Chronicles of Camelot

The winds of change

As the Hogwarts Express rolled into King's Cross, Harry gave Neville a verbal invitation to meet up over the holidays and said he would either send Hedwig or Dobby to confirm the invite; either way, Neville was more than happy to oblige to the request. Hermione, meanwhile, had gotten on very well with Luna and, as the train slowed down to a near-stop, she made the suggestion that they too meet up and discuss these creatures Luna had talked about.

Once off the train, Harry had practically run through the barrier, as if hoping to avoid the Weasleys, where Hermione gave him a soft kiss on his cheek as she whispered, "If you wait here Harry, I'll speak to Mum and Dad."

"Be quick," Harry suggested, his eyes catching sight of a familiar large man almost parting the King's Cross crowd like the Red Sea. Following her boyfriend's gaze, Hermione nodded as she seemed to understand what he was trying to say to her; looking around, Hermione caught sight of her parents smiling at the sight of their daughter. Before he knew what was happening, Harry found himself laughing as he saw a new side to Hermione; the brown-haired angel that he called his girlfriend seemed to throw off her bossiness and know-it-all rule-keeping attitude and replace it with a teenage girl who was just happy to see her parents.

Mr and Mrs Granger, both of whom showed Harry where Hermione got her looks from as well as her attitude and eagerness for knowledge, both hugged their daughter before Hermione led them across the platform to where Harry was waiting.

"Mum, Dad," Hermione spoke up, "Allow me to introduce my boyfriend and best friend Harry Potter; Harry, my love, allow me to introduce Daniel and Emma Granger."

Harry held out his hand and shook Mr Granger's hand firmly: with his wild dark hair and deep brown eyes, Harry thought he was looking at himself in a few years time. Keeping that thought to himself, Harry spoke up, "It's a pleasure to meet you sir; I hope I meet all the expectations any Father would wish on the boyfriend of his daughter."

Daniel, or Dan as he sometimes preferred to be known, had been a little sceptic when he had heard mention of the word boyfriend, but, at Harry's honesty and the way Hermione seemed both stunned and awed by his words, the elder Granger male felt that he couldn't hate this boy for anything wrong. Like any Father, Dan wanted only what was best for his little girl and, despite the first impressions he had been given when seeing Harry the previous summer, it was clear that this boy was exactly what was best for Hermione.

When Dan released Harry's hand, the young wizard turned and gently took Emma's hand, before he gave it a light kiss, as if a real lord in medieval times, before he spoke up, "Mrs Granger, it is a real privilege to meet you and see just where Hermione's loveliness comes from."

Emma fell in love with Harry herself at that moment: kneeling down, she threw her arms around him, not before noticing a sharp flinch and a strong intake of breath that may as well have been the hiss of a serpent. Hermione had said on a few occasions that Harry was unaccustomed to being given such nice treatments, but to flinch from a warm hug was something Emma hadn't been expecting.

"Harry," she addressed him with a real kind air, "You don't have to be so formal with us: please, feel free to call us Dan and Emma, okay?"

"O…okay," Harry replied, noticing a slightly worried look on the face of Hermione, as if she had noticed his discomfort with Emma's gesture; once Emma had let go of him, Harry then continued, "I'm glad I made such a nice impression on you both and want you to know that I could ask for no-one other than your daughter to stand at my side."

Dan's doubts about Harry were laid to rest with that statement: in the past, there had been those who would use Hermione because of her knowledge or because they felt sorry for her: Harry was neither of those things – his love and care for Hermione was genuine and, no matter how Dan or Emma looked at it, he would always be there to be at her side, even if he was a thousand miles away, he would find a way.