Hermione feared that the next morning would turn very awkward. Her father, despite normally being very liberal, turned quite conservative when it came to his daughter. She felt lucky that her mother was the more attentive of the two.
She couldn't think much about that, though. Once she joined Harry in bed, she had other thoughts in mind, and some actions, too. It was very nice not to need to hide anything anymore. They even repeated some of it in the morning. They then showered one by one, changed to day garments and went to the kitchen for breakfast.
Jean hugged them both tightly, as if Harry were her son too. "Good morning, dears. I'm sure you had a wonderful night." The glint in her eyes indicated that she was very aware of what they had done.
Dave, who was sitting at the table, only nodded at them, saying, "Good morning, Hermione, Harry. Glad you didn't sleep too late. I don't like leaving for work before seeing you."
It could mean only Hermione, but she was sure he meant both of them.
"Good morning, Dad. We also like to see you a bit before you go for the day," she said.
"And make sure the coast is clear for other activities, I suppose," he teased her lightly.
She shrugged. "Now that you know, it can be much easier on all of us."
Dave sighed. "I knew you were following your own path since you were a little girl, but I didn't expect it to lead to this at such a young age. It may take me some time to become comfortable with the news."
"We'll try to help you, Dad," she promised.
He turned to Harry. "Welcome to the family, Son. We still have a lot to talk about, but most of it can wait for the weekend. Just make sure to keep her safe and happy, and everything will be alright."
She could feel Harry relax a bit as he answered very seriously, "That is my intention. I hope I can really keep her safe and happy. I also hope to bring you some grandchildren when we're older."
Dave smiled. He had already finished eating, so he stood up, patted Harry's shoulder and then Hermione's and went to the master bedroom to finish his preparations for the day.
Jean finished washing the dirty dishes and came to sit with the youngsters. "It took some persuasion to make him behave, as well as some implicit promises and threats. Now, since the day seems to be nice enough, I suggest you go shopping for some clothes. Harry seems to need a completely new wardrobe, but you also seem to have grown a bit since we last updated your wardrobe, dear. I suggest you go to the nearest mall. It has some very good clothing shops at very reasonable prices. I'll leave you my credit card. Hermione, you remember how to use it, I hope."
Hermione smiled and nodded. Jean smiled at the young couple and followed her husband to the master bedroom. Ten minutes later, they both returned, fully clothed and ready for the day. Jean kissed both their cheeks before leaving. Dave only said 'Goodbye,' and patted their shoulders lightly.
Once left alone, Hermione checked her watch. "It's too early to go shopping. We can do our vacation homework for an hour before going shopping. Come, we'll do that in my room. The desk there is larger."
–..–
An hour later, they donned their winter overcoats and took a short bus ride to the mall. It was quite small, even in comparison to the one near Little Whinging, but had enough clothing shops to satisfy every taste. Hermione also knew exactly what to shop where and led a very efficient shopping trip. Harry, whose feelings she could already sense well enough, seemed very apprehensive at the beginning, probably due to some horror stories of other boys. He relaxed considerably as their shopping advanced.
"I can see that you're as efficient in shopping as you are in your studies," he complimented her.
She shrugged. "I'm the same person, no matter what I do, and I hate wasting time on what I consider unnecessary. We both needed some clothes, so we bought what we needed. No reason to spend more time on that than required, I believe."
He smiled. "And that's just one of the things I love about you."
She turned a bit coquettish. "What else do you like about me?"
His smile widened. "Practically everything. I'm not even bothered by what you consider your bad points: your hair and your teeth. I like you the way you are."
"So, would you like me less if I had my teeth corrected and my hair tamed?" she teased him.
"They don't really matter. It's you that I love, not this or that in you."
That gained him a chaste kiss with an implicit promise for some more pleasurable thanks after they returned home.
Jean had left them instructions for a quick lunch. Harry thought he could cook a better one, but Hermione insisted on doing as her mother expected. "You can show her your talents during the weekend. She doesn't allow me or Dad to do anything, and rightfully so."
Harry just shrugged. She could feel that he appreciated her company more than any food.
–..–
That evening, after dinner, they all sat in the living room. Dave talked first. "I think I know what you did to get the bond, but I'd like to hear the rest of the story, if you don't mind."
Hermione felt Harry's protectiveness kick in and quickly grabbed his hand to prevent him from talking first. He understood the gesture but didn't try to release his hand.
She blushed a bit even before talking. "I suppose you remember that I reached puberty last year and became a young woman during the summer. I then decided to try and get womanly experiences, but only with the one I had already chosen. Then, at Hogwarts, I noticed that Harry's body seemed to occasionally respond when some subjects or just girls were mentioned. That was a good indication that he was ready for his part. I made sure to remove my hymen ahead of time to prevent the pain and the blood. I was sure they could frighten Harry. Then, at my birthday, I used some spells to allow me to be alone with him while his dorm mates were having dinner. It all went according to my plan, although I only thought of us becoming an official couple, not of bonding. I barely even noticed the glowing and the flash that accompanied our deed. Then, the next morning, we got confirmation letters from the Ministry and from Gringotts. We were also invited to the bank to take control of our assets, which we did later that day."
Dave didn't look satisfied. "This still doesn't explain the bond."
Hermione smiled, a bit nervously. "Indeed, that is what I also thought. We checked in the library and found a book about bonds. The one that seemed to fit is created by the couple… doing what we did, but only when the two already have deep enough feelings for each other and after they have experienced some life-threatening experiences together." She didn't really want to say the last part, but it was necessary.
"And which life-threatening experiences did you have together?" Dave insisted.
Hermione sighed. She really didn't want to talk about that, but… "We had the troll incident during the first year, as I've told you, and we had that monster last year. Some of our less frightening experiences may also be considered, since it's unclear how much danger is needed for the bond."
Dave didn't look happy. "It looks like you didn't quite tell us everything about the previous years, did you?"
She tried to make it a non-issue. "I couldn't tell you about ten months in much detail when I finally came home, could I? Things also look different after a while."
Dave didn't like her response, but didn't insist. Yet. "We may need to revisit these two years at another time. I have a feeling you skipped over quite a bit of 'interesting' stuff, but it's too late to dwell on that. Now, Harry, I know you're even younger than Hermione, but you're already a married man. As such, you're financially supposed to support your wife, and later, your children too. We can, of course, take care of you while at school and possibly a bit farther, but do you have any assets for that or will you need to find a good job first?"
'Let me answer!' Hermione sent to Harry, hoping he would understand.
"Dad, when we visited the bank, we met with the Potter main account manager. He told us about our different assets. I don't remember all the details. There were just too many. I can tell you that Harry owns a few palaces, several mansion houses and quite a few villas all over the world and also some houses and apartments, aside from having various very fruitful investments. The daily income in that account is about your weekly income. Maybe even larger. I'm no longer sure."
That made Dave silent. Jean had another question, though. "Didn't he give you a wedding ring? I see none."
Hermione smiled and ordered her ring to become visible. She noticed that Harry was doing the same with his. "He gave me the Lady Potter ring. Do you like it?"
Her mother took a look at the ring and gasped, before holding Hermione's hand and examining it much closer. Dave only looked from his chair, seeming too confused to react.
"This ring is so unique that I doubt it can even have a price. I'm sure it costs much more than our house and our clinic combined. Maybe even more than our lifetime income. Where did you buy it?" Jean's question was directed at Harry.
"It was in my vault, along with some more. Hermione insisted on taking the least elegant one. We can take another if you don't like this one."
Jean was now speechless.
–..–
They shopped together for the Christmas tree and the festive decorations. It was a new experience for Harry, and Hermione felt glad to give him one. She could sense how Harry felt, flooded with love. He had her love, of course, but her parents' love for her husband was also growing quickly. Considering he hadn't enjoyed any love while with his relatives, this was something he enjoyed tremendously.
They also enjoyed Christmas, celebrating it as a family. In some ways, her parents seemed to accept Harry as a son, the way she hoped they would. Sensing how much he enjoyed the holiday made Hermione enjoy it even more than usual.
–..–
They visited the Longbottom Manor a few days later, after informing Neville of their visit ahead of time. Since they could only reach there by Floo, they first reached the Leaky Cauldron, using Muggle transportation. Neville was already waiting there, welcoming them warmly. They then used the Floo to go one by one to the manor. Neville then led them to his grandmother, who was waiting in the formal reception hall, which was much larger than needed for only a couple.
"Grandmother, these are my friends Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, whom I've already told you about. Harry, Hermione, this is my grandmother, Dowager Lady Augusta Longbottom."
Harry approached and bowed, also kissing her knuckles, as expected. Hermione only curtsied.
The old lady smiled. "Welcome, Lord Potter, Lady. I can sense your rings. I'm glad you took your Lordship, Harry. I didn't know you also hold a Lordship, Ms Granger."
'Tell her,' Hermione tried to tell Harry.
Harry made his ring visible. "I took my Lordship a short while after the beginning of the school year, after Hermione and I completed a bond that emancipated us. I gave Hermione the Lady ring, of course."
Hermione saw Neville gasp in surprise. His grandmother wasn't too surprised. "Yes, Neville has told me how close you two were, although he didn't expect you to become a formal couple before next year. Having met three generations of Potters, I was sure it would go much faster. Still, completing a bond at your age is quite unusual. Are you happy with this?"
The smiles both Potters sported were reply enough, but both also said, "Very happy!"
"And how did your parents accept this?" Lady Augusta asked Hermione.
"They weren't very happy that I got married so young, but they fully support us now. Even I was surprised at how easily they accepted the facts."
"They love you. Don't they? That also means that they will accept anything that makes you really happy."
Hermione smiled at that.
They spent the afternoon there, mostly with Neville. His Gran had some politics to discuss, but she didn't consider it urgent. "I hope you'll visit here again during the summer, so we can discuss some more important aspects of your position. Until then, I'm sure Neville can answer most, if not all, your questions."
–..–
"Do you have any plans for New Year's Eve?" Jean asked the teens.
Hermione shrugged. "We made no plans. Neither Harry nor I have friends outside of Hogwarts."
"Then, do you mind coming with us to the Dentist Association New Year Ball? Many parents bring their teen children there. You were too young to participate until now. You can say Harry is your boyfriend, of course."
"But I don't know how to dance!" Harry protested.
Jean smiled. "Most people only dance the slow dances, and Hermione can teach you that in a jiffy. I can teach you both to Waltz or Tango, but that's not necessary."
Indeed, Harry enjoyed hugging Hermione and moving in rhythm with the slow music. It didn't take him very long to learn not to step on her toes, and he learned even quicker how to move them along while dancing.
Her parents made sure to buy them both appropriate clothes. They gave Harry a kind of elegant business suit, suitable for young teens. Hermione got a ball dress with a lower neckline than any she had previously had, but still suitable for her age. Once at the Ball, Hermione thought that she and Harry were the best-looking teen couple. They weren't the best dancers, but held their own quite nicely.
Then, the kiss at midnight was fabulous. As it approached, she started fearing it could also cause some magical effects, but it didn't. Oh, the kiss certainly felt magical, and the continuation in bed, once they were back, was even more so, but nobody could see it.