Chapter 06: Family
The remaining days at Hogwarts were torture for Harry. Rumors degrading Neville, Ron and Hermione were spread around and Harry had to end these rumors. However, Harry could not stop the gossip. Because of Salazar's orders, Harry was stuck with Hermione throughout each day. Gossip about Hermione and Harry's relationship began to spread. At first, it was harmless gossip about how Hermione has changed since Harry came into her life. Now it was about how they were having a secret relationship behind everyone's back.
Usually Harry did not care about gossip or rumors. Things like that did not bother him; but when rumors spread about those around him, Harry would step in. Rumors were particularly harmful to those who are in a weakened state of mind like those of Neville's DA that went to the Ministry of Magic. They had watched people they knew and loved die before their eyes and realize how powerless they were. There was also the feeling of guilt for those deaths. Questions that began with 'What if' occupied their minds. The pain they felt sometimes was beyond overwhelming. Rumors, especially untrue rumors, only wore down on their already depleted minds and spirits.
Those who had not seen war could never understand the pain and suffering that Neville and his friends were going through. Even if Harry told them or showed them, it still would not make them understand. Also, they were only children. At least in Harry's eyes. While it hurt to see Neville, Hermione, and all those who were at the Ministry in pain because of the rumors, Harry felt a bit of relief. Relief because they were still innocent, untainted by war. They could still joke around, laugh and be their youthful selves without having to face the harsh reality that the lives they lead now will come to an end soon. They could continue to live without knowing the true horrors they will face. For them, all they saw was that another term had ended and their vacation was about to begin.
The term had finally ended after the continuation of the paused examinations. Harry finished his exams with great difficulty as he did not have a wand. Controlling magic with a temporary wand was disastrous if one was not careful, and Harry was not the most careful of all people. One day, Harry must master the use of wands as he could feel his magic diminishing. The magic Harry commanded without wands were based on incantations written in spellbooks combined with spell components. Those two were then combined with the magic provided by nature, but over the years, nature's magical force was fading. Those who have relied upon wands would not feel nature's cry for repair, but Harry did. For decades had Harry sought to find a way to restore nature, but had yet to discover the first clue.
Harry was once told that his destiny went hand in hand with the restoration of Nature and Magic of Old. For a long time, Harry did not believe it. Even now, Harry still holds doubts, but even if the restoration of Nature and magic was not his destiny, Harry would seek to find a solution. Harry knew he would search for answers and if he did not find any, he would lay down a path for those who may seek it. The reason was Harry wanted to create a better world for future generations. War has shown Harry how much people could destroy thinking only of the present. To counterbalance the destruction, Harry believed that seeking ways to better the world for the future was the path.
The destruction of Nature and the abolishment of the Magic of Old caused Earth to weaken. Nature, as Harry learned over the years, was what provided magic. When Nature flourished, magic was abundant. With all the deforestation, pollution and neglecting of Nature of the current world, Harry knew magic would one day fade. The magic Harry used worked hand in hand with Nature and when Nature weakened, so did his magic. The Magic of Old was powerful because it drew on Nature. After the first Muggle War, a magic counsel declared the magic forbidden because of the evil abuse of that power could bring. What the counsel did not consider was that while the abuse of that magic brought great evil, it was that same magic that could restore the damage done.
The way Nature existed with so many different climates, weather patterns, native plants, native animals, and most importantly, its power to adapt to changes was because of its magic. The magic worked slowly, but it was the force behind evolution and adaptation. It worked slowly because plants and animals did not have precise control over magic. Mages who could tap into this magic could aid in controlling the magic and in essence, aid Nature in its evolution. Harry was such a mage and he could help restore Nature. In the past, Harry had restored a dying forest to its former glory. He even put in place guardians to keep people from destroying the forest, but it was only a temporary solution. With the invention of guns, anything short of the use of magic would not be enough.
The last thing Harry wanted was for Muggle scientists to discover magic. It was bad enough that the magical community had to hide their existence despite the fact that magic still overpowers Muggle technology. This made some witches and wizards angry and some, like Voldemort, take action to change it. Harry could only imagine what the world would be if Muggles discovered the existence of magic and in some twisted sense of logic felt they were superior. In the third Muggle War, Muggles attempted to erase magic from the world. A massive army of Muggles stood under one unified flag and while they were committing genocide, they believed they were cleansing the world of evil and impurity. Salazar was thrown into that war at the age of ten and was fortunate for it to end when he was fifteen. It ended because Godric Gryffindor dared to use magic that was forbidden to erase the existence of magic in the minds of all Muggles and from the Muggles' written history.
Few knew about the truth of why the Founders of Hogwarts were so well respected. Even fewer knew that they were mere children when they achieved their fame. It was locked away in time as the secret of what ended the third Muggle War had to be kept secret. The counsel that banned Magic of Old still existed then, but not long after sealing the secret of the last Muggle War in remembered history, they met their demise and were forgotten.
Aside from all his worries, Harry was glad the exams were over. He rested his head against the glass window of the train compartment he sat in. Neville sat across from him with Ron and Ginny to Neville's right side. Hermione sat to his left while the twins were off playing another prank. Harry was itching to prank some of the Slytherins in the train, but because of Salazar's orders, Harry had to sit still. It was fairly boring sitting in the compartment as no one was talking and not to mention the gloomy atmosphere. Everyone was in deep thought as they were returning to their broken families. For Neville, he was returning to his uncle's home to get ready for his grandmother's funeral. For Ron and Ginny, they were returning home to the Burrows only to be missing their beloved father.
Hermione was the only one with her family still intact. Except Hermione lost the one person she loved which tore her up as much as the others. Love was a great gift to have, but love can easily destroy people. Harry had seen his share of friends who cried as they held their dead friend in their arms. Some were dead sons. Others were fathers. Most were husbands. The worst were when their children were massacred. Harry did not understand the pain of losing a lover as he had never been in a relationship. War and time travel prevented Harry from having any serious relationships. As for family, Salazar was his main family and Harry knew he would see Salazar again.
This was the results and tragedies of war and was not something fifteen or sixteen year old teenagers should deal with. Unfortunately, this is the reality of the world. Harry would not shut his eyes and ignore the truths, but some truths were better kept hidden if possible.
It was a long boring ride back to King's Cross. Even the goodbyes were fairly uneventful. Neville's uncle picked Neville up at the station and he was gone before anyone could say goodbye. Actually, it was more like Neville did not want to say goodbye as he feared it may be his last. Ron's mother had not come to retrieve her children. Instead, Bill Weasley, the eldest of the seven siblings, came. For Hermione and Harry, they walked out and called over a cab.
On the trip to Hermione's home, Harry wondered if he was cursed to have boring day. No one wanted to get a conversation going. Even the twins, who usually were cheerful, remained dead silent after they returned from their prank. Harry let out a deep sigh before recognizing a house off in the distance.
It was the largest house in the neighborhood. Harry counted three floors in total above the ground. The cement walls were painted beige while the wooden porch was painted dark brown. It had black obsidian roofing tiles that glimmered in the sun. The yard was also the largest of the neighborhood. Tall oak trees stood neatly arranged on the far left and right side of the yard. The tall brick fence covered Harry's view, but he could tell there was a small garden up front.
"You don't live in a three story house, do you?" Harry asked as he continued to stare at the house. It was far too familiar, but Harry could not remember where he had seen it.
"Yeah. It's the house you're looking at. It's supposedly a thousand years old, but I doubt that's true. The house looks far too new to be a thousand years old. It might have been renovated several times," Hermione answered.
"A thousand years you say…" Harry said in a low voice. Hermione's note of how old the house was triggered Harry's memory. Harry was trying to remember a house he had visited in recent years, not one that was built when he was young. It couldn't be… Could it?
"You know, you're the first boy my parents were ever enthusiastic about meeting. They weren't even this trilled when I told them about Victor." Hermione said as she turned to face Harry.
Harry smiled as Hermione mentioned Victor. It was a hard two weeks for Hermione, but Harry could sense that Hermione was finally beginning to move on. With the help of Salazar, Harry was able to get Hermione back on her feet. That is, after he spent a full day apologizing for the stunt he pulled. Then again, Harry spent a week as Hermione's personal human punching bag, so she was able to relieve some of her stress on him. Aside from relieving her stress, Harry made sure Hermione was not sulking around all the time or closing herself off. It was never good to have your life fall into stasis. "Well, can't say I feel the same. I'm actually fairly scared of meeting your parents."
"Don't worry too much. They're dentists, so they are a bit on the clean side. But they are really nice people. My father's name is Sander Salazar Granger and my mother's name is Rosa Rowena Granger."
"Salazar and Rowena?" Harry jerked his head around as those were the only two words he heard. No way! There's no possible way!
"Yeah. Their middles names are the same as the names of two of the Founders. I found it interesting, but my parents are Muggles and don't know a single thing about the wizarding world," Hermione answered.
"Muggles." Harry echoed. Right. Harry was beginning to wonder about what Salazar was hiding. However hard he tried, Harry always came up with one answer to his questions. Hermione was a pureblood, so her father was a wizard and mother was a witch. The middle names of her parents were that of two Founders. The house she lived in was a thousand years old and Harry finally figured out that this was the house Salazar returned to after the war with Grendelwald. There's no bloody way that it's possible. I could not have been correct with my wild guess!!!
Harry's mind was in utter chaos. He did not know how to reorganize his thoughts because he still did not believe that Hermione could be a descendant of Salazar. Even if Harry could, he could not believe he missed his chance in surprising Salazar. Harry remembered a small fact he dismissed when he tried to surprise Salazar. The hints were all there: Salazar's knowledge about Hermione's love life and whereabouts; his fierce anger when Harry mischievously took Hermione on the broom ride; and not to mention Salazar's Heir being a female of this time. His mind was still spinning when the cab pulled up to the front gate and dropped Harry and Hermione off next to the bell.
"Mum! Dad! I'm home! Can you open the gate?" Hermione called through the speaker. A buzzing sounded and the gate swung open.
Harry carefully walked through the gate while carrying Hermione's trunks. While Hermione had large trunks to carry her possessions, Harry had all his possession in one of the three pouches that clung to his side. One of the pouches was a bag of infinite holding. It held majority of his living needs like clothes, desk, bed, computer, etc. Another pouch was an enchanted Haversack shrunk to a smaller size. Harry stored his spellbooks in the pouch and it worked similar to a bag of holding except it had a maximum volume. But it was handy since Harry could reach in and pull out whatever he wanted without every looking for it. With the bag of holding, Harry sometimes spent hours searching for what he was looking for. The third pouch was a normal spell ingredient pouch. All of them were enchanted to weigh no more than five pounds.
"Come on, Harry. My parent's aren't that scary," Hermione coaxed as she ran up the porch and rang the doorbell.
Harry climbed up the steps carefully as his thoughts were still on how Hermione was related to Salazar and how he missed the hints. When the door swung open, Harry dropped the trunks and his jaw fell open. He found himself staring into the eyes of a snake!
"Dad!" Hermione cried out. "Stop scaring people with your stupid pet!"
Only after Hermione mentioned a pet that Harry noticed boa constrictor wrapping itself around the first snake's body. The first snake had a name and one Harry was oh-so familiar with. Salazar Slytherin.
"Don't worry, Hermione. I think Harry's more shocked to see a snake than scared of it," Hermione's father replied with a smile as he danced over with perfect grace. He stood tall and proud, and perhaps arrogantly, before wrapping his long slender arms around Hermione for a hug and kissed her on her cheeks.
ss Hello, Harry Potter. I bid you welcome to my master's home. ss The boa constrictor greeted Harry in Parseltongue.
Harry looked from the boa to the other snake and said, ss Nice to see you again, you slimly git! Oh, and it's a pleasure to see you alive and well, Mandra. ss
ss Thank you, Harry. My master tells me to tell you to get your ass moving with those trunks. ss Mandra said to Harry.
"I didn't know you spoke Parseltongue!" Hermione exclaimed as she realized what Harry was doing.
"Yeah. A gift from Voldemort," Harry said as he picked up the trunks and walked into the house. He was in a bad mood, but was determined not to show it. Especially in front of Salazar.
"Honey, stop playing with Mandra and show Harry to his new room!" a kind and gentle female voice called out from the kitchen. "Hello, Harry. Welcome to our humble home." The woman walked out and Harry's jaw dropped again. Standing before him was none other than Rowena Ravenclaw.
ss Careful, Harry. Hermione does not know her lineage yet. ss Mandra warned as Harry clamped his jaw shut and kept himself from shouting out Rowena's name.
'You've got to be kidding me!' Harry wanted to cry out, but due to the watchful eye of Salazar, Harry kept his mouth shut. That man seemed to have eyes that could keep watch of every angle around him at all times. It took all of Harry's concentration to not throw a wild fit as the idea of Salazar and Rowena as the parents of Hermione just blew his mind away. All that kept him together was that he would lose to Salazar the moment he lost his composure. More than anything, Harry hated to lose against Salazar despite it being a common occurrence.
"I'll take those trunks out of your hands," Salazar said as he walked over and lifted Hermione's trunks with ease. "Follow me. I'll show you to your room!" Salazar persuaded with a cheery tone.
Hermione noticed a vein popping out of Harry's forehead as he followed her father upstairs. "Is it me or does Harry seem very tense and perhaps a bit annoyed?" Hermione asked her mother.
"He's bit uneasy with the situation," Rowena laughed. "It's not easy for a boy to be accepted into a home of a teenage girl," she reasoned, but Rowena knew exactly why Harry was so annoyed and how annoyed he was. She knew Harry had not expected to meet Salazar so soon. Sure the two were close as two brothers, but after a near six hundred years of bickering, you would really want a break.
"I guess," Hermione agreed casually, not knowing her mother was hiding something.
Salazar Slytherin, or Sander Granger as he so aptly named himself, whistled a happy tune as he made his way upstairs. If there was one thing he loved as much as his family, it was making Harry's life miserable. He enjoyed working Harry by sending him riddles and pushed his abilities to the max. Salazar saw great potential in Harry, but Harry's laziness always got in the way. So Salazar devised this clever way of making Harry work hard. Harry would always be trying to get back at Salazar which would require all his brainpower and skills. There were few people Salazar were close enough to share this type of relationship. Godric Gryffindor was also one of them.
ss You bastard! When did you marry Rowena? ss Harry asked in Parseltongue as the two entered one of the prepared rooms in the second floor.
ss A month after master returned. ss Mandra replied in Salazar's place. Although Salazar Slytherin was a Parseltongue, he could not speak it without giving away his identity. He did not want Hermione to know about her lineage just yet. So Salazar allowed his familiar to speak. They shared a link that allowed them to communicate telepathically.
ss No wonder why your portrait blew up when I took Hermione for a ride. ss Harry said as he enlarged his bag of holding so he could pull out his bed.
ss Master was raving for a week while Mistress tried her best to calm him. ss Mandra told Harry despite Salazar's wish. ss While she was worried about you, Mistress had complete faith in your ability to keep Hermione safe, unlike Master who should have known. ss
Harry fell to the ground laughing before Salazar gave him a good kick to the side. ss You know Hermione's one lethal girl right? ss
ss Of course. Hermione takes out her stress by practicing martial arts against conjured dolls. And you deserved that kick to the groin. Master says he would have done it himself and I agree. ss
ss How is it that Hermione has never known Rowena and your true identities? ss Harry asked curiously. This had been bothering him for a while as Harry could see how similar the man before him looked like the Salazar Slytherin hanging on one of the portraits.
ss Master had charmed the portraits so that no one could truly see his face unless they know how he looks like. Even the current Headmaster does not know what Master looks like. Only you. ss Mandra replied simply while Salazar began dancing his own victory dance to mock Harry.
ss So everyone sees a depiction of what they think you look like on your 'supposed' portrait? ss
ss That's the general idea Master wished for. Don't worry about it too much, Harry. Master's portrait was brilliantly created. Not even Mistress has figured out all the secrets. ss Mandra answered ending the conversation.
"Feel free to make yourself at home," Salazar said when he finished his victory dance and he left Harry to make the empty room his.
It took a few moments before Harry was able to take out the basic room necessities from his Bag of Infinite Holding, but he had done it enough times and created a simple routine. Harry then used his wandless magic to place his bed, desk and bookshelf in place around the room. It was harder getting his clothes out, as Harry had hundreds of different clothes stuffed in his bag to accommodate for the different time periods he was sent to. Harry flopped down onto his bed to rest a bit when he heard a knock on the door.
"How's things been?" Rowena asked. She stood at the doorway with her raven black hair and deep blue eyes. "You know, Sal's been waiting for this day for a long time."
Harry tilted his head to look at the wife of the man who raised him as a younger brother. "Heh. Did he?" Harry laughed. "To tell you the truth, so did I. I would have never guess Hermione would be your daughter though."
Rowena smiled at the boy. "She's a lot like me, isn't she?"
"Near perfect copy of your dazzling personality," Harry replied with a slightly sarcastic tone. "She even has your hairstyle from way back in the day. Missing your thick glasses though. Hermione's also like Sal in some ways. Her fierce determination and insanely powerful combat skills."
"Ah, yes. I heard that you took her for a ride. Consider yourself lucky that she didn't impale you with the broom," Rowena joked. "She was more outgoing in her younger years. War has taken away her joys."
"War…" Harry repeated softly. "Why couldn't Bal just send you to a peaceful time? Why couldn't he just keep Sal and your family away? Bal knows you deserve to live in peace!"
Rowena gave Harry a weak smile. She knew Harry cared about the wellbeing of Salazar and herself more than he cared about himself. Harry was the boy Salazar raised with his own view of nobility and Salazar Slytherin was by far the noblest man of all time. The only man nobler was Gordic Gryffindor whom Salazar admired and aspired to surpass. There was only one difference between Harry and Salazar. If there came a time when Harry had to sacrifice his life for those he loved, he would do it in a heartbeat. Salazar would not. Instead, her husband would fight until the very end to stay alive so that those he loved would not be devestated by his sacrifice. "Balthazar sent us here to help you, Harry. And I know Hermione will be important to the outcome of this war as well as your fate."
Harry sat up to look at the intelligent woman who just smiled back innocently. He wanted to ask Rowena to clarify only to remember that she was just as cryptic as Salazar, but no where near as annoying. "Did I ever tell you how much I hate cryptic messages?"
"On many occasions," Rowena laughed. "Come on. Dinner's ready. I think the other kids are coming back soon."
"Other kids?" Harry asked before slapping his hand to his forehead. "Of course you would have other kids..."
"We have four kids. Hermione's the oldest. Next are the twin boys, Eric and Alex, who are two years younger and go to Durmstrang. Alyssa is our youngest daughter and just finished her first year at Beaxbaton."
Harry sat up to this new information. Hermione had never mentioned anything about her sibling at Hogwarts before. "Why split them up?"
Rowena smiled and left leaving Harry to try and answer the question himself. Maybe having married Salazar for sixteen or seventeen years changed Rowena a bit. Just a bit. When Harry decided his room was done, he made his way down the stairs where he found Salazar, no, Sander and the family seated around an elegant dining table. The only seat open was that next to Hermione and directly across from Sander.
As Harry walked down to the dining room and seated himself, he found himself in the company of the Granger family, not the Slytherin Family and needed to treat Salazar not as Salazar Slytherin, the man who raised him like a brother and long time war companion, but Sander Granger, the father of Hermione Granger. As for Rowena Ravenclaw, she was now Rosa Granger. Both were just Muggles who had little knowledge of the magical world.
As Harry sat down, he took note of the interactions between Eric and Alex and Alyssa. The twins would tease their younger sister, but eventually let her have what it was that she wanted. Hermione would step in if the teasing went too far, but enjoyed herself as she ate her meal. Sander and Rosa often whispered to one another while smiling at their children. They were the people Hermione went to when she could no longer control the situation.
It was at this moment that Harry realized he had never been with a family. Nor did he ever truly have a family experience. Sure, Salazar had raised Harry for fourteen years, but they were more like two brothers dragged onto a battlefield that lasted nearly six hundred years.
Things were different with Sander. Sander was nothing like Salazar. The cunningness and sly remarks were gone. Warmth and good intentions flowed out of the man instead of the nasty intentions to screw over Harry just to make Harry use his brain. His family loved him. Sure, Harry loved Salazar for everything the man had done, but their relationship was nothing like this. They were nothing like a complete family, just two brothers that were like best friends because they were in a battlefield.
Harry had not known when he relaxed his senses, but it was nice. No, more than nice. It was bliss. Heavenly bliss. So blissful that Harry found himself smiling for no reason. This was what a family offers, and this was something Harry wished he would never take from everyone who sat around the table. However, war had come but Harry was sure that not one person here would become a casualty.
"This is quite a family you have here, Sa-ander." Harry had almost said 'Sal', but was able to catch himself. However, he had used the first name of the parent of his host which showed he lacked in manners.
"And it looks like you have found that you fit right in with us, Harry!" Sander replied with a grin Harry recognized as one from his days as Salazar Slytherin. "Glad you're making yourself so cozy in our humble home."
"Well, it's not hard to considering you have been so welcoming from the first moment I stepped through the front door. Hold that thought. You were welcoming the moment you received the letter from Albus," Harry replied with a smile of his own to counter the grin of Sander.
"Why would we not be welcoming to someone who the Headmaster holds such high praise for?" Sander chose his words carefully. True, Harry did save Hermione from Voldemort during her excursion to the Ministry of Magic, but that was still a touchy subject. Albus Dumbledore, on the other hand, wasn't.
"Albus praised me in his letter? My, I would have to thank him later. You must trust Albus very much to believe such high praise without a single shred of doubt," Harry answered Sander's challenge. True, the man had asked a rhetorical question, but Harry knew those words were carefully chosen for his daughters sake as well as a challenge to a duel of words.
Daughter. That word still sent shivers through Harry's body. Harry had spent one month of time as Hermione's pet hamster during his last twenty years of misadventures through time. And then another month of time as her friend attending Hogwarts. Harry had learned how amazing a person she was and loved to have her as a friend, but this was not a person Harry imagined Salazar would raise. Perhaps Sander was a different person. Nope, thought Harry when he saw another familiar smile across the man's face, they are the same person. Sander is just a toned down and nice version of Sal.
"Why would I not believe the words of a man who has the highest praise from witches and wizards all over the wizarding world? Not to mention the man who showed students like my beautiful and intelligent daughter this wonderful path they can take?"
Hermione watched in awe as the conversation went on. Harry and her father spent less than a second thinking of their responses. Few ever reached this level of conversation with her father. Even fewer reached it within their first meeting. Yet, here sat a boy, no, a man of near six hundred years of life in the body of a fifteen year old boy and could carry a fascinating conversation with her beloved father.
The conversation amazed her so much that Hermione placed down the silverware in her hands just to sit down and listen. As intelligent as Hermione was, she found that she could not follow their conversation as well as she first believed. They were so far ahead of her that Hermione had to stop trying to guess the responses and just listen. This only happened when her mother and father were in a heated debate. Yet the two men looked as if they were enjoying this interaction as if it were a daily occurrence.
"Amazed that someone who has met your father for a few moments can strike up such a conversation?" Rosa mused as she stopped the twins from teasing Alyssa any further.
"Yes…" was all Hermione could say as she was concentrating on the conversation. It had started with just a simple comment on her family, but now it was a deep theoretical conversation of normal interactions between strangers.
"They look like two long lost brothers, don't they?" Rosa said breaking her daughter's concentration.
Hermione blinked at the question. She had been so focused on the conversation that she had not noticed that Harry and her father did seem like two long lost brothers. They talked to one another not with a tone of formality, but that of familiarity. It sounded like the two had known each other for years, but the two men had just met.
"You will finally see a side of your father he had hidden away all of these years," Rosa said as she removed the twins from the table as they were causing more trouble than needed. "Perhaps hidden is not the right word. It's more like he never met anyone who could bring out this side of him."
Hermione just stared at her father and Harry talk while listening to her mother's words. They were never wrong. Especially when it came to people. Rosa Granger seemed to have an amazing ability to accurately tell the personality and mood of the person she was looking at. There was no need for her to interact with the person. This was what made the dentistry so successful. With one look at the patient, Rosa knew exactly what to say and what to do to make the patient's visit as swift and painless as possible.
However, there was something about her mother's words that Hermione could not figure out. It seemed like her mother also knew Harry as she spoke not of Harry, but his relationship with her father. Hermione turned to face her mother wondering what the woman was hiding. But unlike Rosa who could read Hermione like an open children's book, Hermione could not discover the faintest of clues to understand what her mother was thinking. Rosa just smiled at her daughter and left the table to clean the dishes as the twins had already finished their meal.
Suddenly, an elbow poked at Hermione's ribs breaking her from turning back to watch Harry and her father's conversation. She turned to face Alyssa who whispered, "You know, by the looks of things, it looks like you have a crush on Harry as you are watching him so much."
"I do not!" Hermione cried out only to slap her hands over her mouth. Hermione looked to her mother who had a pair of headphones on as she cleaned up the kitchen counters. Then she looked over to her father who was still in a deep conversation with Harry.
When Hermione turned back to face her sister, Alyssa grinned as she continued, "Not only are you blushing, you're deny-" Alyssa never finished before a hand slapped over her mouth muffling her words.
"My room. NOW!" Hermione said angrily as she dragged her younger sister up the stairs. Alyssa complied happily as she bounced up the stairs with a wide grin across her face.
It was only when Harry noticed that Hermione was stomping loudly up the stairs that he turned away from Sanders to see Hermione disappear up the stairway with Alyssa following closely behind. "Did I miss something?" Harry asked fairly confused.
"Did something happen?" Sander asked, but his innocent looking face gave Harry the feeling the man knew what exactly had happened between Hermione and Alyssa.
Rosa did not need to turn to see Sander's face as she could hear Harry's scowl. They both heard Hermione's cry of denial, but they were not about to say anything. Not yet, at least.