They arrived at Hogwarts and went to the Opening Feast. They saw all the faces they wanted to see and all the ones they didn't, like Dumbledore. Arabella sat, once again in Hermione's lap. Her mouth watered at the food in front of her. But of course, she couldn't eat it. Before Hermione ate, she fed her some mashed bananas from a baby food jar. She semed to really like it. She would take a bite and twiddle both of her index fingers happily. Hermione thought this was very cute.
After, she gave her a bottle of formula and began to eat her own food. Arabella's eyes would watch her mother's fork go from her plate to her mouth. She was so fascinated by this.
When the Feast was over, Harry took Arabella now and lifted her up in his arms. With Hermione, they walked to their private dorm to go to bed. Arabella snuggled into Harry's embrace and buried her head in his neck. Harry smiled as her breathing even out, indicating that she was indeed asleep. "'Arabella'," Hermione said as they stepped in front of the portrait of Aphrodite, who opened up and let them through saying, "Lovely to see you two dears and the little one." They both smiled and went inside. The fire was lit, igniting the room. They took Arabella up the stairs to the nursery to put her down for the night.
Discover moreAnime fanfictionBooks fanfictionComics fanfictionGames fanfictionTV fanfictionHermione kissed her cheek, followed by Harry and they laid her down, and closed the door.
The next day was Harry and Hermione's first day of classes. So they had Dobby watch Arabella for the day and they would come check on her at on their study break. They decided to rejoin Defense Against the Dark Arts this year because Umbridge was fired. Their new DADA professor was surprisingly Nymphadora Tonks. They smiled as they saw her walk into the classroom. She winked at them as she passed and then blushed as she tripped on her big combat boots.
"Good morning, class, and welcome to Sixth Year Defense Against the Dark Arts. I am Nymphdora Tonks, that's Professor Tonks to you," she smiled. She called out the roster and began with her lesson.
Potions came next and they were once again picked on by Snape. After Potions, was History of Magic with Professor Binns. Harry began to fall asleep and Hermione kept having to elbow him in the ribs to wake him up. She whispered into his ear, "It's the first day, Harry, and you're already falling asleep?" He felt her warm breath tickle his ear. He whispered back, "I think he must have bored himself to death." Hermione had to giggle at Harry's joke. It made perfect sense since Professor Binns was a ghost.
Discover moreRead MangaWatch CartoonsCartoonsFind Rare ComicsComicsThe next two classes went by really slowly. The pair were wanted to go back to the Common Room and check on their daughter. Lunch soon came and they stopped by the Great Hall to grab themselves a sandwich each and ate and finished them on their way to the Common Room.
They walked in and saw Arabella lying in a pink bean bag chair Dobby must have conjured for her. He was in front of her, feeding her strained vegetables from a baby food jar. When she would take a bite, she would pull a disgusted face, but ate and swallowed it as she was hungry. But soon, she would wash it down with a swig of formula from her bottle that was in her lap.
When her eyes set on her parents, she swallowed and grinned widely.
"Hey, Arabella, did you miss us?" Hermione asked kneeling down to her, pushing back her short, brown locks that matched hers, and kissing her forehead. Arabella smiled and closed her eyes at her soft and tender touch.
Discover moreTerms of ServiceStream Indie FilmsMoviesCookie consent managementOrder Fresh BakesHarry followed suit and kissed her cheek on the other side of her.
"Dobby, I can take over from here. We have fifty minutes before we have to go back to class. Take a break," Hermione offered.
"Thank you, miss," he bowed and disappeared after giving her the jar. Hermione sat in his spot and said, "Open wide, angel." Arabella opened her mouth and she fed her the food. Harry looked at the contents and scrunched his face face up in disgust. "Arabella, you like this stuff?"
They swore they saw her slightly shrug and take another bite. Hermione only fed her half of the jar, since she could not eat the whole thing. She capped it and put it in a mini-fridge they had in the room. Then she cleaned her daughter up. Arabella stood up and wrapped her tiny arms around her mother's neck, giving her a hug properly now that she could move. Hermione hugged her back. "You missed Mummy and Daddy, huh?" She let her go and hugged Harry, who embraced her tightly.
Discover moreOrder Sweet TreatscookiesCookiesFan fiction booksOnline writing community"Hey, princess."
They could tell she missed them terribly. It broke their hearts, but it had to be done. She couldn't stay with them all the time. Plus they had classes. She would never take her eyes off of them, as if she looked away, they would disappear and she'd never see them again.
"Mmm-mmm..." the eight month old moaned. They looked at her, wondering what she was doing. "Mmm-mmm...mmm-mmmu..."
"What are you doing, Arabella?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Mu-mmmmm-yy..." she sounded out. They looked at each other, not quite sure what she was saying; they turned back to her, seeing what she was going to do next.
"Mu-mmm-my..." she said again and they understood. She was saying "Mummy".
Hermione choked a laugh out. "Arabella, are you saying 'Mummy'?"
She nodded. "Mumm-my!" she said it a little better.
"There you go!" Harry encouraged. "Now, say 'Daddy'". She looked at him, not sure exactly how to put her "D"'s together. When he saw that she was struggling, he waved it off saying, "We can work on it later."
"Mummy!" she said it right this time and they laughed. Hermione cried out, "That's right. I'm 'Mummy'!" She kissed her forehead again and hugged her. "Oh, I love you, baby girl."
"Mummy!" she couldn't stop saying it. She loved that word. She wished she knew how to say "Daddy" and then she could be able to say her two favorite words all the time.
"Can you say 'Arabella'?" Hermione asked trying to get her to say her own name.
Discover moreStory author toolsFan fiction categoriesCrossover fiction platformAnime fanfictionBooks fanfictionShe struggled with that, too, only able to get out, "Uh-bell!" They smiled at her try.
After thiry-five minutes of trying to get her to say something other than "Mummy", Dobby appeared and gave them a five-minute warning. They nodded and said goodbye to their youngling. "Mummy!" she cried when she saw them leave, once again breaking their hearts.
When they walked to their next class, they both looked at each other and smiled. Without words, they could speak. It was like a telepathy going on. When Hermione turned back to look ahead of her, Harry continued to stare at her. He reached for her hand and took it, slipping his into it. She looked down at the interlaced fingers and then up at him. She smiled and squeezed his hand and they continued to walk to their next class.
The last classes passed and they hurried back to their dorm to relieve Dobby of his baby-sitting. When they entered, Arabella ran to them and held on Hermione's legs for dear life, "Mummy!"
Dobby was panting. "Phew! Thank goodness you came back! Little One's been calling for you!"
Harry bent down to pick her up. She nestled her face in his neck and wrapped her arms around his neck. Hermione rubbed her back soothingly. She looked at the house elf, "Thank you, Dobby. Same time tomorrow?"
He didn't shake his head. He was happy to watch the Little Potter girl. He nodded and popped away, leaving the young family. "Arabella," Hermione started. "Do you want Mummy to read you a story?" That cheered her up a bit. She lifted her head and looked at her, nodding slowly. Hermione replied, "Okay. Come here, angel." She took her out of Harry's arms and brought her to get her changed into her pajamas. It was a little early, but they weren't going anywhere. They wanted to stay together tonight. Harry went to change out of his robes, as well. Once she was done, she told her to go pick out a book from her shelf. Arabella hurriedly, almost strided, to get a book. Hermione smiled at what she picked out. It was The Velveteen Rabbit. Her favorite story. Hermione took it when she held it out to her. "Come on, we'll go read it in Mummy's room." Arabella ran to grab her plush bunny rabbit and ran back to grab Hermione's hand and they went to Hermione's room to read it.
Hermione lifted her onto the bed and she quickly got changed into a pair of red, plaid sleep pants and a maroon Gryffindor shirt. "You ready?" she asked her and sat down on the bed next to her. She nodded vigorously. There was a knock at the door. "Come in." The door opened and Harry stood there in blue, plaid sleep pants and a gray t-shirt. "Hey, could I join you two?"
"Of course, you don't need to ask." He smiled and crawled up on the other side of the bed, with Arabella in the middle of them. She smiled at him and leaned her left side of her body on Hermione, who put an arm around her. Holding her bunny rabbit tightly, she watched with wonderment as her mother opened the book to start reading it. Every so often after Hermione would finish a page, she would stop her from turning page and point a picture, wondering what it was. And they would tell her.
"That's a wooden rocking horse!"
"That's a sandbox."
"Look, he's getting all dirty."
When the Velveteen Rabbit was thrown out into the rubbish heap with all of the other old toys, Arabella gasped, just like she always did at that part. She pointed a the Rabbit and looked at her mother.
"Yes, he's crying," she said pointing to a teardrop that was on the Rabbit's cheek.
Arabella smiled when she saw the golden fairy making him into a real rabbit. Just before Hermione finished the book and put it on her nightstand, Arabella nodded off, snuggling down under the covers, holding on tightly to her bunny rabbit. Hermione looked over at Harry and saw that he was out. His head was on the pillow, faced them, fast asleep. She smiled and rolled her eyes. 'Oh, alright! There's enough room anyway!' Deciding she was not going to wake him up, she gently took his glasses off and put them on the bedside table on his side. He moved his head, but did not wake. She looked at her daughter and kissed her temple. "Goodnight, sweetheart, I love you," she whispered. Not wanting to leave him out, she whispered, "Goodnight, Harry" but not getting a response.
She turned her lamp out and lowered herself under the covers, putting a protective arm around her daughter and falling into a much-needed slumber.
In the night, Harry's hand subconsciously snaked up to place itself on hers. Their daughter put her tiny hands on top of theirs.
Neither woke up.
But smiles appeared.
The next morning, Hermione woke up and saw Arabella's smiling face looking at her. "Good morning, angel." She kissed her forehead. She felt a warmth on her hand that was around her daughter's body. She looked and saw Harry's hand on top of hers. She smiled and slipped it out from underneath his. He woke up and looked around confused.
"Where am I?"
"You're in my room. You fell asleep," she said. He looked at her and blushed. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. You were tired." She looked at her clock. "Come on, we better get ready for classes."
They fell into the same routine they did the year before. Tonks came by to their dorms regularly to see them and see her goddaughter. Hermione's sixteenth birthday came along and they all went out to eat at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. They all had a great time. Neville, Luna, Harry, Hermione, Arabella, Tonks, and Remus met them there, all went and ate a dinner and drank butterbeer.
"Mummy!" Arabella would say and Hermione would smile. She knew it was her mother's birthday.
A few months rolled by. Arabella finally learned to say "Daddy", which became her second word, "book" following at third, and "Quidditch" at fourth. Both parents were proud. She learned other words soon enough, like "Tonks", "Aunt Luna", which came out "Oona", and "Unca Nev".
Soon, her first birthday came and they had a party for her. The Grangers Flooed over to the Common Room; and they had Dobby bake a cake, with a white bunny on it. She smiled at it and they sang "Happy Birthday".
"Close your eyes and make a wish," Hermione said to her.
Arabella closed her eyes. She knew exactly what to wish for. She inhaled and blew out her lone candle and everyone clapped and cheered, making her smile. They all had cake and Arabella got icing all over her face. Hermione scolded her, but laughed as she tried to get the chocolate icing off of her cheeks. "Mummy! Stop!" she giggled and Hermione tickled her.
One day in January, Harry got a message from McGonagall saying she wanted to talk to him in her office. He told Hermione where he was going and left. When he got there, he got a sense of deja vu. He sat in the chair in front of her desk. She looked up and smiled slightly at him.
"Harry, I've got more information for you from Dumbledore that I found. Ever heard of a Horcrux?"
Harry thought hard. No, he'd never of the word. "No, ma'am. What is it?"
"Well, it's a Dark Magic. In the magical world, you can make yourself sort of immortal in a way. You do this by splitting your soul and putting it into objects or even people. The trick is you have to kill a person each to create a Horcrux," she explained.
Harry's mind reeled.
"Yes, the Dark Lord split his soul into not one, but sevenHorcruxes. Seven! I believe you have destroyed one already, Harry." He looked confused. "Tom Riddle's diary." He widened his eyes as realization dawned on him. "Dumbledore has made a list of the remaining Horcruxes. It seems he's destroyed one already, he's marked it off." She gave him a piece of parchment. He read it. The first two were scratched off.
Tom Riddle's Diary
Marvolo Gaunt's Ring
Salazar Slytherin's Locket
Helga Hufflepuff's Cup
Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem
Nagini
"Wait, this is six. What's the seventh? It's not on here," he asked.
She shrugged. "I don't know. I can't think of anything else that would be a Horcrux."
He smiled at her, thankfully. "Thank you. So, what am I supposed to do?"
"Well, it seems to me that once you destroy a Horcrux, you destroy that piece of his soul, so he'll be more vulnerable and once you destroy them all, he'll be mortal again and you can kill him normally," she said.
He nodded, shocked. "What do you want me to do?"
"I feel that you are the person whose best-fitted to go after these Horcruxes. I think you should go on a search for them. The sooner you leave, the closer we come to the Dark Lord's downfall."
He looked absolutely shocked now. "You want me to go and look for these objects, with no idea where they are or how to find them?!"
She sighed. "Harry, I know it sounds mad and almost impossible, but the only advice I can give you that I can even think of is: open a book."
He nodded and left the office. "What about Hermione and Arabella? They're not coming with me. Arabella would be in too much danger and she needs her parents, at least one of us."
"I'll talk to Tonks and see what I can do about guards."
Harry stood and said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Harry." And he left.
"So, you have to destroy them?" Hermione asked after Harry explained to her what McGonagall just told him.
He nodded. "Yes, it has to be me. Or at least, to hunt them down. I don't necessarily have to destroy them. Someone else can."
"Where's the seventh?" she asked looking at the parchment. "There's only six. You said there was seven."
"Oh, Dumbledore didn't know what it was. Neither did McGonagall," he said.
"I want to go with you," she said looking at him seriously.
He shook his head. "No, not this time. I want you safe. And...what about Arabella?" he reminded her. "You can't leave her."
"You can't leave her," she countered.
"Hermione, I wish I could take this back. It's my destiny to defeat him. I wish I could just be a regular father, but I'm not. I was marked without asked and I got this put upon me. I need you to be there for her. She'll be safe with you. McGonagall said she was going to get Tonks to put up guards for the both of you. You have to let me go. I'll be fine, I'm sure," he said taking her hands in his.
A tear rolled down her cheek and Harry brushed it away with his finger and then wrapped her in his arms as she sobbed on his chest. Arabella watched with a tear flowing down her face as well, as she saw her mother crying. She hid in the shadows, too low to be seen. Something was wrong.
"When will you leave?" Hermione asked later on.
"I don't know. McGonagall told me the sooner I leave, the closer we are to the Dark Lord's downfall," he said. "I was thinking June. At the end of this year. We'll all go back to the Manor and I'll stay with you two for a few days and then I'll set off. I'll also need to find out where they are, so I might Floo to the Manor every now and then to look through the library."
She nodded sadly, knowing that he had to do this. He had to defeat him once and for all. And there was only one way to do it.
Harry came and went, going to the Manor, as he said, to look through the books in his family library on Horcruxes. He found some leads, but he was not positive. He would make sure he spent time with Hermione and Arabella every night.
The months passed. Harry would have these sudden pains from his scar. He knew he must be planning something. He never told Hermione, though, because he didn't want to worry her. News spread around that Professor Dumbledore had been murdered in his sleep by two Slytherins, who were working for the Dark Lord. They were immediately caught and sent to Azkaban.
Harry, Hermione, and Arabella attended his funeral. It was true that they did not favor the man, but they still showed their respects. Plus, he was the most powerful wizard in the world and he had kept them safe all of these years.
Exams came and it was time to go home to the Manor.
For a few days at the beginning of June, Harry spent time with his family. On the day Harry was supposed to leave, they went to the park, swinging Arabella on a swing. She giggled the whole time, "Higher, Daddy!" she would yell and he would push her higher. They had a picnic there and ate a long lunch, just enjoying the scenery and listening to the birds chirping in the trees. It was a beautiful and perfect day, not a cloud in the sky.
Harry and Hermione were lying on their backs on the red-and-white checkered picnic blanket, while Arabella went play on the jungle gym. Harry looked at Hermione. She looked a little worried, but still all the more beautiful. He reached over to the middle of them and placed his had on hers. She looked at him and smiled, turning her hand over to interlace it with his.
"Mummy! Daddy!" they were interrupted by Arabella's voice. They looked up and saw her slide down the red slide the park had. They waved and laughed as she fell on her bottom with a small grunt. She just stood back up and shook it off; and then went back to the stairs to go again.
"She's having a blast!" Harry said to Hermione.
"Yeah, she reminds me of you," she replied with a smile. He looked at her. "She doesn't hurt easily, you know? She just shakes it off and doesn't shed a tear. That's amazing!"
"I'm really going to miss you two," he said with a sad smile. "You two are my life."
"We're going to miss you, too, Harry. So much."
That night, Harry was finished packing and all three of them were in the living room. Remus was there and he was to bring him to a portkey, as he was going to help him hunt them down. He was about to leave. Hermione had Arabella in her arms, and she was trying so hard not to cry. Harry took his daughter from her mother's arms and hugged her tightly, a tear rolling down his cheek. "I'm going to miss you, princess. I love you, Arabella."
"I wove you, too, Daddy," she responded cutely, holding on tight to his neck. After a minute, he set her down on her feet and turned to Hermione, who was crying hard now. He threw his arms around her and held her up. She kissed his jaw. "Be safe and good luck."
He nodded and said, "I will. Take care of Arabella. She needs her mother now more than ever." It was Hermione's turn to nod.
Two minutes later, he let go of her and grabbed his pack, walking backwards out the door. Hermione picked up Arabella into her arms. His eyes never leaving them. Arabella looked at her mother and she looked back. The one-year-old bored into her eyes. Magic was happening. Hermione's eyes widened, getting the sudden feeling to do an important thing. She set her daughter down and shouted, "Harry!" He was closing the door but once he heard her, he opened it again questioningly.
Hermione ran to him and without hesitation, without stopping, without pausing...
...crushed her lips onto his, wrapping her hands around his neck softly.
He was shocked, but immediately responded, dropping his pack and grabbing her waist, and kissing her back forcefully. But she was in control. She attacked his mouth, opening it with her lips, and shoving her tongue in, exploring. She missed his taste. After two years, they kissed for the first time. He hooked his hands underneath her bottom and lifted her into his arms, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Harry suddenly remembered that Arabella was in the room and he pulled away. "Arabella," he whispered into her mouth, reminding that their one year old daughter should not be seeing this. Hermione blushed and slid down to the ground. He lifted her face and pecked her lips softly. They smiled.
"We'll talk about this when you get back. You need to leave," Hermione urged.
"But what if I-"
"You'll be back!" she insisted pushing him out of the door, with Remus pulling his arm. The door closed and Arabella ran to the door, putting her hands on the glass, watching her Daddy leave.
"Daddy, don't go!" she called crying, but he didn't hear her. Hermione came up behind her and laid her hands on her shoulders. They watched as the two men grabbed onto a boot and disappeared. Arabella looked up at her mother and felt something.
She did it.
Her parents came together. They kissed passionately.
Her purpose was fulfilled.