Somewhere Safe - Chapter 24

"Mister Potter." Professor Flitwick said as Harry entered the room. "There is a private room set aside for you just outside."

"Thank you, Professor." Harry said with a tired smile.

Harry knew that things wouldn't get any better if he tried to delay. He quickly walked through the waiting area. There wasn't enough time to complete the next bracket so it would be held tomorrow. They had finished with some time to spare before lunch. He really hoped it wouldn't interfere with his ability to watch Iris try out for the team.

His family and Hermione waited for him. He accepted another tight hug from his friend.

"How?" She asked as she took a step back. "I've seen you fight. You've never done that before."

"My magic is flowing easier here." Harry shrugged. "I didn't know I was casting silently until someone pointed it out to me."

"We'll talk about that once we get home." Hermione sighed.

"I'm not going." Harry stated firmly. "This is my home now."

"Harry!" She yelled.

"Hermione, stop it!" Rose snapped.

His friend turned to face his sister.

"This doesn't concern you." Hermione glared at her.

"The fuck it doesn't." Iris hissed.

"Language!" Lily said quickly.

"I'll allow it." James muttered.

"FUCK." Both twins yelled.

"Not you." James shot a stern look at the boys. "Miss Granger, you are not taking Harry anywhere."

"He doesn't belong here!" Hermione yelled; the frustration was clear in her voice.

"I belong here more than I do back there." Harry spoke up.

"How could you say that?" Hermione turned back to him. "What about all the people who love you?"

Harry inclined his head to the family gathered with them.

"I mean back home." Hermione groaned.

"This IS home." Harry repeated. "The people who love me are here."

"You don't know them!" Desperation was seeping into her voice.

"You're right." Harry nodded. "I never knew my parents, my little sister, or my little brothers."

Hermione tried to argue. She desperately wanted to say something to convince him. There was nothing. She couldn't take his family away from him. It was the one thing that Harry had wanted. He had fought for every little scrap of it he could scrounge. She wasn't oblivious, she could see the signs of what happened during the summer. Hermione had tried to tell her parents. She had tried to get someone to check up on him. Something. Anything. Short of kidnapping him herself, there was nothing she could do. The only thing that stopped that plan were her parents. She didn't have a place to keep Harry and the police would take him back to his relatives. Tears clouded her vision. She couldn't ask him to forget this entire world for her.

Many people referred to her as the Brightest Witch of her age. While it was a little annoying, there was a reason for the title. Her mind began to run the various possibilities through her thoughts. She could see him coming back to their world. There was a wonderful aura around him now. It would be gone. The easy smile she had seen before she approached him, the one that seemed to fit him so well would vanish. In its place would be the familiar hollow mask.

In that moment, there was one undeniable fact that slapped her in the face. She was in love with him. Hermione hadn't wanted to admit it. She could play off the kiss as being caught up in the moment. Plus, they hadn't actually kissed. It was Luna who kissed them both. She couldn't ask him to leave all of this behind to be with her.

She sprang at him once more. Her arms wrapped around him as tightly as she possibly could. She buried her face into the crook of his neck. Harry held her as she sobbed.

"I don't want to lose you." She whispered.

"Stay." Harry said softly. "Stay with me."

"What?" Hermione gasped.

"We can stay here. Both of us." Harry gave her a forced smile. "You'd have a sister too."

"She's… nice." Rose offered.

Hermione gave her a flat stare.

"She's a bit of a jerk." Iris spoke up.

"All this time without friends? I can see that." Hermione sighed. "You know I can't stay here, Harry. I'm not going to make you come with me."

A tension in his shoulders eased, but it felt like it all shifted to his heart.

"At least stay until after dinner." Harry offered. "Iris has Quidditch try-outs and you can join us all."

"I'm sure we could get permission to take you all into Hogsmeade for dinner." James added.

"I haven't seen the one here yet." Harry perked up at that.

"Would it be all that different?" Hermione waved a hand at the room around them. "Hogwarts looks mostly the same. There are more students, but the hospital wing was the same."

"Oh, right." Harry said slowly. "Things deviated around World War One here. The magical community relocated the Muggle-born and First Generation to Hogsmeade to protect them. They expanded the town for the new residents. "

Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock. She slowly turned to look at the others. They nodded.

"That is amazing." Hermione's eyes began to lose focus. "The social and economic variation would be groundbreaking. Taking into account the further development of spell craft, potions, and charms could change our world completely. I need to research this. The library should be in the same place. Are there bookstores in Hogsmeade? A secondhand store would be great. They should have older editions and books that aren't in steady circulation in a mainstream store."

"Hermione." Harry grabbed her shoulders. "Come back to us."

Hermione stared at him for a moment. It took a little time before her eyes focused.

"You could stay for a few days." Lily offered with a smile.

"I'd like that." Hermione said quietly.

"Come on then." Rose held out a hand to Hermione. "There should be enough time for lunch."

Hermione nodded as they led her out of the private room. Delphi, Luna, and the other members of his unofficial coven had gathered in the hall. The other Hermione stared hard at the visitor. She had forgone the slow approach to the group once her double had appeared. Either she was too curious to care about appearances, or she felt threatened.

Harry wasn't oblivious to her slow assimilation to the group. It was weird to be able to spot such things. He found he was a lot more observant to those around him now that he didn't have to constantly avoid attempts on his life.

"My mother would like to meet you." Delphi slide beside him opposite of Hermione.

Rose grumbled something under her breath when she couldn't hold his hand, but she took it well enough. Harry raised an eyebrow at Delphi.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"I told her about you." Delphi said with a dreamy tone that sounded close to Luna.

"Who are you?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione, Delphi Riddle." Harry introduced them. "Delphi Riddle, Hermione."

"Riddle?" Hermione tensed beside him.

"The same, but very much not." Harry chuckled.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"Go ahead and grab a spot." Harry turned to face his family. "I want to introduce Hermione to someone."

"I'm coming too." Delphi spoke through a forced smile.

"Of course." Harry soothed. "Do you know where your dad is?"

She nodded. The sudden tension in her eased.

"I'll go too." Rose offered.

"Thanks." Harry smiled at her.

Hermione shifted her gaze from one to the other. There was a connection between the two that she couldn't quite figure out.

Yet.

Lily and James led the rest of the group toward the Great Hall. Delphi took them on a small journey through the side passages around the Dueling Auditorium. Soon, they stood before the door of an office that was flanked by two others. One led to the waiting area they had used earlier while the others were for Professor Flitwick and Professor Riddle.

Delphi knocked on the door and waited. Harry gave her a question laced look. She returned it with a wicked smile.

Professor Riddle opened the door a moment later. His hair looked like it had been hastily straightened and his shirt was wrinkled. If that wasn't clear enough, there was a smear of lipstick on neck.

"Father." Delphi said with a poorly suppressed laugh.

"You, Fifi?" Riddle was out of breath when he spoke.

Delphi glared at him. A sly smile on his face told them he knew exactly what he had just done.

"I brought Harry to meet mother." She huffed.

"Delphi, dearest." A sultry voice called from inside the office. "Your love and adoration swirls with other flavors."

A gorgeous woman with wild black hair and a familiar fire in her eyes sauntered over to the doorway. She wrapped her arms around her husbands' waist as she rested her chin on his shoulder. The orbs of barely contained wildfire scanned the group of students. Her gaze briefly met his eyes.

"Bellatrix Riddle." She announced directly at Harry. "Harry Potter. The wizard from another world who won my dearest daughter Delphi's heart."

He could see where Delphi got her intensity. The sudden friendship with Luna made more sense as well. This woman, Bellatrix, had the same feel of near madness. It was like being in a room with a wild animal with both of them. Only Luna didn't give the impression that she would eviscerate someone on a whim.

"Harry Potter." He inclined his head while he kept her in sight. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

That seemed to please her. Once that was done, she tilted her side to study Hermione.

"You." Bellatrix stared at her as a wide smile began to appear. "Freshly found flavor of your love for him. Didn't want to know you were his. Will you continue to lie? Stay for your thirst for knowledge when your true desire is him."

Hermione squeaked in shock.

"Hermione." Harry cut in. "This is Professor Tom Riddle. He teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Hermione purposely shifted her attention to the man before her. He looked like a professor that could be found on a muggle compass. There was an air of controlled power about him.

Professor Riddle studied her as she did him. There was a curious confusion in his expression. After a moment he turned to Harry with an amused smile.

"Interesting." Professor Riddle chuckled. "I can see where this would be jarring."

Harry nodded. "The same, but not."

"You're here to use me as further evidence of the differences in the worlds." Riddle stated, he didn't seem upset. "Miss Granger, feel free to ask me anything during your stay."

"Thank you, professor." Hermione said on instinct.

Riddle gave her a genuine smile.

"If you would like." His voice eased. "I could tell you about the Miss Granger I've had in my class."

"I think…" Hermione paused to think. "She wouldn't like that."

Professor Riddle nodded.

"Dinner." Bellatrix said as her stare returned to Harry. "Tomorrow. Be ready."

Delphi smiled broadly.

"Thank you, mum." Delphi bounced forward and wrapped her mother in a hug.

"Come on." Rose spoke up for the first time since they arrived. "We don't want to miss lunch."

"Spirit of beautiful lightning." Bellatrix addressed Rose. "Beautiful. Powerful. Speak to me if you desire to become an oncoming storm."

"Uh…" Rose looked to Delphi.

Delphi nodded.

"Thank you." Rose said with a small curtsy.

Delphi giggled as she led them back to the Great Hall.

"Shut it." Rose muttered. "It made sense at the time."

They made it back to the Great Hall in time for lunch. It was a quick affair with little conversation. The tryouts were fast approaching and Iris was starting to get nervous. Rose, Lily, and James, all reassured her, but that didn't help all that much.

"What position do you play?" Hermione asked the younger Potter girl.

"I'm a seeker." Iris poked at her food.

"Harry is too." Hermione said with a smile. "Are you trying out for the same position?"

"I'm not playing Quidditch this year." Harry replied.

"You're not?" Hermione spoke slowly.

She gave him a silent look toward Iris. He shook his head.

"I can't do dueling and Quidditch at the same time." Harry clarified. "We wouldn’t have to compete for the spot."

"Why not?" Hermione asked.

"Each house has three teams." Iris explained, that seemed to draw her out of her shell. "Cubs, Mid, and Top. It's split for different years. This year they aren't doing the House League, it's a team to represent the school in the tournament."

"The TriWizard Tournament?" Hermione tensed.

"No." Lily interjected. "That was banned years ago. This is the first International Academic Tournament. Schools from around the world have been invited to compete. This year it was only Beauxbatons and Durmstrang to keep the spirit of the tournament."

"Oh." Hermione relaxed a touch.

"It's voluntary." Harry added. "No mystical artifacts or mysterious entrance rituals. The duels earlier were for a spot on the school team. The top four from each bracket make it."

"Then why did your bracket keep going?" Hermione asked.

"Because they aren't cowards." Delphi grumbled as she glared at a random student.

"It's to show off." Rose interjected.

"And to flirt like a hussy." Delphi shifted her glare to Padma.

"Delphi." Harry soothed.

She muttered something under her breath but seemed to ease up.

"Mrs. and Mr. Potter." Hermione said formally. "What do you do for a living?"

"I have a mind-numbing seat on the Mot like a good little Pureblood lord." James made a face.

Lily rolled her eyes. She slapped her husband lightly on the shoulder.

"We have a business and research company." Lily explained. "It started out with pranks then moved to reverse engineer some muggle technology. Creating a shop to sell it to the public made sense."

"Wow." Hermione spoke in an almost hallowed tone. "Tell me everything."