Harry walked into his study and closed the door quietly, his mind clouded with thoughts as he relived his argument with Hermione. They hadn't been getting along at all lately, and it was really starting to take a toll on their marriage. He loved Hermione, he would do anything for her, but he had no idea what to do to make their relationship the way it used to be.
He sat down in his chair and lay his head in his hands; 'why couldn't things be the way they used to be?' he thought. Granted, their relationship wasn't always easy, but their love had always won out in the end. Nowadays, it seemed as if nothing could patch the rift between him and his wife.
He stayed there for quite a while, remembering all the good times that had happened between them over the years. He thought back to the first time they had slept together, the moment when Hermione had told him she was pregnant with Conlan, the day he was born, their adventure in Greece, and so many more good memories they had made together...Harry sighed heavily and wiped at his now-moist eyes. He had everything he had ever wanted...a beautiful wife and three wonderful kids...and it all seemed to be falling apart right before his eyes.
He couldn't figure out what was wrong with Hermione; she had changed a couple of years ago. The sweet, loving Hermione was gone, and she had been replaced with a bitch of a woman. He knew he was horrible for calling her that, but that was the word that came to mind when he thought about her lately. She went to work happy one morning and when she came home she just wasn't herself anymore.
A brown tawny owl flew through the window, interrupting Harry's thoughts; it was a bird he'd never seen before and he wondered whom the letter could be from as he removed it from the owl's leg. After handing out a few owl treats, Harry opened the letter and saw that it was from Headmistress McGonagall. Dumbledore had given up his position at Hogwarts shortly after he and Hermione had finished school, gladly handing it over to the transfiguration teacher so that he could enjoy the rest of his days. Professor Snape had been made Deputy Headmaster...thank Merlin he was no longer in school.
As Harry read the letter, he almost dropped it in surprise; McGonagall wanted him and Hermione to be Professors. Hermione would take over the Transfiguration class and he would be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts...this was just what they needed; the entire family would be together and they could work on their marriage.
Forgetting about their earlier argument, Harry rushed out of his office and down the hall to their bedroom. He burst into the room to find Hermione laying on their bed, crying. His heart broke at the sight of her so upset and unhappy; he walked over to the side of the bed and kneeled down so that he was eye-level with her.
He reached out gently and brushed the tears off her cheeks, watching as her eyes slowly opened. "Hey Luv," he said quietly, rubbing his thumb lightly across her cheek, "are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she whispered in reply. She sat up sniffling and Harry reached over to her bedside table for a tissue; handing it to her he said, "You and I have something we need to discuss."
"Harry, if it's about before, I really don't want to talk about it right now," she said, not meeting his eyes. "I am so tired of arguing with you...I just..."
Harry watched as she started to cry again and sat next to her on the bed. He gathered her into his arms and held her tightly, trying to comfort her the best he could. "It's not about before, luv. I just got an owl from Headmistress McGonagall and she's offered each of us a teaching position at Hogwarts."
Hermione's head snapped up and she asked, "We've been offered teaching positions at Hogwarts?"
Harry looked into her eyes and saw something that had been missing for a very long time...a spark of excitement. He smiled at her and said, "Yes, she wants you to teach Transfiguration and me to teach DADA."
He watched as she mulled all the new information over in her head and couldn't help it when his smile grew bigger; this was the Hermione he remembered...the one he fell in love with.
Her expression suddenly became serious when she said, "But what about my practice? And what about your job at the Ministry?"
"To tell you the truth, I would be more than happy to resign my position if it meant spending more time with you and the kids." Harry tightened his hold on her and said, "I've missed too many things over the years; I think I need to make up some of the time I've lost with my family."
Hermione sat staring at him for a while, obviously thinking everything over, and then a small smile broke out on her face. "I've been gone quite a bit myself and I think you're right; it's time I made up for lost time too."
Harry pulled her to him and claimed her lips with his, kissing her hungrily. He never thought she would even consider taking the Professorship, but she had considered it and even agreed to take it. They would finally be spending every day, every night together and he started to feel a little spark of hope for their relationship.
Hermione kissed him back fervently, relishing in the feel of his body pressed against hers; it had been so long since they had last made love. She pulled back slightly, breaking the kiss, and reached for her wand on the night stand. Casting silencing and locking spells, she returned her wand to the stand, turned back to Harry and said, "How about we start making up for some of that time now?"
Letting his beautiful wife pull him down on top of her, Harry smiled down at her and said, "Sounds like an excellent idea to me."
~*~
As soon as the silencing spell had been cast on her parents' room, Aemilia left her hiding place just outside the bedroom door and ran downstairs to find her brother. She had to tell him what she had just overheard...
"Conlan!" she yelled, bounding into the kitchen. When he wasn't there she checked the sitting room and her Mum's study, but she couldn't find him anywhere. Getting frustrated, she ran back up the stairs and ran to his room; knocking on the door impatiently she yelled, "Conlan, are you in there??"
The door opened and Conlan looked down at her, confused by her excited behavior. "What's up Lia?" he asked.
"I need to tell you something," she stated, pushing her way past him and into his room.
"Why don't you come in?" he asked sarcastically, closing the door and walking over to his desk chair. He watched his little sister bouncing up and down, a huge smile on her face, and asked, "What's got you so excited then?"
"Mum and Dad," she replied happily, "they're going to teach at Hogwarts this year."
"What?!" Conlan asked, surprised by this news. "And how do you know this?"
"I, um...I was kind of listening outside their bedroom door when they were talking about it," she replied sheepishly. When Conlan gave her a stern look she said, "It was by accident...I was walking by and I heard them talking about Hogwarts and being offered teaching positions...They're going to be at Hogwarts with us Conlan! Now we can spend more time with them!"
Conlan couldn't help smiling at his little sisters excitement, but he also couldn't help but wonder about his parents sudden decision to take the positions. There was either something else going on or their marriage was in more trouble than they let on...it would be great to have more time to spend with his Dad, but what if all the time his Mum and Dad spent together only made things worse between them?
~*~
"The green-eyed savior has failed
For evil still walks the Earth in disguise.
As the sixth month dies, evil will rise again
And seek out the savior of the world.
The Marked Savior must succeed
Where the green-eyed savior could not.
The Light will turn to The Dark
Unless the Sceptor's Twin is found."
Deucalion stood reading the prophecy that had been burnt into the wall. 'This is not right,' he thought to himself, re-reading it for the second time.
"What is wrong my husband?" asked Pyrrha. She walked up behind him and read the words on the wall; looking at him confused she asked, "I thought Zeus said the Scepter was found?"
"It was," Deucalion answered, turning to look at her, "This prophecy is incorrect."
"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked, "How can a prophecy be wrong?"
"I believe that whoever gave it was being manipulated" he replied. "The Vessel was a descendant of Hera, and we both know how manipulative Hera can be when she wants something."
"So she had one of her own descendants give a false prophecy?" Pyrrha asked. "She is truly mad, that woman is."
"She is also cunning" Deucalion stated. "We must find this Vessel and we must give the box to her son, the Savior."
Pyrrha watched as he walked over to where the box lay and carefully picked it up. "Come my wife," he said, turning to make his way out of the room, "it is time to make our way to the school they call Hogwarts; we can not let the Evil get to him before we do."
~*~
It moved with purpose, consuming all happiness in its' wake; it had to find him before the others did, or there would be Hell to pay, literally.
It had been given orders to seek out the Savior and eradicate him, and he was to do it any way possible, no matter the cost. It walked through the town square, looking around the small wizarding town and realized it was very busy this time of day; it needed a place to hide until sundown, when it would find a proper host. Spotting a dark alley, it slipped in unnoticed and sank into the comfort of the dark shadows.
It thought about the prophecy and marveled once more at the Goddess Hera's greediness; she had planted a false prophecy in the world and had used one of her own descendants to do it. When Zeus had discovered her treachery, he had banished her to the Wastelands of Hades, where she would spend eternity suffering with the other greedy, treacherous souls that had been sent there.
Sensing a presence nearby, it sank deeper into the shadows, waiting to see if the witch or wizard would make a suitable host. When the wizard passed by his hiding spot, he sensed the evil that lived within the man's heart and knew this one would be perfect.
Rising up out of the shadows, it moved behind the wizard and attacked, taking over the wizard's body. Overtaking his mind and heart, it moved on to his soul and realized that there was just enough good there
to keep him away. Deciding that he didn't need to take over the soul as well, it settled itself inside its new host and perused the wizard's memories. It felt a sort of triumph when it came across memories that contained Hera's descendant and then realized who it was that was with her...the descendant of Prometheus, the fire wielder. Knowing that it had much to do to prepare, it made its way out of the alley in search of the wizard's home.
The wizard, Draco Malfoy, never knew what hit him.