl, Lieutenant Daniels turned towards Harry and asked, "Do you know them?"

Harry nodded, "She's my best friend" he replied, "We go to the same school together"

"Oh goody," Lieutenant Daniels replied, sounding strangely like a kid as he did so, he smiled towards Harry and replied in his normal voice, "Then you would not mind going with them for a few weeks until we can sort this out, would you? The Granger's are a nice family, Harry, they have been approved by Child Services and I would personally vouch for Daniel Granger" he smiled as he added, "Served with him in the SAS, I did"

"Sure, that would be no problem" Harry replied, not really understanding what SAS stood for. From the way that the police officer said it, Harry was sure that it was something that he should know, but it was not as if Harry wanted to be a dentist, so why should he know about some dentist organization?

Hearing that the child that they had been told had been possibly abused approve of them, Emma Granger let go of the hand of her daughter so that Hermione may welcome him with the patented Granger hug.

The biggest worry of Emma Granger was that the child – whoever he would be – would not be comfortable with Hermione. As she watched her daughter hug the boy, Emma dispelled her worries as she smiled at the cute scene that was before her.

As for Dudley Dursley, he was detained by the police and would now spend the night as their guest in one of their six by six holding cells instead of the beds in the nearby orphanage.

Moments later, he watched with undisguised envy as his cousin was helped by a young lady and her mother into the backseat of a white BMW 5 series before they sped away without even looking back.

Dudley could not understand what he was seeing – not surprising since he could not understand eighty five percent of what he sees everyday - and threw a tantrum as he complained about how the freak is getting what his father told him he should be getting. He was largely ignored by his custodians, until he was told to seat at the rear seat of a police car.

Since the police car that had taken his father and mother had been left ten minutes ago, this was a new police car for Dudley. Unfortunately for Dudley, it was also an older model police car that was frequently used to transport drunken suspects from one place to another, and because of that, the stench of vomit had largely permeated into the seats of the car.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **As usual, I do not own anything

**A/N2: **I would like to thank my Shade. of .Grey13 for taking some time off to read through this

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><p><strong>TWO<strong>

**En route to the Granger Home**

**London, England**

Harry was confused as he sat at the back of the big German made sedan. The presence of his female best friend beside him served only to add more to the confusion as she animatedly conversed with her father and mother about the things that she had recently learned during the Academic Year.

Hermione tried hard not to glance sideward towards her best friend with whom she was harboring an infatuation for. It was hard, the twelve year old girl decided, to not develop an infatuation for the boy who saved your life by jumping on the back of a troll. Of course, she could not tell that to her father and mother tonight when they started asking her about her relationship with Harry.

So the girl who was the top student in her year at the magical school kept to the basics, overwhelming her parents with tales of her adventures and the things that she had learned while at Hogwarts, though she was careful to censor the incident during the Halloween and the incident near the end of the year. She honestly did not want her parents to know about those incidents because she feared that her father and mother would withdraw her from the school if they were to learn that her life had been in danger twice during the last ten months.

With a quick and stealthy glance towards Harry, Hermione also decided that she did not want her parents to know about those adventures because they both contained Harry, and Hermione feared that her parents might reconsider their decision to allow Harry to stay with her if they were to find out.

As confused as Harry was, he still managed to pay attention to the conversation – after all, being forced to do all the housework while being forced to listen to your uncle and aunt rant about how bad your parents were had made Harry an expert in doing several things at once – and the boy-who-lived noted with a small smile that Hermione was censoring the information that she was telling her parents.

When they got to the story of Halloween, Harry noted that Hermione closed her eyes for a few seconds as she breathed in and out several times in as many seconds, as if she was consolidating her strength, and when her voice came out, it was so fast that Harry failed to even make out a single syllable.

Apparently, despite being parents of a genius, Dan and Emma Granger were not used to their daughter speaking so fast, so Emma asked her to repeat what she had just said.

Hermione glanced towards Harry with a worried expression – which confused Harry as he was able to equate the look that she was shooting him as a look of guilt – before she repeated her earlier words so that her parents – and Harry – might understand, "I said a git by the name of Ronald Weasley insulted me during one of the classes for trying to help him" she replied, she glanced towards Harry again with a worried expression – now it made sense to Harry, Hermione was worried what he would think of her as he dissed his best friend – Hermione sighed before she continued, "And as I told you, I was depressed and I went to the girl's bathroom at the same time that a troll decided to knock"

"A troll?" Dan Granger suddenly asked. The mild-mannered dentist managed to keep the mild manner that he is famous for, though Harry was sure that the reason for that was because he was the one who was seated behind the steering wheel of the white sedan that they were now riding on, "I thought you said that it was a dog?"

"Uhm…" Hermione began.

"Hermione…" Emma Granger admonished her daughter, "tell us the truth now"

Hermione sighed, she looked at Harry – mouthing a quick 'sorry' at him that confused Harry all the more – before she answered her mother's questions, "it was a troll mom, dad," she said, "but Harry did jump on the back of the troll and saved me"

"Explain" Dan demanded.

"Well, sir" Harry decided to spare his best friend any more grief and decided to take over the answering part for her, "A troll is a magical creature that is over seven feet in height, usually carries a club, very stupid and incapable of taking a bath"

"You paint a monster, Harry" Emma replied with a smile on her lips, confident that the youngster was lying in order to protect Hermione – 'I wonder what their relationship really is', Emma thought, 'I mean sure, they are eleven and twelve now, but it's not as if they would always be eleven and twelve' – but was forced to look seriously at Harry when she saw that he was serious.

"You're not joking?" Emma asked.

Harry shook his head, "No ma'am" he replied, "It was a seven foot mass of muscle that had knocked out every stall in the girl's comfort room during the confrontation"

"And this Weasley kid?" Dan asked in a low – threatening – voice. For a few moments, Harry wondered why Dan seemed to be angry at Ron Weasley, and then Harry remembered that it was the actions of the red-haired first year that had resulted to Hermione being there in the first place.

"He was there dad" Hermione replied in a low voice. She glanced at Harry again, afraid that he would be angry at him for dissing out on his best friend, so she was confused when Harry merely nodded at what she said, and she asked, "Are you angry at me?"

Harry blinked, "Why should I be angry at you?" he asked, genuinely confused, when she mouthed the name 'Ron', Harry realized what she meant. With a sigh, Harry looked at her and replied, "I know that Ron is my best friend, but in truth, he can be a right prat," he sighed again, "he was my first friend and perhaps that is the reason why I cannot find myself getting angry at him" he looked serious as he added, "now that I think about it, he is a prat," he sighed, "you were trying to help him get something and for thanks, he mouths off at you" Harry shook his head, as he looked at Hermione seriously, "He never did apologize to you didn't he?"

Hermione sadly shook his head, "For that incident?" she asked, causing Harry – and her parents, though she did not see the action – to raise their eyebrows in question. Hermione smiled sadly as she said, "Not that it matters, he never apologized for any of the incidents between me and him"

"What else did he do?" Harry asked in a low growl.

Seated at the front of the car, Emma was watching her husband when she heard Harry say that. With a smile, Emma noted that Dan was just about to say the same thing, but was beaten to the punch by the young man seated beside their daughter.

"The day after you saved me from the troll, he came to me and told me that he is your best friend and that I would never replace him" Hermione replied sadly, "I told him that I have no intention of stealing him from you, but he ignored me and just said, 'Whatever, just make sure you keep your filthy paws off of him, Harry is already promised to someone else'"

Even someone like Emma Granger, who is a muggle, could see the anger in the face of the young man that they have agreed to take home. Although she could not see the magical presence of Harry the same way that her daughter could, Emma could feel the pulsating energy as it was released by Harry.

Figuring that something bad might happen if she did not stop him, Emma politely cleared her throat and forced the attention of the two teenagers at her. The senior Granger girl noted with satisfaction that the pulsating power that she was feeling that was coming from Harry had subsided, "What did he mean 'promised to someone'?" Emma asked.

"I am not sure" Hermione replied, "I tried to know what it is and I finally asked Professor McGonagall, she only told me that it meant that there might be a marriage contract of some sort for the person who has been promised to someone"

"Harry?" Emma asked calmly, instinctively knowing that it would not do well for them to anger him again.

Harry shook his head, "All my life, I had been told that I am a worthless waste of space that no one would ever love, Mrs. Granger" he said, much to the shock of the three Granger's in the car – Dan nearly steered the car onto a post when he heard that – "I somehow do not think that they would have something to do with it"

"How about your magical guardian Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Who?" Harry asked, and when Hermione repeated her question, Harry just shrugged and replied, "I don't know if I have a magical guardian, or who my magical guardian is, if I did have one"

"Of course you have one" Hermione replied, "Every magical child has one" she paused for a few moments as she thought about things, and then she said, "I think that we should find that out first, an inquiry at Gringotts would clear that up"

"Dear, we are already way past London" Dan said, "Do you want us to turn back so we can go to them?"

Hermione shook her head, "It's already too late into the day anyway, dad" she replied, "Maybe some other day?"

"Tomorrow" Emma replied with a smile, at the confused look on the face of the three other occupants of the car, Emma added, "I intend to file the official papers to adopt Harry into our family"

"Emma" Dan said, "You know you can't do that, Child Services is still investigating the case"

Emma huffed, "You heard him, Dan" she replied, "and being told that he is worthless all his life constitutes an abuse, his guardians would be living in a six by six cell if I have my way"

"Mum?" Hermione asked, almost afraid as she recognized the tone that her mother had used. Emma Granger, Hermione knew, was on a roll, and she was about to launch into a rant that even her father knew better than to interrupt.

"Harry" Emma said, "Do you want to talk about your childhood?"

Harry, Hermione noted, froze. The brown eyes of the smartest witch of her time widened as she finally connected the dot that had led to Harry seating beside her in their car heading towards their home.

Tentatively, Hermione tried to reach out to Harry, to offer him some assistance, even if it was just a warm hand that would tell him that he is not alone, but before she can reach Harry, the boy who lived, started to narrate his life in a dull, monotonous voice that Emma and Dan knew is the tone of voice that a child who had been abused was prone to use.

For the remainder of the drive from Greater London to West Sussex, Harry told the Granger family of the abuses that he had suffered since he was left alone on the front porch of the Dursley home.

Instinctively, Emma activated a tape recorder the moment that Harry began speaking and laid it on the dashboard of the car, knowing that when the worst part of the story came, she would have a hard time stopping herself from throwing whatever it was that she was holding.

Harry told them about not having any birthday celebrations while his cousin got loads. He told them about not having presents while his cousin got loads. He told them about having to do all the chores at home while his cousin – and his aunt and uncles – did none.

When informed about how his bedroom for the first eleven years of his life was a cupboard under the stairs, Dan had to veer off to the shoulder of the highway in order to vent off some steam that the mild-mannered dentist was feeling towards a certain couple. Emma stared at the boy in front of her with horror written in her face as her determination to take Harry into her home became more and more pronounced.

Hermione, on the other hand, felt two things. First, she felt so stupid that she failed to see the signs that her parents had informed her about earlier on. She knew how to spot abused children because her parents, being medical professionals, knew how to and she had asked them to teach her. Still, she could not believe that she had failed to see the signs in Harry when they were staring at her in the face.

On the other hand, she was also feeling extremely angry at how the people whom her Harry had been living with had treated him. She was so angry that she did not even realize that she had used a possessive term to refer to Harry.

When Harry told them about Aunt Marge and how he got beaten up by the old coot because Ripper – her bulldog – had gotten sick after the dog bit Harry, Hermione nearly lost control and her wand – which she kept beside her – started to glow almost as if she had cast a lumos spell.

After he was done with narrating everything that had happened to him before Hogwarts, he slumped off in exhaustion and fell asleep.

"Mum," Hermione said, trying to vent off some of the anger that she was feeling, "What are we going to do about those people?" she asked, "They treated my Harry so bad, they deserve to pay"

No one in the car noted that she had used 'my Harry' to refer to Harry. Everyone was so angry to pay attention to the subtle words that were coming out of their mouths.

"Whoever placed Harry with them would have to be implicated in the case, princess" Dan said, recovering first among the three people in the car that were still awake, he looked at her daughter and asked, "Do you know who placed him there?"

Hermione sadly shook her head, "I don't" she replied, "The books only say that his parents sacrificed themselves for him, but not how he ended up after"

"You told us that Harry's parents are heroes" Emma began.

Hermione cut her mother off, "Harry is the most famous wizard in Britain because he is the only one to survive the killing curse, while his parents sacrificed themselves for him, and they are heroes, yes"

"And is this how the magical world treats their heroes?" Dan asked, almost growling. Hermione looked at her father with an expression suggesting fear, so Dan reassured his only daughter that he was not angry at her.

"I am assuming that the person who placed Harry there is his magical guardian" Emma said, as Dan managed to calm down enough for him to continue the drive back to their home, "Therefore, we should find his magical guardian"

Hermione nodded as she unconsciously positioned herself closer to Harry. Without really knowing, she allowed Harry to fall onto her lap – as he was asleep, he had no idea – as she gently caressed his jet black hair.

"How will you find out who his magical guardian is?" Emma asked, she looked at her daughter and asked, "Is it the same way that in the non-magical world?"

Hermione shrugged, "I don't know" she admitted, frustrating her to no end. She paused for a few moments, and then her eyes widened as she came up with a plan, "But I bet that the goblins know how"

"Another thing to add to the things that we have to ask them when we visit them tomorrow, then" Emma replied with a nod, she gazed her kind gaze at Harry and smiled, before she turned towards her daughter and commented, "You two are perfect together"

Hermione blushed, but before she could say anything to counter what her mother had said, Emma asked her daughter directly, "What is your relationship with him then?"

With her face as red as a ripe tomato – really, it was actually more red than a ripe tomato – Hermione averted her gaze from her mother as she tried to think of the suitable answer to the question.

When her daughter refused to answer her question, the smile on Emma's face transformed into a grin that instantly told her husband – who was observing the conversation between her two favorite girls in the world using his peripheral vision – that his wife already had the answer.

Hermione, too, seemed to have sensed this, so she tried her best to beat back her blush – which was unsuccessful – before she turned towards her mother and said, "Everyone wants to have a relationship with him" she said, and from the tone of voice that her daughter had used, Emma was sure that Hermione was frustrated about that fact, "I told you right, even Ron seems to think that Harry had already been…" she paused as an idea came to her mind, "promised to someone else".

"Hermione?" Emma asked as she detected the subtle change of tone, "Something you wish to share with us?"

Hermione smiled – and in so doing, she was able to beat back her blush to a more acceptable degree, meaning, she did not look like a ripe tomato anymore – before she replied, "Only the magical guardian of the child can sign a marriage contract" she said with obvious excitement, "And Harry, being the one who is 'promised' could demand that the contract be shown to him, and there are always copies of contracts like that at Gringotts"

"Should we go to the bank prepared to sign a marriage contract for your behalf tomorrow Hermione?" Dan asked innocently. Unfortunately for the mild-mannered dentist, while his intention was to prank Hermione, he as unprepared for the blush that – once again – turned his only daughter to a ripe tomato. That was the only thing that Dan Granger needed to see in order to know that his princess was in love with the kid that they had agreed to come under their roof.

For the next fifteen minutes – until they arrived at the Granger home – Dan Granger was constantly silently berating himself for coming across something that he did not want to come across – at least for the next five years or so. Unfortunately for him, he was the one who pressed too far.

**Granger Home**

**Crawley, England**

When Harry came to, he found himself lying in a bed inside a blue room. Looking around, he found that the room where he was staying was not that large, but it was not that small either. One thing was for sure, he knew that he was not at Hogwarts, and he knew that he was not at Privet Drive.

His hand automatically made its way to a table beside the bed where he was laying on and sure enough, he found his glasses there. The moment that he pressed his glasses on his face, the door to the room opened and a woman walked in.

Harry turned his gaze towards the door and saw Emma Granger entering the room while holding a tray. Upon the tray, Harry saw three plates filled with food.

"I see that you are awake" Emma said with a smile as she made her way towards Harry. She sat down on the bed and laid the tray filled with the food on the bedside table where Harry had gotten his glasses off, "Welcome to our home Harry"

Harry blinked, "What am I doing here Mrs. Granger?" he asked.

Emma smiled, "You should listen more to the things that you agree too, Harry" Emma replied as she took the soup bowl from the tray. With one deft motion, she also picked up a spoon and started to feed Harry – who had little choice but to do what Emma wanted him to do, "You would be staying with us for the time being Harry" she said as she helped Harry take his first sip of the soup, "at least until before the custody hearing, and I am hoping, as is Hermione, that you would be able to live permanently with us" she smiled mischievously as she added, "Even Dan wants you to stay with us, though you would never hear him say that"

"I…" Harry began.

Emma pressed her left index finger on his lips, silencing him – without the use of a spell – before she added, "You've pretty much told me everything that you went through at that abomination house, Harry" she said, "Hermione and Dan were there, and it was recorded, which, by the way, I am hoping that you would allow me to send to Child Services in order to prove the unfitness of the Dursley's"

Harry nodded, "Does that mean that I would never return there?" he asked, his excitement nearing topping levels, but at the same time, he was afraid to show too much excitement because he was not sure. If things turned bad and he was sent back, Harry was sure that he would be again beaten to within an inch of his life.

Emma noted the barely concealed excitement of the child in front of her. With a smile, she placed the soup bowl back on the bedside table and engulfed Harry in a hug that reminded him of the hug that Hermione had initiated before he went off to fight Voldemort.

"I promise you Harry" Emma began, "You would never return back to that place, and I promise you that I would do all that I can to make sure that this place would be your home as well"

Harry hesitated, but then realized that there was nothing he would lose. His hands reached out to the air behind Emma and then he returned the hug that she had initiated, "Please" he said in a small voice.

"This is your home Harry" Emma said with as much conviction as she can muster, which, all things considered, was not really that hard for Emma as she truly wished for Harry to remain with them, "This is your home"

Harry nodded, not trusting his voice, he merely nodded. It did not take him long to convince himself that was his home.

The moment that Harry told himself that the Granger House was his home, he was suddenly engulfed in a bright white light. Since it was the middle of the day, and the room where he was in was lighted, neither Emma nor Harry saw the light. In any case, both were too busy with what they were doing to pay attention, and the bright light just shined for a few moments.

When Harry finally let go of Emma – she let go first, but he, this being the first time that he initiated a hug, took considerably longer to let go, though Emma did not mind in the least – he looked at her and nodded, "This is my home" he repeated with conviction.

Neither Harry nor Emma realized that when Harry said that, a bright blue light surrounded Privet Drive for a good ten minutes while the Dursley family had just returned home after being booked and paying their bonds. Unfortunately for the Dursley's, the fact that the bright light enveloped their home for a good ten minutes meant that everyone in the street noticed it. Within the end of the day, everyone was referring to the Dursley's as freaks. When the news of the child abuse case got to Privet Drive, everyone took extra care not to be in the same side of the street as the Dursley's.

The Dursley house was not the only one that was surrounded by a bright blue light. Thousands of miles away from Crawley, near the city of Inverness in Scotland a room within a certain magical castle also shined in the same bright blue light.

With the amount of magic in the air, the bright blue light in the office of the Headmaster shone for a good five hours before it finally dissipated. When it did disappear, every silver instrument that the Headmaster had whose main purpose was to track Harry Potter melted, and an alarm sounded for the next twenty four hours.

Unfortunately, with the summer vacation just having started, there was no one in the castle who was in any position to investigate what really happened.

It would be weeks before Dumbledore would return to the school, and while the other professors would be back within days, they really do not have the authority to enter the office of the headmaster – even the Deputy Headmistress – without permission from the man.

One of the instruments that had melted during the strange occurrence was a weighing scale that measured the power of the blood wards that Dumbledore had placed on Privet Drive – supposedly for Harry Potter's protection. The fact that it had melted away simply meant that the blood wards in Privet Drive had disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **As usual, I do not own anything

**A/N2: **I would like to thank my Shade. of .Grey13 for taking some time off to read through this

* * *

><p><strong>THREE<strong>

**Gringotts Bank, Diagon Alley**

**London, England**

Neither Harry nor Hermione probably noticed it, but Dan and Emma Granger sure did. The two youngsters walked into a tall – it was the tallest building in the area – with their hands held together so close that Dan was sure that it would be impossible to slip a slip of parchment between the two of them.

The reason that Dan and Emma noted that their daughter and the boy that they had taken into their home were holding hands was because of the fact that Harry and Hermione were leading the party as they entered and took their first step into the marble floored building that the goblins operated as the headquarters of their financial empire.

All four were wearing what could be considered casual clothes. As Dan and Emma were both muggles, they did not own a set of robes between the two of them that might be considered 'proper' for a trip into Diagon Alley, and neither Harry nor Hermione were in the mood to wear robes today.

Harry, for his part, was enjoying what he was wearing. It was the first time that someone brought clothes for him. Emma had insisted that they stop by a proper clothing store before they go to the bank, and as a result, Harry was now wearing a light blue polo shirt with black slacks and a nice pair of white athletic shoes. He was still wearing his original glasses, but the only reason that he was still wearing them was because it would take the ophthalmologist some time to fix the new glasses that Dan had bought for Harry. They were going to drop by the clinic after the meeting with the goblins to get the glasses.

Hermione was also enjoying this trip. It had nothing to do with the clothes that she was wearing – a light red polo shirt with matching jeans and athletic shoes – because these were old clothes for her, but it had everything to do with the fact that she was enjoying a day out with her parents and with Harry. Though Harry was not her boyfriend, to Hermione, this was as good as a date.

As there were some people in the bank – and in the alley – that were wearing muggle clothing – presumably, they were either muggle-born or they were going to go to muggle London after whatever business that they have in the alley – they did not attract as much attention as Harry would have expected. On the contrary, the fact that they were wearing muggle clothing meant that most wizards in the alley turned away from them as if seeing a muggle-born was equivalent to being diseased.

Fortunately, none of the four saw this, and even if they did, none of them were in the mood for a confrontation.

Upon entering the bank, Harry made his way to the nearest goblin that was free and said, "Good morning sir, I was wondering if Griphook is free?"

To say that the goblin teller was surprised would be an understatement. This particular goblin had been a senior teller for the bank for close to fifty years now, and this is the first time that he had come across a polite wizard. More to the point, this is the first time that Gringotts had encountered a polite wizard who actually bothered to remember the name of a goblin.

"May I ask how you know Griphook, sir?" the teller asked, figuring that there must be a reason why this young customer had remembered the name of a junior member of the goblin bank.

Harry nodded, "He helped me when I first came to this bank sir" he replied truthfully, "I am rather fond of him for all the assistance that he gave me during my first visit"

The goblin behind the counter nodded, now he was sure that the reason for this young customer remembering a particular goblin was not because that particular goblin left a rather unpleasant memory. It was the opposite.

"May I ask your name young, sir?" the teller asked, "You seem to be the one who has business with the bank today, but I cannot help but notice that you have been accompanied by adults"

Harry nodded, "They are the parents of my best friend sir" Harry replied kindly, "My name is Harry Potter"

The eyes of the teller goblin widened – not an everyday sight for those who were familiar with the bank and goblins in general – as he realized that he was speaking – and delaying – the scion of an Ancient and Noble House.

Goblins do not really care about that, but the real reason that the teller's eyes widened was because the Potter family was not only an Ancient and Noble house, it was also one of the few houses in Magical Britain that had fought for the goblins. The Potter house had been some of the first to trust the goblins financially, and it was their initial deposit in the bank that had seen the goblins take over finance in the magical world.

"My apologies, Lord Potter" the teller replied, confusing Harry as he referred to the boy as 'Lord Potter', "Griphook would be made available as soon as possible, though if I may suggest, Senior Accounts Manager Grimfist is probably available and he is the one who is in charge of the Potter Accounts"

Harry blinked, he turned towards Dan Granger with a questioning expression, and the only male member of the Granger family replied, "It means that he is your banker Harry, and as such, he is probably the one who is the most familiar with your financial position"

"Indeed, young master" the senior teller behind the counter replied. When Harry nodded his understanding and his desire to speak with this Grimfist, the senior teller rang a bell and a goblin hurried over towards him, "See Lord Potter and his companions to the office of Senior Account Manager Grimfist"

The goblin bowed and then motioned for the party of four to follow him. Without words, the four followed, though Harry and Hermione were still holding hands when they did so, much to the irritation of Dan Granger.

The goblin guide led them through a door built into the back of the long receiving hall of the bank. Harry – who was the only one in the party who had never been behind the receiving hall – expected that they would be in the deep caverns that led to the numerous family vaults, but this time, he found himself in a hall that was exactly like the one that they had just left, with the absence of the counters being the only thing differentiating the two halls. Instead of counters, there were numerous wooden doors that seemed to be built into the stone walls of the hall.

The goblin guide led them to the far end of the hall before he stopped before an ornately carved wooden door and knocked twice. A gruff voice from within the office commanded them to enter, and the goblin guide opened the door.

"Master Harry Potter and his companions, senior accounts manager Grimfist" the goblin guide intoned. At the same moment, Harry stepped into the room and found himself in an office that – surprisingly enough – reminded him of a regular office. The boy-who-lived had expected something different to reflect the fact that this was a magical bank being run by goblins.

There was a long table in the center of the room with several seats. At the end of this table was a wooden desk with an impressive looking chair behind it. It was on this chair that the speaker sat and he stood up the moment that Harry and his companions entered the room.

"Master Harry Potter" the sole occupant of the room, a mean looking goblin who appeared to be missing several fingers, said with reverence. He dismissed the goblin guide with a curt nod before he asked everyone to take a seat.

Once everyone was seated on the chairs beside the long table, Grimfist sat at his chair and turned his attention towards Harry, saying, "I had expected you to be here last year, Master Potter" he said, "After all, eleven is old enough to be emancipated according to the Ancient Houses Rule"

"Excuse me?" Emma asked politely, when Grimfist turned his attention towards Emma, the senior Granger girl asked, "Are you saying that Harry can live without adult guardians?"

"I presume that you are a muggle?" Grimfist asked and when Emma nodded, Grimfist smiled and replied, "Then you must be Emma Granger," at the shocked look on the face of Emma, Grimfist added, "We keep a close watch over all the affairs of our clients and since the Potter family had been one of the oldest and most important clients of the bank, we are very, very interested in whatever it is that is happening in the life of the last member of that house" he turned back towards Harry and said, "Unfortunately, we cannot break the laws that the humans have forced us to abide by and we had to wait for Master Potter himself to come to the bank to claim his emancipation"

"Pardon me" Emma began, "but you have not answered my question"

"I apologize Mrs. Granger" Grimfist replied inclining his head towards her, "This emancipation would only work in the magical world, Master Potter still needs a non-magical guardian in the non-magical world" he grinned, "I had been informed that you have submitted your name as likely candidates for guardianship?" he asked, and when Emma nodded, Grimfist added, "In three to four weeks, Madam Granger, you would be the legal guardian of Master Potter"

"What?" Dan asked, he looked at the goblin as if he was bereft of senses, and then added, "The process takes longer than that, and Child Services is still investigating" he sighed before he added, "I want Harry in the family as well, but we need to follow the procedure"

Grimfist nodded, "We are going to follow the procedure Mr. Granger" he replied, "Only, we would be fast tracking the process"

Harry looked at Emma with an expression that suggested to the older Granger girl that this was what he wanted, so whatever tirade that Emma was building up in response to this new piece of information died in her throat, "Very well" she replied, she looked at Harry, saw him nod, and then asked Grimfist, "What do we need to do to declare him an adult in the magical world?"

Grimfist grinned as he turned towards Harry, "Harry James Potter, do you wish to be emancipated per the regulations of the Ancient Houses Rule?" he asked in a formal tone.

"I do" Harry replied.

A purple light seemed to surround Harry for a few moments before the light turned white and dissipated. At the same moment that the light dissipated, several leather bound books – thick and appeared to be filled with information – appeared in the surface before Harry.

Harry and Hermione – who was seated beside Harry – turned their attention towards the leather bound book and saw that the cover of the book was covered by a crest.

The crest was a shield with a gold griffin at the middle and two swords crossed underneath the griffin but still within the shield. There were two red roses on the shield, one on the right hand side and the other on the left hand side of the shield above the griffin and a runic inscription underneath the shield that neither Harry nor Hermione could read.

"Honor is the brightest jewel" Grimfist said, sensing that the two Hogwarts students were staring at the runic inscriptions, "It is the Potter family motto, Lord Potter"

Harry nodded and opened the book to find a bank statement staring at him in the face. He quickly scanned the document and his eyes bulged when he saw the figure on the lower right hand side of the page that was boxed in red ink and underline twice. He pointed the figure to Grimfist and asked, "What is this?"

Grimfist grinned, "That is the total net worth of the Potter family this month, Master Potter" he replied, he looked at the figure, studying it for a few moments before he explained, "This is the grand total of all the coins in your vaults, all your stocks, all your real estate, your investments and your properties, minus your liabilities, which you do not have save for tax, and your maintenance costs" at the incredulous look on the face of Harry, Grimfist frowned as he asked him, "Surely, you have been informed of this?"

Not trusting his voice – after all, he was just told that he was worth nine thousand billion galleons – Harry merely shook his head. As the frown on the face of Grimfist deepened, Harry quickly said, "I am sorry"

"Master Potter, this is not your fault, this is the fault of your magical guardian" Grimfist said, he leaned back on his chair, resting his back on the cushion behind the chair as he thought about what to do next, "Perhaps it would be best if we are to close the vaults and conduct an audit Master Potter?" Grimfist suggested, he frowned as he added, "I have been informed that your rest house in the Shetland Isles have been opened, yet you are here"

"Master Grimfist" Hermione said, "May I ask who Harry's magical guardian was?"

"Albus Dumbledore was his previous magical guardian Ms…, I am afraid I do not know your name" Grimfist said.

"Hermione" Hermione replied, "Hermione Granger"

"Indeed?" Grimfist asked, he was positively charged up as he added, "We have heard about you Mistress Granger, they say that you are the smartest witch of your age, and my cousin, he whom you know as Filius Flitwick, had informed me that you are interested in the discrimination against non-humans in the magical world with the intention of procuring equal rights for everyone" Hermione blushed before Grimfist finished by saying, "I am honored, Gringotts is honored, to meet you"

"I ah….uhm….thank you, Master Grimfist" Hermione replied, inclining her head slightly towards the goblin.

Grimfist grinned at her, and then he blinked as he realized why Hermione asked that question. With a serious expression that was devoid of any warmth – more, it suggested impending violence from the goblin – Grimfist asked, "Are you saying that you suspect that Albus Dumbledore is there right now?"

Hermione nodded, "Yes, Master Grimfist" Hermione replied politely, "I mean, if he was Harry's magical guardian, then he is the one who has access to his vaults, and he is the one who has access to his properties, it makes sense"

"Indeed" Grimfist conceded, inclining his head towards Hermione. He seemed to pause for a while as he continued to ponder the situation, and then said, "Several of the Potter rest houses all around the world have been opened up since Dumbledore became Master Potter's magical guardian, and Gringotts suspected that it was Master Potter who was using them" he shook his head angrily as he continued, "Now we know that it was not him at all, there will be consequences for those who dare to steal from our clients"

Hermione nodded, not really that comfortable with an angry goblin mere meters away from her. Still, she gathered her courage and wits and asked the most important question that she wanted to ask today, "I was also informed that there is a marriage contract with Harry's name on it," she said, "Can Gringotts confirm this?"

Grimfist nodded, "Master Potter should turn the page and say 'Marriage contract for Harry James Potter', that should display the contract, if there is one" he replied, Harry did so and then Grimfist said, "If it is signed by Albus Dumbledore, then we can negate it and use it against him"

Harry and Hermione nodded. Harry turned the page and did as Grimfist instructed. The moment that the page was turned, both Harry and Hermione saw the contract. Quickly reading the contract, Hermione said, "It was signed by Albus Dumbledore and Molly Weasley for Harry Potter and Ginevra Weasley"

"Consideration?" Grimfist asked.

Hermione glanced at the contract and she paled as she said, "Three hundred million galleons and a provision that she and her family gets everything if Harry were to have an affair with anyone" she blinked and then informed everyone, "This provision does not make sense, it says that the Weasley family gets everything should Harry die even before they are married"

Grimfist nodded, he turned towards Harry and asked, "I take it that you do not agree with this?" When Harry nodded, Grimfist grinned and said, "The contract is void" before looking at Hermione and asking, "What is bothering you about the last provision, Mistress Granger?"

"Hermione would do, Master Grimfist" Hermione replied, earning a smile from the sharp-toothed goblin, before she said, "It sounds as if they know that Harry would die before he gets married, it tells me that perhaps they are planning to kill him"

Grimfist smiled, "Madam and Master Granger" the goblin said, looking at the two older Grangers who are now showing signs of confusion mixed in with anger – not a good combination, Grimfist thought - and asked, "Could I impose upon you not to repeat what I am about to say to anyone outside this room?"

"As long as it does not endanger my children" Emma replied fiercely. No one in the room doubted that she included Harry in that term, since there are only two children in the room.

"I cannot promise that" Grimfist replied, his voice sounding just like his name. The goblin sighed and said, "Months before young Master Harry Potter was born, Albus Dumbledore heard a prophecy from one of his professors that stated that Master Harry Potter is the only one who can defeat the Dark Lord"

"Then why has he not been trained?" Hermione asked suddenly, "Why was he left behind in an abusive environment instead of being trained to become the champion of the light?"

"We do not know" Grimfist added sadly, "We suspect that it is so that he would be so weak that even if he manages to defeat the Dark Lord, Dumbledore would still be the one who would reap the benefits" seeing the shocked and angry looks at the faces of the Grangers, the senior account manager quickly added, "We at Gringotts deplore this situation and after discussions with the bank managers, we have decided that the goblin nation would assist Master Harry Potter in attaining his destiny"

"How?" Harry asked, he looked at Hermione, and then back at Grimfist, "Forgive me, Master Grimfist, I had not exactly been always asleep as Binns narrate about the goblin wars, I know that you and your people are not allowed wands"

"Wands are not the only way to fight Master Potter" Grimfist replied with a grin, "We goblins have mastered fighting without wands and if you would allow, we would like to teach it to you as well" his grin widened as he added, "Not only that, we have several wizards, most sympathetic to the goblin plight as Mistress Hermione is, that would be willing to train you in both magical theory and magic itself"

Harry hesitated, but he knew that he should not refuse this offer, before he could say anything else, however, Hermione cut him off, "I would join him, and Ron as well" she said. Really, she only added Ron because she thinks Harry would not allow her to join if his other friend was not there as well.

Grimfist grimaced, "I do not think that it would be a good idea to allow the Weasley to join us" he replied, he turned towards Harry and said, "Master Potter, are you aware that the Weasley children are your scholars?"

"What?" Emma and Dan asked. At the confused expression on the face of Harry, Emma explained, "It means that you are paying for their tuition"

Grimfist nodded, "Since their eldest, William Weasley, was at Hogwarts" he confirmed, he sighed before he added, "Gringotts is willing to pay you back for the tuition of William Weasley, as he is one of our finest curse-breakers, and for the tuition of Charlie Weasley as well, since he is a great help with our dragons"

Harry shook his head, "I can afford it can't I?" he asked, and when Grimfist nodded, Harry said, "Continue paying their tuition please, but only for that" he looked at Hermione, her parents, and then back at Grimfist, "If Mr. and Mrs. Granger would allow me, I would like to pay for Hermione's tuition and other school related expenses as well"

"Harry…" Hermione began.

Harry cut her off, "With your parents' permission, I would like for you to join me with the training that Master Grimfist had planned for us" he replied, "You may not be the one who is prophesized to defeat Voldemort, but you would be in danger as well, so I want you to join me" he looked at Dan and Emma before he asked, "Would this be possible?"

Dan and Emma looked at one another. After a discussion between the two last night – during which time they discussed about Hermione being pulled out of Hogwarts because of the apparently unadvertised dangers of the school – the two Granger parents had decided that they would see to it that Hermione is always protected. This was the best chance for them to see that their only daughter was always protected. After a silent conversation, Dan turned towards Harry and replied, "I would allow it Harry"

"Thank you daddy" Hermione replied before she hugged her father and mother.

"I would suggest that you train as far away from England and the United Kingdom as possible" Grimfist replied, he produced several ledgers and pushed them towards Harry. The young adult – he had been emancipated after all – looked at the ledgers and saw that they contain a house each, "Some of the Potter manors that are yet to be opened after Dumbledore became your guardian, suffice to say, he has never been in these properties'

"Each house also has a built in time compression chamber" Grimfist said. Seeing the blank look at the faces of his guest, the goblin explained, "It allows the occupants to spend a year within the chamber while only a week has passed outside"

"Wouldn't that mess up the ages of the children?" Emma asked, worried about that particular notion.

Grimfist shook his head, "No Madam Granger" he replied, "They would not age while inside the chamber" he looked at Harry and said, "We believe that this is the best way for you to learn, Master Potter"

Harry looked at Hermione and she nodded. "We will train that way then" Harry said as he looked at Grimfist, he also picked up a random ledger and showed it to Grimfist, "I chose this place"

Grimfist took the ledger and studied it before he approved of it, "Potter Manor in New York" he said, "An excellent choice, and one that will work well given the nationalities of most of our instructors" he smiled and then asked, "Would you wish to travel to the manor now?"

Harry looked at Dan and Emma, but Dan replied straightaway, "Not yet" he replied, he looked at Harry and Hermione and then said, "We still have to pack, and I doubt if Harry has a passport"

"True" Grimfist replied, he looked at Harry and said, "Master Potter, if I may impose upon you to leave me a drop of your blood? I will have your passport and other necessary papers drawn up so that you may travel internationally" Harry nodded, and Grimfist turned towards Dan, "Would you wish to travel muggle or would magical transportation suffice?"

"Ah…I don't know" Dan replied, he turned to his daughter, but she shrugged as well as she had no idea how international magical travel is.

"I am assuming that none of you have ever experienced magical travel before?" Grimfist asked, and when everyone nodded, he simply said, "Then perhaps it would be best if you were to travel non-magically" he sighed as he added, "Also, Dumbledore might have agents working on the magical side of international travel that would alert him should Master Potter try to leave the United Kingdom"

"Would you be ready by tomorrow?" Grimfist asked.

"I don't think so" Emma replied, "We have no problem with the practice, we own it so we can close it anytime we want, but Child Services would have to be informed that we are taking Harry out of the country, they might look for him"

"Have no worries about that Madam Granger" Grimfist replied, "We will contact the muggle government and inform them of your plans" he smiled at the expression of Emma and added, "You should have no problems with taking Master Potter out of the country"

"Well, I suppose we can pack in just under an hour" Emma replied, she looked at Dan who nodded, before she added, "Might we be imposing if we return here tomorrow with our things?"

Grimfist shook his head, "No of course not, Madam Granger" Grimfist replied, "However, for the safety of yourselves and Master Potter, I think we should meet each other at Heathrow tomorrow?" Grimfist asked, "We would have your tickets and other papers by then"

Dan and Emma nodded their agreement much to the excitement of both Harry and Hermione.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **As usual, I do not own anything

**A/N2: **I would like to thank my Shade. of .Grey13 for taking some time off to read through this

* * *

><p><strong>FOUR<strong>

**Heathrow Airport**

**London, England**

Heathrow was busy, though that was not really unusual. As one of the ten largest and busiest airports in the world, it would actually be more unusual if Heathrow was not busy.

No one noticed a rather non-descript couple walking with their two children inside the airport, they were just one of the countless other families already inside the large structure and many terminals of the airport.

Dan and Emma Granger were – as usual – walking behind their daughter and her best friend – a boy whom Emma, and Dan, was fast labeling as their son. The only Granger male was wearing a blue dress shirt with matching red tie and black formal dress pants matched with black oxford shoes. His attire was complemented by the clothes that his wife was wearing, which was a red blouse and black dress pants with low heeled shoes. Dan was also dragging a rather large traveling bag that contained his and his wife's things. Unlike the kids, the adult Granger's had decided to share their luggage.

The Granger's were dressed like executive because they had learned from a late night owl letter delivery from Gringotts that their flight to New York had been booked aboard a Lufthansa 747-400 jumbo jet. Usually, that is not much of a problem, and not much of a reason to wear corporate attire. The problem was that the goblins took it a little too seriously and had booked their flights in the first class section.

Neither Granger adults were of the social climbed type, but they still knew that if you are flying in first class, then you should appear as an executive, unless of course you wish to make an impression on your fellow passengers – which is something that no one wanted.

Keeping up with this, Harry and Hermione – who were leading their parents and dragging their own luggage – had to dress the exact same way. That meant that Harry had to squeeze himself – figuratively speaking, of course – into a green dress shirt, black dress pants and black oxfords while Hermione had to give up her jeans and was actually forced to wear a matching skirt to her gray blouse and her low heeled shoes. Harry and Hermione had elected not to share their luggage since neither was yet comfortable with the other seeing some private things.

All four Granger's – Harry was apparently considered as a Granger already – were also holding onto their tickets as well as their passports. The Goblins had already met with them at the entrance to their terminal and handed the necessary travel documents to them, including a letter – a real one – from the head of the Child Services that would clear Harry to leave the country should there be a problem with immigration.

The Goblins also handed Dan – whom they saw as the temporary head of the family – the keys to the Potter Mansion in New York as well as some details that pertained – apparently – to their ride once they get to New York. The Goblins, it turned out, were going all out in showing their support for the Potter family and had paid for a limousine service that would take the Grangers from the airport to the mansion located a few kilometers outside the northern boundaries of New York City.

"Children" Emma said after walking inside the terminal for a good two minutes, Harry and Hermione turned towards her and she motioned towards a row of stalls manned by baggage handlers, "this is us"

Harry and Hermione nodded and followed Dan and Emma. In short order, they were separated from their luggage and had made their way to the second set of security checks in the airport – immigration.

Since she was the one who was carrying the letter, Emma partnered with Harry while Hermione partnered with Dan. The mother and daughter conferred for a few moments – outside the earshot of the men who were admiring a large scale model of a 747-300 – to discuss the arrangement. As Emma and Hermione were ending their conversation, the older Granger girl apparently shot her daughter a parting comment that brought a blush – and a scowl – to the face of her daughter.

Thankfully, the four were able to clear Immigration without much problem. Emma did notice that Harry – whom she sent ahead of her – had taken a few more minutes. She had also noticed that the immigration person behind the stall looked at the boy for a few minutes when he handed his passport, but did not detain him. Emma asked about that when it was her turn and was informed that Child Services had cleared the boy for travel.

That done, they found themselves in the passenger area and settled to wait until their turn to board the plane came.

Since there would still be some time before their boarding time, Dan allowed Harry and Hermione to wander around the terminal, but told them to be back after fifteen minutes.

As this was Harry's first time in an airport, he was ecstatic about everything and Hermione found herself acting more like a babysitter than anything as she minded him. Harry had expressed astonishment and wonder at the parked airplanes that he had seen and had to be physically reminded by Hermione that their fifteen minutes were nearly up and that they had to return to their waiting area.

"You were gone a long time" Dan commented as he looked at Harry and Hermione.

Hermione noticed the expression on the face of her father and was about to admonish him when Harry said, "It was my first time going to the airport sir, and I was absolutely enthralled with the airplanes" he replied with enthusiasm, lowering his voice, he whispered towards Dan, "I've flown before, with my broomstick, but this would be the first time that I would be flying aboard an airplane".

Dan smiled at the boy whom he was rapidly coming to consider as his son. 'He might just become my son after all, and I do not mean with the adoption, he and Hermione are very close' he thought and asked, "Just how high and how fast can your broomstick go, Harry?"

"About two hundred fifty kilometers per hour sir" Harry replied, "As to how high, well, I guess as long as there is oxygen, I can reach it"

Dan smiled, "Then you're in for a treat" Dan replied, at Harry's blank look, Dan added, "This plane can fly higher than twenty thousand feet and has an average speed of around eight hundred kilometers" at the amazed look on Harry's face, Dan smiled and added, "It has to be fast, otherwise, it would fall from the sky"

Harry nodded and turned his attention back towards the airplane with undisguised wonder.

Meanwhile, Hermione was taken by her mother for a little one-on-one talk between the two of them. Out of earshot of the men, Emma asked her daughter, "You like him don't you?"

"Mom" Hermione replied, rolling her eyes at her mother, she looked at her and replied, "I've told you, he's a hero and he is my best friend, and he…"

Emma smiled at her daughter, "You think that you do not deserve him, Hermione?" she asked. The smile on her face faded and was replaced by a serious expression, "Have you talked with him about it?"

"He's eleven, going on twelve" Hermione replied, answering the question of her mother using a tone that suggested that that was the end of the discussion.

Emma, however, was adamant on knowing the answer, "That is irrelevant to the question, Hermione" she replied, slightly admonishing her daughter.

"There are a lot of other girls out there" Hermione replied in a sad tone, she looked at her mother and asked, "Besides, why would Harry want a buck-toothed, bushy-haired, know-it-all like me? He can have anyone he wants"

Emma looked at her daughter with a worried expression that slightly softened as her daughter finished her tirade, "Look, Hermione" Emma said, "Do you like Harry?"

Hermione blushed and turned away and that was the only answer that Emma needed. With a self-satisfied smile, Emma added, "I am sure that Harry likes you a well"

Hermione blinked and looked at her mother with an expression that reminded Emma of the times when Hermione was just a kid, the times when she was learning something new every day and would ask her parents if something that she had learned from her books was really true. Seeing the expression on the face of her daughter, Emma was not surprised when she heard the next question from her Hermione, "Really?"

Emma smiled as she shook her head slightly, "I am sure that he does, Hermione" she replied, she glanced towards where Harry and Dan were discussing – judging from the occasional glances of the young boy towards the airplanes outside – airplanes and aviation. Hermione had told Emma the night before that Harry was a great flyer, so he and Dan might be discussing that.

"What do I do, mother?" Hermione asked with a frightened expression.

"Do you like him Hermione?" Emma asked.

This time, there was no hesitation with the way that Hermione nodded, "I do, mother" she replied.

Emma smiled, "Ask him about it then" she said, when she saw the frightened expression on Hermione's face, Emma added, "You are still young, I doubt if he would ask you to be his girlfriend today, but say that he does, what would you do?"

Hermione just shook his head. She was unsure of what to answer, so she refrained from answering. Her reaction to her mother's question confirmed exactly what Emma was thinking about.

**Airborne, en route from London to New York**

**Non-stop Trans-Atlantic Flight**

Hermione was feeling as if her mother and father had been conspiring behind her back with the seating arrangement, even if she knew for a fact that both adults had nothing to do with the seating arrangements.

Looking around her, Hermione sighed again with the seating arrangement. Her father and mother were sharing a comfortable seat on the starboard – or right – hand side of the aircraft, with her father taking the window side seat.

Emma – who was up all night making sure that everything was ready for the trip – was already asleep on her husband's shoulder. Hermione was not even sure if her father was aware of it, but she noted that her father had his arms around her mother as he looked fondly at her. With his free hand, Dan was playing with Emma's long brown hair, twirling the strands into his index finger.

Harry and Hermione shared the seat on the same row, although to the port – or left – hand side of the aircraft. Harry had taken the window seat since Hermione was queasy about flying. The same could not be said about Harry since he was a good quidditch player and the boy seemed absolutely enthralled – he looked as if he was in heaven with the look of sheer bliss on his face – when the captain informed them five minute before that they had reached their cruising altitude at fifty thousand feet. Hermione knew that it was higher than any height that Harry had ever reached before.

Hermione, on the other hand, had to pretend that she did not hear that announcement. That was the only way that she would not lose her breakfast on the elaborate and expensive looking rag on the aisle.

A kindly-looking stewardess – the one assigned to first class – had offered her a sort of candy that easily removed her air sickness, but Hermione was still queasy about the whole affair.

The candy that Amanda – the first class flight attendant – had given her reminded Hermione of a potion that she had read during one of her many free times that was developed for witches and wizards who have a fear of heights. Hermione was planning on making them for the summer – potions was one of the few subjects that you could do practically without breaking the statute of secrecy – but the recent events that saw Harry placed in their home put an effective hold to that. As she looked at Harry – who was still admiring the view outside even if it was just endless white and blue – she thought to herself that there was no need to complain about that.

Hermione thought back to the conversation that she had with her mother before they boarded the plane and she realized that her mother was right. She needed to ask Harry about it if only to stop her mother from arranging perfect opportunities like this.

Hermione cleared her throat loudly – not loud enough to get the attention of her father who, apparently, had joined his wife in the journey to the dream world – and waited for Harry to turn to her. She was not disappointed as he turned towards her with a clearly worried expression written on his face the moment that she cleared her throat with a low cough.

"Hermione?" Harry asked.

Hermione smiled at Harry, chasing away the worried expression on his face before she said, "There is something that I need to ask you"

Harry turned his entire body towards Hermione. The witch noted that the expression on Harry's face had turned to full attention mode, so she did not have to worry about him falling asleep in the middle of this conversation.

For his part, Harry was still worried about what Hermione wanted to talk with him about. He knew that it had nothing to do with the family – it was Harry's greatest worry that he would lose Hermione because, by living with the Grangers, it would appear that Harry was stealing her parents – because they already talked about it before they fell asleep the previous night.

Hermione, Harry knew because she told him herself, was ecstatic that Harry was living with them.

However, when Harry turned towards Hermione, he saw that whatever it was that she wanted to talk with him about was serious, so he turned his entire attention towards her, reasoning that he might not be able to continue watching the clouds, but he could at least help Hermione with whatever it was that was bothering her.

When Hermione told him that there was something that they needed to talk about, he knew that it was something that they could not delay.

Harry nodded, unsure of what to say to Hermione that would indicate that he was always willing to help her.

Hermione sighed, "My mother and I had a talk before we boarded" she informed him. Harry nodded, he knew about that one since he and Dan had watched the two female Grangers when their talk about airplanes had ended. One can only talk about airplanes for so long, after all.

"What did you talk about?" Harry tentatively asked.

Hermione blinked when she read the hesitancy in the Harry's voice, and then she smiled as she looked at him, "We talked about you" Hermione admitted brightly.

Harry mentally groaned. He knew from the way that Hermione was acting that there was nothing that was said during the conversation between Emma and Hermione that would reflect badly upon him, but at the same time, Harry instinctively knew that the conversation topic was something that would embarrass him.

The two pre-teen kids were so intent upon one another that they did not notice Dan and Emma opening their eyes and sharpening their ears so that they could listen to what Harry and Hermione were talking about. Both parents, though, had different reactions to the conversation.

For his part, Dan looked ready to interrupt. The Granger male knew that this conversation might lead to Harry asking his daughter to be his girlfriend. Though there was nothing in the world that would please Dan more than to know that his little princess was happy – and Dan knew that Harry made Hermione happy – the former SAS believed that his daughter was still too young for that kind of relationship.

For her part, Emma looked ready to pull her husband down should he make the mistake of interrupting the conversation. She knew what the topic would be about; she was the one who placed it in Hermione's head after all. Her only concern was Harry asking her daughter. Emma had no problem with the soft-spoken young lad who had saved her daughter's life. Like Dan, Emma knew that Harry made Hermione happy.

Unlike Dan – who still believed, albeit only slightly, that Harry was not deserving of his princess – Emma was very sure that Harry and Hermione deserved one another. After all, Harry had already proven that he deserved Hermione when he rescued her from the troll.

The moment that Dan was about to stand up and interrupt the conversation, he felt Emma's hand on his thigh, silently telling him to sit down. He glanced at his wife and saw that her eyes were still closed and she looked to be asleep. The smile on the face of the woman that he loved, however, convinced Dan Granger that Emma was awake.

Silently grumbling, Dan followed the advice of his wife and settled down on his seat. A few moments later, she leaned towards him and whispered in his ear, "Let's just listen to their conversation, if you hear something that you do not want, then you can interrupt their conversation" Emma said in a low voice, going directly to Dan's ears, "just remember, Harry makes Hermione happy, I hope that you keep that foremost in your mind"

"Emma…" Dan began. He looked at his wife and this time, he saw her silently glaring at him, so he swallowed noiselessly and merely nodded his acceptance of his wife's suggestion. He did not want to sleep on a couch after all, and Emma's tone suggested to the male adult Granger that would be the punishment should he interrupt the conversation between Harry and Hermione without her consent. Dan knew that she would do it too if only to show him that, contrary to his belief, she could sleep without him.

Unfortunately, it was very hard for Dan to control himself when it came to Hermione, especially when Hermione asked Harry, "Do you like me?"

Harry's equally convincing – and rather quick – reply to the affirmative nearly had Dan jumping from his seat, but again Emma silently warned him to just listen.

Hermione sighed, "Not that way Harry" she replied after Harry told her that he liked her, "I mean, in a more than best friend sort of way"

Harry looked at Hermione with a confused expression on his face, and then his eyes widened when he realized what Hermione was talking about. He shot a glance towards Dan and Emma – fortunately, both had closed their eyes at the right time and had narrowly avoided being discovered by Harry to be awake – before he turned towards Hermione and replied with a fearful voice, "I know what you are talking about Hermione"

Hermione blinked, she was tempted to ask him if he really did know what she was talking about, but one look was all that Hermione needed in order to ascertain that Harry really knew what she was talking about, "Then…?" she asked in a clearly expectant voice.

Harry sighed, he again cast a glance towards the Granger adults – again, both Dan and Emma were lucky enough to have not been caught spying – before he looked at Hermione and admitted, "I've liked you since the first time I've met you, not after the incident during Halloween, I thought that you looked cool, you know, helping someone, a person whom you've just met, and being studious and being smart" he sighed but before Hermione could say anything, Harry continued, "I don't know why Ron, or anyone for that matter, would consider being a know-it-all a bad trait, so far as I know, it is a good trait, and it helped me realize that I like you. I like your hair as well, to me, it represents your untamable personality. Ron sometimes calls you buck-toothed, but I don't think there is anything wrong with that, I think that it is what is on the inside that counts, and you have made an impression on me the first moment that we've met." he looked at Hermione and asked, "How about you?"

"Me?" Hermione asked, temporarily confused. To be fair, having your good qualities identified and then having your bad qualities identified and then turned into good qualities by the boy that you like is probably going to cause any girl to be momentarily mute.

Harry nodded, "You" he confirmed, "Do you like me?"

Hermione threw her arms around Harry. Subconsciously, she noted how he stiffened at the contact, but she ignored it, she knew that he responded better this time than that time a few weeks ago before he confronted Voldemort and Quirell.

"A lot" Hermione replied, "From that moment that you saved me from the troll"

"That was me and Ron though" Harry replied lamely.

Hermione shook her head, "I only had my eyes on you that time" she admitted with a smile as she wiped away the tears in her eyes with the pad of her thumb, she pushed herself away from him and added with a radiant smile, "I only had my eyes on you" she repeated.

Harry blinked and then looked straight towards Hermione's eyes, "Hermione" he began, "I….I am not sure how…what we should do next"

Hermione removed her arms from around Harry's neck. She wiped away the tears in her eyes with the thumb of her pad, and her action resulted to Harry realizing that she was crying. Feeling that he had something to do with it, Harry quickly asked her, "Why are you crying? Did I do something wrong?"

From their seats, Dan and Emma stopped pretending that they were asleep, instead, both adults looked towards their charges with a look of incredulity and wonder. Neither Harry nor Hermione noticed that their parents are looking at them, so intent were they upon the other.

"He doesn't know?" Dan mouthed to Emma, careful not to make a sound since he does not know if Emma would still throw him to the couch if he disturbed a – 'Okay I admit it', Dan thought – cute and beautiful scene in front of him.

Emma sadly shook her head, without words, she confirmed that Harry really had no idea why Hermione was crying.

Hermione was not one who would cause Harry undue anxiety, however, so she quickly told him, "Idiot, these are tears of happiness"

"Tears of happiness?" a confused Harry asked.

Hermione smiled radiantly towards the boy who had just admitted to her that he liked her and then said, "Tears of happiness" she confirmed, her smile widened – 'Merlin I cannot get enough of that smile', Harry thought – as she asked, "You admitted that you like me, I like you, that is that"

Harry smiled, somehow, he felt good about what he and Hermione had just admitted to one another, "I…" he began, and then he sighed and said, "I don't think that we are old enough" – 'Please tell me I'm wrong, please tell me I'm wrong', Harry prayed.

"We are not yet old enough" Hermione admitted, frowning slightly. In her case, her frown resulted to her smile not being as wide as it was before, and then she added, "At least a few more months"

"Twelve?" Harry asked.

Hermione laughed – 'Merlin, that laugh is another thing that I am sure I would never get enough of', Harry thought – and replied, "Maybe"

Harry squared his shoulders and nodded to her suggestion, "I will ask you to be my girlfriend when I am twelve" he declared.

Hermione nodded, "I will be waiting"

"And that" the voice of Dan Granger – who had already received a go signal from his wife – tore the two out of their reverie – really, all they were doing was staring and losing themselves at each other's beautiful eyes – and the two children turned their attention towards the source of the voice, just in time to watch as the male Granger said, "is the reason why Harry will be the only boy who would ever receive my permission to court my daughter"

Harry and Hermione blinked, "Daddy?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione would not be the only one who would be waiting for you to ask her to be your girlfriend, Harry" Emma said with a smug expression on her face. At first, Harry thought that Emma was only referring to herself and Dan, that was fine with Harry, but then she motioned towards the entire first class cabin.

Harry and Hermione then realized that it Emma was right, it was not only Hermione who would be waiting for Harry to ask her to be his girlfriend, there were about a dozen passengers – and Amanda, the flight attendant – who would be as well.

"Er…." Harry began.

"Don't mind it too much chap" one of the passengers said with a smile. The man raised a champagne glass – still with champagne – towards Harry and announced, "I just wish I had thought of that when I was courting my wife"

"Oh shut it, Philip" the woman beside the man said before she turned her attention towards Harry and Hermione, "it was beautiful though, ah, to be young again" she looked at her husband who was sporting a look that suggested that he was tired of hearing the same expression "What? Are you the only one allowed to remark that?" she asked.

"Er…" he began, but then realized that he could continue because at that moment, the entire first class cabin broke into applause.

As for Harry, he earned another nickname that day, the boy-who-admittted-that-he-likes-his-best-friend-in-the-first-class-cabin. Hermione got a shorter nickname though; it was girl-who-blushed-like-a-ripe-tomato.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **As usual, I do not own anything

**A/N2: **I would like to thank my Shade. of .Grey13 for taking some time off to read through this

* * *

><p><strong>FIVE<strong>

**Potter Manor**

**Outside New York City**

Dan and Emma stared at the mansion in front of them with their mouths open and their jaws nearly hitting the floor of the car.

The two Granger parents – along with Harry and Hermione – were seated inside the cabin of a Lincoln Limousine – the same make and model as the Presidential car of the President of the United States minus the nuts and bolts – as the black Lincoln entered through a massive wrought iron gate fence – it was twenty feet high and wide enough to allow three cars to enter the gate and the driveway simultaneously – and into the one hundred meter long road flanked on either side by large trees that led from the gate to the elevated covered driveway in front of the main doors of the mansion.

As the limousine made its way to the mansion, the Granger parents took the time to familiarize themselves with their new surroundings.

Dan found himself staring at the grounds. It was easily the largest set of grounds that the former SAS officer had seen that was privately owned. Off into the distance, he made out the outline of several vines of grapes growing as well as what appeared to be a distillery. This brought a light smile to the face of Dan Granger as the dentist was a wine connoisseur who enjoyed trying both new and old wine.

Emma found herself staring at the house itself. Although the female senior Granger was a dentist, there was a time when Emma Granger thought that she could be an architect. Staring at the three story house, she was able to easily discern that the mansion was constructed in the Late Renaissance Style.

The driver of the limousine – an employee of the Gringotts Bank, it turned out – expertly maneuvered the limousine into the short driveway before he stopped the car in front of the massive oak double doors that were the main doors to the mansion.

With practiced grace and consideration for his passengers, the driver opened the rear doors of the limousine to allow his passengers out of the vehicle. First out was Dan Granger followed by his wife and the two kids. By the time that Harry – who exited the car last – had his foot on the grounds of the Potter Manor, the driver had already opened the trunk of the limousine and had begun to remove the luggage. Dan had offered to help the man but he refused saying that it was his pleasure to do these things.

Emma managed to remove her gaze from the house so that she may look at the other side of the driveway and blinked in surprise when she saw the horseshoe shaped staircase that lead to the ground level. She had seen such an example before during one of their family's many trips to France and she had fallen in love with such a style before.

Unlike their parents, Harry and Hermione were too busy thinking about the things that they had seen earlier to pay attention to their surroundings.

The Lufthansa 747-300 that carried the party from London to New York had landed exactly on time, saving their driver the grief of having to wait for the flight. Unfortunately, this also meant that the manor would not be ready in time since Emma – being a frequent traveler – had estimated that the flight might be late.

To allow the caretaker time to open the manor and clean it, Hermione had suggested that they visit the magical community of New York City. Harry was only all too willing to endorse her suggestion, and when they were informed by the driver that he was allowed to take them there, both Dan and Emma agreed with the suggestion.

The first thing that Harry and Hermione did when they arrived at the magical marketplace of New York City called Houdini – 'Houdini is an illusionist not a magician', Hermione complained – they made their way to the wand maker. Well, Hermione wanted to make her way to the bookstore first, but Harry was able to convince her to check out the wand maker first.

Of course, both students just wanted to check out the wand maker, they had no plans to buy a second wand, having been informed in Hogwarts that this was illegal. When Harry told the proprietor of the shop this fact, the man laughed in his face before informing him that the rule was only applicable in Britain and several other backwater magical communities.

'Not so in the United States', the proprietor said, 'here, we are allowed as many wands as we want as long as we register them'. After assuring Harry and Hermione that was indeed the rule – and not because he was trying to con them into buying his products – Harry and Hermione were only all too willing to buy a reserve wand.

Harry found his reserve wand fairly quick. His new wand was a fifteen inch redwood with a unicorn tail hair.

Hermione had to go through two dozen wands before she found a match in the fourteen and three quarters inch pine with crystallized North American Red Dragon blood.

After paying for their new wands, they were supposed to make their way to the bookstore – Harry and Hermione's parents could never deny her any wish – when Hermione brushed her hand over a wand that she had not yet tested. The resulting fireworks display was even greater than the fireworks display that Harry experienced when he touched his phoenix-feather wand.

Hermione's third – and true – wand was fifteen and a half inches, made of cedar with the tail of a common fox. She was confused as to why the core of her wand was a common fox at first, but the wand maker explained that the non-magical quality of the core was a sign that Hermione was capable of focusing her magic without the need for assistance from the wand core. The wand maker then further remarked that she might be able to do magic without the need for a focus if she were to practice on it. A fact that she took great delight in.

Of course, that resulted to a rather long session on wand cores and wands in general. Harry and Hermione both wondered why their other wands had magical cores on their other wands. The proprietor remarked that their wand cores were fairly common animals in the first place and had very limited magic. When Harry told the proprietor about his phoenix feather wand, the man could not say anything but remarked to himself – silently – that it was curious. They had to get as far away from the shop as possible after that.

Since they spent a considerable amount of time in the wand store, Hermione's visit to the bookstore did not last as long as she would have wanted. She did make the observation that there were a lot more books available in the store and these products included several books that were on the restricted section of the Hogwarts library. When queried, the proprietor of the shop admitted that there were only two classifications of books in the United States magical world – General Patronage and Parental Guardian required. 'Simply put', the bookstore attendant had said, 'You can buy anything you want as long as you are seventeen years old, and whether it is about dark rituals or basic potions, we do not care. The only reason why the books about dark rituals are forbidden for kids is because of their sexual natures, nothing more, nothing less'

After their visit to the bookstore, Emma decided that they had spent enough time in their diversion and they promptly made their way back to the parking area where their driver dutifully waited for them. After that, it was a comfortable two hour drive to the manor through wide roads that very few people seemed to use. During the two hour drive, they only saw two other cars.

Dan and Emma led Harry and Hermione into the manor house. It was, as Emma had expected, tastefully decorated. Emma – ever the frustrated architect – noted that while the outside of the manor might have been designed using the Late Renaissance Style, the interior was a Baroque style, particularly, the Rococo style.

The moment that they entered the building, there was a pop in front of them and a creature that neither Harry nor Hermione had ever seen before was now standing in front of them.

The creature bowed towards Harry before it bowed towards the Grangers before saying, "Welcome to Potter Manor in New York, Master Harry Potter sir, I is Toto, the chief house-elf of Potter Manor in New York"

"Er…" Harry began, unsure of what to say next. He gave a side glace towards Hermione, but even the smartest witch of her age appeared to have been taken aback by the greeting, leaving Harry on his own. With a mental sigh, the boy-who-lived turned towards the creature – which had introduced itself as a house-elf, therefore, it must be a house-elf – and said, "Thanks, I'm Harry, and this is Hermione and her parents"

Toto again bowed towards the Granger's and repeated his greeting before asking them to follow him to the living room.

As he enumerated the facilities in the grounds – 'Yes, Mister Grangy, we is having our own wine label' – and in the manor itself – 'Yes Missus and Miss Grangy, we is having a library, but it is being closed for today because the other house-elves is fixing the books – Toto led them through halls filled with artwork that Hermione commented were mostly about Harry, with a laugh. Harry asked Toto why the paintings in the halls all appeared to be centered on him when he was informed by the house-elf that the eldest Potter males all look alike for some reason when they were younger.

"So this man" Hermione began as she pointed towards a painting showing a look alike Harry Potter standing behind a young boy drawing a sword from the rock, "is one of Harry's ancestors?"

"Miss Grangy is being correct, Miss Grangy" Toto replied while nodding his head, "This is being the first Lord Potter, Lord Merlin Potter who is also being known as Merlin of King Arthur's Court" the house-elf pointed towards the boy drawing the sword from the stone, "this is being Arthur Potter, Lord Merlin Potter's second son also being known as King Arthur"

"But Arthur is not Merlin's son" Hermione commented, "He was his pupil, his protégé"

"You will find that there are some things in the history of the two worlds that have been purposely mucked up by our historians" a voice from the far end of the hall said.

Everyone turned towards the source of the voice and found a relatively young man standing there. Harry and Hermione studied him. He looked to be about Dan's age, but both mages knew that if the man was magical, then he could be past seventy years of age and he would still look to be in his early forties. He was well-built, tall and carried himself with the aura of a person who had seen a lot in his life.

"Lord Potter and Miss Grangy, I is introducing Master Kyle Sanders" Toto said.

Kyle approached the party of four with a smile in his face and shook hands with all four of them, "Kyle Ludwig Sanders" he introduced himself, "Transfiguration and Charms Master, graduate from the University of Bavaria – Magical Section"

"There's a magical section?" Hermione asked.

Kyle laughed as she looked at the young woman. It appeared that she was exactly as the goblins had described her, and to the teacher in Kyle, that was something that he was happy about, "Why don't we go meet with your other tutors while I tell you all about the magical section of the University of Bavaria?" he suggested.

Harry and Hermione were only all too eager to go. Kyle had to convince Dan and Emma to come with them. The two parents were unsure if they needed to be there since they were not magical, but Kyle insisted for their presence since Harry and Hermione were their children. Kyle's comment of, "Besides, we will be living with each other for the next four years" had both parents also wondering what the man meant.

Kyle led them to the main living room. The room was about fifty feet long and twenty feet wide with floor-to-ceiling windows on one side that reminded Dan and Emma of the Sun Room in the Versailles. There were several comfortable looking sofas in the room and everyone could see that there were already several other people inside the room.

"If you is needing anything, Master Kyle, Lord Potter, you is summoning Toto" Toto said before he disappeared with another pop.

"Well here we are" Kyle said with a smile as he motioned to the room. He turned towards Harry and smiled, "Gringotts managed to contact the best of the best for you Lord Potter, you…" he was cut off by Harry who insisted that he be referred to by his first name, "Harry, then" Kyle said with a smile, he sighed and then continued, "As I was saying, you can be assured that by the time we are done with you, you and anyone else whom you choose, will be experts in magic and fairly a lot of other stuff"

"Will you be one of our teachers?" Hermione asked.

Kyle nodded, "Charms and Transfiguration" he replied, "If you wish, I could also teach you some non-magical fighting techniques and tactics, but that is not required so that is your choice" he then turned towards a woman who had stood from her chair and made her way to his side.

Harry and Hermione – as well as Dan and Emma – looked at her and their jaws dropped as they realized that they had seen her recently, "Amanda Rowena Stone, I will be your potions professor" she said before she turned towards Hermione and asked, "How was the headache?"

"Didn't feel a thing after whatever it was that you gave me" Hermione replied, still awed by the fact that the flight attendant in their cabin would be one of her professors.

"Excellent, family recipe for the altitude sickness cure, one of the things that I will be teaching you so you would not be needing me to make it for you when you take another flight" Amanda said.

"Mandy" Kyle warned, but he only got a smile from the pretty woman in response to his rebuke.

"Charles Reginald Smith" one of those who were still seated in one of the sofas said, raising his hand. He looked towards Harry and Hermione at the same time that they looked at him – and got the impression that he was lazy – before he continued, "I will be your defense instructor, in addition to being your physical fitness instructor" he smiled even before anyone could comment, "What, you think that you can expect to defeat a few wizards relying only on your magical power?"

Harry and Hermione both shook their heads furiously. After their first impression of the man being lazy, they had thought that was it, but when they looked at him again, he seemed to radiate power and suddenly, he was carrying himself with the aura of a man that you do not want to mess around with.

"Archibald Perry Smith" the man who was seated opposite Charles Smith – and looked exactly like him – said, he frowned towards the first Smith before he turned towards Harry and Hermione, "We are brothers, but please, do not think that just because we are brothers we have the same attitude" he sighed before he added, "I always thought that he was adopted" – judging from the fact that they appeared to be identical twins, that would be hard to prove – "I will be your History of Magic and Astronomy professor" he added towards Harry and Hermione.

"Cynthia Payne" a plain looking woman wearing large tortoise-rimmed glasses said as she stood up and made her way towards Harry and Hermione, "Runes, though I also teach dancing in my spare time" she smiled towards Harry and Hermione before she commented, "With the way that you two are going, you might need it"

Harry and Hermione blushed, before Cynthia spotted Dan and Emma. The Runes professor curtsied towards them and then said, "I also give free lessons in dancing for couples, you know"

Dan and Emma blushed as well and began to ask themselves if they really should be present in this room.

"Cynthia" Kyle admonished the runes professor. Unlike Amanda, the runes professor noted the man's admonishment, who was probably head of the team of educators that Gringotts had sent. The Runes professor curtsied towards Kyle before she mouthed an apology and sat back at her seat beside a now sitting Amanda.

"I watched them during the flight from London" Amanda said, smugly and with a grin on her face that was as wide as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco was long, "They will need those dance lessons soon enough" she looked towards Charles and added, "the young master might be needing some of your patented pick-up lines soon enough too, Charles"

"Ah, Mandy, if only my lines would work on you," Charles said with a smile, and then his smile vanished and was replaced by a dark look, "then I would probably only be all too willing to date a banshee, at least I can stand their shrieking better than I can stand yours"

"Peter Bernini" the last person among the assembled entourage stood up and shook hands with Harry and the Granger's, "Arithmancy and Theory of Magical Creatures as we obviously cannot bring the lives ones here" he smiled towards Dan and asked, "SAS?"

A surprised Dan nodded, but before the head of the Granger family could ask the professor how he knew, Peter said, "I recognized you, September, 1985, Operation Red Sunset"

Dan stared at the man and then nodded once, "I see" he commented silently, he stared at the professor and asked, "Which unit?"

Peter smiled and shook his head, "Classified" he said.

Dan nodded, and then went back to his own musings. The former SAS operator knew enough to ask after being told that the information that he was seeking was classified.

A pregnant silence descended among the group after the exchange between the two men. After about ten seconds, Kyle pointedly cleared his throat, prompting Harry and the Granger's to look towards him just in time to watch him as he informed Harry and Hermione, "These will be your core subjects," he said, "there will be other subjects available, but we, or rather, I, did not see the need to include them in your syllabus as I do not think that they would be of help to you" he smiled before he added, "Of course, I can be wrong"

Amanda snorted, but a pointed glare from Kyle silenced her allowing the leader of the professors to continue, "Amanda was kind enough to volunteer" – from the looks on her face, it was obvious that she did not – "to come up with a schedule that would see you have at least three hours of instructions in all subjects every week, she will have it ready by tomorrow and we can begin our studying the day after"

"Er…" Emma began as she tentatively raised her hand. Kyle looked at her and she continued, "Grimfist mentioned something called a time chamber..?"

Kyle nodded, "Yes ma'am" Kyle replied with a polite nod, "This manor is equipped with a time compression device that is designed to stretch time. One week outside the walls of the chamber would be equal to almost four hundred days inside the walls," he explained, "We are going to turn the machine on the day after tomorrow, and stop using it after a month, should give us four years, we skip the next week so that you and your family can have some fun outside of these two studying, and then we turn it on again after that week for another two weeks before we allow them to return to Britain"

"Why even make them return?" Charles asked, "From what I heard from the goblins, the premier educational institution in the world" – he said that with obvious sarcasm - "is going to the pigs"

"Ours is not to question why, stupid egg-head" Archibald suddenly said towards his brother, he proceeded to smack his brother at the back of his head before he continued, "Besides, didn't you want to go to Britain?"

Charles snorted, but did not say anything else, allowing Kyle to continue with whatever it was that he wanted to say. He turned towards Harry and Hermione and said, "I am not authorized to tell you why, but the goblins are steadfastly refusing to tell you the prophecy unless you return to Britain to hear it personally" he shook his head and added, "Personally, I think you should hear it as soon as possible, but since I do not know where the damned orb is anyway, there is nothing that I can do"

"I guess that it has something to do with protecting their bank" Hermione said after a few moments of silence, she looked at Harry and saw him staring at her with a questioning look, prompting her to explain, "the goblins are not known for lifting their fingers to help humans, they only do it if they have something to gain from doing it"

"So they are helping me so that I will feel compelled to help them protect their bank?" Harry asked in disbelief. Hagrid had told him that the bank was one of the safest places in the world, so what could little old Harry Potter do to help protect the bank? Gringotts had curse-breakers and have heavily armed security goblins that Harry was sure he could not top, so the boy-who-lived could not see a reason why the goblins wanted him unless it had something to do with….he turned towards Hermione and she nodded before Harry said, "Voldemort"

"Probably" Kyle agreed, "I mean, Grimfist did say that the prophecy claimed that only you can defeat him, the goblins must be hedging on that"

"Backstabbers" Charles commented under his breath.

"They helped you pay your way through defense school, Charlie" Amanda said with a superior smirk.

"A fact that I am not going to forget, if those conniving bastards have their way, I am sure" Charles replied with a snort. Beside him, Archibald looked up to the skies and merely shook his head.

Kyle motioned with his hand and the entire room was silenced. Harry and Hermione felt no magic being used, so they could not be sure if the professor used wandless magic or if he just commanded enough respect from all the assembled professors that a mere motion with his hand was enough to silence them.

"We are going to do our job" Kyle said, pointedly and towards Charles, who cringed and merely nodded. Kyle turned towards Harry and Hermione and then said, "Pay no attention towards Charles's antics, he is a good professor and he will teach you everything he knows, he just would like to forget that the goblins paid for his school tuition before he got himself in the military"

Charles snorted, but apparently, he was not about to interrupt when Kyle was the one speaking. Kyle ignored him and continued addressing Harry and the Granger's, "For now, why don't you settle into your rooms and wait for dinner? There certainly is nothing else that we can do"

Dan and Emma nodded, agreeing with Kyle's suggestion. Kyle summoned Toto a few moments later and the energetic house-elf was only all too willing to help Harry and the Granger's to find their rooms.

The only snag was when the house-elf thought that they only needed two rooms. A quick chat with the elf, however, dispelled any thoughts on the mind of everyone that Harry and Hermione were going to share rooms.


End file.
