A/N: here we go again, once again thanks to Lady Starlight for her work on this...
Chapter 23: The Lion Stalks
***********************Canton, England**************************
November 10, 1997. (Monday)
6:00 pm
"Blimey lad will you sit down...you're making me nervous," Mad-Eye shot across the room as Harry paced fitfully back and forth. Harry stopped and glared at him, before resuming his journeys. Neville and Ron looked up from the midst of their two or three hundredth chess game, before looking back down, and giving identical shakes of their heads. Ron reached out and absently took a carton of take-out Chinese from a nearby table and started working on it as Neville looked forlornly at his next, losing move. The four of them were currently ensconced in a small suite of rooms, in a Muggle hotel overlooking a large grouping of small offices and shops.
Harry sighed, dropped on a large couch, and stared out the window, across the way at a one-story office building set across a tree-shaded lane. The sign set outside of the brick building, with large, plate-glass windows, read Granger and Granger, Family Dentistry. Harry leaned forward and picked up his carton of takeout and started moving the noodles around aimlessly with a pair of chopsticks. "Neville, what about Umbridge?" Harry asked monotonously, as if he had already asked the same question before.
Neville rolled his eyes slightly as Ron shrugged; they both knew why Harry was like this, especially after the events of Halloween. "We Obliviated her, again...at this rate she's going to be as bright as a turnip by Christmas. I think the current story that Parvati stuck in her craw was something about the entire Gryffindor seventh year having a severe case of Wizard's Flu. She hasn't even come close to the tower in days."
"And that's a change, how, mate?" Ron replied instantly, shrugging. He took a bite of his Kung-Pao Chicken and grinned. "She never was the brightest."
Harry didn't share in their mirth; he stood again and walked to the window, and placed his fingertips on it. "Ron, check with the twins, and Remus, make sure..."
Ron looked at Alastor, who stomped over to the window and gently placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. He leaned in and spoke to Harry softly, "Lad," Mad-Eye paused to take a sip from a silver flask, he replaced it in his pocket; "you are going to have to get used to this."
Harry sighed, "Does it get any easier Mad-Eye?"
"No," Alastor admitted as he glanced back at the two young wizards joking about something and frowned, he scrunched up his scarred face, and scanned about the area with his eye before responding. "If you care about your people, it never does."
"Then why the hell do we do this then?"
"Because no one else can." The pair of them watched a mother pushing a stroller across the crosswalk; both of them bundled against the cold on this blustery, nasty day. He patted Harry's shoulder again and stepped back, "I'm going to go to that meeting with Kingsley now, I'll see if he has changed his mind." The elder statesman of Aurors turned and vanished with a soft pop. Harry ran both hands through his hair, before he deliberately stepped away from the window and paced back over to where Neville and Ron were still playing, with Ron wining handily.
Ron looked down, moved his queen and looked up at Neville with a smile, "Check," The tiny queen raised a minuscule sword and Neville's king quivered, "I do have a question for you mate?"
"Yeah?" Neville said warily and moved his king out of check, temporarily.
Ron chuckled darkly and moved a rook, "Checkmate." Neville's king shook a fist at him, before he turned and fell on his sword. "Neville...mate, just what were Parvati and Lavender doing coming out of your room here this morning?" Neville suddenly developed a marked interest in resetting the board. "They looked awfully...relaxed."
Harry suddenly forgot his previous worries as he leaned against the wall, "Neville?"
"I...uh, I'm going to go check on the wards." Neville quickly stood and grabbed his coat. He checked his wand and headed out into the hall, and Harry and Ron laughed loudly. Ron pulled out his mirror and told Remus and the twins who were scattered about somewhere around Hermione's parent's office, watching to see if any had tripped their trap.
Right after the attack on Hermione's parents, a quick story had been given to their office that they needed to leave for a while due to a family emergency with Jane's family in Scotland...true in the main, but not what was implied. Jane's mother had died when Hermione was in Primary School and her father was currently somewhere unknown. Several days ago, Roger and Jane had come back to their practice to take care of a great deal of backlogged paper work and look over several case files. A pair of dental hygienists was in to perform cleanings, but neither Doctor Granger was performing any actual repair work.
Which was quite appropriate as neither "Doctor Granger" was really qualified. Since last Wednesday, Hermione, who with a simple charm to change her eye color and to add a bit of age, looked a great deal like her mother and Tonks, who looked like anyone she wanted had been playing the part of the Grangers. They had been dangling the "Grangers" out in front of Voldemort's nose to see if he would strike. There had been a curious silence from that quarter since Halloween, and they were curious to see if Tom would try again after the Grangers after they had failed on Harry's Birthday. Harry frowned as a sudden black thought crossed his mind, "Ron, what are you doing for Christmas?"
Ron frowned as well, "I suppose I am going to the Burrow if Mum will have me." Harry nodded knowingly, since Ginny's duel with Hermione and her flight, Molly's communication with the trio had been in the form of two Howlers to Ron, one to Hermione, that called her a slag and a whore and a scarlet woman in front of the entire Great Hall, and a memorable slap to Hermione's cheek when the trio had returned to Hogwarts without the wayward Weasley. Molly never realized the iron control Harry had held himself under when he witnessed that action and let Hermione convince him to just leave. Ron stood and walked to the window where the scene was now only lit with softly glowing streetlamps shining down through a cold November rain, bits of sleet falling with the water. "Though I may not, the way she's treating you and Hermione...you two are family, no matter what she says now...the rest of us still will be there for you two Harry, and I damn sure will be."
Harry shook his head, "No Ron, go. I'm just worried that Tom may try again at the Burrow."
"If he does, then we'll just repeat what we did last time," Ron replied softly, not forgetting what the assault had cost them last time. He had just returned from visiting Charlie in the long-term ward at St. Mungo's.
Harry nodded, sighing and turned to the window again, just as a soft pair of POPs disturbed the silence behind them. Harry didn't turn, recognizing the presence of Lavender and Parvati, as much by their magical signatures as by their distinctive sounds of Apparation. By now, he could tell almost any of his friends without looking. He and Hermione, depending on how tired they were, generally didn't make much of a sound, if at all, Ron tended to sound like a whip cracking, while Neville tended towards the classic car-backfiring, though relatively subdued. Parvati sounded almost like a House Elf with her arrival, while Lavender for some odd reason sounded like someone snapping his or her fingers.
Harry felt it as the girls came up to them and joined them at the window; Ron smiled as they looked out on the empty street, "Evening ladies, Neville will be back after a bit."
"Jealous, Ronnie?" Lavender asked, her voice dropping several registers.
"Not really," Ron shrugged and grinned, "though I do wish you had shown this side a touch earlier Lav..."
"Concentrate, Ron," Harry said sotto voce and looked over at the girls, his tone subtly taking on a edge of command, "Listen, I don't care what you are up to tonight, but be ready...I've got a bad feeling about this..."
"You and Hermione are here tonight right, Harry?" Parvati asked as she placed her hands in the front pockets of her jeans and shrugged.
"Yeah, we're staying in our room..." Both girls and Ron leered, "where we will be sleeping... Listen don't rile her up, please, this is starting to get to her alright? She still feels guilty about her parents being attacked." The girls nodded and after Harry glared at Ron, he did as well. "She and Tonks should leave the office soon; 'Roger and Jane' are staying here since their house was damaged in that 'fire'.
"You got any food Harry, Par and I left without eating...sick you know," Lavender faked a horrible cough and Harry laughed before waving at the side of the room.
Parvati watched as Ron led Lavender to the small kitchenette set over to the side of the Common Room of the suite they had been letting for this stakeout and took several boxes out of the refrigerator for their dinner. The suite was set directly above the room that 'Roger and Jane' were renting. It was a trivial matter for Hermione and Tonks to Apparate from within the room to the suite. Defensive charms had been set to capture any attackers in that room, if need be.
Harry started as a device in his pocket gave a soft, "hoot" and he pulled out his mirror. Remus Lupin's face was in it, barely visible in the dim light outside. His hair was plastered to his head and a brisk wind was ruffling the collar of his upturned Muggle jacket. "Harry," he hissed, quietly as if he were afraid of being overheard, "we've got movement..."
"LET'S GO!" Harry snapped across the room without responding to Lupin. He vanished between heartbeats; Ron grabbed a pair of jump packs and threw them to the girls before leaving in a whipcrack of his own. Five seconds later the girls were gone, the plan long since ingrained in their heads.
*************************The Leaky Caldron, London************************
Mad-Eye appeared without a word and stomped over the bar. Tom motioned him towards the stairs and tossed him a key. Moody growled a response, which might have contained words of thanks, and clumped up the stairs. He paced down the hall until he reached a door set with the number 12, with the one dangling loosely, upside down, on its bottom nail.
The electric blue light infusing his artificial eye grew as he scanned around the area, and slowly panned over the door in front of him. He took a step back and used a flick of his wand to open the door, and waited, after a moment he headed in.
Kingsley Shacklebolt was sitting at a table in the center of the room, occupying one of a pair of straight-backed wooden chairs. A pewter pitcher was in the center of the table, sweating, with a pair of goblets. Kingsley took a drink from his as he watched Mad-Eye close the door behind him and cast at least five locking and anti-surveillance charms behind him, the effects of which shimmered along the wall in a rainbow effect of excess Cherinkov radiation. Mad-eye carefully examined the chair, the table and the pitcher before he sat, with Kingsley rolling his eyes all the way.
"What's wrong, Alastor," Kingsley asked laughingly, "working with those kids got you jumpy?"
"No, I just remember I am in war, do you?" Moody looked across the small table at him levelly. He grimaced as he took a sip from his hip flask, ignoring the goblet of butterbeer in front of him.
"I had wondered," Shacklebolt said flatly, "playing with children, instead..."
"Instead of what lad?" Moody interrupted, as his rough voice took on a lethal smoothness, "watching Death Eaters attack Muggles, and not interfering because they were Muggles?"
"That was the Minister's orders, we were ordered not to get ourselves killed in a futile gesture." Kingsley replied with his eyes lifeless, "Do you think it was easy on me?"
"You should have," Mad-Eye retorted hotly, "and since when do you follow the Minister's orders over the Order's?"
"He's the only hope we have now that Albus is dead."
"No he's not."
"Don't tell me that they've convinced you too, Alastor," Kingsley shot back, his eyes wide in shock, "Potter is a bloody school kid, and his friends are no better...yes, maybe someday they will be, but...Potter has his bird, and that Weasley kid, but they are still in school..."
He stopped abruptly as Moody slammed a scarred fist on the table, "You really haven't been paying attention then have you..." He shook his head and stood slowly, looking down at the bald palate of the tall, dark wizard, "It was Potter and his bird, that took out a Death Eater assault on her parents this summer, eight to two odds including Snape and Dolohov and Snape was the only one who got away." Kingsley opened his mouth to retort. "It was the twins and Ronald and that odd girl of his, Moon or something, that stopped the attack on the Burrow, the bloody Aurors never showed until way too late. They have since gone on to take down several Death Eaters that I know off, and I have this odd suspicion that they have done more than they are letting on, something Albus put to the boy before he died. And as a topper...it was Granger that killed Greyback."
"She did...with what, she's not licensed for a Kedavra..."
"Hand to hand," Moody shook his head as he watched a curious expression cross the tall wizard's face. "Twelve inches of silvered steel in the brain will kill anything, even a were." Mad-Eye shook his head mournfully, "At Hogwarts mind you, and on the grounds... you might want to tell your master to put a few more resources at the school. I imagine that Potter will start to get annoyed if he and his girlfriend are having to defend themselves every time they want to go to the loo." A small, odd smile flitted across Moody's weathered face, "And I am starting to suspect that causing them excessive annoyance is about as brilliant as pissing of Albus was."
Moody turned and vanished without a further word.
****************************Canton**********************************
A dozen shapes in black robes appeared in a series of soft cracks and ran towards the front door of the Grangers' offices. The one in the front paused for a moment and opened the locked front door with a spell. He motioned the masked Death Eaters following him into the building, and stepped under the awning shielding the entrance from the rain to watch out for newcomers.
The Death Eater's eyes narrowed as he saw a sliver of motion, he took a step forward and collapsed to the ground as point of a wand dimpled the skin behind his ear and a spell flashed. The twins appeared out of the rain and levitated him away, behind the bushes as Harry resettled his cloak around his shoulders, gave them a nod and vanished again.
Inside the eleven Death Eaters that had come into the building, stormed through the waiting room, knocking aside chairs, tables filled with magazines and a couple of baskets filled with children's toys. They hammered open the door leading from the front to the hall behind and stopped. Several closed doors were situated along the long hall, which was decorated with pictures of landscapes around England and the world. A light was coming from under the door on the far end of the hall, and they hurried towards it.
"REDUCTO," a blue bolt shot down the length of the hall, shattering the door, and sending burning fragments tumbling into the office behind. The scream of fire alarms sounded, as sprinklers erupted in the building and one of the Death Eaters cursed loudly He spun and blew the alarm off the wall with a curse as their leaders stormed into the small office.
A tall, broad man and a smaller curly-haired woman looked up, and Rodolphus Lestrange sneered, "The Mudblood's parents," he laughed and the two others who had entered the room with him did as well, "The Dark Lord will reward me well for bringing them to him."
"Will he now?" Hermione replied and Rodolphus gasped as 'Jane's' eyes glowed a bright, shimmering green and twenty years vanished. Next to her, 'Roger' shimmered and shrunk rapidly, his hair becoming a garish bright blue as Tonks relaxed into her more or less base form. Hermione's arm blurred as an ivy-wood wand appeared in her hand and Bellatrix suddenly became a widow as Reductor blew a hole through his chest. She and Tonks vanished a heartbeat later as the Death Eaters returned fire. Large holes appeared in the back wall as spells shot through where they had been.
Harry dove out into the hall, diving low as Ron spun around a corner at head height. Harry's first spell dropped a Death Eater at the front as a Cutting Curse from Ron dropped the second Eater aiming for his friend. Both boys spun into an examination room as a half-dozen spells shot back at them. The Death Eaters looked at where Harry and Ron went when Parvati and Lavender popped back into the room where Hermione and Tonks had been. Lavender and Parvati fired as one, Lavender's Bludgeoning Curse dropping one as Parvati's precise Piercing Charm drilled a neat third eye in another's forehead.
A violet beam shot back, Parvati screamed, and fell clutching her side as blood shown around her fingers against the pale grey shirt she had on. Lavender dropped onto the girl and pulled both of them behind a desk.
The lights in the building flickered died as a sudden rush of magic filled the air. An unexpected coldness fell over the Death Eaters in the hall and as one they tried to Disapparate away, only to find to their immense horror that they could not. Two pairs of glowing eyes appeared in the gloom, one at each end of the hall, and a pair of shimmering walls appeared blocking the remaining Death Eaters in the middle of the hall. A pair of synchronized gestures, and the walls shot towards each other in a rush of air and crashed together with a thunderclap that did not quite mask the crunching sound of the Death Eaters trapped within.
The lights reappeared and Harry and Hermione gave each other, small, flat smiles. Remus and Neville came running into the building, Neville bumping past Harry as he rushed to the office at the end of the hall where Parvati was lying. He checked on her, she was pale but breathing regularly. He glanced up at Harry, "The suite," Harry said quietly and Neville and Lavender vanished with Parvati between them.
Remus looked at Harry, who grimaced at the bodies of the Death Eaters and started removing masks. Harry quickly felt through cloaks, looking for anything that the Death Eaters were carrying that might give them a lead as to where Voldemort was, but nothing other than their wands, several daggers, a pair of short swords and what seemed to be an empty, shrunken Pensieve were in their pockets. Harry took the Pensieve, destroyed the wands and stepped back. He took a breath and the bodies of the Death Eaters vanished. "Where did you send them?"
"They're in the fountain at the Ministry," Harry replied and looked to the twins who had wandered in from the front, "Let's get out of here, you lot going back to Diagon?" Fred nodded and waved as he and George vanished in a one-two double crack. "Remus? You going back to Hogwarts?" Harry asked as Tonks came over to Lupin and leaned on him heavily.
"I..." Tonks gave Lupin an odd look and he grinned, "I think we'll stay at Tonks' tonight, go back in the morning." He looked at Harry speculatively, "You will be in class tomorrow...yes?" The last came as more of a command than anything, but Harry just shrugged it off.
"We'll see," Harry replied as he grabbed Hermione's hand and vanished. Ron followed a tick later with a soft crack. Remus and Tonks waited one moment longer and disappeared, and a not a instant later the front door fell inward as the first of a company of Muggle firemen crowded into the building.
When Ron reappeared in the suite, he looked over to find Harry sitting in an oversized chair with his eyes closed. Hermione was curled in his lap like a large cat, her arms around his neck with her eyes closed as well. "Hey Ron," Harry said without opening his eyes. Harry shrugged down a bit in the plush chair and leaned his head over to rest it on Hermione's, still without opening his eyes. Harry opened his eyes and looked across the room to three people sitting on a couch, and as Ron's gaze followed his entire face flushed as red as his hair. "Are you sure that you don't want to go back to Hogwarts tonight, Parvati? Have Poppy look at that?"
Parvati, who as Ron had noticed and as neither Harry nor Neville seemed particularly worried about, had only a bright white bandage on above her jeans, shook her head and leaned against Neville. He summoned a blanket from the open door to one of the rooms to throw over her, she sighed softly and looked up at him for a moment with dark, liquid eyes, "No Harry, I don't want to Apparate or Portkey until I get some sleep, I think he cracked a rib with that." She grinned and slid her head down until it rested in Neville's lap, and Harry wondered absently where the shy boy had of first year had gone.
Probably is still at the Department of Mysteries, Harry thought pensively and he felt Hermione's silent agreement.
"I'm just going to stay here with my teddy bear here and rest." Parvati finished and Neville did finally blush, as Harry chuckled softly. Ron would have, but he was still trying to not think about Parvati topless in the same room.
"We should have a party." Lavender announced suddenly. Her wand flicked and with a skill at conjuring that Hermione was shocked to learn she had, a bottle of Ogden's appeared, along with several glasses. She gave her wand an odd, seemingly quite practiced twist and the stopper popped off and streams of amber fluid shot out to land in each glass.
"I don't want any Lav," Hermione muttered as she reached up to brush her still wet curls out of her eyes.
"Oh come on, Hermione, you ninny," Ron chided and forced a glass into her hand, "you need to unwind."
"Harry," Hermione whined and Harry obediently glared at Ron, but he had none of it. Neville and the other girls chuckled as Ron stuck out his tongue at her.
"Oh, hide behind Harry..."
Hermione sat up on Harry's lap and summoned a second glass to her with a flick of her fingers. She handed it to Harry, and held hers up, "Fine then...to Albus Dumbledore, a barmy old codger...I miss him." She whispered the last and several eyes held sudden tears as they repeated the toast softly and slammed the drinks. She tilted her head back enough to share a kiss with her husband and ground against him rather obviously, causing Harry to close his eyes in appreciation and Neville, Lavender and Parvati to laugh.
"You would do that because Luna's not here wouldn't you?" Ron accused and Hermione smiled slowly, chocolate eyes twinkling as she kissed Harry again. "Well fine..." Ron replied petulantly as Hermione gave him a small wave and the pair of them vanished from in front of their eyes, "I'm just going to go get her here or something." No response came from the room that Harry and Hermione had been staying in for the duration of the mission except the closing of the door. Ron tiptoed over to it and cursed, "damn silencing charm," he announced to the room.
Hermione had jumped the pair of them directly onto the bed. Her fingers were pushing up under his shirt and teasing it off. She shivered as his fingers slipped down to unbutton her jeans and slip down to dance lightly at the waistband of her knickers. Her bottom lip was in her teeth as Harry tugged her still wet jeans off her, dragging her knickers with them. Hermione looked down and sat up, pulling off her shirt and reaching back and unfastening her bra. "Well, Potter, there is a wet, naked girl in your bed, just what do you plan to do hero?"
"Oh...I'll think of something," Harry whispered. He grinned roguishly as he crawled on to the bed slowly walking her back until her back hit the covers. Hermione's eyes slipped closed as he leaned in to kiss her, and she purred as she threw her arms around his neck. Harry pulled away slightly and laughed under his breath as she groaned and looked up at him accusingly, "You know how I hate to have a plan," Harry mentioned conversationally, as if he were talking about a particularly normal Cannons match with Ron, his fingers brushed the side of a breast as he talked; he didn't seem to notice her reaction, "I thought I'd just make it up as I go along..."
"Harrrryyy," Hermione moaned and reached up to grab his hair and pull him down to her. She let go after a moment, smiled as she felt his pulse dance, You have entirely too many clothes on, she commented, pointedly looking down, then let out a soft mew as he settled up between her legs and rubbed against her. Please Harry...
You just had to ask nicely...Harry replied, his eyes twinkling as he rapidly divested himself of his damp clothes, Hermione pretended to chuckle for an minute before taking a deep breath and muttering a spell. Harry eyes grew dark for moment, as he felt the tingle of the Contraceptive Charm against his fingertips where they rested on her belly before they lit with a soft, inner glow as their thoughts fell together and the already very low wall between their consciousnesses collapsed.
Their lips touched and Hermione and Harry's eyes slid almost closed as a faint sliver of greenish light lit the sheets. Their eyes slipped open a touch, heavily lidded, they held each other's gaze as Hermione reached down and slid him into her, hissing in pleasure as he slid entirely into her, until their hipbones and stomachs were touching.
Hermione's fingers slid along where they were joined and she smiled as she felt his join her. She took a breath and nodded, mewing softly as Harry began to slide in and out of her.
Oh..Merlin...Miione... Harry muttered as he leaned forward to kiss her again, and rested his lips against hers as their tongues began to move to the same beat as their hips. He smirked, and sped up slightly rocking his fingers on her back and forth a bit and looked down on her astonished, as she was already trembling under him. A flicker of his fingers, a caress of tongues and another slow movement later, he felt a rush of warmth fill her in his thoughts and gasped almost as loud as she did as she crashed.
"Oh...bloody, fucking hell..." Hermione gasped as she looked up at him wide eyed, panting, groaning, as Harry gave her an evil grin and kept at his languorous pace. She panted again, "Har..Harr..." Fast..faster Harry...
His face crashed to hers again as he took both of her hands in his and slid them up and behind her head, as his pace and heartbeat sped up. A sudden wave of emotion fought with the tingling rush that was rapidly trying to fight its way out from their centers, "Miiioone...." Harry paused, took a breath and gasped as he felt her let go again, felt her walls clench around him, and any hope of lasting any longer was gone in a rush... "I love you..." Harry whispered against her lips as he pulsed into her, filling her with a new kind of warmth, and seeming draining any bit of remaining strength away into the ether, as he collapsed onto her, and glanced around noticing absently that the communication mirrors really were indestructible. Some far distant corner of their mind, cataloged the fact that she had wrapped her legs and arms around him, pulling him even tighter into her as they released together, and that he probably would have bruises in the morning but right now they didn't quite care.
God, I love you so much...Hermione whispered as soon as rational thought returned. She lazily contented herself with nibbling on his neck for a bit while they tried to summon enough strength or magic, either one, to move.
Harry took a breath as he rolled to the side and closed his eyes as he felt Hermione's quite warm body snuggle up to his. They kissed just for the hell of it as they luxuriated in the sensation of being, safe, for a bit. A heartbeat slowed, one of theirs it didn't matter which, as Harry motioned in the air with a couple of fingers and summoned a blanket from a chair to lay over them. It seems, wrong somehow to be that horny after a fight...Harry mentioned thoughtfully. Hermione cooed something under her breath. Not that I mind particularly, Harry added after a moment as she tucked her head against his chest.
Blame evolution, or creation or whatever, Hermione whispered, Harry grinned despite himself as he heard the tone of her thoughts automatically shift to 'know-it-all' mode. We're wired that way. Makes us want to make babies right after the adrenaline ebbs.
That was a bloody good idea...Harry commented, though I don't know what we're going to do after all of this is over.
I'm sure we'll still be running after bad guys after Tommy is in the ground, Hermione replied unthinkingly as she settled in to sleep. Harry replied with a wordless query and she shrugged, Like I would let you do this by yourself afterwards. I have the Auror packet at home for both of us.
Both?
Yeah...I told Minerva for sure the other day, didn't really matter as I already had all of your classes anyway. Harry let out a long, loud breath and Hermione tilted her head back enough to catch his eyes looking down on hers.
You could be a Healer, Solicitor...anything you want.
So could you Harry, she shot back, with just a touch of heat, annoyed at his automatic lessening of himself, But you want this don't you? He sighed and frowned but eventually gave her the briefest of nods. You don't think the little 'Mudblood' wants to prove she's the best either? Harry grimaced at the epithet. Baby, if you don't I won't, but I'm damn sure going to if you do...I definitely don't trust anyone else at your back. They'll put us together you know, like your folks and Neville's parents, its procedure.
You don't trust Ron? A fleeting grin slipped across his face.
She gave him a look before responding seriously, No, I mean yes, I mean... he waited for her to finish, do I trust him to die for either of us, yeah, I know he would without a thought, but in the end I don't trust anyone else to watch your arse, no not even him...and it's such a cute arse, she added unthinkingly.
Thanks, Harry replied and she grinned and burrowed further under the covers as she rolled on her side pushing back into him. Her lips muttered something and the lights dimmed and the drapes across the large, plate glass window opened, showing them the dark, cold night outside with the rain having almost gone fully to sleet. They watched the storm for a while before drifting off to sleep to the sound of the patter of ice pellets on the window.
***************************************************************
Tuesday, November 11, 1997
6:00 am.
The grey light of sunrise flooded into the room, and Hermione opened one eye blearily. She sighed as she rolled over to look at Harry. His face was peaceful, and she disparaged waking him, as neither had slept the night through. As almost always happened after a mission they did, good or bad, Harry's nightmares had returned with images of Lestrange taking her away, or killing her. She stretched and smirked as she felt him stir at the feeling of her breasts against his chest as she kissed his scar, she was the only one he let get away with touching it, and rolled out of bed. Harry muttered something uncomplimentary in Latin, but as nothing happened and no magic rushed past her, he must have just been cursing. Harry felt around for his glasses and watched appreciatively as Hermione bent over to pull on a pair of flannel pajama bottoms. She grinned and waggled her arse a bit more than necessary as she pulled them up and tied them around her hips. She grabbed a worn sweatshirt from the top of her pack and slipped it on. Returning to the bed, she bent over and kissed him properly, grimacing a bit at their morning breath, but continued anyway for another moment. "What time is it Mione?"
She gestured in the air, and floating, fiery numerals and letters spelled out, "November 11, 1997, 6:05 am." "Bloody hell Mione, come back to bed." Harry moaned as he flopped back onto the bed. His voice dropped, deeper, "I'll make it worth your while."
Hermione bit her lip as she turned and looked at him, and Harry could easily read her desire to do just that very thing, "We should get back, go to class." Harry groaned and rolled out of bed with a muffled thump. Hermione laughed as she watched him find a pair of sleep pants and pull them on as she opened the door to the suite.
She waved at the window and loud, annoyed mutters rang out. Her toe nudged a blanket from under which a shock of red hair was peeking, and heard giggles...Hermione's gaze was curious as she watched a head of dirty blonde hair start to slowly slide out. Hermione cocked her head slightly to the side as she felt Harry standing in the doorway to their room behind her and Luna poked her head out from under the blanket and...blinked, several times, slightly unnervingly, "Hi Hermione," Luna said cheerily to the moans of the others in the room, "Ronald would get up...but he's kind of already up." She vanished back under the covers and Hermione closed her eyes, briefly.
New, totally unrelated moans slipped out from the direction of the couch. Immediately Hermione noticed that sometime after her and Harry had Apparated to bed, someone had expanded the couch to so it was wide enough for all three occupants. Several empty Ogden's bottles and an empty two liter of Coca Cola were scattered about the floor around the couch, and lying on their sides, empty. She glanced back at Harry and gestured towards the pile that was Ron and Luna, Harry crossed the room in a pair of quick strides, knelt down next to Ron's ear and muttered something, that caused Ron to leap to his feet as if bit. Spiders, Harry explained and Hermione giggled.
She paced over to where Lavender was curled in a ball on one end of the expanded couch and shook her shoulder, "Get up Lav, we have class in a couple of hours." The blonde nodded through blood-shot eyes and felt around on the floor until she found her wand and aimed it in the direction of the bedroom she had been sleeping in. A bag shot out of it and dropped into her hand. Rummaging around in it she found three vials of WWW HangoverBeGone, and downed one of the bright purple potions with a grimace.
Harry had nudged Neville's shoulder while Hermione was waking her former roommate. Neville looked up at Harry, and nodded when Harry motioned to his watch. Neville looked down at the small, raven-haired girl on his shoulder whom had gained Neville's button-down shirt since Harry had last seen her, and from the legs he could see sticking out from under the blanket covering them both, had lost her jeans in an effort to get comfortable. Neville shook her gently and she stretched and looked up at him.
Harry did not miss the wince on Neville's face as he heard Parvati hiss as her probably cracked rib flared up. "Parvati, you are going to see Poppy when we get back." Harry said forcefully.
"I'm bloody well fine, Harry," she snapped, she sat up with another growl of pain and gave Neville a glare. "What, you too? You're not my bloody father, Neville." She glared down at the other end of the couch, "and you're not my mother either, Lavender."
"No, I'm not." Neville agreed flatly, and she visibly shrunk. She her eyes met his for a long moment before she got up and slipped into the room where Lavender's bag had been and closed the door with a soft thump. Harry glanced over at Hermione; she shrugged and waved her wand around the room. Instantly, scattered clothes packed themselves into bags, food scraps and bottles neatly deposited themselves into waste containers and the couch shrunk to its normal size.
After several minutes Parvati came out of the bedroom, dressed in a soft pair of sweat pants and a Gryffindor sweatshirt. She had a small leather pack slung over her shoulder; its top and half of her face were covered by her unbound hair. She walked up to Neville and leaned against him, "Apparate me home, Neville...I'll go see Poppy." Her voice was slightly unsteady as she spoke, her down turned head and curtain of hair blocked anyone from seeing her face. Neville pulled her pack off her shoulder and tossed it to Lavender, Neville got a knowing nod from Harry and vanished in a loud CRACK, from Neville followed a beat later by Lavender's snap of disappearance.
Ron looked up at Harry and Hermione and took the pack that Luna handed him and vanished. Hermione looked over from the television, where she was using the self-check out system, it showed the room as checked out and billed to "Fawkes Industries," and gave him a smile before she wrapped her arms around him and they vanished as well.
**********************Hogwarts, Great Hall******************************
7:20 am
Hermione smiled to herself, almost vacantly as she picked at her breakfast plate and turned the pages to her Charms text, not seeing any of the words, but rather a rehash of images from the night before. She stopped pretending after a bit and smiled to herself biting her lip absently as she rehashed the previous night's events. She glanced up at the doors, looking to see if Harry had yet made it down to breakfast and sighed, as she didn't see him. But, she had learned from the Ginny incident, Where are you?
I'm on the way down now love, Remus was relating what Mad-Eye told them this morning about his meeting with Shacklebolt. She felt his nod at her curious inquiry, He's still of the 'Harry's a glory seeking kid and all of his friends are kids over their heads' mien... Hermione could see him in her thoughts stopping to lean heavily against a wall and scrub his hands heavily though his hair. She fought down a sudden flushed feeling at the image and bit her lip a bit more. I knew you thought I was shagadellic ...
You're damn lucky I do...I doubt anyone else would put up with you...now get your arse down here, I'm lonely.
She felt Harry's presence start to approach hers faster; I'm on my way.
Hermione grinned and looked down at her reading. Her pleasant conversation with Harry that took up a corner of her thoughts while she started actually rereading the Charms text for the tenth time and eating a muffin off her plate, was interrupted as a harsh, unwelcome hand fell on her shoulder. "Hem, Hem..." a soft, sickly sweet voice sounded in her ear as Hermione was sitting, making her about even with the toad who was standing.
All in all Umbridge was perhaps too ignorant of the true realities, to realize that the slight smirk that danced across Hermione's lips was a combination of the fact that the young witch had already cataloged and envisioned at least seventeen ways to dispose of this annoyance in the time it took her to turn around, ten of which were lethal, five of those magical and two involving actually Transfiguring the toad into, a well...toad, and feeding her to Crookshanks, which was sort of a combination platter really.. As if called, Hermione's familiar appeared at that moment and hopped up on the bench next to his Mistress and glared, licking his lips. "Can I help you?" Hermione asked softly with an utter lack of any detectable emotion in her voice. A couple of Gryffindors near them noticed and looked around nervously. Seamus shared a look with Dean, slid his right hand into his left sleeve and palmed his wand.
Somewhere about the third floor, Harry stepped around an invisible corner and let out a soft gasp as his vision blurred for a moment, as he vanished into the ether.
He reappeared a millisecond later just outside the doors of the Great Hall and disappeared in mid-stride as a cloak fluttered around his shoulders. He eased up to stand behind Umbridge, and his heart flipped as Hermione gave his invisible form a beatific smile. "What are you smiling at girl?" Umbridge hissed.
"I would have you remember I am the Head Girl here...Delores. I do not answer to you in the slightest," Hermione snapped, "I repeat myself, what do you want?"
"You are up to something." Umbridge accused, her sharp little teeth in a feral grin, "I am going to...Knit...I forgot my knitting today." The toad wandered off after a bit, and headed out the doors, still muttering about knitting.
Hermione waited for a couple of minutes before she muttered something easily overheard about Harry's lack of punctuality...a blatant lie that none of the Gryffindors would contest, fixed several sandwiches from the eggs, bacon and biscuits in front of her, wrapped them in a napkin and stood. Knitting? Hermione asked as she strode alongside an invisible Harry, her stride matching his without thinking, not that anyone would know.
I was in a hurry...besides you've never served detention with that bitch, Harry stopped as they stood outside of sight of the Great Hall and he reappeared, and pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her waist. I did consider beheading her right there, but I know you don't like blood on the school uniforms.
It is a pain to get out, she agreed silently and leaned her head on his chest. Confundus Charm...
I could have just fried her brain...Harry replied, it wouldn't have taken much, not with how much she was projecting her hate towards you, towards us, Harry made a small side to side motion with one hand before replacing it on the slope of her bum, I could have ripped into her mind no problem. If Snape had taught me Legilimency fifth year she would have never succeeded in anything.
Did you get anything off her?
No, Harry shrugged, I didn't really try to probe; I was looking for a way to get rid of her without making us get rid of her. Harry looked up as he spotted Neville coming down the Great Stairs, I want to talk to Neville, Mione, find out what's up with Parvati, if I can.
She kissed his cheek as she handed him the sandwiches she had prepared for him and started off towards Charms. You just want to know if he's really...Can I listen in?
You know you never have to ask love, just don't run into any walls, Harry chided gently and almost laughed as he felt, the rude gesture she sent his way as she climbed the stairs past Neville and bid him good morning as if she hadn't already woken him up several hours away. "Oi, Neville," Harry said as the Gryffindor passed him, "can I talk to you a moment?" Neville nodded as Harry led him into a large cloakroom off the Great Hall and cast an Imperturbable Charm, one strong enough to cause the small hairs on the back of Neville's neck to stand on end. "Neville, I want to let you know that upfront that I consider you my friend as are Parvati and Lavender...but I need to know what happened to Par this morning." Neville sighed and looked over at Harry speculatively.
Neville took a deep breath and squared his shoulders slightly, "Yes alright, yes, Harry, let me just say that right now. What you and I suppose every seventh year Gryffindor, by now, suspects is true...at least mostly." Harry crooked an eyebrow as he felt Hermione close her eyes and focus entirely on the conversation in this room; she must have gained the Charms classroom and be sitting down by now.
Harry watched him fidget for a minute, "Are you guys happy?"
"Yeah I think so, as much as we can be?"
"Lord knows that Hermione and I aren't ones for extended courtships," Harry admitted to the tall Gryffindor, who knew his secret after all, "But how long..." He almost grinned as Hermione hung on Neville's words.
"That night after Slughorn's party." Neville replied with a sheepish grin, "Par heard about me defending Ginny's honor against the Slytherins and asked me to that next Hogsmeade Weekend. I guess you and Hermione were on your honeymoon."
"If you can call it that..." Harry replied; then closed his eyes as Hermione mischievously sent him an image of her in an emerald green bikini, and a promise to explore the possibilities of a 'real' honeymoon.
"Listen Harry..." Neville began then stopped as he noticed the clouded expression in Harry's eyes, "Harry?"
"Wha...Oh, sorry, Neville, tired I guess," Harry replied vaguely to Neville, Hush Mione, or I might just come up there right now...
I'm waiting...Hermione shot back, and Harry gave Neville a small motion to continue.
"Harry," Neville frowned and looked down at his feet a moment, before looking back up at Harry, "You know about how Seamus' mum tried to keep him from coming back?" Harry frowned slightly at the apparent non sequitor, "Well with Parvati...it was her dad." An almost identical cloud of emotions swept across both boys' eyes at the thought, as neither one had one to argue with...not really. Harry remained silent as he let Neville explain, "I met him once, years ago at some party that Gran took me along to, she couldn't find a sitter I guess, I thought he was a nice man, but he seemed...brittle I suppose. Par told me that he lost his brother to the Death Eaters right before she was born..."
Neville took a breath, and shrugged at Harry, "Lavender...well she's Muggleborn, Harry, like Hermione, so you know I don't mean anything by this?" Harry nodded. "But they don't realize what's going on...she won't admit it, but I doubt that her parents have any clue what's going on, I think she said that they are concerned about all the attacks by the IRA and other the factions that the Muggle Government is blaming for the attacks. And as to me, I love my Grandmum...I really do, even if I am a touch afraid of her," Neville grinned self-consciously, "But when I go home at Christmas...If she's standing at the door when I leave in a toga and pronouncing that I should come home with my shield or on it...I wouldn't be surprised really. Parvati's and Padma's parents have already tried to make them come home... and from what she has told me...I guess that she and her sister Apparated out on them, when her Dad tried to make them stay. I don't think she has spoken to them since."
Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, "Neville...I know that we're all too stupid to let ourselves show any weakness, or maybe its' that we are too stupid to know when to quit. Or maybe we are all trying to prove ourselves, but. There may be a time when we don't have the option to let our weakness show, but this morning wasn't the time, Neville...I have to know, until that time that she'll take care of herself, or that you will."
"I'll talk to her, Harry," Neville promised and looked down at his watch, "we need to get to Charms." Harry nodded and dropped the charm, and opened the door.
"So, what are you going to do for Christmas, Neville?" Harry inquired as he climbed the stairs to the Charms wing "Stay here?"
"Na...we're Gryffindors...all three of us are going to Gran's"
*************************Dublin, Ireland********************************
"Here ya go hun," A kind looking waitress sat down a meager breakfast in front of a tired, worn looking girl. A battered leather jacket of an odd, pebbled, black leather and stained leather knapsack were sitting on the chair next to her in the mostly empty pub. The girl looked up, sweeping a lock of flaming red-hair behind an ear pierced with three rings. She gave the woman a small smile, nodded, and brown eyes flicked back down to the book she had open on the table. "You at the University dear? That looks like Latin to me."
"Yeah, something like that," Ginny agreed as she swept the book away into her bag, Stupid, get pinched by the MLE for magic in front of Muggles. The waitress refilled her coffee mug and left and Ginny bent down to eat. She had been running, what for, she was not entirely sure, but running nonetheless since October. She looked out the window of the pub at the cobblestone street outside, which was dotted with a few Muggles on their way to work, or school or whatever and she sighed. She took a bite of her bangers, and froze, subtly but froze regardless. A tiny fist slipped closed around the haft of an ash-wand.
Ginny gasped as the point of a wand dimpled the skin behind her ear. She looked up, glaring as a young man in a black, hooded sweatshirt sat down at her table, setting her bag and coat on the floor as he sat.
The waitress came back at his approach, "Can I get your boyfriend something dear?"
"Coffee, and I'll have the special," A soft, slightly curt, cultured voice replied. The waitress gave him an odd look; upended a mug and poured him a cup. She left with a unsubtle backwards glance as he smiled and threw his arm around Ginny. She could feel the wand that he had under the table pointed at her ribs as he started to absently play with her hair. "Fancy meeting you here, Weaselette." Draco muttered in her ear, "Giggle or something," he commanded as his fingers slipped forward to run lightly along her neck.
Ginny shivered, and closed her eyes, before hissing back. "What the fuck are you doing here, Ferret?" She shivered again as he pulled her closer to him, and plucked a sausage from her plate.
"What does it look like luv?" he replied in a normal tone, "I'm eating breakfast with my woman." His voice dropped, "I was sitting over there, minding my manners when what do I hear but the youngest member of almost the most annoying family in Wizarding kind?" His fingers traced the line of her jaw, almost possessively, as the waitress returned with his meal and placed it in front of him, "You know," he whispered in her ear, "if I take you to the Dark Lord my transgressions will be forgiven."
"If I take you in to Harry, then I would think I could go home as well," Ginny replied softly, Draco felt a gentle jab in a tender part of his anatomy, "Look down, Honey." She whispered, her voice throaty.
"Touché, Red," Draco replied as he glanced down to find the tip of her wand lightly touching his crouch, "Detente then? We eat in peace and then go our separate ways you running from yours, me from mine?"
"Sure, Draky..." Ginny ran her fingers along his thigh in retaliation for his still around her neck. "Let's do just that." Draco gave her a long look but said nothing other than pulling his wand from her ribs as she pulled hers as well.
After a long, long breakfast in silence other than the clank of their utensils against their plates, Draco stood, tossed enough Muggle pounds on the table to cover both of their checks and bent over to lean close. "Until next time, Weaslette." He kissed her cheek, spun on his heel and out the door, without so much as a glance backwards.
A/N: There we go, next chapter, a Field Trip....