The last day of the summer holidays proceeded in a flurry of organised activity. Everything needed for Harry’s and Susan’s second year at Hogwarts was checked, cleaned, tidied and packed. The last dinner at home was quiet. Harry was not happy with the odd looks he had been getting from Susan.
“Can I talk to you, Aunt Amelia?”
“Of course, Harry. Is this a private or a not-so-private talk?”
“Private, please.”
“Let’s go to my study. Susan, can you check that Hannah has got everything she needs. She is always leaving things here.”
Susan looked at Harry, “Sure, Aunt Amelia.”
The study door closed behind Harry, and he perched on an armchair and waited while Amelia settled in her chair.
“OK, Harry. Before you get started, I want to tell you something. I cornered Cyrus Greengrass about you and your secret project. Obviously, you are doing something, and I was not told what was happening.
Cyrus told me about Lord Voldemort’s Horcruces. I have known for a long time that Lord Voldemort isn’t dead. His body was destroyed trying to kill you, and he hasn’t given up on finishing you off. The Horcruces are keeping him here in this world and must be destroyed to free you and the rest of us from the threat of another Blood War. Cyrus informed me about what you have done so far and that you are at the centre of the plan to remove Lord Voldemort from our world altogether. I wish it could be done some other way, but the plots to bring Lord Voldemort back to life somehow draw you in. That is also the last time I will say the H word. Cyrus told me to refer to them as artefacts. You and your conspirators will know what that means.
Now! I won’t mention that again unless you, Cyrus, Unspeakable Davis, or Nicholas Flamel asks me.
This isn’t what you wanted to talk about, so let’s talk.”
Harry squirmed in his seat, “Susan is giving me odd looks.”
“Is that so? I don’t mean to joke about this, Harry, but you have said it yourself often enough. You are odd to start with.”
“Yes! Yes! I am odd. The thing is, something is going on that I don’t understand.”
“The evidence for that mysterious something is?”
Harry squirmed and sighed.
“The time we had at Malfoy Manor. We didn’t find what we were looking for but found another artefact altogether. The search is going very well.”
Amelia stared at Harry. “I didn’t want to believe Cyrus when he told me about those things. I will not say the name. I don’t want a hint of what you and Cyrus are doing to be traced back to me.”
Harry nodded, “Daphne invited me to Greengrass Manor for a few days, which was good.”
“Right?”
“I asked her to invite Hermione.”
“Right?”
“She said she would, but I felt her go cold. I sensed it in my magic. I think it was in her voice as well.”
“Ah.”
“That was when I smiled for the first time. I was trying to get Daphne to lighten up, and I suppose it came out with a smile.”
“Ah.”
“Then, the cold feeling came back when we were at Greengrass Manor. I realised that I was feeling it from Daphne and Hermione. It was when we were all together. They were friendly, smiling, and happy that I could smile at some things. The cold feeling kept coming back. Susan came over for a few days, and I started getting it from her.”
“Ah.”
Harry shook his head. “What is going on?”
“It’s started. Already! None of you is thirteen yet.” Amelia shook her head.
“I’ve just turned twelve. What do you mean?”
“The girls are growing up. Sooner than I had hoped. I wish they wouldn’t, but I have no control over that.”
“Can you please explain that?”
“Hermione will soon be thirteen, and Daphne and Susan will be thirteen in October. That means, Harry, you will not be able to think of them as though they are one of the boys. They are young women, not little girls.”
“Oh! They can’t be . . . er . . . interested . . . in me!”
Amelia smiled, “Harry, you are not what the teen romance novels call a romantic catch. Teen romance stories are wildly inaccurate when it comes to what really happens.”
“But, I’m short, skinny, ugly, crippled, and I have only recently learned to let myself smile. I’m not charming. Blaise Zabini can be charming. He can turn it on like a tap.”
“Is Blaise as powerful as you?”
“No, he is about as strong as any other firstie.”
“Young ladies, actually ladies of any age, are attracted to strong personalities. Your personality and magic are extraordinary, and your magic will only grow. The young ladies feel that and don’t care about the wrapping. They want what is inside. They all like you.”
Harry didn’t respond.
“The cold feeling is the result of intensely felt emotions. You are sensing their jealousy.”
Harry groaned. “They aren’t going to fight, are they?”
“It might not get that bad.”
Harry covered his face with his hands.
“Harry, the girls, including Hermione, have led sheltered lives until now. They are most likely experiencing their first-ever crush on a boy. You can do things to take some of the tension out of the situation.”
Harry sat up straight. “Like? What?”
“You can take notice of who you talk to and how long you talk to them. Try to even up the time you spend with them and give them the same face-to-face time.
Go out of your way to be as friendly as you can without making any signs of affection, no touching, and no holding hands, if at all possible. If you are walking around the trails, you may walk arm in arm, but they all have to have the same length of time with you.”
Harry nodded, “OK, I think that is nearly what has happened so far.”
“Harry, it is vital that you do not embarrass them. Do not mention that there may be a crush going on. Do not make fun of them. Ever! They will be very sensitive to any hint of ridicule from you or anyone else. If you manage to act like nothing is going on, the crush they are living through may subside, and you can get on with your lives and still be friends.
Things like choosing your life partner, or even if you will have a partner, shouldn’t be locked in place by who your first-ever crush was. Romantic feelings come and go and are famously unreliable.”
Harry said, “OK. Being friends is good.”
“One of the things that you can hope for is that they will help you when it is your turn to go through this.”
Harry put his hands over his face again, “OH! NO!”
Amelia smiled, “Harry, you aren’t immune from life. You have been severely deprived, but now you are catching up. It may be later than your friends, but you will face the same problems.
This is one of the reasons why Hogwarts has survived as long as it has. Hogwarts is a place where children turn into young adults. It would be a bit dangerous to let all those young wizards and witches loose in society while they are still learning how to control their feelings and their magic at the same time.”
Harry frowned. “I suppose that is right. I am not happy with how Hogwarts works, but magical society would have a problem if there were no Hogwarts.”
“The disadvantage is that Hogwarts students will likely find their life partners there. This has meant that wizarding society has remained isolated for a long time. Before the International Statute of Secrecy, wizards and witches mixed with mundane people freely. Most marriages were mixed, and there were not the problems we face today.”
Harry nodded. “Purebloods did not have the same influence they have now.”
“There were very few purebloods. There were more arranged marriages. That was much more common than it is now, and families made sure that marriages were not made between close relatives. When wizarding society closed up, the problems began, and some families, like the Blacks, accepted marriage between cousins, which didn’t happen before.“
“What is the problem with marrying relatives?”
Amelia looked at Harry. “They didn’t tell you?”
“Who? Didn’t tell me what?”
“Your Azkaban tutors taught you so much, but I suppose they didn't want to talk about this.”
Harry looked puzzled.
Amelia spoke, “Mundane science calls the subject genetics. Everyone inherits a genetic code from each parent. These codes are merged when each baby is conceived. That merged code has all the genetic material needed to make a perfectly formed baby. The genetic code in this new life does not change after conception. Mundane scientists are experimenting with changing genetic codes, but for us, in 1992, that is experimental and banned for humans.”
“Yes, I understand all that. Gus explained it with a lot of details.”
Amelia smiled and continued, “There is always a possibility that accidents happen when the codes are merged, resulting in problems for the child. If the parents are closely related, these accidents are much more frequent. That is generally called inbreeding. Magical families have decreased and disappeared because of these problems, and new generations cannot have children. To the eternal embarrassment of the purebloods, the number of squibs born to their families is much higher than usual because of this inbreeding.
The general rule derived from studying the problem is that cousins and closer relatives should never marry. The risk with second cousins is not as bad but is too high to take that risk. You should not look at girls from most wizarding families.
Your Black family links are the cause of that. Remember that the listed marriages are only half the story. You have some ancestors for whom a formal wedding never took place; the genetics still apply.
Because of your Black family, you are related to the Weasleys. The youngest Weasley, a girl named Ginevra, is your second cousin and should be ruled off your future partner list right now.”
Harry blinked. “OK, I’ll remember that.”
Amelia smiled. “Did those people you lived with in Azkaban ever give you ‘The Talk’ ?”
Harry blushed a pretty pink. “Yes! You can’t live with Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange without hearing them discussing every detail of their perversions. Bellatrix was nearly as bad. Gus didn’t say anything about romance and relationships. Sirius tried to shut them up, but they shouted him down. Sirius tried to instruct me about proper morality, but it was strange coming from him. The Lestranges threw all these accusations at Sirius about how he had dozens of girlfriends who he romanced and then abandoned. Sirius never denied anything.”
-ooOOoo-
“I never told you anything.”
“No, you didn’t. Why not?”
“The voice of a much older man, not closely related to you, telling you all about the wonders of life. How is that not creepy?”
“I suppose so. It was bad enough coming from Aunt Amelia. If Sirius had tried to explain how crushes come and go, the others would have torn him to pieces, and I would be confused.”
“A definite possibility.”
“Did you ever have girlfriends? Did you marry?”
“No, and no; as soon as puberty happened, I decided to become Lord Voldemort. That consumed my life. There was no room for anyone but me in my thoughts.”
“You were psychotic.”
“Psychotic, narcissistic, antisocial, paranoid, there’s a long list of problems. They all stayed with Lord Voldemort when he split me away from him.”
“Can you help me? I mean, with the girls?”
“NO! Absolutely not! I want to be long gone before the real trouble starts. It would drive me up the wall listening to all that teen angst and uncertainty. Please! Spare me! Get rid of our enemy, and let me go before anything breaks loose.”
“OK, Tom. We will focus on the Horcruces. I must get the Malfoys to reveal where the diary is. We have kept the awareness of the Horcruces to as few people as possible. So far, only Cyrus Greengrass, Eric Davis, Nicholas Flamel, and Amelia Bones know about our plan to destroy them. I think I should do what Amelia is doing and only refer to them as artefacts to keep the risk down and not use the H word.”
“I can advise you, but you’re the one who has to do it, Harry. Stay strong!”
-ooOOoo-
Summer passed in a warm haze around the Granger home. Harry and Susan had stayed for a week, which was a happy time. That strange evening with Dad’s ‘old friends’ had upset Harry, but he seemed to recover. Hermione did her best to get Harry to talk about what was said, but he would only promise to talk about it after the plan the ‘old friends’ were working on was finished.
The Grangers had a short seaside holiday. Then Hermione was invited to stay at Greengrass Manor. The Manor was delightful in summer. Hermione had heard about the three-day break at Christmas time and resolved to not miss the next one. Lord Greengrass promised to invite them all again this year.
They went swimming in the lake, which had a sandy bottom and was crystal clear. The afternoons were spent riding ponies around the estate. Hermione loved riding; she missed activities like that while they were at Hogwarts.
It was now the last day at home. The Hogwarts Express would take them back to school in the morning.
Jean Granger came to Hermione’s room. “Hermione, can we talk?”
“Yes, Mum. I’d love to.”
Hermione caught her breath. Did her Mum know? Aunt Pamela had given Hermione a stack of romance novels from her vast collection. Aunt Pamela was Mum’s friend. They had been friends from school and were very close, but they were not sisters. The ‘aunt’ title was honorary. Jean Granger had no respect for Aunt Pamela’s taste in fiction. She called the romance novels Pamela loved the worst sort of cheap trash. Hermione had never seen them before, and Aunt Pamela was sure that Hermione would love them. She told herself that Aunt Pamela was right. Hermione needed something to read besides study books in her free time at Hogwarts.
“Dear, I’d like to find out how you feel about returning to Hogwarts?”
Hermione let her breath out.
“Oh! I’m happy and a bit frightened. I keep catching myself thinking about what happened. I started at Hogwarts, certain that Headmaster Dumbledore was the greatest living wizard. Now I’m afraid of what he might do. The law doesn’t seem to matter to him.”
“How do you like your friends now?”
“They are the first true friends I have had. They accepted me back and haven’t mentioned the worry and stress that I gave them.”
Jean gave a small smile.
“That’s great, dear. I was concerned by how quiet you have been since you came back from Greengrass Manor. Did anything happen that made you unhappy?”
Hermione looked away.
“It’s odd. I’m sure that Daphne and Susan are being odd. When we were out riding together, we were fine. When Neville came over for the day, we all got together the way we always did.”
Jean waited for a few seconds.
“What about Harry? Was Harry behaving well?”
“Oh! Harry is fine. He was happier than he was in the last week at Hogwarts. He wasn’t looking forward to spending time at Malfoy Manor. Apparently, the visit there worked out very well. Lord Greengrass was happy too. They both went there with a plan, which they didn’t discuss. They got something which they didn’t expect, some sort of treasure. I’ll find out what they were doing. I’m writing everything down. There’s enough for a history book already.”
Jean sensed that there was more.
“How about Harry? How are you getting along with him?”
“That’s what is odd. When Daphne or Susan are with Harry and me, they suddenly go quiet and start giving me these odd looks.”
“Ah! How does Harry behave?”
“He seems to be the same. He talks to all of us and doesn’t seem to give more attention to any of us.”
“Ah!”
“What do you mean, Ah! What is it?”
Jean had a smile.
“Do you think Daphne and Susan might have a little crush on Harry and are jealous of you spending time with him?”
“WHAT! NO! NOTHING LIKE THAT IS HAPPENING!”
“Are you sure? How about you? Do you wish that Harry would take more notice of you?”
‘Yes, but I’m working on a project. I’m writing a history of everything that happened. It’s only a pile of notes now, but it will be a proper book before too long.”
Jean was suddenly serious.
“You know, Harry has had a lot of problems. He still has a lot of problems. I’ve explained enough to you about what to expect when you cease being a little girl and become a young woman. You also know that boys will continue to be immature for years longer than young women in their age group. Please consider that Harry doesn’t see things like you do. All of you might have to be patient and wait for Harry to grow up more before he will take extra notice of you.
Please, don’t ruin your new friendships by being jealous of the other girl’s time with Harry.”
Hermione was horrified that her mother had seen so clearly that she was jealous of her friends spending time with Harry.
“MUM! Don’t say that! Don’t tell anyone!”
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