Chapter Text
Her owl in response from Tonks had suggested they meet for their talk outside Diagon Alley and then she would accompany her and her family while thet collected her school supplies instead of the other way around. Her letter had spoke vaguely of rising attacks throughout the summer and safety concerns. Hermione agreed and made the arrangements.
She arrived at the pub early and ordered a draft Bellatrix seemed to like at the little Muggle pub. She sipped it as she waited. Her parents were nearby doing some of their own shopping and would be joining them in an hour.
Thankfully, most of the patronage only cared about drinking and not the young woman in the dark booth off to the side.
Finally a crash from near the door caught her attention and she spotted her friend. She had bumped into a table and knocked the napkin dispenser to the ground. Hermione really wondered how the woman would be as an Auror.
“Wotcher, Hermione,” Tonks said, flopping into the seat across from her and waving to a waitress for another of what Hermione was having. “Where are your folks?”
Hermione frowned at her attitude. She had thought she made it clear that this was rather important in her owl, but perhaps she’d been too vague. “They’ll be here shortly.” She leaned forward. “Is Mad Eye listening in?”
Eyebrows furrowed, Tonks tilted her head. “No. He’s not. I asked the day off. He knows I’m going to be escorting you to Diagon, but that’s it.”
“And you are sure he’s not listening?”
“What’s this about Hermione?” she asked, her hand drifting to where Hermione imagined her wand was. “I thought this was just about getting your parents to let you go back to Hogwarts or something.”
“I wish it was something as simple as that. The attacks have unnerved them, but they’ve given me permission to return.” Not that she needed it as she was of age, but she didn’t want to admit that to a Ministry employee just yet especially before she dropped her bombshell.
“Okay, Seriously, though, Hermione you are freaking me out. What’s this about?” she asked.
“Look,” Hermione said. “I have something I need to tell you, but I need you to trust me enough to hand over your wand to me before I do.”
Tonks eyes bulged for a second. “Hermione, you know I can’t do that.”
“I am a Muggleborn. You Know Who would have killed me right off if they got to me.”
“How do I even know you are Hermione and they didn’t kill you and steal some hairs. You could be under the Imperius curse.”
“What can I do to prove myself to you? We don’t really know each other that well.” Hermione offered up her wand to the other witch. “Want me to sing Wannabe for you because honestly that ear worm is stuck in my head like crazy.”
“Wannabe?” Tonks said, confused as her waitress walked up with her drink and Hermione quickly concealed her wand.
“Spice Girls. I can’t get it out of my head either,” the waitress said. “You are lucky you’ve escaped it so far.” Hermione smiled up at the waitress. “Though I might have to put it on. You should have to suffer with the rest of us,” she said, with a wink at Hermione.
Tonks rubbed her hand over her face. She had really hoped this would be a lighthearted meet, but she really should have known better when one of the bloody Golden Trio contacted her... especially the brains. For fucks sake. She lifted her pint and took a long pull.
“Wish your parents were here, that would have helped,” she said, slamming it down before throwing up her hands. “I don’t even bloody know what they look like.”
“They will actually be here in a little bit. We could wait for them and they can bore you with talk about dentistry until you are adequately assured they are Muggles, but I really hoped to get this over with before they were here. My mom knows, but we left my dad out of some of it.”
“Fine.” The older girl groaned. “Name a terrible thing to put in a microwave.”
Without hesitation, Hermione said, “Aluminum.”
Tonks let out a breath. “Good enough. I can’t imagine a Death Eater knowing that. My pureblood mom ruined a lot of microwaves. We still have a note on the door saying ‘If it’s shiny don’t put in me’. My dad had nearly given up on having one at all.”
Hermione laughed. “They must make shite spies amongst Muggleborns. It’s rather daft that there aren’t more in the Order.”
Tonks smiled sadly and nodded. “My dad had thought about joining during the first war, but he found most of them to be too condescending so he just kept a low profile and protected me and my mom. He always said he liked Harry’s mom, but then she was a Muggleborn, too so....”
After a moment of silence, Tonks seemed to come to a decision. She did trust the brilliant Gryffindor so with a heavy sigh, she reached into her clothes and pulled out her wand. Hermione took it from her reverently. It was made of a light brown wood and was longer than her own. She tucked it away in her bag.
“Alright, then, what’s this all about?” Tonks asked, seriously.
Hermione took a deep breath. “I found my soulmate.”
Tonks eyes widened. “That’s... I’d say excellent, but,” she petered off as her thoughts raced. “When?” she asked even though it was pointless. She knew.
“Do you remember what my tattoo says?” Hermione asked, ignoring the question.
With a gulp, Tonks nodded her head. She tossed back the rest of her drink. “Fuck, I think I need something stronger for this conversation.”
“Tonks, I don’t really trust you to go to the bar right now,” Hermione said.
With a sigh, Tonks said. “I wouldn’t either. Can I at least call over the waitress? She’s clearly a Muggle.”
“Or Muggleborn.”
Tonks snorted. “Moody would be proud.”
“Well, I’ve learned the lesson of constant vigilance well even it wasn’t entirely from him.” Hermione drank down the rest of her beer. “Call her over. Let’s get wasted and have my Muggle parents lead us drunk through Diagon Alley. I could enjoy the laugh and maybe forget for a bit.”
The waitress came over and blinked at the request of a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. They sat quietly while they waited. Hermione knew that Tonks already knew what she was going to say. She could see the conflict racing across her face. Telling the story she hoped would ease some of it and she wondered if letting the woman’s mind race was the right thing to do. Having time to process something before given details often helped her, but for some people it often cemented them in certain ideas.
When the waitress returned, she had a basket of chips as well that she assured them they were free of charge. She smiled at Hermione again and told her that if she needed a light moment to give her a look and regardless of the outrage she’d get Wannabe would be playing next. Hermione planned to give her a massive tip.
“You really have a way with the ladies,” Tonks said, pouring them both a healthy measure. She made to push the glass toward her before she hesitated. “You are barely a 6th year.”
“I’m of age. The trace is gone. In September, I’ll be 18,” she said, reaching forward and grabbing the glass.
“The Order doesn’t know that and I doubt the Ministry does even with how close they are watching you. How?”
“The Ministry knows, but are keeping it quiet because it’s their fault for assigning me a time turner my third year. I was always older being born in late September.”
“How do you know the Ministry knows?”
“How do you think?” Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow and taking a sip of her whiskey.
Tonks took a much larger swallow of her whiskey. “My aunt. Fuck.”
Hermione closed her eyes. “Yes,” she murmured, clutching at her chest. Tonks finished her drink and poured herself another. She knew she was supposed to be protecting the Granger family today in Diagon Alley, but who could blame her in that moment. She was wholly on board with Hermione’s plot to be drunk as hell walking through Diagon.
With a sigh, she leaned back. “Tell me everything.”
A soft look crossed the girl’s face and Tonks remembered wanting that. She was only technically 5 years older than the girl. As Hermione told her tale, she found herself feeling oddly jealous and drinking her feelings.
She had know Remus Lupin was her soulmate from the moment she met him a couple years ago, but thought he was just being respectful as she got her footing in the Auror department only to find him rejecting the bond with everything he had when she finally confronted him.
The fact her accursed aunt could accept it with a Muggleborn of all people and he couldn’t was a slap in the face. Merlin, she was jealous and a bit drunk.
“I found my soulmate, too,” she said, quietly, interrupting Hermione’s story. Hermione instantly quieted and reached out and touched her hand.
“My mom told me about my aunt’s tattoo. Monster.” Hermione flinched at the word and bowed her head. “I don’t blame you, but my mom hated really that word. Good reason. She insisted I see people beyond what society dictates.” She took a swig of her whiskey. “My soulmate is Remus Lupin and while I never called him that he can only see himself as one and he rejected me.” She downed what was in her glass and refilled it. “How does my aunt accept you so easily and my own soulmate rejects me?” she asked, her voice cracking.
Hermione slid out from her side of her booth and into Tonks’ side and wrapped her arms around her.
“Self loathing is often harder to deal with than hating strangers,” she said. “You know yourself, but strangers are unknown and learning about them you can stop hating. That’s what your aunt did and it’s not something Professor Lupin can do. He knows himself and hates himself. He has to learn to love himself and that’s really hard even without the world against you.”
“How did you get so smart?”
“I read Muggle psychology books on my down time.”
“You had down time?”
Hermione rolled her eyes. “I can get the other students to write to him wishing he’d come back. Won’t be hard. He was the best DADA professor we ever had. It will help him to see his worth, but won’t be easy. He’s your soulmate. Help him. He didn’t reject you. He rejected himself.”
“Okay. I’ll try. But seriously though ,” Tonks shook her head. “My aunt, the notorious blood purist Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange, really stayed with you and your Muggle parents for the summer?” Tonks asked, staring at her.
“Yep. We even went skiing in France.”
“And the Longbottom boy was really okay with it?”
“Well, he doesn’t know about the summer, but he knows about her and me. She’s spared his life at least twice. He knows me enough to trust me to do the right thing.”
She glanced at her watch. “Crap, my parents will be here soon.” She shuffled back over to her side and pulled out some photographs. Tonks took them and her mouth dropped seeing her aunt grinning without a care what she assumed were Hermione’s Muggle parents.
“Wow,” she said, flipping through them. Hermione and Bellatrix looked so fucking happy. She was staring at the one where Bellatrix was playing video games with Hermione’s dad with her tongue out when Hermione’s parents arrived.
Hermione’s mom eyed the bottle of whiskey and the glass in her daughter’s hand as she sat. She laughed as she waved for another glass as her husband pouted. Designated driver duties even in the middle of the day apparently.
Hermione made the introductions. Her parents were fascinated by Bellatrix’s estranged niece and Tonks was the same at these Muggles that had tamed her evil aunt. When Hermione saw her getting a tad overwhelmed she signaled the waitress and she dragged Tonks out to dance to Wannabe.
“Your parents love her.”
“We all love her.”
“Fucking hell, Granger. My mom’s going to freak.”
“She wants me to go with her to talk to her.”
“My mom’s gonna murder her.”
“Yeah, that’s why I talked to you first,” Hermione said, with a laugh.
“I like your parents.”
“So do she.”
“So she’s on our side now?”
Hermione nodded. “You can’t say anything.”
“I understand spy craft. I’ve watched and read a lot of what you have.”
“I’d hoped. She matters too much to me.”
“Fuck this is weird.”
“Indeed.”
“This song is ridiculous.”
“Shut up. I like it,” Hermione said.
“I imagine because you are,” Tonks leaned in and whispered “a homosexual for my AUNT.” Hermione giggled and shoved her.
The song ended and they rejoined her parents laughing. They ate the chips and had a bit more of the whiskey. Her dad engaged Tonks as Hermione snuggled up against her mom, feeling happy and hopeful.
*****
They left the car parked near the Leaky Cauldron and made their way into the bar. Her parents had gotten more used to seeing magical people over their summer excursions to Diagon Alley, but her father could never help the excited gleam in his eye. Tonks squinted as she tapped the stones in the back wall and Diagon Alley opened up to them. Hermione leaned against her as she took in the magical world she hadn’t seen for an entire summer.
As she looked at it, she realized it really shouldn’t have been surprising that her mother had kept up a correspondence with Molly Weasley. During the summer before her second year, the Weasley’s had kindly offered to show them around the Alley to find Hermione’s school supplies and help them set up an account for her at Gringotts. Her mother wouldn’t have let such a good contact go that easily.
She was actually surprised her father and Mr. Weasley hadn’t become friends. Arthur had seemed keen back then. When she asked about it, her mother admitted that her father had found him a bit too much.
Hermione could understand that. The fact his retention of Muggle concepts was near zilch had often frustrated her when he seemed so interested. Last she had checked, he still couldn’t say electricity correctly. It amazed her he could perform some of the most simple spells. It reminded her of Ronald and his atrocious pronunciation. She had immediately felt bad for the thought, but Bellatrix had found it hilarious.
At the thought of Bella, she felt the pang of loss hit her hard, especially after all the alcohol. It had been hard to see her leave not knowing when they would see each other again. She let go of Tonks and sighed.
They had woken early despite their late night and made love again before dozing a little longer. Her parents left them alone until mid morning when it was really time for them to start getting ready.
Bellatrix had to leave all her Muggle clothes behind and Hermione cheekily put on Bellatrix’s favorite Muggle shirt. Bellatrix cheekily reached into her underwear drawer and snatched a pair of her knickers. They had ended up rolling around fighting over it on her bed before her mother shouted at them to quit acting like horny teenagers and get a move on.
She had a bit of a point really because Bellatrix had just tucked the pants into her bosom and well... Hermione may have been making an attempt to retrieve them with her teeth. Alas.
They found breakfast kept warm in the oven when they finally showed their faces. Her parents tried to keep breakfast lighthearted. Her father had made Bellatrix’s coffee just the way she liked it and Hermione’s mom had made way too much bacon. They knew what it felt like to be soulmates separated. They could only imagine how much worse it would feel to be separated by a war.
Bella had promised to figure out a way for them to communicate as soon as she could. Owls would be too risky. She knew about a two way mirror Sirius had used with James Potter and figured she could work out something of the sort for the two of them or maybe a journal they could write back and forth in.
Hermione tried again to convince Bellatrix to take the drive into London with them, but she had just shook her head. Hermione’s parents had looked at Bellatrix then like they did when they looked at her when they thought her the most frustrating, but best thing they’d ever seen in their life. She could see their love break and mend Bellatrix’s heart in one fell sweep. Hermione watched it all flash across Bellatrix’s face.
She didn’t think she could love the woman more, but then she made that kind of face under the weight of her parents’ love and Hermione fell even further. She knew Bellatrix loved her parents in that moment and it was beautiful.
They went out to the garden and Bellatrix removed a ring from her finger that she knew Hermione admired and conjured a silver necklace to string it on. Hermione raised her hair so Bellatrix could place it around her neck. Bellatrix placed a kiss over the seal. Hermione knew she’d never take it off.
She held it tight in her fist as she looked out over Diagon Alley. She quickly spotted the row of wanted signs. Her witch was there screaming into the void.
Her mother’s hand landed on hers and she looked up at her, seeing they had been looking at the same thing. “I must say she did clean up nicely especially after she dealt with those dreadful teeth of hers. Wizarding prisons are absolutely barbaric allowing such a thing to happen to prisoners,” her mother said, quietly.
Her father hadn’t noticed what they were looking at yet and neither of them were particularly interested in having that conversation at the moment. Thankfully, Tonks was keeping him distracted. He knew a bit of Bellatrix’s past, but he didn’t need to see her like that.
“I liked that one of hers as well,” her mother said, as Hermione released the death grip she had on the ring and she got a good look at it. She smiled before she tucked it back under Hermione’s shirt. “Don’t let her cunning gift be exposed just because you miss her. She put it on a necklace for you to hide it. I, also, think she likes knowing she’s got something pressed against your brave heart. I imagine it makes her feel like she’s got a touch of your bravery. Keep her against your heart.” Hermione’s mom looked away. “I feel like she will need it.”
Hermione hugged her mother as tight as she could, breathing in as much of her mother as she could. “Love you.”
“I love you, too. I’m glad her niece is on your side. You need all the allies you can get. Now let’s get a move on before your father decides that we need an owl for no other reason then to bother our birdwatching neighbors.”
Hermione grinned. “Doesn’t Crookshanks do that enough?”
“Crookshanks is only around during the summer and he’s always disappointed when we stop receiving strongly worded letters about allowing your menace of a cat outdoors.” Her mother grinned. “Rick! You need to tell Hermione and Tonks about the photo of Crookshanks we received from the neighbors.”
“Didn’t I already? I thought it was on the fridge?” he said, scratching his head. “Maybe I only told Bellatrix.”
Hermione cleared her throat. They had discussed the protocol about discussing her soulmate once in Diagon Alley. Her father rolled his eyes. “BB. Whatever. Any way...”
Hermione and Tonks laughed as her father recounted the story. She wondered if Bellatrix had snatched the photo as a memory because she didn’t remember seeing it.
Crooks rarely spent much time with her over the summer. He loved roaming around her village and she didn’t mind since it was his only time to really just romp around a normal Muggle town and pester the neighbors. In the castle, he could only cause so much trouble without a spell being cast his way. A normal broom was much less trouble.
The initial standoff between Crooks and Bella had left her near tears. She had let Crooks out upon arrival and it took him a few days to return for some snuggles.
Unfortunately, he arrived in the middle of the night and found another person in her bed. As a good familiar, he had been examining Bellatrix’s face quite closely which, of course, stirred the woman from her sleep. His very adorable, Hermione would have you know, scrunched up face had startled the woman so bad, she had tried to hex him and in turn he launched at her claws unleashed.
Bellatrix tried to say they had come to a compromise, but the Grangers all knew who won that fight. He mostly enjoyed his usual routine of annoying the neighbors, but he grew to enjoy messing with Bellatrix on occasion as well. Hermione enjoyed watching her chase him waving her wand.
One night in the middle of July, she had fallen asleep watching a movie and woke to see her traitorous cat purring and enjoying some loving pets from Bellatrix. It was too cute to interrupt so she continued to pretend to be sleeping with an eye cracked.
She shook off the memories as they made their way down the street. They needed to start at Gringotts. Her father had learned early how much the goblins hated to be stared at and let out a large breath of air when they finally exited. It was hard for him to not be bewildered by a place so clearly full of magical beings even after knowing about their existence for as many years as he had. They also hadn’t looked to fondly at the fact that Hermione and Tonks were clearly intoxicated as they kept falling into giggles.
Unfortunately, her father focused on exactly what they didn’t want him to. “There are a lot more Wanted posters than there were last time we were here,” he said to Tonks after a moment.
Hermione grabbed her dad’s arm. “I told you about that mass breakout in the middle of the year. That was months ago. Let’s get my books,” she said, trying to distract him.
“But they still haven’t caught them?” he asked Tonks again.
“Dad!”
“Alright! Alright let’s go,” he said, trying to shake off the outrage as his eyes drifted towards the drunk Auror.
“We are trying. It’s hard when they are being harbored by family and soulmates,” she said, giving Hermione a pointed look.
Her father let out a sudden breath as he seemed to realize. “Ah yes! Your books! Let’s go. Mustn’t keep my little bookworm away from her favorite part of the trip!” Hermione’s mom rolled her eyes at Hermione and they both smiled.
Tonks looped her arm with Hermione’s and rested her drunk head on her shoulder. “Before the end of the summer?”
Hermione tilted her head to rest on hers. “Yeah. She’s meeting with your other aunt today. I hope it goes as well as it did with you,” she said, slinging an arm around the woman.
“I still have my misgivings.”
“I’m sure you do. Keep the pictures. I got my mum to print doubles.” She looked up at the older girl. “I understand them. I really really do, but I want you to understand that I love her with all my heart. She spent most of the summer trying to get all of us to run away. Your mom and dad and you included. She didn’t want to go back, but she knows I won’t run.”
Tonks nodded. She knew what she’d do for Remus if only he would get a clue. “I’ll talk to my mom.”
“She really loves your mom and hasn’t ever stopped.”
“My mom loves her, too,” Tonks said. “It’s gonna be right Black family shitshow.”
“Sounds fun,” Hermione said with a grin.
Tonks shook her head. “You’ve really got too much Gryffindor bravery for your own good.”