Chapter 31: Grangers

Meeting Lavender was quite pleasant. She was happy that someone else was not treating her differently. She had dreaded meeting others from the DA, fearing that they would despise her. Seeing that Harry was still the same around her relieved her.

Of course, she eagerly joined his expedition. She and Parvati were pretty much at the end of their rope. It turns out both of them were running out of money soon, and Harry didn't plan to begin the expedition for at least six months, but more likely a year.

But he had a solution for their problem. After all, Grimmauld Place is empty right now, only inhabited by Kreacher. They could use his place for now. After all, the applications would also arrive there, so he didn't need to transport the applications to them first.

He still had a few days before they were moving into Grimmauld Place, as they had to handle their own business. There were still a few other things for him to do, with his recruitment of wizards joining the Magus Race already running.

Knocking on the door of a lovely two-story family home, Harry waited until the white-painted door opened. A brown-haired man appeared in the doorframe and asked, "Why are you knocking? Did you loo... Oh, sorry, I thought you were my daughter."

"Don't worry, Mr. Granger. I am actually here to also meet Hermione," Harry replied with a smile.

"It's you… You are Harry Potter, are you not? You have changed a bit. Dan Granger said as he realized who Harry was, his face now having a frown.

"It's nice to meet you again, Mr. Granger. May I come in?" a polite smile on his face, Harry asked him.

"No, you may not," Dan Granger said, tight-lipped. Suddenly, there was movement from behind him.

"Dan? Who is it?" Emma Granger, Hermione's mother, walked to the entrance.

"No one. He was about to leave," Dan said, still frowning.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Dan. You know how Hermione is worried about him. Harry, it's good to meet you again. Come in. Ignore the big gruff," Emma said with a warm smile as she pulled Harry inside, ignoring Dan's complaints.

"It's good to see you again, Mrs. Granger!"

"Call me Emma." Emma cut him off before asking, "Coffee? Tea?"

"A coffee would be nice, Emma. Thank you," Harry replied as he sat down at a kitchen table.

"Do you have any idea what Hermione had to go through because of him?" Dan gritted out towards his wife as he followed them.

"I am really sorry for what the two of you had to go through last year!" Harry quickly apologized, realizing why Mr. Granger was angry at him. Experiencing a memory wipe, starting completely new lives in Australia, and not even knowing they had a daughter must have been hard. "Please don't blame Hermione for what she had to do!"

"I am not. I understand why she chose to do it. The terror attacks, the mysterious deaths, all the chaos," Dan said coldly before turning to him. "I blame you for involving her."

That's fair.

"Oh, Dan. Don't be so hard on the boy. He didn't choose to be targeted by that madman. And you know how Hermione feels about him." Then Emma turned to Harry and said, "You will have a lot to explain as soon as she is your young man."

"I expected that." Harry chuckled dryly.

After that, he and Emma chatted for a bit while Dan was sulking at the kitchen table. Until the man finally decided to insert himself into the discussion, "What are your intentions with my daughter?" he asked, directly looking into Harry's eyes.

"She is my best friend. Like my sister. To be honest, I recently had my eyes opened, noticing things I never had before. And I can say, she is the most important person in my life." Harry replied without hesitation. He had realized that Ron hadn't really been his friend. Harry was just a way to fame for the red-headed boy, while he was still close with the other Weasleys, as they had been honest, down-to-earth people. Hermione was, without a doubt, the closest thing he had to a family, not enforced by Symbiote.

Suddenly, they heard the front door open, and someone entered the house and said, "Mom, Dad, I am home!" called Hermione out as she had just ascended to the front door from King's Cross Station.

"We are in the kitchen, dear!" Her mother called out.

Soon, Hermione appeared in the kitchen and was about to greet her parents before she realized that someone else was there. "Oh, you have a guest. Sorry for inter... Harry!"

Hermione, who looked as he remembered her, with her light complexion, cute face, bright brown eyes, and unique bushy brown hair, hurriedly rushed towards him, pulling him into the tightest hug she could muster. Harry's face naturally lit up for the first time in the last few months.

He may now be the Emperor of a completely new race, the inheritor of knowledge that could turn the universe upside down, affected by the memories of a thousand-year-old parasite with a god complex, a killer, warlord, and ruler, but right now he was just Harry again.

"Harry James Potter, where have you been? Why didn't you tell me where you were? Why didn't you contact anyone else? Harry James Potter, you better start talking, mister." She bombarded him with questions while still having him in an iron hug.

For the first time in the last few months, Harry began to laugh naturally. A full-body laugh, filled with mirth, to the point he was actually having trouble breathing.

Hermione, for her part, stood there with her fists on her hips, stomping her foot. "Harry! It's not funny; stop laughing."

"Hermione, aren't you forgetting something? Shouldn't you greet your parents first? They haven't seen you almost as long as me," Harry said, still chuckling.

"It's fine, dear. Go talk with Harry. You can tell us later how your last year in Hogwarts was," her mother said, a warm look on her face, while her father had again a very grumpy look on his face. "Maybe show him your room; he wasn't here before. But leave the door open!"

"Mom!" Hermione exclaimed, offended, a pink blush coloring her cheeks. This made Harry chuckle again, while Mr. Granger looked like he was about to explode. Hermione grabbed his hand and pulled him with her. "Mom is right, we can talk in my room!"

"Have fun, you two! Remember, I am still too young for grandkids!" Emma called after them, making the blush on Hermione even deeper, giving it a deeper shade of red.

"Best friend, my ass... Like a sister, yeah, sure. He is only fooling himself," grumbled Dan in the kitchen as they were out of the room.

"Oh, Dan, don't be like this. Harry is such a nice boy!" Emma said with a giggle, "You are acting like my father did."

"Sigh, at least it isn't that Weasley boy who was with her when she got us from Australia. I never liked him," Dan said, dejected that someone was taking his little princess from him.

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