Fleur’s Surprise

Meet the Parents

Dan wanted to take Hermione's trunk to her room, as usual, but she stopped him. "I've brought many more books than usual. Let me levitate it upstairs."

Dan frowned. "Won't it cause you problem with underage magic?"

"No, Dad, we're now exempt from that law. We can both use magic freely." There was something in the way she said "both" that made him shudder, yet he didn't understand why.

Hermione and Harry made sure that nobody could see them and then levitated their trunks to the upper floor before joining her parents in the kitchen.

"It's been quite an eventful year, I understand," Dan said, prompting the youngsters to speak.

"And you know less than half of it!" commented Harry, making brows rise.

He sighed a bit. "Let me tell you what I've experienced this year. Hermione will add her comments as needed."

Both parents noticed the familiarity these two shared. It was almost like... but it couldn't be! They decided to wait for the full story to unfold before reaching any conclusion.

Harry told them about being chosen and then about his conversation with Fleur. This already raised many questions and Hermione helped him answer. It was evident that she was as deeply involved in the events as Harry was.

He then told them about how Hermione found the ministry booklets about s*x and explained them, skipping over the exact lessons she gave him, gaining a hand squeeze from Hermione with a thankful smile. It didn't escape Emma's attention, though, so she wasn't really surprised when he said that they confessed their love to each other and decided to marry after finishing school.

"Did he give you an engagement ring?" Emma asked.

"Yes, but I'm not wearing it right now." Hermione hid her ring while on the train and wasn't looking forward to explaining why she was wearing the Lady Potter signet ring.

Harry then told them about his first visit at Gringotts. He didn't go into details, sparing Hermione the embarrassment of talking about the ring and about the richness he owned, yet it was quite clear that he had more than enough. He also didn't elaborate about the healers, as it was quite embarrassing for him. He had to tell them about his title in the magical world, though, and about his political power.

"Wow! It's quite overwhelming to hear about this. Wasn't it too much for you to get it all at once?" Emma asked.

"I think I would have collapsed if I didn't have Hermione's support. She stood at my side, advised me and calmed me as I needed. Fleur also helped some."

It was time for Dan to intervene. "Let me understand. You must marry this Fleur as soon as you're eighteen, but since you're now engaged to Hermione, you can marry her first and then the two of you may decide to accept or reject Fleur. Am I right?"

"Almost. If we reject Fleur, then the contract would pass to our descendants and hers. There's no way out of it. We may accept her younger sister, if we like," Harry explained.

Dan frowned some more. "Do you think it right to have two wives?"

Harry sighed. "I would have never thought of it before, but now it looks like I have no say in this. Luckily, Fleur is easy to like. We shall be able to accept her with no problem."

"Dad, Fleur is fabulous. Think of the most beautiful and most attractive film star you know, make her a long-haired blond with more s*x-appeal than any other – you'll get a rough image of Fleur. I'll show you a few photos of her once we unpack our trunks."

Dan shuddered again at the "we", yet he was even more concerned. "Are you sure you want such a woman share your husband? I'm not sure..."

"It's alright daddy. I know I'm not considered very beautiful or sexy, but all I care is how my Harry sees me. He says I'm the most beautiful and most sexy woman alive, even with Fleur around. That's good enough for me."

Dan was now worried why Harry would consider Hermione so sexy. They hadn't... Had they?

Harry continued his story with the first task, the Yule ball and the second task. They were already aware of these from Hermione's letters, only now they understood much more. Harry skipped forward to the training and the decision to move Hermione to his apartment. The Grangers frowned at this.

"It is a large apartment, almost as large as this house, really, having a big master bedroom and two slightly smaller additional bedrooms as well as a large common room, a small kitchen and an immense bathroom," Hermione told them.

"Don't you have private bathrooms attached to the bedrooms?" Dan asked.

"No. It's an old castle, you know. They only put one bathroom in, but it's large enough to bath several people at once," Hermione explained.

"You haven't checked that, have you?" Dan was suddenly unsure. He and Emma had given Hermione a certain education, but had she stuck with it?

"Actually, we did," Hermione said with a smile that covered her nervousness. "The three of us took bath together in there and still had room to spare."

"Three?" wondered Emma.

"Yes, Harry, Fleur and I."

Her parents were suddenly at a loss of words. Dan was thinking that Harry must be very lucky to have his daughter and that gorgeous woman in bath with him, yet that meant...

He didn't really want to dwell on that.

Emma was actually more concerned that her daughter would lose Harry's affection to Fleur, especially after hearing how Fleur looked and now, bathing together...

Harry decided to push on, before they would start asking too many questions. He told them of his concerns about the third task and how he tried to get the champions to act together.

"That was a smart move," Dan commented.

"Yes, even Hermione agreed it was," Harry responded.

"I was worried too," Hermione told them. "We knew there could be some dangerous obstacles in the maze and we knew that Voldemort and his followers were targeting Harry. I was so anxious that I decided to act in a very non-conservative way."

She stopped for a moment to gain some courage. Harry squeezed her hand lightly in encouragement. This didn't go unnoticed by Emma.

"Despite all precautions and preparations, nobody could be sure that Harry would come alive out of the maze. I decided to make him impregnate me before that task, so that even if the worst happened, I'll still have something of him."

Emma had tears of understanding and compassion in her eyes while Dan was just shocked. His little girl wanted to be impregnated? And knowing her, she probably succeeded, which meant...

Hermione didn't wait for his understanding. "I convinced Harry to have s*x with me. It was the first time for both of us and we weren't ready for some of the consequences."

"You knew it could hurt, didn't you?" Emma asked.

"I knew, and it didn't hurt too badly either, but there was some magic released by our act, magic which bound us. We are now soul bound, which means we are officially married and recognized as adults."

Emma's eyes were tearing, She wasn't sure what caused those tears but she was certainly not sad. Somehow, it was clear to her that Hermione was content with what she had done and its consequences, and so was Harry. She had already told him that he could call her 'Mum' and she now was even more aware of the implications.

Dan was still shocked. He wanted to be angry with Harry or Hermione, but he really couldn't find any logical fault in their actions. He could find a fault with her bathing with a boy, yet they were all practicing nudism whenever they had a chance. He couldn't really say she was wrong in that. It then downed on him that Hermione must be pregnant, which meant that he would soon have a grandchild.

Emma noticed her husband becoming paler and his respiration irregular, yet before she could react, Harry used his wand to "accio" a glass of water and put it in front of Dan, who gulped it thankfully.

Supper was late that evening, due to the many explanations and stories, which also continued after supper in the living room, in a more leisurely fashion.

"Will you join us for our vacation this summer?" Emma asked after they seemed to exhaust the previous subjects.

"We'll join you gladly, but I believe you should expect an invitation from France soon. I hope you haven't finalized any arrangements," Hermione answered.

"We don't have anybody in France," commented Dan.

"Fleur said we should expect an official invitation from her parents in a day or two. She also asked if she could come and visit us here for a few days. I told her that this was probably alright, but I still needed your approval," Hermione said.

"If it becomes too crowded, we may go to one of my houses," Harry commented.

"How many houses do you have?" Dan asked.

Harry scratched his head. "I'm not really sure. There are four near London..."

"Five," Hermione corrected.

"Yes, five, but some are more like palaces. I've not had time to visit any, so I'm not sure how fit for living any of them is. You could actually come with us when we visit there, if you like."

Dan was starting feeling like a fish out of water. This boy, no – this young man, was much more than he could expect. He needed some rest before he could handle it all.

"I think it's time we retire for the night. We'll be much more helpful after a good night's rest. I suggest you do the same." Dan tried not to think of the fact that his little daughter was going to sleep in the same bed as this boy, and possibly more than just sleep. No, he should not think of that!

Hermione got up from the sofa, where she was snuggling into Harry, to kiss her parents good night. They each hugged her and kissed her cheeks wishing her good night. Harry was then surprised when they did the same with him. As Hermione was saying, "Good night, Mum and Dad," Harry said the same, feeling his heart overflowing.

They settled into Hermione's old room. A few spells made the bed wider, better fit for a couple. The bathroom was too small for two, though, and not easily changed by magic. Hermione let Harry go first, knowing how difficult it was for him to meet her parents the way they did. She used the time to arrange their belongings in the various storage facilities in the room. Only his broom had no designated storage place, and they had too many books to fit on the shelves. She let the surplus books, mainly those taken from Potter vault, stay on the table until she could think of a proper arrangement.

The owl arrived during breakfast, which they ate a bit late. "It's just as I told you! You are invited to stay with the Delacour for your vacation. They only want to know the exact dates so they would be ready. Fleur also asks to come stay with us starting next week until we all go to France. We should accept the invitations and invite Fleur," Hermione said enthusiastically.

"You promised to show us some photos of her," Dan reminded his daughter.

"Sure!" she started getting out of the kitchen, when Harry reminded her, "You may use magic." She then used her wand and brought a small album. She opened it and flipped through a few pages. "The tall blond is Fleur," she said, pointing at some pictures.

Dan's jaw dropped. Despite the school robes, this was definitely the most sexy woman he had ever seen, live or in a photo. If Harry could still prefer Hermione over this one, then he fully deserved being called 'son'.

"Who's the smaller blond?" Emma asked.

"That's Gabrielle, her sister, She's about nine now," Hermione said.

"She's going to be just as much of a beauty as her older sister, I believe," her mother noted. "Who are the others?"

"The Indian girl is Padma. She's in Ravenclaw in our year and her twin is my roommate at the dorms, well... was, as I'm no longer there. The oriental one is Cho, who's a year older and she dates the other Hogwarts champion," Hermione supplied the information.

"They're all quite impressive," commented Emma.

"Yes, they are. I've been in love with Harry since first year, I believe, but knowing my own weaknesses, I didn't dare believe he would find me interesting enough to date. It seems I was wrong." Hermione's smile could light the room.

"We didn't have many chances to date. I still owe you some," Harry proclaimed.

"Well, I'm looking forward to our dates, Lord Potter," she said playfully.

Emma was more concerned now with another aspect of her daughter's union. "When were you impregnated?"

"About a month ago. Why?"

"You should be checked by a doctor or a healer to make sure everything is fine and then you should make regular visits for checkups. Are you sure about the pregnancy?"

Hermione smiled. "It was the right time in my period, and then, the magic of the bond assured it. It may be my imagination, but a few days later, I started feeling as if an additional soul was residing inside me. Fleur promised to bring us some books about soul bonds, as the library at Hogwarts has none and I was still unable to check the Potter libraries."

"Libraries?"

"Well, the goblins told us that the vault only contains the most important books in the collection, probably less than a tenth of the books collected, yet there are more books there than in the whole Hogwarts library. You can do the math yourself..."

The Grangers had to leave for their clinic after a while. Hermione wrote a formal reply for the invitation from Fleur and sent it with the owl which brought it, also inviting Fleur to spend as much time as she wanted with them.

They then went by Knight Bus to Gringotts. Harry was now relaxed and more able to absorb all the information Kwickill had for him. He got a full list of all the dwellings he owned. Some were let to others. He was surprised to find that he actually owned the house on Privet Drive, getting a monthly rent from his uncle and aunt, only it was not owned by a Potter. The ownership was with a holding company which the Potters bought most of the shares and the goblins completed the purchase during the time he was a child.

Still, there were several villas, manor houses, town houses and apartments which were reserved for Potter use, each having a staff of one or more house-elves, whose names were listed as well. Harry could reach each of his reserved dwellings by using dedicated portkeys, which were kept in his vault, or simply by summoning one of the elves. Harry thought it would be better to visit these places along with the Grangers.

They spent some time just window shopping in muggle London before going to a small diner for lunch. Hermione then took Harry to see the Buckingham palace and the Parliament, which he had no chance to visit before. They then returned by muggle bus, arriving to the Granger house minutes before Hermione's parents.

"Would you like to visit some of our possessions now?" Harry asked.

"Isn't it a bit late? It may take more than an hour just to drive there," Emma asked.

"We can use portkey or just ask the house-elves to take us."

The Grangers didn't seem to like any of the options, yet Hermione decided. "I think a portkey would be better."

Harry knew she was thinking of the house-elves as enslaved creatures and didn't want to ask for anything to force them to work.

They all changed clothes and sat for a tea before Harry let Hermione choose their first destination. "Let's go to the London townhouse where you were conceived," she said with a smile and a wink.

Harry took a small box out of his pocket and enlarged it with his wand. It contained several large keys, each attached to a long ribbon. Harry chose the one with the address in London written upon its ribbon and shrunk the box back, putting it in his pocket.

"Will you please hold on to the ribbon?" he asked.

As soon as everybody was holding the ribbon firmly, he tapped the key with his wand.

They landed in a heap in what looked like the entry hall of a large house. While Harry was still trying to untangle himself and stand up, two cracks were heard as two house elves appeared. They looked around and immediately rushed to the group. They first helped Harry and Hermione stand up and then did the same for Emma and Dan. They now stood proudly side by side, their uniforms tidy, and introduced themselves. "Welcome Master and Mistress. I'm Twinkle and my partner is Misty. We're keeping this house for the Potter family."

"Thank you, Twinkle and Misty. I'm Harry and this is my wife Hermione. Please call us by name. We're too young to be addressed as Master and Mistress." He didn't see the pained expression passing the Grangers' faces at hearing "wife". They liked Harry and didn't oppose the relationship between their daughter and him, yet hearing him refer to Hermione as his wife would take some time to adjust.

"Can you show us around, please?" Harry continued. "I'm especially interested in the places my parents preferred and Hermione will probably like to see the library."

Twinkle nodded. "Mistress Lilly loved the library as well. We can start there." He grabbed Harry's and Hermione's hands while Misty did the same with the Grangers and they popped away to the library.

It was a lovely house, and much larger than any of them expected. Its three stories plus cellar housed several bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, a large ballroom, two studies adjacent to the largest private library any of them had ever seen, and some more rooms which just got mixed in their minds. Hermione wasn't even able to check the library thoroughly. She just got her first impression of it, noticing it was as large as the library at Hogwarts and contained many newer books side by side with ancient ones. It also had a nice collection of muggle books, both fiction and non-fiction.

Twinkle was doing most of the guiding. Misty had left them after a while. The last section, not yet visited, contained the kitchen, the official dining room and the breakfast room, which also served as the family unofficial dining room. As they came there, they found the table ready for dinner for four and Misty standing at the door with an inviting smile.

"Why only four seats?" Harry asked.

"You are four," Misty replied.

"Won't you and Twinkle join us?"

Misty looked almost shocked. "We have never joined the family meals," she blurted.

"Then it's about time," Harry said, conjuring two more seats, suitably sized for the small creatures. "I believe you've been in the family much longer than me."

Hermione was happy with his action. The little elves looked happy and a bit shocked. They served the meal for six and then took their places as expected.

Harry and Hermione tried to talk with them during the meal. Both elves were very proud of their position. Hermione found that they didn't get paid, but had free access to all family assets, being able to buy whatever they needed or wanted without asking specific permission. They were happy for the young couple coming to visit and even tried to persuade them stay. "It's so much better tending the house when people are living in it," Twinkle explained.

"But it would mean much more work for you. Doesn't that bother you?" Hermione tried to understand.

"No, it would be much better. We can't stay idle. We must always do something, but it's no fun cleaning repeatedly a clean house, or tending to a garden nobody looks at."

"Won't you like to be free?"

This seemed to frighten them, and Twinkle explained. "We depend on our master's magic. We can't survive without a master, as then our magic dwindles and then we die, unable to replenish it."

Hermione was very thoughtful when the elves finally took them to her parents' house. She had just learned a very important lesson.