58 What Comes Naturally

Christmas Holiday, Winter 1977

Potter Manor, and affiliated properties

Château Dangereuse had quickly become a safe haven for Hermione, and was one of her favorite places to spend her time. After the initial fear of their daughter somehow being in danger, the Potters had resigned themselves to this little rebellion of Hermione's. Dorea argued that if this small thing gave her a sense of freedom then they should thank the Fates. They both knew that their headstrong daughter could have attempted any number of things to assert her independence, up to, and including, running off to muggle London or any number of incredibly dangerous things. That all she wanted to do was catalogue the libraries of her dower homes was anticlimactic, and her mother considered it a boon and a blessing. Life at the Evans home was increasingly uncomfortable for Lily since her sister's engagement to Vernon Dursley, and part way through the Christmas holiday a tear stained letter had been brought to Hermione by Eleanor, Lily's owl. Charlus and James had gone at once to collect Lily, and speak with her parents. On some days, Lily helped her in the libraries, where their true purpose was researching ways to destroy Horcruxes. Other days, she spent exploring her burgeoning relationship with James. Hermione watched her brother fumble charmingly around the red-headed witch. He was trying so hard to do everything right, and his earnestness won Lily over more than anything else. Hermione had her own eager puppy, but he allowed her the space and privacy to work in her various libraries. If certain other activities took place in her Château, no one was the wiser. Hermione was seated at her desk, reading through an ancient, crumbling volume that seemed to have some interesting leads. It seemed as though there was an old powerful purification spell that could banish extremely dark magic like Horcruxes.

That just might work.

It might at that. Have I told you lately how jealous I am of your pureblood libraries?

Perhaps I shall develop a muggleborn lending library. Would that please you?

Oh, yes! Would you really do that? That would be incredible!

Of course I would really do it. Merlin knows that Sirius and I will end up with disgusting amounts of money. We might as well do something useful.

But your dad said your dowry was 'comfortable'.

Yes, Daddy has very skewed notions about what constitutes 'comfortable'. So does Sirius Uncle Alphard. I've got millions of galleons, and so does Sirius.

Oh. Well make it a really big library then.

"Madame?" The French house elf stood hesitantly at her elbow. He was shifting nervously, and that immediately drew Hermione's attention.

"Oui, Pepe?" Hermione replied. He tugged on his ears, and then began to speak quickly in broken French. Hermione winced internally.

"There is a woman who has had an accident. She is being at the ward's boundaries and she is needing help," Pepe said anxiously, wringing his little hands. Hermione jumped to her feet and followed Pepe to where the injured woman was. She was right where the little house elf had said, she'd obviously fallen hard and broken her leg. She was also heavily pregnant, and if Hermione wasn't mistaken she was in labor.

"M'aidez!" The woman panted heavily. Hermione spoke soothingly to her, and touched her leg lightly, numbing it with a wandless, nonverbal spell. The woman started. "Vous êtes une sorcière?"

"Oui, Maintenez toujours s'il vous plait," Hermione said while she tried to determine the extent of the woman's injuries. Well, if the woman knew what she was, then chances were it would do no harm to help her as much as she could. She healed the broken leg, and levitated the laboring woman through the wards and into her home.

"Notty!" Hermione called frantically. Notty popped in and her eyes widened in surprise. "She's broken her leg, and she's in labor. I need you to fashion a birthing tub for me. Organize the female house elves. Get sterile cloths and water. Oh! She can't put any weight on her leg, so get a birthing stool for inside the tub, too."

"Yes, Mistress!" Notty said immediately, and popped out to carry out her mistress' bidding.

"You are Eengleesh?" The woman managed to grit out. Hermione turned back to her.

"Oui, mais je parle très bien français. N'ayez pas peur, nous allons prendre soin de vous et le bébé," Hermione tried to soothe the laboring woman. She nodded gratefully.

"Yes, I can see that you are very kind," she managed to get out.

Fifteen hours later, the female house elves were cleaning and tending to an adorable baby girl, and Hermione was very carefully healing the new mother. Then she cleaned her, dressed her in a loose dressing gown, and carefully levitated her to a large bed that she'd transfigured in the corner of her parlor. The mother held out her arms and Notty placed the baby girl carefully into them. The mother cuddled her baby close and looked up at Hermione gratefully.

"You saved us both. I thought that the Château was empty, if it had been, I would be dead, and so would she," the woman said in heavily accented English. Hermione protested, and the woman held up her hand. "No, when I fell I not only broke my leg, I also snapped my wand. I would have died there with the babe inside me."

"What were you doing out there?" Hermione demanded. The woman blushed and shook her head.

"I was looking for the mistletoe and the holly," she explained. "It is the first Noël for my husband and I in our own home. I wanted it to be special."

"I see," Hermione said carefully. "We should send an owl to your husband. He is probably frantic with worry."

"Oui," the woman said wryly. Hermione smiled at her.

"What is his name? I'll need to address the letter for the owl," Hermione asked gently.

"Thierry Delacour," the woman replied. She gave a start, and stared at Hermione. "Je suis tellement désolé, I did not give you my name. How rude of me! I am Apolline Delacour."

You must be joking.

Shush. It isn't her fault. The Château is in France, we were bound to run into some French people at some point.

But the Delacours? Really?

I have no control over these things. Complaining to me does nothing except give me migraines.

"And I am Hermione Potter," she said politely. "Now let's get this letter off to your husband."

Thierry Delacour had indeed been frantic when he couldn't find his heavily pregnant wife. He had apparated almost instantly to her property, and had been profuse in his thanks for saving his family. He and Apolline had begged Hermione to be the godmother to their infant who they had decided to name Fleur. Hermione understood their reasoning. In magical terms, the Delacour family owed Hermione Potter a huge debt that they could most likely never repay. By making Hermione the godmother of little Fleur, they could alleviate some of the debt, and create a magical relationship that bound their families together. Finally, Hermione capitulated, and agreed to be Fleur's godmother despite the grumbling of Old Hermione. Thierry and Apolline were relieved and thanked her profusely. Hermione flicked her wand and transfigured a piece of holly that her house elves had brought in for the new mother. In her hands was a tiny bracelet that just fit round the baby's wrist. It was finely wrought silver, and in the center was a small engraved flower.

"Godmothers are supposed to give the baby a gift, no? It will grow with her, so you need not worry that it will constrict her wrist," Hermione said with a smile. She placed the bracelet on the baby, and held her hands over the child until they glowed softly. "May this child know the love and laughter of friends and family. May she grow up brave, strong, and true. May she be a beacon in the wasteland, a star in the night, a guiding lamp in the woods. May she always be true to herself, and may she follow her heart. So mote it be."

"Merci." Apolline was crying, and Thierry blinked rapidly.

We go now, but we will meet again as soon as Apolline is feeling better," Thierry said firmly. Hermione nodded and hugged them both. She kissed the baby on the brow.

"Au revoir, petite Fleur," Hermione whispered to the sleeping baby.

HP/HG/HP

"Augh! My eyes!" James complained as he clapped his hand over his eyes. Sirius sighed, and Hermione moved off of his lap and sat demurely in a nearby chair.

"You know, I've caught you and Lily all over this house doing the most shocking things, and I never shrieked like a girl," Sirius said sourly, glaring at his friend. James snorted.

"Lily is not your sister. If I was snogging Regulus, I doubt you'd be so cavalier," James huffed indignantly. Hermione wrinkled her nose at the thought of James and Regulus kissing. She couldn't picture them together at all. James would just irritate Regulus, and he'd hex him. Regulus needed someone who was serious, like he was. Someone who was meticulous and studious, who cared about the sorts of things that he cared about.

"Sweet merciful Nimue!" She gasped, and sat bolt upright.

Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?

Maybe…but they might not even be attracted to one another, and then it's all academic.

But they would be perfect for one another.

Hmmm. Maybe.

"What is it, kitten?" Sirius asked her, worry in his grey eyes. She shook her head.

"Nothing, er, just thinking about Christmas presents for all of you," Hermione said with a weak smile. Sirius quirked a brow.

"Can my present not come in a box?" He leered suggestively. Hermione chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"That's not amusing at all," James growled. Hermione shook her curls at her twin.

"Oh, Jamie, he's just kidding," she sighed.

"I don't want to hear jokes like that, ever. I don't care if you two have been married for a hundred years," James said with disgust. Hermione rolled her eyes at Sirius and he grinned at her and winked.

"You'll still be the most beautiful witch in the world, even at 117," Sirius swore. Hermione got up from her chair and went back to his lap. He settled her against him, and wrapped an arm around her waist. James grunted in disgust, and Sirius just smirked at him. He leaned close to Hermione's ear and breathed into it. "I wasn't kidding."

She turned to look at him in surprise, and his dark grey eyes were smoldering at her. She blinked, and worried her plump, bottom lip between her teeth. Sirius visibly swallowed and shifted slightly under her. She could feel him growing hard underneath her and smiled smugly at him.

"Perhaps," she murmured, her hazel eyes glowing at him. He grew even harder and she smirked.

"You're playing with fire, witch," Sirius growled in her ear.

"So what are you getting me?" James asked eagerly.

"I think that we should keep it a surprise, Jamie-love," Hermione said gently. James pouted and she rolled her eyes.

"Some days, I swear it's like we're dating first years," Lily said dryly from the doorway. Hermione snickered into her hand, and squealed when Sirius pinched her bum. She hopped off his lap and glared at him.

"Maybe you won't get any presents," she declared with a sniff, and moved toward Lily who linked her arm through Hermione's and smiled at her. Hermione smiled back, but then her smile faltered and her eyes widened.

"Hermione?" She heard Lily call her name, but it sounded as though it was coming from a distance.

It was a muggle neighborhood, she could tell because all the houses were in neat, orderly rows. Little cookie cutter houses with their neat, orderly little lawns, and their odd 'lawn art' lined the street. Hermione looked up and down the street trying to figure out which of all these houses was the one she needed to go to. She felt a pull down the street and she followed it unwillingly. She stopped in front of one of the houses and frowned. She knew this house, didn't she? In a panic, she wondered if perhaps it were Lily's house, but then she realized that it was not. The family that lived here looked nothing like the Evans family. There was a father, a mother and three children: a boy and two girls. When the Death Eaters came, Hermione knew that one of them was Peter. She wished that he was Imperiused. She wished that he hated what was happening, but his grating laugh raked across her nerves and she knew deep within herself that he was enjoying it. She turned away because she couldn't bear to watch. Hearing was almost as bad. She cried and cried for the muggles who had done nothing except live on this street. She focused her attention on the house number, and then ran to see the street name.

"Hermione?!" Sirius' voice was frantically calling her name.

She was sobbing, and choking on her tears. She could feel that her face was wet, feel her chest shuddering with each breath. Arms were tight about her, and she knew from the feel of them that it was Sirius. James always felt different. She blinked rapidly, and her eyes shifted from black to her normal hazel. Sirius pulled her close to him and murmured in her ear, his hands stroking her, soothing her. It calmed her down, and her breathing returned to normal. Lily looked sick to her stomach, and James' face was a stony mask.

"What did I say?" Hermione asked, suddenly nervous.

"Not much," Sirius whispered against her temple. "You muttered something about a poor muggle family that hadn't done anything to anyone."

"You…you said Peter's name, and you looked completely repulsed," Lily said softly, her eyes huge. Hermione's face turned slightly green and she shuddered in Sirius' arms.

"He…he likes doing it," she whispered. "I could tell that he was having fun."

Sirius' arms tightened around her and his face became twisted with rage. He very carefully helped her up, and led her toward Lily. Then he paced the room, his expression turning darker and darker. James looked coldly furious, but he didn't pace. Instead he watched Sirius, his lips tight with anger. The two blood-brothers turned and looked at one another and they left the room without a word. Lily turned to look at Hermione, confusion and hurt in her expressive green eyes. Hermione shook her head slightly and hugged her blood-sister tightly.

"Where did they go?" Lily asked quietly. Hermione lifted up one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug.

"I'm not sure. It's possible that they've gone to see Remus. It's also possible they've gone and shifted into their Animagus forms so that they can run off their stress. It's also possible they've gone to punch walls. I just don't know," Hermione finished sadly, looking after them.

"Hermione…has it already happened yet? The muggle family?" Lily asked cautiously. Hermione thought for a moment and then shook her head.

"No, not yet. It will be soon though," she replied.

"What if we put up protective wards?" Lily asked curiously. "What if we went to their house and tried to save them? You know where they live, right?"

"We could do that," Hermione said excitedly. "Come on, Lils!"

The muggle neighborhood looked just as it had in Hermione's vision. It was dark now, naturally. One didn't traipse through a muggle neighborhood in broad daylight and cast protective wards. It was the sort of thing muggles tended to notice. The girls worked well together after years of friendship and group projects. They had the house warded quickly and efficiently. It would be enough to keep the Death Eaters away, anyway. Lily was viewing their handiwork with a smile of satisfaction, and Hermione smiled at her. It felt good to know that they had done something that would save lives. Hermione's glance took in the rest of the neighborhood and she frowned. All the little cookie cutter houses marching in their neat rows made her think of something.

"Lily," she murmured cautiously. "Why d'you suppose they chose this family? Why not one of the other families?"

"I don't know, Hermione," Lily said with a frown. "Why?"

I just…I think maybe we should do this whole street. What if they become angry and pick another family? If the whole street is protected…maybe they'll give up and leave," Hermione explained. Lily frowned for a moment and then nodded.

"No, you're absolutely right. Let's do the whole street," Lily said with a determined glint in her eyes.