Harry Potter and the Circle's End

Harry Potter and the Circle's End Year Seven by Madscientist



Chapter 1: A Fortnight of Longing

************************#4 Privet Drive******************************

The night outside was sweltering as Harry stared vacantly at the lampposts and dimly lit houses of Privet Drive. This summer, unlike years before, had been a wet one. The air was still dense and muggy from the rain that had poured down this afternoon. A brief flicker of wind rustled a disheveled stack of parchments on his desk even though the night was still and dead. Harry sighed and glanced absently at an eleven-inch holly rod sitting propped against a large, framed photograph, on his battered and gouged nightstand, of which at least one of the gouges had been the fault of his head getting in the way of the nightstand. In the photo a tall, freckled, redheaded young man was standing with his arm around the shoulders of a brown eyed, honey-haired girl. Her curly locks were falling forward over her eyes, hiding one from view, but the other, the one that could be seen, was glancing worriedly over at Harry's doppelganger.

In the pictures, a small, half smile was decorating his lips as he stood slightly to the side. His hands were deep in the pockets of the jeans that could be seen under his partially open robes. Harry sighed again as Ron smiled hugely in the picture and gave him a thumbs-up. He rose with a thoughtful expression on his face and crossed to the window. In the photo, Hermione's eyes tracked him all the way.

He stood at the window, looking out at the dark houses of muggles who did not know that unless the despised delinquent nephew of Vernon's pulled off a feat worthy of Merlin, that their comfortable, two car, suburban home...normal lives would be shattered. In prescient flashes of emerald and screams of terror and pain, the scene faded to another night, a night not that long ago, when all hope had been shattered, when all had seemingly been lost.

"Avada Kedavra" a swarthy, goateed, man hissed and a green bolt snapped across the intervening space and the man, the great man that had defined the side of light for a hundred and fifty years fell to a traitor. Harry stared; his body shielded by the cloak as Snape grabbed his precious Slytherin prodigy and ran.

Harry sighed again and absently ran his hands up and down his arms, the air had suddenly taken on a chilly tone as he thought of that the night. Mum, dad, Sirius Dumbledore...who else must fall for me. Will it be Ron, Remus...Hermione next? Absently he waved his hand towards his wand and it flew to his subconscious call. For even as he had been thinking, moping, trying to deal, he was watching a curious sight, and for Harry Potter, curious sights were not always welcome ones. One by one, the pinpricks of light of each streetlamp and porch light were jumping from their bulbs and floods, slicing across the night and vanishing as if they were being placed in a box.

Harry's eyes scanned the night, the tip of his wand following them. Finally the last light vanished and darkness, total darkness settled across the lawns of Privet Drive. Nothing happened for a long moment and then, BOOM, BOOM. A pair of loud, thunderous knocks sounded in the house.

"WHO THE RUDDY HELL IS THAT?" Vernon screamed as his elephantine footsteps stamped down the hall from the master bedroom to pause outside of Harry's door. "It better not be one of your freaks." He growled as he started off again, the floor was slightly quaking at his passage. Harry crossed to the door, and rattled it. It was locked, of course, with many chains and deadbolts blocking his passage to the hall. A tapping at his window drew his attention from the door, and in a rush of almost silent wings, a great, snowy-white owl flew across the room and dropped a short missive onto Harry's waiting hand. Even as he caught the paper, a brief flash of...something swept across the house, causing the short hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. His eyes flicked to the paper in his hand:

The Ministry cannot punish what it cannot see.

The note was unsigned, but that would have been a waste of ink. After six years of seeing those neat characters correcting his papers and filling passed notes, he knew that writing as well as his own. With a wry grin, he flicked his wand at the door, and like some odd eighteenth century machine, the many locks on the door clicked, whirred and rattled and the door fell open. Harry crept out onto the landing just as Vernon flung open the door.

Harry's smile grew wider as Vernon goggled at the sight before him. For it was not a hooded, cloaked or cowled figure with a glowing, electric-blue eye or pink hair or some large, purple pointy hat. No instead, a slim girl of seventeen in worn jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt stood silently with her hands behind her back, bouncing slightly on her the balls of her feet as she stood waiting on the porch. "Who the ruddy hell are you girl?" Vernon repeated himself as stared at her. "Dudley is asleep."

"No," Hermione replied politely as her eyes flicked up the stairs to see Harry leaning against the landing with his arms crossed and a grin on his face. Her chocolate eyes flicked back down to the florid man blocking her path and a matching grin to Harry's lit her face. Her hands came from behind her back and she slid a carved, ivy-wood wand behind one ear. "I am here to see Harry."

Vernon goggled... "FREAK" Hermione flicked her wand at him and his roars faded to nothingness. Another flick and his large body floated out of her way, and dropped to the floor in the hall. Hermione glanced at him, more to make sure she hadn't hurt him...seriously, and as her eyes swept away from him, they caught a shining steel padlock on a painted hasp. The lock was guarding a cupboard under the stairs.

Hermione's breath caught, and only a callused hand catching her wand on the down stroke, saved Vernon Dursley. Harry gave her a small smile as he shook his head and whispered, "its not worth it, Hermione." "Somus" he muttered and Vernon fell asleep once more. "Come on." He said taking her hand and leading her up the stairs. A creak echoed as Dudley's door eased open and a huge, slightly hung-over, younger version of the elder Dursley poked his head out. He glanced at Harry and Hermione blearily. His head snapped through a double take.

"MUM, DAD, HARRY'S GOT A GIRL..." Any further words of Dudley's were lost as an invisible force flung him backwards into the room. A crashing sound was heard from within as Dudley's flight path intersected a pile of his possessions. Hermione's wand danced and two doors flashed white for an instant.

"That should hold them." Hermione said with a satisfied air as she took Harry's hand and pulled him towards the smallest bedroom. A soft, inarticulate growl escaped her throat as she saw the locks on the outside of the door. The door closed and locked itself behind them, though neither moved their wands. Hermione turned to Harry, and smiled, "Hi Harry." She said, laughing.

"Hi yourself." He replied. Harry barely caught her as she jumped and almost cracked one of his ribs as bushy, brown hair filled his field of view. After a long moment, Hermione dropped the hug. Her eyes dropped to the floor for an instant, "I missed that."

"Yeah." Harry muttered, not really looking at her, but enough to catch a fleeting look of...something in her eyes. Harry sat on the bed, which was really the only seating in the room. After a minute Hermione joined him and they both sat looking at Hedwig, neither one talking.

Finally Hermione broke the silence. "I'm sorry Harry." She did not turn to face him with her words. Instead her gaze remained fixed on the living symbol of wisdom who was currently cleaning her feathers.

"For what?" Harry replied. A bemused expression danced in his eyes as he looked over at her. He turned to face her, but her eyes were still locked on Hedwig. Her hands twisted in her lap as she whispered something inaudible. "What Hermione?" Harry repeated.

"I failed you Harry." Hermione whispered, just barely enough for him to hear. Harry mutely shook his head, but she went on, resolutely, "I didn't listen, I was too caught up in being jealous over your potion scores, and I was so mad at you for listening to that damn book...I didn't think you needed me anymore Harry." A soft sob escaped her throat. Harry leaned over and pulled her into a hug, his hands rubbing small circles on her back as she continued whispering in a voice choked with tears. "I just don't know what came over me last year."

"Hey," Harry replied, as he fought not to laugh, "I'll always need you. Ron and I would have failed out long ago if it weren't for you." Hermione stiffened for an instant as the word "failed" slipped across the room. "Hermione?"

Hermione slipped out of his arms and stood. She crossed to Hedwig and started petting the rather pleased with herself owl. She cooed quietly as Hermione stood, softly stroking her feathers. Harry watched Hermione's face as she obviously was working out exactly what she wanted to say. He waited, patiently. It was enough that she had come to free him from this prison. She shrugged, and looked over at him. "Will you reconsider coming back to school?" Harry opened his mouth to respond but stopped at a wait-a-moment gesture. He crooked an eyebrow and waited. She did not immediately speak but instead dug into a pocket. Finding her quarry, she tossed a shiny gold object at him. Almost seven years of instinct guided his hand as it snapped the object out of the air. He looked down and a brief look of shock flitted across his face as he took in the golden badge in the palm of his hand. A large H overlaid the coat of arms of Hogwarts, with the motto "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus" wound about the bottom of the shield. He flipped it over to find Harry Potter, Head Boy inscribed on the back.

"Hermione...I already said that I wouldn't be coming back, even if McGonagall kept it open." Harry objected softly and started to toss it back to her.

"Wait a minute damn it." Hermione snapped and Harry sat back. He motioned for her to continue. "Listen, I have one too ok?" Harry nodded; he had expected that if the school remained open. "I have been thinking over the last two weeks."

"There's a shocker" Harry quipped, gaining a momentary, wintry smile.

"Done being a smart arse?" She replied though she wasn't really angry. He knew her angry and this wasn't it by a far shot. He nodded anyway more to placate her than anything and she went on. "Listen, we will need a base of operations and supplies and support..."

"Hermione." Harry replied, slightly impatiently "I am not going to risk...look if you and Ron want to stay behind, fine I understand. McGonagall can give the badge to Ron, he deserves it..."

A sudden glare answered his words and she crossed the room in two strides. She took a deep breath, then another. Hedwig rustled his feathers and took flight into the night out of the open window as the lights flickered in the room for an instant. "Listen." Hermione snapped, then blinked and continued on a more even keel. "Listen Harry, I...and Ron will charge the bloody gates of hell with you. You are not getting rid of us ok?" Harry nodded warily and she gave him a soft, half-smile. "Now I am not saying what we should do. But McGonagall came to my parents' place last night as I was packing to come get you and...."

"Wait a moment." Harry interrupted as if he suddenly realized something. "Where is Ron? The letter you sent the other day said you both were coming." His hand twisted towards his wand but he stopped as quickly as he started. "Never mind"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "what about constant vigilance Harry?"

"I know it's you without asking...ok?"

Not knowing what to make of that answer right now she shrugged. "Ron was going to come with me, but at the last minute he sent Pig with a note saying he wasn't able to..."
"WHAT" Harry snapped jumping to his feet, "you shouldn't be alone...He..."He quieted as a soft hand touched his shoulder.

"Harry, I'm a big girl now, and unlike you I can do magic without my wand getting snapped..."

"I know," he sighed, "I know Hermione, but I couldn't stand to loose you or Ron, not after..."

She smiled at him as he trailed off and sat back down next to him. Hermione twisted on the bed and scooted up it to rest her back on the headboard and drew her legs up under her Indian style. Harry bit back a small chuckle as she slipped her wand behind one ear, just like Luna was wont to do. "What?"

"Nothing."

Hermione grinned at him for a brief instant before her gaze fell and she started playing with a loose thread on the hem of her jeans absently. They sat mutely. Hedwig, having noticed that the room was quiet once more, fluttered in the window to perch on top of her cage. Large amber eyes glared reproachfully at each of them in turn. On the nightstand, Hermione's picture looked up at her namesake then over at Harry. Hermione shrugged and pulled off her trainers and tossed them in a corner. She slipped down on the bed to lie down with her head propped up on an elbow. "Well I guess we should get some sleep." She announced softly.

"WE?" Harry choked out as the implications sunk in. He looked around the room like a trapped animal looking to escape. He sighed, "ok then toss me a pillow then, I'll kip out on the floor."

Hermione rolled her eyes, and slapped a pillow next to her, "Harry...honestly, we are both adults, I trust you with my life, I can bloody well trust you with my virtue. Get your scrawny arse up here."

"Only because I'm too tired to argue." Harry grumped, "and my arse is not scrawny." Hermione crooked an eyebrow and smirked as he settled on his back next to her. Harry tucked his hands under his head and stared up at the cracked plaster of the ceiling. "G'night Hermione." He whispered and faded away as he closed his eyes.

Hermione flicked her wand and the lights in the room extinguished. She carefully tucked her wand under her appropriated pillow. Hedwig rustled into flight behind her as she laid watching Harry sleep in the moonlight leaking in from the otherwise dark outside. She bit her lower lip absently as she carefully reached out and plucked the glasses from his face and dropped them on the nightstand behind her. Merlin knows I'll have to fix them if I don't, she convinced herself silently. "Goodnight Harry." She whispered as she tucked her hands under her pillow and closed her eyes.

A sudden sense of wrongness caused Hermione to gasp awake several hours later. She tried to move, but a strong arm held her fast. She turned her head to find Harry shaking, trembling. Soft muttering words sounded in the room. "Mum...don't leave mum...please." He took a breath and shook violently, as if he were being slapped. "No Sirius...not you." Hermione gently worked her arm loosed and tried to shake him gently, "No...No....NO!. Snape you bastard." Harry growled, and then a suddenly tear-choked voice he added, come back Professor...please I..." Hermione let out a breath as Harry calmed for a moment, and settled back down. She closed her eyes and... "No...Hermione...please don't be dead." Her eyes shot open one more as his tremors redoubled and he snapped awake, sweating, tears filling his unseeing eyes. "No...not Hermione...no damn it...I can't loose her, not her." His muttering escaladed as he stared, sightless, out of the window.

Not knowing what else to do, Hermione threw her arms around him, and pulled him back down onto the bed. "I'm right here, Harry." She cooed in his ear, "I'm right here, I won't leave you." She felt his trembling subside as he blinked and saw her for the first time.

"Hermione?" He whispered disbelievingly as her fingers gently swept damp bangs off of his forehead. His eyes squinted slightly and Hermione moved a fraction closer so he could see her.

"I'm here Harry."

"Sorry I woke you." Harry apologized. He started to pull back, but stopped at a curious resistance.

Her bottom lip was in her teeth again for an instant, before she glanced up and her brown eyes were glistening with an unshed tear in the dimness. "Do you always think I'm going to leave you?" She asked guiltily. Harry looked away suddenly until a small hand pulled grasped his chin and forced him to look in her eyes.

Last year, Harry had been briefly able to lie to her...that was gone once more, and something that had been missing for too long, basically since the start of last school year came home. "Not leave me Hermione...sometimes it's Ron who...who dies. But yeah, it's usually you."

"I can't promise I won't die Harry." Her gaze never dropped from his as her hand slowly fell back to the pillow. "But I can promise that I will never leave." Harry gave her a half smile, but didn't answer.

He glanced out the window to see the night still black and still. "You should," She opened her mouth to snap a retort, but stopped and glared at his wave to silence. "I know you won't, but..." He sighed, and pulled away from her and rolled to off the bed and to his feet in one move. Her eyes widened as his glasses floated across the room to him, and settled on his face. Harry didn't seem to notice as he went to the door. "I can't sleep now, I'm going to go get something to drink, go back to sleep Hermione."

Hermione stretched like a bushy-haired, brown-eyed, larger version of Crookshanks and sat up, "hold on, I'll join you." She grimaced a bit, "I haven't been sleeping too well either, since, you know."

"Yeah." Harry agreed and opened the door and waited silently for her to cross the room. She passed him and headed down the stairs, "I know."

They stepped over the prostrate from of the unconscious Vernon and into the immaculate kitchen of Petunia. Hermione looked around and whistled softly. "Even my mum's kitchen isn't this clean."

"Well yeah," Harry replied absently as he opened the fridge to retrieve a bottle of milk. He set it on the counter and pulled a pair of mugs off a nearby rack. "At least if I live, whoever ends up having to put up with me can be happy that I can keep a clean house." He poured the milk into the mugs and placed a bit of coco mix into each from a retrieved jar. "I can thank them for that at least." Harry motioned absently upstairs and Hermione's breath hissed through clenched teeth. Harry didn't notice as he smiled sarcastically, "I wouldn't be surprised if I could out clean Dobby if I had a mind to."

Hermione looked at him and stood suddenly. "Harry," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly. Her eyes bored into his, "show me that cupboard." He shook his head, "Now, Harry, I need to know." She stepped around the small table, quickly, and grabbed his and pulled him out of the kitchen and down the hall until they were standing, staring down at a small door that still occasionally haunted Harry's dreams. Her wand flicked and the hasp clicked open. She dropped to her knees and crawled into the tiny space, and as Harry knelt down, looking in the door, he could see tears threatening to erupt once more on her face. Her fingers traced where he had scratched his name into the wood inside, over the tiny toy soldiers that he had stolen from Dudley to have some company here in his prison, and her lower lip trembled slightly.

"Come here, Mione." Harry said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the tiny closet. He fell back to his rear and sat against the wall opposite the door as she hugged him. "It's ok now, it's over, I'm gone tomorrow and I never have to come back."

"I'm sorry Harry." She whispered tightly into his shoulder "I'm so sorry, I never knew, never really knew. I would have..."

Harry ran his hand absently down the back of her hair, "Don't be Hermione, you didn't do this. You out of every single person I know; are the person most not responsible for this. For the last six years, thoughts of you...and Ron and the rest have kept me sane until I escape from here every summer. And you are the one who is taking me away forever." He stood slowly, pulling her to her feet as he did so. He noticed that she carefully did not touch the wand in her back pocket or look in the direction of Vernon as she let him lead her back to the kitchen and back to her abandoned coco. She watched silently as he waved his wand over the tops of the mugs and steam gushed from them.

"Harry give me your wand." She said suddenly. Harry raised an eyebrow, but did as she asked without question. He watched as she carefully placed it on the pristine, white tablecloth. She touched the tip of her wand to his, and mouthed a long, complex spell. His wand glowed suddenly, jumped up in the air, spun around five times and dropped back to the table with a clatter. She waved towards it impatiently, "well try it on something."

Harry picked up his wand, and looked at her challengingly, he pointed it at a stool across the room, "Wingardium Leviosa." He pronounced clearly and distinctly and the stool floated about for several seconds, "finite" the stool fell back to the floor, "It's fine Hermione, though now that I think about it, there was always this odd vibration when I cast a low level spell, I never noticed it with combat spells, but..."

"You were usually busy at the time, I know." She gave him a slight grin, the same one he had first seen when she told him and Ron about the polyjuice potion in second year. The "I am a supergenius and you should bow before me," grin. Harry felt lightheaded for an instant, and took a drink of his coco, he hadn't eaten all day. "The vibration comes from the Ministry tracking spells that Olivander is required to place on your wand. They don't admit it, but that's why its discouraged to have a foreign made wand, especially an American made one; they don't track at all. Did you ever wonder how the Death Eaters could go around casting unforgivables right and left and the Ministry's "massive magical detectors" never seem to find them, but you get blamed for magic Dobby does? Yes they do monitor magic use at know underage wizard's houses, which is why I used the cloaking spell that Mad-Eye taught me before I came and got you on the house wards, but they are able to detect wand usage as well. That's how Umbridge came after you, your wand had a special tracking charm on it." She shrugged, "It seems that mine did as well; as does Ron's new one. You my friend, as us muggle-borne, say are now the proud owner of an off the grid wand." Her eyes grew hard for an instant, "happy hunting Harry."

"And just where did you learn this little trick?" Harry asked with a tiny smirk as he pocketed his now, unregistered wand.

Hermione blushed the tiniest bit as she looked down at her mug. "I...um...had Tonks go get me some of the Dark Arts tomes in Grimmauld. I told her that you said it was ok, and she was family, so with the wards reset she could enter. It was ok, wasn't it?"

Harry laughed and a tiny smile lit Hermione's face, "yeah, Hermione. In fact, stay here a second." She watched, perplexed as Harry got up, and after several minutes in which she could hear the creak of the stairs in the otherwise silent house as he went up and then came back down he reappeared with something clutched in his right hand. A gold chain dangled loosely from his clenched fist and without any explanation he set the item down in front of her.

Hermione stared open mouthed at the Gringotts key that lay on the table in front of her. She looked at him and he knew her question before she asked. "Take it, Hermione. You and Ron are all the family I have left. What's mine is yours. All of my money is spilt between you two in my will anyway. This just speeds up the process a bit."

"Harry I don't want your money." Hermione snapped and pushed the key at him. "It's like you are giving up..."

He sighed and gently picked the key back up and without looking from her eyes, slowly turned over her hand, and placed the key back in her palm. He closed her fist around it and gently held it closed. "Hermione...do you have any clue just how rich I am right now? I have not only my trust fund, and the money Sirius left me..." he breathed out through his nose slowly, "Dumbledore left me a great deal, and he was richer than the Blacks if you can believe it, and according to a letter I got from Gringotts, on my seventeenth birthday, the remainder of the Potter monies and estate becomes mine."

"So you will give Ron a key too?" Hermione asked softly.

"Sort of..." he shrugged, she stared, he explained, "he has a separate account now that receives 100,000 galleons a year. Officially he now has a job as a field investigator for Fawkes Industries as of my birthday when the incorporation papers will be filled on my behalf with the Ministry."

"So my key is the same?" Hermione asked as she dropped the chain around her neck and tucked it under her shirt; Harry watched the key fall and then looked away quickly. "Like something you see Mr. Potter?" Her eyebrow inched upward.

"Yes...no.... anyway. No Hermione, your key is different." Harry quickly changed the subject. She's with Ron, maybe. Hermione's voice echoed in his head. Why the hell am I even thinking about it? You must be lonely after Ginny and she is a very pretty girl after all, and I am still only sixteen. His own voice replied followed once more by Hermione's Sure...and you are Seventeen very soon. He shook off the sudden internal dialogue to answer her initial question. "No yours is a duplicate of mine. You have full rights to all of my money."

"HARRY JAMES..."

"Hermione," Harry muttered placatingly, "you already are the one I have designated as my primary decision maker in case I am incapacitated or something." He shrugged, "who else am I going to name?"

"Oh I don't know, Lupin, Tonks, Arthur Molly?" Hermione shot back snarkishly, but she didn't, Harry noticed with an inner grin, remove the key from her neck. He knew that he had already won; she was just going on because she was Hermione, and so he ended the argument.

"I trust you, no one else, not even Ron if it comes down to it." Hermione's lips snapped together as any response she would have volleyed back withered and died.

"Thank you Harry." Both of them knew that she wasn't thanking him for suddenly making her de facto one of, and perhaps, the richest witch in England. He nodded and smirked just slightly as she laughed softly, "I just have to know, just how rich are we now?"

"As of the 31rst of July, there will be about 250 million galleons in liquid assets available, with properties and stocks and others perhaps quadrupling that number." Her jaw dropped, she had had no idea. "Yeah no one did, I don't think Sirius had any real comprehension of just what he had available alone. He knew of the cash, and Grimmauld, but not of the ohh...Florida estate, the one in the south of France near Nice...and mum and Dad both seem to have had a few properties more than just the cottage at Godric's Hollow." He laughed hollowly... "There's a bloody castle Hermione. There's a bloody castle Hermione." He repeated and his voice cracked. His head fell to his hands as silent tears began to leak from his eyes. He only vaguely noticed, as it was her turn to hold him as he started to cry. Her lower lip was in her teeth as, "damn it Hermione...why, I don't want this...I want them...why can't I trade?"

"I don't know Harry. I don't know." She held him as his tears exhausted themselves, and let go as he quieted down and gave her a little shake. She watched as he stood, and walked to the door.

"Will you be able to sleep tonight anyway?" Harry asked, knowing the answer, he knew her, and somehow, he knew her like he used to, before Dumbledore died, before he was proven right about what he had been saying about Snape for all these years. She frowned slightly and shook her head; he nodded knowingly. Let's leave then." She followed him, forgetting about Vernon in the floor and stepping on him. Harry smiled slightly at her muttered, "oops." They stepped into the room, Harry flicked his wand, and something that he had wanted to do ever since he learned he was a wizard happened. All of his possessions shrunk themselves, flew to his trunk and it slammed closed. Hedwig looked at him expectantly from the windowsill. "Go to the Burrow Hedwig, we will be there sometime tomorrow."

"Sometime tomorrow?" Hermione asked with a slightly confused expression.

"Yeah, You and I need to go somewhere else first." Harry replied and Hermione was suddenly shocked as a Harry flicked his wand and she felt the wards around the house die. He gave her a melancholy look, "and you thought that I just learned about Voldemort's history from Dumbledore." Harry held out his hand, and Hermione unthinkingly took it, "If you don't mind my lady, I would like you to apparate us to the gates of Hogwarts. There are some people you and I need to talk to and a couple of items that Dumbledore requested I collect from his office in his will.

A loud CRACK echoed in the room, and in an instant, a bare room was left behind; as if no one had ever lived there save the marks on the window where bars had once been, a cat flap in the bedroom door and many, many locks on that door.


A/N: Ok this is the book I started right after HBP came out and briefly abandoned after the "interview." I am posting this chapter as a bit of an experiment, to see how everyone likes it. As usual this book will be R or maybe higher rated if it continues, I couldn't write a G book to save my life. If I choose to keep on with this, I don't know how often I will update it, probably not as often as the Lions universe books, because frankly, that one makes sense, after HBP, who knows... My really big challenge for this book is twofold...First H/Hr will be together, eventually. I don't promise when, but I took all of Darkness to get them there in my other universe. Second, at some point Harry has to be able to face Voldemort and have a chance of winning. In HBP he never was shown to actually train, he learned more magic on screen from the HBP book than Dumbledore...So I may "cheat" and assume that he did do so, but off screen. Next chapter if I write it, which unlike my normal practice I haven't yet written, will deal with Hermione and Harry getting to Hogwarts, a chat with DD's portrait and another talk with McGonagall.

SeYa
Mike


- 11 -


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AN ok, I broke down, another chapter enjoy.

Chapter 2: A Conversation with Canvas
********************Hogwarts*****************************

The CRACK of a side-along apparation silenced the hoots of owls and the twittering of songbirds as Harry and Hermione appeared next to the statues of winged hogs guarding the gates of the castle. They quickly looked about, their wands questing for any targets as they scanned the night. Finding none, Harry waved at the entrance, "I guess we are walking." Hermione nodded and the two of them headed up the long, gravel path to the entrance of the castle, stopping every so often to look out over the grass or to catch a glimpse of some odd animal peaking out from the edge of the forbidden forest.

No one challenged them as they entered the castle via the front doors. They walked aimlessly down the silent stone corridors, their footsteps echoing oddly as they passed empty suits of armor and tranquil, sleeping portraits. Several of them, cracked an eyebrow as they passed, and hushed murmurs of the "chosen one" echoed behind them as they passed out of sight.

They reached the third floor, and passed the room where they had found Fluffy so long ago. Hermione looked over at him and laughed softly as he knelt over the hatch leading below and cracked it open. She patiently explained that the Devil's Snare would have died out after her assault in their first year when Harry wondered aloud where it was. A small hissing presence stood at the door as they turned to leave. Mrs. Norris, the first sign of life they had seen since they had arrived save the faint smoke of Hagrid's cooking fire still coming from his chimney, stood with her hackles raised and glared at the duo with baleful, lamp-yellow eyes. "Oh hush." Hermione snapped at the cat as she brushed it out of their way. The cat gave her an incredulous look, and dashed off, no doubt to find her supposed master.

As the pair walked toward the transfiguration wing on their random meanderings, an oily presence came up from behind. "Oi, what are you children doing here. School is out, and may never restart. Bloody good thing too, if you ask me. No children cluttering the halls, casting magic...leave now or I'll..."

Harry gave an exasperated sigh and spun on his heel, "Or what Flitch?" He rolled his eyes and Hermione let slip an involuntary chuckle next to him, "Or what? You'll give me detention? Take house points? Whip me?" His eyebrow crooked upward. "Go ahead, try." Harry turned back and walked away, his footsteps resonating oddly as thousand year old stones bounced the sound back at them. Hermione gave the old squib a sarcastic smile and followed in her best friend's footsteps. "Sorry Hermione."

"For what," she laughed as she caught up to him and threw an arm around him for a moment, "For telling that windbag off?" She dug around in a pocket, "you know until we surrender our badges, we are the head students he can't do a blessed thing to us anyway."

"Yeah I guess so." Harry agreed. They looked up, to find the portrait of a fat woman, with a pink dress looking down at them annoyedly.

"Well do you want to go in?" She growled, as she yawned hugely.

Hermione shrugged and Harry waved in the direction of the door. "We don't know the password." She objected, but in responses the portrait swung open on oiled hinges.

"Silly girl," the fat lady snapped as Hermione steeped through the portrait hole for perhaps the last time. "You are the head students, you don't need one."

"Harry?" Hermione asked softly as she noticed that he had not yet came through the hole.

"Go on Hermione I will be along in a second, I, um...need to tie my shoe." Harry replied with a small smile. Brown eyes flicked heavenward as she continued on to the common room. Harry's smile faded as he turned to the fat lady, "don't ever call her a silly girl ever again." He hissed, and the fat lady...blinked. She nodded silently as he stepped through the portrait hole and found Hermione already ensconced on one of the ragged couches before the fireplace. A large fire was roaring in the grate, and as he approached, he noticed that no heat was warming his face as he sat next to her. A pass of her wand and a pair of mugs sat steaming on the small coffee table in front of them.

"Harry," Hermione commented as she reached for the mugs and handed him one. "I don't need you to fight my battles for me." She sat back and watched as he sighed and took a sip of the coffee she had conjured.

"You would be about the only one then." Harry muttered bitterly as he stared into the flames. "Everyone else seems to think that is my only purpose. It is, isn't it Hermione? To fight everyone's battles? To be the bloody, fucking, chosen one? Scrimgeour wants me to be the image of the Ministry, the Order members, when they weren't telling me I was too young to fight, were wondering when I would grow up. Ginny wanted me to be the boy-who-lived, who she fell for. Even Ron does it, when he's not insanely jealous of some damn thing that has probably cost another life of someone who didn't deserve to die, looks at me like I'm some kind of savior." Harry ran his hand roughly though his inky locks as he watched a log pop in the fire, "I guess they are the smart ones though." He added thoughtfully. "Everyone who has just thought of me as just Harry...my mum and Dad, Sirius, Dumbledore...they are all dead Hermione, everyone except you."

Harry stood suddenly and paced to the windows and peered out the leaded-glass panes. "If you really just want me to be Harry, not your savior, you should go Hermione. Run to America, Australia, anywhere. Maybe Victor would put you up in Bulgaria?" Hermione muttered something under her breath as he added the last. "I promise I'll stop him before he gets that far Hermione. If for just you if nothing else."

"I won't run Harry." Hermione shot back calmly.

"It's not running Hermione. It's being smart, I thought you off all people would realize that. He has years and years of study on me, and who else is going to stop him? Mad-Eye? Remus, Tonks? The Ministry? They've all tried and failed. Hell the only reason he hasn't been ruling the world for the last sixteen years is that he miscalculated when I was a baby."

"Yes he did." Hermione snapped back, as a bit of ire filled her voice, "he took on you, as a baby...and he fucking lost." Harry's eyes widened as she continued. "Harry he will die and you will live. I couldn't...you just will ok?"

Harry nodded, despite his misgivings he wasn't going to disagree. "Ok, then Hermione, how are we going to accomplish that little task?" He asked softly.

"No idea." She admitted in the same tone, and caught his eye. An instant later they both erupted with laughter. Her head fell sideways onto his shoulder as they continued to laugh. Finally after several minutes of hilarity they stopped, pausing for breath. She sat back and looked over at him. Thoughts could be seen dancing behind her eyes, noticeable at least to Harry, who had subconsciously watched them duel for years. She thought back over his words from earlier. "Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened with you and Ginny?" She looked down, sipping her coffee as she asked.

"I let her go Hermione..." Harry sighed. "I let her go, because she really doesn't have a clue of what we are up against. I wish you didn't either. I doubt Ron really does, his family, especially Molly was too concerned with coddling him to tell him the tales of Voldemort's first reign and that was when Dumbledore was still around to keep him in some sort of check. Oh, I don't doubt that he truly believes in the case, or think that he's not loyal to me, but he's also in it for the adventure. He's never read the quote, I guess, about adventure being danger happening to someone else, far away." Harry played with the handle of his mug for an instant. "No, I broke up with her at the funeral and she gave me some line about me not being happy unless I was hunting Voldemort, about that's why she fell for me in the first place."

Hermione let out a soft gasp, as she realized that Ginny had never really known Harry, anyone who really did would have never said that to him, I know I never would have. "I'm sorry Harry. I was so happy for you when you kissed her..." A small, tired smile crossed her lips, never touching her eyes.

"It's ok." Harry said as he returned the tiny smile. "What about you and Ron?" He asked with a tired tone to his voice. "Why didn't he show up today...yesterday?" He corrected himself as he glanced down at his watch.

"I don't know Harry." She admitted, "he's ok, I guess...we fight, we sort of make up, we stop arguing anyway." She shrugged, "I honestly don't know what is up with us. At times I really like him, at other times I think I am settling..." She had whispered the last words and if he wasn't even sure he really heard them. She didn't seem to think she had said them out loud so for his part Harry ignored them as she went on. "Don't ever tell Ron this." She commanded and he nodded, intrigued at her openness, "for the longest time I knew about his feelings for me...fourth year anyway, then for the most part of fifth he was pretty quiet about it so I let it go." She laughed at some inner thought. "Actually at the end of fifth year I thought he had moved on, I even thought that he might be feeling something for Luna..." Harry barked a laugh and she grinned slightly and nodded. "Yeah, I know...but hey if it made him happy. At least she wasn't a total airhead like Lavender, even if she were insane." Harry raised an eyebrow at the odd stress on "him," as if she weren't, at least in the main, referring to Ron. "But when he started his...thing with Lavender, I don't know, I had already given up so much, so I went a bit haywire. I mean I don't know what I was doing last year Harry."

"None of us did Hermione, it was like we were totally different people." Harry agreed, he reached out and touched her hand for a moment before leaning back. "But you never answered why Ron didn't come with you."

She frowned, "We had another argument, what else Harry?" She took another sip, of now, cold coffee, grimaced at the taste and grunted. "I went over a couple of days ago to help Ginny with her dress fitting, and Ron and I got into it about why I hadn't been over before then. I explained that I wanted to spend time with my parents, as I didn't know when I would see them again. He seemed affronted so I apparated out on his arse, probably left him smelling like brimstone, if I got the spell right." Her eyes flicked to the side for an instant, ostensibly looking towards the portrait hole.

"You were right Hermione," Harry replied, "I love him, but he does take his parents for granted sometimes. Do me a favor and don't ever do that. Don't ever take them for granted Hermione, please." He visibily thought of something and sighed to himself. Bright yellow daylight streamed through the windows, the night had passed in their wanderings and conversation both here and at Privet Drive. Harry looked out the windows at the sun peeking above the clouds and stood. He extended his hand and pulled Hermione to her feet easily. "Let's go find McGonagall," Harry said as he headed to the portrait hole. He looked around the common room, and nodded to himself, some decision made. Hermione didn't ask, but merely followed him out the portrait hole into the seventh floor corridor that they had stood in innumerable times before.

The pair of them walked the length and breadth of the castle, finding no one at this hour. They might have spotted the tail of Mrs. Norris retreating behind a suit of armor as they headed down the second floor corridor on the way to the Headmistresses office, but if it were, the cat had wisely decided that discretion truly was the better part of valor and left them alone. For a long instant they stood silently at the gargoyle guarding the entrance to McGonagall's office. Harry looked up at the stone statue, then over at Hermione and back to the statue as an odd thought crossed his mind. "Sugar Quills."

The gargoyle's stone eyelids ground open and odd, blue eyes looked the pair of them over. With the sound of rumbling rock, the gargoyle stepped aside and waved the pair of them in. A marble staircase ground endlessly upward as Harry and Hermione stepped in and rode them to the top. A large oak door with a griffin knocker, gleaming softly in the torchlight awaited them at the top. Harry looked at Hermione and shrugged. She returned the gesture and reached out and beat the knocker against the door three times.
Sounds of sudden movement and rustling papers came from behind the door, and a moment later a familiar burr rang out, "Come in."

Harry opened the door to find Minerva McGonagall sitting behind the huge oak desk that Harry had associated with Dumbledore in his previous meetings here. His eyes instinctively shot to the portrait behind the desk, to find the slumbering visage of his old mentor. McGonagall was dressed in severe, dark green robes as she sat watching the two of them enter, and waved to a pair of comfortable chintz armchairs in front of her desk. Harry had expected the stiff, straight chairs of her old office, but as he looked up, he noticed that Dumbledore was more awake than he had appeared. The portrait gave him a small wink as he glanced over and Harry knew that the chairs had been his idea.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, I have been expecting you." She said kindly. Minerva gestured over her shoulder in the general direction of the portrait, "or at least Albus thought so." She added dryly. "I know you are awake Albus."

"Aw yes." Dumbledore replied from his portrait, not bothering to deny the accusation. "I am. And unless I miss my guess, Mr. Potter is here to make some...requests. I suggest that you grant them, Minerva." He nodded to Harry, who returned a small touch to his head, the same as given in a formal duel to acknowledge a point. McGonagall straightened her square-framed glasses on her nose and sat back. She gestured for Harry to begin.

Harry leaned forward and pulled the Head Boy's badge from his pocket. He placed it face up on her desk, but did not push it forward, but left it out of her reach. Without a word, Hermione did exactly the same. "Headmistress, I...we..."

McGonagall raised a hand in interruption, "Harry, Hermione, if you don't take those positions, I am afraid that school will not reopen in the fall. I need trustworthy students to be Heads, and frankly I don't really have any other choices in your year. Especially not ones that I can trust fully in these perilous times. Frankly Mr. Potter...Harry...as much as I hate to say it, the presence of the chosen one may be the factor that persuades parents to allow their students to return to school." Harry opened his mouth to snarl a retort, but Hermione beat him to it.

"Professor McGonagall, Harry may be the one prophesized to kill Voldemort, but I would think that you would...."

McGonagall nodded, and gave them a small motion to apologize, "I am sorry Harry. You were going to ask me something?"

Harry nodded and then after a moment's thought, "If Hermione and I may have a moment?" McGonagall nodded and Harry got up and walked to the back of the room. Hermione confusedly followed him at a gesture and flicked her wand instinctively to form a cone of silence around the pair of them. "Hermione," Harry said with his back to McGonagall, "do you really think it is a good idea to return here for the school year?"

Hermione nervously bit her lower lip as a finger came up and absently twirled a curly lock around and around. "Yeah Harry, sort of...I mean there are advantages to being here...The castle defenses are formidable, the Death Eaters got in though a unguarded means last year," Her eyes more than amply expressed her apology for that oversight, which despite his words last night, she still felt guilty for. She shrugged, "Despite you and Ron's distain for the library, Hogwarts has one of the greatest wizarding libraries anywhere. I know that Riddle wasn't able to find out about Horcruxes from it, he had to learn from Slughorn. But there are other things we could learn. And we will have to learn Harry."

"Yeah we will Hermione." Harry's emerald eyes held hers for a long moment, searching for something. Finding it, he nodded to himself, "Hermione, do you trust me?" He asked, already knowing the answer as she nodded mutely, with the flames of just a touch of annoyance dancing in her pupils. He reached out and squeezed her hand, silently apologizing. She gave him a small, half-smile in acceptance. "Ok then, follow my lead, no matter what I ask for...or rather demand," he corrected himself with a small shrug. Harry crossed back over to McGonagall's desk, but instead of sitting back down he stood, looking down at the elderly witch. Hermione came over to stand next to him, and leaned back against the coming of a nearby window that looked out over the grounds and Hagrid's hut.

"Ma'am I apologize in advance if I am to offend you. And I only let you know that I am entertaining this, as I would like Hermione to have at least one of her dreams if possible, and I know she will follow me." Harry never looked over at Hermione, he knew she had meant her words, McGonagall nodded slowly, listening. "We will return next fall, and take those badges...but there are conditions and I am afraid that they are non-negotiable."

"What are they?" McGonagall asked in a slightly affronted tone.

"First, Hermione, Ron and I are to have total freedom of movement and action." Harry crossed his arms, and if possible his emerald eyes glowed softly in the early morning light. "We will be able to leave the castle when and how we choose, we will be able to do magic at any time, anywhere, and we will excused from classes as needed without any excuses needed, it is entirely possible that we may be gone for days, weeks even. We will perform all assignments, and I feel that you will be pleased with our progress, but we may not be able to take them in scheduled classes."

"I cannot make Mr. Weasley a head student as well Harry, and it seems as if you are asking to have a status equal to mine..."

"No mum," Hermione interjected, as she had already discerned the direction of Harry's thoughts. "Ron is only to be granted the same freedom of movement, he would not have the powers of a head student. We just don't want Flitch or some professor complaining about us wondering the halls as we return from some..." she drifted off as she suddenly wondered if she were wandering into forbidden territory.

Fortunately Dumbledore once again saved the day. "She knows about the Horcruxes, Miss Granger...or may I call you Hermione? It would be convenient if you both would call me Albus as well, as it seems that I am no longer your headmaster. His head turned to McGonagall, "I told you Minerva." She glared at the image of the ancient wizard; he smiled right back. "What are your other terms?"

"Have you yet found replacements for yourself and...Snape, mum?" The cold that filled her voice at the former teacher's name could have frozen the loch outside in the middle of July. McGonagall shook her head, "Good then I would, suggest that Remus Lupin and Tonks would be eminently suitable for the DADA and transfiguration slots respectively. And that you turn a blind eye to any...indiscretions that the two may find themselves in." Next to her, Harry covered his mouth to hide a quiet chuckle. He caught her gaze and saw the same expression dancing there.

Minerva gave them a small smile, "Actually you will be glad to know that I was already considering Remus for that slot, I feel that any issues with his...affliction, will be greatly outweighed by his stance on the current difficulties. I will see if Nymphadora is available from the Ministry for that post. With Amelia gone, we do not quite have the support we once had within the MLE, but if it is possible..." Harry and Hermione nodded as one, they both recognized that some things were only possible if they were. "Next?"

Harry moved to sit back down. Hermione did not reseat herself, however. She propped a hip on the corner of Harry's chair so as to stay more or less standing. "All staff of Hogwarts will be investigated under both veritaserum and imperious-detecting charms before the start of school and at random intervals thereafter. This will include Hermione, Ron and myself as well as members of the DA, which will be reestablished and will meet with the full support of the school." McGonagall nodded angrily, but Harry could tell somehow that her anger wasn't directed at him or Hermione.

"I will agree to all of those conditions Harry...Hermione..." she smiled to herself, "now Albus has me doing it, calling my students by their Christian names. I am curious, though, are you also wanting Miss Weasley to be given the same freedoms?" Her old eyes asked a question.

"No mum, there will be only the three of us. Ginny, as well as Neville and Luna and several others will be vital members of the DA, but..."

"Fine then," McGonagall nodded, her eyes flicked to Hermione, "I am glad I was correct in your fifth year, at least you do listen to Miss Granger if no one else."

"Actually," Hermione corrected her with the faintest tinge of a blush, "I listened to Harry this time." McGonagall nodded, her eyes twinkling slightly.

All three of the living humans in the room looked over as Dumbledore made a soft coughing noise, "Now that that is settled," He said, and it was amazing that canvas could twinkle, "There are certain items that I feel that Harry might need." McGonagall flicked her wand at a tall, closed cabinet and a large, leather bundle floated out and settled on her desk with an odd metallic clank. Her wand flicked once more and the bundle opened, to reveal a slender, gleaming sword. The rubies inset in the handle of the Gryffindor sword glittered in the light of the sun, which was now streaming in the window. Several smaller daggers with the same design as the Gryffindor sword were strapped next to the sword. Half a dozen of the silver instruments that used to populate this office when it was Dumbledore's surrounded them along with three golden keys and a small, leather bound book. Each of the keys was marked with odd runes.

Harry reverently picked up the sword and as he did so, a sudden, source less wind rustled his hair and a golden glow surrounded him for an instant before fading away. "Aw yes Harry, as I told you in your second year, only a true Gryffindor could pull that sword from the hat. Harry, if you would please hand the sword to Hermione." Hermione shrugged as he did so and his jaw dropped as the exact same reaction happened to her as had just happened to him. As one, they turned to Dumbledore. "Yes, now you see the truth, true bravery is not dependent on birth or position, but a choice, a choice to stand against the darkness against all costs. Miss Granger chose Gryffindor Harry, just as you did. The teens shared an uncomfortable look, "the sword as well as the daggers can be used to cast spells just like a wand, and as you may have noticed there are six. I would think carefully on whom you gift with those, I would expect that you would give them to your closest allies. The instruments, I will not take time to explain, the manual will explain their use, they are instruments that I have used in the hunt for the Horcruxes as well as other endeavors."

"And the keys?" Hermione inquired with an odd, breathless excitement.

"One goes to a hidden vault in the Potter ancestral castle that by now Harry has learned will be his on the 31st. The second goes to a vault in a cave about thirty miles from here, which contains several of my journals and books that you should find useful, and the third..." Dumbledore shrugged, "I am not sure actually, I am sure that it is important, however." Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes in unison. "Finally, through Minerva's kind auspices, I have arranged for additional training for the two of you, as well as Mr. Weasley. Training that I was not able to undertake." Kind blue eyes were sad for a moment, "The Order is in disarray I am afraid, but those members that still live will be at your call Harry. Or your designate." He added with a glance at Hermione. The portrait turned to McGonagall, "Minerva, now that we have clearly been put in our place." Hermione's cheeks were only barely tinged with embarrassment while Harry didn't visibly react at all. The portrait nodded, some fact confirmed. "You have something to show them." McGonagall nodded and stood.

She walked to the door and without looking to see if they were following, went down the stairs and out into the second floor hallway. On the way, they passed several Professors, Flitwick, Vector, and Trelwany all of whom seemed pleased that Harry and Hermione had agreed to return and take up the posts of head students. Trelwany may have been happy purely because she hadn't lost her favorite target for predicting a student's death.

The trio continued on, eventually returning to the seventh floor corridor that concealed the entrance to Gryffindor tower. Instead of continuing on, however, McGonagall stopped and tapped her wand on the bricks of an empty stretch of wall around the corner from the fat lady while murmuring something under her breath. A stone archway appeared, revealing a narrow marble staircase. McGonagall led them up the stairs, not even starting when the archway closed behind them. She paused as she reached a door at the top and pried it open.

They came into a smaller rendition of the Gryffindor common room. Shelves of books lined fully half the circumference of the room, with titles like Defense Against the Darkest of Arts, Most Potente Potions and A Compilation of Wizarding and Muggle Battle Tactics. Harry bit back a huge grin as he noticed at least three editions of Hogwarts a History tucked in among the others, along with an entire section on Quidditch. Hermione's eyes glittered as she glanced over at Harry. "This is your common room, of course." McGonagall waved at the door furthest on the right and set opposite the others. "That door exits to the Gryffindor common room. It comes out behind the portrait of Wilhelm the Courageous." McGonagall walked around the worn couch in front of an unlit fireplace and dodged around a pair of chairs set opposite as she walked over to the other three doors and opened the middle one. She opened it to show a large, t-shaped bathroom.

The bath was the same as would be seen at any luxury hotel, providing it was a wizarding one of course. A large marble shower sat in one corner, big enough for a party to be held inside if the revelers were friendly and a whirlpool tub, easily big enough for six sat next to it. At least twenty faucets surrounded it, labeled in various colors. Toilets sat at either end of the room with small partitions around each one. A door lead from the opposite ends, most likely to the bedrooms. McGonagall confirmed that supposition with a quiet comment. She closed the door to the bathroom and entered the bedroom on the left.

A large four-poster sat in the middle of the room, which was easily as large as Harry's normal dorm that he shared with four other boys, pushed against the far wall. A crimson and gold coverlet covered the bed, with the Hogwarts crest proximately displayed. A large oak desk, quite similar to the Headmistress' own dominated a corner with bookshelves crowed around it with titles that explained without words that this room was to be Harry's. The bundle from Dumbledore's office was lying on Harry's bed, along with his head's badge. In the opposite corner from Harry's desk, a tattered love seat sat in front of another fireplace. "Hermione's room is the same, just inverted." McGonagall walked over to a hand-sized gold orb set on the mantel and indicated it with a long finger. "This is your personal portkey to get around Hogwarts, you each have one. It will allow you to by pass the wards and enter and leave directly. It is also charmed to self-destruct if someone other than yourselves tries to use it or to compel you to use it on his or her behalf. Albus seemed to feel the need for them."

"Yes I did Minerva." Dumbledore agreed as he appeared in, an, until that very moment; empty frame. He smiled at Harry's sudden shocked look, "Do not worry, other than right now I will only come to this or the matching portrait in Hermione's room if summoned or in an emergency. Now I expect that the two of them would like to look around and talk without the presence of us old codgers." Dumbledore's laugh faded oddly as he vanished from his portrait, presumably to go back to his in his old office or maybe just to go visit somewhere.

McGonagall started to leave, but paused at the door to Harry's bedroom, "I know what you are going to do Harry, when school restarts, we must return to outwardly normal practices, but until then call on me at any time. Either of you. You are welcome to come and go, as you will until school starts. I would suggest carrying the portkeys at all times. They both have a run settling, that if either of you are hurt or just need to escape they will whisk you back here and activate the wards of the castle to full wariness at the same time." She left without another word and Harry and Hermione could hear the door to the stairs open and close in the silence.

"Well Hermione what do you think?"

"I love it Harry, but do you think this is the best idea? I mean even with the freedoms you...ok we, forced on McGonagall we are still constrained somewhat by just being here."

"You were right Hermione. You always are." Harry shrugged and she grinned at him as he pulled his tiny trunk from the pocket of the khaki cargo pants he had on and tossed it to the floor at the foot of his bed. He flicked his wand and it instantly grew to full size. He opened it and removed a battered, leather knapsack. She watched, curiously, as he carefully placed miniaturized jumpers and jeans, a couple of robes and various bits of other essentials in the pack. He casually flicked his wand over his shoulder and the door to the room sealed with a squelch and a white flash lit the walls.

"Silencing charm." He explained. "Layers on layers Hermione, McGonagall, and Dumbledore I guess gave us one of the solutions to out problems right here." He pointed to the orb as he placed the tightly folded silvery fabric of his cloak into a thigh pocket of his khakis. She watched, slightly amazed as he slid the sword of Gryffindor point first into the bag, where it proceeded to slide in, without the tip ever emerging on the other side. Just the handle poked out, and with a tap of his wand, it vanished. Harry settled the pack on his back and reached up and back behind his right shoulder. His fist closed on something and he nodded to himself.

"We can officially be here, but anywhere else in England except Grimmauld place in an instant. And for that, we just use the portkeys to get out of the castle and apparate to the manor, I have already added you to the house wards. All of the charms were reset when I gained the house. It doesn't exist even more than when Sirius was alive. However as soon as we can, we go there and refresh the Fidielus Charm, and only the three of us will have access. The Death Eaters and their spies will think we are here, when we can be anywhere looking for them."

"Thanks Harry." Hermione said simply.

"It's not just for you, Hermione, though you are welcome, mum and dad were heads and I expect that they would like for me to carry on the tradition. Harry walked over to his bed and carefully lifted the bundle off of it and placed it on the closed lid of his trunk, "Now I am going to kip off for a bit for a bit before we leave for the Burrow." Harry looked at the bedside clock, which as he was de facto a quasi Muggle-born actually showed the time at 8:15 am, along with a snide message reading, "it's summer you fool boy, go out and play."

"Ok Harry." Hermione agreed as she walked out and mostly closed his door, leaving it cracked. She watched through the crack as Harry let the night catch up to himself and yawned. He kicked off his trainers and escaped to the land of dreams.

She nodded and crossed their new common room to check out her own quarters for the next year. For some odd reason, she left her door cracked as well as she didn't bother to unpack besides tossing her shrunken trunk at the foot of her bed. An already full knapsack was in hers as well. She rolled on her side as she watched the crack of the door, ears straining, just in case before the events of the night and the morning caught up with her as well.



A/N There you go, I hope it's not too horrible, I literally banged this one off today. For those of you reading shadows hand on, a new chapter of it will appear soon as well. In this universe, next chapter we will get to the Burrow, and well....

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A/N: Here's the 3rd.... Much thanks for Lady Starlight looking this chapter over. Any mistakes are purely my own, not hers. And yes this universe isn't mine, more the pity.

Chapter 3: A Reunion at the Burrow

*********************The Burrow******************************
12:05 pm

A rainbow fall of light and a rush of sound erupted on the lawn of the ancient Weasley home as Harry and Hermione arrived. Harry's hands flashed out and caught hers as she stumbled from the momentum shift inherent in Portkey travel. She dropped them and smiled at him gratefully as she reached back to check her pack. Harry did the same, his fingers brushing lightly over the hilt of the invisible Gryffindor sword.

Mrs. Weasley had appeared at the commotion, and rushed forward. She enveloped Harry in a huge hug. "I am so glad you are here Harry dear." She glanced over at Hermione, and back at Harry, "Ginny and Ron are up at the pitch." She pointed up the hill were several brooms could be seen swooping back and forth. She motioned to their packs, "Let me have those I'll put them up with Ginny and Ron." Harry and Hermione shared a glance and shrugged. They handed their packs over, "Hermione my dear, I am afraid that you will be a bit crowded, Luna is staying with Ginny as well, her father had to stay in London for a while." Hermione just waved in response as she followed Harry on their slow trek up the hill.

Spotting them on the way up, Ron and Ginny banked over and swooped down to land next to them. Immediately Ron pulled Hermione into a hug, which she returned and gave him a peck on the cheek. He looked oddly disappointed as Hermione stepped back and tucked an errant lock behind her ear. Ginny and Harry shared a small smile and an only somewhat awkward hug. A faint flowery smell reached his nose, but oddly enough it vanished as he glanced back to notice Hermione quietly telling Ron something. Ron didn't look as if he particularly liked it, but he glanced over at Harry and nodded.
"Harry." Ginny said as she grabbed his arms and pulled him over to her broom. "Look what Bill got me for my birthday. It's a Firebolt, just like yours. He got it from a coworker who sold it used, cheap. He gave it to me early so I could start working it up for the season."

"Yeah Ginny," Harry agreed as he scanned around to look for Ron and Hermione. They had vanished. He frowned, he wanted to talk to his other best friend before the wedding tomorrow. "It's just like mine. You should be awesome at Quidditch this year."

"Too bad you lot won't be there." Ginny said sadly. "Gryffindor would be unstoppable."

"Actually," Harry corrected her, he might as well, she would find out soon enough anyway. "Hermione and I talked to McGonagall just this morning, we are returning as Head students, at least for now. We need to learn all that we can." He shrugged, "I doubt I am going to play Quidditch at all...in fact I need to tell McGonagall that I'm giving up the Captain's slot."

"Then Harry..." she began, her eyes lighting up.

"No Ginny." Harry said kindly, "None of my reasons have changed. Now if you will excuse me, I need to find Hermione and Ron." Ginny watched silently as he walked off, then as he vanished out of sight, she sprinted for the house for the extendable ears she had secreted there along with various other...items that had proven helpful last year.

Harry had caught none of that. He strolled across the lawn and walked around the house. Unless you knew better, one would have never known this backyard belonged to the Weasley clan. The garden was immaculate, with a tall, white arch at one end, lit softly with fairy lights. Twin columns of seats sat on either side of a wide, red-carpeted aisle. Ribbons in white and gold encapsulated the seats and Harry nodded, pleased with the environs for Bill and Fleur's wedding tomorrow. A small platform was situated under the arch and knelt down facing the other way; a tall, thin girl with long, platinum blond hair was working on something. She glanced back and a wide smile blossomed on her face. She ran down the aisle and swept Harry into a hug. "'arry...iz good to zee you again."

"Yeah Fleur." Harry replied with a small grin, "you too. Have you seen Ron or Hermione?"

"They iz up at the creek, I believe." She replied, her smile frozen in place. She watched as he walked in the direction she had indicated and with a small shrug she went back to work.

As Harry approached he could hear raised voices. He sighed softly to himself and headed closer, only to stop as he heard his name. He paused just out of sight.

"What Ron?" Hermione snapped.

"I thought that we were going on this mission with Harry, not back to school. Did you convince Harry to go just so you could be Head Girl and take your NEWTs?" Ron snarled and Harry started to reveal himself, but Hermione beat him to the retort.

"No you dufus. Yes I wanted to be at school, but I want Voldemort dead far worse. Did you listen to me at all? We decided use the school as a base, it gives us advantages that we wouldn't otherwise have."

"So you and Harry can leave without me, with your fancy Portkeys?" Ron said bitterly. He spun and glared at her, "Is that why you won't hardly even return a hug, let alone kiss your boyfriend, you would rather be with Harry? You know Ginny still fancies him? Do you really want to be a scarlet woman?"

Hermione took a startled breath, as did Harry in his unwitting eavesdropping spot. As did another red-haired member of the clan hidden on the other side of the clearing. Three pairs of ears waited on her response. "Honestly Ron," she snapped briskly, "I don't remember being your girlfriend. A few stolen snogs don't make a relationship."

"So what does Hermione?" Ron replied tiredly as the fire went out in his voice. "Hanging out at his aunt's house and then at Hogwarts? You could have come and got me before you two talked to McGonagall. Now I have to explain things to mum, that I now will be back at school."

"It was a spur of the moment thing; we had to make a decision." Hermione didn't even try to hide the exasperated tone to her voice. "Not everything revolves around you Ronald."

"No, I guess it revolves around Harry then. Why don't you just go be with him? He gets everything else anyway." Ron snapped and a crack of sound echoed in the woods as Hermione's hand whipped around and intersected his jaw. Hurried footsteps thundered in the woods, directly towards Harry, and he took a panicked breath. He glanced over to either side, and then with a sudden realization, his hand dove into a thigh pocket of his khakis. A snap of his wrist, and a practiced twirl of the silvery cloak and he vanished. It was just in time, as a chestnut-haired whirlwind thundered past on her way into the woods. Harry glanced back towards Ron, and then in the direction that Hermione had gone, torn between finishing the job Hermione had started with his fists or his wand or making sure she was ok.

Hermione won on two counts, he had never meant to overhear their argument, so he could never admit he had heard it. And he knew that Hermione would be angry with him if he completed her work for her. He took off, quickly casting a Silencio on his steps to deaden the swish of the leaves coating the forest floor as he followed Hermione. Even though the forest surrounding the Weasley house was relatively tame, she wouldn't be able to protect herself from a Pygmy Puff in her current condition.

After following her steps for several minutes Harry heard them stop. He paused, thinking furiously as he thought of some valid reason for him to find her. A flash back to fourth year and he had his answer...if it worked, because if it didn't she would know. He held out his hand with his wand held flat on the palm. "Point me to Hermione." He whispered with a touch of desperation and as in answer to his prayers the wand spun around five times, before the tip settled pointing towards Hermione. Harry quickly refolded the cloak and stowed it. He canceled the Silencio and made a great deal of noise as he walked forward, shouting, "HERMIONE."

"Here Harry." A soft, resigned soprano replied and he walked into the clearing. Hermione was sitting on a downed log, and something bothered him greatly, even more than it usually did after one of their fights, as he saw her angrily wipe away tears. Harry sat down next to her, about a foot away and waited. "How did you find me Harry?" A slightly accusatory note was in her voice.

Harry carefully did not wipe away a bead of sweat from his brow as he shrugged. "Did you know that the point me spell will find people? I just tried it and it worked."

"No it doesn't" Hermione disagreed with a small glare. Harry just repeated his earlier trick, and her eyes grew wide, "Ok...weird. I guess you did a Potter." She gave him a tiny, fleeting smile, "You did your "make the spell do what I want thing". I would think you were Dumbledore if you were taller and had a beard." Both of them realized what she had said at the same time and an awkward silence fell over the clearing.

Harry broke it after a minute; "Dumbledore wouldn't want us to be sad every time his name came up in conversation. Hermione nodded. "Are you ok Hermione? What's wrong?" He asked innocently as if he had never heard anything. And he was still unsure of what he had truly heard. Were they together? Had they broken up...had they just broken up? Harry didn't know what to think.

"Just sit with me here a bit Harry, before we go back." Hermione said and they sat together for a time that neither of them bothered to measure before heading back without another word shared between them, especially not over conversations not heard.

Ginny eased open the door to her room, to find, sprawled out on a hastily added camp bed, a slender blond-haired girl. Luna rolled over, her odd silvery-gray eyes as wide as ever as she smiled languorously and stretched, her spine popping loudly. "Did you overhear another of their fights?" she asked with a curious note in her otherwise airy voice. "I would like them to stop soon; they are disturbing the Irish winged rats that I spotted the other day in the glade. They would be a good omen for tomorrow if they stay around." Luna sat up and started weaving her long, dirty-blonde hair into a loose braid. She had changed over the almost two years since she had first shared a compartment with the trio, Ginny and Neville. Her hair was no longer a tangled mess, her eyes were clear, bright and held an odd, knowing gaze and as she stretched again, Ginny wondered absently that after what she had overheard, if that her decidedly odd friend might really have a chance with her brother if she applied herself...and if other things were to cease.

Ginny walked over to the cot next to Luna's which now held Hermione's pack. She moved it aside, and resisted the temptation to investigate the odd metallic clanks that came from it. She smiled, slightly unconvincingly, "What makes you think I overheard them fighting?"

Luna turned and looked at her, and Ginny paused. The moment passed as Luna turned away to play idly with a loose thread on the hem of her cutoffs. "Everyone else has." She shrugged and stood. She checked the fall of a pair of radish earrings in the mirror. Her eyes caught Ginny's bright, brown ones in the reflection "come clean with him, with them, Ginevra." Luna said suddenly.

"W...what do you mean?" Ginny replied hastily, instantly unnerved as Luna's eyes hardened again for the briefest of instants.

Luna looked down as she inspected a butterbeer-bottle cap necklace hanging on her chest. "He's as smart as his mother Ginny, and she's the brightest one since Rowena... Eventually their innate magic will provide them immunity and you know that they will figure it out. I suspect that they are already wondering what happened. They weren't the same last year Ginny and deep inside they know it."

"What?" Ginny repeated, though she knew quite well what the odd girl was talking about. She thought over her steps, wondered where she could have slipped up.

Luna shrugged, "if they find out what has happened to them, before you come clean. Well you know their tempers. I expect that Riddle will eventually come to regret ever crossing either one of them; you really don't want to be the recipient of their ire. You are a powerful witch Ginny, but she's like a bonfire to your candle. She just doesn't know it yet."

"You want Ron for yourself, you're just jealous of her." Ginny accused and crossed to her bed. She picked up the purple ball of fluff on her pillow and started petting it, it crooned softly.

"A bit, yes." Luna agreed amicably. "But I know all will work out in the end as it should be. There are universes where he ends up with me, and those in which he ends up with her." She smiled, showing all of her teeth, "and there are those where he ends up with Draco, however the latter is not this one. I have few enough friends that I would sow discord among them, please don't do it here."

Luna got up and left the room, and Ginny followed her all the way out. She watched the door close quietly behind the odd witch and looked down at her Pigmy Puff, Arnold. "I just have to be with him, I mean, he's.... and..." she trailed off hugging her furball, who cooed softly.

8:30 pm

All of the teens crowded into Harry and Ron's room, perching here and there on Ron's bed, Harry's cot and as Ginny had done, on the window seat that once had held Ron's aquarium of frogspawn. Ron sat on his bed, with Hermione next to him, but at least a foot away. She had just glared at him when he had patted the bed next to him and sat. Harry was leaning on the footboard facing the rest of them, while Luna, Fred and George sat on Harry's cot watching him.

Harry glanced over at Hermione, and she nodded. She flicked her wand towards the door and an Imperturbable charm flashed into existence. He caught hers and Ron's eyes then looked at the room as a whole. "As you may or may not know plans have changed somewhat, Hermione, Ron and I will be returning to Hogwarts in the fall. And along with that, Hermione and I have accepted the Head Students slots for the coming year."

"Accepted?" Fred asked, "It sounds like you are not too happy about that mate."

"See Ronniekins," George put in, "Harry knows the value of being perfect...not at all. So Harry what did she have to give you?"

"There were concessions granted, yes."

"Good," Fred rubbed his hands together gleefully; "so Harry have we ever talked to you about becoming a full partner?"

"We are in a war for survival." Harry snapped back flatly, he took a breath, "sorry, Fred, but that's the truth, anything that McGonagall agreed to, will be used to fight Voldemort," the usual quivering except for Hermione who seemed proud for some reason. "No what we called you guys here for is to let you in on what we can. McGonagall has agreed to let us restart the DA." Luna beamed and Harry gave her a small nod. "The ones of you here, plus Neville, will be leading the group, except for you and you," he nodded at Fred and George. "I want you to work up a set of gear for each of the members of the DA, make it fifty sets, all the good stuff, guys. When you get them done, let me or Hermione know and we will make sure you get paid. But we might not be easy to get a hold of until school starts. I want every kit ready on September 1 in any case, and in my hands or at the school."

"No big, Harry, we know you are good for it. We might even throw you in some new toys." George replied gleefully.

"Guys?" they nodded, "lethal is fine." The twins became instantly sober and the rest of the room silent. Harry looked at each of them in turn. "I won't lie to any of you, this is not some adventure, not some child's game any longer. If any of you want out, now is the time. I will be giving Neville an opportunity when I next see him, tomorrow if I can get him aside. You have already seen it in action at Hogwarts, Dumbledore is dead." Harry's voice was hard, "we are all going to have to do and see things that we would rather anyone not do or see." His eyes flicked to Hermione and Ron's. She nodded hesitantly while Ron frowned slightly, but nodded as well. "Honestly, there is every chance that we will lose. I will try my best to make sure that does not happen, but..." He shrugged. "As well, all of you will have to under go periodic Veritaserum and Imperious testing to make sure that no one has managed to subvert any of you. That goes for all of the members of the DA as well as the Hogwarts staff."

A flash of fear slipped across Ginny's face, but was gone before Harry could catch it. "Finally, I do have good news on one front, Lupin will be back to teach DADA." Everyone in the room smiled at that. "Ok that's it." Harry nodded and started to wave his wand to cancel Hermione's charm.

"Harry?"

"Yeah Ginny?" Harry turned to her.

"Why can't I...we, come with you until school starts? And where will you be anyway, what will you be doing that..."

"You can't Ginny." Harry replied shortly, as he shook his head, and cancelled the protective charm. He left the room without another word, after a minute all in the room could hear the door slamming far below. Two pairs of brown eyes watched the empty door for a long instant before they met involuntarily. Hermione picked up a book that she had taken from the Head's room from the bed next to her and left the room quickly, and headed for the porch, where an oil lamp and a comfortable swing waited. Ginny crossed the hall to her room, and a loud bang was heard a moment later.

After a long moment of silence, Luna looked across at Ron, "Ronald, would you like to play chess?" He just nodded and opened a drawer on his nightstand and proceeded to set up the board on his bed. The twins laughed at some private joke and vanished with a loud, dual CRACK.

11:15 pm

Harry had been sitting in the dark for over two hours when a vaguely ethereal presence seemingly materialized out of the night. The tip of a phoenix-cored, holly wand tracked to the figure, its tip already glowing red with the precursor of a stunner discharge, when he recognized her. "Luna." He muttered exasperatedly, "You should make some noise or something." She shrugged as she sat down next to him.

"All will work out in the end." Luna announced as if she were giving the score of a particularly boring Quidditch match. Her eyes had an odd glow to them as the moonlight caught her open, gazing expression.

"Luna, thanks for the vote of confidence, but in all honesty Voldemort does have years and years on me."

"I wasn't talking of that." She picked up a small branch from the ground next to her. "I need to have some protection against the Nargles, you know?" Harry just nodded.

He sat out in the dark for several more hours after Luna drifted away in her usual fashion. At about midnight he felt Hermione walk near to where he sat, but she left without a word after standing motionless for several minutes as if watching over him. Exactly how he knew it was she, he did not know, but he did. An hour after that encounter, he heard the stumbling sounds of Charlie and Bill as they returned from a night of revelry before the wedding. Remus Lupin seemed to be watching over them as they, so far, unsuccessfully attempted to climb the six-inch stair to the front porch and other than a hidden smile, he took no action.

A half hour after the more or less triumphant return of the two oldest Weasley children, Harry yawned deeply and bounced to his feet. No sound was heard from the house other than a soft hoot from Hedwig up in Harry's room as she annoyedly knocked Pig from her perch with a wing and settled in to take a nap. Deciding that he most likely would not get to sleep for a bit longer tonight, even as tired as he was, he took a turn into the kitchen.

Harry went directly to the icebox in the corner and extracted a large, glass bottle of milk. He filled a glass, and set a plate of cookies out on the counter to the side, when just as he was reaching to replace the milk, a soft purring sound came from down near his feet and a large, ginger half-kneazle rubbed on his legs. Harry glanced down to find Crookshanks looking up at him optimistically. He laughed and pulled a small saucer from a cupboard and filled it with milk for Hermione's cat. "Here ya go, ya big mooch" Harry muttered affectionately. Crookshanks' purring redoubled as he gave Harry's legs a final rub and started to lap up his milk.

"You know that he knows that you are a soft touch." Hermione said quietly from the door to the kitchen. Harry spun around to find her there, laughing slightly at him. She was dressed for bed; long, flannel tartan sleep pants were worn under a white spaghetti-strapped tank. Her hair was pulled back into a messy tail and thrown over one shoulder.

Harry gave her a sheepish look, "you know me, hopeless causes and small animals." He crossed to the table, bearing the plate of cookies in one hand and his glass of milk in the other. He set it down and looked at her, "do you want some?"

"Sure." Hermione crossed to the icebox, poured herself a glass of milk and sat down across the old, round scrubbed wooden kitchen table. "You know," she mused, softly, "He won't take food from Ron...it's the oddest thing." She took a bite of her cookie, "mmm, chocolate chip...I can't get these at home." Harry chuckled as her eyes danced for an instant.

"So Miss Granger...what brings you to this neck of the woods?" Harry asked as he dipped his cookie in his milk glass and took a bite. He swallowed as Crookshanks jumped up on the table and lay down, purring, between them. "Better not let Molly catch him on the table." Harry observed, Hermione just reached out and started petting her cat as she crooked an eyebrow upward.

"The usual," she said after a minute, "thinking." Crookshanks gave one last, loud purr and hopped off the table and headed up the stairs, probably having heard the squeak of a mouse. She watched him leave with an odd expression, almost as if her last reinforcement in some battle had left her alone on the field.

"You should really stop that." Harry cracked, "it might make you smart or something."

"Heaven forbid." She paused and ate her cookie contemplatively as she stared off into space. "Where and when are we going to start Harry?"

He knew what she was talking about. "I figure that we will leave in the morning after the wedding. We might as well get the sleep while we can, and the Burrow is about as secure as anywhere else." He shrugged tiredly, "then I guess...we go to the Hollow."

"Harry, I..."

"It's ok, Hermione," he said reassuringly, "It's kind of odd, now that I think about it that I've never been back, or that I've never asked about it rather. I figure that we will look about there and depending on what we find, either stay there for a bit or head back to London." Harry frowned. "We should go get some funds out of the vault and convert them to muggle cash, we need to get supplies, camping gear, food, other things. And then..." he smiled briefly, "we do what we do best, I act rashly, Ron either sides with me or not depending on his mood and you save both our sorry arses."

"Harry, you..." Hermione started but stopped as another presence entered the room. Ron looked blearily down at them, but perked up instantly at the sight of the plate of cookies.

"What are you two up to?" He asked with an odd tenor to his voice. He sat down at the table, unconsciously forming a triangle of the trio and started munching on cookies.

Harry eyed him for a minute. His eyes flicked surreptitiously between Hermione and Ron, noticing the sudden tension in her, something that very, very few others would catch, and the only moderate pace at which Ron was reducing the plate of cookies to crumbs. He let out a soft chuckle and to his credit; it wasn't forced-sounding at all. "Oh the usual Ron, I was outside brooding and Hermione was awake thinking...and now you are here eating."

Ron grinned at him suddenly and the tension in the room vanished, for now anyway. Harry nodded and continued on. "Hermione had just asked me when we are leaving, I told her, the morning after the wedding." Ron nodded and took another cookie. "Ron do you think that you could pack us up some rations, without your mum knowing? I want to get out of here as soon as possible with as little fuss as possible."

"Yeah mate, I think I can get something together." Ron replied around a mouthful of cookies. Hermione rolled her eyes at his manners and Harry ran his hand over his chin to hide his sudden grin.

"And don't eat them Ron." Hermione muttered, but she smiled as she did so. He laughed and nodded.

"Sure, Hermione, I'll try to remember." He replied sarcastically, Ron glanced over at Harry, "As we are on the subject, Fred dropped back by while you were out moping, they already had care packages made up for each of us. Seems they had an idea that something like this was going to happen. He said to tell you that they should have everything ready for the DA when school starts. There are some extra special toys in our gear too. I haven't looked into them yet though."

"Ok Ron, we'll look at them together." Harry stated and stood up with another yawn. "Guys...I just want to say, in case I don't get to later...thanks. You two are more than my best friends...you're my family, all I have left." Hermione's eyes were damp as she gave him a small smile. Ron just nodded. The pair of them watched Harry leave the kitchen and a moment later heard the soft squeak of trainers on the stairs.

Back in the kitchen, Hermione sighed and looked over at Ron. She looked down and played with her glass, spinning it slowly as she looked into its depths. A tired, half-smile played at the edge of her lips, as she looked up and met Ron's eyes. "This thing, whatever we have or had, isn't working Ron." She said quietly. White teeth captured her bottom lip as she glanced back down.

Ron looked at her and sighed. With a small grunt, he stood and paced over to the kitchen window and peered outside. In the bright moonlight, he could see the sparkle of part of the creek through the trees and a pair of raccoons looking for scraps at the edge of the woods. "So what, Hermione?" He finally asked, resignedly, "I'm not Harry?" Unlike this afternoon, his voice had no heat to it, only acquiescent resignation.

"No Ron," She said softly as she rose from her chair and joined him at the window. Her eyes were melancholy as she wrapped her arms around his neck and gently pulled him in for one, last, chaste kiss. She dropped her arms from his neck and stepped back, holding one of his hands in hers. "You are not, and in some ways that's the problem, but it's not the real problem with us."

"Then what is Hermione?"

She shrugged, "It's that we aren't compatible Ron, not in that way. You and I are on different wavelengths. Opposites may attract Ron, but they don't stay together. We don't talk, not really. You talk about Quidditch; I talk about books and learning. What we do talk about...is Harry, or Voldemort. And frankly one of those two topics is not one I want to while away my years with and the other, is our best friend. And when we are together, we force it." She squeezed his hand gently as he ran his fingers through sleep tousled ginger hair. "We talk about those things, or some utter nonsense because we can't stand the silence between us, and because we are too bloody stubborn to admit that we might have made a mistake."

"I just wanted..." He shook his head; "I thought that the arguing meant we loved each other, just like my mum and dad."

"Your mum and dad are weird." Hermione replied with a soft smile.

"Yeah, you're right" Ron shot back and they both cracked a quick grin. "So this is it, then?"

"I guess." Hermione closed in, rose up on her tiptoes and kissed Ron on the cheek. She walked to the door, and stopped. Tears were hanging unshed in the corner of her eyes as she turned back. "I do love you Ron...just not like you want me to."

"I know Hermione." Ron whispered, but she had already fled to the stairs and Ginny's room. Ron walked over to the icebox, removed the bottle of milk and returned to the table. Without another word or gesture, Ron attacked the cookies with renewed vigor.


A/N: There it is....

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A/N: here ya go, as always any screwups are all my fault

Chapter 4: A Joining of Fire and Ice.
********************The Burrow****************************

July 10, 1997

The weather was perfect for a July wedding, a comfortable; gentle breeze blew across the spectators as they waited, milling about on the lawn for the signal to take their seats. Harry was standing near the front porch, his emerald-green dress robes shining in the summer sun. He had just spoken with Neville, hurriedly filling in the one, that if not for the decision of a mad, would-be, tyrant, could have very well been in Harry's position today. But there are no guarantees. Harry thought as he spotted Ginny in a black dress that if Molly had not been distracted with the wedding, she would have had to go change long before, and if that the dress was not one that Fleur had chosen for her bridesmaids, of course.

Harry's looked at her, her hair glinting brightly as it spilled like a fall of fire over her bare back, and was surprised when he felt nothing really. Especially not when she was laughing at some joke Neville said, and patting his arm possessively. No odd beast rose up in his chest at the sight, save some vague question of what might have been. He glanced over at the already burgeoning buffet table that was set to one side, for the reception later today, only to have to hide a sudden grin as he watched Ron being chased away from it by Molly. His hidden grin only widened as he thought back and compared the sleek, black dress robes Ron was wearing today to the infamous maroon, lacey ones that circumstances had forced on him for the Yule Ball. His grin mostly disappeared as the other events of that year flitted across his thoughts, in his distraction; he missed the contemplative look that Ginny threw in his direction.

But what he did catch was in its own way; even more important. A shiny, shimmering presence, like the moon dancing in the daylight, glided up behind Ron and touched him on the shoulder. Harry was a touched, shocked, and Ron...Ron looked like Harry had felt the night he had first seen Hermione at the Yule Ball.

Luna looked as if she were the one who was getting married, not Fleur. The blond girl said something to Ron and he just nodded, as he looked her over and far from discretely. He took in the sparkling, silver sleeveless gown that was closed in at the throat and open down to the small of her back in the rear. She smiled softly up at him, her silvery-gray eyes oddly nervous as she adjusted a tiara of lilies on her hair.

"Pick up your jaw, Ron." Hermione muttered as she slipped in behind Harry. Harry turned to her, and his heart...hiccupped. Her eyes twinkled as she stood arms akimbo. Hermione's hair was straight and twirled up into a knot on the back of her head, with a loose strand falling forward on either side to frame her face. A long, silver needle held the knot up, with a bright green jewel on the tip. She did a little twirl as he slowly panned down, to take in the red version of Luna's dress, with a few alterations to fit the older witch, such as the slit hem on the right that went up almost to her hip, which as he caught a flash of skin as she moved, seemed to indicate that there was basically only her under it. A small, emerald glinted at her throat, held up by a platinum chain, setting off a pair of small emerald studs in her ears. "Well how do I look?" She asked with one eyebrow raised. He swallowed hard, and she grinned.

"Fine." Harry choked, and a look of hurt flashed darkened her chocolate eyes, she started to glance away, to stop at a hand on her arm. "I'm sorry Hermione, you look gorgeous. You shocked me a bit." She gave him a shy smile. A sudden commotion came from near the house and the duo watched the guests start to file towards the backyard. Molly came and collected Ron and Ginny and led them off. Fleur had picked Ginny to be one of her bridesmaids while Ron had lost the lot to stand up with Bill. The competition had been fierce between the twins and Ron over who would have to stand up with Bill. Normal Wizarding tradition would have had Charlie and Percy as companions to Bill, but as Percy hadn't even bothered to show up, the other Weasley boys had to substitute. While the entire family now heartily accepted Fleur as one of their own after her stanch defense of her husband to be at Hogwarts not a month ago, the younger boys had bemoaned having to stand up with Bill, so in the end, Bill had just chose Ron to end the bickering. Privately Harry thought Ron was happy to stand up with Bill, but he could never admit it to the twins.

"Would you escort me to my seat, kind sir?" Hermione asked cheekily.

Harry rolled his eyes and let out a long-suffering sigh, "If you insist." Hermione gave him a light punch on the arm, before taking his proffered arm in hers. They proceeded down the aisle to the groom's side and took seats about halfway down. Harry gave a soft greeting to Lupin and Tonks as they sat down in front of the pair. Harry and Hermione sat down, leaning their heads together and talking together in that odd, linked way that had come back to them so easily. They were totally oblivious to Tonks' slight eye roll and motion towards them, or Remus' responding laugh that was quickly covered as errant cough.

The music started and they stood. Ron, and Charlie climbed to the stage, with the elder Weasley taking up the post of best man. Hermione watched and dabbed away a tear as first Ginny and then Gabrielle marched slowly down the aisle and were helped to the stage with a hand from the boys. The music changed and every eye fell on the vision making her way up the aisle, alone and proud. Every eye except Harry's, whose gaze kept sliding to the girl next to him. Hermione caught his eye as Fleur reached the front and mouthed, "what." Harry just shook his head and glanced up front, missing the slight smile that danced on soft lips for just a moment.

The rest of the wedding was a blur, spent in a pleasant hum of normalcy. His best friend, confidante, whatever was at his side, laughing, as they watched Ron dance nervously on the stage, seemingly, more nervous than the groom himself. They chuckled softly together, catching the silent ire of Molly at least once, as they watched Ron's gaze periodically glance over at Luna, who was sitting a few seats from them. Harry's attention snapped back to the present as Fleur ran her fingers gently over Bill's scarred cheek, her ring glinting in the sun, and whispered, "forever, my love." Harry swallowed heavily for some reason and stared, almost dumbfounded as the minister announced them as husband and wife.

Hermione laughed softly as she grabbed his hand to pull him to his feet as the wedding party started to regress back down the aisle. They stood closely together, her hand not quite holding his as they watched the eldest Weasley escort his bride down the aisle in their first stroll as husband and wife. As the rest of the wedding party filled out from their seats Harry stayed, and sat back down. Puzzled, Hermione sat in the seat next to him and waited. "Hermione?"

"Yeah Harry?" She asked as a slight breeze played with the loose tendrils of her hair.

He frowned and looked down, "Do you think my Mum and Dad's wedding was like this? I mean I have pictures, but..."

"Oh Harry," Hermione sighed and bit her lip, "I'm sure it was beautiful. Just like I'm sure yours will be someday." Her eyes caught his and they both fell suddenly silent. After a minute he grinned at her and stood, extending his hand. She took it demurely and let him help her to her feet. "Lets go congratulate Bill and Fleur."

The line to congratulate the newest Weasley couple was long; winding around the outside of house all the way to the back, where the wedding had been so they really didn't have to go far. While in line, Hermione elbowed Harry and pointed out Ron as he seemed to be sneaking periodic bits of food from the buffet by levitating them over with his wand behind his back, while at the same time, returning the handshakes and words of the guests as he stood in the reception line next to Charlie and Ginny. Hermione leaned over to Harry just as they took another step and whispered, "interesting cough Ron has developed, seems that every time he has to cover his mouth, he has to chew right after."

Harry grinned, "at least he's swallowing before answering." He muttered back and she laughed. Remus and Tonks spun to look back at them from about five people in front of them, and let the others pass.

"What's so funny?" Remus inquired with a Marauder-worthy glint in his eyes. Hermione smiled and whispered the answer to the Lycan behind her hand. He glanced over and chuckled, and after he related the item to his date, her trademark braying laugh rang out over the lawn. Several guests turned and looked at the quartet, with a few muttering things about the "chosen one." Harry frowned a bit and turned away. Hermione's eyes grew hard and her glare caused the worse offender, some Ministry hack that had been invited because of Arthur's job, to turn her face back to her date.

"Harry, they're idiots." Hermione whispered to him as he paused and let others go past him. He shook his head as his eyes examined the grass minutely. She waved to Remus to save their place in line as she led Harry to the side once more. Her eyes were only on Harry; not catching the hard gaze of another pair of dark brown eyes as they flicked over to them from the reception line. "Harry, you can't listen to them...it's..."

"You don't think I don't hear them Hermione?" He whispered bitterly, "about how their 'chosen one' couldn't even save Dumbledore from a teacher...about how he let Draco fucking Malfoy get the better of him? Did you ever think that maybe the reason I didn't want to go back to school, was what I'd have to hear from the Slytherins...you know that you will be telling me to just take it, to not do anything..."

"No actually." She said softly. A trace of regret for something, some lost bit of childhood colored her voice, "no, those days are over Harry. We won't be able to back down from anything or anyone..." Harry looked up surprised, and she gave him a sad, little smile. Fingers came forward of their own volition and swept inky bangs out of his eyes. "I am telling you now, and I'll tell Ron later. We will have to own that school, go back to the old days of the Heads, make the Slytherins look over their shoulders at every moment...now, however if you two are stupid or capricious about it you will have to answer to me."

"Yes, mum" Harry grunted and she laughed.

They progressed through the line, eventually greeting the wedding party. And if Ron's hug of Hermione was a tiny bit uncomfortable and Ginny's slight reluctance to let go of Harry was evident, it wasn't really noticeable. Harry stepped to Fleur and the blond witch grinned and swept him into a hug. "'arry. Bill and I would like to zeak to u" She muttered in his ear and he gave her an odd, questioning glance as he stepped back. She nodded and handed him off to her new husband. As Bill embraced him, he repeated Fleur's comments in a hurried undertone. As they left the line, a shared glance and Harry knew that Hermione had been asked the same.

Several minutes later, after Harry had retrieved a plate of food for each of them, and Hermione had acquired a pair of butterbeers, they sat down at a table slightly set off from the rest. Harry glanced up in the middle of cutting his meat and caught her doing the same. He laughed and his thoughts flashed back to thousands of meals at Hogwarts, with her sitting across from him, under the watchful gaze of his mentor...his grandfather in all that mattered really, and his smile fell.

Hermione's lip was captured in her teeth as she saw his expression. Her hand came across the small table to rest on his; then shot apart as Bill and Fleur came around on their rounds, Charlie and Ron were trailing them as they smiled down at them. Ron looked a touch, conflicted, as he looked down at Harry and Hermione, but he sat at Harry's left without another thought. Harry's eyebrows shot up as Bill's wand described a pentagram in the air and a shimming cone enveloped the table for an instant before becoming invisible.

Bill sat next to Harry, as Fleur perched on Bill's knee. Charlie leaned forward on the table, "Harry..." Bill's gaze flicked to Fleur's and she gave him a small smile. "We know."

"Know what?" Ron asked with a quick glance to Harry and Hermione.

"We aren't stupid, little bro." Charlie replied, smiling.

"We know that you three are up to something." Bill replied. He looked directly at Harry, "We knew, even if mum would never admit it that it was always going to between you and Voldemort. And that you two would be there with him until the end." He glanced at his oldest brother and his wife, "We just want you to know that whatever you need, whenever, we'll be there."

"All of uz." Fleur put in. She squeezed Bill hand and leaned forward over the table. Her head cocked towards Harry slightly. "'arry, 'ermione...Ron. Gabrielle is going to 'ogwartz this year. Keep her zafe."

"Fleur, I couldn't...I can't save anyone, I couldn't save Dumbledore." Hermione's eyes dropped and met Ron's sadly. Her eyes never left Ron's as she reached across the table to grab Harry's hand. His neck barely bent, but the nod was still there all the same. None of the trio caught the looks that Bill, Charlie and Fleur passed amongst themselves.

"We'll do what we can." Hermione answered for her boys and Fleur answered with a jerky nod. Bill gave them a small smile, and Fleur gave Ron and Harry a kiss on the cheek as they got up and left.

After they had gone around the corner, and left Charlie to investigate the possibilities of finding a gillywater martini for Fleur and a pair of fresh beers for him and Bill, Bill grinned and pulled Fleur in for a hard kiss. She smiled against his lips as they hid from hurricane Molly as she passed by looking for the wedding party. "What's the chances of you and I sneaking off, M'lady?"

Fleur giggled as Bill nuzzled on her neck. "For 'enzligh lezzons?" They both laughed. "Bill?" Fleur asked suddenly.

"Aye, luv?" Bill replied with distracted air of one who had been married for about two hours and had yet to really have a moment with his wife.

Her eyes were concerned as she glanced back in the general direction of the trio. "'zhe'z 'ztill trying...I can zell it'" She ran her hands up and down Bill's arms as he pulled her into his chest. She kissed the shoulder of his robes as his hands ran up and down her back contemplatively.

"I know, Fleur, I know." At that very instant Charlie returned with drinks in hand. He handed them out, receiving a tired smile in return from Bill.

"Why the long faces." Charlie asked with a laugh, then sighed and glanced around..."Let me guess, its still going on, isn't it?" Fleur just nodded, and leaned back into Bill's arms.

"I wizh, I waz not a Veela...I would not knowz..." She added softly. She glanced up and back at Bill. And he shook his head sadly.

"I tried. But you saw today. Maybe the point is moot, they certainly seem to be on the way back to normal..."

"You mean where they should have been last year if it were not for?" Charlie replied. "You know that if they figure out what happened...it'll split the family, mum'll never believe that her baby could do such things, Bill."

Fleur looked between the two, "iz 'is not a wedding?" She asked and the boys laughed. She squeaked loudly as Bill picked her up and swung her around, kissing her firmly the whole time. The discussion was tabled, for now...

Back at the table they had left, the trio was looking at each other silently. Ron was working on a heaping plate that he had retrieved from the buffet, while Harry sat picking at his food. Hermione glanced between the two, torn over what exactly to say, Hell, I don't know what I'm feeling really, let alone to say. She popped a chocolate-covered strawberry in her mouth and chewed contemplatively. They all turned as a tinking sound echoed in the glen and Charlie stood at the head table.

He raised a flute of champagne in his right hand. He glanced down at Bill and Fleur and back into the crowd that was standing and sitting around the clearing that housed the Burrow. "When Bill came to me last summer and told me that he was getting married..." Charlie grinned, "Well I admit I was shocked. I told him, Bill...you know this is one bird for the rest of your life, are you insane?" Laughter broke out among the crowd; even Minerva McGonagall cracked a grin at the reminder of her infamous, former seeker and Head Boy's antics with the fairer sex at Hogwarts. "And then," he continued, "he told me of this wondrous girl, she was gorgeous he said, but that didn't matter because she had the heart of a lion, and her inner beauty far outstripped anything on the outside. Well I wasn't too sure that the boy hadn't been confunded, because I only knew of her through her being chased by dragons." Fleur laughed. "But then I got to really know her, and I am proud to welcome her to the clan...welcome sister." A tear blossomed, as Charlie raised his glass above his head. "To Bill and Fleur...may their hearts provide them all the comfort they need, and may they never need any comfort other than each others'...and may they have kids really soon so mum gets off the rest of our cases."

"HERE HERE." Came an anonymous voice from the rear.

Charlie laughed for a moment, "William, my brother, congratulations...and Fleur, good luck...you'll need it. Bill and Fleur."

"Bill and Fleur."

Music floated out over the air, and Bill and Fleur slipped to a large, conjured hardwood floor sitting out in the middle of the clearing. She flowed into his arms and more than one "awww," was heard from the female guests. The happy couple danced alone, all eyes on them, for the first song and halfway through the second when other couples started to drift out onto the dance floor. Hermione pointed and laughed as Gabrielle, little tiny, fourteen-year-old Gabrielle was dancing with Charlie. The future Head Girl glanced at both of her boys; sighed and looked longingly out at the dancing couples.

Harry's gaze met Ron's and something passed between the two boys, but before either could say anything to the other, a soft, airy voice came from behind Ron's shoulder, "Um, Ronald?" Luna asked as she stood in her silver gown, her head was cocked at an odd angle like a large crane and her voice was a touch tremulous, "would you..."

Ron looked at Hermione and Harry, and rose slowly to stand over Luna. He took her hand, gracefully brought it to his lips and she almost collapsed, "I would be honored, my lady." He led the willowy blonde onto the dance floor and Harry and Hermione watched with slightly slack jaws as Ron and Luna started to sway together to the music. "Well..." Harry said, softly, "Okay then..."

"Yeah." Hermione replied, equally as thoughtfully. She glanced over Harry's shoulder, "Harry, Ginny's coming for you like a herd of Tamerian Snortcats."

"Huh?" Harry replied to Hermione's Lunaism. He glanced back out of the corner of his eye to see a slight, vision in red and black approaching and stood quickly. He never turned as he extended his hand to Hermione, "If you would grace me with this dance." Hermione's eyes came up to meet his and she nodded. She never let herself turn and look at Ginny as she let Harry lead her out onto the dance floor by the hand. Her arms went around his neck of their own accord as she felt his hands settle on her hips. "Thanks Mione." Harry said softly as they started two sway to the music and his heart pounded at the sudden escape...

She snorted softly, "for what?"

"Saving my arse like always." Harry replied with a grin and she giggled. "Ginny was coming to try to get me out here so she could try again to get me to let her come with us" He shrugged under her wrists, "I'm tired of telling her no."

Hermione looked down at their feet. "Harry you could let her come with us...at least to Grimmauld, you could..." Hermione felt her heart start to race, as she suddenly couldn't bear to see his eyes when he agreed with her.

"No, Mione." Harry whispered as his hands slipped off her hips to rest together on the small of her back. Her eyes slowly came back up to his as she felt her heart pounding in her chest. "I meant it then, and I'm not telling her any different...she has no idea what she would be in for..." he sighed as her arms slid higher around his neck. "And she has no idea who I really am, not like..." Harry trailed off as he spotted Ron over Hermione's shoulder. He grinned suddenly and indicated his friend with a nod. "I guess Ron is noticing Luna" Harry announced, then as Hermione glanced back, with an odd, longing expression to find Luna head tucked under Ron's and a beauteous smile on her lips. "Hermione..."

"It's over Harry," she replied before he could even complete his thought and his stomach flip-flopped, hard. "Whatever it was, its over." Her whispered soprano was wistful, but not quite sad. It was more as if she were merely commenting on the loss of a sentimental dream than anything real. She bit her lip and dropped her head to his chest. Her left cheek pressed against Harry's chest as the crown of her head tucked perfectly under his chin. Her eyes slipped closed as a feeling of peace filled her for the first time since that fateful night that she had seen the body of her Headmaster lying motionless on the ground under the Astronomy Tower.

Neither of them saw the burning eyes of a girl in a night-black dress as she stomped off.

The song ended and they slowly pulled away from each other, neither quite wanting to meet the others' eyes, just in case. Harry and Hermione returned to their table from before. Harry held out her chair as she sat, and sat himself. Harry looked out over the guests and the couples still on the dance floor, "Hermione," Harry's gaze was troubled as he watched Ron continuing to dance with Luna. "Are you ok with this, really?"

She smiled at him, wanly, "Yeah Harry, I really am...I've known it was over for few days now. When I went to your Aunt's place I knew, I just didn't admit it to myself until we got back here and Ron and I were fighting within the hour." Hermione shrugged and took a slip of some cocktail that appeared at her elbow with a soft pop. Harry made a mental note to give Dobby a raise.

A sudden commotion caused them both of them to stand and hurry back to the dance floor. Harry's hand was on his wand as she hurriedly pushed though the crowd, and he was not so distracted to miss the sight of Hermione's hand slipping under the slit in the side of her dress and emerging with her wand. So that explains the garter. The random thought slipped across his brain as he came into the cleared area at the center of the dance floor, with Hermione at his back and Ron at his side a heartbeat later. As they witnessed the scene on the dance floor, a huge grin broke out on his face. Harry's wand slipped back into his robes as Hermione let out an odd "squee" sound next to him and Ron chuckled.

"Nymphadora..." Remus said softly as every eye in the clearing was on him. He had been nervous about doing this here, but Tonks was to leave tomorrow for a bit on a mission for the remnants of the Order, and he was damned if he would let her leave without knowing his true feelings. And besides, Fleur had thought the idea terribly romantic and Bill had just shaken his hand when he asked their permission to do this on their special day. "You are far too good for me, and I can't say how good a husband or a...father I would be, but I love you more than my poor words can express. Marry me? Please?"

Harry thought he could see the pulse pounding in poor Remus' throat as he knelt, looking up at the black-haired, gray-eyed, base form of his lover. A sudden silence fell over the place as more than one person waited on her response. Tonks' mouth opened and closed a couple of times, with only a strangled, "wotcher" slipping out. Finally she gave up on speaking, fell to her knees in front of Lupin and dove forward onto him. She was raining kisses on his face as loud, tumultuous applause erupted, none being louder than that from the wedding party or Harry, Hermione and Ron.

*****************************Harry and Ron's Room************************

11:12 pm

After several hours of dancing, revelry and a truly amazing amount of butterbeer consumed by the guests, the Burrow was once again filled with only Weasleys or those considered such. Fleur had beamed as she came into the living room at Bill's excited yell to find her name on the clock. Molly cried as the blond witch gave her a hug, with more than a few tears of her own mixing with the Weasley matriarch's. Her and Bill had left to London, where they would leave from for a short Honeymoon in the morning.

Almost every non-married female and a couple of the married ones had flocked to Tonks to minutely examine the ring that Lupin had given her. Even ever practical Hermione and, slightly not on the same plane of existence, Luna had basked in the reflected glow from Tonks. A few of Fleur's more annoying relatives had pooh-poohed the odd ring, with a tiny, engraved wolf in the gold band, and its odd, color-changing, main stone, but Harry had thought it rather appropriate. The werewolf and the metamorph had vanished soon after to go...celebrate, and Harry and Ron had muttered a few ribald jokes at Lupin's expense, until Hermione had whacked both of them upside the head. Her eyes had been grinning though.

Harry looked up from the packages spread out on his bed as the door to the room opened. A brief white flash lit the room as Hermione cast an Imperturbable spell on the room. Ron glanced up from his Quidditch Quarterly, and grunted a greeting. Hermione gave him a slight, sneering, eyeroll and Harry silently chuckled at them. "Are these what the twins brought by Harry?" Hermione inquired with an eager note to her voice. She looked over the open roll of equipment, and bent down curiously to examine a few of the objects in detail.

"Yeah Hermione." Harry replied as he walked over to Ron's bed and kicked it.

"Oi?"

"Get your arse over here mate."

"Seen it," Ron replied, annoyedly, "Those are the mark two kits they are selling to the Aurors." CRACK. Ron fell out of his bed as Fred and George appeared at the foot of his bed. "Bloody hell you two, how did you get past Hermione's Imperturbable charm?"

"Because it doesn't guard against apparation Ronald." Hermione replied exasperatedly, "and they are Weasleys, they are allowed past the house wards."

"Yes little brother." Fred said as he pulled Ron to his feet.

"Pay attention, Ronniekins, because it could just save your life" Inserted George as he walked over to Harry and handed him three packages. He went over to Fred to stand near their wares and waited for Harry. Harry tossed one of two identical packages to Hermione and the second to Ron, who fielded it absently.

"Happy birthday." Harry said softly as Ron opened his, and gasped. "Yeah Ron, I got tired of you trying to fit under the cloak with us." He glanced at the twins, "Nothing leaves here; I mean it." They nodded as Harry walked over to Ron and pulled a golden key on a chain from his pocket. "Welcome to the firm, Ronald." Ron looked confused, as Harry took pity on him, "That my friend, is something that I had set up before Hermione had convinced me to go back to Hogwarts, I think she is right, but this should still prove useful. You are now my chief field investigator for Fawkes Industries."

Ron glanced down at it thoughtfully, "thanks Harry."

"What little bro, no odd protestations that you shouldn't take it?" Jibed Fred.

"It's not charity Ron," Harry put in as Hermione took care of glaring at the twins for him. Fred raised his hands in surrender.

"I didn't think it was Harry," Ron looked up with a slight grin, "so how much?"

"100,000" Harry replied and the twins whistled. "A year." Their jaws dropped. Ron did look shocked then and started to toss back the key but Harry shook his head, "No Ron, I'm serious, you need the money just in case. Ok?"

"And Hermione?" Ron asked curiously as he hung the chain around his neck.

"Harry set something similar up for me." Hermione replied with the barest of eye flicks in Harry's direction. She took her invisibility cloak out from the package that Harry had given her. She tossed it over herself and vanished. She reappeared a moment later as she took it off. "Where the heck did you two get a pair of these? Its hard enough to find one." Fred opened his mouth to respond, "never mind, I don't want to know." She corrected herself as she muttered things like "I'm a felon and I'm not even eighteen."

Harry and Ron grinned at each other behind her back. "Ok then, you two lets see what you brought." Harry watched as the twins...glowed as they started to explain their latest creations. He slipped the package containing Muggle pounds that he had had the twins get for him into a pocket of the cargo pants he had changed into after the wedding. Ron and Hermione came over to him and the trio stood on the opposite side of the bed from the twins as the two opened their mouths.

"First," Began George, "Two sets of our shield hats and cloaks each. These are special in that they automatically change to look like either Muggle or Wizarding attire according on where you are. They should appear to look like standard clothes as well, not like the older ones that everyone knew were special." Fred held up a small box, he opened it to show tiny bottles and flasks, and a one-inch cauldron. "A full miniaturized potions lab, it automatically expands and shrinks as needed. There's a full set of ingredients for things such as the Strengthening Potion, Blood-Replenishment, etc. Hermione, yours is a little bigger, it has a larger set of ingredients, for things like Polyjuice, Veritaserum...we can get more for the rest of you, but most of those are restricted...we cleaned out our private stocks for you." Harry nodded his thanks; there was nothing else to say.

Fred waved at another group of items, "The instant darkness powder, and these..." he held up a pair of slightly odd looking glasses, "After Hogwarts...we made these, these will allow you to see in the darkness, I charmed yours with your prescription Harry. Those are not for sale. The only ones in existence right now are these three pair and a pair for each of us. We should have the rest ready for the DA and the Order, what's left of it, by the fall." He picked up several shiny disks with metal teeth embedded in the rims. "Expanding Very-Fanged Frisbees. These can be thrown directly, or can be set to act as defenders of the wielder, attacking any non-friendly within fifty feet; you choose the friendly. You can chose between steel and silver for the blades with a spell. Argentium Grenade, shoots silver spikes up to twenty feet, I would make sure you are further away than that, even if you aren't a werewolf." Ron pulled his hand back from examining the silver orb, and George snickered softly.

"Anti-floo powder." Fred said as he held up a half dozen phials of a red powder, "shuts down a floo fire, both ways, for a half hour. Fire does not actually have to be lit if its something like a fireplace, just smash a vial in the hearth. Shocking Ropes...not sure what you will do with them, but we made them up the other day. They provide a shock to whatever you tie them up with. Also a set of Ever-Expanding Ropes for Climbing. Portkey Scrambler; redirects any targeted Portkey to a site of your choosing, it's similar to the spell." He answered Hermione's question before she asked it.

"Bugs." George said as he held up a jar, of what did really appear to be tiny, silver bugs. "Let them go, and they will come back in an hour and dump their memories into any Pensive. Good for things like rooms that certain people guard with Imperturbable charms to save the little children's feelings."

"Couldn't come up with a better name?" Ron snorted.

"We were in a hurry, Angelina will come up with a better name after you three take down Voldemort." Fred retorted sarcastically. "Would you rather we made them all look like spiders?" Ron wisely shut up. "That's basically it for now Harry. There are a few more things that we are working on, but they are still unreliable...we won't let you guys use something that might fail on you."

"Thanks guys." Harry replied gratefully, and then stopped as Fred raised one finger and pulled an odd, t-shaped item from the pockets of his robes. A plethora of lights lit the surface of the odd instrument, as he looked at it.

"We were thinking of what you said about testing the staff at Hogwarts, Harry." Fred explained. "We had started work on this a while ago to detect aura deviations that indicate someone was under the influence of external magics....potions, the Imperious, the usual." He ran it over himself and it remained quiescent. Fred nodded and turned a knob. The lights lit up as he passed it over Harry and Hermione and he whacked it on the side, hard. "You aren't still being possessed by Moldieshorts are you?" He joked.

"I hope not," Harry, replied wryly, "bugger has the worst sense of humor."

"Thought not." George sighed, "I guess we will take it back to the shop with us, I hope we can get it working for you by the start of school. If it works, we will rig up something with a Protean charm...if Hermione will help us?" She nodded with a small smile, "so you don't have to have the unit visible, maybe something like a quill?" He mused.

Harry went over to his pack and pulled it open. He set his old pocket sneakascope out on top of some clothes as he dug in the bottom. He pulled a small, jingling bag from a hidden flap in the bottom, and pressed it into Fred's hand. "Here you go. Guys, let me know you need any..." Fred opened the bag and poured half of the coins within, out, and handed them back to Harry.

"You're family Harry, all of this and the DA gear is at our cost," Fred said softly. We'll see you guys later. Don't get yourselves killed, we want you three for endorsements after the war." And with that the twins vanished with a CRACK.

"Endorsements?" Ron asked as the echoes of the twins' apparations faded from the room. "What the bloody hell are those? Some odd doormen?" His face was classically Ron, classically puzzled. Hermione bit her lip as her gaze flicked over to Harry. Chocolate met emerald and they both lost it. "What?" Ron whined and their laughter redoubled.

"It's a Muggle thing Ron." Hermione replied after a moment. She opened her mouth to say something else and a loud knock was heard faintly through the ward. It was instantly apparent why the Trio was unstoppable when they were together. Hermione's wand was already flashing as she Envesco'ed the gear from the twins. Ron picked up his discarded Quidditch magazine and slipped his new cloak under his pillow as Hermione made a large spellbook appear from somewhere and sat cross-legged on the bed in her sweats and t-shirt, while Harry flopped on the bed so as to look as if they were doing homework. The ward died as Harry pocketed his wand and Hermione shouted, "come in" towards the door. All in the span of about ten seconds.

The door opened slowly to find Ginny standing alone in the doorway. "I thought I heard an apparation?" Hermione's eyes flicked over to meet Ron's, which were rolled heavenward behind his magazine where Hermione could, but Ginny could not see them from her angle at the door. Hermione knew damn well that the trio could have had a marching band in here with her wards up and no one would have been wiser.

"No Ginny." Harry replied softly, "What's up?"

"I was just wondering what you were up to?" She replied as she came over and sat next to Harry on the bed. A brief scent of roses flitted across his nose as she leaned close to him to examine the book he and Hermione had open between them, "what's this?" She asked.

"Oh," Hermione replied with a long, annoyed, sigh, "like usual Harry was behind on his homework for the summer. So I was helping him. I swear these two would fail out if I didn't harass them."

Ginny gave her small nod and a smile that did not quite reach her eyes. She leaned across Harry and a hint of roses met his nose once more. His mind started to process some obscure fact that had eluded him for a year, when it was interrupted by Ginny. "So Ron, what's up with Luna?" The cut of her eyes towards Hermione was almost undetectable.

"We had a nice time" Ron replied saccharinely, as he slipped into the old patterns of brother and sister. "What was up with you pawing Neville? Huh Sis?"

Ginny shrugged as she leaned close to Harry, "He's nice, I bet he would be a good kisser, what about Luna huh, get in a snog or two?"

Harry's breath caught, as a growl of something ate its' way up from the pit of something. His eyes hardened as he started to say something, then without any warning another old companion came home to roost. Neville's a nice bloke. Hermione voice rang in his head; he'll be good for her. "Good for you Ginny." Harry put in with a genuine smile. He yawned, "I don't know about you guys but I would like to go to bed." Hermione gave him the feeblest of nods as his eyes caught hers and she got up.

"Ok Harry, we'll work on this tomorrow. At Godric's Hollow she mentally finished. Her eyes caught the five splayed fingers Harry held down by his side as she and Ginny left out the door to the room and closed it behind them as Harry was walking to his trunk to get sleep pants out. He dug for a second; then glanced over suddenly as a soft whirring penetrated his tired thoughts to find the sneakascope still spinning.



A/N: Next Chapter, A small Muggle village in Wales.


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Here we go, a note on the italicized colors, as normal Italics are thoughts and or particularly emphazied words, both in dialogue and text. The color are for the most part character specific, black-Harry, blue-Hermione, orange-Ron/Ginny, etc. AS usual I still don't own anything...Kristin, if there are any screwups, it's my fault, please berate me.

Chapter 5: You Can't Go Home Again.
***************************Godric's Hollow, Wales*************************

July 11, 1997
5:15 am

A raging storm was washing over the tiny, Muggle village high up in the hill country on the seashore. The early morning was dark, with nary a streetlight or porch lamp in sight, the power had gone out several hours ago, and no one from the local co-op had yet appeared to fix it. CRACK, Three figures appeared in the middle of the empty street on the very edge of town, carving out gaps in the sheets of water falling from the skies with their bodies. "Bloody Hell, Harry." Ron snapped as he glanced over at his friends, "you didn't say it would be raining."

Hermione rolled her eyes as she dropped her arm from Harry's and stepped away from their Side-Along Apparition arrival spot. She swept suddenly sodden hair from her eyes and didn't even bother to raise the hood on her cloak. "Like he checked the weather on the wireless before we left Ron." She turned on him, "we weren't making any noise, remember?"

"Come on you two." Harry sighed as he started to walk down the lane. They walked almost a mile in the pouring rain before arriving at a wrought iron gate, rusted shut and overgrown with ivy. Harry's wand flicked and the gate opened with a loud, squelching sound. A brief grin crossed his lips as he heard Hermione's muttered "reparo" on the gate as she passed through. It closed much quieter than it had opened when Ron closed it from sheer habit.

A crack of lighting illuminated the sight of a torn and shattered, once whitewashed, house and Harry stopped abruptly. He looked up at the burnt and shattered top floor, the blown-in front door and gulped. Behind his back, Ron and Hermione shared a glance and came forward as one, to stand at Harry's shoulders. He gave each of them a small smile and together they stepped forward. A slight tingle of static ran down their skin and danced in the small hairs at the back of their necks. Harry glanced at Hermione, she shrugged; there shouldn't be active wards after all of this time with no occupant.

His hand was shaking slightly as he placed it on the empty doorframe and looked into the torn and shattered front room. A large indentation was visible on the stained plaster on the far wall, and a dark smear of, something, was on the carpet at his feet. He stepped inside and felt the eyes of both of his friends on him as he stepped around an overturned and ripped couch. Hermione's boots made a slight crackling sound as she tread over some broken glass to stand at Harry's side as he stood at the foot of the stairs looking upward. Her eyes flicked back to Ron and he nodded, mouthing, "I'll look around down here." He was already pulling his wand and muttering a charm that Hermione had hurriedly taught the boys this morning, one that would detect aberrant magical signatures. Of course, if it would even work here was a good question as Harry's own signature, as indeed those of the other two, weren't quite normal for seventeen year olds, or almost seventeen years in Harry's case.

Harry didn't question the soft tread behind his as he eased up stairs that had last seen the heavy tread of frantic rescuers, terrified that all was lost.

Harry didn't make a sound as he walked into his parents' bedroom. A stained and age darkened coverlet in Gryffindor colors was laying crumpled at the foot of the bed. The large, four poster bed itself was broken and shattered as it sat under soot colored walls. A large hole in the wall at one corner of the room revealed a black, rolling, stormy sky. Harry walked silently over to the broken, bay window at the back of the room, that the bed had once looked out over commandingly. In the gradually lightening early morning, vague shapes of miles and miles of hills and forests could be made out, while off to the side something else, maybe the seashore, was slightly visible. Hermione stood at the entrance to the room, her hands covering her mouth as tears threatened to come forth.

She stepped aside quickly as Harry hurried out of the room and her back hit the wall, hard. She leaned against it for a long, long moment before following Harry.

She found him, standing in the middle of the floor of the room next door, and the tears did come. He was bent over slightly, in front of the remains of an old, broken crib. A small, blue blanket was clutched in his fist and tiny, gold snitches could still be seen as they swept around the cloth. Faded, moving, murals of Quidditch pitches, unicorns and happy hippogriffs and other magical creatures cavorted around the walls. "Mum..." he whispered and Hermione bit her lip until it bled slightly to keep from saying anything.

His eyes turned to the doorway, and somehow she knew he wasn't seeing her. "NO!" He screamed, "NO, you fucking bastard stay away." Hermione dove to the ground as Harry's wand appeared in his hand and a blue bolt snapped over her head and out through a broken window at the end of the hall into the storm. Ron thundered up the stairs, to stop out of sight at Hermione's frantic motion. She eased around behind Harry, and with a deep breath, ran to him and threw her arms around his chest from behind.

"Harry...calm down, l...calm down, its ok, no one is here except me and Ron." She cooed to him, and barely caught his weight as he staggered backwards, his wand falling from suddenly limp fingers. "Shhh, calm down." They eased down to the floor together.

His eyes slowly regained focus behind water stained lenses. His lip trembled as he turned and saw her. "Mione...he was here, mum was here...he..."

"I know, Harry, I know." She shook her head as Ron appeared at the doorway behind his wand. He nodded and left as quietly as he had come. Her hands slowly swept wet bangs from Harry's forehead as they sat on the soggy carpet. She kissed his forehead softly as he rocked in her arms, sobbing silently, just like the Dursleys had taught him.

Hermione walked into the kitchen an hour later. Unlike the rest of the house, this part was mostly clean and dry. Nothing sullied the kitchen save a few cobwebs in the corner. The evidentially remaining, though weakened, house wards had apparently been sufficient to keep any errant flora and fauna out of the house. Ron was sitting with his elbows on a large butcher-block table, under a still hanging rack of pots, nursing a cup of conjured coffee. He summoned one for her as she sat down across from him. "Is he ok?" Ron asked in a small voice.

"No" Hermione replied, truthfully. "But he'll survive."

Ron nodded, "Yeah, that seems to be the case with him...with us I guess." He played with his cup and dug in his pack. He pulled out a paper-wrapped sandwich and pushed it across to her, "here Hermione, eat, we left before breakfast."

She took a bite of the sausage and egg sandwich and eyed him suspiciously, "What about you?" She asked after she swallowed a bite.

"Already did." Ron admitted with no trace of self-consciousness." He took a deep breath, "Hermione, I would have never been jealous of him, had I..."

"I know Ron." She gave him a tired smile, "I know." She reached across and patted his hand for a second before reaching for her sandwich again.

"I guess you saw how the Dursleys treated him?" I never really did, I mean when I did Dad and Gred and Forge were there..."

"I even saw that fucking cupboard Ron...I laid down in it, and I'm like half his size and I barely...fit." She whispered, her eyes were haunted as she looked over at him, "I didn't know, I mean I had heard from him a little and from you and the twins, but...Ron if I had known, really known, the entire Order wouldn't have been enough to keep me from taking him from there. Why the bloody, fucking hell Dumbledore kept him there I don't understand."

Ron snorted softly, "the blood protections...what else Hermy?" She didn't have the heart to glare at him for the hated nickname. "You ever wonder..." Ron got up and walked to the door to the kitchen. He glanced out into the living room to make sure Harry wasn't there. "That if Dumbledore wasn't trying to harden him? To get him ready?"

"And a wonderful fricking job he did of it Ron." She snapped, and gave him an apologetic look; this wasn't his fault. "He couldn't even cry properly for her, Ron. The bloody Dursleys have beaten that out of him."

"I could let you two go onto Grimmauld when we leave and I could stop by Privet Drive on the way back?" Ron asked hopefully, with a slightly hungry look.

Hermione snorted softly, "No that's desert after we kill Voldemort." Ron nodded and didn't even flinch at Tom Riddle's alias. She finished her sandwich and got up to go explore the house.

"Hermione?"

"Yeah Ron?"

"You know, I'm glad that Harry didn't let Ginny come along...not because she's my sister, and we all have about a fifty, fifty chance of getting killed, but..."

"But what Ron?"

Ron took a deep breath and stood back from the table, he paced to the back window overlooking the sodden grounds and his shoulders fell tiredly, "She couldn't have taken it Hermione. Or rather she couldn't have taken Harry, not like this." Hermione gave him a silent nod and left to go check on Harry, "not like you." Ron finished in a whisper.

Hermione was growing slightly frantic, as she could not find Harry in the house. Desperate, her path led her out into the still raging storm. The sheeting rain instantly soaked her to the bone as she ran about. Looking. After another minute she paused and glanced up at a tall hill overlooking the house on one side, and the ocean on another. Her heart fell to her stomach as she saw the dark figure bent low over a pair of harsh white stones set under a tall beech tree.

She ran up the hill, casting a Silencio on her steps so as not to disturb Harry. He was kneeling in front of a pair of white, marble gravestones. The stones were simply marked with James Potter, and Lily Potter, 1981. A small lion was engraved under their names on each of the stones along with the words "only the strongest of hearts can give light to the darkness." A tall, beech tree crouched protectively over the stones, a comfortable looking bench was sat on one side of the tree, a quarter of the way around from the stones, under a carved heart in the bark of the tree with the initials J and L intertwined with a large P. Hermione covered her mouth to keep from weeping again.

"Sorry Hermione." Harry said as she came up behind him with nary a word, or sound to mark her presence. "I just had to..." Rain streamed off his glasses as he turned to look at her. He cleared his throat softly. "Mum, dad, this is Hermione...she's the main reason I'm still alive after all my screw ups." Harry continued to look at Hermione, and his voice faltered, "I wish you were here to meet her." Hermione gave him a small smile as she knelt on the saturated ground in front of him and watched him from about twelve inches away. Her hair was dark brown, almost black with water, and hanging in drenched ringlets around her face. More rain ran off her lashes and down her cheeks as she looked up at him slightly. "I...I guess you should a...ask Sirius, he knew her."

"Oh, Harry" Hermione whispered, and she crumpled into him, her resolve finally broken. For the second time today tears mixed with the rainwater. She could feel heavy drops hitting the top of her head as Harry held on to her for dear life. Her head was tucked under his chin, just like yesterday, but today her face was buried in his drenched jacket, as if she were trusting Harry, even as torn up as he was, to protect her against anything that came their way.

The time that the pair clung to each other under the falling sky might have minutes or hours...they never knew. Finally after that endless period, Harry pulled Hermione to her feet and led her back to the broken house, her hand clutched desperately in his the entire way.

For his part, Ron only handed them dry towels that he had acquired from somewhere and led them into a back room, maybe James' den from the age-tarnished and faded Quidditch posters and trophies on the wall. On one wall, set proudly in the exact center, a row of various diplomas and awards hung in two columns, one for Lily, and one for James. Copies of their Heads' papers, their NEWT degrees, an advanced degree for Lily from Stonehenge University, their Auror graduation diplomas and still others. Ron had already cleared a large space on the floor for their sleeping bags, and had rolled them out. Hermione's was between the boys.

Harry dried his hair, making it even messier than it had been before and started walking around the room. Like the kitchen and unlike the rest of the house, this room was oddly undisturbed. Small knick nacs cluttered shelves along with books on several subjects. An old, Wizarding chess set sat on a small table to one side between a cracked leather couch and a wingback chair. The pieces were frozen, not moving, looking just like a Muggle set. The enchantment had worn off years ago.

Harry walked around his father's desk, and looked down at a framed photo of himself in his mother's arms. He carried the picture with him as he sat down on the old couch next to Hermione.

Harry stared at the picture for a long minute as Hermione leaned over his shoulder to see it as well. Finally, he set it aside with a sigh and looked at his friends. "Thanks."

Hermione just nodded, as Ron replied, "Sure mate. Sure."

*************************The Burrow***************************

7:00 am

Ginny awoke from a rather...pleasant dream. She smiled slightly as a fleeting vision of messy hair slipped from her thoughts. She looked over at a cloud of blond hair spread out over a pillow. Luna was asleep on her stomach, and humming a soft tune. Ginny rolled her eyes as she realized it was "Weasley is our King." She laughed softly to herself as she thought of Ron and Luna together, Delusional.

Ginny looked down at an empty cot next to Luna's and sighed. Hermione was always an odd one...getting up early to go to class. She rolled her eyes once more and crossed to her closet, and selected a pair of short, cut-off jean shorts and a thin-strapped tank. Ginny peeled off her pajamas from the night before and slipped the clothes on, not bothering to put anything else on.

She left Luna humming the second chorus and padded up to the boys room. Carefully she eased the door open, just in case for some odd reason Ron was parading around naked. Of course if it were Harry... But she was disappointed. Ginny opened the door fully to discover neither Harry nor Ron sleeping off the effects of yesterday's revelry. She walked into the room, noticing immediately Ron's neatly made bed and the carefully folded blanket at the end of Harry's cot. She glanced around the room for a minute as some odd sense of something missing fought to come to the surface, and then as she looked around Harry's cot and at the foot of Ron's bed she knew. Ron's trunk was gone along with Harry's pack that he had seemed oddly protective of the other day. Her eyes looked over the room more carefully to finally notice an envelope lying on Ron's bright orange pillow.

She gasped and ran over to the bed and tore the envelope open. A single sheet of parchment fell to the bed and she frantically opened it:

If you are reading this, we have left. Please do not try to find us or to interfere, as we are doing something that we must. Merlin willing you will see us on September 1 at King's Cross, but if by some chance this is our last communication, know that we all love you very much.

Harry, Hermione and Ron.

"No" Ginny snapped loudly as she crunched the letter in her fist. She ran out of Ron's room and down to hers. She ran over to Hermione's cot, bumping Luna awake on the way, and noticed for the first time that Hermione's pack, the one that had made interesting sounds when she moved it the other day, was gone.

Luna rolled over on her back, and looked up at her with slightly bloodshot silvery-gray eyes. Her voice was slow, clear and distinct. "What the ruddy hells are you doing Ginny?"

"They're gone."

Luna nodded knowingly as she sat up and her normal dreamy expression settled back over her face. A small smile lit her features. "Yes," she breathed, "I had expected they would. I hope Ronald doesn't get infected by Cornish Ear Mites while he's out on his quest...it would make snogging...annoying."

Ginny didn't bother to hide her eye roll. "Luna my prat of a brother is..."

"Yes, he was very nice to me...he made up for his behavior last year...seemed odd then." She commented, and shrugged as she stood up and casually whipped off her t-shirt and started digging in her bag for a fresh one. Ginny sighed, exasperated, and left the room as Luna sat down in front of the dresser mirror, pulled a brush from the top of her bag and started to brush out her ponytail from last night, having forgotten, or just disregarded the whole shirt concept.

***********************Azkaban, North Sea*****************************

9:00 pm

The final defending Auror crumpled lifelessly at the feet of a dark, cloaked, tall man. A faint red glow leaked from under his hood as he casually waved an ebony, phoenix-cored wand and the massive gates of the prison ground open. Behind the man, a host of dark cloaked shapes slid through the night, passing him and giving him a wide berth.

Screams of utter terror filled the night as silver animals came into being, fought off the cloaked ones for a while, and then faded into nothing. New screams wafted on the damp night air as the Dementors fed on those few who had been able for a brief time to hold them off. The cloaked man passed a man whose very soul was being ripped from him and kept walking though the screams of the dying and soulless and the pleading of Aurors for mercy.

The tall man stepped over a body lying on the step and paused only a heartbeat at a locked, barred door that lead to the interior of the prison. He chuckled softly, an odd-high pitched chuckle, as more screams echoed off the ancient stones of the prison. The glow from under his hood provided more light than the few, meager torches that lit the way as he crossed into the high security ward of the fortress. He casually walked the entire length of a long, echoing passage under the prison to finally stop in a circular room with several, barred cells off of it. A red beam of a stunner shot out from the side and impacted the intruder to no effect other than to cause him to turn to that side, flick his wand, and watch disinterestedly as a green beam snapped across the room with a rush of sound and that Auror died. He fell to the ground, his eyes dead and fixed, his face frozen forever in a mask of instant death.

The dark wizard flicked his wand over the cells and the doors sprang open. Eleven men slowly emerged from the cells led by a tall, narrow-faced man with platinum, almost white-blond hair.

As one, the inmates fell to their knees and prostrated themselves. Long, skeletal hands came up and lowered the hood of a dark cloak. Narrow, cat-pupiled eyes glowed a sullen red as they mutely surveyed the gathered Death Eaters. Flat slits of a nose flared and he nodded happily.

"Do not fail me again Lucius...Antonin" Tom Riddle commanded in a flat, sibilant hiss. "Or I will not be as forgiving...next time." He looked over the gathered dark ones. "But as a reminder of Lord Voldemort's generosity...CRUCIO" A hated, putrid yellow beam fanned over the two at the head of the pack, and pain like the slashing of a thousand red-hot knives ripped through Lucius Malfoy and Antonin Dolohov.

**********************Godric's Hollow*************************

11:00 pm

Ron looked over the chessboard at Harry. His best friend, his brother in all but blood was fading fast. The emotional toll of this visit had so far proven wasteful in the grand scheme of the quest. After Harry had sat dazed for a bit, he had led them on a search of the house and grounds. The fresh memories, ripped from his subconscious into the fore of his mind had led them to follow Voldemort's footsteps that fateful night.

Ron had felt his heart tear as he watched Harry slowly, torturously, follow the path of the Dark Lord from the garden gate to the living room, where traces of his father's ultimately futile fight still remained, and slowly up the stairs to stand once more over the crib that had sheltered him for the first years of his life. He had physically felt everything and anything, searching in vain for some trace of familiarity, such as what he had felt from the diary. Nothing. Ron glanced over to the other arm of the couch, where Hermione was paging through a book of Lily's on Dark Magic Detection, trying to find something that could help.

Her sense of concentration was failing her tonight, however. Every line or two, brown eyes would flick over the top of the page to glance with worried depths at stooped, black haired boy...man. She let out a small sigh and closed her book with a snap. "Ron's right Harry, lets kip out; we can restart in the morning."

"No." Harry replied in frustrated, exhausted voice, "No, You're right Hermione let's go ahead and get some sleep, but we'll leave for Grimmauld in the morning. I don't think there is anything here for us to find any longer."

"I'll take first watch Harry." Ron announced.

"No Ron, I still can't sleep. Go ahead you two, I'll wake you in a few hours." Ron opened his mouth to argue, but stopped as Hermione shook her head. Ron got up with a sigh and stretched out on his bag, and a minute after Harry had nox'ed the lights, a soft snoring sound was coming from a bright orange sleeping bag.

He sat at the window, sitting in the moonlight from the now cleared sky looking out over the lawn for an hour, two. Large brown eyes continued to watch him silently from a bag next to Ron's. She watched as he paced slightly and took sips from a cup of coffee he had conjured in an attempt to stay awake as his exhausted green eyes scanned the landscape warily. Finally she had had enough. Hermione reached out and shook Ron's shoulder hard. Her hand went over his mouth before he could speak and she whispered frantically in his ear. He nodded. Ron yawned, stretched and climbed out of his Chudley Cannons sleeping bag and approached Harry. "Go on Harry, kip out, I have it from here, I'll handle Hermione's shift too." Harry didn't move so Ron physically pushed the smaller teen to his bag next to Hermione. "I'll be fine, I'm going to go fix myself something in the kitchen."

The sound of Ron's footsteps on the hardwood floors faded as he retreated towards the kitchen and his midnight meal. Harry sighed and rolled over on his side to face Hermione. "I know you're awake Hermione."

"Harry you have to go to sleep." Hermione commanded softly. "Please for me. You won't be any use to anyone if you fall asleep on your feet."

"It's just that I keep thinking Mione." Harry replied, darkly. His inky hair looked as if a mad baker had spilled frosting on it as he wrapped his arms around his pillow. "What it was like for mum and dad when he came for them...for me. I just don't want that to happen to you and Ron. To be startled some night by the door being blown into the living room and you throwing your lives away needlessly." Hermione reached out and thumped him on the forehead. "Ow, what was that for?"

"You're being stupid, Harry. It would never be needlessly or uselessly if we stopped or slowed him from getting you. You would do the same for us without a thought, why can't we for you?" She frowned slightly.

"I can't lose you...or Ron, not now." He sighed as she communicated her response with a glance, "yeah I know. It's just that...Hermione, what if I am the seventh Horcrux? I mean he came for me to make the Horcrux, he was going to use the deaths of me and my parents to make it...what else could it be, I mean..." he looked beseechingly at her. "Hermione if you have to, please have Ron do it, I don't want..." he stopped suddenly as Hermione laughed, loudly. "Oh I guess that you find the possibility that you or Ron will have to kill me or I will have to kill myself to destroy Voldemort funny?"

"No, silly, Harry." Hermione replied quietly as her hand reached out and pushed strands of hair out of his eyes, she jerked her hand back quickly as she realized what she was doing. "Harry, Voldemort in his body right now, is the soul that was there when he attacked you as a child correct?"

"Yeah as far as I know." Harry replied, bemused.

"Then you aren't a Horcrux Harry." Hermione replied with utter conviction. Her eyes locked with his in the night, "If you were, then he wouldn't have tried to kill you so many times, it would kind of be defeating the purpose, don't you think?" Harry looked at her in amazement, and a sudden, terrible weight fell from his shoulders, leaving behind only the normal, weight of Atlas he carried around every day.

"Go to sleep Harry." Hermione smirked at him and closed her eyes.

Four and a half hours later Ron watched the sun begin to crest the horizon in the east. It was dawning a clear, perfect day and he took a sip of his enhanced coffee in salute. He wasn't feeling tired at all right now, rather wired in fact, especially after he had used the espresso spell the twins taught had him last fall.

Ron turned around and leaned back against the window frame and regarded his friends. Sometime during the night Harry had half woken, muttering fiercely, until a small hand found his arm in her sleep. I wish Neville or I could calm him that fast from a nightmare I'd have made sleeping in the same room as him for the last few years easier. Ron mused as he took in his former girlfriend for all of three weeks. He grinned to himself as he noticed that sometime after the nightmare, Hermione had rolled in her sleep until she was almost, but not quite sleeping on Harry's shoulder.

Ron looked back out the window and indulged in thoughts of silver moons, and lunar cranes. He let his friends sleep as he walked over to James' desk and borrowed a piece of parchment from Hermione's pack. His tongue hung out of the corner of his mouth as he started writing:

Dear Luna,




A/N: There we go, another chapter down. Next Chapter: a return to Grimmauld Place, Grim discoveries, and realizations. Or something like that.

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A/N ok here we go, Unfortunately I don't own these folks...if I did my car would be paid off. Once Again, thanks to Lady Starlight for her outstanding beta work, and for putting up with me.

Chapter 6: The Most Noble and High House of ...Potter

***************************Godric's Hollow******************************

July 12, 1997
9:30 am.

Harry yawned as his eyes slipped open to find that he was curiously well rested for sleeping on a hardwood floor with only a thin sleeping back between him and the old pine, with one slight problem...he couldn't see. It was not the normal, hazy-fuzzy view of the world that he was used to when he first awoke before he put on his glasses, disregarding the whole question of exactly were those glasses were right now as he had thought he fell asleep in them, of course. No, what greeted his eyes this morning, was a wall of chestnut, which as he yawned again, he saw dance in his breath. Just then he noticed the oddly...normal...warmth covering his left side, and he figured it out, even without Hermione's help, he was Lily and James' son after all, and despite what a certain greasy haired personal enemy of the Trio might think, he wasn't dumb.

Harry used his free hand to gently brush Hermione's curls away from his face. He pawed around on the floor around him to finally find his glasses and slip them on. His vision cleared and as he looked up, he found a smirking, softly chortling; Ronald Weasley hanging upside down in his field of vision. "Ron, I..." Harry whispered but Ron shook his head.

"If you move her and wake her up, I'll hurt you myself. She needs the sleep as much as you" Ron replied as he took a sip from about his third or fourth espresso. His eyes were bulging slightly, and curiously fixed.

"Please Ron, I..." Ron rolled his eyes and cast a freezing charm on Hermione with a slightly shaking wand hand. Harry slipped out from under her, already missing the warmth and canceled the spell. The boys watched as she rolled over in her sleep and cradled Harry's pillow to her chest. Ron motioned towards the back door and Harry nodded. Ron led Harry out the door, though the kitchen and out onto a porch that in the clear morning light, now that the fog had burnt away, from which they could see a half-court Quidditch pitch taking up part of the immense back yard. "Cool." Harry said wondrously as he took in the gleaming golden hoops.

"Yeah," Ron replied, "I guess the wards are still up if the Muggles can't see this."

"Ron...about." Harry muttered nervously as he leaned on the railing, looking out at his dad's playground.

"No Harry, it's ok." Ron replied as he flicked his wand oddly and handed Harry the cup of espresso he had created. "We are over, if we were anything anyway. Looking back, I don't know why we thought it'd work to begin with."

"Woh" Harry snapped as he took a sip of the espresso, "Strong."

"Yeah, isn't it great." Ron replied, he glanced back at the house, then his eyes slowly panned back to Harry's. "You know; if we changed the taste a bit with a spell..."

"She'd kill us Ron."

"It'd be hilarious."

"Do you want a wired Hermione...you've seen a wired Hermione Ron...you've dated a wired Hermione Ron," Harry replied reasonably. Though it would be funny.

"No," Ron disagreed, "Not really." He shrugged and took another sip from his mug. "She never really ever let her hair down with me, so to speak. She looks damned cute with it up though" He looked over at Harry and the boys shared a grin.

At the open door to the kitchen, just inside the house, Hermione paused and closed her eyes tiredly for an instant as she heard "she." Here's where Ron gives Harry the whole don't hurt Ginny speech. She thought, annoyedly. She stopped to listen, a small frown darkening her eyes. I wonder if I should surprise him with Ginny for his birthday...

Harry looked at Ron, and nodded. "Yeah, when I saw her with her hair up at the Yule Ball...bloody hell Ron." Hermione's eyes grew wide, "I should have asked her to go with me; I was a prat."

"No I was," Ron admitted. "I had a thing for her even then." He turned and stared directly at Harry, and watched as green eyes tried to look just over his shoulder, "and you did too."

"No, I..."

"Bullocks, Harry." Ron laughed slightly. And saluted him with his mug. "Let's pretend for a moment, that I have greater than the emotional range of a teaspoon, was it? And that I have lived with the two of you for the last six years, that I have bled, cried, and damn near died with the two of you...you..."

"I can't Ron. What if I don't make it through this? What if?"

"Are you a bloody Gryffindor or not...is that not the bloody Sword of Gryffindor in your pack back in the den next to Hermione as we speak?" Ron set his mug down and held out his hand and started to tick off events, and in the kitchen Hermione leaned against the wall and slid to the floor as she crammed a fist into her mouth. "Let's see Harry, first year...you went to save her...theoretically weren't even her friend and you charged a bloody mountain troll for her, could you even handle one now?"

"Umm yeah Ron I could actually, pretty easily." Harry replied softly and Ron snorted.

"Yeah, mostly because of her." Ron retorted and Hermione's heart skipped as she crouched in her unplanned listening spot. She didn't catch Harry's grudging nod of course. Ron grinned slightly, "Second year, I secretly wondered if you were the Heir of Slytherin...she didn't. Third year, the girl who is terrified of heights, got on a hippogriff to save your godfather."

"He was her friend too, Ron." Harry objected.

"Not then," Ron countered, "Then he was an escaped criminal who we had just stood between him and you to keep from killing you, he was important to you."

"Ron she's as brave as either of us, hell braver than us, she would have tried to save him just because it was right." Ron snorted.

Ron sighed, "and then forth year, she was the only one who believed you Harry, I should have, my fucking heart did, but my brain decided to jump in for once and believe that you would have tried for the attention. I'm sorry Harry."

"Just don't go thinking again." Harry replied and they both laughed and Hermione covered giggles.

"Then fifth year...She and you were the dream team...you, I thought I wasn't really needed, I..."

"She will do anything for you." Ron looked Harry directly in the eye and Hermione strained to hear, as he finished his thought with a slightly awed mutter. "She'd kill for me Harry, but she'd die for you without a thought."

"That's just it Ron, I can't, I mean...what about last year Ron, she was at my throat all the time, she was distant and I thought I had lost her, I could barely take that, do you have any idea what it would do to me, to either of us if we lost her for real?"

"You mean like she shut down when you told her the prophecy Harry?" Ron snorted, "she was afraid Harry, she was scared totally and completely shitless..." Ron took a sip of his coffee and Harry did the same, mimicking him exactly. In the kitchen Hermione bit her lip as she fought not to cry. "You should know that Harry, you know her better than me."

"I do?"

"And I'm supposed to be the dumb one." Ron muttered annoyedly. "Yes, I will bet you good money that you could tell me, how she likes her tea, what the name of her first cat was, what chapter of bloody Hogwarts a History that she likes most..." he looked at Harry as his eyebrow inched upward.

Harry's lips were moving before he knew what he was saying. "Hot, two sugars, dash of milk. Emilia, it's from A Midsummer Night's dream, where her name is from. And she likes the chapter on the establishment of the Library of course." Ron's jaw dropped...as did Hermione's. "What, doesn't everyone know that?" Ron shook his head. "Bloody hell Ron, haven't you been paying attention all these years?"

Ron shook his head slowly, "I doubt dad knows that much about mum." Just then a soft crash came from the kitchen, and a soprano voice muttered, "bloody hell."

Hermione emerged from the house, her hair was pulled back into a messy tail and she still wore her rumpled clothes from the day before. Her eyes were half closed as she reached out and took Harry's espresso from him and downed it in two gulps. Her eyes perked up as she looked over at Ron with a grin.

"Fred's Wake'Em Up spell?" She asked softly. Ron nodded. Hermione leaned back against the railing of the porch and arched her back, popping it softly. She looked at Harry who shook his head rapidly for a second as if throwing off some spell before catching her gaze. "So Harry?" She asked with an odd tenor in her voice, "What are we up to today."

Harry took a breath, and Ron and Hermione watched as he changed from a tired teen in over his head to something...else. Someone that the sword in the den belonged to. Someone that one day very soon, would give Tom Riddle someone else to fear. "We go to Grimmauld, where else? Ron, since we will be in London, do you think you could slip out and get supplies? Hermione you and I will start looking through the Black Libraries for hints on the Horcruxes, more specifically on how to destroy them."

Ron and Hermione nodded, and started to head back into the house. Hermione made it halfway into the door, when Harry called after her. "Hermione?" He said quietly, not steadily at all, as if everything he had just said was a grand illusion.

"Yes, Harry?" Hermione turned and leaned on the doorway, her heart pounding rapidly for some reason.

"Thank you Hermione...for yesterday...for everyday actually."

"You're welcome." She replied softly, and he nodded and headed back inside. Hermione let out a deep breath she had not known she was holding and stared, unseeing, into the back yard for a moment before following Harry and Ron into the house.

***********************#12 Grimmauld Place, London**********************

The soft pop of Hermione and Harry's Apparition mixed with the slight louder crack of Ron's as the trio arrived in the kitchen of the old house. A smell of disuse and decay assaulted their noses as they arrived to find spoiled food and trash spread out in the kitchen that in Molly's tenure had been immaculate. "Bloody hell, what's that smell?" Ron shouted as he lit his wand and started to look around the room.

In the light of Ron's wand, Hermione glanced over to Harry; he nodded and then shrugged. She frowned as she lit her wand as well and led them from the kitchen out into the hall and up the stairs into the parlor. She eased the door open, following the smell, and gasped. Her left hand came up to cover her face as she saw the small, crumpled body.

Kreacher had gotten his hearts desire...he had died in the service of the Black heir. "Blimey." Ron exclaimed as he looked over Hermione's shoulder at the tiny, withered elf. He was lying under the rows of House Elf head that decorated this room. "So that's what smells." He shrugged, "So now what, who's cooking."

"Ronald, he was a foul loathsome creature, but he was that way because of wizards" Hermione snapped as she spun on her heal and leaned into Ron.

"He betrayed Sirius Hermione." Ron snapped back. Harry walked up slowly to the body and knelt down next to it with a small frown.

Harry ignored Hermione as she shot back to Ron something about a thousand years of repression, as he muttered, "Dobby." With small pop, he appeared. "What is the proper means for burial Dobby?" Dobby looked up at him, with wide, shocked eyes.

"Harry Potter Sir, Dobby will take care of this sir, there's no need for such a great Wizard as..."

"Dobby," Harry interrupted softly as behind him Hermione stopped arguing with Ron and looked down at him and Dobby, Ron started to say something else, and she hit him absently to shut him up, "What's the proper way Dobby?"

Dobby looked down guiltily, "Dobby does not knows sir, the Malfoys sir, they just threw old house elves out with the garbage sir. I am sorry sir..." Harry's hand flashed out and caught the tiny elf by the scruff of the neck and thereby preventing him from beating his head on the nearest piece of furniture. Dobby looked up at him gratefully.

"I won't do that Dobby, not even to him." Harry stood and flicked his wand at the body. The withered body of the ancient elf floated ahead of him as he lead the way to the warded back yard and set it on the ground under a tall, bent oak that was probably older than the house. Diffindo penatratus terratus a four foot, rectangular hole appeared in the ground under the tree. Harry didn't say a word as Hermione's wand flicked and a small, child-sized casket appeared around the elf. He just gave her a small nod and levitated the casket over and down into the ground, and with another flick, covered it with soil. A tiny headstone appeared with the words, "Kreacher, a House Elf of the Most High and Noble House of Black."

"Goodbye Kreacher..." Harry muttered as Dobby bowed his head and said something under his breath and Ron looked on from a bit further back without a comment. "You were loyal to your beliefs at least." He walked away from the small grave and walked silently back into the house. He passed Hermione as she entered the house and waved her to silence as she opened her mouth. Harry climbed the stairs and several minutes later Ron and Hermione could hear a bedroom door closing firmly.

Hermione looked at Ron, he shook his head. "No. No Hermione, if you want to go to him, go ahead, I'm not dealing with him right now, I've lived with him long enough to know to let him cool off. I'm going to go get supplies like Harry said." He looked through his pockets until he found Galleons. "Should have enough for a bit." He said as he counted out twenty.

Hermione nodded and dug in the front pocket of her jeans. She found a twenty-pound note and handed it to Ron. "Get a pizza or something on the way back."

"Where will you be then, when I get back."

She ran her lower lip through her teeth as she glanced up the stairs. The old house chose then to let out a loud creak and they dove for wands, only to replace them in hidden holsters a moment later with sheepish grins. She sat on a dusty couch and unlaced her boots, revealing thick, cotton socks. Hermione glanced up at Ron and shrugged. "I guess I'll start research, I guess."

Ron nodded and vanished with a loud CRACK. Hermione thought about the long climb to the library on the second floor, and then grinned. Pop. She felt the sensation of being squeezed though a bottle and reappeared in the massive, Black Family Library. Two-story tall shelves greeted her eyes in the massive room that was central to the large mansion. High windows at one end let in the London daylight through grimy panes. A single, once highly polished table sat in the center of the room surrounded by four comfortable looking chairs. The Black Coat of arms was hanging, centered between the windows and looking down on any that might dare enter this sanctuary. Hermione slowly walked over to the rolling ladder that ran around three quarters of room on a inset track and gave it an tentative push. It moved reluctantly and gave a loud squeak of long-unoiled metal.

A small, twisted smirk bloomed on her lips as she paced over to the fireplace and looked at a torn, battered couch that reminded her of nothing more than the Gryffindor common room couch. She looked up at the mantle, and moved aside a series of small bits. With a shrug she walked back to the books and started looking around, pulling likely volumes and tossing them in the general direction of the table. She didn't notice them floating across the room and neatly stacking themselves in tall, even piles.

Hermione had been engrossed in a series of books on the destruction of magical artifacts for almost an hour. Almost two feet of notes trailed down towards the floor, when she felt a familiar rubbing familiar at her feet. She glanced down, "Crookshanks." She exclaimed, as she suddenly remembered with more than a bit of embarrassment that she had forgotten him at the Burrow. He obviously hadn't as he jumped up on the table and gave her an annoyed glare. "I'm sorry ok?" She told the cat guiltily, "I had other things on my mind." Crookshanks obviously agreed with her as he turned and stared at the doorway, as if pointing something out.

Harry was standing, leaning on the doorjamb, with a wry smile on his lips and his pack slung over his shoulder. "Forgot something huh?" Harry dropped the pack, padded over, flipped a chair around backwards and sat down opposite her; Crookshanks took his ear scratch from Harry as only his due.

"How did you get him, you can't apparate until the 31st or they'll come after you for underage magic?"

"Seems that you aren't the only one who can read Hogwarts a History," Harry smirked and Hermione mocked laughing. She glared at him and he relented. Harry took a familiar gold ball from his cargo pocket and held it up with three fingers. "Seems that the Head's Portkeys, are old artifacts...they predate the underage restrictions and registration requirements on Portkeys." Her eyes widened as she realized the implications. "Yeah so do the wand cores in the sword and the daggers, not that it matters to us any longer...Speaking of which...."

"Never mind that, how did my plodding cat get here from Ottery St. Catchpole?" Hermione interrupted, placing a hand on Harry's stop his petting of Crookshanks. Crookshanks glared at her and she gave him an apologetic glance before meeting Harry's eyes again.

"Simple Mione," Harry replied with a grin, "I put on my cloak, ported to the Burrow and called him. They never saw me."

"He came when you called?" Hermione's eyebrows almost met her hairline. Harry shrugged and glanced down at her book.

"Where's Ron?" Harry asked as he walked back over to the door and retrieved his pack. He bent down in it and a soft, clinking sound rang like small bells in the room. Hermione watched curiously as he pulled a black velvet rapped package from the depths of his gear and placed it carefully in front of her. "Here, I have, this...feeling that these are yours, I saw your face when I picked them up anyway." Hermione gave him an odd look and carefully unfolded the velvet.

A pair of ancient daggers were sitting on the black fabric. Both were identical, with wire-wrapped hilts under thin, Damascus steel blades. Slowly Hermione picked up the right hand one, and as she did, the same rush of power that had filled her bones when she first held her wand or when she had held Godric's sword. Crookshanks let out an annoyed "meow" as a sudden; source less wind ruffled his fur along with Harry and Hermione's slightly unkempt locks. She tiled the dagger, catching the afternoon sunlight on facets of the layered steel and found a small Gryffindor lion embedded in the guard. Hermione picked up the second with her other hand and gasped as both of the knives elongated, their six-inch blades doubling in length as the guard stretched and formed forward facing points on either side of the blades.

A brief flicker of green fire lit her pupils and the left dagger spun in her grip in a blur, a second later she repeated the performance with the second one. "Harry..."

"Yeah." Harry replied, "Hermione I don't think I even ever told you, but that first time I used the sword on the Basilisk, I knew...I knew I could use it. I knew how it felt...anyway..." Harry dove back into his pack, and pulled out a dual sheath set for her new toys and pushed it across. "This showed up right after I picked them up..." Hermione picked up the pebbled, black leather sheath and examined it.

"It's black dragon hide." Hermione commented absently as she stood up and slipped it onto her belt behind her back. Both daggers slipped into it, shrinking back to their relaxed size as she slipped them home, and it vanished from sight. "Cool" Hermione muttered as she twisted around to see her back. She reached back and one of the two reappeared in her hand and did its normal expansion trick. She pointed it at a book across the room, "Accio book."

Harry quickly ducked as the 5th edition of Lethal Magical Creatures of Southwest Asia flew overhead and landed with a pop in Hermione's other hand. Harry's eyes narrowed as he half remembered some odd movie that he remembered Dudley watching...he glanced around for something. He spotted an old, tattered notebook, sitting on a shelf. He opened it and paged through the yellowed pages to find it empty. "Hermione."

"Yeah?" She asked as she turned back to him still examining her one of her new companions.

"Get it." He flipped the book in the air, and her eyes flared and her left hand blurred. WHACK. A heartbeat later, the notebook was held against the doorjamb by the mate to the blade still in Hermione's right hand. Harry and Hermione shared a shocked glance as she summoned it back, even though Harry knew somehow, he reached back and the Sword of Gryffindor appeared in his hand. A brief glare lit his eyes and he felt a new knowledge sweep though his muscles and sinews. A part of his mind...knew...the best way to fight someone with the paired sai-like daggers that Hermione now held or the best way to defeat someone with an axe, which if McNair ever escaped...could be useful, another part of his mind, the logical Hermione voice, admitted.

"That was weird." Hermione replied.

"What was weird?" Ron asked as he came in the room, bearing a boxed pizza and a six-pack of butterbeers. He scooted Hermione's books out of the way, remembering all too well the feeling of all his underwear being two sizes too small for a week when he had last placed food on top of one of her books.

"Probably the same as this." Harry replied and tossed him a similar velvet wrapped package.

"Cool, presents." Ron said as he opened it to find a single, larger dagger of a different design than Hermione's. Instead of a long, thin blade it held a thick, leaf shaped one, with a leather-wrapped handle under a simple steel crossguard. The crossguard was similarly emblazoned with the Gryffindor Lion, however and as Ron picked it up, it morphed as well, the blade grew to about two foot, with the pommel end gaining a large, rounded, skull crusher end.

"That looks like a Roman Gladius." Hermione remarked interestedly, as Ron held it up for her to inspect.

Ron placed the dagger/sword back down on the table and it shrunk to its normal size. He picked up the sheath that Harry handed him and slipped it in. Ron glanced up at Hermione, "Roman, huh?" She nodded, "Ok, that makes sense." He replied and took a slice of pizza from the box and took a large bite.

"What makes sense?" Harry asked.

"Mumph, Rromph, whanceptnto" Ron replied with a mouth full of pizza. Emerald and chocolate eyes glowered. Ron swallowed. "I said." He announced, speaking slowly as if they were both slightly slow, "that that made sense, some of my ancestors were Romans from the Legions that once held Britain." Harry and Hermione shared a look, it was as good as explanation as any, and they sat down at the table, where Ron was already into his second slice.

"Now that we have a second." Hermione said, gesturing with her butterbeer bottle after she and Harry had had their two slices apiece and Ron had finished the other half of the pizza, "Let's think about the Horcruxes, what do we know about them."

"We already did this the other day Hermione." Ron muttered, looking longingly at the empty box.

"Harry wasn't there remember, still at the Dursleys...humor me Ron." Hermione shot back dangerously. He nodded quickly and she gave him a bright smile.

"Let's see." Harry began. "First Dumbledore was assuming that there were seven including Voldemort himself...but I've been wondering about that." He admitted as he took a swig of his beer and got up to pace. Hermione and Ron's eyes tracked him the entire way. "When he came to kill me, Dumbledore was thinking that he was going to use my death as the means for the seventh Horcrux, right?" The other two nodded, "now assuming that I am not one." He grinned at Hermione and she returned a shy smile, "What is it?"

"What do you mean Harry?" Hermione asked. Her head cocked to one side and she started to play with an errant curl as she was absently taking notes with the other.

Harry stopped pacing and looked directly at her as he leaned against a half-empty bookshelf. "I mean we know of five, physical objects that hold Horcruxes, with Voldemort's body holding a fraction, the fraction that was knocked askew by me...Slytherin's locket, Helga's cup, Nagini, the ring and Riddle's diary. Dumbledore destroyed the ring, but it cost him his hand, and I destroyed the diary, and the other three are out there."

"We know all this mate." Ron replied tiredly, and looked longingly at the empty pizza box. Hermione shushed him, without looking at him and Ron rolled his eyes, they weren't paying attention to him again.

"Voldemort would have wanted seven parts." Hermione stated. "He would have believed the legend of the number being special, he left school before Arithmancy proved that seven was just a number."

"Exactly, that's what Dumbledore believed, minus the Arithmancy explanation of course." They shared another grin and Ron took the opportunity to practice new and interesting eye rolling techniques.

"But you're right Harry, if he hadn't spilt it off then, when he attacked you first, when would he have? Or did he?"

"That would leave him with only six Hermione...I still think that I might, be..."

"No, now stop it." Hermione growled at him and he sighed.

"But then when would he have, he likes monumental deaths...ones that mean something to, him and he didn't kill Dumbledore after all. Does he have to commit a murder to split his soul?"

"From what I can find, it is the conventional means...we need to talk to the portrait, Harry, feel him out." Hermione declared for the both of him and he nodded, "Let's concentrate on the ones we know about for now. Ok?" Harry nodded and Hermione got up and started pacing opposite Harry, "Do you still have that fake amulet?" Harry nodded and levitated it out of his pack. "Good I will use it to look through book illustrations, I would think that this RAB character would have made the fake to look just like the original." Ron picked up the green locket with the twisted S and stared at it while Hermione continued on, "now as to the others we need to track down Voldemort's past I guess."

"Well the Chamber and the orphanage are done, Dumbledore and I took care of those, and the locket is somewhere else..."

"Even if that's what where they were, there's no guarantee that they are still there though Harry."

"True," Harry conceded and ran both hands through his hair, messing it further as he tried to force some thought from a hidden recess of his mind.

Ohh, god that's so hot, Hermione thought as she glanced up and Harry stopped messing up his hair and gave her an odd, questioning look. "You say something Hermione?"

"No," she replied and he shrugged, all the while Ron was staring at the fake. "We know he murdered to get the cup, but not where it went from there."

"Guys." Ron interjected, as Harry and Hermione continued to bounce ideas back and forth, "Guys?"

"What Ron?" Hermione shot back with a touch too much heat.

But he ignored it, he knew what pressures she was under, what they were all under, and she seems to have gained a bit more of a...personal stake in the quest. Doesn't this locket look just like the one we found here summer before last? I'm just saying..."

Harry and Hermione's eyes met and their mouths opened in silent, "O"s. "RAB? R.A. Black?"

"The tapestry is still up." Harry replied thoughtfully as his and Hermione's eyes locked. She ran around the table and grabbed Harry, and they vanished with a soft pop. Behind them in the now empty library Ron started whistling softly and watching the locket dance in his fingers. A minute later, POP. Harry and Hermione reappeared.

"Regulus Augustus Black" Hermione said quietly with a air of shocked, awe. "Sirius' brother," She looked at Harry he shrugged and looked sheepish. He hung his head for a second and glanced sidelong at Hermione out of the corner of his eye. A tired, worn chuckle came from his throat as he backed against the wall and slowly slid to the bottom. Hermione crouched down in front of him. He shook his head and glanced up at her.

"Dobby?" Harry muttered and the elf appeared with a pop. Harry raised his head from his hands to look at the elf more or less at eye level.

"Master Harry Potter sir, needs Dobby sir?" Dobby asked as he bounced slightly on the balls of his feet. "Dobby would be most pleased to help Harry Potter, sir, or does Harry Potter's Mione need Dobby's help sir?" Ron snorted softly at the table and Hermione turned and glared at him for an instant.

"Yes Dobby," Hermione replied and the elf ginned hugely, basking, "can you tell us if there is another locket in the house like the one Ron is holding." Dobby gave a huge nod that shook his whole body and popped over to Ron. Huge, tennis ball sized green eyes peered at the locket closely and with another POP, he was gone. The trio glanced at each other for several long minutes.

POP, Dobby reappeared looking mournful, his head hung as he stood next to Hermione, "Mistress Hermione, there's no locket of that sort in this house, Dobby is sorry for taking so long, it took a bit to look through Kreacher's things." Dobby looked sad, and after another minute vanished.

Hermione looked on worriedly as Harry stood slowly and walked around the room with his hands fisting in his hair and his head down watching his feet. She watched as he walked over to one of the doors leading from the room, CRACK. A loud, snapping sound echoed through the house and Ron turned suddenly green, as Harry cradled his hand and walked away from the door.

Hermione was across the room in a flash, as Harry muttered, "that hurt a bit." She gave him a tiny glare as her wand came out of her pocket and passed over his hand and arm. A soft red glow hovered over his wrist and she sighed.

"Come on, you cracked it." She held his elbow gently as she led him over to the couch in the corner and sat him down. Her wand flicked oddly and Harry felt a tingling sensation and the pain faded. "There you go, dufus."

"Thanks, Mione" Harry whispered, to gain an exasperated smile.

"What brought that on?" She asked, then, "oh..."

"Yeah." Harry replied and she nodded. She sat down heavily next to Harry, and her hand brushed his. "It was all a waste."

"I'm sorry, Harry." Hermione glanced over at him and he sighed. "Damn it." She muttered and started absently petting Crookshanks as he jumped up next to her and began purring loudly and rubbing.

"What?" Ron asked with a bemused expression on his face as he looked back and forth between his friends, "What?"

Outside of the window, clouds rolled in, obscuring some of the afternoon sunlight. A large hawk or something wheeled past the window, as the room became oppressively silent. Hermione frowned and took Harry's hand openly. Harry glanced down at it before looking over at Ron. "It means Dumbledore died for nothing Ron...there weren't enough Death Eaters at Hogwarts to stop him had he been healthy...he swallowed the poison for..." Harry go up and stomped out of the room. Hermione looked a question and after a minute followed.

She walked out of the Library to find an empty hall. She walked up to Sirius' old room, no Harry. Down to the parlor and the kitchen, no Harry. She did find Dobby however. Dobby had a tray of glasses set out, along with a plate of cookies. Ron probably got Dobby to make some. She realized angrily, and resolved to discuss, once more, Dobby's role with Ron. She walked over to check out the glasses and glanced down to find a light orange liquid, pumpkin juice. Cool. Dobby looked up with a start then smiled. He came over to Hermione holding a small glass phial.

"Mistress Hermione...Dobby is glad you are here...Dobby has run out of the vitamins that he is supposed to put in Master Harry sir's food. Does Mistress Hermione have any more, Dobby tried to floo Miss Weals..."

"Just Hermione, Dobby, you are a friend." Hermione replied absently, then her prodigious intellect fully parsed the sentence Dobby had been saying when she interrupted, today it took a half second, as most of her thoughts were on Harry at the moment, wherever he was, "Wait Dobby, what are you putting in Harry's food?" Her eyes grew hard and the elf cringed, "and who told you to..." Dobby suddenly realized he had made a mistake as he cringed openly and stepped back slightly. He took a breath as to pop out, "Don't you dare move..."

"I is sorry Mistress," Dobby shook slightly, and Hermione's eyes softened.

Hermione knelt down in front of the elf, a kindly expression on her face. "Dobby let me see the vial." Dobby shook his head, and backed away, and the rest of Dobby's part of the conversation hit her. "Dobby why are you calling me Mistress?"

Dobby gave her an odd look, like she had suddenly sprouted antlers instead of ears, and while that was entirely possible in this house with probably more than one bag of WWW's special treats still lying around, she didn't think she had. "Because you are Master Harry Potter sirs, Mione...you is the Mistress of the house." Dobby replied simply and Hermione...blinked.

Oh...OH. She gulped and took a breath I can disabuse him of that notion later...but do you really want to? Another, soft voice that sounded just like Harry replied. I...a... "Then as Mistress of the House, give me the vial Dobby...now." Dobby shuffled his feet, but handed it to her. A whiff of the remnants of the vial, it was...Amortentia. Oh, bloody hell, "Ginny told you to give Harry this?" Dobby looked as if he had been told not to say anything, "it's ok Dobby you can just nod." Dobby nodded. "How much have you been giving him Dobby...I need to know, to as it is to help Harry. You didn't do anything wrong." Hermione added quickly to calm the agitated elf.

"When I first put it in, it was a quarter of this vial...now I am supposed to use two, Mistress." Dobby replied and Hermione slowly closed her eyes and sat back on the floor.

"Dobby, you have to take my orders over anyone except Harry right?" Hermione asked softly, tightly.

"Yes Mistress Hermione, and Master Harry sir can only...." Hermione waved him to silence and her heart fell as she saw how the elf must have been treated under the Malfoys, but she went on determinately.

"Dobby you are very loyal, I am glad that Harry hired you...he did hire you right?"

"Yes Mistress," Dobby replied with an annoyed frown, "Master Harry insists on paying Dobby entirely too much, and then he said something about giving Winky money too, and something about a trust funds for retirement and vacations...Dobbys closed his ears Mistress, he could not..."

Hermione cracked a small smile, "It's ok Dobby, from now on though, you are not to put anything in Harry's, or my or Ron's food or drink or anything without checking with me or Harry first, ok?" Dobby nodded solemnly, "And Dobby, if Ginny or anyone, asks, tell her you are putting it in, and give me the potion, Ok? And don't tell Harry of this, I will ok?" He nodded, "Do you understand," he nodded again, "repeat my orders back to me Dobby."

"Mistress I am not to adds anything to yours, Master Harry's or his Weezey's food or drink without asking you or Master Harry's permission, and if I am asked I am to lie, unless its to you or Master Harry, Mistress. And you will inform Master Harry." Dobby repeated clearly.

"Good Dobby." Hermione said with a small smile, while inside her thoughts were boiling, "Now there is nothing in those, right?" Dobby nodded, "Ok go give that to Ron" Dobby turned to pop away, "where is Harry Dobby?"

"He's on the roof overlook, Mistress." Dobby replied.

"Let me take him his and mine Dobby." Hermione asked softly and Dobby...leered, at her. He snapped his fingers and hers and Harry's drink goblets suddenly transformed into Muggle to-go cups, and a small paper wrapped package of the cookies remained behind as he vanished with a soft pop. Did Dobby just...leer at me? Focus girl. She crossed to the stairs and started to climb, realizing suddenly that she didn't' know where the roof access was, "Point me to Harry." She commanded her wand and it pointed left to a newly revealed set of stairs. Her mind was racing as she climbed the stairs. Think Hermione, think, its Harry damn it, you aren't going to fail him again. But what if he really loves her... if he did, she wouldn't have needed a potion...but why is she having Dobby increase the dosage all of a sudden. The wedding, Harry's voice answered her, of course, he was avoiding her, by hanging out...with me.

Hermione stopped and leaned back against the wall hard, Does that mean Harry, might, really... Suddenly she "heard" an odd noise, like someone talking just out of earshot, and a slight rush of something ran through her. What was that? Focus Mione. When did I start calling myself Mione? About the time Harry said it out loud. A slightly smug voice replied. And despite being by herself in the staircase, she blushed slightly.

What do I say to Harry? I have to think...Amortentia induces feelings of infatuation and lust; it doesn't create true love. She thought back to other books on the subject she had perused one bored night at the castle, It can be thrown off, by a sufficiently powerful wizard, though in doing so, one's magical power is reduced as it is being redirected to fighting off the portion. Oh...Ginny...oh you stupid fucking little girl. Harry couldn't have fought Snape, he was weakened at the time, he couldn't have helped Dumbledore, Dumbledore must have realized it too late...I have to get it out of his system, I need a flushing potion... "Dobby" the elf appeared instantly, "is the Potion lab in the basement operational?" He nodded, "Please see that it is fully stocked, ok?" He nodded once more and popped away without a word, probably still a bit afraid of her.

Hermione continued on, and reached the top of the stairs, she opened the door, to find Harry sitting with his back against a redbrick chimney, staring unseeingly out into the smoggy London skyline. His hair had fallen forward into his eyes, she noted automatically as she sat next to him. I won't tell him, not until I've flushed the remnants from his system...and I need to come up with something for next time we're with the Weasleys... "Hi Harry." Hermione muttered as she handed him his cup. He gave a soft chuckle as he spotted the Muggle take away cup. "You ok?"

"I will be."

"Yeah, Harry, you will be." She replied as she dropped her head to his shoulder and his fell on top of hers after a moment and they watched the far away traffic passing by.

Harry picked up his head after several minutes but did not move Hermione's. "I was thinking..."

"That someone might have taken the locket?" Hermione finished.

"Mundungus." They said together softly, and Hermione let out a sound closer to a growl. "Are you ready to become that felon, Hermione?" Harry asked softly, and she just squeezed his hand in response. "Get the Veritaserum ready." Hermione nodded and raised her head off his shoulder. Her lip twitched and she turned and kissed him on the cheek and got up. "What was that for?" Harry asked with suddenly oddly bright eyes, Hermione just shrugged and started down the stairs to make a restricted potion, and another one, a first year one, one that just might prove to save the very world in the end.

**************************Library, 12 Grimmauld Place******************

July 12, 1997
10:00 pm.

Hermione was going slightly cross-eyed as she ran her hand over a stiff neck and straightened up from her fourth or fifth complete book tonight on magical artifacts and sighed. Crookshanks looked up at her from his newly found perch on top of a short stack of books and gave her a not so subtle glare. He still had not quite forgiven her for forgetting him at the Burrow.

She stood up and picked a mug of tea from the table near her and paced to the high, two-story windows of the library. Tonight they were enchanted to provide a glimpse of the lake at Hogwarts. She watched quietly as the Giant Squid lazily waved a tentacle above the inky water. The Flushing Draught's done. She mused quietly. Should I give it to him tonight? What are you going to tell him...Mione, huh? That Ginny poisoned him so he would fall in love her...and oh by the way, you couldn't have fought Snape or saved Dumbledore, 'cause the stupid bint didn't research the side effects...I would have researched the side effects...but I would have died before we did anything of the sort to him...yeah...No, she forced the decision through her bickering consciences. We'll wait until after tomorrow night, it'll be safer...

A soft knock at the door interrupted her meanderings. She looked up to find the subject of her quandary leaning on the door facing.

Harry looked tired, she noted absently as he gave her a worn smile and walked over. He had his school bag slung over his shoulder; does he want help with something? Hermione cocked her head to the side, considering, as he stopped in front of her. She smiled slightly as Harry shuffled his feet, and ran a hand through his hair inattentively.

"Umm, Hermione."

"Yeah Harry," Hermione replied easily as she took a sip of her tea and looked over the rim of the cup at him. She canted her head slightly in a silent question

Harry reached into his bag and pulled out a torn, worn old copy of Advanced Potion-Making. "Hermione...I...uh want you to have this...look through it to see if anything's of use." Hermione's hand shook very slightly as she took the book from his hand.

"What about you Harry?" She asked very softly.

Harry gave her a sheepish look as he dug back into his bag and pulled a brand new copy from within its depths. "I...uh...had Dobby go get me a new one, I'll get along by myself next year...if you will help me that is?"

Hermione nodded, mutely as Harry grinned crookedly and left, muttering something about sleep.

She hugged the book to her chest and rocked back and forth on her heels as quiet tears flowed.





A/N: A house of cards starts to fall.

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Unfortunately I still own nothing. Thanks once again to Lady Starlight for her gracious beta work, any mistakes are as always purely my faults...and now onto the show.
Chapter 7: Three Sevenths of the Way.

****************************St. Mungo's*****************************

July 13, 1997
8:00 pm

The harried receptionist looked up from admitting yet another patient for what the Healers had taken to calling Who's it, Itus" And gasped as six, dark cloaked figures wearing the masks of the Death Eaters phased through the wall. She saw a wand rising towards her, a flash of green, and nothing. At all. Ever again.

Screams broke out among the scattered patients and well-wishers in the Lobby, most scattered, screaming into the early evening. A few visibly tried to apparate, failed as they ran up against the new protective wards of the hospital and dived behind whatever cover they could find. The Death Eaters ignored the majority of the crowd as a few, a meager few, shot easily deflected minor jinxes at the Death Eaters before they vanished into the main part of the hospital. All new screams and sounds of spellfire were heard from beyond the swinging doors.

****************************Soho, London****************************

10:00 pm

A, today, blue-haired young witch backed out of the kitchen levitating three butterbeer bottles behind her, and a tall, thin man with gray-tinged, brown hair, kind brown eyes, and just a touch of fangs when he smiled, and a tall, broad, bald-headed man, with a single gold loop in his left ear cringed, and shied away.

Tonks turned to Kingsley and Remus and rolled her eyes. She handed the massive Auror one of the beers, forcefully, and turned and walked to Lupin on the couch opposite. She dropped in his lap, with an accompanying "ompf" sound from the Marauder. She gave him a sweet smile and kissed his cheek as she leaned back against her fiancée's back. "I can handle carrying three beers, thank you very much." She humphed and took a drink of her beer.

Lupin sighed and gave her a pained smile. He turned to their guest and looked thoughtful. "How bad was it this time Kingsley?"

Kingsley Shacklebolt took a drink to bide time as he looked around Tonks' apartment. One could tell that Remus had just taken up, at least temporary residency. The apartment was purely Tonks. A pair of enchanted lava lamps lit the side table, while a large poster of the Weird Sisters was hung crookedly in a large frame over the couch. A Muggle television and stereo were crowded into one corner of the room, with a small dining table taking up another. The walls were currently painted, or charmed most likely, in an odd two-color scheme of purple tops and blue bottoms with the colors fading to each other in the middle. Through an partially open door at the back of the room, Kingsley could see a rather disheveled bed, it had taken several minutes for Tonks to reply to his knock after her distracted "Wotcher."

"It was bad, Scrimgeour is still there right now. Looks like they were after the injured Aurors there. And maybe..."

"What Kingsley?"

"George Weasley was in there earlier that evening...seems he had a small accident at their shop. Bugger was making something up...dangerous, wouldn't tell me what it was for. When I reminded him of his obligation to the Order, he just laughed at me, and asked 'what Order'." Kingsley's eyes grew dark, "I should have grabbed the bugger then and dragged him back. I'm sure they were after him for information on Potter, since he's vanished from our sight as well." He sounded disgruntled and looked at Remus who just shrugged. "You know where Potter is don't you? He's at Grimmauld, that's why we can't get in any longer."

"Honestly," Lupin replied airily, "I don't. I'm sure he's fine. After all he has things to do just like the rest of us."

"Surely you don't believe in that Chosen One nonsense?" Shaklebolt snapped.

"Well I do for one." Tonks piped up, and stared at the large Auror.

"Even if it is true," Kingsley sneered, "Potter is just a child, he's..."

"What Kingsley?" Lupin snapped, "He has fought Voldemort, not a Death Eater, Voldemort, in one incarnation or another and survived four times now. Albus was the only one who ever beat that record, and he was a hundred and sixty. Think, you know who Albus trusted at the end with whatever he was doing...Harry, that's who."

"Well what support does Potter have, that Granger girl, Ron Weasley?"

Tonks stood up abruptly; or rather the normally clumsy young woman flowed to her feet with all the grace of a hunting panther. Her eyes glowered at Kingsley. "Which is but a tithe of what he should have, yes if that is your point, I agree. I seem to remember the purpose of the Order being to kill Voldemort, and since Harry seems to be the one that will do that..."

"He's just a misguided boy, looking for adventure." Kingsley snapped, and Lupin closed his eyes.

"Get out." Lupin said softly. Kingsley just looked at him, and if Tonks had been a panther when she gained her feet, Remus was a wolf on the prowl. Fangs slightly dropped as barriers that he had fought all of his adult life to keep in place frayed. "That boy...is your only chance in hell. Get out and don't speak to me again until you are ready to admit that."

****************************Knockturn Alley, London*********************

July 14, 1997
1:20 am

Mundungus Fletcher took a hit off of an old, smelly pipe and smiled, revealing yellowed teeth. With a small grunt of satisfaction as he played with a stack of coins in his pocket, he tightened his ragged, rags of robes around his body and started to walk towards the Leaky Caldron for a drink, and possibly a game of chance if he were lucky. Raw, dark laughter, the kind that one hears in places where all hope is gone sounded in the night, but ended with a gurgle. A young witch, who by all rights looked as if she should be in her fifth or sixth year at Hogwarts, was standing in a red-lit doorway as he passed, her robe, what there was of it, only covered the essentials and those barely, it draped down over her front and back and was tied closed at the side with a single cord. She shouted out a price in an Irish brogue and he replied not tonight.

Definitely not tonight, at least not for him. As he rounded a trash-strewn corner, and stepped over a half-naked hag passed out on the ground, but not before quickly patting her down, he felt the tip of a wand indent the skin behind his right ear. "Goodnight Dung," a soft baritone whispered and everything faded to black. Harry bent over the unconscious thief and tapped him on the forehead with his wand. An instant later, like watching a mirage disappear, Mundungus faded from view. Harry flicked his wand and the quasi-invisible Mundungus lifted into the air and started floating towards a dim flickering light that marked the entrance to a run-down boarding house. Harry vanished under his cloak and followed.

The pair of them, the Gryffindor and the thief, passed the night man at the desk, who would have not noticed them if they were visible and dancing the mamba. He was far too engrossed in the Muggle magazine in his hands under the desk. Nor were the wizard and witch sitting, staring at the corner of the room with slightly slack expressions on their faces, paying the slightest attention at all. The man was groping the woman absently, reaching inside of her robes, and she seemed to care, not at all.

Harry reached the second floor like a ghost, his captive in front of him. They reached room eleven and entered.

The old boarding house was decrepit, or more precisely gross. A broken bed sat in one corner; its mattress was caved in, in the middle, and covered by graying, stained sheets. A small brazier sat in the other corner to provide heat when needed, and a cracked, peeling mirror reflected the room from the other from the top of a dresser that had last seen polish sometime around the Battle of Waterloo. The remnants of used...potions sat in an overflowing garbage can next to the mirror.

One single, straight wooden chair completed the furniture and with a negligent wand flick, Harry sat Mundungus in it and tied him up. His head lolled forward onto his chest as Harry pulled off his cloak.

Two others appeared an instant later. Hermione's eyes were hard as she walked over to Mundungus and pulled on the ropes. Her boots made a slight thumping sound on the worn, wood floor as she retreated to stand next to Harry. Behind them, Ron leaned against the wall, his arms crossed and his wand in hand. He faced the door and flicked his wand and watched disinterestedly as a Silencing charm lit the room for an instant.

A wand flicked, and Mundungus stirred. He fought for a moment against his robes for an instant then relaxed. He looked up and a fake smile lit his face. ""Arry, Hermione...let me go...we are friends, there must, be..." he started then stopped at the hard expressions on the faces watching him silently. He gulped and started working at his sleeve.

"I have one question," Harry said softly, darkly, then corrected himself, "or rather I have two, but since the second requires accuracy on the first answer, you will need help in telling the facts." Hermione held up a small phial of a clear liquid and approached him slowly.

She bent down and started to reach towards his forehead to push it back to force his mouth open, when...a small, sharp blade fell into Mundungus' hand and he sliced the rope, his hand came up with the knife towards Hermione's throat, to kill her or gain a hostage...and stopped as he felt a trickle of blood escaping from his throat at the tip of a twelve inch blade, just under the line of his jaw. "Honestly, Mundungus, that was a poor choice." She glanced down at the shattered vial of Veritaserum and grimaced when she saw it had splashed on her boots. She frowned and looked back at Harry.

Harry crossed the room in two strides, slapped his hand on Mundungus' forehead and pushed back hard. His other poured a vial of Veritaserum directly down Mundungus' throat and watched darkly as the thief swallowed involuntarily. Harry let him go at the same time Hermione stepped back, with the tip of a dagger and the tip of her wand both pointing at their captive.

Harry contented himself with glaring at Mundungus for a minute as the potion took effect then pulled the fake Horcrux from his pocket and held it in front of Dung's face. "Did you take something like this from Grimmauld?"

"Yes." Mundungus croaked. And Harry's heart thumped.

"Where is it now?"

"Borgin and Burkes" Mundungus cried and a red light lit the room as Hermione stunned him.

"What do you want to do with him mate?" Ron asked with a slight tremor in his voice. Hermione glanced over at Harry, and her lip was shaking slightly, but he knew she was still in the fight.

"Like we planned, despite what he's done," He looked at Hermione, she looked troubled, but nodded. She turned to Mundungus and her wand whipped up. "OBLIVATE" a shimmering cone snapped out from her carved, ivy-wood wand and enveloped his head. She knelt and checked his pulse, felt for a second and nodded. Ron came up from behind her and poured a fifth of singularly putrid rotgut over Mundungus' face and robes and threw the bottle down to shatter next to the thief's head.

"Let's go," Ron said lowly and urgently, "we can check out Borgin..."

"Go on ahead, Ron" Harry replied quietly and flicked his eyes towards Hermione who was still standing looking down at Mundungus. Ron flipped his cloak over his head and vanished. Harry came up behind Hermione and placed his hands on her shoulder, "will you be ok, Mione?" He whispered.

She nodded and shivered a bit. Glancing down, she noticed that both her wand and right hand dagger were in her hands, and she sheathed them before dropping either or both. "He tried to kill me Harry." She muttered. Hermione turned around and watched as words of concern, and comfort and other emotions danced behind his eyes. "It's not the first time, someone's tried...but..."

"Yeah."

"Let's go Harry, let's go see if Borgin and Burkes has the Horcrux or if we can see where it went." Hermione shot him a small smile that vanished as a silvery cloak passed over her head. Harry felt a sudden nostalgia for the days when the three of them, or when just he and Hermione had hidden under a single cloak. He shook his head, flipped his cloak over it, and left, closing and locking the door with a silent Colloportus as he went.

The entrance to Borgin and Burkes, several minutes later due to their having to go slow despite being invisible to avoid drunken wizards, a couple of witches even younger than the girl before selling something, and a large rotund man, about the size of Hagrid, who was drunkenly singing loudly about Bonnie Prince Charlie, was dark and shadowed, the nearest unbroken gas light yards away. Harry eased up to the door, next to where, for some odd reason, he knew that Hermione would be standing. "What now Hermione?" Harry whispered. "He surely has the door warded to..." He heard one footstep on the boardwalk, a long, complex string of Latin and a soft click.

"Well come on." She whispered harshly and Harry and Ron hurried into the shop. Harry closed the door so it just closed but did not quite lock. Silencing charms on the their feet, the trio started to search the shop. Harry went immediately to a large glass case on one side that contained a large, opal necklace with a small card next to it, reading "Caution, do not touch, Cursed-Has Claimed the Lives of Nineteen Muggle Owners to Date.

Across the room, Hermione scowled at a display of skulls in a glass case topped with several human femurs. She pushed aside a coil of Hangman's Rope in the midst of several rusty instruments and peered into a large black cabinet on one side of the room surrounded by masks.

"Hey Harry." Ron stage whispered and motioned them over. He was standing behind the counter, his hood was thrown back, making him half-invisible, half not, and holding a thick ledger. Harry and Hermione slipped over and saw what Ron was pointing too in a section of the ledger marked amulets, talismans and random jewelry:

Pearl necklace, cursed ? Sold to E. Foxworthy 7 galleons, August 1, 1996
Amulet of Torna. Purchased from C. Barrett, 25 Galleons. August 4, 1996
The Talisman of Confuses de Amor Inflecto, Sold to G. Weasley, 10 Galleons, August 10, 1996.
Broken Locket, Green with Snake Emblem, Purchased from M. Fletcher, 5 Sickles, November 12, 1996.
...

"What was George doing buying an talisman here?" Ron wondered, and Harry and Hermione shrugged as one.

"Harry we need to get out of here..." Hermione said urgently. Harry frowned and nodded.

"But it's here Hermione." Harry shot back, he looked at her with a sudden realization, "I can feel it...could it be that easy?" He mused, "Accio Slytherin's Locket." A pile of papers rustled on a nearby desk and a large, green locket shot across the room to slap into his hand with a loud noise. Harry felt instantly cold. He started to speak...

CRASH, Ron backed up and knocked down a half-rusted suit of plate armor, and a loud stomping noise was suddenly heard from the upstairs apartment. "Let's go..." Hermione snapped in an undertone and the teens flicked their hoods over their heads in unison and ran. Harry pointed his wand over his shoulder as he slipped out of the door into the alley and heard the door seal itself. He felt Hermione's hand find his left one and they ran through the night, hidden under cloaks, jumping over drunks, around tables, barrels and refuse and at least one large, bat-like creature.

They ran until they reached Diagon Alley, and paused for breath. Nearby they heard Ron breathing hard and Hermione dropped Harry's hand as they walked towards the sound and though neither could see the other, they both knew their wands were out and ready. "You okay Ron?" Harry whispered to the air, and received a grunt in return that he took as an affirmative. "Can you Apparate?"

"Yeah." Ron replied with a more constant stream of breath.

"Then go home." A crack sounded in the still night air a moment later, and Harry felt something brush against him. "That you Hermione?" He asked even though he knew it was somehow. She took his hand in response and he felt the sensation of being squeezed through a bottle to pop out in the Library at Grimmauld place.

Ron was already popping the top on a bottle of butterbeer. He motioned one towards Harry and Hermione. They shook their heads in response, Hermione yawned; rather prettily Harry thought tiredly. "Dobby," he muttered. The tiny elf appeared, but fell silent at a gesture from Harry, "Dobby, no one comes into the house from now on, without one of our permissions, even if they are related or something, and do not touch this." Harry held up the locket and conjured a steel lockbox. He placed the amulet into it and closed it with a tap of his wand. "I'm going to bed."

4:15 am.

Harry was sitting up in bed, having a staring contest with his owl, not because he wanted to, but mostly because his adrenaline was still spiking, jangling along his frazzled nerves like a live wire across a puddle. Visions of that small blade glittering as it approached Hermione's throat haunted his eyes. He saw not the quizzical expression of his familiar but the sight of Knockturn Alley as they ran. He closed his eyes, deliberately, sat back on the pillows and ran his fingers through his hair.

A soft knock drew his attention to the door. Hermione was standing there, her hair up in a pair of braids on either side of her head, and a short, thin-strapped camisole over a pair of sleep pants on her body. He just waved to her and she crossed the room and sat Indian style on his bed facing him. "What are you doing?" She asked softly.

"Having a staring contest with Hedwig." Harry replied truthfully.

Hermione snorted, "Who's winning."

"She is, she has bigger eyes."

"I like yours better."

"Thanks" Harry replied with a small grin. They sat for a minute as Hedwig turned and took flight, the window automatically opening and closing for her. Hermione let out a small sigh and pulled a glass vial with an opalescent blue solution in it from her pocket. She twirled it in her fingers as she watched the colors dance in the light from Harry's lamp. She glanced around the room, Sirius' former bedroom.

Dobby did a good job in this one, I wouldn't mind staying here myself... Dobby had taken the concept of Gryffindor a bit too seriously. The room, which should have been square, was circular, just like the dorm rooms or the Common Room. Harry's bed, which was probably half the size of his bedroom at Privet Drive, sat against one wall. A large bay window, looked out over the expansive, hidden backyard through crystal clear panes. A new rack held the Sword of Gryffindor vertically next to the bed, with a three level perch providing accommodations for Hedwig. A large closet was open opposite the bed, Harry's heavy Docs were on their sides next to the door and a pair of jeans was thrown haphazardly over the back of a chair. A large, slightly decrepit crimson and gold couch finished the furniture off and she idly wondered if Dobby had made it that way or if Harry had.

"Harry," She murmured, as she looked down at the phial in her fingers, "If I ask you to..." She didn't even finish before he held out his hand for the vial. "Not even going to ask?" She said softly.

Harry closed his hand over hers for an instant as he took the vial, "No, I trust you'll explain..." She nodded, as he gave her a quick smile.

"You might want to lay down Harry...the text says this should be taken in the early morning hours," She frowned slightly.

"This is going to taste like shyte?"

"Don't they always?" Hermione replied. "Ready?" Harry nodded and took the vial in his left hand. Hermione started to step back to stop as his hand touched her arm. Her eyes caught his, she couldn't explain...yet, but she wasn't about to leave, she stayed. Harry looked at her and downed the vial in one gulp. He let out a horrified grunt at the taste as he laid back.

Nothing happened for several minutes and for an odd instant Hermione was wondering if she was correct and if so if she was...Harry suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream. He arched up off the bed and a wave of magic, so long repressed in its battle against ever increasing portions of potions fought free. Hermione staggered but only showed a small wince as Harry squeezed her hand painfully. The odd noise like someone talking just out of earshot built to a roar and Hermione did finally drop Harry's hand to cover her ears as the sudden pain drove her to her knees. The non-noise faded away after a minute to the background hum that she had felt before and that was not really noticeable behind her busy thoughts. Hermione climbed back to her feet panting heavily and leaned on the edge of the bed for support to check on Harry.

Harry's eyes flicked open for an instant to show glowing green eyes, before he slipped into unconsciousness. Her heart almost beat through her chest as she bit her lip nervously and cast a First Aid spell. The soft green glow showed he was just sleeping and a tear of gratitude escaped. Hermione gently floated Harry all the way up to the head of the bed. She crawled in next to him, never letting go as she cradled his head.

Hermione fell asleep an hour later curled up with Harry.

10:30 am

"Harry, get up you..." Ron stopped suddenly as he noticed the messy pile of his best friends on the bed. You could have at least closed the door. A brief flash of...annoyance danced across his face and he turned to leave, before stopping suddenly and looking back on the scene. "Oh, bloody hell." He muttered as the realized something was amiss and crossed the room rapidly.

Hermione was passed out on top of Harry's chest, still gripping his hand tightly or was it Harry gripping hers? Ron took in the dark circles of sweat still on Harry's t-shirt and a slight trickle of dried blood under his right nostril. Ron shook Hermione's shoulder; she turned her head and blinked at him several times, before motioning him to be silent. Picking her wand up from where it had dropped next to the bed with a groaning stretch she checked Harry, he was still asleep. She held her finger up to her lips and pointed out into the hall, Ron nodded.

"What the hell?" Ron asked quietly, urgently, as she slid slowly into the hall and eased Harry's door closed. Hermione leaned against the wall heavily and eyed him exhaustedly. "Why is Harry still passed out, and why was blood coming from his nose, and?"

Hermione glanced down to absently notice Harry's blood on her white top. Her hands came up into her hair as she eyed her friend and sighed. "Harry was under a potion...it umm, was impeding his magic. I gave him a Flushing Draught to get it out of his system."

Ron was a wizard, who had grown up with wizards. And most pointedly, he had grown up in the same household as Fred and George, he had had to take more Flushing Draughts than he could count over his formative years, "Hermione, a Flushing Draught doesn't cause one to bleed from the ears and nose..."

"Well one doesn't normally have a teenage Dumbledore taking it either." Hermione snapped, lowly, and shrugged. "Sorry Ron, long night..." Chocolate eyes looked up through dark lashes, "I had to give it to him in the late morning..."

"Who gave him something? Was it someone poisoning him like they did me?" Ron asked quickly, dangerously. His fist clenched at his side.

"I don't know who, for sure." Hermione replied evasively. She played with the hem of her top as Ron looked at her with a glance that more than adequately communicated that he did not really believe her, but he let it drop for now.

"Why didn't you take him to Pomfrey, she would have taken care of him?" Ron asked reasonably. He checked his watch and shook his head.

"Because it's my job to take care of Harry, Okay?" Hermione said and then large brown eyes grew to be huge as her ears caught what her throat had just let go. She covered her mouth absently and crossed to her bedroom across the hall and shut the door firmly.

"Weeellll, I guess it is at that." Ron replied philosophically to the air and smiled a small smile. He went back into Harry's room, checked briefly on his best friend and left silently, headed down the stairs to the kitchen and a bit of late breakfast.

*************************Library*********************************
8:15 pm

Hermione absently paged through a book on magical talismans and amulets in a search for a way to destroy the locket, without killing themselves in the process. So far of the two, known destroyed Horcruxes, the diary, and the Riddle family ring, Harry had been at death's door when he had plunged the Basilisk's tooth into the diary and Dumbledore had effectively lost his hand to destroy the ring. She would rather not repeat that if she could help it, but if it helps Harry, I could loose a hand... The lockbox for the Locket had opened at her touch and she had used her wand to pull it out and set it on the table. An odd coldness permeated her bones when she looked at it, so she had pushed it as far away as was possible and still be keeping it out on the table. The only reason she even had it out was a series of odd runes on the back, that might hold a clue to how to destroy it, maybe. Her eyes flicked around the room, hopeful that Harry had gotten back from his sojourn out to talk to Lupin and Tonks, or that Ron had gotten back from his rendezvous with the twins at their Diagon Alley store.

Of course the fact that a certain blond who just happened to be the daughter of the editor of the Quibbler, which as it turned out, just coincidentally had its offices located just four store fronts down from the twin's shop couldn't have a single, solitary thing to do with Ron's sudden urge to see if the twins had come up with anything new in the three or so days since they had least seen the pranksters couldn't have anything to do with it...no, of course it couldn't. Harry and her had fallen out of their chairs laughing yesterday morning when Pig had appeared carrying a scroll at least four times his own size, tied with a yellow ribbon and addressed to "My King." He had turned red and vanished until right before they left to go after Mundungus.

Harry had awoke at noon, exactly, and sought her out. She was still sleeping when he had arrived in her room, having kipped back out, so he just left her a note, letting her know that he was going to go to Gringotts to check out some tomes that he had been told were now in his vault and was going to go talk to Remus and Tonks about training. He had taken the Knight Bus, for time to think, he had said in the note. She frowned at the thought, Harry wasn't stupid, in fact she knew that he was at least as smart as his parents had been, and he knew as well as Ron that a Flushing Potion didn't normally have that effect. And she knew, that he had been suspecting...something had changed their relationship last year.

Hermione stopped turning the pages for a while, she hadn't been reading them anyway and dropped her head to the cradle of her arms. It's all my fault...if I hadn't panicked when he related the Prophesy. Maybe I would have caught the signs...but no, that Harry-like voice argued sarcastically, you wouldn't have, you were too caught up with worrying about whether or not Ron was in Lavender's knickers. No I wasn't...yes you were...but why; even if I was interested in Ron...hello dated him for three weeks remember? Snogs and horniness don't count. It would if it were Harry... Harry's voice won the argument with six words and she looked back down at the book, as her faced flushed. She shook it off and returned to her study with a vengeance.

Her eyes focused rapidly as she passed a page on the amulet that Ron had found George had purchased at Borgin and Burks. A large, color illustration showed an odd, flat, silver amulet in the shape of a twisted star. An evil looking, oily black stone sat in the middle of the star:

The Talisman of Confuses de Amor Inflecto, or the Amulet of Geeves the Melancholy. This amulet was believed to have been created in 1675 by Geeves, a Welsh wizard of particular talent with enchanted objects. Geeves was thought to have created this amulet in order to lure away the attentions of another wizard, Edward of Saxony, from a witch, Sasha Delacourt, that both of the men had romantic feelings for. The talisman acts by using a focused Confundus charm to lure away the feelings of the effected one towards another that the affected has strong feelings for such as a close friend of the opposite gender. If the attentions of the close friend for which the emotions of the effected are not returned immediately, often resentful or irrational behavior is observed with symptoms ranging from uncharacteristic acts, violence towards friends and loved ones and irrational jealousy of others.

This talisman is limited in its duration and effects. A witch or wizard's innate magic will eventually defeat the effect of the amulet, but until then, the magical powers of the inflicted will be lessened. This effect is similar to that occurs when a person is under the effects of Amortentia for a long period of time. This weakness proved to be Geeves' downfall as in early 1676, Geeves was killed in a Wizard's Duel, by an enraged, fully remagiced Edward after he had overthrown the effects of the magic and discovered that Geeves had replaced his favorite Amulet of Darkness with the talisman, which the talisman is made to resemble.

Hermione sat back in her chair with a gasp and began to cry as they implications, if true, hit her between the eyes. She stood after a moment, drying tears angrily as her temper rose to the fore, "Accio Confuses de Amor Inflecto" She growled. For a long, heartstopping minute nothing happened and Hermione started to berate herself for thinking of that, surely Ginny wouldn't have; I'm her... Hermione's hopes were dashed as a familiar, thick, leather bound planner flew into the room and dropped in front of her on the table. A large, burnished silver star decorated the front cover of the planner, a gift from her last birthday from Ginny, with a bright green stone in the center of the straight star. Her heart was in her throat as she touched the center of the stone with the tip of her wand and whispered, "Revelo."

The silver star shimmered, and slowly the tips of the star twisted and the bright green jewel faded to black.

A conscious thought never crossed Hermione's mind as her right hand dagger came out of its sheath, its blade already alit with bluebell flames before it even fully extended. She flipped it in her hands and rammed the tip of the dagger with all her might into the stone.

Shards exploded outwards, falling slowly, ever so slowly...a rainbow wave of light shot out of the talisman throwing her across the room to bang hard into the wall, denting the plaster. On the other side of the table the Locket of Slytherin fell to the ground and the unopenable locket...cracked open.

Hermione pushed herself to her knees, shaking, and suddenly, without warning, pain ripped through her. Like the Cruciatus, but worse, this was caused by a friend, a sister in all but blood. Hermione whimpered as she pulled herself along the floor to a chair and used it to pull herself upright. Green fire danced in her pupils as she panted heavily and tried to force herself upright, only to fail and fall back down to her knees.

A dark shadow rose from behind the table, black, featureless, except for a pair of sullenly glowing eyes, Hermione glanced up through tears of pain, OH GOD....HARRY.... the room faded to black as her body crashed...

******************************Soho*********************************8

8:10 pm

A soft knock caused Tonks to extract herself from Lupin's embrace and get up from their bed. His brown eyes glared toward the door as he swung his legs onto the floor and started looking around on the floor, "If that's Kingsley again luv, just curse him and leave him outside for the landlord to get." Lupin growled and Tonks giggled. She pulled a dressing robe from the floor and wrapped it around her as she went to the door, her long inky locks drawing themselves up into a short spiky hairstyle and fading to pink.
Tonks looked through the peephole to find a messy mop of jet hair standing with his head down. She yanked the door open, "HARRY!" Harry glanced up at her and nodded. Not really noticing she was in a robe with nothing under it. She frowned, "come in Harry, please." He nodded and walked in past her. "How did you know where I live?"

"Phonebook" Harry said shortly, and Tonks laughed. She had forgotten that. Harry crossed the room and started to sit, when Lupin came out of the bedroom, sans shirt. Harry's eyes opened widely as he looked to Tonks again and back to Lupin. His face turned crimson, "Oh Merlin, I'm sorry, I didn't think, Tonks, Remus, I...I'll go..."

"Nonsense Harry." Tonks replied and sat down across from him. Her eyes flickered and her skimpy robe morphed to jeans and a t-shirt. "That better?" She asked softly and he nodded. Remus came over and sat next to Harry as he pulled a shirt on over his jeans.

"What's wrong Harry, did something happen?" Lupin asked as his eyes caught Harry's tired, slightly haunted ones. Lupin looked over at Tonks, she shrugged. Harry was fine last time I saw him, at the wedding...oh crap he went to the Hollow...why the hell didn't Sirius or I... "Harry, is it the Hollow, I mean Sirius and I were going to fix it up, but we never..."

"No it's not that," Harry whispered, and looked up at Lupin, "I do thank up for the inscription, though, I remember you using it third year." The werewolf nodded solemnly, "No something else happened, happened last year, that I just found out about."

"Can we help?" Tonks whispered as she used her wand to conjure three butterbeers and handed one to Harry and tossed one to Lupin.

Harry returned a small smile, "not right now, Tonks, thanks, I need to talk to Hermione about it, I guess...maybe later." The wistful look Harry had on was not lost on either of the others. Harry took a deep breath, "I...ah...I"

"What is it?"

"It's just that...I mean," Harry began nervously, then with a breath calmed, and his emerald eyes came up and met theirs levelly. "I am going to ask you to do something that may be against your oaths to the Order, and I don't want either of you two-to feel..."

"Harry." Tonks replied, reaching over and patting his knee, "Remus and I are sorta on the outs with the Order anyway, I seriously doubt that you can make it any worse."

Harry nodded, and looked up at Tonks, "Was Minerva able to get you the Transfiguration slot for next year?"

"She said something about it, but I should be in the field, I am..."

"Trust me," Harry replied flatly, "Hogwarts will be at the center of the fight." Tonks crooked an eyebrow but nodded after watching him for a minute. "I came to talk to you two about-"

"Training you and your friends, Harry?" Lupin replied with a smile, "I already knew, Dumbledore left me a letter." Harry just nodded, not surprised, "So where should we start. Grimmauld?" He and Tonks laughed at Harry's flummoxed look, "you three did a good job of reactivating the charms, and I assure you that taking the headquarters away from the Order caused a bit of...consternation..."

"Too bad" Harry replied softly. His hands came up and ran through his hair again, he paused as an odd background buzz that he had been hearing for the last week or so faded to silence, he grinned, and...his heart stopped.

HARRY! Hermione's terrified voice echoed in his mind and green fire lit his eyes. A rush of magic filled his bones and he...vanished. Behind him in the now emptier by one, apartment, Tonks and Remus looked at each other with astounded looks as they both clearly felt Tonks' anti-Apparation wards die. They looked at each other for one more heartbeat before quickly summoning shoes and vanishing as soon as they were laced.

In the basement of the Ministry of Magic, two old, disgruntled wizards sat watching a large, faceted crystal. They were eagerly awaiting some foolish underage wizard to break the underage, anti-Apparation rules. They hadn't snapped a wand all week and were eager. Their faces lit with a wicked anticipation as they saw the crystal light from within, only to duck under their desks an instant later as the crystal shattered into a million pieces.

****************************Grimmauld Place*****************************

A dark, evil presence glided towards Hermione's unconscious body. Twin glowing embers brightened as they sensed the seer magical potential that was now unlocked in the teenage witch, and if the seventh of Voldemort's soul had a face, it would have been lit with an unholy grin. It reached for her, already tasting the life, already reaching out for its counterpart in Tom Riddle's body, already thinking of the potential as it took its new vessel.

A thunderous CRACK shattered the windows in the room and a furious, glaring wizard stood between Hermione and Voldemort's shadow. The shadow stopped abruptly and drew itself up. Harry's right hand reached back and a thousand year old blade filled his hand with a soft pop and a snap of light. A blue line of fire illuminated the dark room as the blade snapped forward, and then with a twist of the wrist, back, cleaving the shadow into thirds.

An inhuman scream drove Harry to his knees; he dropped the Sword from limp fingers and covered Hermione with his body, curling up on top of her. An explosion of light and a flare of Phoenix song rang in the large room and Voldemort was abruptly three sevenths of the way closer to death, forever.

A CRACK sounded in the hall outside and a second later, "Harry, Hermione...Remus and Tonks are out..." Ron let out a shocked sound as he saw Harry cradling Hermione in his arms.

"Let, em in Ron." Harry snapped, "and let Dobby know." He quickly added as Ron ran off, waving his understanding.

Harry rocked back and forth slightly; Hermione's head was cradled against his chest as thundering footsteps came up the stairs. Tonks let out a gasp as she took in the sight before them. Harry never noticed any of them, tears blurred his vision as he kissed her forehead, whispering, but every ear heard him. A year and a month fell away, a year and a month that had seen tragedy and sorrow, which had started on a forlorn hope to help a godfather, who was never in danger until he was, and suddenly Harry was watching Hermione fall again.

His pulse pounded in his ears, and a horrid, terrible buzzing clouded his thoughts, "Oh please Hermione, don't leave me...Please don't leave me, I'm sorry." Harry feverishly kissed her forehead again, as he swept a loose lock of her hair behind an ear with trembling fingers. "It's all my fault, Mione...please...I can't do this without you, I'm nothing..."

"Harry" Hermione's voice cracked the drone of Harry's terrified mutterings. "So tired, Harry." Her voice faded away as she slumped in his arms.

"I'll...you'll be ok, Mione, P...Poppy'll fix you." Harry raised a hand and a golden ball whizzed by Ron's ear close enough to brush his hair in passing. It slapped into his upright palm with a loud thwack, he closed his fist over it and his lips moved.

Harry and Hermione vanished in a rush of wind and a rainbow fall of light.





A/N: The house of cards has fallen, but will Hermione survive its collapse?


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Chapter 8: What was once lost, is now found. ***************************Hogwarts********************************

July 14, 1997
8:25pm

"POPPY" Harry screamed even before he finished rematerializing fully in the infirmary. A matronly looking witch barreled out of her private quarters, knocking over a medical cart in her haste. A teacup was still held loosely in her grip as she came around the corner. It shattered on the slate floor as she ran over to Harry.

He laid Hermione down on a convenient bed, coincidentally the same as she had been in for so long second year, a small distant part of his mind noted absently. "Mr. Potter...what has happened to her?" Poppy began running her wand over Hermione as a clipboard levitated off of a nearby table and began to fill in with complex terms and words.

"I...I'm not sure." Harry replied softly. His face was haunted as he ran his fingers over her limp hand. "I came back to find her like this." Harry lied absently.

"Harry," A familiar voice came from a portrait above the bed. Both he and Poppy looked up to find a pair of familiar, ice blue eyes looking back down at them. Seconds later, Tonks, Lupin and Ron arrived with McGonagall on their heels. "Tell them all Harry."

Harry glanced up at the portrait to find Dumbledore's kind eyes meeting his; "You were the one telling me to keep this to myself." He objected as Poppy began to grab potions and cures from a shelf. "She's lying here in part because your Order couldn't be trusted... I won't see her hurt any more because of some new traitor..."

Remus gave Harry a hurt look, as a long ago choice to think him a traitor and not Pettigrew, came back to the fore. Tonks grabbed his hand as Ron shared a look with Harry. "Tell them Harry...if we're going to be here anyway, they will eventually find out." Ron said finally.

"Ok." Harry replied dejectedly. "Secure the room Ron." A wand danced and a white flash lit the walls. Harry watched as Poppy cut back Hermione's left sleeve with a well placed Severing Charm and started a Glucose IV. "She was examining a Horcrux," Minerva gasped and Remus' eyes grew huge.

"So the rumors were true, Voldemort," Poppy shivered slightly as she started a second IV with a purple strengthening potion, "split his soul, to keep alive, that's how?" He looked at Harry, who nodded.

"Yes Remus, so far, it looks as if I've destroyed one, Dumbledore one, and for my sins, Hermione was hurt destroying one...I came back and Tom's...shadow was coming at her, I destroyed it with the sword."

"Mr. Potter...Harry," Pomfrey interrupted quietly, "excuse me, but Miss Granger is experiencing symptoms of magical repression followed by immense magical discharge. The only other time I've seen the like is when I first started here and that little girl was under Amortentia for a year. In that case the poor dear was being force-fed the potion to ease an arranged marriage." An odd compulsion took over her hand and a wand was waving over Harry before she knew what she was doing. She checked the clipboard, and a soft curse escaped the witch's lips. "Mr. Potter, you are showing similar symptoms, however in your case, you show the faintest traces of a truly massive continuous dosage of Amortentia, have you taken a Flushing Draught in the last few days by any chance?"

Ron looked pensive; he looked at Harry speculatively, "So that's why Hermione fed you that draught last night."

"Is that what that was?" Harry mused, and Tonks mouthed something about, "the boy took something and didn't even ask?" She shook her head exasperatedly as she thought of what Mad-Eye would have done to her. Harry grabbed Hermione's hand gently and ran his thumb softly over the tendons on the back of her hand. "Ron?" Harry said quietly without looking up.

"Yeah mate?" Ron whispered as he came to stand at Harry's shoulder and knelt next to him. In the darkness now visible out the window, a single white owl flashed by, settled on the window and looked in.

Harry's fingers flicked, the window opened and his familiar settled on his shoulder. She cooed mournfully down at Hermione, and Harry petted her. "Hermione was working on something else, go back and see what it was." He glanced up at Poppy, and an air of command settled in his voice, "she was under something similar to the potion in its side effects, but not the same, right?" She nodded and he took a deep breath, "Take Tonks Ron, I'll fill in Remus, he can talk to Tonks later, whisper it in her ear in bed if need be." Harry added the last with a tiny, pained smile.

Ron gave him a pat on the shoulder, bent down and kissed Hermione on the cheek, "get well Hermy, if for no other reason than to kick my arse for using that name." Ron whispered so only the trio could hear. Ron left with Tonks a moment later to get out of range of the anti-Apparation wards.

Harry quickly explained the events of the last year, and indeed the last seventeen, as he understood them to Remus. If Poppy actually heard, she said nothing as she ran various testing charms over Hermione, eventually stating that she really didn't know why Hermione was reacting like this.

An hour later, which was mostly characterized by Harry sitting at Hermione's bedside and holding her hand silently, Ron and Tonks returned with a book, Hermione's wand and a leather-bound binder emblazoned with a twisted silver star. Hermione's dagger was still thrust through the ruins of the stone at the center of the star. Harry took a deep breath as he recognized the planner, he should; he had seen the bloody thing almost every day for the last year in conjunction with his best friend as she meticulously planned her day. Even at the height of her apparent, difficulties, with him and Ron, she had marked down her activities and plotted out her day.

"It's her planner Harry." Ron said unnecessarily, he pulled a small fragment of a black, oily stone from his pocket. "These bits of stone were scattered all over the floor."

"Minerva" Dumbledore's portrait spoke up from the wall, where he had been listening quietly. "I believe if you examine that planner, you may find something interesting." Harry watched as the reflection of his mentor heard his suspicions confirmed after a several minute examination of the planner. His eyes were sorrowful as he looked down at Harry, "Harry I am sorry, I suspected something, but..."

"You were not the one that caused this. May Ron and Hermione and I have a moment?" Harry asked quietly of the room and without a word, Minerva, Tonks and Remus filed out, none of them daring to tell Harry that Hermione was still unconscious. Dumbledore gave Harry a brief nod and left the portrait he currently inhabited and after a quick check on Hermione, Poppy stepped into her office as well. Harry sighed, slightly and looked at Ron. Hedwig hooted mournfully and panned her head back and forth between Harry and Ron. Harry looked down at his hand, which was still rubbing Hermione's and looked up at his best friend. "Ron, I have to ask this once and I promise I never will again..."

"No Harry, I would have never, not even if it meant she ended up with me." Ron shot back coldly at him, and Harry reached up and touched his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Ron I just...No," Harry said suddenly, "By Merlin, I can learn something from my history despite what that arsehole Snape says. I trust you Ron. I'm sorry I..."

"It's ok Harry." Ron replied quietly as he sat gently on the edge of Hermione's bed on her side opposite that where Harry was currently sitting. Ron reached over and grabbed the book Hermione had been reading when she had evidentially destroyed a talisman, and opened a Horcrux. He opened the book to the page he and Tonks had found the book open to where it had flopped face down on the ground after Hermione's release of energy. "It's the talisman that was listed in Borkin's ledger Harry."

"Were any of us ourselves last year Ron?" Harry asked plaintively. His thumb stroked Hermione's hand once more, before he stood and looked out onto the lawn. Hagrid's hut was lit from within, and Harry felt a tang of guilt of their ignoring their giant friend for so much time last year. Maybe I can get in his class this year, Harry thought idly as he leaned his forehead against the cool, leaded glass of the hospital windows.

Harry watched the dark lawn beyond, lit only sporadically by projected squares of yellow light from a few occupied castle windows. He spotted a pair of unicorns emerge from the edge of forest near Hagrid's hut and smiled slightly as he watched Buckbeak snap at them for disturbing his rest. "You know what this means Ron? I wouldn't blame you if you choose to stay out of this mess."

"V...Voldemort, my family, no big." Ron moaned slightly under his breath and joined Harry at the window, "You thinking we should get back into Creatures?" Harry glanced over at Ron and they laughed together softly.

"Only if Hermione does." Harry replied and Ron nodded. The pair of them turned back to the window in time to see Hagrid staggering back to his hut from another night at the Three Broomsticks. "Ron you're my brother in all the ways that count."

"I know." Ron said quietly, "you too. Even though you are a git." He paused, "wait that's Percy, you're just a prat." Harry smiled slightly.

"Anyway..." Harry turned serious once more, "I won't see her hurting Hermione any more Ron. At all. I don't care what we had if anything, and I honestly don't care if she is your sister. Hermione thought of her as one Ron, did you know that, the younger sister that her parents never gave her. She's going to be devastated when she wakes up."

Ron walked over and sat back down next to Hermione. "Yeah." He patted her arm softly, "I know."

"Ronald, Harry." An ethereal voice called from the door. Both of the boys turned to find Luna Lovegood looking oddly...determined as she crossed the room. Luna was looking much more like a Muggleborn than a Pureblood today as she came closer. The willowy blond had her pale locks pulled back into a tight braid and was wearing a low cut pair of jeans and a tight, short top. Ron let out an involuntary gulp as the young witch came over to Hermione and knelt down. Her silvery-gray eyes were oddly focused as she ran a hand over Hermione's forehead and looked to Harry. "I am sorry Harry, I was not in time. I was helping father outfit for his annual Gilded Gradlehuff safari when I saw."

"Saw what?" Harry replied, confused, a normal, rather comforting state with Luna.

Luna looked at him like he was smoking a pipe like Mundungus' "The effects of the talisman shattering of course. I would have been here sooner...but I passed out." She walked over to Ron, who caught the exasperated shrug Harry gave behind Luna's back. Luna didn't even pause for a breath as she wrapped her arms around Ron's waist and tucked her head under his. "Are you ok Ron?" She whispered.

"Yeah Loony, I'm fine." Ron muttered and Harry raised an eyebrow behind the pair of them.

"I am sorry Harry." Luna announced a moment later as she had now rolled in Ron's arms to lean back against the tall teenage wizard. She seemed to be supporting Ron as much as he was supporting her. "I tried but she was willful, there is an excellent article in March's Quibbler about recovering from Love Potions, I can get it for you Harry."

"Thanks Luna." Harry replied flatly, he shared a glance with Ron over Luna's head. "Luna I know that Ginny is your friend-"

"No Harry," Luna replied with a chill in her voice that frankly, scared Harry a little bit. "She was my friend, but when she hurt you and Ronald and Hermione, who isn't always my friend I admit, but I do like her... I will miss Ginny, she was so nice when she was younger." Her voice was mist-like at the end, she tilted her head back to look straight up at Ron, "Ronald, you should eat something, that growling will bring Samarian Horsemoths, and you know how they are-" She shrugged daintily in Ron's arms, "I should probably eat too, don't know why I passed out, either the low blood sugar, or Voldemort."

"Go Ron," Harry said with an only slightly forced smile, "You two go get something to eat."

"What about you mate?" Ron said as Luna bounced slightly in his arms.

"I'll just stay here." Harry replied and looked back down at Hermione. Luna and Ron shared an oddly knowing glance before Luna led Ron out of the room by his hand.

********************Room of Requirement, Hogwarts***********************

July 22, 1997
4:30 pm

"Again." Remus snapped and Harry dove to his side. A sizzling red beam shot through where he had been. Harry rolled, came up and caught two more stunners on a silver shield. A sliver bolt snapped from his wand to impact between the eyes on a masked figure.

Harry dodged another Death Eater. Ducked under another red spell bolt and returned fire. He dove behind a large desk and panted slightly. This time, the Room of Requirement had taken a shape much like that of the Ministry's Time Room on that night Sirius had died. Several heavy desks sat around a round room. A large, glowing tank sat in the middle of the room, with shelves and doors lining the walls. A dozen Death Eaters filled the room, but today, Harry was alone against them, no Neville...no Hermione. A hated, accented, mocking laugh rang out in the room, "is that all you have, wee little baby Potter?" and Harry MOVED. Green fire flicked in his eyes as he banished a heavy desk across the room to crush two Death Eaters against a wall.

A shining canary curse hissed towards him, he ducked and a Death Eater screamed as the Cruciatus took hold. Harry dove forward, firing, and a pair more Death Eaters fell. "INCENDIO ENVELUM" Harry's wand flicked and another two were enveloped. He stood, looking for the rest...

"Too bad Potter..." A green flash lit the room and everything vanished, leaving only a pair of couches and a table between them with a pitcher of water and two glasses on it. Remus did not say a word as he waved Harry to a seat.

"No Remus; lets go again." Harry objected as he wiped sweat off his forehead and took a breath, ready to begin a session for the twentieth time today. He was panting slightly, and pale. His hands were shaking slightly as he raised his wand to a ready position. "Let's go..."

"No Harry." Lupin said kindly as he crossed the room slowly. He cautiously reached his hand out towards Harry, like a trainer towards a rather tired and annoyed lion and plucked Harry's wand from mostly unresisting fingers. "Lets stop here." Remus closed his eyes briefly as a vision of a determined thirteen-year-old version of the powerful and...scared wizard in front of him crossed his thoughts. Of a young man learning to fight Dementors ten years before any normal wizard learned that spell if at all. His wand flicked behind him and a filled glass of ice water floated over.

He handed it to Harry, who chugged it down and tossed the glass into the corner of the room. It shattered into tiny pieces and vanished. "Happy now Remus? Give me my wand back, I'm ready..."

"No you aren't Harry," Remus slipped Harry's wand into his back pocket along with his own. He placed his hands on Harry's shoulders, "You need to rest Harry, you've been training with me or Nymph or Minerva every second that you haven't been with Hermione for the last week. Have you even eaten today?"

Harry shook his way out from Remus' arms and paced away. He absently flicked his fingers and his wand jumped from Lupin's back pocket, curled around the lycan and dropped in Harry's waiting hand. Lupin cocked an eyebrow. "It doesn't matter, Remus. Nothing matters, I have to be ready..."

"For what Harry, Voldemort, Harry even..."

"Even what? Professor?" Harry snapped, "Even Dumbledore wasn't a match for him? Is that what you were going to say? HUH?" Harry turned on his heel, the water pitcher and the remaining glass exploded, shards of glass almost reaching Harry and Lupin a good fifteen feet away, before vanishing.

Lupin sighed and dropped his eyes for a second, he looked up at Harry, "No Harry that's not what I was going to say and you know it, Dumbledore was a match for him, he fought Riddle to a draw every time they fought..."

"That's just the thing, Remus." Harry fairly howled, "I have to be better than Dumbledore, I have to kill the fucker, and I can't even do that until I find his Horcruxes, and..." Harry paced to the couch and dropped on it, bouncing several times before he stopped. He dropped his head to his hands, "I just don't know if I can do it, Remus...dad couldn't beat him, Dumbledore couldn't beat him, and now...Hermione is sitting in the hospital wing-again, and it my fault, just it was last time," Harry waved his arm vaguely in the air, indicating the room as a whole. "This was just twelve Death Eaters attacking, Remus, just like at the Ministry, what happens when it's a hundred, a thousand..."

"Do you love her Harry?" Remus asked suddenly and Harry's gaze snapped to his with an utterly pole axed expression. "I mean it, do you love Hermione?" Harry's mouth opened and closed a couple of times, "Like she loves you?" Harry shook his head not in denial but utter disbelief, "because even when Ginny had her under the influence of the talisman, she still loved you...Harry she sat there in the infirmary the night Dumbledore died and her first thought was that she failed you. Not Dumbledore, or Ron or the school as whole, you..."

"That's just the thing Remus, she didn't...she never could, ever. If she had stayed with Ron and married him and had fifteen little redheads or if she left all of us forever and went to live in America as a Muggle she couldn't fail me, not ever." Harry looked at his wand absently, "I don't want her to have to face this Remus...even though I am a hundred times the wizard with her than without her. I...I won't have what happened to mum happen to her, even if it kills me inside and out." Neither of them noticed a soft gasp from near the door, "what happens when they come after us some night..."

"Then we kill them Harry," A soft soprano answered his question and Harry's heart thumped. He turned, and somehow, he was across the room and flinging his arms around her. Hermione slumped against him as his tears darkened her shirt. "I'm so sorry Harry." She whispered in his ear, as Harry shook his head.

Neither of them noticed as Remus escaped the room.

Harry held onto her like she was the last drink of water in the desert and he a man dying of thirst. "Mione..."

"Shhh, Harry, it's ok." She chewed her bottom lip nervously as she looked him in the eyes and her hands were trembling slightly as they came up to cradle his face, as if her entire life from this moment forward was riding on what she said...and did, now, "it'll be ok, love, I promise." Harry just nodded, Hermione took a breath; her fingers fisted in inky-black locks and pulled him to her.

Lips crashed together, and a jolt of energy slammed through both of their bodies, crashing them to their knees, and shaking the walls of the room. Hermione moaned as a soft tongue teased along her bottom lip, and it slipped home to greet hers. Her eyes slid closed, as Harry's hands came up to run through her hair and she knew...she had been right. Ohh, thank Merlin. Hermione whispered in her thoughts and Harry sat back and looked at her...oddly.

"For what Hermione?" Harry asked softly, she cocked her head, "you said thank Merlin." Hermione's eyes grew wide and she smiled hugely, heartstoppingly.

For you loving me too silly. Hermione replied, looking directly into his eyes, and pointedly not moving her mouth. Harry laughed, a laugh of freedom and tears of joy in his eyes.

This is different, He replied likewise and fell backwards onto the suddenly soft floor, pulling her along with him. She giggled as she landed on his chest and he kissed her again. They broke apart as lungs began heaving for air. I'm sorry it too so long Mione. Harry replied softly, silently, as she gave him a small smile and swept his bangs from his eyes.

Hermione leaned forward and kissed his nose, before dropping her head back to his chest. It doesn't matter anymore. None of that matters, Harry. Her eyes glanced around the room without rising from his chest. She had absolutely no desire to ever be out of touching distance again, but a couch would serve a tad better than the floor. The room heard her, and with a soft pop and a muted flash, the room changed.

A dimly lit version of the Gryffindor Common Room appeared, perhaps only one third the size of the real one in the tower one over, but perfectly adequate for their needs. A tattered couch sat before a blazing, purely atmospheric fire. Shelves of books and study guides lined the walls, which were interspersed with familiar portraits, of which one, a currently empty one, Hermione was relatively certain might be for an certain recent Headmaster of Hogwarts. Hermione flowed to her feet and Harry followed, her hand never leaving his firm grasp. He sat down on a corner of the couch, as Hermione tucked in next to him. She drew her legs up under her and her head fell to his shoulder. He sighed, suddenly content for the first time in a very long time.

How did this happen?

She knew what he meant, the newest developments between then were only a bonus to that understanding that, except for that hated, despised period, had only grown over the years. She frowned slightly and leaned back into his chest. An errant curl wrapped around her finger as she thought of how to explain. Harry smiled as he could feel the wheels turning. After a minute of contemplation, several things at once most likely. She let out a breath, lets see...first, let me ask you something...have you ever seen the magical potential ratings for first years? More specifically your own?

You mean that wonky test were we cast spells at big iron balls try to make them move and catch fire and other arsinine things, stupid things never did want to move...

Yeah that's the one. She agreed as she glanced down at their intertwined fingers, students are not supposed to see their results really, kind of like Muggles are like with IQ tests in primary school, they don't want kids bragging about it to other kids. Harry the balls aren't...supposed to move. He could see the flicker of amusement in her eyes, even though she was looking away from him into the fire. She pressed back against his chest, arching her back slightly, Yeah they moved for me too. A flash of guilt crossed her thoughts, fifth year; I um, sorta saw ours by accident...

Harry smirked, accident huh?

McGonagall was pissed at Umbridge for something right as she was supposed to go over my career counseling with me, Umbridge was still arguing with Minerva over you, I guess she had had the test results out to look over them, and forgot to hide them when she and Umbridge stepped into the hall. Both yours and mine had a question mark Harry. Ron's was under ours, he was right at the top end, but they didn't measure ours, or couldn't rather...

What does this have to do with the telepathy Hermione? Harry reminded her patiently. He bent forward and kissed her ear, she shivered as a wave of happiness shot through her, and rolled in his arms. She captured his lips with a mischievous grin, and they played for a long moment. Hermione moaned softly against his lips as curious hands inched under her shirt and slipped upward, to lightly cup her breast. Her eyes widened as she felt exactly how happy Harry was with this turn of events, and she sighed disappointedly as he slowly pulled his hands back to safer territory. No, not yet...Harry told her sadly. I love you too much for that. His fingers stayed under the fall of her loose t-shirt, but hovered lightly on her stomach.

A fiery thrill jangled down her nerves at his words. She nodded slowly, and chocolate eyes gone almost black, met dark, dark green ones. Yeah, she agreed, me too...but not very long Harry. A subtle twitch, I meant time wise dumbarse. Not very long at all, just not today Harry, I want to be with you before I am with you. Harry gave her a small smile of assent, where was I...

Something about us being different from the average bears. Harry reminded her. She smiled at his Mugglism.

You think? What Ginny did to us...it just didn't screw with our emotions; it repressed our magic Harry.

I never really noticed. Harry objected thoughtfully. Professors never said anything either.

Well they wouldn't have, would they? Hermione replied reasonably, if you think about it, the class that sheer power comes into the most in is DADA, and we both know Snape would have only...

Suddenly, Harry knew where she was going. I couldn't have beaten Snape, I was panicked Mione, I couldn't do a damn nonverbal to save my life, and I didn't seem to have the power I needed...Dumbledore knew...why didn't he?

I don't think he knew until too late Harry, there were other things at stake beyond our love lives...

But I could have...

Maybe, Harry. She ran her hands soothingly through his hair, maybe, but there are no guarantees...we'll get him Harry, I promise, I'll help you.

I know, anyway back to the telepathy?

She smiled and kissed his nose, basically what she did, the Amortentia and the talisman she used, in addition to causing you to fixate on her and for me to get all screwy and transfer from you to Ron.

There had to be something there for that one to work, Hermione. Harry put in as a tide of sudden worry flooded his thoughts. An invisible hand soothed his fears and he sighed softly.

I'm going back and killing Vernon; nothing human would treat another like he treated you. Baby, you know what I'm feeling, you can feel it, hear it, her eyes twinkled madly, taste it, smell it...

I thought we agreed not tonight.

"Damn you're right." Hermione whispered out loud and Harry laughed. I did mean soon though. But anyway...the secondary effect of the agents was to tie up a great deal of our magic in fighting the effects, and when it was flushed out of you, or I destroyed the talisman, it was like a dam bursting. It beat you into unconsciousness for several hours and I just happened to regain my powers at the same time Voldemort's spare bit of soul was floating about...the extra effects caused my body to have to take more time balancing the load. She raised her hand and gestured towards a chair, which suddenly floated off the floor.

You noticed.

Simple stuff only though.

For now, Harry partially agreed and she nodded. That's not the real problem though. I already talked to Ron several times about it. He supports us...no matter what the outcome. And on top of that, the Order is fragmenting.

One problem at a time, she frowned and he shrugged an apology. Do you have to have revenge Harry? Her eyes searched his, don't get me wrong Harry, there will be a reckoning, but we don't really have time for this.

Yeah, he agreed so we ignore it for now? Tell Ron and the others not to say anything. Make her wonder why suddenly her machinations aren't bearing fruit?

Big word...yeah, basically, now I'm damn sure not going to pretend to distance myself from you, but we probably shouldn't go out of our way to acknowledge her suspicions...of course that will mean little to no PDA in the halls. Harry wore a slight look of loss; we have our own suite and a month until school starts at Grimmauld I'll make it up to you.

Fine, but if she somehow catches us or whatever, I'm not denying a damn thing...except

Fuck Voldemort...Harry with Dumbledore gone, I'm already at the top of the kill while torturing in front of Harry list, whether or not I'm sleeping with you won't have a bit of difference in the end. Now what's this about the Order?

Yeah, sorry about that? She gave him a small glare, You know I won't stop worrying, She nodded, Anyway, this came out when I went to talk to Remus and Tonks...basically the Order is splitting down the middle, with dividing line basically over me. If I'm merely a school kid who should stay out of the way of the adults and those that support me, basically believe in the whole "Chosen One" malarkey.

You are the Chosen One Harry, I wish you weren't but you are. Hermione reminded him grimly. Let me guess, it basically splits on the "old" vs. "new" Order, with Minerva and Remus on our side from the old, and Mad-Eye and Arthur and Molly on the other.

Damn you're good. Harry replied with thoughts full of awe. Hermione grinned a little Cheshire grin and stood, extending her hand. She looked up at a clock that had magically appeared on the wall. "Damn it's suppertime already." He commented, following her gaze.

"Yeah lets go see what's in the Great Hall for supper during the summer, and then lets go home..." Hermione replied in a soft whisper, "we may not have acted on what we both wanted today, or even tonight, but I'm moving in when we get home."

****************************Great Hall, Hogwarts**************************

5:15 pm.

The four great, house tables and the raised Professors' head table had vanished. In their place, the vast, cavernous hall hosted only one, rectangular table, set to one side, the Gryffindor side, suitable for only perhaps twenty. The late afternoon sun streamed in from the high windows near the top of the hall, and a pair of lonely owls fluttered about the rafters, passing occasionally in front of the enchanted ceiling, which today was showing a reflection of the clear, cloudless, deep blue sky.

A full meal was set out for the few Professors and guests present today, over a month until summer hols ended and Hogwarts would reopen for the first time in forty years without the presence of Dumbledore on his golden throne. Platters of chops, tins of Shepard's pie and plates of roast beef competed with goblets of butterbeer and pumpkin juice for space, while bowls of potatoes, corn, beans and other foods sat waiting for spoons to dig in.

Minerva McGonagall was sitting, talking quietly with Remus and Tonks as they sat together. Tonks was leaning on Remus, occasionally gesturing with her fork to some comment. Flitwick, next to Tonks, was not really eating as he was much more concerned with the flight path of that fork in Tonks' hand than he was in eating. Madame Sprout had sat across from them, her tall hat on the ground next to the table. She was bent over in conversation with Poppy about some new article in the Herbology journals. Ron and Luna were sitting a seat away, Ron was looking slightly nervous at sitting with all these professors, but Luna, Luna was enthusiastically joining the conversation with McGonagall, Remus and Tonks, occasionally stopping to feed herself from Ron's plate. He didn't seem to mind all that much, he just ate around her flashing fork.

Conversation stopped as Harry and Hermione entered the hall. Her fingers were intertwined in his and brown eyes caught each and every other set, daring for someone to say anything. No one did. Ron gave them a small smile as he dodged Luna's fork with his own and went back to eating. Luna, glanced over, shrugged as if she similar occurrences every day and went back to eating and conversing.

Harry glanced around slightly self-consciously, but he didn't blush or otherwise react when Hermione sat on his knee at the table, and filled a plate for both of them. In the end he didn't really give a damn for what anyone else thought, except maybe Ron, and Ron had already accepted it. He wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist as she leaned back into him. Conversation gradually restarted as McGonagall looked down on them with a smile that looked rather nice on her normally stern face, lifting almost twenty years from her eyes. "I suppose congratulations are in order." She declared in her normal blur. Her eyes were soft, as she looked at Harry and Hermione and then glanced at Luna stealing a sausage from Ron's plate. "Unfortunately, school discipline will not allow you to behave like this at the dinner table in the next year. And as Heads..."

"Yeah Professor, we know." Harry acknowledged as Hermione bit her lip and glanced back at him. "In fact..." Hermione squeezed his hand under the table, "we probably will be less demonstrative than allowed actually in public, at least around here." McGonagall quirked an eyebrow at them, inviting them to explain, while snogging at the table, being caught in coitus and other certain...actions were frowned upon if caught, hand holding in the halls and even a kiss on the cheek or lips was fine as long as it didn't get out of hand. And as to the others, the Professors weren't stupid, they were in the middle of a thousand teenagers, as long as they didn't get caught and anything unfortunate didn't happen beyond an occasional broken heart they stayed out of it.

Hermione gave him a small smile, "Harry and I have decided that...the fallout from certain recently revealed actions, on the part of certain other parties...well frankly we don't have time to deal with her. Unless she makes an issue of things and if that happens, she will get stomped on hard." She a gave a small tight smile to McGonagall and the rest, "I am afraid that we have no other choice, not any longer. In fact ma'am..."

"You intend to control this school as your own." McGonagall replied softly and frowned, but did not look angry, with them at least. "Technically that is the prerequisite of the Heads if needed, but that hasn't been the case for many years. Percy tried..." Several sniggers came from the assembled staff and guests. Minerva sighed and looked back over her shoulder towards where Dumbledore chair should have been. An empty hollow feeling came into being in Harry and Hermione's stomachs. "Please try to keep the bloodshed to a minimum."

"Nothing will happen, ma'am," Harry replied for Hermione and as he glanced at Ron and Luna for them as well, "unless they start it, and if they do--it'll end quickly." Harry leaned forward and gave Hermione a soft kiss in crook of her neck and McGonagall nodded.



A/N: There it is the foundation has crumpled and the house of cards has fallen...you guys didn't really think I was going to kill of Hermione did you...in chapter 7...


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A/N: Ok, here we go...you might have been waiting for this, and yep this is why the book is rated NC17, and for more than one reason. Many, many thanks to Lady Starlight for her gracious beta work and bouncing ideas back, however as usual, all mistakes are mine alone, so blame me. Also one other point I noticed today. Gabrielle is eleven not fourteen as it said in chapter 4, I'm not going back and correcting it as I'd loose the reviews but it should be ok, going forward.

Chapter 9: A Dark Majority Part One.

**************************# 4 Privet Drive*******************************

July 31, 1997.
12:01 am

Several hooded, cloaked figures watched with incipient glee as the wards around the house, the plain Muggle house of three bigoted, hating people flared and died. Harsh laughter echoed off the clipped and neat lawns of the monotonously similar homes as a tall, goateed man strode up to the door and flicked his wand, knocking it flying into the house, with a great clatter and crash.

The Death Eater smiled, as his fingers of his left hand came up and swept greasy, night-black bangs from his brow. Heavy footsteps sounded on the stair landing above, "FREAKS" Vernon Dursley screamed as Snape causally motioned with his wand and he suddenly hung inverted in the air for a long instant before slamming down the stairs to land bleeding and battered at the traitor's feet. Snape gestured with a pair of fingers over his shoulder and pointed upstairs.

Boots slapped carpeted stairs, and a moment later a high-pitched scream came from upstairs. Snape smirked as he used his wand to levitate Vernon to the pristine, white living room. A moment later, two more Death Eaters appeared, with Dudley and Petunia in tow. Ropes shot out of wands to wrestle each to the ground. A miss-set clock chimed midnight and Snape gave a harsh laugh.

"You can't even get the time right, stupid Muggles." He laughed as the other Death Eaters joined him. A suspicious puddle gathered under Dudley as a dark haired, darkly suggestively dressed woman appeared from behind Severus. Several of the attending Death Eaters gave her a half bow, almost groveling in her presence.

"Don't dawdle Sev..." Bellatrix said softly as she ran a finger down his cheek and slithered over to Dudley. Her tongue licked absently along her full lips. Bella's wand flicked and he hung in the air...

"No don't" Petunia screamed, Bella smiled coldly as she turned to her and absently flicked her wand behind her in the air. A terrible CRACK sounded in the house as Dudley's head hung at an odd angle and he fell from the air; his eyes were dead and blank. "No, NO..." Petunia screamed, and broke into sobs as Bella flicked her wand and the ropes binding her vanished. She crawled over to him, "Dudders...my poor Dudders..."

Snape smiled darkly as he turned back to Vernon, "tell me Vernon, where is Potter?"

"I don't know where that freak is...don't all of you FREAKS track each other...ask that Ministry place of yours." The Death Eaters crowded into the suburban home laughed. One at the door shook with dark mirth as they stared at the poor, doomed Muggles.

"Poor little dirty Muggles...you know so little of a world that you hate." She smiled slightly as her wand flicked and Vernon shut up. "Crucio" She muttered almost lovingly and Vernon shook, and twisted. Veins popped up in his neck as he turned puce and his mouth locked open in a silent scream.

"Bella..." Severus snarled reproachfully. She pouted, but relented and canceled the curse. Snape gave her a small nod and returned to Vernon. "After all, Bellatrix...that way is so inefficient." His wand flashed and Vernon shot across the room, to be held spread-eagled against wall by invisible bonds. Another flick and Vernon's eyes locked open, fixed on Snape's.

Vernon tried and failed to scream once more as Snape's mind ripped though his. Offal of an unorganized mind shot past Snape's probe, until he finally managed to steer his way to memories of Harry. Images of Harry's childhood here, interspersed with occasional encounters with someone from the Wizarding world. Feelings of...fear associated with Harry emerged and Snape laughed. He flicked his wand at Vernon and the florid man fell to the ground, a vacant look in his eyes and a line of drool escaping his lips.

Snape...smirked at Vernon and bent close, flicking his wand at Petunia to toss them together in a pile on the floor. She was frozen, rightly so, in fear. "You poor stupid Muggles, it was not Potter you should have feared...but us. He was your only hope...poor as it is." The Dursleys' eyes were huge as he stood and ran his fingers contemplatively over a night black, neatly trimmed goatee. "I will say this..." his beady eyes bored into theirs, "you did at least treat him as he should have been treated...pity you were so incompetent at actually killing him. Unfortunately for you...we are not." He wheeled and turned in a flutter of a shadowy cloak and left.

Through the still open door, twin flashes of green briefly lit the darkened lawn. "Did they know anything..." Bellatrix asked as they watched the Dark Mark bloom hatefully above the lawns and roofs of Privet Drive.

"No." Snape shrugged slightly, "No one from the Order has visited all summer, I suppose the reports of its shattering after the death of its great leader, are true. " They both sneered identically, the sneer of those who knew in their hearts of hearts, they still were no match for the fallen Phoenix Wizard, "No surprise really. Potter left weeks ago...Granger was here to collect him it seems."

"Interesting, our last report from Draco was that he had taken up with the little blood traitor bitch Weasley." She laughed, "he left her for that mousy little bookworm?"

Snape arched an eyebrow, "I daresay that you haven't seen her lately Bella, I would have thought that one with your shall we say peculiar ... proclivities would have paid greater attention. And what Malfoy reported was a sham...the signs that Weasley had altered him were unmistakable to a Potions Master such as myself. Eventually even Potter's minuscule brain, just like his father's, would have eventually discovered it. Though I am sure that Granger told him, she always does all of this thinking for him anyway." A soft pop sounded on the lawn as Snape vanished. A half dozen others followed, leaving only Bella behind. She blew a kiss towards the Dark Mark, floating high in the sky and vanished.

***************************#12 Grimmauld Place***********************

1:35 am.

Hermione cracked open a bleary eye as Harry moaned in his sleep and shook, shaking her from her, now, normal sleeping position on his shoulder. She gasped as she saw the scar standing luridly out from his forehead in the moonlight leaking through their bedroom window. She crawled upward, feeling his forehead. On impulse she kissed the scar, and suddenly Harry's moans fell silent. She groaned slightly as she tasted Harry's blood on her lips. Hermione absently licked it away as if it were her own and settled into his shoulder as she felt his mind relaxing in their link.

She glanced across the darkened room to see the softly glowing, sad eyes of their familiars looking over at them and sighed. Crookshanks had taken the window seat as his own as soon as he and his mistress had moved in with Harry a week ago. A brief absent smile flitted across tired lips under troubled eyes as she compared the strange ease the kneazle and the owl had with one another, especially when compared to their relations with Pig. You would think they're human...Hermione thought absently.

"Who Mione?" Harry asked in a sleep-addled tone.

"Our pets..." As one the kneazle and the owl glared at her, "ok, familiars happy?" The two animals seemed to nod as one. Hedwig gave her a soft hoot, and took flight, the enchanted window opening for her as she passed. Crookshanks sauntered by the bed, his tail held high as he pawed at the door to the hall. It opened for him and shut firmly behind him.

Harry bent his head up enough to look at the door without dislodging Hermione from her sleeping spot, which was honestly about the only thing that let him actually sleep through the night. "Did your cat just slam the door?" He asked perplexedly.

"Yeah...I think so."

"Weird."

"Yeah." Her neck bent slightly as she pressed her lips to his shoulder, "what's wrong Harry, I thought he couldn't get through any more." The worry in her voice was palatable.

Harry sighed and rolled to his side, pulling her into his chest. "He can't really." He replied, thoughtfully, as the brief flash snapped back into his head. "He was more just letting me know he was happy. I really hate it when he's happy." Harry added softly. He glanced at an enchanted Muggle clock over her shoulder. Red glowing numbers told the time, and he chuckled softly. "Guess what?"

"What?"

"I can Apparate and stuff now. I passed that arbitrary line the Ministry laid down."

"That's nice dear, are you really going to wake me up for the next three hundred years to tell me stuff like that?" She grinned softly.

"I might" Harry replied as he tried to wear his most affronted look and failed, horribly. Hermione giggled at him and rolled over, snuggling back into his chest. She sighed softly as happy hands slipped under her loose shirt, one of his actually, and danced along her stomach muscles lightly. She giggled again as he jangled a belly button ring that Tonks and Luna had dared her to get in Muggle London and that a quick wand flick had instantly healed and deadened any pain as soon as they were out of the shop. "That tickles."

"Good." Harry replied as his hands slipped higher and lightly cupped a breast under her shirt. Hermione purred contently and shivered slightly.

"What do you want for your birthday Harry?" Hermione whispered as her eyes slipped shut under his absent efforts.

"Besides the obvious?" Harry smirked as she wiggled her bottom in response to elicit a groan.

"Yeah..." she rolled her neck as Harry nipped at it playfully.

He shrugged and looked out over the nighttime rooftops of London, seeing the stars through the enchantments that removed the excess spill of London back ground lights and the haze of the ever-present smog. "To be normal, Mione. To hold you, to walk down a bloody street holding your hand and not have to worry about a Death Eater attack or some random Death Nibbler going home to tell mummy and daddy about it. To go to dinner or a movie and just be us, not the bloody Chosen One and his whatever you are...do they have a nickname for you yet?"

"Not yet." Hermione replied, "I'm hoping for something like the Girl-Who-Shagged-The Boy-Who-Lived. Kind of a Bond title." Harry grinned, white teeth flashing in the moonlight.

"We could work on that, you know." He paused, "did I tell you how cute you look in knickers and my shirt?

"You just like the color." She replied and rolled back to kiss him, and burrow into his chest.

"I admit, I was pleasantly surprised at the number of your unmentionables that seem to be the color of my eyes..." Hermione's eyes rolled and her fingers flicked. An emerald green thong shot out of a drawer to whack him on his head. "I would have rather you had them on first, but hey." Harry commented softly.

"Boys..." Hermione muttered. She pulled back and looked at Harry, "Seriously Harry..." She blushed slightly; prettily in the moonlight and Harry felt his stomach quiver happily. "I was actually planning on um..."

"You were huh?" He asked softly. "Hermione I will wait for whenever you..."

Hermione laughed slightly bitterly, "no, that's not it...if Tonks hadn't landed that kick on my hip and dislocated it...she fixed it, but it still hurts." She sighed as fingers traced lightly over that sore hip. "Of course if you keep that up."

Harry pulled her back into his chest, as she pillowed her head on his arm, "Go back to sleep love. I think we're ok for tonight." Hermione closed her eyes with a sigh and slipped off.

****************************Privet Drive***************************

4:00 am

Mad-Eye Moody looked annoyed. Not that that was a totally unusual state of affairs but it was the truth. He glared up at the Dark Mark that had yet to fade from sight as he stomped in his peculiar peg-legged stride towards the house. He waved at a pair of Aurors that he had trained thirty years ago and came to stand next to Remus Lupin who was glaring down at the covered bodies of the Dursleys. If not for the bodies and the slight indentation on the wall where Vernon had been held by Snape, and some overturned furniture, it would have looked as if nothing had happened, totally unlike the scene when Petunia's sister had died.

Yeah, it's a lot different when they can fight back. Remus thought absently as he turned to Mad-Eye annoyedly. "Why didn't you tell me, Moody?" He growled, "Were you planning on keeping this from Harry too, just like you've kept the breakout from us?"

"I just found out about Azkaban yesterday Remus. I bloody well have enough with getting on with without having to cater to you and your bird and Potter." Remus growled for real then.

"Do not tell me that you just insulted my fiancée and Harry in the same sentence Alastor." Lupin brown eyes turned to flint as he felt those bonds fray once more. His hands flexed as a pair of Aurors eased around them and headed for parts unknown. A heavy stifling silence settled in the room.

Mad-Eye shook his head, "Blimey Remus...I will get Kingsley to apologize...I like Tonks, she's a fine Auror, and you know that I support Potter." He pulled a shining silver flask from a deep pocket and took a hit.

"Then support him, with whatever he's doing. He's the one Voldemort is after."

The pair of them left the house as Aurors and Obilivators started knocking on surrounding doors. An Auror in a chartreuse robe conjured a for sale sign on the lawn and stepped out of the way as three covered bodies floated out of the house and into a large, black, unmarked van. "If he's so important, then he should be in hiding. Not out taking down Death Eaters."

"Bloody Fucking Hell, Mad-Eye, is that all you lot have to say, some variation on hide Harry...we'll protect you and your loved ones. Huh? He's like James, he won't back down from a fight." Lupin rubbed his eyes tiredly, he had been half-asleep, listening to Tonks complain about sore ribs from Hermione landing a kick to them yesterday afternoon when the summons had come. A brief smile flitted across his face as he remembered Tonks' counter that had popped Hermione's hip and probably added to his de facto Godson's frustration at the same time. An Auror course was supposed to take two to three years, he and Tonks were trying to cram it down Harry, Hermione and Ron's throat in months at the most. "We've done such a great job at it after all."

"Is this some transference thing from James and Lily?" Alastor accused quietly.

"Yes." Remus replied as he stared at the man who had killed or captured untold numbers of dark wizards in his career, and Mad-Eye stepped back slightly. "I failed them. I won't again. Alastor there are two things, well three that I fully intend to do before I die. I will marry Nymph before she realizes what a mistake she has made. I will either kill Peter or watch him die, either is fine actually though the former is preferable. And I will live to see Harry kill Tom and have the life that James and Lily would have wanted him to have." He sighed and glanced at a pocket watch he removed from his pocket. "I am going to let Harry have his birthday if at all possible before I tell him of this and of Azkaban. The rest is up to you Alastor. If you want to talk to Nymph or I, come yourself, Kingsley is no longer welcome in my home. Good day." Lupin vanished with a small pop, leaving Mad-Eye looking oddly back towards the house.

**********************Grimmauld Place****************************
4:00 pm.

Hermione glanced up at Harry across the library table as he worked on an essay for Lupin. The pair of them along with Ron, who had mysteriously vanished soon after their afternoon training session was complete, had discovered that the Auror course that at the three of them were on was not only shooting curses and throwing punches. Harry was currently working on three feet for Remus on detecting magical traps, while Hermione was on her fourth foot for Tonks, for field-improvised equipment and supplies using both Muggle methods and Transfiguration/Charms.

She glanced down, finished the line she had been working on and blew it dry. She rolled the parchment up and sealed it with a charm to prevent Ron from peaking. Hermione got up from her chair, sauntered around the table, and without warning seized the back of Harry's head and kissed him, hard.

She stepped back with twinkle in her eye as Harry blinked up at her confusedly and she fought not to laugh at his expression. "Umm...not complaining mind you, but..."

"You looked so kissable," she purred as she ran a finger down her throat and across her chest. She fought not to laugh as Harry's eyes followed her every move. She turned on her heel and left the Library, feeling disappointed eyes on her the whole time. I'm going to go get ready.

For what?

You wanted to be normal...we're going on a date, dinner and a movie...and since you wanted to be normal, you get to meet my parents for dinner.

Hermione! Harry shot back and she giggled as she entered their room and started pulling out the clothes she had fortunately already selected ahead of time.

She heard him coming up the stairs and the door opening quietly behind her. She turned around, her shirt hanging open. A worried look darkened her eyes as she realized she should have probably warned him, it's ok Harry; we don't have...

Harry shook his head slightly as he crossed the room and kissed her, Hermione let out a slight, contented sound as she let him hug her, No, I meant it Hermione, when I said don't take them for granted. I...I would like to meet them before I...um...

What Harry? She prodded gently.

Before I...well, never mind. You know that you get to pick out my clothes right? Hermione rolled her eyes and gestured towards the bed. A green button down-shirt and a new pair of jeans sat waiting for him. "You really have a green fetish don't you?" Harry teased.


"Would you rather I preferred blondes with gray eyes?" She shot back with a twisted half smile that knotted his guts.

Harry raised a finger to his chin and pretended to think. "Well that depends...do you mean Luna or Draco...if it's Luna I would admit that would be rather hot, otherwise, its just sick and wrong." Harry ducked the softly thrown shoe as he retreated to the bathroom with his clothes to take a shower.

********************Canton England, Granger Family Home************

6:00 pm.

The almost silent double pop of Harry and Hermione's arrival was almost lost in the early evening chirping of birds as they arrived in the back yard of a relatively upscale home. A moderately sized swimming pool sat over to one side in the large back yard; with a tool-shed set back a ways from it. A small painted cathouse sat next to that, with the name of Hermione's familiar emblazoned in gold lettering on an otherwise crimson, tiny house. Harry turned slowly, taking in the surrounding as he looked up at the light blue painted house. A large, sliding glass door stood open at the rear of the house, and as they looked up, a woman with wavy chestnut hair stepped out from the kitchen.

"MUM," Hermione cried and the woman looked up with a huge smile blossoming on her face. Jane Granger looked just like her daughter, with the peculiar exception of bright blue eyes inherited from an odd, irascible Scottish grandfather and the fact that Hermione was actual an inch or two taller. Hermione crashed into her mother, and Harry instantly knew that he wasn't the only recipient of those hugs of doom.

"I'm glad you made it honey." She exclaimed as Hermione let go. A slight knowing smile lit Jane's face as she took in Harry. Her eyes flicked sideways to Hermione and back to Harry. She laughed. "Oh for God's sake hold his hand or something..." Hermione gave her mum another hug before returning to Harry's arm.

"Hello Mrs. Granger." Harry said softly, extending his hand. He was briefly shocked as Jane ignored the proffered hand and pulled him into a hug. Harry stiffened for an instant before relaxing.

"Please Harry, call me Jane." Her eyes shot to Hermione. "I get the feeling that we might as well get comfortable with each other now." She laughed slightly. "So Harry...you're a wizard...."

"Mum."

"Just kidding," She waved them towards a patio table where a tray of drinks was already sweating in the temperate July evening. "Harry I have to say that your...familiar, is that correct, not a pet, is very lovely and quite friendly for an owl."

Harry and Hermione shared a glance, briefly remembering the conversation with a pair of familiars this morning, they chuckled at the inside joke, "Thanks, Yeah...Hedwig actually doesn't like to be called a pet. Kind of like Crooks.'

"Yes, that bloody cat does think it's a member of the family or something." An amused tenor replied wryly from the door. Hermione grinned as she jumped up and hugged the newcomer.

"Hi daddy." Hermione murmured, as she was almost lost in the arms of her father. Roger Granger was a large man, 6'2" and broad, but where Vernon might be the same size, Roger was solid, the build of a man who had worked hard for a living with his body and was just now relaxing into a profession where he didn't have to any more. Harry watched the two of them with a slight lump in his throat.

Roger came over and Harry took his hand, a grip that was firm, but not crushing, one of a man confident in who and what he was. One kind of like the one Dumbledore had first given him all those years ago. Harry smiled, "It's very nice to meet you sir."

"I'm sure that Jane has already told you about being formal here. Roger please, Harry." Harry smiled as he nodded and made a soft excuse about needing to go the loo. Jane pointed it out to him and he left with a nod.

"He's very polite" Roger observed softly. He looked at Hermione, "so when are you two getting married?" Hermione had been in the process of taking a drink; she sprayed lemonade all over the table and glared at each of them in turn.

"Dad...that's..."

"Too fast, too slow, what daughter of mine?" He played with his glass, "so this is the famous Harry Potter that we heard about every time we actually saw each other for the last six years. He seems...shorter than I would have expected. And I don't see any wings..."

Hermione took a breath, and realized they were teasing her; she gave them a tentative smile. "Do you really want to know the answer to that question dad?" She crooked an eyebrow, "do you want to know that he has only played on the edges of that, but that if he asked tonight I'd marry him tomorrow. I know that you think that we're young but..."

Jane smiled and reached out grab her hand briefly. "No we know that you're mature honey...now why don't you go see about Harry, it's been a bit, make sure he hasn't fallen in." Hermione gave a silent, slow nod and went to go find Harry.

"Well what do you think so far? Besides the fact that she's in love with him enough to charge the gates of hell for him?" Roger asked. "I will admit that he seems a much better match for her than that Ron bloke she was dating there for a bit."

Jane scowled, "I get the impression that something else was going on there if I read between the lines of what she said to us, and the letters she sent...like she was fighting against something. And even besides that, when they looked at each other, there was a...desperation there, I've not..."

"I have." Roger said softly, "Dear you know exactly who paid my way into dental school. The crown didn't give me that funding for hanging out on a beach somewhere... I've seen that same look on blokes, sitting in a little hole somewhere in the jungle, knowing that when they jump out to go do their duty, chances are they aren't coming back."

She sighed and looked toward the house, "it's like when you were at Hereford, and couldn't tell me where you were going, when they called you up." Jane looked at her hands, noticing idly a wedding ring that had been put there by a Sergeant Granger all those years ago, right before he got out and they started Dental School together. "I know that our baby is getting into something that is dangerous as all hell and is afraid to admit it to us, because we might try to stop her. Not that we could or she would, but that we'd try."

Hermione knocked softly on a closed door to a bathroom hallway. Not hearing a response, she entered to find Harry sitting on the closed lid of the toilet, fully clothed, staring up at her. Found you.

Sure did. Harry agreed. Sorry I ran off, but I...

Got sudden flashes of wonder what would have happened if your parents survived...remember I know you as well as you know me. Hermione commented as she knelt down and captured his lips softly. Her forehead slipped forward to touch his. It's ok Harry; we can stay here all night if you want.

No let's go...love you have to move, it's a bathroom...not much room...Hermione gave him a slight grin and took his hand as she led him back outside to her parents and the meal on the patio.

Two hours later Hermione stood nursing a cup of coffee as she leaned back against the kitchen counter with her mother looking on. "So mum, I know you're dying to ask?" In the fading twilight, the pair of them could see Harry and Roger standing out near Crookshanks cathouse talking. Or rather Roger seemed to be, while Harry shrugged a lot.

Jane leaned on her elbows facing Hermione. A mug of coffee was in her hand as she smiled slightly at her only daughter. She sighed as she set the mug on the counter and ran her hand through hair so similar to her daughters. Jane dropped her hand from her hair and played absently with her ring for a moment. She looked back up at Hermione. "How bad is it Hermione?"

"Real bad, mum, real bad." Hermione bit her lip and frowned slightly. She took a sip of the after dinner coffee and absently sent a mental hug to Harry, she could see him shuffling his feet and looking down slightly as he talked to her father "Dumbledore's dead and Harry's the only real hope now...or I guess Harry, Ron and I are rather. Harry's dealing...I guess. He's lost almost everyone he considers family he had left, in the last two years, except me and the Weasleys and Remus...and even that isn't entirely true." Hermione trailed off as she glanced at her boyfriend who was laughing at something her dad said.

"What happened honey?"

Hermione's eyes fell to the tile floor. She shuffled her feet slightly, remarkably like Harry, Love, mum wants to know about what happened...

Jane's eyebrow crooked absently as she watched Harry pointedly turn to Hermione and catch her eyes through the open sliding door. Go ahead, Mione. Do what you think is best...maybe it's better if they know. It might explain some things to them.

Hermione's lip twitched upward and Jane smirked to herself as she picked up her coffee to hide her smile, They already asked when we are getting married, baby. Hermione barely stopped a laugh as she saw Harry spit his coffee over the lawn.

"So" Jane inquired casually, "do you two do this telepathic thing all the time?" Hermione goggled at her a bit, "I've known you for almost eighteen years, maybe not as well as that boy out there, but I am your mother, Hermione Jane."

"Don't tell anyone, mum, nobody else knows," Hermione pleaded softly and Jane nodded with a little smile. "Actual words, like a couple of weeks," Hermione replied quietly, "Emotions, ideas...probably since first year." Jane's jaw dropped slightly.

"So," she said shakily, she had been mostly kidding. "How does it work, do you hear all his thoughts and?"

"Oh Merlin, no." Hermione laughed slightly, "Most of the time, it's more like just talking, if we don't specifically try to think to each other, it doesn't come across...If I try though...I can feel his heartbeat, I can hear what he hears, but that takes a specific effort usually, which is rather tiring, unless...." Hermione blushed slightly as she did not quite meet her mother's eyes. Jane grinned behind her hand. "And no I won't let him cheat off me in class...not that he'd ask." Hermione added quickly almost as an after thought.

"Back to my original question Hermione, what happened? I know, what you said to me after the Ministry, I never told your dad, but, I was half expecting you two to be here last Christmas..."

Hermione closed her eyes and groaned. "I failed him mum," She replied in a small, child-like voice...I got scared and ran, and then...it happened."

"What happened honey?"

Hermione paused and paced out of the kitchen, her mother following her. She settled on a comfortable couch and drew her knees up next to her. "Ginny." Hermione whispered. As she lowered her head to her knees Jane frowned and looked at her oddly.

She sat down next to Hermione, her hand rubbed softly on Hermione's neck but she didn't look up. "What about Ginny? I thought Ginny was your friend?"

"So did I." Hermione muttered, she took a breath and ran her hands though her hair. "She always had a crush on Harry, even more so after he saved her from the Basilisk..."

"You mean a really big snake that paralyzes people, they are a myth right?" Hermione shook her head absently to Jane's question, "You mean there really are Dragons, Hippogriffs and stuff, I thought you could just change things, move stuff around, a lot of other stuff..."

Hermione smiled slightly, remembering years in Hagrid's class, then groaned slightly as her behavior...all of the trio's behavior towards Hagrid last year registered. I'm getting back in... "Yeah mum, there are. Harry killed a Basilisk second year, after it paralyzed me and kidnapped Ginny, or maybe Riddle took her down there, we never really figured it out." Jane carefully listened knowing that Hermione was absently categorizing what she and Roger had worried about over the years that Hermione had never admitted to. " And we had a Hippogriff named Buckbeak at the school...Harry and I have rode him together, and Hagrid had a Dragon named Norbert, and then Harry fought one fourth year, and a Sphinx, and Blast-ended Skrewts...those really sucked." Hermione chuckled to herself.

She shook her head and turned back to Jane from were she had been reminiscing. "Ginny had a crush on Harry before she even met him. Molly evidentially used to regale her with tales of this boy wizard who defeated the most powerful wizard of the age at one" Hermione took a breath, and looked down, and the rest of the story tumbled out in a rush... "Ginny told me that she was over Harry, but she wasn't mum, she used me then she gave Harry a Love Potion so he'd love her, and she snuck a talisman into my planner to get me to like Ron. And but I was mad at Harry, he was using a book with the answers and he didn't need me so I shot some birds at Ron, and I went out went out with a jackarse to get Ron's attention, but I was trying to get free of the talisman. And Snape and Draco were really bad and I didn't listen to Harry and he was right, but he couldn't fight Snape cause of the potion weakening him and Dumbledore froze him to save him and...."

Hermione broke into tears, and heartbeat later, Jane learned just how close the link between her daughter and the wizard she had brought home with her actually was. Harry appeared like a ghost and gathered Hermione into his shoulder before he had even finished falling to his knees in front of her. "I'm sorry Harry." She sobbed, "I'm ruining your birthday."

"No love, you couldn't if you tried." Harry whispered, but loud enough for both Jane and Roger, who had followed him when Harry had broke into a run towards the house, to overhear. He leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss, and she smiled shyly at him as he thumbed away her tears. "You okay now? We probably need to get going if you still want to catch that movie, or we can stay. It's your call, Mione."

She gave him a small look of gratitude, more than enough to say what she didn't say. "We better go then." Hermione went and hugged each of her parents, she stepped back and started to reach for Harry's hand again, when a flash of inspiration crossed her thoughts. Hermione paced over to a large, open cabinet in the corner of the comfortable, but not immaculate living room. One could tell someone actually lived here, unlike the Dursleys where Petunia ruled with an iron fist, cleaning, or making Harry clean rather, until the room was sparkling. An abandoned drink glass sat on a coaster next to several marked, large books, a stack of medical journals and at least four remotes on a scarred by use coffee table.

Hermione briefly examined a pair of framed photos; one was of her the summer before she started Hogwarts and another, one she had taken at Hogwarts third year or rather Harry had taken it. In it Crookshanks was looking annoyed as a smaller, younger Hermione smiled up hugely at the camera, and Harry coincidentally, as she held up her half-Kneazle who had been forced to wear a Santa Hat. She laughed slightly, and took her wand from, somewhere, and tapped the frame as she muttered a long string of Celtic under her breath. The frame shook and glowed a soft gold before settling back onto the shelf. Hermione picked it up and pressed it into her mother's hands... "If you ever need us, grab the frame and think of Harry or I..." She glanced her dad and then back at her mum, "if something happens...run, don't try to fight them, please. Dad?" She asked, and Harry was privately sure there was something that he did not yet know about the man.

"We'll see." Roger replied and smiled. Hermione smiled softly back at them and her and Harry walked out into the yard. They vanished with almost nary a sound.

*******************************12 Grimmauld Place************************

11:45 pm

"So do you think I'm shagadellic baby?" Harry whispered against Hermione's lips as he softly pressed her back against the wall in the entrance to the old house. Hermione was never so glad as she was right now that it had taken Dobby a good fifteen seconds to remove the portrait of Sirius' mother once he had taken over for his "Master Potter." Of course he had used ten of those seconds rubbing his small hands together in glee, but no one was counting really.

"Lord...I knew we should have seen something different." Hermione muttered, she gasped slightly as he nibbled behind her ear. She sighed as she slumped slightly against the wall and arched her neck to give him a bit better access. Harry grinned as soft kittenish sounds slipped from her lips. Hands played softly with her exposed midriff and she giggled softly as her fingers started to work on the buttons of his shirt though a sudden haze of emotion. Her eyes glanced around the entrance to the house, "Harry..." she murmured urgently, though her fingers seemed to be on autopilot and had almost completed their initial task on of his shirt. "We can't do this he...herre...Oh..." she squealed as his hands slipped higher and slipped her bra aside. "Ohh...shit...Harry..."

"Yeah?" He replied then gulped as she retaliated by lightly running her fingers across his crotch. His eyes darkened further as his fingers tweaked a small nubbin that happened to be begging for attention.

Hermione placed her hands on top of her shirt, on top of his under it, and smirked, at his disappointed expression. "We can't do this Harry." She said slowly, and her heart fell at his hangdog expression, I meant not here silly...she corrected herself and smiled and kissed him as his eyes looked up at hers. "I am not doing this in the entrance hall, Harry..." she bit her lip considering her words, "well at least not the first time, Ron can get his show from Luna" Harry laughed as he pulled his hands free and placed them along side her head. He leaned in and kissed her, his tongue slipped home to hers...and she felt the sensation of Apparation for the first time with her powers in full bloom and her hormones racing.

Hermione panted wide-eyed as the sudden rush settled, followed by another, as she swept Harry's shirt from him. Her lips crashed to his, she giggled as she felt herself being swept from her feet and tossed on their bed behind her. Crookshanks let out an angry merow as he growled at them and left after narrowly having escaped being crushed. Harry leaned over her, panting slightly as dark, forest eyes looked into hers beseechingly, "Mione...we can stop right now, if you want."

Hermione's heart beat faster at the emotion the poor boy managed squeeze into those words. Her only response was to pull her wand from her jeans, point it at her belly, inconcievious. "Harry." Hermione replied softly, "Love, I've been wanting to all day...I wanted to yesterday..."

"Damn Tonks." They muttered as one, and laughed.

Harry leaned down and kissed her softly, almost chastely, "I love you..."

"I love you too...now get your arse in gear, Potter.'' Hermione growled. And then hissed, as her back arched off he bed as Harry's fingers slipped down the front of her jeans. She felt her jeans unbutton and Harry tugged on them until she raised her arse to let him slip them free. Of course she had to reciprocate, as she unbuttoned his jeans, letting Harry slip them off. Her eyes glanced down at a large bulge in a pair of snitch-patterned boxers and an eyebrow crooked.

Hermione licked her lips and Harry moaned as a small hand slipped inside and grabbed him, while the other, through some odd magic, managed to disappear those selfsame boxers. Her eyes slipped closed as she marveled in the sensation. Harry retaliated with even happier hands as he massaged her chest gently, pushing her bra out of the way, until it flummoxed him for an instant. Hermione laughed happily as Harry gave up, his eyes flickered and he snapped his fingers to vanish it.

Merlin you're beautiful. Harry whispered as his eyes met hers and his fingers rested lightly on her the waistband of her knickers. She nodded slightly and shivered as he slowly pulled them down, sliding down her entire body. She giggled as his tongue circled her belly button, his teeth grazed her hipbone softly and...

Hermione arched upward as Harry's tongue teased her gently and she saw stars... "Holy shit." She snapped and Harry chuckled against her thigh to watch her shiver again. Harry inched back upwards a fraction and returned to what he had been doing.

A soft keening, sound echoed in the room as Hermione's pulse raced. Her hands absently split time between knotting themselves in his hair and taking up the slack for Harry's hands were he had been paying attention to her breasts. She shivered, and bucked up off the bed as her hands fell to the sheets and twisted in them as her keens became low, animal growls. His tongue flicked once more, "OHH....FUCK....HARRY...." She screamed and arched up hard enough to throw Harry back.

She collapsed to the sweat-soaked sheets and looked up at him, panting as she enjoyed the warm afterglow filling her to her toes. A light sheen caught the moonlight from the window beyond and he gulped slightly at the sight, "Merlin you're beautiful." He repeated himself absently and she reached up to pull his lips to hers.

Her nails scratched down his back as she groaned, tasting herself. She lay back slightly. "Make love to me Harry...please..." White teeth worried at her bottom lip as she ran her fingers through locks dampened with sweat.

"Alright."

"Let me on top Harry." Hermione said almost shyly and he nodded. They flipped with a soft, shared groan and Harry's eyes slipped half-closed as a small hand took him in hand and positioned him. Their hands joined. A long shuttering moan slipped from his lips as Hermione slowly, tortuously lowered herself onto him, and paused as she reached an impediment...

"Look at me, Mione." Hermione blew wet bangs out of her eyes and met his gaze. Chocolate and jade eyes flared, as a green fire lit their eyes and she slowly forced herself downward. A distant sting was echoed in a twitch in Harry's face and they paused, waiting. Her breasts started heaving slightly as she sat motionless, adjusting. She bent forward to capture Harry's lips in hers; never letting go of his hands and...moved.

Eyes never left each other's as a crash of thoughts snapped back and forth and heartbeats, rushed to the same beat. Sweat beaded up on their bodies in the slightly cool room as Hermione leaned back to the extent of their arms and bounced before falling forward again, panting. Soft, repetitive moans slipped from her throat in an ever increasing stream as she felt Harry's feelings dancing over and mixing with her own, and a brief shudder, a mere teaser snapped along her nerves. "OHH...Fuck...me," Harry whispered heatedly.

"Wor..rrking on i..it" Hermione replied, breathlessly as Harry started to push her off, as he increased the rhythm they shared...She felt a flush building in her stomach...then with the rush of a flash fire along her nerves...she collapsed...spasming , as Harry continued to move, once, twice and followed her over the edge, letting go all at once. A rush of energy snapped outward from their bodies rattling the walls and knocking loose items to the floor. A whole set of DADA and Transfiguration tomes were dumped in a messy pile. Hedwig's perch was on its side and the closet doors hung oddly.

Hermione fell to his chest, breathing heavily as she continued to twitch randomly for several long moments. She nuzzled his chest as she look up into his eyes though damp bangs, a utterly sated smile on her face. "Well that was fun." She chuckled slightly and after a moment Harry joined her.

"Yeah." Harry agreed, and looked pointedly at her. Her eyes widened suddenly and she stretched to kiss him roughly.

"If you insist, I guess we can," Hermione said as she grinned evilly down at him.

You are going to kill me...

I am certainly going to try.







A/N: Ok, there we go, next chapter...we get to visit the Grangers again


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Chapter 10: A Dark Majority Part Duex.
**********************Ottery St. Catchpole**********************

August 1, 1997
2:15 am

"This is your test." Lucius related softly as he looked down on a hooded man, who was standing silently, too silently at the edge of the forest surrounding the Burrow. "Succeed and the Dark Lord will reward you greatly," Lucius smiled darkly, "fail in this however, and the consequences will be severe." The anonymous Death Eater nodded slowly and moved towards the yard of the house. Shadows detached themselves from the tree and followed. Glimmers of moonlight off of steel and darkly polished wands caught the attention of an errant owl; it hooted and jumped into flight.

As the group of perhaps twenty Death Eaters approached the house, a golden wall shimmered into existence. The man from before, the mysterious man under the hood raised his wand, and with a muttered incantation, described a doorway in the ward.
Raucous alarms blared as the first of them stepped onto the lawn, and green bolts hissed towards the house.

**********************Canton*****************************

A body fell to the ground as a blade flashed. Snape walked over and nodded almost absently as he looked down at the lifeless body of Theodore Slilton. "You should have gotten out why you could Teddy." Snape whispered almost to himself as an anonymous Death Eater levitated the body of the Order member behind a hedgerow. A slight rustling in the grass to Snape's left caused him to whirl with his wand extended. Antonin Dolohov chuckled menacingly as he looked over at the arch-traitor.

"Why so jumpy Sev...afraid that Potter will jump out from behind the bushes?" Dolohov sneered as he regarded the light blue house, he leaned lazily on a post box labeled, "Drs. Granger" "It is just a couple of Muggles...there was no real protection here. The Order is overwhelmed since their Great and Powerful Leader died, and the Ministry would not lower itself to protect a few disposable Muggles. Relax my friend...perhaps we can still have...pleasure tonight. The mother is supposedly the equal of her daughter." Behind him several of the young, masked figures that had accompanied him and Dolohov tonight laughed, with terrible, eager laughs.

"We will see Antonin, we will see." Snape gestured to the Death Eaters with them and pointed at the house. Eight, black shapes swarmed past them and toward the house. He frowned absently as he watched them rush toward the house in a clump. A dog, wandered across the lawn in front of one of them, barked once, and yelped as a green bolt snapped out, and it dropped to the ground lifeless. "Idiots..." Snape hissed.

He flinched as a Reductor blew the door to splinters with a thunderous BOOM, and the attackers piled in.

Up in the master bedroom, Roger Granger snapped awake at the sound of the bark, and final yelp of their neighbor's dog. "Jane" he hissed as he was already rolling out of bed and shaking her awake. Her bleary eyes shot open and she barely managed to stop a shocked scream as their front door exploded downstairs. She looked across at her husband, who had already taken a position at the wall next to the door, he nodded, his eyes wide, but not panicked. A dark fury glittered in his eyes as the door creaked open and a wand led the way through.

Roger grabbed the wand arm and swung the Death Eater hard into the wall, stripping him of his wand and snapping it with a quick thought. He rolled to the side as several red bolts snapped past his head and Jane rolled off the bed and grabbed the picture frame Hermione had charmed just this past evening. Hermione... She watched fearfully as another Death Eater charged Roger. Roger ducked to the side, and grunted as a bad knee; the one that had retired him from the Regiment staggered him. He punched the second Death Eater in the throat, and spun to his wife...

Six red bolts shot out of the darkness to impact him. He crumpled as two Death Eaters paced into the room and pointed their wands at Jane. The rightmost one stunned her almost absently. The standing Death Eaters stood to some odd sort of attention as Snape and Dolohov appeared at the door to the bedroom. Snape sneered at the sight. "Take them downstairs...it will make a better presentation for Potter and his bitch." Snape looked over at the first Death Eater, who seemed to be cradling a broken arm and the second, who had survived, as Roger had been in a hurry and out of practice. He looked up at Snape pleadingly as he gurgled something through a damaged throat. "Avada Kedavra" The green beam snapped and the Death Eater slumped. The rest, except Dolohov looked to him with fear in their eyes.

Dolohov chuckled as Snape pointed at the fallen Death Eater, "that is the price of failure to Lord Voldemort...do not forget it." The team nodded as one, and began to carry the Grangers to the bottom floor where Dolohov was already thinking of something...artistic to do.

**************************12 Grimmauld Place/#93 Diagon Alley**************

"Angelina move." Fred snapped as he rolled over with sleep-glazed eyes, shocked, as a Patronus sprang into his room and...he knew. He tumbled out of bed, pausing only to transfigure his sleep clothes to jeans and a shirt. He met George coming out of his room next to his twin nodded fearfully.

George spun to the fireplace and flung a handful of glittering powder into the low fire burning there. The flames became emerald. "12 Grimmauld Place," he screamed and thrust his head into the flames. He didn't notice the spinning sensation as he looked into an empty kitchen. "DOBBY," he screamed and the elf appeared a moment later, "Get Ron, tell him the Burrow's under attack." Dobby popped away with a terse nod, and an instant later, back in Diagon Alley, the twins vanished.

Angelina and Alicia grabbed small packs from the kitchen counter and vanished right after them.

*****
Ronald Weasley was a notoriously heavy sleeper. As Dobby appeared in his room, which was remarkably like Harry and Hermione's room, and started shaking him he just rolled over, muttered something about moons and cradled his pillow. Dobby clapped his small hands next to his ear with no effect. Dobby looked fretful as he snapped his fingers and a bucket appeared hovering above Ron's head. It tipped and ice-cold water rained down on the redhead.

He sat up suddenly sputtering, "FRED..." he roared as he blinked himself awake and his wand came into his hand from under his pillow. He frantically looked about the room at head height as his surroundings came into focus in his sleep-addled mind. Finding no one, especially not a stocky redheaded doppelganger, he frowned and looked down next to his bed as a soft noise pierced the fog of his thoughts.

"Please forgive, Dobby Wheezy sir, but George sir, he says to gets yous sir...the Burrow is under attack sir." Ron's heart stopped as he rolled out of bed, almost stepped on Dobby, stepped into a pair of boots near the door and flicked his wand at them. They were lacing themselves as he dove down a flight of stairs and flung open Harry's door.

At any other time the sight of his two best friends lying naked and half-covered would have at least caused the infamous Weasley blush to erupt, or at the very least the formulation of diabolical plot of teasing and embarrassments. Not tonight however, as he sprinted across the room to shake Harry's shoulder hard.

He spun away with a gasp as a pair of wand tips, already lit with a pre-discharge glow; aligned themselves with his head as if by magic. Harry blinked rapidly and Hermione groaned. "Ron..."

"The Burrow is under attack." Ron interrupted. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other and rolled out of bed. Ron did blush then for a brief second before his higher brain functions beat down the response. His eyes cut away as Hermione skinned into a pair of jeans lying at the floor next to the bed and tossed on a black, long-sleeved t-shirt. She glanced up to see Harry already dressed and tossing her, her daggers followed by a small thigh pack with some of the twins' newest toys.

The Gryffindor sword vanished behind his back as Harry met her gaze again fearfully and nodded. "Ok Ron." She said, "Let's..." But here statement of readiness never finished as a picture of her and Harry at some party lifted itself from the nightstand and started vibrating and glowing brightly. The frame was a matched set with another one that she had presented her parents with third year. "OH GOD!"

Ron took a deep breath, "Go, you two GO; I'll go to the Burrow. There are a hell of a lot of Weasleys coming, move it." He snapped, and watched as Hermione shot him a ghost of a thankful glance. Her and Harry turned back-to-back...and vanished without a sound.

Ron's CRACK a second later shattered the window glass of Harry's room.

************************Ottery St. Catchpole****************************

In the pitch darkness of Ginny's room, Luna's eyes popped open. Her eyes flicked back and forth as she rolled gracefully to her feet from her cot and padded over to Ginny like a large, blond Anterian Snartcat. The blond shook the redhead hard, but unfortunately, Ginny shared Ron's sleeping habits. Luna let out a tiny, exasperated grunt.

Instead of Dobby's solution...Luna's was a bit more practical. A small fist slammed out of the darkness, hitting Ginny on the shoulder hard enough to scoot her over on the bed. Ginny's eyes shot open. She tried to scream at Luna, but was silenced by a curiously strong hand over her mouth. "We are about to be attacked." Luna related in an infuriatingly calm voice. She crossed back to her cot and removed a pair of dark trainers from under it and laced them on. A flick of her wand later and her red Gryffindor Lions pajama pants, with 'I'm a Keeper' written across her arse and a yellow t-shirt with a picture of a dragon eating a quaffle underscored with the motto, "so you think you could score on me...I'm the King", morphed into black jeans and a dark blue pull over. "I would suggest that you get ready."

A blaring, atonal alarm pierced the night. "Too late."

Luna was already easing around the corner of the hallway and pointing her wand down the stairs when the front door tumbled into the living room accompanied by a huge explosion. Molly and Arthur staggered out of their room, shakily pointing their wands into the night, when Luna pointed them back sharply. Ginny slipped in behind her and nodded. "You kids stay back," Molly screamed.

"Stay here mum," Ginny growled as she tossed a small pack to Luna. "Turn about is fair play, wouldn't you say?" Luna's gray eyes lit with an evil grin as she took in the package. Molly mouthed something but the girls were already moving.

"This is the limited use stuff." Luna remarked absently as they heard footsteps stomping around downstairs. The crack of Apparations could be heard on the lawn, along with the crash of spellfire. "Sounds like friends...I like having friends, let's go join them, shall we?" Luna remarked and flipped a pair of pellets down the stairs.

The inside of the Burrow vanished into a depthless, featureless morass of blackness. A crash cracked out in the room as one of the Death Eaters crashed into a coffee table. Another cursed loudly as a clattering, gonging sound echoed in the hall as he ran headlong into the Weasley Family Clock. The three Death Eaters that had actually entered the Burrow turned in the darkness, unseeing, as they heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"STUPEFY" Ginny and Luna screamed as one, and a pair of red bolts pierced the sudden night caused by the Instant Darkness and two Death Eaters crumpled to the ground. The third turned towards the source of the bolts, "AVADA KEDAVRA" The green bolt of death hissed into the room, it's light vanishing almost immediately as it shattered the stairs.

A quarter of the way around the room, twin wands tracked, "STUPEFY" The final Death Eater that had penetrated the Weasley's sanctum crashed back against the wall, and slid down it, lifelessly as both girls' more than full power stunners impacted a hand's breath apart on his chest. They didn't stop to admire their handy work as they sprinted for the door and out into the starry night. Luna tossed aside the night vision glasses of the twins' and headed towards a flicker of spellfire to her right, Ginny to the left.

Fred and George had arrived and were already heatedly dueling with another four Death Eaters. Half a dozen of their Fanged Frisbees were circling them, periodically rushing out to attach a Death Eater. Angelina was down, unconscious behind the shed, as Alicia tended to a large gash on her forehead. A Death Eater came around behind her, "REDUCTO" A red mist settled slowly in the air as a headless body slid to the ground. Fred frantically grabbed Angelina and pulled her with one arm while firing off curses with the other as he pulled the girl back to cover with him and George. George ducked as Alicia dove over the low garden wall that all four of them were covering behind.

"How many do you think dear brother?" Fred asked as he snapped off a Severing Charm over the fence. A scream cried out.

"Well one less now." George put in. "Better question is how did they get through the nighttime wards...should only be family can do that, or Harry and Hermione I guess, but I doubt it is them." All four of them ducked as a Reductor shattered the garden wall ten feet from them.

"And why would that be?" Fred quipped as he reached into one of the packs the girls had brought and pulled out a shining silver sphere. "I did tell Ron that it wouldn't be healthy even if you were human..." He popped up, and threw the small ball like he was a chaser instead of a beater. It landed at the feet of three Death Eaters and they stared at it for a long moment, "wait for it..." A thunderous roar and a flash of blue-white light lit the lawn for a moment as shining silver stakes ripped into the night. And as fast as that, the odds were almost halved.

"If it were they wanting us dead...." George replied almost contemplatively after a moment, as the pair of them rolled over the wall and dodged toward the porch of the house, spell fire crashing around their heels, he dove and slid in next to it, his brother bumping his back a second later with his own, "I would fully expect that we would be dead by now."

"Fred" Ginny fairly howled as she rolled over the side of the porch.

Fred glanced over at her and back forward as he was satisfied she was all right. "Quite bro, quite. Ginny, everyone ok in the house?"

Ginny rolled to the side and a pair of red stunner bolts shot from her wand in the general direction of the forest, "yeah, three came in, Luna and I took them out. Mum and Dad are still inside." With a sudden hiss and a bang, a Reductor smashed the corner of the porch and Ginny cried out in pain as a huge post fell out of the darkness and shattered the same ankle that had been damaged in the Ministry Battle. "FUCK." She howled as Fred pulled her under cover. Ginny immobilized, the twins gathered round her, as several, black, cloaked shapes appeared ghosting back and forth.

Fred and George raised their wands for a last stand. A sudden CRACK further rent the night and with that, the tide had changed.

Ron appeared directly behind three Death Eaters, DIFFINDO SPARSI a hail of silver darts shot from his wand, shredding the two on the left, he stepped left and swung up and right and the Arthurius dagger or sword rather, tasted blood for the first time in a thousand years. Ron sheathed his dagger, not watching as it shrunk to its carrying size, as he ran off into the night. A familiar cloud of dirty blonde hair appeared at his back as if summoned and Ron let out a breath he had not known he was holding. "Ok Luna?"

"Yes Ronald." She replied tightly. Their eyes met for a heartbeat and a tight smile flitted across her face, "Lets' go." Ron paced off after her as she spun behind some odd Muggle tractor Arthur had gotten the other day to fix up.

Over on the other side of the open clearing demarking the yard of the Burrow, Bill, Charlie and Fleur arrived as a unit and a Reductor, an Asphyxiation Curse and a Severing Charm shot out as one before they had fully solidified. With brief chopped screams of pain, three more Death Eaters went on to wait for their master in Hell.

Fred and George pulled Ginny behind them as five Death Eaters rose behind their wands and began to charge. They took a breath...Ron and Luna rolled out from behind Arthur's broken tractor, Luna's wand bucked as a Reductor popped the head of the rightmost like a grape, he crumpled and a pair of spells from Ron's wand and dagger hissed through the space where he had been.

Snape's custom Cutting Charm was only amplified by a thousand-year-old wand core as a fan of blood shot out across the lawn from a ripped-open chest. Ron's other shot, the one from his wand, shot out into the night, missing everything until it cut down an eight-inch tree in the forest beyond. Ron and Luna dove away as three bolts of green answered their attacks.

Eight spells from seven people blended into a lethal rainbow as all seven defenders fired on the three Death Eaters...nothing was left but a puddle. At the edge of the forest, Lucius grunted as he fired a Severing Charm near his leg, opening it from knee to hip. He grunted in pain as he clenched the wound together. He vanished with a soft POP.

In the glen, all was suddenly quiet. The Weasleys, adopted and otherwise, and their guest panted slightly. Ron took another breath and started reaching out for his new destination in Canton, when... a last shadow rose behind Bill, he was turning, his wand in hand, "BILL." Ron screamed and dove to the side, desperately trying to get clear so he could get a shot...

Charlie dove in front of Bill, his wand spiting silver as a stuttering red bolt slammed into him. He crumpled as a spray of blood shot spewed from his attacker. Ron ran up, Luna at his heels just as Bill knelt down next to him. "He's alive," Bill muttered, "but barely."

Ginny limped up on the shoulder of Fred and stared at Ron. "Where's Harry?" She snapped, But Ron shook his head and took a step back. He didn't question the hand that grabbed his, as he and Luna Disapparated with a CRACK. Ginny gave the air where the pair of them had been a slight pout and started to limp over to where the rest of her brothers were crowding around Charlie as Fred conjured a stretcher and Bill walked over to the last Death Eater, his wand extended just in case.

Behind them Fleur let out a scream as Bill tugged at the hood of that last Death Eater. He was green as he sat down heavily on the ground; he rolled over onto his hands and knees and lost his dinner.

"Oh my God..." Fred muttered disbelievingly, "Percy..." Ginny fainted and George joined his eldest brother.

***********************Canton*************************

With only a whisper of displaced air to mark their arrival, a pair of darkly clothed figures appeared silently on the lawn behind the shed. They were back to back with a pair of wands already questing for targets and hoping there were none to see them arrive. Harry flicked his eyes back to Hermione as he could feel her heart racing. She gulped once and her eyes hardened as they met his. A soft flickering glow danced at the edge of the irises, ready to flare up into a conflagration. Let's go Hermione. Harry muttered, and snapped out a silvery cloak.

With a twirl of a cloak that he had practiced innumerable times, but never for an occasion as dire as this, he vanished. Hermione followed suit a heartbeat later. They headed out together, more silent than ghosts as they snuck towards the house.

Only temporary footprints could be seen on the grass as Harry crept up behind a lone Death Eater standing watch. She was standing aimlessly, a lit cigarette dangling loosely in her hand as she watched an inflatable raft drift by in the pool.

A wand in an ear and a silent, silver flash later, a body fluttered to the ground with a muffled thump.

Harry crept up to the edge of the sliding door and opened it a crack...and heard the voice of one of the three people that he had sworn specifically to kill. Harry took a deep breath, muffled by the Silencio on his cloak. It's Snape...and Dolohov. Harry added a moment later as the distinctive accent of Voldemort's second or third most psychotic henchman after Bella rang out. Harry dug into a thigh pack and rolled a small blue ball about the size of a marble into the kitchen. No one noticed as it oriented itself on the room and the living room beyond.

Harry took a small pocket mirror out from the bag and watched as an image appeared of the two Grangers lying on the floor in the living room surrounded by three Death Eaters and Snape. The large comfortable couch that Harry had held Hermione on, less than a quarter of the day past was tipped over and the scarred coffee table was shattered. I see your folks, Dolohov and Snape along with three others... A soft fury colored his thoughts as he considered the room. He forced it down, to a cold hard ball as he felt Hermione's own thoughts start to reinforce and amplify it...now wasn't the time.

How are they Harry? Hermione sent over, as she tasted blood from her lip. She forced it out of the death grip of her teeth

I don't know. I would guess they are still alive though; they wouldn't be still here otherwise. How many do you have?

Hermione tapped her wand on the ground next to her, Domicillia Enimatus Revelo instantly, a series of small glowing dots appeared next to her shoe. Two empty red circles were present, one above and to the right of a cluster of five red dots surrounding a pair of blue ones, while the other seemed to be in the direction from whence they came. Hermione took a breath, as she knew what she was about to have to do, what Harry had already done... Another pair of dots was standing away from the others on the far side. I've got five in the house Harry, plus mum and dad. One more over to our left next to the Mullhulans' hedgerow and two up front... Hermione slowly sheathed her wand. She reached back and grabbed a pair of matched hilts from behind her back. I've got the two up front...You got the one to the side? Even without seeing him, she could feel the slow, worried nod...Hermione padded away as she slipped to the front of the house and flashes of both long sessions with Tonks and Lupin, and images of thousand-year-old battles flicked across her mind's eye.

She paused as she flipped her left hand dagger inverted, I love you Harry. Hermione sent desperately. She took a breath, and a green fire flared across her nerves and she MOVED. Hermione took one step, a second. Her cloak fluttered to the ground as she slipped up behind the first Death Eater. Her foot shot out, buckling his knee and a blade flashed. She released the dagger to fall with the body, rolled left, and the other knife shot across the ten feet separating the two Death Eaters, burying itself in his chest to the hilt. Hermione summoned both blades with a thought, resheathed them and vanished once more under the cloak...ten seconds passed on the clock.

In the side lawn, a soft rustle, a flash of steel and another Death Eater darkened the Granger's grass. You ok Hermione? Harry asked tightly. She sent a nonverbal reassurance, as he slipped back to the back door. He could feel her quivering in their link, and felt it as she clamped down on it with a will of iron.

No...Hermione almost whimpered in her thoughts back, but I will be... she took a deep, heavy breath as she glanced back to see the pair of bodies lying in untidy heaps on the lawn. She gulped down air as she fought down a sudden wave of nausea. Hermione's temper flared as she felt a wordless, worried inquiry, I'm ok, damn it Harry... she snapped, and closed her eyes for a heartbeat. Let's just do this, please...

Ok, Mione. You take the three minions; I'll take Snape and Dolohov...

Bullshit... Harry's stomach grew queasy for a second, as suddenly what he saw in front of him was not from his own eyes. An unseen ghost breezed in through the gaping hole that had once been her front door. Harry felt a familiar wand track upwards to align on the back of Snape's skull. And his heart stopped as he remembered his being discovered on the train...if Hermione was caught, far, far worse would happen then just a beating.

Dolohov smiled, as he pulled a large knife from somewhere under his cloak and reached for Jane. And every thought of tactics went out of Hermione's head. "NO...STUPEFY!" Hermione snapped and watched as her bolt shot into the ceiling, deflected off a hasty shield. The Death Eaters turned as one. A fusillade of spells shredded a couch as Hermione dove behind it.

"Granger...where is..." Snape hissed.

Incedio Incarcerium. Flaming ropes erupted over two of the Death Eaters, they fell away screaming as a silver whirring disk flashed into the room and buried itself in a third's head. Harry rolled behind the counter and ducked as a blue beam of a Reductor shattered Jane's pot rack. Snape and Dolohov shared a look. With a flick of a wand Dolohov summoned Jane to hang as a shield in front of him. APPARECIUM DELATARIUM a soft glow settled over the house for an instant, as Harry quickly barred their escape.

"COME OUT POTTER..." Dolohov snarled as he started to back towards the door. Jane hung limp, still unconscious from the stunner as she floated in front of Dolohov in the grip of a hasty Mobilocorpus Charm. Snape remained curiously quiet as his beady eyes scanned about the room. "She will die Potter...Mudblood do you want your mother's blood truly on your hands...give up..." Dolohov ranted.

Harry chanced a visible glance around the corner; his cloak had long fallen off into the floor. A green beam hissed back, close enough to singe his hair. Harry rolled back behind the counter as Snape began to systematically reduce it to splinters. Get ready...He felt Hermione nod...GO...

Hermione MOVED. A dark blur met surprised eyes as she snap kicked to her feet, rolled over the top of the couch and fired a Summoning Charm at the cabinet behind Dolohov in one long continuous, blurred movement. He spun slightly; Jane fell away, as Snape's return shot missed Hermione by a foot. She rolled to her right....

As Harry dove over the top of the shattered counter, firing. A wave of force flung Dolohov into the wall, and partially through it. His shield flickered and died as his wand came loose from his grip in the impact. And a moment later, he followed as a shining silver beam neatly bored a third eye in Dolohov's forehead. Time seemed to stop as he flowed slowly to the ground.

Eyes glowed slightly in the dim house as Harry and Hermione's wands centered on Snape. "Hello, Snivellus." Harry said quietly in a voice dangerously bereft of emotion. "You seem to be remarkably lacking in friends."

"Potter...so sure of yourself, especially when, just two months ago, we proved just how weak you really are..." Snape sneered, "I suppose that the presence of Granger, might give you a chance to survive, but then again...a Mudblood didn't save your father either, did it?" He looked around, "So Potter where are your friends? Where are Dumbledore's little lapdogs in the Order ready to jump out and save you, where is your Godfather...oh yes, I remember...HE'S DEAD" A wand flicked and a wave of purple fire slashed towards Harry.

PROTEGO A shimmering, blue dome broke the wave, dissipated and Harry took a breath, as he felt Hermione circling to her left. Snape's eyes widened slightly, as a dark, half smile lit Harry's face and the former and once again Death Eater started to circle towards the door, to stop as Hermione cut him off. "You always accused me of being my father Snivellus," Harry taunted softly, more as a distraction than anything. "I guess you got him..." Harry spun to his left and vanished. Snape's jaw dropped as he barely dodged a line of white fire.

"Crucio." The yellow beam missed Harry by a foot and blew a large divot out of the stairs as he vanished once more...Snape glanced around the room, desperately, as he noticed that Hermione, and both of her parents had now vanished as well.

"Did you think that Dumbledore only talked to me last year Snivellus?" A dark baritone filled the house. A silver jet sliced out of nowhere to open his thigh from hip to knee. Severus gasped as he staggered behind a bookcase, which the Granger household had in abundance and clamped his thigh closed, he muttered a charm as he ran his wand across it, to find that his Binding Charm was only partially successful. Blood oozed from the long wound. He glanced up; saw a flash of jet hair, "AVADA KEDAVRA"

Harry flicked his wand, and a chair shot across the room and shattered as the Death Curse destroyed it. A flaming whip shot back from Harry's wand, charring a long, burnt line at head height on Jane's light yellow walls. Snape stuck his head back around the corner and Hermione sent a severing charm racing back towards him. A suddenly summoned silver shield, emblazoned with the logo of a bat caught the spell and deflected it with a loud gong like sound as it spun out of his hand from the impact. Hermione rolled back to her left and snapped her wand diagonally at the bookcase Snape was sheltering behind.

Dozens of books rose from the shelves and flew at him, like a hailstorm of leather and paper. "REDUCTO" a hastily fired curse blew a hole in the storm attacking him. Snape spun to his right, spotted the Grangers lying in a downstairs bedroom through an open door, "REDUCTO" The hissing blue bolt snapped into the ceiling over them...

ARRESTO MOMENTUM Hermione frantically flung a hand towards the bedroom where she had moved her parents. The entire weight of the house suddenly fell on her mystical shoulders as she desperately tried to keep it from falling on them.

The load suddenly lightened as Harry spun from Snape, his hand and eyes were glowing bright green as he fought to hold the house up. GO HERMIONE...she felt Harry cancel the anti-Apparation ward he had cast, and she dove for her parents. A soft POP and a loud CRACK echoed in the house as both Hermione and Snape Apparated away with their precious cargos, Hermione with her parents and Snape with his skin. Harry vanished a moment later right as the center of the house caved in on itself.

He reappeared next to Hermione and fell to his knees. She was worriedly examining her father. Jane was stirring next to them as she shook her head and rose to her hands and knees shakily. Harry crawled over to her exhaustedly. Hermione turned to him; "We have to get him out of here to St. Mungo's or Hogwarts, she turned to her mum, "What hit him mum?" She snapped.

Jane blinked at her vaguely a couple of times as Hermione repeated the question more forcefully, her voice rising, "I think...five or six...red beams." Harry glanced at Hermione; her lip was trembling.

"Yeah, Mio..." Harry's response was cut off as sirens suddenly sounded in the distance, and a loud CRACK echoed in their ears. Ron almost learned exactly how powerful a wizard his best friend really was.

Ron and Luna looked around, shocked, as they saw the devastated house. "OVER HERE" Harry yelled, as he flung out his free hand and a two-foot piece of lumber shot to it from the wreckage. "Portus." The board shivered and glowed blue, before settling to a low vibration in his hand. "We have to go now Ron." Harry flung out his hand again, and a pair of slivery cloaks draped themselves over his shoulder.

"Where," Ron replied breathlessly as he slid in feet first next to Harry, Hermione and the Grangers. Luna dove on him and the six vanished in a rush of color and howl of wind.

"Here" Harry replied tiredly, as Ron recognized the white, stone walls of the Hogwarts infirmary, and the harried steps of its matron.

*******************************Hogwarts*************************

8:35 am.

Ronald Weasley was becoming quite accustomed to the espresso spell that the twins had developed. He took a sip of his conjured coffee as he looked fondly across the Head Students common room at Luna. She was currently curled in a ball on the ragged couch, like a large, blond tabby cat, snoring softly. Maybe after the war, I can go into business with Gred and Forge with this espresso stuff...maybe a shop off the joke shop. Ron mused absently as he finished his cup and set it on the table. A flick of a wand later, and the cup vanished into the ether.

Ron glanced towards what would be technically, in about a month, Harry's bedroom at Hogwarts. An odd, half grin, half-frown crossed his face for the briefest of moments as he glanced through the open door to see his best friends passed out on the bed. Hermione was clinging to Harry in her sleep, as if afraid that he would vanish forever if she let go. The pair of them, had lasted only about as long as it took to relate to Poppy what had happened to Roger, and Hermione had slumped down on a bed next to her father, crying softly...at the loss of innocence more than one had experienced this night.

Ron honestly did not know what to think as he looked in on them. He expected, absently, that if say Ginny could see them now, that she would be berating him about how he should be jealous of them, about how Harry should be with her, and Hermione should be with him so they could all be one big happy family. That, of course, was putting aside the whole, she used talismans and potions to try to get her way with Harry's emotions, and shattered Hermione's in the process, and possibly caused the death of the greatest Wizard the world had ever known as a unforeseen side effect...Yeah, Gin... we see how well that happy family thing turned out didn't we?

Ron let out a soft grunt as he thought of the revelation that had occurred right after he and Luna had left to go help Harry and Hermione. A rescue that in the end had been needed more from themselves than from the Death Eaters. Ron was probably the only person in the world that could convince Hermione to go get some rest, that Poppy was astonishingly capable at her profession, and if anyone could fix up her dad, it was her. And where Hermione went, Harry followed, so by getting her to sleep, Ron got Harry to sleep.

He had not yet told his friends about the shocking revelation at the Burrow, the tearful owl from Bill telling of the news, had arrived an hour after Ron had forced the rest to go to sleep at about five or so. Luna had woke instantly as he read the last letter and pulled him into her arms as he wept for a brother, who despite what he had become or why, was still of his blood in the end.

No, Ron thought absently as he sat down next to the couch to Luna and she spun around on the couch, still asleep by all appearances and laid her head on his thigh, some things weren't meant to be. He glanced over towards the two, that now, considering all they had been through in almost a month's time, and beyond that in almost six years time, he considered more than blood. Luna let out a soft moan as she shivered and her eyes snapped open.

"Ronny?" She asked tremulously, very possibly not seeing him at all in the room. "Will the bad people come again?" Her voice was like a small child's as he pulled her into his lap and she buried her face in his chest. "I keep seeing that Eater dieing Ron." She whispered softly as the night came back to haunt even the most serene of them all.

"It'll be alright, Luna..." Ron breathed into her hair as he gently ran his fingers through her tresses. "I'll make it better..." Luna nodded into his chest, if Ron believed himself or not, it really didn't matter, or even if Luna believed him, in the end all that mattered was that he was there as the walls broke.





A/N: there you go....

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I really still own nothing....
Chapter 11: Hell if I know...

***************************Hogwarts*************************************
August 1, 1997
10:30 am

Luna had not left Ron's side ever since her nightmares had driven her back into the realm of the wakened. Her normal, slightly detached expression had settled back over her face and actions an hour later, but she still wanted him close. Even to the point of demanding that he stand in the women's restroom, his back turned of course, while she went, just so she could see he was still there.

Ron had humored her...and even put up with the taunts of Myrtle as she blew raspberries at him and splashed him with water from the sink.

The pair of them were sitting on the castle steps looking out onto the lawn, with almost identically happy expressions as Luna went on about some belief that Scrimgeour was using his new position to ease the way for the fifth Grindylow uprising. Luna was sitting between his legs, a step lower than him, leaning back into his chest as they sat in the peaceful morning air, both trying to decompress more than anything after last night.

Ron who couldn't for the life of him, remember just when the first four Grindylow uprisings had occurred or exactly why a water demon, who never set foot on land, would be interested in the arid uplands, just nodded at seemingly appropriate times, and Luna beamed up at him. She quickly progressed into a discourse on Demiguise farming when Ron suddenly realized two things...for some reason it was much easier listening to Luna ramble on about some random fact than Hermione. This was of course putting aside the whole if she were insane or not question, but then again he wasn't always too sure about Harry or Hermione's sanities in the first place either. And the second, as he caught an odd look out of the corner of his eye...he wasn't too sure that she wasn't putting him on. He turned to confront her with a twinkle dancing in his eye, when a familiar head of long, red hair appeared coming up the path from Hogsmeade.

"RON." Ginny screamed as she came up to the stairs. She gave Luna an odd look as the blond was leaning rather possessively on her brother. "Where's Harry...was he hurt last night, why didn't he come to the Burrow with you?" Her words came out in a rush.

Ron glanced down at Luna, and for the first time that he could remember besides the occasional trio moment, he knew the sensation of having a conversion in a glimpse, just like Harry and Hermione had for years. "Hermione needed help...her parents needed help Ginny, I sent him there with her." Ron settled back slightly, "Now as to where he is...bloody hell if I know, he's probably out brooding somewhere." His eyebrow fought to twitch and only a contest of will kept it under control. "It is kind of annoying when he does that really, gets on my nerves sometimes frankly."

"Yeah" Ginny replied absently as she looked around the lawns for a sign of Harry. "It did annoy me last year..." She gave Ron a calculating look, and smiled slightly, "Of course he does snog superbly...."

"Ginevra..." Ron howled, "You do..."

"What Ronniekins... mum doesn't know what I do, and don't you go telling her." She glanced at Luna, a brief hummingbird flicker of a glance, "or I may tell her, just what you and Hermione were up to..."

Ginny left with a huge smile on her face as Luna stood up abruptly and let out a small hiss at Ron. She scampered out of sight, and Luna fell directly back down to her previous position sitting with Ron. "Luna, we, ah..."

Luna smiled slightly and reached up, pulling his lips down to meet hers, letting go after a moment, "all is as it should be Ronald. I am happy, and she has already lost...and far more than she might think. Friends are a commodity that one cannot afford to spend frivolously...you have taught me that."

***********************Grimmauld Place******************
August 2, 1997
10:20 pm

Harry. Hermione sent softly as she appeared next to him on the roof outlook, and sat down. Harry didn't speak as she felt for his hand, and intertwined their fingers. Out in the distance the lights of the London traffic flickered about like mad, grounded fireflies. Are you ok, baby?

Did you know? Harry replied as he leaned his head back against the rough, red brick chimney. He took a deep breath, no of course you didn't. I'm just tired of it Hermione...I don't care if it were my birthday, they should have fucking told me.

If they had...what would you have done Harry?

Harry frowned; I don't know...he just should have told me...would you have, even considering what we were planning on doing later? Hermione sighed and lowered her head to his shoulder, remembering absently the last time they were on this roof.

Yes, She replied after a moment's consideration, I would have, you deserved; we deserved to know. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and I would have damn sure told us that Tom broke his minions out of Azkaban. Honestly, this whole lets not tell the targets who is shooting at them shyte is getting old.

Welcome to my world Hermione, Harry replied bitterly, why do you put up with me, I mope, I rage...

Because I love you. She glanced over at troubled emerald eyes, it's a two edged sword, love, the good and the bad. And that I know you better than anyone else...I know that no matter how much you hate them, you didn't wish them dead.

But is it bad that I don't feel a fucking thing...I at least felt sick when I heard about Percy and he was a traitorous arsehole of a git, She shivered as the winds picked up slightly and Harry pulled her into his side. I just feel like I should feel something, for Petunia at least, she was mum's only sister. Hermione shifted around until she was on his lap, with her head cradled on his shoulder. That I should feel guilty for the thoughts that you are engaging in me, when I should be mourning them.

Harry, they don't deserve your guilt, or your tears. They should be the ones that feel guilty, wherever they are.

They died because of me, Hermione Harry replied exasperatedly. Me. Snape and his butt munching little friends tortured them to find me.

And they would have given you up if they had known Harry. Hermione replied reasonably. Those aren't the actions of those who love you, or even like you. Ron or I or any of the Weasleys would have died before we ever surrendered you...just like you would do for us.

But, that's...

Just it, you're tired of other people sacrificing themselves for you? Hermione finished for him, and received a small glare in exchange. Harry sighed and dropped his eyes apologetically as he shrugged his shoulders. Hermione gave him a small grin as she kissed him and settled back into his lap, her head on his shoulder as they watched the night go by, filled with Muggles about their business, totally unaware of what their guardians suffered in their stead.

***********************Hogwarts ************************

August 10, 1997
10:00 am

Ten days had passed since the long night marking Harry's majority. A whipsaw of emotions that had driven those effected by the events of that night to their knees. Percy had been buried in a funeral attended by only the family, Harry, Hermione, Luna, Remus, Tonks and Minerva. No others of the Order had shown, on that blustery day as he was laid into the Weasley family gravesite.

Roger Granger was doing better; the five stunners had briefly stopped his heart before it fitfully restarted again. He was currently sitting in Poppy's infirmary, where he, Jane and Poppy were having daily discussions on the differences and similarities of Muggle and Magical medicines. Poppy did repair his bum knee while she was at it, and curiously asked him, why he just hadn't had Hermione do this? It was easy enough for her.

Charlie still lingered on the cusp of life and death at St. Mungo's, as no one seemed to know exactly what the curse was that Percy had hit him with. The best current guess was that he had panicked and mistakenly altered a stunner with disastrous effects.

All of this had driven the trio even harder into the fight...Ron, Harry and Hermione had spent every waking hour over the last ten days, training or reading. Or else, in the case of one disastrous effort to find a clue of the whereabouts of the Hufflepuff cup, had ended up in a running battle with several Death Eaters for almost three hours before they managed to escape around the Death Eater's anti-Apparation charms.

Hermione was still limping slightly from the night of that battle four days ago. She paused as she entered the Hospital Wing to find Jane and Roger busy sitting up together reading through a first year Transfiguration book. Neither one of them mentioned the limp, or the raging fight they had heard between Harry and Hermione as soon as they got back about the battle. Harry's entire back had been burnt from where the Death Eaters had set fire to the shack the trio had been hiding in, and he had shielded Hermione at the cost of his own skin. No, Hermione's parents had just stood back, while Harry and Hermione had raged at each other across the room, watching with odd, little smiles as small objects shattered randomly and Poppy lost several windows to random magical releases. The stumbling, half-begging apologies that each had stumbled over the other's words a half hour later had more than convinced them of the two's real feelings.

"Hey mum, dad." Hermione said softly as she sat down next to her father. He smiled up at her and nodded as he sat his book down and took her hand for a minute. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine sweetheart" Roger replied as Hermione bent down to kiss his cheek, "Where's Harry?" A small little knowing glance passed between her parents as she glanced up and to her left. A small, glowing orb hovered over the top of Roger's bed, softly pulsing at about sixty beats a minute. An IV containing a clear, yellow potion dripped into his arm, rebuilding the nerves damaged by the multiple stunners to his heart the night of the attack.

"Umm..." She paused, considering for a moment, "Seventh floor I believe...maybe the Room of Requirement, he and Lupin were going to work on animating objects." She looked at her mother, "ready to go on your tour mum?"

"Sure honey." Jane leaned back down over the bed and kissed her husband with enough energy to embarrass her daughter thoroughly.

"MUM!"

Jane grinned evilly, "what, dear...you made your father and I watch as you snogged your boyfriend the other day..." She crooked an eyebrow, "was the make up any good?" Hermione sputtered as Jane went on airily, "Your father and I are married dear."

"We, uhhh..." Jane just laughed and stood up, kissing Roger on the cheek once more as Hermione mutely followed her. Hermione took a breath as they left the Hospital wing, "what do you want to see?"

"Let me see what you saw over the last six years." They passed the back of the clock tower and glanced out onto the grounds. Hagrid was herding several Thestrals about, evidentially getting them ready to pull the coaches in a few weeks time. Jane frowned as she saw them, she knew what the reptilian horses meant, and she knew what the accepting look in Hermione's eyes meant as well. Normally Muggles could not see magical creatures, the Ministry spent a great deal of time, using charms and disillusionments to hide the existence of things like Thestrals, and the pair of Unicorns the two women could see emerging from the edge of the Forbidden Forest. However, most of those charms were predicated on one crucial factor...that the Muggles not believe in magic. Hermione's parents knew better of course.

Hermione began at the Great Hall, Jane had eaten here since her arrival but, her daughter's descriptions gave it new life, as Hermione portrayed Halloween feasts with giant pumpkins floating past, innumerable meals eaten by the side of her friends, and a few eaten alone as they were one or all feuding for some reason. Jane could see the long lines of first years filing in to take their place under the Sorting Hat and she could feel her daughter's joy as she related how the hat had placed her with that black-haired boy from the train in Gryffindor over the stodgy intellectuals of Ravenclaw. That was at least how scared eleven-year-old eyes had seen it, as was described by a more experienced seventeen-year-old throat. Hermione grew quiet as she pointed out Dumbledore's golden throne on the teacher's dais, she smiled after a minute, but Jane could tell the smile was forced.

They continued on to a dark, dank dungeon where Hermione related long hours of toiling under a hated taskmaster, one that in the end had proven to be what he had portrayed himself to be all those years, their enemy. Jane laughed as Hermione grabbed a small bottle from one of the shelves, and using a dropper dropped five drops on a large rat, that she attracted from the corner of the room. The rat turned colors and started dancing.

They next went up to McGonagall's classroom, now Tonks', where Hermione related their first day, of Harry and Ron showing up late, and McGonagall berating them for it. Hermione smiled as she easily transfigured an errant quill into a white lily and gave it to Jane. She shuffled her feet slightly and thrust her hands into the front pockets of the khaki cargo shorts she was wearing, and shrugged her shoulders slightly.

Hermione next led the way to the DADA classroom, where Jane looked up, slack jawed at the skeleton of a Dragon and watched as Hermione tossed up a handful of wood blocks and shot them out of the sky before they hit the ground. Hermione's knee buckled slightly as she twisted with the target.

Jane's hand shot out with the mother's instinct to comfort a child, but stopped at a look as Hermione bent down and adjusted a elastic bandage around her knee. "I'm ok, Mum" Hermione snapped testily, "It's just a sprain, Poppy thought it better to let it heal on its own than use magic, just in case there was some remaining difficulty from the talisman." Jane did not speak of the problem, not now; she just followed Hermione as she led them up the stairs. She showed her, the room where Fluffy had been, and the trapdoor, the trio had fallen through to lead them through their first real brush with the darkness.

"Let's go to Gryffindor Tower, mum, then I'll show you the Head's quarters." They climbed the many stairs to the seventh floor corridor, and paused outside of the Fat Lady. The pink-clad woman turned in her portrait.

"I recognize you, Miss Granger," She began happily, after forcing the two of them to listen to a particularly bad aria, "But I have not met your sister before, did she go to Beuxbatons?"

Hermione giggled, as Jane preened not so subtly, "No, my lady," she chuckled slightly, "this is my mother...may we pass?"

"Yes, Head Granger" and with that, the portrait swung open to reveal the hole through the wall that led to the slightly decrepit Gryffindor Common Room. The room was curiously quiet as the pair of them entered and looked around. No one was home, right now, a little under three weeks until school restarted. No books cluttered the worn study tables, no errant pets scampered under foot, and no giggling of girls or raucous cries of laughter from the boys at some dirty joke sounded in the circular room.

Hermione spun around the room slowly, "This is home, mum, at least while I'm here for the last six years." She walked over to the fireplace and looked down into it, longingly, "I remember this is where I think I really knew I was in love with Harry." Hermione said softly as Jane hung on her words, afraid to say something that would close her back up. "Unfortunately...my brain decided I couldn't really be...he was just a friend. I watched him try desperately to go save Sirius, I remember that that was the first real fight we ever had..." Hermione frowned a bit as her arms hugged herself, stretching out the design on the Muggle 'Stones t-shirt she was wearing. "I mean we had fought before...but this was the first time that I knew his whole heart was in it...because he was scared, scared out of his wits. To this day I still don't think Ron or Ginny or anyone else that went to the Ministry knew how much Harry was scared at that moment. Of loosing Sirius, and then when I thought Umbridge was..."

Hermione broke off with small smile and waved towards the portrait hole, "Let's go see the Head's quarters shall we? We can get there from here, but it's cooler this way." Hermione led her back out of the hole, down the hall a bit and tapped on a particular brick. A soft grinding sound accompanied moving stones, as an archway appeared where only a blank wall had been before.

Hermione smiled as she ushered Jane into her new home. Jane smiled appreciatively as she looked around the circular room and ohhed and awed at the appropriate times as Hermione showed her the sumptuous bathroom and the amenities of the common room. "So Hermione," she asked as she turned to catch Hermione's eyes, "Which one is your room?"

"Oh that one, mum." Hermione replied easily as she pointed to the right hand room. She started to move towards it, but stopped as she realized Jane hadn't moved.

Jane smiled crookedly, "No dear, which one really, is your room?" Hermione bit her lip slightly but wheeled on her heel to open the door to Harry's bedroom, which had become, by a mutually unspoken agreement, their bedroom. Hermione silently led her mother into a room, that was immediately obvious to a woman who had been married for over twenty years, that two people slept in.

Unlike the perfectly kept and immaculate room that Jane knew without looking would have been what they found in the other bedroom, this one showed signs of two lives intertwined everywhere she looked. A haphazard stack of dirty laundry was in an open bin in the corner, tops of Hermione's clustered in with boxers of Harry's. A large desk in one corner held stacks of papers, framed pictures of the Trio, Harry and Hermione alone, the old one of Harry's parents dancing together in the snow, and one of her and Roger at their twentieth wedding anniversary. Jane walked slowly around the room, smiling to herself as she saw the unmade bed, the Quidditch jersey with "POTTER" written across the back tossed on top of a four-foot high stack of books. Crookshanks opened one eye at them, and then closed it again as he sunned in the window.

Hermione watched her mother nervously, waiting for a lecture, but none came. "Just promise me one thing honey." Jane said finally.

"Yeah mum?"

"Both of you survive this...I want to have grandchildren to spoil someday." Hermione laughed as she hugged her mother and sat down in the couch, gesturing her mother to join her as she flicked a wand and two hot cups of tea appeared. They both sat back, fixing their tea as they liked. Jane watched her daughter as she sat, relaxed, yet tense at the same time. "I don't want to pry..." She began softly.

"Yes?" Hermione replied with a sudden sense of unease.

Jane took a slow sip of tea before setting the china cup back down on a coaster on the coffee table and sitting back slowly. "How is your...situation with Ginny?"

Hermione scowled as her eyes glittered dangerously, her voice was flat and hard, "We agreed, Harry, Ron and I that we were going to just let it slide, to not do anything. And that hopefully she would get the hint, but she hasn't yet. She has shown up here three times since the first, wanting to come and just 'visit'." Hermione's slightly snarling tone wasn't lost on Jane. "She even jumped him in the hall that first day right in front of me. Of course she doesn't know, no one does, but still..."

"Harry hasn't been encouraging..." Jane asked softly.

Hermione laughed bitterly, "oh Merlin, no. In fact the poor dear runs and hides when she comes. Keeps thinking she will get the hint that he's busy every time she asks, but so far she hasn't. She seems to have this obsession that she just won't drop. She even basically told Ron that he should have abandoned me to go to the Burrow after her..." Hermione blew a wayward lock of hair from her face as she got up and started to draw her hair back into a tail. "Can you find your way back mum, Harry Ron and I have training with Tonks and Remus." Jane nodded as she watched Hermione strip off the t-shirt she had on to replace it with a plain one, and slipped on a pair of BDU pants to replace the shorts she had had on. She left as Hermione picked up her wand from the couch and slipped it into a sheath on her thigh.

4:25 pm

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU CALL THAT WEASLEY?" Lupin roared in Ron's ear as another spell shot off into the distance scaring some squirrels at the edge of the trees. Lupin flicked his wand in the direction of several floating, bobbing outlines of man shaped targets. They froze as he turned to the trio. All three of them looked exhausted, Hermione's injured knee was trembling slightly as she stood at a quasi-attention as Lupin berated them. Behind him Tonks was pacing, shaking her head as she looked out at the targets that Ron was supposed to be servicing. The fact that they had been alternating running laps around the lake, followed by trying to hit targets out at several hundred yards that refused to stay still had absolutely nothing to do with it of course.

The trio had started out doing extremely well at the task but after the tenth lap around the lake the task had gotten more difficult. Hermione glared up at Lupin as he paused in front of her. "AND WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING GRANGER? THINK THIS IS A GAME? I WOULD THINK THAT UNLIKE THESE IDIOTS, YOU WOULD BE THE ONE WHO WOULD REALIZE IT WAS NOT." Hermione barely kept herself from flinging a rude gesture at the Lycan as he turned on his heel. "Drop and give me twenty, now DAMN IT!" Lupin snapped, at the trio dropped to a forward leaning position, a position that Hermione had learned rapidly and Ron and Harry had been all too familiar with from Quidditch punishments. They started to bob them out as Lupin walked back to where Tonks was standing with her arms crossed, glaring for effect.

"Well what do you think love?" Lupin asked softly to Tonks with his back to the three teens. Hermione and Harry got done at almost the same instant and paused, panting slightly. She glanced over at Harry and they shared exhausted grins.

"I SAW THAT GRANGER, TWENTY MORE." Tonks snapped, the teens groaned and started again. She replied out of the side of her mouth, her lips moving not at all, "Honestly, besides the fact that we are punishing them for letting their exhaustion not allow them to hit targets at three times the regulation range distance," she snorted softly, "you know that they will kill us in our sleep someday, right Remus?"

"As long as they are alive to do so, I'll die happy, I could face James, Lily and Sirius with a clear conscious then." Remus replied seriously. He stepped away from Tonks. "Ok, you're done for the day, go." He announced almost kindly. He closed his eyes tiredly as he watched Harry and Ron help Hermione back toward the castle; she was too tired to even fight them. "I'd do anything to let them just be kids Nymph, to screw around like we did in school, but I can't. And if I didn't drive them this hard, they'd drive themselves even harder." He took look back towards the castle and sat down on a large bolder that demarked the edge of the clearing they had been using. He looked up as she dropped next to him and turned so her back was leaning against his side. "Any word on..."

"I think Mad-Eye is about to crumble." Tonks replied, knowing what he was asking. "He always supported Harry, he was one of the ones along with Sirius that thought Harry should have known everything a couple of years ago. He saw what happened at the Burrow, and at the Grangers. And I think he knows that this is Harry's war to win...Kingsley is set in his ways though, and Molly is campaigning behind the scenes with her usual let the adults handle it line, or at least that's the vibe I'm getting. I think that Mad-Eye was...scared, when Albus died, and if Harry were to be killed he'd see it as a personal failure to his friend. That's really why this hide, Harry, hide thought of his came to the fore."

"Yeah. So did you get your lesson plans done for the next year...Professor Tonks?" Lupin laughed as she rolled her eyes. He got up and took her hand, pulling her easily to her feet as they headed back towards the castle.

"I did, Professor Lupin..." she stopped and looked worriedly around, "Do you think that Minerva has told him yet?"

Lupin frowned and ran his hands through his hair and messing it up thoroughly, "No...there are still targets along with the forest surviving downrange. I fully expect an explosion when he hears about this...she did torture him and get away with it."

"He won't back down to her ever again Remus, none of them will. All three of them are of age; she could find herself under the Code Duello quickly. It's only because the students realize that it is suicide to take on a Professor that it hasn't happened in two hundred years here. Heck it's been fifty or so since the last actual sanctioned honor duel between students here. But they can take anyone here, one on one, and they know it."

"I was a bit surprised that she didn't find herself tricked into challenging Hermione...she was sixteen then, she could have accepted it." Remus replied absently as they passed under the arch into the stone courtyard.

"Hermione was panicked Remus, love can do that to you." Tonks replied with a shrug as they entered through the front doors of the castle. Flitch was off to one side mopping something, growling at anyone who came near as Mrs. Norris looked on. "All things considered she did pretty good that night."

"Yeah, I'm waiting for this little explosion I think." Remus glanced in the general direction of the Headmistress' office.

************************Headmistress' Office**************************

"Albus, I will not have that woman in my school..." Minerva's blur was almost incomprehensible in her fury as she paced back and forth in her office, shaking a dull green parchment marked with the official seal of the Ministry. A large tin of biscuits fell to the floor as she slammed her fist on the massive desk. Dumbledore looked on impassively from his portrait, waiting. "She will not walk in that door as long as I am still Headmistress..."

"Calm, Minerva, calm." Dumbledore replied serenely. "Let her come, she will find no succor in this school, not this time." He smiled and paced within the confines of his frame. "Let Scrimgeour send his spies, she will learn nothing here."

McGonagall paced to the window where she could see, Harry basically carrying Hermione back to the castle, with Ron acting as both their guard Wyvern and helper. Old gray eyes closed behind square-framed lenses as she thought of what the presence of that person here, once again would mean to them. She knew what the presence of that person would mean to this school, her old house, and more importantly to the three just now entering the castle. "Harry will never let her dominate him again. Not in the slightest. And if were to hurt one of the other two...I shudder to think of the consequences."

"So," Dumbledore replied after a moment's contemplation, "when are you going to tell them?" McGonagall shrugged and looked back out the window without answering.

**********************Hogwarts Library******************************

9:45 pm

"So Remus?" Hermione began, and paused as she yawned hugely. She closed her eyes for a moment, before looking up at him exhaustedly. She glanced over at Harry, who was passed out face down, in the third volume of Animation, Deanimation Magic. She absently reached out and rubbed his neck softly, as there was no one else here to see them. No one that didn't already know, anyway. Ron had wandered off two hours ago to go work with Tonks on advanced shielding charms with Luna following along. Somehow, even though Harry so far steadfastedly refused to let her in on exactly what they were doing, about what they were looking for when they had left the castle several days ago and came back wounded, Hermione strongly suspected that the odd Ravenclaw had a pretty good idea, and it could only help the DA in the long run if she learned a bit more combat magic. "How are the Inferi animated again?"

Lupin looked over at Harry pointedly. He watched with a small grin as Hermione's fingers slipped forward to play absently with the hairs on the back of Harry's neck. "Do you want the simple or technical answer?" Lupin watched as Crookshanks sauntered in and hopped up on the table, an accomplishment that both of them knew Madame Pince wouldn't allow him during the school year.

"He's not stupid Remus." Hermione growled softly, her eyes glinting darkly. "He might not have always applied himself..."

Remus raised his hands defensively, "I know Hermione...I know, anyone with his parents would have to be a truly odd combination to not be bright, scarily so. In fact?"

"Yeah, he might just be smart as me." Hermione snorted, "He had to work hard to hide it though. I wonder what Snivellus is thinking right now about the 'spoiled, useless son of James Potter'...who handed him his arse..." Hermione's other hand, the one not busy with Harry's hair clenched as thoughts of that night ten days ago passed. She lowered her eyes to the table and examined the wood grain minutely. She glanced up to find Remus' kind eyes watching her, "is it wrong to hate him so much Remus?" She glanced over at Harry and watched him squirm in his sleep. Hermione forced herself to be calmer, before looking back at Lupin. "I used to berate Harry for hating him so much...no that's not right, I loathed Snape. Probably as much as Harry did, I just never let him get to me like Harry did. But now...he's killed Dumbledore, he tried to kill my parents and me, and...he's tried to kill Harry, again." Hermione laughed darkly, "is it weird that him trying to kill me, really doesn't bother me all that much, but when..."

Lupin shook his head, "Not at all...in fact that only makes sense. Just proves you are a Gryffindor lass." He smiled slightly as an old memory flitted across his mind, "what was that old quote of Godric's that Sirius used to have written in his DADA book...oh yeah, 'kill me, that's just annoying, look at my friend oddly, I'll wear your guts for garters.'"

Hermione laughed, and stared at him goggle eyed. "Honestly, Remus...is that for real?"

"Who knows?" Lupin admitted, "but Sirius liked it. As to your original question before we got distracted with thoughts of philosophy, or at least what us fellow Gryffindors would consider philosophy; it's a complicated process actually. The bodies used have to be older than one year, but less than five since they died. The reanimation is a an ancient spell, one that I think Voldemort borrowed from somewhere else during the last war...it basically reanimates them, much like one would animate a statue."

"How does he control them?" Hermione asked with a small frown as she started to scratch notes on a piece of parchment, she pulled it to her lips and sucked on it to get the ink flowing."

"Two ways we think...Harry would be glad to know Lily worked on this a bit, before she got distracted, with him. Um, if I remember correctly, she thought that he had tied a modified Mobilocorpus charm to move them, with some sort of Imperius charm to give them his will. Since they are dead, they have no wills of their own, so they are effortless to dominate."

"What about the ones like Harry found in the cave, Riddle wasn't there to control them."

"No," Lupin agreed, "in that case, we think that he enchants an object with a...quasi-sentience for lack of a better term, that gives them a will. That approach has weaknesses though, in that they can only do a singular task, such as defending a site, and that at a very instinctual level."

"So," Hermione mused, if I were to...." Her hand left Harry's hair as her quill suddenly flew across the parchment, leaving behind a long, complicated Arithmatic equation. Lupin watched with a slightly dumbfounded look as she muttered a spell and a pair of books shot out of the restricted section, and fell open on the table before her. The pages of the books turned themselves as her eyes scanned back and forth between them. Occasionally she would scratch out a term and replace it with another. After another ten minutes of Lupin watching, slightly dumbfounded, and another four books, Hermione sat back with a pleased expression and went back to scratching Harry's scalp absently.

"Can you check this please Remus...I made an assumption in the fifth line, I used the standard decay rate of enchantments on inanimate objects with a thirty percent margin, but I think it should work, even if he's controlling them directly." Hermione shrugged slightly and looked a tad touch guilty as she took a sip of the coffee at he elbow that Pince would have skinned her for if she caught her with it, near her precious books.

"Ummm" He replied after a long moment, "It looks good, as rusty as my Arithmancy is...you know this is beyond NEWT level math right?" Hermione shrugged, "I guess the incantation would be, what...Imperatum dispersium inferati de flagratto? What's the last term for? Cutting the link?" Hermione nodded. "Well we'll see what happens then, won't we?"

Hermione stood up and stretched, her spine popping softly as she twisted. "Has Harry talked to you about the DA? He's thinking of restarting it and handing off the day to day training to Neville or---Ginny" Lupin didn't comment, "We would almost like to have Luna, running it...she has more training than those two actually since she's sat in on some of them here, but too many people think she's mental." Hermione shrugged.

Lupin carefully hid a grin as he remembered a time, not too long ago, that Hermione would have been one of those very people, but that was before betrayals and revelations innumerable. "A bit, yes. I would like to integrate the training with my classwork...but I guess that is not possible, is it?"

"No, its not, not any longer. Neither Harry or I will trust anyone, not really, except Ron, and Luna...I guess." Hermione suddenly looked as if she didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry at that. "A few others; that I suppose we will give parts of the puzzle to, such as Neville, and the rest of the Weasleys. But as of now, the six people and one portrait that know for sure about the quest is it."

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A/N: I really still own nothing...Many, many thanks to Lady Starlight for her superb Beta work and allowing me to bounce ideas off of, but as always any mistakes are purely mine, blame me...
Chapter 12: I'm A Big Girl Harry.


******************Hogwarts*******************

August 13, 1997

"No, absolutely not." Harry snapped as he threw up his hands and paced off down the hall. He muttered under his breath some comment about "damn stubborn girls" Hedwig, who had been sitting on his shoulder hooted at him reproachfully and took off, out a window.

"Honestly Harry," Hermione growled as she stomped off after him down the second floor corridor outside of McGonagall's office, "I am a big girl, I can take care of myself...I would have thought you would know that by now." Ron rolled his eyes as he took a post up against the wall and looked on. He shook his head slightly as he bit back laughter, "We need to go check out that Library...Dumbledore said in his journals that he suspected there might be a record of what Rowena left, a verified artifact list, it has been around since the Crusades, it holds records from that time, if it hasn't been plundered... We can't destroy the bloody thing, if we don't know what to destroy Harry."

"He said a lot of things Hermione," Harry muttered as she caught up to him. "We will check it out, just not today." His hands came up to grab his hair roughly, "You are the one that insists that I not go off by myself...it applies to you too dear." Hermione glared at him, then sighed and leaned back against the wall next to him petulantly, not looking at him, as she knew he was right.

Ron glanced up at the pair of them, "Why don't you take Tonks or Lupin, Hermione?" Ron smiled slightly as his two friends glanced at each other and then at him, "they already know what were doing right? Why don't you let one of them back you up, it's not like there should be any danger, it's a just an old library right?"

He's right, not that I'll admit it out loud to him Hermione sent over. Her arms were crossed as she crooked an eyebrow. Harry just sighed and nodded. She gave him a small smile as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. I'll make it up to you; meet me at the Three Broomsticks for dinner love? Harry frowned for a second before nodding.

Yeah, Yeah, I know...just be careful, Mione. Harry replied. She walked backwards and waved as she vanished out of sight as she headed off to find Tonks. "Ron," he commented without looking at his friend, "you know I'm going to kick your arse, right?" Harry pushed off the wall and started back off towards the Head's quarters. "Just be ready, in an hour, we are going to go to the twins to get their new toys."

***********************Diagon Alley***************************

Harry's presence in the Wizarding center of London, as usual, drew long, and not discrete stares. As had been the case, the last time they were here, an air of desperation and unease permeated the sparse crowds. Before, the rise of the Death Eaters had panicked many, causing them to only travel in large groups. Now the times were even worse. Dumbledore, the light that many had secretly relied on for years and years to protect them, had fallen, victim of the treachery of one of his own. According to rumor, their only hope for salvation from the oncoming darkness was a seventeen-year-old boy not yet out of Hogwarts.

New, somber, deep purple posters crowded the shop windows. Pictures of Death Eaters new and old glared down at them as they walked by. Lists of ever less helpful suggestions of the Ministry's of what to do in case of an attack, shared space with the wanted posters, each basically filled with variations of, run, don't try to defend yourself, let the Ministry do so for you. Ron read one quickly that ended with, "in case your family is attacked, try to stay calm and wait for the Aurors to arrive." He snorted, it had taken an hour for Aurors to arrive at the Burrow, and that was with Arthur running his own department.

If either Ron or Harry had noticed, that they, unlike almost all the rest in the alley, walked down the middle of the street, heads held high, they did not show it. A pair of lions, in the company of frightened sheep as they passed Flourish and Blotts. Two second-year Gryffindors saw them stride by and unconsciously straightened, their shoulders coming up and back.

Harry sighed as he and Ron passed Ollivander's boarded up windows. He waved off an offer of an amulet to deter werewolves from a rather shady-looking vendor and headed off down the street. Harry glanced up, to find the marble artifice of Gringotts filling his field of vision. "Ron," Harry asked softly, "do you think Bill could get us past the lines, there's something I would like to get out of my vault."

"What, the Boy-Who-Lived, is going to use his fame for special treatment?" Ron replied wryly as he changed his course towards the gold-inlayed doors. He led the way up the stairs shaking his head the entire way. An armed, goblin guard bowed Harry and Ron into the bank, opening the door as they approached. Another guard met them at the door, and motioned for them to follow. Harry just shrugged as Ron gave him a look and followed the goblin. The guard led them to a closed, oak door, set with a brass plaque in a script that neither of them could read.

The door opened and the two entered at a gesture from the guard. Ron smiled as Bill looked on at them. The eldest Weasley child looked worn and drawn as he approached Ron to give him a quick hug. "Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, may I introduce you to Grayfang..." An ancient looking goblin was sitting behind an oak desk, easily the equal to Dumbledore's old desk at Hogwarts. He looked at Harry over a pair of golden pince-nez glasses as Harry bowed respectfully from the waist, his eyes never leaving the goblins as Hermione had taught him. Ron repeated the gesture at a discrete glance from Bill.

"Mr. Potter." The goblin said in a gravely, gruff voice. He hopped down from his chair and came around the desk and extended a hand, wizard-style. Harry took it instantly, ignoring the two-inch claws on Grayfang's hands. "I am pleased to meet you myself...your family was always a friend of the goblin race, whatever service we may be to your or yours, would only be a mere tithe of what we owe your family, or your mentor. We were very...sad to hear of Dumbledore's death. He was a friend to us as well."

"I thank you, Master Grayfang." Harry replied evenly, his eyes still on the goblin's. "At this moment, Clan Potter has no need to call on you or yours, other than the execution of business of the most mundane sort." Harry stated formally, with another duelist's bow.

"Then, you shall execute that business, Clan Master Potter." Grayfang replied with an odd glint in his dark eyes. "Curse Breaker Weasley will act as your escort. If you ever have cause to call on Gringotts for any services, please know that we stand ready to assist you."

Harry knew that some subtext of which he knew not was going on, but he nodded, "May your endeavors be profitable, Master Grayfang."

"And yours Master Potter." Harry, Ron and Bill left the office. Bill led them to an unoccupied conference room next door and closed the door.

"How's Charlie doing Bill?" Ron asked softly. Bill sighed and pulled on his ponytail absently. He frowned and shook his head as visions of his once vibrant brother crossed his thoughts.

"About the same, bro." Bill said finally. "Mum's still there most of the time. They've moved him to the long-care ward...but; there's not too much hope. They restarted his heart a couple of times already this last week. You need to go by if you can Ron..."

"Bill I, ah..."

"It's ok little bro," Bill replied as he reached out and pulled Ron into another hug, "we understand...Charlie understands. Just do what you need to, and know that we will be there when you need us," He looked at Harry without letting go of Ron. "Anytime, anywhere Harry." Harry shook his head slightly, and Bill suddenly looked as if he were trying to weigh exactly how to relate some unpleasant thought. "Umm, Harry, even if we...all didn't consider you part of the family already, which we do, your family and ours go back a very long way...there are alliances and blood ties going back at least five hundred years...just promise us if you need us, call alright?" Harry nodded slowly and took Bill's hand reluctantly. After a moment, "what were you really doing here, Harry?"

"I, umm, need to look into my vault, get some things out of there that might be useful." Harry replied truthfully, at least in the main,

"Alright, let's go then." Bill replied. He stopped on the way to grab a large set of keys after signing a large, ledger with a quill that left a faintly glowing ink behind. "Needed the keys," he explained. The three of them proceeded to the vaults, riding the underground mine carts at an almost terrifying speed. Off in the distant recesses of the caverns, Harry thought he could hear the roars of Dragons. Bill led them from the mine cart as they stopped in front of a huge, vault door.

Harry looked at Bill questioningly, "Um, Bill..."

"Your funds have grown even more," He shrugged, "it seems that some Muggle enterprise that your parents had shares in expanded enormously. Please insert your key Harry." Bill instructed softly as he pointed at a keyhole three feet away from the one he was placing a large silver key into. Harry pulled a matching gold key on a long chain from under his shirt and placed it in the keyhole, "On three then, Harry...one...two...three." The huge, battle-steel vault door ground open almost silently. A spill of reflected light fell around the trio as piles and piles of gold reflected the torch light from the halls.

"Harry what are we getting here?" Ron inquired; curiously, they could get gold or Muggle money at the Hogsmeade branch if needed, without having to deal with much of this hassle.

"There are some journals that mum and dad had that might be of use." Harry replied, and I think a couple more of Dumbledore's that were here in Gringotts that transferred over instead of being in his other hideaway. Go look over there, Ron." Harry asked as he waved Ron to the other side of the vault. Meanwhile, Harry walked to a small table pushed against the opposite wall, and opened a small box set on it. An odd expression crossed his eyes as he looked into the box for a second, before closing it abruptly and putting it in his pocket.

"Oi, Harry, found em" Ron shouted from across the cavernous vault, Harry waved at him to show that he understood."

Harry waited as Ron left the vault, "Ok mate; let's go." His hand ran unnoticeably over the pocket with the small box, "I think we have what we need. Let's go see the twins."

After leaving the bank, and promising once more that Ron would do his best to go visit Charlie, and Harry promising that he would make sure that Ron did so, and Harry promising that he and Hermione would do so as well, Harry left the building with Ron in tow. Bill looked up as Fleur detached herself from the shadows and fell in next to him.

"Iz interezting." Fleur commented softly as they entered Bill's office and closed the door. The white flash of an Imperturbable Charm lit the walls for a second as the doors closed.

Bill gave her a small smile, as she sat demurely on the edge of his desk, "you mean the last part were Harry promised, he and Hermione would come and see Charlie?" He smiled, the expression pulling his faint scars taunt across his face. "As if they were one unit."

"And 'onald, acting as if that were every day..." Fleur agreed with a beatific smile. Her expression fell after a moment, "She...has not stopped, Bill." Fleur commented sadly. "'Arry, is very forgiving...but he will not easily forgive that transgression. There are factors involved, that she knows not of, things of destiny and prophesy... A Veela would have known not to fool with the fates...the one time that full bloods tried to influence him, Hermione broke the spell, it is known among the clans.... the only other ones that weren't influenced or broke the spell that day, were already bonded. I could, zpell the Amortentia on him at the wedding Bill, and it most definitely wasn't keyed to 'ermione. And ztill, he fought it off...

"Yeah." Bill replied softly, "yeah."

The twins shop was a riotous splash of color in an otherwise dreary street. The shop, which currently had a large glowing and flashing sign advertising their newest product, "The curse that should be an Unforgivable...the ImPEEious curse." A lurid illusion of a scantily clad witch standing with her legs crossed, floated over the store. "You know," Ron mused as they passed under the sign, "That could be handy for our green wearing friends." Harry laughed softly as they walked into the store.

"HARRY" Fred yelled as he came from around the counter. Angelina waved at them as she took over. A half dozen third years, in a mix of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw robes were hauling a mix of Tongue Taffys, Skiving Snackboxes and Professor Deflectors. Harry and Ron passed into the back room amid crates of Shield Hats, skittering Decoy Detonators and racked, stacks of Really Fanged Frisbees, the civilian versions that just stunned.

Fred came to a blank wall, tapped three times on a certain brick and a large glowing eye appeared in the wall. Fred gave it a rude gesture and the wall shimmered and vanished. A set of spiral stairs appeared leading downward. He waved Harry and Ron on, and followed, the wall reappearing behind him. "Where's George?" Ron asked as they reached the bottom.

"What do you mean Ronniekins? I'm George."

"Please..." Ron replied, rolling his eyes.

"You're no fun anymore." Fred complained. He frowned, "He went by the Burrow." Ron nodded slightly as Fred led them over to a crowded worktable. "We did what you asked Harry. We have another fifty or so of the mirrors made up, each can be keyed to a user with a standard identity spell, so we should have enough to equip all of the DA. However, we were only able to make another four of the Osirus Eyes, like the prototype you used at the Grangers Harry." He shrugged. "The Demiguise essence that's needed for the vision element is too hard to get right now. But." Fred paused with all of the spirit of the pure showman, "we did come up with something as good." He reached into a side pocket of his robes and pulled out a closed fist, Fred held up one finger, and threw the other down hard next to him. A bright flash and a loud bang like a gunshot rang out, and as the smoke cleared, Fred was gone.

Ron jumped at a touch on his shoulder, his wand extended, to find Fred laughing at him. "Interesting." Harry muttered, as he bent down and examined the burnt residue on the floor, "but we can already Apparate."

"Yes," Fred agreed, "However this is not the same, with this stuff, which we are calling Instant Portable Floo Powder, you can hop from one spot to another, even in such places as Hogwarts, where the wards will not allow any apparation, not only in and out. It is limited in its use though; the furthest anyone has hopped with it is twenty feet. And those under fifth year basically have to say their destination out loud, so..." Fred shrugged and went to the next item, "we have been looking into the Inferi problem, but so far we have not had any luck, sorry Harry. Hermione sent along her notes..." He glanced at Harry hopelessly, "We don't understand them mate...so we don't have a way to stop them. Can anyone actually do that spell?"

"Yeah, Mione and I can." Harry replied instantly. "It's tiring though."

Fred and Ron shared a knowing look and hidden grins. "Ok, then...we did however get these to work...we think." He held up a small oval shaped, faceted stone dangling from a leather thong. "It should detect the presence of Inferi within say a hundred yards." He handed it to Ron, who looped the stone around his neck and placed it under his shirt.

Fred reached for one more item, it looked like a Muggle fishing reel, filled with a thin, almost invisible line. He pulled on a loop tied in one end, and after digging around in a box of assorted, loose items, Fred found a bright red, locking carbineer. He put the bineer through the loop and locked it. "Pull on it Harry." With just a touch of trepidation, Harry did so after Fred had played out a bit of line, and to his amazement, the line neither stretched or snapped, even as he started to let a touch of magic flow. "Acromantula thread...should be about a hundred times as strong as an equivalent thickness of steel. The reel it's on, can be placed somewhere and it will lower or raise you, I recommend however that if you use it to climb or get down into something, that you wear a harness, I have sets of those too, they're a bit of Muggle kit, American even, but they work really well, Eagle Industries I think." He shrugged, "That's about it, for now Harry."

"All right then," Harry replied, looking somewhat anxious, "we will be in touch, have what you guys have done ready by the first, we will try to reconstitute the army within the first week of school. One of us will get in touch with you to have you demonstrate the gear to the members.

"Sure Harry." Fred replied, and with a slightly amused expression, he watched Harry and Ron vanish.

*************************St. Gabriel's Abbey, Southern Ireland****************

With a soft pop, and a bare whisper of displaced air, Hermione and Tonks appeared in the center of a green, overgrown, stone garden. Tonks glanced over at Hermione, and pulled the hood of her deep black Auror robes over her head, vanishing her features into shadow. Hermione did likewise and the pair headed down a long, winding path under a canopy of overgrown oaks.

After several minutes of walking, in which Tonks drew her wand trice at the feeling of being watched, the pair passed though a tall stone archway, inscribed with faintly glowing blue Runes. A snap of light, and they were somewhere else.

Hermione and Tonks both drew wands and pointed them out into the darkness. They were suddenly standing in a room, possibly, in a puddle of light. Endless night surrounded them as they slowly backed together. A voice boomed from out of nowhere, "Who seeks the knowledge contained and protected here."

Hermione slowly sheathed her wand and used her other hand to forced Tonks' down. She stepped away from the metamorph slowly and lowered her hood, "I am Hermione Granger, I come on the instructions of Albus Dumbledore, my companion is Nymphadora Tonks; she comes as my escort and friend."

A soft sound of hushed, urgent speaking surrounded them, after another drawn out moment, the same unseen voice as before answered, "you seek the list of Rowena, and Godric..." a light like a giant flashbulb appeared in their midst. A floating scroll bound with a dusty string and sealed with the coat of arms of Hogwarts set in blood red wax remained. "If what you seek remains within our archives...it is in this scroll." Hermione stretched out her hand and as she touched it. They vanished to reappear at the archway from before.

"Well that that was interesting." Tonks quipped softly as she dropped her hood and pulled her robe open to reveal a Muggle outfit that would probably fit in, in most clubs in London.

Hermione crooked an eyebrow as she took in the older witch. "Planning on doing something later?" Tonks' grinned at her as the pair of them started off down the path towards the spot marking the edge of the wards. A large gull soared by as they could hear the crash of the ocean waves on the nearby rocky shore.

"And you can talk?" Tonks replied flippantly. Hermione flashed open her robe with a soft laugh to reveal a short, bouncy skirt that might, sort of, reach mid-thigh and a loose top that stopped a couple of inches above her waistline.

"Well I promised Harry that we'd go out to dinner, I can't very well let the boy starve now can I?" Hermione replied cheekily.

"Oh heaven forbid." Tonks rolled her eyes, "and you think he'll be able to eat with you in that?"

"Oh no, he is a boy," Hermione replied with a laugh, " I'll wear my cloak for dinner, this is for later." She glanced down at Tonks' left hand, "and what's your excuse, miss I'm already engaged to the sexiest bloody teacher to teach at Hogwarts in the last ten years?"

Tonks never answered Hermione as the chirping of birds and the rustle of insects that had surrounded them, fell suddenly silent. Brown and black eyes met, and two wands snapped outward. A patch of air shimmered in front of them, and a dark, presence that neither had expected to ever see again appeared from behind a disillusionment charm. A tall, blond haired young man with a long, pointed face, Hermione's age, stood with his wand extended.

"Draco." Hermione growled as her wand aligned with his throat. "What do you want?" Her lethally low, dark hiss barely registered as her eyes hardened and flickers of green fire danced at the edge of her irises.

"Mudblood." Draco replied, as casually as one would discuss the weather. "My master would like to know just what you are doing." Another six shimmers appeared surrounding them and six more Death Eaters appeared. Of them, Hermione only recognized Marcus Flint, the former Slytherin Quidditch Captain. He leered at the two witches. Draco's wand flicked and Hermione and Tonks' outer robes were ripped away, leaving them only in their street clothes. Draco smiled, slightly manically, "Yes the Dark Lord said there would be rewards to his service. I would expect he would approve of the extra...impact of your, shall we say, used, bodies when Potter gets our note." He shrugged "of course, we will have to get the information from you, somehow...

HARRY. Hermione hissed in her thoughts, and a thousand miles away, Harry grabbed Ron by the scuff of the neck, grabbed a golden ball with his other hand and vanished in a fall of color. She had been holding her senses in tight, the magical wards and barriers to this place had been causing her a slight headache. She felt out as she found another four Death Eaters behind them, still under their charms. A slight smirk appeared as she felt two of the signatures fade away, forever. A pair of stronger, welcomer presences replaced them and she smiled.

"What the bloody hells are you smiling at Granger?" Draco snarled. His eyes grew wide, "just what do you and Potter do, I had thought you were with the Weasel..." Hermione's lips tightened into a fine line as he chuckled, "I didn't know you liked more than one at a time? Toss away your wands...now." Tonks glanced at Hermione, to find the younger witch giving her a small nod, and as their eyes met, she noticed Hermione's briefest eye flicker to the rear. She frowned but tossed her wand at Draco's feet, Hermione following suit a moment later. She knew without knowing as Harry snuck up behind another hidden Death Eater directly to her right and dispatched him without a sound. A slight rustle to their left announced the loss of Draco's last-remaining hole card.

Hermione...I can't let you go anywhere, can I? Harry sent with only the barest trace of panic in his thoughts. She felt the Gryffindor Sword become unsheathed as her own matched daggers responded to their brother in his hand.

Well, I had thought that you might want to take Draco alive...for now anyway. Hermione added in the last as she glared at the junior Death Eater. And we are still going out for dinner.

I won't last through dinner with you in that outfit. Harry replied cheekily as she felt him come to stand behind the three Death Eaters to Draco's right. Not even a rustle of fallen leaves betrayed his presence, and only a link forged over seven years allowed her to know his whereabouts. The two of them watched as Draco bent down to pick up Hermione's wand. She carefully didn't grin.

That was the idea Harry...Draco's mine...on three...one...two...Harry felt Hermione's magic stretch out towards her wand, the idea had come to them the other day after another exhausting session of training, when Harry had mused on the insane things he had done over the years or rather had happen to him. In particular, that day when he had lit his wand, while it was still feet from his hand. THREE, INCARCEROUS. Thick steel cables shot out of her wand, binding Draco instantly and flinging him to the ground.

An invisibility cloak fluttered to the ground to her right as Harry MOVED. The Gryffindor Sword cut up and right, Harry spun as the Death Eater fell, brining the sword down again as he faced the second. A pair of corpses settled slowly to the ground in his wake, he didn't even turn to confirm Hermione's dagger protruding from the back of the third on his side.

To the left, Ron flicked his wand, and the ground froze under one Death Eater, he fell to the ground with a shout as a silver curse dispatched his neighbor and sharp rap on the side of the head with the pommel of Ron's sword finished the third. Ron flicked his wand again, stunning his first target. He knelt next to his last and felt for a pulse and with a glance over at Harry, he shook his head. Hermione called her wand to her hand and summoned Tonks' with a flick and handed it to the metamorph, right as Harry gave her a hug.

Hermione didn't even frown as Ron, kicked Draco in the side, hard, on the way over. Tonks gave them a small smile as she clapped Harry and Ron on the shoulders... "Good job boys." She eyed Hermione oddly for a moment, "but how did you know to get here?"

Hermione's eyes caught Harry's for a heartbeat, and without a word between them, she strode over to the ruins of her robes and bent down. She pulled a compact mirror from inside of it, it was already open, and as Harry pulled another, already open mirror from his pocket, Tonks nodded as Hermione crossed back over to Harry.

"Wotcher, I get it, you nudged it open before Draco thought he'd get cute." Tonks said thoughtfully and Hermione gave her a small smile as she relaxed back against Harry. He glared over her shoulder at Draco, and suddenly Tonks felt rather afraid for the Death Eater.

"Draco." Harry's voice was lethally cold, like a sword blade of ice, "give me one reason, why I don't eviscerate your arse right here and now?" His fingers twitched as Draco rose to hover a foot off the ground, upright and rotating slowly in the air. Green eyes lit with an icy blaze as he leaned on his sword slightly. "Tonks?" he asked without turning to her. Hermione rested her hand on his shoulder lightly as her other hand retrieved her dagger. Draco's eyes watched the entire purposefully slow flight of the Damascus blade. "What is the current proscribed punishment, by the Ministry for a Death Eater?"

"For one guilty of murder or conspiracy to commit the same...beheading." Tonks replied coldly. "Followed by public display of the head in the Ministry Atrium." She paced over to Draco and flicked her wand; his wand flew to her hand from his immobilized one. She snapped it in front of him, watched as the small particles floated to the ground, and tossed the remains at his feet contemptuously.

"So...if I were to?" Hermione asked, holding up her blade to the light.

Tonks shrugged, "no one would care really, as long as you left the eyes intact, they like them open and starting on the pikes. She paced back over to Harry and Hermione as Harry handed her the sword and flicked his wand. The cables vanished for a moment, before reappearing, and forcing him to his knees. Draco's lip trembled slightly as he glanced up to see his very own Muggleborn Angel of Death standing over him. Tears came to his eyes as the late afternoon sun reflected into his eyes from the flat of the blade. Rubies danced in the sunlight as Hermione raised the sword above her head, the blade became a sliver blur as it came around...

"WAIT." Draco screamed. The sword stopped, instantly, kissing the skin of his pale throat. A thin line of blood appeared where the edge of the sword touched his skin, and he gulped, wide-eyed as twin, glowing green eyes ripped into his skull. Draco screamed as paired, joined minds shattered whatever Occlumentic barriers he had erected to defend himself. He collapsed to the ground, whimpering. A small bit of drool leaked from his lips onto the gravel below.

Hermione glanced at Harry and shrugged. She gave her wrist holding the sword an odd twist and it vanished into the ether without a sound. She turned back to Draco and flicked her recovered wand, a red bolt snapped out, and Draco went limp. "What should we really do with him?" Her teeth found her bottom lip as she ran her hands up and down bare arms as if she were cold.

Harry looked over at Tonks meaningfully his eyes cold, "Tonks, would it violate any of your oaths if, we umm, lost Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Flint in transit? I have a feeling that they may be of use. At least they should know the identities of the majority of the Death Nibblers still in Hogwarts."

"No, but where do you want to keep them?" Tonks replied thoughtfully. "I doubt that you would want to keep him at Grimmauld."

"Hogwarts has dungeons...Dobby." The elf appeared, but before he could say a word, his green, tennis ball eyes caught sight of Malfoy. "Dobby, I would like you find...quarters for misters Malfoy and Flint. And make sure they do not escape. They are not to be seen Dobby, and no one, except Headmistress McGonagall is to know that they are at the castle. Understood?"

Dobby grinned. "Yes, Harry Potter Sir..." the elf turned its head to glare at Malfoy, "And if hes tries to escapes Harry Potter Sir?"

"If there is no other choice, kill him." Harry replied simply. Dobby's grin grew. "But only if they give you no other choice Dobby...I mean it." Dobby's grin fell somewhat and his eyes grew, nodding briskly and vanishing with a soft pop, Malfoy and Flint vanishing with him.

"Good," Harry muttered as the elf disappeared with his nemesis. "I would have..." he glanced down at Hermione who gave him a small smile, "I don't think I could have questioned him tonight." If he had...

Tonks and I could have handled it, Harry. I called you so we could get prisoners...

I know, but... Harry just gave up and kissed her, as Tonks looked on smirking.

"That whole conversation thing you two do, is kind of unnerving." Tonks announced softly. She glanced down at a enchanted, Muggle digital watch and muttered something under her breath in another language. "I have to go, I promised that I'd meet Wolfie." Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes in unison as Ron chortled in the background. They watched Tonks head off at a trot towards the Apparation spot her and Hermione had arrived in, marking the designated hole in the wards. A minute later a soft pop carried to their ears as Tonks vanished.

"What about you Ron?" Hermione asked softly as the trio followed Tonks at a more sedate pace.

"I dunno, thought I'd call Luna, see if she was...free to meet me somewhere." Ron replied, "You two still going to the Three Broomsticks?" Hermione stopped abruptly at his words and glanced back to where the spot where Draco had jumped her and Tonks could still be seen.

"Actually Ron." Hermione mused, "After dealing with that piece of trash, I honestly would rather forget I'm a witch tonight." She glanced at Harry, "I would rather, just be a normal Muggle teenager tonight, if its alright. I want to be able to eat with my boyfriend in public and actually act like he is, without it possibly getting back to Ginny. The Dursleys never took you anywhere did they Harry?" He shook his head with a slightly confused look in his eyes. "Ron, how would you and Luna like to go see a odd Muggle landmark?" He shrugged. "You know where Piccadilly Square is in London?" Ron nodded as they reached the Apparation spot. "Meet us there in an hour, dress as a Muggle." Harry and Hermione vanished with a breath of displaced air.

Ron grinned, as he reached into a pocket and pulled out a folding pocket mirror. "Luna." He whispered into it, and after several seconds, Luna's glowing, happy face appeared looking up at him. "Hi."

"Hello Ronald." Luna replied breathlessly. "Is something the matter?"

"No luv." Ron returned with a slight, wondering headshake. "How would you like to have dinner in London?" Luna's tiny face lit up, "Hermione says dress like a Muggle." Ron shrugged.

In the mirror, Luna's tiny eyes went even more unfocused than usual before sharpening to hard points. "Hermione wants to be normal and not have to worry about your sister." Luna said with that maddening air she got when she knew what the answer had to be, and knew it without any corroborating facts. Ron did notice that Ginny had become "your sister" and frowned slightly, almost imperceptibly, before smiling at her. "When do we leave, we do have to be careful of the London Ale Flies this time of year...should I bring repellant?"

"Umm...no," Ron didn't even roll his eyes, "we are to meet them at Piccadilly Square in an hour, so I'll be by..."

"No Ronald." Luna said softly, "Come by now...I need to fix you up a bit, you still have those ratty jeans and t-shirt on, don't you?" Luna's gaze was oddly calculating as Ron swallowed softly, and nodded. He vanished a second later with a soft CRACK.

************************Hard Rock Café, London***************************

8:20 pm

"This is pretty cool." Harry replied thoughtfully as he looked around the rather loud restaurant. The restaurant was crowded on a Saturday night, filled with everyone from American tourists to several other younger, "locals" such as themselves. Hermione gave him a small grin and took a bite of her pasta. The four of them were seated in a corner booth, under an authentic Hendrix's guitar and a gold record. "I remember that Dudley had to come here once, but Vernon hated it-said it was too loud." He glanced over at a photo of the Stones outside of the Café, one of them winked at him, "But I thought it was a Muggle place."

Hermione followed his gaze, "Oh, you know that Richards is a Wizard...he's like two hundred years old. There are more than him here Harry." She looked up at a monitor showing an Aerosmith video. "I have that album," she mused as she looked over at Luna and Ron. Luna was looking around at the various artifacts scattered along the walls and in display cases. Her head cocked oddly as she took in a '46 Harley in one corner under a an ivory bass guitar, next to an older acoustic with a nameplate marking its origin from Clapton's original donation in '71.

The two purebloods were sitting there with dazed expressions on their faces as they looked around the restaurant. Ron was almost, almost shocked off his feed, as he took in the surroundings, while Luna was probably just happy with all the shiny things and glittering lights. Harry looked up as a pretty, brown-eyed, red-haired waitress, wearing a short black outfit stopped at their table. She smiled down at Harry, as she swept a loose lock of hair behind her right ear. "You got everything you need honey?"

"Umm, yeah." Harry replied, oblivious. Ron rolled his tongue around in his mouth as Hermione scooted even closer to Harry. She shot a glare at the waitress who just shrugged and refilled their drinks before leaving. Hermione's glare transferred to Ron, and he returned his gaze to his food. Luna had been true to her word; she had made Ron change into "acceptable" clothes, a button down shirt and new jeans and even to more or less neatly make up his hair.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Harry was Harry, he had changed from the torn jeans and t-shirt he had had on earlier under his robes when they went to Diagon Alley and then the Abbey after Hermione and Tonks to a dark blue shirt and khakis, but his hair, was even worse than normal. Hermione caught his glance and smiled, as they pretended for one night that they were not who they really were, that they didn't have wands ready to draw at all times.

She leaned over as Luna moved onto Ron's lap, and the pair started to make out. "That's not a terribly bad idea," Harry whispered and kissed her on the forehead. "At least we're back out of the way."

"No, it's not love," Hermione responded softly against his lips as her hand slipped across his thigh.

"Umm, check...please."

(A/N Aerosmith, Falling in Love is Hard on The Knees, #81 in 1997)


A/N: There ya go, I felt happy so I thought I'd get this one up a day or two early. Next Chapter, some stuff happens, a talk to a ferret, Luna does some math, and plans are hatched to look into another Horcrux...


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Here we go again, and yes I just thought up the chapter title right before I posted. Thanks once again to Lady Starlight, without whose hard work this fic would probably be gibberish.

Chapter 13: Of Ferrets and Howlers
**************************Grimmauld Place*******************************

August 14, 1997
3:40 am.

Harry awoke with a sudden feeling of loss. He reached over and finding only a fading warmth left were Hermione had been, he sighed and rolled out of bed, after feeling around on the nightstand for a good minute for his glasses. Jerking on a long-sleeved t over a pair of workout pants he found on the floor, he slipped his wand unto the waistband and set out looking for her.

His search didn't take long.

He smirked as he leaned against the door coming of the Library, and rolled his eyes. It was only through their link that he could tell that Hermione was actually buried somewhere in the general vicinity of the couch, behind a stack of books, a pile of parchments, a flock of used quills and a single, highly annoyed, half-Kneazle who looked up at Harry beseechingly as if begging him to drag his mistress back to bed at such an unholy hour. Harry gave him an, "are you kidding look?" as he settled on the tattered couch next to her, moving aside a stack of books as tall as him from the seat.

Hermione gave him an aggravated sigh and a reproachful, upside-down glare as he dropped his head into her lap. She gave up a second later, bent double to kiss him and went back to her book. "What are you doing?" Harry asked in a childish, sing-song voice.

"Working on the scroll, that the library Guardians let Tonks and I have," she replied softly as she scratched a note on a clipboarded stack of parchments that she was balancing precariously on the arm of the couch. The original scroll was spread out on the coffee table in front of her, while a thick tome, was floating at eye level in front of her. She occasionally gestured with her quill at it, it turned the page as her other hand had somehow ended up playing with his hair.

"Can I help?" Harry asked seriously, his voice back to normal.

"You can keep me company," Hermione replied. She scribbled down another sentence on the parchment before she continued. "It looks as if this really is just a list of the known artifacts of Rowena and Godric. Godric's we pretty well already knew...I mean honestly, we have the sword and the daggers with us, and the hat is at Hogwarts and none of them are a Horcrux."

"So the remaining one is something of Ravenclaw's?" Harry muttered as he glanced up at Crookshanks, who seemed to be jealous. He stuck his tongue out at the cat; who returned a baleful, amber stare before giving up and curling up on the top of the couch next to Hermione's head. "Does it say what she left behind?"

Hermione paused in her scribbling, to brush a loose curl behind her ear, "Umm...a spellbook, of course, a ring that might have been her engagement ring, it's unclear there isn't a direct translation from this Rune dialect, and a stick?"

"Staff," Harry corrected with a yawn, even as his stomach lurched as she mentioned the ring.

You right...what's wrong Harry?

Nothing. Harry replied a bit too quickly "Why are you awake?" he grinned, "I thought I'd tired you out." Hermione giggled.

"You'll just have to work harder next time dear." Hermione sighed as she reached forward and placed the Ancient Runes reference that had been floating in front of her and her notes on the coffee table. She inched down on the couch until she was lying next to Harry and grunted contently. "No really, Team Red Moon needs to lean just what the hell a Silencing Charm is." Harry laughed softly.

"Are you ok, Mione? After today?" He asked after a instant of contemplation. "Did we do the right thing?" His hand ran up and down her back absently, pausing for a moment, "Ron and I didn't even give them a chance..." Hermione didn't say a word, as he continued, "am I turning into Tom...I'm supposedly almost the same, I..."

"No you're not, Harry" Hermione whispered fiercely, "Not as long as you can lay here and hold me, and wonder about it." She leaned into his chest, "Not as long as I'm here." Harry shrugged slightly, and grunted, as Crookshanks used him as a springboard to launch off of to go chase a sudden squeak. Hermione giggled again as Harry rubbed sore ribs. "Don't look at me, I just feed him."

"You are just a Familiar Crooks," Harry said loudly enough for the Kneazle to hear him, "I can buy her another." Crookshanks flitted out of the room, with his tail high and Hermione chuckled.

They curled up together, quietly for a long moment, "Harry, we should let Draco go." Hermione mentioned out of the blue. Any other person in the universe including her parents would have been shocked, not Harry.

"Question him under Veritaserum, Obliviate him and let him go somewhere?" Harry replied thoughtfully, "I would really like him dead Hermione." Harry finished softly.

"Me too...but..."

"We place a tracking spell on him, and let him lead us to Moldie..."

"Better, I would bet his contact is Snape." Her voice toughened, "we find him, and we go with you, me, Ron, Tonks, Remus, maybe Luna and Neville, and we kill the bastard. And I suppose that Draco will have outlived his usefulness by then."

"Alright."

**********************Hogwarts***********************************

7:45 am

Hermione dropped a huge book with a correspondingly loud thump on the table next to Harry's hand. He didn't even flinch from his breakfast at the sound, or when she sat down next to him and took a muffin off his plate. She absentmindedly fed him a bit of it as she started to glance through the book, her lips moving slightly as she read to herself.

"Ignore me over a book?" Harry asked quietly after she had read at least a chapter, or in normal people's terms of time, about three minutes, she was reading slowly. She rolled her eyes, grabbed his chin and kissed him thoroughly before returning to her book for another long moment. She closed it and leaned against him with a sigh.

"I'm going to miss being able to do this when school starts." She muttered as Harry put an arm around her shoulder.

"We aren't violating any school rules...I did read the entire regulations book, Mione." She kissed his cheek.

"Good Boy," she replied, her face fell as the Daily Prophet owl delivered the morning news, and Hedwig delivered a large package from Mrs. Weasley. Harry passed it to her without a word, a quick wand flick and she cursed under her breath as it glowed red. She ripped it open to find a box of chocolate chip cookies, "Damn and those were good cookies."

"Give them to Ron," Harry muttered as she pushed them away, "he already loves Ginny."

"Yeah," Hermione responded darkly. She took his hand and watched it closely as she ran her thumb over the veins and tendons in the back, "That's it Harry."

"What's it Hermione?"

"Ginny has until the end of October to stop this, and then we stop pretending in front of her. If we are still here at Christmas, I'm bloody well kissing your arse under the mistletoe."
Harry laughed, but there was little overall humor in his voice. "I would rather you kiss me somewhere else, then..."

"You know what I mean Harry," Hermione snapped peevishly, Hedwig looked up at her, from her plundering of Harry and Hermione's shared plate, as they were distracted from it. Harry gave the owl a glare and she took flight unashamedly.

Harry and Hermione watched her go, with equally perplexed expressions. Harry glanced down at the Prophet, which held a headline about another attack on a Muggle village in Wales. The article next to it spouted a tired diatribe about the "Chosen One" and him being spotted in Diagon Alley yesterday:

Just what is the Chosen One up to?
By Rita Skeeter

Yesterday, the former apprentice of the late Albus Dumbledore was spotted in Diagon Alley, but was the one whom rumor credits with having the responsibility of saving us all looking for Death Eaters? No, Harry Potter the former Tri-Wizard champion and if reports are correct, one of the ones involved in the Battle of Hogwarts, the night that the former Chief Warlock died, was spotted going to a reputed joke shop, after stopping by Gringotts, no doubt to continue with his playboy lifestyle.

For it seems Mr. Potter is only concerned with his happiness at a dire time like this. In recent years, Mr. Potter has been romantically associated with several witches, most notably his bushy haired friend Hermione Granger and current Auror trainee Cho Chang, but in this last year he was associated with Ginny Weasley in a torrid romantic affair that was marked by a heated breakup at Dumbledore's funeral....

"You know you don't want to read this tripe, Harry," Hermione replied bitterly. She took the paper from his hands, and it vanished in a flare of fire. "We actually have work to do-" she glanced around the Great Hall. McGonagall was sitting at the restored Professor's table, with it being so close to school starting, she had had the House Tables restored. Tonks and Remus were sitting next to her; Remus was leaning over talking to Flitwick with large, humorous hand gestures as if he were telling a joke. Which he evidently was as the diminutive Professor fell off his pile of cushions laughing. "Where is Ron?"

Harry looked slightly...sheepish. "I might need you to save me love." The crooking of an elegant brunette eyebrow was his only response. "I sorta got him up while he was up..."

"You didn't?" she giggled.

"Yeah, I did, got even for waking you and in a way, me up."

"Harry James...what did you do?"

Harry glanced around to make sure no one was near. "I used the twins' voice changer to change my voice to Molly's and beat on his door. Ron came out of there, in only his boxers and red as his hair." Harry took a sip of his coffee, "and then not a second later, Luna comes out in his shirt from last night, and very possibly only his shirt from last night and goes 'hi Harry, you're not Molly?' and then she turned right around and went back to bed." Hermione covered her mouth as her eyes danced.

"Where are they now?"

"Well right now, Ron is down glaring at Malfoy, while I guess Luna is still in bed at Grimmauld. I bowed to the inevitable and added her to the access list for Grimmauld." Hermione nodded as she finished their shared muffin and stood up.

"Let's go talk to the Ferret, dear." A low feral sound came from her throat as she took Harry's arm and they left for the Dungeon.

******************Somewhere under the Hogwarts Dungeons*******************

"About bloody time you two showed." Ron snarled. He was pacing outside of a barred door, through the bars; they could see a platinum-bland head of hair bent low over his chest. "Wake me up and make me miss breakfast-"

"Are you not a wizard?" Hermione muttered with the same exact tone one had while pounding their head against a metaphorical wall, her wand flicked and a small table, with a large plate filled with eggs, bacon, sausage, a muffin and a large goblet of pumpkin juice appeared. "Honestly." Ron muttered something under his breath and started eating.

"Mrofya, raumgph whn I rumohed hn" Ron said through a mouthful of food, and Hermione pointed her wand at the plate. A link of sausage rose off the plate and began beating Ron upside the head. He glared at her before swallowing purposefully, "He woke up and was annoying me so I stunned him." He finished his breakfast, "Can I go now?"

"No, mate, we are going to question Malfoy, and then we will Obliviate the both of them before tossing them back with their friends." Harry replied as he opened the cell door, his wand flicked and Malfoy stirred. After a moment, Malfoy glared at the three of them from the floor.

"Potter, and his...entourage." Draco mused; he glanced around the room before looking up at them. The cell that Dobby had found for him was actually rather comfortable, for a cell under Hogwarts. The room was dry, and secure. The remnants of a meal sat on a metal plate next to a cot set with clean sheets. All in all, it was better than most of Harry's accommodations had been for the better part of his first eleven years. "Are you doing to torture me...maybe have me watch as you and the Mudblood make out...or will you have your pet Weasel..."

He fell silent at an irritated gesture from Harry. His lips continued to move for several moments before closing. "No." Harry replied flatly, "No Draco, you are going to answer some questions that's it. You have no option, no hope. Just like you and Snape left Dumbledore." His wand flicked and Draco flew up and onto the cot, petrified, with his mouth gaping open. Harry watched silently as Hermione approached Draco and drizzled a clear liquid down his throat. He waited the required minute and unfroze him, canceling the Silencing Charm with the same gesture. Harry waved at Hermione, who conjured a clipboard with several questions already listed on it and a quill.

"Draco," She began, "where is Voldemort?" The trio watched as Draco shivered at the name. He glanced around the room, frantically before allowing his head to droop to his chest.

"I don't know, I was not allowed in the Dark Lord's presence." His response was in the form of an utterly flat monotone.

Hermione's eye crooked at Harry, "Why were you allowed to live after your failure to kill Dumbledore?"

"Snape told him, I was delayed from executing the mission. He told him that he had to perform the mission...Snape has kept me from the Dark Lord's presence."

"When were you and your team expected back?" Hermione inquired after scribbling a note to Harry that read, "Interesting, why is Snape protecting him?" Harry shrugged, before mouthing back, "teacher's pet?"

Draco gave a small shrug, "there was no set time; I was supposed to send an owl to a address in Edinburgh by tomorrow at the latest."

"Is that where Snape is?" Harry asked levelly.

"No," Draco replied, "It is a mail drop for the Dark Lord's upper echelon. A initiate is used to collect the messages for security."

Hermione glanced back at Ron, who was leaning menacingly against the open cell door. He has like another five minutes on this dosage, Harry; I can't give him any more, without frying his mind. Harry nodded understandingly.

Let's get what we originally came for, then you program him, you're better at it than me. Hermione nodded. "Draco, whom among the Hogwarts population is a Death Eater?"




Draco looked as if he were trying not to answer the question. Veins popped up in his neck, and his eyes bulged for a moment, before the potion took hold once more. Names began to spill from his lips, "Zabini, Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott..." Harry and Ron both turned as one to look at Hermione, she shrugged as Draco continued without pause, luckily her quill had been writing by itself the entire time. "Elliot, McGovern-"

"Who is not a Death Eater in Slytherin, Draco?" Hermione interrupted the monologue.

"None under fifth year." Draco replied softly, "Though several such as Nott, have younger brothers who will carry on the tradition, above that, Greengrass, she and her family are in defiance of the Dark Lord...they will die."

End it Hermione. Harry ordered softly, she nodded, a flash of red lit the cell and Draco slumped to the cot. Her wand tracked to Draco as she started to mutter something under her breath.

"Have him remember that he was caught by Aurors and they put him in with a whole bunch of chickens and they..." Ron said happily.

Harry...Hermione pleaded. Harry turned and glared at Ron, until he shut up, Thanks... "Obilivatium remonstrance confundatum" A brilliant yellow cone of light shot from Hermione's wand and as it faded, Draco looked at her with an absolutely blank expression on his face. "Draco," Hermione began slowly and distinctly, "you will wait thirty minutes...you will find that Dobby has left the cell door open, you will escape, taking Flint with you. You will remember only that a group of Aurors headed by Tonks caught you and they put you here as she was based here, before transport to the Ministry. They did not question you. They did not have time. At some point, when you know for certain the location of Severus Snape and that he will not leave for at least a day, you will send an owl to Harry Potter telling him where Snape is. You will not remember doing this immediately after doing so. If Snape or anyone tries to probe beyond these memories, you will develop a blinding headache." Her wand flicked once more and Draco fell back to sleep.

She motioned Harry and Ron out of the cell, "Let's go, I'll program Flint and we'll go watch them, 'escape.'"

Like clockwork, thirty minutes later, Draco's eyes slipped open and he crept to the door of his cell. He pushed on it hard, and it swung open. "Stupid house elf." He mumbled gleefully. He slipped next door to Flint's cell, and after several minutes work with a small implement, he pulled from a loose heel of his boot; he got the cell door open.

Invisible presences crept after him as the duo slipped out a heretofore unknown vanishing cabinet that was placed in an unused storage room off the Slytherin common room.

An instant after they had vanished, six presences appeared from various locations around the Slytherin common room. Hermione and Harry appeared as one, as Harry swept his cloak off them. Tonks appeared next, as she removed Hermione's borrowed cloak, while Remus shimmered into view as he canceled his Disillusionment Charm, the combination of his Lycan characteristics and the dim dungeon lighting making it easy enough for him to vanish, and Ron, who was quite too tall anymore to fit under a cloak with anyone else faded into view as he pulled his cloak off and started to fold it tightly to fit in a pocket.

A final member joined their group as a small gray and black tabby padded from out of the shadows and SHIFTED, growing and stretching until Minerva McGonagall stood glaring at the gaping hole in her security. Her wand flashed and the cabinet shattered into a million tiny splinters. "DOBBY!" Harry snapped, and the elf appeared with a soft pop, "Get the other elves, if it's alright Headmistress?" She nodded. "I want to know every way in and out of the castle, in every part of the castle, unused or not, and I want to know by sundown." Dobby vanished and a moment later, soft pops rang out as almost five hundred house elves started to hop here and there about the castle.

The group left the Slytherin common room, and fifteen minutes later, Dobby and Winky appeared. "Dobby is sorry sirs, ma'am" he bowed to Harry and Hermione, and Ron once again barely kept from laughing. "That it tooks so longs to find...here is a list." He handed Hermione a slightly crumpled parchment, in which an impossibly long list listed everything from the windows in the Owlery to small mouse holes.

Harry's eyes met Hermione's and they gave a perfectly synchronized sigh. Harry closed his eyes for an instant before waving Ron over, "Ok, Ron, Mione we need to find a way to..."

"No, Potter...Harry." McGonagall said softly with a tired warmth filling her burr, she motioned to Lupin, "Remus, Nymphadora, I would appreciate it if you would look into this. Harry, I think that you three have other matters to look into..." Harry nodded and led Ron and Hermione away. As soon as the trio was out of earshot, McGonagall turned back to her two newest Professors. Her eyes grew hard as her lips thinned. Her words came out soft but utterly resolute, "you will make sure that those three have a safe home here. The only way another Death Eater is coming into my school is in chains or dead."

Remus nodded as he looked after Harry, "and what about those students that Draco named?"

McGonagall frowned. "Harry is much like Albus, he would rather have them here...Remus..."

"Oh they will learn little from me. Except, perhaps, to fear the night, if they cross the line openly." She nodded and the three headed off, leaving behind only the dim, empty stones of the Dungeon.

***************************The Burrow*********************************

August 20, 1997

"Mum," Ron objected exasperatedly, "we are doing what we have to do." He paced up to his room, and started to place several books, and his current year's set of school uniforms in his pack. He shrunk a set of books before tossing them into the bottom of the decrepit, leather pack. He frowned over a set of dress robes before shrugging and packing them.

"There is no call for this, Ronald Weasley..." Molly hissed as she paced over and started packing for him. Ron stood back and leaned against the wall next to the head of his bed, the bright orange color of the poster next to his head, contrasting drastically with his hair. "There are adults that are trained and ready to fight, you and Harry and Hermione need to finish school first and then maybe Auror training, you always wanted to be an Auror... when you three headed off last month, it almost killed me, and where are you staying? Just you three at Grimmauld, who is looking out for you..."

"We can handle it mum, or are you really asking who's chaperoning?" Ron shot back as he picked up his pack, seizing it from her hands and storming out of the room. Molly followed on his heels. "We are fully qualified wizards mum, we can take care of ourselves."

"But..."

Ron ignored her as she fumed and headed out onto the lawn. He fought to not roll his eyes, as he found not only his girlfriend, which it had just so happened that he had yet to mention to anyone else in the family was a certain blond neighbor, and who had just happened to come over, but his sister, who was even now interrogating Luna. "Hi Gin, Luna."

"Hello, Ronald..." Luna greeted him with a small smile, and Ginny did roll her eyes.

"Ron," Ginny looked over at Luna meaningfully, "you don't have to pretend...brother; I know you two are sleeping together."

Luna's eyes flared. "There's no reason for that Ginevra," Ron growled. He frowned at her as she drew up to her full height of 5' 2." "Let's go Luna," he sighed as he held out his arm to co-Apparate her, "You needed a lift to your father's office?" She nodded at him, but before they could vanish Ginny placed her hand on Ron's other arm.

"Ron, I want to come along...I can help." Ginny demanded.

Ron shook his head, "I'm just taking Luna to her dad's office; I'll see you on the first." With a hard jerk of his arm, he vanished along with Luna. Ginny took a deep, noisy breath in and out through her nose, and grunted angrily. She slammed the door of the broomshed open and pulled out her new Firebolt. She headed off towards the Quidditch pitch, with her broom trembling in her hands.

"I guess I can tell mum about Ron and Luna." She muttered as she kicked off from the ground and motioned for the charmed Quaffles to rise to her hands from the ground.

******************************Grimmauld Place***************************

August 31, 1997
7:35 am

Ron looked on with undisguised loathing as Hermione came into the kitchen with a stack of five, three-inch thick books hovering after her and directed one each to land in front of him and Harry on the table. She stopped to give Harry a kiss on the cheek as he began to page through it. "Come on Hermione." Ron whined, "We haven't even woke up yet." He took a bite of bacon.

"Oh let me have it..." Luna replied softly as she took the book from Ron and started to read. She glanced up at Harry, "So we are to start the DA as soon as we return?" She paused and looked down at her book, in an uncharacteristically small voice, "I can fight Harry..." Luna glanced over at Ron, "I can go along..."

Harry ran his fingers through his hair. "Luna, I...uh..." A soft flutter of wings interrupted them by Pig appearing, having flown in through the Owl door. A slightly smoking red envelope was clutched precariously in his talons. Pig dropped the envelope in front of Ron and left the room in a blur, heading for cover.

"Oh. Bloody. Hell." Ron closed his eyes as he reached out for the envelope. Hermione gave Harry a concerned glance, and looked at Ron supportively. Ron opened the envelope...

"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY..." Molly's voice shattered several dishes in the sink; Hermione quickly threw up a shield around the remaining crockware as Molly continued. "HOW CAN YOU? THAT GIRL IS UNDERAGE...NEVER IN ALL OF MY YEARS HAVE I EVER HAD A SON OF MINE ACT LIKE THIS...I AM CONTACTING HER FATHER...WHAT ABOUT HERMIONE, DID YOU EVEN THINK OF HOW THIS MIGHT..."

Hermione flicked her wand and the Howler vanished. "Thanks Hermione." Ron said as he stuck a finger in his ear and waggled it back and forth, trying to restore a bit of his hearing. "Oh by the way, are you hurt?" Ron gave her a small grin.

"I'm just shattered," Hermione replied dryly as her brown eyes twinkled. She crooked an eyebrow as she turned to Luna, "that is one point though, Luna, just how are you staying here...you are underage after all, doesn't your father..."

Luna shrugged as she turned a page, "Daddy pretty much lets me do as I like." Her gaze turned to Ron and Harry and Hermione could swear that her eyes glowed softly, "I told him that I was with my future husband; he just asked what's for dinner." She got up and walked to the door, "I am going to go pack; I hate for the Kneazles to place their talismans in my trunk...takes days to get the spells out." She left and to her credit, Hermione held off laughing before Luna left the room. She was still shaking her head as she turned to the sink and started the dishes washing themselves.

Behind her, Harry mouthed "Future husband?" Ron flipped him off and retorted; he mimed slipping a ring on his finger while looking back and forth between Harry and Hermione's turned back. Harry tapped his wand, which was sitting on the table next to the open book, with one long finger.

"BOYS" Hermione said warningly, without turning to look at either one. She returned to the table cradling her coffee, and sat down on the table next to Harry. She sighed as Luna came back into the room, Hermione waved towards Ron and they watched as Luna leaned on the back of Ron's chair. "I thought you were packing?"

"I forgot, all of my stuff is already packed into Ron's trunk." She smiled, "Hermione can I borrow your book on Arithmatic Transforms? I need to check some homework for Vector."

"Sure Luna." Hermione took a sip of coffee and leaned back as she thought of something, she looked at Ron, before looking directly at Harry. "We need a plan, both for tomorrow and for checking out that possible Horcrux in Nottingham, or Sherwood rather to be more precise."

"You found one?" Harry asked, his voice rising slightly. He started to get up, but stopped as Hermione pushed him back down in his seat.

"Hold on, Harry." Hermione shook her head, "I need to do a touch more research. There is some mention of a strange book emblazoned with a blue and bronze eagle being mentioned in a listing of Robyn Hode artifacts, in Mixed World Artifacts Quarterly. It was first noticed in the collection about twenty years ago, when a certain Gaunt family donated several artifacts to the museum there, including a very old longbow and a otherwise blank book."

"Just like a spellbook would appear to Muggles?" Ron put in thoughtfully. He frowned, but who is this Robyn Hode character. Seems familiar somehow."

Hermione laughed, "probably because you've heard of him as Robin Hood. Hode was actually a contemporary of the Founders. He was a wizard that took a dim view of some of the practices of the Muggle government of the time. They couldn't ever seem to catch him, probably because he'd Apparate away every time they got close. He also happened to hold a minor title in the aristocracy. The book itself is at a museum in Sherwood."

"So what's the problem?" Ron asked, slightly puzzled, "it's just a Muggle museum, we Apparate in, grab the book and Disapparate out." Both Hermione and Harry groaned.

"Oh because it could be a trap...does the timing make you wonder Ron?" Hermione covered her face for a second, "twenty years ago Ron...right when Riddle was at the height of his power."

"So what Hermione, set to trip if a magic user tries to take it?"

She nodded "yeah Harry, the museum is in the middle of Greenwood, in the center of Sherwood, it would have been perfect to set another trap with buried Inferi set to spring, with maybe an ward set to raise an anti-Apparation and Portkey field the instant its touched." Harry groaned slightly.

"Then don't touch it," Luna piped up without looking up from a complicated drawing she was scrawling on a parchment. Harry, Hermione and Ron all looked at her slightly dumbfounded. She looked up at them and held up the parchment. "Have Hedwig do it. It's just a book, right? She can lift it. If it's in a case use a rock and smash the case, and then have her pick it up. Simple, and we can go for ice cream...I like chocolate, but the newer chocolate can have coco weevils...so I usually just have vanilla." In the picture she had illustrated, a small, rather well drawn likeness of Hedwig watched as a rock soared from somewhere off the paper, smashed a glass fronted cabinet, and the owl swooped in, took the book and flew off the other edge of the parchment before the drawing started again.

"Um...ok," Hermione said finally, "that could actually work. Owls are a nightmare, you can't set wards to spring up against them, or they'd be going off all the time. Since they are literally everywhere. But I still want to hold off trying for it, until we are settled for a week or so at Hogwarts, we need to secure our base first."

"Yeah." Harry agreed as he looked up at Hermione and took both her hands in his, "and we need to discuss your parents, love." She frowned at him, but nodded warily. The kitchen grew quiet as even Crookshanks who had been sitting in the corner working on his own plate, looked to Harry. "We can't keep them at Hogwarts any longer Hermione, not with school starting, there will be too many Death Nibblers there waiting to let Tom know where they are, and I won't see you get hurt." He sighed and let go of one of her hands to run his hand through his hair, "Remus has agreed to act as the Secret Keeper Hermione...so even when he tells us where they are, we won't be able to tell anyone, even if Voldie breaks into my head or yours through me." In the background Luna pursed her lips as something just said confirmed a thought of hers but said nothing. "I trust him to die before he tells Hermione. He has to tell voluntarily, or write it down, so even Leglimency or Veritaserum won't get it out of him. I thought we would go to Hogwarts today so you can say goodbye to them, for a while." She nodded as she ran her teeth over her bottom lip. Harry could see tears in the corner of her eyes but she did not shed them.

"What about Tom's minions at the school?" Hermione said after a moment, in a tight voice, "what do you want to do about them?"

"Well I was thinking of feeding them to Fluffy." Harry replied honestly, Luna giggled and Harry turned and looked at Ron, "Just what have you been telling her Ron? Anyway, I suggest that we use tomorrow night after the Sorting to...introduce ourselves to Slytherin House, to let them know, that the Head Students will be actively looking out for their best interests."

"They'll probably take that as a challenge." Hermione replied in a tone that let him know she wasn't disagreeing, just pointing out a fact.

"Then so be it," Ron replied for all three of them, "we return whatever they try against us ten fold, they shoot a trip jinx, we stun them, they try anything worse, we drag their arses out for a duel..."

Hermione muttered something under her breath in French, "yeah, Ron, but that will only work for the sixth and seventh years, if they start using the younger ones as their minions..."

"Then we come up with something else," Harry finished and looked at the other three in the room, at his two oldest friends and the newer one, that in the span of weeks, seemed to have expanded the trio by one. "Something." He repeated.



A/N: There you go, next chapter...A train, some toads, several surprises, and an long overdue talk to Hagrid...along with some other stuff.

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A/N: Yep it really took 14 chapters to get them to school...slow buses I guess. Once again, many, many thanks to Lady Starlight for her gracious beta work.
Chapter 14: A Big Red Train

***************************Hogwarts, Hospital Wing************************
August 31, 1997.
10:20 pm

Roger and Jane Granger looked like nothing more or less than a normal, modern, Wizarding couple as they stood in the Hospital Wing. Both of them were dressed in long, black traveling cloaks over dark Muggle clothes. Jane smiled at Harry as he and Hermione appeared in the doorway to the room, and Hermione ran to her mother. Tears were in the eyes of both women as Hermione hugged Jane tightly and Roger pulled Harry aside.

Harry glanced over at Remus, the only other person in the room. Even Poppy had been told to vanish and she had done so, though not without protest. Remus was also dressed in black, and tonight, the kindly Professor was nowhere to be seen, the wolf was taking up residence. A black cloak that seemed to pull the very light from the air was draped over his shoulders, with a dark watch cap covering his gray and brown locks. A long kukri was sheathed down one leg, while the other held his wand and a pouch of necessities. He nodded to Harry, before stepping out in the hall.

"Keep her safe Harry," Roger said softly as he pulled Harry into a hug as if he were his own son.

Harry looked up at him, with a tight smile, "They'll have to kill me first."

"That's all I can ask," Roger paused as he glanced over to see Jane whispering something in Hermione's ear. "Don't wait Harry." Harry regarded him for a long moment, before nodding once more.

Hermione dashed over from Jane and threw herself in her father's arms. "I'm going to miss you daddy," she sobbed. Outside of the windows, a light rain had begun. The clouds blocked any trace of the moon, and privately Harry thought it an apt night for a mission such as this. He walked away from the Grangers to look out the window at the wet lawn.

In the darkness, nothing much was moving. The Thestral herd was stampeding around their paddock annoyedly, they didn't like rain and no doubt some flobberworms were surfacing but that was about it. Harry knew that at this very moment, all throughout the castle a legion of elves was under the direction of the Headmistress and Tonks removing, trapping or warding almost every entrance into the castle, no matter what the size. In fact, Lupin, as DADA Professor, should be overlooking that task as well, but for once Harry had decided to take advantage of whom he was. Yes, in all likelihood it was he who for good or ill must try to save the world from Voldemort, but Hermione was his heart, and he was not about to see hers broken if he could help it.

After several minutes in which he heard soft noises from behind him, familiar arms wrapped around his waist from behind. He turned to place his around Hermione as well as they spun back to watch. Remus pulled a small, golden ring from somewhere in his pocket and held it out for the Grangers to hold. In a fall of color and a sudden rush of wind, the Grangers and Remus vanished.

Hermione threw herself into his shoulder and bawled as she clung to him. With a deep breath, Harry softly ran his fingers through her hair as he muttered quiet, nonsense into her ear.

********************Platform 9 & 3/4, King's Cross Station, London**************

September 1, 1997
10:45 am.

For a while, after Dumbledore's death, it had been thought that the brilliant crimson locomotive and its retinue of well appointed cars would be retired, hidden, put into storage possibly never to emerge again. But now with fifteen minutes until the train pulled away from the hidden platform in the midst of one of London's most heavily traveled stations billowing clouds of steam filled the tracks. Students in a mix of Muggle jeans and shirts and Wizarding robes and cloaks crowded the causeway.

Young chattering girls looked up adoringly at older boys carrying their trunks past, while their male counterparts laughed and traded Chocolate Frog cards and played stupid jokes on one another.

A veritable river of trolleys appeared at miniscule intervals through the hidden wall to the Muggle world, faster and faster now that the time for departure had almost arrived. Students, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin boarded the train with their trunks floating or being manhandled behind them depending on their age. And over looking all of this, at least half the active duty Aurors still on duty, and almost all of the few remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix, which by now consisted mostly of the Weasley Clan. Several had died several more had just vanished. Remus, Tonks, Minerva and Hagrid were, of course, already at Hogwarts.

A murmur of whispers sounded out as a trio of presences swept down the platform with a hundred gazes following their progress. Shining badges hung on their chests, two with a large central "H"; the remaining one with a "P. Hard, green eyes swept the platform, pausing for an instant on a cluster of seventh years, all in Wizarding casual clothes. Blaise Zabini met his eyes for an instant before looking away with the feeling of his very soul being measured and found lacking, and with rude shouts and gestures the Slytherins boarded the train.

The green eyes softened as the owner knelt next to a young girl who didn't look ten, let alone eleven, as he along with his brown-eyed companion helped her repack her spilled trunk with casual flicks of holly and ivy-wood wands. Behind him at his shoulder, a tall, blue-eyed guardian constantly swept the crowd. After the first two had finished their task, he smiled down at her, a distance of almost two feet and handed her a chocolate frog from his pocket. The tiny girl watched the trio leave with a slightly star struck vision dancing on her face, and watched them stop in the midst of a cluster of ruby hair broken only by a pair of silver manes.

"Harry." A small red-haired presence shouted and threw her arms around him. Ginny looked up at him, "where have you been, did you get my package?"

Bill and Fleur's eyes met behind her sister Gabrielle. He flicked them towards Hermione's stonily impassive face and she nodded.

Harry smiled down at her, with not a hint of anything other than pleasure at her presence. The Dursleys would never know just how helpful they had been in learning to hide his true emotions. Harry noticed that unlike Hermione who was behind him and dressed casually in a t-shirt and khaki cargos, in other words dressed to fight if need be, Ginny was dressed to kill, him. In fact from the occasional glance he caught Molly shooting in her direction out of the corner of her eye, she didn't totally appreciate the short black skirt or white camisole top the youngest Weasley was sporting, or the two inch heels she seemed to have on as well. "Yeah Ginny I did, thanks. We all appreciated the cookies."

A faint waft of roses flitted past his nose as Ginny swept an artfully loose strand behind her ear, ohh honestly...Hermione growled in the back of his mind, and the faint stirrings of, something, were crushed under the breakers of a torrent of feelings from Hermione.

Thank you Hermione. Harry sent as he gave Ginny a small smile, and walked over to Mrs. Weasley. She gave Ron and Hermione an odd look and immediately Harry wondered just who had prompted that Howler yesterday morning. She crushed him in her arms.

"You three don't go off and do anything, you stay in school and learn, you hear." She glared at Hermione and Ron as if admonishing them for leading Harry off the beaten path, but smiled immediately and swept both of them into crushing hugs anyway. "It's a shame your parents couldn't be here Hermione."

"Well they are safe, that's what's important," Hermione replied with more or less complete belief in her words.

""Arry" Fluer said suddenly as she guided a smaller version of herself through the sea of Weasleys, "Gabrielle, pleaze take care of hers" Gabrielle shot an annoyed glance back at Fluer.

"Harry, it is good to see you." She said in a much less accented English than her big sister managed. "I am happyz to ze attending Hogzwartz."

"You too, Gabrielle," Harry replied with a genuine smile. She returned an absolutely dazzling one, Hermione...if she were two years older, we would never get any sleep this next year from having to chase all her suitors back to bed. He felt the feeling of agreement that she sent his way. "You probably need to get on the train." She smiled and after a quick wave, Fleur and her headed off to put her belongings on the train.

Bill watched after his wife and motioned the trio in close, Ginny leaned in, but no one minded for this, "Harry, guys, keep her safe the best you can. Fleur feels that even with Hogwarts being what it is, a stick in Voldemort's eye, she's safer there than at Beuxbatons. Even without Dumbledore," Harry frowned, "Hogwarts is still the safest place in England... Beuxbatons', only protection is Maxine. Voldemort will overrun it in an hour and he will strike at the schools in Europe. He isn't strong enough in the Americas to go after them yet, but he will be..."

"Ok Bill." Harry's heart was heavy as he took on responsibility for another soul, "I...we'll do our best."

The whistle to the train sounded and Harry straightened. Bill and the rest of the Weasleys, the adults anyway looked at him twice as a sudden, presence, erupted from his very bones. Without another word, the trio swept off, sonorous "IF YOU'RE GOING, GET ON" Harry roared and a half dozen lollygaggers including Ginny piled on the train. Harry glanced down both sides of the train and finding no one, motioned to the conductor and three blasts from the whistle sounded and the train started off. He glanced to either side, found no one and leaned in to kiss Hermione hard. Ron whistled behind him tunelessly. Hermione gave him a rude gesture under Harry's arm without breaking the kiss and he laughed. After a minute, "ok Mione." Harry said softly, a touch out of breath, "I see you in the Heads' compartment."

"You aren't going to do something, are you Harry?"

"No Hermione. I just need to see a friend." Harry replied truthfully, looking her in the eyes the entire time. She gave him a grin and after another glance up and down the halls, she gave him a quick, parting peck on the lips and headed forward.

"So Harry," Ron said as they headed aft together, "Are you?"

"Yeah and I'm scared bug-fuck," Harry replied truthfully. Ron carefully did not laugh at his best friend. He looked back toward the head of the train. "Ron, do me a favor, see if you can find Neville, I need a favor."

Thirty Minutes Later....

A dark, wood-paneled, compartment lined with several comfortable couches held sway immediately following the coal car for the train. The room held appointments lacking even in the dedicated teacher's car, which none of them ever used anyway. Tasteful accents in crimson and gold highlighted the trim this year, as both Heads were Gryffindors. A perch and fur-lined basket sat in the window for Harry and Hermione's familiars, who were currently basking in the attention from a pair of fifth-year Hufflepuff prefects. An actual working fireplace crowded into one corner, with a small, atmospheric fire currently burning.

Harry leaned up against the front of the cabin, his hair dangling in front of his eyes. A crowd of twenty-five people filled the small conference area of the Head's coach. Two prefects from each of four houses for fifth through seventh years with the exception of Gryffindor who was short one prefect due to Hermione being Head Girl. Harry glanced around and took in Ernie McMillan, and Susan Bones from Hufflepuff, the later girl holding a hard, dark gaze she had worn ever since the death of her Aunt to Voldemort's forces. Blaise and Pansy from Slytherin, with a pair of intimidated looking Slytherin fifth years sitting next to them. An entire group of Ravenclaws sat to his left, with Ron, Colin, and one of Ginny's year mates, a black haired witch that Harry didn't recognize sitting with the Gryffindors.

He felt Hermione come up to stand at his shoulder, "Ok, I'll make it short..."

"It'll have to be so Weasley can understand it," Zabini stage whispered.

Hermione glared at him, "I doubt Headmistress McGonagall or Professor Slughorn would appreciate one of Slytherin's prefects loosing fifty points before we even passed Edinburgh." Zabini glared but shut up. She crossed her arms; "Let me make this perfectly clear...you are to make sure the ride to the school functions smoothly and to deal with such infractions that are unacceptable. However every detention or other punishment, will be reviewed by myself or Harry, and if we fell that you were unjust, we will adjudicate up to and including transferring any punishment to you."

"Ok," Harry said as he pushed off from the wall, without any apparent effort or movement, "get out of here, decide on patrols among your houses, Fifth year Ravenclaw and Sixth Year Gryffindor have the duty tonight when we get to the castle, I will post a full schedule for duty shifts in the Prefect's bathroom tomorrow. Get out of here." With a meandering rush, the compartment emptied, leaving after only a minute, the trio alone in the car. Ron looked over at Harry and shrugged. He grinned slightly as Hermione turned her back to dig something out of her bag and Harry frantically motioned Ron out the door.

"I'm going to go see about Luna," Ron said just a hair's breath too loudly and Harry felt like beating his head against the wall. Hermione just smiled as she looked back at the other two and shook her head.

"Are you going to come up here and ride with us?" Hermione asked Ron as he opened the door.

"Um...yeah, I expect I'll be back presently," Ron replied and shut the door softly.

"Well..." Harry said to the compartment as a whole, "alone at last." He waggled his eyebrows at Hermione and she chuckled softly. She had just thrown her arms around his neck and was leaning in to pass the time until Ron returned, when a soft scratching was heard at the door to the compartment. Harry shrugged dejectedly as Hermione sighed and went to the door. She opened it to find no one, and started to close it again when a large, familiar toad hopped into the compartment.

Hermione looked down at Trevor, slightly befuddled again, as she absently closed the door, thinking she needed to corral the toad for Neville. She frowned slightly as she noticed a parchment tied loosely to Trevor's back, she bent and plucked it off him and began to read:

Hermione,

You found me again where it all began. Look up

She looked up automatically to watch as Harry dropped to a knee in front of her. Her hands came up to cover her mouth as tears bloomed in her eyes before Harry could even speak, "Hermione, ever since I met you on this train seven years ago, you have been the only constant in my life. The one person who has kept me sane and alive and the only person, in the whole world, that I can trust my heart to because you already have my soul, and I think that I've loved you since we were eleven," he choked out softly, as Hermione's lip trembled and her hands shook slightly, "will you marry me, please? Because I really don't know what I'd do without you in my life every day, and I'm really afraid to find out."

"Yes. Oh God yes," Hermione replied almost as softly as she fell to her knees in front of Harry. Her hands came up to cradle his face as she pulled him into a long kiss, before falling into his arms, crying. After a moment, she pulled back, laughter dancing in her tears, "you did get me a ring, right?"

Harry's eyes widened, "oh, yeah." She giggled as the savior of the Wizarding and Muggle worlds, fumbled out a small, black velvet box from his pocket and promptly dropped it. Her hand returned to her mouth to stifle her laughter, then all the laughs vanished as Harry managed to pry open the box and look up at her expectantly.

Truthfully, not that she would have ever admitted it to Harry even, well she probably would have to him, eventually, she would have been happy with a piece of colored yawn, but this...

A worked, patterned, platinum and gold band supported a trio of softly glowing magical stones. A brilliantly, deep blue, triangle-shaped sapphire and a deep, blood-red ruby of the same shape and equivalent to any of the stones in the Gryffindor Sword, surrounded a large, square diamond. Light danced in the diamond from a source of its own, and she could see faintly glowing runes lining the band as he slipped it on a suddenly trembling finger. Their eyes widened together, a green fire lit their irises as the oil lamps lining the compartment flickered and died. A sudden, sourceless wind whipped at their hair and snatched their breath away before everything returned in a rush. "Harry, I, it's..."

"It's mum's Mione, if you don't like it we can, but I didn't have time and-- " His bumbling words were silenced as her lips crashed to his and they fell backwards onto the floor. "Oww." Harry muttered as his head lit the hardwood floor and she laughed against his lips. His eyes, still glowing slightly, slipped closed as a soothing warmth followed her fingers through his hair and any thought of pain vanished.

I...I love it Harry, and you; I'm never going to take it off. Mrs. Hermione Potter that's me, now and forever. She sat up and looked down at the ring sparkling on her hand, and her heart fell into her stomach as a sudden thought crossed her mind. But I'm going to have to take it off, aren't I...we can't keep up the deception very well if I'm sporting this around, can I...

Harry smiled at her and flowed to his feet, reaching down he pulled her to her feet and held her close as the fingers of his right hand interlaced with those of her left. Their eyes relit as he stared directly into her chocolate orbs with tears straining to escape once more, I am occasionally useful, love...Fidelium Orbis Amor...a sudden feeling of all of the magic in the room streaming past them as if drawn into a tiny black hole in the center of the ring shocked her for a instant, then it stopped. Modified Fidelius Charm...she can hold your hand and she wouldn't know. Right now, in all of the world, only you and I can see it. I would probably tell Ron before he thinks I've gone insane asking him to put a note on a frog and not tell Neville where Trevor is, or why...but you don't have to, it's up to you.

Hermione's eyes closed as she leaned her forehead against his, she laughed, only slightly bitterly as a sudden thought crossed her mind, I would really like to jump up on the table tonight and shove this in her face, I mean, I'm two years older than her, and I don't own a skirt that short, Harry crooked an eyebrow. Ok, yes I do, but I don't wear them to get on the train.

You know if you had, we might have been having this conversation last year...Harry gave her a sheepish smile. But I was too much of an idiot, I should have known Hermione, I knew something was wrong-

It's all in the past, Harry. I love you, you love me and that's the end of the story. She leaned in and kissed him leisurely, a soft knock interrupted them and she laughed slightly. I look ok, Harry?

But I like the post-shag look Hermione...Harry mock pouted, yeah, fix your shirt a bit and you're fine. She opened the door to find a slightly scared third year Hufflepuff holding out a pair of scrolls tied with a purple ribbon.

"I'm...supposed to deliver these to Hermione Granger and Harry Potter," the girl said quietly. Hermione quickly opened hers and stopped the girl with a glance:

Hermione,
It would be delightful if you could grace our presence in Compartment C for a spot of lunch.

Sincerely,
Professor H. E. F. Slughorn

Hermione's gaze flicked back to Harry's before returning to the young girl, "our complements to Professor Slughorn, but please give him our regrets, Harry is not feeling up to lunch." The girl nodded and left. "Unless you wanted to go?" She asked softly as she closed the door again, only to reopen it as Ron, Luna and Neville came knocking.

"There's that damn frog." Neville muttered as he came into the compartment. Hermione's eyes twinkled as she met Harry's behind his back.

"Um, yeah Neville, we found him in the hall a couple of minutes ago, we were just about to take him to you, but since he's already here, stay a while."

"Well if you insist." Ron said brightly as he crossed to a small inset cabinet and pulled out several bottles of butterbeer. They were in the air to the others before anyone could answer his inquiry if they wanted one. Harry flicked his wand, and the couches arranged themselves into a comfortable conversation nook. Harry set next to Hermione but this was his first real test. His hand didn't even twitch towards hers though Harry could swear the nerve impulses were shooting down his arm to do so.

'Um, Hermione..." Neville said hesitantly as he glanced around the compartment, "I was sorry to hear about your house." He looked at Ron, and everyone could tell he really didn't know what to say about the attack on the Burrow the same night. It was still a mystery exactly why Percy had been with the Death Eaters that night, he had not had the Dark Mark, and even the spell he had ultimately hit Charlie with in what must have been a fit of panic was probably not intended to be lethal. There were speculations however. Penelope Clearwater had been missing now for at least a month, and it was that slight hope that Percy had faced an impossible choice that Molly clung to. Of course the fact that Voldemort could have just disappeared her as a bit of vengeance for his failure was carefully never mentioned in her presence.

"It's ok Neville," Hermione replied, "They are ok, that is the main thing."

He nodded as he took a sip of his beer, "You aren't going to Slughorn's little lunch; I would have thought he would have invited the heads?" His eyes flicked to Harry, "I saw Ginny heading that way."

"Naw," Harry replied easily, "we got invited, but I really didn't feel like going." Neville nodded knowingly and changed the subject.

"So, when are we starting up the DA again this year?" He frowned and took a sip of his beer and went to go look out the window at the passing landscape. "I know you were busy last year Harry, but we should have, I mean maybe Ginny and I and some others we should have been ready." He frowned as he downed the rest of his beer in one long pull. "He is coming to Hogwarts this year isn't he Harry?" Neville turned back to him and the eleven-year-old, chubby boy who had been afraid of his shadow was long gone. A lean, resigned young man remained, the fires of the last three years having burnt the excess away.

"I don't know Neville." Harry replied honestly.

"I think Gran knew." Neville went on as if Harry hadn't spoken. "She was crying, actually crying a bit, when she left me off at the platform this year. They've cost us too much Harry; we can't back down any longer. Even Seamus is here, his mother tried to keep him from returning to school, said it was too dangerous, but he showed up anyway. I guess you noticed that Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are pretty sparse," Neville mused, and Harry nodded, "it seems that only Gryffindor and Slytherin will be the only full houses...kind of draws the picture right there doesn't it."

"Yeah it does Neville." Harry looked at Hermione and a brief conversation passed. "Yeah it does."

The rest of the trip passed in relative harmony, of course the fact that Draco, if he were still even alive, was somewhere running for his life didn't hurt that in the slightest. The windows grew dark outside of the train as they passed into the highlands of Scotland and Ron, Luna and Neville excused themselves to change into their uniforms and robes.

Harry stepped from the train, and smiled, the sparkling lights of the castle overlooking the lake, the sound of Hagrid's booming voice yelling, "'Irst 'ears over here." Harry waved at him, and smiled as Hagrid thundered over. "'Arry...'ermione," Hagrid smiled and swept Hermione up in a massive hug. She squeaked, as he swung her around.

"Hi Hagrid," she said happily. She was still glowing a bit, and really, really wanted to tell Hagrid about the ring on her finger, but alas, she couldn't. Her eyes caught Harry's and he nodded, knowing and sharing her thoughts. "Hagrid...Harry and I...Ron, we were wondering if we could get into Creatures...we would make up all the work from last year." Her words were barely out of her mouth when Hagrid picked her up again... "O' course you can. O' course you can, 'ermione. I's won't make up make up the courses either, providing all three O you keep up your grades."

Hagrid thundered off, looking the happiest he had since Dumbledore died. "Well that was easy." Harry remarked as he led Hermione toward the coaches.

"Oi, Harry." Ron yelled and waved towards one that he had already boarded. Almost all of the rest had already left for the castle while Harry and Hermione were talking to Hagrid. Harry nodded and waved. He sighed softly as the quite visible Thestrals pawed at the ground and turned to them as they approached. The lead mare, rubbed up against him as he passed and he paused to pet her.

"Hey girl." Harry whispered as he ran his hand over the soft scale-like skin of the skeletal horse. Hermione scratched the mare's ears as her face wore a small, half-smile. She motioned towards the carriage and Harry nodded and followed her, with one final caress.

Ron pulled the door closed behind them and the carriage started off down the bumpy road around the lake. Hermione leaned against Harry in the privacy of the coach as only Ron and Luna were across from them. She glanced up at Harry; he nodded. "Ron, Luna." They looked at her. "We're getting married." As the words came out from her lips, her ring faded into view. Luna let out a soft "oooh" sound as she leaned forward and took Hermione's hand. She and Hermione started talking lowly among themselves as Ron just leaned forward and shook Harry's hand.

"Good job, mate." Ron said quietly. His voice was slightly tight as he looked across the carriage at his best friends. Luna let out a last soft noise as the carriage stopped. Ron looked at the rest of the people in the carriage, "Game time I guess." He frowned to himself as he watched Hermione get out and purposefully take a step away from Harry, and he knew that they were really mostly pretending for him. "I'll see you later luv." He whispered and gave Luna a last, lingering kiss and headed out with his friends.
Just as they climbed the front stairs and started into the castle, a hand shot out from nowhere and dragged Harry into a small cloakroom just off the main entrance. Hermione and Ron spilled after Harry, and all three had wands half raised before they recognized the pair waiting for them. Lupin and Tonks were both standing, nervously for some reason, in the cloakroom. Unlike last night when Harry had last seen Remus, he was dressed in a rather well put-together suit and robes, neither shabby. Minerva had already given him a multi-year contract to teach if he wanted, and he had money to spend for the first time in years. Of course the fact that Tonks had picked them out for him probably didn't hurt in the slightest either. Even Tonks looked more or less...normal, at least for the admittedly broad definition of that term here. Her hair was long and blond today and pulled up and back in a knot at the back of her head, and her robes were a deep, sapphire-blue color.

"Yeah," Tonks admitted before they could say anything, "Minerva said I had to look like a proper Professor.' She shook her head ruefully and Hermione's eyes laughed. "I get to look more normal though...I can have a proper hair color in class tomorrow." She looked at Lupin as her expression became serious.

"Harry." Lupin said tersely, "If I ask you, on your Marauder's Honor, to take no action, no matter whom you see when you go into the Great Hall will you...will all three of you?"

"What's wrong Remus?" Ron asked, laughing, "Did Snape come back to teach...or maybe Malfoy decided to take his NEWT year after all..." Lupin didn't laugh. Harry glanced at Hermione, he knew her thoughts, and then at Ron, he shrugged.

"Yes, Lupin, on our honor...providing no one attacks us first, of course." Harry replied and Remus nodded. He placed his hand on Harry's shoulder for the briefest of instants, as he and Tonks hurried out, no doubt to head to the Professor's table. Harry, Hermione and Ron followed him more sedately, and entered the Great Hall a couple of minutes later. A soft murmuring followed them as they started up the long tables and hundreds of eyes tracked their movement towards the far end of the Gryffindor table. Immediately as Harry scanned around the room, he could see Neville had been right. The Gryffindor and Slytherin tables were mostly full, only lacking the usual new first years to take their seats. The other two, the two in the middle however, they were a different matter.

The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables were about half empty. Many students were missing, leaving whole swaths of the tables empty. Harry sighed as he glanced up towards the Professor's table. His throat was tight as he saw McGonagall sitting in Dumbledore's huge, golden chair. He caught her gaze and she gave him a tight, slow nod. He did not notice that her eyes stayed on him and the other two as he slowly took in the rest of the occupants. They were as expected as he scanned right to left, Glyph and Vector, Pomfrey and Hooch, and an empty seat belong to Flitwick whom Harry had already hear had been appointed as interim Assistant Headmaster, and was no doubt getting ready to bring in the new first years.

He continued on, looking to McGonagall's right, Remus, Tonks and Hagrid, no surprise. He spotted the fat shape of the back of Slughorn's head blocking someone else from view and nodded, a sudden thought, Hermione...Slughorn...his club.

Yeah, Harry, She agreed, but without Dumbledore we'll need dirt on him.

Harry gave her a nod as they reached the end of the table and just as he was to sit down, Slughorn moved and Harry instantly knew why Remus had made them swear.

It was only the thought of what his parents and Dumbledore would have thought had he broke his word to Remus that kept his wand in its sheath, or his sword from wherever it went. He felt Hermione's response a heartbeat later, and felt her hand brush his wrist, in restraint. Ron's "Oh. Bloody. Fucking. Hell." was ultimately superfluous, but it pretty well expressed all of their thoughts. His mind still reeling, he sat down heavily next to Neville as Hermione dropped next to him and Ron sat across from them. Luna was sitting at the Ravenclaw table just across the aisle. Seamus, Dean and Ginny were crowded in on the other side of Neville, while Pavarti and Lavender were sitting next to Ron. Padma had also scooted up to sit next to Luna and across from her sister.

"Harry." Seamus asked urgently, "What the bloody fucking hell is that woman doing here. I mean; she tortured you."

"I have no idea Seamus." Harry replied softly. His eyes were hard as he met the tiny, beady eyes of the simpering owner of their consternation, "I don't know." He glanced up at McGonagall; she shook her head minutely. Oh...you better explain this one McGonagall. Or we're gone.

Harry, Hermione replied as she studiously looked away from the teacher's table and towards the great doors, where the first years would enter. Are we going...she's...she's not hurting you again Harry, she's a dead toad if she tries...I... Harry saw her left hand trembling slightly on the table; he patted her thigh under the table surreptitiously.

No we wait, Mione. But thanks for the offer, dear.

Anytime.

Ron met Harry's eyes and nodded at the headshake Harry gave him. He watched as Harry's eyes flicked to Hermione and caught Ginny's watching them. He sighed. They all watched as Flitwick came in, levitating a stool with the Sorting Hat on top in front of him leading a line of first years only about half as long as normal. Right in the center of the line, a silver haired mane caught the light and Gabrielle gave Harry a small wave.

McGonagall stood and motioned to the stool. She cast no apparent spell, or talked above her normal voice, but every ear in the hall heard her. "Welcome to Hogwarts. As is normally the case, we will begin with the sorting..."

Every eye in the gigantic room watched as the Sorting Hat rose above the stool, it seemed to turn and look at each house in turn before a rip opened and it began to sing:

Once long ago, the times were dark...
The night had come and it wasn't a lark...
Four houses, once one were ripped asunder...
A dark one led one; set on loot and plunder...

Swords and wands were crossed and many died...
And all should sympathize...
For now, is the time when four should become one...
Or less, it is all undone...

A hero will arise, his blade ancient...
His companions true, his cause just...
But what will become of the rest of us...
For if he falls though our inaction...
We will have no satisfaction...

It is time for all to join under a banner true...
Green, Gold, Red and Blue...

The hat fell back to the stool, and hushed murmuring started once more. McGonagall ignored them as she waved to Flitwick to start the ceremony. Hermione leaned into Harry's side, "did the hat, quote the Stones..."

Hermione shrugged, "It seems that we should all unite...I think I've heard that one before somewhere." She muttered sarcastically. They turned to watch the rest of the sorting, noticing that Gryffindor and Slytherin seemed to be gaining students at about twice the rate of the other houses.

They perked up as, "Delacour, Gabrielle" echoed across the room in Flitwick's squeaky voice. The hat sat still, pondering for a long, endless minute..."GRYFFINDOR" Applause erupted from the Weasley contingent, and after a quick whispered explanation on who the silver haired girl was, from the rest of the sixth and seventh years. Gabrielle smiled shyly as her robes automatically acquired the rampant lion and crimson and gold trim of her new housemates. She sat next to Ginny as a space was made for her at the table. After the rest had been sorted, with a sudden influx for Ravenclaw, McGonagall stood, and the room became more or less silent.

She stood behind Dumbledore's podium and closed her eyes for a brief moment, before she began to speak in a burr choked with emotion. "There were those who thought that this school should not reopen." Her shoulders straightened, "There were those who thought that the cowardly, reprehensible acts of a poor, deluded few would cause us to cower in our homes and wait meekly for the minions of the dark to come to our doors. They were wrong." She took a breath and the silence was defining. "There are those here, tonight, who believe that any action is justifiable in service of an ignoble goal, that the slavery and deaths of others, because of an accident of birth is right and just. They are wrong." McGonagall's eyes and the entire, almost two hundred pairs of eyes from her house, fixed on the table furthest to the left.

"Hogwarts has stood for a thousand years as the shining example of what the Wizarding world can aspire to, a sense of loyalty, of honor, of courage, of wisdom. It will stand for another thousand years."

Tears bloomed in dark eyes, behind square glasses, "A great man, a brilliant wizard, an wise judge and an able negotiator, but overall just a great man died here so that the dream of Hogwarts would not fail. It is him we should honor tonight." Around the room, goblets of pumpkin juice appeared in front of every student and faculty member, McGonagall raised her glass, "Albus Dumbledore, the greatest Headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen."

Hundreds of goblets rose, and every eye was on Slytherin house, and slowly starting with the new first years, those glasses were raised as well. In the end, it might have been the quite real possibility that the entirety of Gryffindor along with the majority of the other two houses were quite willing, at that moment to force the issue, but it wasn't necessary after all.

"ALBUS DUMBLEDORE" the roared response shook the rafters. McGonagall paused for a moment and didn't bother to hide her face as she wiped away the tears. "And now, I have a few announcements...as one can tell, security will be tight this year...so in the interests of your own safety please obey the posted regulations. Also, as usual the Forbidden Forest is forbidden for reasons that should be obvious. Mr. Filch has provided me with a listing of prohibited items, a copy of this list may be found outside of his office...or if you happen to have a copy of Weasley Wizarding Wheezes fall catalog, that will also serve." Ron and Ginny waved in triumph and Harry swore, that just for an instant, McGonagall grinned.

"I also have several introductions to make, first our new Head Boy and Head Girl, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger." Relatively tumultuous applause broke out, spoiled only by several stage-whispered "boos" from the Slytherin table. McGonagall glared at them and they stopped. She pointed to her right; "also, as is normally the case, this year we have new staff to introduce, first, Remus Lupin has graciously agreed to return to Hogwarts to once again teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin will also be taking over from myself as head of Gryffindor House." She paused as Remus stood and gave a small bow and the Gryffindor table erupted, with the other houses relatively enthused, except Slytherin of course. "Next to him, Nymphadora Tonks has taken over for myself as Transfiguration instructor." Tonks stood to more applause and even a few wolf whistles from some of the older male members of the student body, which Harry thought oddly appropriate.

McGonagall turned back to the students and raised her wand, when a loud, "Hem, Hem" came from her far right. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "I forgot to mention that Delores Umbridge has returned to grace us with her presence once more as a liaison to the Ministry." The sarcasm was lost on no one.

Umbridge rose, or at least Harry thought she did, he wasn't really sure, she was so short, but whatever words she might have tried to say were drowned out as a blizzard of boos, jeers and general insults to her character drowned her out. "SILENCE" McGonagall roared and the students quieted. "Please do not boo, it reflects poorly on the school." If Umbridge thought that McGonagall was going to further state that she should be respected, or that she should be listened to as a Professor...she would be waiting a while.

************************Slytherin Common Room**************************

September 2, 1997
1:00 am

A fizzing, flaming streak shot across the dark, deserted Slytherin common room. The dim room, lit only by a totally inadequate pair of wall sconces shaped in the image of twisted serpents, suddenly became bright as day as a huge, blazing Hungarian Horntail appeared, roaring and spitting fire.

A hundred bare feet slapped ancient, worn flagstones as the entirety of Slytherin House stumbled up twin spiraling staircases from further below the school into the green-tinged common room. Dazed first years clustered protectively together around a dark green, worn couch. They looked up, amazed, at the flaming Dragon, one of the Weasley's most popular products. Dark hangings, covering the otherwise barren stone walls, were occluded as a tithe of third years pulled emerald and silver trimmed robes around pajamas.

Blaise Zabini walked to the front of the crowd, with Crabbe and Goyle pushing smaller students out of the way. Pansy trailed him, pulling tight a robe over an outfit that seemed to indicate she had been doing anything but sleeping. She glanced up at Zabini; he gave her a small sneer and shrugged. He glanced back at the crowd, "Go back to sleep, whoever set this thing off, will..."

"Actually Blaise," a smooth, calm baritone said clearly from the air in front of him, "I doubt I will do anything much at all." Harry faded into view in front of their eyes. He was leaning easily against a tall, black bookcase that held a rather large collection of Dark Arts Quarterly, along with a few artifacts that probably should not be in this school, let alone in the Common Room of a House.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Potter?" Blaise growled as he gestured and Crabbe, Goyle and Nott started forward. Crabbe was cracking his knuckles. "Didn't we do this, just last year on the train Potter?" Zabini laughed.

"They touch him, you die." A steely, dark soprano replied as a second presence appeared in the room.

"You wouldn't dare, Mudblood, there's no Dumbledore to protect you now. Put away that wand and go read a book." Pansy sneered. She tied her robe securely as she came up to Blaise and leaned against his arm.

"Actually," Harry replied without moving, "she would. And by the way Pansy, that will be one hundred points for insulting the Head Girl." Pansy opened her mouth to utter a retort. "Would you rather it be two hundred?"

Zabini put his hand on Pansy's arm, "What do you want Potter? You two could disappear and no one would ever find you."

"If that were the case...Blaise...an hour later, there will be no students older than fifteen in this house, breathing that is." Harry retorted, his voice absolutely flat. Somehow, there was no one in the room who doubted him. Blaise gestured to the other seventh years, and they stopped. Harry nodded.

A dazed fourth year chose that moment to speak up, "You two can't be in here...you're Gryffindors and it's after curfew."

Harry smiled, darkly; his eyes never left Blaise, "Let us pretend, for a moment, that the Head Girl and Head Boy of Hogwarts have just appeared in your common room for a talk." He chuckled to himself, and Hermione followed an instant later as Dumbledore's last appearance to the Dursleys flicked across both their memories. "And let us pretend, for just another moment, that you seem to be mistaken in just what we can and we can't do. Miss Granger?"

Hermione smirked, "Section 3, paragraph 5 of Hogwarts regulations. The Head Students, shall, at their earliest convenience, introduce themselves to the students of the various Houses. Section 3, paragraph 8, the Head Students shall, in the course of their duties, have free and total access to the school, it's grounds and quarters, only excluding the lodgings and offices of the Professors and staff."

"You see Blaise," Harry explained, "Miss Granger and I are here to give our proper introductions, and to ask if any have any problems they would like to discuss?" A sudden, deafening silence answered his call. He smiled kindly, his eyes softening. "The rest of you, the fourth years and below can return to bed." His words were kind, but still, most assuredly a command. Hermione's wand flick and an Imperturbable charm lit the staircases. Harry nodded.

"Very well then. Let us further assume that there are some of you here tonight whom, may have...issues with the Headmistress' sentiments. Let us assure you, that she meant them...every word. And no psychotic, cowardly worm of a Dark Lord will change that fact." A sudden rustling caused robes to billow as hands started to reach for wands. Hermione slashed hers down hard and at least ten people dropped their wands with a shout as their wands suddenly glowed a sullen, heated red.

Hermione's spoke up softly, "Just in case the subtext of Mr. Potter's argument eluded you ladies and gentlemen, let me elucidate. An attack on any of us; is an attack on all of us. The days of moderation in our response to your attacks is at an end, any assault or action will result in an overwhelming response. We fully realize that there are those among you who will not adhere to this, who will think that since they have given insult and have attacked other students for years that they will continue to do so without repercussions. They will find that they are mistaken."

"We also know that there are those in this House, who wish to only peacefully coexist with the rest of the school, those students will always find help if they ask for it." Her eyes flicked to Harry's, "Since we are Gryffindors and remember what honor really is, we are giving you fair warning. At one time this house was known for it's shrewdness, it's ability to judge where the winds are blowing, its ambition... remember ambition is only an option if you are alive to practice it. I would think that you would like to recapture that tradition, of staying out of the way..." A flick of two wrists, a pair of flashes of light and twin, gunshot-like bangs rang out, and Harry and Hermione were gone.




A/N: There it is...did you see that coming. Next chapter, classes start and the gauntlet is thrown down...

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Here we go again, Thanks once again to Lady Starlight for putting up with me, and for betaing this fic.

Chapter 15: A New Day
******************************Godric's Hollow**************************
September 2, 1997.
5:30 am

"So do you have everything you will need for a bit?" Remus asked as he looked around the house, that for almost eleven years, in a single act, he had thought he had lost his soul in. He took in the newly repaired living room, a pair of tasteful leather sofas were sitting facing a brick fireplace, with several small combination bookshelves/tables framing each one. An oak coffee table provided for a place to rest a large tome or a drink. Further built-in bookshelves lined a pair of walls, and framed the doorway to the rest of the house. They were only partially full, still waiting the books of at least one of the persons who might, hopefully occupy this house in the future.

In a bow to the current occupants and the Muggle ancestry of the permanent ones, a modern entertainment center was set up in the corner, with a widescreen television and stereo. But of course the house had been more Muggle than Wizarding even when James and Lily were here so that was not a real change. The walls were freshly painted; new carpets lined the floors, all in all, the house was pristine, at least compared to how it had been at the beginning of July. He glanced up the repaired stairs to watch Jane coming down in her pajamas and yawning slightly.

It was amazing what two dozen house elves that were then Obliviated could do in a month, but the Potter home was proof. Sirius had left moneys separate from those given to Harry, to fix up the Potter home, but Lupin had not done so, it had never seemed a priority. But even before Harry had come to him, wanting a way to hide the Grangers, he had already been expecting the request and had started the renovations. The house at Grimmauld was not really an opinion as both Harry and friends needed it as a place away from Hogwarts, and it was known to too many. Godric's Hollow was destroyed; every child in the Wizarding world knew that.

Godric's Hollow, on the other had was known but to a few, and now with a Fidelius Charm on it, once again, it might as well not exist. And this time, no one will violate the trust. Lupin vowed silently. There were ways to break the charm, of course, too many people knowing, enough magic could overload it if someone knew close enough to where it was, but it bought time. Even a Dumbledore or Voldemort could not break the charm without a truly monumental effort and expenditure of power, and the amount of which, and the time it would take would be suicidal. Even Tom Riddle was not secure enough to let Harry have that free a shot at him.

Lupin had left other precautions. He had warded and trapped the site to almost within the levels of Hogwarts. There were five unregistered Portkeys scattered about the house, and another two on bracelets the Grangers wore at all times. Muggle weapons were secreted about the house, toys that Roger was quite familiar with. And as soon as any ward was compromised, he would know. There was really nothing else he could do, but still he was slightly worried.

"I think that we are fine for now Remus." Roger said softly as he extended a hand to take Remus'. He looked back at his wife as she came up next to him; she bit her lip absently as she looked to Remus.

"Keep them safe Remus," Jane said softly as she hugged Roger's side, "both of them." She glanced up at Roger, "And tell Harry...thanks."

"I'll try Jane," Lupin replied, his throat tight. "I owe them that much at least. I'll be back in a week, or you know how to get hold of me at any time." He took a step backwards and vanished with a soft pop to mark his passage.

Left behind, Jane crawled around the front of her husband, and sighed as he rested his chin on her hair. "Well what should we do, now?" His chest muffled her words.

"Well I guess we could work on that little sister to Hermione, we always talked about and never got around to." Roger replied with a small grin. Jane giggled, softly.

"Alright."

***************************Little Hangleton*****************************

A pair of hooded, sullen red eyes watched as a sallow, dark-haired man came into his presence and kneeled. The owner of the eyes rose slowly from a black, throne-like chair and moved towards the man. Flat slits for nostrils, like that of a snake flared as he stood on his heels, and regarded the prostrate man in front of him. An ebony wand twitched in a thin, skeletal hand as his arms crossed.

"Tell me Severus, please tell me why after your failures that I allow you to live?" Behind the man, curled at the base of his throne, a harsh, female voice laughed. "Silence Bella," Voldemort said without turning. The dark haired woman contented herself with gazing at Snape reproachfully. "I have given you considerable...latitude since your success in your mission, but Lord Voldemort's gratitude has its limits. Tell me, why your efforts to find Potter have failed."

"Sire, I..."

"Oh yes, Severus, I had forgotten, Potter...found you this summer, and humiliated you. Tell me Severus, how a boy, that you have repeatedly told me was an average wizard at best, and his Mudblood...companion, killed eight of my followers, including Antonin Dolohov?"

"I do not know my Lord," Severus replied softly, he took a quick breath, "however Potter is known to be at Hogwarts now. Perhaps we should..."

"Silence," Voldemort snapped. He began to pace heavily, "Even with Dumbledore gone, Hogwarts has impressive defenses. I doubt that we will have such easy access again. More's the pity." He sighed and returned to his throne. Long fingers ran over the crown of Bella's head as she crouched next to the throne. "It does not matter in the end, I suppose," Voldemort replied contemplatively as Bella let out a soft moan as his hands knotted in her hair. "Potter is merely an annoyance, now that his mentor is gone. He will come after me in time and I will swat him like an insect, just like I did to his parents." He gestured towards the door, "You may leave Severus." Snape glanced up and hesitantly rose to his feet, he turned to leave. "Aw, yes, I have forgotten one, little detail Severus," Snape started to turn, "CRUCIO."

Snape fell to his knees screaming, writhing as a thousand red-hot knives tore into his flesh. His screams almost drowned out Voldemort's words. "I do not easily forgive incompetence Severus, remember that."

*******************************Hogwarts*********************************

Brown eyes slipped open to find themselves, alone. Green tinged light was starting to creep over the distant mountains to lighten the window as Hermione knelt next to the bed and pulled on a set of sweatpants and a loose shirt of Harry's. She sighed softly as she looked back at the crumpled sheets next to her spot on the bed and slipped on a pair of trainers. She left the room silently, and headed out of the suite, down the stairs and out onto the lawn of the castle.

Finally, on the long, twisted path around the lake, she found her quarry.

Hermione fell in at his side as Harry ran along the path, almost at a sprint. His hair was plastered to his forehead on this brisk, Highland morning, for once obscuring his scar, and sweat had turned his light gray t-shirt, dark. His breath came in short pants as he rounded a bend and kept going. Hermione didn't have time to frown as she kept up with him; her eyes were worried, but her throat and mind too busy with the business of supplying and using oxygen to comment.


After another two laps of the lake, Harry stopped and bent over, his hands on his knees. His eyes flicked to hers as he fell to the ground under an old oak tree bordering the lake and leaned back against it. His wand flicked and a pair of water bottles appeared, he tossed one to Hermione and took a long drink.

You ok? Hermione asked as she sat down next to him and leaned against the rough bark. Harry shrugged. Still worked up about the Slytherins? Harry shrugged again. Hermione growled, grabbed his chin and kissed him forcefully.

You were saying something? Harry asked with a sudden, slight grin and she punched his shoulder. OWW, he replied; that bloody ring hurts.

Your fault, you gave it to me. Hermione quipped, her eyes twinkling.

Harry rolled his eyes as he reached over and pulled her to him, she half sat on his lap, it was pretty much a given that they were the only ones out here at five thirty in the morning. Sure, blame the boy. He frowned, How long until Blaise tests us?

Today most likely, Hermione replied instantly. She pulled Harry's wand from a sheath at the small of his back and flicked it. A small pop of light, and her planner with a carefully repaired star on the front, appeared on the grass. She opened to the front, to find her class schedule. As Heads, her and Harry had already had theirs delivered to them. You won't like it...

Let me guess, Harry muttered, you have a class today that I...we don't.

It's Tuesday, so yeah I have Runes, way over in the Archive Wing. Nice ambush spots she remarked absently as her fingers drummed on the page. She glanced up as the tree above them rustled as a pair of school owls took flight and headed back to the Owlery for the day.

Then I'll...

What Harry, hang out every day and wait for me outside of class...act like my boyfriend?

How about your Fiancé? Harry replied. Hermione smiled and kissed his cheek and settled back against his shoulder.

I really like the sound of that you know...I just wish...

Someday Hermione, someday you can stand on top of the House table and announce it for everyone to know, but even after the deadline with Ginny passes, one way or the other...

Hermione scratched her nose, idly; she reached around and slid his wand back in its holster. How far do we take it today if they want to play? Her thoughts were resigned as her eyes frowned into his. Unconsciously, she rubbed up against his hand like a large cat, as Harry's fingers stroked through her hair over her right ear.

I'm not loosing you...if they want to go that far...but I doubt that they will today, probably try to scare one of us, humiliate you... Hermione shivered as the sweat soaking her shirt started to dry, Lets go up to the castle, I need a shower.

Hermione laughed out loud as she rolled off his lap and kicked to her feet. You do stink, Potter, you're lucky I love your dumb arse...water conservation is good. She stated suddenly as an afterthought and crooked her eyebrow at him before taking off for the steps of the castle at a run, still an hour before almost anyone, especially a certain red-haired someone would wake.

**************************Great Hall********************************

7:15 am

"Honestly Ron," Hermione growled as she flicked her wand at his plate. It shot away from him, and he looked after it mournfully. "Do you really think that's all we do?" She snapped in a low voice. She glanced up and around, but the only other Gryffindors of their year or last, that had yet joined the trio at breakfast, was Neville, and he didn't look entirely awake. It seems that while the Head Students were, visiting the Slytherins last night, Seamus and Dean had decided that they should welcome their last, first night at Hogwarts with a minor party. According to reports, from Neville who had then wandered down several yards and laid his head on the table, they were still in their beds, along with the majority of the sixth and seventh year female population, passed out. He had mentioned quickly that they all seemed to be fully clothed, though, to better assuage the Head Girl.

"Well if I had a whole suite to myself..." Ron replied softly and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. She turned her head to look at Harry. He, like Neville had his head down, but it was in a paper. He frowned as he read an article describing the loss at sea of a small cruise ship that seemed to have been destroyed by a Kraken, it had been reported to the Muggles as having hit another iceberg. Green eyes flitted to hers and a fleeting smile was shared, but not much else. She cut her eyes to Ron, and he sighed.

"Leave her alone Ron," Harry turned the page and looked up and around. "And for future reference, the incantation is...Si..len..ci..o, alright?" Hermione grinned as she looked down at her plate.

Any retort was lost to the ages, as Remus Lupin started down the table; he started at the far end, among the first, second and third years, all of who seemed to have actually woken up this morning. Gabrielle was surrounded by at least three other girls and several boys her age and a bit older. Lupin bent down and handed schedules out to the underclassmen, and explained classes. He waved his wand once and conjured a map for a blond first year boy and explained gently to a timid third year girl that Hagrid really wouldn't let his beastie of the day eat a student the first day no matter what the fifth year boys may have told her.

Remus came up to them, nudged Neville and slipped a schedule under his head as he moved without batting an eye. It was definitely a different experience having a Marauder as House Head. In fact, McGonagall had already been supposedly muttering to herself about what she was thinking when she had given Lupin her House. He handed a schedule to Ron and watched with little pity as Ron groaned. "Bloody Hell, a double first thing?"

"Yes Mr. Weasley." Remus replied lightly as he sat down next to them, and poured himself a cup of coffee from the carafe on the table. He leaned forward, his job done for the moment, and took a sip. "I'm to pass on their love, Hermione," he mentioned quietly after a moment. "To you as well Harry." Hermione returned a small, tight smile and nodded. "Interesting meeting you had this morning." He commented obliquely.

"They won't listen, Remus," Harry replied softly.

"No, Harry," Remus, agreed, "they probably won't, but I understand, you had to give them one warning. Sometimes it sucks to be the good guys." He added philosophically. He glanced around to each side. The nearest student or person was still Neville, who looked asleep, "That project you asked about seems to have worked. Mad-Eye has come around to our side, he and Tonks extracted them last night, they should be safe, or at least as safe as anyone can be for now." He shrugged slightly. Remus stood and set his cup down on the table. His voice raised to just a hair above normal, "It was good to talk to you...Mr. Potter, Miss Granger," He handed her a stack of schedules, each bearing the name of a tardy Gryffindor, "It would prove embarrassing for our House if the remainder of your year mates did not join us for class today."

"Yes Professor Lupin," they sing-songed in time and he rolled his eyes. Lupin wandered off muttering things better left unsaid.

Let's go Mione. Harry glanced over and handed Ron his bag. "Here Ron, meet us in Charms, ok?" Ron staggered slightly as he took it. He further groaned as Hermione dropped hers on him as well.

"What the bloody hell do you have in this bag, woman, seriously?" Ron snapped. She smiled, kissed him on the cheek and headed out of the Great Hall at Harry's back.

So Mad-Eye and Tonks were able to extract the Greengrasses? Hermione inquired as they started up the first moving stairway. She didn't break stride as she summoned a helmet from the nearest suit of armor to block a spitball from Peeves. He blew a raspberry at her and vanished through the nearest wall in search of easier targets.

Harry absently pulled her from the last step to the landing just as the stairway started to move away. He waved at a greeting from Lady Elinor in her portrait as they started up to the fifth floor. Yeah, at this rate half of England will be under a Fidelius by summer. He caught her eyes with a slightly frown, but a casual brush of his hand with hers, reassured him.

So, how do you want to do this...Greengrass never was one of Pansy's crowd, in fact I've heard that she's kind of like Fred and George, just ambitious as all hell. They probably would have ended up in Slytherin if it weren't for that pesky braver than whatever thing...

Yeah, I know someone like that. Harry shot back and a brief, alluring smile answered him before it vanished. I would like to use her against Blaise and his crowd directly, but probably a better use would be to try to get her to keep the younger ones and the merely ambitious, not evil, ones to at least stay out of it. Harry paused as they stepped off the stairs at the seventh floor landing, and cocked his head slightly. Of course...

If we could get her and others to openly come out in favor of the light, now that her family is safe from Voldemort? Harry just nodded as they approached the Fat Lady. She smiled and nodded them in, their status allowing them access. "I'll go check the girls quarters Harry." She walked over to the spiral stairs, "Wait for me?"

"I can come up now, I am the Head Boy," Harry announced in his best Percy voice and Hermione laughed. She vanished up the stairs. Several banging doors later, and a single sleepy first year later, she reappeared. "That's all of them, I don't even think there was a seventh year bed slept in." Hermione chuckled evilly, "I think that requires a rather...moist wake up, don't you Mr. Potter?"

"Aye, Miss Granger, that it might." They quickly checked the remaining dorms, Harry peeking in each and finding none present. They came to the last, the Seventh Year boys' room and without knocking Harry and Hermione strode right in. Hermione came in and sighed.

She leaned against the wall where Harry's bed would have been, and looked around balefully at the scene. Dean, Seamus, Pavarti, Lavender, Ellen Thomas and Gretchen Banks, both year mates of Ginny's, and some sixth year boy she didn't recognize were sprawled on beds and chairs. Seamus was buried under the two sixth year girls, while Dean was supine on his bed, his feet on the headboard with his head hanging off the edge. Pavarti and Lavender were curled up together on Neville's bed, with the blonde's soft snore's disturbing Pavarti's unbound locks. At least they have their clothes on. Harry observed and then watched as Hermione picked up a lacy, pink bra with her wand, which seemed to have come straight out of a Morgana's Secret catalog. Or do now anyway. He corrected himself.

It's not that I mind that they party; Merlin knows we all need it, but it the first frigging day of class? Hermione replied exasperatedly, they could have waited until Friday or Saturday, and we would have joined them...maybe. She added quickly remembering their plans to look into a possible Horcrux. Anyway...her wand flicked and a shimmering bubble enveloped her and Harry. A jab at the ceiling and sudden, impossible rain showered down on the Gryffindors.

"WHAT THE FUCK..." Seamus snapped as the girls stirred and rolled off of him. He rolled a bit and fell of the bed and looked up, blinking rapidly. Dean opened and closed his mouth for several seconds, like he was trying to get a drink, before opening his eyes. Pavarti and Lavender squeaked loudly and moved apart. Harry was absently happy to see several wands in hands.

"Get up guys," he snapped loudly as Hermione canceled the Fire-Fighting Charm. The bubble died around them as he strode forward and pushed a schedule into each hand. "You guys have about fifteen minutes to get to your first class now. You're lucky, if it had been McGonagall still as Head instead of Lupin..." Harry shrugged and Dean, at least, nodded. Hermione flicked her wand again and the people and the room dried instantly. He laughed as Seamus muttered something under his breath about "damn bloody prats."

Harry pointed his wand and a large clock appeared floating in the room, counting down to class starting. He and Hermione left with identical, small waves as they headed out the door.

***********************Charms # 3***************************

To the great consternation of the majority of his students Flitwick had immediately launched into an in depth discussion of the Analytica Charm, a charm to determine the composition and contents of an object almost as soon as the bell faded to silence. He stood on his desk, and periodically waved at the board, to draw notes up there as he spoke. "As you can see," he squeaked, "this charm also incorporates the Schematicus and Projectorum Charms to display the results obtained. The base of the Charm is of course a modified, Revealo..."

Harry tuned him out as he watched Lavender, slowly, walk around the classroom, handing out small, locked black boxes that rattled suspiciously. He took his from Lavender and watched disinterestedly as she gave Hermione a mean look. She'd get over it; he wasn't worried. Besides, Hermione dried her out. Harry looked down at his notes, as his self-writing quill copied down what Flitwick was saying. He glanced over at Hermione to find her scribbling "Hermione Jane Potter" on a corner of her parchment before darkening it out again.

"Mr. Potter, if you could attempt the charm?" Flitwick said to him from his perch, and Harry sighed.

His wand slipped into his hand, Analytium. A soft, yellow glow enveloped the box, before his wand floated out of his hand and the tip began to write flaming letters in the air:

One chick aged 6 mos.
Two Wingnuts 5/16
One Pencil, # 2 lead.

His wand settled back into his hand and with a slight swish, the lock clicked open. Harry glanced in the box and tilted it so Flitwick could see. "Excellent Mr. Potter, ten points to Gryffindor." An annoyed muttering was heard from the back of the class, from several green and silver wearing participants, but no one comment was distinct enough to draw a warning.

The rest of the class passed quickly, with Flitwick progressing to a whole lecture on detection charms and their related cousins, intrusion wards. Harry's attention sharpened as Flitwick covered the latter. He and Hermione had spent much of Sunday morning and afternoon looking into the subject as research for the Nottingham lead, and suddenly Harry wondered just where Flitwick fell in this conflict. He was on the side of the light, yes, but an Order member? But that didn't make sense either as no one knew of the possible lead except the four that had been in the kitchen.

The bell rang and students quickly gathered bags, wands, quills and books and scampered out of the room, grateful to only receive three feet on the charms covered today. Harry and Ron waited for Hermione, she always had the most books to pack after all, and they headed out of the classroom together, unconscious of Flitwick's eyes on them the entire time.

Hermione glanced to either side as they left the Charms classrooms and started across the outdoor bridge to the Archive Wing where Runes was normally held, two floors directly below the Library. "Are you two, honestly, going to do this every time I have a class and you don't?"

"Nope." Ron asked simply as they came to a set of moving stairs upward. He stepped on them and waved, "I'm going to the, um...Library to meet up with Luna." He chuckled at the pair's expressions as he took off up the stairs. Hermione gave him a half-arsed glower before continuing on down the corridor.

You didn't answer Harry. Hermione reminded him.

He shrugged and thrust his hands into the pockets of his uniform slacks. He glanced over at her as they walked, I just want to walk you to class, Hermione. I would rather be holding your hand, but I'll take what I can get. Harry admitted finally after they had passed several empty classrooms without a word, walking a good foot apart, and periodically checking themselves as they drifted together like magnets.

Can I just kick her arse and have done with it? Hermione took a breath and stopped as they reached the classroom. Her gaze communicated what she couldn't say out loud or do for the moment. She settled for a mental caress as Harry gave her a jaunty two-fingered salute and headed off.

His meanderings lead him to the Quidditch Pitch and he sat, still in the middle of the field, looking upward at the great golden hoops at the north end of the stadium, the end that for his entire Hogwarts career had demarked the goal that his teammates had defended. It was possible that that was very much no longer the case. Remus had received back his Captain's badge with only a nod, as Harry had already given up the Captaincy. It had been both unfair to himself and the team to keep it, as his focus was nowhere near Quidditch, and somewhere inside he knew it never would be again.

In his mind's eye, he could see pickup games at the Burrow and at Godric's Hollow, with Ron, Ginny, the twins, even Hermione playing. But any further organized play...who knows. He knew, inside, that even though Ron professed to want to be an Auror, he would rather play Quidditch any day and who knows after all this was over, maybe he would have a shot at a team. But Harry, who knew that he was good enough to play professionally, also knew he never would, it just didn't seem to be him any longer.

Harry absently stood and walked over to the sidelines and glanced up at the Gryffindor stands, at the spot were Hermione had stood and watched him every time he had ever played, even when she was mad at him, she had showed. The rampant lion banners fluttered in the light September breeze as he headed back off towards the castle, still undecided if he would play at all this year.

Back in Runes, Hermione frowned to herself as she felt the subtext of Harry's thoughts, not the thoughts themselves, but the annoyance and frustration. She quickly returned to jotting down notes on the Cambian series of Runes that Glyph was currently covering, in just a bit too much detail for even her, I mean, who really needs to know that this series is a derivation of a derivation of Atlantian devotional runes. She shook her head and finished the page she was filling, and flipped to another. Just as Glyph was starting on how the symbol for E'srack was really just a slang term for E'srackiantiza the bell rang. Hermione tossed her books in her bag and joined the rest of her class in exiting the room.

She paused for a moment, outside of the classroom, half expecting Harry to be waiting, but he had given her the latitude she wanted, even though she knew that it griped his very soul to leave her unprotected, even though he knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself. She headed off down the hall, humming a soft tune.

Hermione stopped suddenly as a change in the air made itself known. She took another step, turned a corner and found herself surrounded by six Slytherins. A sudden pall fell over the hall as Hermione realized that there were no witnesses, no one at all around. In her haste to get to lunch and find Harry and Ron, she had taken a short cut through a section of the castle that was basically empty. Her eyes flicked around, cataloging her adversaries. Of them, Grayson Sneade was the only one she recognized, a sixth year Slytherin older than she was, who had been sent back twice, the first for failing all of his OWLs through a severe lack of studying and the second time for being caught cheating on the same. The rest, a mix of sixth and seventh years had drawn wands, as Sneade stepped up to her.

"It seems that you are all alone Mudblood," he sneered as he paced closer. Hermione rolled her eyes slightly as she glanced about. "I doubt that anyone would miss you until afternoon classes...imagine what we could get to in that time."

"Do all of you work from the same notes?" she asked, as she felt the power start to seep into her bones. A small, half-smirk lit her lips as she placed a hand on her hip and cocked her head challengingly. She glanced pointedly over Sneade's shoulder...

"Do you...gentlemen have a problem?" Harry's tone was deadly as he stood in the center of the hall. Sunlight from a window behind him, cast his face into shadow, except for a pair of glittering green orbs that seemed to have a light all their own. "Hermione, are you alright?"

"I'm fine Harry, there's only six of them after all," Hermione said with a small smile as she pushed past Sneade. She brushed next to a tall, blond Slytherin that bore an odd resemblance to Draco, and the situation fell apart.

Draco's doppelganger, Jason Johns, snapped out and grabbed Hermione's elbow. "I got the..." His statement never was completed, and probably in the long run it was better for him, even with what did happen...

Hermione instantly twisted like an eel, spinning, her other elbow came up and shattered his nose. His hands shot to his broken nose, and just in time for her right heel to impact the side of his head. He crumpled as Hermione continued her spin, her toe touched ground as her wand came into her hand.

Harry spun the other way as wands appeared in the other five Slytherins' hands. "Put them away, now," he snarled as the tip of his wand lit red, he glanced down at Johns. "That is one hundred points from Slytherin, and a month of detention for assaulting a Head Student."

"Well I say she assaulted him," Sneade snapped, a bit disbelievingly, "He's the one on the floor." His tone was shocked, amazed.

Harry looked down at Johns again, pointedly and sighed, "He does appear to be down, yes." Harry glanced over at Hermione, "Miss Granger."

"Yes, Mr. Potter," Hermione replied without looking to him.

"I am afraid that will be one point from Gryffindor...your follow up was a small bit off." His face was carefully bland. "Now if you will excuse us?" Harry asked as he motioned for Hermione to precede him down the hall. They turned, and a heartbeat later, a chartreuse curse shot from behind and impacted Harry in the leg. He staggered, and turned. Blood was staining his jeans as he turned and fury was darkening Hermione's eyes. NO, MIONE!

If it was me...

Yeah, I know that I'd kill them were they stand, but, examples need to be made. Harry's wand flicked and a banishing charm impacted a hastily raised shield and tossed Sneade and his shield back ten feet against a wall, it flickered and died. With another wave, Sneade's wand flew over to land in Harry's hand. Harry didn't even look up as two charging Slytherins went flying backwards from crashing into Hermione's Impediment Jinx. The other two Slytherins vanished into the school.

Sneade shook slightly as Harry slowly brought the tip of his wand to bear on Sneade's forehead. "You sir have attacked me, with my back turned," he growled. "I seem to be bleeding so I can only assume that it was through your incompetence that I was not killed or seriously injured. Therefore, Mr. Sneade, I challenge your worthless, snake-hugging arse to a duel, you will meet me on the on the Field of Honor at dusk, you may have a second who will fight in your stead, however if you choose that course, any fate that he suffers will be visited on you. I remind you...sir...that since we are at Hogwarts, this duel is unfortunately only to incapacitation, however any curse 'cept an Unforgivable may be used, so you may die anyway. Do you accept, or will you apologize to myself and Miss Granger...now."

"I'll be there you worthless, Mudblood loving piece of Dragon shit." Harry took a deep breath, and for a heartbeat, Sneade thought he had just committed suicide. He never realized that only a small hand on Harry's arm kept him from death at that moment.

"Very well, choose your second and fail to meet me at your peril," Harry replied and purposefully turned his back on the Slytherins once more. Hermione fell in at his side, her eyes holding a combination of fury and worry. She did not say a word until they had reached the second floor hallway and stopped in a small alcove.

Heedless of any eyes that might catch her, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him for a long moment, Are you ok? She knelt next to him and touched his wounded leg gently, she only frowned slightly as she pulled a small orb from a pocket, and they vanished in fall of color.

Hermione stood as they reappeared in their common room. "Take off those jeans." She snapped. Harry groaned slightly as he peeled them off over the cut and sat down on a cassock next to the couch, he watched silently as she used her hands to pinch the nasty tear closed. Sutureus, Hermione muttered as she slowly ran her wand down the length of the wound, biting her own lip as the brief sting of the spell was echoed in her thoughts. "Really, Harry, are you alright?" She asked softy as she glanced up at him.

"I wasn't kidding when I accused him of incompetence...that was a bone breaking charm he tried and missed the bone." Harry muttered and a brief fleeting smile answered him. He summoned a clean pair of jeans from their room and pulled them on. "Hermione, let's go see McGonagall..." he laughed to himself, bitterly, "she's not going to be happy about this."

"You think?" Hermione replied sarcastically as they left the room.

**************************Headmistress' Office, Hogwarts********************

Harry's prediction seemed to be dead on as he, Hermione, Remus, Slughorn and a very put-out Umbridge crowded McGonagall's office several minutes later. McGonagall had rapidly run out of invective, though in the time that she had railed on them, even Dumbledore's portrait had seemed impressed. Now she was seemingly content to glare at them, alternating between Hermione and Harry. McGonagall hadn't spoken to either of them for a minute, though in all truth she knew this wasn't their fault. She just wanted to get it out of the way. With a long-suffering sigh, she did. "Very well Mr. Potter, I will notify Filius, I assume that he will be acceptable as a referee?"

"Yes, ma'am." Harry replied softly, his eyes meeting hers. She nodded briefly, accepting the wordless apology for the necessity that he was to under take, just as she knew this was not the last one to occur. This was preferable, if only just so to open warfare between Slytherin house and the rest of the school. Word had arrived on the wings of black owls during the lunch hour, while Harry and Hermione were having their run in with some of the second string, of new attacks. In particular, a loss of another former Gryffindor at the hands of Lucius Malfoy.

"I cannot believe that you are condoning this...behavior Minerva." Umbridge simpered. She pushed her way to McGonagall's desk, shoving aside Hermione roughly on the way, and almost starting a second duel right there until Remus frantically calmed Harry with a hand on his shoulder. She spun to Harry, "You are catering to Potter's fantasies of being some great wizard. He..."

"Delores, be silent." McGonagall snapped as she looked to Slughorn, "Horus, Remus do you have an objection?"

"No, Minerva, I do not." Slughorn replied with a small frown. Remus shook his head regretfully.

"Very well, you two should return to your classes, I dare say that your second years may be up to no good by now Remus." Slughorn and Lupin nodded and left. Harry and Hermione started to follow, but stopped as Umbridge reached out and grabbed Harry's arm.

"You spoiled, half-blooded little brat," she hissed. "I am the overseer for the Ministry for this school, you will retract this...challenge to a son of a noble house or I will see you and your," She sneered at Hermione, "I will see you and your little friend here expelled and in Azkaban. I will see you and your little wh..." McGonagall rose from her chair, her wand in her hand.

Harry pulled his arm from her grasp hard enough to stagger her. "Shut, the fuck up, you little toad," Harry hissed, almost silently. A subtle hint of power danced around the edges of the room as he took a step back. "Let us make one thing perfectly clear...Delores," Harry whispered with a tone that conveyed only his total and utter loathing for the toad, "you touch me again, and you will not have a hand." She opened her mouth to speak. "You say a word and it will be you on the pitch facing me, next." He took a step towards her and glared down at her, "Me and mine will never, ever submit to any of your abuses, ever again. Your entire existence here is predicated on my, and the Headmistress' good will. I do not care that you have the ear of the Minister, I have been on the outs with the Ministry before, I am sure I will be again."

"Mr. Potter..." McGonagall hissed.

"Sorry Headmistress, I apologize for saying such things in your presence...however, ma'am," he said his next words carefully, "I am a Gryffindor. I chose to be one, and I will be damned if I ever bow to a half arsed, wanna-be tyrant again." Several portraits applauded and Hermione's lip twitched. McGonagall frowned, but gave him a small, accepting nod after a moment longer. Harry returned a quick, apologetic smile and left without another word to her or Umbridge, who was apoplectic in the corner.

*****************************Quidditch Pitch*****************************

6:00pm

A large, multivariate crowd filled the stands of the Quidditch Stadium this late afternoon. In the end, McGonagall had decided that this should not be a private affair and had let the student body attend. A formal duel had not occurred on Hogwarts grounds for the last fifty years, not since the days of the Grindelwald war, but the precedents were clear...almost a thousand years of them in fact. Duels had been uncommon, but definitely not unknown to this school, the protocols were well established. Hermione had read them in Hogwarts a History.

Harry was standing with Ron and Hermione, waiting. His black dueling cloak bore the ensign of the Head Boy, while its ruby lining told of his house. Hermione shrugged slightly as they watched Grayson Sneade being accompanied, or rather if certain sources were correct, escorted to the pitch by Vincent Crabbe. There had already been stories bandied about of Sneade wanting to back out, but certain elements of Slytherin House would not let him, mainly Crabbe's current boss. The pair of Slytherins were dressed in identical emerald and silver dueling robes, the Slytherin crest tiny, so as to not give much of a target.

Hermione leaned close to Harry, I can't exactly give you a good luck kiss, she glanced around, and pointedly up at the Gryffindor stands, screw it. She rose on her toes slightly and kissed his cheek, lingering a tiny bit too long for just good luck, but not so much that anyone would notice. "Harry, don't play with him, just end it. Just make your point and go." Harry nodded.

"Yeah mate," Ron agreed with Hermione, but no one commented on the event, "he's only a pawn, just demonstrate how easy it would be, and go with it. I'm hungry."

"We'd hate to keep you from your food, Ronald." Hermione snapped, and took a breath. Ron just nodded, accepting what she didn't say.

"I'll be fine," Harry replied. "You two just watch my back..." He glanced up at the Slytherin stands to find Blaise with Pansy hanging off him, both glaring, "this won't be the last one." Ron and Hermione nodded and Ron left, heading towards McGonagall, Flitwick, Lupin and Slughorn. Hermione fell in behind him and to his right, her wand in hand. The job of a second was not only to take the place of the primary if needed, but literally to guard his back. There was always a chance, if slight, that someone would take this opportunity to attack.

The crowd fell to silence as Flitwick cast a Hovering Charm on himself and floated to the center of the pitch, halfway between the combatants. "Sonorus. A CHALLENGE TO AN ATTACK HAS BEEN GIVEN." Flitwick sighed a small sigh, "WILL THE OFFENDED WITHDRAW?"

"If he apologizes and makes restitution, aye, if not?" Harry shook his head.

Flitwick looked to Sneade, "WILL THE CHALLENGED ACCEPT THE TERMS FOR WITHDRAWL?"

Sneade glanced back at Crabbe, and then up to the Slytherin stands. "No." His voice was approximately level as he replied to the diminutive wizard.

Flitwick muttered something under his breath in a long lost language; he nodded, "VERY WELL." He floated back, and McGonagall motioned to Remus. His wand flicked and a tall, hard, crystal wall appeared between the professors and the combatants. "BEGIN."

The duel was over almost before it began.

Sneade's wand snapped up, "OSSEIN DIFFINDO" The chartreuse curse from before shot towards Harry's head, and time slowed. Of all those on the field and in the stands, probably only Hermione and maybe Ron and Luna, no one was ever sure exactly what Luna did and didn't see, followed the action. Only they saw as Harry's wand flicked twice, the Bone Breaking Charm shot off through the northern center hoop as a glowing sapphire shield defected it. A searing red beam impacted Sneade between the eyes as a simple stunner hissed back across the pitch. He fell over backwards. Stunned.

As was the crowd, a shocked silence fell over the stadium, as Harry silently summoned Sneade's wand to him. He knew as he turned his back that Crabbe's wand raised to his back, just as he knew that if a word slipped past the large Slytherin's lips, Crabbe would meet his ancestors. Hermione glared at Crabbe until the fat Death Nibbler put his wand away and raised his hands.

Harry's left hand gave an absent wave and the protective wall vanished. Harry tossed Sneade's wand to Flitwick, nodded to McGonagall and started back towards the castle. "Let's go eat," Harry said softly to Hermione and Ron. Ron clapped him on the back and they left without another word as a thousand eyes followed them out of the stadium.

Far above, lost in the glare of the late afternoon sun, on the very top of the highest box, a flare of fire erupted, and a single golden feather floated down.





A/N: There you go, next chapter, back to business....and yet another surprise ....


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I still don't own these characters, just playing. Once again many thanks to Lady Starlight for her gracious work on this fic.
Chapter 16: Merry Old Sherwood.

*******************Hogwarts, Room of Requirement***********************
September 4, 1997
8:10 pm

The room was full of students in a mix of Muggle jeans and T's and robes. As had been usual for the DA, the room had lined itself with shelf, upon shelf of reference books with topics ranging from fighting werewolves, to advanced shielding charms. A score of man-shaped practice dummies stood at one end, swords, staves and daggers lined a rack to one side, while a large table holding various Dark Magic detectors such as Foe Glasses and huge Sneakoscopes sat against a third wall.

Applause broke out as Harry, Hermione and Ron entered the Room of Requirement to find the entire DA assembled and waiting for them. All of Gryffindor House, fourth year and above was standing, intermixed with many from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Harry gave them a small smile and waved them to silence. "Ok guys quiet." Harry shouted amusedly. "Welcome back to Dumbledore's Army..."

"Potter's Army," someone yelled from the back. Several shouts of agreement rang out in the room.

Harry frowned and shook his head, he waved for silence, "No," he said softly, but through a trick of acoustics or pure magic every ear heard him as if he were right next to them, "No, we're Dumbledore's now and forever." Hermione gave him a small smile and a nod. Fresh applause broke out at his words until he finally got them to silence once more. He looked around, seeing the old members, Dean, Seamus, Terry, Parvati, Padma, the new, Gretchen and Ellen among others. He could see Neville, in the back, leaning casually against a bookcase filled with DADA spellbooks, his wand dangling loosely in his hand, looking like the relative veteran he was. Luna sitting on a table next to Ron, with her feet dangling loosely and her wand stuck behind an ear, who could possibly be one of the most dangerous ones here if truly pressed, she had already proven so this summer. Ginny was sitting next to her, looking attentively at Harry.

"Alright..." Harry said as he looked about the crowd. He frowned and ran his hands through his hair, disheveling it further. "Listen...guys, I want to apologize for last year...there was no excuse for not reconstituting the DA then..."

"It's alright mate," Neville shot back loudly from the back, and several mutters seemed to agree. He looked about the room, "We should have done it ourselves...we knew that the war was coming, we tried to ignore it. We knew better."

Harry nodded slowly, "Still...Listen, this year, we won't pretend. We are at war guys. Dumbledore died, and any one of us could be next." Harry was about to say more, when twin bangs, like gunshots, and pillars of black smoke appeared next to Harry. He rolled his eyes and without looking to either side, "The twins are here to show a bit of equipment that we have for you."

"Thank you Harry for that introduction," Fred said as he opened his cloak and tossed a bag onto the table. He flicked his wand and it expanded until it almost filled the library sized table.

"Gather round, gather round," George shouted as he conjured a stool so he stood a head above everyone else, even Ron. Fred handed him the first item, "First ladies and gentlemen, the first of the Weasley Enterprises Magical Mirrors of Mirth, suitable for makeup application, looking around corners in the case of Basilisk infestations," he looked at Hermione who returned a quick, rude gesture, he laughed, "and with a quick murmur of a name, communications at up to a thousand miles." He demonstrated to the amazement of the gathered members.

Fred handed up another item, and a pair of glasses, "Instant Darkness Powder, and so you won't be stuck in the dark...Cat Eye Spectacles." Fred and George continued showing and demonstrating the new toys, and letting the DA members try them out. Neville showed an amazing proficiency with the Fanged Frisbees, changing the blades to silver and back to steel on the fly and nailing targets with them from yards away, with the tracking spells dislocated. Ginny and Luna described to an attentive audience the uses of the Instant Darkness Powder and the Cat Eye specs. Finally after an hour, Harry looked around at the group and shot off a Noisemaker Charm to gain everyone's attention.

"Ok everyone, find your coins, well use them to let you know the next meeting, it'll be soon though" Harry smiled slightly and waved to the door, "I'll see most of you tomorrow, goodnight." He smiled and shook hands and talked a few words with most everyone as they left.

"Hey Harry." Ginny said demurely as she stopped next to him as almost the last one out. At the doors, Ron waved to Harry and escorted Luna out, and Harry gave him a nod of understanding. "What are you up to this weekend?" She gave him a shy smile and cocked her head slightly. Across the room, Hermione glanced up from her perusal of the books and clenched her fists. She bit her lip and looked back at the books, finally selecting, Dispatching Annoying Annoyances.

Harry caught the title of the book cross Hermione's thoughts and barely kept a grin from his lips. "Um...Homework and stuff Ginny. Some training as well, I guess."

"Well, Quidditch tryouts are this weekend Harry...it just won't be the same if you don't play. I'll be there." She smiled and rocked back and forth slightly, her hands held in front of her.

"I'll...think about it Ginny," Harry replied softly, "I just don't know if I feel like it this year."

Ginny reached out and ran her hand down his arm, "Please, think about it Harry." She smiled again and slipped from the room. A moment later, a slightly livid, curly-haired brunette came up behind him.

"I'm not playing Hermione," Harry announced without turning to face her. He moaned softly as she wrapped her arms around him from behind and pressed herself into his back and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm not worried about your feelings Harry. Not really, I'm just getting tired of it." Hermione explained lowly, her slightly racing heart against his back amply announcing her anger.

"Let's go home love." Harry replied, touched a golden ball in his pocket, and they vanished in a fall of colors and a rush of wind.

***********************Hogwarts, DADA #1****************************
September 5, 1997
2:30 pm

Harry's wand flicked quickly as he deflected the Stunner Hermione sent his way. He shot back a Tripping Jinx and a reduced power Reductor, more because he was concerned for the walls than Hermione. He knew she would dodge or deflect it. And she did, cartwheeling out of the way of the Tripping Jinx and capturing his Reductor in a net and shooting it back at him. Harry caught it on his wand and reabsorbed the energy. Lupin shook his head, he couldn't very well tell them to go full out; he knew quite well it probably would be dangerous to the rest of his class.

He had decided to have the Seventh Years duel to determine just what Snape had taught them last year. They had covered Inferi on the first day of class, and had discussed the conventional means of destroying them, through fire. He had not, of course, said anything about Hermione's new spell, that if worked would make them at best a pile of unanimated corpses. Harry had sat stony faced through the entire lesson, in which not a Slytherin had said a word. They were still reeling from Harry's casual defeat of Sneade Tuesday. Remus had not missed the worried looks Hermione had shot Harry out of the corner of her eye as he sat with the entire lesson a grim reminder of his failure last year, or at least what he perceived as failure.

Personally, he, along with Tonks if the truth were told, was convinced that this plan of Harry and Hermione's to act like 'friends' until Ginny gave up and moved on was doomed to failure. It would be kind of like James pretending Lily was 'just a friend'. Remus frowned slightly as he corrected Neville's form on a Bombardment Curse.

He was not the only Professor who was annoyed with the turn in events. McGonagall had been livid, privately, that a Gryffindor would do such a thing. Almost as livid as she had been when Percy's possible treason was exposed. The night-black course of his thoughts passed as he saw Harry looking down and laughing at some thing Hermione had said or done. Lupin came around Crabbe's large and ultimately inept form, none of the Slytherins had yet commented that he tended to ignore them in class, or that the class seemed to be slanted towards combating minions of the Dark Lord. Lupin followed Harry's gaze to his feet and laughed himself.

Hermione had transfigured Harry's trainers into a pair of animated, fuzzy, pink bunny slippers. The ears of the one on Harry's right foot were wiggling, while the left one was trying to pull Harry's foot forward towards a carrot that Hermione had created out of thin air on the ground in between them. The bell rang as he was watching and he took a breath, "Everyone, I will need three feet on common defensive wards on my desk by Monday." Groans met his words, "Fine, Wednesday." A few muttered 'thanks Professor' met his sensitive ears. "Mr. Potter, a word please." Harry stayed behind as the rest of the class filed out, Lupin didn't comment, as Hermione didn't move as well. "Very well, my office if you please."

Lupin ushered the pair into his office and closed the door. A wand jabbed and the white flash of an Imperturbable Charm lit the walls. He grinned slightly as he turned back to Harry and Hermione. Remus noticed immediately that Hermione had leaned back into Harry slightly as soon as the coast was clear. He didn't comment. "You are going tonight right?"

"Yeah," Harry replied hesitantly. His fingers drummed lightly on Hermione's stomach, "We are."

Lupin nodded. "You won't let me or Nymph come along will you?" he asked even though he already knew the answer.

"I can't Remus." Harry shrugged. "You know why...its not that I don't trust you..."

"But you don't" Remus finished sadly. He sat down behind his desk and ran his fingers over his face. "Harry, just know that when you are ready..."

"Yeah Remus, when the time is right..." Harry gave an odd, non-committal gesture and left with a small nod. Hermione followed after a moment, with a glance back to see Lupin looking thoughtfully at a small, framed picture on his desk of the original Marauders, in it Lily was sitting on James shoulders with him and Sirius crowded around him. It had been a long time since Peter had showed his face in that picture.

***************************Sherwood Forest******************************
September 6, 1997
1:15 am

Three pairs of invisible eyes watched a Muggle night watchman on his rounds about the museum. He obviously had no idea of the various magical artifacts scattered about the exhibits on Robyn Hode, Richard the Lionhearted and others. The sword in the corner, with a plaque stating that it might have belonged to Robyn, that possibly came from the same smith that had forged the various blades the trio possessed. A shining silver arrow that really wasn't a Hode artifact, but rather a standard issue Auror arrow for dealing with werewolves that someone had found and put in the exhibit and others. But the reason that they were here was sitting all by itself in a glass case. The faded blue and bronze eagle on its leather bound cover, a giveaway.

Voldemort had guarded the book well; Hermione could feel the wards encasing it. But ultimately he had bargained on this Horcrux, if it was indeed one, being found by normal Wizards, not young Dumbledores or Morganas in training. Hermione slipped on the glasses that the twins had developed to use with the Instant Darkness Powder and tapped them with her wand. Revelo Proctectorum. A web of lines appeared in her vision, some red ones, from the Muggle security lasers which were ineffectual against the cloaks, and a veritable Acromantula's web of green and yellow beams and walls showing the net Voldemort or someone had cast around the book.

She glanced over towards where she knew Harry to be, What do you think Harry? She felt his senses stretching out and crossing her own. He sent a wordless shrug in reply as he pulled his cloak back from his head.

As the cloak swept down, a pure white, snowy owl was revealed next to Harry's head. She was sitting on his shoulder, without a sound as if she knew any noise could give them away. He reached up to pet her softly and Hermione watched as Harry carefully whispered something in her ear. Harry looked over to Hermione's other side and gave a slow nod to the air. In one motion, Ron shrugged his cloak half off, drew a simple Muggle slingshot and fired a steel marble at the case. The glass shattered with a loud crack. The footsteps of the guard returning sounded in the sudden silence. He came around the corner, and collapsed as a bolt of red from Hermione's wand took him in the side, without ever seeing any of the teens. Obliviate, the simple memory charm wiped his memory of the last ten minutes and he vanished a second later as Ron ran up to him and touched his flashlight on his belt with his wand.

Portus, Ron cast with his unregistered wand, which like Harry's and Hermione's had had the Ministry's tracking spells removed, the flashlight glowed blue and shook for a second. Ron tapped the flashlight again and the watchman vanished in a fall of color and a soft rush of wind

Harry pointed to the case and Hedwig took flight. Through their enhanced glasses the trio watched as Hedwig gracefully banked, barrel-rolled and swooped around the various wards and lasers, Harry's familiar taking her clues from her master to dodge the traps. They watched with baited breath as she landed on the book, hooked it with her claws and lifted off. She soared back to Harry dropping it in his hand before settling in on his shoulder once more. "Good girl." He whispered. He glanced to Hermione, and started to open his mouth, when....

A sudden burst of energy surrounded them, distorting the ethereal fabric of the area. "Anti-Apparation and Portkey fields," Hermione snapped, confirming his initial guess. At the same time Ron suddenly reached into his shirt and withdrew a vibrating, glowing crystal on its leather string. "Thanks for the warning, guys," Hermione muttered as she recognized the twins' Inferi detector.

"GO!" Harry shot across to them and ran for the door. He stepped into the night, followed closely by the two others. Hedwig took flight as soon as they got outside, and shot up into the sky, safe. She headed north towards Hogwarts.

All around the trio, the ground rippled and cracked. Desiccated, greenish hands clawed through the soil, pulling dead bodies after them into the dim night. Lank, matted hair topped sightless eyes as the Inferi appeared, one, five, a dozen, fifty, a hundred. Harry felt as Ron and Hermione closed in on him on either side. "FLAME 'EM!" Harry growled, and fire shot from three wands, almost a dozen Inferi burned with absolutely no sound from their dead throats. Another two dozen replaced them and Ron lit them and watched as they once again redoubled. "Hermione," he pointed towards the wood, "Your spell, then run."

Hermione glanced back over her shoulder then towards the edge of the woods where she could feel the edge of the anti-Apparation field's effects, a rush of magic gathered in her from the very air as she raised her wand, Imperatum dispersium inferati de flagratto, a spiraling trail of fire shot out in their path, growing to a fan, and all at once the entire host of Inferi in front of them dropped to the ground like puppets with their strings cut, and Hermione collapsed to the ground, as her eyes rolled back in her head and a trickle of blood ran from a nostril.

HERMIONE...Harry wheeled and flung his wand in an arc. A huge wall of flame followed his hand, building a wall of fire between the Inferi that had not been hit by her spell, and the trio. Half a dozen Inferi steeped into the flames in their single-minded determination to get at them and puffed alight. He flung the book to Ron, scooped Hermione into his arms and ran for the edge of the wards in a blur of motion, his glowing eyes leaving a green streak of light to mark his progress. Harry and Hermione vanished the instant they crossed the barrier, and ten seconds later, Ron followed with a loud CRACK.

**************************Grimmauld Place****************************

Harry arrived in his bedroom and placed Hermione gently on their bed. He spun as Ron arrived with a CRACK, and dropped his wand to the floor as he recognized his best friend. He went back to Hermione and ran his hand gently over her forehead. He kissed her lips a moment later as his thumb wiped her smear of blood from under her nose.

"Is she alright Harry?" Ron asked worriedly. He walked to her, and patted her hand softly. Hermione rolled onto her side towards Harry. Ron looked up to Harry, who shrugged.

"Yeah, she's fine," Harry replied softly with a touch of pride as he looked at her. "She just exhausted herself. She'll be fine in the morning," Harry reached around her and pulled off her sheathed daggers along with her equipment pack. "I'm going to stay here with her Ron, go back to Hogwarts if ya want."

"Na," Ron replied with a small, thoughtful smile, "but I might have Luna sneak out." Harry laughed and nodded. Ron patted Harry on the shoulder, "Good job tonight mate."

"It was a trap, Ron."

"They all are Harry, you got us out; that's what's important," Ron replied wisely as he patted his shoulder once more and walked to the door, closing it behind him.

Harry looked after him a minute before he reached down and pulled off Hermione's boots and socks, before gently stripping her to her underwear and tucking her under the blankets of their bed. He changed for bed quickly and crawled under the covers with her, pulling her tightly into himself.

After an hour of Harry watching over her silently, Hermione stirred and pulled back slightly. She looked up at him for a second, a confused look clouding her eyes before they cleared of their own accord as she reasoned out her circumstances. She smiled at him, before she bent down to kiss his neck and snuggle into him. She reached back and unsnapped her bra. "You know this works better if you don't have any clothes on either," she commented softly as she pushed her knickers down and kicked them off under the covers. She flicked her fingers and watched as his boxers and T-shirt appeared on the floor next to the bed. Hermione flipped around and pressed back into him, smiling as she felt him against her arse. "Sleep now, Harry," she said tiredly as she relaxed into his warmth behind her. Harry nodded against her neck, "But that doesn't mean I don't want you inside me as I sleep." She bit her lip as he nodded again and moved her up enough to slide into her from behind. Not moving, just happy with the sensation for now. "Good." Hermione whispered and closed her eyes.

11:15 am

"This sucks." Hermione said bitterly as she glared sideways at the Ravenclaw Spellbook sitting in front of them on the coffee table. She was back in the land of the living, more or less, clothed casually in a pair of flannel sleep pants under a sweatshirt, with her hair in a messy braid. She was stretched out lengthwise, on the couch in the Library at Grimmauld with her head comfortably ensconced in Harry's lap. "All of that for nothing."

"Not totally, Mione," Harry replied consolingly, "We learned that your spell works."

"It took me out too Harry," she reminded him, and closed her eyes to slits as he ran long fingers through her hair in a wordless apology. "It'll get better, though," she admitted after a moment, "and it shows that we can break Tom's enchantments." A sudden sense of pride filled Harry as he looked down at her. "I can't believe he'd go to all that trouble just to leave a fake though. The wards weren't recent, they had to be years old, from his first reign of terror."

Harry's hand paused on its route through her hair, as he thought. His hand started moving again as he looked off into space for a long moment, "Hermione, think for a second. We knew of the book's existence through the list, but we could have just as easily found it through the journal article." Hermione nodded, "So the book was easy to find, relatively, and at the time when he was hiding his Horcruxes..."

"Yeah, he would have been setting traps for members of the Order," Hermione agreed. "But it wouldn't have been enough against Dumbledore." She rolled onto her back so she was looking up at him, she shrugged as he nodded, already knowing her thoughts, but she said them anyway, "but if Dumbledore took the book, he might have thought it a Horcrux."

"Maybe...yeah, Dumbledore doesn't have my link to Tom, he might have been fooled by that residual spell Tom put on it." Harry glanced over at the book as Crookshanks sniffed at it and backed off. "I don't guess the book is useful for anything?"

"No, not other than as a curiosity for the Ministry's museum...it's too despoiled for anything else." Hermione blew her hair out of her eyes. "Should we go back to Hogwarts today?"

"Do you want to?" Harry asked and she shrugged.

"Not particularly." Hermione glanced back at the closed door to the Library, and thought briefly about the possibilities before deciding that both of them were too tired. Her hands came up to lie in front of her eyes and she glanced at her ring. "When do you want to get married Harry?"

"Today if you want."

Hermione snorted. "Alright."

"Alright." Harry replied instantly; then paused as both of them realized what they were saying. He took a deep breath as their eyes met; he gulped, "Seriously?"

Hermione bit her lip as it threatened to tremble, "If you are." She sat up and moved until she was more or less sitting on his lap. She intertwined their fingers, and looked at them for a long minute.

"I meant it when I asked you Love," Harry whispered, his eyes following hers to their hands. "So..." Hermione dropped her head to his shoulder and nodded. "Alright, then, how about your birthday, then? Do you want your parents there?"

A silver tear slipped out of her eye and down her cheek. "We can't risk it, Harry." He kissed her brow as her shoulders shook slightly. "When I was a girl," She said softly, slowly, "a little girl, that is, you know, I thought I'd have this grand white wedding..."

"You still can, Mione, anything, anywhere you want." Harry murmured. "I'll..."

"I know, but somehow that's just not us, is it? Not anymore, not while this is hanging over our heads," Hermione leaned up and silenced an objection with her lips before it escaped. "Maybe after we've killed the bastard, but that could be years, and I'm not waiting Harry..." She grinned ruefully, "I want to you to have my ring on too, when we finish it...just in case. And who knows, it might just save one or both of us."

Harry laughed, a touch bitterly, but not at her. "So, we get eloped in two weeks and married in Westminster for the victory party?"

"Something like that."

"Alright."




A/N: Were you expecting that? :) Ok as often requested, here is the answer to the Ginny question....at this point, barring revisions, we are at 19,825 words until the chapter where Hermione and Ginny have their "discussion."

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Once again, many, many thanks to Lady Starlight for her work on this fic.

Chapter 17: A Hidden Bond
**************************Spinner's End*****************************
September 10, 1997.
5:15 am

Severus Snape eased through the night as he snuck down the dilapidated Muggle street his house was secreted on. He paused outside of the garden gate and flicked his wand, and waited. After several tense moments in which he started at least twice at alley cats disturbing the night, a green glow flashed three times up near the eves of his house. He looked both ways and cast out several silent Accios randomly in case someone was watching from under a cloak.

He motioned with his wand, opening the door and crept in. Other than a rather impressive layer of dust, and a faint smell of decay that seemed to come from the kitchen, nothing greeted him. He flicked his wand at a set-in bookshelf and watched as it opened. He walked in, and down a set of stairs hidden behind it.

At the foot of the stairs, a complete Potions lab sat, even in some ways more complete than his personal lab at Hogwarts had been. Snape opened a tall, glass enclosed cabinet, in which the faint hiss of an exhaust enchantment could be heard pulling the fumes out of the hood and through a water scrubber before exhausting the air outside. He jabbed his wand at a purple flame under a brass cauldron. It went out and he waved his hand over the potion he had been making to examine it.

As the fumes cleared, he found the crystal-clear water-looking potion waiting for him. Snape nodded to himself as he pulled a large, stone ladle from a drawer behind him and poured the potion into several tumbler-sized vials. I don't know why the Dark Lord needs a Conceptious Patron Potion but I don't have the luxury of questioning him right now, damn Potter...Snape paused to reflect on it, Nor do I think that I want to think on it...

**********************Hogwarts, Dungeon*********************************

10:00 am

Harry yawned slightly as the fumes from the Stabilization Draught he was working on got to him. Why exactly Slughorn thought that the class would need to learn an esoteric potion that was used in rare cases to fight the effects of Unforgivables, the Cruciatus and Imperius, and in rare cases the Avada Kedavra where the caster didn't really mean it Harry didn't rightly know. The potion was used to stabilize the soul and to keep it from shearing away, but was supposed to only be used by specialists at St. Mungo's. Now, Tom, Tom may need it soon... Harry wafted the fumes away from the potion to inspect its clear, purple depths and extinguished the flames under it. He bottled a sample and glanced over at Hermione sitting next to him. She had her head down, writing in a notebook as she was waiting on him to complete his potion. Hers was already done, bottled and her mess cleaned up. She glanced up at him with a small, just for him smile.

Harry returned it; then his expression fell once more as he saw the adhesive bandage that was covering a bit of her brow above her left eye. Ginny had claimed that it was an accident last night at DA, and to be honest both Harry and Hermione believed her, but it was still another pinprick. I'm fine Harry. Hermione said softly, knowing the course of his thoughts.

Yeah, I know, but. He shrugged and nodded as she patted his thigh under the table. He glanced up at Slughorn; I think tonight will be a good time to talk to the good professor.

Hermione bit her lip and nodded. She returned to her notebook, canting it slightly so Harry could see her writing, a seemingly confused mix of rambles about the class, a cryptic note about where? That Harry knew to be in reference to where exactly they were to get married as they hadn't exactly figured that out yet, beyond it probably needing to be a Muggle Justice of the Peace somewhere, though Hermione had become even more determined than Harry on that point, so he knew he would have a wife in about nine days. If Dumbledore had still been alive...

He broke that train of thought as Hermione caught his eyes and nodded, they had had that talk that very evening, after they had decided to get married. It had come after a dinner in which Ron had commented how domestic they looked as Harry cooked and Hermione helped and the two had conjured somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple of hundred foam balls and shot them at Ron. He had still been ducking an occasional, errant foam Bludger hours later. Luna had wisely stayed out of it, other than asking for a refill on her wine, which had gone well with the quick meal of spaghetti and bread Harry had fixed. If Dumbledore had still been alive, they both knew he would have performed the ceremony, and would have most likely agreed to keeping it secret.

Harry's eyes suddenly widened as he stared at Hermione, The portrait...

Is that even legal?

Do you care? he asked and she shook her head after a moment. She smirked at him as she carefully wrote Hermione Jane Potter in a corner of her parchment before blacking it out. The bell rang and Harry and Hermione along with the rest of the class got up to hand in their potions and leave. Ron glanced at them, asking a silent question as Harry hung back, and nodded as Harry motioned stealthily with his hand towards where Hermione and Neville were waiting outside in the hall. He vanished and Harry was carefully the last one to hand in his potion.

"Aw Mr. Potter, this potion looks excellent as always," Slughorn said slightly ingratiatingly as he looked up at Harry, who stood several inches above him even when they were both standing up and despite Harry not being particularly tall. Harry watched as Slughorn marked an O on a sheet with today's date next to his name, Harry wasn't too concerned as Hermione had already been marked for an O as well he noticed.

"Thank you sir," Harry replied with a small, mostly convincing smile. Harry pulled his book out from his bag. He opened it to a page on Binding Potions, "I was wondering if I could talk to you this evening about the assigned work sir, there are some questions that I have on combining wormwood and asperia to gain the desired effect."

"Sure Harry," Slughorn's bare palate glinted in the light from the torches scattered about the dungeon classroom as he nodded. "I would be happy to discuss it with you." Harry smiled and started to leave. "Oh, Harry...I am having a gathering later this week, Friday evening, if you could attend." Slughorn grinned, "Miss Weasley should be there as well."

"I'll check to see if I can attend sir," Harry replied with a wooden, at least to those who really knew him such as Hermione or Ron, smile. He nodded as he stepped out into the hall and looked up at Hermione, Ron and Neville. The others fell into formation around him as Harry motioned them to follow.

The group followed Harry as they towards the Arithmancy classroom where Hermione had class next, the rest had a free period. Luna came up to them, from her class that immediately proceeded Hermione's and after verifying that they had a few minutes before Hermione had to make it to Vector's class, Harry motioned them all into an empty classroom. The walls lit white as the, by now, usual anti-surveillance charms were cast. "Alright, I'll be quick, Luna you and Neville want in all the way, well here's your chance. You two work out a way to set up a meeting with Greengrass discretely, I have heard that we have started to gain the support of her parents, especially after they realized that Tom was not exactly happy with their lack of support for his cause. "

"I'll do it," Neville replied after a long moment and a glance between him and Luna, "I have History of Magic with her tomorrow."

"Fine," Harry replied appreciatively, "do that. We need to see if we can at least establish a neutral relationship with some of the Slytherins. I have no doubt there will end up being blood on the floor, but I would rather keep all those out of it who weren't actually Death Eaters in training. But Neville, if you get a chance, impress on her that we would prefer she take a more active role. If we need to, we can protect her, just like the Order or rather Moody did with her parents." Neville nodded. "I set up a meeting with Slughorn this evening. He thinks that he's meeting with me over Binding Potions, but he's not. He's going to have a little chat with me, about the relationships he's built up over the years with his 'club'."

"Why the hell would he talk to you about that?" Ron asked, and Harry and Hermione grinned as one.

"Because mate, my mum and Dumbledore weren't stupid. There are certain things that they both left in their journals that Horace doesn't want to have in the Prophet," Harry replied ferally and the rest nodded. Harry sighed, "He also mentioned a get together of his club Friday night." Hermione's gaze shot to his, and her eyes hardened as she read his words off his mind a few seconds before he uttered them from the rest. "He mentioned that Ginny was invited, so I would guess some of the rest of you are as well." Luna gave Harry a measuring look then a questioning one to Ron. Neville glanced back and forth among the other four, knowing there was some subtext he was unaware of, but said nothing. He could always ask Parvati or Lavender, they seemed to have all the gossip if he really cared.

Harry took a breath as they started to leave and waved before anyone could open the door, "Listen, Neville, everyone else already knows at least somewhat what we are up to, and there are things that I can't let you know yet. I'm sorry about that, but there are reasons."

"It's alright Harry, I understand."

"Thanks Neville, I promise Hermione won't have to petrify you again." All of the seventh years laughed, Harry along with them until he turned serious once more, "Neville, the adults have given up for the most part. At least the Order members in the main and I would honestly say some of the Ministry. They are just waiting for Voldemort to roll over them and dictate terms. I'll be damned if I ever bow to that fucker," Harry said bluntly. "And if the so called adults won't fight him other than folks like McGonagall, Moody, Remus and Tonks, then I will."

************************Dungeons*******************************

8:00 pm.

Harry knocked quietly on and then proceeded to open the door of Slughorn's office. He looked up and waved Harry in. Harry held the door open for a brief moment, before he closed it behind him. Harry took a seat in front of Slughorn's desk and declined an offer of refreshments. "Where is your book Harry, I can't give you a new one all the time." Slughorn laughed at his joke, Harry didn't. He reached down instead and tossed a sheaf of parchments onto Slughorn's desk. The parchments all had the slightly ink-stained look that comes about from them being the duplicates created by a Duplicata Charm, so they both knew they weren't the originals.

"Let me be blunt, Professor," Harry said softly, with an air of menace. "You are being recruited as a source of intelligence." Slughorn opened his mouth several times without a sound escaping, and Harry cut him off before he could voice an objection. "Dumbledore had the patience to allow you to be persuaded to give me the information about the Horcruxes, and to allow your...indiscretions to lay silent. I don't. There are certain indiscretions both personal and financial enumerated in those files that I am sure that you don't want to appear on the front page of the Prophet. Dumbledore may not have used them against you, but you knew the threat was there, didn't you?"

"I am not worried Potter," Slughorn said darkly as he leaned back in his chair, "those will never see the light of day..."

Harry grinned, much like a lion over a freshly killed gazelle. "On the contrary, sir. I know that the editor and several reporters were in your... 'club'. But I am sure that the Quibbler will publish, and it's not such an automatically discounted rag any longer is it?" Despite himself Slughorn nodded. "Also there are Aurors who are much more interested in justice than promotion, even these days. I know several. And finally, sir...I am the 'Chosen One,' people will listen if I say something. The Prophet and the Ministry's tame journalists may make up that I prefer giraffes as bed partners the next day, but people will listen. It's amazing the talent that folks have developed to determine the wheat from the chaff."

Slughorn sighed and ran his hands over his eyes. "What do you want Harry?" he asked finally, "I won't fight, even if you release those files, I'll at least be alive in Azkaban."

"I am not asking you to," Harry replied softly, conciliatorily, "just that you continue as usual to take in...bits of knowledge from your...associates, and relate them to us. And that occasionally, you pass on inquiries of that we give you, that's all."

"Fine," Slughorn replied softly, "Is that all?"

"No," Harry reached down and placed his textbook on the Professor's desk, "I do still have some questions about the assignment."

***************************Hogwarts*********************************

September 12, 1997
10:00 pm

The party had been going on for almost two hours as Harry glanced up to catch Hermione's eyes across the room. Terry Boot, not a terrible bloke, but not whom she would rather be talking to all in all, though the secondary byplay she sent over their thoughts was amusing, was currently chatting her up. Her eyes flicked towards the buffet, in that secret language they shared that could communicate paragraphs in a glance or a single word in a paragraph of them, and he gave her tiniest of nods and turned back to whom he was talking to.

Over the years, Ernie Macmillan had had a slightly rocky semi-friendship with Harry. Ernie had been a founding member of the DA, but he had also been one of those that believed that Harry was variously the Heir of Slytherin and a lying attention-seeker when the fake Moody had conspired to place him in the Tri-Wizard. Which, now that I think about it...shouldn't that one be called the Tetra-Wizard? Across the room he caught Hermione's grin for a second.

Slughorn had called this a "Welcome Back to Hogwarts Get-Together" but Ron had called it an excuse to get drunk on a Friday night with students and not get sacked. Harry privately agreed with him, but the booze was free, and there were other reasons to be there. There were days when Harry was almost driven insane as he realized that almost every action he took was some element in this never ending war. Slughorn had not said a word to Harry or anyone else since Harry's little chat with him Wednesday, a brief note had arrived the next day however, with no signature, that had talked of a rumored defeat of several Aurors that had never shown in the Prophet, and the possible defection of a two more to the dark. Currently Slughorn was over near the windows of the room, talking to a pair of sixth year Hufflepuffs that he had his eye on.

Harry nodded as he finished his talk to Ernie, something about the Cannons vs. Bailey Bats; he hadn't been listening, and started to drift over towards the table. As he peeked around the room he could see Zabini and Parkinson standing rather close together in a dim corner. Parkinson seemed to be moving oddly, jerkily and Harry shook his head and moved on. He filled a plate from the buffet, more to have something to do with his hands than anything and frowned slightly as he found Ginny dancing closely with Neville. He frowned, he felt no hint of jealousy, but he knew what she was doing, and he wished that she had chosen someone other than Neville to do it with. Neville was rapidly becoming one of Harry's trusted advisors and friends, and over all he was a good guy. Horny, yes, but he was a guy. Harry looked away as Ginny put her arms around Neville's neck and rose on her toes.

Next to him Hermione came up to the buffet, and filled her own plate. I see you noticed, she commented briskly.

Yeah I noticed, Mione. I just hope it doesn't get Neville hurt over this.

Yeah...I just don't get it Harry. She has this...obsession, with you. I understand that you are cute and all. Harry sent over an impure thought and she elbowed him in the ribs, covertly in the dim room. But she has gone to lengths that... She just won't give up. She's like the bloody terminator...just a lot shorter.

I'll be back...They both laughed in their thoughts. If you just want a bloke to snog at this party, I can go out in the hall, put on a Glamour and come back in? Harry asked hopefully.

No, that'll just give the gossip twins something else to talk about. Hermione retorted a bit wistfully as she mentally pointed towards Parvati who was deep in conversation with some sandy-haired sixth year Ravenclaw boy that Harry didn't know.

*The Long and Winding Road, the Beatles.

Damn, Harry smiled as the music that Slughorn had playing, a rather off mix of modern Muggle and Wizarding songs for a host who was at least seventy, segued to a slow song. His hand slipped down to hers, as he set his plate on the table behind them she glanced down at their hands and back up to his eyes, "Would you like to dance?"

"What about?" Hermione whispered, her eyes cutting to at a familiar redhead and back.

"She has a date," Harry replied seriously, quietly, and frankly love, I don't give a damn. Besides, can't a bloke dance with his best friend? Hermione laughed out loud as her arms slipped up around his neck, and she felt his hands clasp lightly behind her back.

Hermione sighed as she dropped her head to his chest and closed her eyes, When did we do this last? Fleur and Bill's wedding?

Yeah...you know I used to hate dancing. Hermione smiled and let Harry move them both. She opened her mouth, when... A crash sounded across the room, and Harry and Hermione spun to watch Neville's fist crash across Zabini's face. Hermione spun away from Harry and the two jumped across the room in time to fire off twin Petrification Curses at the fighters.

Hermione turned to Harry, just as a small redhead and a black-haired, slightly pug-faced girl crashed into her from the side. She bounded up as a misaimed blow from Pansy smashed into the side of her face and the room fell apart. Harry could dimly hear Slughorn calling for order as Neville managed to throw off the Petrification hex at the same time Blaise did and they crashed back together, in their haste both Harry and Hermione had pulled their spells. Harry watched as Zabini threw a counter at Neville, which he blocked and retaliated with a jab to Zabini's nose.

The second time the Heads' wands flashed; the curses weren't pulled.

Twin Impediment Jinxes threw all four combatants ten feet backwards, knocking askew a table on the way, crashing various bottles, glasses and plates of food to the floor and shattering them. The jinx slammed the four into the wall and pinned all four to it like interesting specimens in Creatures. The fight stopped, forcefully, Harry glanced over at Hermione to see her wiping blood away from her left eye where Pansy's errant blow had reopened the accidental cut she received from Ginny the other day. You alright? She nodded, her eyes flaring as she took a deep breath to calm herself.

A moment later, before Harry could calm himself enough to tear into the four, the matter was taken out of his hands. McGonagall and Lupin stormed into the room. She took in the four still being held motionless, Hermione bleeding onto the collar of her pale green blouse, and Harry looking...annoyed. Her lips thinned almost to the point of non-existence. "Everyone go to your dorms now. You four, Potter, Granger, my office, now. Professor Slughorn, I will inform you of my decision." She spun on her heel and marched out, Remus trailing after he shared a glance with Harry, who shrugged.

Harry flicked his wand and the combatants fell to the floor. He sighed and chanced a look at Hermione. She was trying not to laugh. Harry pulled a kerchief from his pocket and handed it to her, she pressed it against her cut with a free hand. They fell in behind Ginny, Neville, Pansy, and Blaise as all of walked slowly down the corridors to the second floor, dodging Peeves on the way as he dropped a watermelon he had gotten from the Kitchens near them and paused at the Gargoyle. Hermione muttered the password to it, so as not to be overheard and watched as it nodded and stepped aside with a grinding of stone. All six rode the revolving stairs to the top, Hermione and Harry not daring to catch each other's gaze in case they started laughing. As they reached the waiting room, "POTTER, GRANGER, COME IN, LEAVE THE REST OUTSIDE." McGonagall's burr was...annoyed to say the least.

She watched with a gimlet eye as the pair entered the room, her door closed with a loud thump as Remus' wand flicked and a white flash lit the walls as he cast a Silencing Charm. McGonagall motioned them to chairs and they sat slowly, barely chancing a glance around. Most of the portraits were silently watching, pretending to be asleep, except for Dumbledore, he looked amused, as if he were sitting somewhere watching this as if it were a humorous television show. "What happened?" McGonagall asked, her tone flat.

Harry glanced at Hermione, "We don't know ma'am. We were across the room...dancing when we heard a crash and witnessed Neville and Blaise fighting. Hermione and I cast Petrification Curses to stop them, but I guess that we pulled back a touch too much, they broke them and continued."

McGonagall's expression softened a touch, "then how did Hermione become injured?"

Hermione frowned, "Pansy hit me, she was trying for Ginny. I guess that I got in the way." She pulled away the kerchief from her head to check if it were still bleeding, it was so she pressed it more firmly against it, batting away Harry's attempt to help, and causing Remus to chuckle before McGonagall and Hermione's twin glares caused him to shut up rapidly. "We, umm, didn't pull the Impediment Jinxes too much the second time," Hermione added with an odd mix of embarrassment and pride.

"I noticed," McGonagall said dryly, "Very well, that is more or less what I was expecting. Harry please usher the rest in, Hermione go stand over there with Remus." Harry went to the door as Hermione got up and crossed to her Head of House. Over her soft objections he pulled away the kerchief to inspect the wound. He muttered something about having Poppy look at it; Hermione shook her head and whispered back that she'd have Harry fix her. He nodded knowingly.

The four came in and stood in two groups as McGonagall had vanished the comfortable chairs in front of her desk. They stood a sort of attention as Harry slipped behind them to lean up against a window facing, next to Hermione and Remus.

"Very well," McGonagall said tersely, "explain yourself, you first Mr. Longbottom."

Neville took a breath and looked McGonagall in the eye, the boy that had trembled at her displeasure third year was gone. "Ma'am, Mr. Zabini insulted Miss Weasley, I was defending her honor."

"Is this true Mr. Zabini, did you insult Miss Weasley?"

"I was only telling the truth ma'am, I cannot help it if Longbottom took it wrong..."

"He called her a blood-traitor slut," Neville interrupted. He bristled and started to turn towards Blaise again, when Neville suddenly noticed his feet seemed to be rooted to the floor. McGonagall carefully didn't notice Harry's fingers closing into a fist and slipping back into the pocket of his robes. "He..."

"That will be enough Longbottom, Zabini..." McGonagall snapped, "and if Longbottom was defending your honor, then why did you feel the need to get involved physically Miss Weasley?" Pansy started to snigger, when she caught Hermione twirling her wand in her fingers out of the corner of her eye.

"Pansy said that Percy got what he deserved, it was only just that one traitor die at the hands of another," Ginny spat and Pansy shrugged. The small witch bristled, until McGonagall rose from her chair.

"And I suppose that all of that justified you striking the Head Girl, Miss Parkinson?" McGonagall asked rhetorically. She leaned over her desk, her eyes blazing behind her square-framed glasses. Her next words came out in a hiss that would have done justice to her Animagus form. "Very well. Longbottom. Zabini. Each of you will serve a month detention with your respective Heads of House, along with one hundred points from each of your houses. Weasley your punishment is the same. Parkinson, you have gained yourself an additional week and another hundred points for striking the Head Girl," McGonagall glanced over at Hermione, "Unless she sees fit to settle it otherwise?" Hermione shook her head, and McGonagall nodded. Leave, and go directly back to your dorms." The four left, but not before Zabini gave Harry a glare and mouthed, "This isn't over Potter," behind McGonagall's back.

The door closed behind them, and Minerva looked over at Hermione, and then at Harry, she shook her head, "Can you two not stay out of an altercation for ten minutes?" She sighed, "Go to bed, and Hermione have that looked at." Harry nodded and took Hermione's hand in the safety of the Headmistress' office, and vanished in a fall of color.

McGonagall flicked her wand and the chairs reappeared in front of her desk. She waved Lupin to a chair and flicked her wand again to conjure a tea service and a plate of biscuits. Remus took a cup and a pair of chocolate biscuits and sat back. Minerva looked vaguely in the direction of Gryffindor Tower and sighed as she took a sip of her tea.

"It's not their fault Minerva," Remus said, misinterpreting the direction of her thoughts.

"I know Remus," she chuckled softly, "I never thought that I'd ever see any group of three students that could possibly get in more trouble than you, James and Sirius did...but I was wrong."

"I guess he does have good genes after all."

"I suppose," she agreed. "Do we have any word from Alastor?" she asked as Dumbledore's portrait paid particular attention.

"He has not yet found him," Remus replied thoughtfully, "I am hoping that we can locate their base. Perhaps we can weaken him before Harry has to end it. If it comes down to it, if we have to sacrifice ourselves to get him a chance..."

McGonagall nodded as Lupin took a sip of his tea and looked out into space.

********************Hogwarts**************************

September 19, 1997
2:00 am

Hermione gave the unconscious form of her boyfriend, lover, and for all intents and purposes in the eyes of the universe, husband, a soft smile as she eased into his room, their bedroom, in the Head's chambers. If she thought about it, really thought about it, the old, logical Hermione, the one that had slid open a compartment door looking for a toad would have never even thought it possible how far they had come between Harry's birthday, and today, her own. Forty-five days that had made all the difference in the world. Forty-five days that had seen a Horcrux destroyed, the machinations of one she had once thought of as a little sister in all but blood exposed, attacks on them and theirs...and a ring on her finger that had last seen the light of day on Lily Potter's ring finger.

Of course that ring was hidden, under a modified Fidelius charm so that only four people in this castle, in this world, could see it. The two in this room, and the only other two people that they knew they could trust. An odd, possibly insane Ravenclaw girl named after a moon goddess, who very well might be a seer, a true seer, and Ron, their friend, protector and brother, and if all went well, sometime today after classes, that ring would be joined by another band.

Hermione slipped out of her clothes, tossing the school uniform and her underwear in a corner on top of Harry's clothes. She slid under the blanket and scooted over until she was pressed firmly against him, desperate to feel his heartbeat against her own. She bit her lip softly as Harry's arm pulled her in even closer to him in his sleep, and she felt a welcome heat against her stomach. She tucked her head under his chin as her legs intertwined with his and she felt sleep start to take her. Her knee moved slightly, and a soft groan escaped Harry's lips at the same time a distant pain echoed in her thigh.

"Bloody Hell," Harry muttered without opening his eyes. "What time is it Mione?"

"A bit after two," she replied as she reached down and started to gently knead the unseen bruise that she had inadvertently kicked.

"Thanks," Harry replied as he relaxed under her ministrations. His thoughts flicked out and grazed on hers, catching the edge of a stream of images flashing by. Knut for your thoughts.

Didn't you already pay me like 250 million Galleons for them? She replied with an inner smile.

Har Har...besides, its closer to three quarters of a billion if you count the properties and businesses from my folks, Sirius and Dumbledore. His fingers started to trace the bumps in her spine and she slumped in his arms.

You can keep that up...I was just thinking of what that eleven-year-old girl would have thought...would she have opened up the door? She liked rules...do you know how many rules you and Ron have made her break?

Oh...she's soooo innocent. Hermione didn't even have to glance up to see the smirk. She batted his arm playfully, only to suffer the consequences of being pulled in tighter. She rolled in his arms to face the other direction as she spooned back into his chest. She frowned slightly as she felt Harry's fingers tracing a faint, almost invisible scar between her breasts, courtesy of Antonin Dolohov. So how many are we breaking right now?

It depends...not as many as Ron and Luna were probably going to be when they left the Library at midnight.

Sorry, Mione, I got held up working with Remus, he wanted to go over some stuff for the DA.

I know baby, remember you told me that, telepaths...remember, duh? Anyway we are at like twenty or so right now...unless we were to admit we were betrothed and then since we're Heads then it's none really, save that we were probably supposed to tell McGonagall.

She probably knows, or suspects. Hermione shrugged. So are you concerned because you are seeing me the night before? Harry grinned as she reached down and pinched his bruised thigh. OWW.

Serves you right... Hermione giggled and stretched, and Harry groaned. Oh no, none for you before the wedding...

Um....

Never mind...that was a pretty pitiful threat wasn't it? Harry nodded, as Crookshanks jumped up on the bed, paced around a bit, decided he probably wouldn't fit at the head of the bed and settled on the blankets at the foot of the bed. Both of the humans in the room looked at Crookshanks with identical, annoyed expressions. He smirked as only a cat can and settled down, looking up at them, his eyes glowing slightly in the light of the twin candles burning on the bedside table. You know that marrying me doesn't get you out of getting me a birthday present. Hermione stated suddenly as she tore her eyes from her cat. Harry glanced up at her, and found her trying not to laugh.

Harry rolled his eyes, pointedly, Such materialism, Mrs. Potter. He quipped; she let out a small shiver as the thought crossed hers.

I think that was the best present I've ever gotten, Hermione said quietly, her thoughts tight with sudden emotion; I just wish everyone would call me that. A couple of tears slipped from her eyes. Hermione glanced out of the darkened window to see a scattering of stars pricking the velvet night. But no one will, we can't let them know can we...if we couldn't let them know that we were together, or engaged, we damn sure can't let anyone else know...

Ron and Luna can, Harry replied reasonably and pulled on the blanket slightly to cover their shoulders from where Crookshanks was trying to take it. Or do you want to take the gloves off? Slap her down and just live our lives?

Hermione took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth before responding, No, I said until the end of October, I'll give her that, and still we will have to keep the depth of it secret... She let out a soft purring, moan as Harry kissed her neck, and nodded into her shoulder.

Ok...I do have something cool to show you, Harry said, and he could feel her eyebrow crooking. She watched, curious, as he raised a hand and the Marauder's Map fluttered over to him from his pack on the floor by the door, where it was sitting with hers. He sat up, pulling her with it, and spread the map out over their blanket-covered laps. I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. The map filled in from the corners, after a quick, borderline lewd, comment from a Mister Padfoot, to show a diagram of the castle. Hermione turned and glanced at him, look for your name.

Hermione shrugged and immediately went to the part showing the Head's Suite. Her jaw dropped slightly as she spotted Hermione Potter, next to Harry Potter. Harry chuckled, Ron actually spotted it the other day, I don't normally look for you cause I pretty much know where you are...I think it's said that since we got engaged. And remember...the map never lies.

Cool...She kissed Harry more properly before she blanked the map, folded it and sent it back to Harry's bag. She slid back down under the covers and closed her eyes. I think you better get some sleep Mr. Potter if you're going to survive your wedding night. Harry's only retort was to extinguish the candles he had left burning for her return and to pull her back to him. Neither of them could hardly sleep any more if they were not physically touching, whether it was a side-effect of the bond or the times, neither cared really.


A/N: There you go, one chapter closer to the end :), next time, join us as we attend some function or other...and yeah that's only after we run across a few more surprises.


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Once more to Lady Starlight...thanks, and obviously I don't own this, I owe money on my car

Chapter 18: Beginnings
**************************Little Hangleton*********************

September 19, 1997

"Severus," Voldemort hissed as the ex-Slytherin Head strode at his heals. Voldemort looked over as a pair of masked Death Eaters levitated a limp victim past them. The Death Eaters bowed as the dark pair passed. The door closed behind the Death Eaters and faint screams reached the ears of the two. Voldemort smiled darkly, his lipless mouth a faint line. "I will require more of the potion."

Severus took a fearful glance around the dark, dimly lit hallway under the old, ruined Riddle Manor. A soft squeak cut off abruptly as a rat was swallowed by Nagini. Voldemort smirked as he felt Nagini's pleasure. "Sire, may I ask why you need such a potion?"

Riddle stopped his pacing and looked at Snape. His eyes glowed faintly as he considered for a long moment, "Not as of yet Severus, you will know soon enough."

**************************Room of Requirement************************

10:00 am

Luna scissor-kicked her way back to her feet and swept her long hair back out of her eyes. The band she had had in to hold it back had fallen out a couple of passes ago. Hermione grinned at her and sliced her foot through the air at Luna's head. Luna grabbed her ankle as it passed and pushed up.

Hermione went with the motion, flipping backwards and landing in a backwards summersault and bounding to her feet in one blurred movement. Luna charged and Hermione was forced on the defensive as Luna snapped a jab, a backfist and a sweep at her; which Hermione blocked, ducked backwards and jumped over respectively. Luna hopped backwards as Hermione's left leg scythed through where her stomach had been a heartbeat before. Luna grinned at her and snapped a kick at Hermione's knee. Hermione dodged it, as Luna commented absently, "I was thinking the other day...uggh." The hammer striking wood sound of Hermione striking her block snapped across the room.

"What?" Hermione panted as she dropped and swept at Luna's leg. Luna jumped over the sweep and tumbled forward, leading with her elbow.

Luna shook her head to throw her hair back out of her eyes, "Do you think blonds have more fun...uggh." She took Hermione's snap kick in the leg, but blocked her follow up to the head. None of the cadre fought with the safeties on any longer. In more settled times it would have been amazing how fast the skills they had needed were absorbed by the teens, but there wasn't really a choice any longer. "Or are we...uggh," she punched a quick combo at Hermione, getting through on the third hit and receiving an open hand blow to the jaw in return, "easier to spot in the dark?"

Hermione shrugged, grinned, hopped once on the balls of her feet and MOVED. Even with her occasionally spotty abilities, Luna barely followed her as Hermione hooked the back of her leg, dropped her to the mat, and punched for her throat. Hermione's middle knuckle rested lightly on the blonde's esophagus and Luna tapped the mat next her. Hermione rolled off her, bounded to her feet, and pulled Luna to her feet. "I don't know Luna." She flicked her wrist and a pair of towels shot over from a folded pile the Room had created next to a half-dozen, life-like target mannequins. "What does Ron think?" her eyes twinkled at the odd girl that was rapidly replacing the spot Ginny had held for years.

"Oh, Ronnie's a boy...I love him, but he is a touch daft," Luna replied easily and started minutely inspecting the towel Hermione handed her, for what, Hermione did not, or did she really want to, know.

Um...kettle, hello, my name is pot. Hermione thought instantly as she dropped to the mats, and folded her legs under her in an easy lotus. Hermione looked down at her towel in her hands and pulled a drink from a water bottle that had appeared at her hand. "Um, Luna..."

"I would be honored, eight?" Luna replied as she bent double at the waist and touched her forehead to her shins. Hermione just nodded. "Good," Luna replied softly as she reached down and grabbed Hermione's hand with both of hers, "I haven't worn that dress I bought this summer yet." Luna smiled hugely, showing all her teeth and Hermione giggled.

******************************Godric's Hollow****************************

Poppy looked around the tastefully decorated living room as she waited for her patient to return. She looked at the mixture of Muggle and Wizarding volumes on the various bookshelves, the entertainment center in the corner, and the assorted Gryffindor memorabilia. Poppy had listened early this morning as Remus had come to her, and given her the location of a house hidden under the Fidelius, which she could not now, literally could not, divulge the location of, even if Voldemort himself questioned her. She shivered a bit at the thought as she smiled kindly over at the solid man sitting in a leather armchair, looking upward worriedly as they waited for his wife to finish redressing after Poppy's examination.

After another minute, Jane returned from upstairs, from the new guest bedroom that had been added in the most recent renovation, and came down the stairs. The owners of the master suite had yet to spend a night in it, but even though Roger and Jane knew that neither would mind if they took the bigger bedroom, and would probably insist on it if they knew, they hadn't. Roger had made a joke about they should get used to the in-law's visiting bedroom anyway. He didn't know how right he was, of course.

Jane came down the stairs and perched on the arm of the chair Roger was in. "So Poppy am I alright, I would think that the flu would..."

"I am afraid that you don't have the flu, Jane," Poppy said quietly, she paused as she looked down at the parchments on the enchanted clipboard she was holding, "In fact you are in perfect health...as is your daughter."

"I would assume that Hermione is," Roger replied instantly before he looked to see Jane covering her mouth with both hands. Her blue eyes danced as she looked down to see Roger looking up at her dumbfounded.

Poppy laughed slightly, "Normally considering whom my usual patients are, this isn't a particularly welcome event at that time in their lives, but I think I can make an exception in your case." Jane fell into Roger's lap in the chair and cried softly on his shoulder.

"When, Poppy?" Roger asked as Jane looked up, her bottom lip in her teeth, giggling slightly.

"Late May sometime, I should be able to tell you more precisely during your next exam." Poppy got up, and grabbed the Portkey that Remus had supplied her. "I have to be returning, lest someone see that I am gone, but I will be back. I will send along a schedule of appointments along with Remus and a diet for you to follow Jane." Poppy glanced down at her clipboard, "Do you want me to say any thing to Miss...Hermione?"

Jane and Roger shared a long glance, finally he shook his head, "No, please don't, it will be pleasant surprise, I hope." Poppy nodded, and vanished in a fall of color.

Jane looked up at her husband happily as he ran his hands through her hair, "Well we had always wanted a bigger family." He laughed.

"Yeah, what's the bet we gain a daughter and son-in-law in the same year?" Roger quipped as he pulled her in for a kiss. She shivered as his hands ran up the back of her jumper.

"That's a sucker bet, honey," Jane snorted, "of course if they get eloped, they are damn sure going to have a wedding I get to go to."

"Sure dear, sure," Roger replied placatingly.

******************************Hogwarts*********************************

2:15 pm

"The key to fighting many dark creatures is often selecting your ground," Lupin said with no trace of nervousness for himself, even with the Slytherins dotting the back row, they didn't even pay attention to him, with the exception of a few. "Some of this is a branch of Magizoology, dealing especially with such beasts as Acromantulas," Ron shuddered on Hermione's left, and Harry fought not to laugh on her other side, "Sphinxes, Manticores and the like, and I am sure that if you paid attention to Hagrid, you have learned extensively about them." Lupin looked like he wanted to laugh himself as he paced over to his desk and leaned back against it. "However, several of those creatures that I have just mentioned are currently classified as beasts..."

"Isn't that you as well, Professor?" a voice uttered just a touch too loud from the rear.

"That will be twenty-five points from Slytherin," Lupin replied without breaking stride. He flicked his wand at the front of the class and a large chart listing many dark creatures and their weaknesses appeared. "Memorize this, some of this is also listed in Scamander's book," he glanced over to see Hermione's hand up, "Yes, Miss Granger," Lupin said after the barest of pauses. Damn, I almost called her Mrs. Potter...I've been listening to Nymph tease them too much.

"Is there a reason that werewolves and vampires are listed as beasts, sir?" Hermione inquired.

Lupin frowned as he glanced back to the chart. "They are variously listed as beasts and beings, Hermione, like Centaurs, House-Elves and other intelligent beings." A soft snigger from the back of the room did not escape lycan hearing, and Lupin's hazel eyes shot to the back, but too late to find the actual miscreant. "As to my original point, it is often possible to use the surroundings to your advantage when facing dark creatures. For example, a vampire will often not want to cross moving water such as a stream or river. This is more evident in turned vampires than purebloods of course, but even the purebloods will often show a reluctance."

Lupin continued on with his lecture as Harry carefully took notes, only glancing over at Hermione out of the corner of his eye once or twice a minute. We should invite Lupin and Tonks, Hermione announced after a minute. Harry turned and looked at her for a bit before nodding and returning to scribbling down notes. Hermione squeezed his hand under the table before she picked her quill back up and resumed taking notes; or rather the part of her brain that wasn't always concerned with at least some aspect of Harry or his well being, which had been recording what Lupin was saying, transferred what it had heard to her quill hand.

I do wish...

Hush Harry, hush, it's ok, I'll get that chance later, her lips twitched, and as they were in the front row, only Lupin and Harry noticed, and Lupin didn't say a word beyond starting in on which type of wood often made the best stake.

The remainder of the class was more of the same, with Harry or Hermione or occasionally one of the other DA members asking a question or two. The bell rang and the class vanished like the early morning mist when the sun came up. Hermione motioned towards Remus, and Harry nodded. She gave him a smile and walked up with him to the Marauder.

"Yes, Harry, Hermione?" Lupin asked as he placed several texts into a large, leather bag on his desk. He turned to them with a slight smile as he placed his wand into his robe pocket. He watched as Harry and Hermione's eyes flicked to each other's.

"Um, Remus," Harry asked very quietly, "are you and Tonks doing anything tonight?" Lupin shook his head, puzzlement evident in his gaze. Harry looked again over at Hermione.

"Could you two come around to our common room about eight, we would appreciate it," Hermione finished for him nervously. Lupin looked at the pair of them oddly as if he expected bunny ears to sprout from their hair any second.

"Sure, I think we can," Lupin replied slowly.

The sun was shining down over the tops of the mountain and through the trees bordering the lake as Harry and Hermione walked slowly around the winding dirt path where he and Hermione had once hidden from his critics and fears after the Tri-Wizard selection. She glanced over at him as she shared the memory, Sorry, no toast today.

Did I ever thank you for that? Harry asked as he brushed his hand against hers. She smiled but didn't answer immediately. They both glanced up as a soft hoot whispered through the trees above them, and Hedwig fluttered in to land on Harry's shoulder next to Hermione. Hermione reached up and petted her as they paused and looked out over the lake. The squid was waving to several giggling third-year girls who were over by the rocky shore where both of them and Sirius had almost lost their souls to the Dementors.

Hermione finally shrugged slightly as they started off again, Hedwig bobbing slightly on Harry's shoulder, and looking back and forth between Harry and Hermione as if wondering why they weren't holding onto each other. I don't know, Harry, and honestly, you never will have to. Kinda the point.

I know. But, thanks.

You're welcome. Her hand came up and brushed her hair from her eyes, before pulling a band from her pocket and pulling it back into a tail. She stopped and sat down on a large rock overlooking the lake and glanced up as Harry joined her, and pulled his knee into his chest. You scared?

No, not really, I was scared when I was going to ask you, she glanced at him, and a chestnut eyebrow crept up leisurely, fine...I'm scared shitless.

Me too, baby. Her hand came over to rest on his for a moment, before returning to stroke Hedwig's feathers once more. Harry's familiar had remained on his shoulder throughout their walk and Harry's sitting down. "Alright, you can come too," Hermione replied to the owl. She cooed softly and hopped over to Hermione's shoulder.

"HARRY, HERMIONE," Harry rolled his eyes as he heard the voice of Hogwarts' resident photojournalist. Harry and Hermione moved apart hesitantly, as if their bodies were trying to resist their brains. The young blonde came running up, with his camera in hand. He stopped in front of them, "Can I take your picture, please?" Harry glanced at Hermione she gave a small nod, and he nodded to Colin. "Squeeze in together" Harry's arm went around Hermione's waist and her head fell to his shoulder without a thought. Hedwig hopped out of the way, and settled on Hermione's other shoulder just as Colin's shutter clicked and as quick as that, the photo that would later be their wedding picture was born. "I'll get you a copy Harry," Colin waved as he ran away, happy that Harry had let him take a picture without complaint.

"He's just weird." Hermione said after a moment, watching the sixth year take off towards the castle seemingly as happy as a pig in slop.

"Yeah," Harry agreed as a small, black and white bunny hopped across the path. "He is odd." He looked at his hands for moment before, pulling his glasses off with one hand and pinching the bridge of his nose with the other. His eyes cut sideways, So what are you doing tomorrow?

She laughed; I had better be recovering... Harry grinned as she glanced down to smooth her skirt over her legs. Why Harry? She asked seriously.

I just want to go to Hogsmeade or something, before we start in on studying for the day...Ron will be busy at Quidditch.

Oh, she realized, and looked up over at him. I won't stop you, if?

I don't have time Hermione, he replied grimly, Ron might think I'm daft for not playing, but I don't have the time to practice, I have too much to learn. I guess I'll just watch. Harry looked back over his shoulder at the castle. It was getting less and less fun every year anyway, I love the game and flying, but it seems like another bit of my childhood that I have to give up. The part that really annoys me, is that fucking Umbridge gets to watch me sitting there in the stands...it'll tickle her pink.

Hermione didn't care who would walk up, as she leaned over and pressed herself against his side. How about I turn her into a Niffler...she'll chase her paws all day long...Harry laughed, and slid off the boulder to his feet. He turned and caught Hermione as she slid off and gave her a quick kiss.

Let's go, Mione. Their fingers wrapped around each other's until they emerged into a populated area, and fell apart. She flashed him a small, nervous look as they entered the castle, and headed to dinner.

*****************************Head's Chambers*********************

8:00pm

A certain portrait was looking rather pleased with himself as he looked over at Luna, Ron, Remus and Tonks. The latter three were looking rather perplexed, while Luna looked...happy. She had been true to her word and had worn a rather, bright, blue sundress, that seemed a touch too light for the end of September, but no one really commented. It was Luna after all. The three confounded ones, along with Luna, looked over across the room at the portrait of Dumbledore, who was deep in conversation with Harry.

Harry for some reason was rather dressed up for a Friday night. His jade green dress shirt and black trousers contrasted sharply with the simple jeans and a jumper that Ron had on, or the tweed jacket and trousers Lupin was sporting. Tonks, looked at Harry critically, glanced over at Dumbledore's image which was raptly listening to Harry's account of their last, failed attempt to gain a Horcrux, and suddenly her eyes grew huge. She giggled loudly behind her hands and bounced up and down like a large, slightly demented bunny rabbit. Lupin looked at her as if she had gone insane, until she came over and whispered something urgently in his ear. Both of Lupin's eyebrows went up as he glanced at her, over at Harry and back at her, to see her nodding furiously.

The door opened to Harry's bedroom, Hermione came out nervously for some reason and took Harry's hand. Her lower lip trembled a bit as she looked up at Harry. She had also chosen a simple, white sundress for tonight, with her hair falling in waves over her back and a single, conjured white lily tucked behind her right ear. She glanced down as Harry muttered a spell under his breath and she felt the various security wards around the suite go into full effect, even the map couldn't see them now if it weren't already here. Crookshanks and Hedwig were sitting together on a nearby windowsill, as it they were spectators at a particularly interesting Quidditch match.

Harry looked around the room, at the blazing fire going in the mantle, at the worn couch in the corner, at the perplexed guests and back down at Hermione before speaking. "Um, thanks for showing up, we, um, I mean Hermione and I we decided that we would go ahead and get married." Remus just stared as Tonks giggled. "We were wondering if you would consent to being our witnesses."

"Ah, Harry," Lupin said after a long, long moment, "I'm not against this, really I'm not," he said urgently, waving his hands in front of him, as if to ward off an attack, "but who is going to marry you two?"

"That would be I, Remus," Dumbledore's image replied jovially from behind Harry. "It seems that there is no ruling actually taking away my powers as a Warlock of the Wizengamot, nor Headmaster for that matter, despite my current...situation."

Both of Lupin's eyebrows shot up, but he did not object further. In the portrait, Dumbledore proved once more that canvas could, twinkle, as he turned to Harry and Hermione. "I imagine that if I were there in person, that this would be a more formal affair, but, as it is, let us get started shall we?" Harry and Hermione slowly nodded as one, and Dumbledore chuckled softly. "Excellent, now, if Ronald and Luna would take places as the Best Man, and Maid of Honor respectively, after all we do need someone to hand off the rings don't we?" Harry silently dug in a pocket and handed Ron a small box. Ron opened it and handed Luna the slightly smaller one of the pair.

Harry and Hermione had decided that they wanted bands of their own if possible, so late last Saturday, the two of them had vanished to Diagon Alley under slight disguises to acquire said rings. The matched pair that came from a trip where Hermione had deliberately looked like Lily to Harry's shock when he saw her, with charms turning her eyes emerald and her chestnut waves, dark red, and Harry had magically been as blond as Draco, were a pair of one-off creations that could have only been created by magic. Platinum and gold had been melded together in a Damascus pattern to run together like water, much like the pattern that made up the swords and daggers, but in precious metals rather than steels. A faintly glowing band of runes ran along the inside of each ring denoting both their names and a few other sentiments.

"Excellent," Dumbledore began, then looked around at the guests, he seemed to take a breath, "years ago, I watched a young boy, one that I had hoped against hope would emerge relatively unscathed from what I had chosen to put him through. Fortunately, he did, and exceeded any of my hopes for him. I watched as he found friends and later much more, the likes of which hadn't been seen here in years, and I was relieved a bit I admit. And now, the time has come to complete a pattern that began seven years ago, one of ebbs and valleys that leads us to today."

"Marriage is a holy bond, with obligations and responsibilities beyond those of any other duty. It is a also a journey of highs and lows...much like how you two got here, that with luck, may take you centuries further along that road, and beyond. In all of my years as Headmaster, I can remember all of the couples I married, both in school and without..." Lupin and Tonks looked shocked, "Oh, yes these two are far from the first that I have married still in school, or right out of it for that matter, but I think that they may be my most favorite so far." He watched as Hermione's hand clenched almost painfully on Harry's and Lupin's ears seemed to perk up as he could hear their hearts beating in time. "At this time, there is really nothing that I can say, that they themselves can not, so I shall leave it to them, Harry?"

Harry took a breath and took both of Hermione's hands in his. Somehow, though neither seemed to actually move, they were suddenly standing, looking into each other's eyes from a few inches away, their foreheads touching lightly. The faintest hint of ozone permeated the air, as the small hairs on the necks of the watchers began to prickle. Time stopped, and somewhere far away, a bell tolled, Harry whispered, "Hermione...ever since I met you, I've always imagined my life with you there. I think that along the way, I've forgotten what a life was without you in it somewhere, and I really can't imagine living without you. You're probably the only person I've ever really known who loves me for who I am, not an image, but me, all my flaws as well as what I'm supposedly good at. You are almost the only thing that has kept me sane and alive for the past six years and you are the one inspires me to be the best Wizard...and man I can be. Thank you Hermione, for giving me a purpose and a reason to live, beyond what others may think. I love you more than I can possibly say, I love you, Mione, now and forever."

Hermione bit her lip as a soft, choked sound escaped her throat. She didn't bother to wipe away the tears that fell softly as she leaned forward, a bare couple of inches, to kiss him, before pulling back slightly and whispering, "Harry, my love. I dreamed of us together since before I really knew what those dreams meant. You are my heart, my soul and the one who makes me be better than I would otherwise be. Without you I would still be hidden up in the library, hiding behind a stack of books, if I was even here at all. Everything I have done, and everything I will ever do, will be for us, for you. When we finally pass from this plane to our next adventure, after a day or a millennium, know that I love you now, I loved you then, and that I will love you always, and always and I will be with you forever."

Next to the couple, Luna gasped as a sharp wind ruffled her skirt and a sudden bubble of force pushed her and Ron back. The candles in the room flickered as twin; soft glows lit chocolate and emerald eyes. Dumbledore chuckled softly, "Excellent, excellent. Now Harry...Do you, Harry James Potter, take Hermione Jane Granger as your wife, to protect her above all others, to honor her above all others and to love above all others, in happiness and sadness, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall inhabit this plane of existence?"

"I do, I will, now and forever." Dumbledore's eyebrow crooked at Harry's slight change and he turned to Hermione.

"Hermione Jane Granger, do you take Harry James Potter as your husband, to protect him above all others, to honor him above all others and to love above all others, in happiness and sadness, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall inhabit this plane of existence?"

Hermione's lip twitched upward, "I do, I will, now and forever." Small crackling energy webs crackled at the edge of the room, and Dumbledore seemed ecstatic. Behind them, Lupin pulled his and Tonks' joined hand to her lips as she leaned against him. Luna glanced around Hermione, to catch Ron's eye and he gulped.

Dumbledore glanced at Ron and Luna and nodded, the extended the rings to their respective honorees and watched, a touch amazed, as the rings lifted in front of them to float in front of Harry and Hermione. "Harry, please take the ring that is destined for Hermione and repeat the following. With this ring, this symbol of our bond, our love, I bind my magic, my heart and my soul to yours." Lupin's jaw dropped as he recognized that Dumbledore had upped the ante even further, invoking the old ceremonies that were seldom if ever practiced in this day and age, as they were well neigh impossible to break, even with death as they made the pair one...and suddenly he knew. Instead of objecting he pulled Nymphadora fully into his arms and back into him, her head resting under his as they watched. On either side of Harry and Hermione, the two purebloods were slightly speechless as Harry plucked the ring from the air and slid it on Hermione's ring finger until it abutted Lily's ring.

Harry was crying slightly as he placed the ring on her finger, "With this ring...this symbol of our bond, our love, I bind my magic, my heart and my soul to yours." The fingers of his left hand remained intertwined with hers as Dumbledore nodded and looked to Hermione.

"Hermione, the same."

Hermione plucked the ring from the air and slid it on Harry's left ring finger; her voice was soft and slightly choked up as she whispered, "With this ring, the symbol of our bond, our love...I bind my magic, my heart...and my very soul to yours...even though you already had all three." she added in a faint breath that only Harry heard. A sudden crackling bridge of light snapped between the rings and a green glow erupted in their eyes fully as a brief wind ruffled feathers, fur and hair about the room. Ron and Luna were knocked back another pace before the bubble collapsed with the almost-newlyweds standing stock still, unaffected.

"Very, well then," Dumbledore pronounced, "I hereby declare you husband and wife," he grinned, "I hope you can take it from here." Harry nodded vigorously as he and Hermione pulled on each other's hands to pull them together.

The room faded away as Harry felt Hermione's hands leave his to knot in his hair and her tongue suddenly dancing with his. Somehow his hands ended up running though chestnut curls as she leaned against him, trusting him not to let her fall. Faint greenish glows escaped slitted eyelids as their ears ignored distant sounds of amusement.

Finally they fell apart slightly, their heads still together, their eyes still looking directly into each other's. Hermione was fully relying on Harry to support her now, or perhaps it was the other way around as Dumbledore spoke, "May I present then, Mr. and Mrs. Potter."

Applause came from the few spectators as the pair finally broke apart, and came to their senses more or less. Hermione turned and gave Luna a hug, while behind her; Harry hugged Ron like a brother. They switched after a moment, for Hermione to hug Ron and kiss him on the cheek, with Harry doing the same to Luna. Lupin was almost crying himself as he swept Harry and then Hermione into a hug. "Did we surprise you, Moony?" Hermione managed after a bit.

"A little bit, yeah." Lupin laughed. Harry grinned as he led them to the sitting area and dropped onto the couch, Hermione falling with him to end up on his lap. Lupin shook his head as he dropped into a chair opposite them and Tonks, being Tonks, sat on the floor at his feet and leaned her head back against his knees. Ron flicked his wand and a tray of six butterbeers appeared, he took two and sat down, grunting slightly as Luna emulated Hermione. "I do wish that you had told us before...when the hell did you get engaged?"

"The train," Hermione replied instantly, she looked around the room, "you aren't mad are you, Remus?" she looked to Harry, "I mean you are..."

"You're about the closest thing I have left to a dad, besides Hermione's dad, Remus," Harry finished for her, "I know that we..."

Lupin shook his head as he leaned forward, "No I understand Harry, believe me," He looked down at Tonks as she looked up, "I understand. If the times were different, then yes maybe you rushed things, but somehow I don't think that you did even without that consideration." He laughed at a sudden memory, "I almost called you Mrs. Potter this afternoon in class, already, I'm really going to have to watch it aren't I?"

"Yeah," Harry and Hermione whispered as one. "Speaking of that, I guess that you all realize that we can't let this out, until Voldemort is dead, this was for us, really." The other four nodded and Hermione and Harry joined their hands, again, Fidelium Orbis Amor, they incanted together and all three rings flashed as one. "Fidelius charm," Harry explained as they looked at the room. He took a drink of his beer to quench a parched throat.

"So, now what then, Harry?" Lupin asked as Crookshanks and Hedwig decided to join the party. Hedwig settled next to Harry, while Crookshanks padded over to Tonks as she was on his level for an ear scratch before jumping up on the couch to take up half of it.

"We go on as we were, Remus, we act like we were before in public," Hermione answered, with barely a touch of bitterness. The last of the butterbeer flowed down Ron's throat and he summoned himself another.

"Are you sure you want to do that Hermione?" Tonks asked as she looked around the room, "This is a nice suite, I think it's even better than Wolfie's." she added thoughtfully after another minute of examination. "I never was...good enough to be Head Girl."

"Well, you know..." Hermione said with a smile. She turned to Harry and kissed him, just because, before shrugging. "No, that's not what we want to do, but we will until Ginny stops her whatever, then, we might, ummm," she laughed and Harry joined her, "we might date or something."

"Yeah, or something," Harry agreed, "Tomorrow, it's back to the salt mines, I think Hermione and I are going to go to Hogsmeade while Ron's at practice."

"You still could play, mate, I, um know the Captain," Ron put in. He watched as Luna got up and stretched. She smiled down at Ron and crooked a finger, beckoning Ron to his feet. She flicked her wand and soft music began to play. Ron took her hand, but she shook her head and waved to Harry and Hermione. They looked to each other and stood, Hermione flowed into his arms and they started to sway to the music.

The song ended as Ron and Luna started to dance, followed by the elder two. Harry smiled slightly as he kissed his new wife, and rested his cheek against hers. The two of them, never noticed as Lupin, Tonks, Ron and Luna silently slipped out of the suite and down the stairs to the hallway.

After several minutes, maybe an hour, Hermione glanced up at Harry, and around the room. She laughed softly as they noticed that sometime since their last check on reality, they were alone. She led Harry back to the couch and they collapsed together on it lengthwise. They lay quietly for a moment, not talking as Hermione rearranged her rings in the proper, married order, and kissed his cheek. So, Harry feel any different...

Other than that odd, deliriously happy feeling and the sudden warmth where the fear was...no, not really, Harry replied cheekily, Hermione giggled as she looked down at his chest and started undoing buttons. A soft mewing sound seemed to accompany her lips as she started to nibble next to his ear. Just what do you think you are up to Mrs. Potter...

Well, Mr. Granger...

Ha, Ha...

Hermione's hands stopped as she looked up at him through long, dark lashes. He could feel her hands trembling slightly as she placed them flat on his chest, Bloody hell, Harry, why am I so nervous all of a sudden? His hand came down and trapped hers in his as his other ran in small circles over the small of her back.

Probably the same reason I am, forever is a very long time...but there's no one else I could spend it with but you. I love you Hermione.

You know...if we are to do this right...Hermione's eyes flickered and a millisecond later they were in their room. Harry raised an eyebrow as she pushed him back onto the bed and stepped back. He watched, silently, as she bit her lip nervously and reached behind her back. A small movement later, her dress lay pooled at her feet leaving her only in a tiny pair of black knickers. Harry groaned as she crawled over him and sat on his lap, rocking side to side slightly as she slowly unbuttoned his shirt. Hermione smirked as her eyes cut down for just a millisecond before glancing back up.

This...is...not...fair...Harry managed as he felt a sudden magic pulse vanish his shoes, and a millisecond later his pants leaving only a thin layer of cotton and an even thinner layer of silk between them. Brown eyes twinkled as she started kissing him along his collarbone before slipping down to nuzzle him at the base of his throat. He grunted as she reached down to slip a hand into his boxers, and stroke him a couple of times, as her lips crashed against his. Jade eyes darkened to forest as she felt a pair of callused fingertips slide under her knickers to retaliate and tweaked a small nubbin. She gasped and sat up.

With a small motion of his fingers, Hermione felt herself being floated backwards to lie on the bed, and her kickers vanished to wherever half of their laundry had gone. I should do a pape... Hermione idly thought, her brain always working, and then, suddenly it shut down, as she felt Harry kissing his way down her stomach, tickling a smooth patch of skin, before... "OHH....FUCCCK..." Hermione gasped as she saw a pair of glasses fly past her field of vision as Harry flipped them in the general direction of the nightstand.

He settled in, licking, nibbling and occasionally lending a finger or two to the task. Her hands slipped to her own breasts, teasing them as Harry was busy a bit further down. He grinned against the inside of her thighs as she growled softly from somewhere deep in her throat. A breath, a second, and Hermione shuddered against his face, screaming...something...the sheets bunched up in her fists, and her center bucking up off the bed as he held her down gently with his hands on her hips.

She looked down, panting, a loopy smile on her face, as Harry crept back up her body, stopping to nurse a bit on the way before capturing her lips with his. She groaned loudly, almost a roar, as she knotted her fingers in his hair in an attempt to keep him firmly attached at the lips.

Hermione groaned as Harry pulled away, his lips slipping down to tease one breast while his fingers played with the other. She eased back up to a sitting position, backing up on her elbows. My turn, she announced, and pounced. Harry bit off a laugh as she threw him back, and his head bumped against a post of the bed. OHHH, I'm sorry, baby. Hermione half-giggled, at his slightly crossed-eyes.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him down, rolling at the same time so she ended up looking down at him. She ran her lower lip through her teeth as she looked down at him with brown eyes gone black. Envesco... Harry...make me your wife...please... He nodded as she reached down and back, stroking him a couple of times before guiding him home.

She slid down slowly, her eyes slipping shut until only a tiny sliver of her eyes shown through. They sat motionless for seemingly a millennia as Hermione, felt herself already crashing, and Harry whimpered at the sensation. Her eyes opened incrementally a hair as she leaned forward, captured his lips again and started to move. A tiny flicker of green fire flitted across two pairs of eyes before erupting fully. The fall of her hair hid both their faces from observation as only their panting breaths disturbed the curtain, and hearts fell in step as minds and souls fell into each other.

"Harrrry....ff..faster..." Hermione grunted and yelped as he flipped them over, and her ankles came up behind his back with a will of their own. A loud purr, progressed to a soft yelping sound as she pushed back up, matching him, push for push. She shivered again as a precursor shot along her nerves.

"M...M..iiiii..onneee" Harry whispered, breathlessly as he felt the echo of her emotions, and sensations over the top of his own. He fought to hold on, a touch longer, as he started sliding in and out faster, meeting her as she pushed up off the bed.

A minute, another and a warmth began to spread. "OHHH, MERLIN, I....LOVE...." Hermione felt her body crash as her inner walls clenched almost painfully around Harry, and she felt him come a moment later after one more, quick movement. A soft crashing sound came from several places in the room, but neither paid it any heed. That was one of the main reasons that Dobby was the highest paid House Elf in England, and possibly the world. Most of their stuff was reasonably sturdy anyway.

"You..." she finished tenderly as Harry collapsed onto her, and panted into her neck quietly, as she lay perfectly still, content to enjoy the random twitches and warmth of the afterglow and the comforting weight of her husband on her body.

You too, Mione, Harry replied, not bothering with using up precious oxygen. After a minute, he slipped out as Hermione quietly bemoaned the loss. He crawled up slightly and rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him like a blanket. A second later, she felt the covers come up and cover them, and her eyes, once more chocolate looked into his as she reached up and swept sodden bangs from his eyes, before doing the same to her own, damp hair.

Her knee pushed his apart to nestle between them as she lazily stretched enough to kiss him gently. Hermione smiled, as she felt their hearts slow together, easing towards sleep, which she felt rapidly overtaking them both. Night Harry, she whispered as her eyes dropped closed. Love you.

I love you too Hermione Potter, Harry replied instantly; then grinned slightly as he felt the automatic response her unconscious mind gave him when she was asleep. His arms tightened around her as he closed his eyes and waved his hand to extinguish the light. I do wonder where the hell my glasses ended up, was his last thought before he let sleep claim him, after all he and Hermione did have training before they could enjoy themselves tomorrow.



A/N: Next Chapter, Training, Quidditch, a study session interrupted, and yes we are at like 6851 words, barring revision before Hermione and Ginny have a "little talk."

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A/N: Ok here it is, what you've been waiting for...actually it's not, sorry, but this is the last chapter before that chapter. Thanks once more to Lady Starlight for her help with this fic, it is appreciated.

Chapter 19: The Calm Before the Storm
**********************Hogwarts, Room of Requirements**********************

September 20, 1997
7:00 am

Hermione dove under a yellow bolt from a masked Death Eater, and waved at a stack of books over to the side. They shot sideways like a horizontal blizzard of leather-bound hail and pummeled the specter. A shimmering, silver beam hung in the air over her shoulder for a millisecond and the Eater collapsed. She slid next to Harry as he conjured a silver shield on his left arm and took several hits with corresponding loud gongs.

His hand dipped to a pouch at his hip and three silver discs howled back, expanding to the size of normal Frisbees before they had gone a foot. Two shot past a Death Eater to imbed themselves in the wall where they continued to hum with identical, high-pitched whines, while the third neatly decapitated a Death Eater in a spray of simulated blood.

Harry dropped his shield as Hermione's wand flashed and stones shot from the walls to pile in a four-foot revetment for them to hide behind. Harry dug in his pouch again and tossed a silver-black ball over the wall and hugged Hermione to him. A second later it went off with a roar that shook the room, and if this had been other than the Room of Requirement, probably the castle. Shrieks of pain echoed from beyond the fortification as Hermione tossed a small, marble-sized, blue ball over the wall and flicked open a mirror. After a moment's examination, she held up three fingers, lowered one and motioned to the right, dropped the other and waved to the left.

Harry gave her a nod and pointed to himself and then to the right, then at her and to the left. Hermione rolled her eyes before nodding. She dug into her pack and pulled out a pair of black-framed glasses. She slipped them on and smiled slightly as Harry tapped the sides of his own and took a small, black pellet from his pocket.

She gave him a nod, and he tossed the pellet.

The room went black, and they MOVED. Harry rolled over the top of the wall, and dove to the right, Hermione around the side and to the left. She reached her target first, slipped sideways, a blade flashed in the darkness and the Death Eater crumpled. Harry reached his a moment later and sliced up and right, rotated his wrist and cut back to the left. A simulated head fell away from the second as the first dropped face first to the floor.

The pellet's effect vanished a second later to reveal their handiwork. Harry nodded grimly as he looked warily around the room, not trusting the scenario to be over. It was, however, as the room flickered a couple of times before becoming the normal training room of the DA.

Hermione flicked her wand and tossed Harry one of the water bottles that appeared. She gave him a tired smile as Lupin and Tonks appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. "Wotcher," Tonks grinned as she took a drink from a mug of something steaming that she held in her left hand. "I'm amazed that you two can walk this morning, let alone take down that scenario...it's a graduation level Auror one."

"Ha, ha," Hermione replied and took a drink of her water, "I'll have you know that we got at least two or three hours of sleep." She waggled her eyebrows and Tonks brayed a laugh. Lupin grabbed onto her coffee mug worriedly as she leaned against him, cracking up.

"Are we done Moony?" Harry asked as he knelt down to retie his trainers. He looked up at the Lycan, who shrugged.

"Yeah, Harry," he smiled mischievously, "go forth and be merry."

Hermione glanced at him and her eyes twinkled, "We'll see, Remus." The pair left the room with a pair of towels still around their neck as Tonks stepped away from him and walked around the room. She started perusing the Dark Arts books on the wall as she thought, looking for something interesting.

"Remus?" she asked as she removed Splinching Spells, How to Recreate an Accident on Purpose, and turned to him, "I was thinking."

"Are you sure you should be doing that, luv?" he quipped as he leaned against a training dummy.

"I sure didn't agree to marry you for your sense of humor, Remus," she shot back and stuck out her tongue. She placed the book on a convenient table and walked over to him, and took his hand. "I think that they had the right idea of it Wolfie."

He sighed and ran his hand through her chartreuse hair. She smiled up at shyly and sighed softly as he kissed her forehead, "If you really want to go through with it, Nymph...we can."

"I wouldn't have said yes if I didn't mean it, you prat," she snapped and stepped back a bit, still holding onto his hand. "So when then?"

"Depends," Lupin waved his free hand non-committedly as she looked on. He looked down at her hand in his, watching the stone in her ring cycle through colors for a moment, "Do you want a big wedding or do you want to just get eloped? It's the same to me, Nymph as the end result is the same."

"I don't know, Remus," Tonks replied honestly, "I would love to have it at Grimmauld with mum and all of them there, Harry has already restored her to the family in his role as Lord Black, just to spite Bellatrix and Narcissa, but, we can't until it's over."

Lupin nodded and kissed her, "Think about it and let me know when and where I'm supposed to show up then." She punched his shoulder lightly before nodding.

****************************Hogsmeade*******************************

11:00 am.

Harry looked back and helped Hermione from the carriage and with a small, shared grin they headed into the village. She waggled her eyebrows at him after a minute and he laughed out loud. Parvati and Lavender who seemed to be traveling in a cluster of Gryffindors including Seamus, Dean, Neville, and a tall, black-haired, sixth year girl named Honor, which was just an outstanding name for a Gryffindor, along with Seamus' impromptu bed-mates of the opening night party, Ellen and Gretchen, looked at them oddly as they passed. Neither of them noticed the girls whispering excitedly behind their hands.

Harry stopped after a moment to look back towards Hogwarts, where the castle could be seen looming over the village, and just to one side, one could see the top curve of the Quidditch Stadium. If one squinted they could see little dark dots flitting about over the stands. "You miss it, don't you Harry?" Hermione whispered, knowing the answer.

"Sometimes, Mione, yeah," he responded as he turned on his heel and strode towards the village. She frowned and followed; Hermione had wholeheartedly agreed with Harry not playing, they really didn't have time. In fact, in her mind, Ron shouldn't be playing either, but she hadn't fought him over it, Harry was feeling bad enough about it as it was. Ron had further railed on Harry about him having to find a new Seeker and a new Chaser. An argument in which Ron had brought the old, morose Harry fully back, after which Harry had left bitterly, snapping at his friend. Harry gone, Hermione had then let fully into Ron, berating him in at least three languages, one of them dead, about dumping on Harry, and 'wasn't he happy anyway, he was the fucking Captain now?' as Harry felt he had let them down by not playing. Hermione had shot a parting spell gluing Ron's feet together and left to find Harry, still cursing redheads under her breath.

In the end, though, Ron had had to find not a Seeker and a Chaser, but two Chasers. Ginny had moved back to Seeking, and while Ron griped about her not being as good as Harry every time the subject came up, he knew not to push it.

"So where are we going, Harry, on our..." Hermione glanced around, "date?" she finished in a hush, her eyes grinning. Harry laughed and shrugged.

"I don't suppose that you'd want to visit Madame Puddifoot's?" he teased back as they headed down the gravel track to the town. He reached out and played with one of her braids.

Her eyebrow crooked, Only if you like sleeping on the couch...without me. She giggled as Harry gave a highly exaggerated grimace and shake of his head.

"So, the bookstore?" Harry replied quickly, he glanced down and looked at her hand, she returned a knowing look, "Shall we?" She nodded and they walked past the Three Broomsticks and took a left into a small, two-story shop. Harry was immediately hit with the smell of leather and parchment and grinned as he saw Hermione's face light up. She smiled up at him, and he waved towards the innards of the store, "Go ahead I'll amuse myself." She started to move to kiss his cheek, but paused, shrugged slightly and did so anyway, even if she lingered just a hair too long for "friendship."

Harry watched her climb a ladder to a loft filled with rare volumes, with a more or less disguised appreciation of the fit of her jeans. He laughed at himself as he walked into a section of the shop dedicated to Dark Arts and began to browse. He could feel the happy overlay of her emotions as she skimmed titles, occasionally picking one up, sometimes blowing the dust off and reading a paragraph or chapter. Mione do we have a copy of Offensive Offense?

She thought for a second, running over a mental catalog of her books, which were scattered among those in two bedrooms, a common room, those loaned out to Remus, Tonks and McGonagall, those at Grimmauld and a few that were at Godric's Hollow. Second Edition, Harry, if it's newer get it.

It's a fourth edition, claims to have improved projectile spells. Harry replied as he tucked it under his arm and felt her nod. He looked a bit longer, eventually picking up Explosive Spells for Fun and Dismemberment and Playing with Sharp Objects, a reprint of an old manual of arms by a G. Gryffindor. Mione, dear, I love you but I'm getting hungry.

He felt her sigh; I can't decide, she admitted after a moment, I have five, but they are all expensive...

Hermione, we can buy the shop out of our pocket change, Harry reminded her as he rolled his eyes, causing a fifth year to look at him oddly. She felt her sudden shock and he knew she was looking at the rest of the loft with new eyes. We don't have space, Hermione Jane.

Damn, she replied and he laughed causing the fifth year near him to think even more that the 'Chosen One' was a touch daft. He watched as she climbed down the ladder, the books she had chosen floating at her shoulder. She reached out and handed them to him. She watched with a little smile as he walked over the counter and paid for their purchases. A wand flick later and the books vanished to their rooms.

"Let's go eat," Harry laughed as Hermione's stomach agreed with him. She shot him a glare as she spun on her heel and stalked out of the shop, knowing full well that he could read her true feelings. He caught up with her as they reached the door of the Three Broomsticks and a subdued Rosmerta waved them to seats at the back, a cozy two-person booth set against the back wall.

Rosmerta came up the table and dropped a par of butterbeers on their table. "What'll you have?" she asked quietly. Rosmerta had been very withdrawn since her recovery from the spells she had been under last year. She was still jumpy and Harry knew that she was reported to have a guard troll hidden out of sight somewhere.

"What's on special?" Hermione inquired as she looked up at the witch, whose dressing habits hadn't followed her new shyness. Over in the corner booth, which was filled with the seventh and sixth year Gryffindors that weren't at Quidditch practice, Lavender elbowed Parvati and nodded in the direction of their table. The dusky-skinned girl grinned hugely and made a kissy-face for a second before returning to the conversation with Seamus and Dean, which would have given any of their parents heart attacks if they had heard it.

"The mutton is not bad today, or we have some Dragon steaks in from the coast," Rosmerta replied.

Harry and Hermione shared a look as they remembered the greenish steak that Hagrid had had over his eye fifth year, "The mutton please," they replied together. She left them to their devices and Hermione's wand flicked under the table casting a Distortion Charm around them, so they could talk in peace. "Where to next Harry?"

He grinned, "Well we could check out the Shrieking Shack..." Hermione muttered something about splinters and he laughed, a happy sound that caused her to smile. "Seriously...let's just walk around if you don't mind. Maybe we can head up to Dervish and Banges to see if they have any of those micro Sneakoscopes in." They paused in their conversation as a young, twenty-ish girl brought their orders and they each took a few bites.

Hermione swallowed the bite of mutton she was working on and looked over at him, "Alright, I need to go into Scrivenshaft's for a bit." She paused, "This is a tad annoying." She looked over that the Gryffindors and then around the room, pointedly.

"You mean the lack of us being able to snog at the table, or the fact that you wore jeans?" Harry said quietly with a twinkle in his eye that did odd things to her heart rate. She glared at him, but didn't mean it. She didn't talk to him as they finished their meal, but he could feel her laughing.

She stood, pulled several Galleons from her pocket and laid them on the table, "Let's go Harry," she commanded and he followed without a word. He barely took two steps out of the crowded pub before she grabbed his hand to drag him into a blind alley. Harry distantly felt his back crash against the wall as Hermione threw her arms around his neck and proceeded to make him forget the last several minutes. She took a deep breath to slow her heart rate as she licked her lips as she disengaged them from his. "What had it been?" she whispered.

"Like three, four hours," Harry replied, he leaned forward to kiss her again, more or less chastely, before he stepped back to run fingers through his hair, a lost cause. Hermione just grinned as she pulled her jumper straight, pulling the hem down to meet the waistline of her jeans. She took his hand once again as they left the alley, looking both ways as they exited, after all, 'friends' hold hands, Hermione rationalized.

A brief flicker of light danced near the eves of the inn.

They worked their way down the High Street, picking up a new, micro Sneakoscope at Dervish and Banges, and a half dozen quills at Scrivenshaft's. After meandering past the street leading to the Hog's Head, Harry looked up towards the base of the mountain overlooking the town. He pulled on her hand and she followed.

After several minutes of walking, and climbing a bit, they slipped into the cave where Sirius had hidden for so long. Bits of trash and windblown leaves were scattered about the floor. Yellowed Daily Prophets looked up at them, with pictures of Harry and her under Rita's three-year premature byline decorating an unfolded one on top. Hermione flicked her wand and cleaned a spot for them. She gave him a small encouraging smile as Harry slid to the ground and sat down on his lap, straddling his legs. She kissed his nose as his hands slipped under her sweater, before they proceeded to make out for a bit; somehow neither of them thought Sirius would mind terribly much.

***********************Quidditch Pitch, Hogwarts**************************

October 4, 1997
11:55 am

The first game of the season featured Gryffindor against Hufflepuff. In more normal times, this game would have been a run-away for Gryffindor, a 'gimmie' as Harry would have dominated the sky against the Hufflepuff Seeker, leaving only the final score in the hands of Ron and the Chasers. This year was anything but normal.

This year, Harry was sitting in the stands, much like he had done the majority of fifth year, watching. But this year, unlike then it was by choice rather than punishment. He waved to Ron as Ron led the team onto the field, as Captain now that Harry had surrendered the title as well as his spot on the team.

Harry handed Hermione a mug of Hot Chocolate he had conjured on this blustery, almost cold day in early October. She gave him an appreciative smile as he turned to talk to Hagrid. "'It's a ruddy shame that you're not playing 'arry." Hagrid boomed, and several rows away he could see Umbridge turning to him with a simpering grin. He didn't see the lethal glare Hermione retaliated with for him, but he didn't need to see it to know either. Harry looked over to the announcers box to see Luna perched at the microphone, Flitwick next to her. Luna had taken permanent ownership of the announcer's job at the start of the year. While no one seemed to be able to convince her that a three-foot, lion's-head hat might show a bit of bias, no one else really wanted the job, either. The aforementioned hat was sitting behind her, roaring occasionally.

"I was just too busy Hagrid," Harry responded and the half-giant nodded his great, shaggy head. They both turned to the game, Hermione gave him a supportive glance as the Quaffle was tossed up and the game began.

Immediately Harry knew that the Quidditch season could be a long one. Hermione let a small wince escape as the Snitch hovered behind Ginny's ear for a good thirty seconds, about twenty more than it would have taken Harry to catch it, and darted away.

"Gryffindor has the Quaffle...they lost it...darn..." Luna commented as the Quaffle was knocked from Demelza's grip into the hands of the Hufflepuffs. "Hufflepuff has the Quaffle...OH MERLIN WHAT A SAVE BY THE KING...." Luna screamed, jumping up and down as the Lion Hat roared.

They both jumped to their feet as Ron snagged a shot on goal, and beat it away with the tail of his broom, knocking it the length of the Pitch to slip neatly through the center hoop. Harry whistled loudly as Demelza, Ron's only returning Chaser as Katie had graduated, stole the Quaffle and groaned as a Bludger took her in the back causing her to drop the ball.

"Gryffindor has the Quaffle...well they did...And at this point it should be mentioned that the Bludgers used by Hogwarts were carefully inspected by myself and Ronald just this morning just in case they were transfigured Dodos as that would be...not so good." Hermione rolled her eyes as Luna commented, and shook her head.

"Guard your Chasers Peakes!" Harry yelled as Peakes and Coote flashed past the stands. He looked down to see a small hand on his arm and he calmed down. They watched, for the remainder of the game, a game that lasted almost four hours, as Ron valiantly kept the Hufflepuffs from scoring more than four times, while the Gryffindors only managed seven. Harry just sighed as both of the Seekers let the Snitch escape again.

"Weasley lets the Snitch go again...Snitches do make wonderful pets..."

Finally, Ginny spotted the Snitch and dove, the Hufflepuff Chaser, Nathan Forest, on her tail. The two of them bumped several times on the way to the pitch, Ginny stretched out her hand and plucked the Snitch from under his nose, which met the turf of the Pitch an instant later as Ginny used her small size to her advantage and pulled out of a dive that Forest had too much mass to abort.

"Gryffindor...wins...HI RONNIE...." Luna dropped the magical microphone on the table in her booth, causing a loud, booming sound to fill the air before Flitwick could shut it off, as Ron waved to her from the Pitch and she left the booth almost as fast as if she had Apparated away.

The crowd erupted and Harry clapped for a moment before giving Hermione a glance and left as Luna ran out onto the field and tackled Ron.

Hermione caught up to him as he reached the steps to the castle, If it helps, you can put on your jersey and I'll shag the conquering hero. I always wanted to, she admitted, with a faint blush coloring her cheeks. They headed up the stairs towards Gryffindor tower as Harry cracked a smile which had been her intention, though the comment and the offer were both real.

Sounds good to me, Harry winked and vanished in a fall of color as he triggered his pocketed Portkey. Hermione laughed and followed, the rush of wind of her vanishing disturbing several wall tapestries.


**********************Gryffindor Common Room*******************
October 4, 1997
8:00 pm

Gryffindor was celebrating their first win of the season, their first win without Harry Seeking when he could have played, in seven years. He stood aside and watched as Seamus and Ron were tossing back butterbeers in the midst of a crowd of admirers. Unlike Harry, Ron had not stopped playing Quidditch, and his Keeping today, had been stellar. Without Harry playing, Ginny had once more returned to Seeking, and had eventually captured the Snitch, though well after Harry knew he could have ended the game.

He took a sip of butterbeer as he leaned back in a corner watching, ever watching. Despairing of living a normal life. He sighed as Ron laughed to something one of the admiring fifth years said and pulled Luna to him. They kissed to the accompaniment of the cheers of the Gryffindors and few scattered Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs crowding the common room. Luna was now, after her stance at the Ministry and then later being one of the few who actually fought the Death Eaters at Hogwarts, more or less an adopted Gryffindor. Privately, Harry wondered if her quick acceptance was as much a function of the Gryffindors' shame as it was her bravery. The reconstituted DA was proof as almost every Gryffindor above third year had appeared, ready and willing to fight.

Ginny was laughing in the midst of a group of boys. Periodically she would dance with one of them to the music from an enchanted Muggle CD player that Dean and Seamus had begged Hermione's help with installing. Harry glanced up to see a Snitch flash past his face. His hand shot out and captured it, and let go before anyone noticed. "Hey Hermione," Harry said quietly as she walked up to him.

She was not dressed for a party, her frayed and worn jeans with the knees ripped out and an old, too large Gryffindor Lions sweatshirt that was secretly Harry's, was much more appropriate for a night of studying. She had her pack slung over one shoulder, with the corner of an old, leather-bound tome peeking out. "You alright?" Their gazes encompassed Ron as he pulled Luna down onto his lap on the couch, their couch, and she writhed slightly as Ron's hands ran up the back of her jumper and the blond and the redhead's lips met.

You mean am I jealous of Ron, Mione? Harry asked as he glanced at her. He could see the jewels of her engagement ring and the glimmer of the twin bands dancing in the firelight, only for him of course. A little, yeah...not about Luna though, he added quickly. Would I like the freedom to at least kiss you in public...yeah that would be nice. You going to go study?

Yeah...I thought I'd go work on that essay for Lupin. I don't feel much like partying, Hermione replied silently. She shuffled slightly on her feet and gave him a quick, fleeting smile.

Harry tipped up his butterbeer and finished it in two gulps. I'll come with you. He flung out his hand and watched as the portrait door to the Head's Suite opened for a second as his pack shot out of it and to his hand.

I knew you would, Hermione admitted as she led them to the portrait hole and out into the hall beyond.

In the midst of the crowd of partiers, Ginny watched them leave; she growled something under her breath and the fifth year boy she had been dancing with rather closely looked at her oddly. The song ended and she left to go to the girls' loo. Finding the stalls empty, she chose the one furthest from the door and slightly isolated from the rest by a support column for the floor above. She closed the door and did her business; dressed and stood to leave when she heard the door open and a pair of new voices entered the room. An odd smacking sound came from the direction of the mirrors and then

"Did you see them leave?" Lavender said haughtily.

"Yeah," Parvati answered slightly breathlessly. She laughed, "It will be nice for them to just admit it and get it over with. Her voice deepened a half octave, "Oh Harry...you survived again. Let's go and make babies." Her voice rose slightly to her normal register. "Seriously, hun, I'm happy for them, Merlin knows the poor boy has needed some happiness and we both know she's been pining for him since like...first year."

"Yeah," Lavender replied, "I never did get the whole Ginny thing last year. She is cute and all yeah, and what is that Muggle expression Dean said the other day?"

"I dunno, I was drunk remember? And you were the one..." Parvati shot back snarkishly with an undertone that told Ginny she didn't quite have the whole story.

"Oh yes," Lavender said loudly, ignoring her friend, in the voice of one who might be a touch around the bend, "It was 'I wouldn't kick her out of bed for eating crackers.' I admit that she is delectable." Ginny's eyes widened.

"So you want the set of both brother and sister?" Parvati growled back, giggling.

"Nah, too much hassle at family reunions...trust me," Lavender replied knowingly and the two erupted in laughs. "So how long do you think?"

"Till what, they snog, make out in the middle of Tonks' class what?"

Ginny's eyes narrowed and she bit her lip as a low hiss tried to escape. We'll see about that, I'll just have to remind Harry what he's missing. She probably wouldn't even kiss him if she had the chance...that bookworm. A dark seething feeling clouded the back of her mind.

"Let's say snog," Lavender replied after a moment.

"Christmas. You know Harry, he'll probably stay here, the poor boy doesn't have any family to go home to, and I bet she stays, probably claim something about homework even though she'll already have it done," Parvati replied with a tone of utter certainty.

"Five Galleons? I say it'll be before," Lavender replied.

"Done." In the stall Ginny heard the odd smacking noise for several seconds again along with a slight grunting sound. "We should probably get back."

"Yeah." The door opened and closed again and Ginny growled as she came out of the stall and checked her makeup. She brushed her hair back behind her ears and headed back to the party as well.

***********************Hogwarts**************************

October 5, 1997.
9:45 pm

Hermione yawned and glanced over at Harry. His normally disheveled mop looked more like the nest of a slightly drunken condor as he ran his hands fitfully through his hair. The large, back table they currently occupied was Hermione's favorite, one that very few other students would even dare to inhabit even if she were not here. It had the dual advantages of privacy from the occasionally raucous tables in the more open part of the library that were usually filled with students more concerned about the color of their parchments than what was on them, and convenient access to the Restricted Section, which Harry and Hermione enjoyed as Head Students.

She glared as a giggling fifth year Hufflepuff paused at the entrance to the cul-de-sac and looked at Harry, longingly. The young blonde left abruptly, and Hermione carefully hid a grin. She knew there were rumors about her and Harry, there had always been rumors about her and Harry, but she was pretty sure that none of them were anywhere near the truth. Parvati and Lavender had asked her rather pointedly about it, as soon as it was blatantly obvious, anvil-sized hints rather; that Ron was with Luna. She had just shrugged and given the standard 'Harry's my best friend' line. It was true after all, just not the whole truth, not in the least, the other half of my soul maybe. She thought absently as she ran her thumb over an invisible band on her left hand. There wasn't a day that the 'Chosen One' wasn't hit on or otherwise propositioned in the hall and she gave him a small smile, as she knew that he wanted to come out in the open as much as she did.

In a way, it was Percy, as much as Ginny who had caused their current predicament. If it hadn't been for the late, third Weasley brother and his letting the Death Eaters past the Burrow's defensive wards, for whatever reason he had done it, the situation would be different. In some way, in that tiny corner of her mind, that had never given up hope, that had led the fight against Ginny's talisman, she had always thought that if she were to have to hide a relationship with Harry, it would be because of Voldemort. That wasn't the case. Between their linked minds and radically boosted powers due to their finally being free of their shackles and the simple fact that it was as dangerous to Tom as it was to Harry to force a connection these days, Voldemort's spying into Harry's mind was pretty much a non-issue. Besides, though she would never tell Harry, she had an odd suspicion that Voldemort already knew. She knew, now, that she was already in love with Harry, fifth year, and at the back of his mind, the part that even then had talked in her voice, he had known then as well.

No, she was pretty much a target, but not any more so than Ron or Harry, himself. Their current issue was that they hid for Ron's sake, not that they would say as much. His family was already fractured. The kids pretty much were of a mind that Percy had been a Death Eater, initiated or not, while Molly clung to the belief that he had been forced into it. The Ginny situation only looked to make things worse, and the clock was running. Ron knew of Hermione's ultimatum of right before school started. He knew that his best friends were not going to pull back from it, and though he had never said so, he also knew the only reason that they hadn't already squashed her was the fact that they had been desperately hoping that she would move on and forget this. And he also knew, when the time came, which side he would choose.

Even so, Hermione thought as she looked back down at her book and scratched out a note about possible means of containing the released sprit of a Horcrux, so it could be crushed without the energy release that had cost Dumbledore his hand, and almost cost her, everything. Harry needs to relax. She glanced up, You ok baby?

I'm fine Mione, Harry replied without looking up. Just tired of looking at spells. Hermione Granger, the most studious person in this school nodded and stood up. Her eyes flitted around the room and finding no one, she kissed him on the top of the head.

I'm going to go look up another book. Then maybe sneak down to grab a snack and bring it back, you need anything? Hermione asked as she placed the notes and the book she had been reading into Harry's pack. Harry shook his head and dropped it into the cradle of his arms. She glanced at the stack of combat magic books stacked next to Harry and sighed as she headed back into the stacks. Truthfully, either her or Harry could have probably already stood almost any of their NEWTs right now, except maybe humorously enough, Care of Really Dangerous Creatures. Even Ron was pretty much beyond NEWT level in DADA and Charms, his Transfiguration and Potions were still a touch weak, but she knew he was ahead of most of his classmates in those as well, or he was when he bothered to study.

Hermione headed forward into the front part of the Restricted Section, the part where she could see the rest of the Library to find that it had emptied out. She shook her head and started to search for a book on binding spells, when a hand touched her on the shoulder. She whirled, her hand blurring for a wand, with the other already coming up for a strike to clear her area, when she stopped abruptly. "My apologies Madame Pince," Hermione said in a whisper, "you gave me a fright."

"I am getting ready to close up for the night," she said in a harsh whisper, the type of voice one gets from talking that way all the time, "I assume that you and Mr. Potter will be leaving soon?" Not only did Pince dislike the Head Students having full access to the Restricted Section, but also she also really didn't like them having access to the Library at any hour. Unfortunately for her, that was not a condition that Harry and Hermione had imposed, but rather one that had been in place for many, many years.

"Yes, ma'am I expect that we will about another hour," Hermione replied with absolutely no idea how much longer they would stay before surrendering for another day before they left to go collapse on top of each other for the night.

Pince left with a slight huff and Hermione returned to searching for her book. Finally after ten minutes of increasingly annoyed searching, the Restricted Section books tended to rearrange themselves, she found Restraining and Imprisonment Spells hiding behind a series on werewolves, and a rather thick book called Coital Thaumaturgy, that she marked for later, leisurely perusal, and headed back towards her table, having decided just to take Harry home and get out of here for the night.

Hermione paused as voices came from the direction of the table. Harry's and one that she really didn't want to hear at this moment...

"So what are you working on Harry?" Ginny said softly. Her voice was almost a half octave low as she attempted her inveiglement. Hermione took a silent step backwards and stood out of sight. She spied Harry's pack sitting on the floor under the table, and crouching down, she flicked her fingers at it. A very tightly folded and shrunken cloak shot across to her along the floor and vanished into her hand. She smiled tightly to herself as she remembered that they had only brought Harry's stuff here.

I'm not here Harry, Hermione sent silently and his eyes didn't even flicker in recognition.

"Just some stuff for DA," Harry replied vaguely. He turned the page he was looking at and glanced up at Ginny. Harry swallowed softly, and Ginny's lip curled. A hint of black lace was visible under the open neck, and loose tie of her school uniform, and her skirt seemed to be one that she had had as a third year. "Do you need something Gin, I am kinda busy." Hermione silently applauded as she stepped around the edge of the stacks, totally invisible.

"Can I help?" Ginny asked as her brown eyes locked to Harry's.

No, Hermione, Harry thought forcefully as he could feel the magic start to concentrate behind Ginny's back.

Under the cloak, Hermione shook her head vigorously and returned, No, actually I have a better idea. Without another word, she dropped to her knees under and crept under the edge of the large table without a sound. Now be quiet...

What...OH FUCK...Harry's eyes widened for a second as he felt a cloak being tossed over his lap and a zipper being slowly lowered. His other fist clenched under the table as he felt himself respond to a small, invisible hand. Hermione bent her head and licked the tip of his suddenly erect member. Harry's eyes crossed slightly as he looked down at his book.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Ginny asked and below the table Hermione giggled without moving her head. Harry tasted blood as he bit his lip.

"Umm...Yeah, I'm just fine," Harry replied in a voice that was almost normal. Ginny smiled down at him and leaned over the table to examine the book he was looking at, and just so happened to give him a small flash. He felt his heart thump in his chest and thin sheen of sweat popped on his brow as something hot and moist surrounded him below the table.

"Why are you sweating?" Ginny asked suspiciously. A series of vibrations shot up his core as a new series of giggles vibrated down low. A rush of air and then a cat-like tongue sliding languorously up his length.

You are evil... "It's a touch hot in here," Harry replied very quietly, and slowly. "I really need to get this done, Ginny," Harry said truthfully as he looked back to his book, and fought desperately to keep his breathing level, and to keep seeing in fact, as his vision was starting to gray out. Ginny looked as if she wanted to say something else, but shook her head slightly.

"Ok, then Harry," she replied, disappointment readily evident in her voice. She moved off, and out of the little cul-de-sac.

Hermione started moving faster, sucking a touch with each stroke, and a moment later, Harry dropped his head to the desk as he exploded...bucking up or at least trying to, out of his chair. He fell back into it a moment later, panting, desperately trying to replace starved oxygen as an invisible body slid up his body, pushing him away from the table. A fall of chestnut curls became visible as she swept the hood of the cloak off and crashed her lips to his.

Harry growled slightly as his her tongue slipped home to meet his and he tasted himself on her. His heart hammered against his chest and Hermione grinned like Crookshanks with a canary, as she settled herself on his lap. Shall we continue this?

Definitely, but lets go back to our rooms. Harry felt a reaction to her in his lap, And you really need to get off my lap right now...or we won't last that long.

Spoilsport. Hermione shot back but slipped to her feet and cleaned them up with a spell. After fixing himself, Harry stood and vanished their books and his bag with a flick of his wand. Harry took her hand and led her out of the Library, pausing to Nox the lights and lock the door with a spell. Hermione glanced up and down the hall and seeing no one, threw her arms around Harry's neck and kissed hard enough to crash backwards against the doors.

Pulling back Harry brushed a lock of hair out her face and behind an ear, before taking her hand again and heading off down the hall towards the rest of the castle, the castle that by now was emptied of wandering students.

Except for one, a hard eyed, fire-haired presence slipped out from a dark crevice and shimmered as a disillusionment field faded away. That fucking bitch, Ginny hissed in her thoughts. She pondered for a moment, before turning and running in the other direction, towards the seventh floor and the Room of Requirement.

She paced to and fro three times in front of the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, thinking hard, and an old, oak door appeared. A single desk was sitting in the center of an otherwise barren room. A sourceless spot of light illuminated the desk, which contained a single sheet of parchment and a envelope.

Ginny looked down at the parchment, it was a letter, note really, that Harry had sent her over the summer after the Basilisk, asking how she was, because...he was Harry:

Ginny,

I hope you are ok, I hear from Ron that you sometimes have problems sleeping. If you need someone to talk to let me know.

Your friend,
Harry.

Ginny smirked slightly as she drew her wand and placed the tip of the worn, ash wand in the center of the parchment. "Vicissitudo." As she watched, the letters, Harry's own handwriting moved and changed, the letters rearranging, morphing into others and attaching to different letters. A moment later it stopped:

Hermione,

Meet me in Lupin's class tonight at 9; I've been talking to Remus and he wonders if we can modify it to work against other creatures Ton might have under his control

Love,
Harry.

Now, I'll just send this to her, when I know Harry's otherwise occupied and we'll have a talk...

Ginny crept out of the Room of Requirement, and slipped down the hallway to Gryffindor Tower, and for once, not a familiar, Professor or ghost was between her and her goal.



A/N: DUN DUH DUN....ok, ladies and gentlemen, in this corner.... Do I REALLY need to expound on next chapter, nah....


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A/N: Ok, here....we....go.... Thanks again to Lady Starlight, for her tireless work.

Chapter 20: What Goes Around...

***************************Hogwarts******************************

October 10, 1997
9:00 pm

Hermione was tired, so tired. This constant training that she, Harry and Ron had been under since they had left the Burrow oh so long ago, and the destruction of one Horcrux nearly at the cost of her life, was causing her very bones to ache, and her brain to pound. One too many bouts of Leglimency training against several opponents at once, had driven her behind her shields for the day, blocking out even Harry at this distance. Unless he actively searched her out, of course. She looked down slightly cross-eyed at her watch and wondered just were the hell Harry was. She could feel his presence of course, but it seemed that he was in another part of the castle and her head hurt too much to reach out across the distance to ask him were he was. I swear if I didn't love the boy I would feed him to Norbert.

Hermione leaned against the wall outside of Remus' classroom and pulled her wand out. She idly examined the carved surface of her ivy-wood wand and noticed a slight chip that had happened yesterday in a training exercise with Tonks. And if he would show up I could use his wand to fix this blasted ding, it doesn't hurt it, but I liked that carving. Hermione checked her watch again, and pulled the note out that an owl had delivered after she had left training with Tonks just now. Sure enough the time and place was right. And the handwriting was Harry's, she was sure of it. She had seen it almost every single day for the last seven years taking time off for summers and hiding from dark forces. Well, I guess I'll just go in and wait.

Hermione flicked her wand at the door and it clicked open. I really need to talk to Remus about his locking charms; Ron could have beaten that one hung over. Hermione pushed her way into the room and looked around, no Remus, no Harry. Harry had sent her the owl to meet him here to go ever her new anti-Inferi spell. Harry had gotten it easily, but he wanted to talk to Remus to see if it could be modified to work against other dark creatures. He gets everything easily, it's like Dumbledore's reborn in him...Hermione took a seat at a front table and took out the ancient copy of Advanced Potion Making that had caused the rift between her and Harry last year. With an annoyed sigh, she fell into the relentless concentration that had gotten her through six years of study here, pushing aside everything else; it was at least quiet here, as she began to read.

Her heart had almost stopped that night at Grimmauld when he had come to her in the Library and handed her the book, his eyes never quite meeting hers, and asked her to look through it, to see if there was anything they could learn from it. He had held up the brand new copy he had sent Dobby to purchase and said he would get along on his own...or with her help rather, from now on.

She had cried that night after he left. And it wasn't because she was mad at him.

It infuriated her beyond belief, but there were several items in the book that might prove useful, and it was far too late for worries about where a spell or potion that might confuse, disable or destroy a Death Eater might have come from. Hermione's quill scratched on a blank sheet of parchment for a half hour as she took notes from the book. She had already learned the potentially lethal curse of Snape's, which Harry had used on Malfoy and tried to use on the Inferi. Mine works better, she thought with no small bit of self-satisfaction as they had proved earlier this year in Nottingham.

A soft scrape came from the door, and Hermione turned to it, with a small, exasperated smile, "Harry, where the...." But it was not Harry that was standing there, but a petite redhead at least a foot shorter. Ginny was already glaring at her as she slammed the door behind her and locked it with a Colloportus spell. Hermione crooked an eyebrow as she softly asked, "Hello Ginny? What's up?"

But Hermione already knew, as her mind reached out to find Harry up in their rooms, and she quietly cursed herself for letting herself get distracted and not search for him before. She quickly damped her presence before he reacted; this could be bad enough, without getting Harry involved. Her eyes flicked around the room, quickly cataloging anything and everything of interest or use. Ginny took a step into the room and her wand came out from behind her back. "Why did you have to take Harry? Why couldn't you be happy with Ron, he loved you?" she hissed darkly as her wand started to track slowly towards Hermione.

Hermione sighed softly and stood from the table. She gave the younger witch a wan smile; "No, he didn't, Ginny, at least not like that. He was a friend, maybe one with benefits for a while, but in the end he's my brother, nothing more, nothing less."

Ginny didn't look as if she had even heard Hermione, her eyes flared and her wand flicked. A shimmering bolt snapped across the room to whine uselessly into the ceiling. Hermione's slightly glowing shield hung in the air, automatically orienting itself between the two girls. Hermione's eyes flashed and she responded softly, in a tone that Death Eaters would learn to fear, "You really do not want to do that, Ginny." Her eyes flicked to the small crack in the ceiling that Ginny's deflected spell had caused, "Honestly, Ginny, a Bat-Bogey Hex, you can do better, hell I taught you better myself."

"Yeah, Harry taught me a lot," Ginny shot back snarkishly. She flicked her wand again and a hard banishing charm pushed against Hermione's shield, which should have pushed Hermione back into the wall...hard. But Hermione just stood her ground and rolled her eyes.

"Please stop this Ginny," Hermione sighed as she slowly started to circle to her right around the various desks and chairs. "I let it go when I found out about the potions and the talismans." Her eyes hardened, becoming clips of brown flint, the pupils became tiny pinpricks of green fire, "But I am not going to let it go any longer, leave him alone. You're a friend, I thought you were mine." Hermione sighed and summoned her books and bag to her, and turned to leave the room by the far end door. She canceled her shield and vanished her wand, and had almost reached the far door, when some instinct caused her to dive to her right. The silver jet of the cutting beam grazed her left arm, darkening the sleeve of her white blouse with her blood and cutting the strap of her pack on that side causing it to spill to the floor. Books and papers flew about the room, an inkpot shattered and pencils, quills, and a tube of strawberry flavored lip-gloss rolled under a desk.

"Don't you turn your back on me, you scarlet woman, you...slag. You're just like his mother a Mud..." Ginny roared, and Hermione took a breath. She bit her lip and her small fists clenched.

"Fine then," she said flatly as she cut off Ginny's rant. Hermione rolled her neck slightly, cracking it, and turned to Ginny in a voice of slow-pulled steel, "Ginevra Molly Weasley...with no provocation, you have attacked me with a lethal curse and insulted the honor of myself and my lover," Ginny gasped loudly as Hermione finally admitted what had been her greatest fear since seeing them seemingly back to themselves at Bill and Fleur's wedding the day after Hermione had ended things with Ron. "You will meet me on the Field of Honor at noon on the 'marrow. You may chose a second that will fight in your place should you fail to appear. You are reminded, as this is Hogwarts, the duel is to incapacitation, Unforgivables will result in your termination by the appointed judge. However, any spell other than the forbidden three may be cast and could result in death if properly utilized. On your honor as a Gryffindor, do you accept the terms as presented or will you give restitution to myself and Master Potter?" Hermione's words were almost verbatim from Hogwarts a History. They were the formal terms used at a Duel of Honor, and that had not been used in almost fifty years, until this year, when Harry had already had to face two duels with various Slytherins too stupid to abide by his and Hermione's midnight warning a month ago, or when Ron had stood as Luna's champion after she had been ambushed after a DA meeting by Austin Waldinger, a sixth year Slytherin that had probably been put up to it.

Minerva McGonagall's glare at Harry and Hermione had been historic the day she had signed off on the duel between Harry and Jacob Flint, but she had just nodded in the end, and agreed. Umbridge in her capacity as overseer for the Ministry had growled and wined and railed and threatened the two Heads with expulsion and incarceration, until Harry's faintly glowing eyes had finally turned to her and told her to "shut up" with the addition of an expletive normally used in conjunction with an activity that it was doubtful that Umbridge had herself ever experienced.

The toad had scampered away, and McGonagall's almost hidden grin was not lost on either of them, especially not after Harry had asked her point blank at the start of school, when her appointment had been announced, why he as a Gryffindor, should ever be expected to meekly bow down to a tyrant of any level. The realization of the fact that that was exactly what she had advised him to do fifth year was not lost on any of them.

Ginny's brown eyes were almost as hard as Hermione's when she nodded, "I will not need a second; I will be there."

"Very well," Hermione replied and watched, wordlessly, as Ginny stalked out of the room. She slowly picked up her books and things and placed them in her bag carefully. She mended the strap severed by Ginny's cutting spell and checked the fit of a pair of daggers beneath her robes at her back, all in an futile attempt to calm herself. The attempt failed.

A heartbeat later, she was running though the halls of the castle, ignoring a shouted complaint by Flich as she sprinted up the stairs to the seventh floor. She scraped her shoulder on the secret archway to the Head's suite as she was through the arch before it had even fully formed. The upper door slammed open as she approached and Harry and Crookshanks looked up from where they were reclining on the couch, Harry reading a treatise on wandless Transfiguration and the Kneazle enjoying a leisurely scratch behind the ears as he lay in Harry's lap.

Crookshanks barely got clear as his brunette-haired mistress threw herself into Harry's arms and started weeping. Harry didn't ask, he just held her against his shoulder, stoking her hair with the hand that had held the abandoned book, and kissing the crown of her head as the other hand rubbed the small of her back in small circles. Finally, she pulled away slightly and rolled in his arms, to face the fire in the corner. She arched back into him, pressing her back against his chest as if trying to touch him with her whole body. "What's wrong Mione?" Harry asked quietly as he knew tears continued to roll down her cheeks. His thumb came up and swept a few away as his lips kissed her collarbone softly.

"Ginny..."

"Ginny, what?" Harry inquired as his voice started to rise slowly, "What happened Hermione?" His tone became quietly urgent as he wondered what could have happened to the diminutive witch, who despite his and Hermione's, and Ron's if it came down to it, differences with her she was still their friend, or so he thought. He did not know as her thoughts were closed and warded, a practice that she normally did not practice, at least not with him. Hermione sighed and sat up, and turned around to face him once more. Harry's heart moaned at the sight of still more tears in her eyes. She grabbed both of his hands with hers tightly and met his eyes; a flare and a rush of images filled his thoughts.

"Damn," Harry whispered. He dropped her hands and pulled her back into his shoulder as she started to cry openly again. Damn Ginny, damn it. She cried softly for several minutes more until, with a soft choked sound she pulled away and wiped tears angrily. "She faked the note Hermione, I never, I would have been there, I thought that you were up in the Library, I..."

Hermione gave him a forced half-smile and a soft snort, "I know Harry, I knew as soon as I saw her come in the door."

Harry slowly rose from the couch and kneeled next to her. His hand reached out and cupped her cheek, Hermione rubbed against it as her eyes closed. "Are you going to be alright for a bit, Mione? I...need to go talk to McGonagall."

"Yeah," she breathed, "and I need...I need to talk to Ron." Harry nodded at her as he left via the passage to the corridor. Hermione took a deep breath and headed in the opposite direction, towards the Gryffindor common room.

***************************Hogwarts, Quidditch Pitch*******************

Saturday, October 11, 1997
11:58 am

The sky was endlessly blue as Hermione stood in a black duelist's cloak, bearing the markings of the Head Girl, on the edge of the center circle in the middle of the green grass of the pitch. She glanced around at the stands surrounding the pitch, where at least most of the school was gathered. And while the student body at Hogwarts was at least halved due to the war, there were still many, many students, Professors and others looking down at her as she waited for the preliminaries to end.

Opposite her, Ginny waited as well, in scarlet robes emblazoned with the Gryffindor crest, her wand was held easily in front of her as she glared at Hermione. Over to one side, halfway between her and Hermione, Harry, McGonagall, Flitwick, Remus and Ron stood, and none of them looked happy at all to be there. Poppy stood a ways back, a stretcher and several bags ready just in case.

Harry was there as he was the Head Boy, though he had wanted to stand in a second for Hermione as she had done for one of his duels, Ron had had his back at the other, but today Hermione had kissed his cheek and told him he would be better off with McGonagall. Ron was there as the titular representative of the DA, McGonagall as Headmistress, Remus in his role as Head of Gryffindor House and Flitwick as a judge. The diminutive wizard held his wand ready, as he looked between the two.

He cast a Hovering Charm on himself and floated out between the two witches. A sudden silence fell over the crowded Quidditch pitch as everyone watched him glance back and forth between the two of them "Sonorus, A CHALLENGE TO AN INSULT AND AN ATTACK HAS BEEN OFFERED." Flitwick looked to Hermione, "WILL THE OFFENDED WITHDRAW?"

A ghost of a frown crossed her eyes as she answered, but unfortunately none of the trio could back down any longer, to anything or anyone, "If she apologizes, aye, barring that, nay, sir." Flitwick nodded, he knew.

He turned to Ginny, "WILL THE CHALLENGED ACCEPT THE TERMS FOR WITHDRAWL?"

"No sir," she replied harshly, "since I was correct in the terms I chose to describe her and Potter's mother." A loud murmuring broke out over the stands, and as Flitwick nodded sadly and spun to the crowd, another presence ran out on the field.

"No, don't do this, no, don't hurt my Ginny." Ron caught his mother and stopped her progress. Ron had been caught in the middle with all of this since last night when of his best friends came to him in tears and told him what had happened. He had fielded the Howler from his mother as well, this morning, for somehow not stopping her precious youngest daughter from getting her arse kicked. Which, unlike many in the crowd who still regarded Hermione as a shy, retiring bookworm despite the obvious changes over the years, is what he pretty much knew would happen if Ginny crossed wands with the Head Girl with intent. And he knew what might happen when he chose his brother and sister by choice over the sister by blood. Almost the entire clan had appeared this morning, two or three hours after breakfast, a breakfast in which Gryffindor tower was pretty much silent.

Bill had gone to talk to Harry, and then to Hermione. He had meant what he had said at the wedding in an aside to the trio. A quick sharing of memories with Harry and he had turned gray. He had left, to go stand with Fleur with only a quiet, "Please try not to kill her." Hermione had bit her lip and cried several minutes in Harry's arms after they escaped after all the Weasleys had had their say. Of which most, post a brief talk with Bill, had mostly consisted of similar sentiments to his. Arthur had just sighed and took a coffee that Dobby had supplied, smelling suspiciously of Ogden's.

Molly had gone to her daughter and glared at Hermione instead. She had refused to even consider that the memory was not a fabrication. And now she was pulling at Ron's arms, "Let me go, damn it," she snapped at the tall redhead who overshadowed her by almost a foot. "Let me go. She will get hurt."

"Yes mum, I am afraid she that will," Ron agreed sadly. He looked over at Harry and Hermione. Hermione was stony eyed as she stood looking at her former best friend exclusive of Harry or Ron. "She needs to learn there are consequences to her actions," he said kindly.

"She got in an argument, you lot do it all the time," Molly hissed as she waved vaguely at Hermione. She tried to shake his arms on her shoulders, but to absolutely no avail, Ron might be the youngest of her boys, but he was easily the biggest. A gust of wind snapped the cloaks of the combatants and witnesses exposing Ron's wand sheathed on one thigh, with another of the daggers on his other leg.

"Mum, we don't cast lethal curses at each other, or call each other slags or call their parents a...." Ron broke off, not wanting to complete his thought. He looked at Molly thoughtfully, "You really don't know do you?" He sighed, "What she has been doing for the last two years..."

"Ginny wouldn't do anything..."

"She's not a bloody angel, mum," Ron growled in her ear.

Minerva forestalled any further argument, "Mr. Weasley, please remove your mother from the field." Her voice was kind, but hard.

"I will not...Minerva, she's underage, I am her parent, I extend the apology for her..."

"Alas you can not," Flitwick replied, "While she is underage as to the general use of magic outside of the school, according to the law, she may be challenged and may accept challenges at sixteen." Molly's mouth flopped open and closed like a fish as Ron led her back to the stands and gave her into the arms of Bill who just nodded. Unlike his mother, he understood. He understood that you sometimes had to choose what was right and just, no matter the cost, over what was easy. Bill had already known of the things Ginny had done to the three of them in her quest to gain Harry. She had been discrete, but in the end Fleur was part Veela, she knew of the ways to induce feelings of desire better than most of the people who wrote those restricted spellbooks did. Fleur had felt it at the Burrow.

Fortunately, Bill and Fleur's intervention was not needed; the depth of feelings and the sheer magical power of the affected people had thrown off the influences, along with a series of events that could not have been foreseen by the youngest Weasley.

But that did not change the past, and did not change the present. Flitwick floated back to the witnesses and nodded to Harry. A wave of Harry's hand and a translucent, diamond wall appeared between them and the duelists. "BEGIN"

Ginny's wand shot up, "REDUCTO," the blue bolt of a Reductor shot across. Hermione's wand flick was almost negligent as she deflected it and it whined off into the boundless sky. Hermione's eyes narrowed as she deflected one, two more curses. The girls started circling, looking for vulnerability. Ginny's eyes widened and she grinned. She whispered something and waved her wand oddly. A splash rang out as a huge, bottomless swamp appeared under Hermione's feet and she began to sink into it. Hermione flicked a Repulsion Hex at her own feet as she flipped up and back, using the spell as a springboard. She landed on solid ground and did something that Umbridge had not been able to do in fifth year...she banished the swamp with a slight sneer.

Ginny looked over at Hermione and swallowed, a brief passage of a conversation between her and Luna at the Burrow flicked across her thoughts, You are a powerful witch Ginny, but she's like a bonfire to your candle. Hermione's wand flicked and a cloud of yellow birds shot at the redhead, and on the sidelines, Ron winced. Ginny's hasty Reductor destroyed the birds, and a silver curse retaliated for the birds, only to hit only air as Hermione dove to her left, rolled and bounded back to her feet in one smooth, blurred motion.

Harry watched the duel with an expression on his face that seemed to indicate he was a thousand instead of seventeen. He caught Ron's eye; who just nodded. They both knew. Hermione was trying to not to have to hurt Ginny, Hermione who, along with Harry and Ron, had already had an abortive Auror course shoved down her throat. Who already knew at fifteen, more curses than Ginny would probably ever know, was trying not to have to hurt Ginny too much. They could both see that Hermione was looking for an opportunity to stun her or something and take her wand, which would technically end the duel, as Ginny wouldn't be able to continue.

But unfortunately Ginny had other ideas. "DIFFIDO SPARSI" A hail of silver darts flashed out at Hermione. She blocked most of them, but staggered as blood ran down her legs and back. Behind the barrier, Harry's hands twitched and Ron placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. A new hush fell over the previously cheering crowd; everyone knew that the stakes were changed. Ginny, in her blinding Weasley anger, was going for the kill instead of incapacitation. And with that confirmed, the duel changed.

Harry's voice echoed in Hermione's thoughts as she rolled to her feet, a shimmering blue field dancing in the air between her and Ginny, End it Hermione, please... She frowned. Ginny tried her shotgun blast again, but Hermione was ready for it.

She MOVED, A flutter of a cloak and she vanished from in front of Ginny to dance to the side. Incendio incarcium. Flaming bars of fire erupted around the small witch, Ginny shot out several random stunners, missing with them all. A twirl of a cloak, a hard slash downward with an ivy-wood wand, and a purple wave shot through the bars, cutting Ginny off at the knees. The crack of her leg could be heard throughout the stadium. Hermione stopped in front of Ginny, "Please Ginny...end it," she pleaded.

Ginny's only response was a flurry of silver bolts back at Hermione. Hermione spun to her left and fired a Banishing Charm at the girl with a hurried flick of her wand to cancel the flames before Ginny shot back twenty feet and skidded on her back another ten. Molly was crying as Hermione once again called for Ginny to surrender. Hermione blocked another lethal curse and fired a stunner in return, which whined off into the protective wall around the judges.

Hermione growled, and spun her wand in a tight cone, Cyclonium. A horizontal cyclone shot out from Hermione's wand, grabbed Ginny and tossed her in the air. Wild random spells shot out from the center of the whirlwind for a moment, before stopping. Finite, Arresto Momentum. Hermione cast silently and Ginny's unconscious, battered body slowly floated to the ground. Hermione slowly approached, and summoned Ginny's wand with a wand flick. She turned and walked over to the witnesses. Tears were in her eyes as she resolutely handed Flitwick Ginny's ash wand. Flitwick nodded and took the wand. He announced the end of the duel as Hermione fell into Harry's arms and Ron hugged them both, kissed the top of her head and went over to Ginny as Poppy levitated the witch onto a stretcher.

"Will she be ok?" Ron asked as Molly, freed of Bill's arms, came running up. Bill, Fleur and Fred were following at a more sedate pace.

Pomfrey nodded, "Yes, Miss Granger did a good job of keeping the damage to a minimum." Her eyes were hard as she flicked her wand up and down the witch. Text filled in on an enchanted clipboard. Poppy looked over the words and gave a terse nod. "Yes she will be fine in a week or two." The stretcher followed her as she led the way up the lawn to the castle and the hospital wing within.

"Two?" Molly howled, "Two?" She spun on her heel, ran up to Hermione, and jerked her away from Harry. A crack was heard in every corner of the stadium as Molly's hand slapped against Hermione's cheek. "How dare you? She was your friend!" Hermione stood looking at her, and her eyes hardened for an instant before Hermione turned her back on the elder witch. Harry glanced back at the woman who had been the only stand-in for his own mum for all these years and placed his arm around Hermione's shoulders as they walked off together. Ron looked after their retreating forms and sighed. "And what do you have to say for yourself young man?" she seethed at him, "Siding with a girl like that over your own sister?"

"Do you want to air our laundry out here mum?" Ron asked tiredly. He groaned, "Bloody Hell...fuck it, I'm going back into the castle."

"Ronald Bilius Weasley..."

"Fine, fine mum, you really want to know..." he spun and threw his arms in the air. His wand flashed and a cone of silence surrounded them. Molly's jaw dropped at his spellwork, along with many other things she had not realized that more than one situation had changed. "Let's start at the beginning or at least when she started her plot, when in her fourth year she spiked those eggs you sent us for Easter with Amortentia and tried to get Harry then. You know mum, the potion that you thought Hermione had used on Harry our fourth year. And the one that you talked about making...but she screwed up the potion mum, she didn't figure out that you were supposed to add something to attract with, to establish the infatuation." Ron paced, the cone of silence following him and he looked back, "Then she probably stole some actual potion from the twins... and used it on Harry at the Burrow, but that didn't work either...not really. So she set out to make him jealous, with Dean, all the while she had convinced Dobby that it was some sort of potion that was supposed to be in his food, she used Dobby's loyalty to Harry to get him..." Molly's jaw dropped as Ron looked at her grimly.

"Then lets see, just to go for the sweep, she tried to get Hermione and me together to clear the field...in that she was right, more or less. We did like snogging each other anyway." Molly let out a soft strangled sound. "Yes there were feelings there, honestly there would almost have to be with all we've been together for. But her heart belonged to Harry, mum." Ron saw Luna approaching out of the corner of his eye and he gave her a tiny shake of his head, she frowned and came on anyway. He sighed as she walked through the silence cone and wrapped her arms protectively around him. "But my heart wasn't in that either, I love Luna mum. Or rather I love Hermione more than I can express, but I don't want to marry her." Luna let out a small squeak.

"Where was I...oh yes, Ginny then used a talisman she had gotten from Borgin and Burkes to confund Hermione into believing that she would be helping Harry if Ginny and him got together, and that it would be good if she and I got together so we could all be one big happy Weasley family. I think it was you who said that one day..." Ron shrugged, "Of course that particular talisman only works for so long and Hermione was already staring to turn the corner in fighting it off, and strong emotional events and sheer magical powers tend to negate the effects as well, same thing happened with the potion. Didn't you ever wonder why Harry chose Dumbledore's funeral to break up with Ginny, and Hermione and I started to drift back to our normal behaviors about then as well?" His wandtip described a five-pointed star in mid air and the cone shimmered and died.

"I am going to go get something to eat with my girlfriend mum, and then I will go up and visit Ginny, as about then I expect Poppy will be allowing visitors," he started walking back towards the castle, and shot over his shoulder, "and after that I am going to go sit with the two I choose to be my siblings because by then I am sure Hermione will have more than once soaked through Harry's clothes with her tears."




A/N: Ok there we go, next chapter the fallout from this day...

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A/N: Ok, the fallout starts. Many, many thanks to Lady Starlight for her gracious help on this, now back at it.

Chapter 21: A Darkness of the Mind.
**********************Hogwarts*************************

October 18, 1997.
2:00 am

Ginny sat up in her bed in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing and looked around. Besides her, only a bandaged third year who had run afoul of a Snapping Stinkweed in Professor Sprout's class and a quietly moaning Andrew Peters whom had gotten in a unsanctioned duel in the hall and had a third foot conjured and shoved, somewhere, were present.

She looked around the room one more time and rolled to her feet, wincing as she stood and holding her ribs. You silly girl you let a Mudblood defeat you...SHUT UP...Harry was yours...SHUT UP, What did I do, why did you have to come back, I was so happy...because you are greater than them...SHUT UP. Ginny looked around, wide-eyed as she fought down a dark voice that had only gained strength in the last week, and in the last year. She slipped out of the Hospital Wing, almost as quietly as one of the ghosts would have managed and crept down the halls. She held to the shadows, pausing behind a tall suit of rusty armor on the fourth floor landing as she heard Filch and Mrs. Norris shambling along. Filch was complaining about the new Head of Gryffindor House, not have the proper respect for his job and Mrs. Norris was merowing at appropriate intervals.

After they passed, Ginny sprinted on cat feet up the stairs until she was in front of the Fat Lady. Ginny stopped to catch her breath and to hold a stitch in her side before muttering the password and slipping into the Gryffindor Common Room behind the sleepy portrait. Thankfully there was no one here at this hour of the morning as Harry and Hermione had their own common room and the rest of the house tended to actually sleep. Ginny slipped up the Girls stairs and cast a muttered spell on the door to her dorm to muffle any squeaks.

She snuck into her own room, feeling full well the incredibility of the actions. Ginny froze as Honor rolled over onto her back muttering something about some boy she was dating. Ginny shook her head as she saw that Gretchen's bed was unslept in and she quickly went to her trunk and opened it. Ginny removed a piece of parchment, and by the light of the full, silver moon shining in the window she wrote a note. She folded the note and tucked it under the edge of her pillow, before returning to her trunk. Jeans, jumpers, all of the Galleons she had saved for a rainy day, several changes of underwear and other sundries disappeared into her pack. With a slight frown she placed one of the Twin's DA issue equipment packs on top of the rest of the gear and synched it closed.

Ginny gave the room a long look before she turned her back on it and left, a pair of silver tracks escaping down her cheeks.

*******************Great Hall**********************************

7:20 am.

Hermione looked up a Harry and gave him a tired smile as he passed her the butter. She put it on her toast and sat back, absently turning the pages of Offensive Offence and making notes on a separate roll of parchment. She was about thirty pages in and had two pages of notes, about normal. As she was about to eat, a tawny owl dropped her copy of the Daily Prophet on her book and glared at her until she dropped a couple of coins in its pouch. It took flight, nearly knocking over her coffee with a errant wing. Hermione set the paper aside and returned to her book, muttering. She took a bite of her toast and looked up, annoyed, as she heard several fifth year girls looking towards her and Harry and giggling.

Just in case her or Harry had accidentally started holding hands or sitting on each other's lap or something, such things had almost happened, more than once, Hermione looked around her immediate area. Even though the duel with Ginny had happened they were supposed to ease into their public appearances... She looked at Harry, his eyes were almost closed as he slowly fed himself, and Hedwig snuck an entire piece of bacon from his plate before leaving after delivering Harry some fan mail, which the owl had just dumped into a large heap in front of her master.

He winced slightly as he moved his arm, stretching for a platter of eggs and flicked his fingers so it came closer. Hermione gave him a worried look as she felt the distant echo of his shoulder strain from his morning, but he waved her off. She glared at a new set of fourth year Ravenclaws giggling at them and went back to her book as Ron and Luna meandered in, only up this early on a Saturday as he had had training with them earlier, and was supposed to have Quidditch practice later. Ron promptly overfilled a plate with eggs, bacon, sausage, and some fried potatoes and started in on first breakfast. "Is that the Prophet?" Ron asked after a couple of minutes highlighted by loud munching sounds from Ron and Luna examining her food for Kneazle prints, or at least that was what Hermione took the sounds from his full mouth to mean. She passed him the paper without a word, too tired to fight. Luna usually eventually got onto him about it, anyway.

Ron flipped open the paper... "BLOODY HELL!" he snapped and Harry's eyes snapped open and Hermione's head, shot to him. Ron looked at them nervously, "You might want to read this." Down the table a ways they heard Lavender crow, "I told you Par, pay up."

Hermione took the paper from Ron looked at the front page and her head fell for a moment. Harry came around the table and sat on her other side as they looked down at a picture of them, caught in the alley behind the Three Broomsticks. Harry's back was against the back wall of the pub, with Hermione fully pressed up against him, her hands were tangled in his hair and his were up the back of her jumper, exposing a good two inches of skin. The lips were locked together and their eyes closed, and it was obviously not a 'friendly kiss.' Parvati and Lavender looked at each other again and then down the table at them with newfound...respect. Most of their year mates said nothing really as Harry and Hermione started to read the article attached:

The Chosen One has Chosen?
By Rita Skeeter.

Harry Potter, The Boy-Who-Lived, seems to have come full circle in his love-life. Recently rumors have once again begun to sprout of the 'Chosen One's' infatuation with the lovely Muggle born witch Hermione Granger. This association was first revealed by this author almost three years ago, and must lead us to question Mr. Potter's truthfulness with the press, among other vital matters. For indeed if our heroes cannot be truthful then how can any of expect to be? When asked about their relationship, they have always steadfastly maintained that they were only "friends" but as the picture shows, they must be truly, special, friends indeed.

An earlier article this year by this author, mentioned the previous inamorata of the Seventh Year Gryffindor, Ginevra Weasley, daughter of Arthur Weasley Head of the Dark Artifact investigation department for the MLE and her and Mr. Potter's breakup at the late Albus Dumbledore's funeral. This brief infatuation may have already erupted into violence at least once between Miss Granger and Miss Weasley, as reports of a duel one week ago on the Hogwarts grounds have come into the possession of this reporter from a Ministry source that cannot be named. While the duel is believed to have been totally legal, the circumstances behind the duel are up for debate.

The results are not however, in the duel, Miss Weasley was soundly defeated by all accounts, leading one to question the inherent fairness of Miss Granger, and possibly leading one to question her reasoning for the duel. Was it in some way a means to cover up her alleged use of Love Potions to snag the one that Witch Weekly has just placed at number three on its most eligible bachelor under 21 list, right after the International Quidditch Sensation Victor Krum, and Odgen's Heir, Bruce Waynewright.

Is it possible that the loss of Mr. Potter's mentor, the estimated Albus Dumbledore has truly driven him into the arms of someone whom may be using him to better her station in life...

The paper crumpled into a ball in Harry's hand and their Doppelgangers looked up at them with furious, annoyed expressions before shrugging and returning to their previous activities amongst the wrinkled pages.

Harry pulled Hermione into his shoulder as her shoulders hitched. Most in the hall would have thought that she was crying, and a few Slytherins were stupid enough to say so openly and spitefully. But in fact she was laughing as Harry dropped his lips to the crown of her hair and kept them there. Well since we are busted anyway... she pulled back and looked up at him as she put her arms around his neck and leaned in.

Hermione felt her eyes slip closed as she kissed her Harry for the first time in the Great Hall since summer. She sighed against his lips as they pulled apart, her lip dragging slightly in his teeth before he let go. Hermione leaned back against him, as they stayed just on this side of the "acceptable" line for behavior in the Great Hall and looked around defiantly.

A sudden silence fell over the hall, then without warning two things happened. The seventh year Gryffindors stood and applauded. Hermione blushed and leaned back a bit more against Harry. Just as they were quieting down and McGonagall was hiding a small smile at the Head Table, Neville came running into the hall.

"GINNY'S GONE!"

**************************Headmistress' Office***************************

8:30 am

Remus Lupin entered the large, circular room without knocking and shrugged at McGonagall's heated glance. He frowned as he noticed Molly standing in the corner, glaring at Minerva; he could almost hear her dulcet tones still hanging in the air in the office. The door opened again, and Tonks, Harry, Hermione and Ron entered, all looking forlorn. Dumbledore looked at the newcomers from his picture and sighed. Lupin gathered himself to report, but before he could, Molly's voice cracked across the room like a whip.

"What is she doing here?" she hissed, loudly as she glared at Hermione. Hermione flinched slightly before she caught herself and stood straighter. Her eyes narrowed, and she took a calming breath as Harry placed a hand on her shoulder.

"She is the Head Girl of this school, Molly," Minerva replied quietly.

Molly bristled. "Perhaps she shouldn't be then," she shot back heatedly, "after all she..."

Hermione took a deep breath and stood her ground, not commenting. Ron glanced at her concernedly for a moment before squaring his shoulders and looking at Molly, darkly, "Mum, that's enough," Ron announced flatly, her jaw dropped and he ignored her before turning to McGonagall and Remus who had drifted over to her desk. "We could not find her anywhere on the grounds." He looked at Harry who gave a small, tired shrug.

"Yes, ma'am," Harry agreed, "none of the Prefects or House Elves report having seen her since around Midnight when one of the Elves assigned to the Infirmary says he saw her." He looked to Tonks.

"There was no evidence of her being taken by force," the veteran Auror put in, "no evidence of magical traces other than those we would expect in either her dorm or the Hospital. There seems to be several articles of clothing that her roommates say were missing. Also there was no money in her trunk and her...other equipment was gone," Tonks added vaguely. "It looks as if she left voluntarily."

Molly shook her head as if she couldn't believe the words Tonks was saying, "But those signatures could have been hidden or faked. Couldn't they have been, Tonks?" Her eyes flitted to Hermione for not even a heartbeat, but Tonks caught it, her experience in interrogating Dark Wizards coming to the fore.

"Yes..." Tonks agreed slowly, looking at Lupin helplessly, "they could have been, but..."

"We don't have time for this," Harry interrupted and Molly glared but he continued on as if she weren't there, "if we are start looking for her we need to now, and frankly she couldn't have done this at a worse period."

"She's the one..."

Harry shut her up with a look as his eyes flared; even the portraits on the wall silenced themselves as he looked around. "Ginny is now a security risk to the school. She has been able to leave undetected and if she can do that, she can be forced to let others in the same way. Remus, can you and Tonks contact Mad-Eye, have him start looking?" Lupin nodded. "Hermione and I will take Diagon...and Knockturn Alley, Ron you take Hogsmeade, take Neville with you." Ron nodded and reached into his pocket for his two-way mirror. Harry looked to McGonagall, "Ma'am can you have the House Elves search...everywhere?" Minerva gave him a sad look but agreed, both of them not wanting to say anything about that option in front of Molly. On the wall, Dumbledore's image nodded as if to himself, and a small look of satisfaction for something, not today's events, but something, crossed his ice-blue eyes.

Harry turned to leave, but froze as Molly reached out and grabbed his arm roughly. "Harry," her eyes were wide, "you act as if she's already betrayed you."

"She has Molly," Harry snapped lowly, and shook his arm free of her grasp, "she has."

As if a gun had gone off announcing the start of a race, the teams vanished. Harry and Hermione instantly in a fall of colors as their Portkeys activated, Ron as he ran out the door at a run, filling in Neville as he went and having the Gryffindor bring his equipment, and Remus and Tonks, tossing a pinch of Floo Powder into Minerva's fireplace and vanishing to wherever Mad-Eye was.

*************************Diagon/Knockturn Alley**************************

7:00 pm.

Harry and Hermione came in the back entrance to the Leaky Caldron and paused, looking around. Tom glanced up from wiping a glass clean and nodded towards a private parlor in the back. Harry gave a small wave in return and entered into the rear, ignoring the curious glances that he always got when he was here, and had even more so today as his and Hermione's 'Honeymoon Date' picture had been splashed over the front page of the Prophet. Luckily at least that was under a Fidelius, the only one that could feel or see the wedding bands on her hand was him or those that had earned his trust.

As he took in the tired searchers gathered in this back room, he privately thought that he should add Neville to that list; he had certainly earned it.

Without more than a two-sentence order, Neville had mobilized the entire DA to search. Hogsmeade had been deluged with every underage member while the Seventh Years had started appearing in Diagon Alley minutes after Harry and Hermione themselves had arrived. Harry had been steadfast in his orders that they were not to venture down Knockturn Alley in groups of less than four, though of course he and Hermione had violated that, but really, the two Death Eaters that had been stupid enough to try for them had regretted it.

Tonks had taken their battered, unconscious bodies to the Ministry and returned.

Ron, Neville and Luna had appeared about four hours into the canvassing of Diagon Alley and had announced that Hogsmeade had literally been searched house to house to no avail. Ron had sent the remainder of the DA back to the school under McGonagall and had came on to Diagon Alley, where Luna had looked at a oddly dressed woman, and pronounced her a Death Eater. She had run at overhearing Luna's announcement, and stopped suddenly as ten, rather lethal looking wands from those...children, pointed her way. The Dark Mark had just been a bonus when Tonks took custody of her for a second trip to the Ministry's holding cells, running into Kingsley on the way. She had been in a hurry but not so much so than to escape her opportunity to mention that Harry's "children" had captured more Death Eaters in four hours than the Ministry or the Order had managed in four weeks.

Harry looked around the room and just for a brief second a small warm feeling filled his heart. Seamus, Dean, Parvati, Lavender, Padma, Ernie, Susan and even Terry Boot were crowded around a long table; Seamus was explaining something with his characteristic loud hand movements to Ron, Luna and Neville. Several more seventh years were next to them talking to the Twins in low tones. They and Angelina and Alicia had been on the case the instant Harry and Hermione had appeared in their shop, and had provided the first clue in the case and had immediately proven that Ginny had run and had not been taken.

The door creaked open behind them one last time and Mad-Eye stomped in, in the company of Remus and Tonks. They took seats and poured themselves glasses from one of several large pitchers of butterbeer that were on the table. None of them had had anything to eat since breakfast.

Harry looked a question at Mad-Eye. "No lad, I am afraid that nothing came up of the Apparation records at the Ministry, and the Knight Bus did not pick her up either," Alastor replied with a small shrug and gave Harry a slight, knowing look, "of course the main Apparation detector has been broken for several months now." Harry didn't even blink at the news.

"Thanks Mad-Eye," Harry replied, and looked to the room as a whole, "thanks for coming out today guys," he glanced at Hermione as she grabbed his hand.

Ron stood from the table, "Yes, thank you, it means a lot."

"She's a DA member," Susan put in as if that explained everything, and in a way it did in the same way it should have put the fear of Merlin in any Death Eaters that contemplated Hogwarts as a goal. Someday, perhaps, they would look back at this night, this night of confusion and panic and the possible loss of one of their own, as the rebirth of the Order, the rebirth that might someday actually have a chance of ending Voldemort's reign of terror, but all of that was for a future time, if at all.

Similar, murmured comments went around the room and Harry felt his heart swell afresh, and just a touch more hope for the future come home to roost. He nodded, "Alright then, first, the timeline appears to be as such," Hermione caught his eye and her wand flicked and the walls of the room flickered white as anti-eavesdropping charms went into effect over the ones that Tom, supposedly, kept in place. "At about three in the morning, Ginny Flooed into the Twins' downstairs shop from, they believe, Honeydukes. Which would make sense as none of the Castle fires were used to Floo."

"Harry, what about the wards on the passage to Honeydukes?" Neville put in, finally admitting out loud to the two attending Professors that all of the Gryffindors present, at least, knew of the secret passage.

Harry glanced over at Lupin, who frowned, "We warded the Hogsmeade entrance, we were not concerned with those leaving."

"From there," Harry continued, "there is a time gap of several hours. We know that she helped herself to some of the special items in the back for our use as they were missing when the twins went to look after they checked the security wards when Hermione and I informed them. Tom may have served her breakfast, he's not sure, however the witch he served sounded young and was Ginny's height but she had a cloak thrown up to hide her face."

He paced around the room, stopping to take a drink from a butterbeer that Hermione pushed into his hand, "She then went to Gringotts at opening and cleaned out her personal account, and pulled some cash from the DA operating account as well." Tonks, Mad-Eye and Lupin looked up at that, they had not known of the true depth of Harry's preparations. In fact, except for Luna and Ginny, none of the DA members below seventh year and not in Gryffindor had known of the various hidden cashes of equipment and the accounts that had been established in case of the worst were to happen. Harry waved at Ron.

"We looked everywhere at Hogsmeade, no one saw her, and no one saw her double back."

"Yeah, I figured," Harry agreed, "from what I know she took from the DA accounts, she has at least several thousand Galleons with her, and she exchanged a bit of it for Pounds." Harry looked down at his feet and ran his fingers through his hair roughly, Merlin, this is hard. Hermione's eyes were soft as she nodded and took his hand again, neither of them wanting to do what must be done, what Harry had to do, "She's gone to ground in Muggle England, and the twins' Aura Hider works a bit too well, she took the prototype from the shop, we can't scry or use a ball to find her. We're going home folks, for now, Mad-Eye you'll have the Order looking?" Moody scowled but nodded in the end as Harry paced out of the room, Hermione following not a heartbeat behind as soft muttering whispered behind him.

She followed him into the main part of the room, and ignored the murmurs that filled the room once more as the two headliners of the Prophet's Saturday edition passed through the room. Harry looked around the bar, his eyes hard and growled something under his breath and walked out the door into Muggle London.

He looked down the dimly lit length of Charing Cross Road and started walking. A darkly dressed man looked up as they passed, but shook his head and leaned back against the wall with a slight shudder. Harry paused as they reached Trafalgar Square and squeezed Hermione's hand, which had found his sometime during the journey. A flock of annoyed pigeons cooed loudly at them, as they turned left walked a bit further and then right until the Thames stopped them.

Harry slid to the ground with a sigh and leaned back against a low, concrete wall as Hermione slipped between his legs and leaned back against him. They watched the lights of Waterloo Bridge dancing on the dark waters of the river for a while and the passage of several barges and boats in the night. Do you think she had the right of it? Running? Harry asked finally after maybe an hour.

Would you have run? she redirected softly.

I'm too stupid to do that...ask Snape...

Hermione laughed, bitterly, We both are... She frowned as a large barge passed on the river, its wake disturbing several docked boats on the nearby Embankment Pier. I suppose that we won't be getting any jumpers this year. Or rather I won't...I'm so sorry Harry, I know she was like a mum to you.

Like there's a choice between her and my heart, Harry tightened his arms slightly, I'm more worried about Ron. He's loyal enough to us to stand against her...maybe the twins are as well. This is just what we were afraid of.

I should have...

No, Mione. She brought this on herself. I don't care if she was under the Imperius, she could have fought it off if she wanted to, there is always a choice. It may not be the easy one, but its there. If we never set foot in the Burrow again, well that's as it will be.

****************************Soho*****************************

A grey hood pulled up to cover her hair, to blend into the early evening; Ginny Wesley sat down at a table and took the cup of black coffee the waitress offered. She returned the girl's automatic smile and sighed, looking down into the cup as if trying to divine her fate. Her other hand was curled around the hilt of her wand under the table as she looked up every time the small bell hung above the door rang out the entrance of a new customer.

What am I doing...You're running silly girl, what do you think you are doing...I can say I'm sorry...But why, they're the ones who turned against you, the Mudblood knew she was trespassing...but I told her I had given up...So you lied, so what...But they're my family...since when, since they betrayed you...but Harry saved me...exactly, he should have been yours, he would have been yours, he rescued you after all... Ginny's internal dialogue froze suddenly as she glanced up at another bell to see a head of fiery hair on top of a stocky, solid body. A loud, familiar, female voice spoke next as Ginny pulled her hood tight, and turned her face downward as the duo stood in line to her close enough for her to hear their conversation.

"Yeah George, thanks for coming with me to my apartment," Tonks said exhaustedly as she waited in line with him, "Remus had to get back." Tonks glanced around the room, her gaze passing over the back of Ginny's head, it wasn't unusual to see someone with a hood pulled up and staring down into a mug here, "Bad time of the month for him, for this to happen."

"So he went back to..." George stopped before mentioning the school.

"Yeah, he had to take his...medicine, probably just made it too," Tonks completed and looked up at the counterworker, "I'll take a half-caf latte, and a tall black for my friend." She paid and took their drinks as they started to head back out of the shop.

George stopped, "so you'll be alright then Tonks?"

"I'll head back in the morning, George," Tonks replied with a small smile, "lets get that...thing you needed so you can be on your way."

"Nymph," George sighed, "had Harry or Hermione come back when you left the pub?"

Tonks let out a soft groan as she ran her hand through bright purple hair, "You know better than that George, he had to go blame himself for a while and she had to go talk him down."

"He's not that bad any more," George objected.

"No, but he's lost a lot in the last few years, this can't be easy on him," Tonks shrugged. "Your sister didn't think George. If she wanted..." she shook her head fitfully as they stepped back out of the way of a customer entering the store, almost backing into the small table Ginny had claimed near the door. "Wotcher, I visited her last week George or at least tried to, she just sat there in a snit, I don't think she thinks she did anything wrong. If someone had done anything like that to Remus...I hate to think what I would have done, how she didn't get..."

George finished putting sugar into his coffee from a nearby server and replaced the lid, "We knew sorta, or at least Bill and Fleur did I guess, but we were trying to let it pass, hoped it would just go away, but now... Mum's going spare, and I'm pretty sure that Herms is now persona non gratta at the Burrow...I suppose her and Harry will be at Hogwarts for Christmas, Mer...Lord knows that he's not going back to those relatives of his, and her parents are on that, trip ya know."

"They'll probably be off on a...assignment anyway," Tonks muttered as she pulled the door open. George just nodded as he led them out of the store, and turned up the street towards Tonks' apartment a block away.

Ginny sat stock still for several minutes after they left before slipping out the door and escaping in the other direction, every one of Tonks' and George's words ringing in her ears.

*****************************Little Hangleton**************************

A tall, dark man accompanied by a equally tall man, as fair as he was dark, knocked on a oaken door, inscribed with twin intertwined serpents and waited. The light from several nearby torches flickered oddly in endlessly deep grey eyes and glinted off twin fangs.

"ENTER," a dark, hissing voice commanded and the pair entered with only a bare, half-second glance at each other. The stopped a moment at the front of the room and waited as their eyes adjusted to the gloom. As their eyes sharpened, they could make out shapes, and a moment later they could discern the features of the room.

A large, dark ebony bed sat to one side of the room, its covers vanishing into the gloom. Several small tables were set around the room, some covered with odd artifacts and tomes, one held the remains of a supper and a final was empty save for a goblet of a dark, steaming liquid and a folded paper. On the back wall of the room, a fire was blazing in a black iron grate, the snakes on the door repeated here. A tall, wingback chair was in front of the fire, visibly occupied from the rear. The earlier, high-pitched, hiss came from the chair, "Come here."

Malfoy and Greyback strode around the chair and knelt before their master before he motioned them to their feet. Voldemort nodded to them as he took a sip of his drink and steepled his hands in front of his red-eyed, snake-visaged face. Tom was not alone, at his feet, curled like a large, sullen pet, Bellatrix was lying. Her heavy lidded eyes took them in reproachfully as she eased to a sitting position and stretched. Her untied robe fell open to reveal, everything, as she did, and she just smiled at Fenrir's subtle growl. Her pale skin was almost like a lamp in the room as the firelight reflected off of it and she moved subtly to reveal even more. Tom reached down and fondled her absently as he considered them for a moment.

"I have assignments for each of you, do not fail me this time," they nodded in unison, "Lucius...I wish for you to travel to Severus and discuss the failure of his potion. Make sure that he has an...adequate familiarity with the price of failure." Lucius bowed, grateful for the reprieve even though he knew that it was mostly the funds that he had secreted before his capture, exclusive of Gringotts, that kept him in whatever favor that he still enjoyed. Voldemort waved him away and he backed to the door and out.

Voldemort waited a moment before pulling the copy of today's Daily Prophet from the table next to him and tossing it at Greyback, "Potter has been a thorn in my side for too long, Fenrir." He smiled, "He took Antonin from us, I am sure that you can devise something...appropriate for his little pet." His eyes glowed, and the remainder of the light in the room save that from his red, glowing eyes seemed to vanish, "Break her in every way before you leave her body for Potter." Fenrir chuckled coldly as Voldemort hissed a laugh and Bella giggled from the floor.




A/N There ya go, I'm off to see GOF in about six hours...



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A/N: Ok ladies, gents and various familiars, here we go again. Once again, thanks to Lady Starlight for her superlative work on this fic, it is much appreciated.

Chapter 22: Potters' Bequest
****************************Hogwarts*********************************

October 30, 1997 (Thursday)
10: 20 am

Slightly vexed, Hermione looked on, as Ron failed, again; to feed the Unicorn that Hagrid had acquired for them study today. She looked about the class from her spot leaning up against Harry as they sat under a handy oak tree set a bit up on a small rise near Hagrid's hut, warmed by a hasty warming charm courtesy of her husband while they waited for the Unicorn to allow someone to approach it. Hermione was half temped to explain to their giant friend just why the unicorn, the symbol of purity, was not letting the majority of the students near, but she didn't want to ruin his class. He was just so happy that Harry, Ron and her were back in the class. She shook her head as she took in Parvati and Lavender sitting together doing what looked to be Divination homework from the chart that they had spread out on the grass and Ernie and Susan slipping off behind Hagrid's hut, Hagrid had never quite mastered the concept of 'class control'.

Hermione shared a glance and a miniscule smile with Harry before he looked back down at his notes. She bit her lip as she closed her eyes and let Harry read for both of them, as she listened to his internal dialogue. Unfortunately what they were studying today had little to do with creatures. Both Harry and she, and probably Ron, were getting frustrated with the Horcrux hunt. There had been no real leads on the Horcruxes, since that false Horcrux had caused them to have to deal with Inferi and damn near get killed. There had been no sightings of the Hufflepuff cup, and they still had no definite idea what the Ravenclaw item was, of the two possibilities, Rowena's staff, of which Hermione had finally found an old woodcut image of in the 23rd ed. of Hogwarts a History, was the one that she felt the most likely for some reason. She really didn't think Voldemort would repeat himself with another ring after having already used the Riddle ring for one.

They had even gone to the condemned, abandoned orphanage that had already been searched once to no result. Hermione had walked in the front door of Borgin and Burkes with blond, straight hair and in an outfit that had caused Harry blood flow issues, with a money pouch that exclaimed money and tried to get information on the Cup or possibly Rowena's item, but also to no effect. They had canvassed Knockturn Alley both openly and covertly, and had, during one heart-rending night, returned to the cave where Dumbledore's fate had been sealed.

Harry had transfigured the entire shallow lake to oil and roasted the remaining Inferi where they slept before he had let Hermione or Ron in the cave.

There was of course one Horcrux that they knew of and knew were it was, more or less, but that was absolutely the last one that they could destroy. Nagini was at the same time the most vulnerable and most dangerous of the Horcruxes. Most vulnerable because despite her size, and fangs and poison and whatever other enhancements Voldemort had enchanted her with she was still a living creature, and as Lupin had said in a particularly memorable training session, if it breathed it could die, even Voldemort.

But it was also the most dangerous as those who were destined to destroy it, if anyone could, had to do so at the absolute last moment lest Voldemort finally cotton on to what they had done. For a brief while and without adding to Harry's fears, Hermione had worried that Harry would be vulnerable to the freed soul fragments, but then she had realized something. Voldemort in his full powers had not been able to possess a much less powerful Harry at the Ministry; his soul fragments wouldn't either, especially against a Wizard with two more years experience and powers that just might rival Voldemort's own.

Hermione flicked her eyes open again to find that Parvati had had even less success in luring the Unicorn to the apple in her hand, and closed them again, content to listen to Harry's voice in her thoughts as he recounted the notes. Ron should have been over here with them using the time to look over Horcrux information but he was not. Ron was looking over Quidditch plays and debating with a large notebook and several scraps of Parchment spread about whom he was going to get to replace Ginny. Hermione knew he was just trying to cope the best he could, and he was being responsible, but the old "why don't you play Harry," debate had returned. To be perfectly honest, if Harry wanted to play she would not say a word other than cheering for him at games, but Ginny's flight had only redoubled Harry's determination to find the Horcruxes, if that were indeed possible, and Hermione was really tired of anyone hurting Harry.

Hermione's eyes cracked open as the bell rang and she looked down at her watch, Hagrid was over leading the Unicorn to a paddock as the rest of the class left and Harry frowned over at her and started to pack, but stopped with a small grin as she slipped down from his shoulder to rest her head in his lap and look up at him with a grin in her eyes before she closed them, Don't you have Runes? Harry asked, knowing quite well she did.

Shut up, Potter, I'm resting...besides Glyph had to go into London for a family emergency or something. No class...

I've always thought you had class.

Thanks baby, now let me lie here and enjoy it with no one attacking us or cursing us or feeding us potions or some damn thing and you keep reading.

Make me do all the reading. Harry groused as he started to idly comb his fingers through her hair. He looked up as Ron mouthed, "I'm off to look for Luna, see you at Lunch?" and Harry nodded.

You needed to catch up with the research side anyway. Hermione replied, not mentioning that she knew Ron had headed off as Harry knew so she did...occasionally it did get a bit confusing where one of them left off and the other began. She smiled as he bent down to kiss her before straightening up.

Sometime later after several minutes had passed Hermione felt herself being nudged awake. She had dozed off in the warmth and security. Mione...listen, according to this register of known magical artifacts, the Potter family lent several artifacts to the British Museum when my dad was still in school.

So...your family is an old Wizarding one, they of course might have things that have cluttered up some castle attic somewhere...oh...She suddenly realized what he was thinking.

Yeah, what if that night he... Harry stopped suddenly as Hermione remembered afresh what day it was. Tomorrow would mark the sixteenth year since Voldemort had walked into the Hollow; his thoughts freshly filled with the words of a traitor, and had killed both of Harry's parents. He continued after she reached up with her mind to gently hug him without moving a muscle. What if he never had it with him that night? What if he had already made it with something from my family? Hermione sat up and leaned back against the tree at his side and looked down at the parchments in his hands, copies of copies of old Prophets she had found with a Googling Charm. There is a ring in the collection and the supposed dating would match Rowena's.

You know what I think, but lets look into it anyway. It'll be tough to do at night, maybe try during the day, go in openly. The British Museum isn't some little touristy thing like Sherwood Harry...we'll need help.

He frowned as she gave him a small, odd look shrugged. I didn't want to bring any of the others in Mione...I only let you and Ron come along because you won't leave me alone.

Thanks...Hermione replied sarcastically.

You know what I mean. Hermione bit her lip but nodded and looked around. She wormed her way around until she sat in his lap and kissed him hard enough to raise his blood pressure. She smiled, a Cheshire grin and rolled off his lap and snap-kicked her way to her feet in one motion, intentionally flashing him as she did. Damn it woman, Harry griped as he took a breath and glared at her and she smirked, before they collected their things and headed to lunch. You just had to wear the fun skirt didn't you?

It is sorta short...she mused, looking down. Maybe I should get rid of it.

Don't you dare, Harry replied instantly as they passed through the main doors of the castle.

Don't worry dear, dear husband of mine...I have like three, four more of these. Her eyes twinkled as she took his hand again and led them into the Great Hall for lunch. And just think of all that free time we have tomorrow.


*********************Transfiguration #1***************************

2:33pm

Transfiguration with Tonks was a entirely different experience from those years of study they had experienced with McGonagall. It was not that the young Auror, only a bare few years older than the seventh years crowded into Transfiguration One, did not know her subject. No, in many ways she was as much a master of this subject as the Headmistress or Dumbledore ever were, as where they had learned almost everything there was to know about the subject through tireless study, she had literally been born feeling the transfiguration potentials.

So all in all, her lessons were often, eclectic, bouncing from unrelated subject to subject, as the mood might strike her, unlike McGonagall's strictly linear teaching style. A habit that would have greatly annoyed the girl sitting next to Harry, periodically sharing a glance or a muffled snort as Tonks would trip over something like a dust mite or a Kneazle hair on the floor, with the dual exceptions, that she had already read the entire seventh year book, twice, along with the recommended reading list for the Doctoral Track in Theoretical Transfiguration, so she knew what Tonks would teach in class at least, and the fact that she was too busy occasionally teasing Harry by playing with the hem of her skirt and pretending he wasn't watching her. It was a pretty good thing that she had made him read the same material too.

"Mr. Potter," Tonks said suddenly, and his eyes shot to the front of the class to catch the soft, amused twinkling he found there, in a pair of knowing, dark eyes. "Can you demonstrate the Agwa Metallio charm?" she asked as she extended a thick, steel bar to him and set it on the table in front of him.

Harry crooked an eyebrow and looked up at her as she smirked slightly and changed her hair from Gryffindor red to a dark, dark green. "What forms would you like...Professor L...Tonks." Harry finished with a smile.

Tonks looked as if she wanted to laugh, "A dagger and a teapot would be fine Mr. Potter." She stepped back to watch. Harry's eyes ran up and down the bar as if measuring, then with an odd, rolling flick of his wand and a long, mouthed sentence of Latin that Tonks knew that Harry had gotten perfectly just from the expression on Hermione's face and the odd, suspicion that the Heads really could read each others' minds, the bar glowed a bright pink and shook several times before dropping back to the table.

Tonks picked it up and said loudly and distinctly, "Teapot." A shining copper teakettle, with an inlayed picture of the Thestrals towing the carriages on the students' arrival at Hogwarts, appeared as the metal bar flowed up and expanded into a pot. She smiled slightly, "Dagger." The teapot flowed back into it's original bar shape, the metal changing color as it did so, before flowing into a ornate, dagger with a wire-wrapped handle, and fancy, gold-inlayed engraving all the way to the tip of the blade. She smiled and nodded, "Excellent, Mr. Potter, fifteen points to Gryffindor.

Tonks stepped back, almost tripped on the hem of her robes, again, and looked out over the class, "Can anyone give an example of a practical use for this charm...Miss Granger?" Tonks said carefully, her and Lupin had been catching themselves almost slipping on a daily basis. The actual fact that the Potters were really married was of course under a Fidelius Charm, that only Harry or Hermione could bestow the knowledge of, but that still didn't keep one's brain from trying to fill in the blank.

"That Transfiguration is most often used to have one of several needed tools available to those such as Aurors who might need a verity of equipment with them, but not have the space or time available to either carry them all or transfigure or conjure them." Hermione smirked just slightly as if to say, "Yes I was flirting with my husband Nymph, we know where you and Lupin live and we are both Marauders as much as you or he are, do you want to bed to become a large swimming pool some morning?" Her gaze was rather expressive when she wanted it to be.

Tonks gave her a small motion of her fingertips to her forehead, as if awarding points in a practice duel, "Correct Miss Granger, another ten for Gryffindor." She stepped around her desk and looked through a pile of papers before looking back up at the class, "Originally I was going to have Headmistress McGonagall in here this afternoon to help demonstrate effects that one can see when you try to transfigure a magical animal or object, but she was tied down with covering for Professor Glyph today with the third years, so...Wotcher, you have a free day..." The class let out a soft cheer, "providing that you have your comparative essays on the Incan Transfiguration series and how they compare to modern practices completed, it is ten feet due next week people." Groans greeted her announcement and she sniggered slightly as the majority of the class glared at her before heading in the direction of the Library.

"I guess I better go get started," Ron muttered, he looked at Harry, "you coming mate?"

"I'm done Ron, for at least a week or two," Harry replied softly.

Hermione's eyes were huge as she looked across Harry, and he covered his face with his hand. He had told Ron last week to start it. She let out a small huff as she got up and didn't look at him she went to talk to Tonks. Harry shook his head as he began to pack Hermione's books, "She has you whipped mate," Ron whispered, chuckling as he watched Harry gathering Hermione's bag as well as his own.

"Why didn't you start it Ron?" Harry asked tiredly, trying not to laugh as the more things changed the more they stayed the same.

"Bloody Hell, Harry, I think you were there, let's see, Quidditch, various dark forces out to get us, my girlfriend, I dunno, I got busy."

Harry shook his head, laughing under his breath, "And how is that different from any other week?" He glanced up at Hermione deep in conversation with Tonks, and from the byplay he could overhear in her thoughts Tonks was asking Hermione about dress choices for Tonks' wedding, whenever it was that her and Remus actually got around to it. "Oh well, mate...I'm the one getting laid tonight, while you'll be working on that essay."

Ron looked at him oddly, "Last I looked my girlfriend was blonde, not brunette mate..."

"Oh, I know, and I thank God for that every day bro," Harry replied with a small glint in his eye as he shouldered both his and Hermione's bags and stood. "But Hermione is helping Luna with her Arithmancy tonight...and you know how they like to talk about us, and I think Luna mentioned something about your homework just the other day."

Ron looked a touch pale as Harry left him standing at the table. Harry slipped up next to Hermione and kissed her on the cheek as he took her hand and they left out the door to go somewhere not involving homework.

************************Hogwarts, Library******************************

October 31, 1997 (Friday)
8:30 pm

Hermione gasped silently against the skin of Harry's neck as he smirked and pressed her back against the wall of the Library, far, far back in the stacks. She was wearing "fun skirt number two," evidentially, as it was flipped up for easy access and held up by the pressure of their bodies together. She closed her eyes and moaned, as his fingers played under her knickers, what there was of them. She managed to pull his lips to hers as first one, and then a second finger slipped home and started to dance to the same rhythm as his tongue with hers.

Her heart sped up, faster and faster until she felt herself crashing, her eyes rolling back in her head as she fell forward limply, trusting him to hold her up. She took a deep, shuddering breath before she trusted her legs and leaned back against the wall. "Ready to continue on this course of study Mr. Potter?" she whispered throatily and reached forward to start to unbuckle his belt...

"'ERMIONE...'ARRY," a familiar, slightly accented voice rang out from the front of the stacks, and Hermione leaned forward and dropped her head to Harry's shoulder in resignation. She gave him a small smile as he waved his hand to clean them up and she carefully smoothed her skirt while he tugged her jumper back down. More or less presentable, they marched up to the front of the stacks where Gabrielle was standing looking sheepish.

She looked up at their approach and Harry could swear the eleven year old, smirked, but she kept it hidden if she did. Hermione gave him a small shrug and looked down at the small girl, who looked up at her and pulled on a platinum braid. "What's wrong, Gabrielle, why aren't you at the Halloween feast?"

Gabby's look in return more than amply asked why they were not as well, but she didn't voice it. Instead she frowned and looked down slightly, "I...iz left my Tranzfiguazion bookz down near 'Agridz... can you?"

Hermione rolled her eyes slightly, "Sure Gabby, lets go get them," she glanced over at Harry, then over at their pile of books stacked on the table, where their investigations had been interrupted for a "study break." Harry went and grabbed her heavy outer robes and tossed them to her, and started to gather his, "It's alright Harry, stay here; we'll just be a minute." He opened his mouth to object. "It's alright, Har..."

"Harry, Hermione..." Honor came running into the Library, her black hair in disarray. She looked as if she had been laughing hard enough to burst a gut, and she seemed to be still letting out soft, periodic giggles under her breath as she looked up at them.

"Yes?" Harry asked mildly, and Hermione fought off giggles of his own as she heard his thoughts.

"You guys need to come quick...Ernie and I were patrolling...someone turned Crabbe into a...well...a jackass."

"He already was, Honor."

"No...I mean a real, jackass, ears, tail, everything," she giggled softly and Harry felt his eyes dancing, "we can't change him back and we don't want to bother the Headmistress in the middle of the feast." The slight, black-haired girl broke down in giggles then and Harry sighed and looked to Hermione.

"You go handle the jackass Harry," Hermione replied with an utterly straight face, "I'll run down to Hagrid's with Gabrielle and get her books and join you." Harry frowned, not liking that plan but nodded and let her leave, knowing that she could take care of herself.

Several minutes later, Hermione and Gabrielle were panning the beams of their lit wands over the dewed grass near the trees overlooking Hagrid's hut where Gabrielle and several of her classmates had been studying outside on a particularly nice day, warmer than yesterday. Hermione looked up as Gabrielle shouted and held up a damp, leather-bound book. A smile began to blossom and then died as her eyes flared green as a dark presence bounded out of the forest and a red beam shot out of the darkness to fell the little girl.

Hermione turned as a hard, dark voice came out of the night and resolved itself into a hated visage. Fenrir grinned at her as he slipped between her and Gabrielle, "Potter's little slag...it will be fun, breaking you." His nose flared and he laughed, "I can still smell him on you, I hope you had fun, I ensure you that I won't be as much so...at least for you." He looked at her meaningfully, "I rather will however." He steeped back and waved his wand in the air, "LUNARIUM"

A bright shining ball of white light appeared at his shoulder and he began to change, stretching, growing. Fur sprouted along his body, as his clothes tore away and his jaw distended. Three-inch fangs hung from a wolf-like face as he gathered himself and sprung.

Time slowed as Hermione's eyes lit brighter and she flipped backwards out of the way. She landed in a backwards summersault, and shrugged off her heavy outer robe, leaving herself free to move in only the dark jumper, skirt and trainers she had had on under it. She reached back to feel a pair of familiar friends slide into her hands. Twin, twelve-inch blades gleamed in the light of the quarter moon high above and the false one still hovering near them as she pulled herself into a ready crouch, balancing on the balls of her feet. Argentium, she murmured and her blades flickered briefly in the moonlight, seen only by her. She glanced over at the unconscious first year, and knew she could get away, that she could outrun even this werewolf for long enough to gain the castle, which even a were wouldn't have a chance of getting out alive of, but that really wasn't a choice, not with a family member on the field. She could feel Harry sprinting towards her, moving much faster than humanly possible, and knew she just had to keep Fenrir busy until then, if she could.

Fenrir sprung, leaping the ten feet between her and growled as she danced backwards and snapped a kick into his shoulder. He howled and bounded again, hissed as her sliver blade drew his blood and laughed in his head as his claws tore into her leg. His teeth were the real danger of course; he had to bite her to turn her, though he intended to kill her in the end, perhaps after having a bit of fun first. His claws shot out again towards that injured leg, but missed as she flipped sideways and landed hard, staggering on that damaged thigh.

He looked at her, a dark, malevolent intelligence in his eyes and sprinted for Gabrielle. Hermione gasped and the pain in her leg vanished, and all of a sudden, she did the impossible. A breath of air whispered as she vanished and reappeared in front of the girl.

Greyback's eyes were wide as he slashed at her face, and watched as his hand-paw was blocked in a pair of crossed blades, Hermione pulled them together with more than human strength and a blood-curdling scream echoed into the night as his hand-paw fell away with a spray of blood, without pause, she rolled inward along his extended arm and thrust upwards under his jaw with her right hand dagger. A loud crunch, the werewolf's eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed to the ground. She let the dagger remain where it was as her other slipped from her hands to fall to the grass.

Hermione staggered backwards, her damaged right leg folding under her, just as Harry's arms stopped her collapse. He dropped to the ground as Ron, Remus, Tonks and McGonagall came running up, the elderly witch clearly out of breath. A bare two minutes later, a dozen DA members were lighting the area with their wands and forming a perimeter. Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones and Luna surrounded a revived Gabrielle and hurried her back to the castle under guard. Harry whispered a charm and a small, floating ball of light hovered above he and Hermione and he looked down at her worriedly. She smiled up at him, slightly drunkenly, as he tenderly felt up under the side of her skirt and jumper searching for unseen damage. "He just scratched me, Harry, no teeth." She said softly and both Harry and Remus looked relieved. Harry's eyes still glowed softly as he ran his wand along the four parallel gashes in her thigh and closed them up with almost no trace of a scar left behind, only four faint, white lines against her thigh.

His head fell against hers, I'm supposed to be the one, who gets the scars...God damnit Mione...you scared me.

Scared you, she shot back incredulously, breathing heavily, as the adrenaline overload slammed into her. Big fucker with teeth was out here... McGonagall looked on them as if they had lost their minds as they started quietly laughing together as their brows touched softly. Harry waved in the direction of Greyback and caught her daggers in his hand, flicked his wrist and they vanished with a small pop of light. Without so much as a grunt, Harry rolled to his feet with her still cradled in his arms, and started back towards the castle. I can walk, Hermione commented softly, but sighed as he just kept walking, leaned her head against his shoulder and let him carry her, But this is nice too.

None of the wizards or witches trailing them commented that Harry could have just levitated her if she couldn't walk.

Behind them at the body of the werewolf, now once again human, or as human as Fenrir Greyback had ever been, Ron, Hagrid and Remus looked down at it with undisguised loathing. The Seventh Year and the Half-Giant watched as Remus spit on the corpse's face. Remus turned his back on it, "Hagrid, burn it, somewhere where no one will ever find the ashes. Let Tom wonder what happened to his...dog."

**************************Head Students' Quarters**************************

9:35 pm

Hermione walked out of her and Harry's bedroom in her old, ripped jeans and a Lions sweatshirt, having changed out of her torn and bloody school uniform, and curled up in a small ball next to Harry on the couch. She looked up, not concerned at all with propriety as this was their home after all, and glanced around the room at the various people scattered about the room.

An impromptu council of war for what was, for all intents, the Order of the Phoenix, the part that supported Harry anyway, was assembled in their Common Room. Harry had briefly deactivated the Wards to allow Mad-Eye to Floo in to the room, while Tonks, Minerva and Remus had just arrived. Their quarters had been chosen, as they were more discrete than either Minerva's office or the Room of Requirement.

The students were not unrepresented either, Neville had arrived in the escort of Ron and Luna and sat at a chair by himself looking slightly overwhelmed. He had already been told that he might hear things that he would not know of. He took a sip of a conjured cup of something as he watched Hermione shiver a bit and reach over the back of the couch for a throw.

Hermione smiled at Harry as he flicked his wand to conjure a pitcher of milk and a plate of cookies. She took two and scarfed them, before looking up and shrugging at Neville's odd look. "Harry's and my metabolisms are on overdrive Neville...we are wizards, but we still have to use the energy to move and such. And at the rate we were moving tonight, I am sorta sugar crashed." She grinned slightly, "How do you think that Dumbledore stayed so skinny all those years the way he ate every sweet in the universe." She looked over at Ron pointedly, "I can't actually explain Ron, though. Honestly, I can't...I've tried."

Ron pretended to laugh, and took several cookies pointedly.

Harry smiled at her fondly before he took a breath and looked up at Mad-Eye. It was probably better for all concerned that Hermione was mostly leaning on him and Voldemort himself would have to come in the door before he would disturb her, as she felt the anger in him gather like the clouds at the forefront of a storm, "Before we begin," Harry said in a flat, lethal tone as his eyes swept from Hermione to focus on Mad-Eye. Both of Moody's eyes, real and fake focused on him, "I would like to know...Just what the fuck the so-called Order is doing these days. How the hell is it that my w...girlfriend could be attacked not five hundred yards from the bloody front gates of the castle."

"Harry..." Hermione snapped.

"Are you that overwhelmed that..."

"HARRY JAMES..." Hermione snarled and sat up. She took a breath as the blanket fell from her shoulders, "I...am...fine."

"Yeah, NOW," he hissed back and the rest of the room fell suddenly silent, "What if that had been Tom, or what if they had had more werewolves or..." His eyes dropped from hers to glare around the room, anywhere but at her.

"Harry," She grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her, "I am fine, love, just a couple more scars, now calm the fuck down." Or I swear by Merlin your arse is sleeping on this fucking couch tonight and will until I let you back in the bedroom, she added silently, as she looked into green eyes filled with...Oh, my god, Harry...Baby, I'm sorry...

No one in the room except them existed as he sighed and pulled her into his lap, shaking slightly as he fought to keep in what he had to until this meeting was over, He set it up Mione...he wanted to give himself a birthday present and remind me, your body would have made a hell of anniversary card on the lawn. Look I killed your parents sixteen years ago...now I killed your wife...Happy Fucking Halloween...

Then it's funny how he keeps fucking up on this night then isn't it...He didn't get you sixteen years ago, Quirrell didn't get me with the troll, his stupid blood warning on the wall just put us on the trail of his Basilisk instead of scaring us, and his fucking dog is feeding the Acromantulas or something. She cracked a tiny smile and kissed his nose. But your question was valid...and don't you love the Fidelius charm? His eyebrow rose for a second before he nodded as she turned to the rest of the room, Securiata The defensive wards flashed to full strength and she took a breath, "However inelegant my..." she didn't even grin, "husband's presentation of the question was, it is still valid, just what the fuck does the Order do these days?"

For the first time in her almost six and a half years at Hogwarts, Hermione had the pleasure of seeing Minerva McGonagall with an expression of total bewilderment. She sat back in her chair looking from one of them to another, her eyes wide behind her square glasses. Mad-Eye did not looked as if the news affected him much either way. Neville did not look nonplussed at all, he just rose slightly from his chair and extended his hand to Harry, "Congratulations mate," he said simply and sincerely and sat back down.

"What..." McGonagall started in her burr, "But none of the school records changed...how long...who married you?"

Hermione took pity on her, "Taking them in order, the fact is under a Fidelius charm," she held up her and Harry's joined left hands to show their now visible rings, "Since the day before that picture in the Prophet was taken, my birthday in other words and Dumbledore." She pointed over her shoulder at the so-far silent portrait. He waved.

"Is that legal?" McGonagall asked, stunned, and Harry and Hermione shrugged in unison.

"It's legal in our eyes, that's all that matters in the end," Harry replied softly and looked at Alastor, "but that still does not answer my question, what is the Order up to," Moody opened his mouth to speak and Harry shook his head forcefully, "and if I hear that we are too young or some such foolishness, I will openly break with the Order tonight."

Mad-Eye growled something under his breath and pushed himself to his feet and started pacing. The clump of his wooden leg on the stone floors echoed in the sudden silence for a long minute, before he stopped and took drink from a burnished silver flask he took from a hip pocket. "Not a bloody thing lad," Moody admitted after a long moment, "not a bloody thing." He glanced around the room, and sighed, "in fact the only reason that you are alive today is that you have become more individually more dangerous than the Death Eaters. There hasn't been a watch on any of you since the end of school last year, not a real one. The Dursleys' protections were pulled when you left...and Stilton died at the Grangers." He looked at Hermione and shrugged, "When Albus was alive we had real protection on your parents lass, but now..."

"What happened to all of the members?" Harry inquired, his voice odd as he shared a look with Hermione.

"Albus stopped recruiting last year, he was busy with something else," Mad-Eye replied simply and looked at Remus, Tonks and Minerva, "and there are few left who are actual fighters. Vance, Dodge, Bones, Jones, they're all dead. Kingsley has almost totally gone back to working for the Ministry exclusively, and Remus and Tonks here, and I suppose me, we're on the outs..." He took another sip, "When Voldemort was striving for power the first time, we had fighters, Harry, your parents, Sirius, the Prewitts, but now most of them are old and scared, the ones that are still alive anyway."

"But we have them Professor," Neville piped in suddenly and every eye shot to him as if they had forgotten he was in the room, he straightened in his chair and carefully set down his cup on the coffee table, "Right now, we you could have another twenty members, maybe more, in the fight."

McGonagall spun, "There will be time for that later, Longbottom."

Neville stood suddenly and Harry was reminded afresh that the soft, timid young man of their past was long gone, Neville's shoulders subtly squared about as he looked at her, "With all due respect, ma'am...we are in the fight," he waved violently towards Harry and Hermione, "Harry since he was born, Hermione and Ron since they were eleven and the rest of us for years as well." Neville's eyes tightened, "My parents are stuck in St. Mungo's, their minds raped for Bellatrix's amusement, Ron lost a brother and still may lose another, Susan has lost her entire family now, and Hermione damn near did, and SHE AND HARRY HAD TO SAVE THEM." He took a breath, and looked sheepish, "I am sorry ma'am I will accept whatever punishment is appropriate for raising my voice out of turn, but I will not apologize for my point. We are the ones fighting now, not just Harry."

"You don't know what it's like out there," Remus said softly, unthinkingly.

Hermione let out a soft sound as Neville clenched his fists and paced away, his eyes dark and hard. "Yes, we do," Luna put in, in an oddly lucid, diamond-hard voice before anyone else could respond. She didn't move her head from Ron's shoulder as her eyes focused on his, "Do we know what it's like to see the red mist shining in the flickering light of spell fire after you've delivered a Reductor to some random Death Eater's head...I've seen that in my dreams almost every night Remus..." She quieted abruptly and closed her eyes, her piece said.

A tear tried to escape McGonagall's eye as Mad-Eye turned back to Harry, "what do you want then lad?" he asked resignedly.

"Support, and not holding out on us because we are kids," Harry replied, "I'll..."

"We'll..." Hermione whispered.

"We'll kill Voldemort," Harry said determinately, "I have something to live for after all, you lot just keep his followers busy until we can be ready to strike."

Alastor nodded and carefully did not look in Minerva's direction to see the look of newfound horror on her face, "Fine then Harry, I'll come by the next DA meeting and we'll discuss the best way the Order can..."

"NO," Luna and Neville snapped as one, Neville looked to Luna and she nodded, "We will follow Harry," she announced like it was a fact rooted in the very bedrock below, "He's our leader, and he's the one who will kill Tom, no one else."




There ya, go...next chapter, the Order is back in business, a surprise for ya'll, and we catch up with some little redhead or another.


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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....

Built by Text2Html

Back to work....Thanks to Lady Starlight for her work on this chapter...

Chapter 24: Field Trip.
*****************************Hogwarts******************************

November 13, 1997.
12:25 pm

Hermione kissed the top of Harry's head in passing as she settled next to him and opened a book. He glanced over, sighed, and pushed a plate towards her, at the faint trace of her shaking. "Mione," he whispered with a faint trace of worry as she ignored it in favor of reading yet another book, Familiars, Their Use and Bonding, in hopes that the subject was similar enough to the Horcrux process to learn something, "you need to eat love...you're crashing."

She glared at him out of the corner of her eye and took a single roll off the plate and ate. Harry muttered something under his breath, Hermione Jane, you can't do this shyte...I won't let you.

I'll be fine Harry, Hermione snapped back, her mood aggravated. She turned slightly and looked back at her book. She started reading again, her lips moving with the words, her knee trembling under the table, until Harry reached down and held it down as his other hand reached around and grabbed her chin.

No you aren't, Hermione...his fingers flicked and the book skittered across the table to land in a rather surprised Luna Lovegood's lap as she ate at the next table over, she looked up, but only nodded at Harry's gesture and started reading the book herself. She had commented to Harry the other day that she was looking for a Familiar of her own. Hermione gave him a glare for a half a heartbeat before her eyes dropped and she nodded. There will be a time, Mione, but not today, you can't take on odds like you did this morning and not recuperate, Harry growled, thinking of this morning when Tonks had summarily declared Harry incapacitated and Hermione on her own against twenty to one odds. Hermione had won, but not without tapping into her magic further than she had since the night her parents were attacked.

That's what we are up against, Harry...you know that. We have to be ready, Hermione replied reasonably, the fire fading from her thoughts as he reached around her shoulders to pull her against his side. She started eating; leaning against his side he nodded.

Yeah...it is, Hermione, or worse. But we don't have to be stupid about it.

Aren't I usually the one who says that? she muttered, and closed her eyes, leaning into his side, It would have been nice if Tonks hadn't decided to do that little wrinkle on our 'hell day', Hermione commented as she thought on their Thursdays. She grinned at him, he didn't see it, but that didn't matter, Want to hang out in the back of Tonks' class and snog? I want to see if my new Illusion Charm is strong enough to last all class period.

It works then? Harry muttered curiously and grinned as she started as he played with the hem of her skirt under the table. What about when she wonders why Hermione Granger isn't answering questions?

Yeah...and you can try that later, she added, subtly scooting closer on the bench until her hip was pressed against his. You'll see about the questions...

*****************************Transfiguration*************************


Did I ever tell you how brilliant you are...really? Harry whispered as he nuzzled Hermione's neck as they sat curled up on a corner windowsill, under Harry's cloak. Hermione smirked as she leaned back into him, almost purring under her breath.

You're not scared of me? She teased back, What did ye old font of thoughtfulness say? Hermione grunted, gesturing towards Ron with her gaze, Scary, brilliant, but scary?

You heard that huh? Harry asked as he contented himself with leaning back against the castle wall and wrapping his arms around his wife. They winced in unison as Tonks took a pratfall, her feet flying out from under her as if there were a floor full of banana peels under her feet. Which was even a bit much for Tonks, as there weren't actually banana peels on the floor. Hermione muttered a string of Latin and a glowing red line hung in their vision, leading back to a sniggering Pansy Parkinson.

A flicker of green fire lit Hermione's eyes and a fine dusting of a green powder appeared in the air and fell down over the Slytherin's hair and head. Harry crooked an eyebrow; Wait for it, Harry, Hermione whispered, a curious glee in her thoughts. They watched as Tonks picked up herself, and Harry felt a whistle in their thoughts.

Seconds later a ginger streak shot in the room followed by at least five other cats and a single, surly-looking Kneazle named Mrs. Norris, whom no one actually seemed to remember just whom she had been married to or when. All seven of the felines jumped up on Pansy's desk, merowing loudly. They purred and rubbed against her, a couple of them reached out and started pawing at her hair. She screeched at them to leave her alone, and patted away paws as laughter rang out in the classroom. She screeched again and ran from the room, all seven cats following closely.

Tonks looked around the classroom, her hand over her mouth as she ostensibly looked for the culprit. She didn't look too hard however. She glanced down at the front row and watched as Hermione's doppelganger looked up at her and shrugged. Harry's duplicate next to the image shook its head and looked back down at its parchment.

This is pretty cool, Harry mentioned and watched as his duplicate made notes, How does this work...

Hermione smiled, Oh, a little bit of this, a little bit of that, she paused as Tonks asked a question and the duplicate answered, receiving ten points for Gryffindor, Honestly I got the idea from the Dark Tosser, it's a combination of an image projection charm, a note-taking charm and a few other little things I threw in...I can either control them directly like now, or I can make it so it has a limited self-awareness, kind of like how he controls the Inferi when they're not under his direct control.

I love you, Harry replied softly, feelingly. I am sooo glad you're on my side.

I am? Hermione teased, I guess I am, she sighed. Her demeanor hardened with a breath, So are you still wanting to go after that Saturday? Harry nodded.

Yeah, it's easiest since we are taking a full team...they watched as Tonks ignored Hermione's duplicate's raised hand, in favor of asking Ron a question directly; Ron was gazing off into space aimlessly. Hermione groaned as Ron flubbed the question confusing "Transfurgetate," with, "Trangfrageteate". The class moaned as Tonks rewarded them all another three feet on the variances inherent in the interactions of noble metals with mass variance spells.

Hermione bit her lip, frowning, If you want Harry...we'll go tonight, just you and me. We don't have to take anyone else. We can do it...I think.

Harry tightened his arms, thinking, You think it will be easier during the day? Hermione nodded, Then we go during the day, and we take the team. A heavy feeling filled the pit of his stomach, but he remained silent. The bell finally rang, ending this long, long day. Hermione controlled their duplicates, having Harry's tell Ron that they would catch up. The cloaked pair slipped up behind their duplicates, and as soon as Tonks turned her back and the rest of the class had left in a hurry as that was the last class of the day, Harry swept off the cloak and Hermione dismissed the spell. Hermione gave Tonks a small smile and handed Harry her bag as the magenta-haired witch looked back into the room. Harry gave Tonks a shared eyeroll, and the pair headed out into the hall.

They headed off, towards the seventh floor. They passed a large, three-story portrait of a giraffe, and stepped around a pair of Hufflepuff girls sitting on the steps, gossiping. They giggled in time as Harry passed them and Hermione barely hid a grin. They stopped as a gaggle of Ravenclaw second year girls passed. Hermione turned to share a glance with Harry, when she staggered, falling into him, "HEY!" Harry yelled, as a green and silver trimmed robe vanished around the corner.

"No, Harry," Hermione whispered urgently, she tilted her hand slightly, showing him a scrap of parchment.

******************Astronomy Tower, Hogwarts****************

November 14, 1997
Midnight

This late in the year, it was extremely unusual for couples to populate the ramparts of the tower in search of a site for a liaison, or tryst, not that many had since the events of last June. So it was both a blessing in that no one was present to witness the meeting and a curse, in that anyone who might happen along would find it suspicious, that the anonymous note passed to Hermione, in a very amateurish brush pass, had asked for a rendezvous here. Of course, most seventeen and eighteen year olds didn't have the most accomplished Auror in the last hundred years teaching them espionage either, so it could be forgiven after a fashion. Tonight, a cold wind blew across the top of the battlements, rusting the robes of a single, lonely figure. It stood looking out over the grounds, silent and waiting, looking down as a rampant stream of thoughts flowed unchecked.

Harry had not been to this spot, this dark spot where Dumbledore had fallen to the grass far, far below, since that day. A subtle shiver slipped across his nerves as he closed his eyes. He watched, again, like he had that night and many nights since, as Dumbledore looked across the roof, his serene features twisted in agony as he begged for Snape to end his life, to kill him as he had wasted his energy to keep Harry hidden.

An act that should not have been necessary, an act predicated on an attempt to secure a false Horcrux, and one that should not have been necessary had not Harry's own powers been drained away by an even more insidious brew. Harry gripped shoulder-high battlements hard enough for his knuckles to whiten, under the black gloves that covered them. He did not turn as a solid, iron-shod, oaken door opened behind him with a soft squeak of improperly oiled hinges.

He waited until the small, slight figure in unmarked robes eased the door closed, and stepped away into the light of scattered stars, before acknowledging her presence, "Hello Daphne," Harry said lightly, "I got your message."

"Thank you Potter...thank you for saving my parents...my sister," she replied softly, approaching and lowering her hood. The small, blond, brown-eyed girl looked at him and frowned. She took a breath and walked to within a single stride and stopped. "Therefore...I owe you and yours a debt...Slytherins do not like to owe, but rather be owed."

"That is the difference then isn't it," Harry remarked as if he were discussing the weather, "between the Lion and the Serpent? The lion goes into his actions not caring what the consequences may be to himself, is willing to take the consequences whatever they might be as long as the action is right and just, while the serpent looks for the main chance, the ability to find the easiest path, and hopes that that path leads to the end that he seeks." Harry turned from the dark grounds to find her looking at him expectantly. The enchantments on his glasses allowed him to see her as if it were day, to see the worried look on her face and her eyes darting about as if she expected a foe to escape the shadows at any moment. "Relax, Daphne," Harry said reassuringly, "there are none here that wish you harm." He slipped his hands into the pockets of his cloak, "What did you really want to meet about?"

She sighed, "I won't come in on your side...not yet, not openly, my parents are working with...your faction, but they have a luxury that I don't. They are hidden away from their enemies, mine sleep one bed over."

"McGonagall will remove you from the House, if you are in danger," Harry mentioned, though that was actually the last thing they needed, they needed a source inside Slytherin. "But if you wanted out, you would have already done so."

"Blaise is planning something, I don't know what. I will try to find out, but I am not promising anything. I'm already disliked by many in the house as it is. I don't know if I can find out, but I should be able to give you a spot of warning. More so than you got when Draco was still here."

Harry nodded; he had expected this after all. The Slytherins had been relatively quiet since the duels the first couple of months of the year, the three with Slytherins and the one, the most convincing one in many ways, the one with Ginny. "Thank you," Harry said sincerely, knowing that she had come knowing what it might cost her, "please do one other thing, if you can," she gave him a slow nod, "when it happens, do your best to keep the younger members of your House out of it."

"I'll try," Greengrass agreed and gave him one last long look before nodding once more and leaving via the door she arrived by, sweeping her hood over her face to hide it even as she opened the door.

It boomed shut and Harry paced back to the battlements and leaned against them. He looked down at the dim light seeping from Hagrid's windows as he listened to the sounds of the night creatures of Hogwarts, owls, Thestrals, wolves, whatever sing their songs of nighttime, "Well Mione?" Harry said softly, not looking over as her head appeared next to him. She finished throwing off her cloak and folding it to fit in a pocket. "What do you think?"

"She's scared, Harry. She and her folks don't want any part in this, they would rather sit this war out," Hermione paused, looking out at Hagrid's as the half giant staggered back to his hut from yet another night at Rosmerta's, "but she doesn't want her sister to have to take the Mark...to either become an Eater, or worse a companion."

Harry nodded, as Hermione had just repeated his thoughts out loud. He reached over and took her hand, "Let's go to bed, Love, this is a worry for another night. And we need to spend tomorrow tidying up the plan."

Hermione led them to the door, and opened it with a casual wave. I still don't think it's the Horcrux, Harry...it is a Founders artifact though...I'm almost sure of it.

Harry nodded, and stopped, wrapping his arms around her, I trust your judgment, Hermione...but even if it's not, we need to get it, so we can make sure. Harry tightened his arms as they stepped around an invisible corner and vanished.

***************************Grimmauld Place******************************

November 15, 1997
8:20 am

Ron yawned and threw Harry an annoyed glance across the expanse of the sunlight Library. Harry just shrugged and walked over to a carafe set on the large, central table and poured himself a new cup. "Harry, why are we doing this?" Ron asked, watching his own mug as if it held the answers in its depths. Neville looked up, shook his head and leaned back on the couch. He continued to play with a silver and black curved dagger, the fourth in a set of six, watching a small, engraved lion as it bounded from end to end of an arched guard. His wrist flicked slowly as he watched the light glint off it as he waited.

"Umm, because the bastard needs to die Ron?" Harry snapped back snarkishly and looked out the window onto early morning Saturday traffic. He stretched and looked back at Ron, slightly annoyed as the redhead shrugged at him and waved.

"But why now, Harry, why not tonight," Ron replied, "and where the bloody hell are the girls?" He added in a slightly peevish tone. Harry frowned at him, not trusting himself to comment. It wasn't Ron's fault he was annoyed really, not really. He, along with Harry and Hermione had gone to visit Charlie last night, and his brother had not improved, not at all.

Bill had quietly taken Harry and Hermione aside, as much to get them away from Molly's glare as to actually impart information, and told them it did not look good. The curse, whatever it was, that Percy had used at the Burrow almost four months prior had steadily degraded the second oldest Weasley boy's nerves, and even now only life-support spells were keeping his heart beating. All of the Weasleys, knew, somewhere, that it was only a matter of time until the end. Ron's mood had been, to put it lightly, surly ever since he had returned from that trip.

Not that any of those who had gone to St. Mungo's was chipper, in the slightest. Neville had gone with them, to look in on his parents, who were about the same. Over the years his mother had had flashes of almost lucidity, but his father, not so much. They were still, in the main, trapped in their own minds, not much improved since he was a boy.

"We're here, Ron," Hermione announced with a touch of asperity to her voice as she entered the room, and crossed to stand next to Harry. She gave Harry a small smile at the silent whistle she heard in her thoughts, and looked around the room. She knelt down slightly reaching under her skirt to check the fit of her wand sheath before she straightened and looked over the tops of a pair of small, round wire-framed lenses that perched on her nose. Both she and Luna looked like a pair of young, professional Muggles, in that indeterminate age between seventeen and thirty that some women could carry off. Hermione had dressed in a black suit, her hair piled up on top of her hair in a somewhat messy bun, while Luna was clothed in a dark blue pants suit, her hair falling down her back in a tight braid.

"Nice suit," Harry commented quietly in her ear, as he kissed her cheek and waved at the air over the table. A projection appeared floating of a ring, a silver ring, with a moderately sized, square sapphire surrounded by a pair of triangular diamonds. "This is possibly Rowena Ravenclaw's ring. As you know we, or rather Dumbledore had figured out that Tom was trying to use artifacts from the founders to establish his Horcruxes, at least after his first two. We think that the first had to been his diary, as the soul fragment was sixteen, he had to have made it in school. It and the ring were both tests I think...no one else that we can find records of has managed to split his soul more than once and stay corporal, so he must have been taking a risk when he split it a second time."

Harry looked to Hermione, she smiled and her voice dropped into her lecture tone, more or less, distracted only slightly by Harry playing with a loose tendril of hair that framed her face. She batted his hand away, hiding a grin as she did so, then the urge to grin faded, "Tom tried to use artifacts of the Founders for his Horcruxes, thinking that they would give him power. He may have been right, so far we know for certain that he has used the Cup and the Locket as Horcruxes, the Locket has been destroyed," Hermione didn't bother to mention that that adventure had almost been her last, "and we don't know where the Cup is."

"Dumbledore believed that Tom ran out of time frankly, was forced to use Nagini as a stand in for one of the artifacts, as it turns out, he was never able to secure one of Godric's, so chances are, one of Rowena's artifacts is the unknown Horcrux," Harry mentioned. "And since one of the three known artifacts of hers has already been shown to not be the Horcrux, it must be either this one or her staff."

"That's well and good, Harry," Ron put in as Luna perched on the arm of the chair next to him, "but why are we going into to get this now, during the middle of the day when the place will be full of Muggles and such, why not at night like we did in Nottingham?"

"Because, Inferi are ineffective during the day, Ron," Harry replied, and Ron looked shocked, before he nodded, wide-eyed, "and with the size of the British Museum he could have hidden enough to overwhelm us. Let's go over the plan now..."

**************************British Museum*****************************

Hermione and Luna stepped from the cab on Russell Street and ascended the stairs to the main floor, the heels of their dress shoes clicking oddly on this bright sunny day. Hermione's hand shot out, to pull Luna back on course as she started to wander off to investigate the Pigeons filling the steps. Luna shrugged and continued on, following Hermione.

Hermione looked back over the crowds of tourists and locals walking around the outskirts of the Museum, briefly spotting a familiar head of black hair, of course the fact that there might as well been a large glowing neon sign on him didn't hurt either. Scattered throughout the street crowd she could see at lease half a dozen wizards and witches, detectable mostly from their auras, for lack of a better term, but Harry's was closer to the sun, than the light bulbs of most of the rest. She panned back towards the front after sharing a glance and her breath caught; Harry...Bellatrix is here...

What the bloody hell...Harry growled, his gaze immediately following Hermione's invisible pointer, is she doing here? Harry looked around, searching, as he pulled a worn ballcap from the pocket of his jacket and tucked his most distinguishing feature, his hair under it, making sure to leave enough fringe to hide his scar. He muttered a spell and his eyes faded to a light blue and he looked over at Ron. "Ron, Neville, go find a place out of sight and get reinforcements here, keep them out of sight," Harry muttered and started up the stairs. Ron nodded, touched Neville on the shoulder and headed off down the stairs at a slow, trained pace.

Harry knew that they were going to try to get Parvati, Lavender, maybe Tonks and Remus here as backup, maybe a few more, the ones that could easily meld into the primarily Muggle crowd. Mione...Love are you still willing to do this? Harry felt her assurance and prayed a quick prayer that this was one of those odd things. He watched Hermione and Luna as they entered the Museum. He tailed Bellatrix, an iron band over his emotions as he followed the killer of his godfather as she walked right past the turned backs of Hermione and Luna as they inquired at the visitors' desk and headed up the south stairs to the second floor.

Harry stepped into an exhibit on Celtic Pottery as Bellatrix stopped and looked through an exhibit. You have fucking got to be kidding me? Harry said wide-eyed as he took a camera out from his coat pocket and pretended to take a picture of an old pot.

Down on the main floor, Hermione smiled at an information desk attendant and extended a folder of credentials, "Hello, I'm Dr. Harriet Evans from the Elliot institute, I have an appointment with your curator of medieval exhibits." She smiled and motioned to Luna, "This is my associate Melanie Goodnight; she's here to take the photos." What Harry?

One floor up, Harry ran his hand over his chin as Bellatrix looked over an old, Iron Maiden on loan from France as if it were a piece of furniture she was looking to add to her bedroom...which on frank consideration, considering who it was, she very well might be. She's looking at the exhibit of "Interrogation Devices" from the French Revolution. The problem is she's only one exhibit away from where you need to be. That one is right outside of the Medieval English artifacts hall.

Hermione felt out with her thoughts, feeling Luna next to her, and Harry's welcoming sun and Bella's dark, cold pit of an aura above her. She looked up as a tall, tweed-suited man approached and extended his hand, "Hello Dr. Evans, I'm Dr. Phelps" He said, with a broad smile, "I am pleased to accommodate you today." He motioned with his arm towards the south stairs that Harry and Bellatrix had already gone up. Hermione followed, Luna in tow. Luna preceded them up the stairs with a wide, swinging gait. "I was very interested in the photos of that locket you found in Scotland, it is like the ring you wanted to take photos of, both of which show a remarkable degree of craftsmanship for English artifacts of that era."

"Not really," Luna commented airily as she and Hermione climbed the stairs with no apparent effort, while the curator with them, was puffing slightly, "not considering that such artifacts as Excalibur and the Yorkie Candelabra were also from that era."

The curator laughed, "Don't tell me you believe in that fairy tale, of knights, Wizards and such." He laughed again as Luna stopped and looked back at him.

"If you say so, but they also say the Dodo is extinct as well." She added with a beautiful smile. She shrugged and continued up the stairs.

"It is..." he said quickly.

He took another breath, and Hermione took the chance to get back on subject, even though for once, Hermione knew quite well that Luna was for once, totally normal, for a witch. Both of them knew quite well that Excalibur and Merlin had existed. Merlin's handiwork was everywhere in Wizarding culture, from certain laws to everyday spells that were still in use to today, and Excalibur, the great sword...well, she had this odd suspicion that the blade that hung in her bedroom next to Harry's side of the bed, might be Excalibur, or at least more likely from the same, lost to time, smith.

Hermione held her breath as she, Luna and Dr. Phelps walked right behind Bella, hoping that whatever Luna was going on about now, was more or less normal as almost her entire train of thought was involved in masking her and Luna's magical signatures from Bella. Bella never moved as the trio entered the large hall dedicated to Medieval English artifacts. She knew Harry's hand was clenched in his pocket ready to destroy Bella if she moved. The problem wasn't Bella herself, actually for once.

Between her and Harry, not to mention, Ron, Luna and Neville, along with by now, probably Remus, Tonks and two or three seventh years, Hermione was reasonably confident they could take or kill her, it was just that they couldn't afford to, they needed to do this clean, and be gone as if it were never there. Even if Bella had been sent by Voldemort to check to see if the ring was there, if it were indeed even a Horcrux, Hermione was confident that only Harry or Voldemort himself could easily tell if it were real.

"Here we go," Phelps said happily as they arrived at a large glass case, with several necklaces and rings scattered about, he gestured to an armed, Muggle guard standing in one corner of the room. Phelps took a key from his pocket while the guard called in to let security know they were opening the case. After receiving a tiny acknowledgement, he nodded and the curator put on a pair of white gloves and set a green velvet cloth out on top of the cabinet. He opened the case and placed a silver ring with a square sapphire surrounded by a pair of triangular diamonds out onto the counter. The ring was still in a small ring box. "I am sorry, for some odd reason we can't seem to remove the ring from the box."

No, duh? Hermione thought, trying not to roll her eyes, one of Rowena's own defenses on the ring was that only a Ravenclaw could remove it, and Voldemort would have been sure to not disturb that if he had taken the ring, so as to not let some "crusading Gryffindor" take it. Of course over the years, not every Potter had been a Gryffindor, there were a smattering in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff over the last five hundred years that Hermione had been able to find records on, and there were also those, who had chosen Gryffindor. Ready Harry...this could be tricky, I'm going to have to switch them with Fred and George's fake, and if the box won't let go, Luna will just have to grab it, and then all hell will break loose.

I got her Hermione, she's just moved onto the rack, I think she's taking notes. She moves towards you...she's dead. I won't let her near you, Love.

"That's fine," Hermione said brightly, with a megawatt smile, "we just need pictures of the stones and the top of the band anyway. Odd about the box though." Phelps nodded and Hermione caught Luna's eye and nodded. The camera Luna was holding flashed, the flash filling the room for an instant, and totally concealing the millisecond dual flashes as the Ravenclaw ring vanished from the box, the box agreeing with the hat and allowing Hermione to take the Ring, and the fake from her pocket Apparating into its place microseconds later.

In the exhibit over, Bellatrix tensed for a moment and looked around, then shrugged and continued looking at the exhibits, shrugging off the odd magical pulse, which wasn't terribly odd as they weren't really all that far from Diagon Alley.

Hermione kept her smile on her face as she forced her breathing to remain normal while Luna took another five or six pictures, moving the ring box from side to side to get pictures of it from all angles. She gave Hermione a nod as she was done, "I should have it, Her...Harriet, providing we don't have any problems with Fair..."

"Yes, Melanie those Fire Ants that climbed into the developing solution the other day were annoying," Hermione cut her off quickly. "I think we are done here, Dr. Phelps. I thank you."

"It was our pleasure," He responded gaily and replaced the ring in the glass case and relocked it. They headed off, out of the exhibit, past Bellatrix for another harrowing pass and down the stairs. "Would you have time to join me for a spot of tea?" he asked hopefully, eyeing Luna as if he were hoping she would get lost on the way.

Hermione shook her head and pushed up her decorative glasses up her nose with one finger, "No I am afraid that we have another appointment," With my husband, you doof, "I am afraid that I will have to take a raincheck."

"Until then," Phelps replied with a touch of regret and shook both of their hands again and left.

We're clear, Harry, Hermione sent as her and Luna exited the building. Her small glasses automatically darkened and Luna pulled a pair of sunglasses from her pocket and put them on. I don't know if I'm the Pink Panther right now...or bloody Laura Croft.

Harry grinned as he walked past Bellatrix and down the stairs, ready to strike. He pulled his coat tight around him as he exited onto Russell Street and started down the stairs. He noticed Remus out of the corner of his eye, with a Fedora pulled low over his eyes, helping an old woman down the stairs; he assumed that the woman was Tonks. Harry nodded to Hermione as he caught her eye and she pulled a small mirror from her pocket. She flipped it open and pretended to check her makeup, "We're clear," she whispered to it, closed it and repocketed the mirror. A car backfired on the street an instant later and a couple of soft pops rang out a second later. No one noticed a thing as Hermione and Luna entered a cab and took off down the street, lost in a moment in London traffic.

**************************Room of Requirement****************************

8:00 pm

"What do you mean it's not a Horcrux?" Ron yelled as he leapt up from the couch the room had summoned and paced over to Hermione. His entire demeanor was tight, angry. "You and Luna could have gotten killed, that was bloody, fucking Bellatrix just standing there enjoying the day."

"I bloody well told all of you that I didn't think it really was the damn Horcrux, Ronald," Hermione growled, tossing the ring, in its new, conjured box, down on a table, that contained a large magnifying mirror on a stand, several beakers and a large boiling cauldron that Harry thought was more for effect than anything. She spun on her heel, her hands falling to her hips as her eyes flared and small tendrils of hair started to float of their own accord. "I know you bloody, fucking well don't ever bother to listen to me, I don't know why I thought you might start now, when the whole world is at stake..."

"Then why the fuck did we do after it then, oh genius?" Ron snapped, as he started to walk around the room, ignoring the...annoyance, in Hermione's eyes. He also seemingly ignored the fact that she was bristling, Hermione's eyes shot to Harry's, pleading. He shrugged and she bit back her retort and turned back to the ring, not responding. "Don't have a..."

"Because it could have been, Ron," Harry replied reasonably, looking over with his arms crossed, "and even if it weren't it's better to be in our hands than his." Harry crossed the room in a pair of strides and grabbed Ron's arm. He pulled him to one corner of the room, and leaned in, "What the hell is up with you Ron?" Harry's eyes hardened, "Hermione told you, told us all that she didn't think it was the ring, we are doing what we have to do, if you don't like it, mate," he hissed, "there's the door."

Ron looked at him for a minute, then sighed, "I'm sorry Harry," he muttered contritely, "I guess that seeing Charlie last night, scared me a bit...and when we saw Bella there, and Luna was in there with Hermione-" Harry sighed as he looked at his friend of seven years, and nodded, he knew that fear well, too well.

"I was there too, Ron, and I wouldn't have let anything happen to her," Harry whispered back, urgently. He glanced over Ron's shoulder to meet Hermione's eyes; she was biting her lip as she looked back at him, while Luna was spouting something about Kneazles in her ear. Ron looked down at his feet and shrugged, nodding absently. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah," Ron stepped away from Harry and walked back over to Hermione, "Sorry, Herms." She gave him a smile and looked over to Harry to find him nodding at her; she gave Ron a small smile and a quick hug, before she stepped back to the table. She picked the ring back up from where it had gone and set it in the center of a white chalk circle on the table. Hermione walked back over to the couch and dropped on it, waiting as Harry leaned on the back, next to her head, and Ron took his seat next to Luna. The rest of the group that had gone was about somewhere in the Castle, of them only Remus and Tonks had known what they were really after, and the hasty reinforcements, only that Harry and his group might need help.

"As I was saying before I was interrupted," Hermione said softly, looking at Ron. His ears pinked slightly, but he gave her a sheepish smile, "Even though this ring isn't a Horcrux...we can use it. It was never bespelled so its original magical properties weren't compromised, and I think, I can use it to find the other Ravenclaw artifact, since we have the Ring and the Book."

"Can you do it now?" Harry asked, and she bent her head back until she meet his gaze, he gulped at something he saw there.

"Maybe," she replied slowly. She stood and flicked her wand at the table. The Ravenclaw spellbook, appeared with a soft pop and she walked over and placed it on the floor. She stepped over a pace and placed the ring in its box on the floor. "Harry, conjure me a map of Great Britain to start with, none of the others have been outside of the Country yet..." she gave him a nervous smile as his wand flicked and a large map of the British Isles appeared on the floor next to her. She positioned it at the point of a triangle made up with the two Ravenclaw items and whistled in her thoughts.

Luna's eyes grew wide as she approached, "Would you rather I do this, Hermione?" she asked, her voice utterly serious as Ron looked between Harry, Hermione and Luna, each with staid looks on their faces. "Do you need a circle?"

"No, Luna, not if I can get," A small cat door appeared in the door to the Room of Requirement and Crookshanks sauntered in. He stopped and sat on his haunches several feet away, outside of the triangle of the items. "Crooks here," she finished. Harry...

I got your back, baby, me and Crooks... Harry said softly, and Hermione's familiar meowed in agreement. She nodded jerkily, and dropped into a lotus in the center of the triangle. Harry gave her a final nod and...

ENCLOSIUM, a shimmering, yellowish white half sphere snapped into existence around Hermione, the map and the pair of artifacts. Every other light in the room, every torch, candle and fire extinguished with a pop. Glowing eyes looked out of the sphere to find Harry's returning her gaze, she glanced down at Crookshanks, whose yellow eyes were fainting pulsing in time with the cycles of the sphere. She slowly reached behind her back and pulled out one of her daggers. She balanced it by the point for an instant before flipping it up in the air, it flipped once, twice, started back down, flipped again and stopped, hovering in air over the map, it's tip pointing directly at an unmarked spot in the Scottish Highlands, Hogwarts in other words.

FOUNDROUS FAMILIARUS LOCATUS... white beams shot from the two Ravenclaw artifacts past Hermione to impact together on the tip of her floating dagger...PROJECTORM. Hermione convulsed, her back arching forward, her eyes slipping almost closed, save for emerald glowing slits, as a second larger bubble snapped into existence enclosing the first with her in it, along with Harry and Crookshanks. The first vanished with a loud BANG. She shook slightly as images started racing past her mind's eye, images of green fields, of mountains, of lakes.

The floating dagger started moving, scanning over the map as the images speed up in her mind, moving quicker and quicker. Crookshanks eyes glowed brighter as he lay down on his stomach, watching her. Harry staggered slightly but kept his feet as he felt an odd, swooshing sensation in his stomach, and saw what Hermione saw, filtered through her link.

"What the bloody fuck is going on?" Ron snarled, turning to Luna desperately. She gulped slightly, her eyes sharp, as she moved to his side and interlaced her fingers with his, and squeezed hard.

"She's...she's using the other two to locate the third, from their magical signatures, Ronald," Luna replied breathlessly, "She's scrying for them."

"Then why..." Ron waved at Harry and Crookshanks.

"You really need to read, dear," Luna said with a shake of her head, "Crookshanks is her Familiar, he's anchoring her, keeping her here. And Harry...Harry's there in case she runs into Riddle, or his soul fragment in the Horcrux." Ron's jaw dropped and jumped forward reaching for them, "NO..." Luna snapped tackling him to the ground, "Only Crooks or one of them should break the circle now."

The images slowed as the Dagger slowed over Southern England, and dropped to stick point in.

Hermione's head turned slightly, as she suddenly looked down at a graveyard under the light of a half moon. Several tombstones lay broken or tumbled on their side as she watched through her mind's eyes she slowly moved among them. The images slowed as they wound their way though the yard. She shivered as they passed a sullen white stone, inscribed with Tom Riddle. They exited the Graveyard and slowly moved up a grassy hill, passing several masked, cloaked figures walking the grounds. A large, run down house topped the hill; its windows overgrown with ivy and bushes.

A door slowly opened in the house, and they entered. A dark, suffocating presence turned to Hermione's projection. MUDBLOOD... Hermione screamed, and turned away, as the shadow charged she collapsed both in the projection and the real world. The cold shadow reached out, only to be knocked backwards as a wall of fire surrounded her.


In the Room of Requirement, the protective sphere was now pulsing a bright blue, as Harry's eyes were fully open, shining as bright or brighter than the sphere, BREAK THE CIRCLE... He roared in his thoughts, and a ginger streak flowed to his feet, his claws glowing as they extended and swiped at the sphere.

It vanished with a roar and a wave of energy that shattered the Room's furniture and drove Ron and Luna behind a hasty Protego. They dropped it as Harry turned to them, "Get Poppy," and collapsed next to Hermione as if his strings had been cut.

Ron ran from the room as Luna walked over and knelt next to Harry and Hermione, she glanced over at the map to find the tip of the dagger was sticking through the map and into the wood floor at a small town labeled Little Hangleton.

A rush of flaming hair led a long, lanky body down several flights of stairs, dodging pets, fallen suits of armor and an annoyed Mrs. Norris. Ron turned and sprinted down the hall leading to the Hospital Wing, turned a corner and crashed into Remus, knocking the older man sprawling and sliding down the floor a bit. Remus did not censure Ron, but looked up at him, with a somber, heart-rent expression. Ron glanced up, and his eyes widened as he saw the companion that Remus had been traveling with this night.

Bill's face was pale in the moonlight leaking in from the windows. A handpaw's worth of scars lined his face, each scar catching the light as if painted in luminous paint. Ron didn't question why Bill was here, he reached down and pulled Remus to his feet, "Remus," he said hurriedly with more than a trace of panic in his voice, "Harry, Hermione...Room of Requirements."

Remus' face went from pale to ghostly. He pulled his wand from his jacket and pointed it in the direction of the Hospital, and a silvery wolf bounded out, sprinting down the halls, towards the Hospital as Remus gave Bill a glance, got a nod in return and vanished in a blur of movement down the path that Ron had just traveled.

Ron stared towards the Hospital wing, as if wondering why he had not thought of that, he turned and started to head back to the Room of Requirement when a strong, slightly shaking hand grabbed his arm. He looked up at Bill, and noticed, finally, the wide eyes, the lank hair, the hard set of his mouth, and he knew before Bill could say a word, "Charlie's dead, Ron."



Dun Dun DUHHHHHHH!!!!!!. Sorry about that....


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Thanks to Lady Starlight for her work on this chapter....yep, we're back...be afraid, very afraid

Chapter 25: Until We Meet Again
*************************Little Hangleton***************************

"Sire?" Lucius Malfoy asked as Voldemort strode from his chambers, looking pale and drawn. A subtle sense of weakness permeated the air, as Tom sneered at him, and shoved him aside. A quick glance into Voldemort's chambers showed a nude Bellatrix, collapsed across the black covers, looking...dead. Malfoy quickly averted his eyes and followed Voldemort, as the Dark Lord swept down the corridor.

They stopped briefly for Tom to admire a recently captured prisoner, before they continued pacing down the hall. "I have heard that the blood-traitor Weasley has finally succumbed," Voldemort mentioned casually, and Lucius nodded, "good, good. How does our next major step progress?"

Malfoy paused, and gulped slightly, but did not try to soften his words, "It does not go well; he is always extremely well protected. We have not yet been able to see a situation where he could be taken."

Fortunately for him, Voldemort was in a forgiving mood; he nodded and continued down the hall, Nagini looking up as he passed, looking for a treat, "Use the circumstances to our advantage Lucius." Riddle turned slightly back towards the direction of his chambers, "Have someone look in on Bella. I am afraid that she is somewhat...drained. And find Wormtail, either have him feed Nagini, or feed him to her, I do not care."

****************************Hogwarts, Hospital Wing***********************

November 16, 1997.
9:00 am.

The events of last night were secret, discrete, so of course the entire school was buzzing on this early Sunday morning about Potter and Granger being unconscious in the Infirmary, and of Ronald Weasley sitting in a chair, not moving or talking, looking out the Infirmary windows at the grey skies of middle November in the Highlands. Madame Pomfrey looked at this sad tableau, shook her head and checked on Harry and Hermione before leaving with a pat on Ron's shoulder. He never noticed.

Against this backdrop of tribulation, Luna walked with a large paper sack in her hands. Her eyes focused oddly in the middle distance as she looked over at Harry and Hermione before she slid over to Ron and knelt in front of him, talking both of his hands in hers. "Ronnie, luv, I have some breakfast for you...Dobby packed it special." Ron sat motionless. "Ron, you have to eat, honey," she whispered, tugging on his hands, "Harry and Hermione will be fine...they will both wake up within the day." Luna's voice was soft and knowing and finally Ron looked at her hopefully.

"Are you sure?" he asked hoarsely, his voice rough and cracked as if he hadn't spoken in a long while. She smiled slightly and nodded, and reached out with her arms. Ron fell forward as she wrapped her arms around him, and pulled his head to her shoulder, holding him on the floor of the hospital wing. Her hair fell forward, like a blonde curtain hiding both of their faces, as soft sobs escaped Ron's throat.

They sat almost silent for a long, long time before Ron pulled back slightly to look at her. Sometime during the minutes or hours they had huddled together, his or her tears had dampened her hair to her cheek; he brushed it away with a shaking hand, "I can't remember the last thing I said to Charlie, Luna...I don't know if we were arguing or telling a joke or what, and it's driving me insane."

"You'll see him again, Ron," she whispered as she leaned towards him, and softly pressed her lips to his bangs. "You can ask him then."

"Really?" Ron whispered in a voice filled with a bare tinge of hope. He looked over to see his best friends still unconscious from the night before. Luna just smiled as she leaned in and kissed him before flicking her wand behind her to set out the food that she had brought.

******************Transylvanian Alps, Romania**********************

November 21, 1997
2:15 pm

Charlie Weasley's enumerated last request had been a simple one, for a wizard anyway. In his will, which had already been opened due to his long, lingering illness, he had requested to return once more to his beloved Dragons. And so, he had. A tall, wooden platform sat empty, waiting, for his final flight.

A brisk wind blew down from the mountaintops surrounding the small, hidden valley where a large crowd stood, waiting. Black clad figures stood huddled against the cold, as the shadows of a phalanx of multi-hued Dragons standing on the surrounding mountaintops looking down, crossed them. Charlie had been popular, well loved, and so there were many from his days at school. An entire contingent of black-clad young women stood weeping softly into a rainbow of handkerchiefs from some of Charlie's friends. Several of the Hogwarts Professors stood in a clump near the front, with McGonagall holding a tissue to her eyes.

Another clump of mourners stood to their side, with Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt and scattering of others, a barely paltry scattering that amply showed just how deep the causalities to the Order had become. Mundungus stood a bit away from them, looking guilty, which he probably was. With them, sticking out like a sore thumb, Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister of Magic for Britain was surrounded by ten uniformed Aurors, their wands hanging loosely in their hands as several of them looked up nervously at the silently watching Dragons. His reasons for attending were suspect, at least to the few Order members present, but they kept carefully mum, content to let sleeping Cerberi lie.

On the other side of a cleared aisle, Molly and Arthur were standing, with Molly hanging almost limply in Arthur's arms, her face was sallow, pale in against her black robes, and half-veil. Several other friend of the family stood with them, Remus, Tonks, and Hagrid. She turned and looked as if looking for a missing presence; then with an obvious pause, she turned and glared to her right.

Harry sighed to himself as Hermione leaned on his shoulder, not looking in the direction of Molly and Arthur. He shook his head as he pulled her against his side, both of them shivering slightly in the frigid, mountain air. His eyes caught Remus', the lycan nodded slightly and he and Tonks casually drifted to place themselves between Harry and Hermione and Molly. On Harry's other side, Luna took that movement as a signal, as she wafted over to interpose herself as well, both movements in an effort to diffuse the situation that was only growing worse every day Ginny was gone. Molly's acrimonious feelings towards Hermione and to a somewhat lesser degree Harry, had already colored the morning, with her lashing out at the pair as they all had waited for a Portkey to this remote location in the Romanian mountains.

Fleur stood next to them; she shared a tight look with Hermione and a small, tired smile as she held an inconsolable Gabrielle in her arms. The small girl had developed a hard, unrelenting crush on the second oldest Weasley boy since he had danced with her at Bill and Fleur's wedding. The tiny girl's sobs whispered out into the afternoon air as a sudden silence fell over the attendees.

The four Weasley boys approached silently, a shrouded body resting on their shoulders. They passed between the mourners, as soft cries followed their progress. Molly bawled loudly as the body passed her, and Harry, closed his eyes. He felt Hermione's fingers crushing his as Ron passed them, at the head of the procession with tears filling his eyes. The four ascended a set of stairs and gently placed the body on the wooden bier and retreated, still without any more noise than their harsh breathing between them. The four retreated, passing back down the stairs as they came to stand with their friends and family.

Luna almost vanished in Ron's arms, only her light colored hair shown against his robes as she buried her face in them, for a moment, before she turned back to face forward as Bill went to stand with Fleur and the twins with Ron, Luna, Harry and Hermione.

An old, white-cloaked wizard ascended a small platform, and stood. "Charlie Weasley was a good man, a loyal man, and a man I was proud to know, I will miss him." He looked about the assembled crowd, "If there are any who wish to give witness on this man's life, please step forward and give witness."

Harry did not hear as folks stood to give witness to Charlie's life, he merely held his wife to his chest as several girls told of Charlie saving them from a rampant Dragon in the nearby forest. As Fred and George told of pranks they had pulled with Charlie against their eldest brother. As Bill related, tearfully, of the time his younger brother won the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor for the first time in years. More and more stepped forward and told of the Weasley's kindness, bravery and humor, and finally after several more stories and many more tears, it was done.

The speeches and remembrances given; a single rough-hewn man in worn and battered leathers approached from behind the bier. The ground shook at his approach, not from him, but from the fifty-foot wall of green at his shoulder. A great triangular head looked down at Charlie's' shrouded body with uncanny intelligence and bowed its head, and closed its eyes for a moment. Slowly it opened them again and rose up, until its head was directly above the body looking down.

A shimmering field snapped into place as the Dragon took a breath and a torrent of fire erupted, flaring out as it impacted the bier. Flames licked the sky as the wood and the body rapidly immolated, until after only minutes there was only ash. Silence reigned as the mourners turned to leave, save for the soft sobs from Molly and Gabrielle as they were led away from the site.

Sudden exclamations of surprise rang out as several Wizards tried to Apparate away. Harry and Hermione turned automatically to the cries of shock, and he reached up to brush away a dripping sensation on his forehead. Pulling away his hand, he looked at the red stain of his own blood on his fingers for an instant, before a sudden spike of pain staggered him.

Shouts of dismay from the Auror escort to the Minister echoed off the rocks as they tried to Apparate or Portkey away, and they closed around the Minister. Harry's eyes lit, and the pain vanished, driven away as he felt energy start to flow to him. His eyes tracked to an empty spot, just up the hill from a pile of rocks, and he took a breath, "SHOW YOURSELF TOM!" His voice stunned nearby attendees, and small rocks tumbled down the hill.

A shadow wavered in the light before resolving itself into a tall, pale hooded figure. Skeletal hands reached up to sweep back a hood; dropping it to reveal sullen red eyes set in a flat, nose less face. Thin, almost non-existent lips curled in a caricature of a smile as a thin hand fell to his robes to remove a twisted Ebony wand. "Lord Voldemort does not answer to that name, Harry...you know that." Cries of dismay and fear answered his words from the side of the attendees. Voldemort took a step forward, his free hand in the air, "I so love the spectacle of a good funeral...this one was almost as good as Albus'."

"That's interesting," Harry said softly, though every ear heard his voice. A small smirk, graced his lips, "I seem to remember that you were too afraid to face him yourself...you sent your lapdog and Lucius' leavings instead." Next to Harry, Hermione choked out a harsh laugh.

"What are you laughing at Mudblood?" Voldemort sneered in his high, raspy voice. A chattering laughter surrounded him as another twenty Death Eaters faded into view. Bellatrix giggled highly as she stood next to Voldemort, and pulled her wand out.

Hermione looked the Dark Lord in the eyes, his glowing, red-cat pupiled eyes, and cocked her head slightly as if looking over a particularly interesting creature in a Dark Arts class, "Well, if you really want to know...A pretentious half-blood arsehole, who hides behind a made up name, and who isn't worth the Dragon dung he's standing in right now...just my opinion..." She added sweetly.

"YOU...AVADA KEDAVRA" Bella screamed and a jet of green shot for Hermione, only to be intercepted by a flying rock. It shattered into gravel, the fireball blinding all for a second. Harry and Hermione dove to either side as eyes lit and summoned shields deflected half a dozen curses.

The ten Aurors surrounding the Minister were immediately cut in half as a torrent of green washed over them. A quick-thinking Auror pulled Scrimgeour out of the line of fire and behind several boulders. Hermione's eyes snapped to them and threw her hand out, a sudden cyclone of stones, ranging from gravel to rocks the size of Quaffles, spun around the Aurors and the Minister, deflecting curses, falling away as gravel as Kedavras or Reductors shattered them.

Behind her, Harry rolled over the top of a bolder and fired two quick Severing Charms dropping a pair of Death Eaters as they lined up on Arthur and Molly. He dove back behind cover as Voldemort snapped a Crucio at him, before he was distracted by Mad-Eye and Kingsley volleying curses at him. Tom sneered as a pair of Stunners merely bounced off him. "Fuck," Harry snarled under his breath as he rolled out from cover, and fired a Reductor at Voldemort.

A hastily summoned silver shield emblazoned with a green serpent deflected the curse, off into the sky with a resounding GONG. Tom turned to Harry, and the battle seemed to pause. The fighting around did not stop, as the twins reared up and dropped a pair of Death Eaters, with a Severing Charm and a Asphyxiation Curse, while at other end of the small, cleared valley, a pair of Death Eaters killed another Auror. Harry felt it as Hermione danced to the side and engaged Bellatrix.

Bella shot a Cruciatus at Hermione, she dove under it, and retorted with a Piercing Charm that blew a neat hole through the boulder Bella had sheltered behind. Harry... she snapped as she and Harry both felt another ten or twenty Death Eaters approaching from behind. We need to get out of here...

You noticed... Harry muttered as he blocked another curse from Voldemort and dove behind another boulder. His wand flicked to either side of Voldemort and twin piles of rocks reorganized themselves into monstrous great stone Golems. The Golems strode towards Voldemort, swinging. Voldemort shattered both into gravel and the battle went on.

"I was so glad that you came looking for me, that I thought I'd come to see you, Harry," Voldemort laughed, and shot another Kedavra at Harry. Harry batted it away with the flat of the Gryffindor sword and vanished in a twirl of a cloak.

Hermione...Harry sent quickly as he faded back into view behind Voldemort. A flaming whip shot from his wand, encircling Voldemort and turning to bands of steel. He doesn't know we were after the Horcrux, he thinks I we were looking for him... He felt Hermione's acknowledgement, Can you break his anti-Apparation Field?

YEAH. Hermione spun out from cover, her eyes glowed as she MOVED out of the way and threw Bella against a wall of stone, hard. She slid down it, and didn't move. "RON, COVER ME!" Hermione screamed, and Ron looked up, spun around the Death Eater he was dueling with and sliced downward with his sword. He nodded and didn't even flinch as Luna's own dagger flicked past his ear to embed in another Death Eater's throat. Hermione dove behind a pile of rocks as Voldemort shattered his bonds and spun to Harry. If you keep him busy.

Two-dozen huge constrictors shot out of his wand at Harry, only to vanish as a wave of Harry's hand threw up a wall of fire between Harry and the snakes. He chanced a glance backwards to find that Remus and Tonks had pulled all of the Weasleys behind a rock pile where they were busy trading curses with the ever-increasing number of Death Eaters that seemed to be appearing out of the very ground. Harry gave them a wave down, and Remus nodded.

Back next to the Minister, Shacklebolt stood and fell almost immediately as a silver jet, tore his leg open, and Mad-Eye pulled him back under cover. He cast a Ferula charm, bandaging the wound, Scrimgeour grabbed his arm; "WHAT IS POTTER PLAYING AT?" he screamed in Alastor's ear.

"He's trying to save your worthless hide," Moody barked, "now bloody well stay under cover Minister and let the experts handle this."

"Potter's out there."

"I was talking about Potter." Moody hissed back as he reared up and dropped three Death Eaters, as he used a half dozen small boulders summoned with his wand to crack them in the back of the heads. Their dark robes fluttered as they fell.

Harry and Voldemort circled, as a rainbow of beams scintillated back and forth between them. Harry flipped back and to the side as yet another Kedavra raced towards his chest. The beam shot off behind him, to kill a Death Eater dueling with Tonks. She rolled sideways and pulled Remus to her, pointing to Harry. Harry pointed his wand to one side, his sword to the other and twin searing blue bolts shot out shattering the rocks to either side; he dropped both and waved his hands inward as a pile of stones formed a dome over Voldemort. INCENDIO MAXIMA Harry snarled and a firestorm erupted from his wand, racing over the dome and leaving behind a smooth, obsidian dome.

Ron and Luna spun out from behind cover and fired three Cutting Charms, the purple waves flashing out and cutting the legs out from another two Death Eaters as they tried to line up on Hermione. She was kneeling, her eyes glowing brightly and seeing nothing as she muttered long strings of Latin under her breath. A torrent of magic streamed past her, concentrating between her hands, HARRY, I NEED YOU...

Harry looked up, spun right and opened up a Death Eater's chest with a quick upswing of the Gryffindor Sword. He breathed and MOVED, he slid in on his knees to Hermione, and his hands clasped to hers.

A great, white shockwave snapped out, and the anti-Apparition fields died. "GO!" Harry screamed as Voldemort's cage exploded and a chunk of rock ripped into his shoulder. His left arm suddenly numb, Harry stood and vanished in a flutter of a cloak as a ripple of CRACKs, POPs, RIPs and other assorted sounds of Apparation sounded in the glen. Hermione looked around saw that everyone was gone save Ron and Luna, she waved at them and they vanished with a loud CRACK as Ron grabbed Luna and vanished. She vanished in a twirl of a cloak to reappear next to Harry.

Harry grabbed Hermione, raised one finger to Voldemort and vanished in a breath of displaced air as a bolt of green shattered the rocks behind where they had been.

****************************Hogwarts*****************************

A soft pop of light and sound snapped out and a half dozen wizards and witches whirled as Harry and Hermione appeared from mid-air in the middle of McGonagall's office. Ron hurried over, followed closely by Luna. Luna's hair was matted with blood, but she didn't seem to notice it, or Ron the black eye that he had somehow gained during the fight.

Ron reached out as Harry staggered back to the outside wall and slid down it, Hermione still bundled in his arms. Harry's left arm hung limply at his side, and blood shown in his hair, and along his side. Ron looked down to see Hermione's blood mixing with Harry's as a large gash oozed on the same leg she had taken damage from Greyback on, her skirt was torn and rent on that side, and Ron couldn't figure out when she had gotten hit. Ron reached out to touch Harry on the shoulder, but jerked his hand back as a spark of magic snapped from Harry, like a massive bolt of static electricity. Small eddies of energy were still sputtering about them as Harry leaned fully back against the wall and muttered a cushioning charm softening the wall and floor.

Hermione slipped down until her head was resting more or less on Harry's stomach, she pried her eyes open a sliver, taking in Ron before she slipped them closed with a sigh. Harry glanced around the room, and every one there felt it as he sent out a pulse of magic, checking for anyone not seen, "Ron, secure the room..." Harry whispered as he felt his eyes slipping closed again.

Ron flicked his wand and watched as Imperturbable Charms established themselves over the wall, before he slid down to sit next to Harry. Luna joined him and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I do have furniture," Minerva mentioned with an odd tenor to her voice.

"We know ma'am," Hermione whispered without opening her eyes, "but that's all the way across the room." She took a deep breath, unconsciously perfectly in time with Harry's, "We're bleeding on your floor...aren't we?" she added wryly.

McGonagall pursed her lips as she looked around the room. Remus and Tonks were sitting together on a couch, Tonks had her legs up in Remus' lap as he gently probed her ankle; she had twisted it getting away. "Go to bed, Potter," McGonagall said after a moment, and rolled her eyes as both Harry and Hermione replied together, "alright," but did not move. "And take your minion with you," she added with a small, worn smile.

She did not comment as Harry felt around for something in his pocket and he and Hermione, along with Ron and Luna vanished in a fall of color and a rush of wind. Instead she looked over at her Transfiguration and Defense professors. "We need to be ready, Remus, as soon as you finish with Nymphadora," she said dryly, "please have Dobby and the rest of the elves check to see if anything untoward happened during our absences."

*****************************Head's Chambers***************************

"Hey, Harry, I'm a minion now," Ron said oddly as he collapsed in a large, worn, overstuffed chair near the fire in the Head's Common Room. He glanced up, grunted as Luna just let her weight drop on him, and canted his head in a question, "Is that a promotion from sidekick?"

Hermione winced as she heard Harry pop his own shoulder back into place. She limped slightly as she walked to the couch and hissed as she peeled back her skirt to find a gash in her thigh. She bit her lip as Harry ran a wand down it, sealing it without even a scar to match the four, faint, pale ones she had from Greyback on that same leg. She rolled over on her side until she was looking at Ron, "No, Ron, that's a demotion," she teased, blackly, "sidekicks generally have a chance to get laid...minions tend to die horribly and frustrated."

"You'll always be my hero, Ronnie," Luna put in lowly, and all four laughed but the sound was hollow and short lived. Harry coughed as he pulled off his black cloak, which was torn and muddy, and tossed it on the floor. He pulled up his shirt and looked down at a cut along his ribs, and touched a wand to it. White bandages wrapped around his chest, and he sighed.

"I'm going to take a shower," Harry announced, and rolled his sore shoulder experimentally.

"Take me with you?" Hermione whined, with the tiniest grin, and Harry rolled his eyes, before waving his hand in her direction and watching as she levitated off the couch and to her feet. "You're supposed to carry me," Hermione pouted and leaned against him. She glared at Ron and Luna as they leered at her, "Keep your minds out of the gutter, unless you want to wait for both of us to finish separately?" Ron and Luna looked at each other, for a long moment, before they erupted in laughter, and Hermione closed her eyes as she realized that her explanation hadn't been much better. She left for her bedroom, muttering, and Harry gave Ron a look promising divine retribution before following her.

Half an hour later Hermione reclined back against Harry with a mug of hot chocolate clutched between her hands, and glanced over at Ron and Luna. Luna was in a pair of Hermione's pajamas, curled up like a huge cat, on the couch next to Ron, reading though the Familiars book again. The blood was washed out of her hair as she swept a lock of it back behind an ear and turned a page, "I could get a Crumple-Horned Snorkack...but then they tend to fight with the owls..." Hermione rolled her eyes, not sure if Luna was having her on, as Ron was sitting starting off into space. She frowned and nudged Harry.

"Ron," Harry asked with his voice full of concern, "are you alright, mate?"

"Not really," Ron admitted after a long minute, "I just don't want to contact mum and dad, I'm sure she's going spare about now...fucking V..V...Voldemort, showing up..." He paused and looked directly at Harry, "She heard the part about where he said he was there for you."

Harry nodded and paced to the window. His shoulders slumped as he looked out on the grounds, and watched Hagrid staggering back to his cabin. "I know, Ron," Harry replied in a soft voice, "I know...this is why I wasn't going to return," he added, and didn't turn as he felt three pairs of eyes on him. He leaned into Hermione's hand, as it found his shoulder, she had followed him over, "It's too late to run now."

**************************Godric's Hollow**************************

6:30 pm

"That's one thing I like about the Magical world," Roger quipped as he poured Poppy a cup of tea from a service set on the table, "you can actually get someone to make house calls." He pushed aside his plate and leaned back laughing slightly as Jane looked up at him, and grinned.

"You two are a special case," Poppy admitted, as she sipped her tea contently, and sighed slightly at the thought of the complicated procedures Remus had put into place since the events of this afternoon. She had not told either of Hermione's parents of the events of this afternoon, but merely explained away her tardiness with a supposedly injured student, which there had been, more than one. For once though, it wasn't their daughter or son-in-law, not that they or she knew that he was, that had been driven to the Hospital Wing. Harry and Hermione had gotten off lightly and even treated their injuries themselves, refusing to go back into the Hospital Wing so soon after their last visit.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for dessert, Poppy?" Jane asked as she pushed a freshly baked pie towards Roger, the scents of cinnamon and pumpkin trailing in its wake. Roger took a slice and pointed towards it as he looked to the Medi-witch, but she smiled and shook her head.

"It was enough that you insisted that I join you for dinner," she replied quickly, and finished her tea before leaning forward. "I need to return, but I want to remind you again that if you experience any...odd, occurrences please let Remus or I know."

"We have a witch for a daughter," Roger reminded her absently, "we are used to weird." He and Jane shared a look as both of them, separately, recalled the odd hair-cuts of the pets, random fires and explosions, their brand new car suddenly matching their daughter's new polka-dot Easter dress when she was six, and other humorous and not so humorous events.

"I know, however, the second child from a Muggle couple where the first was already a magic user, and your new daughter will be a witch as well, is often a bit more active in the womb," Roger rolled his eyes and sighed theatrically, and Poppy graced him with a rare grin, "I know that you had, issues with the instruments going haywire in the delivery room with Hermione, in fact I had the records sent over from St. Mungo's from the specialist they sent over to your hospital for review." She nodded to their shocked expressions, "Yes in cases like that it is often standard procedure for Physicians in the know, to send for a Healer, just in case. They don't tell Muggle parents usually however, they like to wait until Minerva contacts you eleven years later." Pomfrey scowled her disapproval of that practice; "You may start to see occurrences of spontaneous magic before she is born, so be ready for them." She took a deep breath, "Just in case, when she is ready to be born, even if you are still in hiding, we will move you to either Hogwarts or St. Mungo's for the delivery."

Jane nodded and smiled slightly as Poppy got up from the table and gathered her bags. She took a step back and waved, "I will see you in two weeks." She vanished with a soft CRACK.

"Well," Jane said, turning to Roger, and pulling her hair back from her face as one hand dropped to fall to her slightly protuberant belly, "I guess Anastasia will get to see her new school a bit early."

"A bit early for Kindergarten, I would think."

"Well is Hermione's sister," Jane commented wryly and stood to start to remove the dishes to the sink.

******************Ministry of Magic******************

November 22, 1997.

8:35 am

Rufus Scrimgeour sat alone at his desk in his expansive, Ministry of Magic office and slowly paged through stacks and stacks of reports. He sighed as he opened a folder on the total destruction of a small, Muggle village in Ireland. The entire town of fifty was gone, with only a blackened crater remaining. A force of ten Death Eaters had attacked, for no more apparent reason than to have something to do. He set that report aside, and picked up another folder, this one marked detailing the abduction of several workers for Gringotts, with their bodies being found later that day.

He dropped that report and paced to the false window in the corner of the underground office, as he clasped his hands together to stop their slight shaking. Images of yesterday's attack flashed through his thoughts. He felt the panic, again, as that Potter boy had stood up and called out the most feared wizard of the last hundred years, almost as if Dumbledore himself had stood on the field once more. He felt once more the shame, the guilt, as teenagers had held off the attackers long enough for his surviving security detail and him to escape along with the other surviving guests. Eight of the ten Aurors he had had with him, exclusive of those attending separately had died along with two more guests. No one really counted injuries any more, unless they were critical or crippling.

Scrimgeour glanced at a side table where a copy of the Saturday Prophet sat folded so the front-page headlines could be seen. He gritted his teeth as he picked up the paper and read the first:

Minister Ineffective, You-Know-Who Strikes Again.
By: Angie Forthright

Once again the Wizarding World wakes up, shocked at the sheer evil of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Yesterday, at a funeral service for Charlie Weasley, son of Ministry of Magic Official Arthur Weasley, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, stuck immediately following the service. He and his forces are known to have killed at least eight Aurors, further reducing the ranks of our valiant defenders.

Reports are that the majority of the Aurors killed were actually killed sheltering the current Minister Rufus Scrimgeour from attack. It is unknown what actions the Minister undertook during this attack, but the very ability of the leader of the feared Death Eaters to strike directly at the head of the Ministry of Magic cannot bode well for the average civilian on the streets of England. Minister Scrimgeour took over from former Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, after the former Minister was dismissed via a vote of no confidence in June of 1996.

It is highly debatable, now, that the replacement has been for the better. During Scrimgeour's leadership, vast numbers of disappearances have occurred, Giant, Inferi and Werewolf attacks have become common, and his crown jewel, his supposed security of Hogwarts was penetrated numerous times last year, the ultimate result of which was the death of Albus Dumbledore, one of the Greatest Wizards of our times.

Indeed from many reports of attendees, it was only the presence of the Chosen One, Harry Potter, and his companions at the funeral, one of whom, Ronald Weasley is the youngest brother of Charlie Weasley. It was not the 'experienced leader' who stood against, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but a seventeen-year-old boy who has already lost so much to this conflict. One must therefore wonder whom we should be looking to for guidance, the Boy-Who-Lived, or the Minister-Who-Hid....

Scrimgeour threw down the paper in disgust and stood looking blankly out the false window for several minutes. Finally, he looked back at the stack of folders and made a decision. Pacing to his desk, he leaned foreword and touched a button on a small box. A soft, voice came out of it, "Yes, sir?"

Rufus looked at a small flyer, barely visible from under a corner of one of the stacks of reports. What could be seen of the bright green and red flyer, depicted a lit fir tree, with the lights softly twinkling in the dim office, and a round, bearded man in red and white, endlessly waving. "Stephen, I think that we need to send another invitation to next month's event."



There we go again, next chapter, a secret will be revealed, and an invitation given...to more than one...


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Here we Go, part one of the Christmas blitz, hopefully there will be a new one shot set in the Lions universe and a chapter of Shadows up before Christmas, as well. No I don't own anything...Thanks once again to Lady Starlight for her splendiferous work on this chapter once again. And remember, nothing is simple.

Chapter 26: A Dark Intent
*******************Normandy, France*******************

November 27, 1997.

A dark, suited figure strode over the sand, towards a lone, pale-haired man standing looking out to sea, across the gray, choppy Channel towards England. The young man was leaning against a large, rusted steel barrier, which once a dark regime had hoped to help hold back the revenging light. It hadn't. He turned and glanced back, frowning, before looking back to sea. His emerald green and silver parka provided nearly the only color in the vast expanse of the beach, other than gray or brown.

A light sleet was falling over the pair as the newcomer, a black-haired, goateed man, pulled a dark gray overcoat tight and approached closer. Both him, and the original had their right hands in their pockets, clenched about something. He stopped, several feet away and waited. A minute later, the blond man turned. "What did you want Snape?" Draco snarled. He turned, his hand still on his wand, and scanned the cliffs above, a faint flicker of movement caught his gaze, and he carefully did not nod in recognition. He looked at Snape as the older man slowly reached into the pocket of his Muggle trenchcoat and pulled an embossed envelope from it. He took a step forward and placed it in Draco's unresisting, off hand. "What is this?" Draco inquired suspiciously.

Snape, sneered. He took a step back and replaced his left hand in his pocket, "On December twentieth, the Ministry is having its annual Yule Ball."

"So?"

"The Dark Lord is...displeased with your father's planning of the recent assault on the Blood-Traitor's funeral," Snape explained nastily, not mentioning the real reason that attack had not gone as planned, "he does not like to be denied his goals. You are to correct for your father's mistake." Snape retrieved a small vial with a glowing green potion from his pocket and tossed it to Draco, "You are to place that in the Minister's drink. He should die later that evening."

"And just how the ruddy hell am I supposed to get into the Ministry of Magic, Snape? Especially with the security that will be present. I am almost as wanted as you by the Aurors, not to mention Potty and his groupies. I will be Kedavra'ed on sight."

"No," Snape hissed, and pointed towards Draco's pocket, where the teen had placed the envelope, "That is an actual invitation to the event, it belonged to a pair of blood-traitors that will have no further need of it. It will pass the security screenings. At your normal drop you will find two doses of a new, improved Polyjuice variant that I have developed, the doses will last the entire night, and they give you the appearances of the two."

"Appearances?" Draco asked suspiciously.

"Yes, Draco, appearances," Snape smiled slightly, "take a date, take Parkinson, or just pick up some slag from Knockturn Alley and tell them it's a game to crash the Minister's ball...in fact that would be even better, in some ways..." Draco gave him a slow nod and turned to leave, but stopped at Snape's irritated gesture, "That is not all, Draco...you, personally have to make up in the Dark Lord's eyes; I can only do so much to redeem you. And so, the Dark Lord has another assignment for you." Draco's eyes narrowed. Snape's lethal, slow smile returned, "It has come to the attention of the Dark Lord that Ginevra Weasley is somewhere on the run, estranged from her family and the Order. Evidently, she and Potter's Mudblood had bit of a spat...You are to find her and recruit her to our cause, a jilted love is often a powerful motivation."

"And if she won't join?" Draco replied doubtfully.

"You are to leave her corpse as an example for the rest, of the consequences of refusing a...request by the Dark Lord," Snape replied and took a step back, "You have your assignment." He turned and vanished into the sleet.

Several minutes passed while Draco continued to lean against the fifty-year-old barricade before a soft tread disturbed the wet sands behind him. "You heard then?" he asked softly. A small presence came to stand next to him, the hood of an ash gray parka pulled up against the weather, hiding her features.

"Are you going to do it?" she asked as she replaced a light-colored, ash wand in her pocket. She crossed her arms across a substantial chest, for one of 5'2", and shivered slightly. Draco gave her a long glance before returning to his gazing over the Channel.

"Probably," he replied after a moment, "Does it bother you? Scrimgeour is just about as bad as Snape or Riddle in his way..."

"No, neither of us is a virgin any longer," she answered softly, not really taking time to consider her words, "sacrifices have to be made, he's an arsehole politician...Maybe dad will get it."

Draco nodded, and pulled the invitation from his pocket, he glanced down at her, "You are coming with me?" he asked, but the question was more of a statement than anything. She nodded silently. "Which leaves our other problem, as I suppose you want to take the Mark about as much as I want the one I have."

"A problem," she agreed, "though in some ways, this helps us, when...we assassinate the Minister, that should gain us time. For you to, um, find me."

"Yes, and Snape's head, providing that we are not blamed for Scrimgeour's death, should at least buy us sanctuary from the Order." Draco turned and looked at her askance, "Though you could have that at any time, Red." She shook her head fitfully.

"Not as long as Harry is under Granger's spell," Ginny spat, "as long as he is, then the only thing that will really secure my return is if I come back with Snape's head on a platter. It's about the only thing that will keep him from killing you on sight too," she added with a small smile. "Let's go," she grabbed his elbow and they vanished.

***************************Hogwarts*********************************

10:40 am

Howling winds accompanied the small pellets of ice battering the scattered students as they stood trying to discern just what Hagrid was going on about in the midst of this late November storm. He seemed to be cupping something in the palm of his hand, though it was hard to tell. Chunks of ice, and droplets of frigid water dotted the half-giant's beard as he went on about the beastie that he had acquired. From a bit of logical deduction, and having read the book twice, Hermione figured that was holding a Finish Ice Sparrow, as it was the only thing she could think of that they hadn't already covered that would both fit in Hagrid's hand, and liked this weather. Most of Hagrid's favorites were a touch larger after all. She shook her head forcefully, shaking bits of ice from her hair and leaned back into Harry where they were trying to share body heat.

Next to them, Ron was looking disgruntled as his heating charm had worn off, and when it was working had only served to turn the sleet and ice into frigid water as it struck him. She watched a orange trail of sparks follow the tip of his wand as he cast another, hoping to stack the effects. She didn't have the heart to tell him that the effects couldn't stack.

Next to him, Neville and Parvati were huddled together, or at least Neville was standing, trying to orient his back to the wind. Parvati's presence was implied from the bit of long, night-black hair, speckled with ice, sticking out from under Neville's cloak. A few other students were sticking out the class, more as a show of solidarity towards Hagrid than anything; most of the rest of the class hadn't even shown up. Harry? Hermione whispered.

Yeah Mione? Harry muttered as he shivered against her, neither of them had enough body fat to be anything resembling comfortable in this. Harry took a breath, summoning his powers and he felt suddenly warmer as his metabolism sped up drastically. I'm going be really hungry in a bit, he mentioned absently. He grinned as Hermione copied him, and leaned back. I always knew you were hot, Harry quipped, and she smiled slightly.

Thanks, she replied, Harry I think I know what went wrong when I was scrying for the Horcrux, Harry waited, I think that I was more focused on the item being a Horcrux than its relationship to the other Ravenclaw artifacts, I would bet it was there at some point, before he hid it, I picked up the trail, but we ran across both Tom and Nagini there, so...

Ok, then, what? Do we try again? Harry let out a soft sigh, which was lost in the winds; I don't mind telling you that I don't particularly like that idea.

She shrugged; You think I like it any better? A distant bell pierced the winds of the castle and a soft happy cheer echoed from those few brave souls out in the weather. Hagrid yelled something that the majority took to be "class dismissed," and they started trundling up to the castle. Harry and Hermione stopped at just inside the doors to the castle. Hermione gave him a small peck on the lips and backed away, waving until she was out of sight around a corner. Parvati rolled her eyes, before kissing Neville and following Hermione; she needed to go in the same direction, up towards the Library in the same wing. We'll talk later Harry, Hermione sent and felt him nod.

Parvati giggled slightly at the slightly absent look on Hermione's face, "So Hermione when are you two getting engaged?"

Hermione shrugged, "I don't know, we have talked about it," she admitted vaguely as the pair of them reached the stairs leading up to where Parvati needed to go.

"Well, good luck Hermione," Parvati said with a grin, "maybe he's waiting for Christmas, they think that they have to propose on holidays or something..."

"Or something," Hermione agreed. She watched Parvati climb the stairs out of sight to the upper floors, before she closed her eyes and fell back against the castle wall as silent tears slipped from her eyes. She felt Harry's concern across the breadth of the castle and she shrugged it off, sending back a silent reassurance that she knew that he didn't believe, but she knew he would let it pass. After a minute she pushed back off the wall, and angrily wiped tears from her eyes before she sprinted for her class, just making it in the door as Glyph flicked her wand at the doors to close them.

****************************Gryffindor Common Room**********************

Harry looked down at the pitiful wreckage that was once a neatly ordered line of chess pieces and sighed. His King looked up at him and started to berate Harry, but he wasn't in the mood to listen. Between Ron once again demonstrating the difference between his strategic mastery and Harry's instinctive tactical skills, and the melancholy feeling that he could still feel from Hermione, even though she had protested at least twice, the second more than a little annoyed at him, that she was alright, Harry really wasn't feeling up to this. In fact the only reason that they were playing at all, was that no one else would hardly play with Ron since Ginny had left, except Neville and on occasion one of the other boys when they had had enough firewhiskey or butterbeer to forget their last trouncing.

Harry glanced up and looked around the Gryffindor Common Room, which was empty save for Gabrielle and a couple of her friends: a very shy black-haired girl name Patience and a tall, for an eleven-year-old, dusky brunette, Elisa. The three first years were looking over some assignment of Tonks' and at least once Harry had heard Gabrielle utter a word that, from his limited French that he had learned from Gabby, Fleur and Hermione, wasn't exactly complementary towards the Metamorphagus.

Harry looked back over at Ron, and he knew that the fire-head had something to say that he would rather not. "What is it Ron?" Harry asked, "You've been looking at me like that all game. Is my hair on fire or something?"

Ron shook his head and looked down at the board and watched as his Queen moved over to Harry's King and decapitated him, and started to do a little dance. "I talked to Fred yesterday when he stopped by to drop off the new stock of gear," Ron began slowly.

"Yeah," Harry put in, frowning, slightly distracted as he told Hermione that he and Ron would meet her for lunch in a few minutes, "What did he have to say, Ron? Did they say anything about when they could have the resupply of the Frisbees ready?"

"Um, yeah Harry, he brought another four cases, he also has a prototype of the trap variant ready...but, Harry, he mentioned something else." Ron looked nervous and picked at loose thread on the end of his tie. Ron looked up, gratefully as a herd of third years entered, complaining about Hagrid loudly. One of them chattered incessantly about how Buckbeak was "sooo gorgeous," and several others complained loudly about flobberworms, about how boring they were. The portrait closed behind them and Harry looked back at Ron, with a penetrating look to his eye.

"Spit it out, Ron."

"Mum, well, she thinks that it would be best...considering the times that..."

Harry closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair, still without opening them again, "Hermione and I aren't invited for Christmas are we?"

Ron shook his head, fitfully, "Harry...Luna and I talked, and Gred and Forge and...well if you aren't welcome than we aren't either. If you can't come to..."

Harry reached out and clasped Ron on the shoulder, "No, mate, no...you be with your family...spend what time you can with them, Hermione and I'll be alright." He stood and picked up his bag, "Let's get to lunch," Harry said with a small, little grin. He led his friend out the door, and onward to that next great adventure...lunch.

*******************************Library*******************************

9:20 pm.

Harry looked over at Hermione. She had refused to talk almost the entire evening they had been at their usual research spots in the library, pushing off any attempt to converse with him by looking into another curse or charm. For the first hour she had sat directly across from Harry, not even looking at him; but then, still without talking, she had almost leapt over the table to sit next to him, pushing their chairs together until they touched and clasping his hand under the table as if she were afraid he would leave any moment.

Finally, Harry had had enough. Glancing around and finding no one, he pulled her to her feet and dragged her far back into the stacks where no one could come up on them without a substantial effort. Hermione pulled back slightly and glared up at him, "Damn it Harry, we can do this later, we have..."

Harry shut her up with the simple expedient of kissing her. She blinked at him a couple of times as he pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "Hermione I know, but that's not why I brought you back here."

"Then why?"

"What's wrong Mione?" Harry asked softly, walking backwards and pulling her with him, until his back hit the wall. He pulled her, unresisting, into his arms, "What's wrong, Love?" he repeated, "You've been uptight ever since you went to Runes...did someone say something?"

"Harry," Hermione asked in a tiny, almost silent whisper, "you don't think it was a mistake to..." Her voice failed her as her eyes fell to their joined hands. Harry closed his eyes for a beat, before he tightened his arms around her, hard enough to cause a soft squeak to escape Hermione.

"Hermione...Love," Harry started then took a breath, "the only thing that I have never had second thoughts about is you, and I never will. I swear that I love you more every day, every time I look at you, every time I hear your voice or your thoughts, every time you tell me I'm being daft or," he grinned, "gasping out my name as your head explodes in ecstasy." Hermione cracked a smile as she reached up and punched his shoulder playfully. She followed Harry down as he slipped down the wall to sit on the floor, and settled herself on his lap, straddling his legs. "What brought this on Mione?"

Hermione sighed as she leaned forward to rest her head on his shoulder. A soft purr rumbled from her chest as Harry's fingers ran up under the sides of her skirt possessively, and she pushed into him trying to get closer. It was something Par said...she didn't mean anything by it, I know she didn't, she and Lav have become pretty good friends with me now, sometimes I wonder if Ginny had something to do with why they and I weren't always the greatest friends when we were younger...I mean we hardly ever....

What did she say, Hermione?

She was teasing, asking when you were going to pop the question. I know that a bunch of the girls have been talking about it...they wonder...

Harry grabbed her left hand in his right and held it up. Love it's up to you...we can keep on with what we are doing, ostensibly 'dating' or, his thumb touched her engagement ring, when we come back from Christmas they can see this ring, he moved his thumb down, to touch her wedding band nestled closer to her heart, or this one.

I'm tired of hiding from our friends Harry, some of them already know, the fact is under a Fidelius anyway, lets let the rest know. Almost all of them have sacrificed a lot to be here to support you...us, she paused in thought, Par, Lav, the twins...hell all the Weasleys except Molly and Arthur, just because it wouldn't be fair to Arthur, your old roommates...

Tonight?

Why not? She asked, rubbing up against him unconsciously as she stretched enough to kiss him properly. She bit her lip as she looked up at him with abnormally bright eyes as she felt him start to respond to her through the very thin single layer of silk that separated her from his jeans. But we don't have to hurry back, most of them are late to get to bed anyway...

Harry's eyes darkened as he felt her hands reaching down under her skirt to unbuckle his belt and unbutton his jeans. He laughed softly as he caught he look of absolute concentration Hermione was wearing for the simple task. She looked up at him, her bottom lip in her teeth, worried. Harry kissed her nose, Yeah...we...can...be...late I g..guess, he managed as she rose up just enough to slide his jeans and boxers down a bit. Harry felt the tingle on his stomach where she leaned against him as she muttered a charm and grinned crookedly.

Eyes met and flared slightly as Hermione slowly slid down on to his lap with a sound somewhere between a sigh and a moan. Her arms went around his neck as she leaned forward to meet his lips. They sighed together as Hermione started to rock gently, side to side, up and down a bit.

Minutes passed as they barely moved, just enough for tongues to duel and hearts to race. Harry felt a rush of warmth towards his center as he let go, almost lazily, and felt Hermione follow him over the edge a moment later, sighing, as a soft pulse of energy snapped outward to disturb several of Pince's precious books. Hermione fell forward to rest damp bangs against his before she kissed him again, luxuriating in the feeling of being loved more than anything, this time being more about being together than the actual act.

"We need to go, Mione." Harry stated quietly after they had sat motionless for several minutes in the same positions in which they had finished. She pouted slightly and shook her head against his shoulder. Harry laughed, "It was your idea, Love."

"Send a Patronus or something," Hermione replied contently, "I'm happy where I'm at. They can come here."

"If we do that...Seamus probably will come here..."

"I can move now," Hermione replied, laughing. She flowed to her feet, adjusting her clothes and flicking her fingers to clean the two of them up. Hermione reached down and pulled Harry to his feet as soon as he had finished making himself more or less presentable. Harry snapped the free hand that wasn't holding Hermione's into a fist as they passed the table were they had been studying and the books, papers and quills scattered about the table, vanished with a soft pop of light.

*******************************Heads' Chambers**************************

11:15 pm

Harry looked back toward his bedroom for an instant as Dean and Seamus entered the room from the Gryffindor Common Room. They glanced around, Seamus looked tired, as if he had just been roused from sleep, and dropped into a couch near the fire and slumped down into the cushions. Neville nodded at them before he went back to talking to Parvati, Lavender and Ron about something involving the Cannons, the Arrows and the Wasps. Luna was sitting next to Ron, listening to the conversation with wide, unblinking eyes. Seamus looked a touch afraid of her.

A palatable sense of unease hung in the air, as the Gryffindors and Luna, who might as well have been one, waited for Harry or Hermione to explain why they had received a covert summons to their quarters. The obvious reason, a Death Eater attack or some such was on every mind. In the week since the Charlie's funeral, Voldemort's forces had gone on the offensive, a Giant attack had shattered a small village only a hundred kilometers from Hogwarts, a half-dozen werewolves had slaughtered a double-decker in Glasgow, turning ten, and a gold convoy from Gringott's had been ambushed outside of Fridley. Diagon Alley was almost deserted, with nearly no shoppers even this close to Christmas. Hogsmeade was only somewhat better.

The group looked up as Hermione came out of the bedroom, casually dressed in flannel pajama pants, bare feet, a Lions sweatshirt and with her hair tied back and a soft, unconscious sigh of relief came out. If she wasn't ready to go into something, then they probably were safe, more or less, for tonight anyway. She paced over to Harry and grabbed his hand, almost painfully, for an instant before loosening up a bit. "Thanks for coming on such short notice," Hermione said softly as she looked about the room. She caught Seamus' gaze from the couch next to Dean and dissolved into giggles. Harry fought not to laugh as well, as a two-hour old flashback flitted across their thoughts.

"Bloody hell," Seamus muttered, loudly, he looked down at his robes, then around his area, he felt his hair and eyebrows before sniffing his armpits to the whispered, "EWWs" of the girls. "What, am I on fire...did Dean turn my hair purple again?"

"No, mate," Harry replied, fighting down his humor, "no...it's nothing." He nudged Hermione, who rocked a bit on her feet before continuing.

"S...Sorry, Seamus," Hermione sputtered then got control of herself, "No, Harry and I want to tell you something...something that we should have trusted all of you with from the beginning, and Parvati, Lavender, don't be mad with Neville, he knew but the knowledge was under a Fidelius. Parvati, you sorta upset me this morning when you asked if Harry had asked me..."

"You actually are engaged?" Parvati asked happily, but stopped quickly at Hermione's headshake. She looked at Hermione oddly, then at Harry and shrugged. She glanced over at Neville who pointed to his mouth and shook his head, he couldn't say.

Hermione glanced up at Harry as she leaned back against him, before looking over at their friends and taking pity on them, "No, Par, Lavender, Seamus, Dean...Harry and I are married actually." On Harry and Hermione's ring fingers, three rings appeared with a flash, at least to those four named, as the others knew, they had already seen them. Parvati and Lavender both jumped up to hug their former roommate and, of course, examine Hermione's rings. They gave the appropriate "OHH and AWWs" before they each gave Harry a hug.

"Hey!" Neville objected, laughingly, from the couch and the two of them paced back to him and dropped on his lap in a carefully timed, one, two punch. He grunted loudly and acted as if they had hurt him, which as the two of them might together outweigh him, he was fine.

Harry led Hermione over to an unoccupied chair and sat down, as Hermione perched on the arm. "We should have told you," he looked at Hermione, she gave him a small nod and a smile, "but after Ginny..."

Four heads nodded as one, after the duel between Hermione and Ginny, the word had finally leaked to Gryffindor house, at least the sixth and seventh years anyway, exactly what Ginny had done, and what the cost had been. No one was exactly sure how that had happened as Harry, Hermione, Ron and Luna had all refused to talk about it, but it had. Ginny had committed one of the few unpardonable sins for a Gryffindor, entanglements and infatuations...happened, they all knew it. If that was all it had been, if she had just come on to Harry, or had an honest catfight with Hermione over him or something, she would have caused a scene, but it would have been handled, eventually. But what she had done was closer to treason than anything; Dean glanced at Ron for the briefest instant, before looking away. He didn't say anything, but the obvious parallels between Ginny and Percy were there, if all was at it seemed with Percy. Ginny's actions were proven, in many, many ways.

After all that had happened, Hermione probably would have been ostracized if she had not challenged Ginny because of the younger girl's actions, and that was even without the knowledge the rest of the Seventh Years had just learned. For that very offence, witches had, in not that terribly distant a time, faced duels to the death, even here.

All of that went unsaid, known, but unsaid as Hermione continued. "Unfortunately, you are all now bound by the Fidelius as well, sorry." No one objected, the reasons that had held for so long, still held even more now.


*****************************Headmistress' Office*************************

November 28, 1997.

8:00 am

A soft knock sounded on the ancient oaken door, and Minerva looked up from a stack of reports by her Professors on the seventh years' progress. She closed a file on Susan Bones, noting absently as she did of Tonks and Filius' observations that she was almost absent as much as she had been present this year. However, she also noticed that Remus had noted that she had had a perfect attendance in his class, but had seemed abnormally intent on offensive spells, even with her membership in what was privately called Potter's Army. Or at least it was called that amongst the staff, no one called it that in front of Harry. "Come in," she called, her soft burr cutting across the soft snores of the portraits lining the walls, that seemed to have developed a habit of sleeping in on Friday mornings.

"Are we late ma'am?" Hermione asked as she looked about the room, finding no one. She yawned slightly, covering it with her hand as Harry meandered in after her, his eyes half closed. Somehow, after the rest of the seventh years had found out that "mummy and daddy had got hitched", which was Seamus had called it after a few too many celebratory drinks, the rest of their friends had thought it a perfect time for a impromptu private party. The Irish wizard had been amazed that Hermione had agreed to it, but she had.

"No Hermione," McGonagall replied softly, "you both are exactly on time...however; I called off the staff meeting for this morning. It seems that Filius had a pressing issue he had to deal with in his own house; something about the Sanchez sisters fighting again, and Remus is still recovering from that bad reaction to his medicine. And Tonks was required to travel to the Ministry this morning," her face hardened for a moment, "to look into certain reports. Therefore we were rather lacking on staff this morning for a meeting." McGonagall waved to the comfortable armchairs in front of her desk, and nodded as the pair dropped into the chairs.

"Since you hare here, however, there are however a few things I would like to discuss with you," Minerva continued as she offered them tea and biscuits which they both declined. "First, Hermione, I would like you to talk to the Sanchez sisters, see Filius after this, they need to stop this fighting between each other over boys..." Harry was carefully quiet. "See if you can talk to them about it, they are otherwise excellent students, I would hate to have to send them packing, but I am starting to think there may be no other recourse."

"Yes, ma'am," Hermione replied, changing her mind and leaning forward to pour herself a cup of tea. McGonagall nodded and turned to Harry. Behind her, ice-blue eyes blinked awake but did not speak, content to listen for now.

"Harry, I would like you to look over the security requirements for tomorrow's Hogsmeade visit," she ordered softly and Harry nodded, "I approve of the plan to use DA members to evacuate students to the castle, however I want you to look over the plan to provide security to the third years again, have Mr. Weasley help you. I was going to have Remus work with you, however..." she shrugged.

"Forgive me for saying so, ma'am," Harry started, shared a look with Hermione, and glancing behind the Headmistress to find Dumbledore looking at him intently, "It seems...odd, that Remus' first dose of Wolfsbane after the funeral attack would make him this ill." Harry took a breath, "It would be-"

"Horace would not poison Remus, Harry," Dumbledore's portrait put in with a small, knowing smile, "his own mastery of the subject-"

"Goes to show what you know Dumbledore," Phineas Nigellus argued quickly. He sneered down towards Dumbledore's portrait from his perch higher up on the wall, "If a true Slytherin wanted rid of Lupin, he could..."

"Nevertheless," McGonagall snapped, cutting across the voices of the dueling paintings, "Nymphadora is taking a sample to Auror headquarters to have their forensic potion experts look at it; just in case." She frowned, and took a sip of her tea, considering, "Have you received any useful information from him, Harry?" McGonagall asked, her gaze flicking back to Dumbledore's.

Harry shrugged and stretched his legs out in front of him, "Yes and no, he has given us a bit of information on attacks that his...friends pick up rumors on, that was one of the sources that let Mad-Eye ambush that attack on a school Tuesday in Edinburgh, but on the Horcruxes...no. He claims that he does not know any more than he has already said. I'm not sure I believe him, at least when he claims he doesn't know anything additional about how they are made, or an easier way to destroy them, but I do believe him when he says he has no idea where Tom hid the Cup or the Staff."

Hermione stood and paced over to Dumbledore's portrait, "We think that we have a way to find the Staff, but the Cup, do you have any idea where Tom might have hidden it, any wild guess that you did not trust to your journals?"

Dumbledore looked pensive as he stood and paced within the confines of his portrait. He looked out at her a couple of times, pausing and looking back into the depths of his painting as if trying to find some hidden secret there. "No, Hermione," he said after a moment of consideration, "as of yet, I cannot think of any location that I could find in the memories that I was able to obtain."

Hermione sighed and ran a hand through her hair, grimacing slightly as she pulled out a tangle, "So nothing then, in his past that you know of."

"Maybe it's not his past we should be looking in then, Mione," Harry put in, as he stood and walked over to join her, "maybe it's someone else's." Their eyes met for a second, her mouth opening in a silent "O", of comprehension, they both looked back at Dumbledore, "What if he used some place from my family's past, or yours, or something else entirely. What if he just stuck the thing in some random snowbank, tossed it out the window of the train as it went by," Harry's voice was frustrated as he ran both hands through his hair and scrubbed them almost violently against his scalp. Hermione fought not to laugh at his hair as she automatically reached up to try to push it back into something resembling order. Harry gave her a look, and she gave up with a sheepish shrug.

"It is an interesting theory," Dumbledore replied thoughtfully, he pulled of the half-moons decorating his nose and polished them absently on the hem of his painted robes. "I shall give it thought," he gave Minerva a glance, "however for now, I believe Minerva has something for you." Harry and Hermione looked back at the Headmistress as she used her wand to send over a gold embossed envelope, addressed to "Harry James Potter, Baron Black and Guest". Harry shared a look with Hermione, she shrugged, no one called Harry by his inherited titles from Sirius, or the one from his parents. He handed it to her, she opened it as he looked over her shoulder, to find a green and red card embossed with a twinkling Christmas tree. The card flashed as Hermione touched it, and flashed again as Harry did as well. They read it together:

Baron Black,

You and a guest are invited to the Ministry of Magic's, Four Hundred and Seventh Annual Yule Ball on the Twentieth of December at eight p.m. Please RSVP at your earliest convenience to confirm your attendance.

Sincerely,
Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic

"Bloody hell," Harry muttered, he shook his head, and walked over to a garbage bin next to McGonagall's desk. It opened its jaws wide, reaching for the snack...

"Wait Harry," McGonagall said quickly. She shook her head slightly, "No Harry, you," she nodded at Hermione, "and Hermione should go."

"With respect Professor," Hermione replied, sharing Harry's thoughts, "this is just another attempt by the Minister to try to use Harry as a 'Poster Boy' for his policies. My parents are in hiding right now, because, in part, of some of his policies." A touch of fire lit her words and her eyes. Chocolate eyes flitted to emerald ones, and he nodded.

"We're not going ma'am..." Harry replied, setting the invitation on her desk. "We are not going to-"

"No Harry," McGonagall replied, "you should. For more than one reason," Harry and Hermione waited as she gathered her thoughts, "first...Lord Gryffindor," Harry frowned slightly, "it is your duty to show that you are not afraid to attend."

"I'm, not afraid to attend," Harry objected heatedly, "I just don't want to lead credence to Scrimgeour's agenda...."

"It is not just that, Harry, eventually you will need the Ministry's help," McGonagall interjected, "Not every battleground is fought with a wand or a sword." She caught Hermione's eye, before sitting back in her chair and pulling off her square-framed glasses to polish them. She replaced them and smiled at her Head Students, "Sometimes they are fought in dress robes and a cocktail gown...where the only blood being spilled is that of thoughts, and ideals."




There you go, another chapter in the journey....we still have a long way to go. Next time, which will most likely be after Christmas, a new secret about the school will be learned, and the Slytherins start to react, and a touch of action...shock, I know.

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And once more into the breach my friends...it's been a bit, but this one is long. Thanks as usual for Lady Starlight and her terrific work on this chapter.

Chapter 27: Leo in Waiting
*********************Hogwarts********************************

December 1, 1997
2:11 am

Hermione woke to a soft, skittering, noise from somewhere nearby. Without opening her eyes she rolled over slightly, and found only a warm spot in the sheets guarding her side. Frowning, she opened her eyes and looked around the room. Over by the fire, which was low, but still burning, Harry was sitting on the couch, staring into the flames as if expecting some great revelation to occur.

The sound was explained as she watched Harry rolling the hilt of the Gryffindor Sword back and forth between his hands. Sparks were flying up from the tip as it effortlessly drilled through the stone at his feet.

Frowning, Hermione rolled out of bed, slipped on a long t-shirt of Harry's from the floor and padded silently over to him.

Harry did not react to her, as he continued to drill a divot in the flagstone floor near the fireplace, other than to scoot all the way down to one end of the couch, allowing her to lie down on it with her head on his leg. He stopped after another period of sparks and laid the sword under the edge of the couch and sat back. His fingers slipped though her hair, pondering, "I didn't want this," Harry stated as he ran his fingers along her jawline for a moment before returning to her hair. He paused, and a soft smirk danced across his face, "Well, yes, I did want you with me like this," he admitted and Hermione smiled, her eyes dancing in the light from the fire. "But I just wanted to be normal...I'm the bloody Heir of Gryffindor, the Boy-Who-Lived, the fucking Chosen One...I just want to be Harry."

What brought this on, Baby? Hermione whispered lovingly as she settled her cheek more comfortably against his sweats.

I don't know...I just can't stop thinking about it, about how fucked up our lives are, Harry explained and Hermione nodded and kissed his thigh, I mean that...look at us, I'm the Heir of Gryffindor through my dad, which in this world means I might as well be a Prince...of course that would make Tom one too... Hermione shuddered slightly against Harry's leg, not from fear, but purely from loathing. I'm seventeen Mione, I don't want a war to fight, one that I have to win if we are to have a chance at a life, even putting aside that damn prophesy. And right now...I don't know that we are.

Hermione nodded slightly, I know...Did you hear that Fleur is pregnant? Hermione asked softly, the tone of her thoughts, odd. Harry nodded, knowing what she didn't say. Let's go back to bed Harry, Hermione added, flowing back to her feet and grabbing his hand to pull him up. Which she did without so much as grunt of effort.

Pretty strong there, Mrs. Potter, Harry smirked silently, and laughed as Hermione made a rather impertinent gesture towards him. She knelt down next to the couch, her eyes laughing as she watched Harry's eyes watch the t-shirt she had on ride up. She picked up the sword to hand it to Harry, when all at once she froze as images both from her memories, of gigantic glowing yellow eyes, and Harry's, of a giant serpent, of a flaming bird bringing salvation in the form of the sword in her hands and of the image of a sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle, already calling himself the "Flight of Death".

As one, their eyes met and heads swiveled towards the direction of the lake. Oh, damn, we were stupid.

It's probably not there Mione, Harry replied as he crossed to their closet and tossed her a dark jumper and a pair of black cargos. He slipped on a matching rig, watching her as she doffed the t-shirt and replaced it with the jumper. He watched as she flung out her hand and her daggers, already sheathed in their twin sheath, soared over to her hand. She bent at the waist, her hair falling forward to hide her face as she strapped the sheath of her wand on her thigh, before toeing into her boots and flicking her fingers at them to cause them to lace themselves.

We should have looked there, I should have thought of looking there. She buckled a small pack to her left leg as she watched Harry slipping the Gryffindor Sword on his back and looking around for something. He found it and slipped it into his pack.

Harry found his boots next to the door and slipped them on, No, Hermione, I should have thought of it. But why would one be there? I already destroyed the Diary? Harry reached for his mirror; I'll get the others.

Hermione shook her head and pushed the mirror back into his pack, No just you and me Harry...we can handle it.

Alright.

*************** Moaning Myrtles' Bathroom/Chamber of Secrets*********

Harry frowned as he watched Hermione looking at him, he stood next to the joined sinks and knelt down, , he hissed. They stepped back quickly as the center sink ground slightly before sliding back and out of sight. Carefully, they eased up to the dark, gaping hole in the floor as Myrtle looked on silently. Harry glanced back at her, "Myrtle, if we aren't back in three hours, get Ron or Lupin." The ghost nodded, Harry looked at Hermione as she held out her hand and a ball of blue, blazing fire appeared in it.

She leaned over and dropped the fire down the shaft, the blue flames light eerie on the walls of the tunnel. Hermione turned and attached one end of the Acromantula thread to the wall near the open hole with a Permanent Sticking Charm and clipped the spool to her repelling harness, which the Twins had thoughtfully included in her, Harry and Ron's more than normally equipped kits. She waited as Harry did the same.

He nodded and jumped into the hole, Hermione following an instant later as the sound of the spools unwinding was the only sound in the room. An instant later, the soft crunch of boot soles on animal bones echoed as they touched bottom. Wand tracked around the room, questing for targets in the pale blue light cast by the ball of fire burning merrily on the top of a particularly large pile of rat bones. You take me to the nicest places, honey.

Don't I though, Harry agreed, as they started to move forward, covering each other. In his mind, Harry could not help but compare this to the last time he was down here, with Ron. At that time however, they had had the spectacularly useless Lockhart with them, and both of them were rushing headlong into danger without a thought. Unfortunately they had learned better.

Harry could feet her disgust as she bumped against the huge skin of the Basilisk, she bit her lip and rolled over the top of it, fighting down her unease as she waved Harry forward with her free hand. They advanced another several hundred yards and stopped as they were blocked by the same fall of rock that had stopped Ron so long ago. It didn't significantly slow them however. With several odd swishes of her wand, Hermione conjured shining steel reinforcements for the tunnel ceiling. She stepped out of the way as Harry pointed his wand at the rock fall, DISSENDIUM, Harry muttered and the rocks turned to dust.

Harry led Hermione through the newly opened gap. They slipped along the corridor, and stopped as they reached one last corner. Harry focused for an instant, forming a glowing ball in his hand and spun around the corner and flipped the ball of light into the corner, lighting the whole entry to the chamber. Harry's wand panned around the area, finding no one or nothing greater than several rats scurrying in the corners.

Hermione walked up to the stone portalis, and stopped. She reached out and ran her fingers over the carved stone snakes on the door. An atavistic shudder ran though her body as she stepped back and ran her hands over her arms as if she were caught out in a sudden blizzard. She stepped back, bumping into Harry. "Are you alright?"

Hermione shook her head, "No Harry, it's evil, I can feel it. Things...people have died here," she added unnecessarily. Harry squeezed her hand once, before walking to the door and whispering , the Parseltoungue words translating automatically in both Harry and Hermione's heads.

A steady drip of water echoed in the vast, dim chamber as the pair of them entered slowly, with all of the hesitation inherent in almost five years of nightmares. A curious, sourceless red glow provided what illumination there was in the chamber besides the twin beams of wand-lights. They passed innumerable tall stone pillars, each carved with serpents spiraling around the columns. Hermione muttered something sharp as the beam of her wand crossed the desiccated corpse of the Basilisk. She approached it slowly and poked it with her wand as Harry sniggered. "Oh, shut up, last time I saw this damn thing I spent months in the Hospital Wing."

"I'm not saying anything, Mione, remember the damn thing nearly killed me too," Harry replied softly, placing his hand on her shoulder as he passed her on the way to the front of the chamber. Harry looked up, and up at the statue of Salazar, before looking down at the feet of the Slytherin Founder. He knelt next to the giant stone feet and placed his palm on the water-stained stones.

"This is where it happened?" Hermione asked in a whisper. She knelt next to him, looking down at a small depression in the stones. A lingering dark presence remained, readily visible to their magical senses.

"Yeah...When I first came in the door, after I left Ron and Lockhart behind, I saw Ginny laying here. I thought I was too late, that she was dead... I remember it being cold, just like it is now, even though it was June then. I looked up and I saw Tom there, from the book." Harry sat down heavily, remembering, "I should have known," Hermione crooked an eyebrow in the dim room, and Harry shook his head, "not then maybe, but later, last year...I just repeated history."

Hermione looked at him, stunned for a moment, before she breathed in his ear, "You didn't do anything the rest of us didn't do Harry. I knew too, I screwed up too." She paused heavily, "We just can't do it again." Harry nodded as he stood.

"Yeah...let's take a look about this place," Harry replied gratefully, he gave her a brief smile before walking over to the statue and starting to look it over. He looked back as Hermione raised her wand over her head, muttered a spell and flaming white tendrils shot out, searching around the room. The sudden light from the spell drove rats to the tunnels surrounding the chamber with a chorus of annoyed squeaks. Hermione's eyes were glowing slightly as she followed the seeking spell around the chamber, searching, while Harry reached out with the link to Voldemort. Hermione's gaze flicked to him, as he dropped the shield protecting his mind, for a brief instant, trying to find a link to any Horcrux.

Her heart raced for those brief instants before she felt his mind protected against all but her...there was no real shield between them any longer. Harry shook his head. "Me too," Hermione confirmed bitterly, "not that I thought it was here, it was too easy."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, "but maybe there's something else here, lets look for a bit longer," he glanced at his watch, "we've only been down here forty-five minutes." The look on Hermione's face was classic as she rolled her eyes at him but agreed. Harry turned, and started to examine the wall near the stature more closely when he spun back as a loud splash behind him and over to the side.

Hermione's head was sticking up above a pool of water as Harry sprinted across the room in a blur of motion; sliding to a stop. "You alright, Mione?" He asked, as she glared at him for a moment before taking his hand to pull her out from the pool that looked for all intents and purposes to be a puddle.

"I'm fucking wet and cold, Harry, how do you think I am?" she snapped irritably, before shrugging slightly, apologizing. She still took great pleasure in pulling him into a hug, soaking the front of his jumper though. She swept drenched locks from her face, pulling her hair back and wringing out the water the best she could before looking back at the pool she had fallen in.

Hermione annoyedly flicked her wand behind her, casting a vanishing charm on the water; Harry froze as he caught sight of something. She turned to follow his gaze to find it fixed on a second, sealed stone door. This one was emblazoned as well with carved serpents. "Oh, this is...interesting." She said slowly. She squinted slightly examining the area around the door, "Harry, it looks like the water used to be even higher...I don't know if this door would have been visible fifty years ago."

"Well," Harry tapped his wand on the side of his leg a couple of times, "I suppose I should open it," he said dubiously.

"If you must," Hermione took a step to the side, and pointed her wand at the door, and nodded to Harry.

, Harry hissed and jumped back and to the other side. Twin wand beams probed forward as the portal ground open, small stones fell from the walls around the door, as it slowly opened. A waft of stale, dead air came from up the tunnel, and Hermione sent a air-renewal spell up the tunnel. I knew there was a reason that I married a genius, Harry sent over.

Hermione grinned for a microsecond, No dear, you're the genius...I'm the super genius, get it straight... she teased, and took a breath, "Harry, well shall we..." He nodded and slipped into the tunnel, dosing his wand and touching the frames of his glasses with it. The black tunnel turned to green-tinged twilight as he looked over to see Hermione had donned her Cat's Eyes as well. The pair of them slipped down the long tunnel, periodically switching sides, and scanning for traps.

A soft click sounded and Harry reached out and pulled Hermione to him and down as several silver darts shot out from the side of the tunnel to impact on the other. A viscous, slightly smoking potion dripped down from the darts and Hermione took a deep breath and kissed his cheek.

They eased on, climbing for a long bit, almost an hour as the tunnel dog-legged back and forth. Hermione pulled Harry back as a crackling bolt of lighting shot between a pair of half-concealed orbs, and he reciprocated a moment later as the floor of the tunnel fell away. She fixed the floor with a spell and after another series of long, tense minutes, they finally came up against another door. This one however, was emblazoned with a rampant Lion. Six slots were spaced around the edge of the door, each about the width of a dagger blade, with wider slot set directly above the head of the Lion. Harry looked at Hermione; she shrugged as he drew the Gryffindor Sword and slid it into the slot.

The Lion came alive, sitting on its haunches as twin; ruby eyes regarded him and Hermione. The Lion let out a silent roar, and the door slid open, grinding slowly against the stones.

A waft of frigid, mountain air greeted their faces as the door finished t opening. Soft choruses of night owls greeted their ears. Harry followed Hermione and heard her soft gasp as she swept off her spectacles as they looked up together at the Castle looming up over, across the lake. They looked down to see the gas streetlights of Hogsmeade spread out below them. "We're near Sirius' cave," Hermione said thoughtfully. They spun as the door ground closed behind them, revealing the same slots and lion on this side as well.

"Try your daggers, Hermione," Harry said softly, and watched as Hermione slid hers in the slots on either side of the wide one for the sword. Nothing happened. Harry stepped forward and slid the sword into the central slot; the lion came alive, and roared, but shook its head and looked pointedly at each of the empty slots. "I guess you need them all to open it from the outside."

Hermione bit her lip as she resheathed her daggers and ran her fingers over the carved mane of the lion. It acted as if it enjoyed the petting for a moment, before it returned to its frozen appearance. She stepped back and the entire door vanished, its image wavering into the appearance of the surrounding mountain. "I guess that Godric wanted to be secure."

"This means that Tom and his cohorts didn't know about it, to get into the school," Harry mentioned, and looked down at his watch, "It's been two and a half hours since we gave Myrtle her deadline."

"Yeah, we better get back," Hermione agreed and took his hand. They stepped around an invisible corner and reappeared in Myrtle's bathroom, causing the ghost to shriek and dive into a toilet with a great splash. Hermione looked down at her watch, shaking her head, "Its too late to go back to sleep now, we have Potions in a bit over two hours," she closed her eyes tiredly, "and training with Tonks in about fifteen minutes."

"Great..."


***************************Potions/Creatures*************************

9:15 am

Harry gratefully took the Pepper-Up Potion that Hermione slipped him and palmed it, drinking it in one draught as he glanced around the classroom. Her hand lingered in his, under the table for a moment before she dropped it and returned to her notes. Of course the dual facts that Harry and Hermione were Slughorn's star pupils and that he really didn't want to cross either didn't hurt, as the rotund professor ignored the fact that the Heads were sitting with their sides literally touching. Ron glanced over at them and rolled his eyes, muttering something to Neville next to him. Neville shook his head and leaned back slightly, gathering his robes about him in the chilly Dungeon classroom.

Another fifteen minutes passed while Slughorn droned on about specialized shrinking potions, how they could be used to hide objects, disguise them as something else, when the bell rang and the class gratefully, more or less, got up to leave.

More or less, as the very next class for many of them was Hagrid's. Hermione stopped at the door, and paused, looking out into the snow falling over the grounds. She waited, as the rest the desultory class that had Creatures with them next headed out onto the grounds. Do you think Hagrid will be annoyed if we don't show up? Hermione muttered plaintively.

We should go, Hermione, especially after last year.

I know, I just want to go back to sleep...you are done after this, while I still have Arithmancy, Hermione retorted as she took his offered hand and let him lead her out into the snow. They carefully picked their way down the icy steps to the grounds, following several black shapes as they approached closer to Hagrid's hut. They stopped, waiting with the rest of the class for Hagrid to appear, it generally wasn't a good thing when Hagrid wasn't waiting for them. It normally meant a "special" beastie was in store.

You know damn well that I will wait for you, Harry replied as they crowded in with Ron, Neville, Parvati and Susan in the lee of Hagrid's hut. A loud booming sound came from the forest, causing trees to shake and snow to fly everywhere. A horrible, discordant growl came from seemingly a pack of huge dogs and Neville, Susan, Parvati and Ron's wands filled their hands almost instantly. The four subtly drifted to form an arc around Harry and Hermione as the ground shook and a huge furry head appeared around the corner of the hut.

The class barely had a second to release their held breaths before another three heads followed Hagrid's. The teens stepped back, several raising wands shakily as three identical heads, like that of three large dogs, if dogs were fifteen feet long and had three heads, sniffed the air. A loud growl escaped the center one's throat as red, glaring eyes focused on Harry and Hermione. The growl died in mid-'grrr' as four eyes flared, just a touch, and the huge dog took a step backwards. "Sit, Fluffy', Sit'" Hagrid said happily, and looked out over his audience.

Several soft giggles accompanied Hagrid's command to the giant, three-headed dog as he turned and petted Fluffy. Hagrid stepped back as he tossed a large, greenish steak to the dog. The left head snapped it out of the air, and an instant later the other two had

Can we keep him, Mione...Harry whined, grinning. She turned enough to whack him behind the ears, before turning back to Hagrid as he started in on the use of Cerberi for herding Australian Fire Sheep.

Only if you walk him, Hermione replied with a silent laugh. She let out a loud, "Eep" as his fingers wormed their way into her robes and tickled her ribs. She blushed slightly and elbowed Harry as several of the rest of the class looked at her oddly. The remainder of the period passed easily as Hagrid only assigned them with a labeled drawing of Fluffy, due next week. Harry, whom still, occasionally, saw the beast in his dreams, knew that he wouldn't have any problem with that particular assignment.

The class dismissed, Harry took Hermione's hand, once again grateful that at least they could be open about seeing each other, even if the full depth was hidden until that day when Tom Riddle would rest forever next to his hated father. She smiled at him, shaking snow from her hair as they the entrance to the castle and stopped. A gaggle of second-years swarmed past, headed for Slughorn's lecture. "Going to walk me to class, Harry?" Hermione teased as she pulled on his hand slightly, leaning towards the direction of the Astronomy and Arithmancy wing, where the two classes were housed.

"Of course," Harry replied with an air as if he would have rather chewed off his arm than not walk with her. She smiled, already knowing the answer to her question. She swung their joined hands merrily as they started off down the hall. "Do you want to take the bridge or the passage?" Harry asked as they attained a fork in their path. Hermione reached out and pushed a protruding stone in a certain alcove, and tucked herself into Harry's chest as the entire alcove spun around, replacing itself with an exact replica.

Hermione let go and stepped back from Harry slightly. Incendio, Hermione whispered and the hallway lit as an endless line of torches lit with a cascading series of soft whooshes. "It's too cold outside to take the bridge," she explained and headed off, him trailing as they walked. Torches lit and extinguished themselves as they traveled, leaving them in a soft pool of light surrounded by darkness. Finally after several minutes, they reached a tapestry of a large, six-legged cat, he bleeked at them, before scampering off as Harry pulled it aside; to reveal the backside of another tapestry. "Bye," Hermione muttered as she pecked him on the lips and vanished through the revealed tapestry.

Harry smiled before taking a left in the passage and heading up towards the Library.

He exited out onto the hallway near the Library entrance, from behind a large statue of a wizard in a top hat, named Robert the Quizzical. He took a step and glanced to either side to make sure that no one had seen him. Even now, only Hermione knew the passages as well as him...or rather, of the current students only Hermione knew as well as him, he was rather sure that Lupin and the Twins were just as knowledgeable of the secret ways around the castle.

Harry passed past a half-full forward section of the Library, with students of all ages working on assignments, gossiping quietly or reading up on something totally unrelated. Madame Pince was slowly moving through the tables, looking over shoulders to see if any were desecrating her books by eating, writing in the margins or ripping out pages. Harry nodded to her as she caught his gaze; she frowned at him but didn't say a word as he headed back into the stacks towards Hermione's normal study nook. As he passed out of sight he could hear her sudden, hushed yell as she berated some poor girl for spilling ink on a periodical.

Harry dropped his bag on the table and headed back into the Restricted Section, his casual wave of a hand deactivating the charms that Pince had placed on the door to the section. He paced back to the back, passing Troll Herding, Addictive Potions Vol. 2: Aphrodisiacs, Extenders and Enticement Draughts, and A Comprehensive Study of the Binding Geas Used to Control Summoned Daemons. Harry frowned at the last one, and noted its title for Hermione, he didn't think she had read it; it might still hold some needed spell. They still had one crucial task that they still had not quite figured out, even with two of the three people ever to destroy a Horcrux and survive, which was quite handy to the quest, especially as they were leading it in fact, was that they still had no safe way to destroy a Horcrux and the soul fragment within. They didn't need the first two books for any reason that he could think of, Trolls were better off dead in his honest opinion, and as Hermione had said the other day, her merely breathing was probably enough to get a rise out of him.

Harry shook his head ruefully at the thought and retrieved Dastardly Jinxes, Hexes and Lethal Curses from the shelf and headed to the front to see if he could pick up anything new. He returned to his seat, flipped the book open to a chapter on modifying the standard Incarerious spell for more, lasting, effects, muttered a spell over a quill retrieved from his pack and began to read as it took notes for him from what he was perusing. Harry's fingers flicked absently as he read through the spells, working through the wandless transformation as he looked over an interestingly nasty variant that replaced the ropes or cables normally produced with razor wire. He shuddered slightly as he looked over the pages and agreed with the decision to put this book in the Restricted Section.

With a loud sigh, he pulled his Advanced Potions text from his bag and opened it, diving into his pack for a roll of empty parchment; he set it out, and started to write, working on the assignment due next week. The sound of students being berated from the front of the Library carried to the back, and he rolled his eyes, as he continued to work on the assignment on the use of poisonous plants in Healing Potions, Harry jotted down a line about dilutions of Hemlock and checked with Hermione on the use of Lackspur, she confirmed he was right with a invisible smile as he grinned and wrote on.

His eyes glanced up as he distantly noted the Clock Tower chimes chiming, almost expecting Hermione to be there, though she couldn't have possibly arrived that fast after class, unless she cheated, and besides she was almost always the last one out of class. Are you still in Vectors' class, Mione? Harry muttered, continuing to work on the assignment so he didn't have to this weekend.

Just leaving, do you want me in the Library, Harry? Hermione asked, Harry's grin grew wider, You know what I mean...

You're closer to the Great Hall, you can nick us some lunch and join me up here to work if you want, or I can come down there to meet you for lunch, your call, Hermione, Harry replied, adding, we can work on the other as well if you'd like.

He felt the eyeroll four floors up and hundreds of yards distant. I'll get us something, I'll be there in ten, twenty minutes, Harry, she shot back, and Harry smirked as he carefully noticed that she hadn't really discounted the possibility of the other. He returned to his parchment with a long-suffering sigh, once again questioning his sanity of becoming an Auror, when the scuffle of feet caused him to look up.

Harry caught the worried look of Patience, as she ran into the back, her eyes were wide and fearful as she pulled on his sleeve and urged him to come with her, "Harry...Harry."

"What, Patience?" Harry asked good-naturedly/tolerantly. He stood and looked down on the small, first year as she pulled on his hand, urging him towards the entrance to the Library.

"It's Gabrielle...they are..." she said worriedly.

"Where, Patience?" Harry replied urgently, kneeling down in front of the girl.

"Third floor, by that painting of the giraffe," she replied, not meeting his eyes. The girl wrung her hands, and stood back as Harry pushed her towards the door.

"Go back to the tower, Patience," Harry commanded, putting his hands on her shoulders and pushing her towards the entrance, "I'll help her." Harry didn't look back to see if the girl followed his instructions before he hurried out of the Library, gathering a shouted admonishment from Pince as he did.

Harry headed down the hall, checking his pockets as he went, cloak, wand, map. He passed several students on the way, almost knocking down a Hufflepuff third year in his haste. He felt Hermione running from the other direction at his silent call, and slid to a stop as he reached the third floor landing, just out of sight of where the giant, three-story painting hung. Harry glanced up as he felt Hermione come up behind him, and slid in against the wall next to him. He glanced over and raised an eyebrow, and gave her an odd look as she shook her head. Wait, Harry.

Hermione reached into the pocket of his robes and snapped open his cloak, she whirled it over both of them and they vanished. Not that I have any complaints, Hermione, but...

I have a feeling we should watch this first...trust me, Love. It's something Fleur said. Harry gave her a doubting glance under the cover of the cloak, but let her pull them around the corner. As soon as they rounded it, it was all she could do to keep Harry from working on his human to animal Transfiguration.

Five Slytherin boys, all seemingly four or fifth years, in other words, too young to really punish were standing over a small, blond haired girl as she knelt on the flagstone floor of the nearly abandoned hallway, which was a prime shortcut between Gryffindor Tower and the Great Hall below. The girl's bag was ripped, with ink from several smashed inkbottles staining the stones, several books torn to shreds and a large picture of the Weasleys and Harry and Hermione at Bill's wedding lying half-burnt at her feet. In the picture, she was being held in Charlie's arms, protectively. Gabrielle's outer robes were ripped, along with her sleeve and Harry felt his vision start to redden.

"What's wrong?" mocked Malcolm Reynolds, a dark, sneering fifth year Slytherin, "what's wrong little half-breed, your bag torn...your little picture of blood-traitors destroyed--" He laughed as he reached out and brushed her hair back and she whipped her face away from his hand. The rest of the Slytherins chortled as Gabrielle started to back away, fearfully. Their laughter faded as the girl visibly looked down at the torn and burnt picture of the wedding, of the kind face of Charlie Weasley looking up at her, and the fear vanished from her eyes, a curious light dancing in them.

They watched as the bedraggled girl stood to her full height and locked her gaze to the Slytherins'. A soft, knowing smile, one much too old for an eleven-year-old, slipped across her lips and Harry felt the very air in the room change. He felt Hermione's hand in his as he suddenly knew what the young...Veela was about to do.

For an instant before it faded, Harry saw a faint, golden glow surrounding the girl, as she smiled and looked over the Slytherins... "What iz you doing...silly boyz..." a dark, chuckling grin crossed her face as she stepped back to the edge of the landing, and looked down at a book, two stories below that was probably hers, having been thrown down there by the young minions, "Oh look, iz that, my bookkz...I zeemed to have dropped eet. Pleeze can you geet eet for meeze?" She smiled, her eyes glittering, and with five, identical blank looks on their faces the Slytherins started to walk towards the edge of the landing like Lemmings off a cliff.

Reynolds had his hand on the railing, about to vault over when Harry whipped off the cloak and a bolt snapped from his wand, immobilizing Reynolds and causing him to fall backwards onto the landing. The spell broken, the other four Slytherins started to turn, but collapsed as a wave of red swept over them. Gabrielle slid to the floor, drained, as she looked up accusingly at Harry and Hermione, "They'z dezevered eet..." she cried, holding the Heads' gaze for a long moment before she dropped her eyes and began to sob softly.

Hermione picked up the small girl in her arms, flicked her wand to repair her torn sleeve and robes from where the Slytherin proxies of Zabini, and ultimately Tom Riddle, had damaged it and held the girl to her chest. Soft cries came from the girl's throat, as Hermione looked at Harry, nodded and led Gabrielle off, towards Gryffindor Tower and family and safety. Harry didn't need her help for five fifth and four-years.

He watched them pass out of slight and flicked his wand at Gabrielle's bag. It rose in the air, the tears mended themselves, and quills, inkbottles, and her books, including the one tossed far below flew back into the back. The picture slowly became unburnt, the straightening out before settling back into the bag. He flicked his wand again and it vanished with a flash of light. Harry crossed his arms as his fingers flicked and five bodies floated up to stand against the nearest wall. He snapped the fingers of his right hand and ropes appeared and bound all five, and with a final wave of his wand, all five awoke, slowly and groggily.

"Wha..What the bloody hell?!" Reynolds yelled; he looked around to find Harry leaning causally against the rail of the nearest staircase, "Let us go Potter!"

"No," Harry replied flatly.

"You'll pay Potter you and your..." another of the Slytherins, a brown-haired fourth optimistically named Julius Caesar McDermott, growled only to be silenced along with his fellows as Harry glanced their direction and eyes flashed.

"No," Harry repeated, his voice a rather close approximation of the Headsman as he denied the condemned permission to go for a walk, "we need to talk gentlemen." He grinned slightly, "Rather, I suppose that I will talk, and you will listen." Harry pushed off from the wall, "Let us pretend, just for a moment, that you five decided...all on your own...that you should go and find some little Gryffindor swot and make her life hell. Let us further pretend that you had no idea that I considered that girl family, that I made a promise to keep her safe. I keep my promises gentlemen, and I tend to, shall we say, permanently end problems, and I will not tolerate any attacks on me and mine...and that includes any student, especially those that can't defend themselves. If you want to go pick on each other in your common room, fine, but do not come into this school looking for trouble. Any questions?" Harry asked with a small smile, and waved his hand at Reynolds as he saw the boy's mouth flapping uselessly.

"The Dark Lord will..." he hissed, only to be cut off by another, annoyed wave.

"Consider one fact if you will," Harry replied softly as several of the other Slytherins flapped their gums uselessly, "you may very well be afraid of Zabini, the Death Eaters and Tommy," Harry rolled his eyes at the blank look on several of the serpent house's finest, "honestly, the bloody, Half-Blood prat who calls himself Voldemort," they shivered at the name. "Really if you are going to give your souls to the arsehole, you really shouldn't cower at his name, but back to my point. Voldemort," he said the name slowly, drawing it out, taunting, "and the Death Eaters are out there...I am in here, consider that fact next time, I am not warning you again." Harry spun on his heel and grabbed a staircase as it separated from the landing and began to lift away. He never looked back at the still restrained and silenced Slytherins.

*************************Hogsmeade*********************************

December 6, 1997.
10:00 am

It had been a long, long week for Harry, Hermione and the rest. The attacks and pranks by Zabini's and by extension, Tom Riddle's, proxies had struck throughout the week, some of them humorous, some most definitely not. Three Gryffindor third years had mysteriously "tripped" down a flight of stairs, earning them overnight stays in the Hospital Wing. Several of the Hufflepuffs' pets had vanished only to be found later, hairless and caged in an abandoned classroom on the fifth floor. A Ravenclaw Chaser had had her hair charmed green, with glowing, neon letters floating above her head spelling out, "GO SLYTHERIN," but that could have been as much attributed to the fact of the Ravenclaws playing Slytherin a week from today as much as any grand nefarious plot. Those had been the highlights, of course. In the main, the younger Slytherin minions of Zabini had perpetrated a series of actions that danced just on the safe side of an outright declared war with the supporters of the light, in particular an odd emphasis seemed to be on incidents with younger members of the DA and younger siblings of older members.

The finale of the week, yesterday, would probably have turned out a tad bit better for the Slytherins if they had chosen someone else for their 'prank'. At the end of dinner, Parvati Patil, who was already in a quite annoyed mood after yet another letter from her parents, was the latest victim of Zabini's planned assault. Her sister had left already in tears, heading towards Ravenclaw Tower, muttering imprecations under her breath, as Parvati came out of the doors of the Great Hall in the company of Neville, Seamus and Honor. Parvati had turned to answer a question from the Gryffindor sixth year when, with a rush of air, she had found herself standing nude in front of a hundred students.

Unfortunately for Kimberly Wandsworthy, a blonde Slytherin sixth year, Parvati was not embarrassed enough to stop to cover herself before she looked up, saw the wand in the girl's hand and, after crossing the intervening distance in three strides, breaking Wandsworthy's nose in a spray of blood. Only after watching the girl on her knees holding her hands to her face to try to stop the streams of blood for a good, satisfied minute, had Parvati taken the robe Neville offered her.

Parvati had taken the week's detention with a small smile, after all Kimberly was the one now stuck with cleaning out the Thestrals' stalls for two weeks, while she was inventorying the supplies of the Charms and Transfiguration departments. Normally this was an arduous task, except that Professor Lupin had mistakenly omitted to tell Parvati that she could not use magic.

Today all of that was hopefully in the past, or at least held up at the castle, as Harry dismounted one of the carriages to step out onto the High Street to head into town. He smiled slightly as Hermione took his hand and leaned back against him for a moment, before reaching up to adjust her winter hat worn over twin braids. Harry glanced around as Neville nudged him and pointed towards the eves of a nearby building. "OI, Ron," Harry yelled, laughing, "you can do that inside, it's cold out here. Come on."

Ron looked up, then down at Luna as she smiled up at him with her hands in Ron's back pockets. He grinned, took her hand and started to lead her away, "We'll catch up later."

"Oi, Luna," Parvati smirked, "you better have Weasley cast a Warming Charm, you don't want to explain to Pomfrey how a bloke can get frostbite on his-" She was silenced as Neville picked her up, placed a hand over her mouth and started to carry her off. He set her back down after a few paces as they headed down the street, and she smirked back up at Neville, "Well if you're going to carry me..." Neville's only warning was the soft crunch of snow under Parvati's boots as she ran around behind him and jumped up on his back, throwing her arms around his neck. He rolled his eyes, but picked up her legs automatically anyway and started walking with his new, not unwelcome, burden.

"That's no fair Par," Lavender whined, leaning up against Neville, "where will I ride?"

"You guys can figure that out for yourself," Hermione laughed, grabbed Harry's hand and they vanished, only to reappear on the hill leading to the Shrieking Shack and overlooking the town. Far below, spread out amongst the streets of the small village, they could see the small dots of a flock of third years headed to Zonko's. Ron was readily recognizable due to his size, even at a distance, as Luna tumbled him to the snow and ran off laughing.

The crowds were lighter than usual, even this far north under the very shadow of Hogwarts, the townspeople were few and sparse, tending not to linger on the streets, but to scurry from shop to shop as if they were afraid of being caught out in the open. Even the students, who seemed to compose the majority of the population on the streets, were fewer than on a normal Hogsmeade weekend. Many of the parents of the students who had remained in Hogwarts had rescinded the permissions of their children to attend Hogsmeade, even such as the Patils, who as they were of age, where it was a gesture only.

Hermione leaned against him, her head tucked against his shoulder and sighed, before she looked down at the town and pulled on Harry's hand, "Let's go Harry, we need to get our shopping done."

"I don't wanna," Harry whinged, pulling back, "It's a stupid idea to go to a ball..." he grinned and started to pull her up the hill towards the Shrieking Shack, "Let's go check out the Shack." Hermione smiled at him, a touch regretfully, but shook her head in the end.

"Yes, it is," Hermione agreed, "but the Ministry is bound and determined to have it, to show that they are not afraid and, in some ways, that is about the only thing that they have done right. Since McGonagall convinced us to go to see if we could gather allies, we need to dress the part. If I'm going to be on the arm of the handsomest wizard there, he really needs to look his best. " She concentrated for a second and they vanished, to reappear in a familiar alley next to the Three Broomsticks. She pulled him out onto the High Street and headed out.

"But can't you pick out both our clothes?" Harry looked at her, his eyes wide and pleading, and she sighed.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "If you're good, you can pick out what I wear under the dress." She smirked, as Harry paused, considering.

"But I already know that nothing is best, really," Harry retorted, grinning. He started to pull her towards Honeydukes and the line of students congregated there. Across the way, they could see Luna leading Ron into Zonko's, his red head bobbing in answer to something she was saying.

"You can be horny later, Harry," Hermione shot back with a small grin and pulled him down the street in the opposite direction of where he wanted to go.

"Hermiiiioneeee"

An hour and a half later, Harry held open the door of the Three Broomsticks for Hermione and stepped inside, following her. They paused for a moment, as their eyes adjusted to the relative gloom inside the packed pub as compared to the bright, early winter day outside. Seemingly the entirety of Hogwarts older than thirteen along with much of the town was crowded into the room, drinking, talking, flirting and eating.

In a corner to their right, Slytherin House seemed to be isolated from the rest of the patrons; Blasé Zabini was holding court with other members of his house crowded around. Pansy was sitting in his lap, laughing at something, while his inherited bookends, Crabbe and Goyle stood to either side, looking out. The rest of his house was packed in about them like sardines, as if they were afraid of contamination from the rest of the school. Zabini sneered at Harry as he stepped forward and started to wind his way through the crowded pub. Harry just ignored him. Daphne was seated at a table on the very fringe of Slytherin occupied space, looking nervous as she talked to an auburn haired fifth year, Andrea Crenshaw who had been identified as another possible recruit if not to the light, then to the grey line in the middle.

"OI," Ron yelled from across the pub and waved as Harry and Hermione came into his sight from around behind the pot-bellied stove in the center of the room. Harry nodded and he started to lead Hermione towards the back corner of the pub directly opposite the main door. As he did so, he noticed with not a trace of surprise that unlike Slytherin house, the remainder of the school was scattered throughout, intermingled with the townspeople, visitors and guests, with no real division save that similarly aged students tended to sit with one another. Harry paused to exchange a greeting with Hagrid as the half-giant held down a good quarter of Rosmerta's scarred, oak bar. He patted his friend on the shoulder and continued back, finally reaching the far back corner where Ron had called to them from.

Hermione stopped as they reached the booth, her hands on her hips and regarded Ron with a gimlet eye, "And just where are we supposed to sit?" The booth, which looked to be designed to hold maybe eight, was packed to the gills. Besides Ron, Luna, Seamus, Dean, Parvati, Padma, Lavender, Susan, Ernie, Honor and a friend of Susan's, Sasha Thurston, were crowded into the booth.

Ron grinned, "Well there is always the floor, I'm sure that Harry would let you sit on his lap, Herms."

She rolled her eyes, "Honestly, Ron, you grew up with magic." Harry?

Harry waved his hand over the booth, and suddenly, without it taking up an inch more floor space in the crowed pub than it had before, the tight, cramped booth was abruptly spacious and roomy. Dean scooted over to let them in, as Ron slid a pair of butterbeers over to the newcomers from a large bucket of them in the center of the table. Hermione stuck her tongue out at Ron as she slid in next to Harry and more or less sat on his lap anyway. "So Harry, what are you doing for Christmas?" Dean asked after a moment as he took a sip of his beer and leaned back in the booth.

Hermione glanced up and caught Ron's eye. He looked down at his stew and did not comment as Hermione bit her lip slightly and shrugged, "Stay here I guess," she replied softly, "Harry and I don't really have anywhere to go to." Ron nodded without looking up, he knew that the Grangers were in hiding...just in case, but he didn't comment. Several other heads gave brief, knowing nods, the most that they would acknowledge of the still simmering conflict between the Potters and the Weasleys, or more specifically and to the point, with Molly Weasley, whose intransigence on the point of contention, Ginny, was unabated.

"Well, I guess that can be-" Dean's comment was cut off as a witch near the outer wall commented loudly about how cold it was in here and for someone to stoke the fire. Harry glanced automatically towards the potbelly stove in the center of the room to find that not only had it gone out, but also that ice was starting to form on its surface as well. He glanced towards the windows to the High Street to see them start to glaze over. A sudden, suffocating, all pervasive feeling of dread and bone-chilling cold settled over the bar as Harry and Hermione slipped to their feet almost casually.

Harry leaned over the table, if he were just making a particular point, "We have company," he muttered, drawing his wand covertly as he did so, and every face at the table nodded. Harry glanced back to find Hagrid at the bar, already pulling back his moleskin coat to reveal the hilt of a Bludger-bat-sized wand. Harry had had a new, proper wand procured for his oldest Magical friend to replace the one snapped by dint of one of Riddle's earliest crimes over the summer. It had been remarkably easy for one of Harry's newfound resources to grease the proper palms in the Ministry in order to acquire it for Hagrid; and with the addition of a muttered spell over it by Hermione, it was untraceable as well. Hagrid gave Harry a small nod, finished his mead with one, large swallow of his bucket-sized goblet and stood as if to stretch.

"Dean, Honor, Susan, Ernie," Harry whispered urgently as he glanced around the room as Hermione flicked her wrist where her hand hung down next to her leg and her wand appeared inconspicuously in her hand with a flicker of motion, "go out the back, get the youngsters out, use the Honeydukes tunnel or whatever." The four of them edged to their feet and slowly started to slip towards a nearby door set in the back wall that led to the kitchen and through it to a door into the back alley.

"DEMENTORS!" a witch seated near the windows to the High Street screamed suddenly and Harry's desperate, hasty plan to keep some semblance of calm fell apart. Several Wizards vanished with loud CRACKs of Apparation, knocking their chairs, tables and mugs askew. The teens fought to get to their feet to get at least free enough to Apparate away to get more room to fight when the door to the room flew inward with a huge BOOM. Green scaly hands shot out from the ends of tattered sleeves and grabbed a short wizard just as he reached the door, and started to pull him to a faceless hood.

Harry desperately reached out with his magic, yanking the unfortunate wizard to safety just as "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A huge silver otter shot past Harry's ear driving the Dementor, along with a couple of others that had started to push into the pub, back with a horrible, terrible keening sound from somewhere beneath their hoods.

"GO!" Harry screamed and vanished, reappearing in the High Street outside of the Three Broomsticks. "EXPECTO PATRONUM," an immense silver stag, fueled by memories of the expression in Hermione's eyes when she said, "I do," shot out, its antlers impaling a Dementor that was starting to charge Harry. Prongs circled, driving back another half-dozen foul ones as Hermione appeared at Harry's back sending her otter slashing out to drive away another group headed towards Zonko's.

With a moment to breathe gained, Harry looked up and down the street. Fortunately there were few visible casualties so far, he saw three lifeless bodies sprawled along the street, but none looked to be younger than thirty. He saw at least as many Dementors as had threatened him and Hermione third year and he muttered a curse. Harry looked towards Honeydukes to find Ron suddenly standing there, and watched as his wand flicked and a large, rather huge actually, hedgehog appeared, rolled into a ball, and started to fire ethereal quills at the Dementors. Ron stood his ground as rainbow flashes started to light the windows of the candy shop and Harry nodded as he watched the evacuation of the younger students start to take place. He pointed his wand at another clump of Dementors that were approaching Hermione from the rear, and Prongs leapt to her defense as Hermione's own otter raced though the air towards the hill housing the Shrieking Shack where another ten Dementors were gliding towards them.

A soft hoot sounded from Harry's pocket, Harry flicked open his mirror to see Dean's panting visage, just as a large spectral lion ate a Dementor that was approaching Ron from behind, Luna slid in behind Ron as Harry looked down at his open mirror, "Harry," Dean shouted. From the background behind him, Harry could tell that he was near Hogsmeade Station, "we have the thirds and fourth years out, Ernie's down, Dementor got to him, but he'll live." Harry just nodded as he looked up and whistled. A hundred yards away, in the midst of a flock of Dementors Prongs' head perked up and he galloped back to Harry's side.

Hermione twirled her wand in an odd, spiral pattern and her otter started to swim, faster and faster around the two of them and Prongs, driving back approaching Dementors. Harry took a breath and pointed his wand at Prongs, PATRONUM EXTRANIUM DELLATRIUM. Prongs' already glowing, silver eyes lit like searchlights as he searched out his natural prey, Go back to hell, Harry muttered as Prongs' hoof hammered down onto the snow-encrusted, hard-packed earth. A shimmering wave of energy shot out from the impact of his hoof, ripping into the packed Dementors. The closer ones seemed to fold in on themselves and shimmer before vanishing into nothingness with terrible, horrible howls. The ones further away ran, flitting away as fast as they could before disappearing back to wherever they came from. Prongs pounded his hoof on the ground once more and another ring of light snapped outward tearing at the darkness and the misery, driving even more back.

The day suddenly brightened once more, as the sun seemed to come out though it had never gone behind the clouds. A blanket of warmth settled over the town as the shadows were driven away. Harry staggered slightly and Hermione's hand unthinkingly shot out to catch him. He gave her a tired smile as Ron resheathed his wand and walked over slowly from his post outside of Honeydukes, "Bloody hell, Hermione," Ron muttered tiredly as the last of the foul shadows escaped to the nether regions they came from, "why hasn't your Patronus changed from fifth year, like Tonks' did?"

Hermione rolled her eyes as her husband leaned into her as he muttered something into his mirror, checking up on the rest of the teams, "Honestly, Ronald...can you spell....add a P to otter...." Harry chuckled softly as his arms slipped around her.

"Ron, we'll head back to the castle and talk to McGonagall, make sure the rest of the DA are alright and find us," Harry said, Ron nodded and watched as his two best friends vanished without a sound.

Several minutes later, after Ron had already made sure that the remaining students, composed mainly of the DA and a few other older students were on their way back to the castle on the Orders of the Head Boy and Head Girl, several loud CRACKs of Apparation were heard on the High Street. Ron walked causally out of Honeydukes, with a large bag of candy. "About time Kingsley, we already drove them off," he said idly, as he started to walk back up towards the carriage stop, with Luna feeding herself Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from a large sack at his side. She tossed one in his mouth, "Damn...Ralph," he griped and spit it back out.



Ok there we go, next chapter, A ball, and a reunion


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Hey, kids...here we go, another step towards the precipice...Thanks, as usual, to Lady Starlight for her work on this chapter.

Chapter 28: Dancing with the Devil by the Pale Moonlight
*********************Grimmauld Place********************************

December 20, 1997
3:00 pm

Harry looked up from another of Dumbledore's journals, this one going over his adventures in the Himalayas almost a hundred years before to watch as Ron and Luna crashed into the door coming of the Library and a small table set next to it and knocked down one of Hermione's carefully ordered piles of books to investigate. He shook his head and returned to the journal, "I'd make sure that I picked those books the way she had them." Harry turned a page and jotted down a note as Hermione appeared next to him, and handed him a mug as she sat back down next to him. She picked up another one of the journals from a stack, and began to read in the strong sunlight coming through the high Library window.

"Pick up my books, Ron," Hermione growled as she leaned against Harry, and started in on the journal that covered Dumbledore's time in the Auror service. She nodded as she glanced over a paragraph describing a particularly dumb dark wizard and his plans to take over the world with an army of Imperius controlled Hippogriffs. She snorted as she read about his downfall, forgetting to bow, once. "I had them in order Ron," Hermione hissed, not looking up from her book as Harry looped the arm he was using to hold his book around her, under arms. Ron rolled his eyes and flicked his wand at the dislocated pile of books. It leapt back onto the table sorting and stacking until it was, almost, as he had found it, "Switch the top two, Ron," Hermione commanded without looking across the room.

Ron did so, his eyes pointed at the heavens, "Happy?"

"Yes."

"I thought you'd be getting ready for the ball, Hermione," Ron said from the door, smiling, "How many hours did it take you for the Yule Ball?"

"....Weasley, I..." Hermione sputtered slightly, she paused and a slow, smile blossomed on her face as she snuggled into Harry's side, "It won't take any time at all, I'm already gorgeous, Harry said so, just this morning."

"He's shagging you, doesn't count," Ron coughed, and Hermione glared at him for an instant before they both chuckled slightly. "Seriously," Ron said, "you did look great; I'll even say that with Luna here." He frowned slightly, "Herms, Harry...I just thought you'd want to know...mum and dad will be there tonight, as it's a Ministry function and he's a bigwig now."

"Thanks, Ron," Harry replied for them both, glancing over to see the small grimace of annoyance crossing Hermione's face. "We don't have to be there until eight or so..."

"No, actually, Harry," Luna put in suddenly, thoughtfully, "you shouldn't arrive until nine or so...give the event time to start, and the guests time to...imbibe." The trio looked at her, dazed, and she shrugged, "Mum, and dad went to such things before she..." Luna frowned slightly and turned away for a moment, when she glanced back the usual, slightly vacant expression that normally decorated her eyes was back. "Of course there is always the possibility that Scrimgeour will try to use this as a means to implant Tibetan Ear Weevils, to control the guests when they leave, they can't be detected like the Imperius, so don't eat any cheese from the buffet," Luna added earnestly. "Because I'd miss you," she added softly.

"Ummm," Harry muttered, "sure." He looked across the room at Ron who was studiously ignoring the byplay, "Where are you two going? Headed directly to the Burrow, or?"

Ron glanced at Luna, she smiled brightly and grabbed onto Ron's arm, "Ronnie's taking me to look for a new familiar in Diagon Alley." She bounced slightly on the balls of her feet as she looked up at Ron adoringly.

"Yeah," Ron said slowly, "I guess we are." Luna nodded again and ran out of the room; Ron shook his head slightly and sat down across from Harry and Hermione. He looked towards the door, and flicked his wand, establishing a Silencing Charm. "Thanks for letting us stay here for the weekend, Harry."

"You didn't even have to ask, mate, you know that," Harry replied with a small smile.

"Just wait until we're asking you to baby-sit in five or so years," Ron retorted with a laugh.

"Are you going to ask her, Ron?" Hermione inquired, as Harry heard a distinct, soft Squee, in his thoughts. Harry rolled his eyes, before looking at his brother in all that really mattered.

"Yeah," Ron responded almost silently after a moment's contemplation. He looked down at his hands as they twisted together in his hands, "It's you two's fault of course..."

"Ron, I..." Hermione objected softly, but Ron shook his head and reached out and patted her knee for a second, before sitting back in the wingback chair he currently occupied.

"No, it's not like that, Hermione," Ron gave her a fleeting grin, "it's just that I see how happy you two are...and I know...well we could all be dead before this is over. And I...you know." The other two in the room nodded, almost automatically. "I'm going to ask her over Christmas, just have to see when the time is right." Harry nodded knowingly as Ron went on, "I still need to get a ring, though...I haven't, I was going to that day in Hogsmeade, but you know how that day went."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, "we remember." His and Hermione's thoughts shot back, two weeks ago to the Dementor attack on Hogsmeade, an attack that had mysteriously never made the papers. The Ministry had immediately clamped down on the news, to "dispel panic," but word had still seeped out, in pubs and bookstores, from students and from little old witches from the mountains.

Harry...why don't we let Ron give Luna the Ravenclaw ring, Hermione put in, she looked up at Harry, she's a Ravenclaw, the ring's protections would work for her...since the Hat thought I should be one too, they probably would me as well, but I already have a ring.

Think he would take it, and don't we still need it to scry for the Staff again when we are ready?

Ron looked between them and rolled his eyes, he had long ago discerned what they were doing, but it was more exasperating than anything, as he waited for them to finish.

We can only ask, and if Luna has the ring, I'm sure she will let us borrow it; the scrying doesn't hurt it. And next time we try, I think we might want more than the two of us anyway. Hermione flicked her wand at the coffee table in front of Ron, and watched as a small, black box appeared, "Ron, we might have a solution for you."

"Blimey, Hermione," Ron muttered, "this is the Ravenclaw ring, I can't take this..."

"Yes, you can, Ron," Harry replied, "Hermione put it in a normal box so you can get it out...but more importantly, Luna's a Ravenclaw, this ring has a bit of magic itself, besides its being one of a kind, kinda like her, mate." He looked across at his friend, "Ron, this isn't charity, in a way, it's her heritage, and it might just save her while it's at it. Alright, mate?"

Ron sat back in his chair, and looked down at the open ring box, the door started to open and his hand shot out and swept the box into a pocket. Luna bounded into the room and grabbed onto Ron's arm as he stood. She threw her arms around his neck and sighed softly as Ron bent down to kiss her. "Ready to go, luv?" she asked breathlessly.

"Yeah," Ron muttered back, in a similar tone as Hermione fought back chuckles, "Hermione, Harry...thanks, guys." Harry gave him a nod as the two of them vanished with a soft CRACK.
***********************London, Bank of the Thames********************
6:15 pm

A light snow was softly falling over the streets of the ancient city as Ginny stood at the window of the Savoy, and looked across the Thames at the lights of the Muggle traffic far below. She watched as the lights from Muggle Christmas decorations, glistened off the half-frozen waters far below this penthouse window. She sighed. "Tell me again...Draco. Tell me why your father has a permanent suite in a Muggle hotel," she commanded softly, as she splayed the fingers of her hand over the window glass.

"This is the thirteenth floor, Ginevra...this doesn't exist for Muggles," Draco replied as he sat up from the bed and looked over at her. "The Malfoys are not the only old family with suites here...The Zabinis have one two suites down, and the Blacks another. Dumbledore used to have one here as well," he shook his head, "Are you going to get ready then...I can still pick up, something, from Knockturn Alley, if you don't want to go...while I might have no issue with your current attire, there are those who will be there whose attitudes are older than his hotel."

Ginny turned from the window and dropped her robe, revealing a bra and knickers set that her mother would not have approved of. Not that that mattered any longer. She crossed the room and sat down cross-legged on the foot of the bed. "Go ahead," Ginny muttered, "find someone else to help you, I dare you." She grinned, darkly, "Chances are any slag you find in Knockturn would be an agent for the Order, or maybe for the Ministry." She looked around at the dark wood of the walls, at the tastefully decorated suite in the old English style and frowned, "Is this how you normally live?"

"A far sight from what you are used to, isn't it, Red?" Draco replied. He reached over and took a sip of an amber colored liquid from a tumbler set on a bedside table. "I could get another, I suppose. They certainly would be more...experienced," he added thoughtfully.

"Fuck you, Draco," Ginny snapped, jumped up and paced back to the window. She watched out the window, off towards the south bank of the Thames where she could see, tiny, brightly colored dots walking along the riverbank. Miniscule figures holding hands, or laughing along with the antics of even smaller figures at their sides meandered with not a care in the world, certainly not of what was going on at this very moment, in the shadows and alleys, and occasionally right in front of their eyes. "Just give me the potion, Draco," she said after a moment. Draco looked at her, nodded and tossed her a phial of a putrid, green liquid.

************************Grimmauld******************************

8:45pm

Harry looked up the stairs, again, and resumed pacing. He didn't bother to restrain himself from running his hands through his hair. He looked up once more, up the stairs towards his bedroom from which he had been forcefully evicted several hours ago. He sighed, pulled his robes straight and rubbed his hands in front of him for a moment.

Harry paused as he caught sight of himself in a hall mirror and sighed, shaking his head at the sight. He glanced down at the deep black, very subtly shimmering dress robes, and pulled them straight, again grimacing slightly at the emerald green shirt that Hermione had picked for him, and glanced down at his black dragonhide boots to make sure that he had not managed to mess up the shine that Dobby had insisted on applying to them over Harry's strenuous objections. He looked down at the tiny replica of the Hogwarts crest pinned to his chest, right below another small badge with an odd heraldic device, with a Phoenix and Eagle in flight over a seated lion, with the cross hilt of a sword peaking up from behind the Lion's head, the ancient coat of arms of Gryffindor.

I look like a bloody Malfoy, Harry groused as he rocked on his heals and started to amuse himself with making several of the chess pieces on the nearby set duel. He watched as the tiny, white queen, took two steps, executed a forward flip over the black king and sliced back and up with her miniscule sword. The king fell to the board in two pieces and Harry flicked his fingers, resetting the board.

He turned at a soft tread on the stairs, and his heart lurched slightly. No, Love, Hermione corrected him as she slowly walked down the stairs; You look like Baron Harry James Potter-Black, Lord Gryffindor, and the one of the richest wizards in Great Britain. Harry looked at her, and she smirked as his jaw worked for an instant.

God, Mione...you look...wow, Harry whispered, and she grinned, with her lip half in her teeth as she stepped off the stairs and into the soft glow of the firelight and candelabra above. Hermione had appeared in a night black, form-fitting dress, the exact same shade as his robes, with the same soft shimmer to the fabric. The dress was held up by two thin straps, and slit up one leg almost to her hip along her right leg, to move in. She crossed the room and stood in front of him, almost shyly as she absently played with one of the tendrils of her hair, which she had allowed to escape the neat twist, that the rest of it was piled in on the top of her head. A pair of low heels brought her eyes almost to the level of his as she stood on her toes to kiss his scar gently and stepped back a couple of inches. Her hands came up to straighten his glasses before she took both of his hands in hers.

Thank you, Harry, Hermione whispered; as he glanced down to see her hands clutching at his almost nervously.

You know, that makes you Lady Gryffindor, and Baroness Potter-Black right? Harry asked, and smiled slightly as she jumped at the thought, almost as if the entire idea were new to her. Though I seriously doubt that there will be anyone remotely comparable to you, no matter what your name is.

I'd be happy with Mrs. Potter, honestly, Hermione said after a minute, after she could form words again, after the sudden rush his last comment had caused. Merlin, I'm wound tight tonight, she punched Harry's shoulder lightly at his salacious grin.

Got your wand, Mione? Harry inquired as he spun her around gently, pulling her back to his chest and wrapping an arm protectively around her waist. She nodded, and they vanished.

**************************The Ministry of Magic**************************

8:55 pm

Deep within the large, mostly subterranean building housing the Wizarding government, there were many rooms. Rooms where judgments were passed, rooms where wizards studied the mysteries of the universe, and many, many rooms where bureaucrats did whatever, bureaucrats do. All of these rooms were unimportant tonight, for tonight; a celebration was going on, one with the express purpose of ignoring what was happening outside of these buried corridors.

A pair of Aurors in dress uniforms stood a on either side of a large, golden door, their hands resting on sheathed wands. They looked up automatically as Harry and Hermione approached and stopped. Harry saw a flicker of recognition from the one on the left as he stepped into a pool of light cast by a torch mounted on the wall. He nodded to the Aurors and glanced around as a tall, rather pale Wizard in a deep blue robe stepped from a hidden cul-de-sac. The man carried a small baton with topped with a glowing blue jewel and wore a heavy, gold pendent with a open and blinking eye on his chest, "Invitation," he snarled, and took the heavy parchment envelope Hermione handed him. He opened it, showed it to the eye and his attitude abruptly changed. "Sir," he said diffidently, with only a bare glance at Hermione. Harry's eyebrow slowly rose, "and ma'am," the major-domo quickly corrected himself, "Wait here, I will announce you."

"That's not--" Harry began, but fell silent as the man vanished back into his cubbyhole.

In the main room, the Ministry of Magic's ballroom, a room used only for events like this, receptions and award ceremonies, the room was about half full. Witches in dresses that some of them might wear once a year, if that, were dancing with a wizards in dress robes and uniforms, the deep, midnight blue of the Auror Corps most notably. A large crowd of male suitors, and a couple of women as well, were standing next to a blonde woman, with her back to the door. Her pale, almost white hair glinted in the light of innumerable candles floating high over the ballroom floor, as she responded to something that a tall, but yet stocky man said with an accented laugh.

The deep blue walls and highly polished, dark wood floors were seemingly odd this far within this warren of stone but also oddly fitting as a tall red-haired man with his long hair pulled back into a neat tail bound by a pair of silver rings pushed his way through the crowd to stand at her side, to accompaniment of muttered growls of displeasure. The crowd groaned softly as the blonde witch turned to the newcomer, stood on her toes and kissed him thoroughly. Her admirers wandered off, as Bill laughed. "You did that on purpose, luv," he accused softly.

"I waz...bored," Fleur admitted as she grinned up at him, her eyes twinkling slightly. She mouthed, "thanks," as Bill handed her a goblet of pumpkin juice that he had retrieved for her, and he took a sip of his own whiskey. "I would, honezteztly, rather be az zome."

"As would I, dear," Bill admitted, "but when Greyfang said that we should go to represent Gringotts--" she nodded and placed her hand on her still-flat stomach for a moment as they both looked around the room. Bill glanced down at his watch and frowned slightly as he noticed Arthur talking to a several darkly robed members of the Wizengamot, looking for support for his new Dark Arts Artifact Usage Act. There was an odd, especially considering the times, resistance to its passage. Molly stood next to him, smiling softly as Arthur presented his case and Bill sighed softly. He looked over to see Scrimgeour looking down at his watch as well, before summoning his aide to his side and muttering something forcefully in his ear.

"If Ron and Luna were right, they should be here any moment," Bill whispered, and Fleur nodded knowingly. There was a subtle tension between them. They looked up just as the doors opened once more, and a blue robed man stepped out onto a slightly raised landing with stairs that led down into the main room.

He took a breath, "HARRY JAMES POTTER, BARON POTTER-BLACK AND MISS HERMIONE JANE GRANGER." The doors opened silently behind him, and the named pair stepped into the room.

All new mutterings erupted as the "Chosen One" stepped into the room accompanied by his "date". Several young women looked at his companion balefully as they eyed the one who had just been named, again, one of Witch Weekly's "most eligible bachelors." A tall redhead in a rather revealing dress and a blonde similarly dressed, started to approach, but stopped at a raised eyebrow from Hermione. She took Harry's arm as they started down the stairs, knowing without looking that they were this moment's objects for stares. Bill glanced over at Molly, who was glaring at Hermione and Harry, turning away from them at Arthur's hand on her shoulder. Bill grabbed Fleur's hand and pulled slightly in the direction of Harry and Hermione, and got a small nod from her in response.

Behind them, Scrimgeour looked at Harry with a small, tight smile. He turned back to the young couple he was talking to, Andrew Gates and his wife Anastasia. Anastasia smiled up at him, and tucked a lock of jet behind her right ear; her eyes flickered as she watched the Minister take a sip of his cocktail, and shared a glance with her husband. "I was not aware that the...'Chosen One' was here this evening," she commented with a small smile. She lazily looked over near the door where Bill and Fleur were nearing Harry and Hermione, her eyes visibly scanned up and down the Hogwarts' Head Girl, "Who is that...girl on his arm," she asked sweetly.

Scrimgeour shrugged and took another sip of his drink, "I suppose that is that Muggle-born that the Prophet caught him with the other day...the Potters are an old family, but they have always had an issue with proper - etiquette."

"Yes, they have," Andrew agreed and squeezed his wife's hand as a slow song began and the hubbub from Harry and Hermione's arrival started to wane. "Come my love, I would like to dance, if you would excuse us, Minister." Scrimgeour nodded and watched as the pair drifted towards the dance floor before leaving, heading vaguely in the direction of the newest arrivals. Andrew pulled his wife much closer than the majority of the older couples on the dance floor, and rested his still, slightly pointed chin on the top of her head, reaching up to brush a lock of dark brown hair out of his eyes before he rested his joined hands on the slope of her bum. "Merlin, Red," he whispered harshly, "can you keep your sodding claws in for one moment? Do you want them to figure out who we are?"

"Sorry," she hissed, glancing up at Draco before looking back over at Harry and Hermione. Her gaze cut to Molly, glaring at Hermione, and she felt her stomach lurch for just an instant, before she looked away with a will. So the little girl isn't welcome any more, she started it, a darkly familiar voice whispered in the back of her thoughts. Not really, I told her I was over him...It doesn't matter, she said she was your sister, remember she said that she was your friend, friends, sisters don't do that to each other...But she's been with him as long as I have known them...So, if she had really cared she should have said something earlier, made him take her to the Yule Ball maybe...But, she... Ginny swallowed heavily, and glanced back up at Draco, "We've done what we need to do right?"

Draco glanced down, frowned, "Yes, but we can't leave yet. It would be...unseemly." He spun her slowly to the music, "Enjoy yourself, Weaselette, it's not every day your family gets invited to these things." Ginny sighed and didn't bother to mention that four members of her family were within easy reach of a raised voice.

"I see that you've found the place," Bill said wryly as he and Fleur appeared at Harry's side.

"Been here before," Harry shot back softly, and Bill nodded. "You know why we are here, any suggestions?"

Bill glanced up at the starry ceiling for a moment, "Yeah, a few, Attikus there," he gestured with his head towards a tall, dark wizard with a almost orange beard and a shaved head in deep purple robes, "he already has had several public quibbles with Rufus over his handling of the war. You already know Marchbanks of course; she has gained surprising amounts of influence since the whole Inquisitor affair. You already have the support of the Goblins, such as it is, they won't fight for the other side, and they won't help the Ministry against you, but..." Bill looked over a Fleur for a moment, "Otherwise, you just being here is a kick in Voldemort's teeth, mingle."

Harry felt Hermione's pulse jump for an instant, "You aren't thinking he would attack here tonight, are you, Bill," she murmured urgently, looking around the room surreptitiously.

"No," he took a breath as a brief flicker of pain crossed his face, and just for an instant, through a trick of the light, his pale scars shown distinctly on his cheek, "no," he continued in a normal tone, "ever since you two held him to a standstill, he's not shown his own face anywhere, and the Ministry is too well defended tonight for him to send in his forces by themselves...probably anyway." He looked up from them, glanced over Harry's shoulder, "Bloody Hell."

"Harry," a cold, familiar voice said from behind them. "Ron didn't tell me that you were going to be here," Molly added, sparing only a soft glower for Hermione. "Have you any word on Ginny?" she added hopefully, though with another unsubtle glare at the brunette.

Harry sighed, and waved Bill back as he started to say something. Jade eyes held Molly's blue ones as Harry reached out and intertwined Hermione's fingers with his own, "No, Molly, we have not. And to be frank, putting aside Hermione's and my shared desire for her to come home," Harry hurriedly looked around and found no one untoward near, "We have other Kneazles to skin as the saying goes. If and when she gets tired of running, we will welcome her home with open arms, but she chose her path, she chose to do what she did, and to be perfectly honest, she is lucky in how easily she got off with the consequences of her actions." Harry gave Arthur a shallow nod as the older man approached and walked away.

Hermione could feel his hand trembling slightly in hers as he took a flute of champagne from a floating tray as it passed, handed it to Hermione and took one for himself. Hermione watched worriedly as Harry took a sip of his drink, You didn't have to do that, Harry, she whispered, and kissed his cheek, but thanks. I'll go work on Marchbanks, you can have Atticus.

But before either of them could move, "Harry, I'm so glad you could make it. I was so happy to extend the invitation for you and your lovely companion, I don't think we have been formally introduced..." Rufus Scrimgeour smiled at Hermione.

"Hermione Granger," Hermione replied and extended her hand, Scrimgeour took it in his, but instead of shaking it, raised it to his lips in the continental fashion.

"Aw, yes...currently Head Girl at Hogwarts I believe," he said, smiling. He let her hand drop and took a step back, "I have heard only good things from Delores about you," he looked to Harry, totally missing the briefest flicker of amusement that Hermione felt cross her eyes. "Harry," he went on, his voice soft, "have you thought any more thought to what we discussed in June? There are advantages to working with the Ministry, Harry, we have resources, respect...Dumbledore is gone, Harry, you showed great wisdom in not trying to search out his killer on some mad quest, but returned to school to finish."

"As you say, Minister," Harry agreed with a nod. "The Ministry does have vast resources, I will admit, however I am sure that you will realize that my dealings with the, shall we say, highest of officials has not always been completely cordial."

"Yes, yes, Harry, I will admit that there have been...difficulties between yourself and the former Minister, but you must concede that the Ministry is really the only hope for stopping He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named now that Albus is gone. I am sure that whatever...misunderstandings that you may have had with the Ministry in the past were just that, misunderstandings, which of course can be rectified..."

Harry's face took on a contemplative expression, "I will consider your words, Minister." Scrimgeour gave Harry a large smile, nodded to Hermione and walked away, heading towards Archibald Devenwand, a large contributor to the Ministry for years. I don't care Hermione, Harry shot over to her, his thoughts full of venom towards the Minster of Magic, what do we need that arsehole for, he insults Dumbledore, you, and he's too damn afraid of a fucking name to say it.

Don't be too hard on him, love, Hermione retorted sarcastically, he probably thought he was giving me a compliment. After all, I'm just a Muggle-born...Merlin knows that's the pinnacle of my life... Hermione glanced towards the dance floor as the small string quartet started up once more from their break. The four instruments were hovering in mid-air over a small stage, where three wizards and a tiny witch were directing them with their wands. Dance with me?

Why not, Harry replied and let her lead him to the large cleared area near the stage, bordered with seven large fir trees, each decorated with thousands of tiny Fairy lights and dusted with magical snow, each softly pulsing in various colors according to the gender and age of the Fairy. Hermione smiled at him, before leaning her head against his chest as she looked around the room, idly, watching the various couples, most of whom were much older than they stumbling through the steps. One ancient couple, though, was executing a perfect waltz, which was odd as this wasn't a waltz. Harry grinned, glanced down to notice that Hermione's earrings, the same as she had worn at Bill's wedding, were catching the light, and deciding that that wasn't enough for the season, muttered a spell to cause them to glow in time with the trees.

Hermione rolled her eyes, At least I won't loose them now... her 'voice' died away as they spun and she caught sight of something in a young woman's eyes where she was dancing with a brown-haired wizard. Both of them were young, seemingly not much older than Harry or Hermione, and dressed, very, very well. Hermione frowned, thinking, Harry? he nodded, Do you know those two over there...they should have been at Hogwarts in the last few years, they seem familiar somehow.

Harry shrugged as he followed her mental pointer, No, in what way?

The girl, she reminds me of someone...not how she looks...just... Hermione paused and watched as the couple kissed, broke apart slowly. The woman looked up and bright blue eyes under straight black locks caught Hermione's and a small smirk erupted on the stranger's lips. She looked up and exchanged a soft word with her companion. He glanced over, touched his fingers to his forehead in a jaunty salute and led the woman off the dance floor. That was odd, Hermione commented absently as she watched them leave, as an odd, half-remembered memory tried to surface, one that if she was correct, she had repressed for some reason or another.

Draco led Ginny to the door, and after stopping to exchange his regrets with the Major-Domo, led Ginny to an alcove near the Apparation spot, "What the hell was that, Red," he hissed, pulling her close, "glaring at Granger, they could have recognized us."

"What about you, O' font of imperturbability," Ginny hissed loudly, drawing the attention of a pair of elderly witches in shawls as they passed by. She glared at them until they looked away, and lowered her voice, "What was that with Harry...taunting him," Draco shrugged and she sighed, "we've done our evil deed for the night right?" Draco frowned, but nodded, "let's leave then." Draco slid his arms around her and they vanished with a soft POP.

Back in the main ballroom, Harry had meandered over to Attikus, and was busy being regaled with the elder wizard's tales of glory during the first Voldemort war. Harry nodded as the man compared him to his father, nodding where appropriate and watching Hermione out of the corner of his eye talking softly to Griselda Marchbanks. Hermione laughed at something the ancient witch said, and Harry smiled slightly, not really paying attention to his conversation, which was reasonably obvious. "Harry...I say, Harry," Attikus said concernedly.

"Oh," Harry said, snapping his attention back to the person he was talking with, one he had been recommended to by Bill, rapidly finding out that the older Wizard had a great deal to say, and ignoring Hermione's soft laughter in his head, Be quiet you, he sent across the room. "Sorry, sir, late night last night," Harry replied sheepishly.

"Oh, for the joys of youth..." Octavias Attikus replied, smiling, he looked over to see Hermione now chatting up a storm with three other bystanders, another elderly Wizard that Harry vaguely remembered from the OWL examinations and a younger couple, with the wizard in an Auror dress uniform with a Lieutenant's insignia. From the byplay in her thoughts, Harry could tell that she was working in her spiel for creatures equal rights while she was at it. "She's a lovely one, lad," he said, looking at Harry, "Touch of fire in her as well, I reckon."

"Yeah," Harry replied unthinkingly, "you could say that."

"She reminds me of your mother," Attikus added, and Harry's attention snapped to him, he nodded, "you didn't think that she only talked to old reprobates like Slughorn, did you lad...no, when she got her teeth into something, Merlin himself wouldn't keep her from it." Attikus sighed, "Listen, Harry, I would like to help, but I can't, not like I could the first time around, and putting aside an old man's foolish tales of glory, I know what it's like out there and will be if you don't win."

The older wizard looked around, and motioned Harry closer, no one could really over hear them over the noise of the orchestra and the chattering of the guests, but still, Harry only approved as he noticed the older wizard easing a wand out of his pocket and flicking it to establish a quick Cone of Silence, "I can not help directly as I said, Harry, I do not control the fighters, and since I retired, I don't have any real influence with the Aurors or MLE...but I do have a bit of...room to persuade certain records to be released to you or a designate. Some of them may give you details, facts and theories on suspected Death Eaters that were never released to the public." He looked darkly at Scrimgeour, "Some of which are in this room as we speak, there were many more who were, and are suspected than were ever brought to trial. It will take time however to get them. I shall get them to whom, Alastor Moody perhaps?" he asked with a small smile and a nod, "There were reasons that I was never a member of Dumbledore's Order lad, that had nothing to do with the goals of the organization, more of a disagreement with his inclusion of certain, members."

Harry found he could not speak for a moment, "Thank you, sir."

"No, Harry...thank you, if the rumors are true, then you will need all the help you can get. And I don't trust the current Minister as far as I could throw him. Cornelius was incompetent and corrupt, but at least he could be worked around...this new one, he is a different kettle of flobberworms," he held out his hand and Harry took it, "Good luck Harry." The wizard left, leaving Harry staring after him.

Harry started as a loud, chiming clock struck midnight. He looked down at his watch, then back up as Hermione approached at his shoulder. Let's go home, Mione.

Alright, let's head to Padfoot's.

Harry smirked slightly, shook his head and led her from the room, passing Bill and Fleur, and stopping long enough to share Christmas wishes with them, as they probably would not be seeing them until after the holidays due to a certain, fire-haired matron glaring at them from over in the corner.

Harry wrapped his arms around her again, stepped into the Apparation spot, No, Love, I meant, let's go home, and vanished.

************************Godric's Hollow*****************************

December 23, 1997
8:00 am.

"Roger," Jane Granger asked as she looked through a large box of belongings that she had just pulled out and was looking through. "Do you know where those decorations that Remus brought by are at?" Roger shrugged as he came in from the kitchen, toting a large mug of coffee that Jane looked at longingly. "You just have to parade that in front of me, don't you?" Roger waggled his eyebrows and laughed.

"I think they're up in the kids' room," he replied, still laughing at his wife's predicament. Jane started up the stairs, and paused half way up, her hand on her slightly swollen belly.

She smirked down at him, "I seem to remember this being at least half your fault, Honey," she replied in a sickly-sweet voice, "and right now, you really don't want to be on my bad side." Roger rolled his eyes as she turned on her heel and continued upstairs. Jane passed her and Roger's room, the guest room, and opened the door quietly. She crossed the room, opened a closet door, and dug around on the bottom of the closet amongst several bags of clothes that Harry and Hermione kept here, just in case, before she found a box labeled "Christmas Decorations," that Remus had been able to retrieve from the ruins of their house. Fortunately the Granger's house while destroyed, had not caught fire even though the center had collapsed. Remus and Tonks had been able to salvage much of their clothes and other personal items, and amazingly enough, this box of decorations had survived the fight unscathed under the stairs.

She pulled it out of the closet, turned...and almost dropped the precious box as her jaw dropped to find Harry and Hermione curled up under the blankets asleep. Or at least she assumed it was them as the only thing she could really discern was two incredibly disheveled mops of hair, one blacker than night, and the other one chestnut, fanned out over one pillow, along with one leg garbed in red flannel with the letters, "dor" visible and a small foot with red-painted nails on the end. She covered her mouth with one hand while wishing for a camera and quietly escaped, but not unnoticed.

Your mother was just in our closet, Harry muttered and snuggled closer to Hermione.

It's alright, Harry, all my naughty knickers are in my dresser.

I was worried about mine, Harry shot back and Hermione giggled, wanna get up?

No, it's Sunday, I think I'll be lazy. You know this bed sleeps rather nicely, Hermione commented contently snuggling back into Harry. Several minutes passed quietly before...Can't go back to sleep.

Yeah, Harry agreed, and threw back the covers annoyedly. He sat on the edge of the bed and watched as Hermione stood and stretched, before kneeling down next to Harry to kiss him, before rocking back on her heels and to her feet in one move. She walked to the door, started to open it, and stopped as she noticed that Harry wasn't moving.

"What's wrong?"

"I feel rather safe here. I think I'll just stay," Harry replied with a rather nervous glance at the door. Hermione crooked an eyebrow, inviting explanation. "Your dad's scary, Mione," Harry explained softly, frowning at her from across the room.

Hermione rolled her eyes, walked back over to the bed and sat down next to him. "Harry, love, Mum and Dad like you," she took a breath, "no, they actually probably love you," she half turned and began to pick through his hair, moving errant locks from side to side, with really no true effect, "You asked them already and they gave your their blessing right?" Harry nodded. "Honestly, what's the matter then, if we tell them that we're already married, baby."

"Your dad will know that, I'm, we're..."

"Shagging like bunnies," Hermione supplied, and Harry nodded fitfully, "Harry, Mum figured that out this summer, I'm sure that Dad knows, they tell each other everything after all." Harry looked suddenly ashen at the thought. Hermione flowed back to her feet, and pulled Harry with her, "Come on, hero, I'll protect you."

Harry dutifully followed Hermione out of the bedroom, down the stairs and into the kitchen. The door had barely opened before Hermione jumped into her father's arms, and then after a few, brief muttered words of greeting stepped over to greet her mother. Hermione froze suddenly as she molded to her mother, stepped back, and a soft gasp escaped her throat. "Merlin, Mum," she said wondrously, "when..."

"About when you graduate, honey...hopefully by then this will all be over and we can be out of your hair," Jane said softly and stepped away from Hermione and held out her arms to Harry, "Well come here," she said with a grin and laughed slightly as Harry gingerly returned her hug, having already received the explanation from Hermione. "Honestly, Harry, I'm not going to break, I made it through working on my feet for nine months carrying your girlfriend. I think I can handle a hug," she laughed.

Hermione took Harry's hand again and stepped back, leading them both to the coffee maker and pouring each of them a mug. Jane's gaze flicked to Roger's and shrugged, they could tell a delaying tactic when they saw it. Hermione took a sip of her coffee, squeezed Harry's hand and set the mug down on the counter. "Well, Mum, you see," she said slowly, "Mum, Dad, I'm not exactly Harry's girlfriend." Jane frowned slightly. "You see..."

"Roger, Jane, we're married," Harry finished for her, nervously. He felt Hermione's fingers start to crush his own, as chocolate eyes gazed into emerald ones worriedly. The owl door to the kitchen flapped open, breaking the silence as Hedwig appeared, and settled in on the table to look up at her humans.

Roger and Jane looked at each other once more, and broke down laughing uproariously, with Hedwig seeming to join in a moment later.

'************************************************************
10:20 am

Remus Lupin had planned the Potters' secret hideaway extremely well, taking into account the exact personalities and talents of the new masters of the house, ones that, in the end, were not terribly different from those of the previous owners after all.

The upper two floors, the ones that showed above ground, were outfitted as much for a Muggle as they were for a Wizard. The bedrooms, three of them, plus a small nursery were clustered around a central hall, with the nursery adjacent to the Master bedroom, where Harry and Hermione had crashed last night, for the first time in their bed, at what they hoped would be their true home. The second and third bedrooms, the third added in the rebuilding that Remus had supervised, were almost as large as the master, each with a large, simple, comfortable bed and solid, English Oak furniture. Not flashy, but functional. The master was the same, with the only difference being that the bed was a smidgen larger, with a comfortable crimson and gold comforter, and that several framed photos, of friends and family, both Wizarding and Muggle, were scattered about the room.

There was a large bay window overlooking the half-court pitch, with a large, padded window seat suitable for two people if they were close, to cuddle up and read or watch the weather. Next to the window, a tall golden perch with branches at various heights stood with small bowls of water and treats floating in the air nearby. Over near the bed, a single red and gold enchanted lava lamp, that Luna had gotten them as a wedding present, moved slowly on the bedside table, casting odd shadows on the head of the bed and the open pages of a book that Hermione or Harry must have abandoned. Roger shook his head as he looked into the room after a quick knock, just in case, and laughed to himself softly. He had absolutely no idea, how someone like his daughter, who was probably borderline obsessive compulsive with her books and studies, was so...untidy when she was at home with everything else.

Harry, I could understand, he mused as he pushed aside a pile of clothes that one of the two had probably dumped out of a bag to find something, He's just lashing out at his upbringing...Hermione told me about that place, how he was the one who kept it perfect, so it makes sense that he'd be messy. But Hermione, I don't know, she didn't used to be this way...maybe it's because they are both so high strung these days. He shrugged again and left the room, for now giving up the search for the photo album that Harry had told him was up there; the one that had pictures of them in school along with Harry's parents, Sirius, and the others; Jane had wanted to see it.

He came down the stairs, walked into the living room, and smiled as he found Jane asleep on the couch, her hands cradled protectively over her belly. For all their teasing of the kids this morning after Harry and Hermione's admission, their night had not been restful either. Roger pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and pulled it to her chin. He bent down, kissed her hair and left silently on cat feet, with knees that were as good as when he was twenty, courtesy of Poppy Pomfrey. The skills and habits of his youth had come back automatically, brought forth by the events of this summer, but even so, when he had been 'working for a living' as an old American friend from those days had called it, he never moved as quietly as his daughter or son-in-law now did. They seemed to move as ghosts, with eyes that took in everything as they came into a room, cataloging it for threats or opportunities, he knew the look; he had worn it once.

He glanced into the large den cum library that Lupin had renovated and looked about. Only Crookshanks was home as Roger glanced around the room; that Lupin had told him was almost unchanged since James and Lily had had it as their study. Roger walked around a large cherry desk to stand, looking down at several framed photographs that were taking up places of honor in the bookshelf behind the desk, which as they were replacing precious space that could be used for books, he knew instantly that they were important to both Harry and Hermione.

The first, a Wizarding photo framed in a carved wooden frame with inlayed lion rosettes on each corner, showed a much younger, Harry, Hermione and Ron. In the photograph, the three of them, maybe eleven or in Hermione's case, twelve, were piled in a large clump on the stairs of Hogwarts. He watched as his tiny daughter leaned on Harry, and reached over and pulled Ron into her side as well. He watched as Hedwig swooped through the shot, to land on Hermione's shoulder, the owl looking absolutely huge on her tiny body.

He glanced at the next picture, one that Hermione had given a copy to her parents this morning, in it, Harry and Hermione were sitting, curled up together on a large rock, his hand was around her waist pulling her in close and once more Hedwig had joined the shot. A single, impossible tentacle was visible sticking up and waving from the placid waters behind them. Hermione had told them that this picture had been taken on the day of their wedding though the photographer had had no idea of its true significance. All in all, Roger found that he rather liked it much better than a normal, posed wedding picture, for it showed one thing truly well, it showed that they were happy, a task that a million poses might not show, but a snapshot let shine through.

Next to that one, a pair of black-framed Wizarding pictures sat; and Roger closed his eyes for a heartbeat as his thoughts reached out to his wife and unborn daughter, another witch like Hermione; as he knew that he and Jane had come close to having their photograph join these two by the slenderest of margins. The first was of two black-haired men, and one auburn-haired, green-eyed woman. She was in a white wedding gown, with her hair piled up on the back of her head, while both men seemed to be in black robes. Her tiny green eyes twinkled as she reached out and playfully swiped at the taller of the two men with her, all the while still resting in the arms of the other, a man with incredibly messy black hair and black, wire-framed glasses decorating laughing hazel eyes. The three of them were laughing in the picture.

The other picture was newer, but of a much older person. Roger had only met Albus Dumbledore in person once, when the old wizard had appeared secretly, to talk to him and Jane to relate what had happened at the Ministry of Magic on a fateful June night. This picture showed him in full cry, standing in front of the student body in the Great Hall, a flaming Goblet was sitting on a pedestal in front of his raised dais, and he was smiling down over it, even at the tiny scale of the photo one could tell his eyes were twinkling.

Roger left the room and paced back into the living room to find Jane still asleep on the couch, she had rolled over and lost the blanket, so he replaced it before turning the lights off and pacing back to the stairs where he opened a door and headed down.

Down the stairs was the real secret of Godric's Hollow. The current, relatively small cottage that occupied the space was a replacement for a much larger manor house that had once stood on these grounds. Below the house was a series of caverns that extended into the limestone and back up the hollow towards a large structure that was not there. Exactly why Lily and James had not retreated into the more defensible lower levels of the house that long-ago Halloween was unknown, perhaps they somehow knew that it would have been pointless, perhaps some other reason, but they had not.

Roger stepped from the stairs into a brightly lit cavern and paused, looking around. In the large space below the house, Remus, or someone, had crammed in almost every thing that one might need to fight a war in the magical world. The large cavern was divided into quadrants, according to specialty. In one, a large Potions lab at least as good as any at Hogwarts was set up with special enclosed hoods to contain the fumes of any reaction along with a large worktable. Racks of labeled ingredients with names like salt, flobberworm extract and powdered Dragon claw filled one wall, with a tall glass cabinet holding acres and acres of pristine glassware. Hanging over the top of the worktable were several caldrons of various sizes including one in bronze and one that he thought might be platinum, which if it were the case, could have bought the Grangers' old house and most of their neighborhood besides, easily.

In another corner, several Muggle exercise machines sat incongruously, centered around a large mat. Near the machines, near a large wooden door that he knew led to a hidden tunnel that slanted upwards and out to come out near a road in the hills, an old, black Harley motorbike rested, ready to ride. Roger walked to it for an instant, and ran his hand over the leather seat before moving on. He passed several doors set in the walls that led to additional sleeping quarters, and stopped as he came to the final area of the cavern. He sighed softly as he watched his daughter, the little girl that had cried in his arms when she skinned her knee take a spinning kick on her crossed arms hard enough to drive her back several paces. Roger leaned against the wall and waited quietly.

Hermione spun left and snapped a jab at Harry, flicking backwards to dodge his return. "Come on, Harrrryyyyy," she chided, "afraid to hit a girl? She bounded once and snapped a kick at his head, which he blocked, and snapped a sweep at his feet, causing him to jump in the air, and to be knocked backwards with a wave of her hand. He landed flat on his back, and looked up at her, blinking, for an instant.

Harry scissor-kicked his way to his feet, rolled his head on his neck and laughed, "So that's how you want it, Mione?"

She waggled her eyebrows in return, "I have to get my frustrations out somehow...and since you married me, you can't get away." She started to circle to her left, and watched as Harry followed suit. Harry MOVED, his movements only a blur to Roger as he continued to watch silently. Harry's leg scythed through the air where Hermione's head had been a millisecond before, she snapped a punch at his stomach, glancing off his side as he danced to the side.

"I'm beginning to think you don't like me," Harry groused as he rubbed his side for an instant before slipping to the side and firing off a combo, high, low and a third kick that hit Hermione in her previously injured thigh. Roger could see the sudden pain in Harry's eyes as it landed, but Harry never stopped, launching another kick to her midsection. Hermione's hand flitted out, caught his ankle and twisted, sending him tumbling.

"Why would you think that, love," Hermione smiled slightly as she flickered into movement, bounding backwards. She snapped her wrist and caught her wand as it fell into her hand. "I love you more than life itself," she bit her lip for an instant, before a smirk replaced her sudden frown, "but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to kick your arse anyway."

"My, Mrs. Potter, such foreplay, from such an...innocent girl" Harry retorted, grinning, Hermione laughed, until her eyes cut right and saw her father leaning against the stone wall. Her face flushed bright pink, and Harry closed his eyes; Your dad is right behind me, isn't he?

That would be correct, Hermione muttered.

"Don't mind me," Roger said with only a hint of fatherly concern at the conversation, "just keep on with what you were doing." The distant sound of dripping water could be heard coming from a ways up an open tunnel that Roger had never explored, as he looked between his daughter and son-in-law. "I won't be in the way."

"Um...dad," Hermione said after she had recovered her voice, forcing down the blush that was still fighting its way to the surface. "It's not exactly safe for you there," she shrugged, "Harry and I tend to destroy things if we really play," She frowned for a moment, "though... Harry, love, Protego Enclosium Translucentium?"

"You're brilliant, Mione," Harry replied with a smile, and turned to Roger, "Don't move," PROTEGO ENCLOSIUM TRANSLUCENTIUM, a bright rainbow-colored wall appeared between Roger and them, the colors cycled through the rainbow, before disappearing entirely to leave a transparent, glass-like wall. Hermione sketched her wand through the air and a comfortable recliner appeared.

Roger laughed and sat down, "You know, Poppet, I need a snack if we are to do this properly." Hermione rolled her eyes, but flicked her wand anyway. A small table appeared next to the recliner with a soft pop, a sweating bottle of butterbeer and a large tub of popcorn was sitting on it. He watched as both of their faces changed subtly, eyes hardening. Roger felt an odd tingling at the back of this throat, and felt the short hairs at the nape of his neck rise.

A rush of power lit two pairs of eyes, Hermione and Harry's wands snapped up at the same instant and twin, searing red bolts shout out from their wands and hit each other head on, a fireball erupted where they intercepted, blinding everyone in the cavern for an instant. Hermione's vision cleared first, Asslantium, a bright white spiral shot towards Harry, he ducked and rolled under it, a silver bolt snapped back, which Hermione reflected off into the ceiling. Behind where Harry had been, the rock was frozen.

Harry rolled to his feet, flicked his wand at the sides of the room and watched as Hermione flipped forward, away from the twin torso-sized rocks that slammed together where she had been, he snapped a stunner at her in mid-air only to have it caught in a shimmering net and shot back at him as her feet touched the ground. She slashed her wand at his feet and green growths shot up from the ground at an incredible rate, only to fall limp as he severed them with a silver beam.

Harry's wand snapped up then back, a large Lion appeared as a loose rock was transfigured. It took two running leaps towards Hermione, she rolled to the side as it landed where she had been, and jabbed her wand at it as it bounced again. The lion shrunk as it flew towards her, landing at her feet as a small cub. It rubbed up against her, purring for a moment before she banished it. Is that all you have?

Not really, Harry retorted, spun and vanished. Hermione grinned and vanished. She reappeared where he had been, just in time to catch a stunner on her hasty Protego. She vanished again, to reappear behind Harry. Her fingers flicked and braided steel cables surrounded Harry, pinning his arms to his side. He rolled his eyes as she stood and blew a kiss at him.


They fell to the ground as he vanished from within them, reappearing next to her, Rictusempra; Hermione erupted in giggles, as Harry paced over to her.

She held her hand to her side as she continued to giggle uproariously, while with the other, she poked her wand in his general direction and sent a quick thought. Harry's shoelaces tied themselves together and he fell forward onto his face. Roger laughed in his observation spot, before Harry sat up and flicked his wand twice, untying his shoes from each other and canceling the spell on Hermione. She moved over and dropped next to him, before canceling the protective barrier.

Hermione leaned against Harry, a light sheen of sweet on her brow as she watched Roger get up from his chair, his drink in hand. She smiled as her father sat down on the ground across from them with nary a complaint. She still remembered when she was younger the problems her father had had with his knees, with some injury he still refused to talk about, but now with Poppy's help he moved like he was closer to twenty then just on the high side of forty. "Is this how you normally fight?" he inquired.

"Honestly, Dad, we were holding back, a lot, until the end, when we were just screwing around," Hermione replied with a small shrug. She frowned at Harry, before responding softly, "It's very...difficult for us to go full out against each other, besides our feelings for each other, we have to keep our link dampened or it's not even a duel, more like a proper game of tic-tac-toe...it's a stalemate."

"Also," Harry picked up the thread, "if we had been going at it like we would have to when I...we face Voldemort," Harry added as she squeezed his hand, "you'd never have seen us, 'cept as brief flickers." Harry's face went slightly blank as his mind went back, to memories of the Ministry and his duels with Voldemort at Little Hangleton and in Romania. "It changes a bit at a place like Hogwarts...though Mione and I can still Apparate there, even though we're not supposed to be able to," he added slightly sheepishly, and glanced down at Hermione, "as Hermione told me at least once a month during my formative years."

Roger looked to them, "What unarmed form were you using there, before you started with the magic, it seemed familiar...and don't Wizards need wands to do magic?"

"Probably because it was familiar, dad," Hermione replied, "we were trained by Aurors, technically, we are qualified as Aurors, even though Scrimgeour doesn't know that, they have the same trainers as you used to, in that." Roger looked at her thoughtfully, "Yes, Dad, I figured it out a long time ago," she confirmed, "I was just letting you not talk about it." She frowned as she pointedly lifted her hand without her wand in it, and floated his now empty bottle back to the table, "As to the other, well, normally that's the case."

"I beat several of them that night by taking their wands," Roger confirmed softly looking to each of them in turn, "but if they could use magic without them..."

"No, Ro...Dad," Harry replied with a small, tight smile as he felt the memories of that night running though Hermione's thoughts. He pulled her closer, kissing the side of her head before continuing, "Most of them can't...in fact, deprived of a wand; the average Wizard is pretty helpless."

"But not you two?"

"We're...less capable," Hermione explained, vaguely. "Actually any wizard, even Merlin himself, uses or used a wand, or in his case a staff rather, because it's easier to do complicated things. Over the years though, it's become so that almost no one can really do controlled wandless magic, except people like Dumbledore."

"You talk about him like he's still alive, Hermione," Roger replied sadly, having been rather impressed with the elder wizard in the few times that they had met him.

"We wish he was, more than you could imagine," Harry replied almost silently. Hermione nodded in agreement, and squeezed his hand tightly.

******************************Soho********************************

6:20 pm

A soft crack cut across the sound of This is the Night by the Weird Sisters playing softly across the Wizarding Wireless, and Tonks looked up, the tip of her wand tracking towards the sound before she dropped it on the kitchen table with a slight shrug. "About bloody time, Wolfie," Tonks growled, annoyedly as she returned to tossing a salad with a pair of large tongs.

"I hope that's not all we're having," Remus grumbled as he took a seat at the table, and summoned a Butterbeer from the icebox. He rolled his eyes as Tonks threw a roll at his head; he fielded it and took a bite.

Tonks muttered something uncomplimentary about dogs and their eating habits and held up a very rare steak on a fork before dropping it on a plate and placing the plate in front of him. All of Tonks' crockware had long since had Unbreakable Charms put on them. "Happy dear?" she asked with a small smile.

"Ecstatic," Lupin replied dryly, and shared a kiss as she passed with her plate. Tonks' smiled at him across the table, and paused, her smile falling as she cut into her meat, which was rather more done than Remus'.

"How bad is it, Remus?" she asked softly, her dark eyes dropping from his to look at the table.

"They took him in about an hour after Harry and Hermione left the party...They've had him in the Intensive Care section ever since."

"Is he going to make it?"

Lupin shrugged slightly, "Who knows, Mad-Eye was able to talk to some old cronies in the protective detail, they've had Scrimgeour on the table twice already since last night. Drained his blood at least once and rebuilt it with Blood Replenishing Potions." His eyes took on an odd look, "The forensic section has already gotten a sample of whatever they dosed him with. Looks like it was in his drink, something in it broke some of the poison down, so he only got a partial dose. The Ministry Potion Masters have never seen anything like it...but we have."

"We have?" Tonks muttered confusedly.

"Harry has anyway, if what he told me about that night Dumbledore died was true," Remus cut his steak violently, looking down at the blood filling his plate, "I don't want to be the one to tell him about this one, he'll take it hard, and he couldn't have done a thing. The experts say that he was dosed a half hour before they even got there."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"No," Lupin shrugged, "I'm going to let him have a Christmas, such as he can...there's not anything they can do anyway."



There ya go, next Chapter(s)...Christmas.

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Here we go, Chapter 1 of 2 for Christmas. Thanks as usual to Lady Starlight for her work on this fic.

Chapter 29: An Introspective Yule

****************************Godric's Hollow*********************

December 24, 1997.
2:00 pm

Hermione looked up as Jane entered the study and sat down, looking at her daughter across a low table filled with various books, and stacks of notes. Crookshanks leapt onto the table from his post next to Hermione and walked over to easy reach of Jane, butting his head against her hand until she started to scratch his ears. "Where's Harry, dear," Jane inquired, with a soft, half-smile, "I didn't think that you two were out of touching distance for more time than it took to go to the loo...and I'm not too sure about that," she added in a undertone that Hermione pretended she didn't hear.

Hermione smiled slightly and glanced back down at the notes she was working on, "I think he's wrapping my present, I'm pretending that I believed him when he said he was going flying."

"They always think that they're fooling us," Jane replied, smiling. "Hermione...about Harry-"

Hermione's head snapped up, her bottom lip fluttered for a second, "Mum, you and Dad aren't mad at us are you, I don't want you to be mad, but I love him Mum, and we don't know, if-"

Jane shook her head and reached out to touch her daughter on the hand, "No, honey, we love Harry. Your dad always wanted a son," she shared softly, her eyes twinkling slightly. "He's good for you, we can tell," Jane said softly. "We were always afraid, when you were younger that you'd never really have friends, then you went to Hogwarts-and putting aside the occasional letter detailing your near death," Jane smiled softly, "your dad and I were ecstatic. You had friends and a boy that you were stupid for..."

"Mum," Hermione objected.

"That's not a bad thing, honey," Jane reassured her quickly, "I'd do anything for your father, no matter what it was."

"I'm scared, mummy," Hermione whispered, she swallowed heavily as her eyes looked suddenly haunted. She took a breath, swallowing emotions, I'm fine Harry, just a flashback, she replied to an urgent thought. She closed her eyes as a mental hug caressed her mind, before taking another breath and opening her eyes to find her mother's blue ones looking to hers. "It's not a fairy tale mum, honestly, I always knew it wasn't, I mean, if it were Harry'd challenge Riddle and end it, and everyone would live happily ever after. The Death Eaters wouldn't go after the hero's family and his friends' families. They would stand and fight, meet on some grand plain and not strike from the shadows against children like the bloody, f... cowards they are."

"Is that why you are working, even now on Christmas Eve, Hermione?" Jane muttered looking down at the notes that Hermione had scattered about the table. A large book was open to a page on Canopic Jars, while another, smaller handwritten one was discussing the similarities between certain Tibetan reincarnation beliefs and the usages of Familiar soul binding practices of ancient Romanian Dragon tamers.

"We don't have a choice, mum," Hermione whispered, looking around the dark, paneled study, "we can't hide, not for long. It's been tried before. But I'm not going to let the same thing happen again, not if I can help it."

'*********************************************************************
December 24, 1997.
8:30 pm

Hermione had been scandalized that Harry had never seen Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in all its puppet glory so they had to watch it when it came on. Sitting there, with her family, he could not help but be amazed at the aplomb that Roger and Jane had shown on learning that their little girl was not just engaged to be married but actually was so; despite how accepting Hermione's parents had been the last time that Harry had seen them in person, the night before school had started, and despite Roger's secret blessing. Of course, he thought lightly, it could be Jane's hormones, he added as he caught the outline of his mother-in-law's very slightly distended belly in the light from the fireplace, Christmas tree and television.

Harry James... Hermione reached back and lightly clonked him on the back of the head as her parents looked over and laughed.

Well it could be, Harry defended himself, as he tightened his arms around her and sighed softly as she pushed back against him. Hermione pulled up the bright, and warm, patchwork quilt that covered them as they lay together on the couch and stretched a bit, further tangling her bare feet with his under the covers. Your feet are cold.

Well warm them up, husband, I married you for some reason... Hermione giggled as Harry muttered thoughts having to do with "powerful bloody wizard...saves world every year...warms feet..." She closed her eyes and leaned back as she felt his feet rubbing hers, You keep that up, we'll have to go upstairs and I'll end up like mum...

Would that be so bad? Harry asked seriously, as he caught the flames reflected from the firelight and the white glimmers from the fairy lights on the enchanted tree in her eyes as she leaned her head back to meet his gaze.

No...no, it wouldn't...> Hermione replied with a slightly wondrous feel to her thoughts as she suddenly watched ghosts of tiny replicas of themselves running down the stairs and diving under the tree. She bit her lip as she felt Harry's fingers slip under the hem of her jumper to rest lightly on her belly. I want that too Harry. God I want that soo much. In the dimness of the room, Hermione felt tears try to escape her eyes, as they knew that they, amongst almost everyone else, could not chance that right now. It was neither school nor the fact that their marriage was still a secret known by a bare handful of people, or even their still young ages, not that all of those weren't a factor. Until Voldemort was defeated, any child would have the substantial risk of not having parents when it was all over, and neither of them could stomach that possibility.

You'll have that, Hermione, Harry whispered back as she rolled on her side between his legs and his hand came up to rub her hair, you'll have that...you'll get to curse me in the delivery room and tell me that you'll never let me touch you again, and scream at me for letting our five-year-old play with daddy's broom, and get really mad when I teach them all the tricks to annoy Filch...

Promise? > She asked nervously, knowing full well that he could do no such thing. He nodded, and she gave him a small grin, before settling back down against him.

Jane and Roger shared a glance, as they looked over at the pair. "What are you two talking about?" Hermione shrugged and laughed at something she saw on the telle.

"Stuff, mum," Hermione replied laughing slightly. She glanced back at Harry, "Stuff," she repeated in a whisper.

***********************Ottery St. Catchpole**************************

A bright moon reflected off an almost undisturbed blanket of snow, as a pair of hooded figures walked hand-in-hand down a brightly lit path in the middle of the woods surrounding the house. Ron glanced down at Luna as she looked up at him, her bright eyes framed by a white halo of fur. She looked down at her white-gloved fingers in his black-gloved ones and smiled as she leaned against him, trusting him to hold her up.

They walked together, for a bit longer, until they reached a small clearing. A small brook bubbled slightly through snow-encrusted rocks, the water silver in the moonlight. Ron waved his wand over a large bolder set to one side of the clearing, cleaning it of snow. He sat down, and cast a silent warming charm before Luna sat down with him, more or less on his knee, and leaned back against him as his arms wrapped around her.

"Thank you Luna," Ron said out of the blue several minutes later. She nodded, but did not speak, letting him talk, letting him say what he needed to say. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been here tonight." She looked down and played with his fingers where they were clasped together against her, right below her belly button.

"It's just that I don't know what happened...just all of a sudden, I can't hardly ignore it, when Mum goes on her, 'oh I'm sure Ginny would love that tree', or 'this is Ginny's favorite dish' rant and then looks over at me like its my fault her damn daughter listened to her going on about the 'Great Harry Potter' and tried to land him like he was some great prize at a competition and didn't think of what else might come about from it." Ron shook his head and let out a long breath through his nose noisily. "And Mum is being so bloody fucking...petty about it. Almost all the family has already argued with her about it...that's why Bill and Fleur, are 'spending their first Christmas together'. Fleur tried to talk to her about it the other morning, but mum still won't hear the truth, that Ginny was the one who started it. That she was the one that, if it had been anyone else who had done that to Hermione, Harry would have killed them out of hand and not thought a thing about it. I think Fred and George just showed up to eat; they've already left after all. I guess they'll be back in the morning."

Luna raised his joined hands to her lips and kissed his palm silently, still without saying a word. She blinked a couple of times and wormed her way back into his grasp. "I am amazed that she's not tried to blame Percy or Charlie on them, or Hermione specifically. Or maybe she realizes that she better not cross that line, or I'll never come back. You know that there's no presents to them this year...Mum's even already had the bloody jumpers made for months now. That'll probably hurt them more than anything else, not the lack of the presents itself, Merlin knows that either of them, hell I can now, buy whatever they need, but it was always the thought for them that meant a damn thing." Luna nodded knowingly.

"I don't know what we'd done if you weren't with us this year Luna...what I would have done." Ron let one of his hands drop to his pocket before they clasped together again on her stomach. "And I don't really want to find out about what I would do in the future without you with me." Without looking down, Ron produced a silver ring set with a moderately sized square sapphire surrounded by a pair of triangular diamonds, he silently peeled the glove off her left hand, and slipped the ring on her left ring finger. "Marry me?" he asked as Rowena's ring resized itself to fit her.

"Alright, Ronnie." Luna bent her head back until she could meet his eyes with hers, "I will."

*********************Pendle Hill, Lancashire**********************

Neville Longbottom looked slightly stunned as he passed a plate of potatoes to one of four women that he was sharing a meal with on Christmas Eve. Over the years, Neville had developed a reputation for being confused, stunned, confounded or just plain bewildered; even though those days were gone for the most part, tonight it would be expected of most anyone. Yesterday, Neville had shown up in the company of both Patils and Lavender on the doorstep of the Longbottom's Pendle Hill home, a sprawling multiple-winged, multi-storied, old manor home. A large, sprawling garden decorated the manicured grounds to the rear, its design showing off Neville's horticultural talents. To his immense surprise, Gran had just smiled and ushered them in, and directed their House-Elf, Simmy, to prepare rooms for the girls, which the elf had grinned and immediately did. Neither the elf, nor the girls or Neville had mentioned that two of the girls had spent the night in his room. There were things that Gran did not need to know.

Neville had not hidden his relationship with the girls, in fact he had pulled Gran into a private parlor as soon as Simmy was ready to lead the girls up to their rooms, and explained that he was in a relationship with both Parvati and Lavender, and if she did not accept it, then they would leave. Gran had surprised him, the stern, taskmistress with almost Victorian values that had ruled his life since the night that his parents had been driven into insanity, had thrown her arms around him and cried. Which had scared Neville more than anything, truth be told.

Neville's original plan had been to bring Parvati and Lavender with him to the Longbottom home, and to basically confront Gran with the reality. That had changed three days before they were to leave Hogwarts, when Parvati had found him, crying. She was holding her sister's hand, who had looked at him guiltily, as Parvati explained to her boyfriend that their parents had given them an ultimatum to come home or else. They had chosen the "or else", of course. Their parents, whom had both attended Beauxbatons before their jobs had given them reason to move to England, had not understood their daughters desperate pleas to understand that they had to do this, that they had made promises and there were people, loved ones, counting on them. Their argument when the girls had met them in Hogsmeade at their urging, had managed to push past Rosmerta's almost constant stupor these days to get them kicked out of the Three Broomsticks.

Padma gave him a small smile in thanks as she took a serving from the tray and sat the plate in front of her. Neville nodded and turned back to look at Gran Longbottom who was deep in conversation with Parvati about her NEWT studies. Her black eyes caught Neville's for an instant before she smiled at Gran and continued with her explanation of the current Defense curriculum and how much better it was this year under Lupin than it had been at any time since the last time the lycan was teaching at Hogwarts.

Lavender looked across the table and gave him a tiny grin before she leaned over to Padma and continued to eat her dinner, cutting into her turkey and bringing a bite up to her mouth, her eyes twinkling as she slowly took it off her fork as Neville watched every move. Neville started as he felt her foot rub along his leg under the table, and glanced up to see the blonde waggle her eyebrows, before looking back down at her plate. Neville sighed. "Neville, dear."

"Yes, Gran," Neville replied instantly, tearing away his eyes from Lavender. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Parvati trying not to laugh.

"Neville can you see to our guests?" She rose from the table, and Neville and the girls rose automatically as well. "I wish to retire for the evening. I fear that I have over exerted myself. Simmy?" A small, House Elf with bright, blue eyes and a crooked nose appeared at her feet with a soft pop and looked up at her. "Please prepare my bath, Simmy, and my bed, I'm sure Neville can see to the needs of the ladies if you wish to go visiting after you see to me." The elf grinned up at her and vanished. Gran nodded and headed to the back of the house, towards the wing opposite of the one that Neville had his bedroom in, the same one that his parents had occupied when they still lived here...and the one where they had been tortured.

All four of them watched as the door closed behind the elderly witch and a sudden, shocked silence hung in the air like a thick fog. After a good minute Padma looked at the other three, and sighed. "Fine," she watched the other three, fighting not to laugh the whole while, "I'm going to go grab my mirror and see if Seamus is free to talk, he should be bored by now at Dean's." She left with a small smile dancing in dark eyes.

**************************Dover, England****************************

An old, abandoned, Muggle cottage sat on the white chalk cliffs looking out onto the Channel, its faded and peeling paint and cracked and dirty windows testament to its not having been occupied since World War Two. Muggles avoided the house, as persistent rumors of it being haunted by its former occupant, a widowed wife of a British aviator of the Battle of Britain who had jumped from these very cliffs on learning of her lover's death were true after all. A ghostly, spectral spirit did pass through every so often, not speaking and seeming to look for something or someone.

It did so now, and nodded as the small, red-headed woman sitting up in the magically repaired bed, her knees drawn up and a tattered quilt that she had found in the house wrapped around her naked shoulders, waved to her with a half-full flask of Ogden's reserve. The girl ran her fingers through her hair as she looked out the window at the sleet falling over the choppy, grey waters of the channel.

She handed the bottle to a blond, vaguely aristocratic young man, perhaps only a year or so older than she. He took a pull on the bottle and set it on a rickety table next to the bed, where a single candle glowed, providing all the illumination in the room, save a sullenly glowing pile of coals in the corner hearth. "This is stupid, Red," he commented, as he looked around the room, at the scattered clothing, a pair of small packs, and two pairs of boots, sitting together near the door, both with socks already in them. He reached over, and pulled a cigarette from a half crumpled pack on the table and lit one with his wand, before replacing it back under his pillow.

"These can kill you," Ginny commented as she took the smoke from his lips and took a toke, before handing it back. "Not that we are going to live much longer anyway," she shrugged and noticed as Draco's eyes wandered down as the quilt slipped from her shoulders. She pulled it back up, "Is that all you think about?"

"Basically," Draco agreed snidely, she looked down to watch as his free hand slipped over to rest on her upper thigh, and started to massage the skin it found there. She closed her eyes as her breath hitched. "It must be in your blood, Weaselette, how else do you explain your...family?"

"Boredom?" she shrugged and motioned for the bottle. Draco passed it to her, and watched as she took a drink. "What do you want to do then? Stay here and fuck until either the Order or the Death Eaters find and take us?" She stole his cigarette again, and the pungent odor of a Wizarding cigarette filled the room as she blew out a smoke ring. "I might live if the Order finds us, even though I'm a 'traitor' for attacking Granger. Harry'll want your arse though if he ever catches you. You are probably dead. On the other hand," she frowned slightly, thinking of the consequences and not caring much any longer, "If your daddy or his master catch us, you'll probably be tortured and I'll get the same treatment as any other 'blood-traitor witch'."

Draco did not look terribly concerned as he continued to pat her leg, "Actually, Red." Ginny glared at him as he continued to use call her by her hated nickname. "I probably would be rewarded if I took you to the Dark Lord...the Chosen One," he spat, "probably would come after you, you'd be excellent bait in Voldemort's eyes."

"I doubt Harry'd give me the time of day," Ginny growled, "I seriously doubt that he'd come after me, even if brilliant, perfect Hermione would let him." She walked over to the window, not caring that his eyes were on her, not any more, and leaned against the cold glass. "At least not for anything other than to toss me in the Dungeons." Draco gave her an odd look, almost as if he were remembering a half-lost memory and shook his head.

"I'm weary of talking about Potty and his Mudblood, luv," Draco drawled, "come back to bed." He took a drink and flicked the remaining butt of his extinguished cigarette into the far corner of the room.

"Why Draco," Ginny sighed jadedly, as she turned back to him, "are you going to take me home, Introduce me to your family," a sarcastic smile twisted her lips, "make me the next Lady Malfoy?"

"I was just planning on shagging you," Draco snapped heatedly, as he jumped from the bed and stomped over to the window. "Is that what you want," his hand snapped out and grabbed her shoulder, "to be a miserable plaything for the next Malfoy...I can arrange it. Do you want that?" His voice held an odd edge as he pushed her back, pinning her back against the cold glass. "Do you want a Dark Mark right here," his hand fell to her wrist and snapped it back, holding it next to her ear. Be just like my mother...she didn't want it, not really, but after father and her sister took it..." his voice muttered in her ear as he held her back against the glass with his entire body, and she shivered, and not from the cold.

Ginny was absolutely silent as she looked up at him other than the rapid pants of her breathing. Draco snarled something under his breath and her arm drop before kissing her almost savagely. He turned his back on her, paced back over to the bed and dropped on it, the aged mattress squeaking under his weight as he bent down to retrieve a pair of jeans from the ground next to the bed and pulled them on. He slipped on his abandoned jumper and summoned his boots from the corner with a flick of his wand as Ginny watched him, finally after several minutes; she spoke. "Where are you going?" she asked softly.

Draco glanced up at her from the bed and frowned slightly, "I have to go report to Snape, or the Death Eaters really will think I've turned. Not all of us have the luxury of running."

"It's Christmas Eve, Draco."

Draco closed his eyes as he turned from her for a moment, to toss a coat on, "I know, Red," he muttered softly, and gave her a small, melancholy smile, "it is...go home Ginny...please."

"I can't, Draco, not yet. Spinner's End, right?" Ginny muttered softly as she pulled a long sweatshirt from his pack, a dark green one that fell to her knees, with a large silver serpent on the back, and pulled it over her head. He shook his head as he picked up his bag and shrunk it to fit in his pocket.

"Yeah, if you still want to go through with it," Draco agreed, "Snape might be the only thing that can buy our freedoms." He gave her a jaunty wave and vanished with an odd ripping sound. Ginny watched the space where he had been for the span of three heartbeats before she returned to bed and dropped on it, in the spot where Draco had been.

******************************Hogwarts*****************************

11:55 pm

A single set of tracks marked the fresh snow leading down to a small cemetery set near the lake. A stark white tomb shone in the moonlight, with a crust of undisturbed snow on and around it, save for one set of absolutely huge footprints. Minerva paused on her errand as she saw the evidence of Hagrid's visit, frowned and continued on. She stopped as she reached the tomb, and reached into her tartan-trimmed, black robes and pulled a small, brown paper sack with the emblem of Honeydukes on it out, along with a colorful pair of socks, with tiny animated Lions on them. Brushing a patch clean of snow on the top of the shoulder high tomb, she placed the bag in the newly cleared spot, set the socks on top of it, and stepped back.

"I'm sorry Albus," she whispered in a choked, tearful burr. The elderly witch looked pale in the silver light reflecting off the snow, several trees, barren of leaves sat around the tomb, like sentinels, defending the resting spot of one of their own. "I tried," she continued, "but it's hard, my old friend. I wish you had told me last year, had told me what was happening instead of going off on your fool quest with just Harry and yourself...I wish you would have told me. I wish I wasn't so blind to what was going on in my own house...One of my own, our own caused your death, more than anything. They're like my own grandchildren Albus-the ones I never got to have, you know why."

McGonagall sighed and looked down at her hands, "I shouldn't have reopened the school, Albus, no matter what your portrait, or that letter you left said...They've already attacked Hogsmeade, and someone got to Scrimgeour at his party, last night. He's in St. Mungo's, now, but they think they got him there in time, they had to regenerate almost all of his organs and flush his blood, twice so far, but it seems that whatever he was drinking partially counteracted the effects. I haven't told Harry or his retinue yet, but Slughorn was called in on it, it was the same as...you stupidly drunk."

She paused, looking out over the lake, where parts of it, were starting to freeze. Shivering slightly, she cast a Heating Charm and nodded as she warmed a bit. "You'd be proud of Harry, Albus, he and all of them. Harry and Hermione have already faced Tom, and fought him to a standstill. All of the kids, even the bloody Hufflepuffs are acting like heroes," her voice broke, "and so many of them aren't going to make it. Harry will be a great wizard Albus, someday, maybe even another Godric or Merlin, but he's still so young. And Hermione, she's the only one who can stand with him, but I'm so afraid that it's not going to be enough. He's coming, Albus, he's fought Harry directly now, for the first time since the Tri-Wizard without you there, and he knows that he can't wait. He still doesn't know what they are up to, but it's only a matter of time. And I don't know if they can find them before he attacks."

She stopped and watched as several of the school owls winged by in formation, as if they were saluting the fallen Headmaster. A wolf howled in the night, but she only frowned slightly, before her voice came again, "I wish you were here, Albus, that damn portrait is a pale imitation. We'll try to hold them when the time comes, we'll try to give Harry the time he needs, but I don't know if we can." McGonagall looked back up at the scant lights of the castle, the one in her office far up on the side of the Headmaster's tower, a couple of lights on in Gryffindor tower, and one window lit in Ravenclaw. "Happy Christmas, Albus," she said softly, and headed back towards the castle, retracing her steps in the snow.

Behind her, unnoticed by any save the wind, a flicker of fire appeared and vanished on the top of the tomb, leaving behind in the place of the bag of lemon drops and the pair of socks, a single, long golden feather, which blew away in the wind.

*******************************Godric's Hollow***************************

"Harry," Hermione said, turning over in bed and sitting up. She reached back, and tugged on her loose ponytail for a moment, before getting up and walking across the room to her dresser. She shivered a bit as her bare feet touched the hardwood; "Remus gave me something to give to you for Christmas." She looked back to see Harry holding a book on his lap, and grinned slightly, as he did not quite seem to be paying attention to her words as she bent down to get something out of the bottom drawer. "Honey...it says 'Gryffindor' on the seat of my sweats, just in case you need your prescription checked."

"Funny, Mione," Harry replied grinning, then gave her an exaggerated sad look, Hermione laughed as she ran over and jumped back on the bed, kissing him before she held out her hands. A small, glowing bottle and a tiny pensive sat in her hands. She set it down on the covers next to Harry, and flicked her fingers, watching the engraved bowl expand as they watched. "What," Harry asked as she held up the tiny bottle that most assuredly held a memory, "is that?"

"Remus said that you should see this..." Hermione held her lip in her bottom teeth for a moment, "I thought that you'd like to see it, privately, it's a real memory of your mum and dad...how they really were in school, not what Snape, remembered," she started to get up off the bed, and handed him the stoppered bottle. She stopped as his arm reached out and pulled her back down to the bed. Harry flipped the book in his lap off into an armchair near the fireplace and pulled Hermione down to sit between his legs, with her back to his chest.

"No, Hermione," Harry said, as he kissed her neck and placed the pensive in her lap, "come with me." He handed her the bottle back and smiled at her as she leaned back to give him a quick peck. Hermione unstoppered the bottle and poured the contents in to the bowl, watching as the thick, silver fluid swirled around with a life of its own. She let the empty bottle drop to the comforter, and intertwined the fingers of her left hand with Harry's where they rested together on her belly and slowly reached towards the shimmering surface of the memory. Her finger touched the surface, breaking it slightly...

A rapid rush of color and sound enveloped them as they felt themselves being pulled forward, faster and faster until they vanished into the memory, leaving behind an empty room, save for a old, ornate bowl carved with runes and filled with a shimmering, blue light.

Harry looked around as he and Hermione felt themselves standing together in familiar surroundings. The Great Hall of twenty years ago was decorated for Christmas, with enchanted snow falling from the ceiling, piles of presents were stacked in the corners, and the traditional twelve trees were resplendent with garland and twinkling Fairy lights. A somewhat younger Hagrid was staggering past looking a bit worse for wear in the company of an excited, almost chattering Professor Flitwick. Both of them looked as if they had been hitting the Christmas mead already. Harry took Hermione's hand and they followed, and as Harry heard Flitwick's greeting, he thought his heart stopped for an instant.

"Evans, Potter," Flitwick laughed, "I know you two have a suite of your own," the diminutive Professor looked around and added softly, "Minerva is around here somewhere."

"Oh, that won't be an issue, Professor," an amused baritone replied from just around the corner, "I'll just apply the old Potter charm, and she'll be putty in my hands."

"Like you did to me?" another, softer voice replied with an undertone of laughter. Harry came around the corner, and stopped as he found Lily and James, curled together in one of the small alcoves that Hogwarts had an inordinate number of. He felt Hermione's fingers tighten on his as he looked on the 'live' images of his parents at the age he and Hermione were now. From the jeans and jumpers the two had on, mostly, they were definitely during the holiday break or a weekend, though both had on their heads badges. Harry stopped for a moment to look them over, as every picture he had seen of them was after they had left school, save Snape's memory of course.

Lily's hair was long, but not quite as long as Ginny's, or even Hermione's when it was wet, and not quite as bright a fiery red, with just a hint of curl starting to work its way in. Her emerald eyes, Harry's own, were grinning up at James, as he wrapped his arms around her more firmly, and propped his head on top of hers. James' hair was Harry's of course, just as wild, if not more so, but the eyes behind the black frames were hazel. A tiny glint of metals and stones hanging around Lily's neck caught Harry's eye, and he led Hermione closer, to look.

Harry glanced back at Hermione; then down at her left hand, as they both recognized the same ring that had adorned Hermione's finger since September. Lily reached up and tucked the ring on a gold chain back under her jumper. "I wish you'd just wear it, Lils, I know that you don't want to cause any rumors," James muttered softly, "but it makes me afraid that you..."

Lily rolled her eyes, and pushed James back into the alcove throwing her arms around his neck and snogging him until they pulled back, with James blinking stupidly and looking around the area as if he had forgotten his name, let alone his earlier concern. Hermione giggled, as Harry let loose a small shudder at watching his parents make out. He was beginning to wonder if this were Remus' dream at all when, Remus appeared from out of nowhere, or rather from behind another suit of armor with a small, brunette witch looking at him, dazedly. "Bye, Remus," she said dreamily, and walked off, waving. Lily giggled slightly as Remus looked back and them and shrugged.

"Come on out Padfoot, he's gone," James yelled, and all three of them laughed as a petite blonde, with startling violet eyes staggered out of another alcove, fixing her skirt and blouse as she went. "Bye, Cordy," James muttered, and smirked as Sirius appeared, looking totally unflappable. Sirius bent down and gave the girl a long, deep kiss, as if showing off for the others before she staggered away, looking dazed. Lily rolled her eyes and crossed to the pair, leaving James standing leaning up against a gold suit of armor.

Lily reached up, grabbed both Remus and Sirius by the ears and tugged them towards the Great Hall, "Come on you two, I'm hungry, and I still want to get in some studying tonight," she grunted as she pulled against the resistance of both men, who towered over her by at least a head, "Sirius, you can...see her later."

"But LIIILLLY," Sirius grunted, "you can study anytime," he glanced at James, who was whistling and pretending not to pay attention, "ohh, I get it...studying, back at your private table, all the way back in the stacks, just you and Prongs, eh?"

My table? Hermione asked, in a mixture of emotions. Harry shrugged, and pulled them back out of the way as his mother took a step backwards, and BANG, a huge, shaggy black dog stood where Sirius had been.

"Infestious," Lily incanted, and James and Remus laughed as Padfoot sat back on his haunches and scratched his side furiously, all the while letting out soft whines. Lily let him scratch for a moment longer, before flicking her wand again, vanishing the fleas, and scratching Sirius behind the ears, "you know I love you Padfoot," she whispered in his ear. A huge dog grin erupted in his face as he jumped up, placed both paws on her shoulders and licked her face, "EWW," Lily cried, "Sirius slobber."

The dog's great head looked back and forth, verifying they were alone, and SHIFTED, standing and flowing back into the tall, handsome form of Sirius. "Ya know you love me Lily," Sirius proclaimed, as he bounded forward and placed his arm around Lily. She grabbed his hand and twisted, spinning out from under and pinning his arm back for an instant, before she crossed back to James and leaned back against him, unconsciously snuggling back in his arms as she glared at Sirius.

"I...suppose," she agreed after a moment, she bounced her wand against the palm of her other hand for a minute, "if I didn't, you'd probably be a tad less popular with the members of my gender," she jabbed her wand at him, causing him to flinch and her to giggle before she vanished it up the sleeve of her jumper. He just rolled his eyes as she turned on her heel and led them into the Great Hall. The four of them crossed into the Great Hall, and stopped, looking around as the normal four large house tables and the Head table had been reduced to one smaller one set for around twenty. The four of them entered and sat, with Sirius and Lupin digging in immediately, and James right after.

"Shame Peter couldn't stay with us this Christmas," Lupin proclaimed after a moment, he looked around at the almost empty hall, with only a couple of other students still here, "Think of what we could get into, I hear Slughorn got in a new batch of Doxie Venom, we could..."

James' eyes lit as he leaned forward, "We could rig little droppers over all of the seventh year Slytherins' beds..."

"No," Lily said flatly.

"But, Lilllyyyy", three voices whined as one.

"No," she replied and holding up a breadstick as if it were a wand, pointed at each of them in turn, starting with Sirius, and ending with James, "we are going to have a nice, peaceful Christmas, no worrying about what the...group, is up to--" she paused and looked around to see if anyone had heard her, "no pranking...well maybe a little," she allowed and all three boys grinned, "but only with what you already have. Slughorn already thinks I nicked the Boomslang skin last month."

"Yes, dear," all three of them replied exasperatedly.

She rolled her eyes, and took a drink of her pumpkin juice, before jabbing her thumb over her shoulder at James, "He gets to call me dear, you two," waving at Sirius and Lupin, "can call me Miss Evans."

"Yes, Mrs. Potter," Padfoot and Moony said as one, and ducked as several rolls lifted from the table and shot past their heads. Sirius got up quickly and retreated from the hall at a run, as four large turkeys rose from their plates and began to march at him. The turkeys followed at a trot.

Lily smiled slightly as she slipped her wand back in her sleeve, and raised an eyebrow at Lupin, he held his hands up at chest level in surrender; she nodded and turned to James. "Why'd you do that?" James muttered as she slipped her arms around his neck, and looked up at him.

"Because," she shrugged as she leaned in, and muttered against his ear, "Sirius is distracting when I do this, and Merlin knows, that distraction is bad," her eyes slipped closed as she tilted her head slightly brushed her lips across his.

"What about Remus?" James asked, whispering against her lips.

"He's smarter than Padfoot, he knows better," Lily replied grinning, and groaned as James returned the smile and dropped his lips to hers.

A whirl of color and sound swirled though the memory, and Harry and Hermione felt themselves behind pulled backwards to land back on their bed in Godric's Hollow. The pensive rocked for several instants info Hermione's lap before she held the bottle up above the glowing liquid, and watched as it flowed back into the bottle, and stoppered itself. Hermione carefully set the bottle and pensive down on the floor next to their bed before she half-turned to tuck her head into Harry's chest and closed her eyes as he leaned back against the headboard. Neither of them said a word as she felt his fingers start to run through her hair.


There we go, Next Chapter more Christmas, more Ron and Luna, he he...and Hermione's parents learn a bit more of the consequences that Harry pays for his destiny.

Built by Text2Html

Once more, thanks to Lady Starlight for her work on this chapter.

Chapter 30: Yule 2
*****************************Godric's Hollow*****************************

December 25, 1997
3:17 am

"No..." Harry muttered and rolled over in his sleep. Hermione raised her head slightly from where it had been displaced off his shoulder, pushing hair out of her eyes as she looked at him sleepily. She bit her lip slightly as she watched him shaking, moaning, "No....leave her alone..." Small objects around the room started to vibrate, and shake, as her breathing sped up. A pile of books toppled from a nearby table and Crookshanks let out a startled "merow," and leapt from the bed to run to safety through the magical cat door in the bottom of the bedroom door that appeared and disappeared as he approached and passed through it.

Hermione fought down a spike of fear that shot through her core as Harry muttered, "Take me...you want me, leave her alone..." She groaned as she fought down the wave of despair that slammed though their link before it was cut off as Harry's subconscious fought himself to protect her. "FUCK YOU, TOM..." Harry screamed suddenly as he jerked, almost all the way off the bed. "No...Mione..." Harry sobbed and Hermione felt her stomach fall. Brown eyes flared, glowing emerald to light the walls of the dim room as she took a breath and ripped past the barriers that he had erected to protect her. The small little girl deep inside, who still believed in shining knights on a horse, swooned slightly at the thought of what he was willing to go through alone for her, but that flicker of emotion was dampened by her need to protect him herself...even when it was from himself.

Hermione...blinked and found herself in the midst of charred, smoking ruins. A quick glance to her right and left, finding the shattered remains of the courtyard fountain and the fallen debris of Gryffindor Tower, told her immediately where she was. She had seen this same place in hers/their dreams before. She looked down at herself to see that she was still in the clothes she had thrown on to sleep in, since her parents were down the hall, a long-sleeved t-shirt and red Gryffindor sleep pants, and with a thought she was in combat blacks. She nodded to herself as she felt the comforting weight of her twin daggers at the small of her back, and brushed her hand over the hilt of her wand where it was strapped to her thigh.

She passed down torn and rent halls, past classmates lying bloody and lifeless, or more horribly somehow, looking untouched except for the vacant, dead expressions in unseeing eyes. She almost cried as she paused at the door to the Great Hall, what was left of it anyway, as one of the doors was lying on the ground with the other hanging by only one hinge, and found Ron and Luna on the ground together, with Luna curled up on top of him as if she had tried to save him. The stones under her best friends were dark and stained with his blood and she didn't even try to stop the tears as she knelt down and closed their eyes with gentle fingers.

With a breath, she flung out her hand and watched as the last door blew inward into the Great Hall to land with a thunderous, thump. She walked into the long, high-ceiling room, that was so filled with memories, good and bad, and looked up to see the four house tables gone along with the Head table. In their place, and replacing Dumbledore's golden chair, which McGonagall had kept intact, a twisted back throne sat, like a cruel mockery of former greatness.

But nothing compared to what was on that throne, instead of the great, human, but still great Albus Dumbledore, a dark, hated presence filled the throne. Tom Riddle had come home to Hogwarts, his twisted, serpentine features sneering down on a shivering, broken form sitting on the cold flagstones of the hall at his feet. Hermione repressed a slight shudder as she moved between rows of Death Eaters, standing proudly around the throne. Her breath caught in her throat as she passed the twisted visage of Antonin Dolohov, dead these six months past, and stepped around Lucius and his bride. They were leaning together, talking to a sneering Severus Snape, pointing and laughing at the presence at Voldemort's feet.

Hermione felt her lip in her teeth in this shared, horrid dream as she saw Harry, kneeling, broken with her dead body in his arms. For a moment, she almost thought that she really was dead, in this nightmare of Harry's. Harry looked up at Voldemort as the Dark Lord looked down from his throne, pausing in his absent fondling of his...companion, "She's dead Harry...just like you will be soon. You have failed, Harry, just like Albus...just like your dear Godfather...just like your poor parents."

"SILENCIO," Hermione roared, a hissing vermilion fan shot from an ivy-wood wand, and the dream Voldemort tumbled backwards out of his chair. Hissing green bolts shot through her, without effect, as she walked to Harry and crouched down next to him, talking his face in her hands, and forcing it to hers. "This is a dream, Harry, wake up, Love, come back to me..."

"No," a choked, broken eleven-year-old voice whispered back, "you're dead." Harry tried to pull from her grasp, to look down at her double's body, lying in his arms. Hermione closed her eyes, and flicked her wand, vanishing the body, and forcing his eyes back to hers.

"I'm here, baby," Hermione pleaded softly as a softly glowing gold bubble slowly formed around them, deflecting the curses of the Death Eaters here in this malicious travesty of Hogwarts. Harry shook his head, trying not to look at her, afraid to believe.

"She's dead, Potter..." the high-pitched hiss came again, along with the dark laughter of the surrounding Eaters.

Hermione growled, twined her fingers in Harry's hair and crushed her lips to his. She watched, open-eyed as dead emerald eyes snapped fully open; then came alive again. She let out a soft groan as she felt his tongue against hers, returning the kiss, her eyes slipped closed as ethereal notes began to ring out in the hall. A giant phoenix, red and gold feathers as bright as the very sun appeared in the rafters of the hall, and spread its wings. One, by one, then in twos, and threes and dozens, Death Eaters burst into flames, silently crumpling into piles of ash until only Riddle remained. They broke the kiss and looked together to the front as Voldemort looked up at the flaming Phoenix in dawning horror; the huge, golden beak opened and a ray of light, like that of the sun breaking through a line of clouds enveloped the Dark Lord. His lipless mouth opened in a silent scream as a pillar of emerald fire consumed him, leaving only a pile of ash after a moment, which a sudden gush scattered.

"Mione..." Harry choked, tears in his eyes.

"Wake up baby, I'm here..." a swirling rush of color and sound, like a Portkey trip gone bad ripped past her senses, slamming her consciousness back into her body with a jolt. She opened her eyes, her real ones, and took a shuddering breath forcing magic down, back into her core as her eyes faded back to chocolate. She crawled up the bed, where she found Harry sitting up against the headboard with his knees drawn up slightly and shaking. She forced his legs flat as she crawled into his lap and slipped her arms behind his neck as she tangled her fingers in his hair. His neck bent slightly as she forced his head down enough to kiss his forehead, his scar, before she met his lips to taste salt and the copper taste of his blood where he had bit his lip sometime during the nightmare.

"Thanks, Mione..." Harry whispered hoarsely as his arms tightened around her. They began to rock slightly as he dropped his head to her shoulder. He sighed softly as he muttered into the crook of her neck, "I don't know why you put up with me."

"Because you'll do the same for me tomorrow," she replied, nuzzling his right ear. After a minute, as if it were being pulled from him he nodded, and grunted something she took as an affirmation. Hermione pulled back slightly, kissed him again and slipped from his lap to the floor. He looked up at her with a vague, forlorn look before she leaned back down and kissed him hard enough to push him back against the headboard. "Stay here, I'll go get us some hot chocolate, I know you won't sleep."

"I can get it, Hermione," Harry said, softly.

"I know you can, baby, but I want to alright?" she smiled and with a final kiss to his forehead, she slipped from the bedroom and paused for moment on the landing, looking down at the softly glowing lights of the tree in the living room below. Her knuckles whitened as she took a breath, collecting herself before she ghosted down the stairs, took a right and pushed the kitchen door open.

She took a breath as both of her parents were sitting at the butcher-block table sipping coffee. She bit her lip as she turned from them and flicked her wand at the stove. A small flame lit and a copper pan drifted down from the rack to rest on the heat. Another flick and an odd slashing motion later, milk floated out from the icebox, to pour itself into the pan, and an instant later a chunk broke itself off a block of Honeydukes' best chocolate, and dropped into the heating milk. "I guess you heard," Hermione commented to the silence. She reached up and pulled out the rubber band holding her hair into a ponytail, regathering it, and putting it back up.

"Is it always that bad, honey?" Jane said, as her hand reached across the table to hold her husband's left hand. Her thumb ran over his ring finger as Hermione's shoulders slumped slightly. Hermione shrugged vaguely and summoned a pair of mugs from the cabinets. She snapped her fingers, conjuring a cinnamon stick in each before pouring in the hot liquid. She waved her wand over the mugs, placing a Heating Charm and an anti-Spill Charm on each.

Hermione turned around after turning off the stove and sending the pot to scrub itself in the sink, "Sometimes...they've gotten worse after Dumbledore died. They were really bad after Cedric, and he tried to keep it away from me last year when we were...whatever, but yeah. Just be glad that that wasn't one of Tom's little gifts." Her eyes were slightly haunted as she looked down, "Those were-worse. Thank Merlin, he doesn't dare try that shyte any more." Hermione looked down at her hands, "I'm sorry you guys were woken by that. We have a permanent Silencing Charm up on our bedroom at Hogwarts, forgot we needed one here."

Jane glanced over at Roger, he nodded slightly, "What about yours, Hermione Jane?" he asked quietly.

Jane's hand clenched on Roger's as Hermione looked off into the distance. She paused as Crookshanks sauntered into the room and looked up at her as if checking to see if she was going to start gibbering, seeing she wasn't he rubbed against her legs and walked to his dish before giving her a meaningful look. She waved her wand at the refrigerator, causing the milk to fly out once more and poured a small amount in his dish, before replacing it in the same manner. "I have my good days and bad ones, just like Harry," she whispered. "Neither of us are insane, mother," she added after a minute, slightly defensively, "mostly anyway...I had thought I had gotten though it after Sirius died...he was almost Harry's dad in all that mattered there for a little while, but when Dumbledore...and it was my fault, I failed Harry," she whispered, "I, ahh...I'm going back to bed." She picked up both mugs and rapidly vanished from the room.

************************The Burrow*****************************

7:20 am

A crookedly hung door opened with a soft squeak, and a slight figure in a white cloak eased into the room and eased the door closed. She crept closer to the single, slightly cockeyed bed sitting in the middle of the room, and leaned over the unconscious form there. A bright orange comforter covered all but a shock of red hair, and matched innumerable posters all holding various renditions of a orange intertwined double 'C' logo, generally with a cannon ball endlessly flying out of it. Several broomsticks and riders flew over the bed in formation from one poster to another as the visitor lowered her white hood.

Silvery-grey eyes danced as she slowly peeled off a pair of white gloves and tossed them in a corner. A blue stone on her left hand caught the light from a single candle burning in a dish on the windowsill as she reached forward and slowly peeled the comforter back enough to reveal a freckled face. She lightly bent over, ghosting a kiss on his forehead. Ron groaned and rolled over in his sleep, "Luna," he muttered and she giggled behind her quickly raised hands. Ron opened and closed his mouth several times, and she giggled again.

Those grey eyes brightened, almost glowing she continued to peel the comforter down the bed, revealing Ron's sleeping attire of purple and gold boxers with tiny gold hoops that were defended by a single Keeper flying constantly from hoop to hoop and a t-shirt with a tawny lion munching contently on a snake held between its paws. "Wake up, Ronald," she breathed into his ear, smiling as he brushed at the warm air on his ear. A small pink tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth as she glanced downward and raised a shapely, pale eyebrow. "Ronnnalllddd," she purred, rubbing her cheek against his. "You need to shave honey, Sleepnirs could be nesting." Ron did not move other than smiling a bit and shrugging back into his pillow slightly.

Luna rolled her tongue around in her cheek, and stood tapping her foot. She reached down and kicked off her fur-lined boots leaving her in bare feet on the cold wooden floor of the Burrow. She looked back at door to the room, and frowned slightly. If Molly doesn't like it...too bad, he's mine...I need to put in a cat door for Greymalkin...I wonder if Ron can do carpentry... Luna shook herself slightly as her eyes focused, looking down at Ron.

Her fingers flicked near her throat, and with a slight shrug, her white cloak fell to the floor. She shivered in the cool room as she stood over the bed, clad in only a tiny pair of pale blue knickers tied on each side and a matching half-cup bra. Taking care not to disturb the bed, not that it seemed to matter really, Luna slid over him, straddling his legs and sliding forward to lie fully on top of him.

She began to nip at his neck, nuzzling his ears and giggling slightly as Ron grinned and shifted under her, still sleeping. Luna sighed and rolled her eyes. Drastic measures...

Luna slipped back, until she was crouched across his calves and bent forward. She wore a look of utter concentration as she slowly pulled down the Keeper boxers, carefully pulling them over the large obstruction in the way. She kept her eyes on Ron's face as she bent forward, and took him into her mouth. She started to bob up and down, pausing to run her teeth and tongue lightly up and down.

Ron stirred slightly as Luna redoubled her efforts. She let him slip from her mouth, licking the tip as Ron moaned softly, then took him back in, sucking in slightly on each up stroke, until, with a huge, shuddering groan, Ron arched up off the bed.

His eyes flew open as he dropped back to his pillow, panting. His eyes slowly panned down. Luna waved as she sat up, licking her lips before sliding up to perch on his stomach. She bent down and kissed him, shuddering as she kissed him thoroughly. "Good morning, honey," Luna whispered next to his ear.

"Bloody hell," Ron said in a voice full of awe. He looked down at her, and gulped slightly as he took her in. "You're gorgeous, luv," he whispered, and Luna beamed.

"Ronnie," she muttered, "you might want to cast a few charms." She bit her lip slightly and motioned towards the door with her head as she sat up and began to peel his shirt from him. "And I'd use something a touch stronger than Colloportus, though..." she shrugged, "I guess Molly'll find out eventually." Ron looked suddenly panicked, though she noticed idly that his...attention seemed unwavering. Luna smiled at him shyly, as her heart thumped in her chest, "I love you too; Ronald...try Securita...I doubt your mum can break it," her eyes brightened as she rubbed against his stomach slightly, "and don't forget..."

Ron nodded quickly and took his wand as she dropped it in his hand with a huge grin on her face. "Securita," Ron whispered, slowly as Luna wiggled slightly, smirking. "S..Silencio," the walls flashed white, "Inconceivious." A warm flush filled Luna's belly for an instant. She closed her eyes as Ron reached down to rub against her knickers with the palm of his hand. She muttered something unrecognizable, as he pushed aside her knickers, to slowly side a pair of fingers inside her. She shuddered and nipped at his shoulder, as he began to slowly, teasingly, move them in and out.

"Now...would be good," Luna commented almost conversationally, reaching down to either side and pulling the strings. She rose on her legs slightly and tossed the scrap of fabric somewhere in the room. Her eyes held his as she placed both hands flat on his belly and slowly lowered herself. Ron groaned, as Luna leaned forward, kissing his nose, then lips before she started to rock on his lap.

"Ohhh....ugggh..." Ron moaned feelingly.

"Roonnniieeee...." Luna grunted, "f..faster." She began to push off, bouncing harder, as Ron began to meet her thrust for thrust. Her lip trembled as Ron slid his hands down until the palms rested on her hipbones, with his thumbs rubbing in time to their shared rhythm where they met.

"I'm..." Ron panted, as he felt his heart try to start to beat right out of his chest.

"What?" Luna gasped, leaning forward until her loose hair covered them both. A soft purr grew louder as she felt her stomach muscles begin to twitch...Her eyes slipped closed, narrowing to silvers, not seeing that Ron's were dropping as well.

"Come on, baby," Ron managed, as he felt himself begin to tingle, then in a sudden rush he felt her clench around him, pulling him along with her. "Oh...fuck..." His hips came up off the bed, taking them both with him, as Luna collapsed on him, quivering. She panted, trying to catch her breath as rested her head in the crook of his shoulder before stretching enough to share a slow kiss. She snuggled down, tucking her head under his head, not moving from where they had finished. Ron moved enough to kiss the top of her head, his breathing more or less back under control, "What brought this on, Luna, luv?"

"Did you like my-outfit?" Luna asked, anxiously, or at least as anxiously as she ever got, "Hermione helped me pick it out...she has one, like..."

"Alright..." Ron said quickly, pulling her head up to quiet her with a quick kiss, "luv, I really don't need Harry beating me to a puddle because you put ideas in my head like that," he reached up and pushed damp blonde strands behind her ear, "and more to the point, I have everything I ever wanted here right now." He grinned slightly and pulled her into his chest tighter, "But for the record...I loved it."

They both looked to the door as the knob rattled fiercely. Ron pulled his wand back out from under his pillow, where he had replaced it earlier, and canceled the Silencing Charm. "Ronald, wake up," Molly's voice came through the door, "Why's your door locked?" Ron didn't answer as Luna buried her face in his neck and giggled, loudly.

"Is someone in there with you, Ronald Weasley?" Molly snarled suspiciously. Ron rolled Luna off his chest and covered her mouth with his hand lightly. She bit her lip as she rolled all the way off his small bed and padded over to where she had thrown her knickers. She tied them back on, and with a quick flash of inspiration, dove for Ron's equipment pack, tossed her own cloak into the open closet and vanished under Ron's invisibility cloak. Ron stood, threw on what he had slept in, flicked his wand to vanish the evidence of this morning's activities and canceled the locking charm.

"No mum," Ron yawned, as she pushed the door open. He yawned again and paced over to his closet to find a pair of clean jeans, which he slipped on, not flinching at all as Luna goosed him invisibly. "I locked it to keep Fred and George out," he explained simply and Molly nodded unthinkingly.

"Well, fine...everyone is waiting to open presents," she frowned, slightly and gave the tiniest of headshakes, "well almost all of us are here." She huffed slightly as she looked around the room at the scattered clothes, books and extremely messy bed. "Hurry up Ronald," she put in, "and clean your room sometime, it's a pigsty...would you want your...girlfriend to see it like this?" She left, muttering, leaving the door open.

Ron watched her leave, before Luna's head appeared at his shoulder. "I'll go outside, and come back in."

"Honey," Ron frowned slightly as if remembering something, his eyes focused on the area under her floating head, "You need some...clothes; I don't know if Mum would appreciate it, I would, and I know Gred and Forge would, though I'd have to hit them, but..." Ron rambled.

Luna cut him off with the fingers of her right hand against his lips. She tossed off the cloak to reveal herself fully dressed except for her still bare feet in a pair of khaki jeans and a dark blue jumper. "I had them shrunk in the pocket of my cloak," she whispered with a knowing grin. She bent over and pulled on her boots, before wrapping her arms around him and pecking him quickly on the lips.

"I love smart girls," Ron whispered against her lips. She smiled at him and walked to the door, knowing his eyes were on her the whole way, "and I love it when they walk by," he added unthinkingly. Luna paused at his door, blew him a kiss, pulled on her white cloak, and flipped his invisibility cloak over that, vanishing instantly. Ron followed her silent footsteps down the stairs, pulling on a dark green jumper over his t-shirt as he went. He purposefully bumped into a table as he came into the living room, distracting every eye from the door to the outside that opened and closed silently.

Ron took a seat on a dilapidated loveseat, and nodded to Fred and George, who were sitting on the couch across from him. As one, all three boys' eyes flicked to their grandfather clock in the corner, once again finding it was empty of two names that once decorated it. The rest was relatively uninformative, as every other name, including Fleur's recently added one, was pointing as had become usual to "Mortal Peril." Ron frowned slightly, before blanking his face, as Fred looked over, a mug of coffee already in his hand.

"Oi, Ron, where's Luna this fine morning?" he leered slightly. George glanced up from looking at a plate of Christmas snacks, and shared a look with his twin.

"Yeah, Ronniekins, where is the blonde bombshell this morning?" George put in. Ron looked down, flushing slightly.

"Boys," Molly snapped as she came in from the kitchen levitating a tray holding a carafe of hot chocolate long with a plate of muffins, "leave your brother alone. She's a nice girl, unlike some he could be with," she added softly, but not so softly that none of the three heard her. Ron's fists clinched at his side, before he looked up at the twins. They frowned, and Fred gave him a miniscule headshake.

The kitchen door slammed open, and a moment later Luna came into the living room. She stopped to hang her cloak on a hook near the door and shook snow from her hair, before she crossed to Ron and curled up next to him on the loveseat and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Would you like some cocoa, Luna dear?" Molly asked with a small smile.

"That would be lovely, ma'am," Luna replied. Luna reached for the mug that Molly poured her with her left hand, not thinking. Molly screeched and grabbed her hand. She held it up to the light, gaping slightly at the ring on Luna's finger.

"When dear?" she asked breathlessly, not letting go of Luna's hand. Luna shared a glance with Ron, as the twins sniggered behind her. Luna managed to extract her hand from Molly's, with a soft, torpid smile.

"Last night, Mum," Ron muttered sheepishly. He was almost instantly slammed back into the couch as Molly threw her arms around both him and Luna. He fought for breath, and glared over Molly's shoulder at the Twins as they made kissing faces at him.

"Ohh, my baby's growing up..." Molly sobbed, "my little Ronniekins is becoming a man." Behind them Fred and George clasped their hands over their mouths, fighting to keep their laughter silent. They each cast silent Silencios on each other, as they escaped the room. Sudden, loud, raucous laughter came from the next room as they lifted the spells.

Ron sighed, thinking of what he would have to go through with the twins when he and Luna were free of their mother. Molly let them go, and stood, hurrying back into the kitchen muttering something about making the dinner extra special. Ron glanced down, nodding as Arthur came over and gave him a hug, before leaving to follow Molly into the kitchen from where they could hear soft sobbing coming. Luna squeezed his hand, and curled up next to him, kissing his cheek and settling in contently, "Happy Christmas, Ronald."

******************************Godric's Hollow************************

10:15 am.

Roger gave Jane a small grin from his post on the floor next to the tree as Hermione slid down the banister from the floor above, giggling slightly. She turned her head, looking up, only to slam into Harry at the bottom as he suddenly appeared in front of her. "No fair, no Apparating," Hermione squeaked as Harry picked her up, and spun her around slightly. She laughed as she jumped up and wrapped herself around him, leaning to meet his lips.

"I don't remember agreeing to that rule," Harry whispered breathlessly, as he walked backwards with her still wrapped around him and fell back onto the couch. Hermione somehow, possibly through magic, remained in his lap as they landed with her arms still around his neck.

"Honestly, Harry," Hermione smirked and kissed his cheek, "it was implied. You should know that."

"Huh?"

"Happy Christmas, Harry," Hermione muttered, "love you."

"You too, Mione."

"It, um, took you two long enough to make it down his morning," Jane mentioned conversationally as she took a sip from her morning cocoa. She crooked her eyebrow at Hermione as she leaned over the arm of her chair to set her mug on the floor next to her.

Hermione looked down for an instant, her cheeks burning slightly, before she caught her mother's eye with an almost defiant glare for an instant. "We were...delayed a bit." She leaned back, grinning despite herself as she watched her mother's jaw drop for a moment, before she laughed.

"It was bloody well long enough," Roger put in softly, Jane rolled her eyes and threw a pillow from the chair at him. Harry sat silently. "We've been up for hours."

Harry's jaw worked for an instant, with no sound coming out, before Hermione took pity on him and summoned a present from under the tree for him. "Here you go, Harry," she smiled slightly and patted his knee, as Crookshanks jumped up on the top of the couch next to him and stretched out, purring. "This is from mum and dad, Harry." Hermione plucked a brightly wrapped red and green package from out of the air next to her shoulder and handed it to him.

The package was rather heavy, Harry noticed, as he took it from Hermione and sat it on their joined laps. He ripped open the paper to reveal a carved wooden box, about the size of a hatbox. The box was engraved with his name in script under a lion sitting on its paws. The lion's tail twitched periodically, as it waited for him. Harry watched, slightly dumbfounded, at the magical gift from Hermione's parents. He glanced up at them and Jane waved at the box, he nodded and eased it open to find thirty-two, velvet-lined fitted compartments, each with a small figurine in them. Harry laughed as he realized what the figures were, it was a chess set, but instead of the usual knights, and castles and such, small figures on brooms, golden hoops, stadiums and snitches filled out the places. The two oversized teams were dressed in red and gold and green and silver, and Harry laughed again. He gave Hermione's parents a slightly awed look. "Hermione helped us pick it out...obviously," she added as a small red and gold seeker took flight. The tiny, Gryffindor-robed Seeker, that Harry thought seemed to have on a tiny pair of glasses whipped around his head and shot up the tree as if looking for a snitch.

"You can change the teams with a spell, Harry," Hermione put in flicking her wand at the green and sliver pieces still in the box, and changing them to the bright Orange of the Chudley Cannons. "It will let you have any of the Hogwarts' House teams or any of the Professional teams of Great Britain, the Americas or the National teams...The players change to suit the teams."

"Cool," Harry enthused. Thanks, Mione, he whispered as he looked over at her parents. "Thanks, I love it..." he looked at both of them and grinned, "I...ah..."

"You're welcome Harry," Roger replied, "maybe we can play later, I used to play a bit in my younger days," he looked at Hermione and Jane, "I never could get Hermione or Jane to play much."

Harry shared a grin with him, "I don't know about Jane, but Hermione doesn't play all that often with Ron or I...she doesn't like to lose."

"Funny how that seems to be passed down," Roger quipped, "OW!" both men snapped as one, as both of them were whomped in the back of the head at the same time.

Harry rubbed the back of his head, frowning, until Hermione reached up and kissed his hair behind his ear. She smiled nervously as she flicked her fingers over her shoulder, not looking as a small present dropped into her lap. She picked it up, and handed it to him, "Here, Harry, I ahh...thought that you might like this. I talked to Remus about it, he..." Hermione broke off, she bit her lip slightly, "well open it." Harry ripped open the white paper with small golden snitches flitting about, revealing a flat, book-sized box. He opened it, to find a torn, battered notebook bound in stained pebbled black leather. He glanced up at Hermione to see her looking at him nervously, "It's well; it's the notes and such that the Marauders came up with to be Animagi." Harry's eyes widened as he opened the pages to see Lupin's cramped, almost pained handwriting interspaced with James' messy, spiky script and Sirius' large looping one. Harry looked back up to Hermione to share a soft grin, "If you look in the back, your mum's added in her notes in the subject."

"You've read it?" Harry asked, amused.

"Of course," Hermione agreed, "it's a book isn't it? Look under it," she added. Harry looked under another layer of the package to find a small vial filled with a glowing opalescent potion. "It's the final potion, it took a while to brew, and the ingredients I could get without anyone knowing were just enough for...two. I thought that we could..." She shut up as Harry hugged her.

"Sure Hermione, just us?" Harry whispered against her ear. She giggled slightly, and nodded.

Something just for us...a last fall back maybe...or maybe we'll turn out to be little bunnies or field mice or something.

You'd look cute as a bunny...I'd hold you and kiss you and call you Bob.

Hermione barked a laugh, and her parents looked over at the silent pair, Why Bob?

I don't know, Harry shrugged. Hermione grinned and kissed his nose, before sitting back and snuggling back against his chest. So do you want to see what I got for you? Hermione nodded eagerly like a little kid and looked up at him. Harry waved his hand and watched as a clumsily wrapped package meandered over to them. Hermione crooked an eyebrow, What...I wrapped it by hand, Harry explained, Hermione smirked slightly and started to open it, carefully untying the ribbon, easing the tape back with a nail, and unfolding the paper, Alright, you're doing that to annoy me.

Hermione rolled her tongue in her cheek, looked him in the eye and ripped the paper off in about half a heartbeat. Harry laughed as she looked down at a blue and silver box. She glanced up at him for an instant, and watched him nod, before she opened the box along a thin, concealed hinge. Hermione gasped slightly as she pulled out a bracelet. Each individual link in the chain was a melded blend of platinum and gold, the same pattern as Harry and Hermione's wedding rings. Several charms hung from the links and Hermione looked up at Harry. Harry?

The charms are there for some of the times you've saved me...even from myself, he explained as he took her hand and pointed to each in turn, The train is for when we met, which pretty much saved my sorry bum for the next seven years by itself. Hermione smiled slightly, watching him, the potion bottle is for when you were smarter than anyone else...which is pretty much all the time. The broom is for when you cared enough for me to risk our friendship just in case you might have been right. Thanks for that by the way.

You're welcome. And the rest? Hermione whispered, with the tone of her thoughts choked, as she fingered each charm in turn.

The toast is for when you believed me and no one else did, and then saved me again by staying up all night trying to beat that damn charm into my head.

It was rather difficult, Hermione agreed, it is rather hard.

Yeah, it is, Harry replied, he ran his thumb over the back of her hand, and the wand is when you came up with the way for me to fight back against Umbridge. Hermione gave him a small, half smile, and a tiny nod.

What about the other two? Hermione asked with a small lump in her throat, even though she knew what they meant somehow.

The ring, Harry fingered it, that's for everything this year, he took a breath and held up a tiny, silvery baby carriage, this is more of a promise, Hermione. That's to remind you, when you need it, that we are going to get through this, and we are going to put that nursery to use again. I could have had more...but your wrist isn't big enough for all of them.

Oh Harry, Hermione sobbed, and buried her head in his shoulder as tears began to flow. She held out her wrist without pulling her head from his shoulder, put it on, please. Harry fastened it around her left wrist, and listened to the soft jingling as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Harry leaned his head to hers and kissed the top of her head. You've gotten much better with crying girls, love.

Thanks, Harry snorted, as Hermione giggled softly before leaning back and pulling her wrist back to look at the bracelet jangling at the end of her arm. She rose up on his lap and kissed him, closing her eyes as their lips met and her parents broke out in spontaneous applause.

Hermione dropped her lips from Harry's and placed the crown of her head on his shoulder as she turned to regard Roger and Jane with a gimlet eye. They looked unrepentant, "You know since you are my parents there's no secrecy acts protecting you two..."

Jane smirked and leaned against Roger's hand as he reached up to rub her neck, "It's your fault really, Hermione Jane," she shared a look with Roger, he laughed, "if you two had admitted it years ago, we could have gotten it out of our systems a long time ago."




There you go, next chapter, The Hippogriff will drop....it'll make sense later. And then, back to reality.

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