Let's Try That Again Redux - Chapter 9

Harry got back to Privet Drive a few minutes before Ron arrived. There was a good chance that there would actually have dinner tonight. Finding Hermione's phone number had been more of a chore than he had expected. Convincing her and her parents to visit was pretty easy comparatively.

"Ronald!" Petunia opened the door and pulled the ginger into a hug. "Thank you for coming."

"Thank you, Misses Dursley." Ron gave a sad smile.

"None of that." Petunia patted him on the shoulder. "Call me Aunt Petunia, or Auntie. You are family."

"Thank you, Auntie." Ron blushed. "Dad really appreciated the gift basket too. He's been working on that puzzle cube to keep himself busy."

"I was hoping he would like it." Petunia gave him another small hug. "Come on. I've managed to convince Dobby to let me cook tonight. It's his day off but he can get really sneaky about it."

Ron chuckled.

"It smells nice." Ron commented. "What is it?"

"Pasta with garlic bread and salad." Petunia led the young man into the sitting area. "I wanted to make something simple but tasty."

Harry listened as his aunt and friend spoke. The change in his life was still fresh enough to feel strange to hear his Aunt sound truly happy rather than the fake version she would put on for the public. He swished his wand in a tight circle above his head to clean off the residue of his recent adventure. A wave of minty freshness played along his skin. He swapped over to some fresh clothes as well.

"Hey, Ron." Harry called as he joined them in the sitting area. "Thanks for being here."

"The three of us have faced a lot together." Ron blushed. "This shouldn't be any different."

Harry nodded in appreciation. He paused to study Ron for a moment.

"What?" Ron asked.

"You've changed." Harry replied.

"Well, yeah." Ron shrugged. "Kind of had to."

"Not just that." Harry shook his head. "It's only been a couple of days and you're already acting more thoughtful. You've had some good ideas too."

"If that's got you confused, wait until I tell you about my summer homework." Ron chuckled.

Harry raised his eyebrows in an unspoken question.

"I flew through Charms and Potions assignments." Ron shrugged. "I'm still working on Transfiguration, that's a slog. Hagrid just gave us some reading and Trelawny predicted that she'd be dead by next term, so she didn't assign anything."

Harry laughed. He didn't remember that part. From what he could recall, Professor Trelawny lived long enough to retire. The memories of his old life were losing their sharpness each day. He could still call up the details, it just took some effort. Either the changes he had made were making an impact on his mind, or he was simply adjusting. Regardless, he was starting to feel more at home in this life.

"That's great, Ron." Harry smiled at his friend. "Weird though, right? Why would she potion you to make you… What's a nicer word for dumb?"

"I wasn't dumb." Ron scoffed. "I was distracted."

"By what?" Harry asked.

"It was like I was constantly arguing with myself." Ron tried to gather his words. "Like there was a voice in my head that was me, but not me, that kept directing my thoughts to places I didn't want them to go. I haven't been as hungry lately. The Medi-Witch said that it looked like my body was constantly fighting against the potions, so I needed extra fuel."

"But your brothers and sister didn't." Harry scrunched his brow in thought. "How does that make sense? Ginny had her body changed, but she didn't eat nearly as much as you."

"Well." Ron took a deep breath. "I've been doing a lot of reading. Like I said, Potions just clicks with me now. Healing potions and compulsions have a similar activation process. They are trying to tell the body, or mind, to work in a certain way. Your magic fights it every step of the way because it's not the natural state. It's not as bad with normal healing potions since your body wants to heal. Even then you'll get really hungry."

"Yeah." Harry laughed. "I ate more than you after the bones in my arm were regrown."

"Right." Ron nodded. "Your body was fighting against the potion because it wasn't supposed to grow more bones. You're too old for it now. Compulsion potions have to work harder since they are literally changing your mind."

"There's still something missing." Harry tried to figure it out. "Compulsion through potions is hard to fight. They can make people do some scary things to themselves and others."

"Yeah." Ron had a focus that he usually only had for chess. "Those are short-term, so an increased appetite is easy to overlook. But years of potions, that something else."

"I wonder what the potions were trying to make you do." Harry said.

"I figured it out." Ron whispered.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"I'll tell you later." Ron waved his question away. "Let's focus on Hermione for now."

"Ok." Harry let the obvious topic change go.

 Further conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Hermione and her parents. They drove a nice car that would have made the previous version of Vernon envious. At the moment he and Dudley were in the middle of a quick battle with Dobby moving the pieces. The game had taken over their free-time as of late. Harry couldn't remember the last time the TV had been turned on. Dobby didn't keep everyone up late playing videogames anymore now that he had his own room. The elf hadn't wanted to accept the gift, but then he saw the TV, SNES, and bean-bag chair they had arranged for him. Dobby made some of the most exquisite meals for the following few days.

Hermione stepped out of the car with a tight expression on her face. Harry had never gone into detail about his living conditions, but he didn't try to hide it either. Hermione was smart enough to know something was going on. Either she respected his privacy, or she had been given a potion to ignore it. There were still little ways her concern had appeared. She 'subtly' made sure he had a balanced diet and got enough sleep. He also found that his clothes were sometimes replaced with ones that looked the same but were in better condition. She wasn't so overt as to swap them out with new clothes, simply second-hand ones that weren't threadbare and were the correct size. Harry wondered how much of that potion influenced behavior and how much was her true self shining through.

Harry watched her closely as she approached the house. There was a brief flicker of something as she crossed the wards. Her parents had no reaction at all.

"Hello, Harry, Ronald." Hermione gave a shaky smile.

She studied Ron for a long moment before she gave Harry a very quick glance. There was a small blush on her cheeks that he hadn't expected.

"Hello, Hermione." Ron smiled at her. "How's your summer been?"

"Good." Hermione shifted to face Ron and turning away from Harry. "We're going to France next week. We should be back in time for the World Cup."

It wasn't a dismissive thing. There was something else that he couldn't quite pin down.

"We're not going." Ron dropped his voice to a whisper.

"What?" Hermione gasped. "Why? You've been looking forward to that for weeks."

"We can talk about it later." Ron forced a smile back on his face.

"Harry." Hermione took a deep breath. "What's going on?"

"Let's talk inside." Harry waved her forward. "We've got some tea ready. It'll help."

"Ok." Hermione arched an eyebrow at his words.

"This is the Hermione we've heard so much about?" Petunia asked as she stopped in front of the girl. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Harry's aunt, Petunia. My husband and son are in the middle of a game and have completely forgot their manners."

"There's a game on?" Mister Granger asked.

"I don't believe so." Petunia shook her head. "Harry created a game that Vernon and Dudley are hopeless at it."

"You made a game?" Hermione asked.

"I was playing with little ways to use my magic." Harry shrugged.

"Hm." Hermione replied eloquently. "Excuse my manners. Harry, this is my mother Emma Granger and my father, Daniel Granger."

"Mister Potter." Emma smiled as she stepped up in front of him. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"It's nice to meet you as well." Harry replied with a smile of his own. "Please, call me Harry."

"Of course." Emma turned to Ron. "It's nice to see you again, Ron."

"Nice to see you too, Emma." Ron said.

"You've met?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, summer of second year." Ron replied. "My… Molly helped with a potion regimen with Hermione's recovery."

"Oh." Harry let that information sink in.

It made him wonder what else he didn't know. That stretch of time would have been the perfect start to dose Hermione. She was already taking a potion regimen and Molly would only have to add an extra one or two. He pushed the thoughts away as he turned his attention back to Hermione. She was acting differently already; it just wasn't as blatant as the Weasleys.

Hermione looked around the house taking it all in. They hadn't had the chance to swap out the furniture, but the place already felt different. The welcoming, homey vibe that the Dursleys had tried to fake was now actually there. She paused in the doorway to the sitting room to see Dudley, Vernon, and Dobby around a folding card table.

"What is Dobby doing here?" Hermione asked.

"Dobby be having Dobbys Day off." The elf replied without looking at her.

"Day off?" Hermione directed the question to Harry.

"He's a paid employee." Harry answered. "Days off, breaks, and all that. DO NOT accept an invitation to play Street Fighter with him. He is a fiend."

"Boss Harry Potter be ruining Dobby's fun." Dobby muttered.

"Street Fighter?" Hermione had a rare expression of confusion firmly on her face. "Isn't that a videogame?"

"Yeah." Dudley answered. "He's got his own TV and system now. He was keeping me awake all night."

"Dudders could have worn earplugs." Dobby stuck his tongue out at the boy.

Dudley returned the favor. Vernon finally realized they had guests. He stood from his spot at the table and approached the Grangers.

"Dreadfully sorry about that." Vernon chuckled. "I was a bit carried away. Pleased to meet you all. Vernon Dursley. Harry tells me Hermione is the only witch in the family?"

"Yes." Mister Granger answered. "It was quite a shock when she started making books float."

"Harry's the only magical in our family as well." Vernon smiled.

"That's not true, dear." Petunia cut in. "Dobby is too."

"Quite right, Pet." Vernon nodded. "Would you like some tea? We have some ready before lunch. After we can show you this game Harry came up with."

"Vernon." Petunia tried to hide the amusement in her voice. "We talked about this. No roping other people into the tournament without consulting everyone."

"I wasn't going to get them in the tournament." Vernon pouted. "I just thought a little scrimmage would be a fun way to pass the time."

"Tournament?" Hermione asked.

"We started up a tournament once Fred and George came over." Ron answered. "Don't be fooled, Petunia and Dobby are monsters."

"Fred and George were here too?" Hermione started to feel like she was constantly on the back foot.

"We had the Weasleys over for dinner last night." Vernon answered.

Harry directed the Grangers into the kitchen. He served them tea as they were distracted by the small-talk. It was rare to see Hermione so easily confused. He took it as a sign that the wards were working on her. As before, it wasn't as drastic as on the Weasleys, but it was still there.

They all drank the tea and continued the idle chit-chat. Hermione went quite after the first cup. She had another before she stopped talking.

"Harry." She whispered. "Could I talk to you and Ron privately?"

"Sure." Harry nodded. "I'm going to show Hermione the rest of the house. Ron, did you want to come?"

"Of course, dears." Petunia smiled.

Ron nodded and joined them as Harry led them upstairs. Hermione stayed quiet until they made it to his room. She froze when she noticed all the Gryffindor décor and pictures on the walls. She sat on the bed.

"Harry, Ron." Her voice came out soft and with a little shake. "What's going on?"

"The house has been warded to remove compulsions. So is the tea." Harry answered.

"You should have seen what happened when my family came over." Ron sat beside her. "It helps to talk about it. What's going on?"

"Ron." She turned to the ginger. "I don't think I like you. You've been horrid to me since we met."

"I expected that." Ron nodded. "Can we start over? The real Ron meeting the real Hermione?"

"We'll see." Hermione studied him for a moment before she turned to Harry. "Harry." She took a deep breath. "I'm in love with you. I've been in love with you since you saved me from the troll. Every time I've tried to tell you, I just… don't. Something would guide my thoughts away."

"Molly and her potions, probably." Ron said with plenty of venom in his voice.

"What?" Hermione snapped her gaze over to Ron.

"Molly." Ron spat. "She had been slipping potions to my entire family for years. We think that Ginny and I got the worst of it. She's my half-sister by the way. No clue who her dad is. Well, dad is her dad, but you know what I mean."

"Oh, Ron." Hermione squeezed his shoulder.

"Yeah." Ron shrugged.

"Do you have any memories with Dumbledore?" Harry prompted.

Hermione opened her mouth to reply, then froze. Micro-expressions flashed along her face. "That bastard!"

Her hair started to float as crackles of energy raced from her scalp to the ends. Harry had to force himself not to laugh.

"You too, eh?" Harry sat on the other side of her.

Hermione wrapped her arms around him and clung to him. She buried her face in his shoulder. He ran a hand along her back, trying to soothe whatever he could. Of all the things he had prepared for, her saying she loved him was not something he had expected. It made sense. She was the mother of his children… or had been… will be… time travel was confusing. Through all the compulsions and manipulations her true feelings had managed to come out somehow.

"I need some time to think." Hermione let out a shuddering breath. "How long will this last? He shows up at my house before each school year."

"I can apply wards to your skin that will make you immune to any sort of mental manipulation." Harry said. "I did it for Ron's dad, but I can't do the same version for either of you. We're going to be around Dumbledore for too long and that kind only works for a few weeks at a time. I'm going to need to key the wards to you with your blood."

"Blood wards." Hermione nodded. "That will work. It's drastic, but it will work. What about a ring, or necklace?"

Harry smiled at her. The old Hermione would have thrown a fit about using 'dark' magic.

"Too many vulnerabilities." Harry shook his head. "The blood wards are the best bet. Do I need to give some to your parents too?"

"No." Hermione shook her head. "He never deemed them important enough to need them." She paused. "We can't tell them about this. They would pull me out of Hogwarts if they knew half of what we've been through."

"Understood." Harry nodded. "Are you ready now or did you want to wait?"

"Now is for the best." Hermione stood. "I don't want to lose my nerve."

Harry set to work writing the runes on both of them. He had the array committed to memory now, but he made sure to alter it to fit each of them. They would be immune to all mental manipulation and have a decent amount of protection against the Imperius curse.

They both were a little woozy once the process was completed. Complicated blood wards required a lot of blood. Thankfully, magical folk were hardier than mundane humans. They were also able to get a head start on replenishing their reserves with dinner.

Vernon managed to rope both Grangers into trying a game. Predictably, the dinner visit transformed into a late-night gaming session. Emma Granger was great at hit-and-run tactics that tore through Vernon's usual strategy. Daniel, by contrast, played the long game. It wasn't until they added a third player to the battles that things truly became chaotic.

It was a nice distraction from the drama. Hermione didn't join in. Instead, she peppered Harry with questions about how he had set it up. She chimed in with improvements. Much to both of their surprise, Ron had some thoughts as well.

Harry watched his friends and family with a gentle smile on his face. Sure, the world was still messed up, but tonight had gone better than he had expected. Now he just needed to figure out how to deal with Hermione saying she loved him. He would gladly take teenage drama over dealing with Dumbledore.

~~~
Note:
Thanks for waiting.