Summary:Hermione finds out the truth about the dark lord, and Bolt wakes up and learns about his past.
Notes:Sorry this chapter took so long. As you can tell, it's a little longer than the others, but it's mainly late because I'm swamped in college work at the moment.
Chapter TextDecember 5th, 1994, Hogwarts Hospital Wing
Hermione had a lot to think about as she rushed back to the hospital wing where Bolt was still sleeping. According to Madam Pomfrey, Bolt could now be left alone for a few hours without reverting back to his dragon form for the most part, as the bond had stabilized over the course of the night. It was the first time she'd left his side since they'd bonded, and it had left her feeling extremely uncomfortable.
It hadn't helped that she'd spent the last 2 hours in Professor McGonagall's office with Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey where she'd learned everything from the dark lord's survival to the existence of dark items called Horcruxes, 3 of which she'd found out were thankfully already destroyed. It had been … a lot, to say the least. She blushed thinking about how she'd reacted when she'd found out. She was lucky she hadn't been expelled, but to be fair, learning your new husband is destined to kill or be killed isn't easy to stomach.
Flashback
Hermione stared at the headmistress in disbelief.
"So, you're telling me, a man so feared that most people are too afraid to even say his name is not only still alive, but he split his soul, and not only do you have to find the pieces to destroy him, but Bolt… MY BOLT, is prophesied to defeat him? Are you fucking insane?!" she screamed. "He's already been through enough!"
"Watch your tone, you insufferable child." Snape said, sneering at her from his place at the side of the room.
"Quiet Severus." McGonagall demanded. "Have some sympathy."
Turning to Hermione, "I assure you Ms. Granger, the prophecy is quite real." she said gently in an attempt to calm her.
"You've always said that divination is a wooly subject, what makes this one so special?" questioned defiantly, not wanting it to be true.
"Because it was automatically recorded in the department of mysteries hall of prophecies. If it wasn't real, it wouldn't be there."
Hermione deflated upon hearing this, and immediately burst into tears, thinking of the life her soulmate had been forced to live up until now only to then find out he has at best a 50/50 chance of surviving to adulthood.
"He's going to leave, I just know it. Why would he want to stay here where he's going to have to fight a madman when he could be living as a dragon in a forest somewhere." she sobbed working herself into a panic.
"He'll do as he's told. The entire wizarding world is depending on him. This would have been a lot easier had the boy just stayed dead" Snape said snidely. "Besides, if he's anything like his father, once the brat finds out how famous he is here I'm sure he'll want to stay so he can enjoy his fans." he sneered.
"Serverus-" McGonagall said in an attempt to reprimand him but was cut off as a resounding SMACK filled the room, Snape's cheek turning red where Hermione had slapped him.
"How dare you! You haven't even met him, you sick bastard, yet you're already comparing him to his dad when he doesn't even know their names! He's been abused to the point his magic forced him into his animagus form to protect him, and I'll be damned if I'm going to allow you to hurt him even more by telling him lies about his parents!" She screamed, outraged, watching as Snape grew pale at the mentions of abuse, quickly excusing himself and leaving the headmistress's office, claiming he had potions to brew. "You need to think long and hard about your actions concerning him, because if you say something like that to him, he'll either transform and kill you, or he'll have a breakdown and I'll kill you myself." she called after him.
"Really Ms. Granger? I know the man is difficult, but did you have to hit him? Not that he didn't deserve it of course." McGonagall chastised, though she was clearly hiding a smile.
Hermione huffed. "It's Ms. Potter now. Bolt is my husband, so until he is able to do so himself, I'm going to do my wifely duty and look out for him." She replied primly.
"Having a soulmate is an extremely big deal, you know. I'm glad to see you're taking this so seriously, though it is a little surprising you are so accepting of this."
"To be honest I spent a lot of time last night coming to terms with the fact that I have a husband, and though a small part of me hates the idea of being forcibly married to someone, I have to admit that finding out I have a husband who is literally my soulmate is by far the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. I've been in love with him since I met him, you know, even when I thought he was just a normal dragon, so finding out he's my soulmate is actually a relief in many ways, as I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me. I just hope he feels the same way when he wakes up." she confessed.
McGonagall smiled. "He does lass, you wouldn't have bonded with him if he didn't. You can tell he loves you just by the way your touch calms him, and your magic interacts with his."
Hermione relaxed hearing this, having spent most of the night torturing herself worrying over whether or not he'd love her back. She knew he trusted her and seemed to enjoy being with her, but that was different from being in love.
"Thank you, professor."
"You're welcome. Now, let's get back on topic. We need to work out a plan of where to go from here."
End Flashback
The rest of the meeting had been much less eventful, but just as informative. McGonagall had gone on to explain that Madam Bones, head of the DMLE had been contacted and informed of the situation, and they had ultimately decided that it would be best for them to claim Bolt was a distant Potter cousin who had recently moved back to Britain from an impoverished third world country. They'd say that he was behind in his schooling, which is why he wouldn't be attending classes with the other students until he's caught up, and that Hermione had been tasked with showing him around the school when they were unexpectedly soul bonded.
Hermione had to admit it was a decent cover. At first, she'd thought that people may wonder why he spoke with a British accent, but McGonagall had correctly pointed out that most wizards, especially students, are egocentric and don't have much knowledge of the world outside Britain.
The professor had then slid Hermione the only remaining copy of her marriage certificate, as all the rest had been destroyed to protect Bolt's true identity. To her surprise, the certificate had the name Harry James Bolt Potter written on it. She didn't know why but she hadn't expected the magic to use his dragon name. It was currently in her bag under a concealment charm, where it would be safe from any prying roommates.
She'd spent the last 30 minutes slowly making her way to the hospital wing, where Madam Pomphrey would soon be meeting her to wake Bolt up. The only problem was, she was terrified of how he'd react to what she was going to tell him. The headmistress had basically ordered Hermione not to tell him anything about the prophecy yet as to not scare him off. An order Hermione was planning to intentionally disobey. If, and it was a big if, he was going to stay with her she wanted him to go into this knowing what could happen to him. She had no desire to start her relationship with him by manipulating him, even if telling him led to him leaving her to live as a dragon. She'd rather have him leave her to live as a dragon than have her soulmate die because she didn't warn him of what could happen.
By the time she had reached the Hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey and the headmistress were already there, preparing to wake her best friend, her husband, she mentally corrected. His constantly shifting features had finally settled during the previous night. As madam Pomfrey had predicted, his horns were still poking through his forehead just above his scar, though luckily that was the only noticeable inhuman feature she could see.
"Ms. Granger, I know you've been looking forward to waking him, but I need you to be prepared to stun him if necessary. He'll be confused, and in an unknown environment, so we need to be prepared for anything."
"Why do I have to do it?" Hermione protested, not understanding why she was always forced to do the things no one else wanted to.
Madam Pompfrey sighed tiredly. "Because it's likely you'll be the only one who can. You have to understand that he's half dragon, Ms. Granger. It's likely that his skin is just as spell resistant now as it is in his dragon form, with nothing short of an unforgivable being able to penetrate it. However, you stunned him yesterday with no trouble, which I believe is an effect of your bond. His magic trusts yours and doesn't identify it as a threat, allowing you to subdue him if necessary." she explained, pouring a calming draught into Bolt's mouth and hitting him with a rennervate
The first thing Bolt noticed when he woke were his treasure's brown eyes peering at him worriedly. "Bolt, you're awake!" She exclaimed giddily when noticed he was awake, instantly forgetting the headmistress's warning. At first he hugged her back, before tensing when he realized where he was..
Feeling him begin to panic, she climbed onto the bed and straddled him, grabbing him by the horns and forcing him to look at her and not the other 2 people watching them from the other side of the room. Waiting until he seemed calm enough to listen she whispered, "Calm Bolt. Your'e safe, I promise. I'm sorry I had to stun you, but you could have hurt someone. See those 2 ladies over there?" Looking to where she was gesturing, Bolt nodded. "I trust them, and they won't hurt you. They are friends. See the one with the glasses?" Another nod. "That's professor McGonagall, the headmistress of my school. The other lady is madam Pomfrey, she is a nurse. They are going to ask you some questions, is that okay?"
"You'll stay?" he whispered, clearly uncomfortable at the thought of being left alone with strangers in this unfamiliar environment.
"I won't leave your side" she promised, climbing off him and instead settling beneath the blanket next to him and waving over the headmistress and madam Pomfrey, who both approached cautiously as to not scare him.
Bolt wasn't sure about these people, but if his treasure trusted them then they couldn't be that bad. He decided he'd trust them. For now.
"Mr. Potter, can you please tell us how you came to be living on a Romanian dragon reserve?" Madam Pomfrey asked gently, starting off the questioning.
Bolt, thinking she was talking to his treasure, just turned to her questioningly and asked "Are you a dragon too?", causing Hermione to become confused, before realizing what he meant.
"No, Bolt, she's talking to you. Your original name was Harry James Potter. That's who you were before you changed. Your parents were Lily and James Potter," Hermione explained, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly in an attempt to comfort him.
"No. I'm just Bolt." he insisted. "My parents were nothing but drunks who died in a car crash and left me on my relatives doorstep." he told them, remembering all the times his aunt Petunia had told him exactly that and telling he was a worthless freak just like them, tensing slightly as the one his treasure described as the headmistress cursed under her breath. The only thing keeping him calm was his treasure laying at his side.
"Mr. Potter.. Bolt. Who told you your parents were drunks?" McGonagall asked, trying her best to keep her face neutral and not scare the poor boy.
"My aunt and uncle. They always said I was a freak just like my drunk parents, and that's why no one would ever love me." he said simply, sounding like he was describing the weather outside and not casually admitting having withstood years of emotional abuse. Hermione just squeezed him tighter, tears welling in her eyes as she was reminded of what his life must have been like.
"They were wrong to tell you that. Your parents were heroes." Madam Pomfrey informed.
"Then why did they leave me" he asked, genuinely curious as to why his supposedly great parents would have left him to get starved and beaten.
With that, McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey began telling him the story of his parents, the war, and the love they had for him that saved his life that Halloween night. By the end of the story, all three of the women in the room were in tears, with Hermione clinging to Bolt like a barnacle. Bolt managed to accept that his parents were magical easily enough, and that he was as well, especially once it was pointed out that there was no other way he could have become a dragon. All in all he seemed to be taking things relatively well until they got to the part where his mother sacrificed herself to save him, when it suddenly hit him what his mother's sacrifice meant.
Shaking slightly, and looking as lost as Hermione had ever seen him, "They loved me? They actually loved me and wanted me?" he whispered as if in disbelief, breaking down in tears at the realization that he could have been loved at some point.
Hermione squeezed him tightly. "Of course they did. Your parents gave their life so you could live. That's proof that they loved you."
"I've never had anyone love me before," he said, sniffling. "I wish I could remember it."
"Bolt…" Hermione whispered through her tears, adjusting him so his head was lying in her lap and running her fingers through his hair "Your parents may not be here to love you anymore, but I am. You're still my best friend, and I love you."
"You… you love me?" he whispered disbelievingly, not understanding how a freak like him could be loved.
"Yes you silly boy, of course I do, what kind of wife would I be if I didn't," she asked jokingly, momentarily forgetting that he didn't know about their marriage yet.
"Wife? What do you mean wife?" he asked anxiously, suddenly feeling overwhelmed.
Hermione cursed herself for speaking without thinking, quickly looking towards McGonagall from her place beside Bolt for help, the headmistress just shrugging amusedly, mouthing the words You're his wife, you tell him.
"The night you changed back to your human, er… more human form, we soul bonded." she explained hesitantly, fearing his reaction. "We are now considered married. This means that you are mine and I am yours to love forever, and you get to stay with me from now on if you want. Nothing else has to change right away if you don't want it to." she reassured him, praying that he wasn't mad that he was going to be stuck with her from now on.
Seeing the look on his face and fearing she was going to be rejected she hastily began to explain further. "I know it's a lot to take, but it means you're my perfect match. The headmistress says we'll get our own quarters of course, but if you don't want to stay with me I'm sure she'd be willing to give you your own room. I know I'm not the prettiest girl out there, but I'm still…" she trailed off as she realized he was no longer paying attention to her.
Bolt was deep in thought. He wasn't sure what it meant to be married to someone. All he knew was that it was something two people did when they had a baby, and that his aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon had been married. He didn't want to be married if it meant his treasure would act like his aunt did to his uncle, or that he'd have to take care of a child. Not that he hated children of course. He looked forward to raising young someday, but he wasn't ready yet. On the other hand, the idea of Hermione belonging to him was something that greatly appealed to both his dragon side and his insecure human side. Still though, he had questions.
"I just don't understand. Are you having a baby?" he asked, causing Hermione to turn crimson in embarrassment, though she did discover the thought of being pregnant with Bolt's children at 15 wasn't nearly as horrifying as it should have been.
Seeing the headmistress's questioning glance, Hermione forced herself to speak.
"I'm not… We haven't... No. I'm not having a baby." she spluttered. "Why do you think I might be having a baby, Bolt?"
"That's why people get married right?" he said. "If you're not having a baby, what would be the difference between us just staying best friends and being married?"
Realizing he didn't really understand what a marriage was, Hermione considered how to describe it for him.
"I'm not an expert, but I think the main difference is that people who are married are usually in love and want to spend the rest of their lives together." she explained.
"Oh." Bolt was certain he wanted to spend the rest of his life with his treasure. The only problem now was that he wasn't sure if he loved her. It wasn't something he really had a lot of experience with.
"Okay. You said you loved me, but how do I know if I love you?" he asked curiously.
Hermione forced herself to take a calming breath, reminding herself that he only asked how he'd know if he did, not that he didn't. Though part of her wished he would just say he loved her, she knew he didn't have much experience to base his feelings on.
"When you love someone, you'll always want to spend time with them, and you miss them when they are gone. You think about them, and you want what is best for them, and you're willing to put their needs ahead of yours. It means you'll do everything you can to protect them from being hurt, even if that means being hurt yourself. You want to make them happy." she said, trying her best to explain it in a way he would understand.
Hearing this, the decision was very easy for Bolt to make, as all these things were exactly how he felt about his treasure.
"Then yes, I love you." he declared, grinning as Hermione let out an ear-piercing squeal as she threw her arms around him.
"Now that that's settled, and Bolt now knows of his history, and he knows he is married, I'd like to return to my original question and hear from him just how he came to be living on a Romanian dragon reserve." McGonagall cut in, deciding that they needed to get back to why they were there.
Turning to Bolt she asked, "We know it was December of 1986 when you changed. What happened?"
"I came home from school. When I got there my aunt and uncle were waiting for me. They didn't believe I could do better than my cousin on my own so they accused me of using freakishness to fool people into giving me better grades. I swear I didn't though." he promised, not wanting his treasure to think he was a cheat.
Sensing this, Hermione squeezed his hand reassuringly, urging him to continue. "What happened next?"
"My uncle beat me." he replied, flinching as McGonagall swore angrily.
"Did he do that a lot?" Hermione asked warily, though deep down she knew the answer.
"All the time. This was a really bad one though. He slammed me into the wall, and I felt a crack in my head, and my mind went fuzzy. Then everything started to hurt really badly. The next thing I knew I was running away as a dragon. I ran for a long time until I went to sleep in a cave. When I woke up I was at the place where all the other dragons stayed." he explained.
Hermione had tears in her eyes at this.
"Mr. Potter, are all of those scars on your back from your relatives?" Madam Pomfrey cut in, referring to the thick ropey scars covering his back that she'd noticed while examining him. She'd just assumed it was the result of living as a dragon for eight years, but now she wasn't so sure.
"Yes ma'am." he replied, causing Hermione to gasp at the revelation, horrified. Like Madam Pomfrey, she'd just assumed they were scars he'd gained from other dragons.
"I'm not going to have to go back to them, am I?" he asked, worriedly looking towards McGonagall. "Treasure said I could live with her since we are married now."
McGonagall sighed ignoring the nickname he had for his wife, "No lad. When you left the night you transformed, the house caught on fire and your relatives..."
"Decided to move" Hermione interrupted, giving the headmistress a significant look as to let her know to stay quiet about that particular detail. Hermione saw no need in telling him that he accidentally burnt his relatives to death, as it would cause him unnecessary pain. He had enough to deal with as it was.
"Yes. They moved away to another country where no one could find them." McGonagall lied.
"Okay good. I'm sure they are happier without me." Turning to his girl where she was lying by his side he asked, "You'll really let me live with you, Treasure?"
"Yes of course Bolt. I'll just have to let my parents know. Why do you keep calling me treasure though?"
Bolt frowned, confused. "Because you never told me your name, and you are my treasure," he said simply.
Hermione blushed embarrassedly, not only because of how adorable the nickname was, but also because of how she apparently managed to get married to a man without him ever knowing her name.
"I'm so sorry. I thought you already knew. My name is Hermione, Hermione Jean Granger." she told him.
"Hermionly?" he repeated.
"Her-my-o-ny" she repeated, slowly sounding it out for him.
"Hermione" he said, getting it right.
"Yes. Though if you want you can call me Mione, or treasure if we are alone." she told him with a smile.
"So do I get to live here in this castle with you and learn magic?" he asked, excited.
"Yes. But before we make any decisions there's something you need to know first." she told him as she prepared to tell him the truth about the man who killed your parents.
"Stop, Ms. Granger, he isn't ready. It'll just scare him" McGonagall insisted, only to get a harsh glare for her efforts.
"With all due respect professor, that's not up to you to decide." Hermione retorted. "He's an emancipated adult, and he's, my husband. It's my decision to make and I think he deserves to know before he commits to staying here."
"Ms. Granger is right." came a voice from the doorway as none other than Severus Snape walked into the room, clearly having been listening to the conversation. Hermione was shocked to see the professor she had all but assaulted earlier actually agreeing with her.
Unbeknownst to her however, her outburst earlier and the mentions of abuse had forced the dour potions professor to think back to his childhood, where he'd been beaten and bullied by his own father. His life before Hogwarts had been difficult, and he likely wouldn't have made it through those years if it hadn't been for Lily Evans, his childhood friend.
Though Lily hated him later in life, nearly as much as he hated himself, he'd vowed to do everything he could to protect her son in her memory. The very idea that Lily's son had been abused because of Dumbledore's negligence made him wish he'd killed the man when he'd had the chance. He'd naturally been furious when he'd first found out that Albus had placed the boy with Petunia, but he'd held out hope that the girl he remembered from his youth had changed. In July of 1992, when Albus had finally admitted to him why the boy hadn't arrived at the school for his first year he'd come precariously close to killing the manipulative old man. Ultimately he'd just disarmed him, pocketing the man's wand and calling for the aurors to question him before heading to the Hog's Head to get wasted.
When Dumbledore had let him down, he'd allied himself with the new headmistress in the fight against Voldemort. It had quickly proven to be a good decision, as they had already destroyed 2 of the dark lord's horcruxes in the last 2 years, a ring and a cup from the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange with the help of the goblins.
Despite his vow to protect the boy, to his eternal shame, when the boy had been revealed to be alive and a dragon animagus his first thought had been that they had their weapon back, even if it did look like James Potter. It wasn't until Ms. Granger had slapped him in the face and informed him of the abuse that he'd realized that the boy was just that. A boy, and now just any boy, but Lily's boy. He knew he had to find a way to make amends for his past mistakes, starting with apologizing to Ms. Granger.
"You were also right earlier Ms. Granger. I am sorry for insinuating your husband should not have a choice in this. As for the abuse you mentioned, I took the liberty of brewing a salve that will help with any scarring he may have. Use it once a day until either the scars have faded, have faded, or it runs out, at which point you can come to me for more." he told them, placing the potion on the bedside table and leaving, not giving Hermione any time to respond.
Hermione sat there staring at where the potions master had just been, not really understanding what had happened. Even McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey seemed a little shocked by the change in the man.
"He seems nice." Bolt stated, breaking the silence and causing Hermione to break into a fit of laughter at the irony.
"We'll see Bolt." Hermione said, collecting herself. "Anyway, back to what we were talking about before. You have a decision to make, and I don't want you to make it until you have all the facts." she told him, going on to explain the fact that the dark lord wasn't really dead, and that he was prophesied to defeat him. Bolt just sat silently, considering the information, only stopping her once to ask what a prophecy was. At the end he seemed relatively calm considering he'd just found out that he was destined to kill or be killed.
"You said I have a decision to make?" he asked, wondering why she was telling him all of this.
"Yes," Hermione explained. "You can either stay here with me, and we can train you so that if Voldemort returns, you'll hopefully be ready for him. Or... you can go back to living as a dragon in the forest where you'll be safe. I'll still visit you of course, and we'll still be married, you just won't see me as often." she reassured him.
"Why would I want to do that? You said this man wanted to kill all the people with normal parents. You have normal parents." he said, honestly confused as to how she could possibly think she'd just leave her here unprotected.
"Bolt, if you stay you could die." Hermione told him bluntly. "You'll either have to fight and kill him, or he'll kill you."
"He already took my parents." he replied solemnly. "If you're staying here, then I'm staying with you. You're mine and I'm not letting anyone steal my treasure" he stated defiantly, effectively ending the conversation.
"There's another issue I'd like to speak with you both about." McGonagall supplied, changing the topic. "Sirius Black."
"Of course, why didn't I think of that?" Hermione exclaimed, wondering how she could have forgotten such an important detail. "We need to let him know he's alive!"
"Yes, that's what I was thinking as well." McGonagall replied.
"Excuse me?" Bolt hesitantly interrupted. "Who is Sirius Black?"
"He's your godfather Bolt. I'm so sorry. I totally forgot that you had one or I would have already contacted him." Hermione informed him, using his confusion as an excuse to hug him again.
"What's a godfather?"
"It's someone who your parents chose to take care of you if something happened to them. You were supposed to go to him when your parents were killed, but our old headmaster,
Dumbledore, illegally put him in prison and sent you to your relatives instead so he could control you. Your godfather was released a few years ago when he finally got a trial but was reportedly devastated when he found out that you had supposedly been killed and left the country."
"Why was he sad? He doesn't even know me," Bolt asked, leaving Hermione at a loss on how to answer as she had never met the man.
"Because he loved you lad." McGonagall told him gently. "I spent some time with him and your parents after you were born, and it was clear to everyone that the man loved you as if you were his own."
"Do you think if you tell him about me, he'd want to see me?" Bolt asked, looking at them with a spark of hope in his eyes.
"Of course he would Bolt, I'm sure he'd be extremely happy to know you're alive." Hermione whispered.
He looked towards Hermione. "Can you write him for me?"
"Of course. Though we'll need to supply some type of evidence, otherwise he'll likely believe it to be some sort of cruel prank, but we can't reveal too much either in case the letter is intercepted." Hermione decided.
"Yes, that's a good idea, especially with the way he and the other marauders delighted in playing pranks during their Hogwarts years, it wouldn't be too far of a leap for him to assume that this was just a cruel form of revenge for one of his past deeds." McGonagall admitted, not noticing the way Hermione's eyes lit up in recognition as she quickly dug through her bag to find the map.
"Maybe we could send him a picture?" Bolt suggested.
"An excellent idea Mr. Potter." McGonagall replied, standing up. "I'll go see if I can borrow Mr. Creevey's camera. Ms. Granger, you should begin writing that letter. Don't reveal too much, but make sure he knows what to expect when he gets here."
"Yes ma'am, and I think I know the perfect way to tell him everything we need to without giving anything away if the letter is accepted." she called after the headmistress as she left before grabbing her book bag and searching for a quill, excitement bubbling within her at the thought of Bolt having a father figure to help him.
Having found what she needed, she leaned back into Bolt, considering the easiest way to tell someone that their long dead godson is really alive and had been living as a dragon for the past eight years. Fortunately, all she had to do after that was just enchant the parchment with the passphrase.