Disclaimer: I do not own these characters; they belong only to the genius of Ms. Rowling.

A/N: No beta. Tons of excuses for not writing. Mostly just lost steam and drive to finish, but I've never stopped thinking about it. My beta (who introduced me to fanfiction) bailed on our friendship when she couldn't handle the idea of my dad having dementia and his gradually deteriorating condition. His comments grow more and more inappropriate, but such is the nature of the disease. The mini-strokes have eroded the frontal lobe of his brain, completely altering his personality. The good news is that he has not progressed in a typical manner and has not become angry or violent. He is overly cheerful, makes incredibly insensitive jokes and generally acts like a 15 year old boy with the self-control of a 3 year old. All in all, it could be worse, but it is apparently enough for her to never call or even come over to my house which is 30 minutes away from my parents.

Anyways, the long overdue chapter awaits. Do enjoy.

Previously:

Hermione reached her conclusion moments before Ginny. They sat there, stunned. It was easily apparent what had happened to send them to this world. The question now became if they could control where the vortex would send them. If they could, did they really want to go home?

Chapter 16: The Essence of Family

Harry and Severus stood at the borders of Hogsmeade. Their cloaks furled about them in the wind as they awaited the arrival of Narcissa Malfoy. It was already ten minutes past her stated arrival time, but Severus was certain that she was giving Lucius one final earful before she departed.

The wind sped up and began swirling just outside of the wards. The portkey's vortex deposited Lady Malfoy in its wake … or rather who the two men assumed was Lady Malfoy.

The woman's typically pristine appearance was marred by the clothes that had seen too many scourgifies and the threads were starting to fade. Some of the hems had come loose, particularly around the sleeves. Her skin was pink in places and red in others where the sun baked on unprotected areas. Lady Malfoy's eyes shifted nervously, as if expecting to be attacked at any moment. Encouraged by the silence, she stepped as close to the wards as she dared.

Harry stepped forward and bowed. Taking her hand, he let his lips touch it briefly and introduced himself. "Lady Malfoy, I welcome you to Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. I am Lord Salazar Slytherin."

Narcissa's lips quirked upwards. She seemed relieved at this return to normality. "Lord Slytherin, it is truly an honor to meet you. Thank you for inviting me to stay on your land in this difficult time."

Harry gave a small smile. "You should thank Severus, he campaigned for you to be admitted to the town."

Narcissa gave a warm smile to the Potions Master. "Severus has been a lifelong friend. I have every confidence in him as a wizard."

Without further ado, Harry waved his wand over Narcissa's heart. A burst of magic encompassed her and seeped into her skin, leaving her softly glowing. Relieved, she crossed the wards and entered the only sanctuary left in Britain for those not seen as purely Light.

"Where's Draco, Severus? I expected him to meet me upon my arrival."

Harry lifted an eyebrow and gave Severus a half smirk, as to remind him that she was officially his problem.

"Draco remains at the castle, as all of the students do."

"Very well. Shall we be off then?"

"Off where, exactly?"

"Really Severus, has the Headmaster finally rotted your brain with his infernal sweets?" Narcisssa seemed genuinely confused as she examined Severus. "To the castle to see my son, your godson."

Snape laid a hand on her right forearm. On the surface it appeared to be a friendly, comforting gesture. However, it served multiple purposes, the most important of which was to restrain her wand arm and spare himself any debilitating hexes when she did not receive the answer she wanted.

"Cissa, you are well aware that the students are not permitted visitors during the school year unless the situation is dire."

Narcissa glared at the Head of Slytherin. "And you do not think Lucius being in hiding from the Ministry on a spit of land that can barely support human life is not dire? Tell me Severus, what counts as dire enough to visit my son."

"Nothing that you are currently suffering."

Narcissa knew she could say nothing to Severus at the moment. Her time to protest would come, but it was not then. She would wait and be patient. She had more important things to concern herself with than her obstinate friend. She placed her other hand over his in a farce of understanding. With calculated precision, she curled her fingers around his hand and dug her jagged fingernails into his palm.

Snape barely winced, but the victory was hers.

Narcissa was in shock and not a small amount of horror. Her only consolation was that her assigned living place was better than what she had come from. The landlady she had to answer to, however, was far less easy to handle than her husband.

The old woman reminded Narcissa of a Darker, more dangerous Molly Weasley. She bustled about the dusty attic, rearranging decrepit furniture as if moving it would make it appear less dingy. The only positive was that it was not infested with the creatures that had overrun the Malfoy Legacy.

Maggie Rattison smiled, showing off her broken front teeth and decaying bicuspids. "I know it's not what you're used to, but I'm happy to help out a mother in this difficult time."

Narcissa gave the woman a nod, hoping to dismiss her from the room; but she just took it as the go ahead to continue prattling on.

"I make breakfast every morning at 6 for the tenets in this building and the others in this district. I ask that all of my boarders help with the upkeep of the building. So, just get settled in tonight. Dinner is served every night at 7 at the Hogs Head for this district. Tomorrow, observe what needs to be done and what you feel you could contribute."

Narcissa was horrified. She thought she had left manual labor behind with the hovel she had been living in. She was denied access to her son, she was being supervised, and she now had to find some way to contribute to this refugee camp that more than likely did not include etiquette or dancing. With a troubled mind, the former aristocrat lay down on the old bed and fell asleep.

Harry and Ron were dressed in muggle clothes for their excursion. Ginny had volunteered to keep Hermione occupied while they were gone. The last they had seen her, the redhead was carrying piles of papers and books to Ravenclaw's Office; so, they felt extremely confident that they would have enough time to achieve their goals and get back before Hermione grew suspicious.

The two men had only been in this neighborhood once, and then it had been night, with the foreground taken over with fire.

This was an entirely different scene. Voldemort had no need, in this dimension, to make the Grangers a priority. The upper class neighborhood was peaceful. A couple of young children were playing tag in their yard. Three more houses down the road, they arrived at their destination.

Ron nervously adjusted his shirt. He had only met Hermione's parents once; and they had died a mere four days later. Harry waited for his friend to get settled, then rang the doorbell.

It was a tense twenty seconds as they waited for the door to be answered. Neither was sure how they would be received, nor were they confident that the Grangers would believe what they were going to explain.

A tall man with light brown, wavy hair answered the door. "May I help you?"

Seeing that Ron was not sure how to begin, Harry took the lead. "We're friends of Hermione's. May we come in?"

Dr. Granger nodded. "Of course." He opened the door fully and let the two in and escorted them to the sitting room before asking, "Can I get you anything?"

Harry and Ron shook their heads.

"My wife will be home shortly. She was finishing up with the last patient when I left half an hour ago." John Granger paused, observing the two young men across from him. He had never seen them about the neighborhood and Hermione never mentioned any boys she was close to. "How do you know my daughter?"

"We're from Hogwarts …"

"I'm her fiancé …" they answered simultaneously.

John blinked, "What?" he answered incredulously.

Ron winced. He nervously chuckled, "Well, not exactly your Hermione's fiancé."

John was thoroughly confused. He was about to demand an explanation when the front door opened and closed.

"I just don't understand people, John. How someone can expect to not have problems with their mouth once they've had their jaw bashed with a metal pipe, I'll never know." She broke off as she entered the sitting room and saw that they had company. "Oh. Hi."

"Hi, Mrs. Granger." Harry and Ron greeted.

"Who are you?"

Before Ron could cause anymore damage, Harry responded, "Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. We wanted to explain a situation that's been happening and ask for your assistance."

"Our help?" John asked. "What could we help with in the Wizarding World?"

Jane made her way around the sofa and sat next to her husband.

"What do you know about alternate realities?"

Both of Hermione's parents frowned.

"Theoretical physics was never something I was interested in," replied John. Jane nodded, silently agreeing with her husband.

"A couple of months ago, there was an anomaly that caused four people from an alternate reality to be dropped into this one. So now there are some duplicates of people here."

"An alternate Hermione?"

Harry nodded.

John pointed at Ron. "And you're her fiancé."

Ron's face flushed and he gave a small smile. "Yes."

"So you would also be an alternate?" Jane asked Harry.

"To an extent. My double here died 16 years ago."

Not knowing how to respond to that, the Grangers let that subject drop.

Ron glanced at Harry and picked up the conversation. "We've all been really lucky and have been able to see our families here. We were hoping you would want to come to Hogwarts and spend some time with our Hermione."

"Would this all be explained to our Hermione as well?" John asked.

Harry nodded. "It would be too awkward to leave her out of the loop. I'm sure she would also take comfort in knowing you were safe at Hogwarts away from any possible Death Eater attacks."

Jane worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "We'll have to let our partner, Dr. Smythe, know we'll be taking vacation. Hopefully, he will be able to take over the patients in our absence. Patients will also have to be rescheduled so that he can handle the workload on his own. Is there any way that we could come late tomorrow afternoon? It's just too much to organize in one night."

Harry nodded, with a relieved smile on his face. "We could pick you up at King's Cross at 4?"

John reached beside him and grasped his wife's hand. "That would be perfect."

The young, confused Hermione sat stiffly in the Headmaster's Office. Unfortunately, the old man was not addressing her for anything other than to offer lemon drops. The only thing keeping her from lashing out at Dumbledore was the fact that he seemed truly unconcerned; if something had happened, she would not still be waiting for an explanation.

Dumbledore's gaze shifted to the door. His eyes sparkled. "Well, my dear, this is where I shall leave you." With that, he stood and gracefully exited his office.

Hermione barely had the chance to feel abandoned. Not ten seconds after the Headmaster's retreat, Lords Slytherin and Gryffindor entered, dressed as Muggles. They were followed closely by the two people she cared most about in the world.

"Mum! Dad!" she exclaimed as she stood from the chair and ran into their waiting arms.

"Hello Darling," whispered her father into her hair.

"What's wrong? Why are you here? Nothing happened, did it?" Hermione fired off in rapid succession.

Her parents chuckled at the typical ranting of their daughter. "No, nothing is wrong. These two gentlemen approached us with some very interesting news and invited us to the castle. We had no intention of turning them down."

Hermione looked at Lord Gryffindor and Lord Slytherin warily. "What could they want with you?"

John and Jane Granger shared a look, both unsure as to how much they were allowed to share with their daughter.

Harry whispered to Ron, "Why don't you get Lady Ravenclaw while I explain the basics here."

Ron nodded and quietly vacated the office in search of his fiancé. He quickly made his way to her study, where she was attempting to reconstruct the exact events that happened on the night they defeated Voldemort. He stood to one side and watched her sketch on a large piece of parchment. She was muttering to herself and occasionally pulling her hair around her neck so that she could continue to read and write without it getting in her way. Nervously, Ron took a breath and interrupted her musings. "Hermione?"

She looked up from her work, slightly startled. "Yes, Ron?"

"There is something that you need to see in the Headmaster's Office."

Her eyebrows pulled together slightly at his vague statement. As she opened her mouth to question him, he interrupted again. "It's best if you just see for yourself then have me try to explain."

She put down her quill and rolled up the parchment she was working on. The moment everything was organized, she gave him a small nod and followed him out the door and to the Headmaster's Office.

The reincarnated Lady Ravenclaw stood at the doorway to the office, shocked. Her parents, who she had barely finished grieving for, were there hugging this dimension's Hermione.

They looked up from their private moment and stared at the new Hermione. Physically, they looked similar, but the Lady in front of them carried herself with confidence. They could see how she could command respect. Her physique was also more defined. This was an intelligent, powerful and in control witch. They knew she must have started similarly to their daughter, but the events in her dimension caused such an extreme difference it was nearly unfathomable.

The Ravenclaw Heir finally found her voice and turned towards Harry. "Could I have a quick word with you, Lord Slytherin?"

Harry nodded and followed her out of the office and shut the door between the office and the antechamber so that they could speak freely. "I'm going to hazard a guess and say that Ron neglected to explain what was going on."

"You could say that."

It fell silent and Harry took the time to study her reactions. She looked deeply troubled and confused. However, it was clear to him that the longing for her family she had managed to suppress was brought back to the forefront of her mind.

"Do they know about the dimension travelling? Are they alright with the idea of a duplicate of their daughter? I was just getting used to the idea of being without them and suddenly, they are here again. I am not sure how I am supposed to react to all of this."

"Yes, they were shocked to learn of your presence. But, they were only momentarily stunned. They showed no reluctance in wanting to meet you."

"Are you certain?"

"They are your family, Hermione. They took it about how the Weasley's did, except, without the instantaneous belief in the situation."

Hermione placed her hand on his forearm and looked directly into his eyes. "You are going to such great lengths to ensure the rest of us are happy. Why don't you let go of some of you fear and let the Potters more into your life? Or do you really want to back to our world so much that you would sacrifice this opportunity?" She patted his arm reassuringly. "Thank you for bringing my parents here." With that, she turned and reentered the office. The door shut quietly behind her, leaving Harry in the antechamber to his thoughts.

Harry sat in his bedroom contemplating everything his Hermione had said. If he was honest with himself, he could tell that this was the happiest his friends and girlfriend had been in well over a year.

Personally, the dreams he had always had for a family were closer to fantasies. Fantasies conceived in the darkness of his cupboard and whispered to the spiders. It was everything he had ever wanted and everything he secretly feared. The initial rejection had stung; but, with the Dursley's constant belittling of him and the Wizarding World's fickle public opinion, it was moderately expected.

Their relationship gradually improved with the dinners and Violet's not so subtle prodding. Harry was sure that his unease was the main culprit, at this point, for the lack of familial closeness.

There was nothing emotionally tying them to their original dimension. They had plenty of responsibilities that they could be handed. After all, Wizarding Society had fallen apart. However, it was not their fault that the Ministry of Magic had waited too long to protect itself from the Dark Lord and his followers.

Harry took his boots off, quickly followed by his pants and shirt. Laying down in the warm bed, he could not help but feel that their transportation through space-time was less of an accident and more of Fate weaving a complex pattern into the fabric of the universe.

Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, numbly staring at the schedules for next year. Severus had once again demanded that the Gryffindor and Slytherin First Years not be placed together for Potions. The Head of Slytherin's other demand was to not have them as the first class on Monday morning as he needed to be alert to keep the two factions from killing each other in their "idiotic attempts at blowing each others' brains out with unknown chemical reactions". The Headmaster always enjoyed Severus's arguments; they were insightful, refreshing and wholly entertaining. Severus had even come up with a contingency demand of timing because he knew the Headmaster was too stubborn to give up on his consistent arguments to force the children to work together.

Scratching his chin, Dumbledore scribbled the First Year Gryffindor/Slytherin Potions Class into the one o'clock time slot and moved the Third Year Hufflepuff/Ravenclaws to the earlier slot that had been vacated. With a twinkle in his eyes, he contemplated Severus's reaction to the new time schedule. He hoped it would make the normally stoic man pause and perhaps make the man easier to talk with on Monday mornings.

In the midst of his contemplations of how to rearrange the Hufflepuff Transfiguration schedule that was affected by the Potions change, his floo lit up with green flames.

"You have to help! Death Eaters have invaded the Ministry!" the Minister bellowed through the fire.

Dumbledore dropped his quill, splattering ink across his newly revised schedule. Without pausing, he sent his patronus to Headquarters and Fawkes flashed away to call the rest. Several of the portraits abandoned their posts and went in search of their respective assignments.

Within moments, the office was filled with popping, flashing and panting wizards. The entire Order, plus the Founders had arrived at the emergency summons, having stopped whatever they had been doing. Sirius was dripping with water and covered in only a small towel around his waist. A puddle was steadily forming beneath his feet. Snape sneered at the man's ineptitude, as Remus and James cast drying charms and transfigured the towel into clothes.

Dumbledore winked at the Marauders before dropping the bad news. "Death Eaters are attacking the Ministry and the Minister has requested our aid." The Headmaster waved at the fire, indicating the Minister's head still present.

Harry stepped towards the fire and gave Fudge a piercing glare. "The Ministry is under attack and you require our assistance."

The man nodded, "Yes."

"So, you are ready to repeal that farce of a Bill and accept the entire Magical Community."

"What? It's their fault this is happening. They should be strung up for their crimes!"

Harry blinked, momentarily stunned at the absolute stupidity displayed by the man in the fire. "Then I have no choice but to decline. I will not risk my people for someone who wants them dead. Good day, Minister. And good luck." With that, Harry closed the floo connection on the still blubbering moron.

Harry turned around to see the slightly disturbed or upset faces of the Order. Deciding quickly, he went for the most vocal and most troublesome, Ron.

Ron saw his best friend give him a long look and asked, "Is it right to leave those people to die because of one idiot?"

"The Aurors did not have to enforce the AD-WEB to the extent that they did, yet they still evicted harmless residents and arrested children because they were unfortunate enough to be abandoned on the streets of Knockturn Alley."

"There are more people in the Ministry than Aurors and the Minister."

"Yes. But the Ministry is responsible for protecting those people. You signed the letter just the same as the other Founders. If Dumbledore and the Order want to help, that is their call; but there is no reason werewolves, vampires, veela, or any other person that is affected by the AD-WEB should die defending a Ministry that would rather see them dead."

Ron still seemed slightly disgruntled at being held back from a battle, but the other faces cleared as they realized that they were not being prevented from helping those in danger. It was clear that Harry looked on the situation as an alliance of two powerful forces, not the same army.

Dumbledore turned to Severus, "We could use your help and expertise there. Will you be willing to come? Or will you be staying here?"

Severus gave the Headmaster a long look. He had expected the man to order him to the battle without contemplating his possible allegiances. It was no more than he had grown accustomed to; so, the mere question made him take pause. "I will help." Holding his hand up, he paused any further conversation. "However, I will not hold back from attacking the Death Eaters by any means necessary. The protection of the innocents at the Ministry should transcend my methods of doing so. If the Aurors or anyone else at the Ministry attempts to capture or subdue me for using Dark magic, I will leave them to their own devices."

Dumbledore looked deeply into Severus's black eyes and nodded solemnly. "I appreciate any assistance you will give Severus."

The old wizard looked back at the rest of the Order members assembled. "We will enter the main Atrium; the most chaos is likely to be occurring there. It is imperative that we rescue the civilians from the fray and prevent unnecessary loss of life. Because the battle is already underway, we do not have time to discuss the fine details. I trust all of you to make sound decisions and to come back safely." With that, Dumbledore held out his hand. As everyone gathered grabbed his arm, Fawkes settled on his shoulder and flashed them to the scene of the battle, leaving nothing but a slightly singed carpet behind.

A/N: I needed to split this up because of the trouble the battle was causing in completion. Besides, this works well as its own subject without a massive battle scene muddling it up.