Their last year in Primary School was very good for all three children. They all kept their good grades, Dudley's even getting slightly better, and they were enjoying their studies and their friends. Well, the boys were enjoying their friends. Hermione had no friends aside from these two, but it didn't bother her too much.
Their informal magical studies went just as well, if not better. They all managed to change into quite a few animals, not leaving their clothes behind. They could also change into any person, including their clothing. They made their mind shields stronger, and their Legilimency was working better and subtler than before.
Harry even tried to use Legilimency on Dumbledore during one of the visits. The old man was unable to notice the intrusion while Harry learned some more about the man, although he didn't like most of what he found. The man had good intentions, sure, but some of his ideas were disconnected from reality, making them quite dangerous. He also found out the plans Dumbledore had for him, ending in Harry sacrificing himself for 'the greater good'. Luckily, these plans were discarded after that 'plague', but they made Harry wonder if the man was quite trustworthy.
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Discover moreFan art commissionsWriting contest entriesBook review servicesCrossover story ideasAnime merchandise"Do you know how old he is?" Hermione asked him when he expressed his concerns.
"I'm not quite sure, but he's over a hundred and ten years, possibly even by more than ten years."
"That's very old. I know of no muggle person who reached that age. Magical people may live longer, but that's old even for them." Hermione had certainly done some research on that.
"Does it matter?"
Hermione smiled hesitantly. "I'm not sure. Many old people lose some of their mental abilities when reaching very old age, but others keep their abilities to the last moment. Could you find anything indicating which group he belongs to?"
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Harry gave it some thought. "Not really. I didn't look very deeply, you know. When finding out about his original plans for me, I became so furious that I had to stop, or I would have damaged him."
Discover moreGet Parenting TipsparentsFan fiction booksWriting softwareCreative writing coursesHermione nodded understandingly. "We'll check him next time he visits. Even if he sees me fading, we can easily remove that information from his memory."
Harry smiled, not quite happily. "Yes, that's a good idea."
–..–
Hermione's new brother was a good reason for both families to meet and celebrate the newest arrival. The children, despite meeting each other almost every day, and more than once a day, were still very happy to 'officially' meet. Harry wasn't sure what it could mean, but he didn't bother himself with the question.
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When Petunia saw the new baby, she gasped audibly, making all present look questioningly at her.
"Is there a problem?" Jean asked worriedly.
Petunia smiled to reassure her. "No problem at all. It's just… The baby has a very prominent magical aura. He'd probably become as powerful as Harry, at least."
Discover moreComic book subscriptionsMovie memorabiliaTV show guidesShop Kids' BooksRead Sci-Fi BooksJean frowned. "Is that good?"
Petunia had no doubt. "It's very good. He'll need to learn to control it, of course, but judging by these three children, you have no reason to worry."
Jean smiled and caressed Hermione's head. The girl stayed close to her new brother most of the time. "Yes, if he'd be even half as talented as Hermione, he'd do very well."
–..–
Later, when the adults left the children alone, Hermione spoke again. "I almost forgot about that magic your aunt has. She only mentioned it once, the first time we met Minnie. Now I wonder if we could do the same."
"How can we?" Dudley asked.
Hermione smiled. "The same way we do other things. We ask our magic to act one way or another. We may ask our magic to see magical auras or not. Would you like to try first?"
Discover moreOnline writing communityFan fiction merchandiseAuthor collaboration toolsDigital book publishingStory writing promptsDudley wasn't sure he could do that, but the girl seemed confident he could. Besides, his mother could, so he may have inherited it. Dudley concentrated and asked his magic to let him see magical auras. He didn't notice that the other two were doing the same.
Dudley was surprised when his vision changed. Almost everything seemed to be surrounded by some glow. His hands were glowing. His arms, his legs, and his torso also seemed to glow, only slightly hindered by his clothes. Looking farther, he saw Harry glowing brightly. Hermione was also glowing just as brightly, and there seemed to be a connection between the two auras, looking like a glowing, thick rope. Turning his eyes to the baby, he saw him glowing quite brightly, too, although not as brightly as any of the older children. He also noticed a thin line connecting to Hermione.
This made him think. That thin line was probably a manifestation of the sibling connection. But then, what was the much stronger connection Hermione had with Harry?
Discover moreWatch Sci-Fi FilmsDiscover Sci-FiShop Goth FashionFind Family LawyerHire BabysittersHarry was also surprised. He saw Dudley glowing brightly and Hermione glowing even brighter. He couldn't see the connection between him and Hermione, but he had no problem noticing her connection to her new brother.
Looking back at Dudley, he noticed a dim connection that seemed to go out of the house. He wondered who or what was at the other end.
Hermione was the first to say something. "Dudley, do you know anybody magical except for us?"
Dudley shrugged. "Nobody, at least nobody I'm aware of."
As the children moved closer, Dudley noticed the connection between Harry and Hermione becoming wider. Then, when the two were merely a few paces apart, the two hallos seemed to connect completely, becoming one, much brighter. He wasn't sure what it exactly meant, but had a hunch.
"It looks like you two have a very strong connection. Then, when you stay close enough, your auras connect, becoming one, engulfing you both and looking much brighter."
Hermione turned her gaze to Harry. 'This may be somehow connected with this way of talking to each other without talking.'
Harry didn't even look at her when answering, 'You're probably right, but it doesn't matter much. We felt close to each other since the day we met, you know.'
She smiled. 'Of course, and we're getting closer as time passes.'
'Do you think we'll become a couple, eventually?'
Her smile widened. 'I hope so.'
Dudley smirked. "Have you finished your mind conversation?"
Both blushed. Harry said, "Sure. Did you want to say anything else?
Dudley smiled. "Not much. I'm only glad we can do this too, all three."
Hermione smiled at him. "Yes, it's quite nice."
–..–
Dumbledore came for a visit after the New Year, as was his custom, along with Minerva. As had become a norm, Hermione was also present. If asked, they would say she slept over, using the guest room.
Dumbledore acted as usual. He asked the children for any new achievements, but they only talked about some magical books they'd read. These were, in fact, some of the books they had read first. They had advanced quite a bit since.
Dumbledore seemed content with their stories and joined the adults. He needed to make them ready for the changes that would happen when the children started going to Hogwarts.
Harry and Hermione stayed nearby, seemingly reading a book together. They were working together, but only what they read was Dumbledore's mind and memories. They tried to do a kind of 'memory dump' — a concept they found referring to computer diagnostics. It seemed to fit. They divided the work between them. Hermione tried to find out all about Dumbledore's first seven decades. They assumed that the first two would be of little interest, since he was a student for most of them. Harry tried the same for the time since Dumbledore reached seventy, which included the time his parents went to Hogwarts, and when they went into hiding and how he was rescued from that house after the attack and brought to his aunt. There was much more, of course, but these times were the most interesting for him.
Judging by his behaviour, Dumbledore didn't notice anything. He acted jovially, not stopping momentarily, as if feeling something amiss. The children still took everything they could, not trying to filter or look for specific events. They just dumped it all, confident in their ability to analyse it all later.
Indeed, Dumbledore left after a short time, as was his habit, taking Minerva along. Harry and Hermione moved to Harry's room. They had no way to share the acquired memories, but they acted on instinct. They sat on the bed and touched foreheads. They were immediately covered by a glow, making their heads seem to float inside a bubble. They stayed that way for several minutes. Dudley opened the door to join them but closed it at once, not quite sure what they were doing. It didn't feel dangerous, so he let it be.
The glowing bubble disappeared after a while, and the children moved their heads apart.
"Wow! That was intense!" Harry exclaimed.
Hermione nodded. "It was, and once we understand what we took, we may be able to skip most of the lessons at Hogwarts. We'll already know everything and quite a bit more. We may still need the practical lessons."
Harry chuckled. "We'll be able to learn some more at the library, instead."
He then turned serious. "I suggest we first find everything concerning me or my parents, and also whatever may point to his mental faculties. We may discuss our findings in a few days and decide how to proceed."
Hermione nodded in agreement.
–..–
As agreed, they first sorted the memories by time. They then concentrated on memories from 1971, when Harry's parents reached Hogwarts. They sorted these into two types: ones that concerned his parents in any way and ones that didn't. Harry was sure that some would eventually be added to the first category, but this was only the initial sorting. They concentrated on the time since his parents got married until the day they died, and a few days later.
Harry became really furious when he saw Dumbledore witnessing the Potter will, where the Dursleys had been mentioned as ones who should never be allowed to care for Harry, only to leave him on their doorstep a few weeks later. That made the old man lose any goodwill from Harry. Hermione, too, of course.
He then saw Dumbledore co-signing the arrest order for Sirius Black. That made the old man into an enemy, a disguised enemy, which is more dangerous.
A visit to Gringotts gave him the information he needed, and he passed it to the head of the DMLE, as Hermione suggested. He could only feel thankful that she already knew so much about the magical world.
–..–
Sirius Black was not a happy man. Nobody at Azkaban could be happy, not even the human guards.
Still, after all the incarcerated Death Eaters died at midday, Sirius thought that somebody would notice his survival and check. It proved to be a false hope. More than a year later, he no longer held any hope for himself. Oh, he knew he was innocent of everything he was supposedly convicted for, but since he'd never got a trial, he wasn't even sure what the accusations could be. The only one that could hold was if they accused him of being an unregistered Animagus, and even that wasn't quite true. The Marauders registered their forms with the French Ministry. It was fully legal yet kept secret from the British Ministry, where too many Death Eater supporters lurked, ready to pass such information to the enemy.
Yet he still hoped to be able to see Harry at least once, to apologise for chasing Wormtail instead of ensuring Harry's safety and well-being. He only wondered if that hope could ever come true.
"Sirius Black!"
The voice brought him out of his musings. He tried to stand up. He needed to support himself on the bars of his cell for that, his body too weak to stand on its own.
"Sirius Black, you are now sent to London for interrogation. Don't try anything forbidden or you'll be punished. Understood?"
Sirius could only nod.
They had to practically carry him since his body was too weak to stand and certainly to walk. The guards didn't seem to mind him. They still tried not to be too rough, if only so he could reach interrogation in not too bad a condition.
A few hours later, he found himself in a holding cell at the ministry. Amelia Bones came in to talk to him after he had had a chance to eat a bit. An Auror stayed behind, ensuring her safety.
"You don't look well, Sirius."
He could barely chuckle. "Tell me something I don't know."
She smiled understandingly. "Your case reached my desk only a few days ago. I still need to investigate why it took so long. Still, it's evident that you didn't get any trial; didn't even get an interrogation. I'd like to start with that, but even before that, you need to regain some health. You look as if a strong wind may blow you away."
He shrugged. "Then what?"
She sighed. "I'll first ensure you get to properly eat. Once you regain enough strength to stand, you'll be given a good shower and a haircut. Clean robes, too, of course. I hope you'll be able to answer questions a day or two later. A healer will see you each day to help give you the right food and to assess your progress."
"I didn't…" he started saying.
Amelia lifted her hand to stop him. "It will all come out during the interrogation. Don't exert yourself until then. Goodnight, Sirius."