Mr. and Mrs. Potter had thoroughly enjoyed having the house to themselves the past 36 hours. They had ventured into the kitchen to have a late breakfast. Mrs. Weasley had kindly left them a supply of food.
"I feel so domestic," Hermione said as she attempted to scramble some eggs with a spell. She was wearing a short silky navy blue robe that covered just enough that she could be considered decent.
"I don't see you as the domestic type," Harry told her, as he approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her so he could nibble at her ear.
"Well, I better learn," she giggled as his breath tickled her. She leaned back into him and arched her neck to give him easier access. They had discovered that her neck was very sensitive and Harry could just touch her in certain ways and drive her wild.
"If you don't stop that," she warned teasingly, "I'll never learn to cook and our seven kids will starve."
"Up to seven are we?" Harry asked, giving a little nip that made her shudder and drop the eggs and frying pan onto the floor.
"Eight if you keep this up," she turned around to face him so she could ravage him with kisses.
They were leaned against the sink and Harry had just reached under her robe when they heard a crack! And a chair by the table toppled over while Nymphadora Tonks appeared, clutching her leg, and hopping about.
"I'm sorry I'm late. I thought it was tomorrow, but then I realized it was today and- " She stopped midsentence, her mouth gaping open at the barely clothed couple.
She darted her eyes to the floor and to the half-scrambled eggs. Both Potters were adjusting the tie belts of their matching house robes.
"I-" she started, her face turning crimson. "Sorry. Didn't mean to," she stammered, completely aware of what she'd interrupted.
"It's all right," Hermione said, gaining her composure. "We, um, well..."
"Yeah, good thing you got here when you did," Harry smiled. "Five more minutes and it would have been embarrassing." He hoped to lighten the mood as they were all rather embarrassed already.
Hermione slapped his arm. "You do know about the wedding, right?"
Tonks looked up. "Well, I saw the article in the Prophet. But I haven't seen anyone in the Order recently. I've been on duty. So, it's true then?"
"Er, well, for the most part," Harry answered. He felt a surge of hope. If Tonks doubted it, maybe other magic folk would and then he fewer people would think of him as the poor abused tragic hero.
"We're not getting married in October," Hermione offered. "The rest is true."
"You're not?" Tonks asked.
"No. We got married two nights ago."
"Yep," Harry said, pointing to his wedding band.
"She can't see them," Hermione told him.
"She can't?"
"Well, it wouldn't do for us to be seen wearing them while 'planning' our wedding, would it? Dumbledore put a charm on them."
"Right," Harry replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"I can see this!" Tonks squealed, taking Hermione's left hand. "That is gorgeous! You have great taste!"
"Harry has great taste. He picked it out," she beamed.
"So, you two are married then?" Tonks said, taking in the information. "That's great. Congratulations!" she offered heartily.
"You're here for a meeting?" Harry asked.
She nodded.
"Maybe this is what it's about. Dumbledore has a plan, you know. This is part of the grand scheme."
"Listen, we'll go get dressed and be back down soon," Hermione said. She cleaned the spilled eggs with a "scourgify."
They were interrupted as Hedwig flew into the kitchen with two envelopes. They were from Hogwarts and addressed to Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Hermione noted that they were not using her proper name and it disappointed her a bit. She would very much like to get something official and addressed to Hermione Potter.
Harry patted Hedwig affectionately before taking the letters. He then gave her some grapes off the counter which pleased her very much.
Hermione opened he letter and squealed. "It's our Hogwarts letters, book lists, and O.W.L.s!"
"I can' t look," Harry said, giving the letter to his wife. "I know you got all O's."
Hermione smiled broadly as she read her results. It was no surprise that she did in fact get O's in all her classes. "Yeah, I did!" she said, trying to sound modest.
"That's great!" Harry replied. "I knew you would. Everyone knew you would. You're the smartest witch to ever pass through the hallowed halls of Hogwarts!" He gave her a hug of congratulations.
She then opened his letter and looked for his results. "Oh my god! You got an O in Potions!" she exclaimed.
"What!" Harry gasp. He knew he had to get high marks in Potions to be an auror, but never expected to actually get an O. He wondered if McGonagall had tweaked his grade at all.
Hermione continued. "You got O's in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, and Transfiguration. You got an E in Astronomy, and an A in Divination and History of Magic."
"Thank goodness!" Harry sighed. "I thought I'd get D's in both of those. Or worse, T's if they really give T's."
Tonks praised them both for their grades and it reminded Harry that they were going to go get dressed. "We'll be back down in a few minutes," he said.
"Oh, don't bother. I think I was right the first time because if it was really today then I would have been late and no one else is here so I must be a day early. I'll just be going.
"Right," Harry said. "We'll see you tomorrow then. Remember, don't tell anyone that we're married."
"Of course I won't.
The next time they saw Tonks she was stumbling into the kitchen again, this time massaging her elbow. She did, however, arrive just before the meeting of the Order was to start.
"Why are they here?" asked Mad Eye Moody, one eye on Dumbledore and the magic eye looking at Harry, Hermione and Ron at the end of the table. The split directions gave his face an even more disturbing appearance. "They're not old enough to be in the Order."
"I am afraid that age is immaterial at this point, Alastor," Dumbledore answered. "We all know of Harry's importance."
There was a general nod of agreement around the table.
"As his wife, Mrs. Potter also plays a key role in our cause. She, like Harry, will be a major target by Voldemort and his followers. She is to have the same level of protection as Harry. We are setting a trap, baiting Voldemort, if you wish to call it that. And, Mr. Weasley's presence saves the Potters the time it would take to tell him everything we've discussed when the meeting is over." Dumbledore's eyes had a hint of their familiar twinkle as he surveyed Ron.
Ron's ears turned pink as all eyes fell upon him.
The truth was Harry and Hermione had approached both Mrs. Weasley and Dumbledore and asked them to allow Ron to attend. "I don't want him to feel excluded. He's already feeling a bit like a third wheel." Harry told them.
"Not that sparing his feelings justifies letting him in on anything so dangerous and important," Hermione clarified.
"But Hermione and I will tell him everything anyway. And he's gone hand to hand with Death Eaters already. Ron can hold his own and you know he's too stubborn to hide if we're all in battle. He's a skilled wizard. I would never want to put him in danger."
"But lack of knowledge can be a danger too," Hermione added, thinking of Harry and Sirius. Maybe if Harry had known everything, he would not have been so easily tricked by Voldemort. "Knowledge is protection in itself."
At this point Dumbledore had raised a hand to silence them and turned to Mrs. Weasley. "It's up to you and Arthur."
After thinking it over, she had agreed. She knew it was useless to try to keep Ron in the dark and she appreciated that Harry and Hermione did not want him to feel excluded.
Dumbledore explained the set up to the Order, along the way answering the unasked question many of them had about his referring to Hermione as Mrs. Potter.
"Professor, what exactly has happened with the Death Eaters that were caught?" Harry asked. It was question he had wanted to ask for days, but they had been so busy with the wedding he had not gotten the chance to discuss things.
"They are still in Azkaban at the moment. We are not sure how long they will remain as the Dementors are not being controlled by the Ministry. We think they may be biding their time until they are called, putting up a benign front."
Harry nodded. He had not expected the arrested Death Eaters to be completely out of the way. Mrs. Weasley shivered, knowing they were inviting such danger for Harry, for all of them.
"So, what is our next step?" asked Lupin.
"We keep our eyes and ears open for any word, any changes."
"Constant vigilance!" Mad Eye added gruffly.
"And we continue to gather supporters of our own. The tide has turned in our favor since the Death Eaters were exposed and Voldemort's return is now generally accepted. Many of us are out in the field now recruiting more for our cause."
Harry felt hopeful at this. The Order of the Phoenix was growing daily and the numbers for the Death Eaters were, hopefully, not since so many of their kind were locked away.
"Harry," Dumbledore turned to the young man. "You and Hermione have a special relationship with the house elves at Hogwarts. Even though most of them do not wish to be free, it is not lost upon them how kindly you have treated Dobby and Winky. You're too young to know how poorly house elves were treated prior to Voldemort's first demise. Like Dobby, most of them somewhat revere you. Also, you should know house elves, meek and unnoticable as they are, are very well connected to one another throughout our world."
Harry nodded, wondering where this was leading.
"I would like you and Hermione to go to the elves and ask them to back you and those who are working with you, but do not call the Order by name. House elves are very powerful beings that can achieve things even wizards can not."
"Like apparating in and out of Hogwarts," Hermione filled in.
"Yes. Their kind will be valuable to our fight. I want you to be an envoy to them the way Hagrid and Madame Maxime were with the Giants."
"I hope you'll have more success than we did," Hagrid commented.
"I'm sure house elves are more reasonable than Giants, though, Hagrid. You had a tough crowd to reach. The house elves live in fear or wizards. We have to insure them that if we are successful they will not have to fear us, perhaps Hermione can even convince them to accept freedom, eventually. I don't think we should overwhelm them with promises of a brighter future all at once."
"Change seems to frighten them, even if it would be for the better," Hermione added, remembering her frustration with trying to get them to see that freedom was a good thing.
"You're very right about that." Dumbledore agreed. He turned to Hagrid, "I want you to continue your work with the magical creatures in the forest. If you should need any assistance, don't hesitate to ask. Your contacts should be alerted to be ready to come when called."
The half-giant nodded with understanding.
All in all, it was a subdued meeting as the subject was so imminent and intense. They knew they were coming closer to the thing for which they had been preparing. The one positive was that they were doing something to put it on their own terms and time frame rather than Voldemort's.
Harry felt his stomach giving a lurch. Dumbledore was speaking with such determination. He could tell the final battle really was looming. His eyes traveled around the table. All of these people were united in one goal of destroying evil. Mrs. Weasley was the closest thing he had to a mother. Ron was like his brother. Lupin was the only connection to his parents he had left. He stole a glance at his wife, promising himself that he would protect her and grow old with her. She alone was enough of a reason for him to do everything he could to destroy Voldemort. Yet, all those people were depending on him too. He had no other option. He would kill Voldemort. And he would do it very soon.