A/N: Hello, faithful readers! I once again must thank everyone who has been kind enough to read (and especially review) this story. It's a blast to write and I love knowing that people are enjoying it!
Also, EEkii brought up the agreement between Harry & Hermione and Rita to keep the Animagus secret. Well, I'll be honest, it's been a while since I've read the later books to know all about it for certain. I am in the middle of re-reading the books (Almost finished with Chamber of Secrets!), but real life and this story are both really eating into the free time. So, if The Quibbler exclusive is going against canon, my apologies, but then again, it is a bit of an AU story!
And I apologize for this chapter being late (as they've been a lot lately). But, over the last weekend I had a wedding of a dear friend to attend and my own one-year anniversary to celebrate!! So, no free time for me.
But anyway, on with the story!
*****
After dinner, Harry and I carefully excuse ourselves to run home. We need to talk to Luna and we need to get a plan together.
Once we've both flooed into the living room, Harry instantly calls Ron through the fireplace.
"Yes?" says Ron as his head appears.
"Ron, can you and Luna come over soon?" Harry asks. "We've got a plan."
"Sure, let me get her and we'll be straight over."
"Great. Thanks!" Harry turns to me. "Ok, it all starts now."
"Yeah. Still though, I hate doing this. I don't like stooping to her level."
"You didn't think it was a bad idea at dinner," he points out.
"Yes, but we weren't implementing the plan then!"
"I know. And I'm so proud of you that you have such morals. But find the place deep inside of you that read about the details of our wedding in the paper. Do you want to constantly be looking around for beetles? Do you always want to be terrified that the bug our son finds in the garden and brings to his room is really a spy?"
"Of course not!"
"I can see the headlines now, 'Potter child fan of chocolate frog cards! Needs only 2 to complete collection!'"
"Harry, of course I don't want that-"
"Well, then let's get rid of her once and for all."
This was the side of Harry that I loved and hated all the same. I knew he was just being protective; it was just his nature to do so. And that makes me feel wonderful that Harry would just drop everything and protect those he loves. But it also annoys the hell out of me that he was right about it usually.
"Fine, fine. We'll go after her. Just remember, Harry, this is Rita Skeeter, not Voldemort. We don't have to annihilate her."
"But she is still posing a threat to my family and I will not tolerate that. I spent too many years worrying about you and the Weasleys and Sirius and Remus and everyone else to have this woman come back and terrorize us."
"I understand that. But you do realize that there is a huge risk involved with this right? I mean -"
I don't get to finish that thought because at that moment, a loud crack announces the arrival of Ron and Luna.
"Hello you two! What adventure are we going on this time?" Ron laughs as he faces us. Suddenly, his smile disappears as he notices our stony faces. "Did we come at a bad time? Because, Harry, you just invited us!"
"No, no, it's not that. Hermione and I were just discussing the plan that we want to share with you. Mione, you can express your fears after we talk, ok?" Harry says.
"Yeah, I guess."
"So, what's the plan? If we can get this woman, I would be more than happy to assist," Luna says excitedly.
"Well, you're an essential part to the plan," Harry tells her. "We need you to write the article that will expose Rita Skeeter as an Animagus, and blow her cover once and for all."
"Sounds like fun!" Luna exclaims.
"I don't know what's wrong with her! Seems like pregnancy has made her vindictive!" Ron says with a nervous laugh.
"It's not the hormones, Ronald. It's the desire to see this woman go down. She's been making my father's paper seem second rate for so long now and I want it to end," Luna says in the most rational and normal tone I've ever heard her use.
"I can't blame you, Luna, but there's one thing we're forgetting: there's going to be ramifications from this. A) Rita's going to be on a rampage afterwards. We're basically going to flush her career down the toilet! She's not going to take that lying down."
"Well, let her get her feathers in a ruff, I don't care! I'm tired of lying down to all of her antics!" Harry screams. He's really getting worked up over this.
"And I understand that, but B) what if this encourages other reporters to become Animagi and spy on people. I doubt Rita has shared this secret with many people. There's no way she'd give away ways to get scoops."
Everyone is silent. It's been a while since I could render a room speechless!
"Yes, but, what if doing this puts out the word that unregistered Animagi will be found and prosecuted?" Luna asks.
And it's been a while since anyone could render me speechless.
"I guess that makes sense," I admit.
"And besides, we've got the flat protected and we'll do the same to Ron and Luna's place as well. No unknown Animagi can come near us or them. So, we wouldn't have to worry too much," Harry reasons.
"Ok, ok. I just don't like being this way. With the exception of Voldemort, I've never wanted to just attack someone," I say.
"What about Malfoy third year?" Ron asks.
"Well, now that's a completely different subject! He was being an insufferable git!"
"And what is Rita being?" Harry smirks.
"Well, um …"
"Exactly. So, Luna, you'll do it?" Harry asks the new Mrs. Weasley.
"Of course I will! I'm sure Father will be as happy to print an article about this as he would about a wild Smorphin sighting."
The rest of us smile as if we understand what that would mean.
"Wonderful, any information you need just let us know. But you know the basics: Rita is an unregistered Animagus - a beetle - and she's been using this to spy on innocent people and get scoops for years," Harry explains.
"Yes, I can use all of that. If I have any questions, I'll owl you."
"Brilliant," Harry says with a look of accomplishment on his face.
"Now, if you don't mind," Luna yawns. "Ronald Jr. and I need a nap."
"Ronald Jr.?" Harry snickers.
"Shut up, Harry. It's not my idea," Ron whispers. "Let's go, honey."
I hug Ron and Luna and then watch them disappear into thin air.
As I watch them leave, I'm stuck between thinking that this is a fabulous idea and one that will turn into a ghastly mess.
"Mione, everything will work out. You'll see," Harry says as he sneaks up behind me and wraps his arms around my middle.
"You keep saying that and I really want to believe it, but I'm scared of this woman, Harry. She's going to be out for blood."
"Not once we send her to Azkaban."
"I can't believe we're sending someone to Azkaban. I can't believe it."
"Not for a life sentence. Just long enough to make her realize what she'd done."
"I know. But it's Azkaban!"
"Hermione, if we sent her to a Muggle prison, she'd get out in a matter of minutes. In Azkaban, they can accommodate for Animagi."
"Sirius escaped," I point out.
"No one knew Sirius was an Animagus, thank Merlin. If they had known …" he drifts off, but quickly snaps back. "But they didn't, so he was ok. If the guards know now, they can ward her cell and prevent her from escaping. Azkaban is run much more efficiently now that Fudge and the dementors are gone."
"I know. You're right. Why has this been so difficult? Why can't we just get married like normal people?" I whine.
"Now, Mione, when have you ever known our lives to be normal? We became friends the night Ron and I rescued you from a troll. A fully grown mountain troll, thank you very much," he boasts teasingly. "And I proposed to you after we defeated a homicidal maniac of a wizard."
"You make a good point. Why should I assume that our wedding day should be any less eventful?"
"Precisely. And you are marrying one of the most famous wizards in a long time."
"Lucky me," I reply sarcastically.
"Let's just hope that with Rita out of the way, the chaos of our public lives will be a bit more organized. This will teach reporters not to butt into our family life. Because no one messes with the Potters!"
"Ok, calm down there, general. I know you're upset, but let's not lose focus here. Next week, it'll be over. Right?"
"Right. And then we can go back to the peaceful life of wedding planning," Harry laughs.
"Yeah, because that's going so smoothly as well."
"Well, it could be worse … somehow. Don't give me that look!" he says as I give him my trademark "Yeah, right" glance. "Ok, ok. Well, let's at least worry about the wedding and Rita and everything else later and take a break now. How about that?"
"I can deal with that."
"Ice cream?"
"How do you always know?"
"Well, in 9 years, a man should learn something."
"Tell that to Ron," I giggle as I pull my cloak on.
"Ron is clueless when it comes to women, best friend or wife or otherwise. I certainly hope they have a son. I can't picture him with a daughter at all!"
"I can hear the floo calls: 'Help! Luna's out and the baby's needs changed!'"
We both laugh as we Apparate to Florean Fortescue's.
And armed with two gigantic sundaes (on the house for the "Savior of the wizarding world and his beautiful bride-to-be" - we can't seem to talk him out of doing that), we sit down to relax.
But relaxation is never in the cards for us. Soon, the topic of conversation goes to the wedding.
"Did Molly tell you that she talked the florist down in price?" I ask, completely innocently.
"What happened to 'no wedding talk'?" Harry says with a smirk.
"Oh, let's face it! This wedding is like a plague. You can't stop it, you can only hope to contain it."
"Ok, now I think you may be exaggerating. The wedding isn't a plague. It's just a big event that is slowly … consuming our lives like … a plague. Oh my God, you're right."
"See? It's unavoidable. Everywhere you turn, it's The Granger/Potter Wedding!!! Like a bad movie."
"Now, come on! You don't mean that!" a voice says from behind me.
"You know, Sirius, yes I do!" I reply without even turning around.
"You're right, Sirius, the stress is just getting to us. We don't really mean it," Harry tells him.
"I love those words … 'You're right, Sirius.' Say them again for me!"
"Not on your life!" Harry laughs as he stands to give his Godfather a hug.
I stand as well and give Sirius a peck on the cheek.
"Now, what's the problem, my Marauders?"
"It's just that no matter how hard we try, the wedding seems to be flooding our lives. We can't help but talk about it, we see things on the street that remind us, the parents are making us crazy!" Harry lists. "Shall I go on?"
"No, that's ok. I recognize all of this. I've never seen a boy so like his father before in my life. Harry, you might as well be James. And Hermione, if we could just change your hair and eye color, you'd be the next Lily. I'll tell you two the same thing I told the last generation. CALM DOWN!! It's just a wedding, not a peace treaty. All you have to do is show up, the rest is just fluff to surround yourselves with."
I nod. He's right. And I hate it when Sirius is right. He's got an "I'm right!" dance. Which is why I never tell him.
"So what other problems can I solve for you today?" Sirius asks.
"Can you get rid of Rita Skeeter?" I ask.
"Yeah, I saw that. Giving us unregistered Animagi a bad name! What's the plan with that?"
"Well, we're getting Luna to write an article about it. She's going to give The Quibbler an exclusive," Harry says.
"Brilliant! Oh, this will be funny! She's had this coming for a long time. Ever since she wrote that article about me. This is what she gets for bugging us. Ha! Bugging! Get it?" Sirius laughs. If there's one thing I love about Sirius, it's his laugh. It's contagious. Before long, I find us all laughing at his horrible pun and the prospect of happier times.
"I'm glad you're taking all of this so well," Sirius says. "I'm also proud of myself that I haven't gone after that woman myself."
"No! Sit, stay! Bad dog!" Harry says. Those two always get a kick out of the dog jokes. Must be a guy thing. I can picture Lily rolling her eyes just as I am.
"Ok, well, I'll leave you guys to your ice cream," Sirius says as he waves his wand and our melted ice cream, forgotten with Sirius' visit, becomes frozen again.
"Thanks for cheering us up, Padfoot," Harry says with a good-bye hug.
"It's what I'm here for. Oh! And the other reason, the first reason, that I'm here at the ice cream parlor, is to find the both of you! Remus has invited the two of you and myself to dinner tomorrow night. Seems to me that he and my cousin have some sort of an announcement. And I swear to you, that if they're getting married too … well, that'll force me to take drastic measures and give Moony 'the talk'!"
"Well, we couldn't have that!" I reply sarcastically.
"Indubitably! Well, see you tomorrow, lovebirds. And remember, the wedding of the century only needs Harry Potter and Hermione Granger to make their vows, not make a celebrity appearance. This is about you guys and not the hype surrounding it. Okay?"
"You know, Sirius, you are actually right. Thanks," I say.
I wait for the dance, but it never comes.
"You're very welcome," he replies as he hugs me. "Bye-bye!" he calls as he leaves.
"Do you really think Tonks and Remus are getting married?" Harry asks me incredulously, digging into his sundae.
"I don't know. I think it's an interesting question, though. Would we still call her Tonks? Or Lupin? Because Remus will always be Lupin in my eyes. Hmmmm," I ponder, taking tiny bites of ice cream. I guess we'd find out.
"Speaking of weddings, I heard that Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillan got engaged," Harry mentions.
"Good, about time really," I half-heartedly reply.
"Snape and Poppy seem to be getting very close."
"Yes, yes," I say with my nosy mind wandering through possibilities.
"And I've decided to resurrect Voldemort to try to kill him again. What do you think?"
"Well, if you'd like … wait, what?"
"I thought as much. Where exactly was your head this time?"
"Thinking of what tonight could be about. I'll admit, I'm curious."
"The great Hermione Granger, curious about something! I'm shocked!" Harry says slapping his palms to his cheeks.
"Like you don't want to know!"
"Of course I do, but I think I'll wait and see what they tell us before I go jumping to conclusions. What if they got a dog and wanted us to meet it? Wait, could Lupin even own a dog?"
"Oh Harry, of course. It would be difficult what with the challenge to be Alpha male and such, but it's not like Tonks would let him attack a pet. And it's not like he eats every living thing around him when he's ill."
"Hermione, with all due respect, and you know how much I love Remus, but he did try to eat us."
I wave my hand at Harry dismissively. "He didn't have his potion that night. And besides, if not for that chase through the woods, we may never have gotten so close. Do you remember protecting me?"
"Of course I do."
"Well, that could have been what started our relationship in the direction it needed to go."
"Mione, it started in that direction the first time I saw you on the Hogwarts Express. The troll helped things, the bloody basilisk helped things, Lupin, Sirius and Buckbeak helped things. So did the tournament and even that disaster in the Department of Mysteries. And-"
I stop him there. "Fine, fine. It wasn't just him. But it certainly helped."
"Duly noted. So, are you ready to go home?"
"Yes. Let's get going. I think I need to go to bed. It's been a long day."
"Too true."
We wave good-bye to Florean and Apparate home.
As Harry changes for bed, I brush my hair, still running the day's events through my head. The article, the plan, Sirius' advice, Harry's profession that he began to love me the moment he first saw me, the possibilities of Remus and Tonk's news.
"Mione, just come to bed. I think the knots are gone and you're going to disintegrate that strand of hair."
I break from my reverie and head towards the bed.
"Sorry, got a little lost in thought," I admit.
"That's ok. There's a lot to take in from today."
I climb into bed and Harry instantly wraps his arms around me.
"Everything's going to work out, I promise you. We'll take care of Rita, Remus and Tonks will tell us the news tomorrow and then you can calm down," he says before kissing the top of my head.
"You're right. Let's get some sleep," I say as I strain up a bit to kiss him.
"I love you, Mione," he whispers as sleep already begins to claim him.
"I love you too, Harry. Good night."
"G'ni," he mumbles.
I smile and realize that even with all the chaos in my life, I still wouldn't change a thing. I'd take all of this and more to know that I have this man, our families and our friends by my side. And after all that, sleep takes me as well.