Unofficial Portkey Archive

A/N Thanks as usual to Lady Starlight for her work on this chapter.
Chapter 43: Dinner for Two.
******************************Hogsmeade********************************

March 7, 1998.
6:30 pm

Harry pulled Hermione to him, out of the way of a stampede of third and fourth years, at least those whom their parents would still let out of the supposed safety of the castle, as the younger students ran for the last carriages of the day. She smiled up at him, for a moment, before she dropped her head back to his shoulder with a sigh. It had been a good day, mostly, until a wizard in from the coast had arrived in the Three Broomsticks with a large crate of Crups, asking loudly for Hagrid. She leaned into him, closing her eyes as Harry stood, watching the students re-board the carriages.

He looked up as Cynthia Clary looked at them askance. Probably because he had his hands more or less resting on Hermione's bum, with his thumbs hooked in a pair of belt loops of her jeans and his fingertips in her hip pockets, but he couldn't seem to make himself care about the former Beauxbatons' student at the moment. He nodded over Hermione's shoulder as Neville, who was still nursing a bit of the Flu, Lavender and Parvati walked by, heading slowly up the trail towards the school, bypassing the carriage ride entirely.

Shall we? he whispered. Hermione shook her head slightly, not wanting to end this day and return to their destined labors. We have to, Mione, he reasoned, bringing one of his hands up to sweep her hair behind her ears.

I don't want to, Harry... I want to...can we stay a bit longer, please, Harry? Hermione's eyes grew slightly wider, their deep brown depths softening as she looked up at him though dark lashes.

Alright, Love, Harry returned pulling his arms from around her, and taking a minuscule step back. He took her hand and started to lead her down the street. He paused suddenly, and pulled his mirror from his pocket, "Remus." A minute passed before the image of the Lycan appeared. "We are staying out a bit longer."

"Alright, Harry, I'll grab Tonks and..."

"No, Remus," Hermione replied, pushing her head into view, "you and Tonks relax." Her gaze flicked to Harry's and back, "Honestly, Professor, we can take care of ourselves."

Lupin scowled, as behind him a pink-haired head passed through the image. He glanced back, clearly mouthing something to her. "I...suppose that will be, alright, Harry," Remus agreed reluctantly, "Be careful."

"We know the charm, Remus," Hermione muttered snarkishly. Tonks' barking laugh came from the image as Lupin visibly rolled his eyes. "Or did you mean something else?" Hermione asked sweetly.

"We'll be along presently, Remus," Harry ended the conversation before it could degrade further. Hermione stuck out her tongue at him, and let out a surprised squeak as Harry jerked her to him. Harry looked thoughtful for an instant, "We'll be in Muggle London" Harry snapped the mirror closed. "Where would you like to have dinner, Mione?"

"I know a great Thai place," Hermione grinned as she tossed her arms around him. Eyes flickered, and they vanished, with barely a breath of displaced air.

***************Head of Gryffindor House's Private Quarters, Hogwarts************

Remus finished closing his mirror, muttering under his breath as Tonks sat on the back of his crimson couch with gold trim, giggling. "It has to be something in the genes," he mused as she pocketed his mirror and turned to her.

"What, Luv?" Tonks said softly, pushing off from her perch to cross the room. She leaned up, kissed him and turned towards the small kitchenette present in every staff member's private quarters for when they did not want to deal with the students. "What do you want for dinner? I think we have some chicken...how about chicken fettuccine?" She took his silence as a yes, flicked her wand at the cabinets, and stove. Water shot from the sink, filling a pot, which almost immediately started to boil. Noodles floated out of a glass container to neatly plant themselves in the pot as she took a bottle of premade sauce from the cabinet, poured it in a smaller pot and started to cook it. Leftover chicken, floated out of a coldbox to land on a cutting board where a knife appeared from a drawer to start to cut it into bite-sized chunks. "What was in the genes, Remus?" she asked picking up the thread again.

"Oh...Hermione, she's more like," he paused a breath, "Lily, than I'd of believed. She was a smartarse too when she wanted to be. I'm beginning to think that the attraction is inherent in the Potter line."

"Did she get it naturally," Tonks smirked as she set a pair of plates on the small butcher's block table. She grabbed a bottle of wine from a rack next to the stove, and opened it. "Or did you and the others...influence her?"

Remus laughed at some random memory. He then walked forward and poured himself a half glass, before filling Tonks', "Both, you should have seen her getting back at Sirius, after he somehow jinxed all her bras to flash bright orange, you could see it right through the uniforms. Her revenge was... classic." Tonks smiled as she flicked her wand at the saucepan, the chicken floated up off the cutting board and dropped into the pan before a wooden spoon began to stir the sauce. Remus picked up the glasses and walked to the couch, dropping onto it, and stretching out, throwing his legs up on an ottoman.

"That'll be a bit, Luv," Tonks replied as she walked back over to the couch, and dropped next to him, leaning on his shoulder as she took a sip of her drink. She leaned forward, setting it on the floor at her feet before she drew her feet up under her. "What do you think they are up to?"

"I'm practically Harry's Godfather..." Remus replied with a small shudder, as Tonks giggled, "I don't want to even think about it." Tonks shook her head and leaned in, rolling on top of him slightly as she leaned in to kiss him. Remus growled lowly in his throat as Tonks settled herself more fully on his lap, and began to play with the ties of his robe. Nimble fingers began to quickly unlace as he grinned up at her, and kissed her nose, "Dinner will burn," he observed lightly, as his fingers began to play with a bare stripe of skin at the small of her back, idly tracing a small tattoo of a rampant lion he knew quite well was there.

"Bugger dinner," Tonks whispered throatily, "I'm a witch; I'll fix it later."

"Fine with me..." Remus murmured, then groaned as a soft knock sounded at the door. He dropped his head to Tonks' for an instant before she shrugged and rose from his lap, pulling down her bright pink Muggle t-shirt with the legend, "Boys are nice, every girl should own one."

Lupin went to the door; already knowing it was most likely a staff member or possibly a member of his own house, as they would be the ones most likely to need him for something. He glanced back at Tonks, who shook her head, vanishing any ruffling of her hair, she motioned towards his robe, he glanced down, and settled for unlacing it totally to show the neat dress shirt and tie underneath, which fortunately were still mostly unmauled.

The door opened at a wave of his wand to reveal a small, red-haired witch in Gryffindor colors. Lupin let out an involuntary sigh, then he motioned her in. Ginny smiled faintly, before she walked into the room. She glanced around, not startled at all when she noticed Tonks on the sofa, who stood, nodded to her and walked into the kitchenette to take dinner off the heat. "Can I help you, Miss Weasley?" Remus asked somewhat formally.

Ginny frowned and looked around the room again, pausing on Tonks, "May I come in, Professor?" She glanced at Tonks again, "I promise that I will only be a moment," she added with a soft undertone. He nodded and waved her in, closing the inch-thick, ancient oak door behind her.

"Would you like something to drink, Ginny?" Tonks yelled from the stove, "I think that we might have some butterbeer or maybe a soda?"

"No thank you," Ginny replied politely. She looked up at Remus who was clearly waiting for her to explain herself. He paced backwards until he reached the couch, and sat. Both Remus and Tonks waited silently for her to finally explain what she was doing gracing their, or rather his, doorstep on a Saturday evening, without evidence of some looming or ongoing catastrophe. Then again...there very well could be, it would not be the first time. Ginny settled herself across from Remus and smoothed her skirt over her knees, muttering something to herself. "I know that you know where Draco is, I want to see him," she said quickly, the words tumbling from her mouth as if they had escaped rather than deliberately spoken.

"No," Lupin replied instantly, he took a breath, "that would be...improper at this moment."

"Improper," Ginny mouthed disbelievingly, "What the bloody hell...more improper than what, Remus, than the two Head Students sleeping together every night, or a Ravenclaw in the Gryffindor dorms most nights...or maybe two unmarried Professors..."

Tonks' eyes flashed dangerously, but Lupin cut her off with a raised hand, "Or a Weasley with a Malfoy?" he finished flatly. His eyebrows rose slightly, but not his tone, "There is an old Muggle expression about stones and glass houses, Miss Weasley, I suggest that you look it up."

Ginny looked as if she were slapped. She opened her mouth several times, before she swallowed heavily and dropped her eyes, "I apologize, Professor Lupin, Professor Tonks...I..."

"Forget it," Remus replied tiredly, "it is too near the moon, and I fear that I am somewhat touchy myself." He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, "I understand that you would like to see him, Ginny, I..." he broke off and looked back at Tonks somewhat helplessly. Tonks sighed and walked back into the main room, leaning on the back of the couch next to Lupin's head as he settled back.

"Ginny," Tonks said gently, "we understand, that you two think..."

"What Tonks...I remember that you were so screwed up over Lupin last year you couldn't hardly even cast an Accio," Ginny snapped, "and you think you can lecture me, about..."

Tonks' dark eyes blazed, as she slowly straightened from her spot. She took a breath, visibly holding herself in, "Ginevra, if you really think the reason that we are keeping Draco hidden away is so you two...lovebirds," she spat the word, "can't get together and shag like rutting bunnies, you are a juvenile as your actions this year have thus far portrayed."

Ginny froze, opened her mouth to shout a retort and then thought better of it, "I'm sorry."

Tonks looked to Lupin. He frowned but waved towards Ginny, giving Tonks the floor as he stood and stalked to the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Tonks looked after him for a long minute, "Ginny," she said softly, "if you continue to twist a Lion's whiskers, one of them is going to eventually bite you. Remus is still coming down from the latest moon, the Wolfsbane that Slughorn makes isn't nearly as potent as Snape used to make. For all his evil faults, he was a good Potions Master. He won't hurt me, probably wouldn't even if it was a full moon without the potion, all that'll happen to me tonight is probably a slightly rougher shag than usual," she admitted frankly. "But you pushed him to the limits there, he's a touch defensive of me."

"I'm sorry, I..."

Tonks came around the couch and picked up her wineglass. She took a long drink, empting half the glass. "Ginny, you have to understand that your," she took a breath, "boyfriend is a sensitive issue...Harry, Hermione and your brother spent the last seven years in almost open warfare with him, culminating with him being instrumental in the plot to kill Dumbledore. There were so many people at fault in that incident that had some degree of blame, it's criminal, but he was the one who led the Death Eaters in. That is a fact, as is the fact that both of his parents are, or rather were, known and acknowledged Death Eaters."

Ginny was silently fuming as Tonks continued, "Harry, whether we admit or not, has inherited this war, it's his to win or loose. He's agreed to agree that Draco truly couldn't continue on the path that Voldemort had ordered him on. That he could not murder Albus in cold blood, because of that, and because frankly he thinks that you may just be able to keep Draco on this side of the light, if only barely, he's spared him. But, at the same time, Ginny, we can not afford to let him return to Hogwarts, for his safety and our own. And those are just the strategic reasons. Like it or not, since your father has become Minister of Magic, there are political ones as well. We are barely holding our own, and that's with the remnants of the Order and the Ministry working together more closely than they have ever." Tonks shook her head, ruefully, "Just what do you think will happen when some little first year blabs about seeing you and Draco together to his parents in a letter? Can you imagine the scandal? The Minister's daughter and the son of Death Eaters and a one-time Death Eater himself, it would be front page on the Prophet that minute, even if they had to run a special edition."

"It shouldn't matter," Ginny replied bitterly, "I didn't ask for my Dad to be Minister, Draco didn't ask for his parents to be Death Eaters." She grimaced slightly, "And what we are is no business of anyone else."

"Romeo and Juliet...you ain't, girl," Tonks replied with a faint edge of amusement under her words. She shrugged and looked around the room, then back towards the closed bedroom door, before she looked back to Ginny. Tonks finished her glass of wine before she went on, "It doesn't matter that its no one's business girl, it goes with the territory. Harry and Hermione are on the society pages of the Prophet every time they go to Hogsmeade, and most weeks, every time they walk down the halls here, after all since last time I looked he is still Baron Black and Potter." She shrugged, "Your brother seems to be just as bad, don't tell anyone, but I heard from a classmate that he's going to make Witch Weekly's Under Twenty One list this month. And while I freely admit he's a fine piece of kibble, even with Remus in the next room, most of that is because he's the Minister's son."

Ginny's expression was suddenly a contrast between amazement and a touch of disgust, "Eww..." she said finally, "that's just, wrong."

"Still, it's nothing compared to what would happen, if anything connecting you two ever came to light," Tonks said reasonably. "When this is over, then it won't matter so much." Ginny's eyes narrowed, and Tonks shrugged, and stood. Ginny followed, her expression not relaxing, Tonks sighed, "I'll see what I can do, Ginny, but stop pushing everyone's buttons. It will take time."

**********************London, near Trafalgar Square************************

8: 45 pm

Harry took a bite of his Panang Curry and leaned back, placing his chopsticks next to his plate as he picked up his beer and took a sip. He settled back into the red leather of the booth in the dim restaurant and closed his eyes for an instant as Hermione settled in next to him, her Pad Thai noodles about half eaten. Harry glanced up at the few other patrons in the restaurant, and then back down at her. She grinned up at him, and picked up a chopstick and twirled it in her fingers; "Never thought playing with a stick all day would be so useful."

"Yeah," Harry laughed slightly, and pulled her more tightly into his shoulder. He looked around, past the faint shimmer, to his eyes anyway, that demarked his anti-Eavesdropping ward. Not that they needed it particularly, being in the middle of Muggle London, but habits were hard to break. Harry kissed the top of her head, and sighed, "This is nice. Merlin knows that if we were in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, there'd be a Prophet reporter around here somewhere."

She nodded, and burrowed her head back further, "It's nice, Harry," she agreed. Glancing around, she verified no one was looking at her, and flicked her fingers over the table. A small, leather notebook faded into existence. She flipped it open, and started to run her fingers down the text, a mixture of Latin and Celtic, that very few would understand. "I have the final potion with me, Harry," she mentioned out of the blue after a moment, knowing that he would know what she was talking about. She looked down at the small book: then back up at him with a slight smirk, "Do you know what you are yet?"

"Yes, do you?"

"Yeah, but it's a surprise," Hermione laughed quietly. She giggled as he mussed up her hair, before trying to smooth it out. As the humidity was rather high for March...he did not actually accomplish much. She smiled up at him anyway, before she reached forward to grab her drink from next to her plate. She took a sip, tipping back her beer before setting it back down and closing her eyes for an instant. "I think that Mum mentioned they ate here the night I was conceived," she mentioned, wrinkling her nose up at him.

"I'm so glad you...know that, Hermione."

"I know everything, Harry," Hermione replied smugly, she turned and leaned up enough to kiss him gently before she looked at her food and pushed it away. "You done, Harry?"

"Yeah," he replied, and stood to let her out of the booth. Harry tossed a twenty pound note on the table, and watched as Hermione shrugged on a black leather jacket, that just so happened to be able to able to deflect minor spellfire. She took his hand as they headed out onto the foggy streets of London, on a rather unseasonably warm night. Without a word, they headed up Charing Cross Road in the direction of the Leaky Caldron and the entrance to Diagon Alley. Harry pulled them to a stop a half block later, as they arrived in Trafalgar Square itself, scattering pigeons as they walked towards the tall column at the center surrounded by four guardian lions.

Harry sighed as he looked up at the monument to Nelson and frowned, his head cocked slightly as he led Hermione towards the column. Mione?

Did that Lion just...wink at me? Harry asked as he stopped and stared at the large lion statue in front of them. A half dozen pigeons cooed as they landed on its head. Hermione laughed softly and pulled on his hand, leading him on.

Probably, that was one of the guardian Lions of Britain, they were relocated here from Astonberry, when the column was built...but you were sleeping in that class, weren't you? Hermione replied teasingly. She glanced down at the glowing hands of her watch, Should we be getting back?

We should be, yeah, he agreed, but there's something I want to show you first. Hermione cocked her head as Harry pulled her into the shadows of one of the statures on the periphery of the square. He looked around, checking that no one was in view, by magical or mundane means. Hold on, Harry whispered as he pulled her in tight and dropped his lips to her forehead.

An instant later, they were gone.

***********************Godric's Hollow, Wales*****************************

A shimmering light show greeted them as they reappeared after a half dozen blind Apparations, fading away as the disturbance of their passage through thousand-year-old wards settled. Hermione gasped slightly as she looked around at a shining silvery sea below her that was catching the light of a three-quarter moon. A soft breeze blew her hair across her face as she turned to look at Harry. Where are we, Harry?

Welcome to Potter's Keep, Love, Harry whispered as he turned her around, wrapping his arms around her from behind. Out on the ocean beyond, the lights of a large Muggle ship passed, reflecting off the water, and the sound of waves crashing against a shore filled the air around them. Hermione turned enough to give him a look; he shrugged and waved out over the area. Out to the west, we have the ocean of course, to the east and the south, there is mostly uninterrupted forest, and to the north, if you follow the hollow, you'll find our house, and the village beyond.

We're just south of Mum and Dad? Hermione asked excitedly, he nodded. Can we visit? I just want to say hello, Harry, it won't be a moment, I promise, she asked quickly, her thoughts spilling over on top of each other. Harry just nodded and took her hand. They vanished silently as they slipped through the sidereal universe under a sea of stars, to reappear almost ten kilometers north of where they had been standing on the tallest of several towers.

Hermione opened her eyes to find herself in the vestibule of the Godric's Hollow house...her house. She giggled softly as she heard the sounds of her parents in the living room. From the soft laugh track, and the rapidly changing colors she could see coming from around the corner into the living room, it seemed as of they were watching a movie. Hermione turned to Harry her finger on her lips. She winked, leaned forward and kissed him silently on the lips. Her eyes flickered, and she faded from view, vanishing totally in the dimness.

Harry felt her lips leave his as he followed her presence as she slowly crept towards the living room. A thought, and he faded away as well, walking after her on ghostly feet as she entered the living room. A flare of light from the television lit the otherwise dark room for an instant and Harry felt his heart in his throat as he took in the scene on the couch.

A raucous laugh came from the television and Jane leaned back into the arms of her husband. Roger had his arms wrapped protectively around her belly. He let go with his right and reached over to pull a large handful of popcorn from a bowl set on a table between the couch and an empty, large, comfortable leather armchair, which Hermione had already claimed as her own as a perfect place to curl up with a large tome or two. "This is nice, Roger..." Jane commented as she took several kernels from the handful in his hand, "but I wonder what the kids are up to?" the light tone of her question not hiding the trace of fear and longing that it was meant to. Invisibly, Harry swallowed heavily. Next to Roger, several kernels floated up out of the bowl and vanished one by one, as they hovered over the empty chair.

Roger froze suddenly as the soft crunch of munching popcorn came from his right. Slowly, almost imperceptivity, he crept his hand under a large, open book, laying spine up on the table. He stiffened, as he found nothing. "Honestly, Daddy," an invisible soprano chuckled, as several more popcorn kernels vanished into mid-air, "you might want to check the drawer." Hermione faded back into view, munching a handful of popcorn. Jane shouted as Hermione made it vanish into midair and fell forward out of her chair, to fall to her knees in front of her mother. "Hi, Mum," Hermione whispered as Jane pulled her to her.

Jane let her go, kissing her forehead, and looked around the room, "Come on out, Harry," she said knowingly. She looked up as Harry strode from the entryway to the room, fading fully into view in three strides.

He knelt next to Jane, "Hi, Mum," he muttered and kissed her cheek. Harry shared a grin with Roger as the two women glanced to each other, seemingly sharing a conversation in a glance.

"Are you two staying?" Roger asked as he watched Hermione replace the hidden sidearm back under the book with a flick of her fingers. He looked back to Harry to find a small frown on his son-in-law's face. Harry shrugged slightly and sat on the edge of the chair that Hermione had vacated.

"Unfortunately not, Roger," Harry replied. Hermione looked back at him, with a slight longing look in her eyes as her hands rested gently on Jane's belly. She bit her lip as she turned back to Jane and Harry went on, "We need to be getting back...but since we were in the area..."

"Oh, where were you?" Jane inquired. Hermione opened her mouth; then froze as she felt movement under her hands. She squeaked loudly, and looked to Jane wide-eyed with wonder. Jane grinned, "You did the same thing, honey, always perking up when someone was talking." Hermione sat back on her feet, and placed her hand back. Anastasia decided to kick again, and Hermione laughed softly.

"We were in London, Mum," Hermione replied absently, "we were at Sumalee's, for dinner."

"You were in the neighborhood, in London?" Jane sputtered disbelievingly. She shared a look with Roger, who shrugged.

"Yeah, pretty much," Harry replied easily, not noticing the vague expressions of disbelief, "It's not like we were in Egypt or anything, Wales's an easy hop from London." Jane and Roger shared an eye roll as Hermione looked with wondrous eyes at her Mum. Hermione stood from her crouch, walked around the low coffee table and pushed on Harry to get him to scoot all the way back in the large chair before she curled up on his lap, facing her parents.

"What were you watching?" Hermione asked as she looked to the paused screen.

Jane shrugged, "Some film that Remus dropped by with the mail, said Tonks liked it, Austin Powers or something like that, pretty funny." Hermione glanced back at Harry, he grinned and mouthed something to her. She punched his leg in response, smirking.

"Something you would like to share, Dear?" Jane asked dryly.

"Um, no, not really," Hermione said faintly, lowering her eyes from her mother's and biting her lip. "Mind if we stay for the rest of it?" she asked after a moment, looking back up.

"Love for you to," Roger said, and restarted the movie. Hermione smiled and settled back, tucking her head under Harry's. For the remainder of the movie, almost an hour, Roger and Jane spent the time not watching the loud comedy in front of them, but the silent drama to their right. They watched as the pair laughed at the appropriate times, even though it was forced a touch, and joked with each other with only a gesture or an occasional look.

After the movie had almost run its course, Jane glanced over to find that the pair had drifted off. Hermione had turned, burying her face in Harry's shoulder. Harry's head was resting on top of hers, his glasses half off. Jane stood quietly, freezing in place after just one step as both teens stirred, even though she hadn't made a sound. They settled back down, as they recognized her, and Jane took a dark blue and tan afghan from the back of the couch and laid it over them. She slipped Harry's glasses off and placed them on the table before kissing the top of Hermione's head, then Harry's cheek. She motioned to Roger, then up the stairs. He nodded, and stood, pausing to kiss her briefly as he headed up the stairs, keeping to the edge of the treads to keep from making a sound.

Jane watched him go, and stepped to the small table between the occupied chair and the couch, eased it open and picked up a small, round folding mirror. She padded to the kitchen, and flipped it open, "Remus."

She waited, watching herself in the mirror, until with a swirl of color; a small image of the Hogwarts Professor replaced her. "Jane," he said quickly, "is something wrong, do you need Poppy there?" In the image, he looked back over his shoulder, and Jane saw Tonks come into the view behind him.

"No, Remus," she said lowly, "Roger and I are perfectly alright," she shrugged, "just wanted you to know that the kids are here."

"What in the hell are they doing there," he muttered, "last I heard, they were in London."

Jane laughed quietly, "I don't know, Remus, they said that they ate dinner and stopped by because they were in the neighborhood." She watched as he shook his head ruefully, dropping his eyes for an instant, she could see his shoulders shake for an instant before he glanced back up. "They fell asleep, watching the movie you dropped by, tell Tonks she was right by the way, it is funny. I am not going to disturb them for anything...they look so peaceful right now."

"I understand," Lupin replied, his eyes showing that he understood everything she had not said. "Thank you for letting me know, Jane," he smiled, "I'm sure they'll be along when they wake up. If that's it then, I'm going to sign off, I need to get some rest, myself." Jane nodded and with a twirling of colors in the small mirror his image dissolved to be replaced once again by hers. She slowly closed the mirror with one hand before dropping it into a pocket and heading back into the living room, towards the stairs and bed herself.

********************South Manchester*************************

Screams rang off the walls of a small, white house set in the suburbs surrounding the Muggle industrial city. A black haired witch in loose, flowing black robes flicked her wand, canceling a thin yellow beam. A small, brown-haired man collapsed to his knees, panting as his arms and legs trembled uncontrollably. Bellatrix paced forward, kicking him hard in the ribs, flipping him over to his back with a grunt.

Barrett Springwood, one of the few surviving members of the Order of the Phoenix, looked up at her, eyes wide, and spat out a mouthful of blood at her. Bellatrix giggled evilly, as she twirled her wand. A thin, purple beam sliced out, leaving a thin trail of blood in its wake down his chest and right leg, narrowly missing his groin. "Did you ever think that your life would end in a small, Muggle house, Barrett?" she asked conversationally. She flicked her wand and he rose into the air, hanging in front of her, just above standing height, spread-eagled. A pair of masked Death Eaters leaned against the wall behind him, one of them, with a cigarette dangling from his lips below his half-mask.

The pungent scent of the burning herb mixed with the blood and vomit smell of the room, a mostly empty hardwood living room filled only with an overturned, understuffed couch and a broken table. The remains of a shattered oil lamp and several books lay on the floor beyond, upset no doubt, when the table was destroyed. Bella stepped to Springwood, and reached out, lightly running her fingers across his cheek, down his torso, and pausing just an instant south of his hip, "Shame," she mused softly. "All you have to do, is tell me the location of the Mudblood's parents, Barrett," she said lovingly, "It will all end then. You were one of their guards; surely their fate has been shared with you."

"I don't know, you bitch," he spat, blood dripping down his face from a broken nose, "They vanished after you lot attacked this summer," he paused and laughed, darkly, "Oh, that's right all of you that attacked this summer are dead now, shame that."

"SILENCIO, CRUCIO," Bellatrix screamed and he convulsed again, shaking and shivering in mid-air before her.

"This is pointless, Bella," McNair hissed, coming into the room, a small axe in his left hand dripped a dark fluid to the floor, "Let's go, Bannock didn't know anything useful either." Bellatrix snarled; then snapped her wand towards Springwood. A green flash filled the room, a rushing sound their ears, and he fell to the floor, dead. She pulled her robes around her tightly and paced from the room, McNair and the other two Death Eaters following.

"We should go," McNair commented as they stepped out onto the lawn, "and besides there are others that Potter cares for, that the Dark Lord has not set aside for his later pleasure, the Were or his mate, any of the Blood Traitors, perhaps we can find one of them, Mistress."

"Perhaps," Bellatrix allowed, "But I had this craving," she pouted and vanished with a CRACK.

*****************************Hogwarts, Potions***************************

March 11, 1998
8:02 am

Harry and Hermione sprinted into the Potions classroom, just as Slughorn gestured to the door with this wand. It slammed shut, barely missing catching the hem of Hermione's robes. Slughorn looked over at them, scowling, "It is appreciated that students arrive for class on time, Potter, Granger, as Head Students, you should know that. Take your seats," he waved to the back of the class where a small table sat empty and waiting. Properly chastised, the pair slipped to their seats, and sat down.

That was close, Hermione chuckled as she pulled her Advanced Potion Making, text from her bag and placed it on the table. She took a quill from her bag, and dipped it in an inkwell that Harry had set between them and poised it above a sheet of empty parchment and waited.

Harry glanced over at her out of the corner of his eye; You were the one who said it would be faster to share a shower. He barely kept from jumping as Hermione set her quill down, and punched his leg under the table before picking her quill back up.

Well, it would have been, she pouted silently, you were the one who wanted to play.

I didn't hear any complaints at the time, Harry grinned, reaching his free hand under the table to slowly run his fingers along the skin of her thigh.

I wasn't then...or now...in fact, why did we even come to class today?

You said we had to, Harry replied exasperatedly.

Sorry, Harry, Hermione whispered as she caught his eyes for an instant. At the front of the class, Slughorn settled behind his desk and flicked a wand at the board, as words filled from the top down, he looked to the class.

"Today, we will be working on the Memonus Temptus Potion," Slughorn said a touch pompously, looking around the room at each student in turn. "Can anyone tell me what this Potion is commonly used for?" He glanced around again, "Miss Granger, if you would?"

Hermione took a breath, slowly lowering her hand, she frowned, "The Memonus Temptus Potion, is a old potion that was used in the development of the Wolfsbane Potion, it was used to generally calm patients with extreme mental trauma. It has not hardly been used in the last twenty years however, as the potion can, if made incorrectly, cause psychotic behavior, or if used on witches of child bearing age there is a fifty percent chance of inducing symptoms similar to post-partum depression, due to a sympathetic reaction with certain hormones," Hermione paused, "Professor why are we learning this potion, it really doesn't have any legitimate use?"

"We will be using it to demonstrate the reactions of Night Flower, Ashwinder Egg extract and Basilisk Venom, Miss Granger," Slughorn said haughtily, and waved at the board. "Now that that is settled, please begin, I have obtained a small amount of venom, you will come to see me when you are ready for it, and make sure that you are wearing your Dragonhide gloves when you do...We wouldn't want any accidents," he added cheerfully.

Hermione frowned at something; some buried thought, and started to copy down the instructions. She glanced up as Harry lit a small, blue flame under the pewter, size four caldron they shared. He summoned a bunch of Night Flower stems from the cabinet across the way, and began to chop them with a small, silver athume. Hermione continued to think, hard enough to start to give him a headache. What's wrong, Hermione?

This potion isn't in the text; she replied after another moment's contemplation, she glanced over at him, as she half filled the cauldron with stream of water from her wand.

I know, Hermione, but so...we do stuff that's not in it all the time, this is NEWT level; he grinned at her for a moment.

Hermione shared his grin, as she remembered, abruptly, just why they were late. She started to lean towards him, and checked herself, That was close... She gave Ron a preoccupied nod as he placed a pre-measured portion of Basilisk Venom on the desk next to her and continued on to his desk next to them.

Imagine the scandal, Harry whispered back, the Heads snogging in the back of class. He scooped the Night Flower into the cauldron with the flat of his blade and dumped in a vial of Ashwinder Egg extract from his standard kit. He stirred the mixture as it started to boil, though his eyes never wandered from Hermione's. He caught the instant widening, just as he felt the spike of adrenaline jangling down their nerves...

Harry...He froze at the edge of panic in her thoughts, as his hand got halfway to the cauldron with a small transfer paper full of the dried venom. Don't put that in there, Harry, Hermione snapped in her thoughts, it's an explosive mixture...She glanced up to Slughorn looking content at his desk. He was eating a slice of crystallized pineapple with a small smile on his face. He should know...

What then? Harry replied quickly. He urgently got Ron's attention and pointed to the venom, shook his head and pushed it away from him. Ron gave him an odd look, but set his down as well. Hermione gasped as she saw Ernie Macmillan adding his, then saw another two students do so as well.

We have to get them out of here, Harry; we have about two minutes...

Get ready to move, Harry murmured, as a sudden idea crossed his thoughts. He closed his eyes as a faint glow started to fill them. He reached out towards the protective wards in the classroom, this room devoted to handling dangerous materials on a daily basis...

The loud clamor of an invisible klaxon filled the air as a torrent of water rained down. Slughorn cursed loudly as he stood. He shook his head, as if he were waking up from a dream and looked around the room, "Everyone, out into the hall," he said and hurried out into the passage, pushing aside Hannah as he reached the door. Half of the students had already escaped into the hall before he got a word out. Harry and Hermione waited until the rest had escaped, pushed Ron out the door and tumbled after him...

An explosion ripped through the room behind them, picking them up and throwing the pair down the hall, barely missing Parvati and knocking Padma spinning aside on the way. Harry distantly felt a sharp pain in his left arm as Hermione hit the far wall a second before him. He pushed up, lifting himself over her on hands and knees, and looked down at her. He felt a tendril of panic start to wind around his nerves, as he took in her motionless form.

He took a hard breath as she stirred and started to move. She started to push herself up on her hands. Fuck, Hermione hissed, she transferred all her weight to her right arm and held herself for an instant before she felt Harry's hands on her hips helping her up. He eased her around to a seated position against the wall.

"It's shattered, isn't it, Mione?" Harry whispered, as she gently cradled her left wrist. She nodded, silently, and gulped in air. Harry reached forward; sweeping wet bangs out of her eyes. He glanced back as he felt Ron come up next to him.

"Everyone's alright, Harry," Ron reported, he looked down at Hermione as footsteps echoed down the old corridors, and soft pops announced the arrival of Hogwarts House Elves to fight the fire and repair the damage.

"What has happened here, Horace?" McGonagall's burr cut across the murmuring and sounds of activity. Remus appeared at her heels, spared Harry, Hermione and Ron a quick glance to verify they were more or less intact, before he hurried to the shattered door to the Potions classroom and hastily cast a ward on it, stopping the fire and periodic minor explosions from getting away.

"Something's wrong," Hermione whispered up urgently to Ron and Harry, she reached up with her good hand and pulled Ron closer, "Ron, cast an Revelo Incantium on Slughorn, Harry or I can't without being seen." Ron nodded quickly and stood. He gently took her good arm as Harry cradled the elbow of her injured arm. Her boys lifted her to her feet. Ron handed her totally to Harry, and with a small nod, drifted away.

"Are you two alright?" McGonagall asked, after she left Slughorn's side and walked over to her Heads. She looked at Hermione cradling her arm and leaning against Harry, "You should get that looked at Miss Granger." Hermione nodded, and leaned on Harry as he started to slowly walk her towards the infirmary.

"This is going to suck," Hermione muttered as Harry led her up the stairs towards the Hospital wing, "she's going to remove them and regrow."

"At least it wasn't your boyfriend removing them, this time," Harry teased. Hermione rolled her eyes and leaned into him, letting Harry take all her weight.

"For the last bloody time," she growled testily, "I was thirteen, Harry." She took a breath as they finished climbing to the Hospital Wing and started down the hall.

"I know, Love," Harry said seriously, they stopped at the door as he heard Ron running up behind them. Harry gave her a quick kiss, before they turned to Ron. Hermione gave Harry a quick, grateful look as she felt Harry siphon off most of the pain from her wrist.

"Imperius," Ron said softly, "but I couldn't figure out who cast it."

"Thought so," Hermione gritted as a spike of pain got past Harry. "He would have known that that combination was explosive under heat."

Harry nodded, and turned Hermione towards the Infirmary, "We'll deal with it later, for now, I need to get you fixed up." Hermione nodded as she caught his eye, not wanting to argue. Ron held the door open for them as Harry eased Hermione into the room, she didn't bother to remind him that she wasn't made of glass.

Poppy looked up from a bed at the far end of the infirmary. She was feeding a bubbling yellow potion to a first year who was currently sporting large bunny ears growing out of her hair. She finished with the small, blonde girl and hustled over, "What now, Harry?"

"It's me, Poppy," Hermione said a tad meekly. Pomfrey didn't bother to hide the roll of her eyes as she eased Hermione down to the bed nearest her office, Harry's normal bed, and flicked her wand over Hermione's wrist.

Poppy watched the glow, "Looks like you are here tonight, Hermione," she glanced at Harry, and muttered something under her breath, "Yes, you can stay, but you'll have to come back after hours...I can't let you stay, Harry." Harry gave her a thankful grin and sat on the bed next to Hermione's as Poppy eased Hermione back onto a pile of Pillows and hurried off to get the potions from her office.

*********************Hospital Wing, Hogwarts***************************
11:15 pm

"You didn't need to stay here all day, Harry," Hermione breathed as she sat motionless between Harry's splayed legs. She let her head loll forward, as he slowly ran a brush through her hair. She held her wrist in front of her, occasionally wincing as a sharp tingle ran along her nerves from her healing wrist. It was frozen in a localized Immobilus Charm, to let the removed bones regrow properly. She looked down at the Arithmancy homework that Luna had left earlier, marked something on a parchment with her good hand, and looked back at him.

"Like I would have actually done anything in class, Mione," Harry replied wryly, "you weren't there to make me pay attention. Besides, I just missed Defense lecture, I doubt we'd learned anything anyway." He set the brush down, and pulled her hair back into a loose tail before tying it off with a rubber band taken from the bed next to them. "There you go."

"Thanks, Harry," Hermione whispered as she leaned back with a sigh against him. "You're probably right, I suppose." She looked towards Poppy's unlit office, "I'm glad she agreed that you could stay here with me, I can't sleep properly by myself any longer."

Harry shrugged as he slid down on the narrow bed. He helped Hermione lie down next to him; she rolled onto her side, facing him, resting her healing arm on his belly. "She knew she couldn't stop me," he joked softly; then reached up with the arm resting under her neck to idly play with several tendrils that had escaped being captured in the tail he had put her hair up in. "I can't sleep without you next to me, either, Hermione." He looked around the otherwise empty infirmary, "That could have been bad," he mentioned, she nodded against his shoulder as her eyes slipped closed. "McGonagall wants to treat it as an accident, unless we can figure out who did it. It was in the last two or three days, that's how long it had been since someone checked him."

Hermione nodded, and yawned, her eyes snapped open at a thought, "Are we, alright here, Harry? We don't have the wards here that we have in our rooms."

"I know, that's why I have the night shift standing watch," Harry muttered and let out a soft whistle. A ginger half-Kneazle the size of a small dog, jumped up on the foot of the bed, and a moment later a snowy owl ghosted in on silent wings. Crookshanks padded up to Hermione and rubbed against her cheek for a moment, before he jumped back to the floor and padded out to the far corner of the room, and started to snoop around under the beds. Hedwig flew out an open window a moment later; it closed behind her. "And if they skive off," he whispered humorously, "they know their treat supply is endangered.

"That'll ensure loyalty, take away Crooks' tuna," Hermione laughed. "What should we do about it? We can't drag him in, not really, it'd blow our cover..."

"Tonks already did, to question him, but he had no idea. He blanked out on the way to class, the potion instructions were changed from his notes, the original used Adder Venom; it would have been fine."

Hermione nodded, "Now I remember, that's what was bothering me, the Basilisk Venom was used in one of the initial experiments to create Wolfsbane. Several researchers were killed." She frowned, "There was an article in Potions Quarterly, right before Christmas."

"Who else would have known that combination?"

"Anyone with a modern copy of Experimental Potion Catastrophes, or a copy of the article...which could be anyone really, both of them are in the Library." Hermione settled herself more comfortably, Harry...

Was that an assassination attempt against us, or? Hermione whispered oddly, as she glanced up to see him looking back, Just a random attack?

Harry licked suddenly dry lips; It has to be, unless it was a Goldbergian attempt against Slughorn? If that was the case, why?

I don't know, Harry...unless...Well... Harry looked at her as she gnawed on her lip. Riddle is shy a Potions Master, and they have tried to recruit him before. He does tend to try to kill anyone that won't work for him.

To ourselves, maybe, Harry chuckled.

We can't Legilimens and Veritaserum every one of them, Harry. We just have to keep with being careful... she grinned, it gets us out of Potions for a couple of weeks while the classroom is being repaired. 'Night, Love, Hermione closed her eyes and turned her face to bury it in his shoulder.

'Night, Mione, Harry replied bending his neck enough to kiss her on the top of her head. She smiled and kissed his chest. After a moment, Harry felt her slide away into sleep, her thoughts and breathing easing into a relaxed slumber. He pulled his glasses off with his unencumbered hand, and sat them on the table next to the bed. He followed Hermione off to sleep a beat later, the stress of the day catching up to him.

Crookshanks finished with his examination of the room, sauntered over and jumped up to the foot of the bed. He walked around in a circle for several moments, before he settled down, facing the door, his large yellow eyes open and staring. He turned his head to regard Hedwig sitting on the ledge outside of the window, before returning to his vigil. Thirty seconds later, a soft POP echoed in the room.

Dobby and Crookshanks gave each other knowing looks before the elf hopped up on a bed next to Harry and Hermione and sat, watching the door.

There you go, next chapter, the Weasleys, at least some of them come to a realization abut Ginny. And Harry questions just why anyone would snog in the owlry...and yeah, there's some evil plot stuff too.

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