Vox Corpis [Harmione]

Chapter 44

When Miranda pushed into Harry's bedroom at seven-thirty in the morning on Saturday, she knew beforehand that the young wizard would be sound asleep. The kids had only been home a week, but it had been quite enough time for Harry to start sleeping in practically until noon. When Miranda came home for lunch, more times than not, Harry was still in pajamas, but there, as ever, making lunch and being an utter delight to both Miranda and Hermione. And the wonderful moods Hermione and Harry were both always in since coming home for Christmas holiday… as far as Miranda was concerned, Hermione picking Harry to be her boyfriend had been a wise move. Not that she expected less from her brilliant daughter.

Miranda went to Harry's bedside and looked down at him. She smiled. His hair was a right fright, the sheets a tangle around him, his arms flung out and taking up a huge portion of the bed. His face looked untroubled. He was really rather adorable when he slept. Miranda was tempted, for a moment, to watch him a while, just as she had watched Hermione sleep when her daughter had been very little.

But they had a lot of things to do today, and the sooner they started the better.

"Harry," Miranda said gently and reached down to shake Harry's shoulder.

Harry stirred, his face screwed at the jostling, and he rolled away from her, mumbling groggily as he did so, "Few more min'us, Mione."

Miranda chuckled. "Wrong Granger, honey."

Harry's eyes snapped opened, he rolled onto his back, and looked up blearily at Miranda standing over him. It took about two seconds for everything to register. "Missus Granger… sorry." He rubbed at one eye and yawned wide. "Ut time's it?"

"Seven-thirty."

Harry looked aghast but he didn't say anything.

Miranda laughed. "Come on, dear, get your bum out of bed and meet us in the living room for a family meeting."

Harry blinked at her a moment, first bewildered, then stunned, then serious. He nodded and began to disentangle himself from his covers. "I'll be right there."

Miranda left him to it, exiting his room and returning to the living room. When she got there she remained standing and turned to look at the other occupants in the room. Hermione and Jake were already awake and awaiting the start of the busy day. They knew this routine all too well, but they would have to introduce Harry to the ins and outs. Miranda thought it was kind of fun to think of bringing someone new into this particular fold of the Granger family. Expectant, Hermione was in the armchair with Crookshanks curled in her lap. Jake was sitting on one side of the couch, Kimmy perched on the back of the piece of furniture like a squatting castle gargoyle… a cute gargoyle in holly-covered boxer shorts.

Miranda smirked at the house elf. Since Hermione was four years old Miranda and Jake had known there was something different, special, about their little girl. For their daughter's sake, the acceptance of magic had become commonplace in their household. But for the longest time that had amounted to receiving the occasional owl post, having a copy of the Daily Prophet on their kitchen table in the morning next to the regular newspaper, and making trips to the ever-wondrous Diagon Alley. The recent addition of Harry into their lives had brought with it newfound understanding of just what it meant for Hermione to be part of another world, the wizarding world. They had a shape-shifting house elf as their guest, and they'd had to concern themselves with the potential for Harry to 'lose control' of his magic. Hermione never did; they hadn't known it was possible for magic to just get out of hand.

It was an eye-opener, to be sure, and it made Miranda and Jake reevaluate just what their daughter's abilities meant beyond merely going to a special school for magically gifted children. In the end, it all came down to the simple fact Hermione that loved the world of magic, and she was as much a part of it as though she'd been born to a witch and wizard instead of plain, boring Miranda and Jake Granger. She wouldn't give it up anytime soon. It was irreplaceable in her mind and heart.