College and other things

The College of Merlin was, as a matter of course, hidden from muggle eyes. Its outside entrance was inside a tool shed, which worked quite well to keep unsuspecting students from finding themselves in the wrong place. Professor Shattuck was standing next to his friend and fellow Professor, Theodora Oddsbody, when a beautiful young witch glided passed him, surrounded by four dour looking wizards. He blinked in surprise at the picture of the five of them made as they moved down the hall. The witch was serene, almost regal looking, and the four wizards gave off an aura of carefully leashed power and authority. He turned to Professor Oddsbody.

"What was that?" He asked dryly. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Don't you ever pay attention to anything outside the library?" Oddsbody replied in exasperation. He grinned.

"No, not really," he admitted. Oddsbody sighed heavily.

"That was a group of new students," she said sweetly. "Now I've got to run, I need to prep for my next class."

The strange group of five was in his last class of the day: History of the Wizengamot. Professor Shattuck watched two of the wizards enter the room, do a security sweep, and then allow the other two to escort the young witch into the room. His eyebrows crept up his forehead and stayed there while the four wizards seemed to have a brief argument before they picked the most secure, easily defensible area of the room to sit; all four wizards sat between the witch and the rest of the class room. He stood at the lectern, and the room quieted down immediately. He introduced himself, had a student pass out syllabi and briefly went over the course outline before launching into his first lecture. He did note that when the student who was passing out syllabi approached the four wizards, they immediately rose to their feet, further blocking the young witch behind them. They took the proffered syllabi politely, and as soon as the student moved away, sat down as a unit. Professor Shattuck shook his head slightly and continued his lecture. When class ended, it was almost a reverse of the beginning of class. All four men rose, surrounded the witch and escorted her out of the room. Professor Shattuck loped to the teacher's lounge for a shepherd's pie and some ale, and then he would be off to the library and his beloved books.

"So, Aloysius, how was your last class of the day?" Theodora Oddsbody asked him with a smirk. The other professors were looking at him with interest. Shattuck shrugged.

"Like any other first class of the term. Not a lot of spirited debate on the first day, Theodora," Shattuck replied dryly. She smirked a little wider and turned to her other good friend, Professor Nigel Grimsby.

"He has no idea you realize," Oddsbody confided. Professor Grimsby almost choked on his curry.

"No idea?" He managed to gasp out as he turned red. Oddsbody nodded.

"Now, see here, Shattuck, is that true?" Professor Bagshot asked in appalled fascination.

"Is what true?" Aloysius Shattuck snapped in irritation. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he'd bet they were trying to put one over on him again.

"You did know there was a war on, not that long ago?" One of the professors asked sarcastically.

"Well, yes, they increased security on the library," Shattuck grumbled irritably. Several of the professors chuckled at that.

"That little witch, the one they guard so much? She's the one that stopped it," Theodora Oddsbody told him smugly.

"How did she do that?" Shattuck asked in surprise. She seemed awfully young for stopping an entire war.

"She killed You-know-who," Oddsbody said firmly. "My brother is an Auror, and he says that her bodyguard is made up of wizards who were part of the rebellion against the Death Eaters."

"Why on earth does she need a bodyguard?" Shattuck asked in surprise. Oddsbody looked at him as though he were daft.

Just because You-know-who is dead doesn't mean all his Death Eaters are. Most of them, yes, but there are a few out there, and they all hate her with a passion," Grimsby explained.

"The Aurors are stretched too thin to assign any sort of guard detail to her, and I guess her rebels said something snotty to the DMLE to the equivalent that she was theirs to guard anyway," Oddsbody offered.

"My word," Shattuck said finally. The other professors chuckled again and left Shattuck to his shepherd's pie.

Over the next few weeks, Professor Shattuck spotted the witch who'd supposedly saved the world in the college library, and every time he saw her she was sitting at a table, surrounded by open books, taking careful notes on parchment. He noticed that her ever present guard was seated in seemingly casual relevance to her position, but that each wizard was strategically placed. She was quiet in his class, listening carefully to everything he said and taking careful notes. Her papers were well thought out, intelligent and carefully built on mountains of supporting documentation. Shattuck found himself respecting and liking Hermione Black as an intellectual equal. He still found her constant honor guard perplexing, but he ignored it for the most part. Truthfully, if it wasn't bound parchment and at least 400 years old, Shattuck hadn't much interest for it. So it was that the professor noted when his student invaded the college library and appreciated her papers, but for the most part he ignored her as a periphery being to his world.

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HG/HP/HB

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December, 1980

Happiness was not a requirement of life, Orion Black admitted to himself, but he felt that perhaps it made life go more smoothly. His sons had taken care of their House during the recent situation, which was what every father hoped for, but few received. His eldest had married a beautiful pureblood girl with excellent connections and enough ambition and cunning to bring the family even more prestige in the coming years. Orion Black thought that such phrases as 'blood-traitor' were idiotic. There was the survival of the House and its continued wealth and prestige: nothing else really mattered or was important. Therefore he was pleased with his eldest son's choice of wife, and hoped that his youngest would soon choose a wife as well. It didn't do to put all of one's eggs in one basket, so to speak. Regulus had developed a backbone in the time that he'd been…unreachable, and while on the one hand he was pleased that both sons were strong men, on the other he was slightly put out that his house didn't have any grandchildren yet. His cousin Cygnus was a bit intense, but he was boastfully proud of his grandson, Draco. Orion scowled at the wall of his library and sipped at his firewhiskey. His daughter-in-law had invited him to Christmas dinner, and the little minx had had a particular gleam in her eye that made him slightly wary. Still, it would not be well-done of him to arrive late. He sighed and stood up reluctantly, just as Regulus entered the room, straightening his tie.

"Ah, father," Regulus said smoothly, his face giving away nothing. Orion eyed his son impassively. "Are you ready?"

"I suppose," he said sourly. "There will be muggleborns and half-breeds there, yes?"

"Yes, father, there will," Regulus said mildly, his face still completely impassive.

"Are they influential? Do they have money and power?" Orion asked curiously. Regulus grey eyes gleamed for a moment.

"Let us say that they are the power behind the power," he said thoughtfully. Orion considered that. Hidden power that could be used by those with the knowledge and the desire was the sort of thing that appealed to the Slytherin within.

"I wonder if we might marry you off to any of them," Orion murmured to himself.

"Father!" Regulus managed to sound like an outraged maiden and Orion sighed heavily. At times, his burden was a great one.

What? I cannot hope that my son will attempt to continue the family line? I am not allowed to contemplate the future of my own House?" Orion snapped irritably. Regulus rolled his eyes heavenward and muttered something under his breath. Orion glared at him.

"Come along, father," Regulus said finally. "Sirius and Hermione will be expecting us."

The Black townhouse had been decorated by someone with far more enthusiasm than taste. Orion frowned slightly looking around the foyer uncertainly. Hermione moved out into the foyer to greet them and gave a shocked gasp of horror. She glanced about the room in distaste and flicked her hand. The foyer became tastefully, elegantly decorated and Orion felt himself relaxing slightly. Dark Families didn't really buy into the whole concept of the Yuletide season, although they nominally celebrated it. Their decorations tended to be darker, fewer and slightly more restrained. This was rather more boisterous than he was used to, but it was much better than the holiday riot that had been spattered across their walls. Hermione moved toward them and kissed each of them on the cheek.

"Orion, Regulus, it's wonderful to see you," Hermione said graciously. She turned and led them into the parlor where Sirius and their extended family were gathered about.

"Orion," Alphard said with a nod. Orion moved to speak with his cousin and Charlus Potter joined them.

The gentlemen talked amongst themselves, and Orion noted his cousin Dorea, Charlus' wife, speaking to his niece Andromeda and his son's sister-in-law, Lily Potter. There was another woman who bore a resemblance to Mrs. James Potter, and he could only assume that she was the young lady's mother. There were several other people in the room with whom he was not acquainted and he was uncertain of their individual affiliations. He shot a jealous glance at young James Potter, holding his infant son and standing next to Lucius Malfoy who was holding his own son. Sirius had gone to stand next to his pretty wife, and he was currently whispering something into her small ears. Orion's eyes narrowed slightly. He knew his son, and he knew that something was afoot.

"I know that you're all wondering why we've asked all of you here tonight," Sirius began earnestly, his arm firmly around his wife's waist. Narcissa Malfoy and Dorea Black both squealed in excitement and attacked Sirius, separating him from his wife so that they could hug and kiss her. Lucius frowned darkly and turned to Regulus.

"You knew," Lucius said flatly. "That's why you doubled her guard. The damn college had nothing to do with it."

"Of course I knew," Regulus snapped in irritation.

"And you decided not to tell us," Severus observed coolly in his silkiest, most dangerous voice.

"It wasn't my decision," Regulus bit out between clenched teeth. He glanced toward Hermione who was now surrounded by her mother, Andromeda, Lily and Narcissa.

"Look here, what the hell is going on?" James growled at Sirius who blinked at him helplessly and turned to Charlus Potter.

"Well, son, I believe my princess is going to become a mother," Charlus said in a suspiciously thick voice.

"I'm going to be a grandfather," Orion added, a pleased smile on his face. Sirius grinned at his father.

"Actually, sir, you'll be a step or two ahead of the others. My kitten does nothing by halves," Sirius informed his father smugly. Orion frowned in confusion, but Dorea gasped in delight.

"Twins? Oh, Hermione!" She hugged her daughter again, tears in her eyes.

"Twins?" Orion echoed, his own smile becoming somewhat smug. The Black family had never had twins, but he heartily approved. That meant that he would have two grandchildren. Take that, Cygnus!

"We're going to talk later, Regulus," Lucius informed him coolly, a hard gleam in his silver eyes.

"It was her wish," Regulus said softly. "Just in case."

That stopped the milites from taking out their frustrations on Regulus' person. Lucius and Severus remembered their domina's fragile state when she'd lost her baby. Lucius knew that Narcissa had been petrified that Hermione's encouraging words were merely that. She had worried almost every second of her pregnancy that something would happen to either her or the baby. It stood to reason that Hermione had shared similar fears and had waited until she was sure that the baby…or babies, rather, would take. They both sighed irritably.

"Perhaps we should increase her guard?" Severus suggested thoughtfully, frowning darkly.

"She would throw a fit," Lucius pointed out drily.

"Do you really feel that she's in that much danger?" Charlus asked them quietly, glancing briefly toward his wife and then focusing his attention on the three young men who were sworn to protect his daughter. All three young men's faces were calm and betrayed no emotion.

"We do sir," Severus said softly. "There are several Death Eaters that have so far evaded capture. We feel that they would take an opportunity if it were presented. Hence, our guard."

"You don't guard her when she's with family," Charlus observed with a worried frown. Regulus snorted. "What?"

"Sir, the Death Eater who can make it passed yourself and your wife, or your son and his wife, or my brother to get to Hermione doesn't exist. Sirius would die before he let anyone touch Hermione," Regulus said flatly. Charlus frowned, but nodded.

"You are right about that," Charlus agreed reluctantly. He knew that his wife would deal death with a happy smile if it kept harm from her daughter, not to mention James & Lily or Sirius.

"We have taken every precaution to ensure her safety," Severus said solemnly. Charlus nodded.

"I only hope that it is enough," he murmured under his breath. "Hermione would be devastated if anything were to happen."

"I promise you, sir, we will let nothing harm our domina," Lucius swore as he held his son against his chest.

Young Draco tugged on his father's hair and tried to stuff some of it in his mouth. Severus expertly took the boy from his father's arms and bounced him gently so that his squeals could be heard from across the room where young Harry looked curiously toward the happy sounding baby. The two boys were placed on a blanket together and soon they were happily chewing on various toys and poking at one another curiously. Hermione seemed particularly bemused by the sight, and her brother came to stand by her and wrap one arm around her waist.

"Even if you and Lucius weren't…tolerant…of one another, Harry and Draco would have known one another, wouldn't they?" Hermione asked softly. James shrugged next to her.

"I imagine so, My Own. As you are well aware, pureblood society is excruciatingly small. You ladies have your teas, we gentlemen have various pursuits at which we often see one another. Quidditch, certainly. I expect we would have run into one another, and the dictates of society being what they are, we would have been scrupulously polite to one another," James said drily.

"They will be friends," Hermione said in a wondering sort of tone, staring at the two boys on the blanket in fascination.

"Do you See something, My Own?" James whispered urgently, glancing around the room worriedly. Not everyone present knew about Hermione. She began to shiver in his arms and her breathing became slightly erratic. James didn't even think. He merely swung his sister up into his arms and bolted out of the large parlor. Sirius followed hard on his heels and Lily and the three milites managed to defuse the situation without everyone trailing after Hermione in an effort to 'help'.