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“Tell Hermione she can’t take Snowball with her!”
Orion ’s eyes widened as one of his granddaughters hurtled into his arms, tears in her eyes the moment she saw him. He looked at his youngest son, who looked far from amused at his daughter’s antics, before saying, “Prey tell what is going on?”
“Elizabeth doesn’t want Hermione to take Snowball the II to Hogwarts with her,” Regulus said.
“Snowball’s my kitty, grandpa!” Elizabeth said.
Orion attempted to hold back the amusement from knowing Snowball had joined the family before Elizabeth was born. “Now, now. Snowball is the family cat, not just your kitty.”
“All the more reason Hermione shouldn’t get to take her for her first year.”
“Well, that backfired,” Orion said.
“Obviously,” Regulus said, looking frustrated.
Orion rested his hand on the top of Elizabeth ’s head, knowing just how stubborn she could be in trying to get her way. “Well, let’s see,” Orion said. “You say you don’t want Snowball to go to Hogwarts,” he said. “But what about next year when you start?”
“Of course, he’ll go,” Elizabeth sniffed. “She’s my kitty.”
Regulus sighed. Orion said. “Ah, but you just agreed that she’s the family kitty, but what will your siblings think about you keeping Snowball to yourself?”
“But Hermione’s doing that. It’s no different.”
“Is it? Hermione’s the eldest, so she gets to go to Hogwart’s first,” Orion said.
“That’s not fair!” Elizabeth said.
“It’s perfectly fair,” Regulus said.
“As if you would know!”
“As if I would know?” Regulus frowned. “I’ve got an older brother, you know.”
“So?”
“When he went off to Hogwarts first, I was far more concerned about losing my best friend than….”
“Snowball is my best friend,” Elizabeth said despite having actual friends. She’d taken the time to look at her father, saw the look of displeasure, and tried shrinking down behind her grandfather.
“Yes, well, you have other friends,” Regulus said. “I only had Sirius.”
“Uncle Sirius is horrible!”
“Be that as it may,” Regulus said, sighing. He frowned, then said. “Wait. I don’t agree with that. He can be a pain sometimes, but he is my brother.” He said, “But the point here is I didn’t even have any friends. There were kids I’d been introduced to before I went to Hogwarts, but they were never friends. And even after I went, I never really made friends. There was always an extended family member here and there, but no friends.”
“Your dad could have used a half-Kneezle kitten growing up,” Orion said. “How about, to make up for you missing your older sister….”
“Who would miss her!” And then Elizabeth was gone.
“Well, I tried.”
“It’s fine. It would help if mother didn’t spoil her so and play favorites with her.”
“Well, she does look a lot like Narcissa.”
“While Hermione looks like Andy,” Regulus shook his head.
…
What wasn ’t expected was for both Regulus and Hermione to fall in love with another half-Kneezle they saw at the menagerie. Crookshanks was orange, even fluffier, and had a flat face that was to die for, so Elizabeth got to keep her Snowball, insisting she was glad Crookshanks was leaving as “Crookshanks and Snowball don’t get along,” despite the fact they actually did.
“I thought you were bringing Snowball with you,” a familiar voice said on the train.
“Grumpy as ever, I see Draco,” Hermione said, petting the orange fluffball. “I was, but then dad and I found this delightful fellow, and we fell in love.” Her cousin sat across from her, frowning as he did so. “Do you want help with your bag?”
“You don’t have to fetch a Prefect. Mother says they’ll be around soon, but the Slytherin ones will be on a definite lookout for us,” Draco said.
“To try and get us sorted into Slytherin?” Hermione frowned.
“Why would you want to be sorted into Slytherin,” a boy with red hair said from the doorway. “All wizards that come from Slytherin are evil.”
“My father wasn’t,” Hermione said, wrinkling her nose at the boy. “Hermione Granger-Black, by the way.”
“Black?”
“Yeah. My father’s side of the family,” Hermione said.
“Then you’re a bloody liar,” the boy said.
“I am not a liar.”
“You’ve got to be. Everyone knows the Black family is into the Dark Arts, the awful lot of them.”
“Excuse me?” Hermione said while Draco watched, his mouth twisting in amusement as he sat by the window, his mouth twisted in amusement as Crookshanks growled at the boy.
“And I bet your father was a Death Eater, wasn’t he?”
“So what if he is?” Hermione said.
“Are you bloody,” the boy with red hair said,
“Excuse me,” another person said. “I’d like to get through.” They nodded their head at Draco. “Malfoy.”
“Potter,” Draco said, begrudgingly acknowledging the other boy’s presence.
“Are you sitting with this lot?” the boy said. “Malfoy and the Black?”
“I’m friends with Hermione, not Malfoy. Unfortunately, he comes as part of the package because he’s Hermione’s cousin and is bloody related to my godfather.”
“You are aware that her father was a Death Eater?”
Harry ’s head jerked up. “Hermione, you shouldn’t go around telling people that.”
“Why not?” Hermione said, scratching Crookshank’s ears.
“Because,” Harry sighed. “Look. I know your interaction with the magical community is limited, but telling people your dad is a Death Eater isn’t something you should do.”
“Why? He married my mom. Insisted we be raised in the Granger household.”
“Okay, let me settle this,” Draco said, turning to the boy. “Weasley,” he said firmly. “I’ll freely admit….”
“Draco! You’ve been lectured about that,” Hermione said. “That the tapestry doesn’t matter anymore.”
Draco let out a sigh, rolling his eyes. “Fine. I’ll freely admit my father isn’t a nice person. The same can’t be said for my father. As she said, her dad married her mom.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” the Weasley lad said.
“I don’t see how it’s any of your business,” Draco said, still showing great disdain for the other boy.”
“He’s talking about how Hermione’s mom can’t do magic.”
“Wait? She’s a squib?” The other boy wrinkled his nose.
“A Squabble,” Harry said.
“A what?”
“They’re combining the words Muggle and Squib,” Draco said.
“And why would you do that?”
“Really, none of your business,” Draco said. “You’ve not been very nice to my cousin, see, so please leave.”
“I don’t have to,” the other boy said.
And then, “Excuse me!”
“Oh! Neville!” Hermione said. “Come look at the half-Kneezle my dad got me.”
“Longbottom,” both Harry and Draco said, addressing the boy who’d appeared.
“Could you please let Neville through?”
“Spoiled rotten, you are,” the other boy said, leaving.
Hermione frowned. “What’s his problem?”
“He’s a Weasley,” Draco said.
“Tapestry,” Hermione said. “Plus, didn’t one of Uncle Ignatius’ nieces marry into the Weasley family? So that would make them family.”
“Merlin forbids,” Draco said. “Please don’t adopt your dad’s stance on who is or isn’t family. He bloody includes the entire family tree.”
“Well, about the trunks,” Hermione said.
“We’ll wait for a Prefect,” Draco said.
“Why? I’ve been dying to try out Wingardium Leviosa,” Hermione said.
“You what?” Draco said, opening his mouth. “When did you learn that spell?”
“I learned many spells over the summer once I got my wand. Dad said Wingardium Leviosa would be handy to get one’s trunks into the baggage area,” Hermione said, setting Crookshanks aside.
“But should we be doing magic?” Neville said. “You know before they teach us?”
“You’ve met Hermione’s dad, right?” Harry said as Hermione, without hesitation, used the spell to lift Neville’s trunk. No issues.
“Do you,” another student said, only to pause. “Wait. Aren’t you a first-year?”
“Yes,” Hermione said.
“I hope you get sorted into Ravenclaw,” they said before leaving.
One of Draco ’s eyebrows rose. “I guess the prefects aren’t going to be bothering us.”
“Kind of nice,” Harry said. “And we’ll have more room.”
“It would be nice to stretch one’s legs,” Draco said. “Wingardium Leviosa, you said it was?”
“Malfoy, stop competing with your cousin,” Harry sighed.
“I’m not competing,” Draco said, rolling his eyes. “What’s the wand motion?”
Hermione demonstrated while Neville watched. Draco followed suit, lifting the trunk, although not as smoothly. Harry frowned. “Well, that could have gone wrong. Hermione?”
“Sure,” she said, lifting the trunk above.
“What are you doing?”
“I thought you said we wouldn’t be bothered by a prefect, Draco,” Neville said nervously.
“I’m not sure where you’d get that idea from,” the boy said. “But you shouldn’t be doing spells just yet.”
“Weasley,” Draco muttered.
“Are all Weasleys sticks in the mud?” Hermione asked.
Harry quickly covered her mouth. “Sorry.”
“So, obviously, you’re a Malfoy,” the boy said. “And the rest of you are?”
Hermione pushed Harry ’s hand away. “I didn’t do anything wrong. Draco said he’s a Weasley as well. Like that boy who was in here a bit ago.”
The boy frowned. “Alright. What did Ron do?”
“He insulted my cousin by insisting her dad was evil because he was sorted into Slytherin,” Draco said.
“And who is your father?”
“Regulus Black,” Hermione said.
The older boy frowned. “So, I know Malfoy’s father was a Death Eater, but what about yours.”
“He….”
“Oh! Hermione’s father’s not a bad person,” Neville said. “He’s an Order of the Merlin for service rendered during the war because he,” and then he frowned. “What did your dad do? I mean, I know he was a you-know-what?”
“I don’t know. Even Uncle Sirius doesn’t know,” Hermione said.
Harry took a deep breath. “So, to clarify as I did with Ron, if that’s his name, her father married someone who can’t do magic.”
“A Squib?” the boy said. “A Black married a Squib?”
“Something like that,” Draco said, looking out the window.
“And why are you telling me this?”
“Because people tend to get the wrong impression of Hermione’s dad because he was a Death Eater,” Neville pointed out.
“Longbottom,” Draco sighed, closing his eyes. “Really? After Potter lectured her about not bringing that up?”
“So your dad married a Squib, something like that, whatever that means, and he’s the Order of the Merlin for services rendered during the war?” the boy said.
Hermione raised her hand. “Can I ask some questions?”
“Questions?”
“So, I know someone from the family married a Weasley. And I know a Prewett married a Weasley. That would mean we’re family.”
“Oh. Yeah. We are,” the boy said. “Wait? You really don’t know that the Black family is related to practically everybody in the British magical community in some shape or form?”
“Her mom’s a Squbble,” Harry said.
“Squbble,” the boy frowned. “Did you combine the words Muggle and Squib? Why?”
“Her dad and my godfather apparently did,” Harry said.
“But why? Non-magical people are either Muggle or Squib. She can’t be both.”
“She’s not both. It’s more of,” Draco frowned.
“She’s neither,” Neville said. “Something about having Squib parents. I didn’t quite follow.”
“Interesting,” the boy said, then after a few minutes said. “Actually, that makes sense. Someone with two Squib as parents would still have a magical bloodline, whereas Muggle is a term that’s always been meant to describe someone with none. Nobodies even considered the possibility of the magic skipping only one generation.”
“Something like that,” Draco muttered. “It’s actually a whole lot more complicated than that.”
“Well,” the boy said. “This is the Black family. Everything about them is complicated.” He then took a deep breath. “I’m Percy Weasley, by the way. I hope the four of you get sorted into Gryffindor.”
“Wait.” Draco became more alert, pointing the finger at himself. “Me? You want me in Gryffindor.”
“Well, it depends on what kind of person you are, but if this is your friend group, you can’t be all bad.” Percy nodded his head. “And I’ll be off. No practicing spells until the teachers teach you properly. Even if someone in your family taught you.”
“Why?” Hermione asked.
“Because accidents can still happen even if your parents taught you properly. So really, if you want to do magic, it is more of having someone spot you as you do spells.”
“Oh, that makes sense,” Hermione said, scooping up Crookshanks. “I was actually thinking of Ravenclaw.”
“No! I wouldn’t be able to get into that House,” Neville said. “I’m going to be stuck in Hufflepuff because there’s nothing great about me.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Percy said. “You’re a bit young to be saying that.”
“But they didn’t know I could do magic until my Uncle dropped me out the window.”
“They should bloody learn to wait for the Hogwarts letters to come,” Percy said.
“But I wouldn’t be in the book if it hadn’t been for that.”
“You don’t know that. Magic—it can be quite subtle,” Percy said. “Anyways, see you at the sorting.”
And then he cleared up. Hermione petted Crookshanks. “He seemed nicer than his brother.”
“Yeah,” Neville said. “He was.”