Keep Your Enemies Close

Okay everyone. Here I go again. I read about the competition on portkey.org and decided that I just had to enter it. I love to write, and I've been told I'm good at it. Anyone interested in betaing for me, or in reading the original novels I've written, please email me at sirena192005@yahoo.com. PS, if you're an agent or an editor, or happen to work for a publisher, please please please want to read my stuff. I pour my soul into what I write. It's the most important thing in my life.

Title: Keep your enemies close

Rating: Pg-13 to R. Language, sex, violence, and probably a little bit of darkness.

Summary: Harry, Hermione, and Ron don't return to Hogwarts for their seventh year. Neither does Draco. Ginny leaves before her sixth year, stowing away with H, Hr, and R. Harry is determined to have revenge on both Snape and Voldemort.

Dedication: To Kali. The one person who never thought my passion for spinning a story was just folly and silly. For believing I could make this my life if I really wanted to.

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Nothing helped ease the raw grief. The sorrow. The guilt. Not watching Bill and Fleur standing in front of the Minister of Magic taking their wedding vows. Not passing his Apparition test in July, watching Ron do the same. Nothing helped. It was always there. Hounding him, nipping at his heels. There was no rest from it. He wasn't quite sure he wanted a rest from it. It kept him going, kept him searching. Looking for those responsible, the ones that had to pay.

He watched Ginny bloom from a girl into a young woman, only four months younger than him. She was beautiful. He wished they had been able to see if they worked together. Both understood why they couldn't ever be anything but friends. Why, despite the attraction that had been there, they liked it better as friends.

He saw Ron find solace in Luna. Loony Luna Lovegood he'd called her, but when it had counted that night in the castle, she'd been there for him. She'd helped him survive. And they'd come together out of desperation and fear. It was a powerful combination, one of terror and hopelessness. Harry was glad when Hermione didn't mind. Thankful.

It would have been awkward to say the least. The three of them, travelling the whole of the wizard world searching out Death Eaters. Living in cramped quarters, sharing space and a bathroom and, in some particularly tight rooms, a bedroom.

Hermione had emerged from her books. Oh, she still took a library with them when they travelled, but she didn't spend her free time in them. No, her free time was spent searching newspapers for suspicious activities, looking for clues as to the whereabouts of Voldemort and Snape. That and practicing spells, writing new ones that Voldemort wouldn't have defenses against. If anyone could do it, it was Hermione.

Harry knew most would call them vigilantes. Doing the job of an Auror without the certification and training. He also knew they were more qualified to face down Death Eaters than any Auror, and that if push came to shove, that they had a better chance at defeating Voldemort. He couldn't believe there was even a small chance they would fail. The hope of success was the only thing that got him through the night.

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They found him a few days past Harry's eighteenth birthday. In Diagon Alley, perusing wands in Ollivander's. There was a new owner, Ollivander's son, but the wands were still the best. Hermione's had been damaged in a battle with Death Eaters, and she needed a replacement.

“Malfoy.”

Draco turned around, found himself met with two wands pointed at his chest. He could practically see them bursting with the Avada Kedavra. “Potter. Granger. Weasley.” He nodded at each of them. “Put those away, would you? I'm unarmed at the moment.”

Harry merely lowered his. “We need to talk.”

“Doesn't sound like you want to have a friendly conversation, Potter. And I'm not in the mood to duel at the moment.”

“We aren't feeling too friendly towards you at the moment, Malfoy.” Ron said, keeping an eye on Hermione as she examined wands. “What are you doing here?”

“Needed a wand.” Draco jerked a shoulder. “Not a crime as far as I was aware. Has that law changed recently?”

“The last thing we want is a Death Eater getting a new wand. You're going to put that back, and you're going to leave.”

Suddenly, Draco looked paler and much more frail than he ever had before. The man simply looked defeated. He shook his head. “I'm not a Death Eater, Potter.” He laughed, and the sound was so bitter, Harry felt himself soften a little. “I couldn't do it.” He pulled up the sleeve of his robe, revealed the place on his arm where the Dark Mark had been. There was nothing but a ghastly scar. “My father's prestige ensured that I wouldn't be killed. They cut it off of me.”

Hermione was determined not to cry. She felt her eyes well with tears of sympathy, and felt her hatred toward Draco seep out. “Harry.”

Harry looked over at Hermione. “What?”

“Shouldn't we help him? They may not have killed him, but they will if they ever find him again.”

“I don't need your help.” Draco said, anger flashing into his eyes. “And if they do kill me, rest assured, I'll take plenty of them down with me.” He sighed, looked at the ground. “I didn't like the old man, but I didn't want him dead, either. Even when I was pointing a wand at his chest, he was offering to help me. To hide me from them, give me a new life, a new identity.”

“And you let Snape kill him.” Ron spat. “That makes you as guilty as him.”

Draco met Ron's eyes. “You think you're so blameless, Weasley? You spent all year chasing ass instead of listening to Potter every time he tried to tell you what was going on.”

Ron growled, low in his throat. Harry recognized the sound as dangerous, stepped in between the other men. “Calm down.” He looked at Ron. “Dumbledore didn't think he was evil. Even at the last. That should mean he deserves a chance.” Harry turned to Draco. “And because I have such respect to Dumbledore, I'll offer you the same he did. Our help. Protection, if you will. If you'd rather, a chance to make amends for what you did. A chance to help make his death justified.” Harry held out a hand, much in the same way Draco had on their first day at Hogwarts. Not as children, but as men, on an equal playing field. A chance to bridge a gap that had grown far wider than either had realized. A gap filled with jealousy and hatred, and misunderstandings, and circumstances that had been set in motion before either of them had ever been born.

To everyone's surprise, including Draco's, he reached out and grasped the hand Harry offered. “For Dumbledore.”

Hermione reached out, laid her hand on theirs. “For Dumbledore.” She looked over at Ron, lifted an eyebrow in the way she had that made him realize he didn't have a choice no matter what. Grudgingly, he put his hand over hers.

“For Dumbledore.”

And there, in Ollivander's, on a hot August afternoon, only two months after they all should have graduated from Hogwarts, the four people who had spent most of their seven years there as enemies, joined together for something greater than any of them individually. The chance to right old wrongs, to reunite the wizarding world. To fix what had been shattered years before when Tom Marvolo Riddle had taken his first breath and known, even then, that he was destined for evil.

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I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter. I had originally intended for it to be longer than this, but this seemed like a good ending point. More up soon. I promise. BTW, this is H/HR R/L, and D/G. There may even be some L/J in it as well. We'll just have to wait and see.

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“All right,” Draco stood in front of Harry, Hermione and Ron, who were sitting rather stiffly on a couch in the front parlor of Malfoy Manor. Not the one in Scotland, mind you, but a smaller mansion his father had given him for his sixteenth birthday located in Canterbury, England. In order to keep the location a secret, he'd immediately sold it and then bought it back anonymously. He'd decided it was the perfect place to take Harry, Hermione and Ron to tell them what he knew. “After we left Hogwarts, we went to join up with the Death Eaters at Malfoy Manor. Voldemort had busted Dad out of Azkaban, so he was there too.”

Harry held up a hand. “Lucius is out, and he didn't stop you from leaving?”

Draco sighed, resigned to the fact that he was going to have to explain elementary Death Eater policy. “I was taken in early, on my sixteenth birthday. That hadn't ever happened before. It was a sort of trial period, I guess you could say. Death Eaters have to be seventeen before they can be officially considered a member. So I had a choice, when I turned seventeen to pledge myself for life, or to revoke my membership.”

“And you revoked yours.” Hermione said kindly. She felt sympathetic toward Draco. His parents were evil, all he had ever known was evil, and yet, he was turning his back on that, on his family, and on the life that he had known, in order to do what he felt he had to do. “Why didn't they kill you?”

“My father.” Draco looked pained for an instant, as he remembered the torture he'd gone through. Being told that all he had to do was tell them he'd changed his mind and it would stop. The Cruciatus curse, septumsempra. Being whipped the Muggle way, beaten with fists and feet. But he'd known, deep down, that all he had to do was survive and then he would be free. That the hours upon hours of pain were well worth the freedom he earned by enduring them.

“He stopped them from killing you?” Ron scoffed. “He's Death Eater to the core. Family comes well after Lord Voldemort.”

“Death Eater or not, he is still my father. And I think he believes that once I've seen the other side, and gotten a chance to see things for myself, that I'll come crawling back.”

“The Prodigal Son.” Hermione whispered.

“What was that Granger?” Draco demanded, his silver gaze sharpening on hers.

“The Prodigal Son. It's a story they taught us in Sunday school. A man has a son who leaves with his inheritance. He wastes it on gambling and women and all manner of things. Once he can't take anymore, he goes crawling back to his father, begging to be a hand on the farm. To clean the pigpens, I think it was. His father holds a party and gives him jewels and clothes and a feast. He doesn't care what happened. All that mattered is that his son is finally home.”

“All that's well and good, but I wouldn't get a feast and a party. More like a beating for leaving in the first place, and then a reinstatement as a Death Eater at the lowest possible level. Anyway, can we please get back on subject?”

Harry waved a hand. “Please. Continue.”

“Thanks.” Draco said dryly. “Once we got back to Malfoy Manor, there was a big party, celebrating the fall of Dumbledore. Eat, drink and be merry, I guess. Plenty of wine, food, and willing women. And there was Snape, in the guest of honor seat. We were planning a way to take over the rest of the Wizarding World. Maybe even the Muggle one if we had the whim. That's what seemed wrong to me. The Muggles are stupid, and while I still don't believe that Muggle born witches and wizards are as good as purebloods, they don't all deserve to die. They don't have a chance against us. It'd be like slaughtering puppies or kittens. Babies, perhaps.”

Hermione barely repressed a smile. The self proclaimed Mudblood and Muggle hater had left partly because the Death Eaters had been planning on butchering those very people. She was beginning to realize that Draco had been all bark and little bite all through their years at school. She relaxed, enough that she shifted to use Harry's shoulder as a pillow. With all the precautions they'd had to take against being see together for more that a couple minutes, it had been after midnight by the time they'd all arrived at Draco's house. He'd had to Apparate them inside, and they'd all had to Apparate from separate spots. She was tired.

“Okay, so they want to take over the Muggle world.” Hermione didn't phrase it as a question, though Draco nodded to assure her that she had it right. “I should Owl my parents and let them know. They can look out for any unusual activity. More strange deaths, attacks. All that. They know what to look for.”

Draco pondered that. “No Owls. The Death Eaters could intercept them. You'll use Muggle mail. Email. Do you know how to do that?”

Hermione nodded, tongue in cheek. She'd been using email since she could write. “I know how.”

“Good.” Harry took command of the conversation at that point. “Is that all of their plan so far? Take over both worlds? Do you know the how? What to look for?”

“The same way they did last time.” Draco paced. “Death Eater numbers are low. A lot have died, or are still in Azkaban. Still more did what I did and carved off their Mark. They need to recruit. Pureblood, than Halfbloods. What they can't recruit, they'll kill. After that, they'll attack the schools. Hogwarts, Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, all the American schools. Mosnar's, Clockworth's. Once they control all the schools, it'll be the Alleys. Diagon, Knockturn, Draconis, Pelicula, Jarthra. All of them. After the Alleys are under their control, it'll be the Aurors, and then finally the whole of the Ministry. Once they control the wizarding world, it won't be hard to attack and destroy that of the Muggles.”

Harry expelled a breath. “So we need to stop them.” He looked at his friends, and at Draco. “And I'm afraid what we've been doing simply isn't going to cut it anymore. We need to go to the Order, and Malfoy, you need to make up a list of all their hideouts. We need to know where they are. Once we know that, we can start to stop them. Hopefully, if we do enough damage, Voldemort will decide to come after us. Or at least start sending the big wigs in this whole thing. Like Belletrix and Narcissa, and Lucius. Crabbe and Goyle, Snape.” Harry's eyes shined with anger. “I'd really like for him to send Snape. I've been practicing.”

Draco couldn't believe what he was about to say. “Snape's been practicing too. And Voldemort was planning on sending my father and Snape to get you. They want you alive, Potter. Voldemort wants to kill you himself.”

Harry sneered, and managed to look dangerous. Malfoy was unwillingly impressed. “He'll get his chance. And I'll do to him now what I did to him then. Except this time, I won't be a baby. I'm going to end this.”

Ron patted Harry's shoulder. “I believe you will, mate. Or at least that you'll take him out with you.”

Hermione glared at all three of the boys. “No one is going to die.” She said sternly, and Draco realized just why the other two men had listened to her for so long. She sounded just like his mother. Strict and daring you to defy her. "Except,” she added, almost as an afterthought, “the Death Eaters.”

Draco lifted his glass of wine. “Amen to that. Now, it's getting late, and I'm exhausted. You may,” he said, with grudging hospitality, “Stay here if you wish. Or, I'll meet you at the Weasley's tomorrow to meet with the Order. It is ultimately your decision.”

Ron laughed as they got their cloaks. “There's the pompous ass we all hate.”

Hermione tucked her wand into her pocket. “We'll go back to the apartment. This is one of few nights we get to sleep in our own beds.”

Harry opened the front door and the three friends stepped through. He looked back at Draco. “I can't believe I'm actually saying this, Malfoy, but we're trusting you as much as you're trusting us. That means we both have a lot to lose here.”

“Save your breath, Potter. I've absolutely no plans of betraying you. It would be my neck in the proverbial guillotine right next to yours.” He smiled for the first time. “And if we're nothing else, we Malfoy's are self preservationists.” He turned back into the house. “I'll be there at noon. Make sure everyone knows I'm not there to kill them before I arrive. I don't want to be cursed on sight.”

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The Weasley's weren't happy about the arrangement, and Harry didn't suppose he could blame them. But they had done as he had asked with little fuss and protest. When push came to shove, they trusted him. After all, he'd saved the lives of most of their family. And he had Hermione's support on the whole matter. That had helped too.

Molly was puttering around in the kitchen when Hermione and Ginny bounded in. She looked at her daughter and the woman she considered hers and felt tears well up in her eyes. They'd both been forced to grow up much faster than she would have liked. And they'd bloomed from girls into women, despite their young ages.

Hermione had sprouted a good four inches since the end of her sixth year, landing at five foot eight. Her hair had lost it's frizziness and settled into ringlets. Her features had softened, lending her the look of elegance and classic beauty. Strong cheekbones, big chocolate brown eyes, and a lush mouth no one had noticed before she'd had her teeth fixed. Her hair had changed colors slightly, to a deep whisky color, as opposed to the mousy brown it had been through her childhood. Her body had curved gently, straying from the straight lines that had plagued her adolescence. Overall, she was happy with her less than voluptuous, but relatively proportionate frame.

Ginny was the opposite. She'd stopped growing at five foot five and was a powerhouse. She reveled in her wildly red hair, loved the fact that it was straight. Her features were striking. High cheekbones, huge, bright green eyes, high dramatic forehead, pointed chin, straight nose. Her mouth was wide and full, her teeth straight and white. Her body was packed full of curves, lush and full, though her body remained slim. She worked mercilessly to keep it that way. She'd come quite a way from the stick figure she'd been throughout her first fifteen years.

The boys had grown into their looks too, Molly mused, looking at Harry and Ron. Both had stopped at over six feet, though Ron was the taller of the two. They had filled out as well, becoming slim and muscular rather than skinny and gangly. Harry was more filled out, his body like James' had been. Wide of shoulder, narrow of hip, rakish grin and a heart of gold. Ron took after the twins. Always looked like he was up to no good, and normally was. It was the combination of that impishness and boyish charm that kept the girls watching them.

Molly saw Arthur let Draco in, and her mouth dropped open. He wasn't the small, almost evil looking boy she remembered. No, he too, had changed drastically. He'd stopped growing at probably six feet on the dot, she estimated, and was built like a brawler. Muscled packed tightly beneath the plain t-shirt and jeans he wore. His face had lost its gauntness and filled out, making him handsome. He, too, possessed the rakish grin that made most women fawn, but Molly imagined he was most likely a rake, where Harry wasn't. His hair was longer than she remembered, but it worked for him. Molly saw Ginny head into the front room, stop and stare. Draco was in just as much shock.

“Well, Weasel,” he said, and the voice shook Molly from her trance, “you've certainly grown up since I saw you last.”

“So have you, Malfoy. You look less like a snake, and more like a human.”

“Such a compliment. Potter, I need to talk to you.”

Harry made his way over. “What's up?”

Draco took a deep breath. “There's something I didn't tell you last night.”

“What?”

“They aren't dead.”

Harry's brow creased. “Who isn't dead?”

“Your parents. Sirius. They're still alive. See, when you defeated Voldemort, the last curses Voldemort did were reversed. But the Ministry took your parents to a safe hiding place and placed them in a sleep state, if you will. The same with Sirius. That thing that was supposed to kill him simply took his to the same chamber as your parents.”

It would be to his eternal consternation that Malfoy's face was the last thing that Harry saw before he passed out.

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This is a little longer than the last, and explains a lot about things I mentioned in the last chapter.

I hope everyone's curiosity is sated so far. Not as much of a cliffhanger this time. Look for real action in the

next chapter, which will hopefully be up tomorrow.

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Harry regained consciousness slowly. He opened his eyes, recognized the Weasleys' living room. He was lying on the couch, his head on something soft. He turned his head and looked to his left, saw Hermione looking down at him. He was lying in her lap. He groaned, let her help him sit up. He looked around, saw Draco, Ron and Ginny reluctantly sharing the other couch. His gaze fastened on Draco.

“You're getting one chance to explain before I curse your ass.”

Draco nodded. “I can respect that.” He stood to pace. “I haven't known for long. I thought they were dead, same as you did, though I'll admit I wasn't as torn up as you were. In fact, I was rather relieved when Black bit it. I didn't know your parents, but Dad said they were a pain in the ass.” At Harry's sharp look, he got back on topic. “Anyway, I shouldn't even know, but Rufus Scrimgeour had a meeting with the Dark Lord and I was curious, so I listened at the door. Apparently, Scrimgeour has been a Death Eater since the very beginning. When he took over the post of Minister of Magic, he found out. Fudge didn't know. Honestly, the only man who knew who was in that chamber is dead, and has been for over a decade. Scrimgeour found a report shoved into the back of Fudge's desk talking about a sleep chamber. He got curious and found it. When he went in, he found Lily, James and Sirius. He went straight to Voldemort, thinking that the Death Eaters could use the three of them as leverage against you.”

Harry nodded. “It would have been a good plan. Probably would have worked too.” He sighed, stood to pace the other side of the room. “Does Voldemort have them?”

“No. Only Scrimgeour can get into the chamber, and once he opened it the first time, an investigation was started. He can't go back in and steal them while the investigation is pending. It would raise too many suspicions.”

“So we have a window.” Arthur said, laying a hand on Harry's shoulder. “And we're going to get them back. You'll just have to give me a chance to find out where the chamber is.”

Draco lifted a finger to bring attention back to him. “That's another thing. I know where it is.”

Harry sighed. “Why am I not surprised?” He barely noticed when Hermione took his arm to keep him from pacing. “Okay, so where are they and how do I go about getting them out?”

“In the basement of the Ministry. A hidden room, kinda like the Room of Requirement. You have to need it to be what it is.” Draco sat down, suddenly tired. Doing what he was doing, going against what he'd always thought was right, was taking a lot of energy and even more of his strength. “It isn't easy to get to. Not for anyone other than the Minister of Magic, which is why none of the Death Eaters have gone in so far. Riddles, magical beasts, tests that you have to pass. A lot of things that no ordinary witch or wizard could overcome.”

Hermione sat up straighter. “It sounds like the Sorcerer's Stone. Like all the things Harry had to go through to get to it.”

Ron scoffed. “We were there too Hermione.”

“I know we were, but Harry was the one to get it out.”

“But only because I knew chess and you knew about that plant, and figured out the riddle to the potions. He never would have made it without us.”

“That isn't the point, Ronald. The point is, that Harry retrieved the Sorcerer's Stone, and this seems to me like it will resemble the tasks we were required to complete.”

“Shut up, both of you!” Draco snapped, and felt very much like clamping his hands over his ears. He looked at Harry. “Do they do this often?”

“More often that I'd like for them to. What kind of tasks, Malfoy?”

“More potion work. Sort of like a Potions test back at school. You're given a group of ingredients and you have one chance to make the correct potion. If you do it correctly, and you only get one try, you get to move on. And all the research I've done has suggested that people have tried to get into this chamber since the beginning of the Ministry. Only two have ever made it past the first task.”

“That doesn't matter.” Ron said stubbornly. “No one else has been us.”

Draco had to grudgingly admit that they were right. The three of them, as nothing more than children themselves, had managed to defeat Voldemort more times that any Death Eater cared to think about. “The second task is much harder. Only one person has ever done it. It's a troll.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow. “A troll? We defeated one of those in our first year.”

“Yes, but not like this. It's a half-breed. Half troll, half-giant, and impervious to magic. The only thing getting you past that is guts and brain. You have to outsmart it, get around it, pick the right key, of which there are twelve to choose from, and get through the door on the other side of the chamber.”

Harry didn't seem impressed. “We got past Fluffy, I've handled dragons, and merpeople and mazes with beasts in them. This is nothing new to us, Malfoy.”

“Well, Potter, you have to get through the last three of those in this. Dragons, and merpeople and mazes with beasts in them. And then you have to be allowed in by the Unicorn guarding the gate. Only the pure of heart and intention can pass. And after that, the room itself has to let you in. Just like the Room of Requirement.”

“Okay. That sounds rather complicated. How many people are allowed in?”

“As far as I can tell, four.”

“Great.” Ron said, brightening. “The three of us and maybe Charlie, to deal with the dragons.”

But Harry shook his head. “I'm afraid not, Ron. Merlin help us, because I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's going to be the three of us and Malfoy.”

Around the room, protestations broke out. Hermione waved her wand and a loud blast came out of the tip. “I agree. No matter how much he tells us, Draco still has the first hand information that we need to get through that thing. And no matter how much none of us like it, he has more resources at his disposal. And despite the fact that this is the one and only time I will admit anything like this, he's better than I am at potions. We'll need him to get through. And I've read enough on dragons to get us past just about anything, Ron. I'd stay, but you'll need me for the troll, and the merpeople since I speak Mermish. Harry has to go, because he's faced everything we're going to be facing. Ron, we'll need you for the maze since you have the best sense of direction out of all of us. And honestly, I don't think Harry would work as well if we weren't along. We're used to each other.”

“Okay, now that that's settled, we have to decide when to move in.” He looked at Draco. “How long is this inquiry going to take?”

“Another few days. The Department of Mysteries is in charge of it.”

“Which means they're probably going to work at night.” Arthur said. “The Dept. of Mysteries is so busy during the days that they do all of their Internal Investigations at night.”

“Great.” Harry said sarcastically. “That means we have to infiltrate the Ministry of Magic in the middle of the day.” He looked around the room. “I don't want any objections. Because we'll do it with or without them. We'll leave for the Ministry tomorrow morning at nine am. I want the Ministry to be busy with its morning flood. We're less likely to be noticed that way.” When no one spoke, Harry continued. “Malfoy, I want you to tell me all that you know about how they got there.”

Molly coughed. “I don't think we all need to know this right now. Boys, why don't you run along. You all have jobs you should be attending to. Ginny, Hermione, Ron, I could use your help in the kitchen for a while, and the garden needs degnoming.”

Harry looked at Hermione and Ron. “You two stay. You're as much a part of this as I am.”

The both sat back down, flanking him in an unconscious show of protection as much as a conscious one of support. Draco took up residence in the recliner directly across from the couch on which they sat. He'd known questions would come up, and was prepared to answer them. Though he still didn't like it.

“I don't know everything. When your parents died, your mother gave her life to save you, and your father did the same for you and your mother. Lily was protected by James' sacrifice, and then you were protected by hers'. Retrospectively, you were also protected by James', which meant that the three of you were connected that night. When Voldemort cursed you, the power of not only your mother's spell, but also of your father's, protected you, and made the spell reflect itself upon him. When that happened, somehow, and I don't know how, the most recent spells Voldemort had cast, were reversed. Fudge wasn't the Minister then, a man named Ricardo Juarez was. The only Hispanic minister we've ever had. The Aurors who were first on the scene reported that Lily and James were still alive, but only barely. He ordered them taken to St. Mungo's, under different names. They were treated, but kept sedated. When they were stable, Juarez had them taken to the chamber beneath the ministry and put into a sleep state. A cryogenic one, if you will. They can only be unfrozen from inside the chamber.

“Juarez and both of the Aurors who knew who was in that chamber were killed barely two weeks later. No one knew about it until Scrimgeour took over. Fudge had received a report on it, but apparently was too busy with keeping things running these past years, that he never got around to going down there. Now here's where the details get a little foggy. From what I know, I can tell you the apparently the thing Sirius fell, or leapt or whatever the hell he did, into that night led straight into that Chamber. When everything had been set up thousands of years ago, it was thought that people might try to break in, and that whoever did would need to be stopped. By falling into that thing. But generations went by and no one ever did, so it was forgotten about where it led. All I can do here is assume that anyone who is placed into the chamber through the Department of Mysteries is automatically put to sleep.”

“Do they age?”

Draco nodded. “They do. Just like us. I guess the chamber was never intended for long term use.”

“So what does that mean for my parents?”

Draco shook his head. “I don't know. Scrimgeour said he checked their vital signs and everything seemed to be normal. It can be assumed that they're fine.”

“I guess assumptions are all that we have right now.” Harry said, rubbing his hands over his face. “But if we know all this, it can also be assumed that Voldemort knows more.”

“I think it's safe to say without a shadow of a doubt that Voldemort knows more than we do.” Hermione corrected. “Draco just heard one conversation, and that was months ago. There's no telling how much more they know.”

“Hermione's right.” Draco told Harry, leaning back in the chair. “There's no way for me to find out, but I think I might know someone who can.”

“Who?”

Draco sighed. “My father. He keeps records. Perfect records that record every detail, and he's a slave to labels. He's also a slave to habits. He'll have kept them in the same place, even though he knows I am well aware of where they are. The only problem will be going to get them.”

Hermione grinned. “I can help with that.” She stood, walked to her bag and withdrew a scroll of parchment. “I've been working on a cloaking spell. It should make the user able to Apparate into anywhere without being detected. Even blocks and barriers won't work.”

Ron gaped at her. “That's a dangerous spell if it were to get into wrong hands.”

“The only hands it's getting into are ours. Draco, if I charm you, you'll be invisible for half an hour. So far that's all I've been able to wrestle out of it. You should be able to Apparate through the detection spells and barriers on Malfoy Manor with no problem. But make sure you're only in there twenty minutes. I don't want you to risk detection on the way out.”

“Got it.” Draco stood and donned his robes over his street clothes. “Let's get this done then.”

Hermione picked up her wand and pointed it at Draco. “This is going to feel weird and tingly. When you feel the tingles start to go away, you know the spell has almost worn off.”

“Right. Got it. No tingles equals major badness. Do it already, Granger.”

Hermione took a deep breath. “Non animadverto invenio.” Draco disappeared with a small whoosh sound, and then they heard the tell tale pop of an apparition.

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Draco arrived in the foyer of Malfoy Manor, still tingly, and still invisible. Moving silently, he made his way into his father's office. He wasn't very surprised to find Lucius at his desk, a quill in one hand, snifter of brandy in the other. He slipped around the desk, went to the Muggle style file cabinet. Lucius never looked up. Draco knew his father tended to be completely absorbed in his work and his alcohol when he was in his office.

More confident since the spell seemed to be holding, he slowly eased open a drawer. Working directly behind Lucius like he was would ensure that Lucius didn't catch the motion out of the corner of his eye. It took his until the bottom drawer to find what he needed. It was clearly marked `Potter Sleeping Chamber'. Victorious, he took all the papers out of the file, closed the drawer, and tucked them beneath his robes. He waited until he was back in the foyer before Disapparating. The Burrow was his destination.

He arrived, still invisible, and made everyone wait ten minutes until he became visible again. Once he was, he took out the parchment. “Well, boys and girls, we have here a map of the chamber and obstacles, as well as information on the merpeople, the maze and what kind of dragons they think it could possibly be.”

Harry took the map. “This looks like the Marauder's Map.”

Draco peered, and sure enough, he saw markings like `dragon' and `merking' moving around. “This is good. This will help.”

Harry met Draco's eyes. “Thanks, Malfoy.”

Draco nodded. “Don't mention it, Potter.”

While Harry didn't doubt he would honor the request, and Draco didn't want to think about what he had done for the man he had considered his archnemesis, both men knew that they had taken the first step toward a common ground.

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All right. I want to address a review I received stating that this person thought I should have left Lily and James and Sirius dead. I brought them back for a reason. After the three of them died, Harry turned solely to Dumbledore for guidance and help. Dumbledore is dead. Harry is by himself. And how is a wizard who is depressed and feeling sorry for himself all the time going to rally the strength to defeat Voldemort, defeat the Death Eaters, and get the girl? He isn't. At least not without a little help. And that helps me throw a wrench in Voldemort's plans as well. Even if you don't agree with my decision to bring them back instead of Dumbledore, please give me a chance to prove you wrong. I've got this idea in my head, and it refuses to be pushed to the back burner. Anyway, I've taken up enough of your time. Please, enjoy chapter 4. And don't forget to vote in the Felix Felices competition next month. This story is entered into it.

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Harry was restless. He couldn't sleep. Soon got sick of even pretending that he could. He slipped from bed, having decided to go downstairs and raid the kitchen. Molly had made German Chocolate Cake for dessert, and he was hoping that a piece would help him get to sleep. He pretty much knew that it was hopeless, but he liked the cake and it was an excuse if he got caught.

In the end, he didn't get caught, but did the catching. He found Hermione sitting at the island on a barstool with a glass of milk and an apple slathered in peanut butter. She looked up when she saw his shadow, smiled. “Hey.”

Harry took the cake out of the fridge, sat it on the counter. “Hey. Couldn't sleep either?”

“No.” She sighed deeply, looked out the window. “I never can when we're about to go do something this big.”

Harry chuckled. “We've never done something this big.” He told her, taking the other barstool.

“Not that meant something to one of us, no, I couldn't agree with you more. But in danger and adventure, we've done plenty. The Chamber of Secrets, the Sorcerer's Stone, the Time Turner, the TriWizard Tournament, the Department of Mysteries and all those prophecies, the Dementors, all the stuff during our sixth year with Malfoy and Snape and the personal crap and the Horcrux, which we still have to find three of. And Harry, we can't kill Voldemort until we find them.”

“I know. And you're right. We have done plenty. God, `Mione, we were just kids ourselves. How did we do it? And not end up dead?”

Hermione finished her apple, laid her hand over his. “We trusted each other unequivocally. The bookworm, the hotshot and the hero. With that combination, we were unbeatable.”

Harry smiled, turned his hand up into hers. “We'll finish this, won't we?”

Hermione nodded. “We will. And we'll do it together. You, me, and Ron. We've been doing it for seven years. And nothing's stopped us yet. This isn't going to be the thing that does it.” She leaned forward. “Harry. I haven't ever asked, because you didn't want to talk about it. What are the Horcruxes?”

Harry stiffened slightly. “I've told you about how they're made, about what they are.”

“Yeah, but never what they're concealed as.”

“There were six. Tom Riddle's diary, a ring Dumbledore destroyed, the one that was destroyed by whoever got to that place inside the cave first, a locket that belonged to Salazar Slytherin, a goblet that belonged to Helga Hufflepuff and Nagini the snake.”

“Nagini? An animal?”

“Dumbledore was sure of it. It was one of the last things we talked about before he died.”

Hermione thought quickly. “Dumbledore also said that he made the Horcruxes from very meaningful deaths?”

“Yeah. So?”

“So, he thought that you would be the last one. When you didn't die, he used Nagini. Voldemort liked to brag. And he stowed the diary with Lucius Malfoy, hid the one you didn't find, and Dumbledore ended up with the another. He has the last. Wouldn't it make sense that other loyal followers would get the other two?”

Harry thought about it. “I think that makes sense. But who?”

Hermione met his gaze. “Who were his most loyal followers who gaze him the most?”

Harry knew instantly. “Snape. And Bellatrix.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

Harry nodded. “You're brilliant Herms.”

Hermione blushed. “I'm the bookworm. I'm good at deductive reasoning. You'd have figured it out on you own just fine. It might have taken you longer, but you'd have figured it out.”

“By the time I did, it might have been too late. We'll ask Malfoy about everything after we rescue my parents and Sirius tomorrow. If anyone knows, it'll be him. It's his aunt and mentor we're talking about.”

Hermione stood, took their plates and glasses to the sink. “And with that, we should at least try to get some sleep.”

Harry stood. “I'll walk you up.”

Hermione was sharing the attic room with Ginny. Harry was on the third floor with Ron. Hermione didn't object, though. She knew it wouldn't have done any good. When they reached her bedroom door, she turned, stretched upward to hug him. “That you, Harry.”

Harry laid his hands on her shoulder. “For what?”

Hermione smiled. “Always being the hero.”

Later Harry would wonder if it was fatigue, or the moonlight streaming in through the hall window. He'd ponder for a quick second whether he'd been charmed. But the truth was, the only thing that charmed him was his best friend. In any case, no matter what he would later consider as excuses, he took her chin in his hand, tipped her head back and covered her mouth with his.

Hermione was shocked from the top of her curls, to the tip of her toes. Running on blind instinct, her hand drifted to his cheek, and his kiss was returned timidly. It was light and sweet, exploratory, just seeing if there was anything between them. What there was, was electricity, sparks between them. Harry backed off before he was more than tempted to push her for more, releasing her mouth, taking a step back.

He grinned.

“Night Herms.”

Hermione gaped at him. “Night.” She turned and walked straight into the door. Rubbing her head and praying he'd somehow missed it, she opened the door and walked inside. Harry managed not to laugh until he was back in the room he was sharing with Ron.

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Molly woke everyone at seven. She'd already fixed breakfast and had it waiting in the kitchen. No one who looked at her would have guessed that she hadn't slept for a minute all night. She could tell, from looking at everyone she dragged out of bed, that all of the people under her roof had passed the same kind of night she had. Harry and Ron had already showered and dressed in cloaks, their robes on and wands tucked in pockets. Harry had the map and papers Draco had procured the day before. Hermione, Ginny and Draco were pretty much the same.

“I want you all to eat a good breakfast. This is going to be a long day. And I'll have dinner waiting for you here when you get back. I'm sure that Lily, James and Sirius will need something to eat. They'll probably be absolutely starved. Harry, I know you probably don't know, but do you have any idea what their favorite food was?”

He did, because it was his as well. “Yeah. Aunt Petunia was always complaining that I was just like them. It's lasagna.”

Molly nodded briskly. “I'll make it then. A huge pan.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Weasley.”

“Don't mention it. Draco, would you like to have pancakes or eggs for breakfast?”

“Eggs.”

“How do you like them?”

“Benedict.”

Molly selected the proper plate and served him a hearty portion. She added bacon, sausage, grits and hash browns. Draco's eyes widened, but he knew enough not to object when he saw everyone else's plates piled similarly. He decided that it was a typical breakfast at the Weasley household. And considering what they had to do that day, he didn't want to make anyone angry or distracted. He normally would have relished the chance to do just that, but on that particular day, his life was at stake along with theirs'. He didn't necessarily care for the fact that he was dependent upon Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

Harry finished his breakfast and stood. “We're leaving in half an hour.” He said, and walked outside. Following instinct more than his brain, Draco followed him, leaving half a plate of food behind him. He wasn't entirely sure that part of the reason for accompanying Harry wasn't to get out of eating the rest of what Molly had placed in front of him.

“Potter, slow down.” Draco demanded, catching up to the other man. Harry shortened his stride and turned around.

“Not now, Malfoy.”

Draco's brow furrowed. “Not now what?”

“I'm not in a mood to get your holier than thou speech. I don't need to know about how imperative it is that even if none of us survive, you must, and how important you are to the wizard community. I've got enough on my mind as it is.”

“If I though that, do you really think I would have agreed to come along on this suicide mission?” Draco didn't give Harry a chance to answer, but did it for him. “Absolutely not. Look, I don't even know why I came out here. But, Potter, you can't dwell on this. You just have to do it. Think of it like a Quidditch game.” He couldn't believe he was giving Harry advice. “You can't think about what's coming next, or what's going to happen, or what the outcome is going to be. You just have to roll with the punches and take whatever comes at you.”

Harry looked at Draco, disbelief evident in his eyes. “You do realize that I am not going to hesitate to kill every Death Eater Voldemort sends at me? That if he sends your father, I will kill him too.”

“What does that have to do with now?” Draco asked, hesitantly sitting down on the swing the Weasley's had in their yard. He wasn't entirely sure the thing would hold him. When he found that it did, he relaxed a little. “Self preservationist, Potter. If it's him and me, it's going to be him that dies. Family doesn't mean much to me.”

For the first time, Harry felt sorry for Draco. He hadn't had the greatest childhood either, with his aunt and uncle, but at least his parents had loved him. Draco hadn't even had that much. Harry respected the older man, though he probably wouldn't ever say so, and would deny it with his dying breath. It would have been so easy for him to just follow his father's path. But he hadn't. He'd walked away from it and had chosen one that was of good. He'd almost died doing it, but he had done it. And more than that, he was helping the people he'd always considered enemies destroy what he'd spend almost all of his life working towards.

“Look, Malfoy, you and I will never be friends.”

Draco laughed. “Damn straight.”

“But maybe we can settle at non enemies.”

Draco shrugged. “I'll think about it.” He got up and headed back to the house. “We leave in fifteen minutes, Potter. Don't be late.”

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Harry, Hermione, Ron and Draco had decided to travel by Apparition to directly outside the Ministry of Magic. Harry had, albeit it grudgingly, lent Draco his Invisibility Cloak for the entrance to the Ministry. If he was seen, it would raise suspicions, and the other three were regulars in the building. While all four were pretending to be quite at ease with their endeavor, the truth was, not one of them was free from butterflies of the stomach.

Harry look at his two best friends, and the man he hardly trusted as far as he could be thrown. “All right then, let's go.”

With that having been said, the four of the Apparated. A split second later, they were all staring at the Ministry of Magic. Harry nodded, and they walked in. All four were praying that no one ran into Draco. When they made it onto a lift, and headed it into the basement with no mishaps, all let out a breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding.

Luck couldn't hold up for forever, though, and there were people in the basement, people who looked to be from the Department of Mysteries. Arthur had been wrong. They were doing the investigation during the day. Harry dragged his friends and Draco into another room, eased the door closed.

“Okay, they didn't see us, but what the bloody hell do you propose we do now?”

Hermione pulled her wand from her robes. “I propose, Harry, that I use my invisibility in indetecability spell on us. That will get us in the door. Once there, we should wait until it wears off before going any further.”

Harry nodded. “Good idea. We should have thought of that before. Malfoy, give me that cloak.”

Draco handed it to Harry, who folded it and put it in the pocket of his robes. Hermione pointed a Ron first. “Non animadverto invenio.” Ron made a noise at the tingling, and then disappeared. Hermione cast the spell on the other two boys, and then finally on herself. “Okay, I think we should distract them, and go in while they aren't looking. The map says that our first task is the potion, so as soon as this wears off, we'll begin on that.”

Harry nodded, then realized no one could see him. “All right. Let's go.”

The foursome moved into the main chamber. In the floor, where the wizards were working, was a small trap door. Harry wasn't surprised that no one had found it. It blended into the stone remarkably well, and it seemed the handle was inside. There was a small indentation where it appeared that the stone had been worn down, but upon closer inspection, one's hand fit into the side of the indentation and there was a small lever there that opened the door. The papers had stated that once someone had taken on the task of entering the Sleep Chamber, no one from the outside could open the door. Which meant that as soon as they were in, they wouldn't be disturbed by and witches or wizards.

They moved around the wizards, and Harry dashed to the other side and knocked over a pile of boxes. When the men went to investigate, he quickly ran back to where one of the other three had opened the door. He waited until he heard three voices assure him that they were in, then jumped himself, pulling the door closed behind him. They were in. Harry wasn't entirely sure any of them would make it out. But he knew they were going to try their hardest.

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Sorry this is so late in the day. My mother was in an industrial accident a few months ago and had to take a pulmonary function test. She developed asthma and is unable to drive, so that took just about all day. That and my grandmother had surgery and wanted me to bake her a couple of pies for when she got home. That also took a while, so I didn't even get to start until seven.Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed so far! I am so glad you like my story! Don't forget to vote on August 15!

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“Okay,” Harry said cautiously, looking around the first room. He saw a fire with a cauldron sitting on it, and a table full of ingredients. “Draco, Hermione, what do you think?” he asked them, saw that they were already taking stock of what ingredients there were. Hermione brightened almost instantly.

“I know what it is.”

Draco scoffed. “You can't possibly know what it is yet.” He studied the ingredients carefully. “There are several spells that use these.”

“Yeah, but only one spell uses all these and halogencic acid.”

Ron looked at Harry. “I'm not even going to pretend to know what they're talking about.”

A light came on in Draco's brain when Hermione said that. “They can't possibly be making it this easy.”

“It isn't easy. It's extremely advanced potion making.” She looked at the other two boys. “We have to make a cure for the Sleeping Draught of the Living Dead.”

“What?”

“It's probably what Lily, James, and Sirius are under.” Draco explained. “It can be administered through ingestion, injection or in an airborne form. It keeps the takers in a state of living death basically. Their heart slows to just fast enough to keep them alive, their breathing slows dramatically, all bodily functions nearly stop. It takes months to wear off on it's own, but with the cure, the effects are gone immediately.”

“It makes sense.” Harry said slowly, “And since I've never heard of it, I'm guessing it isn't common.”

“It's very dark magic.” Hermione said. “And just as hard as the Polyjuice Potion, but it doesn't have to stew in stages. It can all be done within a couple of hours. I will need the two of you to help.” She looked at Draco. “Can you remember the exact instructions?”

Draco just looked at her. “Of course I can. It was on my Potion NEWT. We had to recite the recipe and instructions for a dark potion, and I chose the Sleeping Draught of the Living Dead. You just make that and add the acid. It's simple if you really think about it.” He rolled up his sleeves and picked up a decanter of blood. Unicorn's blood. “Potter, get me that gilly root.”

Harry paused. “We don't want them to have gills.”

“That's gilly weed, moron. This is the root. It has powerful sedative properties.”

“You're the Potions geek.” Harry said under his breath. He'd never admit it, but he was glad Malfoy had come along. It gave them all a distraction from the seriousness of the position that they were in. It allowed them to keep their minds somewhat off of the possible outcomes.

“I am no kind of geek.” Draco said maliciously, stirring the liquid he and Hermione had already managed to produce. He added the gilly root. “We need to let this sit until it turns purple. Dark purple. Once it does, we add the acid, the newt fluid, the griffin hair and the bezoar. After that we wait for it to turn yellow and ladle it out. It will remain usable for twelve hours thereafter.”

Harry looked at Hermione, who nodded. “He's right.” She stirred it. “All we have to do now is wait.”

Ron looked around, saw the door on the other side. “How do we get that door to open when there isn't any handle?”

“Alohomora.” Harry said absent mindedly. He was watching Hermione and the potion.

“No locks, mate. So that won't work.”

Draco walked across the room to peer at the door. He turned around. “Ron's right. No handle, no locks.”

Harry stood. “Well, two people got past this. There has to be a way for us to do it as well.”

Hermione joined the three men at the door. “You morons. This is simple.”

Ron looked at her in disbelief. “You did not just take one look at this and know how to get out.”

Draco chortled. “She takes one look at everything and knows how to do it.”

“Why did that sound like an insult?” Hermione demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

“Oh, there's nothing insulting at all about being a walking brain.” Draco said sarcastically. Harry coughed.

“That's enough you two. Herms, how do we get out of here?”

She pointed to a small hole in the door. “We put a small amount of the potion in there. I imagine it's charmed to open if the potion is correct.”

“And if it isn't?”

Draco looked serious again. “If it isn't, we all die.”

Ron shrugged. “Right. Nothing new then. Hey, it's purple.”

Hermione rushed back to the cauldron and started adding the final ingredients. Draco dropped in the bezoar and stepped back. “Not bad, Granger.”

“Not too bad yourself, Malfoy.” Hermione smiled. She always felt good after successfully completing a test. And that was how she had chosen to think of what they had to do. A series of tests. She was much less nervous that way. She perched on the edge of the table to wait for their potion to turn yellow while Draco prepared the beaker and ladle.

“It's ready.” Draco said, casting a glance in the cauldron. Hermione took the ladle and filled the beaker and put in the stopper.

“All right. Let's go.”

Ron stood up. “What's the next task?”

“The troll.” Hermione dribbled the potion into the slot and the door swung open. The foursome looked into the dark room uncertainly and could already hear the deep breathing of the troll. “Lumos.” The tip of her wand lit up. The other three quickly did the same. “Oh my God.”

Even Draco's eyes widened. “Merlin have mercy.” He whispered, looking up.

They were being faced with a troll that was close to fifty feet tall and slathering. His teeth were large and yellow. Harry honestly thought that the beast could eat them whole. And he was impervious to magic. Hermione immediately took control.

“Ron, you go between it's legs and find the right key. We'll distract it. Yell when you get it.”

Ron shook his head. “You should go Herms.”

“Ron, you're best at that sort of thing. It'll take me longer and we don't have that much time to waste.”

Harry nodded. “Ron just go! We don't have time for this.” He charged the troll without waiting for a respone. Swearing hotly, Draco rushed after him. He didn't like to be the second into battle.

Hermione shook her head. Men. They always thought they had to rush the enemy. She pointed her wand at herself. “Wingardium leviosa.” She rose off the ground, and continued to rise until she was eye to eye with the troll. She reached out with her wand and tapped it on the shoulder. With a roar, it whirled and lashed out at her. She had only a split second to think that perhaps the boys had been right before she was crashing into the wall.

Harry whipped around when he heard the crash. He made a move toward Hermione, but Draco's yell stopped him. “Don't do that!” he snapped, dashing between the troll's legs. “He isn't interested in her anymore. If we get him turned around, maybe we can make him fall.”

Harry had an idea. He pointed his wand at Draco. “Yarn!” he yelled, using a conjuring trick Hermione had perfected. A large ball of yarn spun out of the tip of his wand and Draco caught it, getting the idea. Harry started running around the troll, wrapping his legs up, while Draco kept him occupied with blasts of heat from his wand. Once it was tight enough, Harry waved madly at Draco. He shouted at the troll, who turned. His legs didn't work, and he toppled over. Draco managed to grab Hermione and get them both out of harm's way before the troll went over.

“She'll be fine.” Draco announced, just lifting an eyebrow when Harry took Hermione from him to carry himself. `Weasley, find that key before he gets out of the yarn.”

Ron lifted the key. “Got it.” He inserted it into the key, and the door opened. Once all three were through it, Harry still carrying Hermione, who was just beginning to stir. As there was nothing but an empty room and a cave, Harry laid Hermione on the ground while she came around.

Hermione opened her eyes. “I am never going to doubt testosterone again.” She muttered, sitting up and rubbing her head. Harry laughed, crouched in front of her.

“Why's that?”

“Because I thought you were morons for charging that stupid thing and that I'd have a better chance of getting around him from eye level. It didn't work.” Hermione pouted. “I'm never wrong.”

“You were this time.” Draco said, eyeing the cave entrance warily. “I think the dragon would be in there.”

“Give her a minute.” Harry snapped. “She just got bashed on the head.”

Hermione laid a hand on Harry's arm. “Don't worry. I'm fine.”

Harry pressed a kiss to Hermione's forehead. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I'm sure.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Oh, for Dumbledore's sake, Potter, kiss the girl already. Three of the four people in this room know you're dying to.”

Hermione blushed bright red. Harry was nearly as red. “Want me to kill him?”

Hermione shook his head. “No.” she pulled him down and kissed him, hard. “For being the gentleman.”

Harry laughed as he pulled her to her feet. “I'll be a gentleman as often as possible in that case. Come on guys, let's go.” Harry led the way into the cave, the only light they had the glowing tips of their wands.

Ron looked at Draco. “And how long has that been going on?”

Draco lifted a shoulder. “Since we were eleven. Only recently have they started that though.” Draco looked at Ron's shocked look and laughed. “Don't tell me you didn't know.”

“I had no idea they liked each other.”

“It's been obvious from the start.”

Ron looked over. “Are we having a civilized conversation here or is it my imagination?”

Draco didn't get a chance to answer. The cave lit up with the fiery breath of a Hungarian Horntail dragon.

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Okay everyone. Two events per chapter. That means the dragon and the maze next chapter, and the unicorn and the rescue chapter after next. After that, the story will be centered on getting the Horcruxes and defeating Voldemort. I'm looking at another fifteen chapters probably. Any suggestions on plot and where you would like to see this go are welcome and appreciated.

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Here we go with Chapter 6. I really appreciate and value all the reviews that I have gotten so far. I'm happy that everyone is enjoying what I'm writing. Again, anyone interested in beta reading should just send me an email at sirena192005@yahoo.com. The only thing I ask is that you're either an author or an experienced beta reader. If you're an author, please provide a link to a story you have written, and if you're a beta reader, please provide a link to a story you have betaed. Thanks and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I know I really enjoy writing it.

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Harry looked up at the dragon from where he was crouching with Ron behind a boulder. “Okay, we have to get around this thing. It looks like it's the same setup as the troll. A door, keys and we have to pick the right one.”

Ron peered around the rock to look at the door. “No keys, mate.”

Draco waved from where he and Hermione were. They had dove in the opposite direction when the dragon had breathed fire at them, and were kneeling between two large stones. “Blood!” he yelled. “It takes blood!”

Hermione was moving slowly toward the door the get a better look. “There's an inscription.”

“Well?” Draco demanded impatiently, dashing between the dragon's legs and barely missing being hit with the spiked tail. He joined Harry and Ron. “What does it say, Granger?”

“That only the blood of the righteous and pure of heart will open the door. All others are left to feed the dragon.”

Draco gulped audibly. “Well then. Looks like this is the end of the road for me.”

Ron turned to him. “Maybe not. You don't have any personal gain in this.”

Draco's jaw dropped. “Imagine that. Weasley had an intelligent thought. Granger!”

Hermione whirled around, leapt over the tail as it swung. The dragon couldn't decide who it wanted to go after first. “What!?”

“You bleed on the damned thing while we keep it busy. When you've bled, switch places with Ron. Three of us will keep this wanker busy until we get that door open.”

Hermione nodded. “Get out there then. Dragons don't like fire!”

Harry looked at her. “What do you mean they don't like fire?”

“It reminds them of another dragon. Dragons are loners. If this dragon isn't a male, it should retreat back into the cave.” Hermione turned her wand into a knife, took a deep breath and sliced the palm of her hand. She let the blood drip into the slot on the door until she heard internal wheels turning and clanking. With a squeal and a moan, the door swung open, and Hermione was left staring at a green maze. “Come on guys! It's open!”

Hermione stepped through, but when Ron tried to follow her, a force tossed him back and the door slammed shut. Hermione pounded on it from the other side. “We have to go through one at a time! Each of us has to do it individually!”

Draco took control. “Ron, start bleeding! Harry, you're with me!”

Harry didn't take the time to think about the fact that he was taking orders from Draco. He simply did what was necessary to survive. “Get down, Malfoy! I'm going to use the infermo!” Draco dropped to the ground just as Harry shouted the spell, and a great blast of fire came from the tip of his wand. The dragon screamed, reared, and charged Harry, who turned and ran. He dove behind a stone, barely escaping the blast of flame from the dragon's snout.

Draco had an idea. One he wasn't sure would work in their favor. But it was an idea nonetheless, and from where he was standing, with Ron having just stepped through the door and Harry hiding from a rampaging Hungarian Horntail. He lifted his wand, and conjured another dragon. Another male. In his estimation, they would either fight, or they would both try to eat him. Either way, he wouldn't be there very long to see much.

It worked. The dragons faced each other, and the cave lit up with streams of fire. Not stopping to think, he sliced his hand open and slammed it against the door. Harry was running from the other side of the cave, and had his own hand open and bleeding by the time the door shut behind Draco.

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Draco looked around. The maze was green. That was about all he could tell. It was about ten foot high, and thick enough that he couldn't see a thing through it. A few spells and a try at Apparition told him that he wasn't blasting his way out or Apparating to the other side. They didn't tell him, however, why Hermione and Ron weren't there. To his surprise and dismay, he jumped when a hand grabbed his arm. His wand was pointing at her a second after he saw who it was.

“Don't curse me, moron.” Ginny said, tucking her wand into her robes. “I'm not going to hurt you.”

“How did you get here?”

“Hermione's spell. I thought since wards and blocks couldn't detect people who were under it, then whatever sensors were on this place couldn't either. Every time I felt it wearing off, I recast it. You guys have been so busy with everything that you had to do, you never noticed. I think that this far into the game, it wouldn't matter if there were five or four. I doubt there are any sensors in this part.”

Draco didn't want to, but was forced to agree. “So where is everyone else?”

“I have no idea. I came through with you.” She looked back to where the door had disappeared. “I think we should look at this as another test. Not only do we have to find our way out, we have to find each other.”

Again, he didn't want to, but had to agree with her. “Okay. Let's get started then. It's a maze filled with magical creatures. That means Hermione is the one most likely to make it through. Harry has blind luck that seems to be holding up okay, so we might find him too. Ron is the one we should search for first, because he's the one most likely to get himself killed in here.”

Ginny nodded. “Magical creatures is not his strong point.”

Draco scoffed. “Does he have a strong point?”

Ginny glared at his. “He's my brother, Malfoy. You'd better watch your mouth.”

Draco shrugged. “Nothing wrong with telling the cold, hard truth. Come on, Weasel. Let's go.”

“Lead the way, Ferret.” Ginny took off after him when he strode off in no particular direction whatsoever. “Do you have any idea where you're going?”

“Does it look like I've ever been here before?” Draco asked impatiently. “That is not a question that requires and answer.” He said when she opened her mouth. “The answer is an obvious one that we both know. The maze leads in one direction and one direction only. That means, until it splits, we don't have a choice on which way we go.” He looked up at the sky. “Merlin help me. Why am I stuck with this girl?”

Ginny snorted. “I'm only four months younger than you are, Malfoy. I'm eighteen just like you.”

“Don't remind me.” Draco looked between a left path and one that went straight ahead. “Any suggestion?”

Ginny looked at both of them. “Straight.”

Draco turned left and started down the path. They hadn't gone far before they were faced with a pack of blast ended skrewts. “Shit.”

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Harry looked around. He was alone. In a maze, and his friends were no where in sight. Not a good situation to be in. Not a situation he wanted to be in. Taking it all in stride, he headed to his right. It was a maze. They'd all four get mixed up and eventually run into one another. And once they did, they'd probably know which way was out. Or, at the very least, which way wasn't out. And that was nearly as good.

He just hoped Ron had gotten the easy route. He wasn't too great with defending himself against magical creatures. Especially spiders. IF Ron was faced with a spider, well, it wouldn't be too hard to find him. He'd run screaming in the opposite direction, and probably climb the wall of the maze.

That was it. Climb the wall. Or better yet. Harry looked at his wand. It couldn't possibly be that easy. Nothing was that easy. Oh well. It didn't hurt to try, and it was his best shot at finding his companions quickly.

He quickly conjured a ladder, and leaned it against the hedges. Hesitantly, he stepped onto the first rung. When he wasn't thrown off by any magical forces, and nothing else bad happened, he continued on the way up. He wasn't entirely sure the hedge itself wasn't just biding its time and waiting to eat him, but that was just the risk he was going to have to take.

Once at the top, his worst fears were confirmed. He could see Ron and Hermione both. Hermione was getting past a sphinx, which he knew she wouldn't have a problem with. She was smart enough that she would know the answer to any riddle it gave her. But Ron had encountered probably the biggest spider Harry had even seen. It dwarfed Aragog.

Damning the consequences, Harry stepped onto the top of the hedge. When it held him, and teeth didn't latch onto his ankles, he held his breath and leapt onto the next hedge. He had to get to Ron, and had to get their fast. Ron wasn't going to be able to outrun it for long.

He made several leaps he wasn't sure he was going to be able to make, but before a minute was up, he was directly above Ron. With another deep breath, he jumped off the wall and directly in front of the spider. Ron turned when he heard the crash, and skidded to a stop. “Harry!”

“How's it goin', Ron?” Harry asked, swishing his wand at the spider. He muttered a spell, and the spider crashed onto the ground, all eight legs wound together with a sturdy rope. “Ready to go get Hermione?”

Ron nodded, speechless. “How did you get here?”

“I decided to go over instead of through. These hedges are strong enough to hold us. Come on, let's go.” Harry conjured his ladder again, and sent Ron up first. “Step to the side now, leave room for me to come up. How are you at jumping?”

Ron gaped at him. “Jumping?” he asked incredulously. “Why don't you just conjure a plank from here to there?”

Harry considered that. “Good idea.” He whipped his wand and a plank spurted out of the end of it. It landed with a thud on the other side, and the two men cautiously walked across. They levitated the plank from hedge to hedge until they arrived at Hermione's location. “Herms!”

Hermione looked up, and her face brightened when she saw Harry and Ron. “Hey. Have you found Draco yet?”

“Not yet.” Harry said, looking around. “I don't see him.” He looked back down at her. “Do you want to come up, or shall I levitate you?”

Hermione lifted an eyebrow. “I'll handle it.” She pointed her wand at herself. “Wingardium leviosa.”

She levitated up to the top of the hedge, and then dropped onto it. “This really isn't fair. I had to get past the sphinx. And you two get to stay together and just walk over these things. I came out right in front of the damn thing.”

“We didn't come out together.” Harry said, helping her across the plank. “I found Ron fighting a spider. I got out in the clear, and figured out that I could get up here. After that, I got to Ron first, and now here we are.”

Ron nodded. “Giant spider. We tied up it's feet.”

Harry chose not to correct him. “Let's find Malfoy and get out of the place. I don't like mazes.”

Hermione was instantly sympathetic. She'd forgotten about Cedric Diggory and everything Harry had gone through during the TriWizard Tournament. “Oh, Harry.” She reached out and took his hand. “I'd forgotten. This has to be hard on you.”

“It's worth it.”

Ron pointed. “There, I see Malfoy.” He squinted as they switched directions. “Who's that with him?”

Hermione looked. “That's Ginny!”

“How'd she get here?”

But Ron was off. He was going to give his sister a piece of his mind, and then find a way to get her back to the burrow. His baby sister had no business anywhere near the task that he and his friends and Malfoy had undertaken. No business being there at all.

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Ginny looked up when she heard her name being called. “Draco!” he stopped and turned.

“What now, Weasley?”

“I see Harry and Hermione and Ron.”

“Where?”

Ginny pointed. “Up there.”

Draco looked to where she pointed. “Now why didn't I think of that?” he wondered out loud, conjuring a ladder. “Ladies first.”

Ginny smiled beguilingly. “Then by all means, go right ahead.”

Draco was grumbling when he pushed her up the ladder. “Just get your scrawny ass up there.”

Ginny grinned over her shoulder. “I've been told I have a very nice ass thank you.”

That comment was the only thing that made Draco look. He was afraid he agreed with whomever had made that particular statement. They made it onto the top of the hedge and waited until the other three arrived. Ron immediately jammed his finger into his sister's face.

“What the bloody buggering hell do you think you're doing here? How the fuck did you get here in the first place?” he demanded, his face turning as red as his hair. Ginny simply swatted his hand away.

“I used Hermione's spell. The sensors couldn't pick me up. I came through with Draco.” She smiled at the other two. “Hi guys.”

Hermione was trying desperately not to laugh. The situation didn't call for laughter, but she was tempted nonetheless. “Hey Gin.”

Harry stepped in between the siblings. “We'll talk about this later, Ron. There's nothing to be done about it now in any case. Let's just find the way out of here.”

Draco was already on the move. “Come on then. I see the door.” He looked back at Harry. “Do the papers I got from my father say if we have to open more veins to get through this one?”

Harry was reading and walking, which Hermione didn't exactly think was smart, but he shook his head and stepped back onto the plank without falling off. “No. We should just be able to turn the knob and walk through.”

Draco moved the plank to work as a ramp. “Let's go then.” He headed over to the door, reached for the door knob. He noticed that Ginny had turned herself invisible again, presumably in case the door was able to tell how many people went through. The door swung open easily, and all five went through.

There was a lake. A huge, seemingly endless lake, with just a narrow stretch of beach on which they were standing. Harry let out a low whistle. “I take it this is where we face the merpeople.”

There was a splash and one surfaced. “That, younglings, would be accurate.”

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And there is Chapter 6. It's late again, but it's still posted today. And since my computer crashed yesterday night after I posted Chapter 5, and I had to reinstall everything, that's pretty damn good I think. Hope you enjoyed. Don't forget to review. I love getting feedback, and don't forget to vote starting Aug. 15. That's four days before my 18^th birthday, so good votes would be a great bday present!

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Hey everyone. I just wanted to address a couple of reviews. One said that the Draco conjuring the dragon in the last chapter was unlikely. Well, the way I see it, Draco is a derivative of the Latin word draconis which means dragon. I think that that would mean his patronus is I dragon, and also that he would have less trouble conjuring a dragon than other wizards. That's just my opinion. And to the one reviewer who keeps telling me that this fic is lacking in dialogue. The first three chapters were hardly anything but dialogue. And the last three have been the trials, and there really isn't a place in there that the characters can sit down and have a talk about everything that has been going on and what they think and feel about the whole thing. And as I don't like writing first person POV's, the amount of dialogue you're getting is just going to have to suffice until the next chapter. But that aside, I really have enjoyed ALL the reviews I've gotten. I hope you review even more.

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Harry looked at Hermione. “Please tell me you know what he just said.”

“Of course I do. He said you're right.” Hermione turned to the merman and spoke in Mermish. “We are seeking the Chamber where our friends are being held in a sleep state.”

The merman appeared as if he were humoring her. “Of course you are. Why else would you be here?” he held up a hand when Hermione would have spoken. “No one has gotten this far. The fact that you have is a testament to your strength, courage and bravery as well as determination and loyalty to both your cause and to each other. You have been deemed pure of heart and intention by the dragon's cave, intelligent by the Potions room, brave by the troll, and intelligent by the maze. Determination is what has brought you this far despite the obstacles that you faced.”

Draco was getting annoyed that he couldn't understand. “What did he say?”

Hermione looked annoyed that he had interrupted. “He's telling us what we've done so far.” Her gaze went back to the merman. “What do we have to do next?”

The merman smiled. “There is no test here. No danger to your health or life. I am to pick the two of you who are to continue on. Two and only two will be taken to the other side of our home and presented to the unicorn.”

“And what of the rest of us?”

“You will wait here with us. If your friends complete their mission, then you will be taken back through and left in front of the first door. No harm will come to you.”

“And if they fail?”

“You will meet the same fate as they.” He grinned, showing sharp, yellow teeth. “You will be our food.”

Hermione sighed. Of course. She should have guessed that before. “All right. Let me talk to my friends.”

“Well?” Draco demanded, “What did he say?”

“That there are no tests here, but that he's going to pick two of us to be taken to the other side to be presented to the unicorn. The rest of us will wait here for them to finish. If they don't get Lily and James and Sirius out though, we become merpeople food.”

`Well, that's an incentive for ya.” Ron joked, then shut up when he got three glares set upon him. Though he couldn't see her, he imagined Ginny was doing the same thing.

“All right, `Mione. Tell them to pick who goes across. We need to get this done.”

Hermione nodded and walked back to the merman. “We are ready for you to choose.”

“Good. Tell me, human, who has the most to lose if this mission is failed?”

Hermione didn't even have to think about it. “Harry and Draco. It's Harry's parents that are in there, his godfather too. But Draco spent most of his life as our enemy. He's trying to prove himself as loyal to our cause. If he fails to do so, Draco will be hated by both sides. Someone will kill him, and quick.”

“You do not wish to go?”

“Of course I do!” Hermione looked appalled that he could even suggest that. “Harry is my best friend. He and Ron and I have been doing things like this since we were eleven. We've never done anything apart. Well, hardly anything. I would love to be the one to go. I'm smarter than either of them, probably than both of them put together. But the only thing I have to lose is my life. It's the same with Ron. There's nothing else he has to lose.”

“So this Harry has his life and family at stake, and Draco has his life and reputation to lose?”

“Basically.”

“Powerful things are both of those. They can drive men and women to do wonderful and horrible things. This is a good thing you are trying to do. They are the two who will go. Inform them while I make arrangements.”

Hermione nodded. “I'll do that.” She turned to the other three, caught between relief and disappointment that she wouldn't have to go any further. “Harry, you and Draco are the ones he has chosen to go.”

The two men exchanged a look. Harry spoke. “What about you and Ron?” Ginny was just being unspoken of. They didn't want to draw attention to her.

“We have to stay here and wait until you either get them out or fail.”

“And what happens if we do fail?”

Hermione lifted her eyes to meet Harry's. “We get fed to the merpeople.”

Draco nodded. “We just won't fail then.” He walked to the beach, both to wait for their transportation and to give Harry time to say goodbye to his friends. He hadn't been there for more than ten seconds when he felt a hand on his arm. Since he couldn't see the owner, he imagined it belonged to Ginny. “What do you want, Weasel?”

“Just to say good luck.” She sighed. “I think it's really wonderful, what you're doing here. You don't have to do this, but you're doing it anyway. For people you've never liked and for a cause you've never believed in.”

“Self preservation Weasley. That's all it is.”

“So you say. But you didn't have to come. You could have stayed home and not done this with us. But you did it because you knew that we'd have a better chance of getting out with your help. I don't care what you say, Draco, there's a good man in there that manages to break through every once in a while.”

“Think what you want.” Draco was completely uncomfortable with the conversation. Ginny had changed entirely too much for his liking. She'd grown up while he hadn't been looking, and had gone from an annoying young girl to an only slightly annoying woman. He didn't care for the transformation.

“I really think you'll do it. Get through this and get the Potters and Sirius out of there. Slytherin's are determined and ruthless. You're both of those, and in this case, they're good qualities to have.”

“You're entitled to your opinion.” Draco heard her irritated huff and footsteps. “Ginny.”

“What?”

“You aren't as bad as I thought you were. Thanks for the pep talk.”

Ginny walked over, and Draco felt her hands grasp his shoulders. Before he could ask what the hell she was doing, she had lifted herself up and pressed her mouth to his. Before it had started, it was over, and she was moving away. “For luck.” She tossed over her shoulder. Harry bumped into her on his way down and lifted his brows at Draco.

“What was that about?”

Draco looked flabbergasted. “I have absolutely no idea whatsoever.”

“What did she say?”

“Good luck.”

“Well, that's Ginny for you. She's going to get blasted by about a hundred Weasley's when we get back, and she knows it. She also knows that she won't be going anywhere with anyone for a good long while. But she had to make sure we were going to be okay.” Harry decided to test the waters, see if the little niggling idea he had in the back of his mind had any basis in fact. “I really wish we hadn't had to break up sixth year.”

Draco didn't like the little licks of anger and something he reluctantly identified as jealousy in his gut. “Why?”

“She's a great girl. Smart, brave, strong, unstoppable. And the girl certainly isn't hard on the eyes. And her mouth-“ Harry was caught off guard when Draco's fist plowed into his jaw.

“Don't talk about her like that.” He warned in a low voice. Harry was impressed by how menacing the other man could sound. He was just glad that the other three people on the beach had seemingly missed the punch. Which, he admitted gleefully, had been well worth the information he had gathered.

“So you do like her.” Harry said, indescribably happy to have something to hold over Malfoy's head.

“I never said that.”

“You wouldn't punch me over a girl you didn't like, Malfoy. Hell, you wouldn't normally punch me over a girl you do like. It would have just been an excuse to punch me.”

“You've got that right.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Draco regretted them.

“You do like her. Does she like you?”

“How the bloody hell should I know?”

“I'm not blind, Malfoy. I saw the whole thing. She's invisible, but I'm not deaf. And you looked extremely surprised. Did she kiss you?”

“Watch it, Potter.” Draco warned. “We may not be fighting each other at the moment, but neither are we any kind of friends.”

“Just a simple question so I know if I need to return the punch. Cause if you kissed her, that's what I'm going to be forced to do.”

“I didn't kiss her.”

“Good.” Harry eyed the raft four merpeople had towed to the waterline. “I think we're supposed to get on there.” He looked at Hermione, who nodded. She could understand the instructions the merpeople were giving.

“Let's get this show on the road then.”

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The ride across the lake was uneventful, though Harry and Draco spent the entire time with their wands pointed at the merpeople. Neither trusted the creatures. But soon, they saw the other side, and a magnificent white creature. The unicorn. Harry let out a low whistle.

“Amazing isn't it?”

Draco didn't want to agree, but had to. “Yeah.”

Unicorns were excellent judges of character, and would only let them into the chamber if they were deemed to be unselfish. If one of them failed, all five died. “So we get past the unicorn, and then we have to convince the chamber itself to let us in.”

“Right. Like the Room of Requirement. We need it to be the place where your parents and Sirius are.”

“Let's worry about that in a few minutes.” They stepped off the raft. “How do we speak to a unicorn?”

Draco lifted his shoulders. “I think I read somewhere that they're telepathic.”

Both men jumped as soon as they heard another voice in their heads. “That would be exactly right. Come closer Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy. I need to get a better look at you. Tell me, how has your journey been thus far?”

Draco answered. “Not easy, but you'd know that already.”

“I would. And as I'm sure you were told at the merpeople's far shore, you are the first to enter this trial that has made it to me. No one ever made it past the dragon. Tell me, young Malfoy. How did you conjure that dragon?”

Draco had been wondering why someone hadn't asked him that. “My namesake is the dragon. I've always been strangely connected to them. My Patronus is also a dragon. That made it easy for me to conjure one.”

The unicorn considered that answer, found it satisfactory. “Potter, your parents lie in there.”

“Yes.”

“And your Godfather.”

“Yes.”

“You've thought they were dead.”

“I have.”

“Family is a powerful bond. It is the love you have for those people, the same as it was their love for you that allows you to be here. Without their love, you would be dead. And without yours, they would remain in that Chamber until the Dark One pulled them out. Pass. You are worthy.” The unicorn turned to Draco. “You have struggled with the life you chose. One of killing and of torturing. You turned from that life, and your family, in order to do what your heart told you was right. You think you're doing it to save yourself, but truly you're doing it to make amends for all the hurt and pain you have caused. Pass. You, too, are worthy. Though in a much different way than your companion.”

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Hermione ran to the beach as soon as she saw the merman reappear. He didn't look happy in the least. “Did they make it? Did the unicorn let them in?”

“It did. They passed. They were both worthy. Go back humans. Nothing in the previous chambers will hurt you. You will be able to wait at the entrance, for that is where your friends will exit.”

Hermione turned back and threw her arms around Ron. “They got through! The unicorn let them pass! We have to go back and wait for them at the entrance. Apparently the entrance and the exit are the same thing. Let's go. I want to be waiting there when they get out, or you know them, they'll think the merpeople ate us anyway and come back in.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Men.”

Ron chose not to comment, and instead opened the door for both of the women.

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And there's Chapter 7. Updates will come regularly this next week, but the week after that, on Wednesday and Thursday, I have my college orientation, so I probably won't get anything posted. I just hate that it's so close to the deadline. But I'll make up for it right after that. Hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to review!

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Okay, Chapter 8. Love the reviews, wish I'd gotten more on the last chapter, but such is life I suppose. This is now officially the most I have ever written in so short a time. Normally my muse decides to make me wait in between update, but the material this time is coming just as fast as I can type it. I finished Chapter 7 in less that an hour this morning. It's the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. I love writing this story, and I am remarkably happy that all of you reading it like it as well. Unfortunately, I probably won't get any chapters posted tomorrow or on Monday. But, I'm hoping that two chapters today will help make up for it. That way you're only going technically be shorted one chapter. But I want this finished by competition time. Twenty chapters is what I think I'm shooting for total. BTW, in the next few chapters, there will probably be a higher rating. I don't want to have to change the rating of the whole story, so I think I'll write it so that my younger readers can bypass the heavier stuff. It won't be NC-17, it won't even be a strong R, but I think it might get a little romantic. Light R as my best guess. So this is an advanced warning to tall those out there who aren't old enough for it.

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Harry looked over at Draco. “Look, before we go in there, I just want to say thanks.” At Draco's surprised look, Harry continued. “I know you didn't have to do this. That you could have continued the way that you were and that you would have been fine on your own. But you didn't. You're doing this, helping me gets my parents and Sirius back. That's enough to make me change my mind about you, Malfoy.”

Draco didn't want to be touched. He didn't want to honestly believe that Harry was telling the truth about what he thought. He didn't want to believe that the people he'd had this adventure with were actually so big hearted that they could forgive him for all that he had done, for what he had been, for where he had come from. But then again, he supposed that it was mercy and forgiveness that really separated them from Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

“Don't mention it.” Draco said after a pause during which he tried to come up with something more to say than that. “We're even. You helped me, now I'm helping you. Quid pro quo.”

Harry nodded, understanding. “A what for a what. This was repayment.”

“Not precisely, but close enough. I wouldn't have done this if there wasn't something in it for me, Potter. I just want to make sure you understand that I'm not as selfless as you and your gang would like to believe that I am. I'm in this for me.”

Harry had a feeling that wasn't the only reason, but he was too anxious to see his parents to argue it any further. “Whatever you say, Malfoy. Let's get this done.” Harry looked at the door. “I need entrance into the chamber where my parents and godfather are.”

Draco didn't think it could have possibly been that easy, but the door swung open nonetheless. Wands out, the men proceeded into the room. It was a stone chamber, with slats of stone in rows, like primitive cots. Only three of them had occupants. Harry started to run over, but Draco grabbed his arm.

“We stay together. No one awake has ever been in here. We don't know what might be guarding them.”

Nodding, Harry hung back to match his stride to Draco's. Slowly, they approached the cots. Harry took the beaker of potion from his robes. “Does this have to be swallowed?”

Draco thought for a second. “Yes.”

“Help me then. We have to get them sitting up or else they could choke. Sirius first. He'll be able to explain to my parents who I am and the fact that they've been cryogenically frozen for seventeen years.”

“I couldn't agree more with that one, Potter. Last thing I want is one of your parents mistaking me for my father and cursing me clear into next week. From what I've heard, they were wonderful wizards and could curse without using a wand.”

“You'd be right there.” Harry grabbed Sirius' shoulders and hefted them up. Acting quickly, Draco pulled out the stopped, and poured a mouthful into his mouth. Sirius coughed and sputtered, but swallowed the drink. Not ten seconds later, his eyes opened.

“Harry?” Sirius asked, grabbing his godson in a hug. “What happened? I should be dead!”

Harry returned the hug hard. His throat was clogged with emotion. “We thought that you were. That thing led down to here. It's beneath the Ministry. A sleep chamber. Voldemort knows about it, and Draco found out and told us, so here we are to rescue you.”

But Sirius' gaze had fastened elsewhere. “Is that?”

“It's Mom and Dad.”

Draco decided he'd be the best to explain. When Lily and James died, Lily gave her life to save Harry, and James did the same thing to save them both. Lily was protected by James' sacrifice, and then Harry were protected by hers'. Retrospectively, Harry were also protected by James', which meant that the three of them were connected that night. When Voldemort cursed him, the power of not only Lily's spell, but also of James', protected him, and made the spell reflect itself upon Voldemort. When that happened, somehow, and I don't know how, the most recent spells Voldemort had cast, were reversed.

“ Fudge wasn't the Minister then, a man named Ricardo Juarez was. The only Hispanic minister we've ever had. The Aurors who were first on the scene reported that Lily and James were still alive, but only barely. He ordered them taken to St. Mungo's, under different names. They were treated, but kept sedated. When they were stable, Juarez had them taken to the chamber beneath the ministry and put into a sleep state. A cryogenic one, if you will. They can only be unfrozen from inside the chamber.

“Juarez and both of the Aurors who knew who was in that chamber were killed barely two weeks later. No one knew about it until Scrimgeour took over. Fudge had received a report on it, but apparently was too busy with keeping things running these past years, that he never got around to going down there. Now here's where the details get a little foggy. From what I know, I can tell you the apparently the thing you, Sirius, fell, or leapt or whatever the hell you did, into that night led straight into that Chamber. When everything had been set up thousands of years ago, it was thought that people might try to break in, and that whoever did would need to be stopped. By falling into that thing. But generations went by and no one ever did, so it was forgotten about where it led. Our assumption that anyone put in here was automatically put to sleep was right.”

Sirius let out a low whistle. “What do you say we wake up your parents Harry? You must be dying to meet them. But why did you wake me up first?”

“Because they won't know who I am. They think I'm still a baby. I'm eighteen. They know you, they'll recognize you, even though you're older now.”

“Makes sense.” Sirius looked at Draco. “You batting for our side now, boy.”

Despite the fact that it sounded more like a statement than a question, Draco decided to reply. “Just settling some old debts and paying for some mistakes.” He shrugged. “That and murdering women, children, and Muggles isn't my style.”

“Glad to hear it.” He looked at Harry. “Shouldn't you be in Auror training or playing Quidditch or something?”

“I didn't finish Hogwarts, Sirius.”

“What?!” Sirius was mad about that one. “And why the buggering hell not?”

“Because I made the school too dangerous for other kids. Sirius, at the end of my sixth year, Snape killed Dumbledore. Voldemort's on the rise again. He's taking over.”

“All the more reason to hurry the hell up and wake your parents. They can help. I can help. Your father would just love a crack at Severus I imagine.”

Harry thought about what Dumbledore had said, about Snape being the one to give away his parents. “He'll have to get in line. I want a crack at him myself.” He slipped behind his mother and lifted her shoulders. Sirius dumped in the potion and Lily did the same thing that Sirius had. Coughed, swallowed and opened her eyes.

“Sirius, oh Merlin, where are we? I thought for sure I was dead. Harry! Sirius, where's my baby? And James?”

Sirius grasped Lily's shoulders. “Calm down Lily. There's a lot to be explained here. A lot you need to know. You aren't twenty one anymore. You've been frozen, put to sleep in a special chamber beneath the ministry. You've been down here seventeen years.”

“Harry?” Lily questioned tearfully.

“Right here Mum.”

Lily whirled, saw her son. Her very grown son. She burst into tears and reached for him. Near tears himself, Harry moved into his mother's hug. Sirius gestured to Draco. “Let's give them a minute while we wake up James. I imagine he doesn't want us to see him lose control.”

Strangely sympathetic toward Harry, Draco did as Sirius asked. He could see Lily and Harry hugging and talking out of the corner of his eye, and honestly, it broke his heart. He'd never experienced such love from anyone in his life.

Sirius administered the potion while Draco held James up. When James opened his eyes, Sirius launched into a brief explanation of everything that had happened. James hugged Sirius quickly and then went to his wife and son. Sirius casually slung an arm around Draco.

“It's a good thing that you did here. And I know you say you didn't do it for him, but it's still a good thing you've done. You aren't like the other Malfoys, Draco. You've got a heart. You're what I would consider to be a human.”

Draco didn't know how the people in that cave were refraining from killing him. After all that his family had done to them. After all that they'd been through because of his father and Voldemort. After seventeen years of separation. Seventeen years of Harry thinking that his parents were dead. It amazed him.

James looked down at Lily and Harry. “Why don't we get out of here? There's a lot we need to get caught up on. I have a feeling that it'll take a few hours.”

Harry grinned at his father. “It can wait. Molly Weasley cooked a welcome back dinner, and there are some people I'd like for you to meet. People who have saved my life more that once.”

Lily's gaze found Draco. “And who are you?”

“Mum, Dad, this is Draco Malfoy. He's the one who told me that you were still alive and showed me how to get here.”

James strode to Draco, offered the younger man a hand. “Thank you. For giving us back our family.”

Draco took the hand hesitantly, shook it. “Seemed only fair, after all my family did to instigate the separation.”

Lily hugged him tightly. “They don't deserve you, Draco. You're family doesn't deserve to be able to call you theirs'. They're unloving, cold, hard hearted people who don't know how to care about anyone but themselves.”

Draco wondered if Lily wasn't psychic as well. He looked into her eyes, and saw no judging there. Just compassion and kindness. Warmth and love. He felt something wedge itself in his throat. He lowered his voice and cautiously returned her embrace. “I wish my parents were more like you.”

Lily's laugh was like a bell. Bright and beautiful. “And don't worry. I won't tell a soul you said that.” She linked arms with Harry, and with Draco. “Now let's get the hell out of this place.”

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There we have it. Chapter 8. I hope everyone enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Prolly no update tomorrow. I'll try my best, but I can't promise anything at this point. Damn my college physical and shot appointment. That's just my luck I suppose. Don't forget to review. I thrive on reviews.

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I know I said that I didn't think I'd get a chapter up today, but it looks like I'm going to. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review. I really appreciate it. I am STILL looking for someone to beta read these chapters. I really need one. Anyone even slightly interested should email me at sirena192005@yahoo.com. Oh yeah, and everyone wish me luck. I have a huge week coming up next week. I have a job interview to edit a book for a Political Science Professor at Ohio State, where I'm going to school on Monday, on Tuesday I leave to go back to Columbus for my orientation, I get back on Thursday night, and on Friday it's my Mom's 40^th birthday, and then on Saturday I'm going to see a Journey concert. So don't be surprised if updates don't come very regularly next week. I've managed to crank one out everyday for over a week, but I'm thinking maybe three to five chapters next week. We'll see though. Don't forget to review.

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It took three days until Harry, Lily and James had gotten caught up. For those three days, the three of them rarely left the den Molly and Arthur had let them use except to sleep and to eat. They talked about everything, from Harry's favorite color and whether or not he liked eggplant, to Voldemort and his six years at Hogwarts to Hermione and Ron and all the Quidditch games he'd played in. His parents wanted to know everything about him, and everything that he liked and disliked. Lily spent a good amount of that time in tears. It was harder for them than it was for Harry. They'd missed all of their son's childhood.

Lily came downstairs on a Saturday morning, and wrapped her arms around her son from behind. Harry, who had been busy scarfing down a pile of pancakes, paused long enough to give his mother a quick hug. “Morning, Mum.”

“Morning.” Lily sat down at the table, habitual cup of tea in hand. “Harry, your father and I are going house hunting today. There's a few ready to move into tomorrow if we like them.” She looked at Molly. “I was talking to James last night. I know we've been out of the loop, Molly, but we want to get back into the Order. This has to end.”

Molly nodded. “We're meeting tomorrow to discuss a plan of action about these Horcruxes. Draco's said he thinks he knows where the other two are, and we're going to initiate a retrieval mission.”

“Which Hermione, Ron and I will go on.” Harry said around a mouthful of sausage. “This has been our fight since no one would believe that he was back. I want to finish it. I have to finish it.”

Lily didn't like it. In fact, she absolutely abhorred the fact that her baby had been dragged into the whole mess. She was ready to kill anyone and everyone who had hurt him throughout the years when she hadn't been there to protect her. “You'll go. But you won't go alone.”

Molly nodded her agreement. “No. They can't go alone.” She offered Draco a smile as he stumbled into the kitchen. He'd begun staying there and no one had objected. No one really minded. But he wasn't a morning person, didn't even wake up until he'd had his coffee. “But we'll worry about that tomorrow. Today is for fun. We all need fun. A trip to Diagon Alley, shopping, dinner out, a Quidditch match this evening. It's a pre season match between the Canons and Ireland. Should be good.”

Harry looked up when Hermione and Ginny walked in. He noticed with amusement that Draco looked up. The man simply didn't know how to handle Ginny. She was unlike the girls he'd dated before. Less, well, Harry supposed loose was the word, than the others. More reserved and nice. That was a good way to describe it. Ginny was nicer.

And Draco was being thrown for a loop with the whole thing. He liked her too. Harry wasn't blind, he saw the way the two stared at one another when they thought no one was looking. And he'd walked into the room Draco was sharing with him and Ron a couple times to see Draco kissing Ginny. Though there was nothing official. Harry had a feeling Molly and Arthur wouldn't hear of it.

Hermione slid into a chair at the table and filled her plate with a bagel and bacon. She decided on orange juice instead of coffee or tea. She didn't much care for caffeine. It made her jittery and way too hyper for her liking. She blushed when she saw Harry staring at her, and reached for his hand beneath the table. Like Draco and Ginny, there was still nothing official, and no one other than Ron, Ginny and Draco knew anything at all was going on.

Molly moved about the kitchen with the ease and grace of someone who had been doing it for years. “Will Harry be going with you, Lily, or with us today?”

Lily lifted her shoulders in a shrug. She was the only person Harry knew who could make a shrug look graceful. “That will be up to him.” She turned to her son. “You're living with Hermione and Ron right?”

Harry nodded. “Have been for over a year.”

“That's what I thought you'd said. You'll be welcome to stay with us once we get a house, of course, and so will Hermione and Ron, but I don't expect you to give up your life.”

Harry didn't think it would be giving up his life, but neither could he leave his friends alone. They had work to do that his parents would not be happy with. Work like tracking and either killing or capturing Death Eaters. And finding the Horcruxes, and locating Voldemort.

“Just make sure there's enough space for us to visit.”

“Of course there will be.” Lily ruffled her son's hair and stood. “I'm going to go see what's keeping James. We're supposed to meet the Realtor in an hour.” She ascended the stairs and immediately turned left into the room she and her husband were occupying. “James?”

The man in question poked his head out of the bathroom, a towel around his hips and his hair still wet. “Hey honey. I'll be ready to go in ten minutes.”

“James, do you think something's going on with Harry and Hermione?”

James rolled his eyes. “What do you think?”

Lily sat down on the edge of the bed. “I think they remind me of us at that age. Quietly, desperately in love.”

“That sounds about accurate. Why? Don't you like her?”

“How can I not like her when listening to her talk is like listening to me in school? But it's hard, James. It still feels like he's my baby. Like I should be rocking him to sleep and giving him a bottle.”

James sat down beside his wife. “I know. It's the same for me. And I imagine it's strange for him. He's been on his own for so long, and now suddenly, just when he's finally grown up, he's got parents.”

“It just bothers me. All that he's had to do. And I can't believe they gave him to Petunia and Vernon.”

“That, my love, is what bothers me the most. We'll figure it out, Lily. This is our second chance at having a family. We'll get it right.”

“We have to, James.” She grinned all of a sudden. “Think there'll be a debacle with them like there was with us?”

“Probably something much worse. They're in this up to their eyeballs and I imagine it's going to take something impressively dangerous to bring them together.”

“How do we do this, James? Seventeen years are gone, and I still feel twenty. I still think like I'm twenty. I look in the mirror and I see a much older face, but everything else is still the same.”

“I think all we can do, is move on with our lives and our family. And we're hardly old, Lily. Not even forty yet.”

“That's easy for you to say. You still look twenty five.” She glared at him for a second. “It's nice to know at least one of us aged gracefully.”

James studied his wife for a moment. Her face was still unlined, but carried a maturity and knowledge of someone much older than she. She may have looked older, but she certainly didn't look older because of aging. It was from the life she had lived the first twenty years of her life. Her eyes no longer had a carefree glow in them, and neither was her smile as bright and open as it had once been. No, she hadn't aged, she'd been worn down, she'd matured.

“You're still the most beautiful woman in the world to me.” He laid a hand on Lily's face, ran his knuckled down the line of her jaw. “And I will always love you, no matter what you look like.”

Lily sighed. Her husband always had had a way of making her feel like she was the only woman on the planet. She hated to admit it, but she loved it. “James?”

“Hmm?”

“What about all our plans? More kids, careers, all of that.”

James kissed Lily and successfully shut her up. He always had been able to do amazing things with his mouth. Seventeen years hadn't dulled that ability. As far as she could tell, seventeen years hadn't dulled anything about her husband. “We aren't old Lily Catherine Potter. Besides, Harry said McGonagall was just named Headmistress of Hogwarts. I'm sure she'd love for you to teach Potions there. And as for kids,” he nudged her back on the bed. “Well, we can still have more. You made a beautiful mother. And you will again.”

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Harry tucked his wand in his pocket as he prepared to Apparate. He and Hermione and Ron and Draco and Ginny were going into Diagon Alley separately. They were meeting the rest of the Weasleys and Sirius for dinner several hours from then. A crash on the stairs stopped him from Apparating, and the five of them went to the bottom of the steps. What they saw made Harry turn red and the other four laugh.

Lily was running down the stair, her strawberry blonde hair a mess, and fastening her robes as she ran. She had on only one shoe, and held the other. James walked out behind her, his hair standing on end, but fully dressed and looking quite pleased with himself.

“Harry. Sorry I missed you this morning. We'll see you at dinner.” James patted his son on the shoulder, took his wife's hand, and Apparated. Harry still hadn't recovered enough to utter a sentence.

Draco was nearly doubled over from laughing. “Well,” he said between gales. “It's nice to know that if I ever become cryogenically frozen, my sex drive won't crash.”

“Shut up, Malfoy.”

“Why? Is Potter embarrassed? Just how do you think you got here? Or are you so much like Christ you were made through immaculate conception?”

“I said, shut up Malfoy. I'm not in the mood.”

But Ron was in on it too. “Aww, come on Harry, I think it's sweet that your parents are still horny after all this time asleep. Must be really rested. Have lots of energy.” He looked at Draco. “You think they still have the stamina of twenty year olds?”

Draco pondered that for a minute. “Don't know. Maybe.” He looked at Harry. “Come on now, you know we're only teasing.”

“I don't tease you about your parents having sex.”

“That would be because you never saw my parents in the position I just saw yours. And,” he added, almost as an afterthought. “My parents don't have sex. Haven't since I was born.”

“That is so nice to know. Can we please leave?” He looked at Hermione. “If we don't get into a public place, I'm going to kill them both.”

“What? Just because you're a virgin doesn't mean you should be uncomfortable with talking about sex.”

“When it comes to my parents?” Harry demanded. “And who said I was still a virgin?”

Hermione snorted into her hands. She was trying not to laugh. She really was. “I think Draco just did.”

Ron gaped at his best friend. “Are you?”

“I am not discussing this with you.” Harry headed for the fireplace. “I'm going to Floo there instead of Apparating.

“Come on Potter, you aren't really a virgin are you?”

Harry turned around to glare at Draco. “How is it any of your business?”

“I think you're trying to get out of answering just a bit hard here.” Ron said, clapping Harry on the back. “Come on, just tell us.”

“No. Okay? I'm not. But that still doesn't make me okay with talking about my parents.”

Hermione rescinded. “Okay, that's enough boys. Let's just go. We'll forget about it.”

Draco chortled. “Like hell I will. The boy the lived just had the shit embarrassed out of him. This is a fond fond memory.”

Harry couldn't help but grin. The truth was, he had been embarrassed. By his parents, and by his friends. He looked at Draco. “Mention this again, and I'll curse the shit out of you.”

Draco nodded. “Fair enough.”

“Just so we understand one another.”

Hermione leaned close to Ron. “Do you think they're getting along better?”

“I think so. Can't decide if I like it or not.”

“I do. They'll be good for one another.”

Suddenly, a house elf popped in. Draco looked surprised to see it. “Mopsy, what's going on? Why aren't you at the house?”

“Master Malfoy, house is on fire. Death Eaters came, sir, they burned it down. Mopsy is the only one to escape.”

Draco Apparated without thinking that the Death Eaters might already be there. Harry looked at Hermione. “Can you get us past those Apparation wards?”

“I can.” She flicked her wand, casting a spell. “Let's go. If they're still there, we're going to have a fight on our hands.”

Harry's grin was vicious and feral. “That's what I'm hoping for.”

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Thank you to all of you who have reviewed so far. I appreciate it more than you can know. A special thanks to Olivia, who has offered to beta read my chapters before they're posted. I don't think that doing this will slow the updates at all, though it may mean I have to write faster. (author groans as she realizes her fingers may quite literally fall off if she tries to write any more every day) Anyway, there will be a little action in this chapter. Not a huge battle scene, but enough to tide you over until I'm ready to write it. Also, there will be comedy. I like to make people laugh, and when I laugh while writing it, that's either a sign that I'm losing my mind, or that some other people will find it funny. So, on with the story, and don't forget to both review and vote come August 15.

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Draco arrived at his house only moments before Harry, Hermione and Ron. And even in those instants that he had, he knew that no spell could save his house. But it wasn't the house that concerned him the most, though it would be a bit of an inconvenience to find another one that suited his needs. What really concerned him was the fact that there were Death Eaters still in his front yard. He was dodging a curse when the other three appeared.

Harry went to the left and Hermione went to the right. To his eternal surprise, Ron grabbed Draco and heaved him behind a tree. “Okay, Malfoy. We're used to doing this and you aren't, so listen up and do as we say, go home, or get killed. Got it?”

Draco hated admitting when he didn't know as much about something as someone else, but he was forced to. After all, he was nothing if not a self preservationist, and accepting their help was preserving his self. “Got it.”

“Good. We split up and go at them from all different sides. This isn't easy, but we've been in much much worse. I want you to sneak around and come at them from the back. That way they don't see you, and they're all concentrated on us.”

Draco nodded and took off, staying within the cover of the trees. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Harry facing Snape. That was a development he hadn't seen coming. Never had he expected Snape to be involved in something so typically menial.

Harry's wand was out, and he and his former teacher were circling one another. “You killed Dumbledore, Snape.”

Snape lifted his skinny shoulders in a careless shrug. “That's Professor Snape to you, Potter.” He grinned evilly. “It's time you learned a lesson about respecting your elders.”

“I respect those that deserve it. You turned my parents and me over to Voldemort. You killed the most wonderful man in the world. You're helping Voldemort. We trusted you, Snape, and you betrayed everyone who tried to help you.”

Snape laughed. “You never trusted me, Potter. And for good reason, I suppose. Though it always amazed me how I could fool the greatest wizard of all times and not three eleven year olds.”

“Children see things in less shades than adults. You're either good, or you're evil. You fell solidly on the evil side.” Harry bared his teeth. “I'm going to kill you. And I'm going to enjoy it.”

“You're quite welcome to try. But when I take your body back to the Dark Lord, he's going to realize just who the most powerful wizard really is. Dumbledore and Harry Potter. The two people the world never thought could be destroyed. And they'll be killed by one man. What a reputation.”

Harry forgot all about dueling protocol. He knew that Snape could hold his own if they played by the rules. It was when rules were cast aside, and the real fighting commenced that Harry had the advantage. He had all Hermione's spells that she had figured out. Including a new killing curse, and another version of the Cruciatus.

“Aletho!” Harry yelled, and like the sectum sempra curse, Snape's skin split and blood gushed. The older man's eyes widened and he lifted his wand.

“Crucio!”

Harry carelessly flicked his wand and deflected it. “That the best you got, Snape? Rhapsis!” Snape fell to the ground, suffering from Hermione's version of the Cruciatus. “I'm disappointed, Snape. All these years of you telling me what a failure I am, and now here we are, and you're the one losing. I'm amazed.”

Snape struggled to his feet. “Avada Kedavra!”

“Patronum!” James yelled as soon as he solidified from Apparating. The stag leaped from his wand and devoured the curse. Snape's eyes widened and he started shaking.

“You're dead!”

“I am not.” James countered, neatly stepping in front of his son, who was writhing on the ground. Though the curse hadn't killed him, it had left him in quite a bit of pain. “I was in a sleep chamber. Big difference there. I've been hearing disconcerting things, Severus.” He paced, his wand never leaving Snape's face. “Things like you trying to kill my son, and killing Dumbledore. Things that make me very tempted to kill you. After all, a man has to protect those he loves. And the fact that you turned my wife and I over to Voldemort? Well, that's just the icing on the cake. You knew we were the only two who had a chance against him other that Dumbledore so you made damn sure no one could get to your master. I am not happy with this, Severus. And I've had seventeen years to stew on the matter.”

“He'll kill you once I tell him you're back.”

“He'll be welcome to try.” James said, and Harry knew instantly that his father meant every word he had said. He pushed himself to get to his feet, wand clutched tightly in one fist.

Snape's wand shifted to point at Harry. At the same time, father and son shouted the killing curse as Snape took a breath to do the same to Harry. James yelled the traditional “Avad Kedavra!” while what sprang from Harry's lips was Hermione's version.

“Agnaphos Hagnela!”

In any case, Snape's body flew backward and slammed into the ground with a sickening crunch. It bucked once, as if in protest to death, and finally laid still. James grabbed Harry in a fierce hug. “I can't decide if I want to congratulate you and pat you on the back or knock some sense into that thick skull of yours. What were you thinking taking on Death Eaters like this?”

Harry met his father's gaze. “I've been doing this since I was eleven.” He said levelly. “This is what I do.”

“Not for long.” James promised. “We'll end this Harry. We all deserve to have our own lives. Ones that aren't ruled by being scared that Voldemort is going to take over again.”

“You say his name too?”

James' brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Most everyone refers to him as He Who Must Not Be Named.”

James' reaction was basically the same as Harry's had been. “That's stupid. What are you doing?”

Harry had slipped from beneath his father's arm, and walked to Snape's body. It was as he had expected. Around his neck was a locket marked with a curly letter S. Slytherin's locket. A Horcrux. Harry felt power race through him as his hand closed over it.

“What is that?”

“A Horcrux. Or, at least, Dumbledore was sure that this is a Horcrux.”

“That's good enough for me. How do we destroy it?”

Lily reached over and took the necklace from her son. Hermione immediately passed Ron, who was limping, to Draco, and pressed close to Lily. “Is that what I think it is?”

Lily nodded. “I think so. We have to destroy it.”

Hermione took it and let it swing from her fingers. “Think the soul is in the chain too, or just in the locket?”

“We'd better be safe and destroy it all.”

Harry reached for the locket. “I want to do it at Dumbledore's grave. It's fitting. He gave his life making sure this would be done.”

“All right then. To Hogwarts we go?”

Harry nodded. “To Hogwarts.”

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They arrived at Hogwarts later that afternoon. The grounds looked so different. There were Aurors patrolling constantly. Everyone had to undergo scans from Filch and the on duty teacher before they could enter the castle. All Floo's were blocked except for the one in Headmistress McGonagall's office. That was where the Flooed into. McGonagall went with them to Dumbledore's grave. Of course, they'd had to sit in her office and spend three hours explaining why Lily and James were back, how they were back and what exactly had transpired. The fact that Draco was helping the Order was also news.

“Albus was a good man.” McGonagall said solemnly. “He'd be honored that you did this here. I know I am.”

Harry took the locket and laid it on a rock. Using an old fashioned hammer he'd borrowed from Arthur's collection, he pounded the locket into dust. A breeze blew up, and swept the dust away, toward the lake. Harry would later think that Dumbledore had been responsible for that.

“Four down. Three to go.”

Hermione laid a hand on Harry's arm. “We'll get them. We've come too far not to.”

“Yeah. We have. And we will.”

Lily reached for her husband's hand. “Oh, James. We've missed so much.”

“We aren't missing anymore. We're here now and that's all that matters.”

Lily nodded. “I suppose so. I don't like seeing our baby rushing off and doing these things.”

“Neither do I, but we don't have a choice. He's been doing it since he found out he was a wizard. I'm glad Dumbledore looked after him.”

“He did a good job. Is it wrong of me to wish that there had been another end for Severus? I mean, I know you and Sirius and Remus never liked him much, but I always saw something in him. Something that could have made him good.”

“He made his choice, and we made ours. There's nothing that can be done about it now. We tried, Lily, once upon a time, and he turned us over to Voldemort. He chose his path.”

“I see him in Draco.”

“I did at first. I didn't trust him. But now, after watching him, I think he's a lot like what Severus would have been if he'd made the right choice. Always struggling with it more than he would have struggled with evil, and doing it only because of his heart. The boy's got a tough life ahead of him.”

Lily laughed. “And great friends to help him through it.”

“Think they even realize how close they are?” James looked at the four teenagers. Harry and Hermione had their arms around one another, and Ron and Harry were supporting Draco on either side. They were linked together through circumstances outside their control.

“I don't think they have a clue. But I think that's the way it will be for a while. They won't admit they're friends until this is over.”

Harry looked back at his parents. “How did you know where we were? I forgot to ask.”

“Ginny. She was supposed to go with you shopping, but when you guys Apparated, she came to get us instead of going with you. She figured that you could probably use our help more than hers.”

Hermione chuckled as they all made their way back to the castle from Dumbledore's grave. “She's always had the most logical head on her shoulders.”

Draco snorted. “No one is more logical than the incredibly intelligent Hermione Granger.”

“Why did that sound like an insult? Anyway, that isn't the point. I was the one who didn't object when we went off to face an unknown number of Death Eaters. I've lost my thought processes when it comes to that. It never occurs to me to stop and formulate a plan.” The shocked look on Hermione's face would give Draco something to laugh at for months to come. “I've lost it. Harry!” Her fingernails dug into his upper arm. “I've lost my ability to think rationally. I need to go to St. Mungo's or something. I've lost my mind.”

“Hermione, you haven't lost your mind. You've just learned to trust your instincts without questioning them. It's a good thing. Trust me.”

“Are you sure?”

“I'm sure.” Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. “We should go back to our apartment tonight. With this attack, I don't want to put the Weasleys in any danger.”

Draco was sulking about something. Ron noticed right away. “What's wrong with you?”

“I'm just debating on where I'm going to sleep tonight.”

“With us.” Hermione said immediately. “We'll just shuffle around sleeping arrangements a little and you can stay with us.”

Draco felt a smile creeping up on his face. That would be fun. “Sounds good. Let's go.”

Harry hugged his parents. “Floo us if anything happens, all right?”

James nodded. “Same goes, Harry. I don't want you doing anything like this without us.”

Harry's nod was so much like his father's, Lily felt tears well up in her eyes. “I will. Oh, and I invited Lupin for dinner tomorrow night.”

That made his parents grin. James barked a laugh. “The Marauders ride again.”

Lily sighed. “Oh no, Harry, we'll never sleep again. They can laugh and drink and joke and talk for hours.”

James looked at his wife. “This is going to be fun.”

“No,” Lily corrected, and Hermione was forced to agree, “This is going to be hell.”

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I want to address a couple of reviews that I received about the battle scene last chapter. While most seemed to enjoy it, a couple people thought it was too short and not in depth enough. Don't worry. The battle scene I have planned next will take about four chapters I think. Nagini in one, the cup in one, and the destruction of Voldemort in two. I finally have a beta reader. I'm glad for it. While I can catch most of my own mistakes, there are sometimes I get into a funk and type so fast and without reading what I write. Again, thank you to all those who reviewed. A special thank you to my loyal reviewers. There are several people I can count on to review every single chapter and it's always nice to find them in my mailbox. Also, remember that there won't be very many updates next week with everything that I have to do. And the week after that, I turn eighteen, so there won't be an update on Friday. I'm taking my birthday off. Unless my muse takes a huge chunk out of my ass for not writing every day. Anyway, this isn't what you're all interested in, so I'm going to get on with the story.

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Draco found himself in Harry, Hermione and Ron's apartment. And the whole thing was, surprisingly enough, not as uncomfortable as he thought it would have been. The apartment wasn't the hole in the wall he'd thought it was. It was an airy, three bedroom loft. More spacious than he'd thought, with huge bay windows and two bedrooms on the ground floor, and one directly above the kitchen that had its own staircase.

The other two bedrooms were just as large as the first, but didn't have the windows that the loft did. The boys had taken those, and left Hermione the loft. Hermione was still grateful for it. She loved her bedroom. They all loved the apartment in general, and Draco was unexpectedly impressed with it.

It was neat, with open rooms that flowed into one another. There were two full bathrooms, and a powder room off the kitchen, a living room, dining room, kitchen and a couple rooms that were being used as an office and a small library. That was the only crowded room.

Harry plopped down on the couch, while Ron made a beeline for the kitchen, and Hermione showed Draco around. “You'll take Harry's room. He'll room with me for a few days.”

Draco grinned. “Seems to me, like you've got more in mind than a sleepover.”

“Could be.” Hermione opened the door to the first bedroom. It was decorated in a simple style. Light golden walls, emerald duvet, sage green sheets, jewel toned pillows. It was streamlined and classic. Nothing fussy, or Gryffindor, to Draco's immense relief. “Be glad I didn't put you in Ron's room. It's all done in maroon and gold. Gryffindor crest, everything.” She opened the door with a casual toss of her hand, let him see the maroon walls and gold furniture. “You can borrow clothes from Harry.” She opened the closet door. There were slacks, trousers and button-downs hanging in neat rows. “Jeans are in the first drawer, T-shirts in the second. Last drawer is unopened boxers. Socks are in the third drawer.”

“Got it.” He paused for a second. “And Hermione?”

“Hmm?”

“Thanks. You don't have to be doing this.”

Hermione smiled, and Draco noticed how pretty she really was. Not in an overstated, dramatic way, but in a soft, gentle way. There was nothing blatant or obvious about her beauty, it was just hovering there, right below her skin. “That's what friends do for friends.”

“We aren't friends.”

Hermione turned in the doorway. “Well what do you call it then?” she asked innocently enough. “We're staying together, we're working together, you helped Harry get his parents and Sirius back, we're helping you with the Death Eaters. We Apparated without thinking about ourselves, just that you'd have a better chance with us there helping. If that isn't friendship, Draco, I really don't know what it truly is. Cause what we've been doing for you, isn't any less than we'd do for one another.”

Draco was left standing in Harry Potter's bedroom, in an apartment he hadn't thought he'd ever set foot in, pondering whether or not he was actually becoming friends with the people he'd sworn he'd always hate.

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Hermione walked into the kitchen to find not only Harry and Ron devouring everything they could find in the refrigerator, but Sirius and Lupin as well. With a shout of joy, she launched herself at Lupin, and was caught up in a bear hug.

“Remus! When did you get here?”

“Just a minute ago. Harry was promising me food, and then we found the meager contents of your fridge.”

“Haven't been home to go to the market. I'll go pick something up. Anyone want to come?”

The three men in her kitchen exchanged looks. It was obvious to Hermione that they simply wanted to keep eating her food and stuffing themselves with the chocolate chip cookies they had found. Hermione shook her head and picked up her purse. She moved back down the hall and rapped softly on Draco's door.

“Draco? I'm going to the market. Do you need anything?”

Draco opened the door and walked out into the hall. “No, but I'll go with you. I've decided you need some help.”

Hermione's brow furrowed. “Help? Help with what?”

“We'll talk once we get down there.” He opened the door for her, and Hermione became suspicious. He was never that polite. Never. Unless he was up to something.

“Okay, what's going on?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Draco asked, innocent smile on his face. Hermione didn't buy it for one second.

“You're up to something, and I'm not entirely sure I'm going to like whatever it is.”

“Anything I'm up to is going to be done to help me, Granger.” Draco stepped onto the elevator. The apartment building, while occupied only by witches and wizards, was outfitted with all the Muggle amenities. “And weren't you saying earlier that you were going to seduce Potter?”

“No!” Hermione's face turned the color of a ripe tomato. “I never said any such thing.”

“Which is why he's sleeping in your room instead of Ron's room or on the couch. Why I'm not sleeping on the couch for Merlin's sake. You aren't exactly inconspicuous about it.”

Hermione pondered that for a second. “Think they've caught on?”

Draco shook his head. “Not a chance. Guys like Harry and Ron, it just doesn't occur to them to notice things like that. They're completely oblivious, typical guys.”

“While guys who make it their life's mission to get into the pants of as many girls as possible, like you, notice every sign and signal a girl sends out.”

“Right.” They stepped off the elevator and headed out into the street. “Now, do you want some help or not?”

“I've never tried to seduce anyone before.”

“I know.” At her shocked look, he laughed. “Your romantic tendencies, along with those of Harry and Ron are constantly in the gossip columns. I'm also an expert at filtering fact from fiction. I could tell you every person the three of you have actually slept with.”

“I'd rather you didn't.” Hermione stopped and turned into the grocery store. She picked up a basket. “I don't want to know. And my list is severely lacking.”

“I know that as well. There's nothing wrong with it, Granger.” Draco was feeling sympathetic. He respected a good romantic gesture more than the typical man, and was determined to see that she knocked Harry on his ass. “With the life you live, and the schedule you keep, it's a wonder you manage to date at all.”

“There is one thing I'd like to know.”

“What's that?”

“Whom did he lose his virginity to?”

“Harry?” Draco's mouth twitched as he tried to keep from smiling. “Katie Bell.”

“The Chaser Katie Bell?”

“Right. About a year after you left Hogwarts. One time thing. See, I was staying with Blaise Zabini and the Bells have the house next door. I saw them go in, and a few hours later, I saw him come out.”

Hermione was shocked. She'd never expected that one. He hadn't even talked to Katie that she knew of since they'd left school. She shook her head to clear it. “That doesn't matter.”

“Glad you think so. Now, here's what I think you should do.”

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Hermione was nervous. She hated that she was so nervous. Draco had coached her through everything, and still, she was shaking as she changed into her pajamas. Harry was sitting on the bed, flipping through the channels on the TV she'd insisted on having. After all, she'd grown up as a Muggle, and was rather attached to the conveniences of being one. She tied her hair back in a bun at the nape of her neck and walked out.

She couldn't do it. She couldn't possibly try to seduce her best friend. What did it matter if he was pretending that nothing was happening despite the fact that he'd been the one to kiss her? And so what if her stomach tied in knots every time she saw him? It didn't matter. He was Harry and she was Hermione and they were friends, had always been friends and would always be friends.

Satisfied with her train of thought, she slid under the blanket and laid down. Harry put down the remote control and turned to face her. “Is this bothering you? Cause I can turn it off if you're tired. I mean, it's your room and your TV and are you sure you don't want me to sleep on the couch? I don't mind you know. I'd rather not sleep in Ron's room, since Luna's in there. She came while you were in the shower by the way. And-“

Hermione couldn't take anymore. She sat up, turned off the TV and closed her mouth over his. “Harry?” she murmured when she ended the kiss.

“Hmm?”

“Shut up already.”

“Okay.” Harry was very agreeable with that idea. He closed the distance between them and kissed her, parting her lips with his tongue, brushing hers, urging her to participate in the kiss. She did so, avidly kissing him, pressing her body against his. It wasn't a seduction like she'd planned, but it would work. Her arms went around his neck, she pulled him against him, easing back on the bed so that his body covered hers.

Their tongues tangled, breath meshed, hands wandered. His hands swept down her body, over her subtle curves, into her hair, over the curve of her breast. She groaned deep in her throat, arching against him, a slave to sensation. She pulled his shirt over his head, and spread her hands on his chest, reveling in the play of muscle covered by skin, the wideness of his shoulders, and narrowness of his hips. She fumbled, removed his glasses and blindly sat them on the stand.

“You don't need them. You can see me anywhere.”

Harry lifted himself above her. “Are you sure about this, `Mione? I don't want you to think I expect anything.”

“Well I do.” She laughed as she kissed his neck, enjoying the way his skin felt beneath her lips. “I've wanted this for a while. I started wondering at about fourteen. Of course then, it was only about whether or not you were a good kisser. By the time I got to be sixteen, you made some very interesting guest appearances in quite a few of my dreams.”

“We'll have to see if I measure up then.”

Hermione grew serious, raised her arms so he could remove her shirt. “You've never fallen short, Harry. Not with me. It'll be perfect. If only because it's with you.”

Touched beyond belief, Harry lowered his mouth to hers. “I think I love you, Hermione. I think I always have. Since that first day when you burst into our car and showed Ron up at spells.”

“Good, because I love you too. Make love to me, Harry. Here, now… We can't know if we'll ever have another chance.”

So he did. Softly and tenderly, as if they had all the time in the world, and he intended to make use of every single second of it. He tasted her skin, explored the wonderful curves and valleys of her body. Found all the places that made her writhe and sigh. The back of her knees, the side of her breast, a spot just below her bellybutton. And when he slid into her, there was no pain, only immense pleasure. Because amidst a war between good and evil, in a world where simply living was putting yourself in danger, and the basic choice was fight or die, two people had managed to find each other, and in each other, found solace, acceptance, trust, loyalty, friendship, and love. And that, in and of itself was a miracle.

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There's Chapter 11. Some Harry/Hermione to make everyone happy. Stay tuned for some laughs tomorrow. I'm sensing a very awkward scene between a few very specific people in the kitchen the morning after. Don't forget to review.

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Thank you so much! I woke up this morning and had twenty-two reviews waiting for me. That's the biggest response I have ever gotten to one chapter. Also, to a couple reviewers, if I made the chapters longer, there wouldn't be one every single day. Also, I picked Katie Bell because I wanted a bit of a shock factor. I didn't want Hermione's response to be `oh yeah. I thought those two had a thing'; Katie was off the grid. I also love the way Draco's developing. Contrary to popular belief, most authors will tell you that they don't consciously have any control over the way their characters behave. I know I certainly don't. They do what they want and I'm just one who types what they want me to. Keep reviewing, and don't forget to vote on August 15^th.

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Hermione opened her eyes, saw that her face was buried in a decidedly male chest. Holding her breath, she wiggled away from Harry and sat up. A glance at the clock told her he wouldn't be up for hours. It was only seven on a Sunday morning. She liked to get up and do her reading, but the boys typically liked to sleep in.

She couldn't believe she'd slept with Harry. Not just once, but three times. She'd have just fallen asleep and he'd wake her up again, with either his hands or his mouth, and one time both. She was only seventeen! What had she been thinking?!

Hermione shook her head. There was nothing wrong with it. She loved him, and that was the most important thing. And with the war they were fighting and the life they lived, every day could be the day that one or all of them died. That meant it was important to pack as much living as possible into the time that they had. And, she'd be nineteen in a month. She was an adult as far as the Ministry was concerned.

Carefully, she eased out of the bed, grabbed her robe and wrapped it around herself. She thought about using her bathroom, but figured that the noise would wake Harry. So she brushed out her hair and put it back up, and carried her toothbrush and toothpaste downstairs.

She was crossing through the kitchen when she ran into Ginny and Luna. To her shock, the other two women were also carrying toothbrush and paste and heading for the powder room off the kitchen. Ginny moved first, clapping her hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles.

Hermione didn't really find anything funny about the situation. It was awkward, and if Ron found out his sister had slept with Draco, if Harry found out Ginny had slept with Draco, there would be bloodshed and possibly death by noon. But Hermione found herself giggling too.

Luna, who wasn't as loony as everyone typically thought she was, spoke. “Well, it would seem that all three of the guys in this house got lucky last night.”

That made the other two women roar. Ginny grabbed the counter for support, managed to choke out a sentence. “If Draco was any indication, we all got pretty lucky too.”

Hermione sat down in a kitchen chair and doubled over to try and control the laughter. “They're going to kill each other!”

“They'd be hypocrites.” Luna said, managing to control the laughter.

“They're men!” Ginny moved to sit down, ended up sitting on Hermione. They tumbled backwards out of the chair and onto the floor. “Of course they're hypocrites!” she choked out. Hermione was laughing so hard that her stomach hurt and her eyes were watering. “We're going to wake them up!”

“Too late.” Hermione sat up, her laugh having turned to hiccoughs. Draco and Ron had stumbled in from down the hall, and Harry was standing on the bottom step. All three men were wearing nothing more than boxer shorts. The situation was enough to make Ginny start giggling again. Draco reached down and heaved her to her feet.

“And just what the bloody hell is so funny?” Ron demanded. “What the hell are you doing here, Ginny? Don't you have your own bed to sleep in?” he looked at the couch. “Good Merlin, woman, why didn't you get a blanket out of the closet?”

Hermione buried her face in Harry's neck, helpless to do anything but laugh. She was embarrassed beyond all reason, and it was showing no sign of letting up. Harry patted her back, rather confused by the whole thing. Draco seemed to be the only one who knew exactly what was going on.

The man in question stretched and walked to the sink to pour himself a glass of water. “Because she didn't sleep on the couch. And Hermione, you may want to tie that robe a little tighter before we all get a great view of what Potter was seeing all night.”

Hermione and Harry blushed, and Hermione cinched her robe tighter around her waist so that Harry briefly considered the possibility that she would just cut herself in half. When that didn't happen, he turned back to the other four inhabitants of the kitchen. Ron was either in disbelief, or much more daft than Harry had ever considered him to actually be.

“So where did Ginny sleep? On the floor, or with Harry and Hermione?”

Hermione giggled into her hands. That would have made the previous night into a very, very awkward situation instead of the beautiful one that it had been. “No, she didn't sleep with us.”

“And if the noises I heard at about three o'clock this morning were any indication,” Luna said, from the stove where she was competently scrambling eggs and frying bacon. She'd decided it was time for breakfast, and since no one else was, had also decided to cook it. “That would be a very good thing. And Ron, stop being stupid. She slept with Draco.”

The kitchen exploded in a flurry of activity. Ron tackled Draco, Harry launched himself into the fray, really intent on separating the two, but not at all concerned if he threw a punch or two. Ginny shrieked and leapt onto a chair to avoid the mass of rolling bodies. And Luna stood calmly at the stove, buttering bread for toast. Hermione threw out her hands.

“Diffindo!”

The three men flew apart. Harry landed on the table, Ron crashed into the china cabinet, and Draco soared into the back of the couch. Hermione heard the sickening sound of all her best dishes shattering, some over Ron's head. Ginny stood and looked around, as if looking to make sure that they were still alive. Luna turned to face everyone else, not the least bit affected by the melee.

The toast popped up, and Luna smiled. “Breakfast!” she announced happily.

Hermione stepped off the stairs and took stock of the situation. Harry was laid flat across the table. Luna had just sat the carton of orange juice on one of his thighs, not seeming to notice what it was she was doing. Ron was groaning from the pile of shattered dishes, and nursing a bloody nose and busted lip. His eyes were already blooming in a wide array of color. Draco had managed to sit up, was breathing heavily, but seemed to have given more that he'd gotten. There was just a small cut at the edge of one eyebrow that Hermione imagined would turn into a scar that would drive witches crazy.

All in all, it was humorous. Three men in their underwear, three women wearing nothing more than bathrobes, and a bloody brawl complete with broken plates, a busted couch, and breakfast. Helpless, Hermione started to laugh again. It was so completely ridiculous that laugh was the only thing she could do. She'd never have believed it if someone had told her about what had just happened in her kitchen.

Harry lifted his head and glared at Hermione. “And just what the buggering hell is so damn funny?”

“This.” She gestured. “Harry, Luna is serving breakfast off of your body, Draco's going to have a neat scar that all the women will love, Ron has a bloody nose, a fat lip and a black eye, Ginny's standing on top of a chair so that she doesn't get dragged into the fray and every dish I own just got busted over Ron's head.”

Harry lay back down and laughed, knocking the orange juice off his thigh. “This shouldn't be funny.” He looked at Luna, who was holding a plate of toast over his face. “Don't. Wait until I get up.” He sat and let Hermione pull him to his feet. “What was the point of all this?”

Ginny answered as she stepped off the chair and sat in it. “Ron was mad that I slept with Draco, despite the fact that I am a fully grown witch.”

Ron stirred. “I'm still going to kick your ass, Malfoy.”

“Good luck with that.” Draco said, managing to get to his feet. He joined Ginny at the table. Harry offered Ron a hand and pulled him up.

Hermione helped Luna set the table, thankful the other woman had gotten the correct number of dishes out before Ron had crashed into the cabinet. “Well. Let's eat.”

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Harry was sweeping the remnants of the plates off of the floor. He'd been elected to do it because he was the only male who didn't need to be nurses and the women were dressing and getting ready for the day. He swept them into the dustpan and dumped it in the trash. He noticed a large chunk sticking out from beneath the cabinet and stooped down to retrieve it. His hand brushed the bottom, and he felt the edge of what appeared to be a door.

Hopeful that Hermione had spare dishes in the bottom portion, and that he, Ron and Draco wouldn't have to buy her new ones, he opened it. Nothing but dirt, dust and one old goblet left sitting in the corner of the bottom shelf. Still hopeful that there was a chance the goblet would help to appease Hermione, he picked it up and carried it to the sink.

“Hey Herms!”

Hermione came to the top of the stairs. “Yeah?”

“Did you know this goblet was under the china cabinet?”

Curious, Hermione walked downstairs, her hair still wet around her shoulders, wearing shorts and a camisole. Harry had brief thoughts about nipping at her shoulders before handing her the goblet he'd washed off. “No. Where did you find this?”

“In the bottom part of the china cabinet.”

“The bottom part of the china cabinet?”

Harry walked over and opened the door. “Down here.”

“I didn't know that was there. The cabinet was here when we moved in, remember?”

He didn't, but he wasn't going to tell her that. “Sure. So it belonged to the previous owner?”

“It would seem. This is old, Harry. Really old.” Hermione went to her laptop computer, and started typing furiously. “Oh my God.”

“What?” Harry went to look over her shoulder. “What is it?”

“This is a search engine that I helped the Ministry design to make searching records easier for all of us. I'm searching housing records so I can find out who lived her before us.”

“Well, what's that have to do with anything?”

“The previous owner was Bellatrix Black. She moved out sixteen years ago and no one has lived here since. Everyone thought that when she went to prison the apartment was probably cursed or something. Harry, we think the fifth Horcrux is Helga Hufflepuff's goblet. This is a very old goblet left in Bellatrix's apartment, which is who we think had it in the first place. No one would have found it when they cleaned out the apartment, and she's probably forgotten about it, or thinks it's safe and sitting in some warehouse with the rest of her stuff.”

Hermione took the goblet and went to the sink. She scrubbed until the engraving became visible. Harry's jaw dropped as it did so. “Can you test that for validity?”

“No, but Draco can. He wrote a recipe for a potion that will destroy the Horcruxes. Anything that isn't a Horcrux will come out intact. He wrote it before he came to us, and showed it to me last night after dinner. It should work. He's an excellent Potion master.”

“Go get him then. We need to test this. If it is a Horcrux, we need to destroy it now.”

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Draco worked on the potion without stopping all day. It took that much observation and supervision. Hermione was the only one allowed in the kitchen while he was working, as he knew she was the least likely to mess him up, and would be more help than hindrance. Even with her help for most of the afternoon, it was after nine o'clock when they finished. By that time, Ron and Harry had contacted the Weasleys, Harry's parents, Sirius and Lupin. They were all in the living room, waiting anxiously to find out if it would work or not.

Draco walked into the living room, pushing his cauldron. “It's done, but no one touch it. Granger, bring me that cup.”

Hermione handed him the goblet and watched as he carefully lowered in into the bubbling pink potion. There was a strange hissing sound, and the bubbles sped up, steam increasing and the smell becoming worse. There was nothing pretty about it.

After a few minutes, Draco stuck his arm in and felt around. He searched for a full minute, then withdrew his arm, wiping the goop off of it. “It's gone. Congratulations, Potter. Five down, two to go.”

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All right, Chapter 12 got a good response from people. I really liked all my reviews. Though I do want to address a couple things about the Horcrux.

I had originally intended to make finding that Horcrux less of an accident, and more of an adventure, but I don't intend to make this into a totally long fiction. I was considering ending it at about twenty chapters, and there's still a lot of stuff I want to cover in it. So that means I had to either cut some things out, or add a couple chapters and make a couple things a bit easier. The goblet just didn't appeal to me, as far as my creative tastes. It seemed like people would get bored if I wrote a whole chapter about them searching for a cup. Nagini, as the sixth Horcrux, will take up the entire next chapter. Something that can fight back and that I can sort of give a personality to will be much more interesting to both write and read.

And about Bellatrix. She was put in prison. Arrested and locked in Azkaban. That means she didn't have time to take care of the Horcrux then. By the time she escaped, fourteen years had passed, and she'd been living with Dementors for nearly a decade and a half. Once she got out, she only wanted to find Lord Voldemort. And in my mind, Bellatrix isn't the brightest crayon in the box. I'll explain the rest in the story.

And while I'm thinking about it, I'm trying something new in this chapter. There's a scene from Malfoy Manor in which Voldemort and Lucius are deciding what to do with Scrimgeour. So far they've all been talked about but never seen. Let me know how I did on it.

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Harry paced in front of the gathered members of the Order. The Weasleys were present, along with several Professors from Hogwarts, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Draco, Lily and James, Sirius, and Lupin. “I just don't understand how this could have been so easy.”

Lily lifted a hand to draw the attention onto her. “Harry, sweetheart, I knew Bellatrix growing up. She's always been scatterbrained, and way too reliant on blind luck to get her through things. When she lived here, your father and I were working for the order. The place was always a mess, you couldn't find anything, and honestly, there probably wasn't a better hiding place for that thing than in the bottom of a Muggle china cabinet. No witch or wizard would have looked there. She's either forgotten she had it, which wouldn't surprise me as she spent fourteen years getting sucked dry by Dementors, or she's relying on that blind luck again. She probably knows no one but a witch or wizard would live here, and figures that they aren't going to be looking inside anything Muggle. She's a moron.”

Hermione agreed. “She's evil, Harry. Who can explain what goes on inside the head of someone that evil? I know it seems a little easy, but there really isn't anything easy about it.” She paused to take a breath. “You destroyed a Horcrux when you were twelve. And that diary was able to fight back. Look at what it did to Ginny. The ring, the other one, the locket and the cup were just everyday magical items that no one would look at twice. Which may have been the point, but I think it was rather stupid. Those things can't fight back, and Voldemort had to rely completely on the people he entrusted with the Horcruxes. People make mistakes, and evil people have no loyalties. When push comes to shove, they're all out for themselves and no one else. Bellatrix probably knows we're living here and knows we'd kill her if she came back. She's probably thinking, “well, it's just one. There are six more out there. Even if they do find it, it won't hurt him.” She's out to protect herself. So, her selfishness and greed is our good luck.”

Lily patted Hermione on the back, beaming. “I couldn't have said it better myself. Now, I really think that we all need a day, or at least an evening, which is what we have, of fun. You kids need to relax and regroup. We need everyone sharp and at their best if we're going to kill Nagini. She's just a snake, but she's got part of Voldemort inside of her. That makes her very, very dangerous. I think it's also safe to say that once we do kill Nagini, Voldemort will have to become aware of the loss of the six Horcruxes.”

McGonagall spoke for the first time. “I think we should also consider the possibility that Voldemort will again attack Hogwarts. Many of the most loyal and talented witches and wizards teach there. Still many others have children there, along with friends and family. It would be a great blow to our side if the school was to fall. And without Dumbledore, we are weak. I'm afraid I'm a less than adequate replacement.”

“Professor, you ran that school as much as he did.” Harry said, finally sitting down. “Whenever Dumbledore was out on business, when we were finding the Horcrux, that was all you. Also, you've kept it safe for two years already. I think Voldemort may not be scared of you, but I'm fairly certain you make him nervous. I know I wouldn't want to fight you in a duel.”

McGonagall didn't blush, but it was close. “Thank you, Mr. Potter. I disagree, but it is nice to know I have the support of my previous students.”

James stood. “That's enough of this for tonight. We aren't going to get anywhere. I do agree with Minerva though. I think we should very quietly move into the castle. Minerva, can you put a hold on all outgoing and incoming Owls? We don't want any of our Slytherin friends to take the initiative and tell on us.”

“I'll arrange it tomorrow morning.”

“Good. Now, I think we should have dinner, because I know I'm starving, and then just have fun.”

Lily knew that with the Marauders around, fun was quickly going to turn into drunk. She just sighed, and accepted the reality. She'd have to drag her husband and his two best friends to bed, and would probably be thoroughly embarrassed in the process.

Molly shook her head. “We have to get home, Lily. Percy's due in with Penelope and the baby. They were attacked last night. They managed to get away, but it will be much easier to protect them at the Burrow. With so many people staying there, no Death Eater will dare. Too many witches and wizards.”

Lily was instantly concerned. “Are they all right?”

“Not a scratch. Percy may not have used his abilities in a while, but he hasn't forgotten how to curse people. He and Penelope knocked them both out cold and turned them over to the Ministry. However, before either could be questioned, they killed one another.”

“You can't trust the Ministry, Molly. Remember, Scrimgeour is a Death Eater. And it won't be too long before they know about James and I being out. If they don't already.”

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Voldemort was sitting on his throne. He'd had Lucius procure it for him when he'd moved into the Malfoy house. Lucius was sitting on his right side, Nagini on his left. In front of him was Scrimgeour, bowing on his knees, begging for mercy.

“I am sorry, my Lord. I have no idea how it happened.”

“They are all three gone?”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“And do you know who is responsible?”

“The whole thing reeks of Potter, Weasley, and Granger.” Lucius sneered, glaring at Scrimgeour. “Are you telling us, Rufus, that you couldn't even keep our three biggest advantages safe from a trio of eighteen year olds?”

“You didn't manage to stop a duo of twelve year olds, did you Lucius?” Scrimgeour wasn't going to go out alone, and he wasn't going to go out without a bang. “Stopped the diary from killing the youngest Weasley. Got your best house elf taken away and had the diary destroyed. I'd say that's a big failure as well.”

“That was a necessary loss.” Voldemort dismissed the accusation with a wave of one pale, thin hand. “And Lucius has more than made up for his indiscretions by aiding my return to corporeal form. All has been forgiven. And no one has recruited more Death Eaters than he has. You, however, you're Minister of Magic! How could you not know what is going on in your own department!” Voldemort rose to face his Death Eater. His eyes were reminiscent of those of a snake, his skin strangely scale like. His voice practically slithered. “You are incompetent, and I will not tolerate that under any circumstances! Do you understand me?”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Neither will I tolerate a failure of this magnitude. You have lost us a great chance at a casualty free victory over these teenagers. Do you fully understand that?”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Good. At least you have basic brain functions. I don't mind losing Death Eaters for a purpose such as the one we are undertaking. Victories are rewarded, and failures are punished. Were you not rewarded richly for your success in finding the chamber, despite the fact that you stumbled onto it completely by accident?”

“I was, my Lord. Very richly.”

“And Severus sat in Nagini's place for killing Dumbledore. The greatest victory a Death Eater had had since Pettigrew betrayed the Potters to Severus. He will always be remembered as a hero among us. One who died bravely and fought gallantly for our cause.”

“He will, my Lord. Very brave. Very gallant.”

“You, Scrimgeour, you will never sit at my elbow. Your failure is beyond comprehension. You have possibly cost me this battle, do you understand that?!” Voldemort's voice rose to a yell.

“Yes, my Lord. I'm very sorry, my Lord.”

“Your death, Scrimgeour, will be a lesson to all those who would dare fail me in a way such as this. You didn't fail in battle, fighting for me. A failure such as that would be ignored, punished lightly, or in rare cases, rewarded, as Lucius was for going against the boy who nearly cost me my life. You have lost me three people I very dearly desired, and they were asleep! No one outside this room knew about them and yet they are gone! That leaves me two possibilities.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Of the three of us, I am one hundred percent sure that I did not tell Harry Potter, or let it slip to someone who would. Lucius has been with me day and night, working with the Death Eaters, training them, helping me regain the rest of my strength. This means, Scrimgeour, that you are the only one who could possibly be responsible for this lapse.”

“I didn't tell anyone, my Lord. Please believe me.”

“Sickening how they all beg at the end.” Lucius stood to align himself with Voldemort. Voldemort gripped his second in command's arm.

“We will kill him, Lucius, and do it together. And from this moment, trust no one but one another. You have never betrayed me, and for completing this task with me, you will be rewarded.”

Lucius drew his wand. Voldemort didn't need one. By a silent consensus, they simultaneously cursed Scrimgeour. “Avada Kedavra!”

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James, Sirius, Lupin, Harry, Ron and Draco were all drunk. They'd been guzzling Ogden's Firewhiskey like it was about to stop being produced. Hermione, Lily and Ginny had stuck to Pumpkin Juice and water. Tonks, since she was about to burst with her first child, had elected to go home and to bed once the drinking had started.

The men were in the living room laughing and falling all over themselves. Lupin got off the couch and went to the CD player, pushing play. Kelly Clarkson burst through the speakers and the women groaned. Lily knew from first hand experience how badly three of the men in that room sang when they were drunk. Especially when they made up their own words, which was what they were doing. Hermione clapped her hands over her ears.

“Good Merlin help us. My eardrums are never going to be the same after this assault.”

Ginny laughed. “Draco Malfoy is singing into my hairbrush and Harry's howling into your best vase, Hermione.”

Hermione darted across the room, but didn't manage to get to Harry before he dropped the vase and it shattered on the floor. All activity stopped at that moment. Everyone was waiting to see what she would do. Hermione took a breath to speak, and James started giggling.

“Un oh.” He said in a singsong voice. “You'd better watch out. People of the female type don't like it when you bust their little silly frilly things.”

Draco nodded in drunken companionship. “She's gonna be mud.”

“Mud?” Hermione asked, confused. Lily chuckled.

“I think he means mad.”

“That's it!” Ron announced. “She'll be mad.”

“Mud, mad, it's all the same.” Sirius said solemnly. “She'll be mad mud.”

Hermione didn't know if she should be humored or insulted. “I'm not mad mud.”

“Mmkay. Mud mad then. Hermy!” Harry kissed her sloppily, and she dragged the back of her hand across her mouth.

“No kissing me when you smell like a keg.”

Draco swayed, a perfectly content on his face, a bottle of firewhiskey in the other. “Y'know Ginevra,” he slurred, “you've got great legs.”

Companionably, Harry slung an arm around Draco. “That she does, Malgoy. I always had an infection for her legs.”

Ginny was turning red. Ron leaned heavily on Draco and Harry. “You four need to stop talking about my sitter like that. She's still a baby. I need to go help Mum change her diaper.”

With that, Ron passed out, falling backward to land on James' lap. James brightened. “Aw look, Lillers. He wants to sit on Santa's lap.”

Lily grabbed Ron under the arms and lugged him off of James. Hermione pointed her wand at Ron's limp form. “Levicorpus.”

While she was levitating Ron toward his bedroom, James was pulling Lily down into his lap. “You want to sit on Santa too.”

“James, you aren't Santa Claus.” Lily stood, looked at her husband firmly. “It's time to go home.”

“Whatever you say, Mrs. Claus.”

But before Lily could get a good grip on her husband, Draco screamed. Always ready to help out a friend, the other men also shrieked. Lupin looked at Draco. “What's sa matter?”

“She's a witch!” he pointed at Hermione. “She killed Ronnikins!”

Just hearing Draco call Ron Ronnikins in that serious voice made Ginny double over with laughter. Hermione shook her head. “And you're a wizard, Draco.” She pointed to his wand. “See? That's your wand.”

Draco picked it up and looked at it studiously. Always willing to try something new, he pointed it at Hermione. “Levicorpus.”

When she flew off her feet and hovered around the ceiling, Draco again screamed. Again, three other men joined him. “What's wrong this time?” James asked when he stopped screaming.

“I'm a witch! I'm evil! I killed Hermeoninny!”

“You didn't kill me.” Hermione announced. Lily lifted her wand. “Liberacorpus.” And Hermione came back down. James goggled at his wife.

“I'm having a baby with a witch.”

Harry narrowed his eyes at his father. “I'm your baby.”

“Another one. I want another baby. A little one that cries and has diapers and drinks milk and keeps me up all night, and spits up on me, and pees on me like you did.” He seemed to consider that for a second. “Lillers, I don't want another baby. I want seventeen.”

Lily nearly fainted. “No.” she looked at Lupin. “Just where do you think you're going?”

“Home. To tell Tonks that no madder what the itchuation is, the little alien inside her is not allowed to do any of the things that your husband here just named off.” He swayed a little, then sat down on the couch. He was out like a light in ten seconds.

“I'll take him home.” Ginny said, and grabbed Lupin. She Apparated, leaving Lily and Hermione to deal with the other three. They were currently dancing in the middle of the living room floor.

“Let's get these three to bed.” Hermione took Draco by the arm, ignored the fumbling pass that he made as she dragged him to the bedroom. “Stay in here and go to sleep.”

“I don't know what sleep is. I am a shark. Sharks don't sleep.”

As if to prove his point, he bit her wrist as she laid him down. Hermione chose to ignore that as well. By the time she closed the door, he was snoring. Lily had put Harry to bed by the time she got back to the living room. She was desperately scrubbing at her mouth.

“My own son tried to kiss me.” She told Hermione dramatically. “He missed and got mostly my chin, thank God.”

“That's okay. Draco bit me and succeeded in getting that tongue of his up my nose.”

Lily looked at Hermione and the two women burst into laughter. “My God they're horrible when they're drunk.” She thought for a second. “They're out cold, and will remain so until morning. Why don't we stop and pick up Ginny at Lupin's and spend the night in our house.” She chanced a glance to where James and Sirius were cuddling on the floor, and rolled her eyes.

“Sounds good to me.” Hermione groaned as Lily tucked a maternal arm around her waist. “I have so much cleaning to do tomorrow.”

“We'll all help. Ready?”

“Yeah.”

And with that, the two witches Apparated, leaving five drunken wizards snoring in the apartment that two of them called home.

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Okay, this is a new record for me. My muse bit my ass about noon today and told me that I was writing two chapters today. I think the purpose in doing this is so that I'll have something to post while I'm gone next week at my college orientation. If I'm a day ahead of the postings, then I'll be able to keep up better, and with the judging starting in a little over a week, this is really crunch time to get everything finished. I'm even taking my laptop with me everywhere I go so that I can type in the car. Thank Merlin for the adaptor that allows me to charge the computer in the car. It's a Godsend.

I really liked the way the last chapter went. I thought it really came together nicely. It was serious at first with them deciding what was to be done, and then it got even darker with Voldemort and Lucius killing Scrimgeour, and then really light with the drunk scene. Which is where I'm opening here. I want to start off light, and then get more serious. I'm thinking that this chapter is going to focus on Nagini. Three more chapters until the battle I think. And then we'll just land on a few major events in the lives of our favorite people. It'll be great. I want to end somewhere other than the battle, so even if I run over with chapters, I don't care. I want to cover what I want to cover. Anyway, on with the story. I hope you enjoy.

Oh, and to my beta reader, I don't think you realized that there could ever be two chapters in one day. Sorry. But when my muse says write, I am helpless to do anything but write.

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Six men woke at almost the same time in five different rooms in two different places. Lupin woke cuddled up next to the dog he and Tonks had adopted, with their cat on his face. His wife was standing above him, cup of steaming anti hangover potion in her hand, looking at him sternly around her bulging stomach.

“Do anything stupid?”

Lupin shook his head and guzzled the potion, hopeful that it would burn the fur off of his tongue and make the room stop spinning. “Not that I recall. There was some singing, and then Harry broke Hermione's favorite vase and then Ron passed out and James thought he was Santa Claus and Hermione put Ron to bed and Draco screamed and we all joined in. He said that Hermione was an evil witch who killed Ronnikins. Then there was the whole baby thing. James told Lily that he wants seventeen more.”

Tonks had immediate sympathy for the other woman. “Oh my.”

“And then I said that I was going to go home and tell you that the alien you're about to deliver wasn't allowed to pee on me, or spit up on me, or keep me up at night, and a whole lot of other things, and then I passed out. Who brought me home?”

“Ginny. She was very genial about the whole thing. Lily and Hermione picked her up and they spent the night in Lily and James' new house.”

“Oh, I bet the guys over there are having fun about now.”

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Draco woke up when his head rolled off his shoulders and crashed onto the floor. Or, at least, that was what it felt like. Like he was dying and wanted to go a little quicker than he was. The room was rocking back and forth, and he seriously considered the reality that he was going to be sick. He pushed back the feeling, gripped his head with both hands and sat up. Very, very gingerly, he put his feet on the floor and noticed that he was wearing high heels.

Disgusted with himself, he kicked them off and debated on whether or not he was going to stand. He decided against it, and instead decided to try and remember if he'd done anything amazingly stupid. Or terrible. He tended to get a little wild when he was drunk.

No, nothing too bad. There had been singing, which was when he'd donned the heels, and the broken vase, and he'd called Ron Ronnikins, which was enough to make him puke. There had been a conversation about Ginny's legs during which Ron had been convinced Ginny was still a baby in need of a diaper change. That made him chuckle. Draco had thought Hermione was evil and had killed Ron, then he'd put her on the ceiling in the drunken discovery of his magical powers. There'd been a lot of screaming. That also made him laugh.

Oh God. He'd bit Hermione. Not hard, he didn't think, and that wasn't the worst thing in any case. He'd tried to kiss her and had ended up sticking his tongue up her nose. He decided right then that the hangover remedy could wait. He needed to brush his teeth. That was disgusting.

So he'd done nothing that needed to be apologized for, other than the whole Hermione thing. He'd buy her another vase, too, since he was the one who'd handed it to Harry during their drunken duet to a Muggle artist. Satisfied, he got out of bed and walked into the bathroom.

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Harry opened his eyes slowly. His head was the size of a beach ball. He was absolutely sure of that. He touch his head gently, relieved to find that that it was all in one piece. He struggled to remember what had happened the night before, and groaned.

He'd kissed Hermione and slobbered all over her, pranced around singing into her best vase, broken the same vase and had a conversation with Draco about Ginny's legs. He'd called himself a baby. Oh God, his parents wanted to have another baby. Seventeen was the number his father wanted, if he remembered correctly.

He'd kissed his mother. Harry retched, barely managed to keep from throwing up. He hadn't gotten all of her mouth though, thank Merlin. Mostly chin, he remembered. So, other than apologizing to his mother and buying Hermione a new vase, he had nothing to be sorry for.

Except for the hangover, he thought ruefully, stumbling into the bathroom, his head still in his hands. He had to get rid of the hangover. And quick. Before his head simply fell off and landed on the floor.

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Ron woke with a yelp. His head was exploding. He knew his head was going to explode if it wasn't in the process of exploding right that second. Convinced that he was going to die, he slowly made his way into the hall, hopeful that Hermione had a batch of hangover remedy in the kitchen. What he found was Sirius and James cuddling in the living room floor.

He found them by tripping over them. And sprawled on top of him was how Hermione and Lily found them when they Flooed into the living room. Hermione clapped her hands over her mouth, giggling, while Lily took charge of the situation.

“Ron, you go get in the shower Draco just vacated. James, Sirius, you two go to the house and get cleaned up. You'll all feel better when you get back, and that'll give me enough time to get the hangover stuff ready. We have work to do.”

“Work? What kind of work?” Harry asked, walking down the stairs. He felt much more human now that he had showered and gotten dressed in jeans and a black T- shirt. Human enough that when he'd heard voices, he'd felt brave enough to try and maneuver the stairs. Seeing as he was still alive, it had gone well.

“Work that involves killing a snake.” Lily said, handing her son the Daily Prophet. The article read. “Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour found murdered in his home late last night. Witnesses saw a giant snake slithering away from the Ministry and in the direction of Malfoy Manor. Aurors first on the scene confirmed that Scrimgeour had been killed before being placed in his home and that the Unforgivable Killing Curse had been used. It is believed that He Who Must Not Be Named is responsible for this tragic death.”

“We have to go get her.” Hermione said, starting work on the hangover remedy. “If she's even still there, she won't be for long, and there's no way we can know how to find her once she's gone.”

“All right then. Let's go.”

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Harry, Draco, Hermione, Ginny and Ron were going in together, and Lily, James, Sirius and Lupin were together. The five teenagers were going in the main entrance, and the adults were going in the back. They'd all used Hermione's Undetectable spell to Apparate through the wards and into the house. Draco took charge.

“Okay, they stay in the basement, and Voldemort rarely gets up before noon. He likes his sleep. That and he's typically up until nearly dawn with the Death Eaters. There're going to be guards at the door to the basement, more at the bottom of the steps, and still more at the door to Voldemort's suite. Harry, you and I will head directly there. We have the best chance of defeating that snake. Hermione, Ron and Ginny, we need you to take care of any Death Eaters in the basement, and trust me, there'll be plenty.”

Draco opened the door and they moved quickly into the house. They were all becoming visible, and once they were detected, they wouldn't have much time. He led them to the kitchen, and they could see the two Death Eaters at the door. Not ready for confrontation yet, Harry aimed his wand.

“Petrificus Totalus!”

Both Death Eaters fell to the ground, and the foursome was able to open the door. Two even bigger Death Eaters were waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Hermione took care of them. “Wingardium leviosa.” She tossed her wand in one direction and they flew into the wall. She'd simply knocked them out.

Draco grabbed Harry's arm. “Let's go. We haven't got much time.”

They took off for the door to Voldemort's suite, and Draco casually took both Death Eaters to their knees with the Cruciatus Curse. Harry was impressed that he'd managed to get both of them with one curse. Harry shouldered the door open, and Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Black, Crabbe, Goyle, their fathers, Millicent Bulstrode and Pansy Parkinson, met them.

“Well, well.” Draco said, sneering. “A Slytherin reunion. I'm so glad you could all make it.” His gray eyes shifted almost imperceptibly to the left, and Harry saw Nagini reared up off of a pillow she'd apparently been sleeping on. His gaze seemed to say, `get her. I'll handle them.'

Harry hesitated until he saw Sirius out of the corner of his eye. “Sirius!” he yelled, and ran dodging curses. One Cruciatus hit him, but his momentum kept him running until the pain became bearable. He tackled the snake. He had a feeling that the killing curse wouldn't work on her. It didn't normally affect animals.

Nagini was strong, and she was big. She was feet longer than Harry was tall, and she knew how to use that to her advantage. She lifted her fluid body so that he was suspended above the floor by about five feet. Then she jerked downward, thrashing him against the stone floor. His head rattled and his bones sang with pain, but he held on, flailing desperately for any weapon while they grappled on the floor. He could see Draco and Sirius fighting back to back and his brain registered foggily that he hadn't ever thought he would see that in a few million lifetimes.

Desperate for anything that he could use against the snake, Harry conjured a knife. A long one with a serrated edge and wicked looking blade. He stabbed at the snake, and found the skin tough as leather. He broke the blade, and only managed to produce a small amount of blood.

The Chamber of Secrets. The Basilisk had been a giant snake. He'd managed to pierce its belly with Godric Gryffindor's sword. That was it. He would kill Nagini the same way. It was only right. After all Salazar Slytherin had killed Godric Gryffindor. It would be fitting.

Struggling for breath, as the snake was on top of him and Harry honestly thought she weighed a ton, Harry grasped his wand tightly. “Accio Gryffindor's Sword!”

All activity stopped for a split second. Voldemort watched in horror as the sword flew into Harry's hand and was plunged into Nagini. The snake writhed, blood drenched Harry. She collapsed, dead, and Harry stood, faced the man who was the epitome of fear.

“You're the only one left. The diary, the ring, the cup, the locket, Nagini, the sixth, whatever it actually was. That's six. You're seven.”

Voldemort nodded. “Better than I expected. You haven't killed me yet, boy, and nor will you ever. I am protected by thousands of followers who will lay down their lives for me. Can you say the same?”

Harry shook his head. “I don't need thousands.”

To everyone's surprise, Draco stepped up beside Harry. “Not when he has us.”

Lucius leered at his son. “You would dare align yourself with him?”

“I would.”

“You will be punished.”

“Looking forward to it.” Draco said maliciously. There was a small pop as the Death Eaters all Apparated.

Hermione, Ginny, Lily, James and Lupin all rushed in. “Where'd they go?”

“They left. Apparated.”

“And you let them go?” Ginny demanded.

Harry nodded. “We did what we came to do. The rest will wait. This will make him angry.” He looked at his parents. “We need to get to the school. He'll attack there soon. He knows it's what will hurt the worst.”

“We'll leave tonight.”

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So, there you have it. Chapter 14. I hope you all enjoyed it. And it's only six o'clock. My muse is telling me I may just keep typing. If I manage three chapters today, I swear my fingers will fall off. Oh well. Such is the price I pay for my creativity. Don't forget to review and vote on August 15.

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No long Author's note this time. All I'm going to say is this: Let the Battle Begin.

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Harry paced in McGonagall's office, his every movement being followed by the three inhabitants of the room: McGonagall, Fawkes, and the portrait of Dumbledore that was hanging over the desk. Dumbledore finally spoke.

“Sit down, Harry. You're driving me batty. Minerva, I should also like an endless supply of Chocolate Frogs painted into my photo. I'm having a craving for them.”

McGonagall sighed. “Whatever you want, Albus. But do sit down, Harry. Let's discuss this.” She folded her hands on her desk. “You say that all six of the Horcruxes are destroyed.”

“Yeah. The diary, the ring, the third one we didn't find, the locket, the goblet and the snake. That's six.”

“I can count, Mr. Potter.” McGonagall said, not really irritated, but giving it her best shot. She understood the boy's irritation and urgency well. She felt the same thing herself. “That means that the only remaining part of Voldemort's soul remains in Voldemort himself. That could mean,” she pointed out, “That he will lay low until he can create another Horcrux.”

“I don't think so, Professor. He wants me dead, and he doesn't want to wait for it. And, he might think I'm bluffing. After all, how did I figure out the other Horcruxes, let alone find and destroy them?”

“Voldemort has learned not to underestimate you, Harry.” Dumbledore said solemnly. “I do not think it wise to underestimate him. He most certainly believes you. And I agree with you. He won't take the time it takes to recover from the production of another Horcrux. It's too difficult and too painful. And he honestly believes that seven is the luckiest number to have, and that because there were seven, all seven can never be destroyed. He always did believe in myth.”

“I thought nothing was a true myth.” Harry said, his brow furrowing. “I mean, everything else I thought was made up has been true in some form.”

“Most of the time it is. But in this case, there is no magical protection for the number seven. It is, as is unfortunate for Voldemort, just a number.” McGonagall said, pouring two goblets of Pumpkin Juice. “I have a spy, Harry, who has informed me that Voldemort is planning an attack on the school for tomorrow night.” She sighed, and for a second, all Harry could see was an old woman who didn't know how to protect her home. “We want to get as many of the students away from school as we can. The seventh year students we deem trustworthy and who have no ties to the Death Eaters will be given an emergency training workshop in the Room of Requirement all day tomorrow. On all the younger students, and a fair number of the seventh years Slytherins, we've arranged for an overnight trip into Hogsmeade. Members of the Order have been arriving all day. You'll have a meeting with them when we finish here.

“Harry, tomorrow, we'll have casualties. That is inevitable. But you are the only one who can defeat Voldemort. You are the only one who is connected to him. Connected in such a way that Albus and I briefly considered that you were the sixth Horcrux.”

Harry wasn't surprised, as he had also entertained the theory when Dumbledore had first told him about the Horcruxes. “I'm not one.”

“No, and thank God for it. Look, the point of all this is so that you won't, pardon the triteness of this, waste your time with other Death Eaters. I know James and Lily, as well as Sirius would like to get a hold of Peter Pettigrew and Draco will probably kill anyone who tries to get in the way of him fighting his father. Ron and Hermione want to handle Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode. They all apparently have personal vendettas. I'm disinclined to interfere. It wouldn't do me any good even if I did. And I imagine Sirius will take care of Bellatrix. She is, after all, his cousin.”

“Professor, have you called Oliver Wood?”

“This afternoon. He's an invaluable member of the Order. You'd be amazed at what people will tell a professional Quidditch player. They tend to think the players have gotten busted in the head with Bludgers too many times and can't think for themselves. He should be arriving. And he's bringing a guest.”

“You did tell him that this isn't a vacation?”

“Of course. He knows everything that's going on. He's told me that his guest graduated from Mosnars' school in South Africa as Head Girl there. When I checked our records, I found that we had invited her to join us here, but that she'd been enrolled in Mosnars since she was four. She graduated with fourteen years of instruction; very impressive resume. She was invited to be an Auror, turned down several jobs in the Ministry, including Deputy Minister, got a perfect score on both all her OWLS and NEWTS and became a Chaser for Puddlemere United.”

“Wow. That's more impressive than Hermione.”

“I would strongly suggest that you refrained from telling her that. Else we'll have a `who knows more about the history of their schools' competition going on.”

“I'll make sure not to say a word.”

“Good. Now, that's all Mr. Potter. We have meetings to attend to.”

“Yes, ma'am.” Harry stood, and exited the office. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, he found Wood and a woman studying a painting. Wood was looking bored, and the woman was enthralled, lecturing him about the artistic importance and the history. Dear Merlin, she was a blonde Hermione.

She was tall, around five nine, which was good since Wood was six foot three. She was slender, though not lacking for curves, and pretty. Her face was angular. Striking really. Big, bright blue eyes, and high, prominent cheekbones. Her jaw was square, chin slightly pointed, eyebrows slim and arched. Her hands were narrow, slim and ringless, and currently holding Wood in place so that he didn't sneak off. She apparently knew Wood very well.

“Fancy seeing you here, Mr. Quidditch player.”

Wood turned and saw Harry. “Well, if it isn't the Boy Who Lived. How're you doing?”

“Good as I can be.” The two men hugged. “McGonagall told me you were coming. Apparently you're a wealth of information to the order.”

“Just doing my part. Harry, I'd like for you to meet Alisa Morton.”

The blonde held out a hand, shook Harry's firmly. “Nice to meet you, Harry. I've heard all about your Quidditch days. According to Oliver, you not playing on the professional circuit is the disaster of the century. I've heard you were a kick ass Seeker.”

“I could hold my own.” Harry ignored the sharp tug in his gut. He had always wanted to play professionally. Maybe once the war was over, and he'd put his life back in order. Maybe then, there would be time to play. “I hear you play Chaser, Alisa.”

“She's damn good too.” Wood said proudly. “Best player I ever recruited.”

Alisa snorted. “No. I was the only one at Mosnars who looked good in the leotard we had to wear for ballet practice. The captain of my team said we needed elegance and grace as well as brawn. So we did ballet and wrestling.”

Harry could very well imagine the look on Wood's face. He laughed as the three of them started walking towards the Great Hall. Wood tucked an arm around Alisa's waist. “That wasn't it and you know it. She is damn good, Harry. I've never met a Keeper who could keep her out of the rings. Except for me, of course.”

“Of course.” Harry grinned. He'd never dreamed he'd see the day when Oliver Wood went mushy over a girl. He'd have to make it a point to get to know Alisa. She had to be pretty amazing to get Wood. He was the pickiest man Harry had ever known.

Alisa squirmed out of Wood's grasp. “I think I'm going to go find someone with a little less testosterone. Any suggestions, Harry?”

“Pretty girl, my age, brown hair and eyes, sitting with Draco Malfoy and the Weasleys. Hermione Granger.”

“I know who she is. Thanks.” Alisa walked away, and Wood sighed. Harry chuckled as they walked.

“So someone finally got ya, huh?”

“Did she ever. Great girl. Year younger than me; twenty-one. She's amazing, Harry. Smart, funny, stubborn, opinionated, best damn Chaser I've ever seen and, well, you saw her, she's gorgeous.”

“So how'd you meet?”

“Went with coach to recruit at her school. She was the one we were looking at. Everyone was looking at her. Ireland, the Cannons, Scotland, all the American teams, the Germans, the French, the Welsh. She had twelve contracts on the table. Gargantuan amounts of money and seven year contracts. That's unheard of. I only got a three year contract. Coach decided I'd have the best luck with her. We were the same age, I'd gotten offers from a lot of the same teams. And, he thought she'd fall for me. Well, he was wrong.

“At first, she looked at me like I was a bug or something. That made me determined to win her over. The deadline for accepting a contract was March first. So I showed up at her house during Winter Break, wrangled an invitation to stay out of her mother and eventually, slowly, wore her down into taking our offer.”

“So that's it?” Harry laughed. “You two aren't a couple?”

“Oh, we are, though it took me another year after that to get her to give me a chance. She said she was focused on her career, didn't have time, and didn't want to damage her reputation by dating the Captain of her team. Turns out, she was scared. Bad experience with a boyfriend when she was sixteen. Turned out he was a Death Eater, assigned to kill her.”

“Man, that sucks.”

“Does it ever. For her and me. Anyway, it took me a year, but I won her over and we've been together ever since. I don't even mind the rules.”

“The rules?”

“Her rules. No overnight stays. Her apartment is her apartment and mine is mine. She won't ever let me spend the night at her place. I always have to leave after dinner. It's getting frustrating.”

Harry really didn't want to be having the conversation. But as Wood had seen him through some pretty awkward ones, he felt like he had to give advice. “Maybe she's afraid you'll leave if she goes to bed with you.”

“I thought that at first too. But we've been together a year. Hell, Harry, I'm in love with the woman. I want to marry her.”

“Then she's worth the wait. And,” he added, a grin on his face. “It'll do you good not to get everything you want when you want it.”

“I don't get anything I want when I want it with her.”

“Which is probably part of the reason you love her so much. She isn't afraid to tell you no. It's good for you. So just grit your teeth and bear it.” Harry waved at Hermione. “I had to wait for her for eight years. And God knows I did a lot of waiting.”

“You and Hermione?”

“Me and Hermione.” They sat down with the women, ready for the meeting to start. That was when a student who looked no older than thirteen ran in.

“The Dark Mark! It's over the school! The Death Eaters are coming!”

Everyone in the Great Hall leapt to their feet. First on most minds were the students. They had to make sure the students were safe. McGonagall stood up. “Heads of Houses to the Common Rooms. Find every student and get them into their dorms. Now!”

Everyone moved, and did it quickly. Hermione and Wood went with Harry. After a quick, desperate look around the Great Hall, Alisa grabbed Ginny's arm. “Come on, we'll go together. Better not to be alone.”

Ginny nodded, then gestured to the ceiling. “Oh, my God.”

Everyone stopped and looked. Voldemort was sailing down from the ceiling, resplendent in billowing black robes. He was flanked by Lucius and Bellatrix. From the main hallway, Harry could hear a rush of people. There were hundreds of Death Eaters. Voldemort spread his arms, landed in Dumbledore's chair.

“Let the battle begin.”

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I know, a cliffie. But here's an additional twist. I'm not updating until I get twenty-five reviews on this chapter. So review or you won't find out what happens next.

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Though none of you will see this chapter until Monday, it is Saturday morning at about noon and I am on my way to the Dublin Irish Festival. I'm on my laptop and starting my first chapter of the day. I wrote three full-length chapters yesterday. I still have the third to post on Sunday. I would post them all at once, but I want the reviews for each chapter individually. I get more feedback that way. People don't tend to review every chapter if there's more than one new one to read. They wait until the end, and I don't like that nearly as much. So, you have to wait with bated breath while I decide when to post. Ha ha just kidding there. I hope you're enjoying everything so far. And don't forget to review and to vote next week. I'm hoping to at least place.

Congratulations, I got 27 reviews on chapter 15. And I don't think it was blackmail, merely incentive to get to see this chapter, the battle scene. Keep reviewing, I think I'll hold out for 25 more.

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Harry lifted his wand, strode directly toward Voldemort. All around, he could see people running to fight the Death Eaters that were charging the Great Hall. He saw Hermione and Wood with their backs facing each other and fighting several Death Eaters. He was glad that Wood was with her. He was one of the few people Harry knew would die to save a friend without a second thought. He trusted Wood, and knew he'd take care of Hermione.

Ron was facing off with Crabbe and Goyle, and Ginny was keeping Death Eaters away from Draco, who was dueling with his father and uncle. Lily and James had split up, and James was after Pettigrew, who had seen them and run. Lily was taking on Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Black.

Harry and Voldemort circled one another, their faces masks of total concentration. Harry doubted that anything short of the Great Hall falling in on them could have shaken their determination. Wands were lifted; their eyes were locked onto the eyes of the other.

Harry spoke first, his voice low and dangerous. More hate was coursing through him than he'd ever thought was possible. It was clouding his vision with red spots, making his whole body shake with anger. “I've waited for this day for seventeen years.”

“As have I, young Harry Potter. You have cost me a great number of followers, some of those most loyal to me. For that you must pay.”

“You'll be the one to pay for your crimes, Voldemort. You're the one who's killed thousands of people.”

“We're at war. In war there are casualties.”

“In war you don't kill those people on your own side. The only reason people stay with you is because they're scared of what you'll do if they don't. That's fear, not loyalty.”

`”They're loyal enough when they kill members of the Order of the Phoenix for me. Let's get this started boy. Once I kill you, I will rule the wizarding world. After that, it's just a matter of time before I rule the Muggle one as well.”

Harry lifted his wand. Voldemort did the same. Neither man was scared of the other, and both knew that what they were doing had been predetermined years before when Voldemort had made the prophecy into a reality. Both could not live in the same world. One had to die so that the other could live. There was no medium. And Harry was fully prepared to take another life. Voldemort's life. It was a life that he would happily take.

But Voldemort had an advantage. He could cast spells just using his mind. It was the sign of a very accomplished wizard. Even Dumbledore hadn't been able to do that for long stretches of time, but Voldemort was perfectly capable of fighting the entire battle and never lifting a wand nor uttering a word.

Harry had tried to master the art, working for hours, days at a time. He could do a little, but not for long. His limit was one or two spells at most. For a wizard his age that was phenomenal, but it wasn't good enough.

He was going to have to rely on something other that magic. Something that he hadn't been able to find throughout his eighteen years. He was going to have to fully trust himself and give himself over to blind instinct.

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Hermione dragged Wood across the Great Hall to Ron. She quickly flicked her wand and Petrified the Death Eater he had been fighting. “Come on. We have to help Harry.”

Ron looked over his shoulder and saw Harry dueling with Voldemort. “I think we can best help him by keeping the Death Eaters away from him. We don't want them interfering.”

“No, we can help him by giving him our magic.”

Ron gaped at her. “What the bloody hell do you mean?”

“I mean, I developed a magic transfer spell. Wood, you'll have to keep the Death Eaters off of us, but if we give Harry our powers then he'll have three times the magic of Voldemort and be able to defeat him.”

Wood punched a Death Eater in the face, recognized him as Marcus Flint. He wasn't surprised. Wood had always preferred using his fists in a fight to his wand. More satisfying that way. “Look, Hermione, you're the best witch in this room aside from Lily Potter and Professor McGonagall. We can't afford to have you drain yourself.”

Ron nodded. “I'll do it then. But keep them off of me.”

“I'll do it too.”

Hermione looked over to see Neville Longbottom. She didn't stop to question why he was there or how he'd gotten there. She pointed her wand at both of them. “Malectus Transferum!”

A silvery substance that resembled a memory came out of both of them and Hermione directed it into Harry.

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Harry felt two things hit him at the same time, and felt more powerful than he'd ever been before in his life. Hermione. It had to have been one of Hermione's new spells that she'd developed for the battle. He was going to help her get a job in the Spell, Curse and Charm Development Center once everything settled down. He grinned at Voldemort.

“Prepare to die, Riddle. Your reign is up.”

Voldemort turned his face toward the ceiling and laughed. “You think that you can defeat me, boy? The greatest dark wizard of all time? Me, who's name most are afraid to even utter? Whose mark strikes fear in every witch or wizard not a part of my army? I think not. However, you're welcome to try.” He threw out his arms and Harry was tossed across the room. He crashed into a stone wall and sagged to the floor. His wand was broken. He was bleeding from a gash on his head, and he was vaguely aware of blood in his eyes. “Crucio.”

Harry screamed as the pain ricocheted through his body. He'd had the Cruciatus Curse put on him before, but never had it hurt that badly. He charged to his feet, not realizing that he was throwing curses at Voldemort with nothing more than thinking them. Voldemort stumbled backward, surprise and shock written all over his face. The room began to shake from all the power in it, and rocks were falling from the ceiling and the walls. People were screaming and crying as curses were tossed from wand to person and back again.

Harry didn't see any of it. All he could see was Voldemort and his past. Thinking his parents were dead, almost losing all his friends, nearly dying more times than he cared to think about. Being tricked and kidnapped and injured. Threatened and frightened until he could barely close his eyes for fear that he and everyone close to him would meet the same fate as his parents. He could see grief over Cedric and Sirius and Dumbledore and everyone else who had died. Guilt for deaths he hadn't been able to stop. Anger for the lives that he had been forced to take.

It hadn't been easy, and he'd never been able to relax and live a normal life. He'd lived in a closet for ten years because of the man in front of him. He'd grieved over parents that weren't dead because of him. Every bad thing that had ever happened to Harry was directly traceable back to Voldemort.

Voldemort stumbled, and fell. Harry stood over him, ready to kill, when a body slammed into him. Lucius. He'd gotten away from Draco and ran to help his master. Harry punched and kicked and scratched. He didn't care what he did; he just had to get away. He had to kill Voldemort before he escaped. There was no other choice. He had to.

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Draco limped in the direction of Harry. His father had gotten away. He'd killed his uncle. His mother was dead. Lily had killed her and Bellatrix. That surprised him. His mother didn't normally come to battles. But she had, and she had died. Draco wasn't surprised to find that he felt no grief.

He was nearly there when he saw Ginny. She was so brave, fighting men with thirty years of training on her and twice her size, and winning. She truly belonged in Gryffindor. She amazed him. And then, like it was in slow motion, a Death Eater crossed behind her, and stepped in front. Her eyes widened as she recognized him as Pansy Parkinson's father. He lifted his wand and sent the Killing Curse in her direction before she could even get her wand up.

With a yell, Draco dove, launching himself into the air and tackling Ginny. The curse missed her and struck him squarely in the back. To his surprise, it was deflected off of him, chased out of his body by a Patronus in the shape of a stag. He looked up and saw James standing above him and Ginny, wand out. He aimed the killing curse back at Parkinson and his body flew backward, propelled by the curse. He was dead before he hit the ground.

“It's a good thing you just did, Draco. You saved her life. You were going to die for her.”

Draco gaped at Harry's father. He hadn't really realized, up until that moment, that he had truly been willing to give his life for any one of them. It wouldn't have mattered if it had been Ron about to be killed. They were the only people who had ever given him the chance to be anything other than evil. They had, in essence, given him a life worth living. And if necessary, he was willing to give his life to return the favor.

All he could do was nod. There was nothing that needed to be said. Nothing that he could say. All that was needed was communicated silently. With a nod. And after only another split second, James dashed to tear Lucius from his son. Draco was right behind him. Lucius was his fight. And he could understand why James would want to kill Lucius, but it was his fight. He deserved to kill his father. And more than that, he needed to; he couldn't rest until he had.

James reached down and bodily lifted Lucius from Harry. He tossed him to the ground, leaving Draco to deal with him. He'd decided that father and son needed to hash things out on their own. And Draco wouldn't have stood for anyone else killing his father.

Harry climbed to his feet and pushed past his father. James didn't want to, but he stood back. The two young men were more alike than they would ever be comfortable with. They were both fighting evils that had ruled their existence for as long as they could remember. And they both had to end it themselves. They had to fight their own battles.

Harry felt more power add to what he'd already received. He chanced a glance and saw Hermione crumble to the ground. She'd given him her power because the other was wearing off. Knowing the boost wouldn't last more than five minutes, he ran across the room. The battle was done. The only two Death Eaters not dead or knocked out were Lucius and Voldemort.

Harry threw out his arms, and the curse burst from his lips, the same one that was forcing its way from Draco's throat at that very instant. “Agnaphos Hagnela!”

Voldemort's body bent at an inhuman angle. He collapsed, his head bouncing on the hard stone floor and cracking open. Blood sprayed and his body jerked once as he died. Across the Great Hall, Lucius Malfoy echoed the scene. Draco had also succeeded.

Harry looked around the Great Hall. The floor, tables, even the chairs were littered with bodies. Most of them were Death Eaters, but a fair share were teachers, and members of the Order. They'd all known they could die that night, and some of them had.

Hermione was stirring, her power returned since the reason for its need had been abated. Harry bent, lifted her off the ground and hugged her fiercely. “I love you.”

Hermione held onto him tightly, not wanting to let go. “I thought you would die.”

“So did I for a second there. And it's because of your spell that I didn't.” he eased away from her and walked across the room, her hand held tightly in his. He stopped in front of Draco. “Malfoy.”

Draco had a busted mouth, a bloody nose, a gash on the side of his head, and was limping from an obviously broken ankle. “Potter.”

Harry extended a hand. “Thank you.”

Draco took it, grinning despite himself. “Anytime, Potter. Anytime.”

“Couldn't have done it without you.”

“And don't think I won't remind you of it.”

“Not for a second. Friends?”

Draco considered that for a second, and then gave one sharp nod. “Friends.”

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I like that ending. Don't forget to review. I want 25 before the next chapter comes out. And as I didn't post the last one until I got 25, you all know I mean it. So review if you want to know what happens next.

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I hope you all enjoyed the battle scene. It took up two chapters, and that's a first for me. I know it wasn't all of the fifteenth chapter, but you're just gonna have to deal with it. It's my story, and that's the way I wanted it. So that's the way it is. Besides, a lot of people would get bored if I dragged it out too long. Anyway, the rest of the chapters will just be like vignettes. Long vignettes, but vignettes none the less. They'll just be dropping in a turning points in the lives of out favorite characters. Six more chapters. I'm stopping at 23. That's the chapter scheduled for Monday the fifteenth. The day that voting starts. I don't want to update during the judging, so I'm going to end at twenty three chapters. I think that's a good length. I am taking votes on the names of their kids. Lily and James will be needing two names, both girls. Harry and Hermione will need the names of girl, Ron and Luna will need three boys' names, and I've already got one picked out for Draco and Ginny. Start sending me your suggestions. I would prefer the names to mean something, but it's not a requirement.

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It was over. That was all Harry could think of as the body count was totaled and families were notified. It was all he could think about as the survivors went to the hospital wing and St. Mungo's. It was all he could think about as he fell asleep in the Head Boy dormitory that night, Hermione pressed close to his back. It was he could think about at the funerals over the next days. And it was all he could think about during the celebration.

There was no more Voldemort. No more Lucius Malfoy. No more Death Eaters. No more Dark Lord. And that was amazing. That let everyone sleep peacefully at night. And that made Harry reevaluate his life.

He had no more mission. There was no point in being an Auror. Sure, there were still rogue groups of Death Eaters who would cause problems from time to time, but Harry no longer wanted that life. He'd lived it since age eleven. Been forced into it. He wanted to choose his path. And he wanted to play Quidditch. He wanted to continue living with Hermione and Ron, and hell, Draco, Ginny, and Luna if they all wanted to stay. He wanted his friends to choose a life. He wanted to get to know his parents, and have Sunday dinner at the Weasley house followed by a rough and tumble game of football in the back yard.

The celebration had lasted for a month. Every time they'd turned around, Harry, Hermione and Ron were being interviewed for some paper, written about in a history book or made Grand Marshall of someone's parade. Books were written, they were made infamous. Moreso than they had been at the beginning. They would forever be known about, and no one would forget them. They were offered jobs everywhere, amazing amounts of money. They were heralded as heroes. To them, they'd just done what had to be done.

And in the end, Harry supposed that was what made them different from everyone else. They hadn't set out to be heroes. They'd have been more than happy to just have a normal life, grow up and get married, work a plain job, have a couple kids, and be the coolest grandparents ever. As long as they were in the lives of the others, they were happy.

Six months passed and it seemed like six hours. Their lives were that full of things. Wood proposed to Alisa, and a date was set for August, six months further into their Voldemort free future. It came and went. There was a beautiful ceremony, and Harry was Best Man. Hermione, who had become friends with Alisa served as Maid of Honor. It was a Muggle ceremony in a Muggle church. It was filled with witches and wizards. Alisa's parents were Muggles.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Draco and Luna bought a house. A huge house. With six incomes, they could afford it. It was larger than Malfoy manner. And if anyone had told with Harry or Draco while they were in school that they would be roommates, both would have punched the messenger. But there they were, friends and sharing a house.

Hermione accepted a teaching position at Hogwarts teaching Transfiguration. McGonagall agreed to let her commute. Her Floo was always open to students who had questions, and she was always there by eight o'clock, despite the fact that her first class wasn't until ten. She had Tuesdays, Fridays, and weekends off. She was making double what any of the other teachers were.

Ron was Keeper for the Chudley Canons. He'd been offered a seven figure salary playing for his favorite team, and had snapped it up. He had let a few goals be scored, but not enough to lose a game his first season. He'd never been happier, and his friends were happy for him.

Draco had taken over all his father's businesses, made them all legal, and sold all but three of them. He worked from home, running a real estate company, a small private pre Academy school that instructed children of witches and wizards from age four to ten, and took over his father's gubernatorial position. He even managed to be nice to the house elves.

Ginny entered into a Healer program. She'd always wanted to be one, and was talented enough that she made it through the two year program in eleven months. She was hired on at St. Mungo's and worked with Curse Victims. She was very good, and enjoyed her job immensely.

Luna ran the Quibbler. She kept the outrageous stories, but threw in a couple that covered actual news every once in a while. It threw people off. She liked that. The battle had settled her down. She stopped being so scatterbrained, and turned into a person that everyone really grew to like. She still had her moments, but they were few and far between.

And Harry. Harry was probably the one who had known immediately what he wanted to do. He'd showed up at Puddlemere's tryouts, and won the spot. He'd signed a ten year contract, which had never before been done, and received a yearly salary of double what had been in his parents' vault. He never lost a game the first season. He and Ron played in different divisions, so there was never cause for competition between best friends.

Lily, James and Sirius went into business together. They opened a wonderful store in Diagon Alley. It dealt in everything. Robes, wands, which Lily made herself. Hermione swore they were better than Ollivander's. They sold cauldrons and ingredients, gave the twins a run for their money in jokes, had a veritable library in stock, carried parchment and quills. Basically, everything a witch or wizard could ever need. They did very well from the start. People coming back from the dead were a bit of an interest, even in Diagon Alley.

Overall, they settled into their new, Voldemort free lives very well. They all had a good amount of excitement, and they all loved what they were doing, which, when it all came down to what was important, that was all that mattered. Harry knew Dumbledore would have been proud of them.

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It was Harry's twenty first birthday. It had been three years since Voldemort had been defeated, and he was pacing a St. Mungo's waiting room. Ginny was in labor. With her first child, which to Draco's dismay, was going to be a girl. He'd pouted about it for all of ten seconds, then thrown all his time and energy into making their house baby safe and the nursery girl appropriate. He'd been making lists of things that needed to be done ever since. The first thing had been marry Ginny.

He'd propose on Christmas Eve, in front of her entire family, and on one knee, with a gorgeous sapphire ring in one hand and tears glistening in his eyes. He'd told her that he loved her, and he couldn't spend the rest of his life with anyone but her. He'd said that she was the reason he woke up each morning and that he couldn't think of anyone he would want as the mother of his children besides her. Ginny had been sobbing when she'd accepted the proposal and the ring.

She'd been sobbing, too, when she'd walked down the aisle seven days later. The Malfoy name still made people move, and they'd put the whole thing together in a week. Ginny had worn a Muggle wedding gown. Beautiful while lace and silk, with a train, semi full skirt, spaghetti straps and embroidered roses along the bodice and drizzled over the skirt. Draco had worn a tuxedo. The rest of the ceremony had been done in typical magical style. They'd Honeymooned in the French Caribbean.

“What the bloody buggering hell is taking so damn long!?” Harry demanded. Hermione touched his arm soothingly, pushed him not so gently into a chair.

“Babies take a while, Harry. You can't just wave your wand and there they are. It's a biological process that's magic by itself.” She kissed his forehead. She was nearly twenty two, and growing prettier with each year. She had matured into a very striking woman. Harry was up to his eyeballs in love with her.

Harry looked over and was met by her warm, smiling face. He felt his heart speed up in his chest. It always did when he saw her. “I love you, Hermione.”

“I love you, too. Now calm down and sit still. This will all be over shortly. It's not like millions of women haven't done this already.”

“Those other millions of women,” Draco said, coming out with a small, screaming pink bundle, “cannot hold a candle to my wife. Here she is.”

There was a flood of people rushing to see the baby. Molly wallowed in tears while Arthur patted his back. Draco handed his daughter to her grandparents first. Hermione threw herself at the new father. “Congratulations! How's Ginny?”

“Wonderful, beautiful, amazing. Resting at the moment. They're releasing them later tonight.”

Harry patted Draco on the back. “What did you name her?”

“Carys Laine. Carys is Gaelic for love, and Laine is Old English for the path. Ginny and I decided that it described us.”

Harry grinned. “It's a big name to live up to.”

“She can do it.” Draco glance at his daughter with adoration. “She can do anything that she wants to do.”

“I honestly believe that, Draco. I really do.”

“Want to hold her?”

Harry considered it. “I'd better not.. I get to live with her. They don't. I'm going to go see Ginny if that's all right.”

“Go. She'll be looking forward to seeing you. I'm going to go wrest my daughter away and hold her some more.”

Harry chuckled. “Maybe I should hold her while I have the chance. When we got you drunk after you found out she was a girl, you swore you wouldn't ever touch her.”

Draco blushed. “In my defense, I was drunk, and all Malfoys have boys. They have one child, a boy.”

“And all the Malfoys before you have been evil, Draco. I really think that that could have something to do with it. And you'll be a good, if overprotective, father.”

“True. That's what I'll use as an excuse when she asks me.” Draco practically flew across the room when the baby started screaming, and Harry walked back to the maternity ward chuckling and shaking his head. Whoever would have told him that he'd eventually be Godfather to Draco Malfoy's child, and that they would be close friends would have gotten their heads knocked if they'd said it five years, even two years earlier.

Ginny sat up when she saw Harry, her hair still damp and sticking to her face. She smiled brightly, reached out a hand for him. “Hey. Did you see her? Isn't she gorgeous? Other than the eyes she looks just like Draco.”

Harry kissed Ginny's forehead and sat down beside the bed. “I saw her, she's going to be the next Miss Wizard, and she does look like Draco, though she is far prettier, and her hair is not nearly as blonde as his.”

“I know. My God, Harry, I had a baby.” Ginny seemed unbelievable surprised at herself. “I can't believe I actually did it. It's amazing. You have to try it.”

Harry did a double take, crossed his legs. “Not in this lifetime.”

“Not giving birth, silly, having a baby. Being a father.”

“I'm not ready for that, Gin.”

“How do you know? You and Hermione have been together for three years, Harry! Three years. Haven't you once thought about marriage and children?”

“Of course I have. But she's teaching, and I don't want to affect her job, and I've got seven years left on my contract. That's a lot of traveling and a lot of being gone for days at a time.”

“So? You can Floo home every night. You do it a lot anyway. And Hogwarts teachers have had children before. It isn't unheard of.”

Harry looked at Ginny. “Why do I have a feeling that you're just having major wedded, motherly bliss and want everyone else to experience the same thing?”

“Because that's exactly what it is. You should Harry. I mean, with your parents pregnant and all…”

Harry held up a hand. “My parents are not pregnant. They're forty.”

“And they've been trying to get pregnant for three years. But with them being frozen all those years, it made it a lot harder. I was over there this morning when I went into labor and Lily had just gotten home from the doctor.”

Harry stood. “Congratulations again, Ginny. I'm unbelievably happy for you. Excuse me for a second.” He walked straight into the wall. Ginny stifled a laugh while he re-aimed and walked through the door. He walked to the waiting room in a daze, and walked to his parents. “You're pregnant!”

Lily looked up at her son, and barely managed to keep from laughing at the expression of shock on his face. “I'm pregnant.” She stood up. “We didn't want to say anything today. It's Ginny and Draco's day.”

“When?”

“I'm due in six months. Harry, there's more.”

“More?” Harry croaked. He wasn't upset about the pregnancy, and his parents knew that. He'd completely supported their decision to have another baby, but he hadn't thought it would ever happen. “What else could there possibly be?”

“I'm having twins.”

Harry sat down on top of his father. “Twins. Two of them?”

James shoved Harry off good naturedly. “I had that exact same reaction. And you get to help me with the nursery.”

Harry could only nod. “Okay.”

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And here we have chapter 17. The next few are going to drop in at turning points in the lives of my characters. Don't forget to review. And don't forget to tell me what you think about names. I want input!

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Okay kids, it's Wednesday and I am at Ohio State University today. I have my orientation today and tomorrow, and I know I said there wouldn't be any updates these days, but my muse says differently. Last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday she had me typing two chapters every day. That way I have the story finished and I'm just waiting for the predetermined day that I've decided to post every chapter. I hope you're enjoying everything. There's a surprise coming up in this chapter. And beware, mush and fluff ahead. I don't normally write fluff, but I want there to be some at the end of this. I think my characters have been through enough. They need some fluff. No smut though. I don't write that, so there isn't anything in here that any of you shouldn't read. I promise.

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Harry rose the morning after Draco and Ginny brought Carys home to the sound of her cries. Since it was already five, and he had to get up at five thirty for practice anyway, he climbed out of bed, left Hermione cuddling a pillow and headed downstairs. He found Draco sitting in the kitchen, baby cradled in one arm, bottle in the other hand.

“They're strange.” Draco announced as soon as Harry sat down. “They wake up every two hours and need a new diaper or a bottle. Sometimes both.”

“That's a baby for you.” Harry companionably tossed a dishcloth over Draco's shoulder. He knew from other Weasley children just what could come out of a baby when it was being burped.

“Thanks. What's it for?”

Harry chuckled. “That would be the burping.”

“The burping?”

Draco looked so confused and helpless that Harry took pity on him. “I'll show you when she's done. It's another thing babies do. Have you been getting up with her all night?”

Draco nodded. “Ginny needs her rest, and I work here. I can catch naps when she does if I need them.” He watched the milk in the bottle get lower and lower until it was empty. “Now what?”

Harry took the towel, tossed it over his own shoulder and took Carys. He placed her gingerly against his shoulder and sat down. “This is next. You hold her against your shoulder and pat her back until she burps.” Harry started patting the baby's back gently, rocking slightly. “Sometimes this puts them to sleep though.”

“And the towel? What's the towel for?”

“Slobber, among other things. Sometimes they spit up a little. I learned that when Bill and Fleur gave me their kid to burp. It didn't go over so well.”

Carys burped, and fisted her tiny hands in Harry's shirt. Across the room, Ginny and Hermione were watching the scene from the bottom of the stairs. “My God, they're so cute!” Ginny whispered. Hermione nodded, a soft smile on her face.

“Absolutely adorable. He's showing Draco how to burp Carys.”

“He's really surprised me with how good he is with her. I didn't have to get up once last night. He says that I was her sole care giver for nine months. The least he can do is take care of her for a couple days while I rest up.”

“That's so sweet! I wish-“ Hermione trailed off.

“What? What do you wish?” the women made their way back upstairs.

“I've just always wanted a family. A big family. I was an only child, and I always wanted brothers and sisters. Kids running around underfoot, making messes in the kitchen, wrestling in the yard. A big sloppy dog racing back and forth getting them wet and slobbery.”

“Does Harry know this?”

“We haven't ever talked about getting married, let alone children. I'm not sure it's something he wants. He has a wonderful job, doing what he loves, and I love him enough that I wouldn't give him up for anything, not even a family like the one I want.”

“You're still young, Herms. There's plenty of time for marriage and children.”

“Logically I know that. But I also know that Harry and I are getting to the point where we have to decide upon a course of action. If he doesn't want a wife and kids, I need to know.”

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Harry finished Quidditch practice at one thirty, as he did three days a week during their off season. And as they'd just won the championship two weeks earlier, and didn't start the fall season for another two and a half months, they were well into the off season. They practiced six days a week, three in the morning; from seven until one thirty and three days in the evening from four to six. They'd get two weeks off in the middle of the break, around September first, but that was nearly a month away.

He entered the locker room just as sweaty as the other men. Their one female player, Alisa, had no problems showering with the rest of them. She wasn't the least bit self conscious, and had no patience for special treatment. She told them all that when they were on the field, she wasn't a woman, she was a Quidditch player. Her husband looked at it a little differently. He had a stall erected in the locker room because he didn't want anyone but him to see his wife naked. Harry couldn't say he blamed him.

But he needed to talk to Alisa, and while they were all showering was the best time. So he chose the shower closest to hers, risking the wrath of Wood, but not really caring. She just grinned and continued washing her hair.

“What's up?”

“I need your help.”

Alisa leaned under the spray, eyes on Harry. “Okay, with what?”

“I'm going to propose to Hermione.”

Alisa shrieked, wrapped a towel around herself and ran around the divider to hug Harry. That was how Wood found them. He lifted an eyebrow. “What's all this?” he kissed his wife. “You act like he just offered to baby sit Mikayla for an entire week.”

Mikayla was their eighteen month old baby. She stayed with Wood's parents while her parents were at practice. “He's proposing to Hermione!”

Wood slapped Harry on the arm. “Congratulations. What does that have to do with my wife?”

“I need a ring. I have no idea what Hermione would want. I need help.”

Alisa nodded. “Okay. Get clean, get dressed and let's go. I need to pick up the baby, and then we can go. Oliver, you'll come, of course. Harry may need your input, seeing as you did a phenomenal job with my engagement ring.”

Wood perked up. “Thanks, honey.” It had taken him a month to find the blue diamond she wore on her ring finger. He hadn't ever told her that. Whenever she had asked he'd just said that it hadn't been hard. He'd known exactly what she would want. Not. He hadn't had a clue. He chuckled as he showered. He wasn't going to be much help to Harry. That was for damn sure.

Alisa was back not five minutes later, daughter in one arm, purse slung over the other, her hand resting on the stroller. Not that Mikayla would stay in it for five seconds. She would demand to be carried. By her Daddy. Alisa laughed. At least Oliver had to carry her everywhere. His twenty pound rocket was a handful and a half.

“Ready boys?”

Wood and Harry looked at each other, then nodded. Harry answered. “Yeah. I called Hermione, told her that you had called an extra long practice and that I'd be home by dinner.”

Wood groaned. “Now I'm going to be the bad guy again. Why do you always use me as your excuse?”

“Would you rather I told her that I was going shopping with your incredibly beautiful wife?”

“Point taken.” Wood cinched an arm around his wife, then relinquished his hold to take his daughter, who had thrown out her arms with a joyful proclamation of “Daddy!”

“She looks like you more each time I see her.” Harry told Alisa, who waved her wand and folded up the stroller to a size that would fit in her purse.

“I know. Oliver is so upset. She got his chin and his eyes. Everything else came from me.” She touched her husband's arm. “Shall we?”

“Let's go. We'll start at the place where I bought your ring.” The three adults Apparated, Wood took Mikayla with him. They popped up in the middle of Pelicula Alley, which was known for its jewelry. Wood nodded to a small shop, and they walked inside. A clerk was immediately in front of them.

“How may I help you, sirs, ma'am?”

Harry spoke. “I need an engagement ring.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Potter. Mr. Wood, Mrs. Wood? May I help you with anything?”

Wood shook his head. “We're just here to be friends and help him.”

“Very good. Right this way. What size ring will you be needing?”

Harry had to rack his brain for the answer to that. “A uh, six.”

“Very good. That size is the one for which we have the most selections. Have you an idea which stones you would be wanting?”

Harry shook his head helplessly, looked at Alisa and Wood. Alisa laughed again. “Let's see all the precious gems. No amethyst. She doesn't like them, and only natural stones.”

Harry looked at Alisa. “Natural stones?”

“They're making stones like pink sapphires and blue emeralds in labs now. Hermione will want something natural that was made by nature.”

“Right.”

Wood leaned close to Harry. “Don't worry. I didn't know that either.” They all sat down at a small round table and the salesman sat several cases of rings in front of Harry, from ones with small stones to ones with rocks the size of eggs. He felt hopelessness creep up on him.

Alisa patted his hand. “She won't want something either too big or too small.” She gestured to two cases. “Those can go. Thank you. Now, Harry, do you have a preference on shape? There's Princess, which is like this.” She plucked a ring and handed it to him. The stone was square. “Emerald, circular and oval, which are all self explanatory. There are tear drop cuts, pear shaped, radiant, asscher and marquis cuts. That's all I see here.”

Harry shrugged. “All of her other rings are sort of all different kinds. She doesn't have two exactly the same.”

Alisa sighed. “Well that makes it a little more difficult. Let's go with what you like then.”

The salesman came back. “We also have antique jewelry here. There's one that you would like, Mr. Potter. The ring that Godric Gryffindor gave to his fiancée. It was just recently found and authenticated.”

Harry felt a tug in his gut. “Let me see it.”

“Right away, Mr. Potter.”

Harry knew before he saw it that it would be the one. He didn't care about the price. It was the history, the significance. He knew it would mean more to Hermione than anything short of a ring he made himself. And to see her wear it would mean more to him than seeing her wear one he had made.

The ring was rubies. He'd known it would be. There was simply no other stone that it could possibly have been made of. The ring was big, but not too big. The center ruby was the biggest, and inlayed into it was a fiery diamond. The two rubies flanking the center one were slightly smaller, and also had the inlay of the diamond. The band was thick, and heavily encrusted with rubies and diamonds in an alternating pattern. It was alive. Harry could almost hear, feel, it breathe.

“The setting, though you can't see it, is platinum, which at the time this ring was made, was totally unheard of. But it's fully documented. I've never seen rubies inlayed with diamonds. And it's not simply that they're inside the carved ruby, they're forged. I've never seen magic like it. No one on the planet has a ring to rival this one. The center stone is three carats, the flanking ones two a piece. All the other ones are eighth carats each. It adds up to about nine carats total. There's a full authentication behind it, and it comes with all the paperwork.”

Harry didn't hear a word he said. “I'll take it.” He looked at Alisa and Wood. “You'll come to dinner?”

“Sure. We want to see you do this. Seven?”

“Seven.” Harry handed the salesman his Gringotts card. “Here. Wrap it up. I want to take it with me.”

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Harry arrived at the house at three. The ring shopping hadn't taken as long as he'd thought it would. He'd stopped by the market to pick up salmon for dinner. It was Hermione's favorite. And she always liked it when he cooked. That meant she didn't have to. And with Draco and Ginny concentrated on the baby, and Ron and Luna on vacation, the cooking duty fell to one of them.

He worked in the kitchen, opening wine, the Muggle kind she liked, lighting candles, tossing salad. And Draco sat at the island, critiquing every move he made, and enjoying himself immensely. He had the chance to hold his daughter while she was asleep, and torture Harry all in one afternoon. Coupled with the deal he'd made on a couple houses he'd been selling that morning, he was in a great mood. Good enough that he didn't even mind when Harry chucked a handful of lettuce at him. It hit his back, and didn't touch Carys, so he tolerated it.

“I don't know why it is, Potter, that you're so nervous about this whole thing. I did it. It's not that big of a deal. Men propose to women all the time.”

“Not to Hermione Granger they don't. That woman could make the Pope nervous.”

“She probably does. I imagine witches and wizards in general make the Pope nervous.”

Harry hated that Draco had succeeded in doing exactly what he had set out to do. He'd calmed Harry down. “Probably. Here, taste this and tell me what you think.” He handed Draco a small plate with bites of everything that he'd made and a half glass of the wine.

Draco sipped the wine, approved. “Good. French and fancy. She'll like it. Not too overpowering. Good crisp taste.” He tasted the food, seriously considered falling off the chair to convince Harry that he'd been poisoned, probably would have had Carys not been in his arms. He didn't want her to get jostled around while she was napping. She slept so little for a baby. He briefly wondered if he should change her outfit to a more appropriate one for her first big dinner event, then went through the massive amount of clothing in her closet, mentally searching for the right thing. The forest green and gold dress would be good. And with the tiny bonnet, and the little white tights she had, and the black leather shoes.

“Draco!”

Harry's voice interrupted Draco's debate between the green bow and the gold one. “Huh?”

“The food? How is the food?”

Draco nodded absently. The gold bow, he decided. It would match her hair better. “Good. I have to go give the baby a bath.” He headed up the stairs, already wondering if socks wouldn't be better with the dress. He'd just have to try both and see which looked better.

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Dinner went wonderful. The adults laughed and joked with one another, Carys slept peacefully in her bassinet beside the table. Mikayla had a high chair and kept trying to reach the baby. Draco had finally decided that the socks looked better. They were white, with sage green trim. Ginny had just rolled her eyes and humored him. If he wanted to play dress up with their daughter, who was she to stop him?

It was after dessert when Hermione stood to clear the dishes. “Why don't you guys go on into the living room? I'll take care of these and be in, in a couple minutes.”

Harry caught Hermione's hand. “Not just yet.” With that, he slid out of his chair and onto one knee. Hermione's eyes grew big as saucers.

“Harry! What are you doing? Get up!”

Harry laughed. “I will not. I have something to ask you.”

“Harry.”

“I'm starting to think you don't want to get married.” Harry said, his eyes teasing.

“No, but now? Here?”

“Yes. I mean, no. We're not getting married right this second. I'm proposing right this second. Now shut up for a second so I can.”

Hermione nodded. “Okay.”

Draco rolled his eyes at Harry around Hermione. Harry ignored him. “Hermione Jane Granger, I love you. I always have, and I always will. There's no one other than you that I want to spend my life with. I want to have a family, and grow old, with you. Will you marry me?”

“Of course I will.” Hermione said, pulling him to his feet. She kissed him hard. “I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever ask.”

Harry pulled out the box and opened it. The ring flashed with life and light. Hermione's gasp was sharp. Harry looked worried. “Don't you like it?”

“I love it. Oh my God. Is that what I think it is?”

“It's the ring Godric Gryffindor had made for his wife. She was the bravest witch, one of the smartest, the most loyal, the toughest, and the most beautiful witches in the world. Until you.”

Hermione teared up then, and let him slip the ring onto her finger. “I love it Harry. Almost half as much as I love you.”

Harry gathered her close. “That was kinda cheesy, Herms.”

“I know.” Hermione said, laughing through her tears. “But that doesn't make it any less true.”

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Chapter 18. Don't forget to vote in the name game and the competition. Voting starts Monday. Please review!

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Harry supposed he should have been expecting it. But he jumped as high as everyone else when Luna and Ron rushed into the house. They were tanned from two weeks in the Bahamas, and dragging bags behind them. Luna dropped everything in the entry hall and shrieked. “We eloped!” she took a look around, turned to her husband?. “Ron, since when is there a baby in here?”

Ron's gaze flew to Carys. “Ginny had the baby. Ginny had the baby! Why didn't anyone call me? I can't believe you didn't call, or come get me!” he ran over to ogle his niece. Carys reached up and grasped a stray lock of his hair, pulled as sharply as a newborn could. “And Harry, what's going on? Why is Hermione crying?”

Harry scratched his head. “I, uh, proposed. About five minutes ago.”

Luna tackled Hermione. “Oh my Merlin! I have to get writing. The Quibbler must report this. Can I have an interview? You too, Draco and Ginny. I have to go get a quill.” She ran upstairs and all the attention turned to Ron.

Draco was grinning wickedly. “Turned a vacation into a honeymoon, huh?”

Ron turned red. “It was just so romantic, and she wanted to, and I love her, and we just did it one night. Went to the hotel's chapel, got married by some Muggle named Elvis Presley and had a couple of GoGo Dancers, whatever those are as witnesses.”

Harry snorted and burst into laughter. Hermione and Alisa were also cracking up. Elvis and GoGo Dancers. It was somehow fitting for Ron and Luna. Completely and totally loony and outside the box. Nothing traditional or normal about it.

Harry spoke around laughs. “What did she wear?”

“Some sort of dressy thing. It looked a bit like a nightgown. She said it was worn by Priscilla, whoever that is.”

Hermione patted Ron's shoulder. “It's okay, Ron. Priscilla was Elvis' wife. It was probably a replica of her wedding dress. I can't believe you got married by an Elvis impersonator. My parents are going to love this. He was popular when their parents were teenagers.”

“You mean it wasn't really Elvis? How do you know? Do your parents know him?”

Hermione shook her head. “No, Ron. I know it wasn't him because he died almost forty years ago.”

Ron seemed to mull that over for a few minutes, but then didn't get a chance to say anything because Luna came barreling back down the stairs, parchment and quill in one hand. She set her sights on Ginny. “Ginevra Weasley, how does it feel to have just given birth to Draco Malfoy's daughter?”

Ginny looked at Luna and rolled her eyes. “I change my name, Luna. I'm a Malfoy. And she's my daughter as much as she is his.”

Draco lifted a finger. “I beg to differ on that point, Luna, if I may.”

Harry wrapped an arm around Hermione and started talking to Ron, Wood and Alisa. It was a fairly typical day in the Potter/Weasley/Malfoy/Granger household. Nothing much out of the normal.

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Hermione had to take an annual physical exam as part of her teaching contract. She had chosen to take hers in the summer. She was always in the best shape then, and the least stressed. Which meant that the doctor was less likely to tell her she was going to get an ulcer or a hernia if she didn't slow down and take it easy.

And she had been taking it easy. It was August, she was on break, and she had just, the day before, become engaged to the only man she wanted to spend her life with. They'd decided on a fall wedding, November, and the place was Hogwarts. McGonagall has been owled the night before and the response had come immediately. Absolutely. No problem. Hogwarts would be honored.

They'd told Lily and James, and her parents Catherine and Julian that morning. Both sets of parents had been enthralled. Lily and James had insisted on throwing them an engagement party, and Catherine had started contacting designers about wedding dresses. Hermione didn't know if she wanted a gown, or just wedding robes. She hadn't given it a lot of thought.

Lily had had her obstetrician appointment only an hour after Hermione's checkup, so the women had gone to St. Mungo's together, with plans to go out to lunch and do some shopping afterward. Hermione soon found herself sitting on the examination table, getting poked and prodded by a Healer.

“Any soreness? Pain, nausea? Any sickness we need to know about?”

Hermione shook her head. “Nope. I feel great.”

The Healer tested her reflexes, listened to her lungs. “Are you on any Muggle medications?”

“Does that include Tylenol every once in a while?”

Healer Thompson laughed. “No. Any complaints about anything?”

“Nope.”

“Any missed menstrual cycles?”

Hermione shrugged. “I'm irregular.”

Thompson nodded, made a notation. “Are you sexually active?”

“Yes.”

“On birth control potions?”

“Yes.”

“When was your last period?”

Hermione thought back. “About eight weeks.”

“Is that unusual for you?”

“Not really, no. I've gone as much as three and a half months.”

“Lucky girl. Any history of ovarian cysts?”

“Nope.”

“Okay, any chance that you could be pregnant?”

Hermione laughed. “Not in a million years. Those potions are very reliable.”

“Only about as effective as the Muggle pill, and they have to be taken every time you have intercourse. Not just every night, or morning.”

Hermione sat up. “No, that's not how it works.”

Thompson laughed. “I assure you that it is, Miss Granger. I'm the doctor, you're the patient. I know more about medicine and potions than you.”

“It can't be. The bottle says that you take it once daily.” Hermione was sounding panicky. “You have to be mistaken.”

“Miss Granger, calm down, please. We don't know if there's anything to be worried about yet. Just let me do a blood test, and we'll find out if you're pregnant. And it isn't the end of the world if you are. I'm seeing an engagement ring there.”

Hermione was still surprised when she looked down and saw the ring. It still amazed her. “Yeah. Harry proposed last night.”

“Congratulations. Where in the world did he get that ring? Small prick now.”

Hermione grit her teeth against the needle. “A shop in Pelicula Alley. Oliver Wood, and his wife Alisa went with him. My ring was made by Godric Gryffindor for his wife when they got engaged. It was found a few months ago and authenticated three weeks ago.”

Thompson winced. “I don't even want to think about how much that cost him.”

“Neither do I.” Hermione watched Healer Thompson move around the room, testing the small vial of blood that she had taken from Hermione's arm. “I'm sure it was an arm and a leg. But he can afford it. He's Harry Potter.”

“That he is. Let's get your gynecological exam out of the way while that test processed. Lie back and feet in the stirrups. You know the drill.”

Hermione did as instructed. “What are the odds that I'm pregnant?”

“Don't know. Any cramping lately?”

“Not since my last period.”

“Any lumps in your breasts?”

“No.”

Hermione continued answering awkward questions until the tube of her blood started changing colors as the chemicals worked. Healer Thompson walked over, removed it from the stand and held it up to the light. Seconds later, she made a notation on Hermione's chart.

“Well?”

“Congratulations, Mom. You're eight weeks pregnant.”

Hermione paled, stood up straight with her jeans around her thighs. “I'm what?”

“Eight weeks pregnant. So you'll be due on about March twenty fourth. Everything seems to be fine. The morning sickness normally starts as soon as you find out you're pregnant and last through the first four months. Don't try to resist the craving, and the baby will start kicking in another eight or nine weeks. Set up an appointment at the front desk with an OBGYN Mediwizard. You'll need monthly checkups right now, and then twice a month during your last two months. Other than that, you pass with flying colors. You'll want to arrange with Headmistress McGonagall for a substitute the last two and a half months of school next year. Maternity leave and such. From March twenty fourth to September first is about five and a half months, so the baby will be ready for a sitter.” Thompson handed Hermione a slip of parchment. “There you go. Shall I go get Mrs. Potter?”

Hermione nodded, sat down in the chair, still trying to wrap her mind around everything. “Please.” A baby. She was having a baby. Like Ginny had and like Lily would. A baby. A small person living inside her. Growing. She was going to need do many things.

Maternity clothes and things for a nursery, and all the things that a baby would need. There was no easy way to do it. She'd have to redecorate one of the guestrooms for a nursery, and start furniture shopping. She had to have lists. Absolutely had to make lists. There had to be a logical path for her to take. A teddy bear and baby booty formula. She was mulling that over when Lily rapped on the door and poked her head in.

“Hey, sweetie. Healer Thompson said that you needed me?”

Hermione looked up at Lily, tears swimming in her eyes. “Oh, Lily, I don't know what to do!”

Lily was instantly maternal, rushing across the room, and gathering Hermione close. She rocked back and forth while the younger woman cried. Hermione held onto Lily, burying her face in Harry's mother's shoulder and fisting her hands in her shirt. “What's wrong, honey?”

“I'm pregnant!”

Lily shrieked and crushed Hermione even closer to her. “Oh my God!” she kissed Hermione's cheek happily, took Hermione's face in her hands. “This is a good thing, right? I mean, you and Harry are getting married, so it's all right isn't it?”

“I'm so scared. I'm not ready for this, Lily. I can't be a mother!”

“Why not? From what I've seen these last years, you've never failed at anything. Why would this be any different? You're a very capable woman, Hermione, and you can do this. You and Harry can do this. You'll be wonderful at it.”

“Are you sure?”

Lily grinned. “Hey, I'm the mother of Harry. If I like you and think you're good enough for my son, then you've got to be something special. You can do whatever you want to do. There's nothing that you can't do, Hermione. Except maybe play Quidditch.”

That succeeded in making Hermione laugh. “Thanks. Lily, can I ask you something?”

Lily led Hermione from the room and to the front desk, where the nurse handed her an appointment card. “Sure you can, sweetie.”

“Will you help me make my lists?”

“Sure. Now let's go get lunch and do some shopping. You don't need maternity clothes just yet. I can't even tell you're pregnant, so that can be put off for a while. How about paint today?”

Hermione nodded. “I'm thinking yellow. Nice and pastel, light and airy.”

“Lavender would be nice.”

“Not if I have a boy.”

Lily nodded. “True. Could go with green.”

“I like green. Rosemary. That real soothing green. Or blue. Girls like blue too.”

“Could go with teal. Or turquoise. Something along those lines.”

Hermione was getting into the spirit of things. “Who don't I do one in green, and one in blue? That way if I have a boy, he can go in the blue room, and if it's a girl, it can go in the green room?”

Lily chuckled. “That wouldn't be too logical, Hermione, my dear. Why don't you just go with the green?”

“Would Harry think that it's too Slytherin?”

“Just tell him you wanted the room to match his eyes.”

“That's a horrible line.”

“But it will work.”

“True. Okay, let's go.”

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Harry got home and found Hermione, Lily and Draco painting a bedroom upstairs. The bedroom directly across the hall from the room he shared with Hermione. The way the house was laid out, it had four wings. They all shared the bottom floor, with the living rooms, dens, and the kitchen. Ron and Luna, Draco and Ginny, and Harry and Hermione all took a wing. Harry and Hermione had the west wing. Draco and Ginny had the east wing, and Ron and Luna had the north. Each wing had two bathrooms and four bedrooms. The South wing was shared, and was where they had a game room and a couple offices, along with other guest bedrooms.

“Hi guys. What's going on?”

Hermione stopped painting to look at her fiancé. She didn't really have a problem announcing her news in front of the two people who already knew. “I went to the doctor today.”

Harry nodded. “Everything okay?”

“Not exactly.”

Harry's focus was shifted from the paint going on the walls, to Hermione. “Are you all right? Is it serious?”

Hermione nodded. “Very serious.”

“What is it?” Harry was nearing the point of panic.

“I'm pregnant.”

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oohh. Evil cliffhanger. Want to see how Harry reacts? Review. I want 25 before the next chapter comes out.

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Okay, chapter 20. If this isn't a record, I don't know what it. Twenty chapters in twenty days. That's amazing to me. I never thought that I could write this much this fast. Keep voting in the name game. I can't wait to see what some of you think about what I should name everyone. It's going to be great! Okay, so the voting starts on Monday, so please remember to vote. I'd really like to do well, and I'm not going to vote for my own story. Something about that just doesn't seem right. So, I'm depending fully on all of you. Please don't let me down! And now, here we go! Wedding plans!

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Harry stared at Hermione. “You're pregnant?”

Hermione nodded. “I'm pregnant. As in, we're having a baby.”

“Right. I got that. When?”

“I'm due in March.” Hermione was blaming her emotions on the pregnancy, but the fact that Harry seemed to not be having any reaction to the news that they were having a baby was upsetting her. She was desperately afraid that he was angry with her.

Draco elbowed Harry none too subtly in the ribs. “Do something, Potter, before she dumps your ass.” He hissed at Harry. Harry shook his head, clearing it. His face broke into a grin and he hugged Hermione tightly, swinging her around in a complete circle. He kissed her fully, making Hermione turn red as his mother and Draco were both watching. Harry let her go and narrowed his eyes at her.

“You shouldn't be painting. You're pregnant!”

“It's special paint. Non toxic to pregnant women and infants. Which is why Carys is in here. No smell or fumes.”

“Are you sure?”

Draco snorted. “Do you really think I would let my daughter in here if there was something that could hurt her?”

Harry didn't, but he was still unconvinced. “You should let me finish this and go lie down. Take Carys with you. Just in case.”

Hermione rolled her eyes and lifted Carys from her bassinet. “Fine. I'll go start dinner.”

Draco saw the look in Harry's eyes and snatched Carys from Hermione just as Harry scooped her into his arms. “You shouldn't be up on your feet like that. You could get hurt. Are you tired? You should take a nap.” He carried her into their room, slammed the door behind him. Harry could plainly be heard saying, “We need to set a few pregnancy rules…” Both adult inhabitants of the nursery burst into laughter.

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It was a disaster. A complete, utter and total disaster. Hermione felt like she could have happily ripped her hair out by its' roots without a second thought, or later regret. Nothing was going the way it was supposed to. Nothing!

Since she had accepted Harry's proposal, and announced her pregnancy six weeks earlier, everything had been a blur. She'd gone back to school, and had forty new first years looking at her like they expected her to know everything. She was constantly tempted to turn them into something particularly silent.

She'd decided to do a Wizard ceremony, with Muggle clothing. That meant the fancy, way too expensive white gown. The undoubtedly unflattering bridesmaids' dresses. The tuxedos for the groom and groomsmen. It was terrible! She wasn't going to make it!

She had two months to get her wedding planned. Two months. Her stomach was growing, she was throwing up all day everyday, craving the grossest things that God had ever created, and was Harry doing anything at all to help? No! He spent all his time at practice. And what time he didn't spend at practice, he was decorating the nursery. As if they didn't still have six months to do that. They only had two months to get the wedding planned.

She'd assigned him one duty. One! And had he done that? He had not. She'd asked him to book them a hotel for their Honeymoon. They'd discussed it with Wood, and Harry's coach and McGonagall, and arranged for a ten day vacation right after the wedding, which was at the end of November.

She'd had to arrange for a magically expanding wedding dress. There was no way that one that would fit her at the moment, would for her in two months. By then she'd be five months pregnant, and as big as a whale. Unless she was like Alisa. The woman had only gained fifteen pounds. And that had just about been all baby. She hadn't had to work to lose anything.

Ginny, Alisa, Luna, Penelope and Charlie's wife Katherine as her bridesmaids. Ginny was the Maid of Honor. Harry had picked, not too surprisingly, Ron as his Best Man, Wood, Draco, Fred and George as his groomsmen. Hermione was pleased with the selections.

She was anal, and she knew she was anal. She wanted things exactly the way she wanted them. Nothing more, nothing less. Every detail had to be perfect, every instruction followed to the letter. She'd fired three hairdressers because they hadn't given her what she'd asked for. She was still seething about the one who had chopped off her hair, saying that it would flatter her more. Her hair was now swinging in layers just below her chin. She was furious.

Yet another hair dresser had decided she'd look better with highlights. She secretly liked the caramel and bronze streaks the woman had added, but would be damned if she'd tell anyone that. It looked especially nice when she blew it dry. But the hairdresser had had to go. No one cut or colored her hair without permission.

The third woman had refused to give her anything other than a beehive. And with the short hair, that didn't work. The stylist had claimed it was modern and chic, whereas Hermione thought it was old and cheap. A difference of opinion as large as that had ended the partnership very quickly.

So she had to come up with a menu, she was compiling the RSVP's she'd gotten, which were numerous, all the dresses were just in the planning stage, she had no hairdresser, no make up artist, no shoes, no planner, no flowers, and no Honeymoon. She was going to need years of therapy after she got done with her wedding.

But it would all be worth it. She loved Harry, no matter how mad she got at him, and no matter how frustrated she got because not everything went according to her lists, in the back of her head she knew that everything would work out in the end, and they would manage to have a beautiful wedding. If she lived to make it to the altar. At the moment, that was the question that needed answering.

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Harry got home at seven on a Tuesday night. He'd had a late practice, and was tired, sweaty, in desperate need of a shower, and hungry. He had to have the shower first, or Draco wouldn't let him in the same room as Carys. And since the room that they would be in was the kitchen, and the kitchen was where Harry would be getting his food, getting into the room was pretty damn important.

He trekked upstairs, muscles screaming from the practice. Wood and Alisa had had a fight about something or another, so Wood had been particularly hard on the team. He hoped desperately that they finished the fight and got on to the making up so Wood wouldn't try his hardest to kill the team again. He had high hopes for that.

Hermione was at her desk in their bedroom, hunched over her lists. He felt his face break into a smile. There was a stack of ungraded essays by her elbow, with a quill charmed to find every mistake working hurriedly, and she was writing down the names of possible florists, both Muggle and wizard.

Knowing better than to approach her when he smelled the way he did, Harry grabbed his clothes and headed to the bathroom. Hermione looked up. “Don't I get a kiss?” she asked, then saw him. “Never mind. Shower and the you can do the whole `honey, I'm home' thing you like so much.”

“Five minutes. I promise.” He closed the door behind him. “Hermione?”

“Hmm?”

“I don't suppose anyone covered my turn at cooking did they?”

“Ginny was in a mood for Chinese so we ordered out. It should be here in just a few minutes. I ordered you Sweet and Sour Chicken and egg rolls.”

“Thanks.” Harry grinned. That was his favorite. He imagined he could steal some of Hermione sea food lo mein too. It really was good. “How was school?”

“School. The normal menagerie of misbehaving fifth years and nervous first years. There was a huge brawl in my seventh year class though.”

“Are you all right?”

“I just split them apart and sent them to Filch for detention. No big deal. It was over a girl. Apparently one is her boyfriend, and the other thinks he's her boyfriend because they slept together on Saturday.”

“How do you find all this out?” Harry asked, amazed. He shouldn't have been surprised. Hermione made it her job to know everything about everyone. From gossip to the history of blast ended skrewts, if it was true, she'd know something about it.

“I listen. I told them both to forget the girl and move on with their lives. Did I mention that the two boys are brothers?”

Harry laughed. “No, you left that part out.”

“Right. Well, they were brothers. Fraternal twins actually. How was practice?”

“Wood and Alisa had a fight so he was really rough on all of us.”

“I know. Alisa called me during your last water break. She said it was all about the fact that he wants another baby and she doesn't right now.”

“They're fighting over whether or not they're going to have another baby?”

“No, Alisa wants more kids. She just wants to play this season, and Wood won't let her play when she's pregnant. And I can't blame him there. She wants her career, and I can't blame her either. But Wood doesn't want Mikayla to be too much older than the rest of their kids. And she's nineteen months.”

“That's still a baby. I can't believe he wants two so close together.”

Hermione shuddered. “Neither can I. I want about three years to get used to the first one before I think about having another one. Then by the time number two comes along, the first will be heading off to Draco's nursery thing.”

“Good plan.” Harry came out, rubbing his hair dry. “Did you do something to your hair?”

“Today was interview hairdressers day. I asked them each to do one style on me to see what range they have. One decided she couldn't work with long hair and chopped it off before the word no could make it out of my mouth. Another decided that I just had to have highlights, so she did the streaks.”

“It looks nice. I like it.”

Hermione wasn't going to admit that she did too. “The third refused to do any style other than a beehive.”

Harry tossed Hermione an envelope. “Here. Maybe this will help with your day. And your lists.”

“What is it?”

“I booked our Honeymoon today. How does Mexico sound?”

Hermione squealed. “Oh, Harry! The ruins, the history, the ancient artifacts, the old wizarding schools that aren't open anymore. The Mexican Ministry. We have to visit. And all the Muggle culture. It's going to be so enlightening. We're going to learn so much.”

Harry snatched back the envelope. “Okay, so we aren't going to Mexico.” He laughed at her expression. “I don't want to spend our Honeymoon looking at old rocks and schools that went bankrupt. Or a Ministry that hasn't done anything useful in half a century.”

Hermione decided a compromise was in order. “They have wonderful food, and swimming with dolphins. And the sunsets are supposed to be the most romantic in the world. And I'm sure the hotel is just so gorgeous that we'll have to spend the first couple days just in the room. I just don't think we'd get the same atmosphere anywhere else.”

Harry handed her the envelope. “Okay then. Mexico it is. Keep looking, there's more in there.”

Hermione rifled through it. “What's all this?”

“I hired a band. One of those Muggle ones you're so fond of. They're really quite good. I had them audition at lunch. And they're all well aware of us. Cousins are witches or something of the sort. Anyway, I hired them, and I got us a florist.”

“Who?”

“Hagrid.”

Hermione paled. She sat back down on the bed, hard. “Hagrid? Harry, we'll have flowers that bite and my bouquet is going to eat me alive.”

“Nope. We came to an understanding that only non living flowers could be used. The kind that don't think for themselves or bite people. I think he was saying something about Calla Lilies for the centerpieces and orchids and roses for your bouquet. There was some mention of orange blossoms for the bridesmaids and dahlias for Ginny.”

Hermione felt tears well up in her eyes. She looked at Harry. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this cuts down on what I have on my list.”

Harry laughed, joined her on the bed. “And here I thought I was going to get one of those best fiancés in the world compliments. The `you're so romantic and so thoughtful' ones.”

Hermione kissed him. “You are. You're the best fiancé ever. And you're romantic and thoughtful and sexy as hell.” That last one surprised Harry. Their baby was doing unspeakably good things to her libido. “Even though you do leave your towels on the floor and never notice my hair until eighteen inches gets chopped off.”

The last part shot him down. He shrugged sheepishly. “Sorry. What can I say? I'm a guy?”

“Most importantly, you're my guy.” She stood, walked to the door and opened it. “Now come on downstairs. I smell Chinese food.” She looked over her shoulder. “Oh, and Harry?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

Harry slid an arm around her shoulders. “I love you too.”

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I can't believe I just wrote an entire chapter in an hour. Yay me. Anyway, next chapter is the bachelor and bachelorette parties. Expect a bit of a surprise. Nothing horrible. Not cheating, not strippers. I mean, come on, would they actually do that? Of course not. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet exactly, but I'll figure it out by tomorrow when chapter 21 gets posted.

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Here we go with chapter 21. Two more and an epilogue. This one is the bachelor and bachelorette parties, the next will be the wedding. That might actually take two. And if it does, there'll be an extra chapter. So, we'll just see where my muse leads me as far as that is concerned. The chapter after the wedding will cover a birth, or six. Actually, you know what? That might end up taking two as well. In any case, I will be finishing up soon. Definitely by the time the voting concludes on the 22^nd. I don't want this to take more than a month. Especially with college starting and everything. I don't want this, which I desperately love, getting in the way of my schoolwork, which unfortunately enough has to come first. I also think I may retire after the completion of Seven Years Later. I think that my work is done and that I should concentrate on my life and school. So, review, because this may be your last chance to tell me what you think about my writing.

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Ron raced up and down the stairs, trying to do a million things all at once. Ginny was calmly doing the same thing. He didn't know how his sister did it, especially carting a two month old baby while she did it. “Ginny! Did you make the reservations for Harry at Madam Rosmerta's?”

“Two weeks ago Ron, though it's just wonderful of you to ask me the day of the parties. I can't believe you're going to get him drunk the night before his wedding.”

Ron grinned from ear to ear. “Hey, it's my last chance to get nice and smashed before Luna has the triplets.”

Luna had announced her pregnancy a full month after Hermione, and the women, along with Lily, were all enjoying their pregnancies. Lily was six months with the twins, Hermione was five months with her one baby, a boy, and Luna was at four months with the triplets. The men were amazed. Draco was still bragging about starting a trend.

“And what the hell was Hermione thinking, going to a spa for her bachelorette?”

“That she's five months pregnant, can barely see her feet, and can't drink anything with alcohol in it?” Ginny asked sweetly. “Get a clue, Ronald. She needs a night of relaxation before she walks down the aisle. So we're going to have mud masks, and facials and get our toenails painted. We'll have a sauna and get haircuts and our eyebrows waxed.”

“That sounds like torture.” Draco said, shuddering as he walked down the stairs. “Why would you put yourself through that, Ginevra?”

“Because it's fun. And relaxing. And I really need a pedicure.”

“No arguments there.”

Ginny slapped her husband's arm, handed him Carys. “Thanks. Here hold her while I go make sure Hermione and Luna are all packed. We're meeting Lily and the Weasley women for dinner in half an hour.”

Draco gladly took their daughter, still wondering if there was anyway of talking Ginny into letting him take her with them instead of leaving her with Molly. Not that he minded Molly taking Carys, because he didn't. he just wanted his daughter with him if she wasn't with Ginny.

Ron looked down and noticed that he had somehow ended up with Ginny's clipboard. Curious, he scanned through the itinerary. “Draco,” Ron said, shocked. “Ginny didn't get any strippers.”

“Harry and Hermione don't want them. They agreed on that.” Draco said nonchalantly, bouncing his daughter. He walked down the stairs, talking as he went. “Though, if you would have taken responsibility for planning Harry's bachelor party, then we would have been able to surprise and embarrass him.”

Ron just looked at Draco. “My wife is four months pregnant with triplets. I work every day, have games and practices and travelling. At least Ginny can do a lot. And you stay at home everyday with Carys running your empire. So I don't want to hear how I've been shirking my duties as a Best Man because I still have a thousand things to do every day.”

Draco was hiding the chuckle threatening to burst out of him very well. “All right, Ron. Calm down. We're all married men. Or at least, most of us are. We'll have fun anyway. The twins are bringing some of their tricks, I'm sure, and Madame Rosemerta has promised never ending firewhiskey. Don't worry about it. Everything is going to be fine.”

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Ginny knocked on Hermione's door, and her friend opened it not five seconds later. She was carrying a duffel bag since the women were spending the night at Hogwarts after the party and staying in Hermione's quarters in the teacher's wing. Harry and the men were also staying there, though they were staying in a special visitors' dormitory.

“Ready?” Ginny asked brightly, slipping her arm through Hermione's.

“Yeah. This is going to be fun, huh?”

“Oh yeah.” Ginny laughed. “Ron's been so busy that I offered to plan the bachelor party too. Madame Rosmerta's has been transferred into a spa as well. Waxing, maincures, pedicures, mud masks, a steam room.”

Hermione's eyes widened. “You didn't!”

“I did. Of course, they only have to deal with that for an hour and a half and then Madame Rosmerta is going to start serving them their whiskey. They'll be drunk by nine thirty. The only problem is, Draco likes going to the spa with me.”

“He does?”

“Of course he does. He may have done a complete one eighty as far as behavior, but he's still the same old Draco. He'll never shy away from good shaped eyebrows, soft hands and a fifty galleon haircut.”

Hermione rolled his eyes. “I've never managed to talk Harry into any of that stuff.” She smiled, knocked on Luna's door. “Not that it bothers me. I think it would be weird for Harry to get a manicure and waxed eyebrows. Though I wouldn't care about the regular haircuts. I have to threaten him with bodily harm or no sex to get him to cut it twice a year.”

Luna opened the door. “Let's go, ladies. The sooner we get there, the sooner it's over and the sooner tomorrow comes and Hermione gets hitched.”

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Harry was blindfolded. Ron was on one side, Draco was on the other, leading him somewhere. All he knew was that he had Apparated into Hogsmeade and met the men at Hogwarts. They'd promptly blindfolded him and taken him somewhere. They'd also cast a spell on him so that he couldn't hear anything. Which meant that he had no idea where they were going, except for that it had to be in another country because he'd been walking for over an hour.

He'd though he'd heard Ginny mention something about the Leaky Cauldron, but he couldn't imagine Draco and Ron wanting to walk to Diagon Alley. But knowing Ginny, they could be headed to the local zoo to see a dragon exhibit. She didn't want them getting drunk or doing anything stupid or wild, so she'd probably arranged something tame.

Not that he wanted to get drunk and be wild and do something stupid. He didn't. He'd gone as far as telling Ron and Ginny that he didn't want any strippers, no dancers, no clubs and nothing the least bit questionable. He didn't want to wake up on his wedding day wondering if he'd done something stupid while at his bachelor party. That wouldn't put a good start on the day and the last thing he wanted was for his wedding day to be anything less than perfect.

And he definitely didn't want to embarrass his fiancee. She'd worked unbelievably hard to make the day perfect, and everything she'd done required him to show up on time, in costume, and ready to get the show on the road. He had even agreed to wear a Muggle tuxedo, despite the fact that he was much more comfortable in formal robes. Hermione wanted what Hermione wanted, and what she wanted for her wedding, she got.

Draco reached over and removed the blindfold from Harry's eyes. “And, we're here.”

Harry looked around, and saw that they were at Madame Rosmerta's. He glared at Harry and Ron. “You walked me around Hogsmeade for an hour when it was only a fifteen minute walk to Rosmerta's.”

Draco grinned. “We couldn't have you figuring out where we were going, now could we?” he asked innocently, opening the door. The three men walked in and stopped, staring at the scene that greeted them.

All the Weasley men, Wood, James, Sirius, and Lupin were sitting in recliner chairs, getting face masks, pedicures, facials and eyebrow waxings. Harry turned around and tried to escape, but Draco and Ron were blocking his path, trying to figure out what was going on.

He turned back to the bar, locked eyes with Rosmerta. “What is going on? Where is your bar?”

Rosmerta grabbed all three men and led them to chairs. “Ginny arranged for you to have a mini spa. This is only until nine thirty, but Ginny wants you all well groomed for the wedding tomorrow. Draco, you're starting with a sauna to open your pores for the eyebrow treatment and facial. Harry, you're heading to hair for a cut, and Ron, go over there to the mani/pedi station.”

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Hermione examined her toenails, satisfied with the results. They were light lavender, and sparkly. Ginny had gone a bit bolder with a teal color that matched her Maid of Honor dress, and had them striped in green. Hermione eyed them, wondering if she shouldn't do something of the same.

Alisa leaned over, “I really like those colors.” She said, fluffing her hair. Her blonde locks had been cut to just below her collarbone.

“So do I. I'm seriously considering stealing the idea.”

Ginny grinned at the two women. “Go right ahead. It was her idea in the first place.” She gestured to the pedicurist. “Just don't steal my colors.”

Hermione considered a little longer. “What do you think, Alisa? Pink, or silver?”

Alisa studied Hermione's toes. “Go with that hot pink. It'll stand out with the lavender. I'm thinking about going with purple.”

Hermione looked at Alisa's polish, which was silver. “That would be good.” She looked around the spa curiously. “Have you seen Luna lately? Those witches got ahold of her hair and she doesn't even look like the same person.”

Ginny caught sight of Luna and gasped. The woman's hair had been cut to her shoulder blades, and layered around her face sleekly. It was very flattering. The color had been richened from the mousy brown that it typically was to a deep chocolate color and then highlighted with caramel and honey strands.

“Oh wow. That is a change. She really doesn't look like herself.”

“It's amazing what they can do here.” Alisa said contentedly, enjoying her manicure. “What shall we do next? Sauna? Waxing? Facial? Mud mask? Steam room? Ooh, deep muscle, stone and oil massage?”

Hermione groaned. “Is there a choice of all of the above?”

Ginny laughed. “You're the bride. What the bride wants, the bride gets. If you want it all, you get it all.” She signaled to an employee. “Chocolate truffle?”

Hermione settled back in her chair, laughing. “Why the hell not? I'm pregnant. I'd might as well eat what I want.”

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Harry was drinking for the sole purpose of forgetting the fact that his eyebrows had been waxed, he'd been forcibly given a facial, his nails had been done, his feet scrubbed, and his body rubbed from head to toe.

Well, that last part wasn't so bad, but all the rest? Torture. He threw back another shot of firewhiskey, both hating and loving the burning sensation that spread through his body. He didn't drink often. Didn't much care for the taste. He'd have a beer with Ron, Wood and Draco during a Muggle soccer game, have a glass of wine with dinner, but that was it. He hated the taste of hard liquor, and only consumed it on special occasions. Like three years earlier when he'd gotten drunk with his father, Ron, Draco, Sirius and Lupin. And when he desperately wanted to forget that his eyebrows had been waxed.

“How ya feelin' there, Potter, my boy?” Draco asked, slinging an arm around Harry's shoulders. The next shot of whiskey Harry had been considering taking sloshed all over the counter.

“Drunk.” He sat the glass down. “But not nearly drunk enough.”

“Ron's completely smashed.” Draco pointed to the youngest Weasley male, who was dancing on the bar. James and Sirius, also relatively sober, were standing below, ready to catch when Ron inevitably fell.

“That's just the way he wants it.” Harry looked at Draco. “You wanna get out of here?”

Draco pretended to take that the wrong way. “I thought you weren't that drunk? You have to be pretty drunk to hit on me.”

“I wasn't hitting on you, asshole. I'm getting married tomorrow. I want to get Hermione something to wear with her dress. I figure you're the best person to take with me.”

Draco sat his glass down. He was still hoping to share a room with his wife and daughter, so he'd stuck with water and butterbeer. Nothing that would impair his judgement. “Let's go then. I know just the thing. Remember, my friend, I've seen her dress, and you haven't.”

Harry grimaced. “Don't remind me.”

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There you have it. Chapter 21. I hope you enjoyed it. I was originally planning to make the drunk scene more reminiscent of the one earlier in the story, but I decided that the chapter didn't call for it. It just seemed a little inappropriate for the way I wanted everything to go. Next chapter, or perhaps 2, will be the wedding. Those will be up tomorrow and the next day. So the wedding will be finished by Monday. Stay tuned! Don't forget to review, because, again, this may be one your last chances to do so as I am seriously considering retiring after this. Let me know what you think, and definitely vote in the competition!

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A huge thanks to James, one of my reviewers. I had forgotten all about the locket. The other Horcrux. Or at least, what most people think is the other Horcrux. That gave me a great idea to stop this mushiness and really end this story with a bang! So thank you so so much. Also, the one anonymous reviewer who keeps copying and pasting my work into her reviews and never saying anything that I didn't write, if you don't stop, I am going to file a complaint with Portkey. What you are doing is ridiculous, and plagiarism. I hope you remember that this time. It's unacceptable, and I won't take it. So, here we go, the wedding! Oh, and while I did request a girls' name for Harry and Hermione's baby, I never said that the first child was going to be a girl. Their second one will be, and I already picked out a name for the first.

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Hermione woke at six thirty on her wedding day. She stretched, noticed briefly that she'd decided to stay in her quarters at Hogwarts and wondered if she had any clothes in her quarters. She didn't normally stay there, and didn't remember stocking the room. It took her a full thirty seconds to realize that it was her wedding day, and that that was why she was there and not in her house.

With a strangled yell, Hermione leapt from bed and dashed into the bathroom. Around the room, Ginny, Alisa, Luna, Penelope and Katherine all woke, and watched Hermione with amusement. They could see her in the bathroom hurriedly scrubbing her face with one hand while her charmed toothbrush brushed her teeth and brushing her hair with the other hand.

Ginny managed to drag herself from her bed first and stumbled into the bathroom. “Herms, it's six thirty. You've got eleven and a half hours. The wedding doesn't start until six.”

“Not enough time. Not nearly enough time. There was a schedule. We're behind on the schedule. My alarm was set for four thirty. I'm two hours behind the schedule. Ginny, did you turn off my alarm?”

Ginny didn't answer either way. “There was absolutely no reason for you to get up at four thirty. Look, let me get an elf to bring up breakfast and we'll eat, lay around for a little while and then start getting ready around noon. We can go for a swim.”

Hermione glared at her Maid of Honor. “Would you have let anyone see you in a bathing suit at five months pregnant?”

Ginny acknowledged the point. “All right then. How about a movie? There are plenty of Muggle movies around here? We'll watch a movie or two and then get ready. Give you time to relax and think about your lists before the hairdresser and makeup artist gets here. And then your parents are going to be here at two. Your Mom's going to get ready in here and your Dad is going to go torture Harry.”

That made Hermione giggle. “Dad really likes to torture Harry. But he loves Harry like the son he never had.” Hermione quoted in a fair impression of her father.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Isn't that the truth? Okay, come on, let's go get breakfast. I know I'm starving, and I want to eat before Carys wakes up and insists on being fed too.”

Hermione sent one longing look at the sink and the rows of makeup the artist had sent for her to look at, then nodded. “All right. Breakfast it is, but I want French toast.”

“French toast coming right up.”

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Harry tossed and turned, plagued by a dream. Voldemort was alive again, coming back, killing Hermione and their baby. And then there was darkness, a cold, unending blackness that surrounded him, pressing down on him, smothering him. He wasn't alone, though he couldn't see anyone.

“Harry.”

Harry, consumed by his dream, whirled around, and all his mind was telling him was that the voice was real. It was as if his brain couldn't distinguish between the dream, and reality. “Who's there?”

Dumbledore appeared, resplendent in flowing purple robes, hair swirling around him, looking much healthier that Harry had ever seen him. His hand was no longer withered, but strong and healthy. “There is one more, Harry. The sixth Horcrux still exists.”

Harry shook his head, denial rushing through him. “We destroyed them all.”

“No. The cave. The one in the cave is still intact. Slytherin's locket. It belonged to his only daughter. You must find and destroy it.”

“But Voldemort is dead!” Harry yelled, unwilling to believe that there was still danger to be faced. “I killed him!”

“In body yes, as you did many years ago. But his spirit will always exist so long as there is a Horcrux left intact. It must be destroyed or there is a chance that he can find a corporeal form again.”

Harry shook his head in a last ditch effort to make it untrue. “It's over, Professor! It's been three years!”

“Three years during which there has been a gathering of those Death Eaters left alive. During which Voldemort has regained enough strength to show himself as a ghost. He has no soul, Harry. And that makes him more dangerous than ever he was before. But if you find and destroy the locket before he regains a body, he will simply cease to exist. But you must go quickly. For the Death Eaters are already looking, and they know who took it.”

Resigned that his destiny was not yet completed, Harry plowed his hands through his hair. “Who took it?”

“Regalus Black.”

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Harry woke, his breath coming in sharp gasps, sweat running down his neck and back. He tossed the blankets aside and ran into the common room of the dorms where he and his groomsmen has spent the night before. A quick glance told him that he was the last one up.

“I need to see Hermione. Ron, Draco, you have to come too.”

While Ron thought that Harry was just missing his fiancée and dismissed the demand with a chuckle, Draco recognized panic on his friends' face. “What's happened? What's wrong?”

“It's Voldemort. He's back.”

That got everyone's attention. Draco held up a hand to silence them. “What do you mean, he's back?”

“I mean, we missed a Horcrux. The one we thought was destroyed. The one that Dumbledore and I went after in the cave. It's still intact. Which means…”

Draco finished the sentence. “That Voldemort's essence still exists and that he can eventually get another body like he did before unless we find it and destroy it.”

Harry nodded. “Exactly. And I know what it is.”

Ron waved his hands impatiently. “Well, what is it?”

“A locket that Slytherin had made for his daughter.”

Draco nodded. “I remember that. Dad had it at one point in time. Mom was a descendent of Slytherin, and got the locket when she was married. It got lost in a move though, before I was born. I just remember Mom complaining about it when they had a fight one time.”

“Sirius' brother was the one who took it.” Harry looked at Ron. “We saw it the summer before our fifth year. That huge, heavy old locket in the closet of the Black place that we found when we were helping Sirius clean out the house at Grimmauld Place.”

Ron nodded. “That big old thing that looked like a cheap piece of costume jewelry?”

“That's the one.” Draco agreed, heading up the steps. “I'll go get dressed and then we'll go see Hermione. Harry, Ron, I would suggest the two of you changed out of your pajamas as well.”

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Hermione was going over her lists for a fifth time and studiously ignoring the movie playing on the screen, when someone knocked on the door. Ginny had chosen Sweet Home Alabama, and the other women were immersed in it. Seeing that no one else had even heard the knock, Hermione heaved herself off of the couch and walked to the door. When she saw her fiancé on the other side, she slammed the door in his face.

“Harry James Potter! You know very well that you aren't allowed to see the bride on her wedding day!”

Harry sighed. “I know that, Hermione, but this is an emergency. And Draco and Ron are here too.”

“That doesn't make a difference.”

“You aren't in your dress yet are you? The wedding isn't for eight hours.”

“No, I'm not in my dress. And you still can't come in.”

Draco elbowed Harry. “You're just going to have to tell her what's going on. Then she'll let you in.”

Harry nodded. “Herms, we have a big problem.”

“What?”

“I had a dream last night.”

Hermione huffed. “That's a big problem? Everyone dreams every night Harry, there's nothing unusual about that.”

“No, Herms, it was like the prophetic ones I had when we were in school about Voldemort.”

Hermione was suddenly scared. “If you had a dream that we won't make it, then I swear to God I am going to kill you and be rid of you. There is no way in heaven or hell you are going to dump me on my wedding day. Not and expect to live through it.”

“I'm not calling off the wedding. Voldemort isn't dead, `Mione.”

“Of course he is. You killed him. I gave you my power, and you killed him. Simple as that. I watched you.”

“No, not simple as that. The Horcrux we thought was destroyed? The one Dumbledore and I went after in the cave? It's still out there. It's a locket that Salazar Slytherin had made for his only daughter. It's the one we found at Sirius' house that one summer that we couldn't get to open.”

Hermione opened the door, resigned. “All right. When do we leave?”

Draco preempted Harry. “After the wedding. Tonight is soon enough. There's no reason that you two can't have your wedding. After all, there're nearly a thousand people coming. This is the biggest wedding since that of Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor. There's no way you can just call it off or postpone it on the day of the wedding.”

Hermione tossed her arms around Draco. “Thank you! I would've gone, but I really want to have my wedding before we go off and save the world again.”

Draco patted her back. “No problem. Now, let's discuss what we're going to do about this, and then get the wedding on the road.”

Hermione shook her head. “No. You guys go get Sirius, see if he remembers where he put those boxes that we threw out. That'll save us a lot of time and effort. And I bet he remembers. Draco or Ron can come up and tell me. Harry, you stay away.” She shied back when he started to reach for her. “Oh, no Casanova. You can't touch me.”

Harry looked at Hermione. “Herms, it's sounding like we don't get a Honeymoon. Let me at least kiss you good bye.”

Hermione considered that for a few seconds, then shook her head. “Sorry. I'll see you in eight hours.”

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Hermione was stressed to the max. However, not because of her wedding. That was pulling together wonderfully. Her hair was magnificent, curling around her face, and piled in an elegant twist at the back of her head. The highlights she still wouldn't admit she liked were gorgeous, accentuating her caramel eyes. Her makeup was wonderful as well, light and natural, with her eyes lined in emerald to make them stand out, copper on her lids and mouth, and peachy pink on her cheeks. She looked dewy and glowy, with impending motherhood and marriage.

The dress was a creation Hermione hadn't thought possible. Even with her burgeoning belly, which still wasn't very large, but big enough to impede the fit of her pre pregnancy clothes, managed to make her look like she wasn't pregnant. The waist was empire, set just beneath her breasts, which drew the eye to the neckline, which was low, and square across her breasts.

The skirt was full, flowing out from her body in a cloud of satin and lace. There was a train, embroidered with flowers that stretched a couple feet behind her. The bodice was snug, sucking her belly in even further, but not tight enough to hurt her child, and spattered with the same flowers that decorated the train. The skirt was much the same. The dress was strapless, and Hermione had hit the gym six times a week for three months to tone her arms and shoulders to wear it. She'd always been slim, but never toned. She'd wanted to look perfect for her wedding.

The Maid of Honor was dressed in green. It matched her hair and her eyes, and was deep and beautiful. The dress was floor length, Ginny had insisted upon it, and a halter style. It showed off her back, and her shoulders, both of which were perfect. Hermione had growled over that for a week while working out with Ginny. Ginny's hair was in a French twist at the nape of her neck, with tendrils framing her face. She was gorgeous.

The Bridesmaids were wearing similar dresses, but they weren't identical. They were all deep teal. The color was rich, and the dresses were long. That was all they had in common. Alisa had gone with strapless and a high slit to show off her legs. Penelope, the most conservative of the three had decided on spaghetti strapped, and no slip. The dress relied purely on her shape to make it beautiful, and Penelope had a wonderful shape. Katherine had taken her queue from Ginny and worn a halter dress. Hers was plain, other that the sequins scattered over the skirt.

They all looked wonderful, and Hermione was very happy with the way that everyone had turned out. She had less than half an hour until she was to be married, and she was sitting on the couch in her quarters, Draco on one side, Sirius on the other, and they were developing a plan to get back the last Horcrux. That was where the stress came in.

“Okay, Sirius, you took all the boxes and donated them to the Organization to Assist Disabled and Underprivileged Witches and Wizards?”

Sirius nodded. “And now I wish I'd have just put them in storage like I thought about doing.”

“That isn't a huge deal. It's better for us actually. I have a friend who works there. She'll let me see their records. That way I can find out if it's still sitting on a shelf somewhere, or if it was distributed.” Hermione patted her hair absently, making sure it was still in place. “Seeing as it's a Slytherin artifact, it may just be lying around somewhere, or have been given to the Ministry.”

Draco nodded. “That, I agree with. The OADUWW doesn't like to give out things that might possibly be dangerous to anyone.”

Hermione ran her hand over her skirt, checking for loose threads or any smudges. “So we'll head over there as soon as we're done here. It's a Saturday, and it'll be in the evening, but I think I can get Lavender to let us in.”

Draco choked on the drink of Pumpkin Juice he'd just taken. “Lavender Brown works in the OADUWW?”

“Yeah. She's the vice president. I'll contact her after the wedding. She's supposed to come.” Hermione consulted her guest list. “Yeah. She RSVP'd already. She'll be here.” Hermione looked up as her father walked in. “Is it time?”

Blake Granger nodded. “Yup. It's time. Draco, you need to go join Harry and the groomsmen in the Great Hall. Sirius, you need to take your seat as well. Ladies, let's line up.”

Hermione hadn't had time to be nervous until that moment, as she slipped her hand into her father's arm. “Who's marrying us again?”

Blake laughed as they took their place behind Ginny. “That would be Arthur, sweetheart. The new Minister of Magic.”

Hermione nodded. “Right. Are we ready to go?”

Blake watched the bridesmaids move down the hall to the door of the Great Hall. At McGonagall's direction, they each walked down the aisle and took their place. It had been less than two minutes since Draco had taken his place next to Ron. “We're ready.” Blake looked at his daughter. “Are you sure you want to do this? It isn't too late to call it off and come home and live like a Muggle. You could have your old room back.”

Hermione smiled up at her father. “I'm sure, Daddy. I love him, and I want to marry him.”

“Okay then. Here we go.”

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Harry couldn't take his eyes off of Hermione. He barely noticed the other bridesmaids as they lined up, but nothing could have torn his eyes off of his bride. Then before he knew it, Hermione's hand was in his, and Blake was sitting down. The couple turned to Arthur Weasley, who was still looking quite uncomfortable in his Minister's robes. Arthur cleared his throat.

“These two people are standing in front of you today to make a commitment to one another. A commitment to love, honor and cherish. But much more than that, to trust, to help, to rely on one another. This is a union that should not be taken lightly, and is of much more than the body. It is a union of the heart, the soul. If there is anyone here with a reason why these two should not marry, please speak now, or forever hold your peace.”

Hermione wanted desperately to look around. Though she was pretty positive that no one there was going to object, she was terrified that someone would. That Voldemort would burst in and kill them all. That something bad would happen.

And then, Arthur was continuing. “Very well. Harry and Hermione have written their own vows. Harry, you will go first.”

Harry cleared his throat, not entirely sure that he could talk. He locked his eyes onto Hermione's. “Herms, we met when we were eleven years old. We didn't like each other then. I thought you were a brainiac know it all, and you thought I was an annoying famous boy with a hero complex.” Hermione laughed, and Harry gained a little confidence. “Well, we were both right. You are a know it all, and I suppose I do have a hero complex. But together, we always managed to muddle through everything that came at us. We always had help from Ron, but over the years we were in school, we learned to depend on one another, to trust each other with our very lives. I think I fell in love with you in our second year when you got frozen by the Basilisk. I remember sitting by your bed, holding your hand and wishing that you were there so that you could tell me the answers. You always had them, `Mione.

“Whenever I had a problem, it was you I went to, you I trusted. You were always more the hero that I was. You used that infallible logic of yours to get us through every problem that we had. What we went through together in the last twelve years is more than most people go through in a lifetime. And it's bound us together. You taught me what it was to succeed. To be good at what I loved, to pursue my dreams. You showed me that I could do what I needed to do, even when the odds said I couldn't. I don't think I ever heard you say can't in all the time I've known you. From Polyjuice Potion at twelve, to gilly weed at fourteen. Timeturners, and hippogriffs, and the Department of Mysteries, to the battle our sixth year. The challenges to get my parents and Sirius back, defeating Voldemort. Having a baby, a career, planning a wedding. You took everything on and refused to admit you couldn't do anything. And it was that determination that allowed you to do it all. It's part of what made me fall in love with you.

“I promise I'll always be here for you. That I'll love you no matter what, and that you're my world. You're the woman I love, and the only one I'll ever love. You've saved my life, in more than one way. I love you Hermione, and sometimes, when things got really bad, you were the only reason I kept going. The one reason I kept fighting a battle I didn't think I could win. You scared me to death every time you fought. I was so afraid to lose you I couldn't breathe. You made me the happiest man on the planet when you said you'd marry me. And standing here, in front of all these people, to think that the most incredible woman that has ever been born is willing to spend the rest of her life with me? It just blows my mind, and makes me feel like my heart is going to burst out of my chest at any second. For a long time, you and Ron were my family. The only people I knew would always be there. And I never felt alone with you there. I always felt like I had a place. And it took me a long time to realize that that place is right here, with you, pledging our lives and our love to one another. I love you, Hermione. More than I've loved anyone in my entire life. And I am staggered that you would marry me. Thank you, `Mione, for loving me, and seeing more in me than the scrawny little boy with a hero complex that didn't know where to go next. It's because of you that I'm where I am today, and I am so thankful that I get the chance to spend the rest of my life with the one woman that I have ever loved.”

Hermione was crying by the time that Harry finished his vows, and damning him for making her ruin her makeup. She decided that protocol could go to hell. She reached out and hugged Harry, holding on to him for a long minute while she got herself back under control. When she released him, she felt steady enough to recite her own vows.

“I had this whole speech planned, about how much I loved you, and how far we've come, and all the things we've been through making us stronger. But darn you, Harry, for writing something that good. Everything I had down seems inadequate now.” Hermione smiled through the tears, and managed a laugh.

“You're right. I was a brainiac know it all and you were a scrawny little famous boy with a hero complex who didn't know where to turn next. Add in the best friend a boy or girl could ever possibly want, as well as one of the bravest people I know who was suffering from a bit of a case of her worship, and you've yourself a team. But we didn't do it, Harry. You did. You defeated Quirrell in the chamber with the mirror of Erised. You killed the basilisk. You saved Buckbeak and helped Sirius escape from Azkaban. You won the TriWizard Tournament, and defeated Voldemort in our fifth year. You destroyed the Horcruxes and saved all our lives more times that I can count. And you could have done it all alone. Ultimately, Ron and I were just your friends. Friends who loved you, and would have died for you, certainly, but you were the hero. But the hero isn't who I fell in love with.

“I love you because of who you are, not what you are. I love the boy who stumbled over his Potions homework, and was always breaking his glasses. I love the man who still mixes up ingredients in potions and can't scramble an egg to save his life. I fell in love with the Harry the world doesn't get to see. The one who struggles with what's right, and what has to be done, because we realized long ago that those two aren't always the same. The one who always watched a Quidditch game and yearned to be out there playing, not because of the fame or the money, but because you loved the game. The one who loves me despite the fact that I'm bossy and an insufferable know it all. Because I am, and everyone who knows me knows it.

“You aren't the only one who was scared. I ran to you plenty too. For advice sometimes, but mostly because you were the one person in the world who I would believe when they'd tell me that it would be okay. You'd hug me and say that everything would work out and it would all be fine, and I always believed you. And it was always okay. It always worked out. I trusted you with my life and my heart and my love, and you've never put any of those in danger. I fell in love with you, Harry, when you saved me from that troll. I'll never forget how you looked, up in the air, sticking your wand up its nose and nearly dying yourself because you wouldn't leave me there. That's when it occurred to me that you didn't have a hero complex. You were, you are, a hero.

“You're going to be a wonderful father, and a terrific husband. You're incapable of being selfish, and you never take anything for granted. I love you, Harry, and it should be me thanking you for loving me. Because I'm the one that's blessed. I fell in love with a hero. And somehow, he loves me back. And I'll thank fate for that all my life. The life that I get to spend with the only man I've loved, the father of my child, and the man I will love even after I die.”

Arthur was tearing up himself. He sniffled before continuing the ceremony. “Hermione, do you accept Harry's vows and take him as your husband?”

Hermione's voice was somehow strong. “I do.”

“Harry, do you accept Hermione's vows and take her as your wife?”

Harry nodded. “I do.”

“Then by the power given to be by the Ministry of Magic, I pronounce you husband and wife. Harry, you may kiss your bride.”

An army of Death Eaters couldn't have stopped him from doing just that. He took his wife in his arms, and kissed her lavishly. When he released her, she simply threw her arms around him and kissed him again, deep and passionate. She pulled back and tucked her arm through his. “That was for not letting you kiss me earlier.”

Harry grinned. “It was worth the wait.”

Hermione sensed that he wasn't talking about the kiss. “It certainly was. Now, let's go save the world. Again.”

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I hope you liked it. I had originally planned for the next chapter to the about the births, but as you can probably tell, there's a new spin that I hadn't intended upon. So it might take me up to thirty chapters or so. Maybe a little less, but probably no more. Don't forget to send in your name suggestions, vote in the competition, and review! Next chapter up tomorrow!

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My muse is driving me up the wall. She won't let me quit. This is Monday's chapter, and it was originally supposed to be the last one. There was going to be an epilogue tomorrow to tie everything up. However, that is not how it seems to be going. I'm sure you noticed in the last chapter that I couldn't possibly tie everything up today. Well, you're right. I can't. My new trajectory is this chapter, and two, maybe three more then the epilogue, providing of course, that my muse doesn't add another twist or two into my plotline. I hope everyone enjoys this. I know it's taken a lot of time to figure out how to do this, with what I originally had planned, and what my muse apparently planned for me. This is totally different than I had anticipated, but I think it's going to be even better than what I had thought about doing. So, enjoy, and don't forget to review! Voting has now begun everyone, so don't forget to sign in and rate this fic!

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Harry and Hermione were supposed to be in Mexico, trekking over ruins and swimming with dolphins. Or at least, Harry was supposed to be swimming with dolphins. Instead, they were at home, in their room, changing into jeans and robes to head off and destroy Voldemort. Again.

Hermione wrestled her hair into a ponytail. It was uncomfortably reminiscent of its frizzy days. She'd had to brush out the curls, and her hair hadn't decided to behave. It had frizzed so it appeared as if she was the owner of an Afro. Which was why it had been forced into slight submission, but putting it into a ponytail.

Harry was standing by the door, watching in mild amusement as she changed from her wedding dress into jeans and a sweater he recognized as the one he'd given her for the previous Christmas. Around her neck was the slim diamond choker he and Draco had picked out for her the night before the wedding. He'd had Draco give it to her when he went to tell her that Sirius did, in fact, know where the locket had gone. Her only other jewelry was her engagement ring, which she never took off, and her wedding band, a simple platinum band engraved with his name and their wedding date. He wore a matching one with her name on his left ring finger. He'd been surprised to note that wearing a wedding band didn't feel awkward.

Hermione finished scrubbing the remnants of her makeup from her face and crossed the room, pulling on her boots as she went. “Okay. I'm ready. Let's get this done so we can go to Mexico.” She looked at her husband. “We were supposed to be locked in our hotel room with the `do not disturb' sign on the door by now.”

Harry took her hand. “I know. Believe me, I know. We'll just hurry up and save the world and then go on our Honeymoon.”

“We aren't going, are we?”

Harry shook his head. “Probably not, no.” he offered her an apologetic look. “I am sorry, Herms.”

Hermione shrugged. “Welcome to our lives. Get married at six, off to fight the most evil and powerful wizard to ever exist by nine.”

At least she was taking it in stride. Harry had expected her to be much angrier at having her wedding day and Honeymoon ruined the way that it had been. He knew just about every other woman would have been. “We can try to go away for a few days after this is over.” He offered, but Hermione shook her head.

“I have to go back to work and you have games. Let's just forget it, Harry. It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that we have the rest of our life to go to Mexico. This is more important that anything else.”

Harry squeezed her fingers. “I love you, Hermione. I really do.”

“I know you do. I love you too. Now stop feeling guilty about ruining our Honeymoon. Better to never go than to get pulled away in the middle of it by this, which is what would have happened.”

Draco came to the top of the stairs. “Are you two coming or are we doing this without you?”

“We're ready.” Hermione led the men down the stairs. “Where's Ron?”

“On his way.” Draco cringed. “I let him take Carys to Molly. He was going there with Luna anyway.”

“And Ginny?”

“Will be damned if you tell her to stay home like a good little girl.” Ginny said, walking in from the kitchen. Like Hermione, she'd decided to forego robes. It was cold outside, and robes and a cloak were harder to run in than a coat. Draco and Harry had been told to dress like Muggles. Both were helpless to resist their wives.

Hermione nodded. “All right then. Is Sirius coming?”

“He's in the kitchen talking to James and Lily and Lupin.” Ginny shook her head. “Wood and Alisa are in there too. They took Mikayla to Mum. It looks like we're going to have quite the motley crew going with us on this.”

Harry shrugged. “The more the merrier I suppose. There's no telling how many Death Eaters there will be if they've managed to get their hands on the Horcrux.”

Hermione sat down on a bar stool in the kitchen. “If they have the Horcrux, then this gets even more dangerous. Since there's a piece of Voldemort's soul left inside it, it can be used, with the proper spell and potion, to conjure him a body. Voldemort wouldn't have the part of the soul as it would evaporate during the process of making him a body, but he would be corporeal again, and that mean trouble for us.”

Harry looked at his wife. “Are you sure you won't stay here, `Mione? With the baby…” he trailed off as Hermione's gaze sharpened on him.

“No. I will not stay here. I haven't let you face something without me yet, and I'm not about to start now. Either we do it together or we don't do it at all.”

James laughed, slung an arm around his son. “That's exactly what your mother said to me when I suggested she wait with Luna and the Weasley's at the Burrow.”

Lily slid her arm around Hermione. “And in both cases, it's true. James was getting me in trouble the moment he stepped foot into my car, and thirty years later, he's still doing it.”

Hermione let herself lean on Lily for a moment. “You mean it doesn't end?”

“Never.”

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The group arrived at the OADUWW at nine thirty. Lavender had grumbled about letting them in, but since she'd also gone to school with Draco, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny, she knew that what they wanted, they got. It had been useless to protest. So she opened up the office, gave them a strict warning not to damage anything and went home.

Harry sat down at the desk, and booted up the computer. Lavender's family was mostly Muggle, so she'd insisted on the use of computers. It made things so much easier. More efficient. And Lavender Brown liked things to be efficient. And lavender if at all possible. Which was why the computer was bright purple.

“Okay, Sirius, what was the date of the donation?”

Sirius shrugged. “I don't know, Harry. Sometime in September of your fifth year.”

Harry entered the month and scrolled down. “Did you give it under your name?”

“No. I was still wanted by Azkaban, remember? I used my brother's name. Regalus.”

Harry spotted it, clicked on the name. There was a detailed inventory list. “Okay. I think this is it.” He squinted. “This has to be Lavender's own language. Gaudy, oversized, ostentatious, most likely fake, broken locket. Fit for Halloween, costume party or someone with no sense of style. Unfit for any wardrobe outside that of Madonna or Cher. Possibly acceptable for an Anna Nicole Smith or Britney Spears impersonator.” Harry's brow furrowed. “Can anyone tell if this is what we're looking for?”

Ginny had managed to decipher most of that. “I think that means it's a big locket that doesn't open. Keep going.”

“Emblazoned with a cheesy lame, serpentine S that covers any possible beauty and desirability the locket may have had.” Harry looked at Ginny. “Does that mean a snake shaped like an S?”

“I believe so, yes. Does it say anything else?”

“Given to a very unfashionable woman with obviously fake blonde hair and two inch long nails painted a garish blue. Very disturbing. Application number four two seven three nine w.” Harry rubbed his eyed. “Finally something useful.” He heard Hermione rustling through the application files as he shut the computer down. Hermione pulled one out.

“Here we go.” Hermione's face drained of color. “That moron!”

Harry snatched the file from Hermione. He hit the desk with his fist hard enough to make a pretty crystal rabbit fall off and crash on the floor. “Dammit! Why can't we get a break?!”

Draco crossed his arms, prepared for the worst. “What is it? Whom'd they give it to?”

“Borgin's wife. Borgin of Borgin and Burke's.”

Draco nearly laughed. “This just gets better and better. If he realized what it was, you can imagine that it went straight to the hands of a Death Eater.”

Harry nodded. “For a price, of course. And if I remember right, Borgin and Burke's shop keep meticulous records.”

“That they do. So do we break in?”

Harry returned Draco's grin. “We break in. Herms, we're going to need your neat little spell again.”

Hermione took out her wand. “Coming right up.”

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Borgin and Burke's shop was locked up tight, and the Apparation wards were first class. But that didn't stop Hermione's spell. They all Apparated into the store undetected. Hermione finessed the office lock open and they all crowded inside. Hermione opened the drawer marked `L'.

“Okay, we've got three different lockets brought in on that date.” She riffled through the sheets of parchment. “No descriptions. Probably to keep people from doing what we're doing right now. All three were sold to different people. Good Merlin, Kingsley Shacklebolt bought one of them.”

Harry grabbed the parchment. “I know he isn't a Death Eater. Neither are these people. At least I don't think they are. Draco?”

Draco took the files. “This one is. Pretty high up in the pecking order too. Ian Flemming. One of Dad's assistants.”

Harry handed his parents the third file. It was of a woman by the name of Susanna Rafael. “Go see if this pans out.”

James looked it over. “Remus, care to join us?”

Lupin shrugged. “Why not? Let's meet up at your house afterward.”

The three adults Apparated as Harry handed the three women Kingsley Shacklebolt's file. “You three handle Shacklebolt. Just in case he is a Death Eater.”

Hermione took the file. “We're on it. Do you think there's a chance he is?”

Harry shrugged. “God, I hope not. That would mean there's no telling how deep the network goes. First the Minister of Magic, and then the person in charge of the Aurors? That could be bad.”

Hermione grinned. “And we'll handle it if it is.”

Harry waited until the women had Apparated. Wood, Draco and Ron would be going with him to the known Death Eater's house. They exchanged a look, then Apparated.

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And at different points of the world, three groups of people knocked on three different doors, all holding their breath and hoping that their house would be the one to hold the locket. And at those three houses, the ten people who had dedicated their lives to defeating Death Eaters and Voldemort were met with Death Eaters. Each house had the Dark Mark above it. Apparently the Death Eaters had discovered the same thing as Harry. What had been a semi dangerous situation had just gotten much more grave. Especially for the two women carrying babies. They were in a weakened state, and less magical that they would have been had they already given birth. About a third of their magical ability was going to keeping the baby safe and protected, which left Lily and Hermione very vulnerable. Their only saving grace was that they were the two most powerful witches in the world, and most people were afraid of them both.

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All right everyone. I have to put this review I received in here and address it. Here it is: “I think some of your lines are rather corny/cheesey. I will continue to read this story till the end, but i won't vote for it because it's not the best post-HBP. Well i do approve of your dedication though, even if you are a less than gifted author. I also think it would be pointless to report the other reviewer to portkey and I dont see the grounds by which you claim plagarism. So with that I leave you with the worst line in your most previous chapter.

"Their only saving grace was that they were the two most powerful witches in the world, and most people were afraid of them both." -You

Horrible line....”

Okay. Where to start? For one, this is not constructive. It is insulting. There are no suggestions for improvement, nothing that they like about the story, and while I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am not nearly the best writer on Portkey…I take offense to being called less than gifted when nearly 500 reviews are to the contrary. So, to the reviewer that wrote this review…if you don't like it, don't read it. I don't need your vote. And I don't need my dedication approved of. It isn't for other people. I write for me, and while you are entitled to your opinion, I think that the review you wrote is in bad taste and that I honestly hope you refrain from reviewing anything in the future. I have been urged to report YOU to portkey, as the review you left could certainly be termed harassment, however, I have decided to let it go. It's your opinion, and you have a right to it. I only think that you could have found a much better way to say what you did. And the grounds by which I claim plagiarism? The fact that the reviewer is using my words and my story as his or her own without giving me credit for what I pulled out of myself and wrote. And honestly, if I had to bet, I'd say you were the one who copied all my work.

Sorry to rant, but I just absolutely had to address this.

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Hermione exchanged glances with Ginny and Alisa as she mentally evaluated the situation. Fifteen Death Eaters. She'd faced worse odds before, though not while she was pregnant. She spotted Shacklebolt heaving himself to his feet and grinned. Aurors would be swarming the place in five minutes. She lifted her wand.

“Get down!” she shouted, and Ginny and Alisa hit the floor as Hermione yelled, “Pulsato!” A sonic boom burst from the tip of her wand, knocking all the Death Eaters to the ground. It didn't work exactly as it was supposed to, because all the Death Eaters were suddenly equipped with horns and scales. “Shit.”

Ginny tackled Hermione as a Death Eater attacked her, lashing out physically and kicking the man in the balls. He howled from pain and dropped to his knees. Alisa was holding everyone back Ginny took a few seconds to explain what was going on to Hermione. “When you're pregnant, your magic goes wacky. The baby is contributing to it, taking part of it away, and there's no telling what's going to happen when you cast a spell. Get Shacklebolt and find that locket. Alisa and I can handle this.”

Hermione nodded and scrambled up. She dodged curses that were flying throughout the house, returning them and made it to Shacklebolt. He accepted her hand, let her pull him up. “What the bloody buggering hell is going on in here?! I get home to find my house swarming with Death Eaters telling me I have Slytherin's locket.”

Hermione dragged him into the other room, taking a queue from Ginny and punching the Death Eater that got in her way. She'd discovered that she felt weaker and less powerful with every curse that she forced, and as she'd single handedly taken on about eight of the Death Eaters, she wasn't feeling too well. “It's the last Horcrux. You bought it from Borgin and Burke's two years ago. Gaudy gold locket that wouldn't open.”

“No. I bought a dainty little one that had Merlin's mark on it for my mother's birthday. It was gold and silver.”

“Then it isn't here.” Hermione laid a hand over her stomach to stop the kicking that was going on. Her baby had apparently been roused from sleep and wasn't entirely happy about the matter. “Go help Ginny and Alisa. I'll call the Aurors.”

Ginny and Alisa hadn't had many problems with subduing the Death Eaters that had invaded Shacklebolt's house. They were too talented to be overcome by second string Death Eaters. By the time Shacklebolt got into the living room, he saw only two Death Eaters even conscious, which Alisa quickly took care of by bashing their heads together.

Shacklebolt sank onto his couch. “Impressive, ladies.” He said grudgingly. He didn't like to admit when women did a better job than him. “Ever think of being Aurors?”

Ginny laughed, shook her head. “No thanks. We get into enough situations like this on our own.”

Hermione was still rubbing her stomach. Both women were instantly concerned. “Are you okay?” Alisa asked, slipping an arm around Hermione. She nodded.

“I think so. He's just real active and kicking the hell outta me. It's starting to hurt, that's all.”

Ginny nodded slowly. “Okay. You should let me take you back to St. Mungo's and check you out though. Just to make sure.”

Hermione shook her head. “No time for that now. We have to help everyone else.”

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Lily, James, Sirius and Lupin met much the same scene. Lily knew first hand that pregnancy diminished magical ability, so she brought up the rear, not using her wand as much as she normally would have. James kept himself positioned directly in front of his wife, protecting both her and their children. Sirius and Lupin always relished a good fight, and were enjoying the combined use of wands and fists. Neither was above hitting someone in the face or gut if they got too close.

Lily dodged a curse, pressed hard against her husband's back for a moment, whispering in his ear. “I'm going to go look for the locket. You three take care of these people.”

James nodded, lifted his wand and slammed a Death Eater he recognized from his days at Hogwarts into the wall closest to him. “Go on. I don't want you in this anyway.”

Lily chose not to respond and headed up the stairs. She was caught at the top by a female Death Eater and barely escaped a Cruciatus curse. Not willing to waste time and risk her life with unpredictable magic, Lily lifted her wand.

“Avada Kedavra!”

The woman promptly turned into a fluffy white rabbit with the tail of a squirrel. Disgusted with herself, Lily grabbed the rabbit by the scruff of its neck and dropped it into her purse, making sure it was securely zipped. She'd have James contend with it later.

There were three bedrooms. She searched them all quickly, finding nothing. Aggravated to no end that she was relegated to looking for a necklace while her husband and their two best friends fought off Death Eaters, Lily squeezed her eyes shut and raised her wand. “Accio locket!”

At least a hundred pounds of jewelry fell on top of her, flying from all over the house. With a sound much like a mixture between a growl and a scream, Lily began to search through the jewelry. At least she hadn't summoned all kitchen appliances or furniture. That would have hurt much worse.

Nothing. It wasn't there. She didn't think that there was any chance a Death Eater had gotten to it first since she found about a dozen lockets that were of all different shapes, sizes and colors. Lily struggled to her feet and ran down the stairs just to see her husband twirling a Death Eater about ten feet off the ground. She stopped at the bottom, hands on her hips.

“James Potter, stop toying with him and knock him out already!”

James waggled his eyebrows at his wife. “Yes, dear.” He said, and threw the man through the big bay window. “Find it?”

“No.” Lily jumped when Hermione, Alisa and Ginny Apparated in. She noticed immediately that Hermione was looking a bit pale, and not at all like she was feeling well. “Did you find it?”

Hermione shook her head, brushing off Ginny and Alisa, who had insisted on side along Apparition. “No. I take it you didn't either?”

“No.” Lily walked across the room, delicately picking her way over unconscious bodies. “That means Harry's group has to find it, or we're screwed.”

James took Hermione's arm. “Are you alright, Hermione?”

Hermione nodded. “Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little zapped. My spells aren't working right. It takes so much power and concentration to do anything.”

Lily was instantly concerned. “Oh, honey, you shouldn't force it like that.” She placed a cool hand on Hermione's forehead, noticed the fever. “It isn't healthy. The magic of pregnant women is uncontrollable. We can never tell what's going to happen once we're in the second trimester. The baby affects it and so does our hormones. We just have to roll with it.”

Hermione was slightly dizzy, but she wasn't going to tell anyone that. “What happens when you force your spells to work right?”

“Fever, dizziness, nausea, fainting. Sometimes more severe things, depending on what you forced.” Lily trailed off as Hermione doubled over, clutching her abdomen. James grabbed Hermione, keeping her on her feet. “Get her to the hospital now. I should have told her about this as soon as I knew she was pregnant.”

James was panicky. “What's wrong?”

“Same thing that happened to me when I found out about our magic when we're pregnant. Strain on the baby is so great that all her magic is being redirected to sustain the pregnancy. If she doesn't get balanced again…”

James finished the sentence, remembering all too well what had happened to his wife during her first pregnancy. “She ultimately kills herself to keep the baby alive.”

Lily nodded, taking Hermione's other arm. The whole group, minus Alisa, went to St. Mungo's. Alisa headed for Harry, Wood, Ron and Draco. Someone had to tell the father to be that something was wrong with his wife.

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Harry was tossing the locket back and forth between his hands when Alisa appeared in front of them. “Something's wrong with Hermione and the baby. You have to get to the hospital now.”

Harry grabbed Alisa's arms. “What is it? What happened?”

“She didn't know about women's magic when they're pregnant. It goes all funky, and a lot is diverted to protect the baby. When Hermione pushed her magic to do the correct thing, it took some of the protection from the baby, which left it vulnerable. Her body is overcompensating, taking all her magic and applying it to the baby. If she doesn't get balanced, she'll die.”

Harry didn't notice Ron and Draco take his arms and Apparate to St. Mungo's. The next thing he saw were his parents, his father demanding to be told something, and his mother being consoled by Sirius, who's lap she was sitting in.

“Dad.”

James turned around as his son ran over. “Ginny's back there with her. She's the primary MediWizard on the case. But the nurses won't tell me anything.”

Harry looked at the blonde woman sitting behind the desk, read her nametag. “Marcie? That's my wife and child in there. I want to know what's going on, and I want to know now. And I hate to say it, but if you don't go find out what's going on and do it now, you're never going to be able to bleach your hair again, because I'm going to curse you bald.”

Horrified, Marcie ran from the desk. James patted Harry on the back. “Nice job. I'd considered threatening to deflate her implants, but your way was better.”

“How was she when you got her here?”

James sighed. “In a lot of pain. She wouldn't scream, but I could tell she wanted to. She was crying, and couldn't stand on her own. She was burning up with fever, and I don't think I've ever felt a heart beat as fast as hers was. Pale, slightly green, and Apparating here gave her the worst nose bleed I've ever seen in my life.”

Harry got pale himself, and James briefly wondered if his son was going to pass out. But Harry stood his ground, and stayed on his feet. “This doesn't happen very often, does it?”

James shrugged. “Not in cases that severe. Fighting like she did really took a lot out of her, and the pregnancy is making everything out of whack. Mom had somewhat the same thing when we got into a bit of a scuffle with Lucius and his cronies while she was pregnant with you. Not quite as bad, but they thought they were going to lose her for a while. What happens, Harry, is that when a pregnant witch forces a spell, especially an Unforgivable Curse, the magic being used to protect the baby is drained. When the threat is over, the body overcompensates; using all the magical power there is to make sure the baby is safe and well. The problem with that is, without any of her magic, Hermione dies. There are potions to reverse and balance everything to the way they should be, but they take a few hours, and there aren't any guarantees.”

Harry paced. “How is it possible that she didn't know?”

“Most witches have at least one parent that's magical. She doesn't, and she never studied Magical Medicine.”

Harry nodded. “It was only offered our seventh year, and we never went.”

“Right. Your mother's beating herself up over not remembering to tell Hermione about it. Molly will too when she gets here.”

Harry shook his head. “They shouldn't. We're all so used to having Hermione know everything there is to know about everything. She's never completely in the dark about something.”

James nodded. “I know. Which is why Mom didn't think to tell her. There's the nurse.”

Harry was very impatient, and was about to burst by the time Marcie made her way down the hall. “Your wife, Mr. Potter, is being attended by an entire team of Healers and MediWizards. Apparently she's something of a celebrity and garnered all of our best staff. The MediWizard in charge, a Miss Ginevra Weasley, says to inform you that she will be out in twenty minutes once they know more and that the only thing to tell you at this particular time is that everyone is doing all they can do, and that the baby is stable and strong.”

“And Hermione?”

“Is being taken care of.” She seemed to relish giving Harry bad news. “Though I can tell you from personal observation, that I have never seen a witch in as bad of shape as her pull through completely. A full magic drainage. Never happened before. Must have been one hell of a battle.”

James grabbed Harry and dragged him across the waiting room. Both men were furtively wishing the nurse had been male so that they could have taken their frustrations out on her. James shoved Harry into a chair and looked at Alisa.

“What happened? We need to know exactly what happened.”

Alisa took a deep breath, gripped her husband's hand. “Nothing out of the normal. We walked in and the place was swarming with Death Eaters. Hermione, you know how she is, she ordered us to get down, and used that sonic boom spell she's fond of. You know, the one she developed? Anyway, it didn't work right. Knocked them all down for sure, but gave them horns and scales. It was funny at the time. Ginny tackled Hermione to get her out of the way of a curse, and told her about her magic. Hermione went to get Shacklebolt and ask him about the locket. Most of the Death Eaters concentrated on trying to curse her. They thought she was the biggest threat I guess, with her spells being so uncontrollable. She forced countercurses and cursed anyone who went after her. After it ended, she said the baby was kicking her really hard, and that she didn't fell well. We made her do side along, and once we got to where you parents were, Harry, she doubled over, grabbed her stomach like I did when I went into labor, and doubled over. James brought her here, and I went to tell you.”

Lily slid an arm around her son. “It's going to be okay. She's tough. She'll make it through this.”

Harry leapt up as Ginny came out. Ginny didn't look happy, and she didn't look relieved. What she looked was defeated. Harry felt his heart sink to the floor. “Ginny-“

Ginny held up her hands. “I did all I can. She isn't responding to the treatment. A full magic drainage like the one she's suffering from is fatal. She's holding her own at the moment, but if she doesn't stabilize in the next hour, she isn't going to make it.”

Harry drained of all color. “She can't die.”

Ginny took Harry's face in her hands. “I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that she doesn't. She's my best friend, Harry. I'm not giving up without a fight. And neither is she. She's conscious, and we've given her a potion to ease the pain. So far she isn't stabilizing on her own, but that doesn't mean she won't. Right now, all anyone can do is trust her to get through this, and pray.”

“Can I see her?”

Ginny nodded. “Yeah. But just you. I don't want too many people coming back. She needs to concentrate.”

Harry was well aware of what Ginny was doing. She was giving him a chance to say goodbye to his wife.

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Hermione was staring at the ceiling, her small hands fisted in the sheets on either side of her when Harry walked in. She glanced over, and managed to pry one hand open to hold out to him. The tears running down her cheeks weren't unnoticed by him.

“Hey.”

Hermione could have laughed, if she'd had the strength. “Hi.”

“How do you feel?” Harry asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Hermione wasn't on to mince words. “Exactly like one should feel when they're dying, I suppose.”

“You aren't going to die!” Harry was more forceful than he'd meant to be, and instantly sorry for it. “I'm sorry, Herms. I didn't mean to yell.”

“S'okay. I'm scared, Harry. So scared. Did you at least find the locket?”

Harry nodded, on the verge of tears himself. “We found it.” He pulled it from his pocket, showed her the large, ornately engraved locket. “I shouldn't have let you go. If I'd waited, done this when you didn't know about it, you wouldn't be lying here.”

Hermione squeezed his hand with all the strength she had left. “No, Harry. We do everything together, remember? You, Ron, and me. We've done everything together since we were eleven.”

“Which is why you can't die, `Mione.”

Hermione looked pained. “The baby's safe, and that's what matters. He's a part of you and me, Harry. And if I don't make it, he's what you'll have left of me.”

“'Mione,” Harry could barely stand to utter the words, but given the choice between losing his wife, and losing his child, there was no real decision involved. “If you took an abortion potion, your magic would balance.”

Hermione struggled to sit up. “No! I won't! I don't care if I die.” She was sobbing, and holding on to him, trying to manage the pain. “I didn't know this could happen, Harry. If I had, I would've been more careful. I don't want to die, but if it's between me and my baby, I swear I'll kill myself so he can live.”

Harry didn't doubt she'd do it, either. “Herms, what's the difference between this and a power transferal?”

Hermione, as he had expected, knew the answer. “The transferal is a temporary state that lasts only about fifteen minutes. And it doesn't give away the life force of magic, like a drainage does. It gives away the active magic. The part that makes me be able to cast spells, not the part that makes me a witch. The drainage took the part of me that makes me a witch. If my body balances, then I'll get my magic back, and there will be a clear division again.”

Harry had an idea. “What if I gave you a power transferal like you did to help me defeat Voldemort?”

Hermione shook her head. “It's too dangerous. If my calculations are right, I would need at least all of someone's magic and over half of their magical life force. It could kill you.”

Harry didn't give Hermione a chance to say anything else. He yanked out his wand, adding to the spell. “Malectus Transferum et protrecho rhapsis!”

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Ginny pushed open Hermione's door to tell Harry that he needed to let his wife rest. She stopped for an instant when she saw Harry slumped over the bed, and Hermione unmoving. She ran to the bed, felt for pulses. Hermione's was stronger, but Harry's was barely there. She ran into the hall, slammed her fist on a button. “Code Blue! Code Blue! Emergency team to room seventy three!”

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Everyone in the waiting room heard the alarm go off and Lily leapt from her chair, her fingernails digging into James' arm. “What's wrong, Lily?”

Lily was panicked. “It's Harry! Something's wrong with Harry!”

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Here we go, guys. Chapter 25. I don't know if my muse is going to let this be the last chapter, but I'm hopeful that tomorrow will be the epilogue! This may very well be the last full-length chapter, so hold on. I've got a helluva ride planned for everyone!

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James grabbed Lily. “What do you mean something's wrong with Harry?”

Lily was struggling to stay calm. “He did something to save Hermione. James, I can feel it. Something's wrong.”

Knowing his wife's intuition when it came to their children, James walked to the nurses' desk. “Can you please go back to Hermione Granger's room and get Harry?”

The nurse got up just as Ginny ran from Hermione's room, pushing a gurney with Harry lying on it. She was chanting spells rapidly, and wheeled him into another room. Lily had followed James, and grabbed her husband's arm again. “What's wrong with him?” she demanded, her voice rising shrilly.

“I don't know.” The nurse said, holding out a hand. “Wait here.”

She followed Ginny into the new room. All around Harry, there were MediWizards and Healers trying to figure out what was wrong. Ginny was reigning over it all, telling people what to do and how to do it, shouting out commands and moving around the room. She spotted the nurse. “Marcie, I need a Muggle pulse monitor, IV and blood pressure cuff. NOW!”

Marcie ran to do Ginny's bidding, and Ginny leaned over Harry's face, slapping him lightly. Harry's eyes cracked open, and after several long seconds, he managed to focus on her face. Ginny felt immediate relief and sighed deeply.

“You moron. Do you know how easily you could die from what you did?”

Harry didn't answer. He didn't care if he died. As long as Hermione and the baby lived. That was all that mattered. And he was pretty sure they would. With that thought the only one in his mind, Harry let the blackness engulf him once again and fell into oblivion.

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When Ginny walked into the waiting room, her entire family was there. She'd gone off duty, but still had on her scrubs. Her hair was scraped back from her face, and she was exhausted. She'd worked for two hours stabilizing Harry and Hermione. Hermione had improved drastically, Harry's magic giving her the strength her body needed to begin to balance herself. Harry wasn't in such good shape. He was in a coma while his body repaired itself.

Everyone looked up when Ginny walked in. Lily and James were the first people she turned to. “They're both alive. Hermione is drastically better, and the baby is perfect. I'm sure she's going to make it, but we want to keep her here for a few days while her body completely stabilizes.”

Lily was almost afraid to ask. “And Harry?”

“Like I said, he's alive, but that's about it. We've utilized our Muggle techniques, and basically, I have him on an IV and a ventilator to help him breathe. His systems are functioning below normal, but they're keeping everything running. He gave her a complete transferal to save her. Most of his magical life force is gone.” Before anyone could speak, Ginny held up a hand. “However, I think he's going to make it. As Hermione gains strength and gets her own magic back, what she has of his will return to him. It's impossible to explain, but it's Hermione's calculations, and she's never wrong. That doesn't mean he'll wake up as soon as he has all his power back though. His body will need to heal and recover.”

“But he will live?” James asked, one arm steadying his wife, the other holding Ginny's elbow. Ginny nodded.

“I think so. It's serious. Don't think this isn't serious, because it is. If Hermione's wrong, he'll die. Or at least be in that coma and on the ventilator all of his life.” She narrowed her eyes. “And no one even so much as think about doing to him what he did to Hermione. I mean it. I have wards on his room, and I will know. It wouldn't help him anyway. To do a power transferal, the person getting the magic has to be a witch or wizard in possession of his or her own magic. Harry has nothing but his life force right now, and even that is diminished. The reason,” she said, anticipating the next question, “that Hermione was able to receive Harry's power is that she was still in possession of her own, it was simply being used for the baby and not for her.”

Lily was crying again. “How long will it be before we know for sure?”

Ginny lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “A few days.”

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Harry woke two weeks later. Hermione had completely stabilized inside three days, her body working in overtime to accomplish the task. Harry's power had been returned to him after those three days, but as Ginny had predicted, he didn't awake for a few more days. Eleven to be exact. He'd missed two Quidditch matches. That was what aggravated him. Wood had been forced to use the second string Seeker, and refused to let Harry return to practice for another week, just to let him get his strength up.

It was the night after his first game of the championships when the biggest storm in a decade hit England. He arrived home and found that Hermione had beaten him and fixed dinner. Ron was hovering, trying to get a bite every time she turned around, Draco and Ginny were goggling over their daughter, who had just begun to walk, at eight months, and Luna was sitting at the kitchen, furiously writing her next article on life as a pregnant witch. She was eight months pregnant with her triplets.

Ron, James, and Harry were all on baby alert night and day. Lily was a month overdue, but her doctor wasn't worried. Everything was healthy and the babies were still within her birthing range at about six and a half pounds each. Large for twins, and she was huge because of it, but the weight was ideal for birth. Hermione was approaching her due date within two days. It was March 22^nd, and she was due on the twenty-fourth. Luna had made it nearly to the almost unheard of thirty-five week mark with her triplets. All three women could go into labor any second.

“Hey, honey.” Hermione said, walking over to kiss her husband. Harry took off his coat and hung it on the post.

“Hey. How's the baby?”

“Kicking me to death. Other than that, all's quiet today. Your mother says that today is not the day, and that if it isn't tomorrow, she's going to a Muggle hospital and making them induce labor. Ginny says we could both deliver anytime, but that it isn't going to be today.”

Luna looked up. “She says I won't go into labor for at least a couple more days.”

Harry nodded, used to the speech. He'd been getting the same news every night for almost a week. “Good, I guess. Pick out a name yet?”

They'd agreed when she got pregnant that she would decide on the name for a boy and he would pick for a girl. They were having a boy, so she got to pick. Harry was secretly dreading the name she would choose. With a name like Hermione, anything was okay.

Hermione nodded. “I did, actually, while I was at work today.” She stirred the pan of macaroni and cheese she'd made to go with the pork chops and mashed potatoes. “There are two middle names, though.”

The very first warning bell went off in Harry's head. “Couldn't decide between the two?”

Hermione shook her head. “They both have equal importance, and the middle name I had picked out just fit so well between the two of them that the only sensical choice was to use them all.”

Harry was getting scared. “Well? What is it?”

Hermione took a deep breath and smiled widely. “Sebastian Albus Finn Potter. See, Sebastian means well respected, and is for Saint Sebastian who is the patron saint of soldiers. Albus is obviously after Dumbledore. Finn, well, I'm particularly fond of that one. Finn is after a great Irish warrior Finn Mac Cumhail. He was sort of like Robin Hood.”

Harry tried not to wince. They'd agreed that Hermione got to pick the name of the baby. “What will we call him?”

“Finn. Short and easy. Sebastian is just a little bit big of a name for a baby I think. He may go by that when he's older, but I think we'll call him Finn.”

That was something at least. “Okay then.” It wasn't as bad as it could have been. He liked the name Finn. He had just been imagining that his son would be teased if he had the name Sebastian. He'd be teased for Finn too, but he'd been teased for being named Harry, and it hadn't ever stopped him from doing anything.

Hermione studied him as she carried the platter of pork chops to the table. “Don't you like it?”

“Yeah. Of course I like it.” Harry took the plate from her. “It's a good choice.”

Hermione beamed. “I am so glad. I was really worried about it. I was talking to Draco after I got home and he liked it just fine, but we weren't sure whether you would or not.”

Harry smiled. “I'm sure it'll be perfect when he gets here.”

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As was her luck, Lily was visiting with Hermione when the younger woman went into labor. Right on time. Hermione was always right on time about things. Nothing was ever late, and things weren't normally early. She liked on time. And she went into labor at three o'clock in the afternoon, on March the 24^th.

Harry was in the middle of a Quidditch match, with the Chudley Canons, and James was running the store they owned, so Lily was stuck with Hermione, who's water had broken, and Luna, who had been complaining of back pain and cramps all day. She was relatively positive that Ron's wife was on the verge of labor as well. And there she was, nearly five weeks overdue and hadn't felt a twinge.

“Come on girls, it's time to go to St. Mungo's.”

Hermione shook her head. “I'm okay for a while. I just need to walk for a bit.”

Lily took Hermione's hand. “No. You need to go to St. Mungo's. Draco!”

Draco came to the top of the stairs. “Yeah?” he had been in the middle of changing Carys' diaper after her afternoon bath and was holding his squirming, giggling daughter in one arm and the diaper in the other hand.

“Get Carys ready to go to Molly, would you? Luna and Hermione are in labor.”

Draco paled. “Both of them? Together?”

Lily nodded. “Yup. Both of them. I need you to Apparate us to St. Mungo's. If we were to try it, there's no telling where we'd end up.”

“Molly went to the game. Everyone's at the game but us.”

“Then Carys will just have to come. Please get her dressed.”

Hermione sat down, her first major contraction ripping through her. “Good God! Why did no one tell me it hurt this bad?” she panted, trying to catch her breath. “Forget St. Mungo's. I am taking my parents up on the offer of a Muggle hospital and getting an epidural.”

Draco dashed back into the nursery, diapered his daughter, hurriedly stuffed her into the first outfit he came to in the closet, and grabbed the diaper bag. He slung it over his shoulder, snatched Carys off the changing table and ran out the door. Lily had managed to get Hermione back on her feet, and Luna was touching her stomach and making a face. She made a considering noise.

“So that's what a contraction feels like. This is going to make an awesome article. Draco, don't forget to grab the suitcases and that Muggle video camera I made Ron buy. I definitely want pictures and video to publish in the Quibbler. This is going to be my special of the year.”

Not at all sure how Luna intended to transfer video to the Quibbler, and even less sure that Ron would let her put photos of the birth of their triplets in the Quibbler, Draco rushed back upstairs. By the time he returned again, Luna's face was screwed up in pain.

“This is not as enjoyable as I had assumed it would be. I think we should go now.”

Draco nodded. “Grab on ladies. This is going to be a bumpy trip.”

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Ginny was dashing back and forth between the rooms of Hermione and Luna. Luna was definitely further along in her labor, though Hermione was in greater pain. That was fairly typical for singular births versus multiple births. Draco was sitting with Hermione and Lily was sitting with Luna. Every ten minutes, they switched. Ginny had owled James, who she knew would get Harry and Ron to the hospital as soon as the game was over, but so far there was no response.

Ginny looked at Luna's chart, checked her dilation. “Okay, Luna, you're at about four centimeters. That means it'll probably be another ten hours or so before we deliver. Maybe less, not more.”

Luna nodded. “Good. That's about what I had calculated.”

Ginny narrowed her eyes at Lily. “Are you okay?”

Lily nodded. “I'm fine. Just a little achy from sitting here for so long.”

Ginny lifted her eyebrows. “You've been there for five minutes. Come into the next room and let me check you.”

Draco was on his way between rooms when Ginny led Lily into another examination room. A minute later he heard his wife begin to laugh. He knocked and poked his head in the door. “What's going on?”

Ginny wiped tears away. “She's in labor. She's been in labor all day. She's further than any of them. She'll deliver inside two hours. She's at eight centimeters.”

Draco paled. “I have to take care of three women in labor, and about to give birth? None of whom are my wife?”

Ginny nodded. “Until their husbands get here at least.” She pulled Draco aside. “Stay with Hermione. She's having problems. I have a Muggle doctor standing by for a Caesarian if it doesn't go right. The baby is breech, and if it doesn't turn, we'll have to operate. Nothing fatal.” She assured him. “Completely routine, and I've discussed this with Harry and Hermione both. But she's in a lot of pain, and the contractions are just getting worse. Also, the baby is large, about eight and a half pounds. Her cervix is nearly too narrow, and that's what's causing all the pain. She can deliver naturally, but I'm not holding my breath on that.”

Draco sighed. “Great. Just great. Hold down the fort for five minutes. I'm going to go get Harry and Ron and James from the Quidditch field.”

Without waiting for a response, Draco Apparated.

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Nope, this isn't the last chapter. Maybe the next one. I really think the next one. Stay tuned. It'll be up tomorrow.

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Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! I'm past five hundred! YAY! I never thought that so many people would review and like this story. It's wonderful. I'm not going to say that this is going to be the past chapter, because, honestly, I've expected the last four to be the last chapter, and, seeing as I'm still typing away, I apparently haven't gotten what I expected. So, while I would like for this to be the last chapter, I'm not promising anything. If this is it…tomorrow will be an epilogue. And I'll let you in on a little secret. My muse says that I can't retire, and that school work can wait. That I am going to continue to write, thought updates will not be this frequent. Maybe a chapter or two a week. And the secret is one word. It starts with an s, ends in an l and has a eque in the middle. Sequel. Stay tuned. And VOTE!!!!!!!!!!! Epilogue tomorrow.

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Draco arrived at the Quidditch pitch and, to his horror, landed in James' lap. He leapt up and grabbed the older man's arm. “Lily and Hermione and Luna are all in labor. We have to stop this game!”

James dragged Draco down the steps to the field, and grabbed a couple of brooms. “I can't believe we're going to do this. You get Ron, I'll get Harry.”

Draco mounted the broom and zoomed toward the red headed Keeper. “Ron!” he yelled, dodging a Bludger, and the referee. “Ron!”

Ron looked at Draco as he blocked a shot. “What the hell are you doing here, Malfoy?”

“Your wife! She's in labor!”

Ron stopped in mid motion, turned his broom around and Apparated. With a hiss of exasperation, Draco followed. Two brooms dropped onto the Quidditch pitch and broke into splinters. Soon after that, two more from the opposite end joined them.

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Hermione held Ginny's hand and screamed. Her forehead was drenched in sweat, tears were rolling down her face and she was on the verge of cracking bones. The contractions were strong, not easing up, and becoming pretty well continuous. Ginny furtively wished that Hermione was having as easy a time of it as Luna.

Luna was sitting up in bed, reading a magazine and barely noticing her contractions. Lily was due to deliver absolutely any second. But Ginny was the only MediWizard there, and the two on call had yet to arrive. She desperately wanted to deliver all three women herself, but she knew her efforts were best concentrated on Hermione, since she was having a hard time with the labor.

“Okay, sweetie, it's almost over.” Ginny crooned to her friend, watching the monitors. “There, it's easing. You've got a minute. Herms, we need to talk about an epidural and a Caesarean. You're having too many problems to make me comfortable with delivering this baby naturally.”

Hermione shook her head. “I want to try.”

Ginny took a look at all the monitors again. “Your heart beat is at one twenty. That's too fast. Your blood pressure is fifty over thirty two. That's way too low. The baby is strong and healthy, but we know he's turned the wrong way. He's butt first. You knew there was a good chance that you'd have to do a C-section.”

“I know, but I want to try.”

Ginny shook her head. “It's too dangerous. I'm going to call the doctor I've got on standby. He's a Squib, and a Muggle MD. He'll take care of you.”

Hermione shrieked as another contraction tore through her. Ginny let the older woman crush her hand and helped her ride through the contraction. Hermione nodded as soon as it was over. “I want Harry first.”

Ginny nodded. “He'll be here, I'm certain, and I want to get you closer to delivery before we do the caesarian anyway.”

Hermione nodded. “Okay.”

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Ginny collided with Harry in the hall. He started to move past her, but she grabbed him and held him still. “Hold on a second.”

“Is something wrong? Where's Hermione? Why didn't you come and get me as soon as she went into labor?”

Ginny placed a hand over his mouth to stem the flow of words. “Shut up. No, nothing's wrong. Just the risks I warned you both about four months ago. With a breech baby, the labor is more intensive. That means her body has to work harder to get the result. You also knew that a breech baby was hard to deliver. That there was a good chance that we would need to do a C-section. Her pulse is high, and her blood pressure is low. That means that she isn't getting good circulation of blood. It's common for first deliveries. So nothing to panic about. We're going to let labor continue for a couple more hours, then do a Caesarian. Though it's a routine procedure, Hermione is at greater risk. She'll be given an epidural and kept in a twilight state. You will be able to go in, but not until the procedure has begun.”

Harry nodded. Ginny had gone through all of that with him when they'd first realized the baby was breech. “This won't affect us having other kids though, right?”

Ginny shook her head. “No. She'll be able to have a dozen more if she wants.”

“How're Mom and Luna?”

“They're troopers. Having a much easier time of it than Hermione. Luna is reading and writing her article on child birth for the Quibbler, and your mother is just laying still and remembering her breathing while watching the latest sappy girly movie on cable.”

Harry laughed. “I want to check in on Hermione, but I want to see them too. Is that all right?”

“Perfectly. Luna's in the room right next to Hermione, and Lily is directly across the hall.”

Harry opened the door Ginny pointed at and found Draco sitting beside Hermione's bed, holding her hand, and coaxing her through a contraction. Hermione looked up, and her sharp gaze fastened on Harry.

“I swear, if you ever come near me again, I will hex you.”

Draco soothed Hermione. “You know you don't mean that, love. Harry isn't responsible for the pain. Sebastian is.”

Hermione wasn't to be consoled. “I mean it right now!” she fell back against the pillows, getting a very short break between contractions. Harry crossed the room and took her other hand.

“How is she?”

Hermione glared. “I can speak for myself, Potter.”

“Okay.” Amenable, Harry turned to his wife. “How are you?”

“Terrible! I'm in pain, I have to have surgery, and while I would very much like to do this naturally, I WANT DRUGS!” Hermione's voice rose a whole octave on the last three words. “There is no pain on all the planet that can compare to giving birth. None! Not even the Cruciatus curse.”

At the realization that the Cruciatus hurt worse than what his wife was going through, Harry dropped into the chair and stroked her hair. “I'm sorry, darling. No more kids, okay? Get through this one, and that's enough. Nothing is worth seeing you in this much pain.”

Hermione softened. But just a little. Enough so that she took his hand. She figured Draco had had enough bone crushing. “No. I'm sorry, Harry. I'm being a bitch.”

Draco laughed. “You haven't seen anything yet. Ginny did hex me. I thought she'd killed me at first. The woman knows a spell to make me feel labor pains.”

Hermione laughed. “Oh, go get her. I want that curse to use later.”

Harry glared at Draco, and Draco thought that his best chance of survival was to leave immediately. He dashed from the room, and ran into his wife coming from Lily's room. Ginny grabbed his arm. “You may want to go sit with Hermione for a little bit. Lily's fully dilated. She's going to deliver in the next twenty minutes. I'm sure Harry will want to be in there. I know James and Lily would like for him to be.”

Draco opened Hermione's door again. “Harry, your mom is getting ready to deliver. They need you across the hall.”

Harry stopped for a moment in the door way. “Thanks, Malfoy.”

Draco lifted an eyebrow. “For what?”

“Taking care of my family.”

The men exchanged their version of a hug and then Harry ran across the hall. He pushed open the door to see his parents. Ginny had been right. His mother didn't seem to be in much distress, and was showing no signs of throwing curses every which way.

“Harry.” Lily held out a hand for her son as Ginny came in, pushing two bassinets and a tray of instruments. A nurse came in behind her. “Come over here.”

Harry crossed the room and took his mother's hand, bent and kissed her cheek. “How are you?”

Lily nodded. “Good. Less pain than I remember with you. And that's a good thing.”

James was grinning from ear to ear. “She's doing wonderfully. Couldn't be doing better. How's Hermione?”

“All right. She's in a lot of pain. Draco's with her now. She has to have a C- section. The baby's breech and her labor is rougher than Ginny would like for it to be. They say that the best thing is to operate.”

James looked at Ginny. “But they'll both be all right?”

Ginny nodded. “They'll be fine. Okay, Lily, on the next contraction, I want you to push. The first baby is in the birth canal, and the second is right behind it. Three or four pushes and you're parents. James, would you like to watch?”

Lily answered. “No. He has to stay up here unless you want another patient. He fainted when Harry was being born.”

James was debating. “But that was a long time ago, Lily. Harry's almost twenty two now. I've changed a lot. I can take the gross factor now.”

Lily and Harry exchanged looks. They both doubted it. Lily nodded. “Okay. Go ahead. Harry can hold my hand.”

Harry took his mother's hand, sat down on the edge of the bed. The contraction hit Lily and she pushed, her face screwing up with concentration and pain. “Five, four, three, two, one, relax.” Ginny counted, and Lily laid back. “The head is crowning. One more and the head and shoulders will be free. Here comes the contraction. Push!”

Seconds later, Gwydion Anastasia, named after a Celtic goddess, and powerful witch, let out her first blood curdling cries. James fainted. Ginny simply stepped over him while the nurse cleaned the baby. Lily was anxiously looking at her small, red daughter.

“Is she okay?”

Ginny grinned. “Perfect. Ten fingers, ten toes, six and a half pounds. She's beautiful, Lily.”

Lily was sidetracked as the contractions started again. Ginny coached her through three more before Artemis Piper made her first appearance. She had received Lily's red hair, while Gwydion had James' black. Artemis was named after the goddess of the moon. James had picked the names, claiming that both his daughters were worthy of worship. Lily had laughed and let him, mindful that he didn't decide to name one Aphrodite.

“Great job, Lily!”

Harry was amazed. He watched Ginny and the nurse each bring one baby over. Lily took them both, and started to cry. Harry slowly reached out and touched one tiny, perfect hand. “My God, they're beautiful, Mom.” He laughed. “It's a little late to make me a big brother, but I'm glad that you did.”

Lily smiled at her son. “So am I, Harry. Now get your father off the floor and get back to your wife. She needs you much more than I do right now.”

Harry kissed his mother, hefted his father to his feet and walked out the door, just as Ron skidded to a stop. “Luna's having the triplets, Ginny, and she's having them now!”

Ginny stripped off her gloves, grabbed a fresh pair and darted across the hall and into Luna's room. Harry found himself being dragged along. He didn't think Hermione would mind, seeing as their God children were being born. After all, she had Draco's hands to crush, and his pretty boy face to scream into. Satisfied, Harry took his place on one side of Luna.

Ginny's head nurse brought in all the equipment she would need and addressed her brother. “You stay right there. You can see them once they're born. James just passed out, and you're more squeamish than he is. On the next contraction, Luna, I want you to push.”

Luna gave birth to three healthy boys. Joshua Ronald, which meant savior, Noah Nicholas, which meant peace, and king - Luna had thought Nicholas would carry on the Weasley is our king tradition with the meaning of his name - and Caleb Jonathon, which meant faithful and bold. Ron took one look at his sons, all three with the Weasley hair, and burst into tears.

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Hermione gripped Draco's arm and screamed. The contractions were pretty much constant, and getting no better. Draco was coaching her through each one of them, rubbing her back, wiping her brow, keeping her in a constant supply of ice chips. Hermione was seriously considering divorcing Harry, and stealing Draco by the time her husband made his next appearance.

“Mom has two healthy girls, each six and a half pounds. Gwydion was first, and Artemis followed six minutes later. Luna gave birth to three boys, all with the Weasley hair. Joshua, Noah and Jonathon, all weighing in at five pounds. Joshua was five even, Noah was two ounces shy, and Jonathon was three ounces over. Dad passed out.”

Hermione forgave her husband and held out her hand for him. She dragged him in close. “Go get Ginny, and tell her if I am not numb from the waist down in ten minutes, I am going to hex her into next year!”

Harry nodded, absolutely terrified of his wife. “I'll be right back.”

He hadn't gotten very far when Ginny walked in. “Okay, Hermione. We're going to take you into the operating room, and numb you up.”

Hermione looked at Harry. “You are a miracle worker.”

Harry decided not to tell her that he hadn't done a thing. Draco stood, kissed Hermione's forehead and touched Harry's shoulder. Ginny spoke before Harry could say anything to the other man. “Harry, go down the hall and get robed up. We'll have you in typical Muggle medical garb, and you need to scrub. Draco, go with him. You know where the scrubbing station is, and I don't have time to show him.”

Draco led the way down the hall and into a large white room with sinks along two walls. He took a gown from a shelf, and grabbed a mask from a drawer. “Here. Put these on and then scrub from your hands clear to your elbows. They'll give you gloves once you get in there.”

Harry did as he was told. “Draco, you know Ginny better than all of us. IS she worried?”

Draco shook his head. “Not that I can tell. She seems to be pretty confident that everything is going to be absolutely fine.” He paused, trying to decide just what he wanted to say. “Look, Harry, Hermione has gone through a lot worse, and she's done fine. She'll get through this too. She won't let herself fail at anything.” He laughed. “She's the most determined woman I've met in all my life.”

Harry nodded in absolute agreement. “Stubborn too. She decides she wants something, and she gets it.” Harry looked over his shoulder. “Like you. She got determined that she was going to get you to work with us and get you to trust us.”

Draco chuckled as he remembered everything they'd gone through after that afternoon in Ollivander's. “I never could figure out why you three didn't just curse me that day.”

Harry smiled. “Well, remember that old saying? Keep your enemies close…”

Draco nodded. “Yeah. But I haven't been your enemy for a long time. I don't know how you do it, Harry. I spent seven years trying to kill you. Or at least make your life hell. I very nearly did kill you a couple times. And with who my father is, and what he did to your family, I don't know how you can trust me with your wife, and your child.”

Harry looked Draco in the eye. “There's another half of that saying, Malfoy.”

Draco's brow furrowed. “Keep your enemies close…”

Harry put his hand on Draco's shoulder. “And your friends closer.”

Draco was serious for a moment, as he acknowledged what Harry meant. Then he grinned and slapped Harry on the back. “Okay. Enough of acting like a girl for today.” He slung an arm around Harry and led him from the room. “Let's go have a baby.”

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Twenty minutes later Sebastian Albus Finn Potter took his first breath and let out a howl that made Harry cover his ears. His godfather was the first one to hold him. Draco swore up and down that relation or not, the kid had his eyes.

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Here is the long awaited epilogue for this story. This is the end, kids. The very last chapter. Hopefully this will tie up all the questions you may have and all the loose ends that I've inadvertently left hanging. Stay tuned though, there's going to be a sequel. Starring Sebastian and Carys, along with Gwydion, Artemis, Joshua, Noah, and Caleb. I don't know when the first chapter will be up, cause I've got to work out a few things as far as plot and where I want to go, but it won't be too long. Enjoy the epilogue.

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Harry carried the baby, Abigail, to her crib. The child held on to her father tightly, having cried herself to sleep after being tortured by her older brothers Alastair and Gabriel. They'd managed to make her fly around the room before Harry had found them. Hermione was in the shower, getting a small amount of peace from their four kids, and Ron and Luna's six kids, and Draco and Ginny's three.

Ron and Luna had had two sets of triplets, three years apart. Emma, Michael and Celeste were the names of his second set, and Draco and Ginny had had a boy and then another girl. Julian and Jordyn. They were twins. Apparently multiple births ran in the Weasley family. Most of the Weasley children had had multiples. Molly was up to her eyeballs in grandchildren. And happy as a lark.

Harry checked on his sons. Sebastian was the oldest, and had just turned eight. He had his own room, while the other two, at six and five, had decided to share. Gabriel was older by eleven months. Harry didn't know how they'd survived that one. Sebastian had been one when they'd decided to have another baby. Gabriel had been born in January, just two months before Sebastian had turned two. Hermione had barely healed from her second delivery when her potions failed and she got pregnant a third time. After Alastair had been born she'd refused to let Harry even sleep in their bed for four months. They'd been extra careful about birth control after that.

Abigail had been planned for a year before she'd came. They'd decided when Alastair was two that they wanted their final child, having always planned on four. They'd wanted the last baby to arrive around the same time that Alastair turned three. That hadn't happened. They'd had problems conceiving and Alastair had been four when Abigail had been born. A mere three weeks before Sebastian turned seven.

They were happy with their family. Estatic with it actually. All four kids had gotten their father's hair. Harry thought that had to be the most dominant gene in existence. They'd also gotten his eyes, other than Sebastian, who had silvery gray eyes. Abigail looked exactly like her mother. Gabriel and Alastair were a pretty even mixture between the two, taking the best features from both. Gabriel had his mother's cheekbones and his father's chin. Hermione's eyelashes, thick and lush, and Harry's nose. They both had Hermione's mouth, though Alastair possessed Harry's jaw line and chin, and his mother's nose. His cheekbones were more defined that either of his parents.

Sebastian though, he was the heart breaker of their group. He was tall, going to be taller than his father's six one, and lanky. Harry imagined that he would fill out well as he grew. His hair was messy like Harry's had always been, but it worked for him, as Harry's never had. He needed glasses only to read, and had chosen a pair that Hermione said would later make him studiously sexy. He'd inherited his father's love of Quidditch, his mother's love of books, and through what could only be described as environmental inheritance, his godfather Draco's love of females and hair gel.

Hermione always laughed at her son, who stood in front of the mirror and tried to imitate every move that Draco made. Draco always patted the boy on the head and told him that it would work better in another five years.

Draco and Ginny's twins looked just like their mother. With Draco's hair. All three kids had the white blonde hair. The twins were beautiful. Strong and pretty, just like Ginny, with none of the awkwardness she had suffered through as a child. Carys, however, was her father molded, and knew it. She was eight and a half, would turn nine in less than six months. She was extremely angry that her birthday missed the deadline to start Hogwarts a year in front of her cousins and Sebastian by two days at the moment, and petitioning her father at least twice a day to get the policy changed.

Draco simply patted her back, ruffled her hair and told her that she couldn't always get what she wanted, and that she and Sebastian and the rest got along wonderfully and that she would end up better off with them in her year because she'd know a lot of people and have friends already there. She secretly agreed, but had also been looking forward to being a year older than them.

All in all, they were all happy. Voldemort had been killed, the Death Eaters were disbanded, they all had wonderful, beautiful families, and great jobs. They lived together as one big, raucous family, fighting constantly, arguing from morning to night, and loving each other endlessly. For the kids, it was more like having three sets of parents, they were that close to the other four adults in the house. All referred to Molly and Arthur, James and Lily, and Hermione's parents as Gramma and Grampa. Luna's parents insisted on being called by their first names, not wanting to admit that they were old enough to have grandchildren.

Sebastian though, refused to call Gwydion and Artemis by aunt. Though they were several hours older than he was, he said that the difference wasn't enough. They were his cousins, and that was that. Harry and Hermione's other three children followed his example.

However, little did they know that there was a new threat rising. Something greater, and darker, and more dangerous than any of them had ever imagined. A power so evil and dark that Voldemort himself would not have dared challenge. A power rising in the aftermath of the war against Voldemort, born of his power and death, allowed to flourish among the dark alleys and in corners of the Muggle world, gaining strength and followers until it was strong enough to challenge the next generation of warriors for good.

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The end. Stay tuned for the sequel. That's all for this one. And seeing as today is my birthday, do me a favor and review this. And if you're registered on Portkey, please vote in the Felix Felices competition. This has been a pleasure to write, and I hope you all enjoyed it.

Sirena

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