章 91: Epilogue Part 3
Fall, 1994
Hogwarts
Severus looked over the Great Hall from his seat at the faculty table, his lips pursed together. The Tri-Wizard tournament was being held at Hogwarts, but oddly enough…Hermione had known. What's more, he had a sneaking suspicion that her goddaughter, Fleur Delacour would be chosen as the Beauxbatons Champion. Hermione had worked with the girl for the last two years straight, making sure that she knew a variety of spells that most people didn't learn until Auror training, if then. The fact that Hermione knew all of those spells didn't surprise anyone, they were used to the things that Hermione shouldn't be able to do by now. Hermione had been very anxious the last few weeks and had come to visit him more than once at Hogwarts. His gaze swept over the students and fell upon two girls sitting at the Ravenclaw table. He didn't allow a smile to curve his lips because he was always aware of anyone who might be watching, but his heart warmed to see the two girls, their heads bent toward one another speaking of something important. The sorting hat had suggested that Cassiopeia Black might be best suited to Slytherin, but she had chosen Ravenclaw to be near her friend Luna. The hat had grumbled darkly, but Cassiopeia was intelligent enough that it really couldn't argue. Cepheus had surprised no one when he'd chosen Ravenclaw as well, to be close to his sister. Cepheus and Cassiopeia were just as close as James and Hermione had been, and he was just as protective of his sister as James had been. Sometimes, Cepheus and Cassiopeia would sit side by side and it was as if no one else in the world existed. Severus noted with some disgust that Cepheus was just as handsome, if not more so, than his damned father. The girls were already chasing him, just as they had Sirius. However, Cepheus had a far healthier sense of self-esteem and therefore was slightly choosier about his girlfriends. Usually they had to pass the Luna/Cassiopeia test. It was a two-fold test: the first part required both girls to approve of the girlfriend-to-be, and the second part was that the girl could be around Luna and Cassiopeia without making disparaging comments about Luna's behavior quirks.
"Where is Cepheus?" Luna asked dreamily, glancing about the Ravenclaw table. Cassiopeia looked around her with a slight frown.
"I'm not sure," she said thoughtfully. Cepheus was probably inspecting the inside of one of the broomclosets, but Cassiopeia didn't really want to think about that at the moment. She was trying to eat breakfast after all.
"Bon matin," Fleur said cheerfully as she sat down across from both girls. Both girls smiled at her and chattered happily in French.
"How are you this morning, Fleur?" Luna asked politely. Fleur was smirking to herself.
"There's to be a Yule Ball," Fleur murmured to Luna, a gleam in her eye. "I wonder who Harry will ask."
"Don't tease, Fleur," Cassiopeia said with a roll of her eyes. "We all know who Harry will ask."
"Then who will ask you, little cousin?" Fleur asked with a slightly larger smirk. Cassiopeia frowned at her mother's goddaughter. She loved Fleur, and had been raised with her as a cousin, but this was pushing things too far.
"I'm not sure," Cassiopeia said slowly, her cheeks turning pink. "Perhaps no one. I am a third year after all."
"I doubt that would stop many of the boys," Fleur said drily. Cassiopeia shrugged. "I bet that that Ronald Weasley will try to ask you. You're the prettiest girl in school and I've seen him look at you like you're a tartin."
"He made fun of Luna," Cassiopeia said sharply, a look of intense displeasure on her face. Fleur frowned.
"I did not know that," Fleur said. "He will most likely ask you anyway. I don't think that he would realize the consequences of teasing our Luna. They announced the ball to the Champions this morning. Expect him to ask you in the next couple of days."
"That is not going to happen," Cassiopeia said flatly. Luna bit her lip.
I would not bet on that Cassiopeia," Luna warned her. Cassiopeia paled and glanced about the hall in a panic. Luna's intuition was as good as her mother's, and both were rarely wrong. Harry and Draco were not at breakfast yet. Neville and Ron were not either. Cassiopeia spotted Sebastian Granger sitting at the Gryffindor table and breathed a huge sigh of relief. She hurried over to him.
"'Bastian?" Cassiopeia said quietly and touched his shoulder with her fingertips. He glanced up at her with a smile. She wasn't sure why, but Sebastian Granger had always felt like family to her. Mummy seemed to treat him that way, and perhaps it had rubbed off onto her. He didn't feel quite like a brother, but he felt rather like Harry…so maybe a cousin?
"Yes, dominella?" He asked politely. She may have looked completely calm to the rest of the Great Hall, but he knew that she was uneasy and he automatically came to attention.
"I need to speak to you, privately," Cassiopeia said softly enough that no one else might overhear her. He stood up immediately and followed her from the hall. They both went into a small unused classroom and Cassiopeia began to pace with a distracted air.
"What's wrong, dominella?" Sebastian asked uncertainly.
"There's to be a Yule Ball," Cassiopeia muttered. "Is there a particular girl that you like, that you want to ask?"
"No, not really," Sebastian said honestly with a shrug.
He hadn't met anyone at Hogwarts that made something spark inside him—like with his Mum and Dad, or like Harry and Luna. Those two had been drawn to one another from the day they met. He'd watched the domina frowning slightly and muttering under her breath about 'damned natural bonds'. She'd chewed her bottom lip almost raw and in the end she'd shrugged helplessly. Sebastian had asked his Mum and Dad how they'd known that each was 'the one' for the other. Then he'd asked Harry how he felt whenever Luna was nearby. He'd received slightly different responses, but he paid attention and tried to see if he felt that way around any of the witches…or wizards…at Hogwarts and he didn't. He'd wondered at first if maybe there was something wrong with him and he'd asked Mrs. Black because she knew everything. She had smiled at him and ruffled his short hair slightly.
"Oh, 'Bastian," she had said with a light laugh. "It will happen when it happens. Harry was and is rather special, and apparently no matter the circumstances his life ends up as interesting. Natural bonds are incredibly rare and his bond with Luna has begun far earlier than normal. Generally, a natural bond won't begin until after puberty at least."
He shook his head and tried to focus on the here and now, where Cassiopeia was pacing and asking him questions.
"Right," Cassiopeia was saying. "So if there isn't anyone that you want to go with, will you please go with me? I'm afraid of certain people asking and if I already have a date then I can politely turn them down."
"Uh," Sebastian stalled as his mind raced. He knew of several boys that liked Cassiopeia and one in particular that was going to go spare when he found out that Cassiopeia had asked Sebastian to be her date. Then Cassiopeia turned those great grey eyes upon him and he groaned. "Okay, yes. Fine, I'll be your date."
"Oh thank you, 'Bastian!" Cassiopeia cried and flung herself at him. She kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly.
"Are we interrupting something?" Cepheus asked coolly from the doorway, Harry and Draco flanking him; their faces void of emotion, but the hardness of Harry's emerald eyes and the molten silver of Draco's hinting at suppressed anger. Cassiopeia turned to look at her brother, her arms still around Sebastian's neck and shook her head.
"Of course not, Cephée," she said with a roll of her eyes. She unwound her arms from around Sebastian's neck. "Sebastian and I are going to the Yule Ball together, isn't that wonderful?"
"I see," Cepheus said politely, raising one raven's wing brow at his friend. Sebastian shrugged helplessly and pointed to Cassiopeia. Both eyebrows rose up Cepheus' forehead and he frowned slightly. The group of friends who'd attended the Pythagoras School had a loose group of hand signals and gestures they used to communicate. Sebastian had just indicated that Cassiopeia had asked him to be her date and that he hadn't had a choice. He hadn't really. All of them who had sworn to guard the dominella had sworn to obey her commands, just like the milites. While asking him to the ball wasn't a direct order, Sebastian had probably felt as though he had little choice. "Why, Cassiopeia?"
"Someone was going to ask me, Luna confirmed it," Cassiopeia, distaste curling her lip slightly.
"Who?" Harry demanded, glancing at Draco who shrugged in confusion. They kept a sharp eye on Cassiopeia and they couldn't recall anyone who'd been able to get close to her. "Who do you dislike so much that you secured your own date?"
"Ronald Weasely," Cassiopeia bit out in clipped tones. At the blank looks on all the male's faces she clarified the situation: "He made fun of Luna our first year."
"He did?" Harry's face was turning red with rage. Cassiopeia shook her head at him.
"Don't worry about it, Harry," Cassiopeia said firmly. "Cepheus and I took care of it."
"You didn't tell me?" Harry demanded, glaring at Cepheus who shrugged.
"It was important to prove a point to the House at the time. It worked," Cepheus told his cousin coolly. "Mum informed us that it was paramount that we establish dominance in Ravenclaw from the get-go. They respect that."
"I still don't like it," Harry snapped, his emerald eyes almost glowing with his anger.
"Of course not," Cassiopeia agreed.
The Yule Ball passed without incident. Regulus and Severus looked incredibly handsome in their black dress robes. Hermione and Sirius had come, along with James and Lily. Hermione and Lily both looked beautiful and their respective husbands did not let them out of sight all evening. Sirius was glaring darkly at a group of seventh-years who were daring to eye his wife appreciatively. He'd already danced with his beautiful daughter and glared at the large number of boys and girls that were eyeing her appreciatively. Hermione had giggled like a school girl when Cassiopeia and Sebastian explained their plan to keep Ronald Weasley away from her daughter. She'd turned to Luna and the two of them had had a brief, intense conversation. Hermione had been slightly distracted for the rest of the night and had pulled Regulus aside for a detailed interrogation, but she'd been forced to stop when her husband had finally gotten jealous of her inattention and pulled her away to dance.
"Mrs. Black, what a surprise to see you," Mrs. Granger said warmly with a fond smile for the young woman that had helped her son so much. Hermione Black returned her smile.
"I understand, Mrs. Granger," Hermione said carefully. "I'm sorry to arrive without any forewarning, but something unusual has come up. Erm, has Sebastian ever spoken to you about bonding in the wizarding world?"
"Not really, he mentioned something about a classmate of his bonding to a young girl—your nephew, I believe?" Mrs. Granger said uncertainly, but it was obvious that although she remembered the terms, she didn't really understand them.
"Magic changes things, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, but for the most part it just makes things different. We understand that our culture is very different from yours and this is why we are kept separate. Some of the things that magic requires of us, most non-magical people would not understand," Hermione began quietly, staring at her hands. Mrs. Granger frowned slightly.
"What has happened to my son?" She asked sharply. "Is it one of these bond things?"
"Do you remember Veela Day at the day school?" Hermione asked quietly. Mrs. Granger nodded, her eyes wide.
"I do," she whispered. She had found Veela Day fascinating on a variety of levels. The prejudice that most Veela faced in the British wizarding world had horrified her. The Veela that had come to speak to them was one half of a bonded pair, and he had explained what that meant in terms that school age children could understand. "Sebastian has bonded with a Veela, then?"
"Yes, actually," Hermione had murmured shifting slightly in her seat. "Gabrielle Delacour was brought to the Tri-Wizard Tournament where her sister was competing as a Champion. She is twelve years old, and this was her first year at Beauxbatons. The moment she met Sebastian, the moment she touched his hand, it was rather obvious what was happening."
"So what happens to Sebastian now?" Mrs. Granger asked quietly, her eyes wide. Hermione bit her lip.
"Well, Sebastian has many options," Hermione said calmly. "Gabrielle does not."
"This girl lives in France, correct?" Mrs. Granger asked with a slight frown. Hermione nodded. "Well, does Sebastian have to move to France or something?"
"Gabrielle is just a child, especially by Veela standards," Hermione explained. "If you would allow me to suggest, I think Sebastian will be fine where he is, but he might benefit from visiting Gabrielle and the Delacour family in France. I understand that you visit France in the summer anyway, if you visited the Delacours while you were there, it would not cause too much disruption to your lives."
"I suppose not," Mrs. Granger said uncertainly. A hint of fear lurked in her eyes. "What will happen to my son?"
"Hopefully, he will continue to attend school, do well in all his lessons, grow to be a fine, upstanding wizard, obtain some sort of employment that fulfills him and supports him, and eventually find true happiness—however that might be acquired," Hermione said calmly. Mrs. Granger nodded slowly.
In the—the parent meetings at his primary school, they talked about marriage contracts for the wizarding world, and how they are still a normal part of your world," Mrs. Granger said thoughtfully, frowning slightly. "No one's going to expect Sebastian to have anything like that…are they?"
"I cannot say for certain," Hermione said, nibbling her lower lip as she thought for a moment. "The wizarding culture of France is markedly different in several respects, not the least of which is their greater tolerance and understanding of sentient magical beings. I believe many of the older families do still practice arranged marriages, but there are many who do not. Veela families almost never do because a bond overrides everything else. You may rest assured that they will treat your son with great respect and affection. He will be instructed in Veela culture and customs, and he will have a rather large, extended family."
"That might be nice," Mrs. Granger said with a slightly sad smile. She glanced at Hermione and shrugged slightly. "I was only able to have one child, and my husband and I are only children as well. It makes for very quiet Christmases."
"I know," Hermione said softly. She patted Mrs. Granger's hand and smiled warmly at her.
"You and Mr. Granger and Sebastian are always welcome at our home for Christmas," Hermione said firmly. "It may be a bit crazy, but there is always plenty of love and we always have room at the table for more guests. It makes the house elves happy you know, to have more people to look after."
"Er, yes," Mrs. Granger said helplessly. Hermione smiled warmly at her.
"I understand that your primary concern is for your child, and that is as it should be," Hermione said quietly. "Please do not think that we do not care for Sebastian, or that we would do anything that would jeopardize his safety or happiness."
"No, I don't believe you would," Mrs. Granger admitted. This strange young woman had been on the outskirts of their lives for fourteen years, but she had always been kind, caring, and compassionate. She had helped them understand their son, and helped them adjust to his world. Without Hermione Black, things would have been different for Sebastian Granger, and she suspected that it would not have been for the better.
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