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Shared Flame	By : TheLadyMiya Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 58981 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I do not make any money writing this.

Chapter List
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Credit goes to Nerys for allowing me to use Malcolm as the name of Hermione’s father and to ayerf on Ashwinder for the usage of the name Helen (which she got the idea of from Greek mythology) for Hermione’s mother. Yes, that’s right; I was too lazy to make up names for myself.

Also want to thank Serpent in Red for betaing this chapter. And thanks to everyone who have read and reviewed! It’s much appreciated!

Review reply can be found here: http://www2.adult-fanfiction.org/forum/index.php/topic/20494-shared-flame-by-lady-miya/

PART ONE

Chapter 1

The summer after the final battle, Hermione travelled down to Australia to find her parents. While there, she did and she also caught a nasty stomach bug which messed with her stomach for a whole month. Her parents were terribly angry with her for making them forget about her, but also very relieved that she was alive and that wizarding Britain was starting to heal again. Thankfully, since Voldemort was still at large, her parents didn’t want to leave their new life in Australia. Instead, they wanted her to move down and finish her last school year there with them. Apparently, in Australia, you didn’t have to live in the school to attend to it. But Hermione missed Britain. Not the country per se, but she missed how it had been before Voldemort took over and she had no reason to doubt things would slowly turn back to that way of life again. True, Harry and Ron wouldn't finish their seventh year, but Hogwarts would still be open. Most of the teachers would still be the same, and she just wanted to be around friendly, familiar people again.

Or so she thought.

When she began school on the first of September, everyone was acting strange around her. It was because of her actions in the war. A lot of people had fought in the final battle, but she had been with Harry Potter for the whole year! It raised a lot of awe in the people around her, and she found that she just couldn’t speak to them in a casual way anymore. However, that wasn’t her biggest problem.

Now that school had started again, with all its routines, she noticed that her period was missing. It wasn’t so strange; she had had it just two weeks before the final battle, and before that, it had been absent for almost three months. Back then, she had blamed it on the stress, but now she didn’t feel all that stressed anymore and she couldn’t remember having it at all during the summer.

In the end of September, she went to Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse. The news she received was very disturbing.

“How could I possibly be pregnant?” Hermione asked out loud.

Pomfrey was watching her with a look of sympathy. “Well, from the information I have here, you are quite far along as well. I’d say you conceived at the beginning of May.”

Hermione just gaped at her. She hadn’t even had… oh, wait, maybe she had. The drunken night just after the final battle came back to mind.

“Well, get rid of it then,” she said, starting to panic. “I can’t be pregnant! I’m just nineteen!”

Pomfrey suddenly got a very sad face. “I’m afraid that isn’t possible, Miss Granger. The foetus is healthy, and the law is very clear on this. No abortion after the first trimester.”

Hermione looked at her, bewildered. “No, that can’t be! I’m sure I’ve read that they are legal until the twenty-fourth week!”

“That’s in the Muggle world, Miss Granger. I’m afraid the wizarding world is stricter on that, since the foetus starts to feed off your magic as well as your body in the second trimester. If the foetus is healthy, an abortion in the second trimester is just too dangerous for your magic. The foetus will use it to stay alive if threatened.”

Hermione couldn’t do anything but gape. It was ridiculous. Surely there had to be something wrong with Pomfrey’s equipment?

“There is not,” Pomfrey replied with a frown when Hermione asked her. “You can do the spell yourself if you want. Here, I’ll show you how.”

The bright yellow light from the diagnostic charm spoke the truth. Hermione was pregnant. Pomfrey comforted Hermione as she began to cry. All she had planned for the future had been destroyed. How could she possibly take care of a child alone?

By the time night came, Hermione just wanted to go to her parents. There were just too many things she couldn’t think about. The questions about who the father was didn’t alarm her as much as the question involving how she could possibly take care of it. She wanted to finish her education, but she couldn’t do that at Hogwarts and have a child. The first thing she decided to do was to leave Hogwarts and start in Australia instead. Her father, Malcolm Granger, worked part time and he promised to help her with whatever she needed. Her mother, Helen Granger, would of course help as well, but her prime concern was making sure they had a secure income. They managed to set up a routine, and when Hermione went into labour on a warm morning in the end of January, she felt more at ease that she would be able to manage it.

The baby girl was declared healthy and named Althea. A couple of months later, Hermione finished school. She didn’t get as high marks as she had wanted, and it annoyed her more than she cared to admit. With Althea in her life, she wanted to recognise that school wasn’t the most important thing anymore. But it was hard! Her results in school had always been such a huge part of how she was. She didn’t find herself as comfortable in the mother role as her parents did. To her great guilt, they were the ones taking the most care of Althea. When she started to plan her future, her parents supported her, even if it meant she would be away from her daughter a lot.

In the fall of 1999, she started a bachelor program at Australian Institute of Magical Learning, majoring in Transfiguration. She loved it, even if she never managed to get into the social life. Her guilt over her poor mother skills made her try to be at home when she did have some spare time, and she never really managed to get any close friends. Harry and Ginny had come down during the summer to meet her and her daughter, but Ron… well, according to Harry, he was sour that she had somehow had sex with someone other than him. Hermione had been angry, and to her great regret, taken it out on Harry and Ginny. It didn’t help when they just wouldn’t understand that she had no idea who the father was. Or maybe it was Hermione’s own annoyance over the fact. All she knew was that his name was Marcus. However, when she had tried to look him up in her parents’ old phone catalogue for people living in their city, the only Marcus had been too old to be her Marcus. She also had a vague memory of him speaking in a different dialect, and she concluded that he probably wasn’t from the area and let it be. Even if she had found him, she wasn’t sure she would have contacted him. It was just so embarrassing. She hardly remembered having sex with the man and she had no idea how he would react if he found out he had a daughter! In any case, her relationship with her friends in Britain became a bit frosty after that. Even if she still wrote to them now and again, they didn’t arrange any more visits.

Alas, the three years she spent at AIML were some of her loneliest years, even if it was very exciting studying Transfiguration on a higher level. When Althea turned three, Hermione started her final semester there, and that was when things started to change drastically.

“Hermione?”

It was the beginning of March, and Hermione had just come back from a very long day in school and was exhausted. When her father called, she walked to the living room where he was sitting with a sleeping Althea in his arms. Her mother was sitting next to him on the couch, which was rather strange because she was usually at the office until six and it was only five. Their faces were very serious and Hermione felt like she had done something bad, but had no idea what.

“Hi, Mum, Dad,” she greeted them carefully. “What is it?”

“Did you remember that Althea had a doctor’s appointment today?” Helen asked sternly.

Hermione nodded. “Yeah, but it was just a check up, right? Dad said he could take care of it.”

“Yes, and I don’t mind.” Malcolm’s voice was much softer than Helen’s. “But the doctor had some… concerns. Do you realise that Althea have yet to say her first word?”

Hermione opened her mouth to object. Althea was quite vocal about everything. She laughed and cried and screamed and hummed. Although, she didn’t speak. No, when Hermione tried to remember, she couldn’t recall a single time she had heard her daughter call her “Mum” or any other word.

“Oh. Well… no, I hadn’t really thought about it. Is that bad?”

Her mother gave her a pitiful look. “Well, not bad per se, but it’s unusual. But that is not the most unsettling thing: Althea used magic.”

Hermione’s eyes widened. It was normal that little witches and wizards did magic before they got their first wand, but Hermione didn’t think it was normal for them to do it as early as three.

“You know we will always be here to help you, Hermione,” Malcolm said and rose from the couch with Althea still in his arms. “But… well, today Althea could have hurt someone. The doctor wanted to look in her throat, and it must have hurt because Althea began to scream and… the lamp above us exploded. If the doctor hadn’t jumped away, she would have got it on her head.”

Hermione gasped. “Oh… but how… what did she think?”

“She called the janitor, and he thought it was an electrical glitch. But we saw these things when you were little. Granted, not as little as this, but still… and we were afraid then as well. However, we couldn’t do anything to protect you or others from your magic. You can and should protect Althea from harming herself or others.” He gave her the sleeping girl, and Hermione felt like crying.

She knew she should care more about her daughter and take better care of her, but it was just so difficult. Half the time, she didn’t know what she was supposed to do, and that scared her!

Helen came up next to her. “You know your father and I just want to support and help you… but we are starting to think we are doing both you and Althea a disservice. She needs her mother, and you need to find a connection with her.”

Hermione pressed her lips together so she wouldn’t cry. “I know… I just… I don’t feel like a mother.”

Her mother clapped her shoulder. “Then it’s about time you start trying.”

Later that night, when Hermione was lying awake in her bed with Althea sleeping in a small bed next to her, she thought long and hard about what her parents had said. To an outsider, they may appear rather strict, especially her mother, but Hermione knew they only wanted what was best for her. Her daughter wouldn’t just disappear, so her parents couldn’t protect her from the responsibility of being a mother. Yes, she was young, but younger women than her had managed to raise children before.

After she got her bachelor degree three months from now, she could try to find a half-time job with some Transfiguration specialist and move to her own place. Althea was big enough for kindergarten, or maybe, if her salary was good enough, she could afford a nanny. But she should move to her own place. It wasn’t right being a parasite on her parents like this. They needed to save for their retirement. Sure, Hermione had hoped to get an even higher education, perhaps getting a doctoral degree in Transfiguration. But she had to think realistically. There was no way she could handle raising a daughter, study full time and have a job to afford a place to live and food for both of them. No, she would just have to put her dreams on a shelf. At least for now. Maybe when Althea was older, she could go back to the university. Until then, she would have to raise her daughter and hopefully find out why the girl didn’t talk.

The next morning, her parents accepted her plan to finish her bachelor degree first and then try to find a job and her own place. Until then, they would keep helping her out. Thus, Hermione continued to work hard on her academics, writing tirelessly on her bachelor thesis on the human/animal Transfiguration. She had a theory that some of the attributes of the animal stayed in the human after the transfiguration and wanted to explore how long and to what degree it affected the human. Yes, she had got the idea from witnessing Draco Malfoy twitching days after he had been turned into a ferret. However, her professors were very enthusiastic about her studies, and she had even been invited to present her thesis at a congress in the end of May. So at least, she would leave the academic world with a grand exit.

Or, so she had thought. It was the middle of April when her favourite professor called her into his office. Hermione, expecting it to be another talk about the progress of her thesis (which she was almost finished with), was surprise when an ancient woman was in the office as well.

“Hermione!” Professor Kelly greeted her, with the same enthusiasm as he always had. “I’m so happy you could come on such short notice.”

“Well, I don’t have any classes anymore, just my thesis to work with,” Hermione reminded him with a smile. “I’m quite flexible.”

Professor Kelly chuckled. “Indeed. Well, let me introduce you to Professor Guinevere Cox-Trotter, the head of the Magical Department of the University of Oxford. Guinevere, this is Hermione Granger, the student I was telling you about.”

Quite baffled, Hermione shook hands with the smiling old lady. She had a firm grip, and Hermione could feel the confident air around her. This was a woman who was used to get her will in things and could make people listen to her.

“Well, I’ve of course heard about you before, Miss Granger,” Cox-Trotter admitted in a friendly tone. “Your contributions in the war against Lord Voldemort are well known, and I have the pleasure of being on good footing with another of your old professors, Minerva McGonagall. She has told me quite a lot about you.”

Hermione was pleasantly surprised at the mention of Professor McGonagall. “Oh? How is Professor McGonagall these days? Still Headmistress of Hogwarts?”

“Indeed she is, although I think she plans to retire in the next couple of years. The war took its tool on her.” Her eyes became sad for a moment.

Professor Kelly cleared his throat. “Now that we all know each other; Hermione, Guinevere is very interested about your thesis. Would you mind giving her a small insight into your ideas?”

“Oh, not at all,” Hermione replied, always happy to speak about academics. Professor Cox-Trotter listened attentively to her and asked very thoughtful questions about something in her theory or her empiric work. Hermione lost track of time, and soon it began to darken outside.

“Dear me, we have been here for quite some time, haven’t we?” Cox-Trotter remarked when Kelly turned on the lights. “It wasn’t my intention at all. I only wanted to see if you were really as good as everyone claimed.”

Professor Kelly chuckled as Hermione blushed.

“I hope you’ll forgive me, Hermione, but I’ve bragged quite a bit about you on our meetings,” Kelly admitted. “I just feel like you could do so much for this field. However, the best Transfiguration teachers are at Oxford and…” He looked at Cox-Trotter.

Hermione looked at the lady as well who smiled. “On behalf of the University of Oxford, I want to say that we would be honoured if you would choose to continue your academic career with us.”

Happiness swelled in her stomach. This was more than she could ever hope for! The Head of the most respectable university in the world wanted her to come to them! Then, reality hit her and her smile faded.

“I’m very honoured,” she replied carefully. “But I’m afraid I can’t afford that. I have a daughter, you see, and I have to support her myself from now on. I do want to continue, but I may have to wait another ten years or so.”

Cox-Trotter’s smile faded as well, but then she seemed thoughtful. “If money is the issue, we do have quite generous scholarships for postgraduates. We also have apartments. They are for Professors though, but since wizards knows how to Apparate, few uses them. We have had empty apartments right next to the school for years. I’m sure we could… bump the rules a little for your sake.”

Hermione felt bad. “I’m not sure I want special treatment…”

Kelly chuckled, like he so often did. “Didn’t I tell you she was modest?”

Cox-Trotter smiled. “I’m not just giving these things to you, Miss Granger. I see them as an investment. You are already one of the brightest students I’ve ever heard about. I want you to finish your education at Oxford and take your doctoral degree with us. The progress you’ll make in the field will increase Oxford’s good reputation. You don’t seem to realise how innovative you are.”

The flattery was almost too much for Hermione. “Thank you, but you see… my daughter…”

The lady waved it away. “So, you’ll study half-time for the first couple of years instead of full-time. That’s not unusual. You will soon see that you are not the only single parent at Oxford’s advanced studies either. And there will be others on the course much older than you.”

It was very tempting. Hermione did want to continue school, and now she would get paid for doing that! However, that would mean moving back to England and away from her parents. Although, perhaps that was what she needed? To get so far away from them that she couldn’t use them as crutches anymore? And how would study half-time be any different from working half-time? Sure, it would take longer for her to finish her degree, but it would still be faster than she had anticipated.

With her mind made up, she smiled. “Well, if I can have this promise as a written contract, I’ll do it.”

Her parents were more thrilled for her than she had expected them to be. They were glad that she would take full responsibility for her daughter and still be able to go through with her dreams.

When her thesis was finished and stamped with the highest grade and the congress was over with, Hermione began to pack. She also began to look up Healers in Britain. Althea still hadn’t said a word, but she had begun using magic in a way Hermione was sure was not normal. The three-and-a-half-year-old could actually control the magic. Quite often, she would levitate toys her way, but sometimes, when she was angry, things around her exploded. Hermione had thankfully been there those times and could protect them all from fragments of glass flying their way.

In July, it was time to move. The school wouldn’t start until October, but Hermione had come in contact with a Healer who would see her and Althea at the end of July. Besides, Professor Cox-Trotter had said the apartment was hers from July, and Hermione didn’t see any reason to stay in Australia. It was better she had time to get used to living on her own before school started. Perhaps that would give her time to connect with Althea as well?

Althea, however, didn’t seem to like moving. When her parents said good-bye to Hermione and her, she started crying. It didn’t stop whatever Hermione did, and when they actually took the Portkey that would transport them to England, she was screaming in sadness.

Hermione felt both embarrassed and desperate when they landed. Professor Cox-Trotter had promised to meet her when she landed, and this was not the impression she wanted to give. She tried wriggling the girl and singing to her, but nothing helped.

Professor Cox-Trotter was smiling in sympathy, but looked a little troubled. In the end, Hermione put a Silencing Spell over her daughter, just so she could speak to the Headmistress.

“I don’t usually do that,” she mumbled to the lady. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her. Perhaps she is just hungry.” She hugged and comforted the still crying girl.

“I understand, Miss Granger. I have two children. Thankfully, they are both over fifty now and can actually explain what’s bothering them when they are upset.” Cox-Trotter smiled. “Perhaps I’ll just show you to your apartment then and save the tour of the University for tomorrow?”

“That would be very kind,” Hermione said, smiling in relief. “And I’ll make sure to put a Silencing Spell over the apartment, so no one else is bothered by her.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary. I don’t think anyone is staying there over the summer.”

When Cox-Trotter turned around to show the way, Hermione finally let herself take in the surroundings. They were standing on a cobblestone avenue with stone walls around them. Over the walls, she could see four stories buildings in the same old-fashion mood as she had seen on the pictures of the University. She would have to look up more about the buildings when she was settled in. They were certain to have an interesting history.

They came to an open square with a great fountain in the middle. The flower decoration on the fountain was beautiful, but she didn’t have time to take a closer look because the lady led her to what appeared to be a dead end.

“This is the road leading into the Magical Department as well as the apartments. Make sure to hold your wand when walking through. Only someone with a wand can pass. Or someone who is holding someone with a wand.” Cox-Trotter smiled at Althea who finally seemed to be calming down.

On the other side of the wall, there was yet another cobbled street, framed by trees. Houses that could very well be as old as Hogwarts popped up here and there, and she was sure the area must be magically enlarged. There were just too many houses she hadn’t spotted from the outside.

The biggest building was lying at the end of the street, and it looked more like an old mansion than a house.

“That’s the school building and where you’ll find the library,” Cox-Trotter explained. “Your living quarters are this way.”

She turned from the main street, and Hermione found herself in a nice garden in full summer bloom. The house was big as well. When they entered it, they came into a big hall with an open stairway leading up to the second floor where she could see doors.

“The ground floor is for all inhabitants of the house. You’ll find a small library, a common room and so on. I’m sure you’ll have time to explore it on your own. Your quarters are up the stairs.”

The stone stairs were higher than they looked, and Hermione was breathing heavily when she reached the top. Cox-Trotter pretended not to notice, but walked much slower down the corridor before she stopped at the third door. “This will be your apartment.”

The room they entered was bright and much bigger than she had anticipated. The walls were white and the floor made of wood. It looked like it had been renovated for not too long ago, and a kitchenette was installed in one corner of the room. There were two doors leading from the main room and behind one was a bedroom. She guessed the other held a bathroom. The main room was already furnished, but Hermione decided she should Transfigure them when she got the chance.

“Like at Hogwarts, electrical devices don’t work very well here,” Cox-Trotter explained. “You are welcome to call any of the University's house-elves if you are hungry. You’ll only pay for the groceries, or, well, they will be drawn from your account.”

“Okay, sounds good,” Hermione lied. She did not plan to take advantage over the poor house-elves.

“Do you need any help unpacking?” Cox-Trotter asked.

Hermione smiled. “No, I’ve developed a small spell that will make sure everything moves to where I want it to move.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Really? Do you mind showing it to me?”

“Not at all.” Hermione looked at her daughter who had now calmed down enough for Hermione to feel safe about putting her down. She was very heavy to carry to begin with, and Hermione stretched her arms at the loss of weight.

The three year old held a tight grip of her mother’s leg as she looked around the room. Hermione reached into her purse and pulled out the small package she had prepared. She put it on the kitchen table and tapped it with her wand. Immediately, the package unpacked itself, and things started to fly in all directions. Althea let out a small scream and hid her face against Hermione’s leg. It only took a few minutes for it all to be at their rightful places.

Cox-Trotter clapped her hands. “Fascinating! I’ve never seen such an effective unpacking spell before!”

Hermione smiled shyly.

A knock was heard on the door. “Hello?”

Hermione could not see the door from where she was standing, so instead, she looked at Cox-Trotter who was standing in the opening of the small hallway.

“Oh, Professor Foster, come in and meet our newest Transfiguration postgraduate.”

“A postgraduate?” The male voice sounded surprised, and in the next moment, a man stepped into the living room. “Since when do postgraduates live here?”

Cox-Trotter scowled at him. “Miss Granger is a special case, Marcus. You will understand when you start to teach her.”

Hermione hardly heard a word. She was too busy trying to conceal the fact that she was freaking out. It was him.

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